Why I'm Here

Larsen children - 2010

2010-08-25T15:51:00.003-06:00

Well, with the blending of our family, the Larsen children were subjected to the annual "take your picture on the porch on the first day of school" torture. Smile for the camera.

Hawaiian Punch

2010-08-25T15:46:00.002-06:00

Can our "stinky guy" really be a Junior? Wow. Time flies. Jake is looking forward to this year in kicking butt on the lacrosse field and in AP US. Jake is the tallest sibling and it won't surprise me if he gets as tall as me. We shall see.

Yeah! It's high-tops time!

2010-08-23T14:00:00.002-06:00

Well, another year is starting. My princess is growing up. This year she was so excited to hear high-tops to school. I can't imagine that someone that likes flip-flops and no-lace shoes wants to wear them. Oh well, we shall see how long they last. Olive was excited for the new school year to start and see all of her friends again.

College bound!

2010-08-16T10:37:00.002-06:00

In keeping the tradition of "first day of school" posts, I'm posting this picture of the newest college student in the family. I cannot believe that JJ is this old. We are so excited for him and wish him the best. He will be attending Southern Utah University where he will be double majoring in Theater Design and Civil Engineering. I should write more and maybe I will later. Good luck, JJ!

Two Thousand Ten???

2010-01-06T21:57:00.002-07:00

Holy Moly! Is it really 2010? For some odd reason (okay, it wasn't that odd, I need to write a report and I'm stalling) I was checking out this blog - "Why I'm Here". I have pretty much let this die for the past several months. I'm completely addicted to Facebook. If you are reading this blog and you are NOT my "friend" then hop on over and send me an invite. I'm still looking to pass up my son with the number of "friends". There is so much I could say so much I could write. One thing I can write about is a couple of my newest toys. A couple of months ago I got a new phone, the Blackberry Tour. I thought I would never own or need a smartphone but I love it. My second toy was a Christmas present, the Garmin Forerunner 310XT. I haven't had much of a chance to use this new toy because a couple of weeks ago I broke my FREAKIN FOOT! I thought it would be fun to play in the Winterfest hockey tournament and I was having a blast until I took a puck to my right foot. The 5th metatarsal bone will need 8 weeks to heal. This completely SCREWS my training for my half-Ironman and Ironman races coming up but what are you going to do? Anyhow, I need to do something else but at least there is a blog post for the new year. Change is in the air. What I need to do is do another post here soon and introduce the love of my life. That's all, signing off for another night.

3rd Grade's a Charm

2009-09-01T22:36:00.002-06:00

My little angel. I help her get ready in the morning but the hair I leave to her. She does a great job. All I ask of her is that all of the "rats" are combed out. She is darling. I love her SO MUCH.

Stop growing!

2009-09-01T22:34:00.003-06:00

Underneath that hair is a VERY cute high school kid. He's fast. He's smart. And he's coming to a field near you.

Senior Year!

2009-09-01T22:23:00.003-06:00

Looking good. No backpack, wearing flip flops. I CANNOT believe that he is a senior.

Slow!

2009-07-29T11:44:00.002-06:00

This is how I feel lately.

Smile and Be Happy

2009-07-12T14:23:00.001-06:00

Smile and Be Happy

2009-07-12T14:23:00.000-06:00

Ironman CdA

2009-06-26T00:32:00.010-06:00

Okay, I know that I need to write all of this down. It was an incredible experience and I look forward to my next Ironman race. I'm not going to post any pictures here (at least not right now). I posted a bunch on my Facebook page. If you read this and you're not my "friend", just ask me (jeff at aquaveo dot com).

PRE-RACE

So we left on Tuesday and drove half way to Coeur d'Alene and stayed at Butte, Montana. Not much to report there. The next day we met up with my training buddy and his family and headed in to town. The Ironman village was already being set up. It was pretty cool. We forked out hundreds of dollars in Ironman merchandice. It is ridiculous how much we are willing to fork out to wear Ironman stuff. It's a racket for sure. This was going to be my first race on race wheels. We rented them (sorry don't have a few K's laying around) from RaceDayWheels. Nice people. I decided on a 1080 on the back and a 404 on the front. I was happy with my decision. I also went with tubulars for the first time. For some reason I wasn't nervous at all. I had them show me how to change them. I did a test change and was ready to rock.

We did a short 5 mile run on Thursday followed by a swim in Lake Pend Oreille. Temperature felt great but the strange current out in the middle of the lake scared us both a little. I was calm. I felt great. I was getting lots of sleep. I had no internet access so work so nothing on my mind at all.

So the next day I took Donkey out for a quick spin. It was raining just a bit so I wanted to see how the bike/wheels would handle in the rain. What I didn’t like was how all of the dirt and rocks would stick to the tires and rub on the brake pads and frame. This had me a bit worried so before I checked in my bike I had a tech look at it and make an adjustment to the back tire. The morning before checking in our bikes we went for another ride together. Everything felt great. Donkey was fast and ready to run.

So on Saturday we checked in our bikes, and our swim->bike bag and our bike->run bag. Thousands of bags on the ground, all in order. It was pretty cool. The special needs bags we would bring on race day. It was pretty nice to show up on race day with just our wetsuits. I wasn’t nervous at all but excited to start racing.

We went home, had an early dinner and packed our special needs bags. I put in Pringles, pretzels, fig newtons, a pair of socks, and in each bag I had a small bag of pills (3 salt tablets, 2 Advil, and 2 Alieve). I had no problem falling asleep and got a good 5 ½ hours of sleep.

We woke up at 3:30 and I had my normal breakfast – oatmeal, yogurt, juice, and a banana.

SWIM

It is pretty amazing to see 2000+ athletes standing on the beach ready to swim. We watched the pros make it around the first loop with the helicopter following the leader. I had to get bodymarked TWICE because the spray on sunblock completely made my numbers run. No worries. I wasn’t worried at all. Rich asked me if I was going to just jump in the middle and swim or go on the side. I told him that I was just going to go for it with everyone else. I’m glad I did. I had no problem. In fact, I was less stressed in this race than other local smaller races. I’m not sure if it was because these athletes were more courteous or what but I had no troubles. I made my first loop around in just over 40 minutes (right on plan). This particular race has you actually get out of the water, cross the mat and then run along the beach and get back in. I actually enjoyed that, threw my hands up in the air and exclaimed “One more time!” to the crowd. Talk about the crowd. They were fantastic.

The second lap on swim proved a bit more difficult as the wind really picked up and that made the waves bigger. If you’ve ever swam in wind and waves then you know how difficult it is to 1) stay straight and 2) breath without taking in a bunch of water. Nevertheless, the swim was quickly over and I was on my way to T1. Within literally seconds, the strippers had my wetsuit off and someone handed me my bag with my bike helmet and shoes.

BIKE

Tri-Rich was right behind me out of the water and we were soon heading out on our bikes. So much buzz in the air. So many people cheering everyone on. It was really cool. We started out fast. Much faster than we had wanted to. Neither of our bike computers were functioning correctly the whole time but we didn’t really care. We just continued to pass bike after bike. We made it around the first loop no problem. All along the way, there were many people cheering from their driveways or the sides of the road. Although drafting is illegal behind other racers there is nothing in the rulebook that prohibits drafting behind ambulances. That was fun.

