Me and my buddy

Look how happy we look!

40-O

Ever since we did Jordanelle, we have often referred to each other as either 40-O or in my case 41-O. Great looking legs, Rich!

Mark me up - Start me up

Jordanelle - Better, stronger, faster

Okay, I'm finally taking a few minutes to write about my second triathlon. Let's hope I don't leave anything out. First off, I felt like I was in much better shape and had a better idea what was going on. What was really cool, my buddy, Rich was going to do this one with me. It was only a few short months ago, Rich didn't even have a bike. He couldn't swim more than 100 meters without being out of breath, and had NO plans to compete in a tri. Well, first we got him a bike. Then we went riding. Riding alot. We would usually go for a long ride every Saturday morning. We ran a couple of road races and I got him to do the ULCER. This time around I decided to rent a wetsuit. Rich, Mr. Rich got to buy one. I'm really glad that I had one. It made a big difference this year in the swim. Rich and I drove up early (and I believe it was still dark). The one thing that I really don't like about this venue is that you have to park about 3+ miles away from the event and RIDE your bike and gear down from the parking lot. We checked in, picked up our packets, and got all marked up. The organizers changed things a bit and the bikes were in a different place. We walked down to the lake and soon we were swimming. I started off a bit too fast and was pretty much out of breath after about 100 meters or so. It took me another couple hundred meters before I could get into my rhythm. Soon the mile swim was over and I was climbing out of the lake and my wetsuit. I cut about 18 minutes off my swim time from last year. Nice improvement. I was soon on my bike. I rocked on the bike and averaged close to 21 mph for the 25 mile course. I felt really good. I knew Rich wasn't far behind so I kept pushing myself. I got off my bike and quickly put on my shoes. I do need to take the transition areas more seriously and try to cut down on my time there. Next was the run. My worst part. What was really strange is that I had rode SO hard on my bike that my thighs were completely cramped up. I could NOT stop or walk. It was too painful. I don't ever remember this happening. It took me a good mile or so before my legs loosened up. I did pretty good and cut a few minutes off my run time. The run is a bit difficult as there are a number of hills and trail sections. At any rate, I finished 24th in my age group. My swim time: 35:47, my bike time: 1:10:46, and my run time: 50:23. For some reason, I got tagged with a 2 minute penalty for some reason. Oh well. I was REALLY happy and I felt great. So how did my buddy do? Well, I kept thinking that he was going to pass me on the run. I kept looking back. No Rich. I crossed the finish line, and waited. And waited. And waited. I was getting worried when he finally crossed about 31 minutes later. He did NOT look good. He was really in lots of pain. Turns out, he did NOTHING to refuel. Had a bit of fluids but that was about it. I had food (a bar and gel after the swim and another gel after the bike. Plenty of fluids. Anyhow, after about 1/2 hour after he crossed the finish line, he was able to walk around and enjoy the moment. Way to go, Rich. I'm so glad that I have someone like you to train. Next event - California Half-Ironman! Go, Marshmallow man!

Rich's ULCER

Okay, on Saturday, August 11 Rich and I rode in the ULCER (Utah Lake Century Epic Ride). The major bummer is that I have no pics so you'll just have to close your eyes (wait, then you won't be able to read what I'm writing). Okay, go get someone else to read this out loud while you close your eyes. The ride (111 miles) started and finished at Thanksgiving Point. Since this isn't too far from our house we decided to ride down and back instead of parking down there. This added another 14 miles or so for the total trip. What was amazing is that we ran into a few others that rode from 30-40 miles away to do the ride so their today clip was 170+ for the day.
They had a breakfast there but I had already eaten. This year, unlike last year the ride went completely around the lake. We stopped somewhere in Orem, and then again in Springville and then in Goshen for lunch. I will feeling pretty good at that point. We had going about 60 miles or so. Rich was a bit miserable (neck and shoulder). We stuck together most of the time which was so much better than last year. Last year I was pretty much on my own for the entire second half. After lunch we were on the back side of Utah Lake and I was really enjoying the ride. I could go 20-23 mph for quite a while without much effort. We finally made it back to the starting point. I can't remember how long it took (maybe 7 hours or so). Rich was not a happy man climbing up the hill to our neighborhood. I could do that every Saturday. If only.
We are preparing for LOTOJA. Here is a great article from this year's race. Come join us!

