The Tiger Twins

I should have posted this a couple of weeks ago, but I just kept forgetting... is old age setting in?

On a typical day, Kristi put the kids down for "quiet time"; Scott in his room, and Katie and Kassi in their room. Not long after, Kristi realized it had gotten really quiet. She went to investigate. This is what she found:

Katie decided that it would be really fun to be tigers, so she got a pen and drew tiger stripes on her and Kassi. If you look closely, you'll also see a little stick figure on Katie's left arm... I think that's talent.

10 Reasons to Weight Train

I put this here more for my own reference than anything, but it is good information and it doesn't hurt to share it, right?

10 Reasons to Weight Train
Original By Kelly James-Enger

1. It works. "One of the beauties of strength training is that it's a very efficient way to not only improve your appearance, but your overall health," says Brad Schoenfeld, author of Look Great Sleeveless (Prentiss Hall, 2002.) Just three 30- to 45-minute sessions a week will produce results


2. You'll look better. Nothing sculpts your body like weight training -- you must overload your muscles to change their shape. And firm muscles also help mask the appearance of cellulite by smoothing out those lumps and bumps.


3. You burn more calories. Every pound of muscle you gain burns about 50 calories a day, even at rest, meaning you can eat more and maintain your weight, says Schoenfeld.


4. It keeps you young. Women in their 30s begin to lose about 1 percent of their muscle mass per year. Weight training staves that off and helps you maintain bone mass to combat osteoporosis.


5. It makes you tougher. And less prone to injury -- the stronger your muscles are, the less likely you are to get hurt, says exercise physiologist Richard Cotton of First Fitness, Inc.


6. It reduces anxiety. Studies show that pumping iron reduces anxiety and eases depression. Channel the stresses of the day into your workout, and leave them at the gym.


7. It boosts your metabolism. When you weight train, you increase your metabolism -- it's like replacing a 4-cylinder engine with an 8-cylinder one, says Cotton. You have more power, and you need more fuel.


8. It improves your posture. Not only will you stand straighter, you'll feel more confident as well -- research shows that weight lifting improves self-esteem, says Cotton.


9. It makes life easier. Strength training -- duh -- makes you stronger so you're better able to perform functional tasks like carrying groceries or picking up your two-year-old.


10. You'll reduce your body fat. Proper diet and weight training will lower your body fat. Even if the scale number doesn't change, you're replacing fat with denser muscle, which means you'll lose inches, says Cotton.

A funny Katie moment...

Yesterday, our ward had a young women's spaghetti dinner and silent auction. I didn't make it, but I guess it was pretty good, because Katie really didn't want to leave. Kristi and Haylee were putting the kids in the van when Katie decided that all her screaming and fussing wasn't working well enough. So, she took it to the next level and started kicking, pinching and hitting Haylee as she was helping Katie with her seatbelt.
When they got home, Katie got to have a talk with me. Here's a snippet from the condensed version:

Me: "...Ok, Katie. Now remember that even though you're in trouble, I still love you."
Katie: "I already know that, Daddy! You tell me that all the time. You tell me that too much today! It's already in my head!"
Me: "Katie, be nice or you'll find yourself in more trouble. You need to be nice to people: don't hit, don't punch, don't kick, don't bite, don't pinch. Be nice. Now I want you to put that in your head and remember it, ok?"
Katie: "I already did, Daddy."

So, today, as Katie and Scott were getting in the van to go to a birthday party, a fight broke out between them over who got to carry the present. I stepped in and sent them both to their room. I came in a little while later to talk to them.

Me: "Katie, do you remember the talk we had yesterday about being nice?"
Katie: (sheepishly) "Yes..."
Me: "What did I tell you to remember?"
Katie: "I dunno..."
Me: "What did I tell you to put in your head and remember?"
Katie: "I already don't know! I don't have nothing in my head anymore!"

Needless to say, I had a very difficult time keeping a straight face after hearing that retort. How am I supposed to respond to that?!?

Life Rife With Change As Everything Remains Constant

Mar 16 09:31 AM US/Pacific
By: MARC THOMSON
Thomson Times Editor

In my experience, it is commonly perceived that, in the absence of dramatic events, life remains constant. Not so. It's easy for me to slip into the thinking that other people's lives are more exciting than my own. In reality, life is as exciting as you want it to be. For some, excitement is an undesireable attribute, replaced instead by stability and predictability. I like a little of both, I think.

As days, weeks, and months go by, I find myself reading over the events occurring in other people's lives, whether in their blogs, on the family websites, or in email. As I read, I find myself wondering what kinds of stories or events I could share in return that the reader would find interesting and entertaining. Nothing really comes to mind. I think I'm living in the stability and predictability portion of the cycle. But it's not all that bad.

