Not for the faint of heart

I know it's shocking... it took awhile but I finally came around to getting the first step completed. I am grateful to Lindsey who let me work things out for myself, she really is a wonderful wife and very understanding. Also to mom and dad who have waited for me to patiently get things in order, thanks for your help... I have big plans for where we will be in the next five years and the following five, I am continuing on in Nursing and feel like the field is a wonderful place for me to start. One of the problems I had in finding an occupation to follow has been my patriarchal blessing that instructed me to have a job that would be helpful to my family, this fits perfectly with how I feel. I am grateful to Linny who has brought the idea into fruition. Later on I will get into hospital admin. where I can learn the business side of health care. This is all in preparation for my retirement business, I hope to build an assisted living home that is beneficial to the community. So with my big dreams I have a long way to go. wish me luck:)

Cardio baby! Cardio!!

I love capturing my kids when they don't know, it lets me see them as they really are. Here Bailey is working out to the Power 90 DVD. He is always asking me when we are going to work out together. LOVE IT!!!

Back to school, to show my dad I'm not a fool.

Bailey started back to school on Monday the 17th. It's been good so far... He likes his new teacher Mrs. Stock and she seems to have a good system for the kids. This year I am looking forward to what he learns. This past summer all of the teachers went through some major Montessori training, so each class should be structured better.
Bailey has a love for school that he gets from his mom, and I am so pleased with him. Good luck Bailey, and know that we love you.

Disneyland trip

Oh wow, did we have a fun week. We took off from Cedar City Monday morning and headed down I-15 to sunny California. On the way there we stopped at a Disneyland discount store in Vegas where we picked up a few items for the kids. When we arrived at the resort we got into our room and waited for Jessica to arrive. That night we took the kids to a park to play while we cooked up some pork chops for dinner. Tuesday morning we started out our time in the Disneyland park. Most of the day we stayed in Tomorrow land where the kids rode the rockets and went on the other rides. Bailey absolutely loved riding the STAR TOURS ride. The next day we spent it over at California Adventure, here we rode the Soarin' over California ride, the merry go round and had lunch where Lindsey and Jessica made best friends with the workers. Nearly everyday we spent some time relaxing in the hotel pool with the kids. Really, staying at a disneyland hotel is so nice, everything is so close and all of the benifits are increadable. Well, Thursday we planned to take a break from the park and take the kids to the beach. It turned out to be a very interesting day. To start the day off I slipped in the shower and took the whole curtain off the wall. I mean everything came off, the rod that was skrewed into the wall broke tile off the wall when it came down. Needless to say we had to change rooms in order for matinance to come and fix the damage caused to the bathroom. This took the whole morning for the staff to find an open room and to wait for it to be cleaned for us. So, while I worked on moving all of our stuff to another room the girls took the kids to do some laundry. After the room change we were off to the beach, and what a perfect day it was! The kids loved playing in the sand and took turns getting buried. I took Bailey out and did a little boogie boarding in the waves, we really had a great time together. That night after some hot dogs at a park I sent the kids back to the hotel with Jessica so Lindsey and I could have a date. We made it back to the pier just in time to watch the sun set over the ocean... Ok, there was an island out there that ruined our ocean sun set, but it was still great to be out together. Lindsey said it was her first time actually watching the sun set. We spent the rest of the night looking through the little shops near the beach and getting a bite to eat at a resurant. I had a great time spending it with the girl I love. The following few days we jumped from park to park riding all sorts of rides, like the Indiana Jones ride, Splash Mountian, Nemo, Winnie the Pooh, and several others. Lindsey's favorite day was on Friday when we started the morning off with Breakfast in the Park where we saw so many characters while we ate. some favorites were Minnie Mouse, Dale, Captain Hook, and Eeyore. Also later that night we got Kennedy all dressed up in a Sleeping Beauty outfit and took the kids to Ariels Grotto where we ate dinner and saw Ariel, Snow white, Princess Aurora, Cinderella, and Belle. The look on Kennedy's face was priceless, really she was so happy to see all of the princesses. On our last day we got up early to make it into toon town for time with Mickey and Minnie. Even though it was fun to get all of the pictures it was too early for us and the kids. We had a great trip and loved the memories we made in disneyland. We plan in about five years to attempt another trip to diseyland if anyone would like to join us, we would have a great time.

