Great weekend

President's Day weekend couldn't have come at a better time for our little clan. The weather was better than perfect—about 80º. Not too hot. Not too cold. Just right. I had been working a lot lately, and have a lot of late nights and weekends coming up soon, so it was a well needed break. There is nothing better than spending three straight days with m'lil ladies, going to the beach and eating great food. And hey, we even mixed in the Olympics and NBA All-Star game into our festivities. Not too shabby.

Friday:
Cotixan (our favorite Mexican joint)
Opening Ceremonies

Saturday:
Lil Piggy's BBQ and some quality grass/beach time for Penny on Coronado. Mmmm, Lil Piggy's.
Let Penny run wild at UTC mall, followed by delicious Subway footlongs. NBA All-Star Saturday night. Olympics

Sunday:
Church, nap, hung out in the park so Penny could kick the ball around, made dinner for the ladies. All-Star game, more Olympics

Monday:
In N' Out, Mission Beach (an absolutely gorgeous day there, huge waves to watch, chased Penny up and down the boardwalk as she zigged and zagged in front of bikers, walkers and skateboarders. Pinkberry in Hillcrest with Dre (Mel's favorite frozen yogurt). Dominos Pizza and more Olympics for dinner, oh yeah, and another far-fetched and ridiculous episode of 24 that we still can't take our eyes off of.

All in all, it was a fantastic weekend, here are a few pics of the festivities.

She loves to put on as many headbands as she can possible fit on her head.
Here I think there's just two, but I've seen as many as five.


Another of her new favorite things to do: draw/color. I love the wide stance.


Hey there!


We finally got her to sit in the sand and play.
Usually she gets mad that her hands are dirty.


Just a gorgeous sight, that is all.

Another recent development: standing on the edge of a chair, then
running/dancing in place. I think it's just to try and get me riled up.


Doesn't get any better than this.


Or this.


Watching a kite.


"Hey, that's my dad!"


Penny trying to drink my Coke. Mel trying to look too cool.


She loves taking my big drinks, then trying to drink out of the straw, even if nothing is in there. Plus, she now copies me and always wants to crunch ice. Oops. (click to see bigger)


I got a big bucket and a big Coke, what else would I need?


Sorry that there aren't any sexy pics of me in my apron making Valentine's dinner! Oh well, maybe next time. As you can see, it was a great weekend.

Thinking of you Pop

Hard to believe that three years ago today my dad passed away.

In some ways it seems like was just three months ago that Melissa and I were awakened by that 4 am phone call, then scrambled to make it to Utah in time to spend those last few hours at his side. I remember so many details as if it was just last week. I never leave my phone next to my bed on a Friday night, since I don't like being awakened by early calls on Saturday. But a few days before this I started leaving on my nightstand—just in case.

When the phone rang, I woke quickly, and I still remember the first thing I thought when I saw the clock was, "uh oh." Then I looked at the phone and saw that it was coming from my mom, and it was "double uh oh". It's the type of phone call that I knew would come someday, but I really didn't think it would be coming so soon.

I've told the story before, but my mom informed me that he had taken a turn for the worse during the night, and things weren't looking good. We all made the decision that Mel and I would come up to see him. But not until we landed in SLC at around 6 pm, did I realize how bad it was. I kept thinking on the plane, "will this be a recurring thing, that he'll take a turn for the worse, we'll come up and see him, then he'll recover and live for a while?" Melissa's mom had cancer for six years, and she definitely went through a lot of ups and downs.

Alan was there to greet us at the airport, and I immediately asked, "how bad is it? Is this it?" He basically said, "yes, we need to get to the hospital fast, so you can spend some time with him before he goes."

You don't know how glad I was that we were able to spend about four hours with him at his side. He was unresponsive, but still, I know somewhere in there he could hear the words that we were saying. But luckily, these aren't my lasting memories of my dad. I have so many good ones, I can't even count. He was (and still is) the best dad in the world. My biggest goal in life is to be as good of a father to Penny as he was to me. I think my fondest memories of him are when I was with him on road trips, driving across country. It was during those times driving back roads in the middle of nowhere Kansas, watching TV in motel rooms across the country or at a baseball game at Fenway Park that we bonded and became closer.

He was a hard ass. But he was a softy. He was gruff. But he was sweet. His tough exterior could easily be melted away, if you took the time to get to know him.

