Crazy Dave

Last night my uncle Dave Simonson and aunt Audrey stopped by our house for a visit.  They were in town to visit some of their kids and grandchildren in the area and at BYU.  They told us that it had been almost 7 years since Dave was last able to travel due to health reasons.  We were very touched that they would spend one of their precious travel nights watching us decorate Easter eggs.  Dave spent some quality time teaching my son Michael about the settings on his electrical guitar and amp.  Then we spent the rest of the night recounting a few of the fun memories I have of "Crazy Dave"...

When Jeff and I were young we went to spend a couple of days with Grandma Simonson.  After doing a few of the standard activities (playing office, candy trip to U-tote-m, lunch at the hospital cafeteria) Grandma called Dave and had him come over to create other sources of entertainment.  He invented carnival style game where we had to try to knock over old shaving cans with tennis balls, or throw bean bags into a hole.  It was amazing to me how his imagination could create hours of fun using garbage.

When Dave was a school music teacher we used to go see his school perform at the Arizona State Fair (I love their Indian Fry Bread with beans).  One year I was impressed to see him accompany the choir with a top of the line Yamaha DX-7 synthesizer (keyboard).  He told me that each year when he would submit a music budget to the school district it would get returned with many of the items cut out.  He decided one year that he would include an expensive synthesizer on the list in hopes that it would get sacrificed and all the other small items (bongos, triangles etc) would be approved.  To his surprise the synthesizer was approved and they had to make due with a few less triangles and bongos until the next budget year.

When Laura and I were married 18 years ago we had a second reception in Arizona where Dave was kind enough to volunteer to take pictures of the reception (is there anything he doesn't do).  Since he had another appointment on that side of town, he and Audrey decided to get a hotel room nearby.  When I jokingly tried to pin him down about where he was staying so we could come use the hot tub he straight up told me it was the Day's Inn by Fiesta Mall.  Of course, I didn't believe him because I didn't think he would want to be bothered.  Well, the next day he brought us some pens, paper and other items with the Days Inn logo to prove he was telling the truth.  In fact, each time our paths have crossed over the past 18 years he continues to hand me some sort of Days Inn memorabilia.

 I hope to be just like Crazy Dave when I grow up.  I am so blessed to have such wonderful people surrounding me. So as I try to develop my "Crazy Crack-up Kid"... Giddy Up, StevieG

Love Knots

Laura is a culinary genius.  I was painfully reminded at how fortunate we are when she went to Cosmetology school for 18 months and we were sometimes left to fend for ourselves.  It wasn't pretty.  Laura would often prepare most of a meal and then turn it over to us to complete a few 'simple' steps.  Somehow in those final few steps we would make a fatal mistake that would make us more fully appreciate Laura's exceptional talent.

I imagine it must be hard to cook for 7 different people while trying to satisfy their unique tastes.  Laura does a great job of planning a menu that gives everyone something to look forward to.  She also keeps things fresh by continuing to discover new recipes for us to enjoy.  In fact, over the years my list of 'favorite' meals has continued to grow.   One of my all-time favorite things that she makes are homemade pretzels.

 first time I remember her making pretzels was when we lived in Aurora, Colorado.  It was the last week of December and we were still on a Christmas high.  There was a clean blanket of fresh snow covering the yard, I was watching the Denver Broncos win a playoff game and Laura was honing her talent with a new recipe.  This recipe took longer than most as it required time for the dough to rise as well as 2 different baking steps.  The results were unforgettable.  This new recipe was an instant favorite.  Since it yields just a dozen pretzels and requires hours of hard work it is truly a labor of love.   Laura has started a tradition of making this family favorite during general conference.  These love knots don't even have a chance to cool before they are gobbled up by the entire family.

