2014 in Review

2014 was good to us:

 

 

 

 

January:
- Started with my current tech company, Aryaka, working from home.
- I continue mountain biking at Erwin Park and other trails around Dallas on Saturday morning with a group of guys.
- The kids have fun learning what its like to have snow in the backyard.



February
- Candace cuts her thumb in a blender and gets stitches at the hospital.
- Candace's bffff Chelsea and her daughter Margot come to visit us in Plano, TX.
- We try to cross off as many "must eat" restaurants in the Dallas area before leaving for Phx, but we can't do it!  There are too many great places!!


March:
- We say a sad goodbye to the good people of Plano 8th ward and our new best friends the Treeses.  March 1st, we drive for 2 days west back to our home in Phoenix.

 

- We discover our house had been "squatted on" after our renter moved out and the house smells like cigarettes.  A month of painting, carpet replacement and other renovations ensue to get our house back to our "home".  We spend 3 weeks living with Jen and Tim at my parents in Chandler.
- We arrive in Phoenix literally hours before the dedication of the LDS Gilbert, AZ temple and are able to attend its ceremony.  Although I grew up in Chandler I spent a lot of my youth in Gilbert and feel blessed to have a new temple so close.


April:
-  Reed and I meet my childhood hero, motocross star Jeremy McGrath at a race truck event in Chandler.
- We finally move back into our Phx house.  We enjoy the nice weather with family hikes, bike rides, and urban fishing.  Reed learns to ride a bike without training wheels.
- Cbug finally gets her wish and we bite the bullet on a shiny Honda Odyssey minivan.  All of her dreams come true.
-  Fathers and Sons at Queen Valley, AZ.  I get to break in my new cowboy hat I picked up in El Paso, TX on our drive home.
- I met up with my college roomates in Boulder City, NV for a weekend of wakeboarding Lake Mead and mountain biking. 


May:
- Cbug speaks at BYU's Women Conference on blended families.  True to Cbug form she spoke from the heart about the ups and downs she experienced during her childhood.  Most if not all of the audience was touched to the point of tears and her message was cited in the Desert Newspaper.
- Reed gets a new boy bike (not a toddler bike) for his bday and joins me on the mountain trails on Saturdays.
- I surprised Cbug with tickets to see a little known musician Tyrone Wells and we have a blast.
- We camp with the Kemptons on Memorial Day on the Mogollon Rim.  It was freezing and there were fire restrictions so some of us were really cold.  Reed refused to go potty in the forest and Charlotte peed her pants a record 5 or so times.  We ended up packing up camp and leaving at 3am because one of the kids developed a nasty cough.  Oh man, the memories...



June:
- Cbug and I join the Mullens and Malfattos on an awesome adventure hiking Havasupai Falls in the Grand Canyon.  It was so fun!!
- I'm asked to serve as the Young Mens President in Church.
- Reed and Charlotte begin swimming lessons and love it.

July:
- MY PARENTS COME HOME FROM ARGENTINA!
- TAYLOR COMES HOME FROM CHILE!
- MY PARENTS COME HOME FROM ARGENTINA!
- TAYLOR COMES HOME FROM CHILE!

- We make our annual trip to UT and enjoy staying with Cbug's mom.  I get to fish the Provo with my Dad and the Weber River with James Bekker. 
- On the drive back to AZ we stop in Loa, UT to spend time with my Grandma Curtis' brother Merrill and his wife Margie.  Merrill takes us sight seeing and fishing in his boat on a high mountain lake.  Both Reed and Charlotte catch a fish before the storms roll in.
- Our huge Saguaro cactus in the backyard falls over.  What a mess. 



August:
- Bishop Woods and I take the Priests up to Flagstaff to mountain bike Mt. Elden.
- A friend from work invites us to his home in Flagstaff and we have a ton of fun hiking and fishing.

September:
- I take the young men at church to Rocky Point for our "High Adventure" activity.  We catch near 200 fish deep sea fishing, play football on the beach, and visit an orphanage.
- We start taking the kids to bike/skate parks and they love it.
- We find out Candace is due in April with a baby girl!
- Reed starts preschool with Mrs. Teddie.


October:
- I spend a day surfing in So. Cal with my high school buddies, although I'm not sure I can call it surfing since most of what I did is paddle around on my board.
- Candace and I celebrate 6 yr anniversary at the hotel where we spent our first night married - The Valley Ho.  We have a weekend of fun while Grandma Free watched the gremlins. 
-  Charlotte is the cutest "Pink Batman" ever for Halloween.  Reed is Ironman.


November:
- I take the young men to Bear Flats east of Payson for a campout.  I got to fish a little and the boys played air soft wars.

