Sunday, December 09, 2007
Friday, October 26, 2007
Blue Lake Bonanza!!!
This year, October 19th and 20th was the Blue Lake Bonanza that started out much better than it ended. (How's that for foreshadowing?) We basically left at high noon and headed for the west desert. James took David and Kurtis and Myself in his Durango and we took my tent trailer along with us. We arrived at the lake without any incident and got set up within a few minutes. The tent trailer is pretty easy to set up. We got the shade and the insect tent up in no time and before we knew it we were getting ready to dive.
Brady and Becky Tew came with us also (Becky is Hollie's sister). So Kurtis took some pictures and chilled on the dock while the 5 of us went down together. It took a while for us to all equalize and get down, but by the time we did we were ready for some fun. Now the problem that I was having with the whole thing was that Brady, Becky and James all rented their gear from the same dive shop, so they all looked exactly the same in about 50 feet of mucky brown silty water. So that posed some identification problems. We had a lot of fun and took a role of pictures, so hopefully they will turn out well.
After we were done diving, we figured it was high time we blew something up, so we got out the shotguns and started blasting away at clay pigeons. We had a blast! Ha ha pun intended.
After we went into town for dinner, we built a raging fire that was fed by the force of a very sturdy and consistent wind. Throw in some fireworks and some mountain dew, take into consideration that we are in the middle of the *** desert with no one around for about 20 miles, and that is a perfect recipe for a lot of fun. Which is exactly what we did.
Well we had a good night sleep and then the morning came. Remember that foreshadowing that I mentioned a bit ago, well here it comes. The temperature dropped about 30 degrees in a matter of what felt like moments, and the ever present force of the sturdy and consistent wind started to bring precipitation. With a brief glance off into the western sky, our immediate future was described all too clearly. We figured we had about 15 minutes until the full force of the raging storm would be upon us, and there was no end in sight. So we scrambled to get everything packed back up before the torrential rain hit. Our guess wasn't far off, but we did get packed up pretty quick. So the day was cut short by the storm, as we decided that this wasn't the best time to dive or shoot. The drive home proved to be tedious, as we were following the storm as we drove East, so the long rode got stretched out by the limitation of about 55 miles per hour.
Brady and Becky Tew came with us also (Becky is Hollie's sister). So Kurtis took some pictures and chilled on the dock while the 5 of us went down together. It took a while for us to all equalize and get down, but by the time we did we were ready for some fun. Now the problem that I was having with the whole thing was that Brady, Becky and James all rented their gear from the same dive shop, so they all looked exactly the same in about 50 feet of mucky brown silty water. So that posed some identification problems. We had a lot of fun and took a role of pictures, so hopefully they will turn out well.
After we were done diving, we figured it was high time we blew something up, so we got out the shotguns and started blasting away at clay pigeons. We had a blast! Ha ha pun intended.
After we went into town for dinner, we built a raging fire that was fed by the force of a very sturdy and consistent wind. Throw in some fireworks and some mountain dew, take into consideration that we are in the middle of the *** desert with no one around for about 20 miles, and that is a perfect recipe for a lot of fun. Which is exactly what we did.
Well we had a good night sleep and then the morning came. Remember that foreshadowing that I mentioned a bit ago, well here it comes. The temperature dropped about 30 degrees in a matter of what felt like moments, and the ever present force of the sturdy and consistent wind started to bring precipitation. With a brief glance off into the western sky, our immediate future was described all too clearly. We figured we had about 15 minutes until the full force of the raging storm would be upon us, and there was no end in sight. So we scrambled to get everything packed back up before the torrential rain hit. Our guess wasn't far off, but we did get packed up pretty quick. So the day was cut short by the storm, as we decided that this wasn't the best time to dive or shoot. The drive home proved to be tedious, as we were following the storm as we drove East, so the long rode got stretched out by the limitation of about 55 miles per hour.
