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Getting After It
This isn’t just a podcast—it’s a relentless pursuit of growth, grit, and getting after life on your own terms.
Every week, we break down what it takes to push limits, embrace discomfort, and turn ambition into action. This is where wisdom meets execution—because knowledge alone doesn’t cut it. You have to apply, refine, and outwork your own self-doubt to see real results.
We bring on guests from all walks of life—entrepreneurs, athletes, creatives, adventurers—people who have battled through resistance and come out stronger. Their stories aren’t just inspiring; they’re roadmaps for anyone looking to level up.
The mission? To fuel your fire, challenge your thinking, and equip you with the mindset and tools to chase down your biggest goals.
This is Getting After It—not just a podcast, but a movement for those who refuse to settle.
Getting After It
093: A Chat with Todd & Dina, The Dynamic Duo
In this heartfelt and humorous episode, I sit down with the two people who know me best—my parents. What starts as a light chat about holiday traditions and Europe’s Christmas markets takes a deep dive into some of life’s biggest lessons: the power of faith, the resilience required in tough times, and the unexpected joys of family.
We explore their recent trip to historical sites in Europe, including Nazi concentration camps, and reflect on the importance of remembering history to better appreciate the present. From stories of parenting and childhood chaos (like our infamous “dog ball” game) to how their love has evolved over nearly 40 years of marriage, this conversation is raw, insightful, and full of laughs.
Whether we’re discussing faith, gratitude, or skydiving dreams, this episode reminds us of what it means to live intentionally, stay connected, and, as always, keep getting after it.
KEY TAKEAWAYS:
- Gratitude in Perspective – Reflecting on history and contrasting life’s hardships with its joys deepens gratitude for the present.
- Family First – Strong family bonds are built through shared experiences, open communication, and unwavering support.
- Faith Evolves – Faith grows through trials, offering hope and purpose as it adapts to life’s changes.
- Marriage as a Partnership – A thriving relationship is built on teamwork, honest communication, and prioritizing each other.
- The Power of Service – Helping others brings fulfillment, strengthens connections, and deepens faith.
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I hope today’s episode sparked something within you to pursue your dreams and unlock your true potential. If you found value in it, consider sharing it with someone who might need that same push.
This podcast is built for you—the dreamers and the doers. My goal is to provide a space where you can find inspiration, learn from others, and feel empowered to chase what matters most to you.
Your dreams are within your grasp. All you need is the commitment to Get After It.
And it's like some kind of dessert, it's like some baked dessert that he would make it sounds good and the ladies are like ooh, those sound delicious.
Speaker 3:But they're really, they talk really low the name of the podcast is the Delicious Dish.
Speaker 1:Delicious Dish.
Speaker 3:Okay, so look it up.
Speaker 1:Okay, I will. I'll have to. Is this recording now? It's recording now. Oh dear. Okay, let's scratch all of it. No, I like it raw, so be careful what you say. Wow, I'm sure there's been more. And, on that note, this is a great opportunity for me at least to have both my parents here to ask us some serious questions. Doesn't really happen. I know Serious, serious questions. I got some good ones. No one said there would some serious questions. It doesn't really happen. I know Serious, serious questions. I got some good ones.
Speaker 2:No one said there would be serious questions.
Speaker 1:Well, there might be, who knows. Depending on how the conversation goes, let's get an update. How are you guys doing? Where did you guys just come back from?
Speaker 3:Getting an Xbox returned and purchasing another one.
Speaker 1:Well, I meant the other thing, oh, the bigger thing that you just came back from.
Speaker 3:Oh Europe.
Speaker 1:Yeah, europe, okay, there we go.
Speaker 3:I thought you meant today, what was today?
Speaker 1:I mean, Xbox is cool, but Europe's a little cooler.
Speaker 3:Yeah, Europe's way cooler.
Speaker 1:And the listeners of this show. They always know I talk about World War II. There's a lot of lessons learned there. There's a lot of lessons learned in there. So you guys walked the grounds of Nazi concentration camps, of rally grounds. What else did you guys do?
Speaker 3:Saw the Berlin Wall.
Speaker 2:Yeah, we went to the. I think the thing that I thought was maybe most interesting was the topography of terror in Berlin, which is where the former headquarters were for the ss and the gestapo, for the nazis, and they they've knocked that down but they've built a, a museum that kind of tracks the rise and fall of the nazi party and the horrors that they committed there's still a little part of the wall left um the.
Speaker 3:It was the garage of the Gestapo and stuff.
Speaker 1:Gestapo is like Nazi police right.
Speaker 3:Uh-huh, they're the guys that go find the Jews. Yeah, Gestapo and secret police.
Speaker 2:That was the SS.
Speaker 3:Oh, that was called SS. I think so.
Speaker 1:It's creepy.
Speaker 3:Yeah, it's creepy stuff. It was sad.
Speaker 1:I told you guys this when I picked you up, but you sent that picture of the concentration camps where there was tests done on Jews. And I read this book Doctors from Hell a while back. That was just like it brought it to life. And it was I don't know, because I feel like, since it's in history and we're so far away from that, it's hard to imagine that those things took place, but it's like it really did.
Speaker 1:And it's sad to see, like, um, the worst of humanity come out and that kind of stuff, I don't know, but it's also like reassuring that there were people that still fought and made sure to not let that happen anymore.
Speaker 2:Well, there weren't enough people to fight it, unfortunately, and the topography of terror kind of tracks how the German people basically gave ultimate power and disregard for the rule of law to their leader in order to to gain power. They thought that it would help their country, yeah, and it ultimately led to their downfall and almost like destruction of Germany. I mean it was, it was leveled, but yeah, the, the prison where we saw that the concentration camp was called Saxon housing concentration camp and itonhausen, um, uh, concentration camp and it's just outside of Berlin and uh, yeah, it was. It was in the hospital infirmary. We went down to the basement and that's where they had the, uh, the room where they experimented on prisoners.
Speaker 1:How tall were the ceilings Do they look tiny?
Speaker 3:They were like well, well, there's a tunnel in between the two hospitals and it was really low, kind of freaked me out a little bit claustrophobic, like I had to get, I had to scrunch down.
Speaker 3:I, I mean, I'm five nine, but I had to scrunch down because it was probably the ceilings were probably I don't know less than six foot high that's so sad, yeah it was just but the files, I mean that they had on all these people that they castrated and these you know, they told stories about these healthy boys, that they were healthy, and then they would inject them with this stuff to see what would happen. And it just broke my heart. It was really hard to see. So after we saw all the hard stuff we were like let's go to a Christmas market, that's fair.
Speaker 1:Let saw all the hard stuff, we were like let's go to a christmas market. Yeah, that's fair, let's be happy. I mean that's kind of a good place to pivot, because I don't want to focus solely on nazis and the death of jews as it was a weird dichotomy though it was like well, yeah, we went into this other section.
Speaker 3:That was like these jehovah's witness that they targeted to um like 900 died in that camp or something like that. But they had a thing on it how they wouldn't. Hitler wanted them to say you don't believe in this anymore, then you can leave the camp. And they wouldn't do it because they they stuck to their grounds.
Speaker 1:It's like that scene from silence, except a little bit different.
Speaker 2:Well, we learned too that the, the ones who disavowed their faith and signed the letter that said that they, you know, didn't believe in their faith tradition, those people were immediately, once they signed, they were sent to the front lines.
Speaker 1:Jeez, so it was like you know You're going to die either way.
Speaker 2:So it's, you know, it was awful.
