Waterton Trip: Monday

It was still overcast on Monday, but thank goodness the snow was starting to melt.  I live in Texas for many reasons, one of them being that I don't like snow.


We decided that it would be a perfect day to drive over to Raymond.  Barbara was born there and spent part of her childhood there, plus she has a bunch of family members who still live there.

On the way, we stopped in Cardston which is home to the LDS Alberta temple.  Here are some quick shots of my family in front of the temple.

We then drove on to Raymond and ate lunch at the one and only burger place in town called Burger Baron & Pizza.  It was small, but packed.  I had a Raymond burger.  Not bad.

We then went on to see one of Barbara's aunts and other family members.  John lasted a few minutes, so he and I went for a very brisk, long walk so everyone else could visit.

On the way out of Raymond we stopped at the cemetery where Barbara's parents are buried.

Waterton Lake

Lake

Waterton - Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow

On Sunday morning, I went for a walk with my grandson Harris to check out Waterton and all the snow.

Here we are in front of the cabin.  Harris lives in Idaho Falls, so for him, snow is no big deal.

Waterton Lakes National Park

We got back from our vacation to Waterton Lakes National Park late Sunday evening. It was cool in many ways. I wasn't expecting to see snow the last weekend in May.

Check out the Wikipedia link to learn more about Waterton.

We flew to SLC with John, Russell, Sarah Jane and Victoria, and then met up with Rachel who flew in from Washington D.C. We then flew up to Great Falls Montana and then drove up to Waterton.

I was very surprised to see snow blowing sideways as we approached the park.

James, Emily and their children drove in a few hours later. It was a wonderful reunion. I got to meet my new granddaughter Anna for the first time ever. It was also great to see James. He looked pretty much like he did a year ago which is amazing considering that only a few months ago he was going through chemo.

More pictures and posts to follow.

Back Home

Things are back to normal, John is enjoying a good Internet connection again. His favorite part of the trip was his twice daily trips to the coffee shop so he could surf the web. YouTube about brought the connection to it's knees.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Dear Margo: Autism Awkwardness

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Dear Margo: Autism Awkwardness

How does a mother handle strangers who complain when her son has an outburst? Margo Howard's advice …

Margo Howard | Today 12:00 am

Autism Awkwardness



Dear Margo: My husband and I have a 9-year-old son with severe autism. I cope well enough most of the time, but I would really appreciate your advice about how to handle shopping.

My son may look like a typically developing 9-year-old, but if a loud noise startles him, or if he likes something and wants it, or maybe even for no apparent reason, he will make loud noises or say a few words repetitively, getting louder and louder. He can even have a full-blown meltdown (which is like a temper tantrum on steroids). When that happens, I try to finish my shopping as quickly as humanly possible, grabbing only the bare essentials (milk, bread, etc.) and leaving, apologizing and explaining if ...

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Malcolm Forbes

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Malcolm Forbes

"There is never enough time, unless you're serving it."

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Mitch Hedberg

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Mitch Hedberg

"I'm sick of following my dreams. I'm just going to ask them where they're going and hook up with them later."

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The Forbidden Fruit

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The Forbidden Fruit

Client: Hey, just one final question before I send the deposit. Do you use a PC or a MAC?

Me: I use a MAC.

Client: That is a problem. Do you have access to a PC? I am not a supporter of Apple products.

Me: No, I don't have access to a PC, but this will have little to no effect on the work itself.

Client: I am a Christian and Apple products are sinful, I do not want our website to be created by a product made by this corrupt group. You need only look at their logo, an apple with a bite taken from it. Do you not know the story of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden? If I allowed you to create my website on a MAC I would be just like Adam, taking a bite of the forbidden fruit.

[Silence]

"Take my advise, destroy your mac and repent for when judgement day comes. It shall be you who is cast to hell for your sins."

Me: [Block Contact]

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If a man will begin with certainties, he shall end in doubts; but if he will be content to begin with doubts he shall end in certainties.

Francis Bacon, 1st and Only Viscount of St. Alban, KC (22 January 1561 – 9 April 1626) was an English philosopher, statesman, scientist, lawyer, jurist and author. He served both as Attorney General and Lord Chancellor of England. Although his political career ended in disgrace, he remained extremely influential through his works, especially as philosophical advocate and practitioner of the scientific revolution. His dedication brought him into a rare historical group of scientists who were killed by their own experiments.
His works established and popularized deductive methodologies for scientific inquiry, often called the Baconian method or simply, the scientific method. His demand for a planned procedure of investigating all things natural marked a new turn in the rhetorical and theoretical framework for science, much of which still surrounds conceptions of proper methodology today.
Bacon was knighted in 1603, created Baron Verulam in 1618, and Viscount St Alban in 1621; as he died without heirs both peerages became extinct upon his death.