Looking back on my life for the past few years, I graduated from college (twice), moved 1,400 miles from the place I grew up to a place completely alien, got a good job, got married, had three kids, lost some loved ones and gained others. So, I can't say my life has been boring; however, I can say that I feel like something big is on the horizon. God doesn't seem to like letting me slip into complacency, preferring instead to keep me on my toes.

As I write this, I hear the sounds of the kids getting ready for church: Katie is in the tub singing a song she made up, Scott is asking Kristi about how to spell a word, Kassi is making baby noises to herself while she drags her favorite blanket around the floor, and Kristi is preparing something for Young Womens. It's a typical Sunday morning.

I guess I should spend some time to give an update on what each family member is doing these days. Let's start with the youngest...

Kassi continues to transition from being a little baby to a little girl, though she thinks she's as big as Scott and Katie. She likes to explore the house and get into things she's not supposed to. She seems to like to bump her head on things as she can rarely be found without a bruise on her head somewhere. Her red hair is coming in thicker and I can't help but notice the redhead attitude she has to match. She isn't much of a talker yet, but she has her moments. She also loves to play in the sandbox with the big kids and is quite a connoisseur of sand and mud. But, on the flip side, she loves looking pretty and will frequently want "pretties" put in her hair so she can show them off to Daddy.

Katie is a typical little girl with a very special spirit. She loves learning new things and will often attempt to do Scott's homework with him. She makes me so proud with her eagerness to learn and her ability to absorb information. She still likes to sign phrases and words, and is always interested in learning more sign language. I truly think she's blessed with intelligence. Her latest exciting news is that she gets to give her first talk in primary today. She's been looking forward to this day for quite some time.

Scott is going through another growth spurt. Yesterday, I noticed that the sleeves on the shirt he was wearing ended a good five centimeters above his wrist. He seems to be quite the popular kid at school, which I cannot relate to one bit. He will make an excellent missionary one day because he has no reservations with talking to anyone. Scott is quickly developing his sense of humor and is quick to share or play a joke on anyone who will let him. He loves riding in the truck and refers to the two of us as "truck guys." He especially loves treasure hunting in the hills of Arizona and will bring home all sorts of rock as his reward.

Kristi has been developing the talent of juggling over the past few years. She is currently juggling the rigors of homemaking, raising kids, managing finances (yes, I know I should be more involved with this...), and fulfilling her church calling in the Young Womens organization. She always seems to have so many balls in the air, I constantly wonder how she does it all. She is currently busy preparing for this year's Pioneer Trek and at the same time planning for Young Women's camp. What a busy,
busy job. What amazes me about Kristi is how she keeps so much of this straight in her head... I don't think I could do it.

I have been spending much of my spare time trying to get back into shape. Over the last eight years I did a great job of getting out of shape. But now I think it's important to change that so I can spend as many enjoyable years with my family as possible. I've also started learning morse code... again. One day, I'll get it down. It's not so much a requirement for a Ham radio license anymore as it is a personal challenge. That's about it for me right now.

Hopefully, I'll feel more inclined or inspired to write again sooner.
Until then, hasta la vista!

Mesa Temple Lights

Well, we made our almost-yearly visit to the temple lights in Mesa last Sunday. I look forward to going every year for a number of reasons. One of my earliest memories of Arizona was when my family came to Arizona to visit the extended family. During that trip, we went to the temple grounds and checked out the lights. I don't remember much else from that trip; I was too impressed by the lights, I guess.
Another reason I look forward to going to the temple lights is that it gives me a great opportunity to play with my camera. Granted, I don't have the best camera in the world, not even one of the better cameras available, but I love taking pictures. I forgot the tripod again this year, so I found myself using trees, chairs, signs, or any other fixed object as a tripod. The picture to the right is looking south from the visitor's center using the information sign as a tripod. It's not the clearest shot, but it's one of the better ones I ended up with.
Kristi and the kids had a fun time, even though it was kind of cold (for us Arizonans). We took our "adopted" daughter, Haylee, with us this time, and the kids really had a good time with her. It was her first time seeing the lights, and she's lived here her whole life.
Some of my family is coming down this week for a funeral, so we may have to make another trip to the temple before they head back to Canada.

Kassi's Chocolate Experiment

This actually happened a few weeks ago, but I'm just now adding it to the blog. This is a video of how I found Kassi one morning when things had gotten really quiet, which is never a good thing...

As you can see, she found Kristi's treat bag from her latest shopping expedition. Kassi picked the 3 Musketeers Mint chocolate bar and was in the middle of devouring it. She screamed very loudly when I took her new found treat away.

Welcome

Welcome to the Thomson Times blog. This is my attempt at keeping some sort of record for family and friends... and anyone else who may be interested in reading about what is going on in the Marc & Kristi Thomson family.

I have to start this with a disclaimer that although my intentions may be ambitious, maybe even noble, I have a really hard time keeping up with projects such as this. Therefore, if you haven't seen anything new in a while, feel free to pester and annoy me until I am motivated enough to resume posting.

Here goes nothing....