Then this is the point where all Hell brakes loose. We were starting our second loop going out of town and had just made the tight turn off of Northwest Blvd. to Government Way. I was slightly ahead of TR and as I rounded the corner I had to ride around a slower biker that was too far over to the left. After passing him/her I looked back to see TR trying to get around the same person, but all of a sudden he was flying over his bike. I thought maybe he might have overcorrected too much, some of the bystanders thought maybe his gears had locked up. Regardless, TR went down, and went down hard. I stopped, jumped off my bike, gave it to a bystander and ran back down the street. TR was out cold but still screaming in pain. TR doesn’t remember anything about the crash. Quickly a couple of the race assistants showed up. I tried to get TR untangled from his bike and off of him. He was pretty scrapped up in several places. One of the race officials showed up in a truck and parked below us to protect all of us and then they set up a “NASCAR” type caution zone for all of the other racers. I grabbed TR’s iPhone out of the back of his jersey. See, our kids were following us via GPS for the day so that they knew where we were. I called his wife and luckily she was only a couple of blocks away. It still took her a good 15 minutes to get through the crowd and barricades. TR came to enough that we moved him off the street and into the nearby parking lot. He was in lots of pain in his back and sides. Just before the ambulance showed up, I asked him what he wanted me to do. There was no way I was racing without him. We started this together and we were going to finish together. It was a tough decision. TR told me he wanted me to finish so that is what I did.

So I hopped back on my bike and began to finish the second loop. That next 5 or so miles was VERY tough. I was bawling like a baby. How could this happen to my buddy. WHY????? Was he going to be okay? Well, I finally was able to focus in on the rest of the race. I was going fast. No one, not a single rider passed me on those last 50 miles and I passed PLENTY of riders. There were a couple of downhill sections out by Hayden that were a bit dicey because the wind had picked up a bit and those cross winds can give those ZIPP wheels extra movement. Everything was going just fine until……

Coming down Government way I was cruising about 30 mph. I felt good. Only a couple more miles and then it was run time. The weather had held. No rain on the bike and I was really happy about that. The police had done a great job keeping the roads clear until….WHAT THE HELL WAS SHE THINKING??????

This young girl on a bike decides to cross Government Way. The only thing I can think of is that she WAY underestimated how fast I was coming down the street. “Surely, she is going to stop. Surely, she is not going to keep going” is what I’m telling myself. Now, this is really only taking seconds to pass. Does she stop? No, she keeps going and I hit her broadside. For some reason my instincts told me to lay the bike down as if I was setting a motorcycle down (not that I really know how to ride a motorcycle). My momentum carried me down the street several more yards. I finally stopped, got untangled from my bike and began my OUT OF CONTROL TIRADE (for those of you that need a Webster definition - a protracted speech usually marked by intemperate, vituperative, or harshly censorious language). The police ran over to me first and told me that medics were on their way. Medics? I didn’t need no stinkin’ medics. I just needed some help to get my bike working again. I picked it up, straightened out the rear derailleur, adjusted the rear wheel, and put the chain back on (all while continuing with the tirade). I got back on the bike and started down the street. I hadn’t gone but 10 feet when I had to get back off. The back wheel wasn’t spinning right and there was too much unwanted noise. CRAP!!!! (more tirades). I tried making more adjustments thinking to myself, if I have to carry Donkey the last couple of miles, I was going to do that. I WOULD finish no matter what. Well, I got everything working. The rear wheel was okay. As long as I didn’t change gears I think I could make it the rest of the way.

Rolled into T2 with my feet out of my bike shoes ready to run. The race support was great. They took my bike, gave me my run bag and ushered me into the changing tent.

As I sat in the changing tent, I kept going over and over in my head the crash. It was crazy. I could have been laying in the hospital next to my buddy. I was lucky. I was blessed. It should have been much worse. Then I realized that I hadn’t even thought about the girl I had hit. I was pretty sure she was okay. She was getting chewed out by the cop pretty bad when I had left “the scene”. Now it was time to but one the gay socks and the running shoes. Some Advil, Aleve, salt tablets, and a bottle of Ensure and I was off.

RUN

For the first few miles I continued to have flashbacks of the crash. I was also still worried about my buddy. I wondered if he was okay. More flashbacks. Well, that was NOT going to work for the next 4 hours. With no iPod to listen to I just started singing to myself. Not loud but enough that I was able to clear my head and focus on the run. As lucky as we were on the swim and bike with the rain, not so much for the run. It pretty much rained the entire time. Not bad. I wasn’t really cold. Just keep moving and I stayed warm enough. I was feeling actually pretty good. I was running about 9 minute miles and felt like I could hold that pace for the entire time. I would walk through most of the aid stations as I continued to sip at Gatorade, an occasional cup of Cola, and a few pretzels, bananas, and orange slices. As the run continued, it got colder and wetter. More and more people were walking with those emergency blankets on. I just didn’t get it. Wasn’t this a race? An Ironman race? TR used to say something crude about these people but I’ll refrain.

Prior to the race Jake and Olive made cheer signs. They were very cool. Jake made a big one and these were placed all over the run portion of the race. I happened to find his (among the 100s of posters), so on my last leg back I pulled the sign out of the ground and carried it the last 3 miles or so. Kind of corny I know but I wanted the sign. So then when I was coming down the final stretch I was running and holding the sign above my head. The sign read “The legs feed the wolf” (from the movie Miracle). Everyone was yelling and cheering. It was WAY cool. I approached the finish line, dropped to my knees and rolled across in proper Jon Blais form.

“Jeff Davis, you are an IRONMAN!”

POST-RACE

Well, this post has taken me over a week to finish. At times I cannot believe I did it. Part of it doesn’t seem real. Frankly, it wasn’t as hard as I thought it would be. My first time took me just over 13 hours to finish. I am very confident that I can do it closer to 11 hours. I need to train, get faster in the water and be a much better runner but I know that an 11 hour Ironman is well within my reach. TR is hurting. Broken ribs SUCK and he’ll be out of the water and away from running for several more weeks. It just really SUCKS. We trained so hard together for over a year. I want to be happy for what I was able to accomplish but it’s pretty hard to. When I crossed the finish line and they gave me the medal, I tried putting it around TR’s neck. He’s the Ironman in my book. He wore it that night and then gave it back. He’s working with the WTC folks to hopefully get him in either Arizona, Wisconsin, or Louisville. We’ll see how that goes.

I’ve eaten tons of CRAP food this past week and have done very little in the way of exercising. I ran on Saturday in preparation for the 4th of July Freedom Festival 5K. Most of my road rash is gone and my knee isn’t too stiff anymore. We signed up today for our traditional Jordanelle triathlon. This was my first triathlon and it was the same for TR when he started. Well, there you go. Short and Sweet.

Is this me?

2009-06-12T13:03:00.001-06:00

Wearable towel?

2009-05-31T08:52:00.001-06:00

Give me a break!

Easter 09

2009-05-10T22:53:00.005-06:00

Here is Olivia in her pretty baptism dress. Olivia picked out the shoes and gloves of course. What a beautiful child. This was taken on Easter morning.

Here is Father and daughter on Easter morning (with a little bit of Jake's finger). Olivia has been SO excited to have her very own scriptures. She reads them and asks me questions about what she reads. It was kind of cute that she started with the book of Genesis. A couple of weeks later we got a cute pink bag to carry her scriptures in.

Here are the "cool" boys. Man, they sure do grow up quickly.

After church we went to the Anderson's for family, food, and fun (and an actual Easter egg hunt). The Easter bunny more or less skipped the Davis home this year so the kids were excited to get treats (and of course a bunny). Jenny is always such a great host. The food was yummy! Thanks to Katherine for the very tasty strawberry dessert.

Olivia's Baptism

2009-05-10T22:52:00.007-06:00

On April 11, 2009, Olivia Pilar Davis was baptized a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Her father performed the baptism and confirmation. Her grandfathers were the witnesses and a number of family and friends participated in the confirmation. It was a beautiful day and words cannot express my joy and happiness to see this day come. Olivia is such a sweet child and such an example to me.

This was right before her baptism. This is Olivia and her favorite cousin, Becca.

Olivia and her grandparents (Wolfgang and Grammy).

Did you know?

2009-05-08T11:54:00.000-06:00

Anger vs. Empathy

2009-05-06T13:46:00.001-06:00

Anger creates resentment and rebellion.

Empathy ups the odds of genuine remorse and responsibility.

Anger says, "I can barely handle you!"