Any fool can criticize, condemn, and complain - and most fools do.

Dale Breckenridge Carnegie (originally Carnagey until 1922 and possibly somewhat later) (November 24, 1888 – November 1, 1955) was an American writer and lecturer and the developer of famous courses in self-improvement, salesmanship, corporate training, public speaking and interpersonal skills. Born in poverty on a farm in Missouri, he was the author of How to Win Friends and Influence People, first published in 1936, a massive bestseller that remains popular today. He also wrote a biography of Abraham Lincoln, titled Lincoln the Unknown, and several other books.

One of the core ideas in his books is that it is possible to change other people's behavior by changing one's reaction to them.

Nothing inspires forgiveness quite like revenge.

Scott Raymond Adams (born June 8, 1957) is the American creator of the Dilbert comic strip and the author of several nonfiction works of satire, commentary, business, and general speculation.

We are what we pretend to be, so we must be careful what we pretend to be.

Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. (pronounced /ˈvɒnɨɡət/; November 11, 1922 – April 11, 2007) was an American novelist who wrote works blending satire, black comedy, and science fiction, such as Slaughterhouse-Five (1969), Cat's Cradle (1963), and Breakfast of Champions (1973). He was known for his humanist beliefs as well as being honorary president of the American Humanist Association. He is widely considered one of the most influential American writers of the 20th century.^[2]

I respect faith, but doubt is what gets you an education.

Wilson Mizner (May 19, 1876, Benicia, California - April 3, 1933, Los Angeles, California) was an American playwright, raconteur, and entrepreneur. His best-known plays are The Deep Purple, produced in 1910, and The Greyhound, produced in 1912. He was manager and co-owner of The Brown Derby restaurant in Los Angeles, California, and was affiliated with his brother, Addison Mizner, in a series of scams and picaresque misadventures that inspired Stephen Sondheim's Road Show.

The louder he talked of his honor, the faster we counted our spoons.

Ralph Waldo Emerson US essayist & poet (1803 - 1882)

 

From Wikipedia

Ralph Waldo Emerson (May 25, 1803 – April 27, 1882) was an American essayist, philosopher, and poet, best remembered for leading the Transcendentalist movement of the mid-19th century. His teachings directly influenced the growing New Thought movement of the mid-1800s.^{[1] [2]} He was seen as a champion of individualism and a prescient critic of the countervailing pressures of society. Emerson gradually moved away from the religious and social beliefs of his contemporaries, formulating and expressing the philosophy of Transcendentalism in his 1836 essay, Nature. As a result of this ground-breaking work he gave a speech entitled The American Scholar in 1837, which Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr. considered to be America's "Intellectual Declaration of Independence".^[3] Considered one of the great orators of the time, Emerson's enthusiasm and respect for his audience enraptured crowds. His support for abolitionism late in life created controversy, and at times he was subject to abuse from crowds while speaking on the topic. When asked to sum up his work, he said his central doctrine was "the infinitude of the private man."^[4]

I can't understand it. I can't even understand the people who can understand it.

Queen Juliana, of the Netherlands Queen of Netherlands 1948-1980 (1909 - 2004)

 

I knew nothing about Queen Juliana until I looked her up on Wikipedia.   

Juliana (Juliana Louise Emma Marie Wilhelmina; 30 April 1909 – 20 March 2004) was Queen regnant of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. She was the only child of Queen Wilhelmina and Prince Henry. She was married to Prince Bernhard of Lippe-Biesterfeld, with whom she had four children: Princess Beatrix (born 1938), Princess Irene (born 1939), Princess Margriet (born 1943), Princess Christina (born 1947). During the Second World War she lived in exile with her children in Ottawa, Canada. She became Queen of the Netherlands with her mother's abdication in 1948 and was succeeded by Queen Beatrix after her own abdication in 1980. During her reign both Indonesia (Dutch East Indies) in 1949 and Suriname in 1975 became independent from the Netherlands. Her birthday is celebrated annually as Koninginnedag, Queen's Day.

If Someone Asks You If You’re With God, You Say Yes

If Someone Asks You If You're With God, You Say Yes

(Church | Brighton, UK)

Patron: "I would like to make a complaint about God."