I know that he is in a better place, but that doesn't stop me from wishing that he was here today, bouncing little Peanut on his knee.

Here's dad being a clown, taking a self-portrait with m'camera.


Here he is doing his favorite thing: playing with his grand kids.


Dad, we love you and miss you, and we're always thinking about you.

Rachel Thurston = Awesome Photographer

So, Rachel Thurston is this amazing girl who met and married one of my best friends, Hot Grant Porter. Upon meeting Rachel, Mel and I immediately felt like we were close friends with Rachel. She is a champ, and when Peanut was about three months old, she came and did an amazing photo shoot with Mel, Penny and me.

Next time you need some pics, whether lifestyle, portrait, landscape, editorial or whatever, please consider her. She's the best. And hey, she's even giving away a trip to Seattle, so what's not to like?

Do me the honor of checking out her website here:

http://www.rachelthurston.com/blog/

Thanks.

Happy Thanksgiving

When I look at my life, I can't help but think I'm a pretty lucky kid. I have a lot to be thankful for, especially this year. The list, in no particular order, looks like this.

The best wife in the whole wide world, the wonderful Mel.
The cutesy little cutie pie, Penny
The opportunity to be doing exactly what I want for a living with a great job as a writer and an ACD for a company that appreciates me.
The chance to watch the Lions on Thanksgiving Day.
Living in beautiful San Diego.
An amazing family including the two best parents in the world.
Awesome in laws that we always have fun with.
Frank the cat.
Great friends.
I'm grateful for God, our Savior Jesus Christ and the gospel.
Did I mention Melissa and Penny?
Good health for my family.
I'm grateful that everyone loved the turkey, dressing and gravy that Mel and I prepared (unless they were lying).
Coke, Cherry Coke and Coke Zero
7-11, Circle K and Big Gulps
Peanut M&Ms and Oreos
Homemade chocolate chip cookies
Toilet paper, indoor plumbing and all of life's other conveniences.
My ability to grow a mustache and Mel's patience in putting up with it.
The beach
Christmas is just around the corner
Paid vacation
My iPod
And countless other things I can't think of right now while I'm yelling at the Lions on TV.

Veteran's Day

Just a quick note to all the veterans out there. We really appreciate everything you do for us. On Veteran's Day I always think of my dad, John Atkinson, Sr, who proudly served in the Marine Corp and fought in the Korean War. His time as a Marine helped shape who he was for the rest of his life, and it profoundly affected our lives for the better. He had an amazing work ethic and a sense of patriotism that he transferred on to us, his kids.

Here are a few pictures of him when he was in Korea. Happy Veteran's Day, and thanks for everything. I love this picture. The photo of him with the kids is from an orphanage that he used to visit with other Marines. He always used to say that some of the happiest times of his life were when they played with these kids.

Happy Halloween

We had a great Halloween Weekend. It was Penny's second Halloween, but it was really the first where we could get her all dolled up to go out and trick or treat. Sure, she still had no idea what was going on, but she seemed to enjoy it. If nothing else, her pumpkin bucket has become one of her favorite things to carry around. We had a ward Halloween party Thursday night, where Mel and Peanut both dressed up as Minnie Mouse. They were both incredibly adorable, as you can see below. It was fun to see so many great costumes from so many people in our ward.

Penny, taking a break from "trunk o' treating" in the church parking lot.


Mama and Peanut looking ten kinds of adorable.


Friday was Rob's Halloween party at work. He sexied it up as an old PE coach. We're proud to say that he won an award for his costume. But really, how could he not when he was baring those sexy drumsticks of his?

Coach Bobby says, "Drop and give me 20!"


Friday night, Penny as a witch…kind of.


Mel's dad, Lew, was here for the weekend, so we were able to hang out with him a lot. Penny loved seeing her Grandpa again. We were even able to go to lunch with Mel's brother Matthew whom we don't get to see very often. It was great for he and Penny to be able to get to know each other better.



Halloween afternoon we went out to Santee to hang out with Jason (Mel's brother) and his family. It was the first house that Penny got to knock on for trick or treating. Caden and Mireya were very cute, as they dressed up as a Power Ranger and Cleopatra.

Our lil Minnie Mouse


Trick or Treat!


Cousins having fun.


All of us then went to a Halloween Fair at a church there in Santee. It was a lot of fun, although by that time poor Peanut was ready for a nap as she kept falling asleep on Jason and Lew.