Empathy communicates, "I'm such a great parent that I can handle you without breaking a sweat!"

Anger creates kids who get sneaky and do irresponsible things behind our backs.

Empathy creates kids who are more likely to behave even when we aren't watching them.

Engelbert's the MAN!

2009-05-06T13:37:00.001-06:00

My friend, David

2009-04-27T00:18:00.002-06:00

I have blogged a few times about this guy, David Pollay. I just got through reading his last couple of posts. The Law of the Narrator - who is narrating our life? Is it ourselves? What are we saying? What are we telling others? More importantly, what are we telling ourselves? Bring out your best narrator.

The Goal of the Hallway - What matters most? Family. Period.

Happiness Label - Like calorie labels on desserts, we make choices every day for what will bring us the most (true) happiness.

Thanks, David. I've never met you. I intend to someday. You're my kind of guy. Keep it up!

Robert Browning quote

2009-04-14T12:44:00.004-06:00

"Grow old along with me!
The best is yet to be,
The last of life,
for which the first was made:
Our times are in His hand
Who saith, "A whole I planned,
Youth shows but half;
trust God: see all, nor be afraid."

Oceanside -#604

2009-04-11T01:59:00.007-06:00

Okay, so I know that over a MONTH has passed and I haven't actually posted my race report. Things have been pretty busy, and Facebook pretty much takes up all my time (okay not ALL my time). So here we are, Rich and I with the pre-race picture. It was still dark when we wheeled our bikes over to T1 about 5:30 in the morning. I had my usual oatmeal, juice, yogurt, and nerves for breakfast. This time around I had my COOL tri-bag that Rich gave me for my birthday. I was excited.

Here we are just about to start. Green caps. I'm ready. Feeling good. Ready to race. So how was my swim. NO FREAKIN better than last year. I guess that is better than doing worse than last year but I was disappointed. For some reason I just couldn't get into a rhythm. I couldn't find someone to follow, I wasn't enjoying the salt water, my goggles kept fogging up. Oh well, better time next year. My mom was certainly glad that I didn't drown.

Now it was time to ride. I was excited to see how well I would do riding Donkey this year. I opted to forgo the Zipp wheels as I wanted to simply compare bike to bike. The first 20 miles or so you are going pretty fast. With the wind, and flat. So you think you are having a great ride. Then you start hitting the hills and I was slowing down. About 38 miles out, Rich came up beside me and said that we were barely over 19 mph thus far. CRAP. Time to kick it big time. So for the next 18 miles I went hard. Really hard. I felt good great. Rich says he had a hard time keeping up (but I don't really believe him). As always, the road support was great. I really enjoy racing through the military base and have all of the soldiers cheer you on.

Here we are coming in to T2. It was such a beautiful day. I couldn't believe it. Time to run.

So new this year was running on the beach. Although this is supposed to be "cool". It was NOT. Beach running is hard. Running up hill on the beach is even harder. But with a cool breeze and the ocean right there, I can't think of a better setting. My goal this year was to not stop. Last year I had never even run 13 miles. It was tough and I hated it last year. This year? I rocked. I didn't keep my sub 8:00 min pace that I wanted to but I didn't stop. I am a much stronger runner and I'm only getting better. Anyone that says that they can't run is fooling themselves.

Here we are just after the finish. We both felt great. Crossed (rolled across) the finish line once again, together and 45 minutes faster than last year. I was just as hungry (ate about 10 pieces of pizza, a few oranges, cookies, soda, and whatever else there was) but I wasn't dying like last year. It was a great day. A great race. Already signed up for next year and looking for another 45 minutes off my PR. If you want a fun 70.3 this is it.

Oceanside - Second time around

2009-04-11T01:13:00.009-06:00

Okay, I have a number of events coming up so I'd better get this report out. First of all, I had a great time. Second I had a great time, and last of all I had a great time. If you don't like long blog posts then you can just read this first paragraph and move on. Long story short, I bettered my time this year by almost 45 minutes over last year. I know that I can do better. I really like Oceanside and I hope to race there year in and year out until I'm 80. Okay, there you have it. Move on OR Read on.

TriRich and I packed up the Burb and headed out Tuesday evening. We drove about half way and stayed the night in Vegas. Our Vegas stay was short and as always memorable (and this time educational). I'm so lucky to have a friend like Rich. I hope all of you out there in Triathlon world has as good of a training partner as I do.

The next day we arrived in Sunny California. So good to be there. I could (and maybe should) live there. The Beach and I are....... We went out for a run along the beach.

Did I mention that I could (and should) live there? Here I am shortly after a nice 5-6 mile run celebrating in front of the Oceanside pier.

The next day, it was time to take Donkey out for a ride. The race bike course is mostly on Camp Pendleton which is off limits to civilians. So instead we rode south along the coast past Carlsbad and had a nice 30+ mile ride. Did I mention that I could live there? Donkey was ready. My legs felt great.

Later that day we registered and walked around the Expo. Last year the Expo was a big deal. All the vendors, people, excitement. This year it seemed not quite as exciting. Now don't get me wrong, I still bought my share of IM merchandise. One of the booths we stopped at was a contraption to help you be a better swimmer. Must have worked for Rich because he beat me out of the water by 2 minutes on Saturday.

After visiting the Expo it was time to hit the water. We wanted to get out and swim and get accustomed to the water. The waves were pretty rough but we managed to swim up and down the coast for about 40 minutes or so. Then it was time to play. Did I mention that I could (should) live there? I really could.

After dinner we walked around the harbor where the Start/Finish line and transition area is.

Our last activity before the race was an afternoon trip to Knott's Berry Farm. I hadn't been there since I was a young boy. I wasn't too keen on standing in long lines and walking around a day before the race. However, as short as the trip was, we all had a great time. There are a number of fun roller coasters.

Lines? What lines. There were NO lines. Now, this is probably a young persons dream but I for one can only take so much of constant coasters. We were getting our fill and we were getting it fast.
Here we are relaxing in the sun. It was a beautiful day. Did I mention that I could (should) live there?

We finished off the day with a nice dinner at Claimjumper. Check out this cake. Holy cow. Did he eat it? Nope, it was just a camera moment. Guess how many calories are in this tiny slice? 3500 freakin' ones! Wow!

This concludes the pre-race activities and preparation. Game on! Let's race.

Oceanside 09

2009-04-06T14:53:00.001-06:00

No, I'm not in this video but it is cool! I will be posting a recap soon!

BZZZ! I'm being SO stimulated

2009-03-31T14:37:00.002-06:00

My "favorite" aunt sent me this link the other day. It is pretty interesting. Of course since it's on the internet it MUST be true. You can read all about the "stimulus" work that is going on in your state and also for any of your neighbors. I know that there was a bunch of hub-bub during the elections about the "Bridge To Nowhere". From what I can tell, that has nothing on some of these projects. Enjoy. I wonder if anyone is taking suggestions. I have some.