Me: "Pardon me?"

Patron: "I come in here all the time! I am told this is the house of God and I never see him!"

Me: "You do realize that you won't physically 'see' God in the Church? House of God means you can come here to communicate with him, or seek council from those who do."

Patron: "Is that you?"

Me: "I am qualified, yes."

Patron: "So you're in direct communication with God?"

Me: "I interpret the scriptures for guidance, and I pray. I don't have direct communication."

Patron: "So you're not with God?"

Me: "I study him and his will."

Patron: "You're not friends?"

Me: "No."

Patron: "Not even colleagues?"

Me: "No."

Patron: "Anyone around here higher up that might be?"

Me: "No more than anyone else I'm afraid."

Patron: "What about that Pope guy? He's always talking about what God said."

Me: "You could try."

Patron: "Is he around? Can you call him down?"

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The trouble with jogging is that the ice falls out of your glass.

Martin Mull US comedian and actor (1943 - )

What a blessing it would be if we could open and shut our ears as easily as we open and shut our eyes!

Georg Christoph Lichtenberg (1742 - 1799)

 

was a German scientist, satirist and Anglophile. As a scientist, he was the first to hold a professorship explicitly dedicated to experimental physics in Germany. Today, he is remembered for his posthumous notebooks, which he himself called Sudelbücher, a description modeled on the English bookkeeping term "waste books",^[1] and for his discovery of the strange treelike patterns now called Lichtenberg figures.

Honest criticism is hard to take, particularly from a relative, a friend, an acquaintance, or a stranger.

Franklin P. Jones

Unfortunately, the identity of Franklin P. Jones is not clear. Some quotation sites on the Internet refer to him as an American businessman who lived from 1887-1929, while others refer to him as an American humorist who lived from 1853-1935. A bit of research has identified a Franklin Pierce Jones who was born on February 23, 1851 and who died in Virginia on November 29, 1935. There also seems to have been a Franklin Pierce Jones who lived between 1874 and 1953 and had a successful furniture store in Clinton, Oklahoma, after working as a farmer in Missouri.

1. Never tell everything at once.

Ken Venturi, Ken Venturi's Two Great Rules of Life

Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.

Albert Einstein, (attributed) US (German-born) physicist (1879 - 1955) 

 

But then again, what did HE know?

You know you're getting old when you stoop to tie your shoelaces and wonder what else you could do while you're down there.

Boy, isn't that the truth.

George Burns US actor & comedian (1896 - 1996)

Not Always Right: Some Customers You Just Have To Let Slide

(Cellphone Store | Wichita, KS, USA)
Me: “Good afternoon, this is [cellphone store]. How may I help you?”
Customer: “I came in to your store today and you sold me a defective phone!”
Me: “I’m sorry, sir. What is your full name and phone number so I can pull up your account?”
Customer: *gives information*
Me: “Okay, thanks. I see, you bought a [phone]. What seems to be the problem?
Customer: “The keyboard on this piece of s*** won’t come out!”
Me: “Have you tried sliding it the other way?”
*really long pause*
Customer: “Well thanks a lot b****!, now you made me feel like a f***ing idiot!” *click*

Saturday Night Special: The Skivvies

I wonder why they ever thought this was a good idea.

Not that I have room to be critical... but the guy on the left probably should have worn boxers at least.

When I was a kid my parents moved a lot, but I always found them.

Rodney Dangerfield US actor & comedian (1921 - 2004)

The future is here. It's just not widely distributed yet.

William Gibson US science fiction novelist in Canada (1948 - )

 

That is okay.  I still have a large supply of past to tide me over.

It is not necessary to understand things in order to argue about them.

Pierre Beaumarchais French businessman & comic dramatist (1732 - 1799)

Wired: Only Old Fogies Hate the New Facebook, Research Suggests

Guilty as charged.

The current backlash against Facebook for having turned its privacy promises inside out is likely being driven by adults over the age of 35, according to survey data from YouGov’s Brandindex.

As for 18- to 34-year-olds, Facebook continues to be the hottest thing on the net since YouTube, according to the company’s daily profile.

Working 10 Hours or More a Day Raises Heart Risk, Study Finds

I guess this shouldn't come as too much of a surprise...  I don't work long days as much as I used to, but still too often.

May 11 (Bloomberg) -- Working 10 hours or more a day may harm the heart, according to a study of more than 10,000 British civil servants.

