NASCAR

Front row seats to the race: FREE -- from a client :)

Headphones for the boys: $32

(Pricey, but very needed! It is very LOUD and Isaac is REALLY sensitive to loud noises. Poor guy was dying just walking into the stadium and eating lunch in the confession area...we had to get him some so he could relax and enjoy!)

Food/Treats: WAY OVERPRICED ($40ish)

I mean I have never been to an NFL football game, but I have been to plenty of other sporting events! One basket of chicken fingers with fries, a philly cheese steak (no fries) and a chicken pita (no fries), 2 bottles of water and 1 diet coke was $35 alone!! Not to mention the $2 M&Ms.

Race delayed due to rain...in Vegas? What are the odds?

Actually about 1:52. On average it rains 7 days in an ENTIRE year in Vegas. And yes, we hit one of those lucky days! FYI...Danica Patrick's odds for winning said race was 1:50

Trying to entertain TWO Little Boys during said 2 hour rain delay: TORTUROUS

You park, walk for miles to the stadium, hunt down earphones, eat lunch, go potty, find your seats, sit down and watch 5 minutes of race car driving only to have them stop for "rain" (it actually hadn't even started raining at this point). It lightly sprinkles for 30 minutes...light enough you basically sit right through it. Then they spend 2 hours "drying" the track with all kinds of machines and cars/trucks going around and around! So, the cars do like 185 MPH around a 1.5 mile track.....just shift down a gear or two and get the SHOW GOING! ARGH!

Trying to escape work for a few hours on a Saturday: Impossible
You just can't get away from it during tax season!

The NASCAR stereotype: Spot-on?!?

Wife beaters...seriously?!?This was actually the exit....there was AN ENORMOUS LINE to get into this.
(Yes, I just threw up in my mouth alittle thinking about it.) Click on the photo to see it better and read the sign.

EVERYONE has a fancy racing jacket on....They look like they are part of the pit crew.

Those are REAL headphones!!

Now, I don't condone stereotypes, they are broad generalizations that can be laced with prejudice. I am simply stating that I saw more: mullets, men with pony-tails, handle-bar mustaches, wife beaters, big hair, missing teeth, RVs, T-shirts with inappropriate sayings, and people smoking then I have seen in my ENTIRE 33 years!

Two happy boys because they saw "Lighting" and lots of cool cars: PRICELESS? Well, definitely memorable and worthwhile!


These last two pictures say it all!

As Jared was taking Drew out of the truck when we got home...he mumbled half-asleep: "race cars again, dad...race cars again!"

The day finally came.....

I knew this day would come. I have been predicting it since basically our honeymoon! I even made many, many, many attempts to try to make it not so. I nagged, I bargained, I threatened, I guilt-tripped, I ignored, I pleaded, but alas....to no avail.

Last night during dinner Jared reached across the table and accidentally spilled the salad dressing all over the table.....which he then followed up with a "curse" word.....to which Drew REPEATED immediately. And then REPEATED again. Surprisingly, it was kinda funny; despite my years of threatening "couch banishment" the day my children copied their daddy.

However, this morning while trying to climb up into my bed Drew knocked over my camel water bottle.....and then immediately followed-up with said "curse" word. Less funny this time! Although I gotta hand it to the kid, he already knows how to use it in context. The Frost "curse" stikes again!!



PS For those of you wondering, Isaac has never once copied, mimicked, nor picked-up on the fact that dad uses said "curse words".

PPS For those of you who aren't family....this issue has been a major source of contention our entire marriage.

PPPS For those still pondering the situation....yes, I dated Jared for years all through high school, etc. And amazingly for all those years he "managed" to keep from using said "curse words" around me. I had an inkling once, which in my naivety I missed. It goes something like this, I was at Jared's house waiting for him for us to go somewhere or something like that. His brothers were playing Ninetendo. They were getting into the game, "curse words" were flying. In my "I am pretty smart" 16 year old ways, I said: "Jared, doesn't swear like that...does he??" To which his younger brothers immediately replied, "NOOO!" So, there you go, that was that. Case closed, right?!?

Brasil!!!

top row: Nardo, Tecla, Deborah, Monica, Kleber
Bottom row: Matt, Michael, Jared

Jared, Thiffany, Paulo & Eliane

Matt, Simone, Junior, Irene, Jared

Matt, the Farias family, the Lima Family in front of the Curitiba Temple

Jared in Brasilia, where it all started 15 years ago!

