Dribble!

A week or so ago, Kiera was able to go to a cheer clinic at Edison High School in Huntington Beach. She had a great time interacting with the older kids, learning cheers, and dancing. It was great to see how excited she was when she came back. She will occasionally chant some of the cheers she learned there. I can say, "Dibble" and she will respond with a "Shoot, Shoot! Put that ball in the HOOP, HOOP!" It's really cute. They were learning a routine to be performed the following week during the high school's varsity basketball half-time, but we didn't make it to that. There was a photographer from the OC Register there who was pretty entertained by Kiera's hijinx at the clinic. Here is the link to the photos. http://www.ocregister.com/news/edison-340695-high-routines.html?pic=1

I have put the only two that matter, here though...

I will miss you...

Skye, I was one of the few people you have tolerated (maybe liked) from the get go. I know that at times we annoyed each other, but, we have always been fiercely loyal to one another. We have both had the same goal in life: To serve Sarah and make her happy. I have enjoyed having you in my life and you letting me into yours. You will be missed.

Undefeated

I just finished my 3rd season coaching here at CdM. We have been League Champions every year, and have been undefeated in our league each year. The last 2 years our record has been 8-2 (overall) This year, we were undefeated for the entire season (10-0). It was an incredible season. The boys scored 435 points and only allowed 31 for the entire season! It was a special group. The future of CdM football is bright!

Quandary

So... One of the struggles that I have every year with coaching is the fowl language of today's youth. When I was that age there was something "hardcore" and "tough" about swearing. That doesn't seem to be exactly the case any more. Now it's mainstream. People just don't think about it anymore. It's natural. (Mosiah 3:19 came to mind after I typed that...)
I am not one to push or force my moral beliefs on my athletes, but I do tell them my expectations and I don't like the swearing. I have also had the backing of their Athletic Contracts they sign at the beginning of every season which says they will not use offensive language. Unfortunately, no one pays attention to that; and, among our coaching staff, I am the only one who WILL NOT swear. I mean, the coaches don't swear constantly, but will when they are trying to emphasize a point or be intense. Yesterday, I even heard one of the coaches praise one of the boys for using the F-word. I was shocked. He made it sound like swearing was "manly."
The problem seems to be worse this year, than in the past. I don't know what more I can/should do than expressing my preference and not swearing myself. Just a little frustrated.

It's been a long time...

So... I'm over Facebook. I deleted my account last week. There are a lot of great things about Facebook. I was able to keep in contact with a lot of friends from high school, mission companions, and family that I don't see regularly. Although, those are all good things, I got sick of the time I spent on it doing nothing, being forced to read to personal facts of where someone is and what they are doing, and the FB drama that is all over that site. It has been nice not being on there; although, I do feel a little bit out of the information loop.
It has been a long time since I posted anything on Blogger. I figured, with my escape from FB, I will increase my time spent here so that people will still have some source to go to for personal updates on my family n' me.
Since I last posted anything, a lot has happened:
1. I have another daughter. Regan Aria Pond was born on 15 February 2011.
2. I still love my beautiful, wonderful wife Sarah.
3. I bought a motorcycle to ride to and from work.
4. My football team is 9-0 with one game left in the season.
5. I have had siblings marry, new nieces and nephews. The family is growing!


I could go on and list many, many more things. Instead of going through a long list, I will start fresh and update from this point on. It's good to be back. Hopefully, I will do better posting than I have historically.

My best fRiEnD!

Ok, so this is a post just because I haven't posted in such a looooooong time. I really don't know who, if any, actually looks at my blog. Sarah does such an awesome job keeping hers up-to-date. It's awesome!

I'm just gonna get to the what's on my mind... I love Sarah! I have the best wife in the world! She is beautiful! She is so supportive of all that I do. She cares for me and makes me laugh. She is an OUTSTANDING mother to our daughter, Kiera. She has such a strong testimony of the gospel and is a great example to me of how to live. She is the PeRfEcT wife/mother/eternal companion/friend.

iTouch to Learn

iTouch to Learn

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Today is my 31st birthday and I have so much to be grateful for. I am so grateful for my beautiful, loving wife and eternal companion. She is such an example to me and a great strength in all that she does. I am grateful for our beautiful, smart, perfect, year old daughter. I am grateful for the restored gospel and the blessings that come through adherence to it's tenants. I am grateful for a Father in Heaven that knows and loves me on a personal level. I am grateful for personal revelation and the ability to receive guidance, comfort, and strength from God. I am grateful for friends, both far and near, for friendships that are stronger than miles and time. I am grateful for the job that I have and for the children I am able to work with. I am grateful for the scriptures and for the direction and guidance and strength that I receive through study and prayer. I am grateful for the talents and abilities that I have been blessed with and
that I can use them to bless the lives of those around me. I am grateful for family and the unconditional care and support and love they show. They are great examples for me and I love them.

