An Easter to Dye For

We had quite an eggstravaganza this Easter. We dyed eggs, we hid eggs, we found eggs, we hid eggs again, and we found eggs again, we ate eggs, thought about eggs, appreciated the goodness, shape, and proportion of the egg, well you get the idea.


Wil and Maisy had an eggsellent time coloring a couple dozen eggs.



Wil's favorite eggs had a sports theme. He liked the eggstreme colors.



Maisy's favorite egg was an elegant green, held by a princess. It looked eggsquisite.



Grampy Sterling was quite eggsuberant about this strange-colored egg.



Baby Alton had eggsactly no idea what was going on.

Our Easter was great. You just couldn't eggstinguish the enthusiasm of the children. We tried to set a good eggsample for them by emphasizing the true reason why we celebrate Easter.

We hope your Easter was eggstemporaneous, eggsonerated, and eggsalted. I tried not to eggsagerate this post, and I hope it didn't eggsasperate you.

Okay, I will eggsit the blog post now.

New Results

Will someone please slow down Chad S? He's like a runaway train with the points.

People made some very interesting switches which could pay off in the long run. Check out the spreadsheet if you want to know more.

You can make changes any time from this point on. Let me know when you want to switch two contestants or add a new one.

5 people correctly guessed that Chikesie was outta here: Chad S (of course), Amber, my bro Brian, the Gibbons, and the Stohls. Nice work! And Christine, welcome back to the top 10!

AIFL

Pretty good night on American Idol, huh? So who's going home this time? I think there will be a wide variety of guesses and a surprise or two in the bottom three. good luck!

Also, here is a chance to take a risk and see if it will pay off for you. You can switch anyone who is in your 1-8 slots. Just swap two contestants. For example, I could switch my number two person with my already eliminated #7 person. That way I'll get a ton more points for that contestant in the coming weeks. The cost for swapping is 50 points.

Also, you can add someone in to any spot 1-8 who was never in your top 8. Just plug someone in to a spot of a contestant who has been eliminated. For example, my number 5 is gone, so I put in someone new for my number 5, and get a bunch of points for that person from here on out. The cost for putting in a totally new contestant is 100 points.

Is the gamble worth it? Are you going to take the risk and modify your top 8? You can do it at any time during the rest of the competition, and do it as often as you want. However, if you want your changes to count for this week, you need to send them to me (as a comment or email) before tomorrow's elimination show.

Recap:

Switch 2 current top 8 choices (-50points)
Add a completely new contestant (-100 points)
Send me your bottom three and who you think is going home (+25 for each correct bottom three, +50 for guessing correctly who's going home)

Plant a garden

Plant a garden, grow some seeds. Water those plants, kill those weeds!




Get some kids to help it grow. The more you teach, the more they'll know.




Nurture the seed, nurture the child. Help them both to not grow up wild.




Plant the seeds in long, straight rows. Show your child the way to go.




Plant a garden, grow some love. Reap the blessings sown from above.

Alton is a crackup

Alton gets funnier and cuter with each passing day. The kid is full of sounds (some from his mouth, and some from other places), expressions, and great sleeping positions. He is really good at sleeping. He's been zonked out for at least 20 hours a day lately. I'm sure that will change all too soon.

So here are some new Alton pictures.


Always smooth, even when sleeping.




A rare "awake" moment.



Alton's not the only good sleeper in the family.

New AIFL Standings

Hats off to my brother Brian, the only one to guess that Amanda Overmyer was going home tonight. Well done! The most recent standings are to the right. You might want to check the spreadsheet and make sure I added up your score correctly. The numbers are getting big!

Raising the Stakes

OK, so who's going home from American Idol? Tell us your picks for the bottom three, and who of the three you think is going home. This time your possible points are higher: 20 points for each correct bottom three pick, and another 40 if you pick who's going home. 100 points up for grabs! Good luck!

The Men Behind the Name

Our baby's name is Alton Philo Gustaveson. It is a very unique name. I would wager that our boy won't ever run in to someone that will say, "Alton Philo? Hey, that's my name too!" I'd like to explain the significance of the name we've given our precious little boy.


Alton is the name of Kasia's grandfather, Alton Eady. He was a great man who passed away a short time ago. He was born in Louisiana in 1917, and lived most of his adult life in Texas and Oklahoma. He was a World War II veteran, serving in the China Berma India Theater. Besides golf, Alton loved to fish, roller skate, and dance. He spent many hours researching his family history, but mostly he loved to joke with his kids.

Alton Eady was a man known for his sense of humor. He handled many tough situations in life with humor. He was adored by Kasia, who tells many stories of special moments spent with him. We are honored to continue the legacy of that good man, and hope our little Alton will find strength and love when he thinks of his name.

