Aquaholics

Family Home Evening at the ER

2011-12-11T20:45:00.000-07:00

We had finished our "Sub for Santa" shopping and were rewarding ourselves with a trip to Chili's. Who doesn't like Chili's? We like it so much we were willing to wait 30+ minutes. We finally got our table, the waitress took our order and had just delivered the chips and salsa and asked if I'd like another Diet Coke when Taylor's phone rang. It was Tyson who has opted to spend the evening with friends. He thought he might have broken his arm and needed us to come get him. A quick vote was taken as to whether we would finish dinner or go get him with the restaurant manager casting the tie breaking vote. After assuring us that our food could be prepared for take home we packed back up in the car and went to pick up Tyson.

Turns out he is not much of a roller skater. After lacing them up for the first time in his life he headed for the floor and braced himself with his left arm. The floor won and by the time we got there it looked like the entire Golden Eagle District of eagle scouts had been at Classic Skating. He sat there in a wheel chair. Arm splinted and wrapped and in a make shift sling. Tyson must not have been the first person to leave Classic Skate in wheel chair.

We've made many trips to the emergency room; this was the first trip with the whole family. Taylor set the proper tone by suggesting we say a family prayer for Tyson which she offered. It helps to have a sister with great faith.

It also helps to have a father and siblings who believe that laughter is the best medicine. We proceeded to crack jokes which we thought were funny. Tyson and the medical personnel didn't laugh as much. Fun was had by all.

Turns out he broke one of the bones in his forearm. The compression break didn't dislocate the bone so it looks like all he'll need is to have it cast. They put on a hard splint and we were home within three hours. For those wondering, the take home food was still tasty when we got home. He has to go in Monday or Tuesday to have a permanent cast put on.

Jeep Safari

2011-10-20T15:49:00.000-06:00

We ventured outside of the quiet confines of Palm Beach and the resort amenities to take a jeep tour of the island. The tour starts on the south west end of the island by the California light house and travels along the north shore of the island to the Aruba National Park and the Natural Pool. The coast is dotted with fishing shacks set up by the locals for camping and fishing. Once you pass the light house and the golf courses, there is very little if any housing or development on this side of the island which consists of rocky, desert terrain wind swept by the constant trade winds.

Most interesting were the travels through the Aruban neighborhoods. They live a simple life and rely heavily on the turism and refinery industries to provide jobs. Almost everything is imported as agriculture is almost non-existent and they rely on water purficiation plants to provide drinking and water for daily use. They only receive about 18 inches of rain fall annually.

Here are some pictures from the tour.

Having Fun in Aruba

2011-10-18T17:14:00.000-06:00

We just might be the only people on the entire island of Aruba not drinking alcohol. At least we feel that way when the pool side bar tender gives us some good natured ribbing as we place our order. We are not letting him discourage us and have kept an admirable pace in ordering the little drinks. We have set a three drink per day (each) limit and are on target through three days.

Our relaxation is peaking after spending the first two days doing not much of anything at all (unless getting up to cool off in the pool counts as activity). Tomorrow we are changing things up and have booked a Jeep tour of the island.

The most exciting part of the day was during lunch when a two foot long Iguana decided to climb onto Kristi's chair to share the food.

Some pictures of our first two days.

London

2011-08-25T12:35:00.000-06:00

It has been over 10 years since I've been to London. We were able to spend the better part of today seeing some sights in London. I was impressed by the history and depressed by the prices. Even traveling on a corporate expense report, you feel guilty paying $10 for two small scoops of ice cream, $50 for a basic dinner, $12 to ride the subway, $300 for a hotel, etc. To take a cab to the airport tomorrow would be $100 (I'm going to give the Tube a try). We were treated to a traditional gloomy day in the morning. It rained steady for several hours before giving way to some sunshine in the afternoon.

Here are some pictures from our afternoon.

View of the Tower Bridge from on our water taxi ride up the Thames.

US Flag flying over the embassy. There was more security at the embassy than any other place we saw. You get the impression that some people don't like us.

Harrod's - I was more impressed with Harrod's than any other site we saw. I couldn't afford to shop there (with the exception of the $10 scoop of gelato), but they had almost anything you could conceive of purchasing right down to a $10,000 bottle of wine and a $3,000 toy Lamborghini.

Flag flying of the US embessay - my second favorite tourist site.

Buckingham palace in the rain. Neither Will nor Kate would come to the door when we knocked.

I've never seen more Rolls Royce, Bentleys and Mazerattis in my life. There is no shortage of luxury vehicles in London, including this nice vehicle that I purchased and will carry on the plane with me so that Tyson has something to drive when he turns 16.

The London Eye and the old County Hall. If you have really good eyesite you can see a McDonalds at the base of the County Hall building. We ate lunch there because our conscious wouldn't allow us to have another $50 meal.

Big Ben and Parliament.

York, England

2011-08-24T13:07:00.002-06:00

Its fun to be back in England visting our office in York. We arrived on Sunday and have been there through today. With familiarity I'm beginning to enjoy the culture and history much more. My comfort still doesn't extend to driving on the left side of the roads so I stick to cabs.

Some pictures from my first few days here.

This is the view from my hotel room.

Walking back to our hotel after dinner at my favorite Italian restaurant in York.

I looked for Matt in the race, but didn't see him.

More Pictures from Lake Powell

2011-07-31T21:30:00.000-06:00

Rainbow Bridge

2011-07-28T23:05:00.000-06:00

The last two days have been more like the Lake Powell we've come to love. The sun returned bringing with it near 100 degree temperatures. We've kept busy:

Wakeboarding - Taylors friend Jayden came along and wakeboarded for her first time.
Tubing - Tyson, Camryn and Jayden had the longest tube ride in family history riding the tube all the way from beyond the San Juan Arm of Lake Powell to warm creek - about 45 miles.
Swimming - If our bodies could become water-logged, ours would be. You've got to keep cool.
Touring - we've seen some great areas of the lake, some which have opened up now that the water level is about 25 feet higher than last year. We visited our favorite canyon - Cathedral, and explored a new one - Twilight.
Relaxing - we always find some good shade to relax under mid-day while we have lunch and take a break from the other fun.

Lake Powell 2011

2011-07-26T21:26:00.000-06:00

We arrived in Page, AZ for our annual trip to Lake Powell. Boat - check. Hotel room - check. Beach towels - check. Sun screen - check. Lake full of water - check. Sun - oops, forgot to bring that along. In all of our previous trips to Lake Powell, we've never had a day without sunshine. There is a first for everything I guess. We were able to get out on the lake today, see some sights and do some tubing, but in the early afternoon the clouds were joined by their friends heavy rain and lightning and we were forced off the lake. The storms were pretty intimidating, but we were able to avoid them for the most part, hiding in a canyon for the worst of it to pass through.

Scout Camp

2011-07-18T21:18:00.001-06:00

The weekly pilgrimage to the mountains for our scouts week long camp started today. Taylor and I volunteered for delivery duties which meant meeting at the church at 6 a.m. The trip was filled with unbelievable stories told by the scouts and every sentence starting with the word "dude". It took two and a half hours to get to Camp Evergreen which is in the high Uintas. There was still snow on the ground in some areas and word quickly spread that the water temperature of the swim / canoeing lake was 35 degrees.

Taylor and I stayed long enough help put together Tyson's "Tajmatent" and make sure everyone was situated. Tyson and another scout are staying in an eight man tent with cots, pads and all of the comforts of home (almost).

Stadium of Fire - Paragliders

2011-07-03T20:43:00.000-06:00

I quit filming just before the last paraglider came in and crashed into the barricade - bummer for both of us.

