Mmmmm, Sounds Yummy!

My apologies on the drought of blog posts recently, but work has been incredibly busy (and unfortunately will only become moreso) and I've been out of the country in Shanghai, China. I'll post some more about my Shanghai trip in the next few days hopefully, to say the least it was awesome and nothing that I expected. However, I did want to post a picture of a restaraunt we saw in one of the markets. Personally, I'm not familiar with a "crad", especially that part of a "crad", but if you have a good product that people love to eat it's always best to promote it (even in English for the non-Chinese reading people). Please notice that the resaraunt is packed and there was a line of people about 300 yards long waiting to dine. Enjoy, and comments are welcome (the picture was taken with my camera phone, so it's a little fuzzy; I've included below the picture the actual phrase from the bottom line on the restaraunt window).


Dumpling Stuffed with the Ovary and Digestive Glands of a Crad (I never thought I'd use some of those words in an actual family blog post, I guess it's good to get past that milestone).

Santa Claus is Coming...

This past Saturday was the much anticipated annual tradition of Santa Claus traveling through the city on one of the Syracuse fire trucks. We started hearing the fire engine shortly after 9:00 a.m., and it finally made it to our house around 10:30 a.m. Coleson had a great time playing and waiting outside, and fortunately there was a fresh blanket of snow from the night before. Santa yet again did not dissappoint, and it reminded us all again how great this little city is that we get to live in.









This past weekend we also finally bought some tools and materials to start on finishing our basement. One of our good friends in the neighborhood is going to be assisting us in the completion process (heaven knows I can barely wield a hammer let alone a deadly nail gun). We'll throw some pictures out here as we the process begins and continues, and we are always open to design ideas, etc. Right now everything is pretty standard and we are planning on an entertainment/playroom/pool table room (all one big room), an office, two bedrooms, and a full bath and half bath. It feels really weird to say that when all is said and done we will have five toilets conveniently located throughout the house to serve all your toilet needs.

Interesting Insight...

Most of you are familiar with the ward clerk and his duties during sacrament meeting. One of our ward clerks is Bro. Arigot (Coleson knows him by name), and each week he slowly walks the aisles counting the number of worshippers in attendance that day, while making little notes on his notepad. A while ago Coleson explained to us the important work that Bro. Arigot is doing each week. Bro. Arigot apparently is not even counting those in attendance, instead he is checking to see who is being reverent and who is not (bear in mind this is very important work during the Christmas season). We all got a good chuckle out of this unique observation, and I eagerly waited for this Sunday. As Bro. Arigot approached our seats on Sunday, I looked over at Coleson. He too had noticed that Bro. Arigot was coming our way and was attentively watching his progress. Before Bro. Arigot got to us, Coleson looked up at me, we both exchanged a smile, and then proceeded to fold our arms a little tighter and look straight ahead. Bro. Arigot stood at the end of our row, jotted on his notepad, and continued walking. After Bro. Arigot was a “safe” distance away, I tapped Coleson’s knee, and we gave each other a thumbs up before going back to drawing and coloring pictures. I think we scored another perfect mark on the reverence scale.

This past weekend we had several fun activities that we attended. On Friday, Summer and I went to my work Christmas party. It had a casino theme and we had a great time. I don’t think Summer or I have even played the nickel slots before, so we steered clear of the craps and roulette tables and focused on the black jack and bingo (matching numbers and letters is our kind of game). Through our incredible playing abilities we won the first two rounds of bingo and nearly doubled our play money at the black jack table. We’ll still stick with Zarahemla and Candy Land, but it’s nice to know we can sort of hold our own when the stakes are higher. I’ll have to get a picture of Summer out here at some point in her evening dress, she looked fantastic!

On Saturday we met up with Harmer Dog (one of my friends from work, and one of Coleson’s favorite people) and his wife Cassie. We attended the Festival of Trees for our first time and it was a cool experience. All of the money raised from this event goes to the Primary Children’s Hospital, and apparently they clear between $10 to $15 million a year (I assume you can do a lot of good with $10 to $15 million). We were told there was a tree there from the UDSF with pictures of Utah children with Down syndrome, but we didn’t find it among the hundreds of trees. Coleson’s favorite trees were the Jazz Bear (the angel at the top was a Jazz Bear with wings), Hotwheels, and Thomas the Train trees. My personal favorites were the Star Wars, BYU, and Fallen Soldier trees. There were several dance recitals going on while we there, and once Coleson saw one of the groups coming in we knew we had to watch it. This is a picture of Coleson giving his resounding applause for a group of young girls that had just finished their routine. After the festival we watched the BYU vs. San Diego football game at Harmer’s house, and the Cougs did not disappoint. All in all, another great weekend with the family.

