Leaving Google

It was surprisingly hard to leave Google.  When it came down to some of our "lasts" - last family dinner at Charlie's Cafe, last swim in the pool, last time seeing certain friends, and last day on the job - Angela and I both had mixed feelings.  We felt excited for the future, but melancholy about this chapter in our lives closing.  I had not had a perfect last year at Google, and it had been very hard for me with my manager and a few other things.  I had also been feeling strong desires to go smaller because Google has been feeling very big to me. So all those things were still true, and I was happy for the new job, but there are things I will miss about Google.

1. Good friends and people
2. Working for the most recognizable company in the world (I admit it, I liked saying, "I work for Google, you heard of them?")
3. The swimming pools
4. The food.  I always said this was something I wouldn't necessarily miss as much, but now that I'm a couple weeks removed from it, I realize how easy it made it for me to eat healthy (or not, when I chose) - including the microkitchen snacks.  It's harder for me now to decide what I'm going to eat, and it's easy to fall into bad habits.
5. The beautiful campus - I'll always remember riding the bikes between buildings on sunny days
6. The bonuses - $1,000 cash every once in a while, and Christmas gifts (this year was a brand new sweet phone, or a Google TV ... looks like I left a few weeks too early!)
7. A publicly traded stock.  It wasn't always fun to watch the fluctuations, but it doesn't get much better than when the stock shoots up after a particularly good earnings call.
8. Travel.  I'm pretty sure my new job isn't going to take me to London or Dublin, or even New York.  Those weren't always fun at the time, but it's nice to be able to broaden your geography every once in a while.
9. Using all the Google products, including the new and unreleased ones, all the time.  I'm relearning Outlook in my new job, and suffering withdrawals from the lack of internal IM.

The good thing is that Google will always be in my memory, and always be on my resume.  Could be worse...

Hello World!

What an amazing month we've had since I wrote last.  There has already been so much change in our lives, it's been impossible to keep up on the blog.  But I've been feeling an urgency to pick it back up, and to be more consistent with it, so that we can communicate all the great things in our lives with everyone.

So to recap some of the important background developments, you'll remember that I accepted a new job in Provo, UT.  This set off the expected crazy string of events, the first of which was a short trip to Utah to look around for housing.

Angela had been spending a lot of time looking online for homes in Provo, Highland, and Alpine, so we were going to focus our search in those cities.  But first we had to get there.  We were already going to St George for a few days over Thanksgiving with Spencer and Molly's family, so we decided we would head to Provo for a couple days before since we were going to the state anyway.  Problem was, there was a huge storm coming in on the weekend we had to travel, but because we only had a very limited window, and we felt it was important enough for us to house hunt, we decided to chance it and drive through the storm.  The usual 11-12 hour trip turned into a 15+ hour trip thanks to a 2 hour stop before Tahoe since they close the roads, a major spin out in which it was a complete miracle we didn't plow into one of the many cars around us when we lost control (and that there was a tow truck 30 seconds behind us to pull us out), and multiple storms along the route that left us driving white-knuckled and slow.  But we made it, and it could have been MUCH worse, so we were grateful.

The house hunting was fruitful, but not in the way Angela expected.  We spent time driving around looking, and in the end she was really frustrated because she wasn't feeling good about things.  I had liked an Ivory Homes development in Provo, but didn't talk much about it because there was lots left to see (it was the first stop of the day), and I didn't want to taint Angela's opinion by offering mine.  By day's end she was frustrated, overwhelmed, and wishing we weren't moving.  But it turns out that the seeds were planted - more to come later...

St George was a blast.  Highlights included:

• swimming and hot-tubbing at the outdoor pool every day despite the very cold temperatures
• awesome red-rock hikes that the kids really loved, and got us all outside and exercising in a fun way
• a fun visit to Grandma Gurr
• taking the families to the movie Tangled (very good and fun)
• taking the adults to the move Unstoppable (yes, my second time, but well worth it)
• good meals, including a great home-cooked Thanksgiving dinner, as well as a visit to the St George Pizza & Pasta Factory, which was a huge hit (and we also saw some old friends there - Craig and Kay Ward)
• motorcycle and scooter rides around the neighborhood with the kids
• and an amazing round of golf with Spencer at the normally inaccessible private Entrada golf course

And after a great trip to St George, we then made it home in time for our annual 7-year tradition of going with all our awesome friends to the Los Altos Festival of Lights Parade.  We will REALLY miss that tradition.

I'll stop there for now.  Watch for more updates to come...

Unstoppable

Saw the movie Unstoppable last night - great show!  I highly recommend it.  I was a little drained at the end because of the intensity, but I thoroughly enjoyed it.  Or maybe it was the after effects of the best prime rib french dip sandwich I've ever had prior to the movie - outstanding!

So as I wind down my current work situation, I have to admit I'm in a fairly nice place.  I've already transitioned all my work, and my manager indicated to me that he is happy to have me spend as much time as I need getting ready for my move, etc.  So bottom line, I'm not working a lot of hours, and it feels great after many months of stress and tension to have very little work-related worry.  I had forgotten how nice it is to start over by taking a new job!

We're trying not to think of the 30-40 degree temperature differential between Los Altos and Provo right now.  It has been so amazing the last month in terms of weather - sunny, mid 70s (and even up close to 80 at times), and we know we're headed to colder climes very soon.  Should be an interesting winter...

Some cool quotes from John Wooden

John Wooden was the legendary coach of the UCLA Bruins during their unmatched championship dynasty in US college basketball.  He was also widely respected as a humble, honorable, decent man.  A friend shared some of his quotes recently and I thought I'd pass them along.  




"The best thing a father can do for his children is to love their mother."

“It is amazing how much can be accomplished if no one cares who gets the credit.”

"Winning takes talent, to repeat takes character."

"Listen if you want to be heard."

“Be more concerned with your character than your reputation, because your character is what you really are, while your reputation is merely what others think you are.”

"You can't let praise or criticism get to you. It's a weakness to get caught up in either one."

“Never make excuses. Your friends don’t need them and your foes won’t believe them.”

"The main ingredient of stardom is the rest of the team."

"A man may make mistakes, but he isn't a failure until he starts blaming someone else."

"Some criticism will be honest, some won't. Some praise you will deserve, some you won't. You can't let praise or criticism get to you. It's a weakness to get caught up in either one."

“If you get yourself too engrossed in things over which you have no control, it will adversely affect the things over which you do have control.”

"A strong leader accepts blame and gives the credit. A weak leader gives blame and accepts the credit."

"The star of every successful team is the team."

"Peaks and valleys belong in the Alps, not in the temperament - the emotions - of a leader."

"Be prepared and be honest."

"Consider the rights of others before your own feelings, and the feelings of others before your own rights."

"Don't measure yourself by what you have accomplished, but by what you should have accomplished with your ability."

"If you're not making mistakes, then you're not doing anything. I'm positive that a doer makes mistakes."

"It's the little details that are vital. Little things make big things happen."

"Never mistake activity for achievement."

"The worst thing about new books is that they keep us from reading the old ones."

"Tell the truth. That way you don't have to remember a story."

"Don't let making a living prevent you from making a life."

"A coach is someone who can give correction without causing resentment."

"Five years from now, you’re the same person except for the people you’ve met and the books you’ve read."

