The Life and Times of Brynn and Zak

Where have you been?

2010-05-18T00:32:00.004-06:00

It's been awhile since a member of the Van Dyke family has posted (stupid facebook)...and we apologize for that.

Depending on your memory, you might recall that Brynn and I had a projection of what our baby would look like. See here
How accurate was it? Well, you be the judge. This is what we popped out...with a year of seasoning ;)

And Then There Were Four

2009-05-15T16:28:00.005-06:00

Brynn, Rio and I were going through life just relaxing and then, bam, out of nowhere a little guy decides to jump into the mix. Actually, jump might not be the best word because Brynn was induced, but with me as a dad, do you blame him for not getting overly excited?

April 13th at 3:01 was the moment that it all officially happened. Jetton Krew Van Dyke, weighing in at 7lbs 1oz and 20 inches long, made his grand entrance, and let it be known that he was not happy to see me when he came out, but that's fine, I won't hold it against him (have fun paying your own way through college Jet), things happen.

In this picture you can see that Jet is extremely excited to see me

Thankfully, Jet has learned how to cope with having me as a dad, but I think he just puts up with me because he knows my better half (Brynn) will be around to hang out with him.

We are learning more and more about Jet everyday, yet, we still have so much more to discover. One thing is for sure, we do know who his best friend is as shown in the following picture:

I don't slobber all over Jet like Rio does, yet Rio is the one who gets to cuddle by Jet- go figure.

We wanted to just say thanks again to everyone for all the gifts, help and support you have provided; we really do appreciate it.

C-H-A-M-P-I-O-N

2009-04-07T18:45:00.004-06:00

ZVD's 3rd Annual Bracket Buster Challenge was a complete success...if your name happened to be Zak. That is correct folks, yours truly was crowned champion five minutes into the game last night when OUR Heels opened up a 21-7 lead and never looked back.

I just want to thank everyone who ridiculed me throughout the entire tournament and kept telling me I wasn't welcome. It was your persecution that kept the fire fueled and allowed me to pull out the victory. Specifically, I would like to thank Rocky for his junk picks, it was one less score to worry about.

The final standings went as follows:

Zak: 95
DeAnna: 90
Jaren: 89
Jason: 88
Rocky: 82
Brynn: 80
Steff: 78
Cody: 66

I refuse to ridicule scores (except Rocky's- his picks were just junk) for often it is because they took gambles and picked upsets, and there is no shame in that.

As commissioner, I decided before the tourney started that I would throw a kickin' party for the champ. All I will say is this, the party lived up to the hype, it was off the hook. No way am I divulging any info into what went on behind the scenes at the party, but I will show one picture of me holding the trophy, or should I say trophies- oh yah!!!

Check out the bling I'm holding:

The Progression of a Pregnant Women

2009-03-21T18:48:00.004-06:00

Here is the wonderful progression Brynn has went through during the last 8 months. For those of you who can't figure it out aka. Rocky, the pictures will go in order from the early stages of pregnancy to the later stages (month 1, month 2, month 3 etc...)

Apparently Rio wanted to do his best George Costanza imitation (episode of Seinfeld) by slipping a provocative picture of himself in here

On a side note, here is what Brynn looks like when I make her mad...

...and here is what I look like after I make her mad, notice that isn't Brynn I am cuddling with

SHAMBLES

2009-03-21T13:33:00.003-06:00

Thanks to Rocky's UCLA Bruins, my bracket is officially in shambles. They were destroyed by Villanova, and it wasn't even close. My church ball team would have beaten UCLA today. Thanks a lot Rocky- again, you find a way to ruin things for me. You seem to have a knack for doing that.

Bracketology

2009-03-06T14:18:00.005-07:00

ZVD's 3rd Annual Bracket Buster Challenge

Great news folks, the NCAA tournament starts in a couple weeks and that means Bracketology. I will be hosting another bracket contest and everyone who dares is invited to participate. You won't win (specifically Rocky), but feel free to join anyway.

We do have 1 rule while playing the Bracket Buster Challenge, you can only submit 1 bracket (again, that's you Rock) so get studying up on your teams and get ready for Zak's 3rd Annual Bracket Buster Challenge.

Disclaimer: Women are free to participate, however, if for some crazy reason a skirt actually wins, your bracket will be thrown out- I apologize for any inconveniences this may cause.

Will This Be Accurate????

2009-02-18T20:28:00.004-07:00

Went to www.makemebabies.com and had them compute a picture of what Jet is going to look like based on a photo of Brynn and me. Here is what it came up with:

Jet as a baby:

What do you think about my little new baby Jetton Krew?

