I’ve wanted to go see my grandmother’s house since moving to Knoxville a few months ago, but I didn’t want to go alone so I waited until my sister Krista could come with me.

This is what the house used to look like and except for the fact that there were a lot more trees and other plants and a birdbath in the front yard, this is pretty much how I remember it looking

Here’s the picture of what it looks like now

The lady who lives there now was very kind and talked to us at length about the changes they had made and apologized for the roses and other things that didn’t survive.  It’s strange that she’s been there for ten years already because in my mind that house has always been my grandmother’s house and for some reason I had it in my head that she had just moved in.

Posted on January 29th, 2010 by Kathleen
Filed under: General | 1 Comment »

I don’t think anyone who has had a little boy could make the argument that masculinity  is something that we train in our kids.  When Isaac was 17 months old, someone handed me a book full of trucks to show him.  I assumed the book would not hold his attention for long, after all it was a book with nothing but construction trucks in it—I thought it seemed rather dull.  Imagine my surprise when his face lit up as he pointed to each vehicle.  From there he became captivated with anything that had an engine.  Since that experience, I’ve noticed that every little boy I’ve known has gone through a stage where he is obsessed with trucks, trains, and planes.

My girls on the other hand, like girly things.  Sure they’ll play with a truck or drive a car around the room, but they show their gender identity in different ways. 

Read more…

Posted on January 28th, 2010 by Kathleen
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This is old news now, but I thought I ought to update my blog and decided to scroll through recent pictures for inspiration and all of Charlotte’s recent pictures make me think of this event/story.

Charlotte gave herself a haircut.  I was lucky—it wasn’t too bad and it was on the verge of being much worse when I interceded. She made her cuts right in the front forming a very choppy upside-down V and forcing me to cut some shorter-than-I-ever-would-have-chosen bangs.  I was mostly sad because we’ve been trying to grow out her bangs since birth and now we have a new set of bangs to grow out.

This is a continuing tradition because many (all?) of my siblings and I cut our hair at some point during our childhood.

Posted on January 27th, 2010 by Kathleen
Filed under: General | 2 Comments »

6.20.07 Today Isaac brought his toy jeep over to me and said “mom, want some noise” then he turned it on. 
6.21.07 Today I took Isaac to the post office with me to buy stamps.  I let him put the money in, make the selection and then collect the change at the end.  As we drove away he told me “mommy buy money at the Post Office.”  I guess he thought that when the change came out it was what I had purchased.
I brought a chair into the bathroom for our nightly teeth brushing ritual.  Isaac and Charlotte each climbed up and as Isaac looked in the mirror he excitedly proclaimed “big and little” in reference to the height difference between him and Charlotte.
Isaac got a birthday card from Great-Grandma Cochran a few days ago.  After he opened it we read it and he looked at it.  Then he opened some junk mail and said “yay, another birthday card from Isaac.”  For the rest of the day any piece of mail or paper was another birthday card for Isaac!

Posted on January 22nd, 2010 by Kathleen
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I scrolled through my log and choose a date at random—here’s what I wrote on February 6th of last year:

2.6.09 Here are some recent things the kids said:  "I would sleep so hard that I couldn’t wake up. I’d be stuck asleep and you’d have to kiss me to wake me up. Would you kiss me?"

"And after her birthday I would be stuck sleeping if you don’t kiss me."  Isaac (possibly before Charlotte’s 3rd birthday)

After biting his finger accidentally, Isaac said "My mouth thought my finger was food. My mouth thought it was salad"

"Mom, what time will Tigers eat us?"

"Mom, don’t let tigers eat us until we’re ready to die."  <<so, when we’re ready to die we should let Tigers eat us?>> "yeah"  Isaac

“that’s the Tiger’s pretzels?  Because of the white spots?"  Isaac upon seeing footage of a Tiger eating a deer that had white spots on it’s back

In answer to the question "What are kids made of?" Isaac replied:  "They’re made of everything that skin covers."