Q & A - with JJ

2009-03-27T18:43:00.008-06:00

Now this is with JJ:

1. What is something dad always says to you? - "unplug"
2. What makes dad happy? - "spending time with him"
3. What makes dad sad? - "not being able to see his kids activities/sports"
4. How does dad make you laugh? - "wrestling"
5. What was dad like as a child? - "smart, no take that back, ladies man"
6. How old is your dad? - "42"
7. How tall is your dad? - 6'5"
8. What is his favorite thing to do? - "spend time with his kids"
9. What does your dad do when you're not around? - "exercise no, sandbag"
10. If your dad becomes famous, what will it be for? - "most successful ironman/civil engineer"
11. What is your dad really good at? - "chess"
12. What is your dad not very good at? - "video games"
13. What does your dad do for his job? - "civil engineer"
14. What is your dad's favorite food? - "smoothies"
15. What makes you proud of your dad? - "how hard he works"
16. If your dad were a cartoon character, who would he be? - "a combination of Dilbert and Grover"
17. What do you and your dad do together? - "listen to music and travel"
18. How are you and your dad the same? - "we love to run"
19. How are you and your dad different? - "I'm trash him in long distance"
20. How do you know your dad loves you? - "because of how much time he wants to spend with me and how much fun we have together"

Q & A - with Jake

2009-03-27T18:43:00.006-06:00

Now, this is with Jake:

1. What is something dad always says to you? - "Make your bed."
2. What makes dad happy? - "Finishing an Ironman"
3. What makes dad sad? - "when I'm not around"
4. How does dad make you laugh? - "Olivia"
5. What was dad like as a child? - "Athletic"
6. How old is your dad? - "42"
7. How tall is your dad? - 6' 4"
8. What is his favorite thing to do? - "Run an Ironman"
9. What does your dad do when you're not around? - "relax in the quietness at home"
10. If your dad becomes famous, what will it be for? - "Running an Ironman"
11. What is your dad really good at? - "biking"
12. What is your dad not very good at? - "relaxing"
13. What does your dad do for his job? - "an engineer"
14. What is your dad's favorite food? - "chicken"
15. What makes you proud of your dad? - "how athletic you are"
16. If your dad were a cartoon character, who would he be? - "daffy duck"
17. What do you and your dad do together? - "lacrosse"
18. How are you and your dad the same? - "both very athletic"
19. How are you and your dad different? - "you're taller than me"
20. How do you know your dad loves you? - "because you play sports with me"

Q & A - with Olivia

2009-03-27T18:36:00.005-06:00

Okay, thanks to my cousin I decided to ask Olivia a few questions. Here are her answers:

1. What is something dad always says to you? - "Make your bed"
2. What makes dad happy? - "Me"
3. What makes dad sad? - "When I'm not here"
4. How does dad make you laugh? - "By tickling me"
5. What was dad like as a child? - "Crazy"
6. How old is your dad? - "42"
7. How tall is your dad? - "About 5 feet"
8. What is his favorite thing to do? - "Stay on your computer"
9. What does your dad do when you're not around? - "You swim, you bike, and you run"
10. If your dad becomes famous, what will it be for? - "I don't know.
11. What is your dad really good at? - "Cranium"
12. What is your dad not very good at? - "Nothing"
13. What does your dad do for his job? - "Types and make things work"
14. What is your dad's favorite food? - "Oatmeal"
15. What makes you proud of your dad? - "Ironman finisher"
16. If your dad were a cartoon character, who would he be? - "Mickey Mouse"
17. What do you and your dad do together? - "Jump on the tramp and play games"
18. How are you and your dad the same? - "Both like computers"
19. How are you and your dad different? - "You're a boy and I'm a girl"
20. How do you know your dad loves you? - "Because he tucks me in bed"

AAR - My song of the week/month/year

2009-03-24T14:36:00.003-06:00

I've been meaning to post this. Great song, great video, great lyrics. I'm glad I have have great neighbors. Enjoy the song and video. Enjoy your life.

Am I nuts?

2009-03-18T22:34:00.005-06:00

So am I just crazy or what? Signing up for a 2nd Ironman when I haven't even finished the first one? But call me compulsive. Call me looney. But it was calling me. Wanting me. It's in my own backyard for heaven's sake. Last year doing the 1/2 Ironman, I decided that that race was the hardest thing I had ever done. Now, with just a couple of weeks out, I'm really not too nervous about it. Come June, well, that's a different story. Anyhow, bring it on!

And for those triathletes out there in the world that are not familiar with my home state, St. George is awfully beautiful. Great time of the year as well. You will NOT be disappointed. Come on out. Let me show you MY home.

Beauty is a Beast

2009-03-18T22:20:00.003-06:00

For the past couple of months Olivia has been preparing for the play "Beauty is a Beast". Kind of a spin from the "Beauty and the Beast" story. Olivia played 1 of the 4 "Beauty" parts. The premise is that this princess is mean and selfish so her 3 fairy godmothers turn her into a peasant where she not only falls in love with a poor boy but also realizes the error of her ways. Olivia was great and a natural.

The Great Debater (part II)

2009-03-18T22:09:00.003-06:00

Last Saturday JJ competed at the State competition for debate and other forensic events. JJ is good. He's very good. And he proved it by taking first place in Foreign Extemp. The students are given a topic from international current events and they have 30 minutes to prepare a 7 minute speech. He faced some very stiff competition but still came out on top. Good job, JJ!

We're going to the zoo, zoo, zoo. How about you you you?

2009-03-18T22:02:00.003-06:00

Olivia's class took a trip to the infamous Hogle Zoo on Monday. A very calm group of well behaved children.

In front of the infamous "Elephant trunk" memorial.

I'm not sure what is up with the gang signs but Olivia and Christian are all about looking "cool"

Holy Hell!!!

2009-03-13T11:13:00.001-06:00

Watch CBS Videos Online

Mi ahijada

2009-03-10T22:25:00.003-06:00

Isn't she just darling?

Hi, I'm a Lymph node

2009-03-03T23:08:00.002-07:00

So I'm no nurse. No doctor. But this afternoon I got to learn about the human organ - the Lymph node. These "nodes" are found all through the body and act as a "trap" for foreign particles. So when you get sick or are exposed to some kind of bacteria or something, the body tries to send this to one of these nodes. The nodes have these vessels to provide access to it. So this foreign object gets trapped and then surrounded by lots of cells and the cells continue to grow to keep this object trapped until it can process it and better protect the body the next time it is exposed to the foreign object. This is the job of the white blood cells. Children are more prone to "swollen glands" because their bodies haven't been exposed to as much crap as adults. I also learned that a healthy person could have an enlarged node because of a previous infection. Do you know how many lymph nodes the typical person has? I didn't. I had to look it up. Between 500-600? Simply amazing. I'm sure there is much more to learn but I found it fascinating. I learned something today that I didn't know before. The human body, my human body is SIMPLY AMAZING. It is a miracle. Eyes, heart, lungs, muscle, brain. And to think I can push this body to swim, then bike, and then run. It is amazing. I'm grateful for my health. I really am. I wake up every single more with a full heart thanking my Heavenly Father that I am healthy.

Encircled in His arms

2009-03-01T01:31:00.002-07:00

Happy Birthday, my Angel

2009-02-27T17:37:00.005-07:00

Happy Birthday, Olivia. Words cannot express how much you mean to me. I'm glad that I was part of your birthday today and I am so grateful to be your father.

Olivia passed out yummy cupcakes to her classmates (don't worry, I did not eat one)

Olivia enjoyed spreading frosting all over her mug.

Olivia with her teacher, Miss Street and one of her classmates.

We went to lunch (just the two of us). Olivia picked Rumbi and it was tasty. Afterwords, I took her shopping. She and I had a blast. Of course the weather was beautiful today. The snow has finally melted and the sky was blue and Olivia had a big smile on her face.

Today, Olive turns 8 and do you know what that means? NO MORE BOOSTER SEAT! That was the FIRST thing on her agenda today. Sweetie, you are so grown up.

Maybe sometime later I'll put together a small slide show of some of my favorite pictures of Olivia. I guess that is the thing to do. At any rate, Happy Birthday, girl.

Will you be my Valentine

2009-02-27T17:18:00.003-07:00

I almost let this slip by but I wanted to capture the moment. I could not be blessed with a better sweetheart. Last year it was Fluffy (a big white bear), this year it was a big pink puppy.

Facebook

2009-02-22T22:37:00.002-07:00

I don't recall writing about FB thus far so I thought I'd take a few minutes to do so. I first learned about FB last summer when it started to become popular with my 2 teenage boys. Wanted to make sure I understood what they were getting into I signed up. My first impressions were pretty skeptical. Safer than places like MySpace and other social network sites, I really couldn't see much use for it. It was one more thing for teenagers to do to spend time online. But then my cousins, aunts, and uncles joined and I found it a convenient way to keep in touch with all of them. Then a few months ago, dozens and dozens of people I grew up with and people I went to junior high and high school joined. It was crazy. People that I hadn't seen for 20+ years. It was amazing. Was it taking my time. Oh yes. It certainly did.