"Talent is God-given. Be humble.
Fame is man-given. Be grateful.
Conceit is self-given. Be careful.”

"You can't live a perfect day without doing something for someone who will never be able to repay you."

Stuff Going On

A lot has happened since I last wrote.  Lots of good things in fact.  Let me see if I can recap in rough chronological order...

We had a family member, Meredith, go through the temple for the first time, and even though Ang and I weren't able to travel to join them, it was awesome to be a part of it remotely.  We went to the temple ourselves that same day, and had a great time thinking of our close family bonds, and the blessings we've been given.  We're so happy for Dave and Mere!

Micah and Angela took a little day trip down to L.A. for an audition that Micah's agent lined up for her.  It was a fun experience for them to drive down together, leaving early in the morning, do the audition for like 10 minutes, and then drive home.  I think they were really watched over because Angela had no problem staying awake, which if you know Angela, you'll realize how amazing that is.  It turns out Micah didn't get the call back, but she was fine with that, and I know of at least one parent who was secretly relieved that there wasn't going to be a repeat day trip a few days later.

And then there's this little thing called the World Series.  I completely get why much of the country loses interest in the WS when their team isn't playing.  What I didn't really understand until this year was how amazing it can be for the entire broad community when your local team is actually one of the participants, and then even moreso if they happen to win it.  It was AWESOME how literally everyone you saw was somehow sporting Giants gear, talking about the Giants, or hurrying home to watch pregame - yes, I said watch pregame... before a baseball game...  Anyway, our whole family was really, really into it, and when the Giants won the Series we celebrated with all our friends.

Halloween was fun, but also a little more low-key this year since it was on Sunday.  We enjoyed the ward trunk-or-treat, and were surprised to come home with 2x the amount of candy then we went with.  The kids really made a killing by circling the parking lot 10 or 12 times and completely filling their bags.  We had a number of Halloween parties throughout the weekend, the most memorable being a lady in our ward who goes completely wacko about Halloween, converting her entire house into a shrine to Halloween, and a very good spook alley - very fun!  Of course all the trick or treating was done on Sunday, and we decided to participate with some friends in a reserved manner.  We stayed all together as a family instead of letting them run off with their friends, and it was actually very fun.  We have good kids and they were pretty respectful of the fact that it was still Sunday.  Micah was a 50s poodle girl, Kennan was a Greek goddess, Morgan was a Barbie, and Brig was Commander Cody from Star Wars.

And finally, I got a new job.  This was a crazy process.  I was originally referred to this software company in Provo called Imagine Learning by a close friend who had worked with the company on a deal.  I began the process of interviewing, and it progressed to a visit to Utah a couple weeks ago for some in-person interviews.  I think our families started to realize at that point that something might be going on, but we still kept it pretty low profile because we never knew what would happen.  When I was interviewing at IL, they told me I was one of four final candidates, and they'd let me know early the next week what their decision was.  So I waited.  And waited.  The next week went by, and with each passing day I convinced myself more and more that I had not made the cut.  The funny thing was, if it was someone else, I would've encouraged them to be patient, and that it just takes time, particularly if the company has a lot of real work going on ... however, since it was me, every hour that went by meant I had missed out.  At the time I was also interviewing for a new job inside Google, and I had a number of interviews for that throughout the week.  On Friday late afternoon I came out of a particularly good interview, feeling pretty good about what the new Google job might offer, and I had decided to go over to the Director's office and announce I was ready to start (he had already unofficially offered me the job).  And then my phone rang.  It was the CFO of IL; he explained how there were two final candidates - myself and one other - and that we both had our pluses.  He said it had taken so long because he and the CEO wanted to make sure they made the right choice, so they had each taken a few days to contemplate on their own.  He told me how the other candidate had more experience, and was more familiar with Utah County - at this point I was waiting for him to say they had chosen the other guy.  He then went on to say that he and the CEO had both come to the same conclusion independently - that I was their guy and they were going to give me an offer.  I was completely surprised, and very excited.  It was so fun to call Angela and tell her the good news.  So when the offer came in the next week, we went through the evaluation process, and it all seemed good.  Ang and I both found ourselves talking and thinking as if we were going to take it, and we both felt really good about it, so it just was a matter of finalizing some further details, and then signing my name.  It was surprisingly hard to make it official, but we couldn't think of any reason not to other than the fact that we'd miss our friends in CA.  So we did it, and we're going to now go through a huge change for our family.  The kids were all very surprised and completely excited when we told them.  That initial excitement has worn off a little for Angela and Micah as they've gone through the process of telling their great friends about the pending move.  They both still feel good about it and are excited, but when you have life-changing friends, it's hard to say goodbye.  It would be impossible to overstate the impact our friends have had on our lives while we've been here.  They truly are our family in many ways.  We love them and will miss them dearly.  The one consolation in this is that nearly all of our friends have strong ties to Utah, and almost all will visit there frequently - we plan on hijacking numerous Utah vacations for selfish reasons.

So there you have it - lots of good stuff.  We've been very blessed.

Check this out...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AyVdbfyvwso

Family

We had a really fun family activity last night.  We spread out a picnic blanket on the floor of the TV room, added plastic place mats, and feasted on grilled pork chops, gnocchi, broccoli, and chips & salsa while we watched the Giants win the NLCS.  We all cheered loudly as the Giants made good plays, groaned when they didn't, and were pleasantly surprised when they won to clinch a berth in the World Series.  The kids (and Angela) had a lot of questions about baseball, and Morgan at times was more interested in stretching and doing ballet moves than watching baseball, but we still had a great time.  It was a fun family-together night and even better because the Giants won.

It's raining and gray.  We've actually had to turn the heat on in the house as the inside temperature has been hovering in the low 60s because of the cool humidity outside.  Fortunately this last week was good though.  I had a big Finance offsite down in Carmel, where they put us up at a very nice resort, and we had our choice of Thursday activities before a nice dinner and party that night.  I chose golf, of course, and enjoyed playing a very nice course in a beautiful valley ... for free.  I had a good time seeing lots of old work friends that I haven't seen in quite a while, and being in a non-work environment.  At breakfast the next morning I can tell you I was very glad I don't drink alcohol.  Everyone else at the table looked hung over and definitely worse for the wear.  It made me smile thinking of the freedom our values actually create, rather than the restrictions.

Micah led our ward's entire Young Women in a song during sacrament meeting.  Her leaders had asked her to teach the song to the group, and then to lead it when they sang.  It was beautiful, and we were proud of the way she stepped up and took it seriously.  Her leaders also commented that they were impressed with her confidence in teaching the song and leading much older girls.

Bi-weekly catch-up post

It seems like I've had so much to write about lately, that I end up just not writing anything at all.  I know, doesn't make much sense.  What's on my mind today may not reflect something that would have been interesting a few days ago.  So sorry for the delays.

We had an awesome weekend.  Saturday morning we loaded up the kids in the car and on the spur of the moment drove up to San Francisco and walked around for a few hours.  It was crowded but fun.  Our friends the Hursts joined us, and that made the kids happy as their kids are friends.  We haven't done that as often as we probably should, but we enjoy it each time we do - enjoy being up there, and enjoy leaving - so it's a win-win.  :)

Here's another point of awesomeness that some of you men will be green with envy about.  I got home last night from a meeting that went a bit late, and I was wondering where everyone was.  To my surprise, I found Angela and all the kids gathered around the Giants playoff game, watching to the bitter end even though the Phillies had that one wrapped up.  Yes, my wife turned on the Giants game, and they watched it ... without me there ... there is a big grin on my face right now.