Stadium of Fire - F-16 Flyover

2011-07-03T20:38:00.000-06:00

Stadium of Fire

2011-07-03T20:26:00.000-06:00

I gave the family the choice of flying to Seward and each of us running the Mount Marathon race or go to dinner at the Brick Oven followed by tickets to see the Stadium of Fire and to my surprise we didn't have to pack our bags.

Our evening started with a great meal at the Brick Oven. Pasta, salad bar and homemade root beer - what's not to like. The pictures below capture the fun and entertainment we enjoyed. It could have only been topped if Darren were with us - but we know he is where he should be!

Aren't there laws againt false advertising? I couldn't get anyone to confirm my suspicion, but I doubt there was any honey and if there was....?

The temperature almost hit 100 during the day. We were thrilled to find that our tickets were on the west side of Lavel Edwards Stadium. We almost felt bad for the people who arrived early and had to sit in the hot sun for a couple of hours before the sun went down. Tyson going old school with the rabbit ears to mom's head.

Sky-divers delivered the flag which was flown during the evening. The flag was brought back from Iraq by the 388th Fighter Wing located at Hill AF Base. It was unbelievable to watch the four para-gliders come in. When they were dropped, they were so high you could barely see them or the plane that dropped them for that matter. They came in extremely fast, circling the stadium and landing one at a time. The fourth and final diver carried the flag into the stadium. Each of the first three came in hot and landed flawlessly.

Things didn't go as smoothly for the fourth skydiver. Coming in fast he clipped the barricade and tumbled to the ground knocking over the barricade and a man standing by the barricade. The troops rushed in and gathered the flag. The injured worker didn't get as much attention as the flag, but he walked off after a few minutes.

David Archuletta sang the national anthem and as the last note was sang, four F-16 fighter jets from the 388th buzzed the stadium. The lead pilot was connected via video and delivered a message to the stadium. It was cool. We would have paid the ticket price just to see the jets fly over.

David Archuletta (American Idol fame) performed several songs. He has a great voice, but is still working on his performing skills.

Brad Paisley was the main performer. He said a ten song set that included most of his most popular hits. Tyson tolerated it - not a country fan. The rest of us loved it.

The fireworks show itself was absolutely amazing. I'm not a big fireworks guy, but loved the show they put on. The colors, originality, noise, # of fireworks, etc. was just awesome.

Out of the Mouth of Children

2011-06-18T20:59:00.000-06:00

Dad: If you are as nice to your future husband as mom is to me, you're husband will be a lucky man.

Camryn: When I get married I want to marry....someone who can cook.

Novakovich Zoo - Opening Fall 2011

2011-06-13T20:59:00.000-06:00

We started with two golden retreiver dogs. At Christmas we added a bearded-dragon lizard. Now a rabbit. If we are succesful at importing a Girafe we plan to open our zoo in the fall of 2011. Our latest addition is a mini-French Lop that Camryn has named Taffy. My suggestion to name the rabbit Jimmer was rejected. So far so good. The rabbit is so friendly and comes to the cage door when we are around and likes to be held. Not only are rabbits a good source of friendship, but they taste just like chicken in the event our current food storage levels are inadequate.

Mother's Day

2011-05-08T19:55:00.000-06:00

I love this picture that my mom shared with me on Mother's day. I was blessed with a wonderful mother for whom I will be eternally grateful.

This picture appears to capture the moment when Mike realized he was the second favorite child in the family. If there had been a mirror, he would have also realized at that moment that he was wearing a jacket that had a very short lived period of fashion popularity.

Opposition in All Things

2011-05-04T17:29:00.001-06:00

I just got back from a trip to California. Things I liked - attending a day game at the Colluseum between the A's and the Rangers and watching Matsui hit a walk off home run in the tenth (cost - $10), warm weather (80's), and On the Border Mexican Grill.

Something to make you forget about all of the good - unleaded gas that costs $4.60 a gallon.

Another Trip to the Principals Office

2011-05-04T17:24:00.000-06:00

Camryn was sent to the principal's office and we were invited to join her. Fortunately is was to celebrate her selection to receive a Principal's Pride award. We are so proud of her - way to go Camryn.

Tyson Turns 13

2011-04-29T19:00:00.001-06:00

We had a fun time today celebrating Tyson's birthday. Although his actual birthday is not until tomorrow, we started the festivities today. The good times started with checking him out of school early. He asked for what I'm sure most kids his age desire - the "SWAT" package at Get Some Guns and Ammo. A glimpse of the fun is included in the attached video.

He got to shoot an Uzi, the M-16, a UMP and the MP5. After shooting those our 9 mm and AR-15 that we brought along seemed like kids toys.

Temple Square

2011-04-21T18:27:00.000-06:00

Tyson and I went to Temple Square for his quorum activity this week. The place is flooded with missionaries who were very nice and took the opportunity to teach the deacons. One set of Sisters asked the group if they had ever been to Temple Square and everyone raised their hand except for Tyson. We have to get out more often. My favorite part is sitting in the upper room of the visitors center where the statue of Christ is.

Busy Day for Travel Agents

2011-04-02T10:55:00.000-06:00

Kristi and I were able to attend the Jazz game tonight and watch the Lakers officially end the Jazz's hope of making the playoffs. I think most of the fans had given up hope a long time ago. In the process they set some records. Among them, the Jazz are the first team to start the season 15-5 and not make the playoffs. Now we cheer for more losses to improve our draft position. Here's to hoping that the Jazz select Jimmer with one of their two first round picks. He may not end of being a start, but it would be fun to watch his transition to the NBA.

The Jazz led for most of the game, but by the end of the third quarter, the Lakers surged past the Jazz and you could see many of the Jazz players calling their travel agents to schedule their summer vacations.

We watched the game from the Executive Club - our first time with seats in that area. The Executive Club is on the same level as the Suites. A fantastic buffet dinner is served before the game and a dessert spread fit for royalty comes out at half time. We ate well.

Our only complaint was that there were far too many Laker fans at the game.

Plenty of Firewood

2011-03-26T14:53:00.000-06:00

From this google earth picture of Elder Novakovich's apartment, you can see that there is plenty of firewood in the surrounding area.

Junior Prom

2011-03-18T17:15:00.000-06:00

Taylor is attending Junior Prom for Bingham with Marcus. The dance is being held at the state capital building although I've been told that everyone shows up, gets their picture taken, dances once and then goes bowling or something. Don't they look great! We are lucky parents to have such a wonderful, lovely daughter.

Scouting

2011-03-18T17:12:00.000-06:00

You would think that having a father who didn't make it past second class in scouting and an older brother who thought tenderfoot was an adequate rank achievement would discourage Tyson from the program. We are so proud of his achievement. He received his Star at the court of honor this week and now has earned 16 merit badges. He only has to let six months pass and has already met the other requirements to receive his Life. We won't know what to do when he earns his Eagle. Way to go Tyson.

Salt Lake Temple

2011-02-20T22:43:00.000-07:00

What a great day this was, taking our oldest son to the temple for the first time.

Summer Pictures

2011-02-20T17:12:00.000-07:00

We found these pictures from a family trip to Lagoon this last summer. It was one of those rare days at the amuzement park where the lines were short and we could go from ride to ride. In our family, Kristi is by far the most adventurous and daring. She's never met a ride that intimidates her. Massive drops, upside down loops, cork screws - bring 'em on. Combine that with a warm day, multiple rides in succession and an increasing collecction of birthdays and you have a volatile combination. After the fourth ride we exited to find Kristi giving back her breakfast to the amuzement park gods. Camryn, who had just finished riding with her mom was grateful she made it to the garbage can.

Don't be Jealous

2011-02-13T13:23:00.000-07:00

We all have a friend or family member (Heather) who takes a picture of some fabulous place they are visiting with their feet in the foreground. It's usually a picture of some warm place with a pool or the beach inviting you to join them. But alas you can't because you have work tomorrow or your vacation was last month and you have nothing to look forward to for at least another year.