So why am I writing this post? Well, I read a couple of interesting articles. The first one was a Time article that lists 10 reasons why FB is for me. The article is actually pretty funny. But the fascinating article is the CNN article that talks about how FB is taking over our lives. More that 15 million people update their daily status and 850 million pictures are uploaded each month. If FB were a country it would be as large as Brazil. It took 89 years for 150 million people had access to a telephone. It tool 14 years for the same number of people to have a cell phone. It took 7 years for 150 million iPods to be sold and a short 5 years for there to be 150 million FB users.

It certainly will be interesting to see where FB is next year, and maybe 5 or 10 years down the road. Well, those are my thoughts.

Everything is so amazing and nobody is happy

2009-02-22T22:23:00.000-07:00

Suppliments and Nutrition

2009-02-22T00:55:00.002-07:00

So last week when I was making my shoe purchase I decided to pick up some of the new GU gels. If you don't run like a madman or compete in crazy triathlons you may have no clue about GU (what a poet). There are a number of similar products out there and I've tried most of them. Hammer gels are pretty good and typically don't contain the caffeine. However, GU usually wins out as the choice of gooey liquid that I swallow trying to get calories, carbs, amino acids and a host of other things into my body. Here's a great comparison chart. I've never once had an issue with my stomach getting upset. So today, during our 4 hour workout I had the chance to try the new stuff. I tried the blueberry pomegranate. Not a bad taste at all. I finished my workout feeling good. Bike, run, bike, run, bike. It was a great fun. It's hard to tell if the GU was making a difference. However, having "bonked" a few times in the past, I wasn't going to let something like that happen. Keep up with the nutrition and listen to your body. That's the key. So for anything of any distance, GU will continue to be part of my life (and wallet).

Canyonlands HM - will it work for me?

2009-02-20T16:26:00.002-07:00

I guess I just might have to add another race to my schedule. Is this too close to Oceanside? Can I afford to pass this one up? If what they say is true, I've got to be there. I've just got to be there.

And here is what I learned.

2009-02-16T01:02:00.001-07:00

So yesterday I did learn something about lacing my new running shoes. I thought it was a great idea and of course, here's the video so you can do the same. Enjoy!

I had NO freakin' idea.

2009-02-16T00:27:00.003-07:00

Lucky for me, I've been doing it right all these years. Have you?

So if you've mastered the Reef knot, then try this one (the Ian knot)

It's in the shoes, man!

2009-02-15T01:03:00.003-07:00

I knew that I had WAY too many miles on my current running shoes. For 4 years now I had been wearing the Asics Kayanos. I like them. I REALLY like them. Although they aren't the lightest shoe out there. They ARE comfortable. For a few months now I had been eyeing the new running shoes from UA. If you know me, you know that I'm pretty much a walking, sweating billboard for UA. I love their apparel. I was really excited about their shoes. But.....
I had some free time this afternoon so I did what I could to help the local economy by visiting the nearby 26.2 Running store. They video taped and tested me to see where I was and what I should be looking at. That was cool. If you haven't done it before I suggest you make your way to a good running store and check it out. I tried on a number of shoes and ran on their treadmill. I had narrowed it down to the new Kayanos and a pair of Saucony shoes. In the end, I went with the Asics. How could I go wrong? They are comfortable and I like them. I got the white/brass/black ones even though I would have preferred white/onyx/flame color but like I said, I'm doing my part for local stimulus. The folks there were great. I love good customer service. So what about the UA shoes? Well, I'm going to let someone ELSE try them out. I don't have time. I can't afford that at this point in time. I have Oceanside in less than 7 weeks, followed by the Ogden Marathon in May, and the Ironman CdA in June. I'm happy. I like these shoes. On a side note, I also picked up a pair of these for actual race day. They are last year's model, red in color and best of all, on sale! I'll let you know how those work out.

Katelyn Cutie Brunner

2009-02-15T00:53:00.002-07:00

Kath and Donovan brought home an adorable little girl from the hospital this afternoon. Born at 1:04 am on Friday February 13, 2009, Katelyn is here. She joins her two older brothers, JT and Nate in the Brunner home. She is a cutie for sure. Don't forget who your favorite uncle is!

Happy Birthday, Jessica 2009

2009-02-15T00:47:00.003-07:00

So we started this tradition last year and we go out to dinner for Jessica's birthday (which is on Valentine's Day). Last year we met at Sizzler. This year it was Dead Lobster. Josh and Jess arrived a couple of hours early and got a table big enough for all of us. We had a great time. Happy Birthday, Jessica. I'm still bummed that Earl didn't join us.

He's on FIRE! El contentador!

2009-02-15T00:40:00.003-07:00

Okay, a sports photographer I'm not but I enjoy snapping pictures of my kids. Jake has been playing indoor lacrosse this winter. For his age group he pretty much dominates. Really it isn't fair to the opposing teams. One game I lost track of how many goals and figured he had scored upwards of 30 goals. It is unusual for him to score less than 10 goals in any game. Again, it's a bit unfair because he's playing kids his own age whereas he usually plays with kids a couple of years older. This poor goalie got pounded by Jake last night. Oh well.

The Jocks of Wymount

2009-02-15T00:28:00.002-07:00

So this week I had lunch with a few guys from the Wymount days of college. Wymount is sometimes endearingly called "the rabbit hutches". This is the on campus married student housing. What do you do here besides study for tests? Well, make babies of course. Looking back it all seemed so simple back then. Go to class, study, make babies, go to class again. Anyhow, I'm digressing. So Chris Rushing was in town to take his son to BYU. I cannot believe the cycle is beginning again. I haven't seen him since 93. Chris played volleyball for the Y and now coaches back east at Eastern Carolina University. He hasn't changed much. Next to him is Brian Simpson. He played baseball for the Y. Next to him is the guy that is getting WAY too skinny (that's why I'm eating some rice pudding as I compose this). Next to me is Eric "Money" Drage. Eric played football and was on the recieving end of most of Ty Detmer's passes. Eric held many BYU and NCAA records until this year when Austin Collie stole them from him. Next to Eric is MCB (Matthew Christian Bain). We had a great laugh and a great visit.

My super swimming sister

2009-02-15T00:17:00.003-07:00

Okay, I have to admit that my Facebook attention has had a detrimental effect on when and what I blog. Bummer, but that is just reality. Last week my sister Lizzy was competing in the State swimming championships. Her school was coming off back to back state titles. Would a third title be in the works. You can check out my FB profile where I posted a number of pictures and videos of the events. Lizzy took 4th in state in the 50 free adn 2nd in state in the 100 fly. She swam on 2 relays one took 1st and the other 2nd. East ended up loosing to Timpview but Lizzy was awesome. I am completely amazed how fast these swimmers are. Even though my butt hurts from sitting on a wooden bench for a couple of days it is thoroughly enjoyable. I REALLY hope Lizzy comes back next year for her senior year. It's SO much work but I think she could be the top female swimmer next year if she comes back. Good job, Lizzy!

Moo Moo Moo Moo

2009-02-07T14:53:00.004-07:00

A favorite place to visit for Olivia is Maggie Moo's. Even though she loves to sample just about EVERY flavor she ALWAYS gets the same thing, Cotton candy ice cream with gummy candy mixed in. How about a big KISS?

