Mr. Inkley's

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

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

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

CONGRATULATIONS JEFF, YOU HAVE YOUR VERY OWN IRONMAN I.D. 146319

The Law of the Garbage Can

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

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

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

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

Santa's little helpers

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

My Christmas Angel

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?

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

False advertising or is this really true?

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

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?

It's Friday and I'M HAPPY

James Fowler, a professor at the University of California in San Diego published a study recently that teaches us that taking control of your own happiness can positively affect others. In fact his research shows that happiness spreads among people up to three degrees removed from one another. That means when YOU are happy, a friend of a friend of a friend is likely to be feeling happier too! So I say, spread happiness. Spread laughter. Spread the love. It's a great season to serve one another and to be happy!

"Okay, I feel a little more gay"

So this post may not be the most politically correct, but that is what was said by someone as we walked out of Food For Thought today for lunch. Going to their website you read "Food for Thought is a luncheon-boutique". Indeed it is. The "boys" got together today for lunch and time to catch up. We try to get together on a regular basis but getting all of our schedules together proves to be difficult at times. These are great men (despite being seen at this eating establishment today). I don't beleive any of the blog, however. For your information I had the Caprese sandwich (fresh mozzarella, oven-roasted tomatoes, fresh basil, balsamic dressing on ciabatta) along with a bowl of butternut squash soup. Both were very tasty. So give this a try if you don't mind being the only man in the place. Thanks guys for getting together again.

O remember, remember (a year later)

So just over a year ago I started writing my gratitude journal. I've almost gone through 2 journals in that time and I still write every night. It has been a wonderful experience and I often find myself flipping back through past pages and reading what I've written. I am so grateful to so many people in my life and all of their love and support. Mostly I'm grateful for my family and our health and our love for each other.

Singing and Dancing

Okay, there wasn't much dancing but there was singing. And there was several readings. As part of our "service project" for FHE this week we decided to visit the Heritage Care Center. We entertained a number of seniors with Christmas hymns and Christmas stories. All of us took turns in reading the stories. It was a great experience and everyone had a good time. Afterwards we talked to each one of them and wished them a happy holiday season.

I'm hip

Check out this very cool Junior at Lone Peak High School. This jacket was purchased recently at Deseret Industries for a role-playing party a couple of weeks ago. JJ liked it so much that he continues to wear it to school. The girls must love it too that's all I can guess.

Thanksgiving Thoughts

Before the holiday has come and gone (okay, it has come and gone) I wanted to record a few thoughts about Thanksgiving. The Davis family is enjoying a season of service. Service to family members, service to neighbors, and more. It has been a good experience for me and my children. The Thanksgiving meal was mostly prepared by Grammy with a number of dishes and deserts brought by brothers and sisters. He is the table of teenagers ready to start eating. I would recommend reading Kath's and Blaine's blogs to get pictures and the low down on Turkey Bowl 08. One of my personal highlights of the day was enjoying a nice slice of Blaine's Dutch Apple pie. Very tasty. Oh I almost forgot to mention the efforts of Super Mom who made nametags for every and Nutter-butter and candy corn turkeys for all of the kids. She is TOO cool. Where does she get all the time?

Happy Holidays

That you may learn wisdom

This month we have been focusing on service and gratitude in our home. We have had fun doing service for each other these past couple of weeks. I hope that my children learn to always serve others. In the spirit of Thanksgiving, tonight we went to a place where we got to prepare, serve, and clean up dinner for a number of women and children. I think it was a great experience for not only my children and me but also for the people that we got to help. We look forward to the next time when we can go back. Happy Thanksgiving to all

I'm thankful for SportClips

I would have to say, two of the hottest dudes at Lone Peak High School.

Much better, Jake! Now you'll be able to see the lax ball, and I'll be able to see you!

It's a Christmas.....er....Thanksgiving Miracle

This is what you look like when you go a half a year without visiting the barber. Today was the day. Could it really be true? Would the teenagers REALLY go through with it???

They grow up TOO fast

Bella the precious one.