Speaker 1:It's a no-win situation, yeah, so that's pretty rough, rough.
Speaker 2:But yeah, you're right. I mean we were going to these places during the day and then at night, uh, these christmas markets that were like the holidays on steroids yeah, it was like disney times 10.
Speaker 3:It was so awesome. But it was quite a a shift, like the dichotomy between those two settings was was really dramatic, but it was but it really, you know, just seeing all that stuff makes you grateful yeah like just so grateful that you know where we are and we don't have to face that right now, and you know just and yesterday too.
Speaker 1:So it's the day after christmas. Today I um I spent some time last night like journaling and talking about I don't know. Yesterday was really special to me because it was like ali and i's first christmas alone, together, but um, then just going over and seeing all the family and, um, you know, we went over to go, yeah, playing games, but then we went over to go see rosie, our old lady friend, and she was all alone and it was like seeing that contrast of being like with your family and spending time with them, making memories, and then going to go see an old lady who's like confined to her bed just makes you grateful for for what you have yeah, yeah, the holidays unfortunately aren't, aren't pleasant for everyone.
Speaker 2:Yeah, right, um, so you're right, it's, it's one of those things you have to be grateful for, yeah.
Speaker 3:Well, very blessed.
Speaker 1:How um? What was your favorite memory this Christmas?
Speaker 3:That's really hard.
Speaker 1:Come on.
Speaker 2:That is hard.
Speaker 3:Uh, I mean like the Christmas season or Christmas day either one. Well, we, I mean like the Christmas season or Christmas day, either one. Well, we, I mean we had we started off in Europe December 2nd and it was just Christmas magic. The whole two weeks, two and a half weeks, we were there, and then we come home to our awesome family. It just kind of like the cherry on top.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, I agree.
Speaker 3:And it was great to be with dad. You know, for that long Cause with work and everything in life, it just you know we don't get 24 seven together.
Speaker 1:Yeah, correct me if I'm wrong, you guys said that this was like some of the most fun that you guys have had in years, like going to just oh yeah, and all that stuff.
Speaker 3:Yeah, we, I mean we hopped the train and the subway and the buses and it was really, it was magical.
Speaker 2:And I would admit, like in previous Christmases I would say there's times where I've been kind of a maybe not a Scrooge, but I haven't really felt the holiday spirit all that much because I'm deep in work and that can be sort of frustrating, sometimes right work, and that can be sort of frustrating, sometimes right and all-consuming, if you like my my job can be kind of, uh, overwhelming. Yeah, it can. It can take like you can work around the clock and it it won't.
Speaker 2:Uh, you know you're never done so there's times when, like all you, you look around, you're like, oh, it's Christmas and you don't really feel that this year I overdosed on it right, I just totally overdosed on Christmas and then it led up to the big celebration with everybody, lot about, uh, the reason why we celebrate Christmas and you know, um, the significance of of him, uh, of the savior, and, um, I don't know it kind of a special year for me, I would say, for lots of different reasons.
Speaker 1:I mean it's interesting Like I'm I'm only 27, but like, looking back, I I see that too in my own life. Like, yeah, getting especially in sales like Q4 is when you're supposed to be closing and like trying to get all the deals across the line, and so it takes away sometimes the focus of like what you want to be on. But as parents, how has it evolved over the years? Because you know when you're first take home your baby I've talked to Allie about this all the time but I'm like we got to be careful like not overspending on them because they won't care about the gifts and stuff. But then just seeing us now, like coming over yesterday you know Blake has his kids, drew's has his I'm married and like it's gotta be rewarding seeing that from like a parent's perspective, like all your kids together and oh, I, I think it is, it's, it's.
Speaker 3:Uh, it fills my heart with joy. I would say it's cool, yeah, it's magic, I mean it's.
Speaker 2:It's very different from the Christmases. Uh, we had alone before. We had kids. Once you have kids, it's even better.
Speaker 3:Yeah, it just gets better and better. And then you have grandkids and it's like wow, you're getting to relive the magic all over again with your grandkids. All the magic and the chaos.
Speaker 1:Yeah, definitely the chaos, but no, that's awesome and I don't know. I think it's just cool to reflect and pause and like see how far we've come, because as a family we've grown and like both physically, like added more people to the family, but then also just I think together we've gotten closer and it's it's cool to see that happen over the years. But it takes work, like you gotta make sure you're doing what you can. Absolutely um, because it is sad, but sometimes like I'll forget, I'll be like man. It's been like two weeks since I've talked to my dad on the phone for a while and it makes me sad, but I mean, it's part of life, yeah.
Speaker 3:Yeah, you just get busy.
Speaker 1:Um, shifting from Christmas entirely, like let's get after it. Now we're going to jump into some good questions here.
Speaker 3:Oh dear.
Speaker 1:I got some good ones for you, um, but what was one of your favorite memories of me growing up?
Speaker 3:Oh, you were such a great kid.
Speaker 1:It could be any years, like it could be me when I was in high school, acting like a jag, or it could be when I was three.
Speaker 3:You never really acted like a jag.
Speaker 1:Not jag, but weird. I was doing weird stuff, like dad had a picture on his phone yesterday of me sitting on his lap with a Batman mask and I was kissing his forehead. That's pretty weird.
Speaker 2:In our family, that's that sounds like the standard approach. Family, that sounds like the standard approach. Yeah, that's fair. I don't have a specific memory. I don't either you might, but I mean you always. You were such a happy kid and you still are.
Speaker 3:Yeah.
Speaker 2:You smiled and you just had like a grin that would light up any room you'd walk into. You were just a happy kid and a really pretty easy kid to raise. You didn't give us a lot of problems, you didn't do the kinds of things, but then we found out so much more when he left and came back, like what you did in high school that we didn't know about, like what you got.
Speaker 1:To give me an example.
Speaker 2:Crimes and misdemeanors, nothing crazy.
Speaker 3:You were a really really easy kid to raise and I just remember after all the kids were at school, you were like my buddy and we go to the store and you know, we do little things together. And then I made you Fat, brett, fat.
Speaker 1:Brett was the man. He's still in there. But yeah, I don other and then I made you fat brett and that was the man. He's still in there. But yeah, I don't know what did what. This is also kind of an interesting question because, like ali and I are talking about, you know, starting our family and all that kind of thing, so we're expecting whatever we're our imaginations like, think about what being a parent is. But, um, what have you loved and what have you hated about being a parent? You can, you don't have to give any details about what kids like, uh, like, how bad Drew is.
Speaker 3:Um, Drew was really bad when you were born, but then he grew out of it. Like six months later he's been on this a few times so. I can call him out.
Speaker 1:But, um yeah, you can start with the hate part if you want.
Speaker 3:You also don't have to answer that one If you don't know, I think the only part I hated was when you guys were sick, because I hated to see you guys miserable.
Speaker 1:Yeah, um, you do have a soft heart.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I just thought that was hard for me, but I didn't hate any of it. Like, hate, hate. Like it was just every, every little step of being a parent um, you grow and you change and you figure things out, and it's just like. It's like I don't know, yeah I I don't know how to explain it. You explain things better than I do no, I know exactly what you're saying.
Speaker 2:There there was nothing that I hated. There were challenges and there were difficulties. For sure, most of of uh, being a parent was a real gift.
Speaker 2:Um, and I sometimes feel bad for people who don't get the opportunity to be parents or or don't take the opportunity to be parents, because I feel like there's probably no better school, there's no better way to learn than, um, putting everything you've got into little people that you love and helping them kind of establish a foundation and grow and um, yeah, I mean, you know, yeah, there, there's. There's nothing that I hated about it. It was pretty magical for the most part, and again there's challenges.
