Evelyn is Sarah

OK, it has been forever since I have posted on this blog so I doubt there is anyone who still checks it. However, I have promised Brooke and Todd that I would start a new so here we go.

As most people who know me know we recently had our 4th baby. She was born Thursday morning (April 24th) at 3:13 am (technically 3:14 but oh well). She was 6 lbs 14 ounces and 19 inches long. She has thrived on the outside world much more than any of our other children. Originally, she was Evelyn Leigh Bauman but by the time we left the hospital Friday afternoon she was Sarah Lynn Bauman. Anyway here is a picture of her as she is getting ready leave.


So far Lizzy has done OK with her. There have been a few breakdowns but for the most part she likes her. Our real trouble comes from keeping her calm and not getting too rough with the baby. Here is a picture of her kissing Sarah.


The other exciting news that happened the last few days is Amelia broke her arm. While Julie and I were at the hospital waiting out labor Amelia was playing at home on her scooter and fell. She was so brave and by the time she was at the hospital she was in really good spirits. She joked around and was fascinated with the whole process. I don't have a great picture of her with the break but here is the best I have.


Just so that I can get a picture with everyone here is a picture of Jacob inside of a cave that we went exploring yesterday. It was pretty cool.


Oh and here is my other baby, Cliff.

Striving for Excellence

Greetings and welcome to this edition of the IsItRandom blog. Some of you may be aware that Stephen has an interesting blog about the musical arts. I personally appreciate his ability to present such abundant amounts of information on the subject. In addition, my very good friend Todd has an exceedingly informative blog on the subject of baseball. If you are ever privileged enough to peruse through his writings you will no doubt find a new appreciation for the sport of baseball.

Recently, I found a site that rates the reading level of websites. I was delighted to see that both of the above mentioned blogs had very high ratings. Unfortunately, I also saw that the writing staff of the IsItRandom blog have let the writing level stoop to an abysmal level and received the lowest ranking possible. But fear not my fellow readers! I have tasked the staff of this blog with a plan to turn the tides of this most regrettable occurrence. From this point forward the authors of all future blogs will be cognizant of our goal to providing posts that require more than an elementary education to understand. I apologize to any of the fine patrons of the IsItRandom blog whose experience here has been anything less than educational and uplifting and thought provoking.

Sincerely,
JB
Writer, Editor, Senior Implementation Orchestrator, Dynamic Communications Coordinator, Sanitation Engineer, Future Usability Specialist, and CEO of the IsItRandom Blog

Disclaimer: The staff at IsItRandom realize that for all intents and purposes the reading level of this blog is in no way related to its popularity. We understand that no one really cares about what is said as long as there is a picture of my children. Unfortunately, this was written during my lunch break so the pictures will need to be uploaded tonight.

Update: Here is a picture of the kids.

Halloween 2007

So, what can I say. Kids. Costumes. Candy. Cookies. Soup. Candy. Monster Squad. Candy. Sooooooo tired!!!!!

Did I mention candy? Or that I am sooo tired ......must ..........sleep ............. -_-

Another Attempt at Randomness

It seems that most of my readers are not much baseball fans, sorry Todd. But that is OK, there many other random topics out there. When I started this blog (over a year ago) I seemed to have so much to say that I never expected to have a lack of topics. Unfortunately, life has a way draining my soul so translating my many thoughts into text on the computer has not always been easy. But I am going to try to be better.

Ahhhh they love each other.