California Thanksgiving...

I'll try to summarize our California Thanksgiving up in one post. Bottom line, it was awesome!

For starters, no trip to California is complete without a lunch at the In-n-Out, followed by a dinner or two, and possibly another lunch (from a guy’s point of view the menu has such variety it’s hard to get burned out at In-n-Out). If we gave Coleson the option he’d be cool with In-n-Out for lunch and hotdogs for dinner everyday (personally I could live a long happy life with only Chipotle and In-n-Out). On this particular visit Ammon insisted on trying Summer’s strawberry shake. After one sip he was hooked, and any attempts by Summer to drink her own shake were met by immediate yelps of disapproval. He ended up with a minor tummy ache later that night, but I bet he would gladly endure the discomfort again for another sip of the sweet blessed strawberry shake.



We stayed at Jenna and Steve's house in Irvine for several days and had a wonderful time. We made a quick day trip to Ventura to visit the grandparents. When we were visiting Grandma and Grandpa Grabau in Ventura we had the opportunity to see Grandma Lou at her new home (the Grabau’s are Summer’s grandparents and Grandma Lou is her great grandmother). Grandma Lou was so excited to see us, especially Coleson and Ammon. Ammon loves the sound of Grandma Lou’s voice, he’ll just contently listen and stare at her whenever she talks. She’s called us in the past just to talk to Ammon, and he just loves it. Gerald (Grandma Lou’s son) came to visit as well while we were there and it was good to see him. Gerald told us that he recently went with his group home on a trip to Las Vegas (he said it was alright, but not much gambling). Gerald noticed that Ammon kept taking his glasses off, so he started telling Ammon that he can’t see when he takes them off. Gerald then proceeded to demonstrate for Ammon by taking off his own glasses and then saying, “See, it’s all blurry, you can’t see.” (for those of you that know Gerald imagine him saying this in his voice). It was cool to see Gerald talking to Ammon like he should understand exactly what he’s telling him. Ammon listened intently, but unfortunately the lesson hasn’t sunk in yet.



Grandma Lou has five other “roommates” that live at the same home. Vern is the only guy and well aware of this advantageous fact (it pays to have longevity in the genes). I loved the curlers in Grace's hair, simply classic. We had a great time visiting with everyone, and Coleson and Summer even sang a fun pumpkin song that was met with resounding applause. It was touching to see Gerald express his love and kiss his Mom several times before leaving. Grandma Lou got a little emotional when Gerald and the rest of us were leaving and we were all sad to go. The trip to her home was well worth the travel and I hope we can do it again soon.



We made it down to Kristen's home near Oceanside for the latter half of the week and had a wonderful time there. Coleson loves hanging out with his "cousins" especially Dallas. Thanksgiving dinner was one of the best spreads that I've ever had the chance to feast upon. There was even an authentic smoked turkey made by John. The term gluttony and my overall approach to consuming the smoked turkey is probably an accurate description for some. However, what others perceive as gluttony and extravagance in this instance I only consider light nibbling. Dallas said the Thanksgiving prayer and we all smiled at this line in his prayer, “We are thankful that the Pilgrims and Indians could get together and have a good time.” It’s all about the good times.

We made it to the beach and had a wonderful time tide pooling and running through the freezing water (I'm a pansy when it comes to cold water, who isn't).






We missed the birth of Kayla (by one day), but at least we got to see Seth and Amanda. On our way home Coleson graciously offerred to clean the windows at each gas station. You'll notice he has the tongue in cheek just like his Dad does.




On a side note, I took this amazing picture of Ammon. Now I don't want everyone to get too excited, for clarification Ammon is not crawling yet and a few seconds later he did fall over, but this is a huge step for Ammon. You'll notice that he is holding himself up all on his own and we are all so happy for him. He continues to make great progress!