Pretzels
4 - 4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 package active dry yeast (2-1/4 tsp)
1-1/2 cups milk
1/4 cup sugar
2 Tablespoons cooking oil
1 teaspoon salt
2 Tablespoons salt
3 quarts boiling water
1 slightly beaten egg white
1 Tablespoon water
coarse salt

    In a mixing bowl stir together 1-1/2 cups of the flour and  the yeast.  In a saucepan heat and stir milk, sugar, oil, and the 1 teaspoon salt till warm (120 - 130 degrees).  Add to flour mixture.  Beat with an electric mixer on low speed for 30 seconds, scraping bowl constantly.  Beat on high speed for 3 minutes.  Using a spoon, stir in as much of the remaining flour as you can.
    Turn out onto a lightly floured surface.  Knead in enough of the remaining flour to make a moderately stiff dough that is smooth and elastic (6 to 8 minutes total).  Shape dough into a ball.  Place dough in a greased bowl; turn once to grease surface.  Cover and let rise in a warm place till double (about 1-1/4 hours).
    Punch dough down.  Turn out onto a lightly floured surface.  Cover, let rest 10 minutes.  Roll dough into a 12x10-inch rectangle.  Cut into twenty 12x1/2-inch strips.  Gently pull each strip into a rope about 16 inches long.
    Shape each pretzel by crossing one end over the other to form a circle, overlapping about 4 inches from each end.  Take one end of dough in each hand and twist once at the pint where the dough overlaps.  Carefully lift each end across to the edge of the circle opposite it.  Tuck ends under edges to make a pretzel shape.  Moisten ends; press to seal.
    Place pretzels on greased baking sheets.  Bake in a 475 deg oven for 4 minutes.  Remove from oven.  Lower oven temperature to 350 degrees.
    Dissolve the 2 tablespoons salt in the boiling water.  Lower pretzels, three or four at a time, into boiling water.  Boil for 2 minutes, turning once.  Remove with a slotted spoon; drain on paper towels.  Let stand a few seconds, then place about 1/2 inch apart on well-greased baking sheets.
    Combine egg white and the 1 tablespoon water.  Brush pretzels with a little of the egg white and water mixture.  Sprinkle pretzels lightly with coarse salt.  Bake in a 350 degree oven for 20 to 25 minutes or till golden brown.  Remove from baking sheets.  Cool on wire racks  Makes 20 pretzels.

You Can Do Hard Things!

The greatest hoodwink of all time has to be almost 18 years ago when I somehow convinced Laura to marry me.  Fortunately for me two of her greatest characteristics are commitment and loyalty which have motivated her to try to make the best of that momentary lapse of judgement.  I am a much better person because of her example in my life.  When we started raising children almost 17 years ago I was overwhelmed.  I was sure that I had missed a required parenting class somewhere along the way.  (Kind of like the dream where you show up for a final exam in school and realize that you had forgotten to attend that class the whole semester.  I still have that dream to this day).  Laura, on the other hand, was completely unfazed by the transition.  It was so natural for her.  Maybe it is because she had already completed a year of raising the first child in our home...me. With Laura in my life I feel like I can survive the diverse hardships that life brings.  

I can remember on several occasions while visiting Grandma and Grandma Heika (Laura's parents) my young children would get discouraged trying to do something and bemoan, "It's too hard!"  I was touched as I observed the mother of my dear wife patiently approach the child and declare, "You can do hard things!  You have smart parts!".  Sure enough, with this new found confidence, my child would accomplish the task at hand. This quote has become a family favorite.  If anyone in the family is caught saying something like "it's hard", you can be sure that at least one other person (especially Lindsay) will quickly chime in with, "You can do hard things, because you have smart parts". 

It is amazing what we can accomplish when someone shows faith in us.  I am reminded of the quote "Treat a man as he is and he will remain as he is. Treat a man as he can and should be, and he will become as he can and should be." (Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe). I believe that is a true principle.  In our Marriage and Family class at church our instructor told us the story of a woman he knew in a previous ward that was an amazing cook.  Everyone wanted to attend parties at her house to sample some of her creations.  He asked the husband where she learned her culinary art.  He confessed that when they were first married she was a terrible cook.  In fact, the only thing she made that was edible was spaghetti.  So whenever they were around other people he made it a point to mention how well his wife cooked spaghetti.  These compliments gave her confidence and motivated her to continue to improve her cooking skill.  She learned to excel in something that was hard for her because her husband treated her like she already was a great chef. 