So there is this new hotel in town that seems to be getting really popular. If any one is planning to come out here you should really check it out. It isn't really big or fancy but they are cool because they serve BBQ once or twice a week. Usually they serve on Tuesdays but occasionally they also serve something on Saturday or Sunday. The Tuesday BBQ is usually more of a grill with standard items such as hamburgers and hot dogs. Although every once in a while they serve something a little extra. Last Tuesday they made hamburgers but they mixed the spices in the meat with eggs and a little butter. Then for a little zing they mixed in some A1 sauce. They also used wet hickory chips with the charcoal to give it a little smoke flavor. Oh, and they grilled some red peppers to put on the burgers. Man, they were good!!!!! On the weekends they serve BBQ with more adventurous items like ribs or chicken wings but this section is already too long so I'll have to tell you about it later. The operators told me last time I talked to him that he expects to be serving chicken wings in about a week so maybe I'll let you know then.
Well, there isn't much exciting going on here. Amy and Phelan are here and we are enjoying their company. Also, the rug rats keep us going. That Lizzy sure is cute. I think she likes me more then the others did. The other day when I put on my backpack to leave she started crying and crawled right over to me. Also, when I come home she always seems so happy to see me. :) Amelia is doing great in school. It is amazing to me to think that just last year she was barely reading and now she is getting little chapter books from the library and just busting through them. Jacob on the other had is just entering the reading arena but so far he is doing really well. Oh, and Amelia is so good in her class. They get 12 tickets each week and the teacher takes them away when they get in trouble during the week. Then on Fridays the kids that have a certain amount of tickets left get to eat a healthy snack an play games (like UNO or the likes). I don't think there has been one week that Amelia has had less then 11 tickets. She really is such a good girl.

"Can I have one of those, Mommy!?"

OK. That should be good for now. We are hoping to go to a pumpkin patch this weekend. I hope to take pictures of the kids in the patch for their winter pictures. I hope I can get a few to come out really good so I can post some cute family pictures next week. I really like it if they turn as good as Stephen's last few that he posted.

PS. Yes I added shameless pictures of my cute kids in order to boost my ratings and reader comments. What can I say, I'm weak.

My Softball Game

****If you haven't read my post "Falling into Baseball" you might want to skip down to read it first as this post is related.

Last Thursday I played in double header softball games. Todd's ward has a team and they were going to be a couple of guys short so he asked if I was interested. Since they were 0-6 and had lost the last three by mercy rule, I figured I could give it a try. The last time I play anything that even resembled softball was probably my freshman or sophomore year of high school in PE. You should know that back then I wasn't the athlete that I am today :) I even needed special extra credit just to get a decent grade in the class. So all I was hoping for was to connect with the ball with either my bat or glove. (I would have taken either.)
Anyway, Todd wasn't totally truthful because when I showed up they did have enough guys. I ended up switching with another guy every 2 innings. I played as the catcher. For the most part I did OK but I could hear the other team laugh a little as balls got by me. I was a bit timid back there, but in my defense I was nervous and those bats seemed to get really close to my head. But in the end I just focused on the fact that I was wearing my John Buck t-shirt and tried to gather courage from that :)



In fact, I was glad I was wearing my John Buck t-shirt because I had one really intense inning. The first play was a hit to left field, thrown to the short stop and then GUNNED to home plate to get the runner out. (a 7 - 6 - 2 play) Well, there I was, a big ugly runner coming at me like a freight train and the ball flying at my head at 200 mph!!! Well, I was nervous and so I put up my glove but also my bare hand and in the end my body's reflex was to try and catch the ball with my bare hand. (With my eyes mostly closed) Needless to say, I didn't make the play :(
Well....not two or three hitters later there was another 7 - 6 - 2 play only this time the ball was probably only coming in at 195 mph and the runner was more like a semi truck. (Although equally ugly.) This time I remembered to use my glove and thankfully it fused with the fibers in the glove because I was able to swing my arm around and make the play to end the inning. Whew! (I let the other guy play an extra inning after that.)
As far as hitting, I was able to hit the ball each time I was up (only three times) I got out twice but made it to base on one hit. The hit was to shortstop but he bobbled it a bit so I was able to get a few steps on him. I think that irritated him a bit (ugly people are that way) and so he decided to throw it at my head! (At least that was my impression because it was kind of out of my field of sight.) Since I didn't have a helmet that made me nervous but I didn't want to cower too much so I just kept running. Well, as it turned out, it wasn't coming at my head but rather my foot. It hit it square on the inside side but I got on base! I was even able to get to second but not after embarrassing myself but leading off a bit. (Apparently, that isn't allowed in softball.)
So bottom line.... we lost both games but only by 3 points. Oh, and I had a bruise on my foot!!! It is gone today but still tender. Sports wounds are awesome.

