Photo Shoot!

Warning lots of Photo's

As you all know Joshua just turned 3 years old a couple of weeks ago and I really wanted to document how adorable he is at 3, so I took the boys up to Ogden yesterday and took lots of photos.

My Big Boy Ethan 4 1/2 years Old

My Big boy Joshua 3 years Old!

Both of my Boys!

Silly/Serious Joshua!

Silly, silly Ethan!

The Lady Bug!

Decisions, decisions, decisions....

Many of you faithful followers know of the struggle we've been having in deciding what course of action to pursue in regards to working and earning money. Of late, our options were down to four choices. Those choices were:

• Set up our own shop - I suppose this was so appealing because it is ultimately where most chiropractors want to be. No boss, no one to tell you what you should be doing. Also, no one else to blame if you fail. It's all on you!
• Alpine Spine - This is a spine sports and rehab facility owned by three MDs in Layton. I approached them with the interest of bringing on a chiropractor. We've been discussing things quite seriously for quite some time.
• Set up a shop down South - I've had central to southern Utah on my mind for quite some time. Setting up a shop down there, supposedly, would have a much smaller initial overhead and marketing would be substantially easier. Supposedly.
• Buy a clinic - I had looked at a clinic in Layton, and it was a good deal, but just not what I had envisioned. Another clinic... made itself available to me, which I'll discuss below.

Those were my options. Within those options there were never-ending forking roads and alternate routes all of which seemed to lead to a prosperous future. But which one was right for me and my family? Which one would help us out now so that we can pay our rent? Which one would help me achieve personal and professional satisfaction?

We decided that we needed to explore our options one-by-one to see how they felt to us and to see if we get any confirmation (spiritually) that that path is right.

Our first step was to check things out down south. As stated before, I had been thinking about Southern and Central Utah for quite some time. In fact, I had been entertaining thoughts like this since before graduation. "Perhaps this is the right course for us," I thought, "if I can't stop thinking about it, maybe this is where the Lord wants us to be." So, Challene and I got some very willing babysitters (Thanks Mom and Colleen) and drove down to Payson to stay with our good friends John and Amy while we explored.

There is a small town called Gunnison, UT. It is approximately 40 minutes South from Payson. The nearest chiropractor is in Manti and there are neighboring cities that make a total population of about 7,000 people all within a 20 mile radius that do not have a nearby chiropractor. Overhead could be low, competition is low, and marketing would be easy (in small towns, word of mouth travels fast). So we headed down to Gunnison to check things out.

To get there we decided to drive through Ephraim and Manti. In Ephraim, we decided to stop and talk to the chiropractor there (only one). He was kind, but very territorial. We suggested to him that we might like to set up a shop in Ephraim and he proceeded to explain all the downfalls of having a shop in a small town and just seemed negative overall. He seemed very wary of having any competition nearby. Rightly so, I think. I really think I could have come in and put him out of business within a year and a half. That, however, was not my intention. I didn't even mention Gunnison to him.

After a wonderful lunch at the "Malt Shop" we headed out. This time to Manti. One of the first things you see in Manti is the temple. I had been there when I was a little boy, but can't recall much of that trip. At any rate, the Manti temple was spectacular. We decided to stop and walk the grounds for a bit. It was Monday, so the temple was closed. They were also doing some restoration work inside.

The back stairwell to the temple. Challene really liked this staircase.

We had tried several times to get a good shot of us in front of the East doors. Much to the amusement of the workers on break, we were unable to get a good shot. So we tried one more time before leaving.

Then it was off to Gunnison. Some of you may know that Gunnison houses the Central Utah Correctional Facility. Don't believe me? Check out the pictures below.

Told you!

That's the prison in the distance.

Right after the prison is the main drag of Gunnison. By main drag, I mean the only drag!

I thought this old theater would be a nice place to start a shop. Sadly, I think it's still a functioning theater.

We went up and down the street several times looking for a space for us, with no luck. Finally, we stopped at a realtor and asked for some assistance. He took us across the street to a house that for all intents and purposes should be condemned and told us it would make us a nice office. They wanted $600 a month for the dilapidated facade. I snapped my hand in a "Z" formation and turned and left! Ok, actually I thanked him for his time and told him we'd be in touch. Oh, but I wanted to snap my hand. I still want to!

More of the sweet town of Gunnison.

We explored all the little towns down there: Ephraim, Manti, Levan, Fountain Green, Moroni, Centerfield, Sterling, Redmond, Salina, Sigurd, and Richfield. And though I feel we could have made something work and be successful down there, nothing really felt right.

Thus we ex'd that option off the list.

While staying with John and Amy, John got a call from Dr. King, his boss. Dr. King told John of a chiropractor who was tragically killed in an automobile accident just that weekend. The doctor and his wife were returning from a vacation and somewhere around Reno another driver high on meth hit them causing them to roll. He was killed and his wife is still in intensive care. Dr. King said they will be looking for someone to cover for the doctor's patients and probably to sell the clinic too.