We'll, here is how I spent my Saturday morning - don't be jealous...

Jimmermania

2011-01-27T18:25:00.000-07:00

What a game! What a crowd! A taste of the craziness from BYU's victory over SDSU.

Thanks to Matt for gettting the tickets.

The evening started with Matt calling ahead to the Brick Oven and making a reservation (at a restaurant that doesn't take reservations) using the name Fredette. We walked into a crowed lobby and were seated immediately.

I took Tyson to the BYU bookstore before the game and decked him out in BYU gear. I was part of the intervention process (Tyson is a closet Ute). He enjoyed the game and started to think maybe he could be a Cougar fan. As much as he enjoyed the game, he liked best the high fives from the coeds as we walked to our car.

Jr. Jazz Basketball

2011-01-23T14:13:00.000-07:00

Tyson loves basketball. Between Jr. Jazz and church basketball, he keeps himself busy on the courts. His Jr. Jazz team is 6-0 this season after winning their game on Saturday. We're not sure what the final score was as they turned off the scoreboard after his team took a 20 point lead. He's a good re-bounder and scorer. He played his best defensive game of the year on Saturday, moving well and keeping the other team from penetrating.

Say Hello to our Little Friend

2011-01-16T21:19:00.001-07:00

Tyson's best friend is Tristan Spoerri. If Tristan has Cheerios for breakfast, Tyson want Cheerios. If Tristan cheers for the Utes, Tyson cheers for the Utes (with strong objection from his father). Tristan has a bearded dragon lizard, so Tyson asked for one for Christmas. The juvenile lizards are about six inches long, but they grow to about 20" long. They eat lots of crickets and mill worms. He lets you hold him and doesn't run or jump out of your hand. We are all having a great time with him.

By the way, he asked for a Utah Utes jacket for Christmas and lets just say there are some things a father must put his foot down on.

Enjoying the Spoils of Christmas

2010-12-28T22:53:00.000-07:00

Darren left for Serbia on the 27th after spending nine weeks at the MTC. We spent the day anticipating Darren's phone call and were somewhat disappointed as a busy travel day at the airport resulted in our only being able to talk to him for 15 minutes. He was excited to finally leave for Serbia. We received an e-mail from him the next day confirming that he had arrived (see the post at http://www.serbiamission.blogspot.com/).

After the call, the girls left to get pedicures and Tyson and I went to the gun range to try out my Christmas present.

Updates on Darren

2010-11-16T16:41:00.000-07:00

We created a new blog to provide updates Elder Novakovich's. The blogsite is http://www.serbiamission.blogspot.com/ and a link titled "Serving in Serbia" in now included on our list of blogs.

He is doing well and in his most recent letter he commented on a conversation by a couple of elders comparing the MTC to prison. One Elder replied that the difference with prison is that you get to watch TV. Darren seems to be enjoying his prison sentence so far.

Weekend in Dixie

2010-11-07T20:16:00.000-07:00

Would you rather sit at your desk for three days continuing to make sure that the debits equal the credits or golf 54 holes of golf in mid-70s weather in St. George, Utah? That was the question I faced once again and for the fourth straight year decided that golf sounded more enjoyable. We enjoyed three fantastic days of golf, playing Thursday at the new Sand Hollow Golf Resort and Friday and Saturday at Sun Brook Golf course. We were one of 43 teams playing in the Dixie Celebrity Classic held annually the first week in November. The first day was a special sponsors round and didn't count towards your overall score. We played Friday and Saturday and posted a score of 25 under par, which put us in a tie for 19th place. The winning team finished at 39 under and was led by Jay Don Blake who played on the PGA tour and now golfs on the Champions Tour. Our celebrity was Cory Snyder who played collegiate baseball at BYU and followed that up with nine years in the majors playing for Cleveland, Toronto, San Francisco and Los Angeles.

MTC Day

2010-10-27T17:07:00.000-06:00

What a wonderful experience the last two days have been. Yesterday we met as a family for Darren's setting appart as a missionary in the Slovenia / Croatia Mission. As a father, it was humbling to join in and place my hands upon Darren's head as our Stake President set Darren appart and promised some wonderful blessings to Darren. We are confident he will be a wonderful missionary as he has been a wonderful son and brother. We were able to share this spiritual experience as a family. It was particularly touching to see Camryn's love for her brother as she shed tears during the prayer, knowing that she would not have her big brother with her for the next two years.

We shared a last meal in Provo at California Pizza Kitchen.

We arrived 10 minutes early for our 1 pm scheduled drop off time and all agreed that the Lord wouldn't get him until that time exactly. The temple grounds were full of missionaries already in the MTC and newly arriving missionaries and families waiting for their appointed times and saying their final goodbyes. I think it was comforting to Darren to see all of the other young missionaries with their familes, ready to transition from their typical teenage lives to dedicated servie. While a lot of tears were shed, we know that Darren will grow through his service and our family will be blessed. With the Lord blessing us with such a wonderful son, it is ony appropriate that we return him to the Lord on loan for this period of time.

As we pulled curbside, Elder Novakovich was met by three smiling missionaries who welcomed him and helped him unload his bags. We were able to give our final hugs, give our Elder some letters that had been prepared and say goodbye. One of the smiling missionaries noticed that Tyson was in the back seat crying and asked if he wanted to give Darren a hug. Tyson hadn't shown any emotion this whole week, but as we unloaded the car, he cryed and cryed. He loves his big brother and will miss him.

Pre-Mission Family Time

2010-10-27T16:45:00.000-06:00

We took the family to our first Real Salt Lake Soccer (hard to call it "Futbol" in the fall) match a few weeks ago. A couple of things struck me as we entered the stadium. First of all, what a beautiful facility they've built. Second, there two goals sitting on each goal line. I thought, what a great idea. If the goalie has to defend two goals, there should be more scoring and associated excitement. I was disappointed when after warm up, they took one from each end off the field. The result was as you might expect, a 0-0 tie until the 66th minute. Other than this mild disappointment, we really enjoyed ourselves (mainly because we didn't have to run up and down the field like the players). RSL went on to win the match 2-0.

We were amazed and entertained by the enthusiasm of the fans, particularly the Latin American fans who threw confetti in the air, played their drums (the entire match) and cussed the players in the their native language.

Powell Time

2010-08-04T23:33:00.003-06:00

It has been over a year since our last visit to Lake Powell. Even the kids, who are normally ambivalent to boating trips, we're extremely exited to go. For the first time, all four of them were anxious to try wake boarding which was music to Kristi's ears. It kills her that for so many years, she was the only one interested in wake boarding or water skiing.

This afternoon, all four of them strapped the board to their feet and Darren, Taylor and Camryn were all able to get up and stay up. We'll get Tyson out of the water tomorrow! We spent a big part of the day exploring canyons around Dangling Rope. One of our favorites is Cathedral Canyon which has some great rock formations and narrow passageways to explore. As usual, the weather has been great this week and we've been able to enjoy good water. We started boating on Tuesday and will hit the lake each day through Friday. Our good friends, Bart and Kyleen Plante and their kids came with us and are pictured in several of the pictures.

Yuba Lake

2010-08-04T23:24:00.004-06:00

A couple of weeks ago we took the family and a couple of Darren's friends boating to Yuba Lake. We don't go there often (perhaps it is the perpetual wind) but wanted to go somewhere other than Jordanelle. Other than the windy conditions, we had a good time wake boarding and tubing. We tried out a new tube - pictured. The kids loved it.

Cruise Withdrawal

2010-06-30T21:58:00.005-06:00

Everyone in the family has cruise post-partum. How we miss the carefree days at see - food everywhere, stateroom attendants making your bed, Pina Colada drinks a mere swipe of your sea pass away. Instead we are back at work, slaving over a hot stove, cleaning toilets and all that life offers on a daily basis.

