Enjoyable week...

What a wonderful week... I am surrounded with family and everyone is getting along really well... Yesterday Scott and Corine went with Venna and I to see "Sherlock Holmes" and the company was great and the movie was wonderful... It was so well written and acted that it was a thrill... Venna and I saw "Advator" the day before and that was a left wing radical movie but the 3D effect and special effects was worth the propaganda that we went through... I would recommend it only with 3D but leave it alone otherwise.... Joshua and I played golf in 25 mph wind and it was cold but we had a blast playing... It was like our private course... Scott would have played but Darin was pretty sick last night and he did the right thing by being with him and Corine... There sure has been a lot of sickness and I wish that we can all get over it... I am doing pretty well, knocking on wood... I sure am enjoying spending time with Venna... I am sure a lucky man to have a best friend like her... We just love doing things together and we love to sit on the couch holding hands and watching TV programs that we have recorded... Wow, she is wonderful and beautiful, I am a very lucky guy to have her with me for the majority of my life... Night... 39

Scott did it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We belong to a fantasy football league that Jacob and Scott started about 15 years ago and Rachelle was the only one from our family that won the super bowl... Well Scott just beat Wade Malesich yesterday to be the first one of us boys to win it.... He will receive a beautiful trophy that will stay at his house for a year.... It is nice to see Rachelle and Scott kick that door down... We are hoping that Jacob beats, yes Wade again, in the JB II league... We started that one because the other LA Connection was taken from us, kind of, because I was a Bishop and didn't want to deal with it at the time, so the Malesiches took over and we never got it back... It is okay because they do a great job, but we also didn't like the bidding draft so we started another one where you draft and keep all your players and I think everyone loves it... I know I do... I like the reunion stuff in August with the golfing and bidding with the Wayne Briggs family and the Malesiches but I really love the long draft we do in the JB II league... Brian got his Patriarchtical Blessing yesterday... Scott, Joshua, and I golfed this morning... I don't think Scott liked our icey course but he had more fun when it thawed out... It is great to still be on vacation... Night... 39

Christmas 2009

This has been a wonderful Christmas... The Grandchildren comprising of Scott's, Joshua's, Rachael's, and Jacob's kids were all here and they put on a wonderful Christmas Eve program... All we lacked was Becca's kids so we are blessed for having as many as we had.... We did miss Becca's children.... There were wonderful gifts passed around last night and today, but I really enjoyed Rachael and Taylor's musical video of pictures of our past from the time Venna and I were young all the way down to Briggs Thomas joining our family... Don't worry mom we are making you a copy and will send it to you this week.... I have my own lap top now and I also have a very fun game on Wii, it is golf and is very realistic... Scott and I was playing that today... Venna fixed a wondederful meal and Paul Sparks and his wife and child came and ate with us also... Taylor got us up at 4:15 and that is now documented for all future discussions on what time we get up here for Christmas... Taylor and I had a very tender moment last night talking to one another before she went to sleep... It was our special moment and brought tears to both of us... Bo is so good with the kids, I can hardly believe it... I love my family very much.... Brian is having his Patriarchtical blessing this Sunday... We are excited about that.... Night... 39

I took the Missionairies to the Temple...

I had the opportunity to take the missionaries to the Temple... We left at 7:30 AM and came home at 4:00 PM...I took in a session also and it was a nice experience... It was fun to feel the Spirit of the missionairies in the temple... BYU beat Oregon State in the Las Vegas bowl... I picked Oregon State, shows you how much I know... I studied Moroni 7 in the temple and it was interesting to read about charity in the temple.... I am so impressed with the Savior and how he matches up to charity, especially during the Garden of Gethsemene and the crucifiction... He is the Son of God and was totally dismissed by the ones He suffered for and yet he states "Forgive them for they know not what they have done".... Wow, I get so mad when my kids, students, and players disrespect me and yet the Savior had patience with all the blinded people... I have faith and hope but I am still a long ways from perfecting charity.... No wonder you have to pray for it... Night.... 39

I'm sick, I think...

I have been having weird dreams that are associated with fevers... I woke up yesterday morning with a fierce (no hypebole) sore throat... I thought for sure I was coming down with a bad cold... During the evening time I felt pretty good and I went out golfing with Joshua this morning.. Right now I feel good... There is a lot of sickness in the family but I hope we can get a rid of it all and have a wondeful Christmas... Congratulations to Scott for going to the Super Bowl in our LA Connection league of Fantasy Football... The only one who has won that from our family is Rachelle and now Scott gets the chance to represent our family this coming weekend... Goodbye... 39

I need to figure out holiday writing....