Take me home, country roads; remembering John Denver

more to come

How has your Aspen Ridge

A couple of years ago we took our Scouts to the Boy Scout camp, Aspen Ridge. We had a great time with our older boys (JJ, Zach, Cory, and others) that we wanted to return with our younger boys this year (Jake, Nick, and Chase). This was more or less a week long fathers-and-sons campout.

D-news 10K

Okay, so this event was almost 2 months ago but who cares! You don't have to read this. You can go on living your pathetic, insignificant life (jk). Utahns celebrate the 24th of July as the day when the Mormon pioneers first came into the Salt Lake Valley. After doing a decent job at the Provo Freedom Festival 10K, and with my "buddy" Rich still being totally excited about running in these races, we signed up to run the 10K. Rich, Marcella, and I got up early and headed up to the Research Park by the University of Utah for the starting point. The race is more or less down hill so the times are a bit skewed. I finished around 50:30 (by far my best time) with Rich at 45:30. Since then, we often refer to each other's time when address/calling/e-mailing each other. Marcella also did really well and even beat one of our neighbors (Brian). Brian's wife, Jane, however kicked all of our butts. After the race, we walked up to my Dad's house and hung out there for a bit before they took us up to our car. Next year we are running in the marathon which should be quite interesting. Well, that's about all I remember. So there you have it. No pictures, just memories.

Summer's Over!!!

The leaves don't lie. I took this near Cascade Springs. Pretty soon, we'll be covered in white crap!

"What's the password?"

I took this picture (sorry about the poor quality) downstairs in the lobby of the hotel. Pretty interesting how this hotel started out. It's fun to read about the histories of such places.

Dude! Where's your suitcase?

I thought this was pretty funny. This is in the baggage claim in Copenhagen. I can see this guy checking in his stuff. Excuse me, Mr. Ticketcounter guy, could I just get a bin to put in a few socks, a pair of underwear, and one of my shoes? Thanks!

København

It is high time that I did some writing. I'm here in Copenhagen for the next couple of weeks so I need to make time and update this "Why I'm Here". I guess I'll start by writing about my trip out here. I've been in Park City this week teaching a groundwater modeling class. I came home Thursday night to unpack, wash, and repack. My flight left early Friday morning and I flew to Washington (Dulles). After an hour or so I got on an Air France plane and headed over the water. I thought I had a bulkhead seat but it turns out that I didn't. Luckily, I was able to move up to the exit row and that made the trip much more bearable. Had I been able to book my ticket in either the Y, M, or B class I would have been able to upgrade to business class. It is so much more enjoyable flying that way. Stupid movies, but okay food. I don't know what the deal was but shortly after eating a light breakfast, I got really sick and had to hurl. I did make it to the bathroom. That was a first. After that I felt okay and was able to return to my seat. I'll have to be sure to write about my other hurling experience a couple of weeks ago. Anyhow, we landed in Gay Pari. There was NO way I was making my connection but I tried. Getting around CDG is pretty bad. So I had a lovely extra 4+ hours in the airport. I took advantage of the time to rebuild my songs on my iPod. JJ gave me a bunch of new music and I should have lots to listen to. I finally made it to Copenhagen, caught the train, then the metro and walked a couple of blocks to the hotel. I got good directions and didn't have any trouble. I called home using my Skype account. It is so nice to have that. I walked around downtown for a couple of hours. It is a bit colder here than I thought it would be. Stupid American, look at that kid in shorts and flip-flops and we are all wearing pants and coats. I found a decent restaurant near the hotel and ate by myself (one of the crappy things about traveling alone). Well, I'll upload a few pics and then write more tomorrow. Cheers!

Life Is Short, Eat Dessert First

For Labor Day last Monday we headed for the hills (after we did a little laboring in and around the house). We took the Alpine Loop, stopped at Cascade Springs for a bit, and then ended up in Heber City. Of course, what is a trip to Heber without going to Granny's. No food, just shakes. I got the usual Butterfinger shake, Marcella a Coke float, JJ a peach shake, Jake got the same, and Olivia a marshmellow shake. Yummy

Olive's 1st day in 1st grade (Renaissance Academy)

Jake's 1st day at Mountain Ridge Junior High

JJ's 1st day at Lone Peak High School

Delta Siteseer Challenge

Okay, a couple of weeks ago my "buddy", Rich Landers and I decided to enter in to the Delta Siteseer Challenge. The idea was to make a 2 minute video showing why they should pick you. Rich and I had a good time hiking, biking, playing basketball, and just joking in front of the camera. I think we should try and enter in another contest. I REALLY thought we had a chance and to see the people that actually got picked, it is pretty LAME. Oh well, sour grapes. So now that we didn't get picked I thought I would post the video to YouTube. This is my FIRST post there. So, enjoy!