Aerosmith

This past weekend Lindsey and I headed down to Las Vegas for a ZZ Top and Aerosmith concert. We have been so excited about getting with other adults and having a fun night. So to get the night started we had Amanda stop by and do our hair for the rock concert, our fo-hawks looked great! Amanda was a good sport and also watched the kids for us. So we were off to Mesquite, Nv where we meet the other two couples. Lindsey's coworker Shawn, has a little summer home there and let us crash there after the concert. So, after a few minutes of watching baseball we took off for Vegas. We all piled into Shawn's Expedition and had a great time sharing stories. We stopped at a little girls store first for a little shopping for the ladies, and while we were there Lindsey picked up a few things for Kennedy. At the check out the girl comented on an old picture of Lindsey's, in the pic she had blond hair, Linny told her she was no longer changing her hair color with the seasons, and that she needed to be more mature (pritty funny comming from a lady that had a fo-hawk!).
Our next stop was a delicous dinner at The Cheesecake Factory, I loved the food. We then made our way to the MGM Grand for the concert.
To start off the show two boys were up on stage playing an Aerosmith song on Rockband, they did a pritty good job. Following that ZZ Top came out on stage and played for about an hour. I really enjoyed this, they played all of their hits and everyone was enjoying some good blues music. We had about a 40 minute break while the stage crew set up for Aerosmith, I didn't dare go out and fight the crowd for a water like the others but it gave us a chance to take a few more pics.
When Aerosmith started playing the crowd went nuts! Some guy a few rows below us lit up a joint and we kept smelling it for the next hour. I would have to say the highlights from Aerosmith were "I don't want to miss a thing", "Sweet Emotion", "Livin' on the edge", "Walk this way", and "Love in an elevator". Plus we had a special apperance, Slash from Guns N' Roses showed up to play a song! We went nuts when he showed up on stage... well, everyone but Lindsey, I needed to explain who Slash was to her... hahaha, love ya Linny! It was a night to remember thats for sure. We all were disapointed that more of the hits wern't played, but over all it was a good concert. One down fall was the shortness of the concert. We couldn't believe it was already over, they let Joe Perry (Lead Guitar) sing a few of his songs, this just made the concert worst. I didn't like any of his music, I just wanted to hear some of the hits. Well after being told by Steven Tyler that we were a bunch of Mother #@!#$@ my fun had just about run out. Lindsey and I were ready to go out and ride some roller coasters or walk the strip, but the rest of the crew were ready for bed, so back to Mesquite we went. It certainly was an interesting weekend, I am greatful to Shawn and his wife for driving and letting us stay at their house for the night. Also to Amanda for getting our hair ready and watching the kids. I have to admit that everyone thought Lindsey's hair was perfect.

I love the 4th.

We had a great 4th of July celebration. We were able to get to the parade with our friends the Gardiners, plus mom and dad showed up to spend the day with us. We ended up leaving the parade early so the kids could play on a giant slide in the park. They had so much fun sliding down together. We then went home and set up the pool for the kids to play in while we made lunch. For some reason whenever we set up the pool the clouds come and ruin our fun time... well at least my fun time. When it started to rain we couldn't get the kids out of it, they got soaked! It was a great day with a lot of great memories.

Summer sun fun!

These kids are having so much fun this summer. Bailey is finally out of school (he's in a year round school) so he can join in the daily fun as well. We made our yearly purchase of a swimming pool and the kids are having a blast with it. All of their friends come over and at times I think we have the whole neighborhood over for our pool party. I sometimes get a little mad at the kids for not following the rules but for the most part they all behave themselves.
The other day Lindsey got home early and some of her girlfriends came over to let their kids play. It was so fun for Bailey and Kennedy to see David and Joey. After today's big swim it started to rain, and after we were treated to a double rainbow. It really will be a great summer for these kids.

I vant to suck your blood!

Yes I finally figured out how to post! I freaking love this kid! We've been trying to get a picture of him with his vampire teeth and Tyler finally got one today!

We decided that it was time to buzz his hair. I've already trimmed it 4 times in the last month... it just keeps growing and growing!

Tuck-man you're rad!

Lindsey Lou

Well today Lindsey Michelle Finch turned twenty seven. Its hard to believe that so much life has past us by. I must say how loved she is. She had several posts on her facebook page from friends wishing her a happy birthday, plus several calls and letters from those who have come to know her and love her. She is a most wonderful person to have in your life. She is a caring person with great goals in life. I love to hear all of the plans she has for her in the future. She is very organized, a quality I admire a lot. She can manipulate her schedule to fit in the most difficult of days. She is never afraid of hard work as well. I love her for who she is and what joy she brings to me and the kids.
Lindsey is a wonderful mother with a caring hand for the kids and I. She knows how to make the kids birthdays a very special day for them, she has encorporated a tradition in our family where birthday morning we celebrate with cinnimon rolls and bacon. What a great way to start a birthday! She is always so interested in what Bailey is learning in school. She is quite the student as we all know and has excelled in all of her schooling endevors. She loves to dress up Kennedy, she has always wanted her little girl and loves the fact that she can fulfill all of the dreams she had with her. Truly the two were ment for each other. Both love to shop and have wonderful outfits. Finally she loves her little Tucker. This boy has brought such love into her life. He has been a ray of light through this last year. Many of you know that while she has been working as a nurse this last year she has also been attending school for her bachelors of nursing degree. Needless to say she has been tremendusly busy. With all of this going on she has managed to raise a wonderful little boy.
Truly we are blessed to have Lindsey in our life. I couldn't imagine life without her. She has really made me a happy man. I love you Lindsey and hope you know everyday how much I appreciate who you are a what you do for us.