I think that I am going to try and write in the morning, because I get tired at night... Like that was an interesting beginning... Oh well it's my blog and I will be boring if I want to... Venna and I saw "Did You Hear About the Morgans?"... It has Hugh Grant in it and he is my favorite actor, yea, I know he got caught with a cheap hooker in Hollywood, but I still think he is a great actor... Heck, I am going to enjoy watching Tiger Woods play golf again... But, maybe I will root for the field against Tiger, especially when Phil Mickelson (who looks like Hugh Grant) plays, I hope he kicks Tiger Woods butt.... I wonder how Tiger will handle all of the heckling that he is sure to get.... I am home sick this morning, I got Bo's sore throat and cold, I also get to tend Jesse, Billa, and Briggs who are also sick... I am thrilled to do this because Brian and Rachael really want to go to church... All is good in Lake LA and the Briggs family, yea, it really is....

Venna and I... A relaxing Thursday....

Venna won't be teaching seminary tomorrow, so we went to town and did a lot of busy work and prescription filling .... We then went to an early movie... We saw "Everyone's Fine" and yet he movie wss not fine in fact it was a horrible movie... It had Drew Barrimore whom I love to see but she is playing a gay woman so Uch... It was not good.... It was depressing through the whole movie...I had another very nice day at school and I would have to say this is the best week before Christmas holiday that I have ever had... One more day... Bo is staying home from school tomorrow because he doesn't have a test but also the poor boy has a sickness... Yea, right... He was just trying to seal the deal that he gets to stay home... Taylor has a test so she is going.... I guarentee that Bo's illness would not fool my mother.... The only time I got to stay home was to see one game of the World Series that was played during the day on a weekday... Night... 39

Bo got 10 rebounds....

Bo played an interesting game tonight... His team won 58-50 against Desert High from Edwards Air Force base...He only hit one shot and it was a three, but he got 10 rebounds and played excellent defense... He had 5 block shots... It was fun to see him really contribute to the win in other ways besides scoring.... Their team is really good when they play teams that are about the same size as Littlerock... Four out of the five starters in the last quarter came from Challenger... They are Spencer, Bo (whom I have coached), Preston and Nate (whom Jacob coached at Challenger).... They really played great and Jeremy who is there best player played at Lake Los Angeles school... We sure would have had a great team if we had a little Lake LA high school team... Joshua and I went golfing and I really enjoyed my Ipod again... Two more days of school.... Night... 39

Went golfing/used my Iphone to keep score...

I went out golfing today and used my Iphone with a Golf GPS (I believe that is the right acronym) It kept track of my score and statistics on fairways hit, greens hit, and putts... It kept track of my score and it told me how far the hole is whereever at any position on the course... It will email me and send me all the information... Needless to say for this addicted person for golf it is really cool... It is really hard to keep harmony at school right now because the students are recongnizing that we are behind the 8 ball with 35 students and like 6th graders they expected to be switching classes... It just isn't turning out the way that they wanted it to turn out... My class is holding tight and I haven't had to send a single student out of my class all year, yet, but oh my, the 6th grade hall is going crazy with a handfull of students who are causing havoc... Satan is on the loose trying to cause turmoil and contention everywhere you look... 3 more days and we get 3 weeks off.... I believe we will make it....Venna is not teaching seminary Friday and it appears that the Bishop with his whoopee is supporting her.... The gospel is a wonderful thing and it is truly great to be married to my partner and to endure all the things we've had to endure in this life, but we are so happy and especially with a wonderful family that loves the Lord... Peace be unto you... Night... 39

Yancy Rodriguez is going to Brown University...