Kennan is off this week to her 5th grade week-long field trip for outdoor education.  She has been SO excited for it, as in wanting to start packing like 3 weeks ago excited.  She was beaming this morning on the way out the door - hopefully she feels the same way throughout the week and has a great time.

It's political season again.  I have found myself less and less interested in following candidates, platforms, and races.  I think the thing that has really turned me off is all the mudslinging and negative campaign ads on both sides.  The big race here is for CA governor between Meg Whitman, former eBay CEO, and Jerry Brown, former failed politician.  I actually think Meg would do a good job, and I'll vote for her, but I admit I automatically turn the channel any time a political ad comes on because it's 100% guaranteed to be negative.

Lots going on this week.  I'll try to post more frequently to capture thoughts as they happen, rather than too late.

Fun on our Feet

This last Saturday was the kids' school walkathon.  It's a very common thing out here where schools raise money by getting students to ask friends and family for donations based on the number of miles they walk at the walkathon.  Our kids have always enjoyed the event - not that they do incredible mileage, but it's a fun time to be with their friends the whole day and it's a good way for them to earn little prizes for each mile they walk.  So guess who walked the most miles on Saturday ... Brig.  That little guy walked 7 miles, with the girls somewhere relatively close behind.  And he was asking to keep going when it was finally time to call it a day.  That kid's a stud.

Angela and I were set to go out to dinner with some friends on Friday night, but they called to say they had gotten some free tickets to a concert and would we like to do that instead.  Angela called me and said, "it's some band called 'Cheese Trick', have you heard of them?"  Well when I stopped laughing, I was able to explain to her that it probably was "Cheap Trick", yes I had heard of them, and it sounded like fun.  It was at a small venue called the Mountain Winery, and it turned out to be a very fun evening.  There were six of us there together, both other couples not people we regularly hang out with, but was VERY fun to be with them.  It felt refreshing to expand our circle of friends and realize there are lots of great couples and friends out there who are fun to be with.  The concert was loud, and we stood the entire time, so we were tired and had ringing ears by the end of the night, but it was lots of fun.  And by the way, they were Steve Young's tickets...

Hello Saturday, October 2

Six months ago today I had my knee surgery.  Seems like it hasn't been that long, but I'm definitely glad to be on this side of it than the other.  While it generally feels good, I have only just started going out on some tentative, short runs this past week.  It's ok that it takes a while to heal fully, as long as it does...


This morning is a big tradition for our family.  For many years we have been in St George, UT for the wonderful and challenging St George marathon.  I have run it 8 times, Angela has done it 6.  It's funny how we really miss being there this year.  So in honor of our good times there, and in early preparation for next year when I WILL be back there, here are my favorite memories of STG:

• The training - it has to start with the training - long, laborious, fun when with good running partners
• The anticipation - starts really building on the drive out there
• The Expo - fighting the crowds and parking congestion (especially if you go late in the day on Friday), always seem to see old friends, fun to browse the booths, and of course, getting the race packet & timing chip mean it's finally real
• The dinner - fretting about what to eat, and where - in the end being happy to stay at the condo and cook a good normal dinner
• The race prep - laying out clothes and gear, pinning number to jersey, arranging gels, maybe going over a pace chart if feeling like the next day could be fast
• The down time - hard to go to bed too early, so maybe watch a movie, a game, anything to relax
• The fitful night - not too much sleep, seems like as soon as you start actually sleeping the alarm goes off in the total dark
• The bus - getting to Worthen Park, usually with some degree of stress to not miss the buses, boarding a bus for the drive up Snow Canyon, wishing I hadn't started hydrating already, wishing I had an empty Gatorade bottle for emergency use because I had started hydrating already
• The starting line - music, lights, bonfires, a long row of port-o-lets, people everywhere, lots of nervous energy and jitters, sometimes freezing, sometimes not too bad, meeting friends, waiting in line at the 'Lets, stripping off layers, throwing the clothing bag into the Uhaul, feeling uncomfortable in all my lubed regions, stretching cold muscles, fighting into the crowds all cramming over to the road, trying not to lose friends and running partners, getting watch ready, wishing I'd used the 'Let one more time, wondering how I was going to actually run with all those people around
• The Horn - hearing the horn go off, the crowd slowly starting to inch forward, the surreal feeling of "wow, I guess this is when I start running after all these months...", seeing the starting banner and timing pad approaching, hitting Start on my watch as I cross the start line, and here we go
• The race - starting in the dark wishing it was a little lighter, winding and gently rolling hills for the first 6 miles, pulling over once or twice to water the sage brush, coming down into the tiny town of Veyo for the first spectators, Veyo hill looming, slogging up Veyo hill, cresting Veyo hill and feeling the sun for the first time, realizing it's going to be a hot day, dreading the long slow 3-mile steady incline through Dameron valley, wishing it was darker, making it to the top of Dameron Valley, anticipating Snow Canyon where family and friends will greet you, running down into Snow already feeling tired and maybe a little cramping starting to peak through, stopping for a quick drink and hug from the fam, pushing through the wall at mile 18, starting to anticipate running down into the city as you near miles 21 and 22, super steep hills - both up and down - that really hurt, some years hitting full leg cramp mode that requires a few unplanned walking sessions, dropping down into St George amid the spectators and heat, concentrating on putting one foot in front of the other, seeing runners sitting on the street or curb, pushing on because you have to, rounding seemingly endless twists and turns, and all of a sudden there's the finish line, the longest slightly uphill finishing straight known to man, the crowds cheering wildly on either side of the barriers, the announcer calling out names as you near the timing pad, crossing the finish line with arms raised, the glorious feeling of being able to stop, volunteers cutting off your timing chip, putting a medal around your neck, enjoying the coolness of the misters, heading for the food
• The food - Great Harvest bread is my favorite if I have the energy to eat, more liquids, a banana and other fruit
• The park - grabbing a massage ticket, searching for family and friends, taking pictures, staying cool or staying warm - depending on the year, rejoicing or agonizing over the run - again depending on the year
• The massage - painful, heaven
• The end

Sports stuff

Let me sum it up for you: The sport I love most is less appealing to me than ever, and the sport I rarely care about has captured my complete attention.  That happens when "your" team is either good or bad.  