Go Cougs! (that's another story)

Veteran's Day...

Shortly before Veterans Day earlier this month I had the opportunity to plan the Duty to God activity for the young men in our neighborhood (I usually get to do this once a month or so, and Summer always offers great help and sound advice). The “expansive” local Syracuse museum was putting on a veteran’s exhibit, and the night of the activity was opening night (the Hill Air Force Base museum was closed and they were unwilling to open late for a special tour). The exhibit was small, but really pretty cool (20 young men and leaders filled the space up quickly). A retired military man was there as a sort of guide, and he had actually served for the entire Vietnam War. I was so impressed to talk with him. I’m impressed to hear about our military personnel serving today and doing multiple one or two year tours, but I can’t imagine being able and willing to serve for the entire Vietnam War. After being at the museum for about 20 minutes we headed back to the church for the rest of the activity. My work has been involved in a program that sends packages to military personnel serving overseas. So after talking about Veterans Day and our visit to the museum I asked the young men if they would be interested in writing brief thank you cards that would be included in the packages being sent overseas. Everyone wanted to participate, and for the next 15 minutes these 12 to 17 year old young men put a few thoughts down on some thank you cards we provided. I was impressed with each of their responses and wanted to share parts of a few of them with you:

•I wish I had the courage to do what you do every day. Good luck! Stick with it. Push forward.

•I can’t imagine what it’s like, but I know you must have lots more courage then I do. I don’t think I could ever thank you enough.

•I’m very glad for all you do. I want to let you know you’re in my prayers. Stay safe!

•You have made this country stronger every second you are out there. We love you people, and hope you make our country invincible.

•I want to thank you for being a hero for our country. You are the reason this country is America!

•If you guys weren’t fighting we wouldn’t have any of the freedoms and privileges we have as Americans. I hope you stay safe and stay brave. Thanks for defending our freedom.

•Although it may not seem like much. I thank you for serving for our country. Knowing that we have good men and women like you out there fighting for us makes me feel safer. We are all praying for your safe return.

•I am a 13 year old boy who wants to thank you for defending us and for fighting the enemy while putting your life in danger. God bless you, and God bless America.

•I appreciate the service you are rendering for our country. Here at home, many of us take freedom for granted, but everyday I pray that I can fully appreciate that freedom and what it means to me. Thank you for your service.

On Veterans Day the scouts put up flags in our neighborhood at around 6 a.m. in the morning. Thinking back to my own teenage years, getting up anytime before 7:00 a.m. was considered cruel and unusual punishment. I hope that putting up the flags on this Veterans Day was a little easier this time around.

Coleson's 5th Birthday Party!

Coleson’s 5th birthday party had an awesome Star Wars theme, with Coleson dressing up as Obi Wan Kenobi wielding his trusty light “saver.” Kids’ birthday parties nowadays all have themes and are generally really cool. Coleson has been to a Cars, Pirates of the Caribbean, and Princess birthday parties this year alone (the last one has become an annual tradition with one of Coleson’s friends Kate, we partially paid the favor back with the all boy, except for Kate, Star Wars party this year; she had a great time). When I was a kid the closest a kid’s birthday party came to a cool theme was something like “Crazy Pin the Tail on the Donkey Party” or “Scavenger Hunt for Sugarless Candy Nobody Wants” (back in the day we didn’t have theme birthday parties, and we liked it, we loved it).




Summer made an awesome Star Wars birthday cake that Coleson and his friends drooled over for its aesthetic qualities even moreso than when they were actually eating it (it appears like I can’t really say Star Wars without preceding it by the word awesome). Each kid was given his own light saver, and was required to complete a Jedi training course. Once Jedi training was done it was on to the awesome Death Star piñata (Summer did a phenomenal job in the construction process). Destroying the Death Star was met with great vigor and zeal by all of the Jedi Knights, and when the prizes poured out all assumed Jedi composure was immediately lost. Its amazing how quickly light savers were turned on fellow Jedis and the force was used to lay claim to Dum Dum suckers and Snickers bars.