Matt & Jared next to Lago Tocantins in Palmas

Jared outside the Campinas Temple at dusk

Matt & Jared in downtown Riberao Preto

Wow! Two posts in one week! We are on a roll. So this is my (Jared) first attempt at blogging, and probably my last. It's just not really my thing, but I wanted to let you know how my trip was and post a few pictures. My friend Matt Imbler who went with me to Brasil did a really good job of recording what we did on a day to day basis, and for those of you who are interested in that check out Matt's blog at www.incrediblebrasil.blogspot.com .

First let me say the trip was truly incredible. It was everything I hoped it would be. We covered tons of ground and saw lots of people. We ate the food (to the tune of about 6 extra pounds), spoke the language, got reacquainted with old friends, made new friends, and generally reminisced.

I haven't calculated this out, but I think roughly we covered the equivalent of San Francisco to Des Moines. The cities we visited were Sao Paulo, Curitiba, Riberao Preto, Campinas, Sao Joaquim da Barra, Palmas, Porto Nacional, & Brasilia. We rented a car and did the stretch from Curitiba to Riberao Preto by automobile. It took us a while to figure out the photo radar they had implemented since our missions and we probably owe the Brazilian government a small fortune in tickets. I may end up a fugitive, because I probably won't be paying the tickets!

For those of you who don't know, this whole trip came to pass because a young man I baptized on my mission got sealed in the Campinas Temple and invited me to the sealing. It was a wonderful experience. We got reacquainted with Junior and his mother Irene, and met his bride Simone. I couldn't help but think that for this one experience, the entirety of my two years spent as a missionary in Brasil were well worth it. The Campinas Temple was gorgeous (I will post a picture of it so you can see that I am not lying). We ended up having other experiences that also let us know that our missions were worthwhile. We found Paulo, a man Matt, baptized who was now the bishop of his ward. We found Valeria, a woman Matt taught, who had since married a return missionary in the temple and had a beautiful little boy. She serves as the YW president in her ward. We found Kleber, a young man who was a very recent convert when I served in his small branch. He is now on the high council in the stake that has been organized in his city.

To be honest, I have to say that we found plenty of people we had baptized who have since fallen away from the church. That was disappointing. At one point, after finding out that several people I baptized had fallen away from the church, I was a bit discouraged. I wondered if I had done something wrong or possibly baptized people who never really had a chance at being active church members. As I reflected on this, I realized that no, I wouldn't have done anything differently. I realized there really was no way to know who would "hold to the rod" and who wouldn't, and that I had been called to preach the gospel to all those who would hear. I had done my best and had actively searched for whole families to bring to the gospel, but along that path had been happy to share with anyone who would listen.

I was also impressed at the faithfulness of the church members we met with. Many of them travel much greater distances than we do to get to church. Many of them have to travel by bus rather than car. Junior and Simone had to travel 22 hours by bus to get to the temple to be sealed. Many of them serve to a greater extent in their wards or branches because there are fewer members to do the work. I realized that many times I am going through the motions of being a good church member. Seeing my Brazilian brothers and sisters push forward with so much faith and such good attitudes made me realize that I can be better.

I found that much progress had been made in terms of infrastructure and in the economics of the average Brazilian. My recollection was that the roads in Brasil were terrible, narrow, full of potholes and speed bumps. I found that the roads were vastly improved. In fact, there were some freeways we traveled on that you could easily have mistaken for freeways right here in the USA. Their traffic laws including drunk driving laws appear to have made the roads much safer to travel on then they once were. When I was a missionary in Brasil, very few people had telephones, now everyone has a cell phone. I can only think of two people I met in two years that had a computer. Every single home I visited had a computer and everyone had an email address. Very few people had cars, now a much greater percentage of people have cars (again, everyone I visited with had a car, although I don't think that is entirely reflective of the general population). One of the cities we visited, Porto Nacional, had so poor of drinking water that even the locals added bleach to the water to make it potable. Now the water is treated and safe to drink from the tap. My general assessment was that as much as things have changed here in the States in the last 15 years, things have changed even more in Brasil.

I was once again impressed with and grateful for the generosity of the Brazilian people. In particular, I would like to thank Fabio and Rosangela Farias for allowing us to stay with them, feeding us and acting as our tour guides while we stayed in Curitiba, and for arranging our visit with Roberson & Ivanete de Lima. Thanks to Luiz & Valeria Machado for helping us reconnect with so many people in Riberao Preto. Thanks to Paulo & Eliane Nogueira for the wonderful meal they prepared for us as well as the gifts they gave us. Thanks to Jonatas Duarte for accompanying us (and driving us) to church in Porto Nacional. And finally, thanks for Kleber & Monica, Nardo & Tecla and Michael & Deborah for allowing us to spend so much time with your family. We truly appreciated the wonderful meals you cooked for us and the time you spent driving us all over Tocantins!

