Thanksgiving in Boise

Thanksgiving was a great time. My drive wasn't as long as my siblings who came from Cali but it still felt long. Scott and Natalie were great hosts and had planned tons of activities for all of us. This was a bag game that we played which was pretty fun even though Karen spanked everyone (not literally)! Look at this picture of the Donk going for the bag!

YEAH BABY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!WE WON THE GAME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Parker is a cute kid and has a great smile!

Look how strong Easton is!

This was such a dang fun game. We definitely played indoor basketball more than anything else. Scott and Natalie, that room cannot be furnished! Leave it how it is for the next time we come visit

Here are the dorks with their eyebras. Scott, do not convert to their strange sleeping ways!

Madelyn is a great little talker. She says some of the funniest words. Here's a video of her saying her favorites.

It was a blast and we had a lot of fun. Thanks you guys for making this Thanksgiving just as great as the last one!

Windsor Big Arms

Dang, it has been a while since I last blogged. My Internet at my apartment finally works so I can do this a little bit more. I live in an apartment complex called Windsor Arms. Some guys in our ward have put together a flag football intramural team which I am on. As of late, we have been on fire. We started playoffs a couple of weeks ago and have won four straight games. Our next game will be the week after Thanksgiving. If we win two more games, we go to the championship game. It has been so much fun playing on this team. I play mostly cornerback and wide receiver. Just gotta let you bros know that I've had 5 interceptions in the last 5 games. This last game, we won 26-24. It was a real close game. Here's a video of a catch I made in the last game on Friday night.

Mentos and Diet Coke

Tonight, Erica and I found ourselves watching the Discovery Channel. We found that combining Diet Coke with a couple of mentos will explode into a 15-20 foot fountain. Maybe you all can try this for family home evening or something. Just put some mentos into a 2 liter diet coke and stand back. Here's a video that proves a successful "volcano". Dang, we have exciting lives! I know you are all jealous.
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St. George and The Narrows

(Here I am enjoying life at the pool)

This last weekend, a group of us went to St. George for the weekend to relax. It was great. We stayed at Jessica's aunt's condo and it was a beautiful place. There were three pools behind our condo and about 15 tennis courts, too. The first day we just took it easy at the pool and playing tennis. We also went biking in the evening. The next day we went to Zion's National Park and we hiked a part of the Narrows. It was so awesome. I couldn't believe some of the scenery and the canyons that we hiked through. It was beautiful. We hiked in about 105 degree weather but about 90 percent of the hike was through water so the high temperature didn't bother us at all. Here are so pictures of our hiking trip.

(This felt so dang good!!)

I have so many more pictures but this will have to do for now. The most crazy part of our trip is still yet to come! The next was Sunday so we went to church at a nearby ward and them went the St. George temple. We all went and watched the Joseph Smith movie at the visitor's center.

Alright everyone, here's the crazy part of the trip. We planned on coming home Sunday night but were unable to because of a wildfire about 15 minutes north of St. George was burning close to the freeway. We decided to stay another night and to head back the next day. Early afternoon Monday, two of the guys left about 20 minutes ahead of us. About 2 hours into our drive, my roommate who was in the car ahead of us called me and said to get our cameras ready because there was another wildfire by the Cove Fort exit. He said there was tons of smoke and you could even see the flames. Well, the closer and closer we got, the darker and more smoky the sky became. As we approached the fire, they merged everyone into the left lane and then everyone was stopped. At this time, the flames were not far away from our stationary car and it was quickly gaining speed towards the freeway. I told Jessica and her roommate Ashley that I wasn't feeling too good about this fire coming towards us so quickly while we just sat there. When I said that, a group of trees right next to the freeway went up into flames. Everyone started to make U-turns to get out of there. Ashley was driving at the time and got really scared so we switched seats and I got in the driver's seat. A fireman came up to our window and everyone else's to tell us to get out of there and that the freeway was closed. As we left, we took all of these pics of the fire approaching the freeway. Within about a minute and half, the fire was had made it's way across both freeways and began moving up the mountain on the other side. Check out these flames. It was kind of a closer call than I wanted it to be.