1. Major League Baseball - or more specifically, the SF Giants:  I like the Giants.  I've liked the Giants ever since Barry Bonds left.  They're a scrappy team with great pitching, a sweet ballpark, cool caps, great alternative Friday-night old school pumpkin orange jerseys, but they usually can't hit, and they can't score runs.  I listen to games all the time on my way home from work, or maybe catch an at-bat or two on TV after the kids go to bed, but until this year, I have not been very focused on seeing them play unless I was sitting at the ballpark with a Brat in hand.  This year has changed that as they've proved to be good enough to challenge for a division pennant, and a spot in the playoffs.  That hasn't happened in a lot of years, and it's pretty exciting - even to the point that I'll actually sit down and watch near-complete games, or at least large portions of games, and really care if the Giants win.  Six games to go, and they're currently leading their division --- PLEASE tell me I didn't just jinx their chances!!!!!
2. BYU Football and College Football in general:  This is by far my favorite sport and team.  This also makes it by far the most frustrating when they stink up the joint.  I know, I know, they had moments where they looked good in a couple of their recent losses, but still...  It's not that I'm spitting mad, it's more that I care a lot less now that they're ordinary.  I'm definitely not a fair weather fan - I still watch and agonize - but I've realized I care less about it with all the uncertainty around how good they are, how they'll do on any given Saturday, what the nation thinks about them, etc.  Not worth worrying about right now.  And to have Texas play terribly last Saturday just sort of killed my other football team cheering motivation too.  Uggh.
3. NFL Football:  I actually care about the SF 49ers because it's my local team, and I love football, period.  But they're just downright bad - at least they've played that way this season.  Today they just fired their Offensive Coordinator, which usually means a tough year ahead.  The normally staunch defense has been swiss cheese, so they really have no chance because their QB stinks.
4. Utah Jazz:  and somewhere in the middle is usually the NBA.  I'm actually pretty interested in the start of this season because of the new players the Jazz picked up, and the new good feelings that seem to be floating around the team with the changes.  Problem is, they're not even my hometown team, so it feels a little funny calling myself a "Jazz fan".  I don't know, do I still qualify if I don't actually see that many games during the season?

Fogged or Streaked?

I don't have terrible eyesight, but I do wear contacts every day.  I've had a few episodes over the last three months in which I'll have severe pain and some swelling in my right eye.  I had some drops that helped, but it never seemed like the problem completely went away.  So I finally went to the Eye Dr this week (I know, three months later...), and there's an infection on my cornea that can't completely heal because my contacts keep going on and scratching up the infection.  So that's the cause of my bloodshot eye if anyone has noticed.

Now I can't wear my contacts for a week or two to let the eye heal.  I don't like my glasses, but obviously there's no choice.  The worst part is the exercise, which I first tried yesterday morning on an early bike ride.  The main problem is that the glasses either fog up, or they get really streaked with sweat - I'm not sure which one's worse, because either way, it's tough to see.  I might try the contact-in-the-left-eye-but-not-the-right-eye trick and see how that goes.

Besides that, I feel funny wearing glasses all day - I look like a nerd.

451

I counted up my previous blog posts yesterday and was stunned to learn that I had posted 450 times since the inception of jamkmb.  So I'm not math whiz (like Brig), but I guess that makes this #451.

In case you were wondering, the beard is gone.  I got to Sunday morning and decided I couldn't take the itching any more (with an assist from my loving wife, who has reservations about shaggy bearded men).  Maybe I'll try it again though - I got a lot of fun feedback while I had it.

Another fun thing is that I finished the Book of Mormon again this week.  It always feels like a good accomplishment, even if it did ending taking us longer than our BoM challenge suggested we should take.  I decided to read the Doctrine & Covenants now since it's been a long time since I read that book.  Already enjoying the change of pace.

As many of you know, Google is famous for their food.  What you may not know is that it's not just about the cafes.  The idea is that no Googler will ever be more than 150 ft away from food and drinks, so they have microkitchens all over the place with food and drinks.  This is a good thing, or a bad thing, depending on your perspective.  Recently, my building's been running a pilot of a program called Extreme Healthy microkitchens, so they've removed all the sodas, juices, chips, candy, and everything else that's not really good for you, and replaced it with lots of different waters, fruit, and healthy snacks in general.  As you can tell from the picture, my favorite is Hint water.  It's water with a hint of flavoring.  My favorites are Raspberry-Lime, Mango-Grapefruit, and Blackberry (you'll want to stay away from the Honeydew-Hibiscus or the Pomegranate-Tangerine).  I also realized when they got healthy, that the vast majority of what I usually eat, is still available - meaning that I do a good job of eating healthy stuff.  Good times.

And speaking of work, my officemate and I are both golfers.  In fact, we've been golfing most Friday mornings before work for the past couple of months.  We also have a putting green laid down in our office, and one of us will bring in our putter, which I now consider required office furniture (does that mean I can get the company to reimburse me for mine?).  I just got a new Odyssey putter so I've been bringing it in to get a feel for it, and I love it.  We have a running contest on who can hit the most in a row from a certain spot - he's at 27 and I'm lagging at 19.  It's a nice break during busy days.

OK, until #452 then...

First Day of Fall...

With the start of each new season, I always think "I LOVE Fall/Spring/Summer..., etc." I think it represents a change, however small, and progress. I also associate certain things and events with the different seasons - for example, when I wake up on a Fall Saturday morning to crisp air and early morning sunshine, I feel like I should go for a long run before the football game starts.

As yesterday was the first day of Fall 2010, I celebrated by going on a short bike ride after work, and I really enjoyed riding up a mountain with the leaves starting to change color and the cool air. It's funny because the weather is consistent here that there was probably no physical difference from the day before, but it at least mentally felt like the true first day of Fall.

I spent a good hour and a half last night helping Kennan study for her science test today. She's a smart girl but has been struggling with her new teacher's teaching style, and it's been showing in her tests and quizzes. So as painful as it can sometimes be, I enjoy helping her because it really makes her happy to learn things, and I can see her confidence grow as she realizes she can do it.

We were driving in the car over the weekend, and the road turned a bit bumpy. We went fast over a relatively big bump, and Brig said, "oh! that made my private parts tickle!" You should have heard us laugh... He's also been fixated recently on math problems. He walks around the house challenging everyone with things like "what's one hundred plus nine?" Or he'll say "what's 9 + 8?" and then blurt out "18!" He even got to the point last night where he said at the dinner table: "what's air plus air? ... Air!", accompanied by his usual proud smile. We'll work on that one.

Angela is participating in her very first triathlon this Saturday. I can't wait to go see her, and I'll try to post pictures later if she lets me. She's been ruling my blog commentary with a bit of an iron fist lately (just kidding honey :-), so not sure if she'll let me tell you how great she is, how hot she looks, how fast she was, etc.

The new look...

Nobody tell my mom (just kidding mom!), but I decided to start growing a beard for a change of pace. As you can see from the picture, I'm only a few days into it, and I'm not sure it'll even last through the week because it's starting to itch. I like it though because I forget about it until I see myself in the mirror and I get a small shock each time. No major complaints yet from Ang or the girls...

Sunshine

You know you've had a sunny summer when you find yourself looking forward to rainy days. Micah and I were talking about it in the car on the way to school - we both like rainy days because they're different. That's probably a funny perspective to someone who lives in a wetter climate. Then again, it's nice to know I can ride my bike outside whenever I planned to, so that's definitely a good side to predictably sunny weather.

On the less literal but just as important side of "sunshine", things are really looking up for our Provo house. We are going to be able to sell the house to our current renters, so it looks like there's a light at the end of the tunnel - that proverbial sunshine after the storm. I'll post more when things are final, but it feels like this is a huge step for us, and it really sounds like it's going to happen. Very, very happy!

Feeling very close to family members at the moment. We're grateful for everyone's thoughts, prayers, and friendship, which gives us things to look forward to, people to share our happiness with, and also loved ones to share burdens with.