Draper Temple Open House

2009-02-07T14:44:00.003-07:00

So right now the Draper Temple open house is going on. This is a great opportunity to visit the inside of an LDS temple and learn more about why temples are so important. A few days ago we took the opportunity to go. JJ and Jake got to go to the Timpanogos temple open house a few years ago but this was Olive's first time. The temple was beautiful (as always) and I was amazed at the amount of woodwork. The logistics of getting people in and out are pretty smooth and I would encourage everyone to take advantage of the opportunity. I beleive the open house goes for another month or so before it is dedicated. BTW, the stone on the outside is a white granite that came from China (thanks, JJ). Also notice that we had blue skies and the snow is starting to melt!

The Great Debater

2009-02-07T14:41:00.003-07:00

Okay, Olive isn't a debater and the award wasn't even for debate (per say). In the last tournament JJ took first place in International Extemp competition. We all were very happy for him. Good job, JJ!

Let's bake, daddy!

2009-02-07T14:36:00.002-07:00

So the Easy-Bake came out again recently, this time to make yummy sugar cookies. Olivia had all sorts of fun decorating the cookies for her brothers. She loves to bake. Not so much on the clean up part but we still have lots of fun.

Swimming in Heaven version 2.0

2009-02-03T21:07:00.003-07:00

So last year I wrote about my first pair of H2O Audio headphones and case. Since then I have received so many comments and questions. I tell you, I should own stock in the company. So when the 2nd generation came out I had to try it out. Bottom line? As much as I enjoyed using my original setup, the headphones on the Interval are even better. Much more comfortable and better sound. I did have my ears fill up with water a couple of times so I'm going to try some of the other earplugs. So what was I listening to? Tonight it was We The Kings, Angels & Airwaves, with a little bit of old stuff (Thompson Twins, Erasure, Cars, and Information Society). I can't wait to get back in the water.

Stay-at-home dad workouts

2009-02-03T09:31:00.002-07:00

Okay, this is HILARIOUS. Thanks to the "Daily Biff" for the head's up. I couldn't figure out how to embed the video here (okay, I really didn't try).

Inconvenient Debt

2009-01-31T09:47:00.000-07:00

What a good little boy am I?

2009-01-30T15:54:00.001-07:00

Lost Generation

2009-01-25T00:17:00.001-07:00

Changefest '09 - Day 1

2009-01-24T19:52:00.000-07:00

The Daily Show With Jon StewartM - Th 11p / 10c

Changefest '09 - Obama's Inaugural Speech

Barack Obama Interview
John McCain Interview

Sarah Palin Video
Funny Election Video

Slumdog Millionaire

2009-01-24T01:32:00.002-07:00

I broke a rule tonight...but....go see this movie. Two thumbs up.

Dads and Donuts

2009-01-23T17:26:00.009-07:00

So maybe you are familiar with this tradition. To encourage reading and to get Dads more involved, our schools sponsor "Dads and Donuts" where we arrive early to school, eat donuts and read with our children. I was quite happy that despite getting up earlier than normal, Olive was cheerful and excited about the event. We were one of the first ones at the school and staked a nice corner on the carpeted stage. Laying down on our pillow that we brought we read for about a 1/2 hour. The donut part? Yes, Olive ate hers. I just couldn't see putting in me. Call me a nutrition snob but I can think of a million better things I would eat before a donut. A great time that I look forward to each year with my kids. Read on!

Closer to being a fish

2009-01-23T17:26:00.007-07:00

I enjoy swimming. I'm not fast (believe me, I'm not being a Sandbagger when I say that). There are SO many much better swimmers. But I enjoy swimming. I think I'm getting better. I feel I'm getting stronger. Today my buddy and I hit the pool for a rare mid afternoon workout. We would do about 2500-3000 meters today (I didn't even keep track). 3 times I wanted to see where I was with my 100m split time. After swimming about 1/2 hour or so I was at 1:38. Not bad. 15 minutes later I was at 1:33. Towards the end of our swim, I was at 1:26. It wasn't full out but at a pretty good clip. For me, I'm happy with that kind of time. Now if I could keep that up that pace is about a 23 minute mile. That would be awesome! Right now I'm around a 32 minute mile. Keep working hard and I know that I can be down there. I'm closer to becoming a fish.

Painter's Half Mary

2009-01-23T17:26:00.005-07:00

Some say that the third weekend in January is the most depressive time of the year. Failed New Year's resolutions, the weather, and consumer debt from holiday spending. I'm not sure about the first one. The pool is packed more than ever before. The weather HAS been cold and snowy. Consumer spending just didn't happen this year. Whatever. It was time to head South and leave it all behind. Enter, the St. George Painter's Half Marathon. Conditions were almost perfect. Just a tab bit cool but nice. I knew I could do it under 2 hours. I thought if I could average 8min/miles that I would be VERY happy. And lo and behold, I did. I finished at 1:47 and I was happy. I didn't really push it, just tried concentrating on keeping my pace for 13 miles. Happy. Of course my peeps cheering me on just made the run that much more pleasant. The rest of the weekend was spent flying kites, playing lacrosse OUTSIDE, lying on the grass, swimming, sliding down the hydrotube (too many times to count), eating yummy breakfasts by Grammy, and a nice visit to Aunt Joann and Uncle Paul's.

Wednesday's Child

2009-01-14T16:20:00.002-07:00

Okay, this has nothing to do with children (okay, not directly) but it IS Wednesday. Does anyone even remember "Wednesday's Child" besides me? Anyhow, I just had some "stolen" thoughts that I wanted to write down here.

I need to face the truth in my life. Ignoring the truth never changes the truth. Truth perpetuates itself regardless of our willingness to face it. Can you answer these questions?

- What do you appreciate most about yourself?
- What are you doing best right now in your life?
- What needs your attention?
- What deserves more energy and focus?

We increase the power in our lives when we honestly appreciate what we're doing right and face what we're doing wrong. Life is a constant series of adjustments. Healthy people are willing to make necessary changes to improve the quality of their lives.

Sound familiar?

2009-01-14T12:47:00.001-07:00

How about them apples?

2009-01-14T12:24:00.002-07:00

Salt Lake City (and surrounding region) topped Men's Fitness list as the fittest city in the U.S for 2009. Keep up the good work! Where is YOUR city. Not at the top obviously.

The Two Wolves

2009-01-12T12:05:00.002-07:00

I heard this yesterday in Sacrament Meeting. I thought it good enough to include here.

The Two Wolves

One evening an old Cherokee told his grandson about a battle that goes on inside people. He said, "My son, the battle is between two "wolves" inside us all.

One is Evil. It is anger, envy, jealousy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego.

The other is Good. It is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion and faith."

The grand son thought about it for a minute, and then asked his grandfather:
"Which wolf wins?"

The old Cherokee simply replied,
"The one you feed."

Blood, Sweat, and Tears

2009-01-10T23:35:00.002-07:00

Does anyone know Bishop Fulton J. Sheen? I read an except this morning from a book he wrote called Way To Happiness. Here is an excerpt that I wanted to put here. I hope he doesn't mind (he's dead now but you never know). This is a tad bit long but I think you can read it in a couple of minutes. I think it is important (obviously because I posted it here) . This was published in 1954. Yes, 55 years ago.

Recently a woman at a forum asked an important politician this question: “Why is it that our political leaders never speak of blood, sweat, tears and sacrifice, but only of how much they will give the farmers and the manufacturers and the labor unions if they are elected?” The politician answering quoted another politician, but it seems as if he missed the deep significance of the woman’s question. Actually, she was a spokesman of a large segment of the American people who know enough about history and psychology to know that no nation, as no individual, ever achieves anything worth while except through sacrifice and self-denial.

Toynbee pointed out that sixteen out of nineteen civilizations which have decayed from the beginning of history to the present, have rotted from within; only three fell to attacks from without. Very often an attack from the outside solidifies a nation and strengthens it’s moral fiber. Lincoln once said he never feared that America would be conquered from without, but that it might fall from within. Lenin once said that America would collapse by spending itself to death, an eventuality that is not too distant with a national debt of a little less than three hundred billion dollars.