Here he is as a youngster:

What do you think about my little new baby Jetton Krew?

I don't know what to think and I sure hope he doesn't have red hair- no offense Rocky (we all know you dye your hair brown to hide the red)

Thoughts???

I Dare You to Watch This and Not Laugh

2009-02-12T17:09:00.004-07:00

A few months ago Jason asked me if I had ever seen the movie the Ringer. I told him that I had not because I thought that it looked dumb. Jason went on to explain that a co-worker had told Jason that he reminded him of a character off the show (after watching the show, I can see where the co-worker is coming from). Jason went on to explain that he had to go rent the movie and watch it and that upon doing so.....it was pretty dang funny.

I completely disregarded Jason's opinion to watch the show and I went on with my life. Lucky for me, this past weekend it was on tv. Without college football, I'm almost up to watching anything to keep from going bored, so I watched it. All I have to say is....freaking funny show for sure.

For those who haven't seen it, I will give a brief rundown and then show 2 of the funniest parts of the show. Here we go, Johnny Knoxville needs money, in order to get money he pretends to have down syndrome or dyslexia or something like that and then run in the Special Olympics, bet on himself, and win. During his quest, he rooms with some "special" individuals who make the show. He becomes buddies with them and they remain good friends even after they find out that Knoxville really isn't "special."

I don't know if it will be as funny without watching the movie and getting a real good understanding of the situation and everybody's personality, but none the less, still pretty funny stuff.

The second clip is more famous, but I like the "protection" comment from the first clip more.

What makes this scene so funny is the fact that Rocky did the same thing a few years back when I accidentally dropped his cd. I know where they got the idea from, they must have found Rocky's journal entry from that day.

2008-12-06T19:41:00.003-07:00

Can You Guess?

2008-12-06T17:39:00.004-07:00

Brynn heard some great news. On Monday, 1 Dec, Brynn found out that she was accepted to dental school from two schools. Marquette was one school, with the other school being......

You'll have to guess, if you don't already know, but don't worry, we'll provide a clue.

Any ideas? Ok, how about another clue

For those of you who still haven't figured it out...Rocky...here's the final clue.

Feel free to post a response if you know the answer. You don't have to be a registered blogger to leave a response. Just click on comments at the bottom of the post, after you leave your comment, click on the anonymous bubble. Rocky, if you still can't figure it out, email me. Don't forget to leave your name in your post so we know who guessed what.

My Dark Little Secret

2008-11-24T17:13:00.007-07:00

I know I am going to take heat for this, but I am going to come out of the closet anyway. I have been keeping a dark little secret the last 2 days and it has finally eaten at me so bad that I'm coming clean.

I knew that Brynn wanted to see the movie Twilight really bad. She never really said it out loud; I'm just in tune with her enough to know what she wants. Do you really go to hell for lying, because if so, I better stop this post right now. Anyway, continuing on, what my girl wants, she gets, so I instantly went out and ordered tickets for a Saturday night showing.

Jason and DeAnna are friends of ours, and knowing that Jason would never get the initiative to get tickets for DeAnna, I called him with the intention that I would do whatever it took to get him to buy his wife tickets (she wanted to see it) ....eerily, he actually seemed excited and said ok with a smile.

We ended up having a boys, and Rocky, night at Rock's house. After a night of steak and football, Jason and I told Rocky and Cody that we had to leave early because we were taking our wives' to the movie Twilight. Rocky's wife Britt was gone that night, yet, Rocky still asked if he could go with us.....weird, but whatever.

THE SECRET

I didn't even know what the Twilight was about, but I had heard on the radio that it was like Beverly Hills 90210 with vampires. The only reason I still went was because I liked Dillon from 90210. Honestly, I prepared myself for the worst going into this show.

The show came and went, quicker than I had expected, and I actually stayed awake through the entire show. I asked Brynn and DeAnna what they thought; both had mixed feelings. Jason wouldn't respond. When asked my opinion, I said it was stupid and that I didn't see much because I had been sleeping. However, I must say that that was a lie. I actually didn't mind the show. It wasn't great, but truthfully, I didn't mind it, and it was actually better than expected.

So there you have it; let the hate mail commence.

The Poll Didn't Lie

2008-11-18T20:51:00.007-07:00

Here is the deal folks; I told Brynn that whatever got the most votes on the poll would determine what the baby would be. I was really hoping undecided wouldn't win because that would be awkward. I'll admit though, the possibility of a cute little bunny was a little intriguing.

The poll closed last night and the votes revealed that we would be having a boy. Knowing the results from the poll, I didn't even think that the ultra sound was necessary, but still, we decided that we would have one just in case.

