NOT THE ELLIPTICAL

What was our greatest Christmas gift this year? Here’s a hint: it wasn’t the new elliptical machine.

Welcome to the world, Mason Nickolas Burke. Born on Dec. 1, 2010, Mason weighed in at 9 lbs and was 22 inches long. (Not quite as big as his older brother, thankfully).

Here are a few photos, in reverse order.

BEE MASTER

I am the greatest bee catcher on South Mountain!

Take a look at the photo below. Impressive, right? Now, before you go feeling sorry for these creatures, know that they were swarming around my son’s backyard pool about to attack.


If the first photo failed to impression, check out the this one that was taken less than 12 hours after I emptied the trap the night before.

Is the World ready for another Hunter?

Hunter at Farm Country wanting to be a Cowboy like his Great-Grandpa Hunter!

At the Salt Lake County Fair, no fear of animals of any size! Mr. Spikey Hair


On our Road Trip to Oregon, Hunter discovered Blow Pops.

Riding on the back of Dad's Bike!

Ready or not . . . Baby Boy Burke II expected arrival, November 2010!

UGH... BABY PHOTOS?

Nikki tells me that we don't want to turn into bloggers that only post photos of their children. Apparently, "it's tacky." Oh well, I'm cleaning out the iPhone and need to immortalize a few of my favorite Hunter moments:

"Rollin' in my 0.0 with the ragtop down so my hair can blow..."

Our neighbors probably hate the pool as much as Hunter loves it.
The kid vaccumed the entire downstairs last Saturday, no joke.
Mixing his two favorite things, cars & ladies.
Spaghetti wins again.

Desperately trying to escape Nikki's clutches.

At the price we paid, that car seat had better be comfortable.

Sportin' the lady shades.



Jammin' with cousin Brynnlee.


Helping with the dishes? Not so much.

The natural faux hawk. Is there any other way?

This one makes me laugh. Apparently, my son was once a chubbly, little German kid.

IN THIS CORNER...

Hunter got into a fight with a coffee table last night. He lost. Despite his swollen left eye, he was in good spirits this morning. A little shiner won't stop him.

THESE 3 THINGS

-The end of Finding Nemo
-An episode of Parenthood on NBC
-Zac Brown’s “Highway 20 Ride” music video

What do these three things have in common? Well… they all made me cry.

Apparently, fatherhood has made me soft. I did make it through The Blind Side without shedding a tear – Nikki cannot say the same.

LOST

I have a buddy who recently posed an interesting question. “If you could put a group of people on a plane that would crash on a deserted island and be lost forever, whom would you choose?”

Here is my list:

Nancy Pelosi
“Saving the world” at everyone else’s expense, both literally ($$$) and figuratively.

Kanye West
I don’t dislike you because I’m a racist. I dislike you because you’re an idiot.

Britax
You can’t make a car seat that costs less than $400? And you had to show that child safety video that made Nikki cry in the middle of Baby’s R’ Us, didn’t you?

Jennifer Nettles of Sugarland
Feel free to keep singing, but please don’t make us watch your face. Are you constipated, confused, in pain? What is it?

Dane Cook
Even I can appreciate the occasional well-placed F-bomb, but dropping it every third word isn’t funny. Know what else isn’t funny? Stealing jokes from other comedians.

The Creators of Olive Garden Commercials
Earth to you: people who visit your restaurant don’t sit around and make G-rated jokes about how someone in their dinner party can’t resist your delicious food. Stop insulting our intelligence.

Nickelback and their Clones (Staind, 3 Doors Down, Daughtry)
Seriously, enough is enough… The only thing than worse than your smoker voices is your fabricated angst. Who listens to this crap, anyway? Maybe it’s the fifth-graders who are writing your lyrics. And I thought the world would have learned its lesson with Creed.

Michael Moore
Distorting the truth one cheeseburger at a time.

Kobe Bryant
Hug your kids in front of the camera. Kiss your wife. Try to make us think you’re a good guy. But we still remember what you did back in 2003.

UDOT Workers
Tell me why it takes more than two full years to put in an exit at 114th South? Here’s an idea: have more than one person work at a time.

Keith Olberman
At least pretend to be unbiased when reporting “the news”.

Jay Leno
Conan got screwed, and you’re still not funny.