October 14th - Party @ Mom's
We decided to do something a bit different with the meal this time. We had a pasta bar. Jen made some awesome meatballs, and people brought pasta and sauces and David made bread sticks. There was a lot of good food. I apparently didn't take many pictures, as these were the best depiction of the entire day. Oh, and Sarah had a way cute skirt on!
Late Night w/ the Boys
Well, it was very late into the wee hours of the morning on the night of October 6th - did that make sense? Well James was dozing, no actually he passed completely out. David and I thought that we would have some fun. So here is James before, during and at completion of our additions to James' slumber, just before we woke him up by the green doll singing. (notice Cloe?)
Thursday, September 20, 2007
Mom's Hall/Laundry/Den Project
Seeing that most of the family hasn't seen any of the progress at Mom's house on her Hall/Laundry/Den Project I figured I would add a couple of pictures. The majority of the work has been contributed by David, with the help of James, Kurtis Pickett and Mike came over to take pictures (and helped a bit).
This is of course David and Mike hanging base boards (9/19/2007)
The picture was taken in the Kitchen door way looking towards the laundry room on the left and the family room-center. The left picture is with no flash, and is closer to the actual color. The picture on the right is with flash. The pictures are a tad bit blurry because I wasn't using the flash so that I could get a more accurate color representation. You will also notice the tile work in the laundry room (Separate picture not included in this post).
Below on the left is looking into the "Den" (Dining Room). The chandelier will be removed as well as the desk in the middle of the room. The picture on the right is about a 30 degree turn to the right (if you match the desk in the center of the room, you would almost have a panoramic picture).
Looking from the Family Room doorway towards the kitchen. These lights will also be removed and updated.
The carpet is scheduled to be installed today (9/20/07) and we anticipate having this place back up and running by this weekend.
This is of course David and Mike hanging base boards (9/19/2007)
The picture was taken in the Kitchen door way looking towards the laundry room on the left and the family room-center. The left picture is with no flash, and is closer to the actual color. The picture on the right is with flash. The pictures are a tad bit blurry because I wasn't using the flash so that I could get a more accurate color representation. You will also notice the tile work in the laundry room (Separate picture not included in this post).
Below on the left is looking into the "Den" (Dining Room). The chandelier will be removed as well as the desk in the middle of the room. The picture on the right is about a 30 degree turn to the right (if you match the desk in the center of the room, you would almost have a panoramic picture).
Looking from the Family Room doorway towards the kitchen. These lights will also be removed and updated.
The carpet is scheduled to be installed today (9/20/07) and we anticipate having this place back up and running by this weekend.
Wednesday, September 12, 2007
Huntsville 5k and Half-Marathon
Colette ran in the Ogden Half-Marathon in May, and she decided that she was going to run another one. In the process of committing to it, she drug me into it also. Well if I was going, then I wanted to take as many people as I could. We talked to Colette's sisters (veteran runners) and David and James and Sarah about it (rookies like myself). They initially all said yes. Well David started his training, and you all know how that ended up - if you forgot CLICK HERE to see what happened. Well James was busy and couldn't do it, but Sarah decided that she would join the ranks of the runners circle and would run the Huntsville Half-Marathon with us. This decision was made back in May. So ever since then we (Colette, Sarah and I) have been training. As part of our training we ran a 5k. Sarah ran with Jen in a SLC area 5k. Colette and I ran in a local church-sponsored 5k. We also did crazy things like run 9.5 miles when we were on vacation up at the Wright Cabin in July. Well after the countless hours and miles September 8th finally came.
It was a clear cool morning. It was cold enough that you needed a jacket but not too cold that you couldn't feel your extremities. We arrived around 7:30 with race time at 8:00. We stood in lines for the bathroom and checked in, pinned on our numbers and got ready for the moment that we had been training for to begin.
We lingered a bit in the back of the crowd, anticipating that we wouldn't be in the winner's circle, and not wanting to get trampled when the whistle blew. So at about 8:07 we started and off we went. We did about a mile loop around the Huntsville Park area before we hit the main road and headed North towards what would be the only view of the lake for the entire run.