Yancy came by to tell Venna and I that he is going to Brown on a full ride scholarship on everything.... Everything is paid... He is a fine young man that is one of Bo's best friend... I coached him and Jacob and Venna taught him... Wow, we are really proud of him... I love writing in this blog, it brings a lot of satisfaction to me to do this... I know that it reaches a lot of love ones and I hope that I will never write anything that can be hurtful to anyone who reads it... I love sharing my inner thoughts and I feel a responsibility to think of the Savior as I write that nothing here will ever be contradicting to the teachings that our Lord and church teaches (for they are the same).... I love my family very much and I am thankful for Venna who was willing to have 8 c-sections to have all of our children... Especially when I know that Taylor was meant to come to the earth... Venna will always be my hero for not leaving her behind.... I am thankful for Bo and Venna has some really neat stories about Bo and Taylor from seminary that I hope she will share with us on this blog... Bo reminds me a lot of Becca when she was his age... Both die hards in the church and very Spiritual even when the people would misunderstand them... Bo is going to be there in the end because he really does have a testimony... Night... 39

A nice Sabath Day...

Taylor and I sang our songs from the Ipod today in Sacrament meeting... That crazy thing has all of my scriptures and everything else that you can think of... Church manuels, General conferences talks, hymnbooks, quotes by prophets on all different subjects, all of the proclamations, Declaratation of Independence, and the Constitution Etc. Wow, and Taylor was going through it all in a flash of her fingers and yes all of you we listen to the speakers.... Jared taught a nice lesson in Priesthood meeting... I feel the Brethern are going to do well in home teaching this month and I am very proud to be a part of them... I feel bad for Venna because she is just worn out... She slept the whole afternoon and still went to bed early tonight... She is really amazing... In a selfish way I am looking forward to her being done with Seminary but I am so thankful that she is capable to do it for our youth... I hope the Lord will continue to sustain her... What is amazing is she is the best teacher in Wilsona District and I don't think there are very many people who would argue that... I love her very much... Night.... 39

I got an Ipod....

So did Venna... It has given me a little buzz and I can't figure out why.... I know that it is not necessary to have to receive salvation in the Lord's kingdom, but nevertheless it still gives me a thrill... I put in the scriptures and the hymn book... I will now be tempted to check my Fantasy Football Team scores or other unecessary things at inapproriate times... Jake, Venna and I did a lot of Christmas shopping today... Jake came because he is our resident technology person... We also could have gone with Jared and Scott if he was here.... Jake was so helpful and we appreciate his help as we dive into the technology world... I think, I might be wrong but I think Joshua is a little like me although Joshua knows how to make a computer smoke... Rachael is quite talented in this area also and of course there is Becca... There, I made the rounds with my family and I am quite impress with them.... While Bo was killing alien creatures with Jake and Jared on the computer, Taylor downloaded a ton of things in my Ipod... Venna and I went out with Julie and Jared for yesterday and we really enjoyed that... We are very proud of Julie's accomplishments... We started to head home afterwards and then we decided to see a movie called "Invictus", I believe that is the name of the show... It stars Morgan Freeman as Mandella and Matt Dillon as a rugby player and Clint Eastwood is the director and producer... It's hard to say that any movie is your favorite but this one is right up there, it was fantastic and everyone should see it... We had a fun time at the Ward Christmas party and Taylor was singing a song and McKenna was singing a song and my family and Joshua's family was in the skit that they put on... I the end I was washing dishes and working hard with many brethern in the ward and Venna helped a lot too.... I found out today that Scott and Corine are coming on the evening of December 23rd, that will be a lot of fun....night... 39

I talked to my Mom...

I chased her all over Utah but I finally got a hold of my mom.... It was fun to talk to her and I am thrilled to hear about Travis son Keelan and how talent he is in plays... That was where my mom was last night when I called... Taylor played tonight and her team won 48-28 and Taylor didn't score tonight... Her team did get two players that really helped... They scored the majority of there points... Night.... 39

I went to the Dentist?.....

Is that the extent of my day... I had a great day of teaching, my students really are a special group... We had the thoughts that it might snow, but it only rain... It was a boring Monday Night football game.... Venna and I enjoyed watching a new "Closer" show, but having the dentist clean my teeth was the big news for me... No cavities though.... I did phone call my mom twice but she didn't have her phone with her... Hey, Mom I am going to call you before Taylor's basketball game tomorrow at 4:00... Night... 39

An eerie and weerie Sunday....