The highlight of the party came when an unexpected visitor arrived to wish the Jedis a Happy Birthday. One of our neighbors (Shaun) has a sweet Darth Vader costume, complete with a mask that makes the authentic breathing sound and a light saver that looks and sounds as real as the movie. At first the kids were in complete shock (one young Jedi wisely ran behind the couch and decided to hide for a time). After a minute or two, and some coaxing on our part, the kids got into it and a full good vs. evil battle ensued. One of the kids at the party was Darth Vader’s son in real life, the whole time he kept looking at Vader and asking, "Are you my Dad?" (we found this an ironic twist to the whole Star Wars story).






Coleson and his friends had a wonderful time, and he’s still telling people about Vader. One other highlight about Coleson’s birthday that he can’t stop talking about is his mother getting on Radio Disney. Coleson loves to listen to Playhouse Disney in the car when Summer is taking the boys to another appointment (he actually has the call in number memorized he loves this show so much, so let him know if you need the number). Summer called in to the show and actually got through. Apparently, everyday a caller gets to announce all of the birthdays for the day and wish a special birthday to whoever they desire. Coleson was beside himself when he heard Summer’s voice, and this one thing trumped all presents and other activities associated with his birthday.

Ammon and Nursery...

Several months ago, one of Ammon’s occupational therapists (Mike) recommended that Ammon start attending nursery at church, and he didn’t want us in there with him the whole time. He recommended that an individual be called to work directly with Ammon during nursery time. Apparently the church handbook has a section in it that suggests callings or other accommodations be made for the inclusion of individuals with various disabilities (makes sense, I can only imagine that the handbook would suggest the same things that the Savior would do if He were performing the act). Summer and I have definitely prayed and worked for the acceptance and inclusion of individuals with Down syndrome and other disabilities and have usually been met with success and greater understanding. However, we don’t consider ourselves to be the “in your face” type of people that insist upon every accommodation for Ammon or complete acceptance. Instead, we have experienced almost without exception that even without any input from our side, people are eager to serve, to learn, and to love our little boy, and we have been so grateful for these blessings.

So we took Mike’s recommendation (after several weeks of deliberation between ourselves) and finally approached one of our bishopric counselors. He was ecstatic and said he would talk to Bishop Everett as soon as possible. About two weeks later a new nursery leader was called (Robin). When we heard that Robin had been called we couldn’t think of a more perfect choice. Robin called us at home and said that she had been specifically called to work with Ammon during nursery. So our little boy became a nursery attender and we were the happy pleased parents. The first week we left him with Robin we showed her a few things on how to help him hold his own head up or sit in a chair with assistance. We initially figured, these people don’t know much about all the stuff Ammon can do and we just didn’t want them to hold him the whole time like a little baby. Though I’m sure our initial suggestions were helpful, we were completely wrong yet again in the power of good people and the sweet whisperings of the Spirit in helping people to fulfill their callings. We were surprised and almost brought to tears when we picked Ammon up that first Sunday from Robin. He was so happy, full of smiles, and was wearing a wonderful yellow crown on his head. Written around the base of crown was the phrase, “I can be a good (example).” You couldn’t see the word example because his head was so small that the crown overlapped the word so it would fit on his head. We had never thought of making a crown or doing other crafts of this type with Ammon. Though Ammon couldn’t walk or even crawl out of nursery like all of the other children, his crown was just like all of the others and he had been able to participate with all of the others. (Debbie, Ammon’s grandmother, almost cries every time she tells someone that her little grandson went to nursery today).

On the second week we picked Ammon up and the response was the same, just pure joy all over his face. Robin handed us a picture that he had colored with a crayon, and again we were amazed. We didn’t even think to let him color, to let him be another little boy in that regard. At home we focus so much on doing Ammon’s playtime exercises, feeding times, and other activities that we had kind of lost sight of some of the other fun things that we can help Ammon do. And here are all of these good people at nursery, and particularly Robin, that help Ammon to color, to enjoy snack time, and to listen during lesson time. Again, we are learning from others that we initially thought we would be teaching, and we are all learning from Ammon’s amazing abilities. Mike was right.