I need to do a better job of pointing at the positive in others and reminding them of how special they are.  There is good and bad in everyone (quote from Paul McCartney and Michael Jackson) and I just need to look past the bad and focus on the good.  Giddy Up, StevieG

D-Man Madness

I really enjoy watching the NCAA basketball tournament known as March Madness.  I must admit that I really don't follow the college basketball season until March rolls around and the tournament begins. My brother Eric or Brian will usually setup a group online where all the extended family is invited to create a "bracket" with their choice of winners and losers.  The winner gets lunch brought to them on the beach during our annual reunion in San Diego.  However, the bigger prize is to have bragging rights for the rest of the year.  This is especially sweet when one of the kids or wives humbles their proud, sports-following husbands.

This year I made sure that Laura and all our kids created a bracket.  Since they don't know the schools I explained to them how the seeding works (lower numbers usually mean better teams) but also explained that the tournament is famous for upsets.  When Daniel (10) created his bracket he later told me that he got confused for a few minutes part way through and thought that the bigger number seed were the better teams.  This created a very interesting bracket to say the least.  In just one of the four regions he had unknowingly chosen some very low seeded teams (12, 13, 14, 15) to win a few games.  Since he got back on track and picked the better teams to prevail in the end I didn't even notice his hiccup until after the tournament started.  In fact, it was his uncle Eric and cousins who noticed after the first day when Daniel had correctly picked some incredible upsets.  Not only was he leading our family group, he was one of the top people in the millions of brackets on ESPN.  We had a good laugh that first day and figured that it would be all downhill from there.

Well, the upsets continued over the weekend and Daniel is now up to 25th place in the entire ESPN tournament challenge.  Somehow one of the teachers at school found out and had paraded Daniel around from class to class explaining what an amazing feat he had accomplished.  Daniel is obviously very excited but is also handling it very well.  I have now given up on my bracket (2nd to last in the family pool) and am pulling for Daniel the rest of the way.  He is going to need a miracle from BYU this week to win just one more game.  He has become very interested on the details of the winning prize.  I think he is envisioning the entire San Diego family reunion (50+ people) to all go buy him lunch and bring it back to him as he lounges alone on the beach.  He'll enjoy his breakfast burrito and rolled tacos while his Dad and uncles eat a healthy portion of humble pie.

Giddy Up, DMan!

Toast to Language

My memory is definitely not what it used to be.  Sometimes I fear that I might be experiencing early symptoms of  dementia.  However, there are some memories that I can remember vividly.  One such memory dates back to when I was six or seven years old.  At least I hope it was before the age of accountability (8).

It was Sunday morning and I was waiting for the toaster to become available so I could heat up my breakfast. I set my bread next to the toaster to reserve my place in line (kind of like we used to do at the arcade with quarters and video games).  When I returned from powdering my nose I found my oldest brother Eric putting his bread into the toaster, which was clearly a breech of kitchen appliance etiquette.  Like only a spoiled little brother could do, I completely lost control.  With steam coming out of my ears I attacked with the first words that came to mind.  Unfortunately, they were words that I had overheard on the playground at school and I didn't fully comprehend their strength.  They landed with a direct hit causing my target to spin around with an expression of shock and disbelief.  Immediately it was clear to me that my response was not commensurate to the crime committed.  Now I was in harm's way, so instinctively I began my retreat.  Eric was in full pursuit and the battlefield, that was our home, never felt so tiny.  I ducked behind an open door of a bedroom and tried to slow my breathing.  Unfortunately, my heaving chest betrayed me as it caused the door to move ever so slightly.  In an instant, Eric had me on the ground and he sat on my chest.  With a finger in my face he commanded, "Don't you ever say those words again!"  In a mode of self preservation I readily agreed to the terms of the treaty.

I don't remember exactly which words I spoke that sabbath morning, but I do remember being scared by their powerful impact.  Thanks to the tough love by an older brother that day and the positive influence of friends and family over the years I can report that I have been true to the commitment I made.  Therefore, in celebration of over 30 "clean" years,  I'd like to raise a toast to the brother that scared the !#*$ out of me.   Giddy up, StevieG.

