Very Cool and Fun Video!

I Was A Crazy Kid!

My Mom would agree that I was the craziest and probably the dirtiest kid in the family. I used to come home with, rocks, bugs, frogs, and anything else I found interesting in my pocket. I saw this cartoon and I'm pretty sure I have done this to my Mom before, this is a pretty good depiction of my childhood.

Click on the image to enlarge:

The Last Banda Boy Will Soon Be Married!

So my little brother Shem and I spend our weekends coaching a Youth Soccer League in Gilbert. We coach about 45 kids, broken into three different class periods. It is a lot of work but we have such a blast coaching. As coaches we are in charge of the students checking in and paying if they hadn’t pre-paid for the season. This becomes challenging at times because parents are signing the roster, paying, and receiving any additional information they may need all while we are trying to get the next class started. We have been very blessed to have Lana (Shem’s Fiancé) help out almost every weekend with the paper work as we get practice started.

This past weekend she came to help out again, she stayed at the check in desk as Shem and I started our second class of young soccer players. Our second class is made up of 7-9 year old kids and they are so much fun, Shem knew that the second class would be the class he would use to help him propose. Shem gathered the kids and explained what he was going to be doing. The kids lined up on a line with their backs to where Lana was, as Shem handed out pennies with letters on them Lana was cutting oranges per Shem’s request. After Shem completed handing out the pennies he asked Lana to come help him with the next drill. He brought her over to where the kids were standing and a little confused to as why Shem asked her to help she asked what she needed to do. Shem told her to just see if the kids were ready and then she realized what was going on. Of course Shem got on one knee and asked her to Marry him. It was a huge surprise, and after the proposal Lana couldn’t stop smiling!

After we got practice going again, I walked over to Lana to congratulate her and one of the little girls who participated told Lana, “that was sooooo romantic” we couldn’t stop laughing!

The Huddle

Handing out the pennies

Shem handing out pennies and getting ring out.

On one knee.

Lana is all suprised here!

I love this picture, Lana is so suprised!

The big hug!

California Knows How to Party!

I was able to spend the weekend with Becca's Family in Newport, but I had to fly home because unfortunately I have to work. Newport was beautiful and we had a blast. Here are some pictures from California.

One of My Dream Cars: 1947 Special Deluxe Woody



Aunt Christa with little Lucas



Me and L2




Me and Smiley



My Hot Southern Belle with Chunk

A Japanese Baby Is Born

Little Miss Serious to Little Miss Sunshine

Our little Madison is our little serious baby, she makes us laugh because it doesn’t matter what we do or say she always has a stone cold face. We can be dancing and singing to her and she will still not crack a smile. We always talk about what a serious little baby she is, but recently our little Miss Serious has broken out of her shell and has shown us some beautiful smiles. Now don’t be fooled she still has her serious moments (90% of the time) but at least we know she is happy to be with us.

Remodeling the Home

Although everyone talks about how this is a buyer’s market for buying a house, Harvard University's Joint Center for Housing Studies should that Americans spent $233 billion last year fixing up their homes and the boom shows no signs of slowing. This is an indicator Americans are remodeling and upgrading their homes as opposed to buying a new homes. Becca and I would love to buy a new home but because of the current economic state I wonder if it would be wise to purchase a home right now. We decided to make some small upgrades to our home and had some (very little) fun doing them. I ask myself is it worth it to keep up with the Joneses? I read a study commissioned by the Wall Street Journal found that the price of keeping a typical home up to current standards over a 30-year period is almost four times the home's purchase price. I guess it’s all personal value! Becca and I figured if we aren’t going to buy a home any time soon we might as well fix it up the way we like it.



Dinning Area: Added Chair Rail



After: Adding Chair Rail and Squares



Back yard: Without extended patio



Back Yard After: Extending the Patio and added tumbled Pavers