KTYD Jingle

Angela and I have entered a song in The KTYD Early Show jingle contest. Some people came up to me and said they played it on the air a couple of times today! The host, Matt McAllister, wrote us back and said they really liked it....and they want us to redo it with a full band. Not sure we'll have time for that but I may just "fake" it with some studio magic. Take a listen....

Lundgaards Visit Carp!

Thank you Lundgaards for coming to see us in Carp. We love you! Besides the few pix here, I have a bunch more RIGHT HERE on my FLIKR page.



That's right...count 'em up! Four kiddos on Team Whitegaard!


Aaron and Gwen have decided that they are buddies for life!


Ofcourse, Abby & Nolan are still the best of friends...as usual.


We are all pretty blown away by Gwen's sweetness and cuteness.

Check out some more pix RIGHT HERE on my FLIKR page.

Craigslist Funny & Happy Belated Easter

I scroll through the music ads on Craigslist every day. I even check several cities...yeah, I know, I should get a life. Wanna know the real bummer? I rarely ever buy anything!! But you never know, I just might stumble on a sweet deal of a life time someday!

Sometimes, I just can't help but laugh at the "stream of consciousness" style of writing that people use to create their listings. Today's funniest listing can be found HERE. Pull up a comfy stool and enjoy!

Now for redemption....here's some very cute and very belated Easter pix. Check out Abby with her buddies Sydney and Vera.

Help a Brother Out...

My chuckle buddy, Chris Mundell, could win $25k, but he needs your help, NOW! Let me appeal for your VOTE for two reasons:

1. His video is really funny! He deserves to win the national contest!
2. Even if you don't think it's funny, wouldn't it be cool to help him feed his family and fix his clunky cars?!?

Go to the Pizza Polls right now. Vote for Mundell in the middle.



CLICK HERE AND VOTE for Chris Mundell, NOW!! The polls close April 22.

Frontyard Fun

I often take the kids out to play in the front yard while Ange cooks dinner. (she deserves serious props for her homemade salsa and carne azada tacos last night!) Abby loves playing with the neighbor kids. Aaron seems to sense the fun too -- he's always smiling and happy outside. Here's some pictures from last week. Man...I love my kids!

California Adventure

Thanks to the 2fer ticket, we checked out Disney's California Adventure theme park for free. (well, sort of--we saved our Disneyland ticket stubs from a couple weeks ago which got us in!) Needless to say, Abby loved it. Ok, we all had a blast, including Aaron. He did miss a few attractions while sleeping...but he loved all the waking moments.

Enjoy the slideshow! Music by Rufus Wainwright.

Oh, one more thing. Please be sure to vote for my funny friend, Chris Mundell, so that he can win $25,000 for his funny pizza video. Just CLICK HERE and go vote!

Another Year Down...

Well, good-bye to age 32 and hello to age 33. Thanks to all my friends and family for helping me usher in the next year in style this weekend. My wife was not afraid to hook me up the entire weekend. Homemade coffee cake, BBQ steaks, sushi date night, Summerland Beach Cafe, and a Woody's party with all my pals! She's too kind. (I also think she's worried about me being underweight!)

We hosted homegroup last week and observed some pretty cute "Abby-Vera" moments. Julie & Scott teamed up to capture this picture. Thanks guys!

More Magic

Here's a few more pictures from Walt's World. We forgot about doing a family group shot til it was parade time. The troops look a bit frazzled at this point but we were glad we stuck it out!


Abby said this kiddy coaster in toon town made her top 4!


Aaron acted like Small World was in his top 4!


Toon Town bliss.


Hanging in a honey pot on the Pooh Bear ride.

Princesses & Rollercoasters

Today was a pretty amazing day. Took an impromptu trip to the House of Mouse with both kiddos. It was easily the best day of Abby's life--no shocker there! Surprisingly, Aaron had way more fun than we thought possible. He was so into all the "eye candy" throughout the day. Plus, who knew you could take a baby on several of the rides!?! Aaron was particulary fond of Pirates of the Carribean.

The biggest surprise was I found a deeper love for my children than I thought I had. I knew they meant the world to me but something about the thrill of Abby's day allowed me to feel something deeper in my affection for her. No Matterhorn. No Space Mountain. No Star Tours. We stuck with the "under 36 inches" categories. Somehow, it didn't bother me at all. I was 100% focused on lighting up my child's day--and it was a complete joy. I didn't feel it a sacrifice, but more of a way to experience joy for myself even deeper. I was reminded in a new way of how my parents, and ultimately, my Heavenly Father feels for me.

It was a good day. Video is coming soon....

Abby's still smiling at the end of the day!

Spring Time Fun

I took a walk to the beach with both kids last weekend. Here's some highlights.


Aaron's looking cool in his hat.


Even though we weren't there to swim, Abby had a great time with the rocks.


She's a cutie.


By the time we reached the beach, Aaron feel asleep in his carrier. (which made him heavier!)

Finally, the 2006 Christmas Tree Hunt Movie

I usually make this movie every December. I guess I was too busy not sleeping. Truth is, Aaron still wakes me up for a bottle most nights, but I did find some time to finally put this movie together. Hey, March is only a few months after December, right?!

Aaron Beautiful

I almost finished this video a couple weeks after Aaron was born. Oh well, better late than never.

Check out the kids!

Abby loved her first Shirley Temple. I took her to Longboard's before going to the school date night. She was so excited to be going out with Daddy and to be going to school at night. Sorry about the lack of updates lately. I'll pick it up!