Sean's "Road to Nowhere"

I have this sort of "friend" that lives in Lodi (pronounced low-die) and he has a bitchin' camera. He's taken a number of incredible pics the last few months. Anyhow, on a recent family trip out here to NOT see us he snapped this picture of the salt flats. Love it!

I hope this NEVER happens to me!!!!!

Freedom Festival Run

Happy 4th of July! To start off the day, Marcella, JJ, Jake, and I got up around 5 am to travel to Provo to run in the Freedom Festival Run. This was Jake's first run ever and so you have to give him big snaps! Marcella would also be running just a little over a week after getting in a car accident where she was taken to the hospital. Marcella, JJ, and Jake all ran in the 5K race while I (along with my BUDDY, Rich) ran in the 10K race. We had a blast (well except for me at the end, I was hating it). Here are a couple of pics. The first is us at the finish line and the other one is with our cool t-shirts. Way to go, gang!

Happy 539th Birthday?

Panka Tony and Joyce came out this week to celebrate the 4th of July and also Panka's birthday. He turned 74 this year and we are so blessed to have him in our lives. We hope to celebrate many more birthdays to come. We stuck some candles and a tasty raspberry/rhubarb pie. Yes, Olive didn't leave Tony's lap EVER the entire time they were here.

BRRRRRRRRR

Okay, so the easier way down is to slide down on your butt. It's cold, especially if you are in shorts and Tevas. What a blast. Rich took video that maybe I can get and post here.

Father and Son

Okay, so he kicked my butt UP AND DOWN the mountain but you know, you just don't get too many opportunities like this. Here we are at the top looking over Utah and Salt Lake Valley.

Can you see my house!

Finally! Here is looking down into Utah County from the top of Pfieferhorn.

Straight up the middle

The easiest way up was right up the middle. Over all of these large boulders. It was fun!

Looking back.....

We are just about to the top and I snapped this picture looking back (East) where we came up. So DAMN pretty.

Snow and Tevas don't mix

Yes, there still were a number of patches of snow hiking up to the top of Pfieferhorn. Mind you I'm hiking in my Tevas. Here you can see my buddy, Rich (Laman) is waist deep.

Red Pine Lake

Sure is beautiful. The only problem is that you have to 1) get up early and 2) be prepared for a short 3 mile hike.

Hey! It's me.

Usually not too many pictures of me. JJ snapped this one of me in front of Red Pine Lake. You'll notice my totem around my neck. It's my "scout" name - Lemuel. My buddy, Rich made it for me a few years ago and I take it on all my scouting activities.

Are you happy?

This afternoon, I read this on another blog. I'm not sure who to attribute it to except Grant Nielsen's former boss in Seattle. He said that you only needed 3 things to be happy. They are 1) Something to do, 2) Someone to love, and, 3) Something to look forward to.

Does that work for you?

BTW, this same boss also said that you can tell everything you need ot know about a person by his watch, and the trunk of his car. Hmmmm. My Swatch battery died back in January. I wore it anyhow for a couple of months. Still haven't replaced that battery. My trunk has more or less the following items (an old computer bag, some chocolate covered almonds, a couple of towels I use for washing my car, a few papers, and my Walking on Eggshells book). It looks pretty good compared to what it's looked like in the past.

My son, the mountain goat

On Saturday, JJ and I got up around 5 am to go with a few others in our neighborhood to hike to the top of Pfieferhorn. I'll post more pictures tomorrow night (got to go to bed!). JJ is CLEARLY in his element this morning. He is so good. Kicked my butt to the top AND the bottom. I love this kid.

My buddy, Zoran

Tons of thanks and gratitude to my kind friends in Belgrade. Zoran spent every night with me taking me to all of his favorite places, telling me history, but mostly telling me why these places were special to him. Thanks!

I didn't do it. No one saw me do it. You can't prove anything

Only a few handful of people know how big of a Simpsons fan I was BEFORE I had kids. As a college student I wore Bart Simpson t-shirts to class at least a couple of times a week. I STILL have a Bart Simpson doll above my desk in my office. Well, as the saying goes, "... I put away childish things" (more or less). But I couldn't resist when we took the kids to see Pirates III, I couldn't resist taking this picture.