 

December:
-  Family dune trip with church friends.  Brought Reed's Christmas present: a 50cc dirtbike.
- It was my family's turn for Christmas and we were able to have all the siblings in town for Christmas fun at my parents' house.
-  Surprised my brother Chris by taking him and Tim and Taylor to the dunes for on his 33rd bday.  Other than the 30 degree mornings, it was a 10 out of 10.
- Cbug gets her way and we, along with her dad, remove the tons of rock in our backyard, install sprinklers, and plant grass.  Cbug adds a tire swing on our grapefruit tree.
- We call Great Uncle Merrill on his bday to offer well wishes.  About a week later he passes away from a heart attack.  We will miss him as he loved to spend time with us and take us fishing.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Life has sped up now that we're closer to family and friends.  We miss the free time we had in TX but wouldn't change it for the busy time we spend with loved ones here. 

Buggy Quotes

I just returned from a week long sales conference in San Jose.  I missed my family so much that at the airport I pulled my luggage way beyond the normal arrivals pickup spot so I could jump in the van ASAP.

I received a warm greeting from all 3 of my specials but I had to note Charlotte's quote.  In the 12 hours I've been home Charlotte has said 2x: "Daddy, you my best Daddy eva!"  One time was in the ride home from the airport, the other when we were snuggling this morning after watching cartoons.

(Update 2/5/15): Charlotte's quote from early this morning when I was snuggling her in her bed, she reaches up and kisses my elbow and says "Daddy, I love you the best!". 
(Update 2/18/15): "I...I...I...lub you this much (touching her hands behind her back)...all the way to heaven!"

Ode to My Buggy-Sis

I've had a lot moments lately where I am just thankful from head to toe that I have my daughter Charlotte.  She's 2.5 yrs old and perfect in every way.  I wouldn't change one thing about her if I could.  She's perfect.  She has a sweet disposition and a soft voice that only raises when brother teases her or she's goofing around with Mom, "Ree-Ree", or me.  She is quick to smile, LOVES to sing, and loves to snuggle.  More often than not it takes me or Mom laying with her to get her to fall asleep which can be painful but usually isn't so bad.  I love those quiet moments of snuggling next to her and tickling her back when she asks me to "honey" her back. 

Charlotte has lots of names: Buggy-Sis, Buggy-boo-bop, Sis'em Bug, Boo-Bop Anonymous.  She enjoys them all. 

I'm amazed at how natural she is at mothering.  She loves to play typical boy stuff like dig in the dirt or ride bikes or play trucks with Reed but since her earliest days she has felt most comfortable carrying a doll under an arm wherever she goes.  Its not something we've pushed, she really just loves nurturing and watching over a little one.  It will be fun to see her as Big Sis soon. 

Charbug is such a sweetie.  She isn't as quick as Reed to give me kisses but she's always up for a snuggle and occasionally she'll lean over and out of the blue give me a kiss on the cheek that melts my heart.  On each Sunday over the last 2 years she has spent most of Church on my lap.  She likes to bear hug me and make faces with the people sitting behind me.  Or, have me color with her or play characters or read books.  I love holding her throughout Church. 

Over the last 2 months Sis has really come out of her shell.  She has no problem being the center of attention at home.  Her personality has blossomed while maintaining her sweet, soft voice.  She has me feeling like the luckiest Dad in the world.

                                     SHE'S PERFECT!

Dad moments

Today I skipped some work to make a gingerbread house with Reed at preschool.  From the looks of the gingerbread houses you could tell who's was the only one made with a Dad instead of an organized, decoration-talented Mom.  But I'm ok with that!

I frequently have moments with the kids that are so sweet and special that I feel the need to record them.  Today I had one.

5 minutes after scolding him for saying the word "stupid" and coughing for the 100th time without covering his mouth:

(driving in the truck, windows down, lots of noise from the wind, and Reed waving his hand through the air out the window)

Me (yelling over the sound of the wind):  "I sure love you lots!"
Reed yells back: "Yeah?"
Me: "Yeah!"
Reed:  "Yeah."

2013 in Review

I have a paper that is crumbled, wrinkled, stained and faded that contains important thoughts.  I wrote it soon after New Years '14 as a review and highlights of the previous year.  My intent was to put the details online shortly after.  Better late than never!

We are going to fill this in with pictures later, but before I delay I want to get my thoughts transferred from that beat up paper to our blog for the sake of my family records.

2013 IN REVIEW:

January: As I've mentioned before on here, I lost a good friend Beav Sorensen a few days before January.  His funeral was in January.  I think of him more than I thought I would, try to make sure his wife and kids are well, and miss him a lot.

February:  My Mom and Dad were able to return back to Resistencia, Argentina after coming back to Chandler to get my Mom medical attention.  Their decision to return was hard for me, I thought they'd stay home for good.  Candace and I had fun taking our family out on "Ranger rides" to Payson and Queen Valley, AZ.  We also enjoyed a fun boat ride on Tempe Town Lake with Kayla Sorensen and her daughters.