“What happens if a Lion goes into a machine that turns him into food for people, that would be chicken?”  Isaac

After getting a light spank for getting out of bed at bedtime, Charlotte said "I need pajamas that doesn’t have a spank on them”

<<The picture was taken February 1, 2009>>

Posted on January 21st, 2010 by Kathleen
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Every so often I think I should write a blog post, but then I never do.  I blame the fact that I have 4 children and whenever I sit down to do something not related to cleaning, the house seems to fall apart.  The other night I updated my log of funny things my kids say and it occurred to me that I could just post a quote every so often—at least it would be something and I found myself smiling at the silly odd things they say and do so perhaps it would be interesting to other people as well.

Posted on January 21st, 2010 by Kathleen
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On my birthday I’ll take some time to be a little self-indulgent and describe myself and some of the ways I’ve changed. 

I’m a bit plumper than I once was.  I’m about 185 lbs these days, where just a few years ago I was 155.  My hair is receding just a bit, but it’s at an awkward in-between place and has been for a couple of years. 

I’m still a Mormon boy, true blue, dyed in the wool, through and through.  I’m not always very good at it, but that’s what I am, and that’s what I’ll stay.

I’m still a little bit cranky, especially when I feel like my living space is out of sorts.  More than ever, I like things a certain way.  This causes friction for visitors, and I try to be less particular (without much success).  Outside of my own “cave”, I’m more sociable.  I have a decent sense of humor when used appropriately and generally have no trouble making friends and getting along with people. 

I still play the piano and guitar.  I left my grandfather’s accordion with my parents in Utah and I sold my trumpet a long time ago.  I have experimented with composition on the computer, but it’s not serious and just for fun.  I don’t take time to write music seriously anymore. 

I like the Colts, Cougars, Vols, and Jazz.  I hate the Utes, Gators, and Lakers.

I was a lot more physically active last year.  I climbed Mt. Nebo, Provo Peak, and Deseret Peak for the first time.  Now that I’m in Tennessee, all the mountains seem too small and climbing them is less interesting.  They are pretty, though.

I still love gadgets, but not so obsessively.  We have three Roombas of various types; one sweeps, one vacuums, and one mops.  I got a Kindle for Christmas.  I carry a BlackBerry, but work pays for it.  My mp3 player is an old brown Zune; haven’t found a pressing reason to upgrade it.  I’ve had the same digital camera for about 4 years now.  We don’t have an HDTV, but we’ve had DVRs of some sort or another for at least 7 years.  I have 4 computers; my main computer, running Windows 7; my work computer, which runs Windows XP; my netbook, which runs whatever version of Windows or Linux I’m in the mood for, and my “other” computer, running Ubuntu.  My main computer’s processor is about 4 generations old, and the graphics card is about 3 generations old. I guess the point is I’m a bit more discriminating about my technology and waste less money on it.

I love all kinds of music.  I have a penchant to really love melancholy songs, such as “This is Just a Modern Rock Song” by Belle & Sebastian, “Over Yonder” by Steve Earle, “Word on a Wing” by David Bowie, “Miami” by Counting Crows, “I Wish it Would Rain” by the Temptations, “Take it Back” by Pink Floyd, “Hearts and Bones” by Paul Simon, “Sleeping In” by the Postal Service, “Fast Train” by Solomon Burke, “Going to California” by Led Zeppelin. 

I like upbeat songs too, especially rock and blues (and alt-country/bluegrass, surprisingly): “Sitting on Top of the World”, especially the Cream and Carl Perkins versions, “Sukie in the Graveyard” by Belle & Sebastian, “Sugar Magnolia” by the Grateful Dead, “Gone Gone Gone” by Carl Jackson and Emmylou Harris, “Dreamin’" by Weezer, “99 in the Shade” by Bon Jovi.

I love to read history, especially military history.  Sometimes details or individuals make a great impact on my mind and remain with me.  Most recent have been histories on the 6 Days War and the Yom Kippur War.  I like Paul Johnson’s work too.