Almost forgot

I took this picture last month in Guatemala. I just forgot to post it. Reminded me of the saying, "Here's your sign".

Extra Protein

Last week I was at my friend's home and having some lunch (soup, roast beast, potatoes, and salad). I was on my third helping of salad when I noticed a small worm on one of the lettuce leaves. Yum yum. I wondered how many worms I had already eaten. Oh well. I was polite and thanked them for a wonderful meal.

THEN, this morning, I thought I would have a bowl of cereal. A few years ago, I had cereal every morning. Now, my usual is toast, banana, yogurt, and juice. For some reason, cereal sounded good. I'm chomping away, and I notice what looked like a bug. Hmmm. Maybe not enough sleep last night. Maybe a bit of paranoia. After all, I was almost finished with my tasty bowl. I examined further. Yes, bugs. Not sure what type, but definitely bugs. So I got out the container of the cereal and did some further examination. FULL of BUGS! So I dumped the rest of my bowl down the sink and emptied the cereal in the trash.

Gross? Not really.

Shut that rooster up!

Here is where I had lunch every day this week. One of the guys I was working with would walk over with me, order for me and then leave to go do some work. I sat by myself each day eating yummy food. Steak or sausage with frites and a tasty salad of cucumbers and tomatoes with feta cheese on top. Not a lick of English spoken. Oh the rooster? Must have been part of the staff because he just walks around the place doing his cock-a-doodle-do thing the whole time.

Nice church!

This is the Temple Saint Sava the largest Orthodox church in the world. It is pretty darn big.

Zasto (Why)

During the bombardment Tomahawk missiles destroyed a Serbian TV station killing 16 innocent people. Pretty sad to see the remains and the memorial stone.

Bombardment

This "was" the building of the Serbian Ministry of Defense. A couple of interesting things. One, up close I noticed some pretty extravagant building materials. I learned that part of the building was built during the "times of good and plenty". The other interesting thing was the military folks on patrol around the building were getting a bit "excited" when they learned an American was taking pictures. "No more pictures" they said. Nema problema (actual Serbian phrase)

Say a prayer (or light a candle)

Next to Zoran's church is a small (who knows what you call it) cangle room. We went and lit two candles each. We put on in the sand above which represents a prayer for the living (wishing good luck) and one for the sand below (for those that have passed on). I'm sure that this all has "pc" names for this ceremony/token but it good to participate. Beyond the church and candle room you can see a forest. It is actually a military installation and supposedly this is where Milosevic was hiding during the bombardment.

Zoran and Snezana's Church

Here is the church they go to. It is small, with no chairs. You just stand. Orthodox of course.

Have I been here???

Have you ever gone someone for a few days and then not return for nine years? I must be getting old because it has been difficult to remember the places here in Belgrade. Some places, sure. I remember but others not. My first day here in Belgrade and my friends Zoran and Snezana came to see me. I went and hung out at their flat. Of course my luggage was "trapped" somewhere at Charles de Gaulle. I spent all of 20 minutes in that airport before boarding the plane to Belgrade. Well at least I got a toothpick sized toothbrush, a mini deo-4-b.o, and an undershirt. Such a lovely experience wearing the same clothes for 3 days straight. Oh well. It really doesn't bug me much any more because it happens so often. I just wish I'd throw an extra pair of garments in my computer bag and maybe a shirt. My hotel is decent enough. In the quite part of town. Nice. The first day we walked around downtown and stopped to see "The Victor" at Kalemegdan.

Yu-go-to-slavia

Nine years ago I came to Belgrade. It was a wonderful experience and I made friends from a number of countries with whom I still keep in contact with. When I first came here Jake was only 3 years old! That is amazing. Anyhow, the boys thought Yugoslavia was pronounced "you-go-to-slavia". It has been very fun to be back here and visit with people and see places that I haven't seen for such a long time. Shortly after I was here the first time, was when the NATO bombings of the country started. Their purpose was to oust the leader Slobodan Milosevic. I remember what a hard time I had during the bombings because of the many friends that I had here. Luckily no one I knew died or got hurt or lost any loved ones. Now, I'm hear again, nine years later working on a project to help clean up part of the mess what we caused. Lovely. More to follow!

