Typical Week...

Hi Elder Torrie!

Keep praying for the business!  I think it's close to working.  We have some good leads.  I'm going to SIngapore and Australia next week to try and secure some money.  

Some clips from the week.  My first real roast in the oven (I usually barbecue but I ran out of propane.😪). The customers were quite happy.

It was valentines!  Got my queen a necklace from Walmart and the usual omelette (mushroom, zucchini, provolone, and ham) and fruit.  Again the customer seemed happy enough. 

Design review with Sharp on the security robot.  Still haven't heard if Foxconn is going to buy them.  Supposedly finalized by end of month.  

I got home from a trip to Toronto quite late to the park and ride.  The tree was all frosty so I grabbed a shot.

My missionary experience:  I was in a CEO training in Toronto.  I ended up at dinner with an Anti-Mormon, a Catholic from Florida, and a tree worshipper from Toronto.  The anti-mormon went on and on.  His one point was that Mormons have the audacity to believe that if you aren't married in their temple God won't let you be with your family.  They were shocked....  Within the hour all three talked about leaving their wives and how hard marriage was.  People just don't get it!  He was an Elder's quorum president and a councilor in the Bishopric.  Power and knowledge of how to keep a family together comes from the ordinances.  It is not just a checkbox that God honors.  He teaches us and empowers us to be able to have enduring loving families.  As you know I'm not the greatest confrontational debater so I waited until later in the evening and then told them about the priesthood blessing that helped lift the burden when Wayne died and testified that we'd be together again.  We were all crying and ended with hugs.  

WE're sure proud of you! We tell everyone about you.  It's a great start to a missionary discussion.  We're working through Preach my Gospel for scripture study.  We're on page 82.  

Love you man!

Dad

Sent from my iPad

Begin forwarded message:

Cruise!

So Here are some shots from our cruise.  We had a great time.  The journey to get to the boat was a little rough for Kaera but she survived.  

 

We left from Florida and spent 7 days on the trip.  The kids ate steak every night!  Rare or Medium Rare.  We went to three islands (Bahamas, St. Thomsas, and St. Martin.  I liked St. Maarten the most.  

Kaera and I on an ice cream date!  We had a great chat.

The boys had their own room on the other side of the boat and didn't seem to mind.

We did a swim with dolphins on the St. Thomas excursion.  It was about two hours there and back and 30 minutes with the dolphins but we had fun.  I will try to get the pics off the ripoff CD they charged us for ($279 for family of six).  I refused to pay that and we walked away.  They finally negotiated down to $80 for six pictures.  They refused to let us bring cameras any where near and made me go back and put my camera back in the locker.  Quite the entrepreneurs!

She got braids!

 Formal night was fun.  The girls definitely turned heads and got hit on by a chinese guy!  Good food and company!

 NewYears eve!  lots of noise.  Dad went to bed around 10:00!

Shuttle bus

Minigolf on the boat.  Dad won!

Beach in St. Thomas.

Not quite the Disney cruise but the girls got to hang out with some celebrities.  

Ladies night out to a show on the boat.

 Boys swimming late into the evening.  

 Mel and Raeghn at the Jazz Heat basketball game.  We won!  A close good game.  Good 6 hour date night.

Kaera Peanut Butter and egg sandwich creation.  I don't think she finished it!

Mom and Kaera cuddle time!  Church is at 12:30 so there is some free time in the morning now.... but no afternoon nap! 

Family Council!  Kvinde didn't contribute much...

San Diego

Hi Shad!  Raeghn and I went to San Deigo.  I was a keynote speaker and on a panel about agriculture robotics.  We had great food and enjoyed a day of down time (we worked but didn't answer all the phone calls!).

Friday night Raeghn let me go take pictures of the sunset. She's very patient with me!  

Christmas parties and gallery

One of my young men named Christian (I baptized his dad a couple of years ago) went with us to Yellowstone park.  We bought him some canvas prints and opened them with his family.

We had our company Christmas party!  300 people showed up!  We have some great people.  I gave a short speech that seemed to be well received (probably because it was short!). Food was good and country music was OK...  :-)

I did a gallery at a friend's restaurant called the Waffle Iron.  Mitch, Chass, and Clay came and supported me.

Here's my greenhouse hole!  Did final measurements to order the roof this week!  Should be here in a month or two.

We had a church Christmas party that was fun.  It was a pajama clothes party so we all dressed in our Japanese clothes.  We all had fun.

Not sure what this is!

Beautiful wife!