I love fiction, when it “has a price”.  My favorite book this past year was Suttree by Cormac McCarthy, which is coincidental since it’s set in Knoxville.  I also still love epic fantasy when it’s well done.  Robert Jordan was the best world-builder with his Wheel of Time, and Brandon Sanderson is carrying that work on fairly well.  George R. R. Martin is the best for plot and very good with characters, too; try his Song of Ice and Fire.  I recently enjoyed Anathem by Neal Stephenson.  I’d also recommend the Hyperion tetralogy by Dan Simmons for my SciFi friends.  I enjoy Jack Vance for his precision of language and excellent stories.  I love John LeCarre, especially The Night Manager, Little Drummer Girl, and all the Smiley books.  I read All the King’s Men this last year, by Robert Penn Warren.  It was heartbreaking and amazing.  He paints a vivid picture, but he also exposes emotion brilliantly. 

I like to read about culture and its decline, too.  Most recently, Amusing Ourselves to Death by Neal Postman.  My favorite authors on culture are Victor Davis Hansen, Theodore Dalrymple, and James Bowman. 

My favorite TV shows: House, Top Gear, How It’s Made, South Park, Futurama, The Office, American Idol, Parks and Recreation.  Mostly Top Gear.  All other TV is terrible by comparison.  Even if you don’t care about cars, it’s great television.  And if you do like cars, it’s Nirvana.

I’m still indifferent to most movies, though I did finally watch “Once Upon a Time in the West” and “The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly” this past year and was amazed at the perfection of acting, cinematography, and score for each.  I don’t mean to be a curmudgeon, but most movies today are crap.

Blogs I follow:  Engadget, Big Government, Big Hollywood, Michelle Malkin, Camille Paglia, Jay Nordlinger, Michael J. Totten, James Bowman, Gizmodo, WhichTestWon, Lifehacker, People of Walmart, Art of Manliness, ty.rannosaur.us, mental_floss, Bleat, Autoblog, FAILblog, Claremont, Michael Yon.  Honorable mention to James Taranto and Best of the Web Today, which no longer has an RSS feed but which is the most pithy thing I read in any day.

My blogs (all infrequently updated): Virtute.org, Modstomp.com, slingandstones.org.

Podcasts I listen to: Radio Derb, History of Rome, History Network: Military, BYU: New Speeches, BYU: Classic Speeches, Mark Levin.

I read stories to Isaac and Charlotte every night, and often I get to tuck Nicole in too.  I spend a lot of time with Ila when I can so Kathleen can have her hands free.  I feel just a little nuts: we have 4 children, all 5 years old and younger.  This is a hard thing now, but it will be a good thing soon.  With them close together we can do more as a family and hopefully they’ll bond together really well.  I’m pretty sure we’re not done at 4.  The world needs more Cochrans.

Well, I think that sums me up as much as a blog post can. Happy New Year, everybody.

Posted on December 31st, 2009 by Zach
Filed under: Family History, General | 1 Comment »

Here’s a little video of Charlotte and Isaac playing with her birthday present:

She wanted “a magic car that goes by itself”. I think this works.

I also think Nicole is destroying a book in the background.

Posted on December 15th, 2009 by Zach
Filed under: Kids, Toys | No Comments »

I know you didn’t love your name, but that’s because to you it was just a name. To me it is the feeling of love that I felt when I was with you.

It’s a reminder of a great woman who I loved and admired. Who showed strength in motherhood through sorrows and joys.

A woman who, like me, thrills to be a mom and recognized her role as the most noble and worthwhile thing she could do.

It’s the thrill in my heart as we got closer to your house each time we drove to Knoxville to visit you. It’s the love that flowed from you to everyone you knew.

There is so much about you that I admire, but when I try to put into words what you meant to me, I can’t find the right words and the letters on the page fall short of the emotion I feel when I remember you.