Philo comes from Philo Dibble. Philo was my great-great-great grandfather on my mother's side, and was an early member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. He was baptized in 1830 by Parley P. Pratt. Philo saw firsthand many of the significant events of church history.

We was wounded and miraculously healed at the Battle of the Big Blue, marched with Joseph Smith in Zion's Camp, lived in Nauvoo, and made the death masks for Joseph and his brother Hyrum after they were killed. He was in the Kirtland temple the day when Joseph Smith and Sidney Rigdon received the vision that later became Doctrine and Covenants section 76. He even wrote a hymn that appears on our current hymn book!

He went west with the saints and died in Springville, Utah, in 1895. He was a great man who had more than his share of incredible experiences. He rubbed shoulders with the prophet Joseph Smith for many years. What a fortunate man! We hope that Alton Philo will be able to have similar great experiences and remember a great legacy when he thinks about his middle name.

So, there it is. Alton Philo Dibble is a strong name. We hope he appreciates it and lives in a way that will make his namesakes proud.

New AIFL Rankings

Even though I was the only one to guess that David Hernandez was going home tonight, I still dropped to #6. Chad continues his death grip on the number one spot, with Kasia, the Whipples, Emily S, the Gibbons, and the Stohls moving into serious contention. It's all about momentum. Those of you that are behind, don't give up! Anything can happen. Until next Tuesday . . .

AIFL

By the way, we're not going to let a little thing like having a baby interfere with AIFL. Here's what to do by 7:00 pm central time tomorrow:

1. Pick who you think will be the bottom three. 10 points for each correct guess. (30 total)

2. State which of your bottom three is the one you think will go home, and you get 25 points if you are correct!

So there are a possible 55 points up for grabs if you get your picks in. Good luck!!

Alton is home!

Little Alton has made it home. Kasia is recovering faster from this delivery than she did from her other two. Everything is great, and we're just very thankful to have a healthy, adorable, mellow little boy. The kids can't get enough of him. Thanks for all your kind comments. We feel very blessed. Here are some photos!


One proud dad!!


Wilson's still learning the intricacies of holding the little guy.


He is one sweet, sleepy little guy.

The Rest of the Story

Let's continue our timeline:

6:15 pm

The doctor is here, time to push!

6:20 pm

Push!

6:25 pm

Puuush!

6:33 pm

Ladies and gentlemen, presenting . . . Alton Gustaveson!!


This is about the only time he's cried. He's been a mellow little 6 pound, 12 ounce ball of fun.

6:45 pm

Alton gives his first wink to the ladies in the house.



6:50 pm

Time to get to know Mommy. Kasia was unbelievable throughout the entire day, as usual. She is a professional pusher.


7:00 pm

The siblings arrive, accompanied by an excited grandma.
So welcome to the world, my boy Alton. We're glad you're finally here!!

Clothing change

5:44 pm

I have now put on my official Baylor Medical Center White Shirt. Not really sure how that changes anything, but I feel very cool. The doctor is on her way, and so is the baby. IT'S GO TIME!

Baby's getting closer . . .

5:22 pm

The baby's head is "well applied to the cervix," whatever that means. His head is down. Next step is out! The nurse says he should be making his arrival by 7:00 pm. Kasia's still dong very well, and I'm working hard to finish my peas.

Dinner?

4:55 pm

Dinner is served. I tell you what, they treat the husbands right at this place. Let's see what we have here . . . oooooh. A little grilled herb chicken with red potatoes and snap peas. Didn't I just eat lunch?

I love the food, but honestly I'm not very hungry. I'm just real nervous and I want this baby to get here!! I'll have to see what I can do to get the food down. On second thought, maybe I am hungry. Here, Kasia, have some more ice chips.

Latest Update

4:34 pm

Kasia is dilated to 8 cm. We're really ready for this little guy to pop out. Kasia's mom is here and getting the kids. They'll be joining us at the hospital soon. Kasia took a nice long nap, and is now ready to take care of business.

We're having a Baby!

We are currently at the hospital awaiting the arrival of our latest bundle of joy. Here's a live blog update on Kasia's impending delivery . . .

Timeline:

8:00 am

Kasia wakes up and finds her water broken. I couldn't fix it, so we went to the hospital.

11:00 am

Kasia's all hooked up, the contractions are getting stronger, and we're ready to go!

12:00 pm

The awesome nurses bring me a great lunch--chicken, broccoli, rice, and even a brownie. Kasia gets ice chips.

2:00 pm

Kasia gets what she REALLY wants-- the epidural.

2:05 pm

Kasia says "I feel really good."

2:06 pm

Kasia falls asleep. Haven't heard from her since.

3:56 pm

Kasia's still sleeping, the pitosin is dripping. I'm watching a little basketball and just waiting for something to happen.

Maisy.

