Dain's Birthday

So Dain had a birthday yesterday ... and he absolutely doesn't like any attention on his birthday, which means parties are out. So I didn't plan anything other than going out to dinner. He was Texas homesick so he chose to eat at Texas Roadhouse. While there I motioned to our server that it was Dain's birthday ... and sure enough, they brought the saddle over to our table. Much to my surprise, Dain got right on it. Saddle up, cowboy!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SWEETIE! YEE HAW!

Dain Bakes and Stuff Like That

Dain was the MC for the Oyter Creek Park 4th of July. Here he is with Michelle Fisher, who works for him. He's a great MC!!!!

I had been ranting about craving cinnamon rolls. Well, I think he got tired of me talking about them non stop so he made some. Here they are right before he baked them .... He put in raisins (which I don't like) but he compensated by adding chocolate chips. YUM

And round things off, he made this delicious bread. :-) Yeah, I love bread!

Father's Day

I am lucky to be surrounded by incredible dads. The men in my life who are fathers have been such amazing examples of love, kindness, patience and caring. This is my dad, to the left, holding me (yes, even as a baby my hair was curly) and my brother Paul. I still have that dress in my baby box. I have admired my dad for as long as I can remember! My dad has the incredible talent for being quiet and a great listener, something I tried hard to develop. It's so nice to have someone who can lend a listening ear without offering unsolicited advice. He taught me to love spaghetti with ketchup. Yup, it's true. In Argentina, people assumed that's what American's ate and here in the US, people assume it's an Argentinian thing.It's neither, it's a Bob thing (my dad's name) and my siblings and I all love it. My dad is the best ever.

I love this picture of Dain. He might kill me for using it here. Dain has been such a great teacher for the kids. He has a talent for being organized and looking into the future and preparing for it. That is something that is hard to teach and he has been able to teach that to all of us. He loves hard work and being proud of what you do. In this day and age, when kids don't do nearly as many chores as we used to, it's refreshing to know our kids can do whatever is required of them. He's a great dad!

Happy Birthday Dain!

It was Dain's bday this week .... Here's a belated Happy Birthday!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! He turned 19 ... no 29 ... no 39 ... ??? I lost count. And yes, he's crossing his eyes ... He crossed them in every single picture! lol

Beautiful Polynesian Girl

Dain's Atkin grandparents served missions in Samoa and New Zealand back in the 60's. They were there for quite a while and learned to love the area. Then Dain's uncle was called to a mission in Samoa and thus started the family love affair with Polynesia. His grandparents bought some beautiful paintings while they were on their mission and now we have one of those paintings. Look how beautiful it is! Dain's uncle passed away a few years ago and then his wife remarried. She sent this painting to Dain, knowing he had always wanted one. It's now hanging over our mantle, having replaced our picture of Waikiki. :-)

Jon Schmidt's latest

Dain is Jon's drummer for the Christmas concerts and has been for years. Jon is known for putting together these combinations but this one was a huge hit!!!! He and Steve do some cool things.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0v3d6SFcDys

After the funeral

The Tree of Life was lit on Dain's grandmother's honor on Friday evening. This tree is only lit on special occasions and a couple of doctors gave a generous donation to the hospital on her behalf and the tree was lit. It was beautiful and an incredible honor to Grandma Atkin and her life.

Dain's mom with her brothers Scott and Dale. Grandpa Atkin is in front.
All the Atkin cousins
Dain and his grandfather
Pall bearers during grave dedication

Sports and Music Saturday

Saturday, while Emi was gone with the YW, I went with Dain while he played charity softball to raise money for the Snowdrop Foundation. That evening, we went to Christian's guitar recital. He sang and played a song he wrote. SO amazing.

Dain's Commercial Pilot Test

Dain passed his written commercial pilot's test!!!! Hooray!!!

My missing half

So while I sit in Texas, Dain sends me this of himself ... so jealous! As a certified ski instructor, he has to teach so many days a year and be employed by a ski resort or he loses his PSIA certification. So he goes back and teaches a few times a year.

Beautiful Flowers

I have received so many flowers these past two weeks ... I received these today:

I received these the day before my anniversary.

I received two of these. One on the 15th, for our anniversary. The other one a few days ago.

Let me explain what is going on. Dain always sends me flowers for our anniversary and then for my birthday. They are a whole ten days apart (I know, great planning). Well, the flower company is doing business with the radio station. Last year, when they started doing business together, they asked him for our "special dates". And this year, they sent flowers both dates. The one before our anniversary to both of us and the tulips today for my birthday on Sunday. The roses a few days ago were to say "welcome" to the new contract for this year. lol So I'm surrounded by flowers!!!! He officially gave me red roses on the day of our anniversary. His were long stemmed and beautiful. When the second set came, I put some in our bathroom and the rest I mixed in with the old ones. The second set were short stemmed. Hey, I'm not complaining.

Jon Schmidt Concert Part 2

Dain sent these to me from his phone. This is Jon practicing for tonight. Tonight and Saturday, the concerts are at Kingsbury Hall at the U of U campus.

Another picture from the practice. I won't get actual pictures since Dain will be playing. This is the first year I don't get to see the concert! Sad.

Jon Schmidt

Dain is in Utah doing his annual Jon Schmidt concert trip. This year, it's one trip instead of two since Jon put all concerts into one week. Much easier for us! He just sent me this picture he took with his phone. He's at the drums and you can see Jon (right) and Steve (left) as they practice for tonight's show in Ogden. Friday and Saturday, the show is in SLC.

Wish I could be there ....

By the way, those good looking drums belong to Dain's brother Jon (yes, same spelling as Jon Schmidt). THANKS JON!!!! :-) There was not way to take Dain's drums from Texas. lol

Dain the Astronaut

Since we live in Houston, Dain decided to apply to become an Astronaut. LOL Yup, you read right. He's not one to pass up an opportunity such as this one. So here is the official reply from Nasa. Now that the Shuttle program has ended, it may or may not happen. But he can always say that he tried. :-)

Dain's workout in a magazine!

Houston's Chill Magazine did a story on Dain and a trainer he's worked with in the past. They show a complete workout. Pretty cool!

Charity Softball Game

Dain and co-workers from different radio stations joined forces and formed a softball team to represent 93Q and The Snowdrop Foundation to play in the Derricks and Diamonds Tournament to raise money for the Children's Hospital. It was fun to watch and a great cause to support!

AEROBATICS!

On our last trip to Utah in April, Dain finally got to go with our friend George to do aerobatics. George owns a Chipmunk and has been wanting to take Dain up for a loooong time. George and his wife Riley are good friends. George was instrumental in getting Dain to finally finish his pilot's license.