Falling into Baseball

So when we moved out here we quickly made new friends, Brooke and Todd. It really was a great blessing to make friends so quickly. One of the first things that we learned about them was that Todd was really into baseball. [As a side story, it was really funny to us that we met Todd here because when Julie and I came out here to find a place to live we stayed at a hotel with a whole bunch of little leaguers for some big tournament. We were a bit in awe of the amount of time these families seemed to be putting into baseball. Well, as it turned out we were just seeing a glimpse of a part of Todd's family.] Anyway, one of the reasons that Brooke and Todd became one of our best friends was because we would spend Saturdays together watching BYU football. But when it came to baseball season things were a bit different. I like rooting for the D-Backs but that is only because I root for all professional Arizona teams (yes, even the Cardinals). But in general, I thought baseball was boring. Todd says, "That is what people who don't understand the game say." Since I really thought it was boring I figured I didn't understand the game but I was willing to learn, if for no other reason then to be able to talk to Todd about something that he liked. Well, I can certainly say that I have learned a lot. Part of that is due to him answering my constant questions. Another is his blog where he writes about different aspects of the game. (You should check it out. He is a really good writer and some of the graphics he made himself.) We were also able to go to a few Royals games throughout the season and I even got to meet his friend John Buck. Well, the season is over tonight for the Royals and after one season I would have to say that I am a Royals fan. (Hey, if I can root for the losing Cardinals then I can root for the losing Royals.) Anyway, Jacob and I got to go to one of their last games on Friday night. During one of the inning breaks they did a dance thing where they put up video of people dancing. Jacob didn't get on the big screen but Todd was able to catch a bit of him on his phone. The video isn't great but Todd did a bit of spicing up to put fun music and effects with it. (In case you can't tell he is doing the Egyptian.) Hope you like it. The people sitting all around us sure found him really cute.



As a side note, it is starting to be fall here and man it is wonderful. I think this is my favorite season here. The air is just so beautiful and when the colors start changing it is just wonderful.

Time Keeps On Slippin Away

I can not believe it has been since March since I have posted. You would think that I would have plenty to post about but apparently it wasn't enough to get me to actually post. I think it was that I had fallen into a pattern of posting with a picture that tied into the subject. But that isn't going to happen any more. Now I will just post. And if I feel like it there might be a picture. And I might just talk about me. So there.

Holy Tornado!!!!

I just watched an interview of Will Ferrell on Sportscenter and that was his catch phrase for the interview. It seemed appropriate because I haven't posted in forever!!! So happy day I am still alive and you have a new photo to enjoy. The bad news. I don't feel like typing and Julie has made this into a chore for me so you'll have to wait until tomorrow (or next year) for more random rambling.

Anyway, the photo below is of Lizzy in her blessing gown. I must say that I think it turned out rather well. I wish I could get this lucky with all my photos.

Amelia's Birthday

So today was Amelia's birthday. It has been such a crazy week and so I feel bad that this didn't go up earlier. Amelia has requested Mimi's Cafe for the last two years so that is what we did. We got to listen the Hanna Montana in the car too! But gosh darnit we just didn't have enough trip to listen to Cheetah Girls 2 as well. Oh well, maybe JULIE can listen to that one with Amelia later. Anyway, Amelia is 7 and cute and fun. In true Amelia fashion she has made a birthday hat, birthday glasses, birthday pictures, and most importantly birthday scraps of paper all over the house. I think that might be the confetti. But anyway, Happy Birthday Amelia.

Happy Birthday Jacob

Tomorrow is the bugs birthday. The Jake-Bug that is. What a wonderful time to be five. Well I am so grateful that he is in our family. Anyway here are two photos with Jacob. Of course, one has to include Lizzie since some of you are craving more pictures of the little one. So if you happen to be thinking of Superman, Batman, or any other superhero, or if you find yourself playing Star Fox, Sonic the Hedgehog, or Zelda, or if you simply have the urge to carry some small toy or stuffed animal around in your pocket all day, take a minute to think of Jacob and how funny he is.

Another Elizabeth Picture

I am sorry about the poor quality. I just could seem to get a clear picture. :(

Elizabeth Ann Bauman

So it is late and I am significantly tired but I wanted to put these pictures out there. Sorry that I do not posses Jacob's natural ability for clear, artistic pictures.