Included below are a couple of pictures. There is one picture that shows two different views taken at week 9 and a second picture, taken today, which shows the little one just shy of week 19. Judging by the picture, can you tell what the baby is?

week 9

week 19- say hello to Jetton Krew

Just in case you couldn't tell from the picture, that is a boy in Brynn's belly- the poll was money. So to all of you who were wishing for a girl, don't blame me, all you had to do was get more girl votes and Brynn would be having a girl right now.

Oh, and for the record, I really did want a little girl....maybe next time.

"Throwback Thursday"

2008-11-13T18:55:00.008-07:00

Even though I have a terrible memory, I can still remember back to a time in my childhood that I will never forget. I always smile when I think about this story.

Rocky and I were youngsters who would often swing the golf clubs around the yard. The folks didn't like the nice divots that our clubs would leave in the lawn while at the same time, Rock and I were getting tired of hitting those little woofel balls that floated aimlessly around. So what did we do? Good question; Rock and I, along with the hero of the story, my dog Junior, decided to go up to the local elementary school and hit real golf balls, not having to worry about fixing divots.

Rocky, Junior and myself were having fun swinging the sticks when this big hefty lug of a janitor, or "maintenance engineer" (don't want to hurt the guy's pride too much in case he reads this blog) opened one of the school doors and started yelling at us for golfing on school property. Rocky immediately froze, became scared and asked me for a hug. I told him no, and before I could do anything our hero, Junior, took off running ferociously towards the janitor. I honestly have to give the janitor credit at this point for not running inside and shutting the door for protection. I know I would have.

Juju, short for Junior, tracked this "maintenance engineer" down like a wild tiger tracking a zebra. Without hesitating, Juju sunk his teeth into the guy's ankle. In reaction, the big fella jumped and tried to kick Juju, but it was too late; Juju was already running as fast as he could back over to me. With Rock still in shock, I picked him up and carried him on my shoulders like a wounded soldier- thats not true, sorry, but in reality, we quickly took off running home as fast as we could- laughing uncontrollably once we made it a safe distance.

That is probably the fondest moment I have from my childhood. Juju has since passed away, but make no mistake, I still miss "my boy" and reflect upon him quite often. Thankfully, Brynn and I now have Rio to make memories with.

For those of you wondering what the killer attack dog Juju looked like:

Fantasy Football

2008-11-10T12:04:00.006-07:00

I apologize in advance, but this post is not going to contain any pictures. I just wanted to take the time to say that my fantasy football team is terrible. I just lost to Rocky aka Nasty Sanchez (technically it isn't over, I have 2 players still to play, however, I'm down by 50 points) and it wasn't even close. What sucks is the fact that the week I play him he decides to have the day of his life points wise.

There are 10 teams in the league, with the top 8 making it to the playoffs. Before the loss this week I was tied with 3 other teams for the worst record in the league. I thought this week would help me out, but no, Mark Bulger had to give me 1 lousy point. I guarantee if you put a helmet on me that I could get 1 stinkin' point.

What makes this entire thing crappy, besides my crappy team, is the fact that Sunni, my sister, is in first place. If she keeps this up, as the commissioner, I may have to make a trade in her behalf.

However, to all my loyal fans out there, don't worry- there is hope. I was GM of the year in 2005 (self proclaimed, but that isn't important) because of the sweet roster moves I made and hopefully I can do it again this year. I just need to go on a little run, win a couple games in a row and jockey my team into the playoffs. Once the playoffs begin, its a brand new season.

Chuck

2008-11-05T19:03:00.004-07:00

Today we are going to talk about shows on tv. I don't watch a lot of shows on tv, but there are a few Brynn and I will catch. Brynn likes the CSI shows, Desperate Housewives, Brothers & Sisters, and Dr. 90210. As for myself, when I watch tv, it is either college football, sports in general, or The Office. For the last couple of years, The Office has really been the only show I would make sure to watch each week. In fact, for Christmas, Brynn bought me a couple of seasons on dvd.

However, I have put another show in the rotation for my viewing pleasure. You might ask the name of the show I am now watching. I would respond saying that was a good question to ask. But the name of the show is called Chuck.

Chuck is about a kid who works for the Nerd Herd at a local Buy More. Buy More is like a Best Buy and Nerd Herd is a knock off of Geek Squad. Chuck was going to school at Stanford and his roommate sent him an email. Chuck opened the email and it downloaded all the Government's secrets into Chucks brain.