We never finished posting pictures from the final port stop on our cruise - Puerto Vallarta. On this stop we had an organized excursion - swimming with dolphins. What a great experience this turned out to be. After learning about the dolphins we were able to get in the pool and swim and interact with a couple of dolphins - Apollo and Sinbad. The coolest activity was the push and pull where the dolphins propelled you across the pool on boogie board and them pulled you across the pool while you held onto their fins.

After the dolphin swim we went to the downtown area and did some shopping. We definitely liked this stop the most.

Darren Receives His Mission Call

2010-06-23T21:45:00.003-06:00

Darren received his mission call today to serve in the Slovenia / Croatia Mission. Turns out a neighbor of Hilary and one of Kristi's friends from her ward growing up has a son who just received a call to the same mission. We learned from her that there are three countries in his mission where missionaries are assigned: Slovenia, Croatia, and Serbia. The sixty or so missionaries in his mission learn one of three languages; Darren will learn Serbian. He will most likely serve his entire mission in Serbia. Good news, 20% of the world raspberries are grown in Serbia.

More Fun

2010-06-21T21:58:00.002-06:00

Following are some miscellanious pictures of the fun we had.

Mazatlan

2010-06-21T21:42:00.004-06:00

In Mazatlan we decided to stay on the ship and enjoy the relative solitude from everyone departing for shore excursions. We played basketball, golfed (Darren's nine hole score of 21 was the family record for the week), soaked up some sun and ate. Food was never far away. We loved the formal meals in the dining hall each evening and the soft serve ice cream pool side. The dining hall meals were plated, full course meals selected from a menu fantastic menu. We discovered that everyone likes escargot and Tyson likes fancy food. During the day we kept the Pina Colada guy in business and did our best to help dispose of all of the food left at the buffet. The evening entertainment was amazing - comedians, musicians, ice skating show, etc.

Cabo Wabo

2010-06-21T21:27:00.004-06:00

The first port of call was Cabo San Lucas. I think that means hot and humid in Spanish. This was our first introduction to pushing, annoying locals trying to sell their services or crappy products. The city doesn't have a dock for the boat so it tenders in the bay and boats ferry you to shore. The ship doesn't drop anchor, but has a GPS based system that keeps it within 3 meters of its desired location. From the pier we took a water taxi over to Nikki Beach which is where many of the ocean front resorts are located. The kids had fun playing in the waves which were strong enough to knock Camryn over and drag her into the surf. Tyson thought it was funny, Camryn didn't. We crashed one of the resort pools when the heat got the better of us.

We took this picture from our balcony of a bunch of dolphins which followed us into port.

All Aboard

2010-06-21T21:11:00.003-06:00

With the wait finally over, we boarded the Mariner of the Seas on Sunday and started our cruise down to the Mexican Riviera. Having never been on a cruise, we were all amazed at how big this $650 million ship really was. At the time she made her maiden voyage in 2003, the Mariner was the largest cruise ship in the world. In addition to the 3,500 passengers, 1,200 employees work on the ship. The crew members come from all over the world and work on the ship non-stop for up to eight months and then get a two month break. I've never experienced such friendly, customer focused service. From the state room attendants to the dining room Waite staff, everyone was professional, friendly and anxious to help you have a great vacation.

Some of the amazing on-ship facilities included:

A rock climbing wall
Work out facilities and spa
Multiple pools and Jacuzzis
Basketball court
1,400 person capacity theater
Casino
Night clubs
Kids zones, game rooms, etc.
Library
Ice skating rink and arena
Shopping plaza on the promenade deck
Minature Golf
Jogging track

There was never a shortage of something to do.

Let the Fun Begin

2010-06-13T07:29:00.005-06:00

Here's to hoping that the actual fun this week will live up to all of the pre-trip hype and discussion. The kids have been looking forward to this since December when we decided that we needed a last family vacation before Darren departs on his mission this year.

Darren met with the stake president and the papers were completed last Sunday. The waiting for his call now begins. In the meantime, hello Mexico. Hopefully for Darren, he won't come home to hello Boise, Idaho.

We flew in to Long Beach on Saturday morning and spent the day with Patricia, Herman, Eric, Joanie and John. We spent the afternoon playing basketball, barbecuing and getting caught up.

While I'm generally a Delta loyalist due to their frequent flier program, I must say that the Jet Blue flight was more comfortable and the service was much better.

Trolley Ride

2010-05-20T21:10:00.004-06:00

Kristi came with me on my trip to San Francisco this week. We decided to make a short weekend out of a training trip. We arrived in the early afternoon and after checking into our hotel walked down California street through Chinatown and Little Italy and finally over to the Piers. I took Kristi to Scoma's which is one of my favorite restaurants. After dinner we took a trolley car back to the hotel on Nob Hill.

The trip in from the airport into downtown San Francisco is a relatively short 20 minute cab ride. It can seem extremely long if the Pakistani cab driver hasn't taken a shower since arriving in the USA 25 years ago. It was so bad I had to open the window and ask where he kept the air sickness bags. Seriously, there should be minimum hygiene laws for driving a cab.

San Francisco Here I Come

2010-04-27T13:47:00.002-06:00

Work brought me to San Francisco this week and I was able to catch a Giants game on Monday night. The investment bank we were meeting on Tuesday hosted a group from Control4 - the seats were fantastic (10 rows up between home plate and the home team dugout). The Phillies starting pitcher was Roy Halladay who didn't live up to his best arm in the majors status. The Giants hit him hard and often and won the game 5-1.

Ryan Howard from the Phillies signed a 5 year $125 mm contract extension earlier in the day and celebrated it by going 0-4. You'd expect at least a single from a guy whose now making $150,000 per game.

Ripley's Believe it Or Not Museum

2010-04-23T14:05:00.003-06:00

With a couple of hours of free time I visited the "Ripley's Believe it or Not", Museum on 42nd Street. As you can see from the pictures below, most of the stuff is macabre, but pretty fascinating. This is a real cross section of a human head. After being hung for murder, this criminal's head was cut in two so that it could be studied.

One of the larger exhibit rooms was filed with all sorts of medieval torture devices. Heretics were put in this contraption which was closed and strategically placed spikes did in the unfortunate participant.

This head below was the preserved skull of a deceased husband. His wife was expected to wear her husbands head on a necklace as a sign respect for the departed.

All of these items were recovered from the stomach of a man-eating shark. Notice the two swim suits, a five pound metal anchor, shovel, and horseshoe. The horseshoe had previously been attached to a donkey that fell victim to the shark.

The picture below is of a section of the Berlin Wall.

Ripley was fascinated by headhunters who decapitated their victims, removed the skull and then shrunk the skin and remaining parts of the head. There was a nice collection of heads, this one coming from a Caucasian whose misfortune it was to run into these unruly natives.

The pistol below is one of two derringer pistols John Wilkes Booth took with him to assassinate President Lincoln. It was found at the scene of the shooting and for a long time was assumed to be the murder weapon. Ballistics later determined that the actual weapon used to kill the president was an identical weapon found on his possession when he was captured.

The World Largest Hersey Bar

2010-04-21T20:41:00.005-06:00

After my last trip to New York, I told Tyson about the existence of a 5 pound candy bar at the Hershey's store on Times Square. He thought I should bring one home and wanted a picture as proof that I had purchased one. The fine print on the wrapper says, "If you eat all of this, just like the candy bar, you're but won't fit in a chair."

For dinner I went to the Hard Rock Cafe. Darren would have been in heaven looking at all of the Rock memorabilia including guitars and clothing from the Beatles, Elvis Presley, Gene Simmons (picture of guitar below), etc.

There hasn't been anything too exciting to report. It was rainy this evening so I spent the last four hours in my hotel room working.