A Year Already

So Kiera is now a year old. Last Friday was her birthday and we had a party at Mile Square Park on Saturday. It was a lot of fun to have friends and family at the park to celebrate. We had a Bbq, cake, presents, and a pinata! The weather was perfect. It was great!
I can't believe that Kiera is 1 year old already. Time certainly has flown. On the flip side, so many things have happened in this past year too. It has been such a joy to see our family's growth since Kiera entered the world. Sarah has become such an awesome mother. She takes such good care of us! I love her soooooo much! I also feel that I have grown too as a husband and father. My perspective on life has certainly changed. I love my two little ladies!
Over the past couple weeks Kiera has really taken to walking. I love coming home and seeing her peek around the corner and walk down the hall to me saying, "Daddy.'' It is a great welcome home.

Summer... Is it already over?

I can't believe that the summer is already over. It was such a great time. I hadn't had a summer vacation in 18 years. It has always been filled with sports, band, or teaching summer school. This year I decided that it was time. The week after school got out we were all over the place in So. Cal. We went to Old Town San Diego, Mission Beach, the Aquarium of the Pacific, Newport Beach, and the movies. We also went up to Utah for a week to spend time with the Pond family there. We got to see a lot of friends and family. We also got to watch the 4th of July parade. I love Independance Day! Parades, Fireworks & BBQ's!!! It was so great to get out and do stuff with my 2 girls. It is always great to spend time with the love of my life, Sarah. It was also great to be around Kiera more and see all the fun and growth the makes. She, (Kiera not Sarah) took her first steps this summer. It has been so much fun to be around to spend time with my cute little family!

Summer... Let it begin!

My first week of summer vacation has been a blast. I've been to the beach, San Diego, the Aquarium of the Pacific, cleaned the garage and played pool, found someone to come and make our pool swimmable at a reasonable price. It has been so much fun spending time, relaxing, and playing with my family. We have been so busy, but not. It's been a leisurely pace. We haven't HAD to be anywhere at any specific times. It's been chill. (If you want to see pics check out Sarah's blog)

Also with Independence Day coming up, I was asked the question, "How does America inspire you?" I thought I'd share my response.

How does America inspire me? America gives me strength. Knowing that our country was founded on the principles of "One Nation Under God" is an anchor. We are a country founded in reverence for our God. It is this knowledge that causes my heart to skip a beat and my eyes well up when I see our great flag and hear the Star Spangled Banner. It is this knowledge that causes me to want to shake every hand and embrace every person I see in uniform for there service to our great land in blessing not only our lives with the blessings of freedom, but in blessing God's children around the world with their God given right to be free. It is with this knowledge that when I salute the flag with the scouts in my troop or say the Pledge of Allegiance in the morning with my students at school that I do so with respect and honor for this country; and ultimately, my God.

That's amazing!

There has been so much lately that has kept me thinking, "That's amazing!"
Kiera, everyday, does something that gets me thinking it. The other day I walked into the room and she looked at me and said, "Hi dad." She is talking pretty consistently now. She has been saying mom, dad, hi, grandma, grampa, bye, more mama, mas (more in Spanish) as well as signing more and waving while saying, "hi.'' In fact just this weekend she said something new. Sarah's cousin was asking her cousin's daughter what Kiera's name is. The daughter didn't answer but Kiera did. She clearly responded, "Kiera." Everyone looked at each other in amazement as if to say, "Did she really just say her name?!?" That's amazing! She loves to talk with other people. I was walking through the foyer at church last week and she was waving and saying "hi" to everyone. It was really cute. Speaking of really cute... My Wife!!! Yesterday we were getting ready for church and I walked into our room and Sarah was looking so beautiful! It was one of those moments where I thought to myself, "Wow! That's my wife! She married me. That's amazing! I'm so lucky to have such a beautiful wife! I love her! And even better... she loves me too!"

I love my family!

I mentioned in my last post that we had taken family pictures. Here are some of them... I really love my two little ladies! I'm so blessed to have such a loving, beautiful wife who is also an amazing mom! Kiera is such a little sweetheart. She loves to smile and interact with people. She is just starting to crawl and move around by herself. Got to keep an eye on her all the time now.

Check it out!!

Look at me! A new comment within a month of the last one!