Speaker 3:There's hard times. I'm not going to lie, yeah.
Speaker 2:I was saying to somebody the other day and I don't remember, even who asked me but someone asked me what was the question. It was sort of like do you I know? Yeah, and it was actually my granddaughter who asked me. She said do you miss having little kids at home? And I said the thing that I miss about having little kids was and there were days when I thought I was going to lose my mind too with little kids right, there's lots of chaos, yeah.
Speaker 2:But I mean, little kids have little problems. You get a scrape, you clean up their knee you put a Band-Aid on it and you pat them on the bottom and send them on their way and everything is better.
Speaker 2:Um, when your kids grow up and become adults. They um, you know you, you've done what you can do, You're, you can still be there as a resource for them if they want to talk to you about that or ask you questions. Right, but as adults, they make choices and I can't necessarily go in and clean up um the consequences of some of their choices and send them on their way, Like you can still be there for them, you can love them. But their problems get considerably bigger and more and compounded, Right, as you get older, and it's not a simple fix that you can just apply and and pat them on the bottom and send them on their way.
Speaker 1:You guys are still parenting, like you know.
Speaker 3:I think you parent your whole life.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 3:Well, but you have to be careful, right.
Speaker 2:You can't be too aggressive. Uh, there's lots of times when I would love to take somebody aside and say, hey, yeah, listen, snap out of it.
Speaker 3:Yeah, but but but um but we we want the relationship with our kids. So if you guys want advice, we were happy to give it, but we we just love you and try to help you as best as we can without interfering.
Speaker 1:Well from your youngest I can say that you guys have done really well, like good job, I'm sure sometimes I'm like, yeah, overstepping the grandma thing.
Speaker 3:But it's okay, I'm learning.
Speaker 1:Hey, grandma's rules.
Speaker 3:You learn. You learn as you grow. That's it.
Speaker 1:And that's the whole point of this podcast is that you know we're learning. So no, I think that's interesting. I think I was a little sad that you didn't say dog ball as one thing that you love, as a love for parenting.
Speaker 2:Oh, oh, oh, oh there's, I mean I.
Speaker 1:I think you might need to explain what dog ball is.
Speaker 2:Okay, yeah, we did lots of crazy things, and that's actually one thing that I think all of you guys have said was that when you were little, we took time to play with you guys and have fun.
Speaker 3:Dad was really good at that.
Speaker 2:You guys both were.
Speaker 3:No, he was better at it than me.
Speaker 1:I remember summer nights. Those were my favorite because, like we were all home from school and dad would fire up the grill and then we'd all spend the rest of the night outside just swimming and you know, eating, crying, laughing, eating the corn. You got me into grilled veggies and now that's like half my diet. Thank you for that.
Speaker 2:So dog ball dog. We had a, a golden retriever and his name was Majerus Beautiful dog. He was a beautiful dog and he was the sweetest dog he was the best, but he was a big dog and he was the sweetest dog. He was the sweetest dog but he was a big dog, right. But we played a game that we called dog ball, and so we had a pool in our backyard and it was really long. It wasn't quite an Olympic length swimming pool, but it was narrow but long.
Speaker 1:Like five and a half feet deep. Yeah, it wasn't super deep.
Speaker 2:So we would play a game where you'd have to swim the length of the pool, um and and, and. Then the somebody would be out on the deck of the pool with the dog's ball in their hand and, as the person swimming the length of the pool, as they were swimming you would throw the ball right where that person was and the dog would jump and land on you while you were swimming Sometimes.
Speaker 3:He wouldn't do it all the time.
Speaker 2:Well, we'd miss. There were times when you would miss and you would maybe fake out the guy who was up on the deck. You'd pretend like you're going in one direction and then throw it over there and you'd go the other way to avoid the dog, but the dog would come down on you and he'd claw your back as he was swimming to get the ball and we all ended up with just giant welts and we would do that all the time.
Speaker 3:You kept doing it. I was just like what are?
Speaker 1:you. It was so much fun. That's why it was hilarious.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it was really fun, so I think it was primarily with you and your brothers. Yeah, um, yeah, I don't know if your sister ever did that, but she might have done a couple times yeah but it was mostly you weird there were times when especially you, because you were the youngest, would end up in tears. Yeah, um. There were times, I think, when we all wanted to cry such good memories, I wouldn't feel sorry for you at all it was a blast
Speaker 1:how funny is that? You just get a giant dog thrown on you. It was a good time. But there's little memories like that I always think about. I'm like man, I had such a good childhood, like it was fun.
Speaker 2:I was great. I loved it Getting attacked by your golden retriever.
Speaker 1:Yeah, he's my best friend.
Speaker 3:Sweetest dog on the planet.
Speaker 1:This question is kind of more for dad but, you can answer too If you have one name, a movie that's made you cry.
Speaker 3:Ooh, that's easy.
Speaker 1:Um for you.
Speaker 3:No for him. I can name it right now. Let's hear it Scrooge.
Speaker 2:Oh yeah, really Scrooge.
Speaker 3:Yeah Well, I cry every day, every time he watches it. Every day, I mean every time.
Speaker 2:And I wouldn't say I cry. It's not story of repentance and redemption and someone who wants to turn their life around. So I love that. But I mean I would say trying to think of a couple of other movies that I've just seen recently. Sing Sing I think I teared up a little bit in that. Sing Sing is a story about it's a true story about a group of uh prisoners at sing sing in new york who get involved in um, in the dramatic arts in theater. They have their own program and the interesting thing about that movie is that I think normally recidivism, the recidivism rate for people who go back to prison after they get out is like 60%. It's very high.
Speaker 3:When before it was like 3%. Well, no, no.
Speaker 2:With the people who were in that program. It's 3% that go back. Two or 3% of those guys go back to prison. But it was again. I think it's a story of redemption, yeah, of somebody trying to course correct, and I love stories like that, so I got a little teary eyed in that one. Schindler's List, yeah, always makes me weep.
Speaker 3:Back to World War II, yeah. Saving Private Ryan, I mean, you know, to World War II yeah.
Speaker 2:Saving Private Ryan, I mean you know All those shows. Yeah, the Band of Brothers, that's the one that gets me.
Speaker 1:All those.
Speaker 2:Yeah, all those get me.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that was just a question for you because you studied film, so I had to ask, kind of on the same note do you have a answer? Do you have? I cry at every movie, even if it's a hallmark movie.
Speaker 3:I get teary. Tommy boy, tommy boy.
Speaker 2:No, I did you cried in tommy boy. No, I did not cry. Not every movie, not every movie.
Speaker 3:Like if most movies have a what is that, like that soft ending, then I'm like you see wild robot yes did you cry in that one? I know the robot learns how to be a mom I know, but I was like, yeah, it's, it was a sweet movie, but I did not ally cried, did she?
Speaker 1:I'm calling her out, but she cried in that one. All right, I did watch a movie on the plane called white bird and I did cry.
Speaker 3:I'm sitting there crying on the plane like, oh, it was embarrassing but it was so good. It was such a good and touching movie.
Speaker 1:Well, on that same note, if you could go back in time and give yourself, like, give your younger self, a book could be the Book of Mormon, could be whatever you want it to be. But what would it be and why? Like what's one book that's really kind of helped either guide you or help you learn something that's made your life better?
Speaker 3:You go ahead For me.
Speaker 1:Yeah, publisher, this is for you.