People who added three or more hours to a seven-hour day had a 60 percent greater risk of heart attack, angina and death from cardiovascular disease than those with no overtime work, researchers from the U.K., Finland and France reported today in the European Heart Journal. The findings are from the Whitehall II study, which has tracked British civil servants since 1985.

When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro.

Hunter S. Thompson US journalist (1939 - 2005)

 

In my business, weird is the norm.

We are none of us infallible--not even the youngest of us.

W. H. Thompson

He hoped and prayed that there wasn't an afterlife. Then he realized there was a contradiction involved here and merely hoped that there wasn't an afterlife.

Douglas Adams English humorist & science fiction novelist (1952 - 2001)

44 Ways to Ruin Your Financial Life By Age 30

I am quite happy to say that I did avoid many of these pitfalls when I was younger.

I am quite sad to say that I did not avoid all of them.

Live and learn.

Admiration, n.: Our polite recognition of another's resemblance to ourselves.

Ambrose Bierce, The Devil's Dictionary US author & satirist (1842 - 1914)

The glory of great men should always be measured by the means they have used to acquire it.

Francois de La Rochefoucauld French author & moralist (1613 - 1680)

UT study: No proof that eliminating gluten, casein from diets of autistic children is effective

We tried putting John on a gluten and casein free diet for awhile.  He did not like the diet and I didn't any improvement. 

Here are some of what I thought were the more interesting quotes.  Check out the entire article here. 

• But the study says there is no scientific evidence that the diets help, and in fact, they can lead to reduced bone thickness and cause other harm.
• "As I reviewed the research, I developed the theory; the diet doesn't have anything to do with autism," Mulloy said in an interview.
• The UT study concludes that such diets should only be used on children with autism who have "acute behavioral changes, seemingly associated with changes in diet, and/or (when) medical professionals confirm through testing the child has allergies or food intolerances to gluten and/or casein."

 

 

It is easier to forgive an enemy than to forgive a friend.

William Blake English engraver, illustrator, & poet (1757 - 1827)

More Cuteness

Great pictures from Emily.

 

 

Sent to you by davidaustex via Google Reader:

 

 

More Cuteness

via Murdocks and Sons by Emily M on 5/2/10

I feel like Anna is already getting a little more chubbiness in her cheeks. These are from three or four days ago, so I need to take some more! She's been a lot more awake lately, and she's beginning to lose that fresh-from-the-womb appearance. Fun, but sad, too.



And a whole slideshow....

 

 

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Nobody realizes that some people expend tremendous energy merely to be normal.

Albert Camus French existentialist author & philosopher (1913 - 1960)

It is impossible to defeat an ignorant man in argument.

William G. McAdoo US industrialist, lawyer, & politician (1863 - 1941)

Been there

Actually, I am posting this from my office on a Saturday morning.  That is me, minus the hair, the tie, and the Red Bull.

I get up every morning determined to both change the world and have one hell of a good time. Sometimes this makes planning my day difficult.

E. B. White US author & humorist (1899 - 1985)

What Private Facebook Information Your Friends Can Publish

I ran across this today.  Just when I thought I had all my privacy options set correctly.

Anyhow, first from the post is the how to change.  Then the why.  These are both from here. 

HOW

 If you're using Facebook as a private place to just talk to friends, in addition to setting your profile parts to "Friends only", make sure you also hit up the what friends can share about me panel (under Privacy Settings > Applications and Websites > What your friends can share about you). This way, if you're a 14-year-old who is friends with your old aunt, she won't get to see comment threads that might embarrass you. (The sad truth is that most teenagers aren't spending the time to update their privacy settings, so things like this are just going to keep happening.)

WHY

I'm Facebook friends with my teenage nephew, who is friends with another teenage pal who I am not friends with. This pal has his status updates set to "Friends only" access, which means I can't see them. But, he hasn't changed his default "what friends can share about you" settings. So, my nephew "liked" one of his pal's status updates, and it showed up in my newsfeed, since my nephew and I are friends. I clicked on the status update, and by virtue of the like, I could see the status and the 50-comment conversation that followed between a handful of teens whose profiles are set to "Friends only" and who I am not friends with. Essentially I could see private posts that were never meant for me to see--I'm pretty sure my nephew would be embarrassed if he knew I'd read some of his comments directed at his friends. I felt like the invisible adult who'd stumbled into a middle school locker room conversation that clearly wasn't meant for anyone to hear but these teens.

