February 11, 2004

To start out our "Bidness" for the month we have horrible news. Jaxton's best little buddy Melvin (our dog) got ran over and killed a few weeks ago. It all happened after a basketball game one night. We came home from the game and the first thing I did was feed Melvin. Daniel and I put Jaxton to bed and then we let Melvin outside to go to the bathroom. A few minutes later I heard a certain noise that made me think of Melvin so I opened the door and called his name. he didn't come running like usual and my heart sank. I ran to it and sure enough it was our little melvy, he was still warm. I picked his little body up and carried him to our porch but he was already dead. I think he died instantly without suffering but the worst part about it is that whoever hit him didn't even stop, they just kept driving. I stood over his body and just bawled my head off. He wasn't suppose to die like that, he was suppose to grow up with Jaxton and die of old age. We called Sterling and Tara and told them what happened and they started digging a hole in their back yard so we could bury him there. Jaxton was asleep through all of this, thank goodness, but it was so hard for me to tell him that Melvin wouldn't be able to play anymore. Jaxton still walks around the house looking for Melvin and he still asks for him each morning. It has been really lonely around here without him; I didn't realize how much I loved that silly dog until he died. Elder Jenkins who is our favorite missionary that loved Melvin as much as we did wrote a poem about Melvin that I would like to share with all of you.

MELVIN WEDGIE

MELVIN THE DOG WILL BE MISSED FOREVER,

I'M SURE EVERYONE COULD THINK OF MANY REASONS THAT ARE CLEVER.

MELVIN WAS ALWAYS UP AND ABOUT,

THERE WAS NEVER A TIME THAT HE GOT WORN OUT.

YOU WOULD ALWAYS KNOW WHEN HE WAS AROUND,

HE WAS SPUNKY, LOVABLE, PLAYFUL, AND FRIENDLY, HIS NAME WAS RENOWNED.

HE WOULD ALWAYS LOVE TO PLAY NO MATTER WHAT TIME OR DAY,

MAN! THAT DOG WAS A.O.K!

HE TENDS TO PUT A SMILE OF YOUR FACE,

WHETHER HE WAS SNORTING, FARTING, SLEEPING, BARKING, OR EVEN

SLOBBERING IF THAT WAS THE CASE.

WHEN HE SLEPT HE SNORED UP A STORM.

I MUST SAY, MELVIN COULD REALLY PERFORM.

I DON'T THINK YOU COULD FIND A FUNNIER LOOKIN DOG,

EVEN IF YOU LOOKED IN THE FOG OR UNDER A LOG.

I WILL NEVER FORGET WHEN MELVIN GOT TACKED BY JAXTON THE STUD.

AND AFTER JAXTON SAID, "MELVIN YOU'RE MY BEST BUD!"

WHEN YOU TRY OT THINK OF REASONS OF WHY YOU LOVED MELVIN,

YOU DON'T KNOW WHERE TO START.

BUT WE KNOW FOR SURE HE HAD A BIG HEART.

IN LOVING MEMORY TO MELVIN WEDGIE BOBIK

Melvin is missed but to ease the pain my Grandpa and Grandma Gates have already found and bought us a brand new pug. he was born on January 31st so we will get him around the middle of March. To make sure this never happens again we are going to buy an outside play pen and set it up in the back yard where he can do his duty in safety. And the moral of this story is don't you dare drive off if you ever hit somebody's puppy.

The Cowboys are seriously kicking some butt. I know I have said that before but this time I really mean it. This week they are ranked 10th in the nation and they already beat the 12th ranked Kansas last Monday, which was a huge win!! Other teams in the top them have lost this week also meaning that next week they are going to probably be 7th or 8th in the nation. DO YOU PEOPLE KNOW WHAT THIS MEANS...THIS IS SO EXCITING!!! If they continue winning like they are they could be going deep into the NCAA tournament, sweet, sixteen, elite eight, final four, the sky is the limit. Next Monday the 16th will be a huge game in Norman against OU (which is on ESPN by the way) then Missouri at Missouri will be tough and Texas ant home will be tough but other than that it's a cake walk. Coach Sutton game the team a few days to celebrate their win and then yesterday he sat them down and let them have it just in case their heads were starting to get big. You have to keep these guys humble because then they will keep working their butts off. Who would have thought a few years ago that Daniel Bobik would now be starting for the 10th ranked team in the nation? I wish every one of you could come watch a game at Gallaher-Iba Arena because the atmosphere is UNBELIEVABLE. Some of you have had concerns about me taking Jaxton to the games with the level of noise in there. NO WORRIES, he eats it up, this stuff is in his blood. The louder it gets in there the more he claps or dances.

For you football fans out there I have a fun story. When I went to the game against Texas University in Austin I got to stay at Ty Detmers house. He is a very cool guy with a cute, spunky wife and 4 beautiful girls. Yes, I got to see his Heisman trophy which is awesome! I got to say there because his little sister Lori is dating Franz Steyn (the 7'2" giant on the team) and I go on road trips with her sometimes.

Primary is going pretty well but we still have a lot to learn. We are trying to find out what works best for this primary and these children but that in itself is a challenge. I never pictured myself in primary before I received this calling but I love getting to know the kids and it is right down my alley when it comes to being creative. I'm still asking for fun ideas from any of you that might have been in a primary presidency before.

Jaxton has been a lot more whiny and clingy since Melvin died. I wasn't sure how it would affect him but it certainly has. Without Melvin he doesn't have anybody to chase around with his popper or hit with the flyswatter or wrestle with but he has been trying to keep himself busy with his toy horse that plays the "dalun dalun dalun dun dun" song that gets really annoying. This horse used to take lots of naps on the top bunk or the top shelf in the closet or anywhere else it could hide but since Melvin's been gone it's been a pretty good sport. It's taken a few beatings and withstood Jaxton trying to wrestle with it without much complaint so we will keep the horse until our new puppy arrives and probably a while after that since Daniel and I are going to have to protect our puppy from Jaxton for awhile so he doesn't end up killing it himself. I can just see him body slamming it the second he sees it!! It's a good thing Pugs are tough and crazy and can get themselves out of sticky situations.

Have a Happy Valentine's Day everybody!! Know that we love you tons and tons and think about you always.