Micah and I both just finished the Hunger Games books. They are very, very good, but also more and more disturbing as they go along, ending with a pretty gritty third book. I guess I was hoping for something a little more uplifting in the end, but then again, probably not realistic given the subject matter. All in all though, awesome books.

Miracles, and more to come...

My apologies to the 3 of you who read the blog - I don't mean to be a slacker, but it just happens that way.

We have seen miracles this week from the Lord as it pertains to our Provo house, and it is impossible to adequately express our gratitude. I'm not going to go into details quite yet because a lot is still happening, but things are looking better for us on that front than they have for a couple of years. It was very nice to devote our whole fast on Sunday to gratitude, rather than pleading.

We heard on Sunday that the Oakland temple was open on Labor Day, so Angela and I took the opportunity to go. We intended to do initiatories, which we've been doing lately because they are somewhat quicker than a session, but they weren't actually doing that yesterday so we did some sealings. I admit I wasn't able to concentrate on the ceremonies as much because my surgically repaired knee hurts to kneel on, but we both really enjoyed being able to serve for a short time. I have to say though, I especially love the time in the car with Angela - it seems like we have some of our best talks on the way to and from the temple.

I also took Brig to the golf course where we both practiced our chipping and putting. Brig kept telling me he was better because he would hit it farther than I did. It was fun to do that kind of thing with him, and I hope to make it a habit. We also played tennis this weekend, which was fun, and we topped it off with a swim party and BBQ at friends house. Really fun weekend.

We had fun watching the BYU football game on Saturday. It was great to see them win, and I was pleasantly surprised with how well they did given how young they are in general.

Also, Angela's been eating differently and exercising a lot, and she looks amazing right now. She always looks great, but she's taken it to a whole new level. Makes me motivated to follow in her example.

Tripping

I've been in Dublin and London this week, and I've really enjoyed it. I'm headed home today (YES!!!!!!!), so in tribute to a productive and enjoyable trip, here are a few observations:

1. I don't handle big time zone changes well. How is it possible to be so tired during the day, and then wide awake in the middle of the night? Although it's true that if you get tired enough (i.e. 2-3 nights of barely sleeping), you'll eventually crash and sleep through a night (the 4th night).

2. There are really smart people in our offices in these two places. It's been very fun and enlightening to meet with lots of folks, learn from them, and just work with them. I'm the first to admit I have much I can learn from others.

3. When you travel, you don't eat very well. I'm probably better off than most because I have the benefit of most meals at Google cafes, but I find myself getting hungry at the strangest times. I'm sure it's correlated to the weird sleep patterns, but when I'm rooting around my hotel room looking for snacks, famished, at 2am, that's definitely not my norm.

4. I had lunch with a friend who works in London, and despite at least 4 years since we've seen each other, it was great to catch up and we had lots to talk about. And I credit ... Facebook. We both generally knew the important things going on in each others' lives, so we were able to easily converse as if it hadn't been a long time between visits.

5. Lots, and lots, and lots, of people smoke here. Maybe we just live in a part of the US where it's generally less "cool" or accepted to smoke, but it's remarkably more common here.

6. People kept apologizing to me about the weather, saying they wished it would've been better weather for my visit (it's been cloudy, rainy, etc.). The funny thing is, it's exactly as I expected it to be, I was prepared for it, and I enjoyed my walks from the hotel to the office. Frankly, I get enough nice weather back home, and it's ok to have a change.

7. Business Class is definitely the way to travel long distances. I caught myself smiling a few times on the way out at just how ridiculous the service was, how comfortable the arrangements were, and how unlike a flight it felt. Unfortunately, I'm not in Business Class on the way home, but have been downgraded to Premium Economy, which is to say, the slightly less bad section of the worst seats. Oh well, at least I'm headed home.

8. And finally, I realized I'm quite a home-body. I found myself greatly missing Angela and the kids. I don't really enjoy being away from them, especially when I'm in a timezone that doesn't allow me to talk to them with any regularity. It's reminded me again of what's the most important thing in my life.

Countdowns galore

T-minus one day to elementary school starting. Yep, tomorrow's the day for Kennan and Morgan, and believe it or not, they're both very excited. I asked Micah if she's excited for hers to start next week, and in typical teenage fashion she said "oh yeah Dad, I can't wait", dripping with sarcasm. OK, so at least Micah's normal. K&M are looking forward to seeing friends, having good teachers, doing well in classes, and outside fun things like swimming (Morgan), tennis (Kennan), and dance.

T-minus 4 days to my Dublin and London trip. I'm loathe to give up much of my weekend, but it's unavoidable given a full work schedule starting next Monday. I'm looking forward to different parts of the trip: the part of the plane ride where I get to sit by myself and do whatever I want, although not the part in which I have to get a night's sleep on the plane. I'm looking forward to seeing Dublin and London again, although a busy schedule will restrict my spare time, with no real "fun" stuff planned, but it will be fun to just be there. I'm looking forward to working closely with people on the teams based there. I see them very often on video conference, but it'll be nice to be face to face and able to learn from them and share with them.

T-minus 8 days to Micah starting school. She's a big 8th grader this year, and despite her protestations to the contrary, I think she's excited about getting back into it. She's also looking forward to more performances and other fun things.

T-minus 18 days until the College football season starts. I know there are games starting sooner or later than 9/4, but for me, that's the start of the season for the teams I care about. Some would say this is the most important upcoming milestone, but I of course am much more concerned about other, more important things of greater long-term worth ... (yeah right).

aaaahhh, Friday

We were playing tennis as a family a few days ago and I was very pleasantly surprised with how well Micah and Kennan can hit the ball. I'm not calling them prodigy's or anything like that, but their improvement from the last time I hit with them individually was really remarkable. I guess they can keep taking lessons.

Bay Area good weather, blah blah blah ... OK, so I know it's good weather out here. But I have to tell you, we've had morning fog, which is fog/clouds that roll in from the coast and then burn off in the late morning or early afternoon, every day for weeks and weeks. I'm seriously a sunny morning equals good start to the day kind of guy. Enough of the fog already! And speaking of weather, I know it's been hot in other parts of the country (Utah!), but it has barely felt like summer here. I'm not sure it's even got over 80 this whole summer. I think I actually prefer a good hot summer sometimes (probably until I'm actually good and hot).

Looking forward to the weekend!

Family Happenings

We took the family up to the Giants-Cubs games in San Francisco last night. What a great time at a fun park with some awesome friends! ... but ... it got very cold, and it's definitely not cheap to take the family to a game. After tickets, parking, and a very modest amount of food, we were over $200 all in. Oh well, very fun, and worth the experience every once in a while. AT&T Park in SF is a great place to watch a game, even if the Giants lost :(

We're feeling the end of summer coming on rapidly as we're in the last full week of summer for the younger kids, and Micah will start the week after next. It's been such a mild summer here that it definitely doesn't feel like August, which nobody's complaining about. The last few days have been filled with swimming, friend time, tennis lessons and running club, and "Micah Camp" where Micah, with help from her sisters, puts on a 3 hour camp for neighborhood kids. The kids are actually excited to go back to school, so let's get it on...