Meanwhile at about 8:15 the 5k whistle blew and Daryl and Sybil were off and running. I am not sure what happened, but there is some speculation that Sybil may have missed a turn, so she did a lap around the lake before she made it to the finish line, and turns out she did quite well.
Half-Marathon Map
5k Map
Well back to the Half-ers. We ran in what could be described as a crude figure-8 pattern. So we did a loop then ran back past the park area and then did another loop before making it to the end. So David and Neil, along with Carl were there at the half way point to snap some progress pictures of us.
Oh, I have failed to mention, the other gal in the picture just behind Sarah is Kelli. She has been Sarah's running partner. Turns out she works at ADP, same as me.
I did something that is probably considered bad in the running/racing world, I took my camera and stopped to smell the roses...I mean, take pictures. It took mere seconds for each click and that was something that I was willing to sacrifice for a little fun and some fond memories.
Each of these numbers is the mile markers. And yes 10 means that we had ran 10 miles at that point. 10 miles, wow when you say it like that....
Now the mile 13 mile marker is only 0.1 miles away from the finish line since a Half-Marathon is 13.1 miles, so you can see the finish line just beyond the mile marker.
For those of you who may be wondering, crossing the finish line is a exhilarating, euphoric, and ecstatic feeling. As soon as you can see that finish line off in the distance, the adrenaline kicks in and the after-burners turn on. From that point we could see and hear the masses all gathered to cheer us on in our final moment, our moment of victory!
RACE RESULTS
The the days following the race, Mike was quoted:
"I am happy to say that I came I ran and I have gone home. I am happy that I ran. It was a lot of work getting to that point. I am definitely better conditioned now than any other time in my life to run long distances. (Not necessarily better shape, just better conditioned....) It was very gratifying to have accomplished something like that. I ran with Colette the entire 13.1 miles, and we crossed the finish line holding hands! I took my camera along for the ride and took some pictures along the way, which was kind of fun. I wasn't there to win a medal, I was there to prove to myself that I am able to do something that most people are not willing to attempt. It was a very fun and spirited experience. As a first timer - I felt good about my time, we came in just shy of 3 hours. I have mixed feeling about doing something of that magnitude again, but I guess time will tell. I still have stiff legs but have otherwise recovered from the strain of the run."
Sarah also added:
"I survived as well. It was a good experience. I worked hard to accomplish a goal and feel good. I ran with my friend [Kelli and] we decided to stay together. My only goal was to finish and I feel good about that. There are some pretty neat pictures too! "
It was a clear cool morning. It was cold enough that you needed a jacket but not too cold that you couldn't feel your extremities. We arrived around 7:30 with race time at 8:00. We stood in lines for the bathroom and checked in, pinned on our numbers and got ready for the moment that we had been training for to begin.
We lingered a bit in the back of the crowd, anticipating that we wouldn't be in the winner's circle, and not wanting to get trampled when the whistle blew. So at about 8:07 we started and off we went. We did about a mile loop around the Huntsville Park area before we hit the main road and headed North towards what would be the only view of the lake for the entire run.
Meanwhile at about 8:15 the 5k whistle blew and Daryl and Sybil were off and running. I am not sure what happened, but there is some speculation that Sybil may have missed a turn, so she did a lap around the lake before she made it to the finish line, and turns out she did quite well.
Half-Marathon Map
5k Map
Well back to the Half-ers. We ran in what could be described as a crude figure-8 pattern. So we did a loop then ran back past the park area and then did another loop before making it to the end. So David and Neil, along with Carl were there at the half way point to snap some progress pictures of us.
Oh, I have failed to mention, the other gal in the picture just behind Sarah is Kelli. She has been Sarah's running partner. Turns out she works at ADP, same as me.
I did something that is probably considered bad in the running/racing world, I took my camera and stopped to smell the roses...I mean, take pictures. It took mere seconds for each click and that was something that I was willing to sacrifice for a little fun and some fond memories.
Each of these numbers is the mile markers. And yes 10 means that we had ran 10 miles at that point. 10 miles, wow when you say it like that....