March: The biggest news of March was leaving my job at Crexendo after 3 great years.  The company had gone through so many transformations since I joined after getting my MBA in 2010; it was hard to leave but it was time.  I moved my family to Plano, TX to join the sales team at AppDynamics and looking back I definitely made the right decision.  We decided to rent out our house in Ahwatukee.  Also, I made a memorable trip to the dunes with Kody Miller and Tim Ray.  It rained the night we arrived but woke up to an empty and pristine riding area.

April: In a whirlwind of events, I finished at Crexendo, found a home to rent in Plano with Cbug, moved everything into our Plano home while sick, flew to UT where I met Cbug and the kids for Justin's wedding to Julia, and then flew the whole family to Plano.  Justin's wedding in the Oquirrh Mtn temple was great.  He and I had some epic fishing on the Provo River.  Also memorable was meeting Cody and Nikki Treese who quickly became great friends to us in TX.  I continued my mountain bike routine, waking up early to ride with a group of guys Saturday morning around Dallas trails.  Reed and I got a taste of "Fathers and Sons" camping in Dallas, which I would hardly call camping, ha.  Cbug and I instilled a hard rule of "Date Night" every Friday night.  We had lots of family time being away from the busy life we led in Phoenix and it was a welcome change.

May:  I became a Sunday School teacher and will always, always appreciate the influence I had on the 16-18 yr olds and the influence they had on me.  The people of Plano 8th Ward were terrific to us.  I got into some bass fishing, we made family park trips and bike rides an almost daily staple, and endured some CRAZY Texas wind and rain storms.  Work at AppD was great.  I flew to Boston for the first time since '96 for a trade show and we made a family trip to Broken Bow, OK to stay with the Treeses at a cabin.

June: ....

July:  I woke up with stomach pain thinking it was caused from cookie dough ice cream at 10:30pm the night before.  WebMD.com helped me determine I was probably having appendicitis and in fact, had my appendix removed soon after.  Not fun.

August:  Candace's mom Denise visited and had fun with us.  Charlotte's hair is unreal, standing up on its own and refusing to lay down flat.  We loved it.  I brought the family with me to San Fran for a work trip turned family trip to visit my brother Chris and his family.  We had tons of fun visiting neat sites and watching the cousins play together.

September:  The weather started to cool again (we enjoyed the seasons in Texas) and we cranked up the volume of our bike rides.  Cbug got a new fancy bike to pull the kids in.  Reed started pre school and loved it.  Cbug's best friend Chelsea came to town and we took her to the Plano Hot Air Balloon festival, which unfortunately, had nothing to do with Hot Air Balloons flying in the sky on that day, ha.  I finally was able to visit a friend I had done a lot of business with but not met, the owner of Caddis Fly Shop.  I flew to Oregon and spent the weekend fly fishing the Eugene area.  It was beautiful and a welcome change of pace from the demands of working at AppD.  Candace had some health problems while I was gone, putting a damper on my trip but showing how selfless she is by suggesting I complete my trip.

October:  We celebrated our 5 yr anniversary in UT fly fishing and checking out City Creek Mall in SLC.  Cbug outfished me and really got into it.  For Halloween we dressed up the kids as rock stars, starring Charbug as Rod Stewart complete with the hairdo.

November:  We had a lot of fun on Date Night, often with the Treeses.  We went to their house for Thanksgiving.

December:  Offered a promotion at Aryaka with the chance to work from home and live wherever I want, I made a really, really hard decision and left AppDynamics.  The people there are great, the company is close to going public and I had a lot of success there.  Looking back, I believe I made the right choice, although the VP of Sales Joe Sexton met with me 2 days before I was scheduled to have my last day and offered me a similar position in Phoenix with similar pay.  That was the first time he had ever done anything like that for anyone.  That made the decision to leave even harder but I think I made the right choice.

I flew to San Jose for training at Aryaka, drove my CEO's super cool Mercedes, and flew Cbug out to SJ for the company Holiday party.  This all took place while Dallas was covered in one of the worst ice storms in memory, making flights and travel near impossible.  We spent Christmas at Cbug's Mom's house and as always they spoiled us in every way.

PROUD I FINALLY TYPED THIS OUT AND I CAN THROW AWAY MY CHICKEN SCRATCH NOTES!

-
Curtis

I have to

I know its been a while Blogger but frankly I don't feel that bad because you've been replaced by a cooler technology called Instagram.

But something happened today that I had to record in a non instagram format.