I'm looking forward to an upcoming trip to London and Dublin starting next weekend and through the following work week. It will only be 1 week, and it's necessarily filled with lots of work, so I'm not anticipating any "fun" time, but it's always fun/interesting to go someplace far away for a little while. It would've been fun if Angela could've come with me. I was really worried for a while because I hadn't used or seen my passport for three years, and it wasn't in the box where we normally keep it. Not to mention that we had moved since the last usage, so who knows where it could have been. We started looking without success, and just as I was considering paying lots of $$$ for a rush passport replacement, I took a page out of my kids' book, said a prayer, and literally as I was finishing the prayer I walked right to the location where the passport was hiding. Pretty awesome.

Just want to say how grateful we are for our families and all the support, love, and friendship we get from them. It's so nice to have them behind us through all our ups and downs.

Dog Days of Summer? Not really...

Here we are in August, summer seriously almost done, and we're definitely not quite ready to be thinking about back to school yet. With all the fun things we've done this summer though, it feels like a fulfilling break, and we have lots of good memories. After a long trip to Utah, it's been nice this week to be home, unwind a little bit, see friends again, sleep in our own beds, and just be normal. That being said, what a great time we had on vacation!

The highlights of the Utah trip are as follows:

1. Reuniting with Kennan and Morgan, who had been in Utah for about 4 weeks prior to our arrival - it was SO great to be with them again!
2. Richards family reunion in Bear Lake. We stayed at the beautiful Laketown Lodge and had a blast. Boating, wakeboarding, tubing, and swimming at the lake was a highlight for everyone, but let's not forget the fun waterfight, bike rides, talent show, family DVDs, food, baseball game, and general hanging out.
3. My 20 year high school reunion where I caught up with a bunch of old friends, and Angela actually had a great time too.
4. Hiking to the 'Y' with the Whatcotts and Romina.
5. Many great bike rides for me: up Provo Canyon, to Spanish Fork, from Lehi to Bountiful, up Emigration Canyon, etc. Highlight was riding with Dave in Emigration - especially coming down very fast :-)
6. Days of '47 Rodeo with the LeBras family.
7. A couple good days of golf
8. Seeing Morgan and Kennan swim in the county swim meet and both do well.
9. Multiple dinners at Grandma LeBras' house

Pretty sure I missed some fun things, but there you go... Thanks to all our family for making room for us, spending time with us, and being such great friends.

Finally, Morgan left me a voicemail on my phone yesterday proudly announcing that she got braces. I'm pretty sure she's not feeling as happy about that this morning, but you should've seen her big grin as she showed them off to everyone at the school picnic last night. She's a real cutie.

the latest

I don't have time for a huge update, but here's what's going on:

• Kennan and Morgan still in Utah with LeBras/Drake cousins and having a ball. They have been well-cared for, and kept busy with fun activities and good things. But ... we miss them like crazy and can't wait to see them again very soon!
• I've been going through some struggles at work, and am in a bit of a valley in terms of how I feel about my professional life and career. I know these things come and go, and family support and hard work - combined with lots of prayer - will help me get going again.
• Angela's started running and working out again after girls camp duties and her sickness following have finally wrapped up. She's enjoying summer days with Brig and Micah - swimming, running club, beach trip yesterday, friends, etc.
• Angela and Micah spent last weekend in San Francisco as Micah's main birthday present. They went with good friends Becky and Elizabeth Fuchs, and did fun girl things like shop, see the latest Twilight movie, and eat good food. I've realized a week into Micah's teenagerhood that she's still pretty much the same good girl ... so far :-)
• I've been swimming and riding my bike as much as I can - I've been really enjoying getting back into fitness since my knee is feeling better (no running still though), and it makes me feel better about myself when I'm working at it.
• My 20 year high school reunion is in a few weeks. I'm really looking forward to seeing old friends and catching up with people I haven't talked to for many years. Facebook connections have been a really good way for me to reunite with many, so it'll be good to see people face to face.
• Trip to Utah coming up for family reunion and ample time to hang out with the Fam - we're excited!

Teenager?! ... What?!

I feel old sometimes. My hair is graying rapidly, my metabolism moves at a glacial pace, I stare with a grumpy expression at dumb teenage boys, and I like Neil Diamond. But I was completely unprepared for this day to come. Today I am the father of a teenage daughter. Never mind that she bucks most of the stereotypes of teenage girls. Never mind that she's responsible, kind, a good student, and doesn't play silly games. Never mind that all was good yesterday when she was still 12...

OK, so it's actually a really happy day. We love our Micah so much. She's wonderful in so many ways I can't even begin to list them all. We're incredibly grateful for her, and despite our objections, are really happy to see her growing up and progressing. She's an example even to her parents, which is fine because by all accounts she's likely to be the main breadwinner in the home within the next year or two (just kidding).

The pictures are of our lunch at Google. We really miss Kennan and Morgan, who are still in Utah and can't celebrate with us. But we know they're thinking of Micah, and it means more homemade apple pie for us tonight!!! I'm a dang lucky guy, and I love my family more than anything!

Brig and Dad...

Brig and I have been having a fun time without any smelly girls around. Some of the highlights have included ice cream cones at Baskin Robbins (Brig picked vanilla, which sort of makes the other 30 flavors a moot point), reading books before he falls asleep, watching Giants games, and just hanging out together. It's cool to have him all to myself, although by the time we both get home from work and playing, he's usually pretty tired so our time's been somewhat limited. He's a cool kid!

It's been forever...

Wow, three weeks gone since the last time I wrote. Truthfully it feels like three months.

I've driven a lot of miles over the last few weeks - over 3,000 miles over two weekends. The first trip was to Boise to support Spencer and Dave in their Boise 70.3 half Ironman. The best thing about it was being able to hang out with those two guys, plus Meredith and her family. The worst thing about it was not to be able to run the race with them (although when they both got off the bike and started the run, there was a significant part of me that whispered quietly to myself that I was glad to not have a 1/2 marathon in front of me).

The second trip was a family quick-hitter to Utah for a couple of reasons. Angela was running the Ragnar team relay from Logan to Park City with Molly, so that was the main thing that got us there in the first place. She had a great time, enjoyed her 1am 7 mile leg the best of her three, and would love to do it again. Another reason we went was to deposit Kennan and Morgan with Christine's family to stay while Angela was at YM camp. Because it's not easy to then go back and pick them up, they're actually going to be there for a few weeks until we go back for our big summer vacation. And finally, I had some appointments there to catch up with some new and old friends, and it's always nice to increase the size and scope of my personal network. The drive home was tough because my last appointment caused us to not leave Utah until about 4pm for the 12 hour drive home ... long night.

Work has been pretty good for me. I spent two days last week up in San Francisco at a big sales conference, which was fun, enlightening, and motivating (even though I'm not in sales). Beyond that it's busy and intense, while still being fairly manageable.

Angela and Micah left this morning for YW camp, and will be gone the entire week. That leaves Brig and I at home together, which is fun, but requires a lot of help during the days from friends. Fortunately Ang did a great job of making all the arrangements, so we'll have evenings to hang out, and then I'll be the master of a very quiet house each night once he falls asleep. I miss Kennan and Morgan a lot and wish they were here with us - I understand that it would've been a lot tougher, and I know they're having a great time with their cousins, but still... More than anything though I'm glad for Angela that camp is finally here, and will be over this weekend. She's been so busy she rarely gets to bed on time, rarely gets up on time because she's so tired, and always has things hanging over her head. This is a brutal calling.