So, here I sit with my precious, perfect little girl. In a place that I always wanted to be, but now find myself here without you and it seems so appropriate and perfect to be able to give this little angel your name. I miss you and I love you.

Your granddaughter,

Kathleen

Posted on December 9th, 2009 by Kathleen
Filed under: General | 5 Comments »

Kathleen went into labor early this morning, so we’re at the hospital waiting on a new baby. Updates to follow.

Posted on December 8th, 2009 by Zach
Filed under: General | 1 Comment »

For all our struggles and trials, we have so many things for which to thanks our Maker.  I love the WSJ editorial today, recounting the trials of the Plymouth colony.  Our ancestors were sturdy souls.  Here are a few things I’m grateful for:

• I have a great job.  I work with a great group of people for an interesting company in interesting times.  I am challenged each day, but I enjoy the work.  I’m finally doing the type of work I begged Omniture to let me do, and I’m finding I’m very good at it.  The pay is much better than Omniture as well, which is badly needed with a new baby on the way.
• I have bright and curious children.  It’s a blessing to have kids who are interested in many things, who can stare wide-eyed at a simple crow in the yard or be amazed by a book about fossils.  I love each one of them.
• My wife of nearly 10 years sticks with me, in spite of all my faults.  She’s thoughtful and kind and works hard every day.  She’s suffering exhaustion and discomfort to bring another child into the world, for which I’m more than grateful.
• Tennessee is a beautiful state.  While no place is perfect, this is a good place for our family right now.  I love watching the mist on the rivers I cross when I drive to work in the morning.  I love the sunsets.  I love the wonderful Tennessee accent and the kindness of the people.
• I am thankful for the chance to work closely with the missionaries.  I loved my mission, and it’s wonderful to help teach.  It makes my faith stronger and blesses my life. 
• I’m thankful for my family.  I don’t think we took for granted having them so close for so long; we knew exactly how great it was.  I bought a cheeseball at the store the other day and caught myself thinking I could have my family over to eat it.  I’m also thankful for all the technology that makes the 1900 miles seem less.

Here are a few more things I’m thankful for with links to deeper thoughts where appropriate:

• The pilgrims
• Joseph Smith
• President Monson
• The New Testament
• American soldiers

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

Posted on November 25th, 2009 by Zach
Filed under: Family History, General | 2 Comments »

DAY 9:  On Wednesday we set off for Knoxville. It was a long crowded ride in my mother’s  Tribeca, but the kids behaved well and the trip was uneventful.  We stopped for lunch at Wendy’s and Nicole enjoyed dancing to the music and making faces with my mother.  She was in such a funny happy mood that I was glad I had my camera handy to capture a few moments. 

The only other noteworthy thing was the few times that Isaac announced that he needed to use the bathroom right away and we frantically exited as soon as we could only to find out that his need was not nearly as urgent as he had claimed. 

When we arrived at our new place, the movers were still unloading the truck and a neighbor from the ward had provided a hot meal for the family.

The rest of our moving experience is not blogworthy as it consists of me unpacking and organizing our things into our new house, but I think 9 days of moving details really should be enough detail for the few readers we get to our humble little blog.

Posted on November 22nd, 2009 by Kathleen
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Isaac seems to be doing well in his new school.  His school day is much longer than it was in Utah.  He went from 2hrs and 45 min of school to 5 hrs and 15 min.  It means he gets to eat lunch at school which he thinks is great.  On Fridays they wear Orange to support the local football team (Tennessee Volunteers) and Isaac loves his new orange shirt so much that he often tries to wear it all weekend as well.

After his first day of school, I asked him if he had made any friends and he said “no, but lots of kids made friends with me.”  He now tells me that a boy named Storm is his friend because in his words “Storm always gives smiles when he sees me and he always wants me to sit next to him at lunch and when I sit next to him he gives smiles.”  He also informed me that a girl named Faith doesn’t like him because “she gives frowns” when she sees him.