Back in New York

2010-04-20T19:10:00.004-06:00

An opportunity for some training needed to keep my CPA license has brought me back to New York. My flight landed around 3:00 pm so I was able to walk around the city for a couple of hour this evening. It is a completely different city in the summer compared to the winter when I was last here. I found this NY Yankees apparel store which Kristi and Tyson would absolutely love. To prove my love for them, I purchased some Yankees gear for them.

I had dinner at the ESPN Zone. With four hockey playoff matches, two NBA playoff games and the Mets in action - all on the unbelievable number of big screen TVs - it was a sports lovers dream.

Check out the crazy long, purple finger nails that this lady walking down the street had. I'll bet she doesn't do much keyboarding.

Newest Member of Redsox Nation

2010-04-18T20:39:00.002-06:00

Our family loves baseball. We've had some great times together attending games in person. Dining on a ball park dog and enjoying a beautiful summer evening borders on heavenly. While we agree on our love for baseball, we are polar opposites when it comes to our favorite team. I am a life long fan of the Boston Redsox. Kristi and Tyson on the other hand prefer pin-stripes and swear allegiance to George Steinbrener and the New York Yankees. You can imagine how thrilled I was to capture this picture of Kristi. I think she looks good in red.

Last year I offered Tyson $100 to cheer for my beloved Sox and he flat out rejected my offer. This year I upped the amount to $200 and his response was, "Do I have to cheer for them in the playoffs too?"

Camping

2010-04-03T18:51:00.015-06:00

Tyson and I joined the scouts from our ward on a recent campout to the sand dunes. While it was a little cold (okay a lot cold at night) we had a great time tumbling down the dunes and shooting off rockets that the scouts had built during a recent activity.

Tyson is on pace to be our our only Eagle Scout. He loves camping and has already earned his 1st Class. He goes to his first summer camp this year.

The boys brought sno-boards and rode them down the dunes.

Street Music

2010-03-03T11:39:00.002-07:00

Each time I've been to York there have been street musicians playing. They are generally very talented. Last time there was a piano player and a young man playing the guitar and singing. I walked into the main plaza and this girl was playing beautiful music on her electric violin. Many people stopped to watch.

Not Quite Aruba

2010-02-28T13:03:00.003-07:00

I just arrived in York, England for a short business trip. The winter in York has been fairly hard and there is snow covering most of the higher hill tops. Rivers are running really high because of the amount of snow and rainfall they have. Its not quite like Aruba! I left at 11:00 am MST time and arrived here about 14 hours later. The train ride was a bit more enjoyable as one of our employees from the local office was returning on the same flight with me. My return flight is on Thursday.

I've found a favorite Italian restaurant by the York Minster and went there for dinner this evening. Watching the Canada vs. USA gold medal hockey game tonight (in German).

Aruba - All Good Things Must End

2010-02-21T22:27:00.002-07:00

Our dream vacation has come to a close. Kristi and I are on the plane right now returning home. There were so many things that we loved about the island of Aruba - cultural diversity (Dutch influence and local, visitors from all over the world - in particular east coast USA and Venezuela), consistent weather which is comfortably hot, delicious food, lots of activities, and beautiful white sand beaches with brilliantly blue water.

The iguanas came out in full force to bid us farewell on our last day. Our favorite was this bright green iguana who came around looking for a meal.

A huge, heart felt thank you to Mom and Dad for staying with our children. It made the trip much more enjoyable knowing that our kids were well taken care of.

Aruba Video

2010-02-19T17:09:00.002-07:00

The video below is less than a minute, but it pretty much captures how we spent our day - read, nap, eat, cool off in pool...repeat.

Aruba - Random Photos

2010-02-19T14:19:00.002-07:00

We spent our day laying pool side. We discovered that you have to wake up early in the morning to lay claim to your space. When I say early, I mean it. I went out and set our towels at 4:00 a.m. Apparently, we decided to come during one of the four busiest weeks in Aruba.

I took a walk up the coast and took some pictures of the non-hotel areas. The above tree is a traditional Divi Divi tree that is shaped by the constant trade winds.

There is a California-style lighthouse on the north end of the island.

Poolside lunch - can't be beat.

Aruba - Ready to Apply for Citizenship

2010-02-17T17:45:00.002-07:00

Today was our first day to do a lot of nothing, just Pina Coladas and the pool. We had a very enjoyable dinner at a restaurant called simply fish. Our table was situated on the beach, just 10 feet from the ocean. Feet in the sand and a beautiful sunset complemented a delicious meal of fresh seafood.

We were wondering if this was Mike's new boat - it is the boat show time of year. It is docked a half mile off shore in front of our hotel.

Our view of the ocean as the sun set at the hotel.

Aruba - The Days are Blurring Together

2010-02-16T15:17:00.002-07:00

We've lost all track of time after all this time in paradise. We've learned a couple of valuable lessons. The trade winds always blow - that's a good thing as it keeps you cool. Snorkeling is no fun after Scuba diving. If you can see the ocean from your restaurant, the seafood is probably going to be pretty fresh. You have to show up really early in the morning to reserve prime beach real estate with a hut. You can get over not having a hut knowing that you got a goods night sleep and didn't have to wake up for work or to get the kids ready for work.

The above picture is of our Hotel. It is the northern most hotel on Palm Beach.

We spent the morning in a resort pool (yes it was embarrassing) getting "resort" certified which allows you to go on a instructor guided 30 foot dive. The picture above shows where we dove. The dive sight is of a oil tanker that was sunk by the German's during WWII. Apparently Hitler wasn't fond of the folks in Aruba supplying oil to the Allies and sent his Navy to sink a few ships. They put a hole in the ship, but weren't able to sink it. After the war, the ship became an eye-sore and ruined the beautiful evening sunset. The Dutch navy used it for target practice until it was sunk and now it makes for a great home for beautiful tropical fish.

Kristi and I right after the dive. We are going back later in the week.

We enjoyed a nice pool side lunch at the hotel before going diving.

Aruba - Day 2

2010-02-15T19:43:00.002-07:00

We've completed our second day in tropical paradise, enjoying every moment of our time here. A couple of thoughts so far:

We've enjoyed some great local food. The fresh fish is exceptional and various culinary influences from around the world make the food enjoyable and unique.
We spent the morning at the Renaissance private island. The sand is so fine you'd think you were walking on powder. There are flamingos and big old iguanas on the island (see pictures below).
We had a wonderful lunch at the outdoor grill, adjacent to the beach and lagoon.
The blackened red snapper sandwich was unbelievable. Kristi had a delicious wrap. The only thing that could have ruined the meal would have been a 60 year old lady sitting down within 20 feet of us for some topless sunbathing. There should be a local law against that type of behavior. Kind of like no smoking within 50 feet of a building entrance.
We love the hotel and need to bring our kids here one day.

This is either a large iguana or a small dragon. He took advantage of the flamingo's watering bowl for a little refreshment.

Picture of Kristi getting her Aruba on. Our room wasn't ready when we arrived at the Hotel so spent a couple of hours being the only people on the beach not wearing swim wear.

Surf Kite Dude

2010-02-15T16:05:00.001-07:00

This guy was pretty awesome to watch.

Aruba - Day One

2010-02-15T14:33:00.002-07:00

We arrived in Aruba on Sunday morning. The weather is absolutely beautiful. The trade winds are always blowing and help cool you off from the heat. We stay the first night in the Renaissance which is in downtown Oranjestad (the Capital city) and by the port where the cruise ships dock. Sunday was the final day of their week of Carnivale. There was a six hour parade of music and dancing that passed by in front of the hotel.

There is a stark contrast in wealth between the tourist areas and the places where the locals live. You travel through these areas on the short ride from the airport.