She is so sweet!

More Baby Pictures

I love the fact I can get pictures of my new grandbaby so quickly.  James and Emily posted more photos of Anna at their blog.

A Motivational Story with Wisdom - The Mouse Trap

I heard this at church this morning.  I don't recall ever hearing it before, but that doesn't mean anything.  As far as I could tell, the author is unknown.

A Mouse, Pig, Cow and Snake A mouse looked through a crack in the wall to see the farmer and his wife opening a package; what food might it contain? He was aghast to discover that it was a mouse trap! Retreating to the farmyard, the mouse proclaimed the warning, "There is a mouse trap in the house, there is a mouse trap in the house." The chicken clucked and scratched, raised her head and said, "Mr. Mouse, I can tell you this is a grave concern to you, but it is of no consequence to me; I cannot be bothered by it." The mouse turned to the pig and told him, "There is a mouse trap in the house." "I am so very sorry Mr. Mouse," sympathized the pig, "but there is nothing I can do about it but pray; be assured that you are in my prayers." The mouse turned to the cow, who replied, "Like wow, Mr. Mouse, a mouse trap; am I in grave danger, Duh?" So the mouse returned to the house, head down and dejected to face the farmer's mouse trap alone. That very night a sound was heard throughout the house, like the sound of a mouse trap catching its prey. The farmer's wife rushed to see what was caught. In the darkness, she did not see that it was a venomous snake whose tail the trap had caught. The snake bit the farmer's wife. The farmer rushed her to the hospital. She returned home with a fever. Now everyone knows you treat a fever with fresh chicken soup, so the farmer took his hatchet to the farmyard for the soup's main ingredient. His wife's sickness continued so that friends and neighbors came to sit with her around the clock. To feed them, the farmer butchered the pig. The farmer's wife did not get well, in fact, she died, and so many people came for her funeral the farmer had the cow slaughtered to provide meat for all of them to eat. So the next time you hear that someone is facing a problem and think that it does not concern you, remember that when the least of us is threatened, we are all at risk.

Death by Powerpoint

I really had to laugh when I saw this today.

I am sure that I have been guilty of producing deadly presentations myself.

We had one at work a few weeks ago where several of finally had to get up and leave before we started screaming.

If people never did silly things, nothing intelligent would ever get done.

Ludwig Wittgenstein Austrian philosopher (1889 - 1951)

I was afraid of that

Quote on burning bridges

We cross our bridges when we come to them and burn them behind us, with nothing to show for our progress except a memory of the smell of smoke, and a presumption that once our eyes watered.

Tom Stoppard, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead
British dramatist & screenwriter (1937 - )

I can't understand why people are frightened of new ideas. I'm frightened of the old ones.

John Cage
US composer of avant-garde music (1912 - 1992)

New Granddaughter

My son James and his lovely wife Emily gave birth to a healthy baby girl this afternoon. Emily did all the heavy lifting. Mother and daughter are fine.

Pictures and name to follow.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Virginia's new iPad

It looks like Apple has found the perfect target market for the iPad. Too bad there aren't more folks that old.

On the plus side, she is able to read this where she isn't able to read books anymore because of her eyesight. Something to be said for x-large fonts when you need them.

KFC's Double Down Healthier Than Salad

Well, that should be some salads. 

Fascinating little article.  Makes me want to stay away from fast food joints forever.

Burger King, McDonalds and Wendys all have items with more fat and calories that the KFC Double Down, including salads.

Children are all foreigners - Ralph Waldo Emerson

Ralph Waldo Emerson US essayist & poet (1803 - 1882)

Rachel on the Move

Rachel gets around more than anyone else that I know.  I am delighted that she is taking advantage of living on the east coast.

I am also glad that she is going to be part of our family's travel plans at the end of May.  I will finally get to see southern Alberta!

Barbara has always wanted for the entire family to visit Waterton. After the cancer scare with James a few months ago, it reminded us that we need to make dreams come true sooner than later.

It will be interesting to see if John enjoys the scenery as much as the rest of us will.

Great picture from Emily

A great picture of Emily.  Only a few days left!

Rachel on the BYU Law School Webpage

Rachel took an internship at a law firm in Australia between her first and second years of law school. 

Rachel in Sydney.

While she was there, Russell and I took a trip down under to visit.  Our first stop was Sydney. 

One of the snapshots I took made its way to the page on 'Externships.'

Not Always Right: ABC

I love these.  I am not always right either, but generally I feel a little better knowing there are people who are not right more often than me.