The Mommy Test

I was out walking with my 4 year old daughter. She
picked something up off the ground and started to put
it in her mouth. I took the item away from her and I
asked her not to do that "Why?" my daughter asked.

"Because it's been on the ground, you don't know where
it's been, it's dirty and it probably has germs", I replied.
At this point, my daughter looked at me with total
admiration and asked, "Mommy, how do you know all this stuff?
You are so smart."

I was thinking quickly, "All moms know this stuff.
It's on the Mommy Test. You have to know it, or they
don't let you be a Mommy."

We walked along in silence for 2 or 3 minutes, but she
was evidently pondering this new information. "OH...I
get it!" she beamed, "So, if you don't pass the test,
you have to be the daddy."
"Exactly", I replied back, with a big smile on my face.

Get out of my FACE!!!

Jengibre

Okay, yes it is late and I have to be up in an absurd 3 hours from now to get to the airport. But I simply couldn't pass up taking a few minutes. We left the far reaches of civilization to head to the "big city". Next time I need to remember to bring a towel and a decent pillow. The client does NOT like people to travel on the road to the city after dark. Apparently, the banditos on a particular stretch of road like to punder. Well we didn't see any banditos but it was dark, pretty foggy and rainy in parts.

I'm staying in the Radisson, top floor way nice room. Much better than last night. Instead of venturing out tonight, the hotel has a sushi bar. Yum Yum. To drink I had a typical local drink of lemons, mint, and semillas de chan (seeds of chan). Very tasty. I had two very good maki rolls. If you've ever eaten sushi with me you know that I LOVE ginger. The server brought me a small bowl. I asked more more, and more, and more, and more (and 3 more times). Yum Yum. A warm brownie topped off the fine dinner. Who would have thought. Now it's nighty nighty time.

Ulysses S ?????

Okay, so I don’t know his middle initial or his last name for that matter. But I did meet a nice man tonight named Ulysses. You see he is the owner of La Casona here in Ascension. I had dinner here (and quite tasty I may add). Ulysses is a native from here but after going to school he worked for 10+ years as an accountant in Los Angeles. Quite successful I hear. But he missed “home” and so he gave up the glamour or Hollywood to come back here. He first started a Laundromat but that didn’t quite take. You see, the people here, if/when they decide to actually wash their ropa, do it at home and hang their clothes out to dry. Not so much the “hey let’s go wash our clothes and meet people at the Laundromat” type. So then he decided to get into the restaurant business. He now owns 2 restaurants (but that hasn’t been verified). Dinner was quite good. I had a steak, with beans, corn, potatoes, salsa, fresh tortillas, and a very tasty lemonade to drink. After dinner we sought out a very tasty ice cream shop. I had a sundae with strawberry and mango ice cream. Pretty amazing to think that one would give up living in LA to come back here to live amongst family and friends. That’s life!

Cerro Blanco

Couldn’t think of a more appropriate title. Yes, I realize that my life has been turned upside down for the past few months and I’ve written very little. Maybe I’ll catch up.

Talk about some of the many books that I’ve read (mostly self help/marriage/relationship-type books). Maybe I’ll write about work, selling my company, my new job. Maybe I’ll write about living at my Mom’s house for 3 months. Maybe I’ll write about my two trips to Florida or the VERY exciting trip to Ely, Nevada.

Anyhow, I’m sitting here smack in the middle of Asunción Mita. A small village in Guatemala not far from the borders of Honduras and El Salvador. I’m here on assignment giving some expert advice to the client on constructing a groundwater dewatering model for a 3+ billion dollar gold mine about to be dug. This is my first trip to this part of the world. It is nice to be able to speak Spanish and communicate with these folk. I flew in yesterday and spent the night in Guatemala City (the capitol). We stayed in what’s called Zone 10. As long as we didn’t venture out of that zone we were okay. I learned that more killings/murders per capita take place in Guatemala City than any other place in the world. Great!

I went for my morning run listening to Mika cranked up. It was fun and I got lots of stares from the locals. I was careful to “stay within the zone”. It cracked me up the number of armed security people/police at every building parking lot. After meeting some folks at the Euro Plaza building, we headed out to Ascension of course stopping at McDicks for breakfast. By the way, zone 10 was full of usual eateries like TGI Fridays,

Applebees, Subway, and the like. Instead of staying at the Intercontinental I stayed at the Best Western sorry you don’t have internet in your room. Darn!

