Shall The Youth of Zion Falter

Today we attended the funeral of a very good friend of my oldest son, JJ. She was tragically taken from this earth last Friday in a horrible automobile accident. Lindsay was a bright and friendly young lady. She will be missed by many. Tonight, simply "google"ing her full name brings up a number of blog posts posted by family and friends. Being that our community is rather small, her passing had quite an effect. Because of things like Facebook and text messages, everyone in our community (both far and wide) found out quickly and looked to find ways to help. During the funeral I felt inspired to jot down a few things that impressed on my mind. Lindsay was an angel. Whenever I saw her she was always smiling. Going to a funeral of someone that is older you look at what they did with their life. Going to a funeral of a teenager, you realize that the world will have a missing gap of what might have been, what difference they would have made. Sitting there listening to family and friends talk about her you KNEW that the world really needs more Lindsays and there WILL be a loss in this world. Gratefully, our understanding of the gospel and the plan of salvation helps and comforts us and we know that it will be but a short time until we are reunited with loved ones. I was especially touched by the many musical numbers that were given by cousins, friends, school and church choirs. Lindsay was a huge fan of Wicked and one of the choirs sang "For Good". Very touching.

Visual DNA

Ran across this interesting site tonight. You see a series of 15 different pictures and you pick the picture that fits you. After a number of sets of pictures it provides some interpretation. Here was my results:

Personality – Go getter (adventurous soul with a bit of romantic outlook)
Fun – Worker Bee – (health is really important to me and spending time with family and friends)
Habits – Back to Basics – (love being a little bit naughty)
Social – Thoughtful (living for the here and now)

Always good to take a look at yourself. Who are you?

Stopping pushing my buttons!

If you are a regular here you know that I am a fan of David Pollay. My first blog back in May was about 'The Law of the Garbage Truck". Last week David talked about pushing elevator buttons and how it relates to pushing other people's buttons. It is a funny read. According to David's conversation with Otis Elevator Company, pushing the elevator button more than just once does NOT move the elevator faster.

So today, I'm going to ask myself where I use the "push button" approach and STOP! Give David a read and be a better person today.

El Dia de Pwnation

October happens to be the birthday month for Jacob Clark Davis. Tonight we had friends and family over to celebrate. For those that know Jake know that he's all about "pwn"ing this or that. On our family calendar Jake wrote "El Dia de Pwnation" on today's date signifying that today was his birthday. Jake picked out his cake (even though he's not a big fan of cake) and Papa Bear made a yummy dinner before the party. He got teased by the fact that there were only 2 candles on his cake (a "1" and and "4") instead of the 14. What a great young man he is. Today we acknowledged that next year (2009) will be a pretty big year in our family. 3 teenagers driving, one graduating from high school, 2 baptisms, 1 getting the Priesthood and at least 1 new grandchild to be added to the mix. Crazy times for sure.

Jake, you are one awesome kid and someday you'll actually be able to "pwn" your father. But that won't be this year. Sorry.

Isn't she cute

The "girls" had loads of fun tonight dressing up their younger boy cousins. I think the boys just like the attention but certainly won't want these pictures floating around in another 10-12 years from now.

Happy Birthday, Mo aon clann

aka - Sean Ryan Kelly I brought him into this world (the blogging world) and I enjoy reading just about every post.

Frightfest LAX-style

So yesterday Jacob (pronounced Hacob) aka Hawk had a LAX tournament for some of the better lacrosse teams in the state. It was a beautiful day and we enjoyed watching him play 4 games. He was pretty tired afterwards. He played D for the first game but played mostly midi for the tournament. I snapped a few pictures (sorry, I didn't get a picture of him scoring). Although he is one of the younger players playing in his age group, Hawk is NOT afraid to plow people over or take the ball away from you. Go #99!

Beans, beans, the magical fruit. The more you eat....

Okay, I think you all know how the little ditty goes. On Friday we joined a happy group of people from South Jordan at the annual South Jordan Break and Chili Cook Off. Very tasty bread and even MORE tasty chili. I can't remember how many bowls I had but it certainly was fun. Part of the festivities included a pumpkin judging contest. Both "The Joker" and "Frankenstein" won but sadly "The Wicked Witch of the West" did not. Good job to the children who decorated all of the pumpkins and a bigger pat on the back to the mothers that supervised (and encouraged) the pumpkin painting.

Back into the Water

Whether you "tri" or not, you've got to read this article by Tom Friend of ESPN. The pictures are touching as well as the story about the tragic death this Spring of Dave Martin and how it affected those close to him and those that became close to him and his family. Enjoy.

I'm a photographer

Okay, Olivia Pilar Armenta Chavez Davis Gracie Bohemia LOVES taking pictures. Maybe she will be a photographer someday. I literally have hundreds of pictures she's taken of flowers, whatever is on television, but mostly she takes bizarre pictures

Her beautiful toes

JJ's beautiful toes (well at least his sock covered toes)


Can you tell what this is? I bet you can't


Self portrait. Nice orange drink mustache.