Candace got her thumb cut by a blender while making dinner so I rushed her to the Emergency Room.  The Gondas were kind enough to watch our kids in a pinch (for the 2nd time, the 1st being when I had to get my appendix removed).  Once she got her 5 stitches we came home and I asked if Reed wanted to come get dinner with me from Rusty's Tacos.  On the way home our conversation went like this:

Me: "Thanks for coming with me to get dinner."
Reed: "I welcome."
Me: "You're my best friend"
Reed: "I your son.  And that means I give you snuggles ALL TIME"

Now if that isn't worth a blog post I don't know what is!

I will also quickly say that Reed got a "Cars" fishing pole for Christmas from Nana and Papa Heyman and he hasn't put it down since.

Charlotte is ALL ABOUT her babies.  She carries them wherever she goes along with their blankets and bottles and pillows.  She is in my favorite kid stage of 18-24 months. We can't get enough of her.

Cheese Crisp Makes Me Happy

You know that feeling when you have SO much to do that you become overwhelmed and end up doing none of it?  Well, for me that is our blog.  So much has happened over the last 6 months that I don't know where to start writing here and ultimately I don't.  Instagram has replaced our blog and Facebook as mine and Candace's way of sharing our daily lives, however, it doesn't allow for the depth and story behind the images that the blog provides.  So with that, I'm just going to write!

2012 was a roller coaster that brought us incredible blessings, trials, and tears.  We saw my brother Taylor off on his mission to Chile.  He is doing great.  I love his Monday emails, his upbeat attitude and the memories that come to mind of my mission in Campinas, Brazil.  Growing up Taylor was everyone's favorite.  Nothing has changed!

 

My Mom is continuing to blow everyone away with her faith and determination as she recovers from the effects of her stroke in September.  My Mom spent 2 months being cared for in Buenos Aires while my Dad attended to the mission some 10 hours away.  Difficult. They came home to Chandler during December and January at the doctors' request to rehabilitate.  They chose to go back to the mission as soon as possible and left in early February.  Mom is supposed to take things slowly and not overwork herself (which "used to be" a bad habit of hers).  It was hard to see them go to Argentina a second time.  The part that brought relief was knowing its what they wanted and how badly those missionaries need and love my parents.  Mom is playing the piano again and spoiling the Elders and Sisters with her baked goodies.



 Through this trial I've come to many realizations, mostly about how great my family is.  When my siblings could have complained they complimented.  When they could have chosen to be offended they chose to ask what more they could do.  When it seemed solutions, and answers, and blessings were few in number, their faith and strength proved resolute.  To Jen, Bub, Chris, and Taylor - you guys are great examples to your older brother.


 



2012 brought the loss of 2 friends.  Andrea Lemmon, the wife of a MBA classmate, passed away unexpectedly leaving behind 3 cute girls and a husband I've always admired named Kyle.  I first met Kyle as a college freshman in 1998.  In December the brain cancer of a close friend, "Beav" Gary Sorensen, spread rapidly taking him from his wife Kayla and 2 young daughters.  Beav, like Kyle, is everyone's friend and always has something nice to say.  He became my mountain bike and fishing partner.  We drag raced our trucks, ate hot wings, went shooting, watched football, made visits together to people in our ward, and tended to our little ones together in the church halls hoping to avoid Sunday School.  Beav taught me a lot about loving everyone.  I hope my efforts to take care of his family are doing justice to the love I have for him.





2012 brought Candace and I our angel-baby-squishy-lovebug: CharlieSnuggles.  She is an even easier baby than Reed was!  People are amazed at her calm demeanor and plump, smiley cuteness.  At 8.5 months she has 2 bottom chompers, blue, blue eyes shaped like Candace's, a sandy blonde fuzzy head and cheeks that demand to be kissed.  I think she is as chubby as Reed was but on a smaller, feminine frame appropriate for our little girl.  She loves to be tickled, tossed, and twirled.  Candace enjoyed decorating a room for a girl and all the fun girl things that come along with having a daughter.

A younger Reed and a Charbug photo for comparison:







RooBear is my best lil friend.  If I can take him with me, he comes.  He's at a fun age of asking what everything is and making sentences of his own that sometimes include his feelings.  One day I was teaching him about the word "happy".  Later in the day for no reason Reed came to me and said "cheese crisp make Reed happy''.  We've been sick lately.  Reed said to Cbug in a sad voice: "Reed hab cough, Reed hab runny nose, Reed hab sick!".  He's such a good kid and plays well with others.  He especially loves to go to Papa's house and play with cousins "Nolie" and Kyle.  Reed loves to run and is fast.  Like Dad, he loves anything with wheels, playing with tools, and being outside.  He enjoys making Charlotte smile and giving her kisses and bear hugs.  Reed is a big snuggler.  Oh, and I have to mention he's constantly talking about temples.

Everything else is going pretty well.  I'm still mountain biking.  Cbug is buggin along.

 

While we take a lot of pictures, very few have the 4 of us in them.  Thanks to Candace's friend Gritt we have a nice one to end this post with.