Elizabeth was born 2:52 Friday morning on December 29, 2006. She was 5 lbs 4 oz, 17 inches.

Jacob Originals

So my kids have been particularly funny lately. To start Amelia has lost 4 teeth in the last month and so in turn has gained 4 whole dollars from the tooth fairy. Well it seems that all that money has gone to her head. Last Sunday (the morning her final dollar appeared) Julie and I were debating on whether we really wanted to get out of bed when we heard an upset Jacob approaching followed closely by Amelia. It was clear Amelia had done something to Jacob that he didn't appreciate and he was going to tell us about it. Not wanting to be as sharing with their going ons Amelia was trying to persuade him to not tell us. Just as he got to our door we heard Amelia plead her final offer, "I'll give you a dollar if you don't tell!" Well if that wasn't funny enough later that night I overheard Amelia ask for the toothpaste during teeth brushing. "I'll give you 100 dollars if you give me the toothpaste." I wish I could get the interest that turns 4 dollars into 100 in such a short time. In other Amelia news, here is a picture of Amelia with her new bangs.


Jacob has also had his funny moments as well. You'll have to ask about the undie dance. But on top of his significant comfort with his own body we discovered last night that Jacob has an artist side that we didn't know about. I was working on a photo project last night so I plugged the camera into the computer to transfer some recent shots. To my surprise I found many random photos that I didn't remember taking. "Julie, have you been taking random pictures?" Nope, not her. Jacob. Well, we explained the importance of not using the camera without permission or when we were aware of it, but as it turned out some of the pictures aren't too bad. So here are a few.









And a special request from Andrea. Here is a picture of Julie. The due date is 1 month from today but we are hoping for an earlier arrival in 3 WEEKS!!!!

Blog Redemption

There is only one way to redeem myself from having neglected posts for so long....post pictures of my cute kids. This first picture was inspired by my wonderful sister. She kept asking if the leaves have started falling yet. Well Phelan, they are falling. This picture was in the beginning of it all. A guy from work let me borrow his leaf blower to collect and mulch my leaves. This was more at his request then mine because as it turns out it is way easier to rake and hand bag leaves then it is to blow them around and then mulch them. The only disadvantage of that is it takes more bags. So far I have filled 23 large black bags with leaves and I haven't even done the back yard. But I think the leaf season is over for the most part now. Phelan when you come here (which we are very excited about) I have more leaf pictures for you.


This second picture is of the kids' new PJs. I wasn't going to post it but it is just too cute. We got these about a week ago and the kids are loving them. Other recent happenings of the kids include a end of soccer season party, Jacob tried to shave but has decided to wait, and Amelia has lost 3 teeth. That of course is the last picture. She is very excited about it too because the tooth fairy has come 3 times leaving 3 whole dollars. I sure wish there was a hair fairy. I'd be rich. :)


Well, I do apologize for not posting for so long. Really though there hasn't been much exciting going on. But at the same time I have been very busy. I will try and be better moving forward. Things to look forward to include Cindy and Dave's visit, Thanksgiving, and more blogging fun. Actually, I want to plug Stephen's blog again. He is amazing with his blog. He is constantly putting up new songs and updating. You should really check it out (and leave a comment) But after Thanksgiving he will be posting Christmas songs. Not only is this a fun idea but I will be trying to contribute a little. I have been working on compiling some of my favorite Christmas songs and albums with comments to send to him for his blog. So check it out.

This year's Halloween

My last posts have shown you pictures from last year's Halloween, but I finally have pictures from this year. As you can see Amelia is little mermaid and Jacob is Superman. The pictures are from the ward Halloween party. It was pretty fun. I typically have some reservations about being social but every once in a while I make an effort. In this case the results were pretty good. We have made some good friends here. It is funny though because our best friends have actually just moved here from Utah as well. Also, I have found one sure fire way to making friends in the ward. Stay and help clean up. This observation actually started last week. So last week I went to clean the church. I wasn't originally scheduled to do so but I had missed my turn the week before so I volunteered to make up for it. But in addition to that I had cleaned the church two weeks prior because the quorum leader had called and asked if I could help because they were short. Anyway, when I showed up last week the guy that lets people in and is kind of the church maintenance man recognized me and was surprised to see me. He seemed really grateful I was there and a big deal that I had come twice in such a short period. For me however it didn't seem like a big deal. Cleaning is easy. If I could clean myself into celestial glory then I would be set. OK, back to last night. Our good friends are on the activities committee so I thought it would be nice to stay and help clean. (Which come to find out the Elders were in charge of but nobody ever mentioned it last Sunday) Well, the point of all this is that I think the cleaning up was just as fun as the party because I got to talk and joke with the others that were cleaning. So my observation is that helping is by far a better way to make friends then partying.