I've started riding my bike more fervently over the last couple of weeks, and I've enjoyed it a lot, although I tend to overdo it periodically and then pay for it with knee swelling and aches for a few days following. Once such overdo was this last weekend when I rode a Cystic Fibrosis charity ride from SF up through Marin County. I had not realized how much climbing was involved, and probably wouldn't have signed up if I did - so I'm glad I didn't know because it was really fun (aside from the leg cramps, exhaustion, etc.). We rode 72 miles with 5,500 feet of climbing - I burned 7700 calories. I actually felt great, but I've been super tired all weekend, and a bit achy.

And one final great thing I'm looking forward to... Angela and I on an anniversary getaway down in Carmel next Monday/Tuesday. And I don't even have to take any work off because I get the 5th and 6th off for the 4th. :-)

The Good Outweighs the Bad

Picture this: you're driving in the car with your daughter, talking away, about to enter a busy freeway, when all of a sudden something slams into your windshield, completely obscuring your view. You then realize it's your own hood that has flown open, smashed your windshield, and you're in big trouble because you're going fast and you can't see a thing. That was Angela and Micah on Friday afternoon.

I took my car in for a routine lube & oil and smog check during the day Friday, picked up the car and drove it home in time for Angela and Micah to leave for the City. Apparently the smog check place didn't close the hood properly, but since I wasn't going freeway speeds on my way home, there was no indication of this until Angela got going fast enough where the wind picked up the hood and folded it back on itself. So the car's a mess, but honestly we're pretty unconcerned about that because it could have been so much worse. If the hood had flown open just a couple of seconds later, after she had merged with busy, speeding traffic, I don't even want to contemplate the enormity of that disaster. So yeah, we feel very, very blessed that it wasn't worse.

This was a big weekend for Angela and me. Sunday was Angela's birthday, and today is our 16th wedding anniversary. We started the festivities by going to a nice dinner at the Los Altos Grill, followed by a late movie - Robin Hood. It was fun to exchange anniversary gifts at the restaurant. I made an Apple iPhoto book for Angela called "Mom and Me" and put in many of the best pictures of Angela with family members and friends over the years. She gave me a little getaway vacation she's been promising for a while now - complete with reservation this time :-) - in Carmel over the 4th of July weekend, which will be awesome!

Angela's birthday was actually a very busy Sunday. we had meetings and activities and stuff going on until we finally all got back together for a birthday dinner. I made BBQ ribs and baked potatoes with fruit. Angela got an iPad for her birthday, which predictably she said was too much, but because Micah and I knew that she would think that, we conveniently didn't include the receipt in the gift so she can't return it. Yeah, it probably is too much at this point in our lives, but hey, who gives a .......

So it's on to this week, the last week of school for the kids, getting the car fixed, and me taking a little trip out to Boise at the end of the week to cheer on Spencer and Dave in the Boise 70.3 1/2 Ironman. I think it's actually going to be a decent week...

Memorial Day

We had a great Memorial Day weekend with a quick jaunt down to Newport Beach to hang out with Spencer & Molly and their kids. It was so fun on many levels - mostly just being with them, but also the beach, the warm weather, the pools, the good food, the roasting marshmallows, the kids scootering, and more. So fun to be with them, and it was totally worth the 6+ hour drive each way. Funnily enough, that doesn't seem to bad any more...

This is the last real week of school for the kids. Micah has a few tests this week, so it's forcing her to stay focused a little longer; Kennan had a big book report due today, so she was working at it late last night, and Morgan just loves school so she's hanging on to the bitter end. Kennan is going with her school class on an over-nighter field trip later this week, and she's very exited. We THINK she'll be fine...

This weekend is big for us ... Sunday is Angela's birthday, and Monday is our 16th Anniversary. I don't know what she has planned for me, but I can with great confidence say that I believe I have, once again, easily won the great anniversary gift contest. She's going to be very happy, and yes, that will make me very happy. I love my hot wife!

Great, Busy Weekend

Hey all, we had a seriously great weekend (I know, it's now Wednesday and I'm just getting around to catching you up...).

We had both sets of grandparents, plus Katie-bug, join us for the whole weekend, and we had a really nice time. It started with Dad, Brig, and I going down to Camp Lehi in the Santa Cruz mountains for our stake Fathers & Sons campout. Brig was in serious heaven - there were friends to run around with, sticks to collect, fire to play with, hot dogs and marshmallows to roast/burn, and he could get as dirty as he wanted. We loved having Grandpa there with us, and I'm sure Brig will remember that for a long time. One particularly funny moment came when I was helping Brig go to the bathroom in the trees. Angela has been teaching him the anatomically correct names for body parts so he can be mature about them, and he's most of the way there, as evidenced by him asking me to help hold his "peanuts" up so he didn't go peeps on his pants & shoes. Classic.

The whole reason for the family visitors was for Morgan's baptism. It was so special, and such a sweet time for our family. Morgan was so prepared, as she had led and inspired weeks worth of FHE lessons in preparation for the actual baptism. We had quite a few nice friends come support us, including her non-member school teacher, and one of Angela's close non-member friends on her school board. We're so grateful for wonderful friends. As it turns out, even though it was the third baptism for our family, we still forgot some important items. You'd think we'd remember that we needed to bring towels with us, since we believe in this funny thing called baptism by immersion... but nope, no towels. It occurred to me as I remembered a towel I always keep in the trunk of my car, that we had the exact same quandary with Kennan's baptism, and used the exact same towel that time too - well, at least we're consistent. Highlights of the baptism were Angela's testimony, Kennan's Holy Ghost talk, and Grandma Richards' baptism talk. We had a big gathering at our house afterwards and, thanks again to so many wonderful friends, we had a beautiful spread and too much to eat.

We also got to support Kennan and Morgan in their school play, Willy Wonka. Kennan was Willy himself, and Morgan was a very precocious Veruca Salt. I have to tell you, Micah didn't get all the acting and singing talent in the family - the girls were absolutely incredible! I'm so proud of both of them, particularly Kennan because she memorized so many lines, acted beautifully, and sang confidently as a real focus of the show.

And finally, I got a new calling on Sunday. I've been called as the Ward Mission Leader in our ward. I have to admit I have mixed feelings about the calling, since I was sort of under the impression I would get more than a week break from my last calling. But I'll do my best and hope we continue to have good missionaries who work hard and teach with the spirit. I guess it's back to PEC meeting before church (hmmm)...

My knee continues to get a little stronger and more flexible all the time. It's definitely not pain free, but I'm pretty active, and the physical therapy seems to be making a positive difference. I'm sort of in this period right now where I feel like it should be getting better faster than it is (like no pain), but I have to remind myself that it takes time and weeks/months.

Finally, as we round out the school year - the kids are literally counting down the number of school days left (16 as of this morning) - I'll post our summer travel schedule in the near future.

Oh yeah, Mothers Day

I forgot to talk about our Mothers Day in my blog post yesterday. I guess that's kind of typical isn't it - to be really grateful for mothers, but sometimes forget about them because they're always there in the background. So I just have to remind you all of what a great mother Angela is. She is incredible in every way, and no doubt that's an understatement. I'm so glad to have her as the role model to our girls, and as the primary care giver, school supporter, shuttle driver, activity arranger, fun-time planner, and hug giver to our kids. Of course I participate in all of those things, but in many ways I'm another kid - I do what I'm told (usually with multiple reminders), and things generally turn out just right. I love Angela very much and am grateful for our nearly 16 years of marriage and 13 years of parenthood.