Blessing and Blessings

Today Earl McCormick Davis was blessed. Why is it that EVERYTIME we go to Grantsville it is snowy? Huh? Can someone explain that to me? It was good to see all of the family and posterity pictures were taken.

Out of the mouths of babes

Okay, maybe not babes. More like smart-A teenagers. You know that you are getting old when your teenagers are WAY more up on technology. So today I learned something from my forever-texting teenagers. It's called ChaCha. You text ANY question to 242242 and within a short period you'll get your answer. I was AMAZED at the results. Maybe I'm just getting old and I'm easily impressed but YOU try it. Send your comments on what you asked. Tonight I asked what BYU was ranked this week (answer #9), who will win the Superbowl this year (the NY Giants look promising), and did it snow in Utah today (yes), how old was Judy Garland when she played Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz (17). Try it!

Brrrrrrr!!!!!!

Need I say more? Last year it was October 21st. Nine freakin' frozen tundra days early. Now THAT'S global warming for you.

Bridge to somewhere

Now, in the age of Google it's a bit unfair but here is a picture of the tallest bridge in California. In fact, besides the Royal Gorge bridge in Colorado (1053 feet) and the New River Gorge bridge in West Virginia (876 feet) there is nothing taller. I didn't know that fact. Ever been here? Ever bungy jumped off? You could almost base jump off this one.

Lindon Cannery

Okay, I know that it is now called by a different name but I'll always refer to it as "the cannery". I've been there a number of times but always on the "dry pack" side. I tried finding a good website that describes what the cannery is used for but maybe by going here would be a good start. We are encouraged to have a year's supply of food. That's a DANG lot of food to have. I've always just tried getting a little bit at a time. Every time I've gone I've bought stuff like rice, flour, sugar, beans, and of course dried apple slices. Basically, the idea is that the cannery is completely run by volunteers and missionaries. Most of the food goes to needy families all over the world. As I said, I've done "dry pack" a number of times. Canning hot chocolate is by far the messiest. This week I had the opportunity to work on the "wet pack" side. The church got a large amount of peaches this week and there was an emergency need for help. I spent most of the time on the conveyor belt sorting peaches. It was hard deciding which peach half passed and which failed. After a while, I changed to "pit remover". That seemed to be a bit more non-judgmental. After a couple of hours staring at these conveyor belts going back and forth it reaffirmed how grateful I am for my education. I can't imagine doing this for 8 hours a day, 5 days a week for years and years. Yikes! At the same time, I am VERY grateful for those individuals that do this kind of work. It is not the most exciting thing. I was glad I went. I love to serve. I'm grateful for the opportunity.

Have YOU done any of these things.

Normally, I am not so into the "tagging" things. I know that a number of people have tried to get me to share information. My cousin recently added this to her blog and I decided I'd do the same. Here goes:

1. Started your own blog <- 4 years ago and counting
2. Slept under the stars (on the trampoline) <- still love to do this with the kids
3. Played in a band (well if this counts for Diana - Rockband baby!)
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity <- boy do I have a story about that one!
7. Been to Disneyland <- used to live in So Cal.
8. Climbed a mountain <- but I STILL haven't been to the top of Timp
9. Held a praying mantis <- I don't like bugs
10. Sang a solo <- unless the shower or the car counts
11. Bungee jumped <- it's on my bucket list
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty <- haven't been to NYC
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France <- I thought it was cool.
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight <- and boy was Aunt Joann mad!
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort <- many times
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon <- well does 0.729 of a marathon count?
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run <- and I tell me kids about it all the time.
32. Been on a cruise <- not my favorite type of vacations
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language <- I find languages facinating
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing (indoors)
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke <- in a number of countries in fact
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt <- but sadly my children haven't yet
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance <- thank goodness
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing <- and puked of course
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling <- all over the world in fact including GBR
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud <- favorite memory was with cousins at Clear Creek
54. Gone to a drive-in theater <- do they have these anymore?
55. Been in a movie <- does this count?
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business <- that didn't work out so well
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen <- but I'm going to soon.
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies <- no but I've sure eaten my fair share of them
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason <- can't say that I ever have
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving <- also on my bucket list
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp <- sobering experience for sure
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial <- even had trouble with the police one time
71. Eaten Caviar <- yummy
72. Pieced a quilt <- yes I have
73. Stood in Times Square <- see #17
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book <- doesn't this blog count?
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem <- on my bucket list
84. Had your picture in the newspaper <- thankfully only for good reasons
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House <- only on the outside. I haven't actually been IN side
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating <- a porcupine. yummy
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury <- darn!
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit <- HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee <- only twice