Speaker 2:Yeah, for me it probably would be a book called peace like a river by leaf anger, um, and I would take it to my younger self. In high school I was not, um, thankfully, I've course corrected, but I would say I was more interested in, uh, it was a knucklehead in high school and and, uh, you could call it rebelliousness, whatever, but I wasn't very sensitive to my, my parents or my family. Yeah, um, and I think a lot of. I think it's kind of a typical track that a lot of kids are on at that age.
Speaker 2:So, yeah, a piece like a river is a story about a family who comes together and rallies around someone who is, um, kind of in jeopardy and danger, and it's just a beautiful story about the bonds of family and, uh, what, what family really means, what it's all about. So, yeah, I love that book.
Speaker 1:I know you've talked about it a lot and I've admittedly never read it, and I need to it's one of my favorite maybe not my favorite book of all time, but easily in the top five, yeah.
Speaker 2:I've got four or five copies sitting around the house, so if you want one, oh, really Okay I was going to say after this.
Speaker 1:I'm going to order one on Amazon, but I might just steal one from you. It's a great book. Yeah, what about you, mom?
Speaker 3:Anything could just steal one from us. It's a great book. Yeah, what about you mom? Anything, I can't think of anything. Really. I really liked the book um by um. Oh, I can't even think of her name. It's called grace.
Speaker 1:Oh, what is her name? Well, it's called grace, we'll just go with that. Oh, there you go, yeah.
Speaker 3:About the savior's grace, and I was a. I was a pretty good kid in high school. I didn't like to read much, but now I like I'd love to read, so I'd probably take that back and just go. You know, give yourself some give yourself some grace.
Speaker 1:It is true, we're very mean to ourselves.
Speaker 3:Yeah, we are so it's brutal. It is.
Speaker 1:But yeah, I think it's not really a surprise, but I'd probably choose extreme ownership to get myself in high school like learn how to cultivate this discipline and then all that. But honestly, probably the book of Mormon, when I was like getting into high school, like understand that, like the lessons that are in that book, cause I talk about stoicism all the time and all these things that are all about like self-progression, but really it's all in that book too, like you know, treat other people right, like love others as Jesus loves them, and that kind of thing. And those actions, at least in my life, like as I've tried applying those principles, have made my life not easier, but it seems like it just goes a little smoother. And like making sure that you don't you know you don't stray from the path and if you can't, if you do, you can always repent and come back, like you're seeing, with like redemption. Um, but yeah, I think I needed discipline in high school to not burn down trailers and stuff.
Speaker 3:You were pretty disciplined, like I'd come in and I wouldn't ever have to tell you to do your homework. You'd always do it, you know and you'd be you know why, though, cause?
Speaker 1:growing up, it was always if you finish your homework, you can play video games. You just you built that into me.
Speaker 3:Well, it worked. It worked so nice, nice going there but it works on some kids and not others.
Speaker 1:That's true.
Speaker 3:So yeah.
Speaker 2:There's another book you should read, called Original Grace. I think we gave it to you for Christmas a couple of years ago. I may have read it then by a guy named Adam Miller. Yeah, adam Miller, it's a pretty deeply philosophical approach to our faith.
Speaker 3:I think we did give it to you.
Speaker 2:We gave it to all of our kids.
Speaker 3:I think it was last Christmas, wasn't it?
Speaker 2:I think it was two years ago, oh, but anyway it. It just, um, that was a real eye opener for me, uh, that we need to be easier, more accepting and understanding of others and of ourselves, and understand that, uh, he's got us.
Speaker 3:We just need to do our very best as best as we can possibly do.
Speaker 2:So, yeah, that that was a. That was a good book. I enjoyed that one.
Speaker 1:Kind of the whole message of this podcast Like do your very best.
Speaker 3:Yeah.
Speaker 1:Just do what you can, right.
Speaker 3:And you have to stretch yourself. I mean, you know you wouldn't know these things unless you read good books like that and stuff, or do things that you don't want to do. But if you keep doing it, you know.
Speaker 1:How long have you been working out consistently? Almost seven years, right? No?
Speaker 3:it is seven, no, no, six. Is it six or seven? I think it's seven.
Speaker 1:It's getting up there, I remember.
Speaker 3:I can't remember, I haven't written down, I can't remember. It's just running together. But yeah, I've it's five to six days a week for um almost seven years.
Speaker 1:I mean that's a long time. It is almost seven years Cause it.
Speaker 3:I just celebrated six in July.
Speaker 1:There you go. So what on the days? And they're like you didn't want to show up and do something and, like you, you just said you know it's. You have to push through sometimes. What did you tell yourself?
Speaker 3:I put my workout clothes out, just like you do.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 3:Because I know, if I don't, I will feel bad about it the whole entire day and it'll that's where I get it from.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 3:So I put them on and even if I have them on and I do a few things before I work out, I always work out.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 3:And it makes me feel better, it helps the day go better and if I have lots of things early in the morning, I get up early and I do it. You know I just it's super important to me, especially for my mental health.
Speaker 1:I feel the same.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I just think it just makes you can handle things better.
Speaker 1:Do you think you, you know, and it's important teaches you resilience too.
Speaker 3:Because what do you say? Juice in the joints. Is that what you say? Juice in the joints yeah, but working out creates juice in the joints oh, no, it's uh motion is lotion motion is lotion close enough juice in the joints.
Speaker 2:I kind of like sounds like a juicy j song yeah. Sounds like something else.
Speaker 3:Getting older I really noticed that Like if I keep moving I feel better, if I stop, then I I hope there were worse. Like we walked and walked and walked, like. I think the most we walked was 13 miles one day when we were in Europe. Well, half marathon you know, it felt we were tired, but like I, I felt good yeah.
Speaker 1:So grateful I could do it I know, yeah, that's uh one thing I always think about. When I don't want to run, I think of rob jones. He's the guy I had on who doesn't have legs yeah and ran 31 marathons in 31 days and it's like if he can run that with no legs. That's amazing I'm running to three miles today, whatever, but I know it's like another form of gratitude, like there's other people out there who have it way worse yeah.
Speaker 3:And you know what? I don't get sick. I mean, I'm kind of have a cold right now, but I I don't get sick either as much as I used to, cause I work out, um anyway, and then when I do, I'll skip that day, and then the next day I'll do something light or something. I always do something. I always fulfill my five to six days.
Speaker 1:I know it's awesome. Well, it's a pretty, it's pretty amazing, like not a lot of people do that. So you're nice and you run the mountains, so that's also tough.
Speaker 2:Not nearly enough, but yes.
Speaker 1:Do you ever?
Speaker 3:I can't keep up with him.
Speaker 1:He's quick. I ran with him a few times, Um, but do you ever like feel like you're ready to drop dead on a run and you're like, whatever I got to just keep going?
Speaker 2:Um no. I mean there have been times when I've like twisted an ankle or something like that, but the only way out is to keep going Right. So that's how you solve that problem. I mean, there's just push. The only way you can get out is on your own, so, or a helicopter.
Speaker 1:If it do break your ankle.
Speaker 2:Yeah Well, even that I don't think, I don't think I could do it but anyway, you're like, I'll just crawl home. Yeah, I really would.
Speaker 1:Well, um, what's one piece of advice that your parents gave you that's stuck with you throughout your life? Ooh.
Speaker 3:I know what yours will be.
Speaker 2:You do.
Speaker 3:You got to think of yours.
Speaker 2:I'm interested.
