Happy Book

I don’t know when I started this list.  Sometime after getting married.  I started dating new lists after Chris was born.  It’s been a fun ride.  These are some of the things that make me happy.

1.       Emily’s fluttering eyes.

2.       Puppies

3.       Dogs

4.       Lizards Eating Moths

5.       Catching really big fish on lakes where there are “no fish”.

6.       Buying gear

7.       Emily’s curly brown hair

8.       Two words.  Wal-Mart.

9.       Lasagna

10.   Back massages

11.   Foot massages

12.   Other massages

13.   Sparkling apple cider

14.   Pet stores

15.   A clean (spotless) house

16.   Video games

17.   Dinosaur toys

18.   Rock and Roll

19.   Books

20.   Jets

21.   Building models

22.   Shoot-em-up movies

23.   Pet stores

24.   Emily’s kisses

25.   When it’s so clean you don’t have to wipe

26.   Lingerie

27.   High test scores

28.   Correct answers that were well thought out from difficult questions

29.   Bubbles

30.   The ocean

31.   Being up and working before the sun is

32.   Sunrises

33.   Fresh snowfall

34.   Baseball

35.   Reading Stimulating Literature

36.   Physics

37.   The movie Titanic

38.   Speaking Russian

39.   “New Mail”

40.   Nikki-dog

41.   Jogging

42.   Hiking

43.   Sleeping like spoons

44.   Rex ‘n Torque

45.   Being right

46.   A’s (grades-not the baseball team)

47.   Emily’s “cutesy” look

48.   Hitting home runs

49.   Blocking home plate so well that the runner never gets within two feet of the plate

50.   The dream of hitting a Baseball into the Hartman’s pool from FOHI’s Varsity baseball field

51.   Carrie’s smiles

52.   Carrie’s laugh

53.   Baby “bubbles”

54.   Carrie’s blue eyes

55.   A good night’s sleep

56.   Jane’s F-15 video game

57.   Wingman interceptor flight controller

58.   Walks with Carrie

59.   Geckos

60.   Science

61.   Cookie dough and moose tracks ice cream

62.   Scouting

63.   Sunrises on campouts

64.   Toys

65.   Toy section at Wal-Mart

66.   Tool Section at Sears

67.   Victoria’s Secret

68.   New books

69.   Lizard stuff

70.   Bed time

71.   Frisbee football

72.   Mail order CD’s

73.   IBC root beer

74.   Reptiles magazine

75.   Explorer Jogging Stroller

76.   Being naked

77.   Skinny dipping

78.   Understanding an entire Chemistry lecture

79.   Watching Emily breastfeed

80.   Carrie trying to crawl

81.   Carrie sticking out her tongue

82.   Carrie sucking on her top lip

83.   Insects

84.   Stars on a clear night

85.   Locking the door after work

86.   Showing Carrie off

87.   Showing Carrie’s pictures

88.   Watching live minor league pro baseball games

89.   Ballets

90.   Ballet Goggles

91.   Risk (the board game)

92.   James and Blake’s “alliance” in Risk games

93.   Jurassic Park and Lost World

94.   Candlelight dinners after work

95.   Carries crinkly nose

96.   Amazon.com

97.   Barnesnnoble.com

98.   Janes.ea.com

99.   Carrie humming while eating

100.                        Carrie playing chase

101.                        Carrie playing peekaboo

102.                        Being able to see the mountains in California

103.                        When the checkbook balances

104.                        Payday

105.                        Carrie saying “dog” and her excited look

106.                        White wings paper airplanes

107.                        Watching the lizards eat

108.                        Seeing Emily dance naked

109.                        My multimeter and ammeter

110.                        Having enough work to make lots of money

111.                        Having my dad say he is proud of me.

112.                        Being satisfied at the end of a day

113.                        Watching young scouts come together in a time of emergency.

114.                        Christopher’s dimples

115.                        Looking at Christopher’ s eyes

116.                        Playing anything with Carrie

117.                        Tic-Tac-Toe with Carrie

118.                        Watching the stars with Carrie and having her fall asleep in my arms

119.                        Commission!

120.                        500 crickets in a box on the doorstep to feed the lizards

121.                        A Blake-clean house

122.                        Fixing a problem in record time with no hang-ups

123.                        Kristin’s hugs

124.                        Snapping my sister’s bra

125.                        My dad’s handshake and smile after shooting my first deer.

126.                        Craftsman tools

127.                        My air compressor and shop vac

128.                        Root Beer

129.                        Macaroons

130.                        Lasagna

131.                        Bikini line

132.                        Long talks with my Mom at 2-4 a.m.

133.                        Tips (the monetary kind)

134.                        Watching Carrie hold up her snake saying “FUFFY” (his name was Fluffy, she couldn’t pronounce the L)

135.                        Hearing Carrie say “izard” when she wants to go to the garage to hold the lizards, and watching her hold both hands out in anticipation

136.                        Em’s long hair

137.                        When Em packs a lunch for me

138.                        Seeing Evan get married

139.                        07/08/02 Christopher’s “Webster” laugh

140.                        Watching Chris run

141.                        Tickling my kids

142.                        Chris running to me with two bar clams, handing me one and making a light-saber clashing noise