Let's just say that Maisy has been blessed with an abundance of personality. Watch her in action as she busts out a wiggly rendition of My Girl, with a slight change to the chorus.



And just for fun, here's the original version, by the Temptations.



Which performance did you like better?

New AIFL Standings

Congratulations to our new leader, Mr. Chad S. Big movers for the week also include my wife Kasia, who moved past me; Emily S, who went came from nowhere to slide into 5th place; and The Gibbons, who have cracked the Top 10 and have huge momentum. Stay tuned for a slight change in strategy as we head in to the Top 12. Those of you who have lost key members of your top 8 might find this new option quite intriguing. More details early next week . . .

In case you missed it, here's last year's runner up, Blake Lewis (my favorite idol contestant of all time, besides Sanjaya and John Stevens) singing a great song from his new CD. The performance is from last night's results show, and the song's called How Many Words.

AIFL

Who's going? Who's not? Submit your picks by Thursday at 7:00 pm Central time!! Good luck. Please leace your picks as a comment to this post . . .

Snow Day!

If you can believe it--IT SNOWED about 4 inches right here in Melissa, Texas. We were very excited about this precipitation. Well at least the majority of us was excited.

I fell asleep to snow falling furiously on Monday night and then woke up to a sparkling beauty of white snow on Tuesday morning. Brett came into our room to tell me he was making french toast for breakfast because it was a special-snowy-late-start-for-school-day.
I exclaimed, "There's no time for that! We've got to go play in the snow!"

"Oh, we already did that," was his reply.

"WHAT!" I scowled. "You did it without me!"

"You were asleep and it was no big deal, anyway. They walked about 10 feet out into the snow, tried to make a snowball and started to cry because it was too cold--both of them. So, then we came back inside and now I'm making french toast."

"You mean they didn't even make a snowman?!"

"No."

"How about snow angels??"

"No."

"That is NOT a snow day in my opinion,"I said as I shook my head.
So at breakfast I asked the kids if they had fun in the snow. I got resounding looks of disapproval and distaste. I asked if they had enough clothes on to be really warm. Wilson looked at me pensively and said, "You know, Daddy went back inside and got another coat for himself--but not for us." Uh-huh. Interesting.

That was all I needed to hear. These poor children were under the influence of a sorry-stick-in-the-mud-"I grew up in Arizona"-burrrrr-it's-toooo-cold-father. So after breakfast I bundled them both up *Randy from A Christmas Story style* and sent them out for another go at it.
Well, let's just say they stayed out in the snow for the REST OF THE MORNING. We had to beg Wilson to come inside and get ready for school. Then when he got home from school, he bundled up again and played out in the snow for 2 more hours. I think it's safe to say that my children DO actually like playing in the snow--thanks to me.

Surprise for me!

It's been a busy, yet very fun month for me. For Valentine's Day we had a Progressive Dinner with all of our friends. The main course was at our house. We had about 25 people eating dinner at our house. It was a great time.

Also, I threw a BABY SHOWER for my friend Pam. She is having her first baby. My friend, Diane and I really wanted to make it special for her. Here is a picture of the spread we prepared for her big bash. She is having a girl and so we chose a Valentine's theme. It worked out great because her shower was a week after Valentine's Day and we found a ton of pink, red, and white things to fancy up the place. It really was a fun time. I tried to coordinate all the food too. It was all mostly either red, white, or pink. BEAUTIFUL!

The menu:
Spinach Salad with Strawberries and Pink Dressing
Red Velvet Cupcakes
Chocolate Dipped Strawberries
Mini Cheesecakes with a Raspberry Sauce (thank you DeLaine!)
Chicken Salad with Homemade Rolls (thank you Diane and Emily!)
Then, this past Friday night...I was kidnapped! My friends surprised me with a GIRLS' NIGHT GET-A-WAY EXTRAVAGANZA! Trust me--it was an extravaganza. They all showed up on my door step and swept me away to dinner and a movie. They said they wanted one last night out on the town before my world disappeared when the baby was born.
We went to this really hip new restaurant called Buca di Beppo. It's Italian food which is my favorite. SooooOOOO YUMMY! I would have taken pictures of the food to do a Restaurant Review, but I was having too much of a wild and wacky time---just ask The David.
After the movie, which was Fool's Gold (that was for YOU Allyson), we went back to my friend DeLaine's house for dessert. Yes--I said DESSERT! They really were spoiling me. She made the most delicious chocolate lava cakes because she is the most delicious caterer that I know.

Basically what I'm trying to say is THANK YOU to my friends. I was really touched and blown away. I don't know if anyone has ever done something so thoughtful for me--seriously. I know it took a lot of effort and I can't believe you wanted to do that for me. I LOVE YOU GUYS !! I must stop now because this pregnant woman will start to cry. (Notice how I didn't mention how late we stayed up.)