Life is Wonderful!!

Life is Wonderful, Amazing, Magnificent, Phenomenal, and Awesome, but life at times can also be sad, unhappy, and mundane. Life is meant to have ups and downs. With all the stresses of life, work, family, finances, it seems to be human nature for us to dwell more on the negative than the positive. As we wake up every morning and start our hectic day of going to work, taking care of family, completing our to do lists, that we forget to enjoy life. Our daily life is filled with things that bring us joy and a smile to our face, however we overlook them, we forget them, and we don't appreciate them. One thing that sets humans apart from other of God's creatures is our desire to improve our life. While it is great that we have this continual desire to improve our situations, this desire to constantly improve can stop us from appreciating what we already have. We desire what we don't yet have and don't appreciate what we do. When was the last time you smiled, laughed, focused on how much you are blessed. Here are a few things that make me smile, laugh, and just appreciate life.

QUITE MOMENTS

NEW EXPERIENCES

ACCOMPLISHMENTS

HANGING OUT WITH FRIENDS AND FAMILY

A BEAUTIFUL AND WONDERFUL WIFE

NATURE

GREAT FOOD

GOOFY BROTHERS

TEACHING MY SON NEW THINGS

SPENCER'S LAUGH

THE EXCITEMENT OF A CHILD

THE AMAZEMENT OF A CHILD

SILLY MOMENTS

KNOWLEDGE THAT MY FAMILY WILL BE TOGETHER FOREVER

SPECIAL OCCASIONS

MY FAMILY

I love America!

Those of you who are long time readers of this blog know my feelings about celebrating the 4th of July overseas. While celebrating in the States surrounded by family, enjoying a barbecue on a warm summer day, and watching fireworks can be very enjoyable, I find I am more pensive about our great country when I am unable to participate in those 4th of July activities.

This will be the sixth time that I will have celebrated America's birthday living overseas (two in Madagascar, two in the Congo, and my first in Zimbabwe). Living in countries where governments do not believe and do not adhere to the fact that "all Men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness," has made me more grateful for our country, our citizens, and our government (regardless if its run by Democrats or Republicans).

America is the promise land. Our Heavenly Father has led people throughout history to America, the brother of Jared, Lehi, early explorers, and people seeking religious freedom. Not only has our Heavenly Father led people to the promise land, he has provided divine guidance to our founding fathers, he chose America to appear, with his son, to a 14-year old boy and re-establish his gospel. There was no other country in the world where the gospel of Jesus Christ could have been restored and flourished.

As Americans, we need to remember how great our country is and that it is truly the promise land. Regardless of political affiliation we all need to be grateful for our country and the fundamental principles that form the basis of our government. I am grateful and appreciative of many things about America, but here are a few:

1) I am thankful for a country where I am free to vote how I want and know that my vote will be counted.

2) I am thankful that I can vote how I want without fear of threats or violence from those that disagree with me.

3) I am thankful for a country where, for the most part, the citizens needs are met, either through their own means, or through the help of family, church, or government. I am sure there are plenty of people who disagree with me, but I know of families in the Congo where family members only eat every other day as they don't have access to enough food. I have sat in homes without electricity, plumbing, or floors. In Madagascar, there wasn't a single home that I went in that had a refrigerator, stove, microwave, dishwasher, dryer, washing machine, or computer. Most families lived in single room homes, with one bed for the whole family.

4) I am thankful for a country where the police do not stop you just to get a bribe.

5) I am thankful for a military whose soldiers choose to spend their life protecting the life of my family, instead of using their access to weapons to steal, rape, and murder.

6) I am thankful for a military whose mission is to protect America, not keep a certain party or person in power.

7) I am thankful for a government whose leaders are trying to make America better (even when I don't agree with their ideas of how to make America better), instead of spending all their time finding ways to stay in office and looking for ways to steal more money.

8) I am thankful for a country where I have the freedom of speech so I can write this blog.

9) I am thankful for a country where I can worship how I may.

10) I am thankful for a country that has allowed me to have a life with my beautiful wife and wonderful son, a country where I have liberty, and been able to pursue Happiness.