Something New.....and Look Who's Two

I know, I know all you serious Frost bloggers out there........"it has been forever."

In a nutshell. Here is what we have been up to....

DREW
Turning two. Hard to believe this handsome little "man" is already two.
He talks like crazy, is FULL of energy, loves all things boy: like trucks, airplanes, outside and EATING rocks (still), and loves his brother Isaac. Sleeps every night with his "entourage of stuffed animals and blankets. He is already a junk food junkie who loves all things: candy, cookie, cracker and pop, and chicken nuggets and french fries.

Happy Birthday DREW!!!

ISAAC
Started pre-school. Still loves trains and garbage trucks, visiting Grandpas & Grandmas, riding in dad's truck, music, and salad. Enjoys sleeping in his new "firetruck" bed. Is learning how to write his letters and color in the lines.

JARED
Working, working, working and working ALOT. Maybe because of some deadlines, maybe to help pay for these........

a new TRUCKand a trip to Brazil

Oh, and he still managed to squeeze time in for his second Marathon. He ran the St. George Marathon at a blazing speed of 3:05:35 (3 hrs 5 mins) which qualifies him to run the Boston Marathon in April!! What a stud!!
CAROLEE
Being the mom, cleaning the house, trying to exercise, chasing the boys. Trying to decide: go straight or stay curly (the hair). Wishing I had more time for: pedicures, scrapbooks, cleaning out closets, decorating, and even blogging.

STRAIGHT?CURLY?

Maybe, just maybe you'll hear from me again before March 2010.....

Happy Birthday Isaac

Wow! It is hard to believe this baby boy is already 4 years old today!!

Happy Birthday ISAAC! You are such a fun, sweet boy. We love you!

Time flies.....

I intend to update our blog ALL the time but somehow it always makes it to the bottom of the to-do list or maybe it is because I really don't get past the first two things (sigh)!!

Here is some of our happenings the last few weeks:

Shaggy got his 1st real haircut (our first attempt in October just ended up a cry fest).

It only cost me about $17 w/tip (yikes - he only really got a trim around the ears and back of his neck) but we had to go to the special kids haircut shop....equipped with videos to watch, cars to sit in and suckers to make it all possible!!


Drew got another nickname...compliments of his pediatrician: Mr. Precocious.
Isaac happened to get pink eye (and then Drew and then me; but that is another story) on the same day I had Drew's 15 month check-up scheduled. While the Dr. was checking out Isaac, Drew comes up to me and says: "I want a cracker!" The pediatrician turns to me stunned and says, "He just said, I want a cracker, right?" To which I reply: "yep"! After quite a long laugh from the doctor he tells me: "That is the most precocious 15 month old I have seen." To which I reply: "Wait until he tells you he wants a 'cookie'...or even better, throws his food off his tray at you and then says...'Nah, I want a cookie.'" I personally think of him more as Mr. Audacious!

Here is a clip of just a few of his words. I have been following him around for WEEKS trying to get his "I want" phrases or "I throw" phrases on the video but as is customary he just won't perform for the camera!

Drew can say: blanket, bottle, cracker, cheese, cookie, juice, Isaac, Mom, Dad, Drew, Grandpa, Jesus, Up, ball, throw, car, hot, waffles, this, shoes, book and nah (for no). He is a jabber box!!

Peek-A-Boo anyone???

Other notable Drew moments this past month include: learning how to open doors and climbing up on the table; which for some reason did NOT evoke alot of excitement out of mom!!


We got some really cute Valentine's pictures of the boys done at Target....but these taken at home are my favorite:

Nothing says "I Love You" like sharing your heart sucker with your brother, right!!
(And Jared always wonders why when one gets sick the other will also! I do try, but when you turn around and see this you know it is a lost cause).

Isaac and mom had their first "date" and it even ended up on Valentines Day. We went to see Thomas & Friends at the Cox Pavilion. Isaac LOVED it.
He is really into Thomas right now. Unfortunately, no cameras where allowed inside :(

I got some on my phone camera, but they aren't the greatest.Here is Isaac on the way home!!

And Mom and Isaac eating lunch at Cafe Rio.
Happy Valentine's Day Buddy!!!

Happy Blogging! Hopefully, you'll see more of us sooner than later. But, I can't guarantee much when it is tax season.