I am starting to miss my kids. Granted it has been helpful to send them up to grandpa and grandma Finch's house for the week while Lindsey and I have been busy this week, but there are those times that you just miss them. I am busy this month with a micro-biology class and my CNA course. These tend to take up most of my week. The cause for the sudden desire for my kids was from just looking at the pictures on the blog. I love them so much and am thankful to my wife and parents for helping me this month. Bailey, Kennedy, and Tucker, you make a difference in my life.

What a trip

So we had quite the trip to Las Vegas, we got there Friday night around 9 or so. After having a little treat we set up camp downstairs in the dining room. The fun really didn't start until 3 a.m. when Amy started throwing up... she was sleeping upstairs in the loft with several others, when she ran to the bathroom. Most of it stayed in the bathroom, but when Garrett threw up it was all over the carpet. needless to say Wendy, Lee and Deon were on clean up (it was funny to hear Deon talk about Garretts "spew", she is so fun). I was downstairs making sure the kids didn't wake up while Lee was steam cleaning the carpet. Well the fun had just started. The next morning we had breakfast and went for a swim. The kids loved it. Bailey was doing a great job diving for little sinking toys while kennedy and Tucker were pushed around by Lindsey and I.
Later that day I set up the tent for us to sleep in, the kids were so excited, they were crawling aroung like puppy's when we heard Tucker grunt and Kennedy started to cry. When I found him he was pressed up against the side of the tent, it scared me a little just by the way he was sittting there, I was woried that he had gotten hurt... Luckly it was just a little rough housing and everyone was fine.
Another scare came after dinner. The kids had begged to go swimming again, we got ready and jumped in. Kennedy was jumping off the little seat in the water when she must have flipped right over, she had a little float tube around her that let her have a little freedom to paddle around. I turned around to see just her legs sitting out of the water. I was scared to DEATH! I quickly swam over to her and flipped her back over, she had held her breath the whole time and was just a little startled. I was so releaved. She turned to me and said "you saved me daddy, I love you". I love that little girl, she means so much to me. I would have felt terrible if I would have lost her. We continued our swim and this time I stayed very aware of what she was doing. She was so cute, she would swim over to Dad or I and say I love you, and give a kiss. What a joy to have her in my life.
Well, to get back to the flu that was running around the house. Stacy was sick in the morning, while Lauren got sick at the airport that afternoon. Uncle Lee ended up sleeping in the bathroom by the toilet, and our poor little Tucker lost his dinner about 11:00. After he had thown up we decided it would be a whole lot easier for us to take care of the kids at home if the other two got the little bug also. so we quickly packed up as much as we could, and Dad offered to take the tent down and bring it to us when they came home. Lucky for us that was really the only time Tucker threw up. To say the least it was an interesting trip, with a whole lot of scary moments. Don't worry Wendy, a tough weekend won't keep us away long.

Way to go Linny

We are so proud of our little Linny. She seems to always be the best student in her graduating class. Every graduation she is pulled aside and given special awards for how great she is. Tonight we attended an award ceremony for Lindsey, she was given the outstanding student award in the nursing program. It was a great time with Amanda, Dad and Mom. We love you and I am so proud of what you are able to do.

Easter

Well, we had a great day. Starting out by getting up around 7 on a Saturday brings me back to my younger years when we were needed out in the garden. Fortunately we didn't have to weed today... We got the kids ready for a fun time at the city park where a few businesses and the fraternity put together an enormous easter egg hunt. They had over 21 thousand eggs out on the grass. I couldn't believe it, they said it was the largest egg hunt in Utah. I had Bailey in the 4-6 age group watching with Tucker and Sadie, while Lindsey had Kennedy at the 0-3 year old areas. As you can see in the picture Bailey found his friend Holden to hang out with while we waited. They did quite well, as you could imagine with all of those eggs (Kennedy did have a little nervous breakdown when the Fire-engine honked his horn for the signal). Bailey ended up with a whole bunch of candy and three kites, while Kennedy ended up with two kites.
After we had finished we decided to go out to Parowan to join in their festivites. This time Kennedy did much better and the two of them ended up with a whole lot more candy plus a few cans of soda that were out in the field also... so much fun to watch.