Speaker 3:Be yourself, because the world needs your personality and your.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, that's true. I mean my, my dad instilled a lot. Both my parents were unbelievable parents, yeah, but I did have lots of kind of philosophical discussions with my dad about, like, for example, in our church, right, there have been times when I'm a different guy, I'm very different from, I think, church, right, there've been times when I'm a different guy, I'm very different from, I think, most people. Um, that can be a good thing and it can be a bad thing. And there's there's times, um, I'm comfortable with it, right, but there's times too when I feel sometimes like an outsider.
Speaker 2:And there was a time in my life when I remember saying to my dad, like, and there was a time in my life when I remember saying to my dad like, I don't belong here, I don't fit in here, and you know I'm thinking about maybe stepping away a little bit from my faith. And he said you know you have different ideas, you ask good questions, you need to show up and be there and people need to hear what you think and you need to hear what they think and you need to contribute and you need to embrace it and because, um, our church needs you as much as you need it and and so that sort of stuck with me and he did always encourage me to be who I am, just to be unique, like as a little kid that was instilled in me.
Speaker 2:it was like don't try to fit a mold or a model. And I remember thinking that as a as a missionary, when I I served a missionary for our church in Argentina, and I remember seeing all these guys who kind of Everyone's trying to be the same person.
Speaker 2:Yeah, sort of a cookie cutter Like I need to become. You know this guy, this prototypical missionary Right, and I remember thinking I'm here because God wants me here and there's something unique or different about me that I must have to offer. And sure enough, it happened like there were times when you want me to give you an example. You want me to give you an example.
Speaker 2:Yeah give me an example. So there was one man whose wife and children had joined our faith years before. He smoked and he was a bartender Nicest guy in the whole world but missionaries for like 10 or 11 years had gone through this little teeny town in Argentina and like it was their mission to convert him to our faith.
Speaker 1:He's like this is the guy.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah. So I remember, you know, when I first went and met him and his kids, I said is it OK if we come by and visit you guys? And he goes yeah, but I'm not at all interested in hearing about what you believe. I've heard it from every missionary for the last 10 or 11 years. And I said, cool, Can we just come by and chat and hang out? Well, I don't need to ask you anything or we don't need to have any formal discussions or anything. And he goes yeah, please, We'd love to have you come by. So we started going by once a week, not having any kind of religious discussions.
Speaker 1:How would it go? You just show up and like he's like come on in, and then you guys just talk for a minute Like how's your week going?
Speaker 2:Talk about food, we talk about soccer, we talk about where I was from, in California and Hollywood, and what that was like. I mean, everyone wanted to know about Ronald Reagan, who was the president at the time.
Speaker 2:I mean, they were just peppering me with questions and eventually some of those questions that I started getting asked were related to what we believe in our faith, and so I started to share some of my thoughts that were, I think, in harmony with what we believe but might have been a little bit different. It wasn't like a formal discussion that we had, it was just kind of me in our church we call it a testimony or like kind of what we believe, and, and so I started to share some of those things with him. When he asked, and, um, and then I moved on right, like I went to, I got transferred and went to a different part of Argentina and I think like three or four months later, um, I got a call from our mission president who said, hey, this guy wants to join our church, but he wants you to do it, he wants you to be the guy who baptizes into our faith.
Speaker 2:And so I jumped on a bus and went back and did that. It was a real honor because he was a sweetheart of a guy and his family was just overjoyed because it had been years and years and years of them hoping he would come to terms with it. And then he went on to be like the little ecclesiastical leader in that town. That's so cool. After I got home they'd made him a bishop of that little congregation, which was kind of cool.
Speaker 1:That is cool and it's like and then story is exactly what you just said Like everyone has unique abilities or unique characteristics and traits that will, you know, reach one person that for 11 years couldn't reach or whatever the scenario might be, but like being who you are is a lesson that is huge, and I think Dad told each one of you boys as you went on your mission that that's what you should do is be your own person, or be your own you know, don't be a robot 100%.
Speaker 1:You know what I've been thinking about quite a bit. That was draped over our door before we left, like the front door. Do you remember what it said? Choose?
Speaker 3:the right?
Speaker 1:No, remember who you are.
Speaker 3:Oh, remember who you are. I had a couple of signs. Yeah, a couple of signs.
Speaker 1:But really like thinking about remember who you are has so many different meanings.
Speaker 3:It does. I think you had a podcast about that.
Speaker 1:I did. I've talked about it a few times, but like I don't know, there's just like, uh, remembering who you are means you know. You remember your ancestors that came before you and how they tried giving you a better life than what they had. You remember that. You know you're a child of God. You remember that you have a family that loves you and that you have unique traits and capabilities and stuff. And I think there's a lot that goes into that, that you know. You just say the phrase remember who you are and it's like a cliche thing to say, but there's a lot but there's a lot to it, yeah.
Speaker 1:So I love that. What about you, mom?
Speaker 3:Um, I think, for my parents I mean, we, we I had, same as dad, great parents growing up, and but I think the things that stuck out for me, for my parents, were to work hard and help others, because, um, I mean, that's what we did, you know, and we're at a family party and my dad just looks at us and we get up and we start helping and, um, and it just, it just instilled in me, you know, and it brings so much joy, so to work hard and to help others.
Speaker 1:Did you ever help him on the farm?
Speaker 3:I did. What was that like? Um, I would start the water. So we have the pipe and we'd have to go one. You know, put our hand on it one two, three and then you have to, you know, get the suction and then it pours out, but those were mainly on dates. We would just go on dates and sometimes my dad didn't have time being a farmer and so our dates would be going on the farm and helping him and he'd listened to our awful music that he didn't like and like another one bites the dust sticks out and another one's gone.
Speaker 3:and another one's gone, another one bites the dust. Well, that's all it says, and so my dad's like singing along with it, you know catches on right away.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I thought you were going to say like time, time after time by Sydney, sydney Lauper. Yeah, that it's a bad, that's a rough one yeah, no, but you know I never.
Speaker 3:I never drove the tractor. I never like my dad got us each a cow to raise when they were calves and um, thinking that you know it would inst because it's a. That's a lot of work taking care of a cow I've milked and then once we, you know, took care of the cow.
Speaker 3:he was going to sell it for beef and, um, we would get the money and I lasted, I think, four days. I just didn't, I didn't like going out there and feeding the cow, so it ended up all. So I have three sisters and a brother, or two sisters, and a brother and all of his sisters didn't do it, so you had four cows we had four cows and my brother did all the work and he got all the money that makes sense I made it do you know how much you made like 10 grand
Speaker 3:dang, so 25, another cow that was back in the day it's back in 80s. Yeah, okay, I think it was like 70, because I think he was like 10 when we did it, but he's the one that got all the money and it paid for his mission. That's pretty cool. So I was like dang it, I could have got so much money.
Speaker 1:But can you? Imagine all the man, I don't even know what the leg warmers you could buy with that money. What do they buy in the eighties? Yeah, but no, I think that's cool, um, it's uh, I don't know like hearing that makes total sense with like your parenting styles, cause I can see those lessons like taught directly to me because, yeah, like remember who you are was a huge one. And then the same thing we'd be at a party and you'd get mad if we didn't help out with, like clearing the table.
Speaker 3:No, I mean, that's what you do. People spend so much time getting ready for something like that that you help them take it down. That's just what you do.
Speaker 1:So never get mad at me for doing the dishes at your house.
Speaker 3:Well, I still do, because, you don't know, sometimes I just want you to have fun.
Speaker 1:I do have fun.