Now the mile 13 mile marker is only 0.1 miles away from the finish line since a Half-Marathon is 13.1 miles, so you can see the finish line just beyond the mile marker.
For those of you who may be wondering, crossing the finish line is a exhilarating, euphoric, and ecstatic feeling. As soon as you can see that finish line off in the distance, the adrenaline kicks in and the after-burners turn on. From that point we could see and hear the masses all gathered to cheer us on in our final moment, our moment of victory!
RACE RESULTS
The the days following the race, Mike was quoted:
"I am happy to say that I came I ran and I have gone home. I am happy that I ran. It was a lot of work getting to that point. I am definitely better conditioned now than any other time in my life to run long distances. (Not necessarily better shape, just better conditioned....) It was very gratifying to have accomplished something like that. I ran with Colette the entire 13.1 miles, and we crossed the finish line holding hands! I took my camera along for the ride and took some pictures along the way, which was kind of fun. I wasn't there to win a medal, I was there to prove to myself that I am able to do something that most people are not willing to attempt. It was a very fun and spirited experience. As a first timer - I felt good about my time, we came in just shy of 3 hours. I have mixed feeling about doing something of that magnitude again, but I guess time will tell. I still have stiff legs but have otherwise recovered from the strain of the run."
Sarah also added:
"I survived as well. It was a good experience. I worked hard to accomplish a goal and feel good. I ran with my friend [Kelli and] we decided to stay together. My only goal was to finish and I feel good about that. There are some pretty neat pictures too! "
Sand Dunes of UT
On September 1st we decided to brave the heat and the crowds of the Sand Dunes. Mike and Colette went down with Neil and Sarah and some other family to enjoy the natural setting of lots and lots of rolling sandy slopes.
I couldn't help not to jump off of a steep slope.
Neil and Sarah couldn't help not to drive up a different steep slope! And yes, that is as steep as it looks! You have got to have mad skills and nerves of solid steel to do this, oh and a really cool 4-wheeler helps too!
Sarah and Neil discussing their plan of action!
I couldn't help not to jump off of a steep slope.
Neil and Sarah couldn't help not to drive up a different steep slope! And yes, that is as steep as it looks! You have got to have mad skills and nerves of solid steel to do this, oh and a really cool 4-wheeler helps too!
Sarah and Neil discussing their plan of action!
David's Family Update
Mindy mentioned that she hasn't seen any kid pictures lately so I figured I would add a very cute one. I took these pictures on August 24. David had a relapse of pain in his injured knee so he was taking advantage of the Wal-Mart hospitality!
Mike's Birthday Present
I wanted to share my Birthday Present with those who haven't seen it. I love it! It is a fire proof (resilient) 16-gun 280 lb Yukon Gold Safe!!! If anyone would like to try and break into it, it is located in the Great Salt Lake.
Cool Cars
I was in Park City on August 11, and found my next vehicle...that I want.
Sarah and Neil bought a fun new car, and Colette snapped a couple of pictures of Sarah and Jen on the Freeway on August 12.
Sarah and Neil bought a fun new car, and Colette snapped a couple of pictures of Sarah and Jen on the Freeway on August 12.
Duplex Project
Neil and I have been working on a Duplex project in West Valley City, and the day we installed the cabinets, we took a couple of pictures. (Installed Cabinets on July 28)
Both sides of the Duplex are now up for sale as of 9/12/07.
Link to Summary Page of House Listing
Both sides of the Duplex are now up for sale as of 9/12/07.
Link to Summary Page of House Listing
Daryl's Hot Rod
I am trying to fill in a few older things, and will note the dates of things.
This is Daryl's Hot Rod! These pictures were taken on July 1, 2007 at Mom's house. His car is a 19XX _______ _______!!! He spent the last ____ months working on it. (I don't know the details, but thought you would appreciate seeing it.)
This is Daryl's Hot Rod! These pictures were taken on July 1, 2007 at Mom's house. His car is a 19XX _______ _______!!! He spent the last ____ months working on it. (I don't know the details, but thought you would appreciate seeing it.)
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