After deciding we'd had enough of the fair, we figured it was time to go home. We wanted to have Penny do some trick or treating to the neighbors around our house.

Penny hoping Roberto would give her some candy.


She was pleased as punch to roam the 'hood.


On Sunday we got a very pleasant surprise when we found out that Ana, Sandra and Alex were at Disneyland for a few days, so they came down to see us Sunday evening. It was a grand time. We had a great visit, and it was funny to see Penny play with her cousins. She is so funny with Alex. Everytime she sees him, she gets so excited. After visiting for a couple hours, they drove back up to OC. It was a quick visit, but it was great. We hope to see them again soon.

Alex and Penny—two very happy cousins.


Penny and Sandra




So another Halloween is in the books, and it was perhaps our greatest one yet, especially seeing Penny all dressed up and having a great time with all the festivities.

Happy Birthday Penny Joan

(So, I'm a few days late with this post, but I have my reasons.)

I can't believe our little girl is a year old. Sometimes it's still hard to believe that we have a kid, and now, all of a sudden, she is a year old. Absolutely crazy. One year ago we were just home from the hospital, dumbfounded that we had ourselves a lil baby girl. We were excited, shocked, scared, happy, and every other emotion you could imagine. The past year has been nothing short of amazing. She brings so much joy to our house, it's difficult to imagine what it was like before she was there, screeching, yelling, hollering, crying, yelping, singing, walking, crawling, staggering and dancing around the room.

Her constant screaming (and I mean happy, positive screaming) has to be one of my favorite things about her. She is always making some kind of noise. The screaming, the jibber jabber, and of course, the dancing. We listen to a lot of music in our household, and whether it's the Beatles, Wolf Parade, Madness, The Shins, or something else, she bobs her head along with the beat, and even sometimes mimics the song as if she's singing. It slays me every time.

She has changed so much, but she is still that little squeezable baby that we brought home from the hospital a year ago. Her beautiful blue eyes were so striking right from birth as they surveyed her new surroundings, and they've only become more gorgeous with time. Sometimes her face looks so wise, sometimes so curious, innocent, mischievous, and always adorable.

Not too long before Peanut was born, someone suggested something that I thought was a great idea: take at least one picture of her everyday for the first year. Even if you only take one, just do it and you'll have a great account of how she's grown over the 12 months. We thought this was a cool idea, so we decided to try it. Now, this isn't as easy as it sounds. Sure, Mel and I take A LOT of pictures, but there are days that you just forget until she's in bed asleep or something. We did pretty good though, only missing six days I think. In all honesty, this wasn't too hard to do though, since we love taking pictures and she provided the perfect muse for us. It's amazing to look over everyday and observe the subtle changes. We tried to include pictures of just PJ, so you can just focus on her and how she changed from day to day, but there were some days where the best shot included us or someone else.

So, without further ado, here are 365 days of Penny (for the days we missed, we included an extra one from the day before or the day after). We hope you enjoy the visual story as much as we do.

Probably the hardest part was deciding on just one picture for each day! Some days there were several options that were so darn cute, but there could only be one.

Here are two shots that didn't make the final cut for the 365 project. but when compared side-by-side, it's a perfect example of how much she has changed in a year (except for her hair!).

September 20, 2008 | September 20, 2009


On her birthday we had a small party to celebrate, and were lucky enough to have a few friends and family over in our little place to help us honor Penny Jo. It was a happy occasion. I believe we will be in the Guinness Book of World Records for most cakes at a one year old's birthday party, but that is okay. Mel slaved over them, and did a wonderful job. Penny had her very own cake, with a penny drawn on it (of course). The rest of us had two cakes to choose from: one with a lil peanut on it, the other was a multi-layer chocolate cake. They were all very creative, and very delicious. Nice job mama! Penny loved them too, as seen here. As far as gifts are concerned, she received a kitchen set, a stroller to push around, some pretty clothes (including a Chargers cheerleader outfit!), a DVD and some fun toys. (See the birthday pictures here.)

So happy birthday Penny—thanks for bringing so much joy, happiness and unpredictability into our lives.

We love you.

Poor Penny

Penny got a blood test today, she was a tough brave girl. However she did not like being held down and searched for a vein in her tiny little arm :( After a good nap, she is now happy as can be.

Who's a HAPPY girl?

The new adorable look :

Weekend with Miner Fam!