Speaker 2:The other great thing that, like my parents, they just opened a door right. There was never any questions or any discussion that was off limits. And I was always grateful for that, because I've I've known so many other people and kids who just felt like they couldn't go to their parents about anything without, you know, being judged for it. So like, yeah, I, I was really grateful for that environment that they kind of cultivated where it was. You know, you can talk about anything, yeah and we incorporated that.
Speaker 1:You guys had an open door policy.
Speaker 3:My parents were like that too. I mean, you could talk to him about anything. I mean it was. You know, I really didn't have a lot to talk about. I mean, I was a pretty good kid, but you know, if I came to them no. I'm not saying anything, I'm just saying that like if we had a problem, they would definitely and we, you know, they would help us. We had really great parents. We had really good examples.
Speaker 3:My parents never fought in front of us. They would always go on the in their room and shut the door and I'd always listen at the door like are they going to get divorced? But they wouldn't fight and yell and scream. They would just talk things out kind of loudly sometimes but for the most part it was, like you know, just having a discussion that they didn't want us to hear, which I appreciate.
Speaker 1:Yeah. You know, I didn't know all the ins and outs and what was going on and I you know, and I think that's that was probably a good lesson, but anyway, I mean, the example of others is one of the best ways to learn is just seeing how other people treat and, like you know, yeah, best ways to learn is just seeing how other people treat and like you know, yeah, because you can see people and go oh, I'm never doing that.
Speaker 1:I'm never gonna act like that, and I'm sure there's things like that. Your parents said that you're like hey, you know what, maybe I won't do that. Or like yeah it just goes both ways. But I think it's interesting to think about that like it's generational wisdom in a sense, like it's kind of interesting, like it just keeps getting passed. This helped me, this will help you, and their kid has a variation of the same thing or whatever, if they apply it.
Speaker 2:But yeah, Can I ask you a question please? How many of your listeners have we put to sleep at this point?
Speaker 1:Um, let's see if you're still with us. Let's talk about faith.
Speaker 3:Let's talk about yeah.
Speaker 1:So if they're not asleep, now we're going to talk about faith, um, but how would you describe your spiritual beliefs? I know we've talked a little bit about like faith in Christ. We, we've made it kind of clear that we're Christians, um, but what does that mean to you? Cause, for me it means, like I have the opportunity to become who I was meant to be and to repent to um, be forgiven. But, curious, you guys have always taught me to pretty much the principles of the gospel. We believe, um, and how to apply it to your life and, you know, be strong to it and how to strengthen your faith, to grow your testimony, like you saying. But, um, kind of want to open it up a little bit. Like how would you describe your relationship with faith?
Speaker 2:okay, no, you start okay, I, yeah, I don't know, it's a, it's a. I think it's a difficult thing to describe, yeah, and I think it's. My faith has evolved over the years.
Speaker 2:I don't feel or believe a lot of the same things that I did when I was even your age, right, and it's very, very personal, yeah, but it all, at the end of the day, it comes back to my relationship with God and my belief in his son as a redeemer, right as a savior. But I believe that I can get answers to just about anything through personal revelation, and I think that's the key for me. I don't feel like I need to rely on a minister or a leader in order to get an answer to something that's personal. I can go directly to the Lord and petition him myself, yeah, go to the source, right, and so I do rely on him and I have a lot of conversations with him and there are, I think, a lot of times people think about the silence of God, but there are many times when he'll answer me, maybe not, uh, verbally, but through um, some sort of occurrence that takes place, or through feelings and thoughts and um or other people.
Speaker 1:I know exactly what you're saying. It is so hard to describe, but like, yes, once you experience it, I think you kind of understand it a little bit. And yeah, like I think the sorry I'll let you go, mom, and then no, no, I was just gonna say I think, like, for my faith at least, um, like you guys have seen me in my ups and downs, like when I came home from my mission and you know I looked like a gray man. It was terrible, and then a few years later I have a tumor in my brain that was making some serious issues. But through all of it I had to rely on my faith because it gave me hope and it made me realize that this life is temporary and what we're meant to do is endure it well and try and help others along the path and get to know Jesus Christ, others along the path and get to know Jesus Christ.
Speaker 2:And, um, it's definitely like I have a life ahead of me of studying, because I I think I'm at the tip of the iceberg, but I think for me too, my faith is it's all framed by an eternal perspective.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:Right, so anything that takes place here. In our faith, we believe that mortality is like a giant classroom to learn and to grow, and, and so I think it's important to keep at least for me personally, to keep my eye on the eternal angle and keep that perspective, because that's, ultimately, you know, what I'm aiming for. So you have to kind of stay on that track and keep your eyes focused on the horizon while you're going through this stuff you're going through here. How do you?
Speaker 1:do that during a trial Cause. That's the hard part for me.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that's always hard.
Speaker 2:Um, for me, the hard part is sometimes when I feel like he's silent, right, Um, when I feel like I'm not getting answers, and there have been a lot of those where you know it'll go on for a long, long period of time, like months, maybe years in some cases, where you continue searching for answers and you read and you study and you pray. But eventually, in my experience at least, the answer always comes. It comes in a way that you don't anticipate, not necessarily in the way that you wanted or expected it, but it comes, and it's almost always better than what I could have dreamed up on my own.
Speaker 3:It's the patience part that's the hardest.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it's the patience part.
Speaker 3:But I'm like he was like faith is hope for me, you know, and and uh, strength, you know.
Speaker 1:Yeah, gets you through the tough stuff.
Speaker 3:It does, and, and he gives you strength to get through it, and, and once you experience that, then you rely on that, you remember it and it helps you the next time, because you know life is hard.
Speaker 2:Life is tough, but it's also joyful, you know faith is one of those core things in in my life. I think it is in yours too, like faith family in my life. I think it is in yours too, like faith family. The other piece for me that's really important, an important component, is service, and there are times when I've been very active serving and other times I think now, right now, at this point in my life, I haven't really been focusing on um caring for others the way I would like and. But when I do that, um things go better for me. Yeah, uh, I'm happier. I get the answers more readily than um I can just struggling through it and trying to do it on my own.
Speaker 2:It's when I start to focus on helping somebody else that I start to get those answers a little bit. So service is a part of that for me too.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and I agree, the problem with service is it's inconvenient.
Speaker 1:It's never easy to do. I'll refer back to yesterday again, but we were at a Christmas party and no one heard from Rosie the entire day and it was around 3 PM or 2 PM, I don't know, but it was like starting to get in the afternoon no one heard from her. And I remember like let's go check on her and I was like I really got to leave my family Christmas party. I had to go drive 25 minutes and then come right back make sure she's okay, but, um, obviously, like there wasn't the right mindset to have, like you know, want to make sure she's okay, but, um, when I got back, like it was instantly that you know it was better than I could have imagined, cause I think it just showed me that, you know, I really do have it good with like a family around me that loves me and cares about me.
Speaker 2:Not just that, but you're caring for somebody else. That gives you meaning and purpose. It's really easy to just ignore people in need. It's really easy. We do it all the time. I do it all the time.
Speaker 3:I don't think that's true. You do it all the time there's need all around us.
Speaker 2:If I had, my way. I would not work and I would just serve and make that almost like a missionary kind of an experience, if I had the means. Um, yeah, it's, it's never convenient, but it's always worth it. It's always worth it. Yeah, it's always fulfilling and and to me, I I feel um a little bit closer to God when I help somebody else, so it's always rewarding.
Speaker 1:I mean, that's like you guys' parents. You served us every single day and I'm sure it was tough.