The road (the remains of the old Pan American highway) was pretty much uneventful.
We stopped at a very nice, clean 24 hour service station (owned by one of the drug lords).
I got a Gatorade and a bag of dried plantains. Tasty!

We arrived in Ascension, checked e-mail and met a few folks before heading out to the mine site. It’s pretty cool out here in the middle of nowhere. Lots of dormant volcanoes all around. The weather was a nice 100+ with humidity in the 80% range. Not too bad. We drove around taking pictures, look at some of the monitoring wells and core hole sites and watching some workers at one of the drill sites.

The hill where they plan mine (underground) is basically a big rock. They just have to pump the water out as they dig. For some reason, it is easier for the miners to work if the mine shafts aren’t full of water. Hello! Have they not heard of scuba diving? Anyhow, the temperature of the water might be part of the problem. The temp ranges anywhere from 120 to over 180 degrees. Not a pleasant experience to come in contact with. In order for the mining operation to work, after the water is pumped out of the ground, the rock must be refrigerated to cool it down before removing it. Pretty funky stuff. Nearby the area that they want to mine, the water is closer to 300 degrees and that’s good enough for geothermal activity/power generation.

Anyhow, here I sit in my room. I’m in kind of one of those hacienda types. The shower and toilet are outside a couple of dozen steps from my room. There is a nice hammock outside my room where I sat and read for a bit. It’s hot but bearable. We’ll see what tomorrow brings. We are supposed to start at 6:30 so I’ll have to get up before that if I’m going to run through the cobble streets of Asunción.

BYU Alternative Commencement

Okay, I frankly haven't followed this much. I really don't give a crap about this but I thought if people are taking the time to do all of this protesting I could at least blog about it. Our Vice President is speaking this afternoon at the BYU commencement. I think it is a pretty big honor that he is here (but that's just me). Anyhow, a group wanted to organize an alternative. They have a website. There is another one called byustopcheney.com. So if you're bored, and you want to see a "riot", you'll have to check out this video. Enjoy.

The 4-Hour Workweek

Okay, I know that it's been awhile since I last blogged. I think we all know (and understand) the reason. There are a couple of things that I just couldn't pass up this morning. The first is this book
by Timothy Ferriss. It is called The 4-Hour Workweek: Escape 9-5, Live Anywhere and Joing the New Rich. You should definitely check out the reviews. First check out the Editorial reviews and then check out the customer reviews. Is this for real? Only you can decide.

Spring break - North Miami Beach

Just a couple of miles from my hotel was the beautiful beach of North Miami. I would run to the beach and back. What a great workout. When I was there it was the beginning of spring break but lucky for me it was pretty mello. Too bad Utah isn't closer to an ocean like this.

Barf-a-rama

Last Sunday I took a break from a consulting project that I'm working on. I was working in North Miami Beach at Michelle's home. Her husband, Abe is quite the avid fisherman. If he could, he would fish everyday, all day. He has a nice fishing boat and they live on a harbor that connects to Biscayne Bay. Abe and I went out in the bay for a couple of hours to fish. We used live bay shrimp and had a fun time catching sea trout. There were also pin fish that loved to steal the shrimp right off the hook. Later, we ventured out into the Atlantic. We only went a few miles off shore. We could still see the Miami coastline which was good for me. The swells were probably only 4 feet or so. We used live pin fish for bait and we hoped to catch a sail fish, king fish, snapper, dolphin or something big. After an hour and a half or so, I was beginning to lose it a bit. I kept staring at the buildings trying to convince myself that I wasn't going to puke. The waves kept coming and finally I lost my lunch. Oh well. I do not do well with spinning rides or even roller coasters over and over again. Hopefully, the next time I'll be able to last a bit longer. I need "sea legs" as my son informed me. At any rate, we didn't catch anything so we'll have to go out again.