We watched this guy kite surf for about a half an hour. While everyone else struggled to get up on their board, this guy ripped up and down the beach and occasionally got some pretty good air.

With the exception of a private island beach at the Renaissance, all of the beaches in Aruba are public. These local girls saw me taking pictures and started giggling and posing for this shot.

On our way??

2010-02-13T15:41:00.003-07:00

We now know a little how Heather and her family felt trying to leave on their vacation last week. Our flight to Aruba is through Atlanta which was hit with a whopping 2" of snow. Apparently, that is enough for Delta to cancel over 1,100 flights in one day. Fortunately, while our flight was cancelled, we were rescheduled for on a flight departing in the evening. We'll have to stay overnight in Atlanta, but we are relieved to be on our way. We are sitting at the airport with our fingers crossed hoping the weather is cooperative.

Apparently Kristi looks a bit suspicious because they patted her down at the security check point. There is no better way to start your vacation.

New Flip Camcorder

2010-01-24T15:53:00.003-07:00

Taylor was excited as I was about our new Flip Camcorder. Everyone should have one of these. They record two hours of HD video and are smaller than a small digital camera.

Stay tuned to our blog for more videos.

Jazz vs. King James

2010-01-15T21:51:00.002-07:00

I lucked out and got invited to the Jazz vs. Cavaliers game last night. I saw some amazing things:

Lebron James making at one point 3/4 shots from half court during pre-game warm up. Seriously, what other player on any other team would the coach allow to take about 25 shots from half court while the rest of the players are practicing shots they'll take in the game and stretching.
A white guy blocking King Jame's dunk attempt. It happened in the first half when Kyle Korver rejected Lebron on a fast break.
An amazing run by the Jazz bench to take a 12 point lead with less than 4 1/2 minutes left.
Lebron James scoring 36 points including 18 in the fourth quarter when he single handed took over the game and led his team on a 22-4 run, turning a 12 point deficit into a six point lead in less than three minutes.
Lebron's fourth quarter dominance included two deep three point shots (maybe those half court shots help) and dunk and foul in traffic.

What I didn't see was the Jazz's rally from six points with 25 seconds left. Seriously, who would think it a risk to beat the traffic. I mean what are the odds that an undrafted rookie on the last day of a ten day contract is going to hit his first ever three point shot to win the game at the buzzer. Exactly what I thought.

New Year's Celebrations

2010-01-15T21:38:00.002-07:00

Don't let it be said that we don't know how to have a good time celebrating the new year. After considering such options as a drunken party, salsa dancing, mud wrestling, etc. we settled on going to a movie and putting together a 2,000 piece puzzle. Before you minimize our accomplishments you should know that the movie started at 10:00 pm and we actually stayed up until midnight (in our time zone). We took the kids to see Avatar in 3D at the local IMAX theater. If you haven't seen it - its got to be in 3D and preferably at an IMAX.

We went to dinner with Mom and Dad at Johnny Carino's over the holiday break.

As a warm up to our 2,000 piece puzzle, we completed this 750 puzzle of Time Square.

This puzzle of Las Vegas took all of us nearly two full days. Even the dogs helped, eating seven pieces before we were able to finish. Since no one was willing to follow the dogs around the yard to retrieve the pieces, we ended up with a 1,992 piece puzzle.

Christmas

2009-12-30T21:23:00.002-07:00

Here's hoping every one's holidays have been enjoyable. We have certainly taken advantage of taking a few days off from work to spend time together. Our Christmas was simple and relaxing. Darren appears to be relaxing a little too much in his snuggly gifted to him by a "good" friend.

Camryn went retro with her hula hoop. She should have been born decades earlier because she really new how to rotate her hips.

Our traditional Christmas morning picture of the kids. We still make them wait at the top of the stairs before rushing down to see what Santa brought. We think that Taylor and Darren still believe.

Las Vegas - City Center

2009-12-17T16:46:00.002-07:00

Kristi, Darren and I went to Las Vegas last week for work and a little relaxation. Darren and his friend Quincy had purchased tickets to a concert by Muse and we thought it best to accompany them. The timing worked out well as I had to be in town to help test rooms in the Aria Hotel which are controlled by my company's technology. The Aria Hotel and the City Center development which opened this week are amazing. The complex consists of three hotels, three private residence towers, a shopping complex, a convention center, a monorail and a theater where the new Elvis Cirque du Soleil show will be shown.

The project cost $8.5 billion dollars and was the largest privately funded development in the world. They had to hire 12,000 people and almost all of them were there last week being trained. It was amazing to see the coordinated effort involved in opening a hotel of this magnitude.

Our technology controls the guest experience in the room from automated blind control to lighting and welcome scenes.

The above picture is of one of their standard guest rooms. The high roller suites which are on the top four floors are unbelievable. I'm sure I'll never set foot in that type of hotel room again.

The above picture is of the bath in one of the luxury suites.

We all had to wear hard hats and reflective vests.

Benefit Concert

2009-11-21T12:42:00.004-07:00

Last night's benefit concert and dinner was fabulous. Hilary put on a beautiful performance - if you haven't purchased her new Christmas CD you should get it to enjoy during the holiday season. A couple of friends from High School came to the event as well as business associates and long-time friends. Thanks to everyone for their support of the shelter which really is a worthy cause. It is easy to take for granted how blessed we are to having loving relationships and supportive families. As usual, the atmosphere and meal at LaCaille were top notch. During the holidays LaCaille decorates their grounds with lights that help bring extra holiday spirit.

Taylor came to the event with us this year and enjoyed the grown up food and her Aunt Hilary.

Jill Wankier and Michelle Warner, fellow Alaskans joined us for the evening.

Beautiful St. George

2009-11-21T12:33:00.003-07:00

For the third consecutive year, I was required to work a Friday and Saturday in St. George. The first day of work was at Sunbrook and the second day at the Ledges. Our "work" sponsor was unable to go so I scrambled at the last minute to put together a team which included my cousin Glen and a couple of friends. For the two days our score was 21 under par. The "work" teams were broken into two flights with the winning score in the first flight 43 under par and the winning score in the second flight 30 under par. The weather was wonderful and has convinced me that we need to plan to purchase a second home here some day.

Uncle Jack joined us on the second day. He and Glen carried the team.

Greatest Birdie of My Life

2009-11-05T17:09:00.002-07:00

First of all, this story will confirm how pathetic my golf accomplishments are. I'm in St. George this weekend to play in a golf tournament along with our good friend Bart, my cousin Glen and an associate from work. Bart and I drove down together and being early, we decided to get in nine holes of golf this afternoon at Green Springs. After an uneventful (double and triple bogeys aren't eventful) round I found myself with a 190 yard approach on the par four ninth hole. I pulled out my trusty four iron and hit a beautiful, hooking shot into a house about 50 yards from the green. The ball bounced off the house and to within two feet of the hole. I calmly tapped in for what was certainly the greatest birdie of my life.

USU vs. La. Tech

2009-10-26T00:12:00.004-06:00

I think the real purpose of parent's week is to fill the football stadium - it worked. We bought tickets. We bought Aggie gear. We bought stadium food. The Aggies won and we had fun. Darren's attending USU has created fans out of all his brothers and sisters and now they are talking about going to school here.

Parent's Weekend at USU

2009-10-26T00:00:00.003-06:00

Kristi, Taylor, Tyson, Camryn and I piled into the car this weekend and made the short trip north to Logan for the annual parent's weekend at USU. We were all excited to see Darren. I think the longest length of time that has passed without seeing him has only been three weeks, but it feels like a reunion each time he comes home or we go to Logan.

Our kids love every hotel pool. Even when we go to Lake Powell and spend the entire day in the water, they always want to play in the hotel pool that evening.

Darren recommended a great Italian restaurant called Calloway's in Smithfield, just outside of Logan. The food was fantastic!