Posted on November 22nd, 2009 by Kathleen
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DAY 7:  We spent much of day 7 exploring my parent’s property.  We kicked off our adventures with the traditional forklift rides.  Isaac and Charlotte took turns riding the forklift with their grandfather.  He showed them how to lift a pallet up and down and even gave them a ride on the pallet and loaded them onto a truck.

Next they had a tour of his warehouse which included showing the children the kiddie rides that grandpa Bird has been storing for a company.

Read more…

Posted on November 14th, 2009 by Kathleen
Filed under: General | 1 Comment »

DAY 5:  Our first day in Ohio was mostly spent relaxing at my parents’ house.   Lee stopped over as we were having some lunch and introduced us to his girlfriend, Jen.  We had a nice visit with Lee and Jen as we munched on french fries and BBQ chicken.  Nicole took to Lee right away.  She snuggled up to him as soon as he picked her up and enjoyed smiling at him and making faces. 

Read more…

Posted on November 13th, 2009 by Kathleen
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DAY 4 CONTINUED:  The airport experience with three little kids is a little crazy.  The kids were actually quite good, but just the management of them all would have been impossible on my own.  Once we made it through security, we stopped at a little play area before going to our gate.  This provided a perfect opportunity for a potty break.  Unfortunately, Charlotte managed to get her underwear wet while sitting on the potty so I had to make the trek back and forth to the bathroom with a fresh pair of “airplane underwear.”  By the time I was finished (the play area was not close to the bathroom), I could only allow Charlotte 10 minutes to play before we scuttled them all off towards the gate. 

Read more…

Posted on November 12th, 2009 by Kathleen
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DAY ONE:   We were lucky enough to have Zach’s new job pay for a moving company to pack and move our belongings.  I think if not for that I really would have lost my sanity.  They came at 8:00 AM and worked until 7:00 PM packing and loading our things onto a gigantic semi-truck.  The beginning of the day went well, Grandma Cochran took Nicole and Isaac went to school so I just had Charlotte with me and Zach’s Aunt Neta who had come down to help.  We sat on the couch and talked as they worked through the morning. 

Read more…

Posted on November 9th, 2009 by Kathleen
Filed under: General | No Comments »

Get a good night’s sleep.  Pack a lot of caffeine.  Bring all the sessions of General Conference and a couple of Robert Jordan books to listen to.  Bring food, water, and extra newspaper for the cats.  That was the plan, and for the most part, it worked out well.  After 1900 miles of driving, I found myself in a new house, far from home, and completely depleted mentally, physically, and emotionally.

After two weeks, it’s faded a little bit and blurred together.  I headed out from Orem and up Provo Canyon, through Heber, and up onto I-80.  When I’m driving by myself, I can drive pretty hard, not stopping much, and that’s what I like to do.  Here’s the view in back:

Cats, some clothes, and everything the movers wouldn’t take.  I headed out across Wyoming.  A lot of people tell me they dislike the drive, but I enjoy it.  I like views like this one:

I wasn’t too far into Nebraska before it got dark.  I left I-80 in Lincoln and skirted east and into Iowa, where I hit I-29 and went south.  I passed Mound City in the dark; I didn’t have time to stop and check for Lamanites.  I passed around Kansas City through Independence, and onto I-70. 

About this time, I thought about sleeping, but the cats were getting upset.  Late night is their play time, and they wanted to get out and be free.  They were scared and sad.  Their unhappy meowing meant no sleep for me, so I grabbed another energy drink and kept driving.

My GPS suggested I cut off on I-64 into St. Louis, which would have been a great shortcut, except it was closed.  After a little route-finding, I made it over the bridge and into Illinois.  Sunrise that next morning:

I-64, I-57, I-24.  Then a jump over the Ohio River, and into Kentucky.

The drive through Kentucky was beautiful.  It was a sunny day, with leaves changing all around.  Can you see the extra day’s beard growth?

Soon I crossed the Cumberland River and was in Nashville:

Here I grabbed I-40, which is my new “home freeway”, the way I-15 was to me growing up.