A-B-C, Easy As D-U-H

BOOKSTORE | MASSACHUSETTS, USA

Customer: “Hey, can you help me find this book?”
Me: “Sure.”
(He holds up a piece of paper with the title and author of a book on it. I find it on the shelves and hand it to him.)
Customer: “Thanks! How’d you do that so fast?”
Me: “Well, I’ve worked here awhile, and the books are all in alphabetical order by author’s name.”
Customer: “What do you mean?”
Me: “Alphabetical order. Like the alphabet song? You know, A’s before B’s?”
(He looks confused, but then widens his eyes.)
Customer: “The letters actually go in that order? I thought that song was just to remember them all!”

Andre Gide on Truth

Believe those who are seeking the truth. Doubt those who find it.

Andre Gide French critic, essayist, & novelist (1869 - 1951)

Aldous Huxley quote

 At least two-thirds of our miseries spring from human stupidity, human malice and those great motivators and justifiers of malice and stupidity: idealism, dogmatism and proselytizing zeal on behalf of religous or political ideas.
        Aldous Huxley
        English critic & novelist (1894 - 1963)

Absurdity, n.: A statement or belief manifestly inconsistent with one's own opinion.

Ambrose Bierce, The Devil's Dictionary
US author & satirist (1842 - 1914)

ScienceDaily: Autism Study Reveals a 'DNA Tag' (Methylation) Amenable to Treatment

Very interesting piece about some new findings.  I hope it leads to something, but I have to admit that I have become somewhat jaded and cynical.

"For far too long, autism research has been side-tracked by the cranky notion that it's caused by the MMR vaccine," said Gerald Weissmann, M.D., Editor-in-Chief of The FASEB Journal.

Thoughts in the shower at work

I am in a fitness class at work.  While showering I came to a realization.

1. I am not as smart as I think that I am.
2. I am smarter than most people think I am.

Chutzpah - High School Graduation

I personally liked the idea of the writer...


DEAR ABBY: With graduation announcements pouring in every day from everyone whom I have ever known who has a child graduating, I think I have seen a new low.

I actually received a photocopy of a high school graduation announcement. There was no picture, no personal note, just a photocopy folded into a cheap envelope. The "real" ones had been sent to more "important" people.

My question is, should I send the kid a photocopy of a congratulations card and a photocopy of some money? What's the best way to handle this? -- FLABBERGASTED IN THE SOUTH

DEAR FLABBERGASTED: If you have not seen the graduate since grammar school and aren't particularly close to the family, just toss it!

April Fool

Yesterday I got an email from my oldest son James that gave us the joyous news that our new granddaughter had arrived four weeks early.  He said they named her Genevra Marie Murdock.  There was also a link to their blog with pictures.  Apparently at one time it said 'April Fools' on it.  


I spent the evening at church at a meeting so by the time I got home and checked my email on my iPod Touch, the link had changed.  I was surprised that Barbara hadn't mentioned the new baby, but she told me it was a joke.


Since there is no fool like an old fool, I decided to play along.  I replied to everyone that we were excited for the birth of dear, sweet Genevra, and that we had bought plane tickets so Barbara could fly up for the Easter weekend.


My joke worked much better than I thought it would.  Here is blurb from Emily's blog.

OK, so I thought I was pretty clever with my April Fools blog post, but I thought everyone would automatically figure it out. Originally the blog said, "April Fools!" right after the title message. While I was gone knitting with my friends tonight, James got a call from his sister saying, "James, I don't think Dad knows this is a joke. He sent an email that he bought plane tickets to come visit you." So James checked his email, assumed his dad was trying to trick us back, and thought, "Hmmm.... this will be an excellent way to fool Emily when she gets back."

....

When I got home, James told me, "My dad got plane tickets, Emily. This is very bad. I've been trying to call all night, and I can't get them to answer-- and also, I changed the blog, so it doesn't say April Fools-- I thought it would be funnier." I felt AWFUL. I told James he had to call his parents, and he said, "I can't-- they won't yell at you-- you call them." So I called them at midnight their time to tell them about the terrible hoax. It turns out that I was April Fooled at my own game. I was tricking them, they were tricking us, and James was tricking me. It was such a relief to hear the words, "We didn't buy plane tickets," and the sound of James's dad laughing in the background.

Of course we would love the baby, even if her name was  Genevra Marie Murdock. We could call her Vera for short.  I probably will anyway.