I started at 8:00 and I was busy with meetings and teaching with a busy ward that is about to become a two ward building because our hispanic work is starting to move... The mission president is sending two more hispanic missionaries making 6 missionaries in our area... I think things are happening... Sadly, very sadly though a brother in our ward died today with a heart attack... His name is Brother Mark... His wife is our geneology teacher... She told us about taking him to the hospital last Friday and all they did is took his blood and declared that he did not have an heart attack... Well when I found out that he had another heart attack I rushed over to there house but it was to late and he was lying on the front room floor, dead... It was the first time that I saw someone dead that soon after he died and it is the first time I saw someone dead and not in a coffin... That is except for my dad... Sister Mark is a good woman and I hope and pray that the Spirit is comforting her in a big way... Our ward is on it so I feel good about that but it is very tough for me to handle this situation... I got back in time to go to Joshua's house with my family to be with Tanner for his 5th birthday.... I am so tired and worn out.... Oh by the way mom I will be calling you up tomorrow afternoon so have your phone ready... Brian bore a beautiful testimony even though I had to take Bella because she wanted to dominate the microphone... she was really cute.... Night.... 39

Bo and Parties....

Bo played his fourth game in so many days and it showed... He was extremely tired and his legs were not under him.... Even with the new shoes we bought him it just didn't get him through the game... Oh, they did help in the 1st quarter because he had 2 threes and scored 7 points, but he ended up with 12 points and his team loss to Tehachipi by a double digit number... Taylor, Venna, and I went shopping today and we had a blast together, Taylor is a lot of fun... Venna and I had fun spoiling her too... Taylor really loves Brian and talked about him quite a bit... Brian and Rachael have turned out to be major players in our ward... We had a lovely time at Julie's graduation party... We just wish we could have stayed later but we were playing dad and mom by going to Bo's game..... We also had a Elder's quorom party last night at Jason Jay's house and that was a lot of fun even though Venna and I were really tired.... I also stayed up late to see USC lose to Arizona, Alabama beating Florida and the ugly one when Texas beat Nebraska... I was hoping Texas would lose so Texas Christian could have played in the Championship game.... Venna and I also had fun with our weekly, Saturday at 8:00 visit with Becca on the phone... Scott took Darin to Salt Lake to see BYU... I think Scott loves being a Daddy.... Night... 39

Bo was bad, Bo was great....

Yesterday Bo's team played against Rosamond and he missed about 10 three pointers and only scored 2 points... They lossed to Rosamond by 15 points... It looked like his team was going to blow them out in the 2nd quarter and then it seemed that the someone put a lid on the basket... Tonight Bo hit 4 three pointers in the 1st half and had 15 points... The other team (Antelope Valley Christian) was all over him and he only scored 4 points in the 2nd half but the most important thing is they won their game... He hit 5 three pointer all together.... Right now he is averaging 12 points a game... I am also glad that it is the weekend because I needed a couple of days off... Night... 39

Taylor and basketball

Taylor played her first basketball game and they won 8-6... Taylor scored 6 of the 8 points... She hit 2 three pointers... I am getting ready to go to Bo's game and I will be reporting on that... Night... 39

Bo's first game....

Bo had his game today... They played Desert Christian and they won 62-54 and Bo scored 15 points and made 3 three pointers.... Bo also played some great defense... I beat Joshua in golfing.... I was down by 8 strokes after the 7th hole but I came back and beat Joshua.... It is so much fun hanging out with Joshua, he also went to Bo's game with me....

Yes, Mom, I am back....

I had a wonderful vacation last week but I notice that Venna and I had so much fun spending time together.... We love to watch TV programs and we would stay up until we were so tired we just wanted to sleep, thus I fell behind in my blogging... I would think about it but was just to tired... Yesterday was so fantastic, Julie and Kari graduated from CSUB... Marriages and having children are obviously the best things in life but in my book graduations come in next and are very close to the others... I know for myself that that was probably the most emotional day I have ever spent, speaking from early morning all the way until I fell asleep... I appreciated Kari's parents inviting us to come and eat with them and Jacob and Kari's family... That was very enjoyable also.... Kari has a neat grandma from Denver Colorado... Last week was wonderful with the holidays too... I can't help but thinking about Wade Malesich, he is graduating this Friday, I wanted to be there but with Bo's basketball games and all I just can't make it... Bo and Taylor both play basketball this week, so a way we go.... Last week I beat Bo one on one in basketball, 10-8... It will be the last time that I ever beat him or any family member again.... I am 57 and starting to feel my age... I found out today that Scott and Corine are coming down for Christmas... That is very cool... I am looking forward to seeing Darin and Lizzy.... Night... 39