Almost to my new home:

I left about 10 in the morning Mountain Time, and arrived at about 3 in the afternoon Eastern Time that next day. 

That night, after I had the van unloaded and the cats settled, I went over to Rick and Dee’s for dinner.  I was kind of a bad guest, I’m sure; I was weird and tired and wound up all at once.  After dinner I found myself in a state of emotional disarray.  I think the exhaustion and the caffeine combined with loneliness and homesickness to really smash me.  All the uncertainty piled up on me at once; alone on my air mattress on the floor, with no family, no TV, no internet, none of my usual outlets.  I read from the New Testament, called Kathleen, and finally fell asleep.

The next day, I felt better.

Posted on November 6th, 2009 by Zach
Filed under: Adventures, Family History | No Comments »

One last hurrah in Utah.  I’m lucky enough to have found friends who like the remote places in Utah as much as I do.  Yesterday I went out with Jim to roam around in the deserts of Western Utah.  I love the House Range in particular.  It’s got the formidable Notch Peak, one of the highest cliffs in the world and one of the most staggering views I’ve gotten from a summit.  It has Wheeler Shale, which means great fossil beds.  It’s miles from anything, which means you’re usually alone with just the sound of the wind in your ears and the occasional Air Force presence overhead.

We headed for U-Dig fossils, which is run by a very nice old man and his two dogs.  It’s a pay site, but there’s the advantage of them pointing you right to good layers of shale and having it broken up in advance with some heavy machinery.  It makes finding fossils very rewarding; I estimate we found more than 50 nice trilobites.

After spending a couple of hours breaking up layers of Wheeler Shale, we took our haul and hit one of the long, lonely, gravel roads.  We drove along the east side of the House Range, with the Drum Mountains to the east of us.  One thing I expect to miss when I leave Utah is the long sight lines. 

Topaz Mountain is open to rock hounds, provided they use hand tools only to extract the crystals.  The best rhyolite formations are higher up in the canyons west of the main dig sites.  We parked and climbed about 300 feet up, but weren’t having a lot of luck breaking up the rock.  After about an hour I started back down, but just about that time Jim found a nice pocket and gathered up some topaz.  Below is the view from the spot we were working.

I will miss the hundred-mile vistas.  I’ll miss the dry, harsh desert.  I’ll miss being the only one on the long dirt road.  Nothing gold can stay.

Posted on October 22nd, 2009 by Zach
Filed under: Adventures | 1 Comment »

I think almost everyone who reads this blog already knows about our upcoming move,  but there may be a few who we we don’t see often and don’t use facebook so for those few, here’s our official announcement:  We’re moving from Orem, UT to Knoxville, TN.

When Zach first suggested taking a job out of state, I was VERY opposed to the idea.  I thought we would probably spend the rest of our lives here in Utah, perhaps even in this house.  Of all the things I’ve come to love about Utah, living so close to my in-laws has been the absolute best and I will sorely miss living so close to them. 

As the job interviews started to come, I couldn’t help but feel blessed at the number of good opportunities that Zach had available to him.  We had been praying for months for a way to increase our income and improve our financial situation.  I expected the answer to our prayers to keep us here, but at one point, Zach was in various stages of the interview process with 7 different companies in 6 different states and not one of them was in Utah.  It took a couple of weeks for me to be ok with the idea of moving, but before long I found that my mind had been changed and I knew that a move was inevitable and I somehow found myself ok with the idea. 

The next step was selecting the best job opportunity and though the process only took a month or two, it seemed to take forever.  I was pleased when the decision was finally made that he would work for Jewelry TV in Knoxville, TN.  Of all the cities that he interviewed in, Knoxville was my top choice.  I have fond memories of Knoxville because it’s where my grandmother lived.  I spent every Christmas there and a week out of each summer there for my entire childhood.  It’s within driving distance of my parents and I have some extended family in the area as well.

Posted on October 18th, 2009 by Kathleen
Filed under: General | 1 Comment »