Ammon’s been in nursery for a couple months now, and I can’t get over thanking Robin enough for accepting such an important calling to our family. I am humbled to think that on a regular basis as she prays on ways that she can fulfill her calling, in many regards she is praying for Ammon and receiving little inspirations on ways she is meant to help him succeed in nursery, in ways that in some instances are even beyond our abilities as parents. The direct impact of her fulfilling her calling will in many regards reap eternal blessings for Ammon and our family. I can’t help but want to do better and serve more diligently in my own callings; and similar to Robin, simply try to do the things that the Savior would do if he were here performing the same act.

Halloween, Birthday, and Fun...

Halloween was awesome as usual this year. We decked the house out with spiders, spider webs, rats, pumpkins, haunted houses and other "scary" stuff. Coleson is to the age where almost everything is "not" scary, so we have to step it up a bit to get the real scary factor across. We usually put a fake rat right by the door bell, so when people reach to ring the bell we almost always get a scare. This was one of my favorite parts throughout the night. We had our front windoow open slightly so I could hear when people were coming up, and without fail I would always hear a little "ahh" right before the doorbell rang. Sweet music everytime.

You'll notice from the pictures below that Coleson was a Star Wars Jedi. He was commonly mistaken for Anakin Skywalker, but Coleson always readily corrected them that he was really Obi Wan Kenobi (which is the best Jedi). Coleson has been playing non-stop with his light "saver." Attempts to convince Coleson that it's a sabre were completely unsuccessful. He's got it all figured out already, "It's called a light saver Dad because you use it to save your life." No getting through that logic. Ammon pulled off a sweet Batman, although it was a tough decision as to whether he should be Harry Potter with the glasses. Let me summarize with this, though I love my two boys dearly and they are way up there on the cuteness factor in my book, Summer pulled off the coolest costume for the night. She was Princess Leah, and oh so beautiful!




Ammon had his 2nd birthday on October 20, and he had a wonderful time with everyone. We had the traditional bubbling blood punch with the floating green hand, and lots of other "disgusting" food to eat. Ammon did a decent job attacking his cupcake, although we had a trial run about a week earlier where the performance was much more spectacular (so much so that when Ammon was done and completely covered his whole upper body with cake, Summer pointed to me and said, "this is your grand idea, you clean him up.")

Friday Night Game...

This weekend was a great weekend to be together as a family. Syracuse has a new high school that is less than three minutes from our house. With the new school comes local football and I am pumped about that, it’s been years since I attended a high school football game. We are the Syracuse Titans and our colors are similar to BYU colors, so Coleson and I are definitely on board. After I got home from work on Friday, Summer suggested that Coleson and I go to the football game, and despite the expected inclement weather we thought it was a great idea. Coleson bundled up and made sure that he had on his BYU football hat (football and BYU are inseparable in Coleson’s mind). Prior to our departure we feasted upon homemade pizza, that was made by Summer “expertly” throwing the dough, Coleson grating the cheese and arranging the pepperonis, and me dicing our garden tomatoes and peppers (Ammon gave the occasional shout out from the living room). We arrived at the game shortly after kickoff and quickly found a nice open spot on the home bleachers. To ward off the cold and rain (and to keep our “patooties” dry as Coleson would say) we sat on the thick stadium blanket that Debbie made for Summer back in her college days and covered our legs with another stadium blanket from work. With Syracuse being a new high school, the most experienced players on the team are juniors, there are no seniors even attending the school for the first year. Based upon this skill level, the local crowd cheers wildly over any points scored by the Titans despite the poor tally of those points in comparison to the opposing team. Coleson couldn’t stop asking questions, “Who throws the flag; who picks up the flag after it has been thrown; which team is ours; did we just score; why are the football players so small (I almost asked the same question when I saw several of them, it’s amazing how small a high school player is now that I’m “all grown up.”) My favorite question of the game came early on when Coleson leaned in close and quietly asked, “Should I yell, Go Syracuse!” We both agreed that was a good idea and we started getting the crowd going with a few robust yells of “Go Syracuse!” The highlight of the night came near the beginning of the third quarter. Let me paint the picture a little more clearly, we had been rained on most of the night, we were freezing (me moreso than Coleson, I made sure he had the lion share of the blankets), and our team was being badly beaten. Coleson proceeded to go down a list of the fun things we did that night. “Dad, we ate homemade pizza with pepperonis, we had bubble gum, we ate a giant licorice rope, and we are at the football game.” Coleson concluded his summary with the following statement, “Dad, this is the best night ever.” I was one happy Dad. The cold finally got to Coleson just before the third quarter ended and we headed for home. At home Coleson snuggled up with Mom and the couch, drank hot chocolate, and quickly fell asleep. That’s another score for the home team.