The Big Apple

2009-10-14T21:19:00.003-06:00

I'm in New York City this week to get some required training for work. Everything here is fast paced, hectic, bright, busy, tall.... I'm not sure why anyone would want to work and live here, but I guess about 30 million people do. Looking out the 42nd floor window of my hotel on Times Square, you'd think that several million of them are still milling about on the streets below (and it's currently 11:00 pm).

Where other than New York would you find a ferris wheel inside your local Toys R Us.

For dinner tonight we hopped on the subway and headed over to Little Italy. If the section of the town has Italy in it, the food must be good. I wasn't impressed. Our meal was okay at best - we must have made a poor restaurant selection. The forced (and in my opinion fake) accent of the waiter didn't help sell the authenticity of the restaurant. We'd have been better off dining at the Olive Garden on Times Square.

Holiday Benefit Concert

2009-10-14T08:39:00.003-06:00

Hilary has once again agreed to perform at the South Valley Sanctuary's holiday concert. Thank you Hilary - its great to have a famous sister. The dinner and concert will be held again at LaCaille restaurant. We are looking forward to the evening and hearing some of Hilary's new Christmas music.

South Valley Sanctuary Recognition

2009-10-14T08:34:00.003-06:00

The domestic violence shelter for which I volunteer was recognized by the LDS church yesterday at a luncheon held in the Joseph Smith Building. The church public relations group recognized five not-for-profit organizations for their contributions to the community. Our shelter and staff have done fantastic work over the past several years so it was nice to see them recognized. The shelter has 13 rooms which are always full of domestic violence victims and their families.

In the News

2009-10-14T08:25:00.002-06:00

Tyson and Camryn were thrilled to see themselves on television for a recent local news feature on the school districts efforts to make school lunch more healthy. Camryn was included in a close up in the lead in piece and played a stand in role during the main story. Tyson was shown in two close ups making quick work of the new and healthier food options. Tyson confided in us later that while the food may be healthy, it tastes like crap. It took the full measure of his acting talent to smile while downing the baked fish sticks. As you can imagine, the texts are rolling in from classmates and friends who were watching the news.

Keith Urban Concert

2009-09-12T12:17:00.004-06:00

If you are a country music fan and have a chance to attend Keith Urban's concert, you must do so. Kristi and I attended his concert in SLC this past week and it was excellent. We loved his music and were impressed with his ability to entertain. By the end of the show he had the entire crowd at Energy Solutions Arena in a frenzy. Early in the show he crossed the arena through the crowd on the floor. As people reached to touch him, a platform and railing on the end of the arena tipped over and about eight people fell head first to the arena floor. Several people had to be administered first aid and Keith stopped the concert briefly to make sure the injuries weren't serious.

First Day of High School

2009-09-12T12:13:00.002-06:00

Our sweet daughter Taylor is now a high school student. This picture was captured while taking her on her first day. She is attending Bingham High School just like her older brother. We are sure proud of her!

Trying to Set a Record

2009-08-29T12:24:00.002-06:00

Kristi is the type of person who does something well or she doesn't do it at all. A couple of weeks ago we took her to the ER for severe back pain that kept her from sleeping or walking. We assumed it was a slipped disk or something similar. Not satisfied with one disk bulge, she decided that three broad disk bulges would be even better. She goes to her back doctor on Wednesday to see what course of action he recommends.

Family Evening at the Ball Park

2009-08-24T22:18:00.002-06:00

We took the family (+ Taylor's friend KC, - Darren) to a Salt Lake Bees game on Monday evening. We're not sure who won the game as we left early. I think the kids' wanting to leave had something to do with their meeting their treat quota early in the fifth inning. It was all we could do to get them to stay through the sixth with the Bees leading 7-4.

Camryn getting an autograph from the team mascot - Bumble.

Taylor and KC striking a pose. One of the few moments when they actually sat with us. I think teenagers get an allergic reaction if they spend too much time with their parents.

This hit went out the park - home run.

We had nice seats nine rows behind home plate.

Golfing

2009-08-24T22:10:00.003-06:00

I went golfing a few weeks ago with a friend of mine and on the eighteenth hole got these pictures of a family of deer that crossed the fairway. The hole is fairly short par five that is reachable (you can see the green in the background). I reached in two and had an eagle put from twenty feet. Then a par put from five feet. Followed up by a tap in par.

...and then there were three

2009-08-16T19:36:00.004-06:00

We made the family trek to Logan this weekend to drop Darren off at school. Having your first child, or any child, grow up and leave home is a mixed emotion experience. On the one hand we are happy that Darren has developed into a potential rich young man, capable of tackling the challenges of attending college and being away from home. On the other hand we will miss him in our home on a daily basis. He has been a great example to his brother and sisters and a tremendous support to his parents.

Check in was on Saturday and Darren joined the masses of freshmen and their parents hauling boxes back and forth to their dorm rooms. After getting his room set up, we went on campus and hit the bookstore to outfit the family in Aggie gear and had lunch at the Taggert Center.

Darren and his room mate Zack in their "home" for the next eight months.

What trip to Logan would be complete without going by the temple for a picture or two.

Tyson was pouting all evening and wouldn't come outside of his sleeping back for the picture. I think he was pouting when he found out that without actually drawing the short straw, he had to sleep on the floor.

After dinner we left Darren and Zack and they stayed in their dorm room for the evening. We decided to stay the night at the local Holiday Inn. Taylor spent the evening reading "A Tale of Two Cities" - not by choice, rather she has to as part of a summer reading assignment for honors english. Her review of the book would probably start, "It was the best of times, it was the worst of books..." After swimming we all went to bed about 10 pm. I wonder if Darren was asleep by 10 pm as well?

We went by Darren's dorm room on Sunday to formally say good bye. Hugs were exchanged, a few discrete tears were shed, and the three kids still at home turned their thoughts to taking over his room left behind at home.

You May be a Taliban If....

2009-08-03T21:38:00.002-06:00

With apologies....

You may be a Taliban if....

You refine heroin for a living but have a moral objection to beer.
You own a $3,000 machine gun and a $5,000 rocket launcher, but you can't afford shoes.
You have more wives than teeth.
You wipe you butt with your bare hand, but consider bacon unclean.
You think vests come in two styles: bullet proof and suicide.
You can't think of anyone you haven't declared Jihad against.
You consider television dangerous, but routinely carry explosives in your clothing.
You have nothing against women and think every man should own at least one.
You were amazed to discover that cell phones have other uses than setting off road side bombs.
You have always had a crush on your neighbors goat.

Lake Powell - Day Four

2009-07-18T18:55:00.003-06:00

It's 105 degrees and we're melting. We have been on the lake on hotter days, but not by much. As it was our last day, everyone took one more try at wake boarding. Camryn is getting so close to getting up and staying up. She is very enthusiastic about trying. She gets that from Kristi, not me. Darren gave it a valient effort but claims he's retiring the board for good. Tyson doesn't like to wake board, but is a fan of the knee board. We got off the lake early and will have a nice dinner tonight along with a little rest.

Darren giving wake boarding a try.

Camry gets up, but only temporarily.

Tyson and Camryn hanging out with Bart.

Lake Powell - Day Three

2009-07-17T22:14:00.005-06:00

Apparently Tylenol wasn't enough to cure every one's discomforts from the first two days. Rather than exciting tube rides, wake boarding and cliff jumping we spent the day under the shade of our favorite West Canyon cliff, soaking our bodies in the cool water. For excitement we went to the on lake marina at Dangling Rope and got an ice cream.

A couple of picture of the boat returning from Dangling Rope.

The trip to Dangling Rope wasn't without its thrills. As we were docking the boats, our good friend Bart slipped on the dock and fell into the carp infested water.