Today was also a fun day. Our good friends came over to watch the BYU vs. Air Force game. We BBQed hamburgers and watched and visited. BYU kind of dominated so it got to be kind of boring because we were going to win and there wasn't much drama. I like my football when my team wins with drama. Afterwards we carved pumpkins. I did the old woman/witch from Snow White and Julie did the cute little face. I have another pumpkin but it actually takes a long time to carve these so maybe I will do it tomorrow.

New Jersey, Permits, and Pie

Well, thank you all for asking about New Jersey, but as it turned out I didn't go. I think it was for the best that I didn't because it would have been a wasted trip. A lot happened and it would have been bad to have missed it. Also, I think the company that we were trying to get the bid from had already decided to not go with us.

In other random news I got my motorcycle permit last week. I know that doesn't mean too much (and to some of my family it is more of a bad thing) but it feels like I am getting one step closer to my Vespa. In case you haven't heard I am hoping to get a Vespa soon. I think the soonest it would happen is next spring but I am so excited. If you want to check it out it is the Vespa GTS. I have test rode it and it is so nice. Two guys at work have gotten scooters in the past two months and they keep asking when I am getting mine. One of the guys has offered to let me use his to get my license but for now I am happy with the permit.

So I am watching Michael as I am writing this and the part about pie just came on. I love that part. I love pie. I think it would be so fun to go to a great small town diner and just order two pieces of every pie (except the ones with nuts). Personally I am a fruit pie guy myself but Julie is definitely a cream pie person. Sometimes I wonder how we every manage to get along :) Well, that is all for now. I mostly just wanted to give an update about NJ since people had asked about it. Well, that and since Whitney has thrown down the gauntlet about posting so little (at least I hope that is what she meant) I feel the need to post more often, even if they are boring posts.

And the winner is.......

So my group won the $25 gift card at work. I found out that two of the programmers that are from BYU were speculating who would win one day and both agreed that I would. I think they were bummed they weren't on my team. We had our choice of several places and I chose Best Buy. The worst part of winning $25 dollars is trying to figure out how I am going to spend it. I just want too much. So knowing this about myself I gave Julie the chance to pick where I got the gift card but she didn't catch the hint. So after much debate I bought Roller Coaster Tycoon 2 with an expansion pack for Julie and the new Barenaked Ladies (or BNL when I am around my mother) CD. In case you didn't know I am a big fan the Ladies. LOL :-) I have to give credit to Stephen and his blog however for letting me know that they had a new album. Everybody needs to visit his blog. One of his latest posts was inspired by me (at least I will claim it) because I asked him about a group called OK Go. He posted a video for one of their songs. It is funny. Stephen, of course, is a great guy. He is one the few things that I really miss about Utah. Ahhh, good times. But anyway, the new album is great. It feels more mellow then most of the past albums but I love it. (Yes I believe it is possible for me to not like a BNL album, just unlikely) To me it feels like their Christmas album "Barenaked for the Holidays". 'Course that may be just a result of being really excited to start listening to Christmas music. I know it is way too early but I just can't help myself. Anyway, I love BNL's Christmas album. It is very cool. It was one of the favorites last year among my office mates and other classmates that would stop by my office. Maybe I will do a post on Stephen's blog about it when the season is right.


Let's see......I have lost my momentum a little but I know there is something else I had in mind for tonight. Oh well, just enjoy the cute picture of Julie and Jacob from Amelia's soccer scrimmage tonight. Amelia's soccer ends this week. I think she has had a good time and she has definitely developed some stamina in the process. She really doesn't do much more then run around but at this age that is all soccer is anyway.