Speaker 3:That's what you do, you had a full-time job you were.
Speaker 1:You know sometimes you'd work for like Calco and random jobs, but, like you guys, always would put our needs above your own.
Speaker 3:And that's what service is. What you do as a parent is you are unselfish, Sometimes more than you should be, but it's just anyway it's good, but this, um, I got one more question for you guys.
Speaker 1:It's a heavy hitter. So this has been on my mind because I've, uh, been married for almost a year and a half. That's crazy, it's pretty wild. But when I first like started talking to Allie again, like we were just friends, and then, um, you know, we fell in love and then now we're married and all this, but like just this past year of marriage, like my love for her has grown like crazy, and so I know it's like the same, like she feels the same way, but, um, like I'm interested to see where it's going to be, you know, 15, 20, 40 years from now. But how has your understanding of love or friendship evolved over the years between you two?
Speaker 2:Well, we hate each other.
Speaker 1:And with that, thank you guys for listening.
Speaker 2:Just kidding.
Speaker 3:Oh man.
Speaker 2:You go first this time. You guys met in Hawaii.
Speaker 3:We met in Hawaii.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 3:And I was instantly attracted. He was not.
Speaker 2:Okay. Do we need to go down this road?
Speaker 3:No, we won't, we'll just skip over that part. Skip over that part, yeah, and we were friends first.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 3:Just like you and Allie were yeah, and then I just'd know we were friends first yeah. Just like you and Allie were yeah. And then I just I don't know, there was just something about your dad that is. I just loved everything about him. He was funny and he was cute and he had this great smile that would just just like light up the world, you know you do have a great smile.
Speaker 2:It's incredible. Yeah, it was beautiful. It really is, especially when you do the Wilm.
Speaker 1:Dafoe impression oh my incredible. Yeah, it was beautiful, especially when you do the Willem Dafoe impression oh my gosh. Yeah, that's a good one.
Speaker 3:No, but we, we were just friends first, which was was nice you know and and anyway. And then I asked him to marry me and he said yes.
Speaker 1:Wait, so you proposed to him.
Speaker 3:I did because I we were leaving Hawaii, he was in lived in California, I lived in Arizona and I didn't. I was like you know, didn't want to wait around. I was like I know you, I've prayed about this, I know you're the right one, but you know I don't have time to wait around because we leave back for back home anyway.
Speaker 2:And and, to be honest, like I never would have pulled the trigger. Yeah, I thought she was great.
Speaker 3:He thought I was acting the whole entire time, that I was nice and he didn't think it was true.
Speaker 2:Really, if I'm being honest, I think it's just in the last few years that I've gone. She's genuinely this way, right? Yeah, I always thought that she was just putting on an act, because there couldn't be anybody as nice as your mom and as as like um kind, and she's just genuine right and and I remember thinking, okay, that's gonna that, that's going to break down at some point. I'm going to see her.
Speaker 3:The real me is going to come out. Yeah, and I've never seen it.
Speaker 2:Right, like there's just goodness there. So, um, yeah, I I thought she was great, but I kept waiting for the shoe to drop and for her to show her real self, and it's never happened.
Speaker 1:Her real self is really good. That's true, I can attest. And um, how do you guys nurture your relationship? Like, what are some ways that you guys grow closer?
Speaker 3:Well, I think communication is huge and you have to tell each other how you're feeling and what's going on in your day. And your dad's so sweet. He's always stops and takes time, even if he is like up to here with work. He always like if I'm having a bad day or whatever, so that it is true.
Speaker 1:It's not true. Again, thank you guys for listening.
Speaker 2:I'm glad you think that that's true, cause I feel like I don't take enough time.
Speaker 3:No, but we, we, I mean taking time for each other. You know, having a date night, that was one thing. When we got married, the guy performing the ceremony says have a date night no matter what.
Speaker 3:And so we always tried to do that when you guys were little. It was hard, sometimes we didn't always get or he was traveling, it didn't always happen. Little, it was hard, Sometimes we didn't always get or he was traveling, it didn't always happen. But, um, we always try to take time for each other and, you know, talk to each other and and put the other the other person first. Um, you know it's sacrifice, but it's worth it, you know.
Speaker 2:I think that's the ticket we've. So we, early on in our marriage, it was like we're not going to ever lie to each other or or hold back.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:Right. So if I've done something wrong, I'm going to go to mom and say, hey, I screwed up and I did this. Um and I, but you know, I just want you to know I'm working on it or whatever, and, and, of course, like there's some things that I I don't know that I've ever not shared anything with you, but we always were really open. That was the key thing.
Speaker 3:Sometimes it wasn't easy to hear.
Speaker 2:But like she said it was, I think I think that we've tried to put. I've tried to put her first and I know mom does that to me. She puts me first over herself all the time.
Speaker 1:Well, she does that for everyone, but you especially.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I mean, it's really true and like I'm the beneficiary of all of this stuff.
Speaker 3:So am I.
Speaker 2:But I think that's been the key. And, yeah, the more the more. It's funny Cause I, I, I love her. I love her more than anybody else. But I would also say she's absolutely my closest friend. Yeah, I enjoy being with her more than anybody else. I mean that that trip we just came back off of was a total blast.
Speaker 3:Like I didn't feel one time that like I needed a break, or I needed to go do something it was just. It was fun being with my best friend.
Speaker 2:There was one time when I thought, okay, I need a break. And when we were, yeah, when we were in Germany, and that was when here's where the openness comes out.
Speaker 1:Oh no, yeah, so I.
Speaker 2:I had Google maps open on my phone and mom says well, which, where do we go? And I said, well, we just go right down this street here. And she goes okay, let's go to the right, and I go what I was looking at it, so just to go no. So I started, no, so I started going down this way and she went down that way and I think she looked over and was like oh so, but it was then.
Speaker 3:I was just it was a long, long day and I'm just like okay, yeah, what's great is that, like what we we both have something to bring to the table. Like he was really good at saying, okay, we need to go this way, but I was like visually, like don't the hotel's back this way, so let's go this way and then, and then the google would get back on and it'd be fine. But like he, he, we were a good team.
Speaker 3:You know getting around and, and we're a good team with other things too, like when he's having a bad day, I lift him up. When I'm having a bad day, he lifts me up and yeah, it's just it's just uh.
Speaker 1:You guys are a good team.
Speaker 2:We were walking around in London and it was cold and I was exhausted.
Speaker 3:We'd walked that 13 miles.
Speaker 2:We were on the London Bridge and I couldn't figure out where we needed to go and she was like, let's go over here now, let's go do this. And I said, dina, no, I'm done, I'm tired, I just want to sit down and warm up. And she goes great, let's go find a little cafe.
Speaker 3:And get some hot chocolate.
Speaker 2:And so we walked over into this little cafe, sat down, had hot chocolate and I warmed up and I started thinking again and I'm like perfect, that's a great idea, that was exactly what I needed. So she knows how to like soothe the beast when I get frustrated, and the same other way.
Speaker 1:Yeah Well, I think that's like. What I'm finding in my own marriage with Allie is like I have strengths and I have weaknesses, but her strengths make up for my weaknesses and my strengths make up for hers, and it's like we just you know work on each other through life.
Speaker 2:Yeah, you compliment one another, brett. There you go.
Speaker 1:That's. Couldn't have said it better.
Speaker 3:It's totally true, and he's made me a lot more fun. I was really a stiff, boring person, and all my cousins can tell you.
Speaker 1:And now you're throwing crazy Christmas and Christmas Eve parties and grandkid parties and can't stop partying.