Here's a bunch of pictures for ya...

Abby loves her little bro!


Jammie snuggles are fun!


Aaron & Mommy awake during the day time!


Three going on seventeen!


MORE PICTURES HERE.

Aaron Giggles

If this doesn't make you smile, you need serious help. Enjoy!

soundtrack song

a friend of mine has a friend who is making a film of some sort. since i'm a friend of my friend, i decided the friendly thing to do would be to offer a soundtrack song for my friend's friend's movie. plus, i was asked. so i dug up the archives and found a half baked song that was kinda cool. and dark. i'm told the movie is pretty dark so hopefully my song, "WHY DON'T YOU COME HERE", will fit the bill. i took the main vocal out because the friends said it was best to just have an "instrumental" type of song.

anyhow, you can check it out HERE on my myspace. this one will probably also have a short shelf life. i have 3 new songs that are finished but are yet to be recorded properly--so look for those on the horizon. one of them, "HOLDING ON", was introduced at SBCC on Sunday.

Widescreen Reason in the Independent

Be sure to check out p. 49 of the Santa Barbara Independent today....both Matt and Widescreen Reason are featured.

Also, Brent Nims has successfully updated our site, widescreenreason.com. Check out some updates on the home page and the “memoir” page from Brad, Gabe & I right here.

The 5-song dream-rock EP is now available for download on iTunes RIGHT HERE.

Grandmother Parrott

My Grandmother Parrott went to heaven yesterday. She was an amazing woman. I'm thankful for the many good times we shared. I remember the time when she came to stay with us for 6 weeks. I believe I was about 10 at the time. It was awesome. She made amazing breadsticks, cinnamon rolls and lovely dinners. Her food was tough to beat. She was also very talented with all things sewing. My sister and I received many custom made blankets and quilts over the years. They were incredible. Her stiching earned her many awards. Probably the most amazing thing about Grandmother was her faith. It was deep, unyielding and extremely well researched. Every time we talked, we'd end up discussing some Biblical history or theology. It was a thrill because she always challenged me to think about my faith. I think I was most impressed by how she kept searching and asking more questions. What a day yesterday must have been for her as she was finally in the presence of her LORD that she so dearly loved and served. Getting to see her son and her husband again must have also been pretty amazing. I'm very happy for her.

One more item of thanks. I'm grateful for our family trip to Florida last year when we all got to be with her.

New Year's Goal

Well, 2006 is over. Phew. It certainly was eventful. One event that did not happen--our yearly Christmas e-card. Sorry. I hope we do a belated one soon. If so, it will likely appear on this blog. Keep your eyes peeled.

On to 2007...thanks to my inspirational brother-in-law, Matt Lundgaard, I'm going to try to go through the entire Bible this year. He did it last year, and it had a pretty profound effect on him. So, thanks bro!

Knowing that this could be a difficult task to actually follow through on for 365 days, I've decided to make it a bit easier on myself by using a Bible Podcast. I knew I'd need a consistent time each day to make this happen. I got to thinking about the 25 minutes I spend driving to work each morning (commuting from Carp--traffic stinks!) This is my new designated Bible time which is pretty exciting. I wonder what kind of effect this will have on my life as the days and months and chapters go by.

OK, so this Bible Podcast that I'm going with is a bit quirky. The dude adds tons of reverb and low-end EQ to his voice so it might take some getting used to. (Implying that I'm challenging you to join me this year!) He also has music and nature sounds in the background which might drive you or me crazy. Lastly, he uses a new translation each week. I really wanted a daily NIV podcast but didn't find one. There are some other Bible Podcasts that might suit you better or maybe you want to actually read!

So who else is joining me in going through the Bible this year?

Clark Christmas Song for Matt

Gabe and Dana came over to my home studio yesterday to begin work on the next CLARK album. Gabe had been working up a new spin on "Drummer Boy" that I was particulary fond of. I urged him to track it. (We have hopes to record one or two Christmas songs every December until we have enough for an entire album someday.)

In addition to beginning work on the new album, we were able to finish the "Drummer Boy" song in one day. It seemed appropriate to dedicate this year's Christmas song to our friend, Matt Steele. After recording, we went to dinner and talked about how much we miss him.

If you'd like to listen or download a free copy of the mp3, click RIGHT HERE.

Christmas Vacation

Since last Friday, I have been on Christmas vacation. Vacation used to mean lots of rest and couch time. With two kids, vacation means a change of pace--I'm having to move faster to keep up with Angela's daily routine. To be honest, I don't know how she does it all by herself everyday. It's a tricky artform to keep both kids happy, entertained, fed, well rested, etc. etc. At any given moment, they could both have pressing "needs" that might cause the world to stop if they're not ably addressed ASAP. Ofcourse, adding Christmas shopping to the scenario adds a whole new challenge to the endeavor. The most common part of my wardrobe these days is the "Borg" baby carrier.



Obviously, outtings and disctractions are pretty key. We were pretty thrilled to get the "park invite" from Steph and Sydney today. These two girls have been buddies their whole life. There's some more cute pix from the play date and other Christmas activty on my FLIKR page.



I have so much to be thankful for this Christmas season. Despite the adjustments and changes that I've encountered in 2006, I know that I am one of the most blessed men in the world. Looking into the earnest eyes of my little baby boy as he ou's and ah's, trying to connect with me, reminds me of the fact that God loves me--so much so that he sent a little baby boy to earth to connect with me. Twice now.