On My Honor

The BYU basketball team may be having their best season ever.  They reached a ranking of 3rd in the country and were projected to be one of the four #1 ranked teams in the NCAA tournament (March Madness).  The state of UT has been buzzing while the BYU point guard Jimmer Fredette has been receiving national recognition as perhaps the best player in the country.  Then this past week one of the top players was kicked off the team because of an undisclosed honor code violation, virtually limiting the success this team will have in the national tournament.  Now the entire country is buzzing and the focus is on the BYU honor code.

Any disappointment I have as a fan is far outweighed by the pride I feel as a BYU alum and a member of the LDS church. We stuck to our values and in turn gave credibility to the honor code and the life we pledge to lead as members of the church.  Karl Maeser who served 16 years as the principal of BYU academy (precursor to BYU) said this about honor: "Place me behind prison walls - walls of stone ever so high, ever so thick, reaching ever so far into the ground - there is a possibility that in some way or another I might be able to escape;  but stand me on the floor and draw a chalk line around me and have me give my word of honor never to cross it.  Can I get out of that circle?  No, never! I'd die first".

I imagine during times like this that the lifestyle of members of the LDS church and their honor code must seem quite bizarre to the rest of the world.  It reminds me of the words of Peter in the Bible to the early Christians that they were a "chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people..." (1 Pet. 2:9.)   Or Paul's first epistle to the Corinthians where he taught, "...the natural man receiveth not the things of the spirit of God" (1 Corinth 2:14).   Though our actions may seem eccentric, it sounds like good company with which to find ourselves.

As the country gets ready to begin the final tournament to crown their champion I feel like BYU has already won.  They have accomplished something much greater that a sporting championship.  They have stood by their word of honor and in turn they have stood out to the rest of the world.  May I have the fortitude to do the same when faced with my own decisions each day.  Go Cougars, and giddy up StevieG!

Lasting Legacy

I was blessed with wonderful parents.  I don't think I am overstating it when I say they are one of the greatest parenting teams of all time.  I believe the litmus test of a great parent is when their children are more concerned about disappointing their parents than any consequence or punishment their parents might levy.  I know this was true in my case.  If I made a mistake I was worried about what my parents would think not what they might do. In fact, besides being sent to my room to cool down, I can't remember being punished.  However, I do remember clearly feeling awful as I saw my mom crying while she made dinner and knowing that I had been part of the reason why.  Ouch!

They taught me right from wrong and then showed me unconditional love as they watched me try to apply these principles in my own life.  Perhaps the most important trait of any leader is to 'lead by example', and they were the model of "do what I say and do".  I was fortunate to have many positive influences during my impressionable years, but certainly none as profound as my parents.

My father has a very positive attitude and an infectious sense of humor that make people want to be around him. When people casually greet my dad with a "Hi, how are you", he quickly responds with an enthusiastic "Excellent!" that stops them in their tracks.  They can't help but smile as they continue on their way.  I remember during scout outings being around the campfire with my friends while my dad would tell funny stories.  Later, as we laid in our sleeping bags, my friends would all tell me how lucky I was to have such a cool dad.  How right they are!  My dad is also the smartest person I have ever known.  He seems to remember everything he has ever studied and can fix anything that is broken.  Unfortunately, I did not inherit that quality from him.

My mother is the standard of patience, spirituality and self-motivation.  I believe her mansion in heaven was secured when she survived raising us four rambunctious boys.  She showed the patience of Job and the wisdom of Solomon as she faced the daily challenges that we (mostly my 3 brothers) created.  There was never any doubt of her testimony of the gospel of Jesus Christ.  I leaned on it more than my fair share during my teenage years.  She also has a way of getting people to accomplish more than they think possible.  I can remember when she served as the primary chorister she would challenge all the children to memorize all the verses to a specific hymn (Let Us All Press On, There is a Green Hill Far Away) in order to earn a pack of gum.  Each time we sing those songs in church I smile as I think of the great legacy she has left me.

My parents sacrifice so much to be involved in the lives of their grandkids which, fortunately for me, allows my kids to be influenced directly from their great examples.  They are leaving a great legacy to many generations.  As I have mentioned previously I know that "where much is given much is required", so it follows that since I was given the best parents I will be held to the highest standard.  Yikes!  As I am getting older I realize that I have a long way to go and a short time to get there, so... Giddy up, StevieG