The Navigator

Okay, so Friday night I had to drive from Orlando to Miami. Just a short 3 hour drive down the Florida Turnpike. I was on 528 just leaving the airport and I was soon coming up on I-4 when my good friend Clark called. He was still at work and so I asked him to get on Google maps and help me find the Turnpike. I was heading quickly to Tampa and I didn't want the "scenic" route. I missed exit after exit that would have gotten me back on the right path. Actually, it really wasn't that big of a deal. I really didn't have to be anywhere at anytime. I finally was "navigated" off I-4 and started me exciting tour through "the sticks of Florida". I went through Lake Alfred, Haines City, Lake Hamilton, Dundee on to the happening town of Lake Wales. There I stopped at a convenience store for some snacks. From there I finally got on state road 60 which would lead me to Yeehaw Junction (FINALLY the Florida Turnpike). Basically, a 2 hour detour. Fun fun fun. I still had at least 2 more hours paying money as I went south. I am NOT a big fan of toll roads. You? Doesn't make sense. Once I got close to Miami I knew I needed to get to I-95 but I just kept on going until I was arriving at the Miami airport. Too far. Dang! I got off the freeway, drove on the main streets and quickly got to Biscayne Blvd. From there it was another 15-20 minutes up to Aventura and finally my hotel. What a night. I got a quick bite to eat before retiring around 2 in the morning. What an adventure.

National Napping Day

In case you weren't informed, today is National Napping Day. You might have thought that you got robbed yesterday of the precious hour of sleep. NOT THE CASE. You get that extra hour this afternoon. Hooray!

Black Hole

What sic puppy blogs at 2:00 in the morning? I've been meaning to write up a post for a couple of days ago. Last Sunday night I flew into MCO. I had my sunglasses with me. Then I didn't. The next morning I realized that I didn't have them. I called the front desk - no luck. I checked with the driver/van that I rode in the night before - no luck. I called the Orlando airport. They basically laughed at me. They told me to check back later that day. I also talked to the Delta baggage claim office. According to the guy that I talked to, Delta alone collects over 2000 items each month. They keep things for about 2 weeks and then everything is boxed up and sent "somewhere". I've heard that outside of Atlanta there is a place where at least some of Delta's lost and unclaimed stuff is sent. I tried to Google such a place but came up empty handed. Last Fall I lost my car keys on a trip to Europe. The SLC baggage department told me that thousands of items or lost and never reclaimed and each month they are boxed up and "destroyed" according to the guy I talked to. I'm sure that it is a MAJOR pain in the butt, however, it seems like there could be a something put in place to make a better effort. In searching for this "place" in Atlanta I read that it costs Delta over $150 for each lost piece of luggage that is found and returned to the rightful owner. Anyhow, as I said to begin with, if you happen to lose ANYTHING at an airport or on a plane, it is forever lost. Black Hole, baby!

Cash on Delivery

So as far as anyone can remember, there hasn't been a student at MRJH that had back to back lead roles in their theater productions. JJ is quite the natural. Last week he played Eric Swan, a British taxpayer out to swindle the government. I googled and found a review by Eric Snider when the Hale Center Theater did the play a few years ago. Of course I saw all three performances and sat on the front row each night. Although I'm not a good photographer this is my favorite picture of the few that I took. JJ (and one of his best friends, Ryan) just finished doing the hokey-pokey. Way to go, JJ!

Tommy's

I was in Provo last week and I decided to stop by for a famous Tommy burger. I haven't had one for years. Now I'm not saying that this is the best burger in the world but it was fun to eat there nevertheless. It brought back lots of memories of my old Provo friends.

State Champs!!!

Congrats to the GSLHA Pee-Wees for winning the state title. After beating Vernal (Ashley Valley) the first time back in November they pretty much had a number beating us easily the next 3 games against them. We faced them for the final championship game and we won 3-2. Jake was pretty happy. Undefeated in football and now champs in hockey.

The Manwarings

Well, it's time to pay a small tribute to a great family. I first met Colby when he and I worked at BYU for the EMRL. I remember when he sat next to me at our graduation ceremony. After I left BYU to come to EMS-I he came shortly thereafter to oversee all of our sales and marketing needs. We have had lots of fun times together. We had a number of "lake day" trips riding waverunners and water skiing. We didn't go on too many trips together but obviously our trip to India was the most memorable. I blogged about that a couple of years ago here. Colby and Laura lived close to us in Cedar Hills so we would see them outside of the work arena as well. I remember how scary it was when we found out when they got in an accident coming home from an Idaho trip one winter. That is when we all found out that Laura was pregnant with the twins. Colby and I did get the chance to ski together (he's much better than I am). I always teased him because he was from Idaho. On Colby's first trip to India, he got really sick and ended up spending more than a week in a hospital in Paris. We teased him for a long time about his "vacation" in Paris. More recently, Laura has been a great help and lots of great advice and council. She was the one that made me write down my three contacts. Well, I'm sure that I could go on and on about the memories that we've shared but the sad thing is that Colby has accepted a new job up in Portland. Last week I had dinner with his family and Friday was his last day. I'll certainly miss the Manwarings!