October Conflict

Ahhhhh, October. Fall leaves. College football. Cool mornings. And the impending doom of Halloween. That's right I am not one that gets excited about Halloween. There were those days when I did but I have tried to forget them, not unlike those days when I wore MC Hammer pants. But I want to make one thing perfectly clear. I am not one of those that doesn't like it because 'Halloween is a pagan holiday'. In fact, I am willing to endure Halloween just to make those people uneasy. But let's not dwell on that (I have nieces and a mom that reads this blog). This is a picture of the pumpkins that Dave and I made last year. Mine is the less cool one. I think this year I will try the one Dave did and new one. And therein lies my internal conflict. I hate Halloween but Julie has a talent for finding the one thing that peaks my interest. Also, watching my kids get excited over these things is enough to hide my dislike. What a softy.

Well, honestly there is nothing to report except randomness. That is why the blog hasn't been updated. It turns out that deciding on what randomness to write about is difficult. Work has been busy. Home is busy. But neither one has been exciting enough to report. Next week I might have to go to New Jersey for work. At first I was excited about this but now that some of the reality of what I have to do has set in I am not so sure. I guess we will see. So as I finish this post I suddenly have lots of ideas for what I should have posted about. I should really keep a list as things hit me. Sorry, you'll have to just enjoy the picture for now.

New Van and Free Stuff

So most of the family already knows this but last weekend we got a new minivan. Julie is very excited. So are the kids. We feel like we got a good deal and while this van doesn't have every convenience of the modern world it is very nice. The nicest thing about it is that we are no longer a one car family. Leaving my family stranded while I was camping was too stressful so we went ahead and got this.

My random thought for the day is to comment on the influence of free stuff. We had a training at work the other day and afterwards they gave us 'homework'. I would have done it under normal circumstances but then they offered a $25 gift card to the team that finished first. Well, I was sold. To add to the motivation, I was responsible for the majority of the task which meant that free stuff for other people was on the line. Well, this morning I turned in the work for the team and we were first. Now I just hope it was right so we get those gift cards. Well, it made me think about all the crazy stuff I have done for free stuff. T-shirts in particular can make me do crazy things like run a 5k. But I have my limits. I won't wait in long lines for free stuff. You put large crowds in lines for a long time for free stuff and the nasties come out of the woodworks. I have enough issues with people without putting myself around them when they get rude and mean. But I'll save that for another post and keep this one happy.

Thank-you everyone for your comments. It has been so fun to read them. Keep posting!

Glasses and Scouts

This blog was created with the intent on giving me a place to put down some of my thoughts on the things that happen. However, for my 'first' post I want to just show off my cute daughter and her new glasses. My daughter and I both got glasses this last week. I have actually worn glasses for most of my life so I just got new ones. However, these are the first glasses for my daughter. She is so excited. I don't know what inspired her enthusiasm but it is cute. I was worried that the kids at school would damper her excitement by making fun of her but so far everyone is being pretty nice.


So my wife's family is really into scouting. Actually, it's not that they are crazy about it, it's just that they are almost all Eagle Scouts. A few years ago my wife's family had a family reunion/birthday party for her grandmother at which they had a court of honor. If you haven't ever been to a court of honor, at one point they have all the Eagle Scouts come up and form an 'Eagle's nest'. Well, let's just say that I was one of a few males left sitting in the crowd and those others were just not old enough to be Eagle's yet. But no worries, I made a choice to not be a scout when I was young and I don't regret it one bit. I know that scouting has it's good side but I also have other thoughts that my wife has told me I am not allowed to say in the presence of her family. Anyway, she has always said that I will have my chance to be a leader in scouts so that I can learn to appreciate it. Well, a couple of weeks ago she got her wish because I was called to be an assistant scout master of the 11 year old scouts. This last weekend we had a overnighter and to say the least it was interesting. It turns out that 11 year old boys can't do anything except play in a fire. Actually, they are very capable but whenever we asked them to do anything it was "But I don't know how." Some were eventually willing to try and were usually successful. However, some never would try and whined and cried at every thing. It was sad to see what city boys these boys were. So as a result I have decided that it is my quest to make sure my kids are not afraid of nature touching them.