It’s Jonas’s second birthday today, so that’s pretty exciting. He woke up marginally later than usual (only 5:30 this time), so that was a sort of birthday present from him to the rest of us. I had to fast for a blood test, but the rest of the family had French toast sticks for breakfast. We also gave him one of his presents: a “roadster” tricycle from Kristy’s parents. He seemed to like it, even if he needs to grow another inch or two before he can actually work the pedals.

Also, last night he used the toilet for the first time (with help, of course). He seemed pretty pleased with himself.

Last night I had a rather odd dream. I seemed to be a reporter of some type, and I had the unique and highly enviable opportunity to interview Kim Jong-un, son of Kim Jong-il and heir-apparent of North Korea’s reclusive “dynasty.” It seemed that while in real life Kim Jong-un had only been “elevated” to heir-apparent status earlier this year, he had actually been in active control of the country since April of 2010, when his father had secretly stepped down.

As the interview continued, he seemed very reluctant to speak. I’d read (in real life) that Kim Jong-un liked basketball, so I figured that I’d toss him a “throw-away” question that I already knew the answer to, simply to get him talking. I asked him what his favorite sport was. He looked at me and said, “Cotton.” Then he said that he thought I’d wanted to ask him about the “Fischer Group” and counterrevolutionaries in North Korea.

I explained that I was just trying to get a rounded view of him as a person first. I then asked him about the dissidents in North Korea, and he called them “terrorists.” I asked him, given no outside influence and without the terrorists inside the country, where he saw North Korea in ten or even twenty years. I’m not sure that he ever answered the question. The dream then moved on to other subjects.

So, here’s a unique view into the secret world of one of the world’s most reclusive people, heir-apparent of the hands-down most reclusive country in the world. His favorite sport? Cotton. I think that explains exactly why people keep defecting to South Korea…

This has been a really good weekend. Kristy and I were able to go to the temple on Saturday. We went with Josh Pothoof, a friend, while some other friends watched the kids for the day. The temple was as calming and peaceful as ever, and we received the answers and direction that we were looking for. Also, as usual, we were the witness couple–it seems like we’re always chosen as the witness couple whenever we attend the temple together. It’s been a long time since Kristy and I were able to attend together, and I think it’s exactly what we both needed.

Earlier this evening Brenna noticed someone’s icon or avatar on a forum on Kristy’s monitor. The small image depicted a tree with spreading branches and glowing fruit. Brenna immediately remarked, “Is that the tree that people want to eat from after they follow the pole?” It took me a moment to realize that she meant the iron rod; she’s a smart girl!

Saturday was my 32nd birthday. It was a good day–low-key but still fun. The kids let me sleep in (one of the best presents ever), and then Kristy cooked me a really fancy breakfast with pastries, eggs, bacon, and hash browns. After opening presents (Brenna was especially excited about me opening the Lego she and Jonas had gotten me), we bummed around the house for a few hours and accomplished absolutely nothing. Perfect.

Then we decided to head out for lunch. I also wanted to stop by the local downtown game store, and it turned out that Saturday was La Crosse’s “Historic Days.” A lot of the downtown stores had activities for kids, and Brenna ended up decorating a plastic fedora and painting a pumpkin. We also stopped by the Children’s Museum. Finally we ended up at The Pearl, a local old-fashioned ice cream parlor. Their cookie-dough ice cream was quite good.

We then headed over to the barbecue place for lunch. Jonas fell asleep in the car, and since the place did take-out, we decided to do that and eat at home. Brenna and I went inside and ordered (it’d take about 15 minutes to cook our food) while Kristy stayed in the car with the napping Jonas. Finally we headed home, put Jonas down for his nap, and the rest of us ate lunch. It was all right, but nothing special. Note for the future: don’t bother with Famous Dave’s barbecue.

The rest of the day was quiet. We had the usual artichokes and Chinese chicken salad that I request every birthday, followed by homemade cherry pie.  Kristy and I watched the Japanese version of “Dance With Me” (a fun ballroom dancing movie), and later, after the kids were in bed, watched the pilot episode of SeaQuest DSV (very cheesy).

This is a test to see if the LiveJournal cross-posting functionality is working. I’m still tweaking the software for this new website, so who knows what will happen.