FUN, Fun, fun

So I think I have the greatest kids ever! (everyone else is green with envy) We always have so much fun. Today Kennedy wanted to feed Tucker some baby food, I had to give in and just watch Tucker get covered in it. She would fill the little spoon and attempt to get it into his mouth, she definitely has to work on her aim because she would end up hitting him everywhere but the mouth. To add to the difficulty of the job Tucker would grab at the spoon, wanting to do it himself. We really had a good time. I can't wait for it to warm up so we can get out more. Keeping the kids entertained during the cold days makes it a long day. I love them still the same though.

So neat!

LDS President Monson to Speak at SUU's 110th Commencement Ceremony

The 16th President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Thomas S. Monson, has agreed to speak at Southern Utah University’s annual graduation ceremony on Saturday, May 2, 2009, at 9 a.m. Monson, who has a long history of involvement with and support of higher education within the state of Utah, will also receive an honorary doctorate degree during the morning’s ceremony to recognize a lifetime full of public service.

I just copied this from the schools website. For now Lindsey and I have access to four tickets if anyone would like to come we would love it. Let us know if you are wanting to and we will see if it will work out.

Fun times with good friends

Last night Linny and I had the chance to go out for the night while the kids were sleeping at grandpa Finch's house. We really didn't know what to do, after having kids you kinda forget all the fun things you did when you were dating...(ok, I know, Linny and I just made out when we were dating). We decided to go surprise our friends the Leishman's who had moved up to Provo for school. We showed up and surprised them with Oreo's and Twilight. This turned out to be a fun filled night while the boys made little jokes about the movie and the girls had grand visions of Edward. To say the least we had a great time and really miss having the Leishman's in Cedar City with us. So let this be a warning to all of our friends, we just might show up at your house for a late night movie :)

Way to go Linny

Wow, that's all I can say!! I know none of you would ever believe it so I had to post a pic of it. Linny had a St. Paddy's day dress up competition at work so she decided to go all out for it. As you can see she was one out of the six winners! Everyone at work thought she looked great. Even patients on their death beds had one last laugh...J/K no one died, hahaha. So here's to you Linny, you are the best nurse ever and an even better mom and wife. much love...

Bailey Boy

OK, it's Bailey's turn to get the spotlight. This little dude is almost 7, can you believe it? He has been such a good big brother to the others, he is always willing to help out when we ask him to. Some nights we can hear Tucker just laughing in his crib from Bailey tickling him... Well, I decided to let him in on an old Vanzweden trick for a cheep water gun. As you can see in the picture it is an old lime juice bottle. When we would visit our grandparents they would give us the strangest gifts (I love my grandparents so much they were always thinking about what to save for us). Bailey had a fun time with this for a few days but eventually got tired of refilling it (it takes forever). I'll add a little up date on the end of this as well. Bailey is doing great in school, he loves reading and math. Math seems to be his favorite subjet, he loves to practice multiplication and does really well with addition and subtraction. We really are proud of our little man. I love you Bailey and hope you always know it.

Little Tucker

Kennedy-girl

Wow, is she already three years old? This little ray of sunshine has brought so much love and fun to our house. If it weren't for her we would have a very serious house. She was a whole lot of fun while she was two and I hope this year she will still keep her sense of fun. I love this little girl so much and the only time I am not looking forward to is when she brings home her first boyfriend. I mean a real boyfriend, not Joey or some other little tyke that runs around with her. I just want her to stay my little girl, we really do cherish the time we have with her.

Tuck-man

So I have posted a lot about the two older kids and now it's time to share a little about Tucker. This little tyke is sure growing fast. He picked up crawling at Christmas time, he is so fast the poor little guys knees are sore. He loves everyone, and loves to cuddle up to you and chew on your shirt.
Tucker really is doing well with having a dog at his level, I have to shew Sadie away from using his nose as a salt lick... gross!! He and Sadie fight over the same toys everyday, but usually Sadie will give in and let him play with it. I usually try to keep their toys separated but you know how dogs and kids will chew on anything.

With Bailey and Kennedy he gets along with very well. They both try to pick him up and carry him around the house... I really don't know how the younger siblings every make it in life. Well other than that he is a health runny nose Finch.