143.                        Chris’ fascination with airplanes

144.                        Chris saying “ug” when he sees a bug

145.                        Carrie and Chris’ mini workbench

146.                        Rockets

147.                        Being the one the neighborhood boys catch snakes for

148.                        Carrie calling me at work and saying with a gasp, “Uhhh!  It’s Daddy!”

149.                        My outdoor fishpond

150.                        Reading

151.                        Getting my diploma

152.                        The potential with Quixtar

153.                        Hummingbirds fighting over my yard

154.                        The way if feels when a  goldfish nips at your finger

155.                        Chris’ black eyes – man they are a dark color.

156.                        Big, well-trained German Shepherds

157.                        Getting certified to work with Freon

158.                        Being out of debt

159.                        The “Bed of Roses” soundtrack

160.                        My 3 car garage

161.                        My rocket launcher

162.                        The Fruit Heights house falling through

163.                        The house purchase working out

164.                        My reptile room

165.                        Being the only Russian speaking, appliance repairman with a Bachelors of Science in Animal Science in the entire world

166.                        “Smallville”

167.                        Adam Sandler movies

168.                        The dog run

169.                        Automated sprinklers

170.                        Movie family night at the outdoor amphitheater in Ogden

171.                        08/04/02 Palm Pilots

172.                        Glide recovery rockets

173.                        Radio Shack

174.                        Finding out that Em is pregnant

175.                        Riding Lawn mowers

176.                        Knowing that reptiles are coming out of hibernation

177.                        Snake tongs

178.                        Lizard nooses

179.                        Affecting young men in a positive way

180.                        Sports cars

181.                        Big trucks

182.                        Jars of Clay:  “Little Drummer boy”

183.                        Rocky movies

184.                        The undying resolve to never give up

185.                        Staying up late to think

186.                        Chris standing by my bed and staring when I wake up

187.                        Carrie’s smiles

188.                        Riding Garden Tractors

189.                        Fixing microwaves in “my” shop

190.                        Garden tractor wagons

191.                        Egg-lofting rocket competitions

192.                        Rock-sim software

193.                        Father-son campouts

194.                        Carrie smiling and sprinting to me across the yard when she sees that I’m home from work.

195.                        Hearing the pipes in the basement crackle and knowing Em is getting out the the bath (her skin red from heat)

196.                        07/28/07 Coleman falling asleep in my basement office with a blanket

197.                        Hitting wiffle balls with my kids

198.                        Air rockets

199.                        Winning the egg-lofting contest

200.                        Geocaching

201.                        Breaking records with my business

202.                        Seeing a competitors magnet on the refrigerator I’m working on

203.                        “Short-bus adventures”

204.                        Dutch oven cooking for family

205.                        Christopher wanting to play computer games

206.                        Christopher asking if today is a work day and me saying, “No.”

207.                        E-bay

208.                        Being my own boss

209.                        Creating a successful business

210.                        Knowing that my competition doesn’t stand a chance.

211.                        Taking my dog backpacking

212.                        Airshows

213.                        The f-22 Raptor aircraft

214.                        Central air (don’t have it yet)

215.                        When my yard is topped off

216.                        Finding good employees

217.                        Paying bills the day they come

218.                        Net-flix

219.                        Jennifer Garner movies

220.                        Girls with Sai’s

221.                        My Glock

222.                        Concealed Carry Permits

223.                        My tactical baton

224.                        My light/laser for my pistol

225.                        Walking on a frozen lake

226.                        Ice fishing

227.                        Sonar

228.                        “The pelican” fishing boat

229.                        Cache doing a 200 yard blind retrieve

230.                        Cache coming out of thick brush with a duck in his mouth

231.                        Watching Carrie catch a 6 pound 3 ounce Wiper, her first fish

232.                        Watching Chris catch his first fish through the ice

233.                        My 15 passenger van with roof rack

234.                        Klondike campouts

235.                        People asking who trained my dog

236.                        Taking my dog to restaurants as a service dog

237.                        Headlamp flashlights

238.                        Butterfly crescent kicks

239.                        Step up side kicks

240.                        Sparring

241.                        Watching Carrie spar against two boys

242.                        Sparring with Emily

243.                        Gina Carano fights

244.                        The ferrets attacking Emily’s socks

245.                        The ferrets stealing tennis balls

246.                        05/25/10 Coleman asking if we can cuddle.

247.                        Coleman wanting to help fix his bike so he can ride

248.                        10/18/13 Coleman asking me, “Will you swing me”   The swing broke last summer.  I won’t hear that again, I’m afraid

249.                        Watching Godzilla the Savannah Monitor fly through her cage with her mouth open while chasing a mouse

250.                        Mango smoothies at Burger King

251.                        The Pinewood Speedway

252.                        Touchscreen laptops

253.                        Android phones, I remember really wanting a color Palm Pilot at one time

254.                        Applications on cell phones

255.                        Coleman asking if he can work on his Pinewood Derby car 3 months before his race

256.                        Having a storefront

257.                        The look on people’s faces when they see Carrie and Emily in Venture uniforms.  Most women are weaksauce.  My girls aren’t.

258.                        Trango 4 tents

259.                        Riding out a thunderstorm in a tent on the top of a mountain with my girls and my dog.

260.                        Hatching quail eggs

261.                        Watching Coleman roll on his back in a chair the first time he shot a 20 guage shotgun

262.                        Ducted fan pinewood derby cars

263.                        The look on peoples faces when they see the Pinewood Speedway the first time.