When will it stop???

Today's free lesson from a donkey

One day a farmer's donkey fell down into a well. The animal cried piteously for hours as the farmer tried to figure out what to do.

Finally, he decided the animal was old, and the well needed to be covered up anyway; it just wasn't worth it to retrieve the donkey.

He invited all his neighbors to come over and help him. They all grabbed a shovel and began to shovel dirt into the well. At first, the donkey realized what was happening and cried horribly. Then, to everyone's amazement he quieted down.

A few shovel loads later, the farmer finally looked down the well. He was astonished at what he saw. With each shovel of dirt that hit his back, the donkey was doing something amazing. He would shake it off and take a step up.

As the farmer's neighbors continued to shovel dirt on top of the animal, he would shake it off and take a step up.

Pretty soon, everyone was amazed as the donkey stepped up over the edge of the well and happily trotted off!

Life is going to shovel dirt on you, all kinds of dirt. The trick to getting out of the well is to shake it off and take a step up. Each of our troubles is a steppingstone. We can get out of the deepest wells just by not stopping, never giving up! Shake it off and take a step up.

Remember the five simple rules to be happy:

Free your heart from hatred - Forgive.

Free your mind from worries - Most never happen.

Live simply and appreciate what you have.

Give more.

Expect less

Max Hall treats

Yes, I'd like to order a case of these. My kids will love them. Maybe I could even give these out as neighbor gifts this Christmas.

Do you really want to hurt me?

Isn't this a bit ironic?

The sun will come out tomorrow....

Bet your bottom dollar that tomorrow....there'll be sun. And guess what? It did. In fact, it was pretty much a B-E-A-U-tiful day today. I like that. Yesterday, #15 decided that throwing to the wrong team was not only fun but somewhat important. There must have been a big, fat check riding on it. I know that the Aggies were counting on the Cougars to come through so that the big, fat check would end up in Logan instead but it just wasn't meant to be. Anyhow, if you'd like to read an up close and personal account of the game you can go here.

Phantom Vibration Syndrome

Yesterday my sister mentioned that she had read that this was a real thing. You know, your phone vibrates in your pocket, or at least you think that it is ringing. You pull it out and nothing. Now this doesn't happen all the time but probably once or twice a day I would think. Anyhow, sitting here tonight I thought I would google it up.

USA Today did an article on it last year. One guy in the article says "It's some psychological expression of my need to always be connected." Huh?

I liked this article from Columbia University a few years back. There are lots of theories. One person said, "I think the phantom ring can all be tied into your love life or the lack thereof."

Too funny.

Or

Too real???

Heaven Forbid

Twenty years it's breaking you down, now that you understand there's no one around.
Take a breath, just take a seat, you're falling apart and tearing at the seams.

Heaven forbid you end up alone and don't know why
Hold on tight wait for tomorrow, you'll be alright

It's on your face, is it on your mind, would you care to build a house of your own.
How much longer, how long can you wait, It's like you wanted to go and give yourself away.

Heaven forbid you end up alone and don't know why
Hold on tight wait for tomorrow, you'll be alright

It feels good. Is that reason enough for you.
It feels good. Is that reason enough for you.

Heaven forbid you end up alone and don't know why
Hold on tight wait for tomorrow, you'll be alright
Heaven forbid you end up alone and don't know why
Hold on tight wait for tomorrow, you'll be alright

Out of this one
Don't know how to get you out of this one, don't know how to get you out of this one,
Don't know how to get you out of this one, don't know how to get you out of this one

A mustering of thougts

I was quite happy filling up my car this morning. So nice to see the gas pump only taking $30+ out of my bank instead of the $60+ just a few months ago. I was also happy to see the scale at "just" below 180 pounds this morning. I love oatmeal (with a touch of brown sugar and raisins) followed by yogurt. I'm NOT a big fan of text messaging right now. There are only 43 days until Christmas.

