Babysitting

This summer, I haven't had a whole lot to do. Because I have some spare time on my hands, I'm asked to babysit my little niece and nephew. And I love it! They are just so much fun and I love them so much. I can't imagine how much their parents love them. I'm pretty excited for that some day.

One day, I got to watch my little niece. 

She is so cute. This adorable look that she gives just pulls right at the heart strings.

We were playing out in the front yard and she just wanted to explore everywhere. She especially wanted to run down the hill into our neighbors back yard but that probably wasn't to great of an idea. I did have to return her to her parents in one piece. So I showed her the garden hose and she quickly forgot about the hill until she saw it again a few minutes later.

I got her to say "cheese" for the camera.

She is growing up so fast. I still remember the first time I got to hold her. She was so small. Now she is running around, climbing on things and speaking in all sorts of baby tongue. I wish I understood what she was saying. I'm sure it's pretty interesting.

Denver Zoo

This last week, I went on a trip with my parents, my brother and his wife and their adorable little girl to Denver to visit with family. It was a ton of fun. We had a good trip over there and everyone was happy. Just check out my little niece. So adorable.

For one of our days there, we decided to head to the Denver Zoo. It was really cool and a lot of fun for my little niece. We saw some cool animals that she just loved it. I did start getting quite warm outside and she eventually got tired. Here are some of the fun things we saw!

All ready to wander around the zoo.

With daddy looking at the cool animals. 

Pretty happy to be seeing fun things, especially the monkeys and penguins.

The zoo was a lot of fun. Even more fun with my family and the cutest niece in the entire world. 

Centennial Post

Fellow readers, this is my 100th post on my blog. It will have been almost exactly three years since I started my blog. When I first started my blog, I thought it a little silly and didn't know how long it would last. It has become a lot more than what I expected it to be.

It is a place for me to be funny, quirky or serious.

It is a useful tool to help document notable and not-so-notable times in my life. 

It helps me update friends and family, that may be far away at the moment, on things that are happening in my life. 

It is a creative outlet. 

It is a piece of my personality.

A lot of things have happened in my life over the last three years. My blog definitely does not cover everything that has happened. You don't need to know everything that has happened. If you did, I would have reached 100 posts about a month into starting this blog.

I love all of your support and comments. They really do make my day and help me feel that there is someone out there reading this.

I definitely do not have any specific theme running through my blog, unless you can call 'awesomeness' a theme. So, I want to try and sum up the important things in my life for this centennial post.

First, I have an amazing family. I don't post a lot about them because I'm a little bit selfish. I like to keep them all to myself because they are so amazing. They are the most influential reason of why I have become who I am today. And that's a good thing. I love who I am.

What's left of us at home. The other two got married.

Second, I have amazing friends. So many things that have happened on this blog have been in the good company of friends. They inspire me. They uplift me. They make me want to be the best that I can be. I love my friends and I hope they know and feel that I do. 

Third, the best medicine really is laughter. There is nothing that heals like a chuckle or a smile on the face. Suddenly, our worries are behind us and we're feeling better. I really do believe in living a happy, funny life. That doesn't dismiss the hard times or the serious things that happen, but it does make them just a little bit more bearable. It's just too hard for me to be serious all the time.

Fourth, I am really blessed by my Heavenly Father. He has given me more than I really deserve. I can go to Him anytime and anywhere. He is always there, ready to listen to me.

Fifth, I'm grateful for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and its teachings. I have based my life off of these teachings. There is a peace and spirit that is brought into my life because of this and I have quickly learned that it is something that I would not want to live without.

Lastly, I really am a devilishly handsome young man. I was a lady-killer from the very beginning.

I wish I looked this good now

Good Times

One time, my parents went to Mexico to pick my brother up from his mission for the church and left the rest of us kids at home. This was a good three or so years ago, I think in 2008. My sister and I decided to document for my parents what happens when they leave town. This is what we came up with.

We bust out the hard stuff. Dr. Pepper and Coca-Cola. There's nothing that quenches thirst, adds pounds to your waistline and slows you down better. But that's nothing compared to what's next...

Now, for the life of me, I cannot figure out why we had two gallons of milk in the fridge and they were both open. But, since there were, there was only one thing that we could do. Chug!

Uncle Zach

This Christmas season was more than just a season of giving and receiving, but rather of becoming. I became, for the first time, something that I have coveted for a long time. I became an uncle.

Many of my friends have been aunts and uncles for years now. Some have even been an aunt or an uncle since they were born or just infants. Not me. I have waited 25 years for this to happen and let me tell you, it is such an awesome experience. Here is little Violet, my niece.

She is just the most precious little girl. I couldn't stop smiling while I was holding her. I was just so happy.

Holding her in my arms was like holding a little piece of heaven. She is so pure and so beautiful. Absolutely flawless. That was quite the Christmas gift to become an uncle. Now it's just a couple months until I get a little nephew. I can't wait.