I also love my own mom and am very grateful for her continued and ongoing support and love. I heard an interesting perspective in an outstanding sacrament meeting talk on Sunday, and that is that we need to be humble enough to realize we still need our mother's help. I agree.

Resolution

On this gray, rainy, Monday morning, I am resolving to be happy and positive. I'm going to focus on good things in my life. I'm going to stop thinking about long term "what if's" and "when's", stop worrying about unsold houses, up and down relationships at work, and what we'll be doing this time next year... none of that matters. All that's going to matter to me today is today, and what kind of person I am during each project, each meeting, etc. There you go - I feel better already.

We had a great weekend celebrating Morgan's birthday. Friday night there was a fun birthday party with 7 girls over for a birthday late over. It was so great to see Morgan just on top of the world. I admit I snuck out a little early to go see Iron Man 2 with some friends, and that was great (movie's good, probably not as good as the first one because of expectations, but fun and my kind of move - sit down, shut off mind, relax).

We're super excited for Morgan's baptism this coming Saturday. She's very ready, as she's been leading FHE discussions on baptism for the past couple of months. I'm thankful I get to baptize and confirm her - I love being the Dad at times like that. It'll also be fun for her to have both sets of grandparents out here, as well as a cousin or two, to participate.

My Dad is a great sport because he's agreed to join Brig and me at our ward Fathers & Sons campout this Friday night. Now I'm sure when Dad thought about coming to visit, going camping didn't cross his mind. But I can guarantee you Brig will think it's awesome, and he'll remember having his grandpa go camping with us for a long time. My guess is by Saturday you'll have one very happy young boy, and two very tired dads.

Gr8ness!

Happy, Happy, Happy birthday MORGAN!!! Our newest 8 year old with the smile to match her cheery personality is already having a great birthday. A kitchen brightly decorated, chocolate chip bagels this morning, fun gifts including some really thoughtful ones from the other girls, as well as tickets to Peter Pan up in SF for Mom and the girls... Morgan just drinks this stuff in.

Morgan is our peacemaker. She's always the one who is first to think of others, including the good of the family, when disputes arise. It doesn't matter if she's right or wrong usually, she will just try to make people happy. I love her smile and her fun personality. She takes lots of joy in things she likes, and her smile radiates her happiness. She is of course very beautiful, and has many talents, which are part of the great package that is Morgan. But the thing we love most about her is who she is inside. She brings happiness and joy to our family.

Fun friend L8te over tonight for her bday party!

Love you Morgan!

:-)

Two significant events in my life happened over the last couple of days.

First, I was released from the bishopric in our ward. When the member of the stake presidency came over during the week to extend the release, I was at first very sad about it. However, as each successive day passed, I felt better and better about it, until finally yesterday as I sat in sacrament meeting and the release became official, it was all good. I feel a lot of peace about the release, because I feel like I did a decent job and I tried hard to be faithful. It's been a really great 3 years, and I was lucky to have been able to serve under 3 excellent bishops. And now, for the first time in 6 years (Elder's quorum president before bishopric...), I don't have to go to PEC meeting before church, and that brings a smile to my face.

Secondly, I had a GREAT doctor appointment this morning. The medieval torture contraption otherwise masquerading as a straight-leg knee brace is history! I'm done with it, and he was very pleased with my progress. He has given me the green light to start riding my bike in controlled environments, and I can basically do most things short of running and jumping. Very cool! I feel like a new man walking around freely, and I'm super excited to get onto my bike, even if it's just in the garage for the time being.

And on top of that, 75-80 degree sunshine every day lately hasn't hurt anything either...

The Law of Averages

Pretty soon, something really great is going to happen. Not sure what, but I'm due.

Like a fish out of water

This morning, overcast but not too chilly, nervous but excited, I lowered myself into the water for a 30 minute swim. As I've referenced before, I have really been looking forward to this moment. I flopped and flailed, stopped pretty frequently to adjust the float between my legs (there to reduce my kicking), and was pretty tired in the end. But happy.

After some fiddling with the speed (I was in an endless pool), I settled into a reasonable rhythm of mostly arm swimming. Every few minutes I had to stop and adjust the float, as it would work its way down my legs until I couldn't hold it any longer. I also found myself kicking without thinking about it, which I could feel in the knee but it wasn't terrible ... mostly just nervous about doing damage. I didn't feel like a very good swimmer, but I felt like I was doing SOMETHING.

The crowning glory was the last 4 minutes, where I let the float go shooting to the back of the pool and actually swam the remainder of the time for real. I was surprised at how much harder it was to do this, and it was considerably more straining on the knee. But with careful monitoring, I kept going and finished it out. Good times - already looking forward to tomorrow's swim.

Two words: La - Zy

I'm not really a sleep in kind of guy. Angela on the other hand could sleep, and sleep, and you get the picture. After a long and taxing week, and also without any exercise plans to get out of bed for, we just sort of stayed in bed way longer than normal. So now I'm feeling lazy, unproductive, and over-rested. Oh well, not necessarily end of the world. Now I'm up, and can barely think with the loud music playing through the house - Miley Swift, or is it Taylor Cyrus...

Amazing San Jose Sharks playoff game last night. The Sharks, the 1 seed in the West, are getting all they can handle from a young Avalanche team. They beat the home Sharks on Wed, and last night it was looking like another upset, which would have been the death knell for the Sharkies. Throughout the game the 'Lanche took the lead 5 times, each time the Sharks clawing back. :32 seconds left in the game and the Sharks finally tied the game with tremendous pressure and a pulled goalie, sending it into overtime. More of the same in the OT and the Sharks win a great game. Very cool!

Good news for a close friend who took a great new job - always stoked to see people we care about make an exciting move - congrats Jason!

No swim for me yesterday - more a function of work slammage than it was related to the knee, but it was aching pretty good and I wasn't too bummed I didn't have time to swim. I'm really looking forward to Monday's foray back into the world of the fitness-seeking population.

Thursday update

Took the family to How to Train Your Dragon the other evening and we all loved it. Really fun animated movie for kids of all ages and stages of hair grayness. Oh, and if you happen to get a huge bucket of kettle corn to go with it that doesn't hurt either (although I prefer the old fashioned artery clogging butter popcorn if I had to pick).

So an update on my knee and other related stuff... It still aches, the brace stinks (not literally, just figuratively), my otherwise huge quad and calf muscles are atrophying at an alarming rate, the incision/scar is numb but itches (I know, weird), and I have been wearing shorts to work because it's more comfortable than putting the brace over pants. The good news is that tomorrow is the two week mark, which to me means one thing: I can immerse the wound in water. Note the difference between "immerse" and "get wet" ... I've been showering regularly ... :-)... just haven't been able to submerge the knee in water. Why is this a good thing? No, not bubble baths, it's because I can now start swimming!!!!! Very happy about that (at least until I get in the pool and realize I'm out of shape and it's going to hurt - but oh, such sweet pain!)!

Work's busy, and that's all I have to say about that.