Lake Powell - Day Two

2009-07-16T22:42:00.003-06:00

Sun burns, life vest rashes, and heat exhaustion - nothing a little Tylenol can't fix. We spent today exploring a canyon we've never been to (Navajo Canyon) and taking tube rides. Kristi was insistent that Darren, Taylor and I ride together on the tube and she proceeded to throw us around behind the boat until we were all dumped in the lake. She claims she didn't see the waves, but we know better.

Darren found a fun cliff to jump off.

Camryn tried again today to wake board. Taylor was in the water with her giving her encouragement. Having a pink wakeboard is essential for an 8 year old girl.

For the past five years, our good friends the Plantes come with us. It's comforting to come to Lake Powell in a group as you never know what trouble you'll find once out on the lake which is about 135 miles long and has thousands of side canyons to explore. Our favorite place to spend the day is West Canyon which is about 35 miles upstream from the Wahweep Marina and Glen Canyon Dam.

Lake Powell - Day One

2009-07-15T22:48:00.004-06:00

At long last we made our first trip this year to Page, AZ and Lake Powell. We arrived here on Tuesday and will spend Wednesday through Saturday on the lake (except for the evenings where we will stay in the relaxed, air-conditioned comfort of the hotel). I've never understood how anyone could camp on the lake and enjoy it. Today was over 100 degrees. We had a great day today soaking in the sun, cruising the lake, swimming, tubing, eating and wake boarding. Even Camryn gave wake boarding a try. Temperatures hit triple digits and the water was a very pleasant 78 degrees.

Kristi has always been the best skier and wake boarder in the family - so she gets her picture posted. Tomorrow I'll post pictures of the rest of us in various stages of being drug through the water or crashing.

This is our boat, named the "Aquaholic".

Tyson losing a water fight.

I captured this picture of Taylor when we'd stopped for lunch. She is a wonderful daughter.

There is a great canyon wall where the boats don't drift and there is always shade. We stop here on every trip for shade, food and relaxation.

Mike would be in heaven here with his camera. We've been coming to Lake Powell for almost ten years and I never cease to be amazed by the beauty that surrounds us.

Primary Parade

2009-07-15T22:41:00.002-06:00

Kristi and Camryn were both thrilled to take part in the annual primary parade around the neighborhood (okay mostly Camryn). Camryn loved the time with friends, baloons on her bike, riding around the block and waving to the camera. Kristi loved that it only lasted 45 minutes.

4th of July

2009-07-15T22:29:00.003-06:00

We had big plans for the 4th of July - go to Liberty Park with a picnic to watch the fireworks, watch the WJ parade, and swimming at the pool. Instead we did the usual - relax at home and turn Tyson loose with a lighter and fireworks. The day turned out perfect!

Giants Baseball Game

2009-07-08T11:27:00.003-06:00

I was in San Francisco this week and took advantage of the trip to attend a Giants game in their new ballpark. As you can see form the pictures, the seats were much better than the A's game I went to a few weeks ago (free vs. my paying for them). Its a great stadium even with the cold San Francisco evenings (everyone wore a coat). The Giants shut out the Marlins with Barry Zito pitching 8 1/3 strong innings and Juan Uribe hitting a two-run home run.

Summer Evening

2009-06-15T19:38:00.003-06:00

The recent weather has been surprisingly wet and cold. You would think we'd been transported to Seattle. Tonight it looks like things might change and we are having a beautiful summer evening. Camryn and the dogs took to the back yard after dinner.

Good Citizen

2009-06-15T19:33:00.002-06:00

It turns out that Camryn is quite the model second grader. On the last day of school she was recognized along with one other second grader, receiving a citizenship certificate during a school assembly. Apparently she likes to make her teachers happy just like she does her parents.

Trip to Bay Area

2009-06-10T16:33:00.003-06:00

I made a trip to the bay area this week and was able to catch a baseball game. The Twins were in town facing the Oakland A's. As you can see from the pictures below, the game wasn't very well attended. The starting pitcher for the A's was named "Outman". Seems like an appropriate name for a pitcher and he lived up to his name getting more outs and fewer runs than his counter part. The A's ended up winning a low scoring 4-3 game. I sat in the outfield bleacher seats - too cheap to pay more than $13 for a ticket and too lazy to move once it was apparent you could sit about anywhere.

The A's are a little short on quality players. Their best player is Matt Holliday who plays left field.

Bingham High School Graduate

2009-06-06T11:43:00.003-06:00

Four years of high school work and play came to an end for Darren on Thursday with Bingham commencement exercises. Darren joined 776 of his fellow students in receiving his diploma.

During the past four years we've seen great growth in Darren and are confident that his future will be great. He graduated with a GPA of 3.8 while taking honors and AP classes. As parents, we were particularly grateful of his selection of good friends. I don't think we ever questioned his choices. The picture below is of Darren and one of his best friends, Quincy.

During his Junior and Senior year we was active in DECA and qualified to participate in the national DECA competition in Atlanta, GA. He really enjoyed being a member of the Rugby club during his senior year - too bad he didn't discover this sport sooner.

Seminary Graduate

2009-05-31T19:18:00.003-06:00

Congratulations are in order to Darren who graduated from Seminary this evening. He was one of 28 young men and women from our stake who attended faithfully for four years. Not only does it take a commitment to the gospel, but attending release time seminary requires that you do well in your high school studies so that you are able to substitute a religion class for other available school credits. We are so proud of Darren who has been a near perfect son and great example to his brother and sisters.

Favorite Mexican Restaurant

2009-05-23T10:17:00.004-06:00

I have a favorite mexican restaurant that I always try to find and visit when out of town - "On the Border". If you've been there, you know why. If you haven't been there, you have to try it. I'm a big fan of their fajitas - either chicken or steak. Unfortunately, there isn't one in SLC, but it is chain restaurant and I've been able to find them throughout California. On my trip this week to San Jose / Oakland I visited the On the Border in Milpitas.

Summer Fun

2009-05-16T19:29:00.005-06:00

Warm weather has finally arrived on the Wasatch Front. We've spent the last couple of weeks enjoying being outside in the sun.

"Finish Strong"

2009-05-07T12:52:00.002-06:00

You may have seen this video clip already, but if not, its certainly worth watching.

Camryn's Baptism

2009-05-02T21:02:00.003-06:00

Today was a special day for Camryn as she was baptized. She has been so excited about the day and we are so proud of her decision and the faith in Christ that she has at such a young age. After the baptism we got together with family - below are some pictures.

Tyson Turns Eleven

2009-04-30T20:00:00.004-06:00

Tyson celebrated his eleventh birthday today in grand style. After enduring a half day of school, his dad picked him up from school and took him to Mountain View Golf Course for his first ever round of golf. From his exceptional play you would have never guessed that this was his first time. I told him that I'd shot a 20 on the first hole of golf I ever played, so he was pleased that his first official score was a 13. On the first tee box he hit a 100 yard drive just off the edge of the primary cut of fairway. When my shot hit a tree 50 yards out, he said, "I don't feel so bad". After golf he opened presents and had dinner at Texas Roadhouse with his family and Grandpa Fogg. Cake and ice cream capped off the celebration.

Overwhelming Firepower Merit Badget

2009-04-29T21:47:00.003-06:00

For our activity this week, we worked on the "Overwhelming Firepower" Merit Badge. My assistant in the priest quorum is in the National Guard. You may remember a recent trip we made to learn about Apache attack helicopters. This week we loaded up on weapons including: .357 Magnum, (2) 9 mm, .22 rifle, 12 gauge shotgun, .30-.30 rifle and an AR-15. Tyson came along with the priests (he loves to shoot) and we all satisfied our lust for shooting stuff. The highlight for everyone was shooting the AR-15 which is a civilian, semi-automatic version of the M-16. I'm not sure there is a merit badge for what we did, but we sure had fun.