Was Walter Whitman speaking of our age as well as his own when he wrote: “Society in these days is cankered, crude, superstitious and rotten….The great cities reek with respectable as well as non-respectable robbery and scoundrels. In fashionable life, flippancy, tepid amours, weak infidelities, small aims, or no aims at all, only to kill time….It is as if we were somehow endowed with a vast and thoroughly appointed body, but then left with little or no soul.”

Whitman’s worry was in the woman’s mind for she was disturbed about our indifference, tepidity and moral apathy. If there is anything that is becoming clear in our national life, it is that so called progressive education is extremely unprogressive. Juvenal delinquency, crime, racketeering, political scandals—–all these illegitimate children are dropped on the doorstep of an educational theory that denied a distinction between right and wrong and assumed that self-restraint was identical with the destruction of personality. Every instinct and impulse in either a child or an adult, does not, if left to itself, necessarily produce good results. Man has a hunting instinct which is good when directed to deer in season, but bad when directed to the police in season or out of season. The disrespect for authority which is the outgrowth of the stupidity that every individual is his own determinant of right and wrong has now become an epidemic of lawlessness.

Some day our educators will awaken to several basic facts about youth: (1) Youth has an intellect and a will. The intellect is the source of his knowledge; the will, the source of his decisions. If his choices are wrong, the youth will be wrong regardless of how much he knows. (2) Education through the communication of knowledge does not necessarily make a good man; it can conceivably make learned devils instead of stupid devils. (3) Education is successful when it trains the mind to see the right targets, and disciplines the will to choose them rather than the wrong targets.

At present two currents manifest themselves in our American way of life: one is the direction of a great development of moral character both in individuals and in the nation; the other is toward the surrender of morality and responsibility through a socialist state in which there will be no morality but state-morality, no conscience but state-conscience. Of the two the first is by far the stronger, though neither politics nor economics has seen it. Some of our educators are turning away from the spoiled child psychology, in which the child was called progressive if he did whatever he wanted; now the return is toward doing a little bit of thinking and working in order to wrest us out of our juvenile delinquency and moral flabbiness.

Youth particularly is yearning for something hard; it no longer believes it’s teachers who say that good or evil is a point of view and it makes no difference in which you believe. They now want to believe that something is so evil that we ought to fight against it, and something is so good that we ought, if necessary, to steel and discipline ourselves and even die to defend it. This latent power of blood and sweat and tears in our American youth will be captured within the next generation by one of the other forces: either by some political crackpot who will turn that desire for sacrifice into something like Nazism, Fascism or Communism, or by our leaders, political, educational and moral who will first show self-discipline and moral courage in their own lives and thus give an example to others.

The greatest responsibility falls on religious leaders whose message ought to be the message the woman wanted from politicians—–the clarion call to restraint on evil influences and the showing forth of altruism and love of God.

Let me know what you think? I think this guy is spot on.

Ladies and Gentlemen, put out your hand

2009-01-07T14:40:00.001-07:00

I cannot believe I'm reading this. Give me a freakin break!

Games people play

2009-01-03T00:34:00.002-07:00

Tonight was game night. We played all sorts of games: Jenga, Richochet, Cork and Funnel, King's Corner, Phase 10, even some Ping Pong (table tennis). Obviously the best game we ended up watching instead of playing. Way to go, Utah! You made us proud. It was fun to spend the evening with cousins and children of cousins. Olive asked me so what are we to your cousin's children. Do you know the answer? Thanks Julie and Janna for a fun night.

National Champs?

2009-01-03T00:29:00.001-07:00

I can't beleive I didn't make the top #3

2009-01-01T14:52:00.002-07:00

I mean, really!

What's in a name? That which we call a rose....

2008-12-31T13:37:00.001-07:00

So what are your training plans for 2009?

2008-12-31T11:28:00.001-07:00

Maybe they should include some Super High Intensity Training. Give it some thought

Nice ridding

2008-12-29T22:49:00.002-07:00

After playing b-ball this morning, I still needed to do some training tonight. I looked for a good movie to watch, Dark Knight, Iron Man, anything with action. I settled on The Best Two Years. This is one of my favorite "Mormon" genre movies. An hour and a half later I was done riding.

Take the food challenge.

2008-12-29T00:00:00.002-07:00

Okay, if you're like me you've been eating WAY too much caramel corn pops (thanks, Jenny), cookies, treats, and drinking WAY too much Egg Nog! So I read this article tonight. Here are the foods that I'm going to try and fix/eat in the next few weeks:

- Beets
- Cabbage
- Guava
- Swiss chard
- Cinnamon
- Purslane
- Pomegranate juice
- Goji berries
- Dried plums (prunes)
- Pumpkin Seeds (okay, I'm NOT going to eat these because I'm very allergic to them)

I'll have to find something else high in magnesium (like black beans, halibut, or spinach). Are you with me? Or are you going to keep eating that crap??? Go ahead, enjoy it and then die! Stop eating junk!

Ok, a pro I am not!

2008-12-28T23:46:00.004-07:00

Okay, I realize that most experts say that you're not supposed to workout late at night. That usually doesn't bother me too much. I wanted to run earlier but spending time with the kids and then doing my "home teaching" it was a bit late. Didn't stop me. So I've been reading Jessi Stensland's blog lately. She's cute. Yesterday she wrote about a simple speed workout and I thought I would try it. I am not a runner (okay, I was a sprinter in my younger days) but running is my weakness. I need to get better. These kind of workouts MUST help. They just MUST. So here it is:

10 min warm up @ 7 mph
4 X (90sec @ 10 mph + 30sec rest)
4 X (30sec @ 11 mph + 15sec rest)
4 X (90sec @ 10 mph + 30sec rest)

I stuck to it pretty well but my 11 mph with only 15 sec rest probably was more like 30 seconds and my last couple of 10 mph runs probably had closer to 60 seconds in between. I was dying! My HR was around 186+. It rarely gets that high. I'm thinking to myself, "Don't die, don't die, just breathe and live." Anyhow, the Sandbagger lives.

Let's start bakin'

2008-12-27T23:23:00.006-07:00

So this year we got Olive's cousin, Becca, an Easy Bake for Christmas. I don't think Olive knew much about it beforehand but afterwards, we was hoping and praying that Santa (or Daddy) would bring her one. I could I disappoint. I remember when I was young, my sister, Jenny Lou had one and once in a while would back me yummy goodies (or maybe I was just dreaming).

First step was to wash all of the items with soap and water. Don't forget to put on the apron.

Next it was time to mix the water in the cake mix. Tonights dessert was yellow cake with chocolate frosting.

Then is was time to put the cake in the oven for 12 minutes. Look at the concentration and skill.

The finished product. Olive ate the entire cake herself and then called her cousin to tell her about it. I'm sure this will be the first of many treats to come in the Davis household.

More traditions

2008-12-27T23:20:00.002-07:00

Every year since JJ was born, his aunt Krat and JJ have a picture together at Christmas. Here they are again another year wiser.

Dad, can I borrow your camera?

2008-12-27T23:13:00.005-07:00

Look what happens when the daughter and cousin start snapping pictures. Maybe Olive should be a photographer. She'd be pretty good.

Jammies 2008

2008-12-27T23:08:00.003-07:00

Here's all of the grandchildren in their jammies (except Nate, he was feeling a bit warm). New to this tradition is Daija and Earl.

Merry Christmas

2008-12-27T22:59:00.000-07:00

Our girl

2008-12-24T23:19:00.002-07:00

We were trying to take a picture of "the boys" but Olivia would have nothing of that. She is "our girl".

Don't tuck in your shirt

2008-12-24T23:12:00.002-07:00

So here's the story behind this photo. I'm 42. My boys are "cool" teenagers. Clearly, I'm not as cool. My shirt was a tad bit long so I tucked it in. My boys thought that was a bit gay. They wouldn't even get in the picture with my shirt tucked in. "Take your shirt out, Dad!" I'm trying to explain that I am a hip dad. Maybe I'm not.