Today as we look at the flag, let us remember those that have died in order for us to have the freedoms that we all enjoy. Let us remember as we spend time with our family and friends, how awesome America is. As we look to the sky and watch fireworks, let us be thankful for the numerous blessing God has bestowed upon us and our nation. Happy Birthday America.

Kindergarten Graduation

I can't believe today has happened. It's a day that I thought was FAR off into my future. I thought my little boy would FOREVER be my little boy.

But alas, the day came, and to be truthful it wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be.

My heart was filled with pride for Spencer, and I came close to tears but not of sadness but of how AWESOME Spencer is, he is such a great kid!

Really, he is one of those kids who speaks the truth, and will just ask if he has a question. I kinda envy him for that, because I was always so afraid to ask questions. And he is a smart kid! I love it!

I have to give credit to his teacher too, Ms. Cumpston, she is AWESOME! She took Spencer and worked with all of his little quirks and used it to help him grow and learn. She has always said (and even today said at the graduation) that Spencer has been the most enthusiastic boy she has ever taught. She says that he is positive and excited to do everything. He was really excited today that Ms. Cumpston read the book he brought to class.

It looks like we have a FIRST GRADER now in our home!

Travel Post Two: Flying

We will be leaving for a vacation in the states in just over a week so the long flight from Johannesburg to Atlanta is on my mind. As such this blog will be about flying and in my opinion the most important thing about flying is LOYALTY. Pick an airline, sign up for their mileage program and then use that airline exclusively for your travel needs. While some people prefer to use websites like Priceline and Travelocity to find the best deal, I prefer to stick with one airline. By using a travel sites people usually end up using various airlines and therefore accrue a small amount of miles on several airline programs. However if you choose one airline to use exclusively you will rack up miles faster and obtain elite status and all the perks that come with it. Using one airline exclusively may at times cost you more money, however I think it is worth it.

WHY SPEND MORE MONEY TO FLY ONE AIRLINE CONSISTENTLY?

First off, you need to get it out of your head that you will always fly on the cheapest ticket. Ticket prices fluctuate by airline, by day, and by destination. Sometimes Delta will be cheaper, sometimes American Airlines, and sometimes United, but if you are loyal the extra money you spend on some tickets will more than make up for it. Although I have joined various mileage programs, I always try to fly Delta if they have a flight or if one of their partners have a flight to my desired location. Since I fly Delta the majority of the time I have collected quite a bit of miles and am currently a Gold Medallion member (Spencer is also a Gold Medallion member, but sadly Becca is only a Silver Medallion member.) In Delta the elite status goes Silver, Gold, Platinum and Diamond. The greatest benefit of flying one airline is obtaining an elite status. Since I am a Gold Medallion member I get several benefits to include:

1. Sky priority

-Faster Check-in: Access dedicated check-in areas

-Accelerated Security: Walk through expedited security lines

-Expedited Baggage Service: Have your bags delivered first to the carousel

2. Extra bonus miles for flying

3. Complimentary upgrades on domestic flights

4. Waived baggage fees

5. Better chance of scoring an international upgrade (however you have to use your miles to upgrade). If you upgrade you get a seat like this. We are on the wait list for our flight out to Atlanta in a week and hopefully we get the upgrade. 15 hours is a long time in the coach seats. (this seat reclines to a completely horizontal position.)

HOW TO CHOOSE WHICH AIRLINE TO FLY EXCLUSIVELY:

If you want to rack up the airline miles and begin getting the perks of being an elite member, you have to choose which airline you want to fly exclusively. All the airlines have their pros and cons, as do their mileage programs. If you want to get the most bang out of your buck, then choose the airline that uses your home airport the most, or pick the airline that has alot of flights going into your most frequented destination. If you live near an airline hub, that airlines tickets will usually be cheaper and most likely will be a more direct route. For example, I chose Delta because we lived in Utah. As SLC is a Delta hub, Delta usually has some of the cheapest flights flying out of SLC. If you live in or near Chicago, then you may want to pick United. Research your local airport to find who the main carrier is.