Chastity

Today the Utah legislature repealed a law today that makes it a misdemeanor to accuse a woman of being less than pure. Who ever came up with that?

2006-07 GSLHA Outlaws

Swimming with Alligators and Lizards

On Saturday, my two half-sisters (I actually think of them as my nieces), Ali and Liz were competing in the 4A State Swim Championships which were held at BYU. They swim for East and this year they had a kick butt team. It was fun to watch (okay the kids got a bit bored). The girls team took the state title. Ali is a Junior and she placed 9th overall in the 100 breaststroke and Liz is a Freshman and placed 8th overall in the 100 butterfly. A BIG congratulations!!!

Bowling for Soup

Okay, I know that it has been freakin' forever. I'm going to write something even if it kills me. I should be working on my new project at work, but what the hell. A couple of weeks ago, my wife had "club" at our house. Kind of like bunco but without the bunco. So the kids and I had a mid-week night on the town. They were totally excited. We ate at Bajio. I really like the Flauta Bajio and get that almost every time. We also like it there because they serve apple beer. Not too many places around here where you can get that. After that, we went bowling. The first place we went to (some place in Lindon) was closed so we called and got directions to Jake & Jill Bowling lanes. For a Wednesday night it was pretty packed with youth groups. We didn't have to wait long and we got 2 games in. We had a great time. Olivia was a hoot to watch. She would make her approach, launch the ball down the lane and then quickly turn around, sit down, legs crossed and hold both hands up with her fingers crossed. It must have worked because she kicked all of our butts on the second game. Fun time was had by all. The boys struggled a bit losing to their 5 year old sister.














P.S. Not only is Bowling for Soup a popular music group in the Davis household, for club Marcella made her award winning broccoli cheese soup.

Happy New Year 2007!

Okay, we finally were able to get our Christmas Cards turned Happy New Year cards out to family and friends. I'm including it here:

Happy New Year 2007!
Here’s the scoop from A to Z:
Antipholus of Ephesus – JJ was the lead role in Comedy of Errors
Build-a-bear – Olivia’s favorite store at the Gateway
Caribbean cruise – Jeff and Marcella loved the islands
Deacon – Jake received the Priesthood
Emergency Room – Just 21 stitches to sew up Jake’s leg
Fingers – JJ tried to cut his off and Jake broke his
Girls, girls, girls – JJ is all about them (esp. Robin)
Help! We are surrounded by teenagers! Well, almost JJ is 14, Jake is 12 and Olivia is 5 going on 16.
Idaho – family time in Sandpoint again this summer
Jordanelle Triathlon – Jeff’s first (and not last) tri.
Kindergarten – Olivia LOVES Ms. Aiken.
Lone Peak Knights – Jake’s perfect 10-0 football season
Melrose Avenue – Shopping heaven for Marcella
Neurologist – We (M) went through a few of them this year
Outlaws – Jake’s 2nd hockey season at the Olympic Oval
Paris – WOW! If Marcella ever goes missing…
Quiet time – Dwell, Metropolitan Home, Self, W, In Style, HGTV - Do NOT disturb M after 10:30 p.m.
Renaissance Academy – Jake and Olivia’s new charter school
Shakespeare Team – JJ traveled to Cedar City to compete
Timberline Drive – the Davis’ new address in 2007? Time will tell – stay tuned…
ULCER – Jeff’s first century (bike) ride around Utah Lake - Yes, that’s 100 miles…
Vegas – We were in Vegas listening to the victory of BYU over Utah 33-31
Where in the world is Jeff this week?
XM Radio – Love it in the new black TL
Year of the 40 year olds (YIKES)
Z00 – Welcome to the Davis home.

We hope you had a wonderful Holiday Season and that each of you know how much we value you in our lives. We wish you and yours Peace, Joy and Love! May 2007 be kind to us all!
Jeff, Marcella, JJ, Jake and Olivia

Word of the Day

Nefarious - wicked in the extreme; iniquitous.

Nefarious is from Latin nefarius, from nefas, "that which is contrary to divine command; a crime, transgression, sin," from ne-, "not" + fas, "divine command or law."

Maybe you can use this word in a sentence or two today.