Long story short, that was not an option for us either. The clinic was being sold pretty cheaply because, given the circumstances, was pretty much just worth its weight in equipment. There would be no transfer of patients between doctors, the clinic has been family owned (between father and son) for nearly 60 years and the patients had been seeing someone else for nearly 4 weeks. It would be just like starting my own place with a lot more debt added to the mounds of debt I have thanks to school.

We ex'd that option (buying a clinic) off the list. It is just too much initial overhead and added debt.

Later in the week I got an email from the good folks at Alpine Spine. They said that they really want to take a month to consider the opportunity of bringing me on as the sole chiropractor and will get back to me in November.

That option was ex'd off the list... for now!

Throughout this whole ordeal Dr. Jason Smith has been in the background. When he was just starting out someone had taken him in and offered him cheap rent and facilities to get things started; to build up a patient base, gain some income, and become established. We talked and he was generous enough to "pay-it-forward" by extending me a similar invitation.

Of everything, all the options, all the different diverging paths, this one feels right. I have the chance to work with a terrific doctor... independently. I have my own business entity and will be renting space, equipment, and supplies from Dr. Smith for a most excellent rate! For some reason, it took us exploring all the other options before it really stood out that this one was the best one for us. He came to us as a blessing and I fully recognize the Lord's hand in all this.

Thus:

Monday, October 12, 2009 hails the opening of Rocky Mountain Family Chiropractic in Bountiful , UT. A website is being prepared at http://www.rockymountainfamilychiropractic.com/. I have one (almost two) patients scheduled so far and hope to have that increase substantially!

We are very excited.... and scared. But, again, we know this is the right decision for us right now. We appreciate all the prayers and thoughts on our behalf and recognize how nice it is to have concerned family and friends.

So, spread the word and let all your Bountiful/Woods Cross friends know that we're opening!

So let it be written, so let it be DONE!

Happy Birthday Joshua!!!

Three years ago, my baby boy Joshua was born. I can't believe how time has flown by. In many respects, Joshua is a living effigy of our life in Portland. It was not long after we moved that we found out that we were pregnant with Joshua. What a surprise that was! That time in our lives was supposed to be very trying and difficult; and it was. I think Joshua was sent to us, with his contagious smile, silly personality, and infectious optimism, to bring a much needed ray of sunshine into our lives.

Don't get me wrong. We weren't miserable. We weren't in an intolerable depression. But times were tough and Joshua has always been able to brighten a room when he walks in. That talent will follow him for his life.

Anyway, we had a small get together for Josh to celebrate three years. Josh requested having an outer-space birthday party. More specifically, a party with aliens. Given our financial situation we had to be innovative. We strung paper stars, UFOs, aliens, and planets from the ceiling to add to the atmosphere (pun definately intended).

We just can't keep clothes on our boys. Hopefully by High School we'll have that problem nipped.
A fully clothed Challene cheesin' it up while hanging stars.

As an activity we decorated "flying saucers" made of paper plates and styrofoam bowls. The kids loved it.

More saucer action!

My wife has a tradition of creating a three-dimensional cake for the kids' birthdays. She enjoys it and the kids absolutely love it. There was Pablo, the blue penguin from the Backyardigans (her least favorite), the puppy, Mickey Mouse (side note: don't give three year olds black frosting!), the Monkey (my personal fave), and the baseball. Given the alien theme, she made a UFO cake with a green alien on it. She did very well in my opinion.

Singing.

Blowing out the candle (we opted for a #3 candle instead of having three candles on there).

This little chunk is Noah, John and Amy's youngest. They made the long trek up from Payson. It was good to see them again. He actually let me hold him for a short while.

Joshua has found a new love of art. This kid would color ALL DAY LONG if we let him. Actually, I'm not opposed to that except that he has difficulty staying in one place. A wandering Joshua with pens, crayons, markers or anything is a bad thing. Our walls have paid the price. But he does really good! Some friends gave him the mother of all three-year old friendly art sets. He's done some masterpieces, that's for sure.

What a better way to celebrate than with two hundred balloons and over 30 balloon stomping feet. The room there is open, connects with our great room, and has a vaulted ceiling. The popping balloos were SO LOUD! It was incredible.

Josh was having a hard time, so he ran to the closet and pulled on the first flip-flop he could find. He ran back and got into the action. Love that smile. Love that kid.

Justin, Jeremy, and Matty (you can see his foot in the lower right) were troopers helping the kids. Actually, I think they may have had more fun than the kids.

Clean up was actually not as bad as you may think. Most of the kids helped out.

It was a fun party. Happy Birthday, my Joshy! We love you!