Another factor in choosing an airline if your flying long distances is comfort. In Coach seats, the leg room and width of the seats do not change that much from airline to airline. Being tall an extra inch doesn't really make alot of difference during a 15 hour flight. So, instead I look for what airline has the best entertainment package. A 15 hour flight goes by quicker if there is a large selection of movies to choose from. It is also better if the movies are on demand. On Delta long-haul flights you usually have a very large selection of current and popular movies, usually over 20 movies. In addition, you can start the movie when you are ready, fast forward it, pause it, and rewind if you missed a part. Not all airlines do this. I was on a United flight from Brussels to Dulles and they only had 5 or 6 movies on all at the same time on a continuous loop. No choosing when you watch the movie and no pausing it.

When you go to pick the seats of your next flight I encourage you to use the website www.seatguru.com. This website lists every aircraft by every airline and tells you the pros and cons of every flight and every seat. It tells you which seats are more noisy, which ones have extra leg room, which ones have a bad view of the in-flight movie, etc..

Rome, Paris, London...

DISCLAIMER: The following information contains Tyler's opinions and are not fact. People are allowed to disagree, even though they will be wrong.

So Dannon and I began this debate on where in Europe Americans would most want to go on vacation. I think the top three destinations are basically set in stone: Italy, France and the United Kingdom. Although Italy would be my first choice, I think for the most part the top three are interchangeable. Now when it come to the fourth place, my argument was the Greek Isles. My reasons for putting Greek Isles as fourth are:

1. Ancient monuments and ruins;

2. Sailing the Greek isles (mainly to see the the one island were all the houses are blue and white;)

3. Greek food;

4. It is unique from your main European destinations since it is closer to the middle east, but yet developed enough and familiar enough to be considered a western nation.

I put this question up on facebook to get an answer and sadly my side of the argument lost. While it was true that the Italy, France and the United Kingdom (I include Scotland, Wales, and even Ireland as part of the United Kingdom as far as vacation destinations go and my opinion on that will be explained later) were the top three destinations, Greece was far from being the fourth. Germany and Spain were the ones outside the top three most often mentioned. Anyone who did not respond on facebook is more than welcomed to respond here with your four top destinations. Here are two lists that I found during a quick internet check. The first one is where Americans actually go on vacation, where as the second poll was dream vacations. There is a difference between where Americans actually go on vacation and where they would want to go.

According to Forbes the most visited countries by Americans (Greece doesn't even make the list):

1. United Kingdom

2. France

3. Italy

4. Germany

5. Spain

6. Netherlands

7. Switzerland

However, according to a Gallup poll on where Americans top dream vacations are (Greece is in the top three):

1. Italy

2. United Kingdom

3. Greece

4. France

5. Germany

6. Switzerland

7. Spain

Becca and I love to travel and all this talk of traveling made me want to write a few of my ideas about traveling on this blog. So hopefully over the next several months I will put down a few of my ideas to include tips about traveling with children, airport information, pros and cons of different airlines, the best sites for different types of travel, and just my opinions on different destinations. Although I have been lucky to travel to many different countries, I am by no means a world traveler. I have never been to South America, Asia, the Middle-East, Eastern Europe, Central America, Australia, or the Pacific Islands (besides Hawaii). I have never been on a cruise. I also don't go to extravagant resorts or stay in hostels. I think I am a typical middle-class family vacationer who likes to stay in comfortable hotels close to the attractions, likes to eat at the occasional nice restaurant that will allow children, and has a wide taste of what I want to see on vacation. Hopefully you enjoy the posts, feel free to respond with your own opinions and travel trips.

Spencer and Mommy

Spencer and I decided to have some camera fun one day while he was playing outside. Here are the results of such camera fun:

I LOVE this one because of those blue blue eyes!

Not the best picture of me, but I love how much my boy is lovin' on me. :)

Where should we move next?

It is getting close to that time again where Becca and I will have to decide where we will move our family for our next post. We still have awhile here in Zimbabwe, as we will be here until summer/fall 2011. We should be finding out soon what posts are open to us, and will find out our next post sometime late summer/early fall. So here is a chance for our friends and family to let their voices to be heard. The whole world is open to us and we want to know where y'all think we should move? Where are you most likely to visit us? We have had a chance to visit a few places in Europe, and so we have some of our favorites (Becca's being London).