Number 8

Wow, has it already been eight years since Lindsey and I got Married? We have really come a long way from her stalking me :). We have gone through rough years and fun times but we have really come to love each other more and more as the years have passed.
Lindsey made a special treat for us this year, as we returned to our honeymoon location... Others will never be able to return to where they celebrated their honeymoon, but I was just cheep enough to offer her the options of Payson Canyon or Salt Lake City. Lindsey didn't want to spend her honeymoon up at the family cabin, so we ended up at the Anniversary Inn in Salt Lake. Lindsey chose to stay in the Palace Suite. the room was a lot smaller than what it looked like online but it was very nice... OK it really reminded us of when we visit her dads house(it was decorated just the same). It had a huge jetted tub, with a fireplace and a very soft bed. It had a little balcony but it was way to cold to sit out and enjoy it. That night we went out to the Old Spagetti Factory and shared an ok meal and then went back to the room to watch a movie. I had a great time and am very appreciative to Dad, Mom, Collette and Curtis for taking our kids for us. I love my wife and am so greatful that she is my best friend. We have so much fun together.

Fun in the Snow

Kennedy and Sadie just love to be outdoors. It must be the fresh air and the sun... I know from the summer we just had that Kennedy loves to be out in the sun (her favorite outfit in the summer is her swimming suit). Here are a few pics of the fun they have.

Dr. Bailey Finch

I am so impressed with how my son learns. He loves to learn about the body, he wants to know how everything works. I am taking human anatomy right now and he loves to look through my book and ask me what everything is. It really helps me learn but I can't help but wonder where this might lead him. It is kinda funny that this week I was driving some of the neighbor kids to school with bailey when the subject of the body came up. The other kids were so disgusted about the whole topic, while Bailey was still asking questions. I guess it is just how our family works but we are very open with how we answer his questions. We learned a few years ago from personality books that Bailey learns a lot like Lindsey and that the more information he gets on a subject the better he is with it. I guess you could say he is a realist, requiring the blunt truth insead of a quick and simple answer. We love our little future Doctor and hope we can provide everything he needs to succeed in life.

With mixed feelings I watch the inauguration last night. To give a little background on my feelings, I am a republican, meaning I like small government. I had some concerns with having a democratic president and worried what would happen. After watching the address last night and spending some time reading scriptures I must move forward and have some faith in the man. I agreed with his speech and will hope for a better future... I am so glad that the statement "so help me God" was kept in the Oath of Office. I had heard that some were attempting to remove it. I will work for a better future for our country and hope that others will stay united. I will say one thing, it was monumental.

Getting out in the cold

Yesterday we had a great adventure. Lindsey was in St. George working in the ER, so we didn't have a car at our disposal. The kids were really getting wild from being inside all day so I told them we would take a bike ride in the afternoon when it got a little warmer. We waited till 1 and it was still 33 deg, they really wanted to go for a ride so we bundled up and got out by 2. By now it was pushing 40 deg. and was turning into a really nice ride. we made it down town to "burger alley" and stopped to pick up a movie for the kids. Bailey had really wanted to see Space Monkeys, so we turned around to come home. Bailey asked if we could go down to Wal-mart to look at the toys, but I had to insist on getting home. It was a good thing we did, by the time we were a mile away Bailey had slowed down to an excruciating pace. I asked him what was up, and he mumbled out how cold he had gotten. I felt bad for the kid he had done well but it really was getting colder. we finally made it home to lay on the couches and defrost.
By the way the movie was really fun. :)

So I gave in after a month or so of relentless teasing. Lindsey had gone with her mom to see the movie Twilight. Ever scene she got back it has been Edward this Edward that... I had to see what I was dealing with. Plus to add to the excitement she has started reading the books(she finished the first book in four days). So last night I agreed to watch the movie. I had some preconceived notions about the film... I had heard so much from the media. Well to tell the truth I had fun with it. It had a great love story(that the women love), yet it also has action(the whole climbing trees is pretty dumb though). I think it is a great movie to go and see.

Waiting for Prince Charming

Wow, Kennedy loves her princesses. Last night she came downstairs around 10:00 with her sleeping beauty dress wanting to sleep in it... We started to tell her no and that she wears her pj's to bed not her dresses. She insisted that she wanted to wear it so her prince charming would come and kiss her. We had to let her have a little fun so she got dressed and I took her up to bed. When she was laying down I told her she had to lye on her back and pucker her lips. She didn't quite get that part....Oh well.

Now the sad part of the story is in the morning when she came in to our room so sad. We asked her what was wrong? Through tears she said "He didn't come!" I had to tell her it was alright and that I didn't want her to leave yet anyway. So until then Mr. Prince Charming this is my little girl and I am so in love with her.