Conference was memorable in many different ways, but I wanted to share with you one thought about an especially touching part from my point of view. Elder Wirthlin was giving an inspiring talk on love, when unexpectedly about halfway through the talk he started visibly shaking. The shaking became more severe, but it was apparent that Elder Wirthlin was not the type of man to let a physical condition stop him from delivering his message. I said a quick prayer, like I’m sure thousands of others did, that Elder Wirthlin would be able to convey and complete the message that he had obviously put so much prayer and preparation into. At the point where the shaking became so severe that I feared he might collapse, Elder Nelson (the former experienced physician) quietly appeared at his side and firmly put his arms on either side of Elder Wirthlin and held him steady. Nothing was verbally said between the two and Elder Wirthlin continued with his talk. Though the shaking continued, we knew that Elder Wirthlin would be able to successfully complete his message with Elder Nelson’s firm hold. As I stated earlier, the talk on love was inspiring, and the actions of Elder Nelson only drove the spiritual message home more deeply (this one is an I-pod download). At the end of his talk Elder Wirthlin closed with a fervent Amen. But the microphone clearly picked up two other words after his closing Amen that were not meant for the audience and that I have rarely heard more poignantly and sincere. As he stepped away from the podium Elder Wirthlin firmly said “Thank you,” to Elder Nelson. Elder Nelson then walked Elder Wirthlin into the dimmed lights and to his seat. Nothing more was said, and the sermon on love was again taught most movingly in both word and deed.

Buddy Walk and 5K Buddy Race 2007...

The Buddy Walk and 5K Buddy Race were an awesome success. We got up early on Saturday morning and drove down from Park City in time for the 8:30 a.m. 5K start time. Coleson and the rest of us have been excited for this event for weeks, and there were no significant problems getting up at the early hour. Despite strong predictions of rain, we and Leona (our chapter’s president) had been “ordering” sunshine, and abundant sunshine is exactly what we received. It was perfect running conditions. Let me give a little more background to the whole 5K experience. I personally have been training hard and steady for at least the 2 or 3 days prior to the actual race, so obviously I was in peak condition to excel (I did actually run twice the week of race and that helped marginally). My training regimen consisted of eliminating all desserts from my meals, or at least half of the dessert from half of my meals, or just eating a whole dessert like I normally do (a flexible regimen is usually the best regimen). Additionally, I only had two filet mignons during the week, one on Wednesday and one 12 “ouncer” the night before (a big chunk of meat, a ceasar salad with real anchovies, and a lava chocolate cake are excellent items to eat within 12 hours of race start time). Summer joined me in my regimen for the night before meal, and likewise downed a 12 “ouncer” (give it up for Summer, that is an incredible accomplishment that makes me one very proud husband). Race time came and we were pleasantly surprised to see so many of our friends and family there, and participating. This is the first time we have included a 5K in the Buddy Walk, and Team Ammon easily had the most overall participants in the 5K event. In fact, after the whole event was over and I was at Leona’s house counting the funds raised with Leona she indicated that we had the most overall team participants. There were 43 total people that showed up for team Ammon for either the Buddy Walk or 5K Buddy Race or both, and 38 were registered participants.