Mr. Inkley's

2008-12-24T22:39:00.004-07:00

Blaine is turning out to be a pretty good photographer. Here are some of the pictures that did not make our Christmas picture but were very good and I wanted to include them here. Enjoy.

Happy Holidays

2008-12-24T22:27:00.002-07:00

Many should recognize this picture as it was the chosen one for our Christmas cards this year. If you didn't get one in the mail let me know. Our family theme for the past couple of months was service. It was a good experience. Live United. Remember that when we reach out a hand to one, we influence the condition of all. We build the strength of our neighborhoods. We bolster the health of our communities. And we change the lives of those who walk by us every day.

Merry Christmas

2008-12-24T22:20:00.003-07:00

I would like to give a shout out to all my family and friends wherever you might be. Some are sitting in snow, others on the beach, some without power, some are already finishing up Christmas. 2008 was a great year and I wish all of you an even better 2009.

I'm special

2008-12-24T10:36:00.001-07:00

CONGRATULATIONS JEFF, YOU HAVE YOUR VERY OWN IRONMAN I.D.

146319

The Law of the Garbage Can

2008-12-21T23:23:00.002-07:00

Back last May I wrote about "The Law of the Garbage Truck". I follow David's blog faithfully. If you haven't added his blog to your blogroll I would highly suggest it as day to day helpful "this is life" encouragement. Anyhow, so you understand this law. Now let me introduce you to the "Law of the Garbage Can". Many companies are going green and moving to a better environment in the workplace. I was working with Company A this week and this is what their garbage cans look like. There is a smaller garbage can inside the regular can. This smaller one is that one that you use for actual garbage and the bigger one is used for recycled waste (but not paper because that goes in a different bin. Furthermore, this is regularly (and strongly) policed by the company and violations are reported. If you are not in compliance you will indeed get sent a repremand via e-mail. I thought that this was completely hilarious. Do you have this at YOUR work? Let me know. One of the guys that I was working with often likes to play pranks on other coworkers by filling up their tiny "waste" can and getting them in trouble. Anyhow, that's where we are headed. Don't put your trash in the trash can, put it in the smaller trash can.

Let there be peace on earth and let it begin with me

2008-12-20T13:34:00.002-07:00

Okay, so this song has been around for quite a while. Just felt it important to share it this afternoon.

Let there be peace on earth
And let it begin with me.
Let there be peace on earth
The peace that was meant to be.
With God as our father
Brothers all are we.
Let me walk with my brother
In perfect harmony.

Let peace begin with me
Let this be the moment now.
With every step i take
Let this be my solemn vow.
To take each moment
And live each moment
With peace eternally.
Let ther be peace on earth,
And let it begin with me.

Let there be peace on earth
And let it begin with me.
Let there be peace on earth
The peace that was meant to be.
With god as our father
Brothers all are we.
Let me walk with my brother
In perfect harmony.

Let peace begin with me
Let this be the moment now.
With every step I take
Let this be my solemn vow.
To take each moment
And live each moment
In peace eternally.
Let there be peace on earth
And let it begin with me.

Happy Birthday to Me

2008-12-14T00:56:00.002-07:00

42 freeking years old! I swear I don't look a day older than 29. I certainly don't act like a day older than 14 (comparing myself to my 14 year old son, Jake). Tri-Rich and I did the birthday challenge yesterday. It was great. I'm lucky to have such a great friend. I also got to celebrate with family with yummy cherry chocolate cake and presents. I'm grateful for my family and all that they do for me. Here's to 42 more productive, happy, and challenging years!

Birthday Challenge Round 2

2008-12-14T00:33:00.002-07:00

So back last summer I learned about fun things to do on your birthday. Could there be ANYTHING better than swimming, biking, and running on your birthday? You own special birthday triathlon? Well, we took the platinum challenge for Rich's birthday. It was fun. Best of all, we swam OUTSIDE, we biked OUTSIDE, and ran OUTSIDE. Do you think that would happen in December? In Highland? Are you crazy? Well, after fueling up with a bowl of oatmeal and tasty smoothies by yours truely, we headed over to the bubble.

We snapped this picture just after we finished. HTFU is all that I can say. 4 miles is a long freakin way. All I can say is that it's a good thing I have this. We did the 4 miles in just under 3 hours (I know - nice and slow but again, it's a long way).

After pigging out on a mushroom, swiss burger and Butterfinger shake at JCW's it was time to move on to the bike. 42 miles on the trainer is a LONG freaking way when you're not actually moving anywhere. To pass the time we watched the Ironman CdA 08 replay, then the Ironman World Championships 08 at Kona, and then the half Ironman St. Croix. It certainly gets you pumped watching those incredible athletes. We finished the 42 miles right around 2 hours. On to the run!

After 3 hours in the pool and 2 hours on the bike, 14-15 minutes on the treadmill was a piece of cake. I'm pretty tired but certainly the endorphins are flowing today. What a great way to celebrate birthday #42 (which is actually tomorrow unless you are talking about me "legal" birthday which is on Monday). Happy Birthday to me! I do dread the day when I'm 59, or worse 69!

Thanks, Jennifer Lou Who Boo Anderson

2008-12-08T19:56:00.002-07:00

Santa's little helpers

2008-12-08T19:47:00.004-07:00

These two girls are inseparable. I think this picture was taken close to the North Pole.

My Christmas Angel

2008-12-08T19:44:00.003-07:00

Certainly she's the most beautiful child anyone could have. "Daddy, can I wear my Christmas dress to church today?" How can I resist?

Mrs. Claus?

2008-12-08T19:41:00.002-07:00

I'm not sure who this is. Any guesses?

False advertising or is this really true?

2008-12-07T00:11:00.003-07:00

While doing part of my "online" Christmas shopping tonight I came across this product. My son likes this product line for the shower gel and deodorant. Here are the features of this particular body spray:

- long lasting fragrance (okay, that's good)
- stimulates the clothing-removal section of the female brain (is there really a section of a female brain that controls that? I'm me seriously?)
- feel as good as you smell (okay, that's good)
- smell like a hunk of man candy all day long (man candy? can I have a bite out of you?)
- effective protection (exactly what kind of protection are we talking about here?)

WeCU - We See You

2008-12-05T10:05:00.002-07:00

That's apparently the new technology that you'll soon find at airports to keep terrorists from hijacking planes and flying them into buildings. Philip Baum, a London chap, says "The archaic system of an X-ray machine and metal detector cannot pick up other potential threats posed by passengers. I can have a ceramic weapon or chemical weapon and walk through an archway metal detector and it won't be picked up. Yet we have a huge faith in these metal detectors that can only pick up one substance."

Another "consultant" said "It is possible today to hijack an aircraft using only five or six able-bodied passengers who are well-trained in Kung Fu fighting. There's no technology in place in airports to detect a threat like that."

Kind of scares me but it also cracks me up at the same time. Is that possible? I travel all the time. I have personally seen with my own eyes that when a pilot needs to take a potty break, the able and noble flight attendants pull out a drink or trash cart and block the aisle so NO ONE can get through. They also use hand signals to motion people to stay far away from the front of the plane. I'd like to see 6 Kung Fu pandas try and penetrate that!

So basically, the idea with this "new" technology is that they (Big Brother) will be able to passenger's behavior intentions by simply scanning their every step. You'll step on these "small carpet pieces" strategically placed throughout the airport. These carpet pieces will have hidden biometric sensors in them and will determine what your intentions are. They also plan on putting similar sensors in the seats in the waiting area.

Now THAT is cool! We could then move into all other areas of of society. We could use these at work to determine if our employees are stealing from us are have any "intention" of working. We could use them at home to see if our kids are going to do their homework, or clean up their rooms or get involved in some mischief.

The applications are limitless! Want to read for yourself? More here.

Do you have any ideas where we could use this?