The Best of 2005

Since I now have a full year's worth of posts, I thought I'd do a little recap of what I think are the best posts of the past year. The posts listed below are in chronological order, rather than any kind of ranking order. Some of these posts will be new to more recent vistors to The Whole Note.

- Wally World. This post gives a little history and background into the 10 years I spent working as a 9-1-1 police/fire dispatcher.

- Deluge in Dixie. This post is my account of the floods that hit Southern Utah in January 2005.

- Letter From Tina. This is a poignant first-hand account of the Santa Clara floods from my Sister-in-law, Tina who lives in Santa Clara.

- W-2's. Believe it or not, this post about filing income taxes and handling W-2 forms may have received more hits than any other post on my blog during the past year. It also gives some insight as to the kind of work I do.

- LDS Jews. This is a post about an LDS-Jewish group called B'nai Shalom. It also talks about some of my thoughts and experiences with Jewish people.

- The Case of the Missing Mudder (Mother). This is the story of how I rescued my wife from the friendly neighborhood mud bog.

- This Is Not Fun! Mama's response to going 4-wheeling in our 4x4 truck.

- Too Tired Day. Our harrowing account of nearly getting stranded in the Utah desert with two flat tires.

- Stop Growing Up! - Or how I explained the "Birds and the Bees" to my 12-year old son.

- Piano Lessons. The role of music study in cognitive development.

- Homeschool for Bryan? Our rationale for considering homeschooling for our eldest son.

- Schoolyard Fights for Grownups. This is a post by my wife, Dawn Ann on her blog about our battles with school administrators.

- Ai Chihuahua Mama! - Or how we spent an afternoon in the ER at the hospital in Filmore, Utah.

- David Lewis - Pioneer Forefather. This is a post on our Family History blog about one of our ancestors, who survived the Haun's Mill Massacre.

- Grandpa's Ranch
The following is a series of posts about my grandpa's ranch in Randolph, Utah. I spent much of my youth there. Much of who I am today comes from those days.

• Little Creek Reservoir
• Grandpa's Ranch - New Canyon
• Grandpa's Ranch - Old Canyon
• Grandpa's Ranch by Satellite
• Cowboy Up!
  

- What Would You Do? A post about learning wisdom from our mistakes.

- The Biggest Hole On Earth. This post about our visit to the Kennecott Copper Mine has been one of the top three posts all year for page visits.

- Jailbirds. Our family adventure of being "trapped" inside the Bear River Waterfowl Refuge. Also, here are some photos from our "Jailbird" experience.

- Good Samaritians. Story of how our family was helped one-day by perfect strangers.

- California Trip. Story of our September, 2005 Trip to Southern California.

- Joshua Moments. My account of a pivotal moment, when I had to make a choice.

- Texas Schoolbook Depository. My impressions of visiting Dealy Plaza, where the Kennedy Assassination took place.

- Baby What You Goin' To Be. A post about the Natalie Sleeth Christmas song, and how it has affected me. This has been one of the top three posts, based on visits of the entire year. I included a little player that allows you to play the song. To date, it has been played 104 times.

- A New Kind of Magic. How I kept the magic in Christmas, even after the kids were told about Santa Claus.

- Joseph Smith, The Prophet. How I gained my testimony of the Prophet Joseph Smith

- The Year In Photos. Finally, you can view our photos from the last year here.