This past Friday, I went camping with my scout troop. We only have one boy in our ward so we do scouts, combined, as a stake. It was a lot of fun. I had been running around all week trying to get the permits, my equipment and assignments taken care of. I still forgot some of my equipment but I survived. We camped in a place called Lytle Creek. It's a cool little canyon by the Cajon Pass. It's a really pretty canyon. Not quite as tree-filled and lush as the mountains I'm used to but, it still has a great wildernessy feel. I loved it so much! On Saturday, we went on a hike. It was to fulfill the hiking merit badge or some rank advancement. It had to be a vertical climb over 1000 feet. Our hike was 1300 vertical feet and 5.5 miles long. Pretty simple of a hike but it did have some steep ups and downs. I'm sure not in the fitness of my youth when I could hike for days. On the good side. After the first mile, I wasn't really tired at all. Things loosened up and I was feeling great! I love scouting! I haven't been on a hike like that since I climbed Timp. years ago with friends to see the sunrise.
This weekend was a good, tough weekend for me. It has really taught me the importance of communication and cooperation.
Yesterday, Sarah and I got some family pictures taken at a park here in Orange. It was a lot of fun. Sarah and Kiera are both SO cute! She "bought" the photo shoot at an Enrichment Night with the Relief Society. I will post some pics when we get them. It was such a great time. I'm excited to see the pictures.
I also started coaching the middle school track team this week. I am the throwing coach and the only throwing event in middle school is the shot-put. I have 2, maybe 3 students that will be doing it. It's definitely a new experience. Although I was reasonably successful at shot-put in high school, it is a different thing to teach the skill. I know what to do but it is new to me to break it down into teachable steps. It's going to be a lot of fun.

It's been a while since my last post... (That's a re-occurring theme...)
It is now mid-March. Beware the ides of March! The last couple months have been a lot of fun. Kiera is growing each day as is my love of father-hood. She is such a cute little girl. I am so amazed with everything that she does. Over the last couple weeks she has really become interested in Skye, our dog. She will try to call her over and interact with her. Kiera gets frustrated when Skye is not around or in sight. Over this last weekend she started signing "dog." She slaps her left arm up and down on her leg while "calling" her. We taught it to her as Skye's sign. It's simpler that way. It's so cute to see Kiera picking up behaviors and learning. She is such an amazing kid.
Last week at church someone said, "I think she is going to be making people smile her whole life." Kiera is such a happy baby and loves to interact and bring smiles to other peoples faces. She loves to smile and laugh. I got to "hang out" with Kiera this past weekend while Sarah was at a baby shower. It was so much fun to chill, play and laugh with Kiera the whole time. I really do love being a dad.
I also love being a husband to the most beautiful girl in the world, Sarah. She is so awesome! I am so lucky to have her in my life. She is such a great support and strength to me. She is always doing weird, funny things that help me to remember how fun life is. She is so cute. Family is such an awesome thing. I'm so grateful for mine.

Happy New Year!

So... It's 2009. Ten years after we partied like it was 1999. Crazy! I can't believe how time has flown. There has been so much happen. It is weird to think of the past decade and realize all that has happened. It makes me so grateful for all the blessings that I have. I can look back and see how the Lord has touched my life and guided me to where I am now. All of the hard times, trails and tears have brought me such joy. I can recognize the need for the struggles and how much I have been blessed for going through them. So much growth has happened. My greatest 2 blessings of all have been my lovely & loving wife, Sarah, and our precious daughter Kiera. Sarah is my support. She gives me strength and adds so much meaning to life. She brings out the best in me, causing me to strive to be worthy of the covenants and blessings promised. I love her more than she will ever know.
Kiera... my sweet little daughter. She is just amazing. I am always so impressed by the fact that she is. That she is OUR daughter. It has changed my whole outlook on life and what is/isn't important. It is incredible what they say about love. That you will never love the same again once you have kids. It is true, but I am seeing things that I didn't expect. Not only do I love Kiera more than I ever thought possible, but having Kiera has caused me to love Sarah more than ever too. I see things in Sarah that are so amazing! She is such an incredible mother and wife. I am truly blessed to have her.
I love you two; Sarah & Kiera. You're my girls!

Kiera Soleil Pond was born on 2 October @ 8:25 pm. She weighed 7 lbs 14 oz and was 20 1/2 inches long. She has lots of black hair. I am so excited to be a father. It's amazing how much I love her. Sarah was so strong throughout the entire pregancy. I am so proud of her! She is already such an awesome mother! Kiera so strong. She already rolls on to her side. She loves to look around and go on little walks. She likes to keep moving, but is also very content to sit and "talk" with her parents. We are so blessed to have her in our home!

It's October!!

We made it to October! That is actually a good thing because now my insurance from this district kicks in today and I don't have to pay the high rates from my COBRA for my last district. It is great! Sarah is still doing great. I am so impressed with how strong she is. She is truly my hero.
Tomorrow, at the latest, our daughter will be born. I am so excited!!

Waiting

I'm sitting here in my classroom, looking at my sub-plans. I wasn't planning on being here today. It's kind of strange and somewhat frustrating. Yesterday morning, Sarah's contractions were pretty regular. They were 5 mins apart. I timed them for an hour. After that we decided that it was probably the best to get to the hospital. So, we did. after sitting in the birthing room for an hour or so, a doctor came in, checked things out and said, "Go home." Both Sarah and I were a little stunned. No, "You're this far along..." or anything. Just "Go home." We ended up going over to Sarah's aunts house and seeing if anything progressed further. We went on a good long walk but nothing. So... here I am. Sitting in my classroom, looking at my sub-plans...