Speaker 3:I've always been a partier, but yeah, you've never been boring. No, but I'm not saying I was boring but like.
Speaker 2:I would no.
Speaker 3:I'm just saying like I was, like I would I guess overreact with some stuff.
Speaker 1:I don't know.
Speaker 3:It's hard to explain, but he's made me a little more chill.
Speaker 1:Oh, I love it. How long are you guys married? It'll be 38 years in June, and what's one piece of advice that you would say to anyone who's in a relationship or currently married that you think could be beneficial?
Speaker 3:I, I always think, think about the other person first, and it's not about me, me, me, because you know it, it makes all the difference when you put yourself in their shoes and maybe what they're going through, and vice versa.
Speaker 2:And don't like, just totally throw yourself into it, don't hold anything back, yeah, just both feet. Yeah, and don't be something other than who you are. Just be genuine and work through it Like you. Just don't let anything get in the way of your relationship.
Speaker 3:I think that's because you know your, you, your core, is more important. And then, once your core is strong, then the kid thing works out better handling your kids and your family and all the other stresses that come with it. But if you're strong together, it's hard to not be able to manage the others. Does that make sense?
Speaker 1:A hundred percent, yeah, anyway, I think I understand now, cause I'm married, yeah.
Speaker 3:You didn't understand it before but now I do. Well, you've got a good one so yeah, and I don't know.
Speaker 3:It's just been fun watching you guys throughout the years like grow together and like get closer and I don't know like yeah, put up with each other and it's well, I can see how, like you know, these older people that have been married for so long like one spouse dies and then the other follows suit shortly, because it's you know you get this great bond and you just don't want to be without this is taking a turn. I know it has, but I'm just saying are you dying? No, he's not, Sorry. Okay, I'm done.
Speaker 1:Aren't we all. Oh, that's a good point.
Speaker 3:Slowly, but surely.
Speaker 1:Memento Mori.
Speaker 3:Yes, that's right. Right, that's right.
Speaker 1:Um well, it's been fun having you guys on.
Speaker 3:Are you?
Speaker 1:guys, uh, you guys getting after anything? Okay, here's actually one last question. You guys are getting old, you just said it. You might be dying, we all are, but is there anything that you would want to thank you? Is there anything you guys want to try or do before you leave, like before you die, like is there anything else that you feel like, oh, I want to still try this thing before I'm gone?
Speaker 3:Yes.
Speaker 1:It doesn't have to be anything crazy. I think there's a whole slew of things. There's a whole slew of things.
Speaker 3:The one thing that popped out is I would love to sing on stage in front of a huge audience.
Speaker 2:You did that at Diamondbacks games, I know.
Speaker 3:but like I don't know, but I think I want to still like I'm excited I'm working on this project for my grandkids. Next, year. I'm really excited about it and doing stuff like that. Just keep doing that and you know.
Speaker 1:I love it.
Speaker 3:And traveling of course.
Speaker 1:You know what we should do. You said big stage, let's do a ginge hold on tour and you can come out and perform your piece on Peaceable Kingdom. Yeah, you can come and do that.
Speaker 3:No, I want the whole mic, I want the whole band, everything you can kick.
Speaker 2:Ginger out, then Ginger's off. Just push her out. I'm just kidding. She wants to do a little. Beyonce, Taylor Swift action.
Speaker 1:No, no, no, no no yeah, I'm a diva, I'm a diva no, I don't want to get you some background dancers.
Speaker 3:Wigs, wigs, really high. No, I just it just boots. No, yeah, we're not sequins, never mind, I don't want to be on stage we're gonna arrange it, we're gonna get after it I just think you know, continuing to do things that, like your podcast, like you love that, and I love to sing and I'm never going to be Kelly Clarkson but to do something.
Speaker 1:No, it's because you're Dean Rosso. You never will be, that's right she has an amazing voice.
Speaker 3:Anyway, I don't know, so I'm like that's just me.
Speaker 1:What about you? Are you going to write your book? What book Didn't she say? You want to write like stories. You should write a screen. I mean, I would, I would like to one day.
Speaker 2:I don't have any time for it.
Speaker 1:We need to do the demons the the high sierras book. You know what I'm talking about, yes, and where the guys go into the mine and they find out that it's a mind to hell I I mean that's why it's abandoned yeah, there's, there's all kinds of things to actual hell they find the gateway to hell.
Speaker 3:Oh yeah, that's why it's abandoned.
Speaker 1:Yeah, there's, there's all kinds of things to actual hell. They find the gateway to hell.
Speaker 2:Oh, that's why it's abandoned, and it's in this year in Nevada's.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and the mind in the sky. It's a real place. Look it up.
Speaker 2:Um, honestly, for me, I, I think, uh, I just I like't try unless it's excessively dangerous. One of the things that I wanted to do was skydive, right yeah, and mom told me for years, like, get it out of your head, you're never going to do it.
Speaker 3:We had four children. I didn't want to be a widow yeah, that's fair. And then in my 40s one birthday.
Speaker 2:I got this gift card to go skydiving and I was like, is she trying to kill me?
Speaker 3:I'm done, here you go yeah.
Speaker 2:But I think honestly, I love stuff like that. So, I want to keep adventuring and traveling and I love different cultures.
Speaker 2:I love that I love learning about other people, Cause I think you can think you can draft off of their good things yeah for sure, and you can learn from that. But that's one thing. But at the end of the day, really, I think it goes back to what I. This is who I want to be. It's not necessarily what will happen, but I'd like to get back to a place where I can can serve people right In in some capacity. My, my experience as a missionary was really unique, because you don't have a job, You're just out helping other people, maybe not helping them the way I.
Speaker 2:I'm envisioning it now. Right, it was that was more about proselyting and right converting, but I'd like to get out and actually just serve, um, maybe not even in an official capacity in some way, but just to serve every day and um, yeah, I mean, mom and I've talked about doing stuff like that at some point, but uh, I think ultimately, traveling and serving would be the my big goals.
Speaker 1:I mean, those are two big things. Yeah, you guys all have to plan something so you can come back on and tell more lessons learned we're already working on our next adventure, that's true. So that's to come and I'm pumped on that one yeah, I'll be there.
Speaker 3:Yeah, that's right, that's gonna be a good time.
Speaker 1:Yeah so.
Speaker 2:But there's other things we want to do together, like I mean, we've talked about Vietnam and you know, yeah, just things that we just want to experience.
Speaker 1:So we'll see. Just keep getting after life. That's what you guys are doing it. So we're trying well until we can't anymore. Yeah, that's true, and then I'll have to get after it for you. We'll take you to places, put you in a wheelchair and take you to. Just kidding. Um, no, seriously, thanks guys for for coming and talking to me for a while thank you for having us brett oh, that was nice.
Speaker 1:That's gonna be like so loud because I have the sensitivity on that one turned up a bunch, so people are are going to be like ah anyways sorry Uh you'll just have to wonder two people that are still listening. Anything else before we, we jump off.
Speaker 3:No, you're the best son, you're just a good son.
Speaker 1:Did you hear that, Blake and Drew? No.
Speaker 3:I didn't mean it like you would that way Now.
Speaker 1:wait a minute.
Speaker 3:You're just a very good son.
Speaker 1:I appreciate that, and I love you guys too.
Speaker 3:And you get after it all the time.
Speaker 1:Well, until next episode everyone else keep getting after it. That was it. You guys killed it. That was fun. I don't know how long that was. I'm so sorry about that.