Here we are getting closer

Watch now how these pictures progressively get worse and how the fire gets closer to the freeway. It was out of control!!! Click on all these pictures to enlarge them and to get a better view of the fire.

WOW

By this time we were turned around going the other way. Look at the flames beginning to go over the freeway...keep in mind that we were right there where the fire is about one minute earlier. Look at the cars that are still trying to escape the flames!

Good thing we got out of there when we did eh? This picture looks like there was an explosion by the freeway but it was just the fire engulfing the tall trees next to the road. You can't see too well but this picture enlarged shows cars speeding away from the smoke and the flames just in the nick of time.

If you look closely at this picture, you can barely see that on the left side of the SUV the glowing fire has already reached the median and is working it's way to the other side of the freeway.

We got back safely although I think everyone was a bit shooken up. It was one crazy way to end our amazing St. George trip!

Yeeeeehaw!!! Fun at the Mona Rope Swing

Today, a huge group of us went to a rope swing about 30 minutes south of here in Mona. It was so much fun. You have to climb this tree to get to the top which was actually pretty dang high. It's scary when you get up there and look down. It was so much fun though. The water couldn't have been the cleanest water in the world but no worries. Anyways, here are some pics us catchin' some air!

This one was the doozy. I decided to go one last time before we all left so I could take a video. As I went off this last time though, my legs got caught up in the knots of the rope and it flipped me upside down. It was awesome!! Click the link below to see. Ouch!!!

Bear Lake

This last weekend, a group of about 10 of us went to Bear Lake. It was so much fun. A girl in my ward named Ashley has grandparents that are currently living in a cabin right on the shore of the lake. We all stayed at their place and they provided everything for us. They cooked for us including dutch oven chicken on Saturday night. We were treated like royalty. They had a firepit too and we had hot dogs and smores the first night there. My favorite part were their waverunners. I spent all day on those things and paid the price by getting pretty sunburnt. It was well worth it though. We fell off those things a few times doing doughnuts and the water is pretty dang cold. Man, I want some jet skis now!

We played this game where you have to eat a smore without licking your lips. It was fun to see how much marshmallow everyone got on their faces.

These are the waverunners that I drove all day long which is why I've got a nasty sunburn that is making my skin peel now.

Lord of the Dance!

Cali was shweet!!! I had fun helpin' Brady move out there. The drive out there was even great. Brady and I found some opera station on the radio and decided to call Mom so that we could serenade her with our beautiful opera voices. It was quite humorous. Anyhow, we got Brady moved in and had a blast everyone out there. Here's something that you won't find on on Cornscuzz's and Kyrsten's blog. I started to film the kids dancing and Corndog decided to do a little dance of his own. Click on pic to see this little dancy dance Cornbreath does.

Our Temple Trip

About two weeks ago, my roommates and I had the opportunity to go to the temple with Mike Kubista (guy in the middle with white shirt and tie) who is also my roommate. Mike was introduced to the church a little over a year ago in the military. He was befriended by a guy named John who was converted about a year prior. John talked to Mike about the church. One thing that really surprised Mike more than anything was that there were college students that lived the standards that were given them by the church. He had never really seen that. He decided to come to Provo to visit John for week and noticed that there really were people who lived by their church's standards. He investigated the church and was baptized in February of 2005. He now is an endowed member and worthy Melchizedek priesthood holder. It was a great experience for all of us to go through the temple with him and to see how much his life has really changed this past year.

My Trip to So. Cal!

Last week UVSC had a spring break from Wednesday through the weekend. It was some great time to just relax. On Thursday though, I took a little trip over to Southern California. It was great. We drove all night Thursday, stopped in Vegas, and arrived to our destination Friday morning. We slept for a little bit and then we headed to the Santa Monica beach. It was a beautiful beach and a beautiful day. The sun was shining all day and we just had a blast.