Training update

Okay, I know that I haven't posted much in the way of training lately. It's cold now so no more riding outside. I'm stuck with the trainer. I actually don't mind that as long as I have a movie to watch. This week it's been the Back To the Future trilogy. I've been completely slacking on my long runs so I was pretty happy with my 10 miles on Saturday and then another couple the following morning. I really enjoy my Sunday runs (okay they are more like a jog) because I usually listen to conference talks. Tuesday nights are dedicated to the pool and tonight my trainer put me through a fairly rigorous workout. I did a 300M warm-up then 10 sets of 50M at normal pace, 50 M at 80% max and then another 50M at normal pace. My times were pretty consistent and I wasn't too wasted at the end. I'm sure that I could go harder because my recovery HR was between 124-133 at the end of each set. Anyhow, I wish I could get more pool time in. If only someone I knew had an Endless Pool

Typical Utah fan

Nice Fisher boom-box. What are you listening to? Scorpians? Guns-n-Roses? Truth be told, this is actually Donovan's. He wanted to hang on to this fine piece of equipment but the wifey said no. Sadly this sound system did not make the move to So Jo. It did however end up at Deseret Industries where some lucky person is going to claim this one as theirs.

What kind of monster have I created???

Looks like THIS is what the Andersons did last night for Family Home Evening.

Cheaters

I know lots of cheaters in my life but give me a break! Oh well. Good job, triathlete wanna-be. This was last week at IMFL.

It's here

This morning when my radio alarm went off, it was playing "Joy to the World". I'm not sure I can handle 52 more days of Christmas music. We'll see. Regardless, the Christmas season is upon us. Maybe we'll put up the Christmas tree tonight.

Are we ready for what we are going to get?

Obviously not. I read another good article this morning by Thomas Sowell. There is so much saying this, saying that. Vote for this guy. Vote for that guy. He's for change? He's a maverick. On and on and on and on. Just remember to vote what you think is best. It's your right! Just vote.

October Birthdays (and then some)

Part of the Halloween celebration each year includes a birthday song (complete with the cha cha cha's) and cake and ice cream. This year we had the party on Mom's birthday. Congrats to everyone that is one year older. Although BA forgot to mention this, we also celebrate his birthday as well. BA you're old!

Boo!

BA has already posted great pictures and commentary for this year's Halloween party. My sister sure knows how to throw a great party, complete with creepy hors d'vores. The Doublemint Twins this year were Dorothy and a princess. The number of grandchildren continues to grow. This year we added the "Peapod". Next year there will be more. Also, of note, although you really can't see it, you need to admire the nice, new steps that BA spent last week constructing.

Happy Halloween

Who doesn't like carving pumpkins? This year Olivia also wanted to save some of the seeds for eating. I remember doing this when I was a young boy but everyone knows that now I have a violent allergy to those pesky pepitas. Olivia wanted a Jack o'Lantern with "sharp teeth". I'm not really sure what Jake carved.

Do you know the story of the Jack o'Lantern? It comes from Irish folklore. Jack was a farmer who tricked the Devil into climbing a tall tree. When the devil reached the highest branch, Jack carved a large cross in the trunk making it impossible for the Devil to climb down. In exchange for help getting out of the tree, the Devil promised never to tempt Jack with evil again. When Jack died, he was turned away from Heaven for his sins and turned away from Hell because of his trickery. Condemned to wander the Earth without rest, Jack carved out one of his turnips, took and ember from the devil and used it for a lantern to light his way. He became known as "Jack of the Lantern." Or you can read more here.

Shall The Youth of Zion Falter

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

Visual DNA

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

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

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

Stopping pushing my buttons!

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

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

El Dia de Pwnation

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

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

Isn't she cute

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

Happy Birthday, Mo aon clann

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

Frightfest LAX-style

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

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

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

Back into the Water

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

I'm a photographer

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

Her beautiful toes

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


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


Self portrait. Nice orange drink mustache.

Blessing and Blessings

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

Out of the mouths of babes

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

Brrrrrrr!!!!!!

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

Bridge to somewhere

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

Lindon Cannery

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

Have YOU done any of these things.

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

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