Harvard Dad

Hey friends and family,

There is nothing like sleeping in our own bed even though it is old and lumpy. It's amazing what your body can get used to over time. Speaking of beds... We are in pursuit of revamping the Webb house. The first step is finding new beds for Easton and Layla and then we will dismantle the cribs and split the two of them out into their own rooms.

I'm not sure the twins are old enough, but Kendra is convinced now is the proper time. The two of them have slept in the same room every single night since the day they were born. Some day in the next week they will be sleeping on a new bed and in separate rooms. That's just weird to me... but I know they can't be babies forever.

Kendra's plan is to use the existing queen-size bed in the guest room and turn that into Layla's bed. Then get a full-size bed with a trundle for Easton in his room. Just the thought of them being independent in getting out of bed when they want and having their own personal, private room is really wild.

And now back to the adventures and stories... We celebrated Jenny's birthday before leaving Sacramento. Kendra made a cake (as you might expect) and the twins sang along with the birthday song before helping blow out the candles.


Neill and Jenny are such giving people. In an odd twist of birthday celebration she brought gifts for Easton and Layla!

After seeing how much Easton digs Buzz Lightyear they picked a winner for Easton with the Buzz Lightyear action figure.


and ditto for Princess Layla. She received a singing Cinderella Barbie doll and her eyes lit up like Christmas trees. Many thanks to GoMa and GoPa for the gifts and time spent with us.


These next two pictures are very accurate in the description of their personalities. We heard Dr. John Trent speak today at a conference and Layla is definitely a "lion". Look at her go, Go, GO! She's practically weaning the spring out as she races towards an imaginary finish line.


Easton is the Golden Retriever and Beaver combination. He trots along enjoying every minute of the journey. He even takes time to pose for the picture and look back to see if anyone is following.


We survived the long drive back to Arizona with a combination of DVDs for the twins and caffeine for the parents. Our big stop during the trip was at In-N-Out burger in the middle of no-where central California. We pulled into the parking lot and I noticed a huge tractor in the middle of the parking lot. I took the twins out of the car and Kendra drove the car away like they do in "Extreme Makeover". Easton asked, "Is the tractor for me?" I guess he thought he would be able to take it home.


Unfortunately I couldn't grant him that request. However, they did get to touch the tires and jack hammer connected to the arm.


The Harvard Dad

Inside the burger joint I sat down with the twins waiting for Kendra to order. The three of us worked on the sticker puzzle where you match the number on the front with the sticker on the back to create a picture.

I glanced over at a man sitting at the table next and could see he was interested in what we were doing. I pointed at his shirt which read, "Harvard Dad", and asked, "How did you get your child into Harvard?" He knew exactly what I meant and his response blew me away.

He said, "I didn't get A child into Harvard, I put THREE children through Harvard and one through Stanford. All of them earned a bachelors then a masters there." I made some comment about how awesome that is and he jumped right into a soliloquy as though he'd rehearsed his philosophy for a performance on stage. Here's what he said:

There are four things you need to do. If you do these four things you will give them an unfair advantage, which is absolutely necessary if you want them to be anything more than average.

1. Set the expectations high. Start when they are young and expect greatness and success in everything they do. If you set the standard too low to something with guaranteed success then you will not challenge them and they will think success is simply meeting the low standard.

2. Teach them to ask, "why?" They need to continually question what they hear, see, and experience. It is what leads to true learning and knowledge... asking why. And more importantly when they ask, "why?" you must provide answers to the best of your ability and take the time to explain details. Kids absorb more than we think they can.

3. Travel all over the world. Give them a view of humanity that is much broader than their immediate surroundings. Don't just take them a few miles down the road to see something. Really get out there and share experiences. Get outside your city, your state, and even your country so they will know how big the world truly is.

4. Convince them they can do anything. As parents you WILL shape their view of themselves and what they can accomplish whether we choose to accept that role or not. Tell them they can be anything they want in life. No limits whatsoever. Don't just hear their dreams and goals, but be an active participant in the conversations by expanding whatever they are thinking to an even greater scope.

Kendra sat down next to us with food and the man's wife sat down beside him. They both were nodding in agreement with what he was saying. The couple stood up to leave and I was so overwhelmed by the truck-load of wisdom he just dumped on me that I barely managed to say, "thanks! have a good night".

I swear it was as if he gave me the formula I've been looking for since before the twins were born. The formula is similar to E=MC(2). The ideas aren't a "quick fix" and I know that. However, it's so simple, yet so powerful and undeniably accurate. I keep thinking about how he described his child-raising tactics as a way to give them an "unfair advantage". That is an arrow right in the bulls eye of what I desire for Easton and Layla. I'm working on how to implement this practically into daily life. This is the kind of stuff I dream about at night. It would be a shame for me to hear these words of wisdom and do nothing about it.

See you soon!