Turns out Chuck's roommate was a spy and was sending the secrets to Chuck to protect them. When the Government found out what happened, they sent 2 spies to protect Chuck. One spy, Sarah, is a girl who pretends to be Chuck's girlfriend. She works next door to Chuck's store at a yogurt store as a disguise. The other spy, Casey, works with Chuck as a salesman at Buy More. Chuck likes Sarah and Sarah likes Chuck, but neither is willing to admit it. The show deals with spy cases involving all the characters I just listed. It is a funny show and Brynn and I enjoy watching it on Mondays at 7:00 on channel 5.

Check out the short promo I found on youtube

Our Secret Wedding

2008-11-03T18:00:00.006-07:00

As promised in the title, this blog provides a deeper look into the life that Brynn and I live. For the lucky 2 people who will read this blog, I am providing some good info that has yet to be released to the public.

For our honey moon, Brynn and I went to Vegas. I know what your thinking, "what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas," but lucky for you, this is not the case today. While in Vegas, Brynn thought it would be kinda fun to have a shotgun wedding even though we had just been married for eternity (wow, that is a long time) in the Salt Lake Temple. I agreed to go through with this celebratory wedding on 2 conditions; first, I got to pick out the dress Brynn wore, and 2nd, I got to wear a hat. Brynn agreed. Don't believe me about this little shotgun wedding, well then check out the picture. Remember, pictures don't lie.

Due to "privacy issues" the picture has been removed.

Funny J. Golden Story (Politics)

2008-11-03T17:03:00.005-07:00

For those who have forgotten, J. Golden Kimball was a General Authority in the early 1900s. He was and is referred to as the swearing apostle because he swore a lot. That's one of the reasons I like the man so much. Don't worry, this story has no cuss words.

J. Golden was a staunch democrat and was friends with Reed Smoot, a staunch republican, and a Senator in Congress besides being a General Authority. Reed and J. Golden were good friends and would often tease each other.

One day J. Golden was heading to a church meeting near the Salt Lake Temple. He walked into a building (can't remember which one it was) only to find Reed Smoot opening up some sort of political meeting with the republican party. Reed noticed J. Golden, knowing he must have been in the wrong building, welcomed J. Golden to the meeting and asked if he would like to offer the opening prayer. J. Golden responded, "no, I'd rather the Lord not know I was here" and walked out. Reed just laughed. I don't care what party you are from, that is funny stuff.

Time

2008-11-01T15:31:00.003-06:00

It's almost time for the Jazz game!

The Truth Revealed

2008-11-01T11:55:00.006-06:00

The Problem

A few years ago I watched a girl on tv named Carrie Underwood sing some tunes. I had never seen her before and I don't think many people knew who she was until she became famous singing on American Idol. What was so interesting was the fact that she looked familiar, very familiar.

At first I just passed it off as nothing, oh lots of people look familiar, just let it go, but I couldn't. It started to eat at me. Something just wasn't right about it. It got so bad that I started to lose sleep at night (not really, but this is my blog and I can put what I want in it). The lack of sleep was killing me, but eventually, thank goodness, it all changed in one afternoon.

The Answer?

One day I decided to make a surprise visit to my friends, the Fifes. On a side note, I have to make surpise visits because they never invite me if I don't, but anywa, I dropped in one day to check on them.

I knocked on the door and after a few minutes Austin came and answered the door. Sadly, I could hear voices behind the door yelling at Austin not to answer the door. Personally, I think they were going to play the "We weren't home card," but Austin spoiled that. Thank you Austin! Back to the story......after I forced my self in we sat down in the front room. Actually, I sat down while Jason stood by the front door, holding it open. Keep in mind it was the middle of winter. I think he was trying to get a message across, but I didn't get it. Anyway, sorry to keep getting off track, back to the story.

After talking for a few minutes, DeAnna came down stairs to join us, sporting her usual smile. That is when it hit me! My sleepless nights would end because it became clear as day that DeAnna looked like Carrie Underwood. That is why she looked so familiar. To think, if the Fife's had only invited me over a month or two earlier, I wouldn't have had all those sleepless nights. Still, it didn't matter, I had found the answer.

More to the Story

After a few minutes of talking, I finally told DeAnna that she and Carrie Underwood looked a lot alike. Interestingly enough, DeAnna quickly changed the subject, which I thought was odd. A thought then came to my mind that I had never seen DeAnna and Carrie at the same time and place. Now that is weird. They have never been seen together, and that is when it hit me; DeAnna Fife is Carrie Underwood or Carrie Underwood is DeAnna Fife. Busted!!!

Don't believe me? The pictures don't lie. Don't let DeAnna dying her hair brown, or Carrie bleaching her hair blonde fool you, they are indeed the same person.

*Note that I might have "misremembered" some parts of this story

Blogger

2008-10-31T16:17:00.001-06:00

I am now a blogger.....feel free to comment.