That was Friday that we went to beach. The next day, we decided that we wanted to go to Disneyland so we did. It is of course, the happiest place on Earth so it was a blast but I wanted to go to California Adventure instead because I think it's a lot better. It's all good though. I can't complain. Here are some pics from out Disneyland day.

From left to right: Joe, Joanne, Ashley, Me, Jamie (in the back), and Jessica

Left to Right: Jessica, Ashley, and Joanne

We came home on Sunday night. It was a great trip and I can't wait to go back to California. I really like the warm weather.

OUCH!!!

I've been playing basketball all my life and never have had a sprained ankle like this. One week ago I was playing basketball with a group of guys at a church over by the temple. It was the last game of the night and I went up for a rebound and came down on another guy's foot. Needless to say, I rolled my ankle and this is the result. I'm a freakin' gimp now and the ankle still looks the same today. The important thing is that our team went 5-0 that night spankin' da' competition. We didn't lose so it was all worth it. Watch out brothers because the next time we play, the ankle will have healed and you all are going down!!!

Who's It Gonna Be?

Alright my peeps! It's that time of the year again. It's March Madness! Who's gonna take it all and who's going to be that pesky Cinderella team? Well, this is how its going to be right here. This is my bracket bretheren and sisteren (click to bracket to enlarge). Now kids, ya'll need to post your brackets so I can see who you all are going to pick to win. If not the whole bracket, let me know who you think is going to the Final Four and who will take it all. Choose wisely and good luck with your brackets!

P.S. The D.R. won Venezuela and advances to the next round!!!

They Lose One but Strike Back Against Cuba

Unfortunately, the Dominican Republic lost a game to undefeated Puerto Rico. They came back though and beat a very good Cuba team the next day. They play Venezuela again tomorrow at 5 and will advance to the next round with a victory. Hopefully, tomorrow they will come out on top. Pa'lante!!!

The Dominicans Make it Look Easy

Albert Pujols hits a 2-run shot in the 3rd inning

Well, they did it again today. The Dominican Republic spanked the competition with an impressive victory over Italy 8-3. They have a roster of all-stars and continue to play well. Sorry, I had to update everyone. I just got Dominican pride in me!! They play again tomorrow at 5 pm against Australia. Cheer for 'em ya'll. Pa'lante!!!

The D.R. is Off to a Hot Start

David Ortiz and Adrian Beltre

They both had 2 HR's a piece today.

The Dominican Republic started off the World Baseball Classic with a bang today. They beat Venezuela in their first game 11-5. I just thought that I would keep ya'll updated on how they do in this tournament. It's baseball country down there so I'm dang excited to see how they do. Hopefully, they keep winning and I won't have any sad games to update you on. Anyways, cheer on the Dominicans because they have a freakin' good team and hopefully they'll end up takin' the whole thing. Next up, Italy on Thursday at 11 am. Pa' lante!!!

A Cookie Phenomenon

Alright everyone. I want you to prepare yourselves. This is something that I want all of you to try. I know that everyone is going to love it. When I was out in California visiting Cory and Kristen I had them try it. It is a pretty sweet chocolate invention. I'm going to teach you all what to do and I expect everyone to try it and to report back to me on how they liked it. This is what you do. Go to your local grocery store and buy the "Keebler Grasshopper" (they are chocolate mint) cookies. Next, brew up some hot chocolate. As shown in this picture, take a tiny bite out of each end of the cookie.

Now this next part takes some skill as Kristen quickly learned. She ended spilling hot chocolate onto herself. As shown in the picture below, put one end of the cookie into the hot chocolate and suck it up just like a straw through the cookie. As soon as you taste the hot chocolate, put the whole cookie in your mouth and enjoy. The cookie just melts in your mouth and it tastes amazing.

Cory and Kristen can testify on how good this really is. Try it everyone and let me know how it goes. Enjoy.