The race is about to begin and Summer, Coleson, Ammon, and I are surrounded by our coworkers, family, and friends. For weeks I had been predicting the great “Cheney meltdown” that would occur at about mile 2.5, and to be able to witness this meltdown was the only motivation some of my friends needed to attend the race. Right before the race was to start I realized that my Ipod battery was dead and I would be unable to listen to my essential Rocky songs (this obviously was a key factor in my overall performance, notwithstanding my other extensive preparations). The race began and we were off. Now all joking aside, here’s my humble opinion of my incredible wife, and I know each of you can picture this because this is just the type of person that she is. Summer runs the entire race without stopping once while pushing in front of her a bike trailer with our two wonderful boys in it (and the diaper bag, water bottles, etc). Imagine running a 5K with a respectable time while pushing a 60 pound weight in front of you the whole time. It’s inspiring to see, and she does it at the 5k Buddy Race, the Syracuse 5K, and the Race for the Cure, so that Coleson and Ammon don’t have to sit on the sidelines and be observers, but are able to feel the excitement of the race and be participants. The sad part on my side is that Summer is truly pushing this trailer all alone the whole race, because my expert training regimen barely allows me to run the whole race without stopping (I’m feeling very motivated at the moment). Coleson’s responsibilities during the race are to yell encouragement to his Dad and to primarily take care of his brother. The entire race Coleson has him arm around Ammon, to ensure his little brother’s head is properly held up and that he remains in a comfortable position. Because of this attentive care Ammon is usually as content as can be, and has sometimes fallen asleep to the motion of the bike trailer. The results of the race were awesome. Our friend, Jeff Goddard, won the entire race by a 30 second margin of victory. Jeff’s sister came in second overall for the women participants. My brother, Kevin, came in second for his age category (he indicated before the race that we have to put in a good showing for Ammon, and Team Ammon did not disappoint). Our family came in at just over 30 minutes, with Coleson running the last 200 yards himself, and all of us being cheered across the finish line. Our family’s goal for the race was to simply participate and support Ammon and his friends, while people like Jeff and Kevin added the necessary respect to a first time 5K event like this. We already have even bigger dreams for next year.

The Buddy Walk started about an hour after the race was completed, and again this portion of the event did not disappoint. There were hundreds in attendance, with many of them directly in support of Ammon. Coleson and his cousins walked away with handfuls of carnival prizes, face paintings, and hotdogs for lunch. A local group of children with Down syndrome performed several dance routines after the one-mile walk was completed. Jessie and Loraine came to the event with their three children, Suzanne, Matt, and Ali (each one has Down syndrome and Loraine is primarily confined to a wheel chair due to brain cancer). This is an awesome family and we feel so lucky to have them as friends.

We’ve always said from the beginning that it was not the donations that mattered most, but that people just come and experience the magic of this event. But let me share just one bit about the financial side of this event. After the Walk was over (and the BYU game of course), Leona and I were sitting at her kitchen table counting the donations and preparing the bank deposit. Leona insisted that I run the 10-key machine, and soon we were through the cash, checks, and change. Brace yourselves: this one event raised over $7,000 to support individuals with Down syndrome (last year we barely cleared $4,000, primarily due to the rain). There are so many awesome things that this money goes to support, including research, public awareness, and community activities. But while we were counting the donations, Leona and I discussed one particular family that will be greatly benefited by the activities these donations help to fund. During the Buddy Walk Summer met a young married couple that lives about five minutes from our house and about three months ago had a beautiful little girl with Down syndrome. The Buddy Walk was the first “Down syndrome event” they had attended, and it was exactly what they needed. The good mother was still taking the reality of having a child with Down syndrome very hard, and she was grateful to meet other parents that live near her. When Leona had visited them soon after they had their baby the mother was very emotional and distressed during that meeting as well. What some of these donations allow our UDSF chapter to do is prepare newborn packets that are personally delivered by parents with a Down syndrome child (Summer and I are preparing to be part of this process, especially in regards to the new fathers). As we deliver these packets we have the unique opportunity of sharing with them about our experience with Ammon (and our extended family’s experiences). From the start we were all able to see the miracles surrounding Ammon, and because we saw those miracles we never really felt any discouragement about Ammon having Down syndrome (Down syndrome in itself was another type of blessing in our eyes). As these new parents start looking for the miracles occurring in their new little baby’s life, we can only hope that any feelings of disappointment are quickly replaced by hope and joy. And as these new parents start attending the Halloween carnival, the Christmas breakfast, the Spring party, and numerous other activities not only will their children feel accepted and loved, but the parents will form common friendships and be able to go out in the community with a feeling of support and acceptance.

I could go on and on about the Buddy Walk. I just can’t stop feeling so grateful for so many good people and for Ammon. Thanks again to all of you for loving and supporting Ammon, he couldn’t have been born into a better family. (As more pictures come in we'll be sure to post them up).