Actually, this vacation seemed like the perfect mix between fun and activity, and R&R. I feel pretty good, and other than the fact that I'm not with Ang and the kids, I'm happy to be home and back to work. It's a good feeling to come back and resume my schedule - which is probably the exact reason companies give us vacation in the first place.
The blog obviously suffered during our trip, and unfortunately, I don't have the digital camera with me to upload pictures, so it will continue to suffer somewhat for another couple of weeks until I get the pics. This isn't the best because I feel like the readership is somewhat precarious anyway, and if you all sense that I'm winding down, you may be lost. Well, rest assured I'm not winding down, just away from my computer for a little while.
Here are a couple of random thoughts:
The Tour de France wound up yesterday with the ceremonial last stage, which followed a really great time trial stage on Saturday won by American, Levi Leipheimer. In the end, he rode a great race but ended up just 31 seconds short of the leader's yellow jersey, but made the podium in 3rd place and that's a great result for him. It was a very controversial tour with a couple of big names getting kicked out, and frankly, I'm just waiting for the next revelation of who tested positive...
And speaking of controversial, I'm actually finally interested to see Barry Bonds break the HR record. I've been against it the whole time, hoping that pitchers would throw AT him rather than pitch to him, but I now realize it's inevitable (duh, he's 1 away from the record...) and am interested to see history, tainted as it may be.
I played golf 3 times this last week with my favorite golf buddies - my dad and brothers. That was awesome!!!! Also enjoyed tennis with Dan, swimming a couple of times with many, good eats (especially the Poor Man Cupcakes!!! and the Cafe Rio and the Sat. night burgers).
Cougs football is slowly starting to circle my thoughts, threatening to puncture the "it's-too-early" wall I've tried to put up until we get closer. I can hold off a little longer, but it's looming larger and larger...
I started Harry Potter 7 yesterday and have already blown through 100 pages. Pretty good so far.
It was awesome to hang with family on both sides - we love them all very much.
Out
Monday, July 30, 2007
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
Mid-Vacation Check In
One of the great things about being on vacation is that most of the time, you either don't have the time, the Internet connection, or the desire to worry about things like updating a blog. Well, I actually have all three today and so I thought I'd just give an update to anyone still reading this.
We're having a great time. Our families have been so great to us - really bending over backwards to make sure we're happy, fed, and having a good time. It's great to have Kennan back with us, and to be together as a family again...just in time for me to leave back to CA for a couple weeks while the rest of the fam continues the mountain vacation.
Highlights have included swimming; hanging with cousins, siblings, grandparents; badminton with Kennan; great eats (even the leg of lamb!); bball with bros and dad; golf with bros and dad; and sleeping in (Angela).
I'll update more later - hope everyone's doing well.
We're having a great time. Our families have been so great to us - really bending over backwards to make sure we're happy, fed, and having a good time. It's great to have Kennan back with us, and to be together as a family again...just in time for me to leave back to CA for a couple weeks while the rest of the fam continues the mountain vacation.
Highlights have included swimming; hanging with cousins, siblings, grandparents; badminton with Kennan; great eats (even the leg of lamb!); bball with bros and dad; golf with bros and dad; and sleeping in (Angela).
I'll update more later - hope everyone's doing well.
Friday, July 20, 2007
"...Cuz I'm Aaaalready gone..."
The great Eagles tune aptly describes my workplace efficiency this morning... physically I'm here (in shorts and flip flops mind you, which actually isn't unusual at all here), but mentally I'm miles away. I love vacations.
Here's what our day is going to look like:
Here's what our day is going to look like:
- leave work around 11:30
- finish packing the car (just a few things left)
- load up the troops
- hit the road around 12:30 PT
- Angela fall asleep around 1:00 PT for the rest of the trip
- fight traffic from San Jose through Sacramento
- first DVD of the trip - I'm guessing "Night at the Museum"
- give the kids Dramamine before we hit the Sierras
- stop in Reno for gas at the Shell station around 4:30 PT
- keep driving - maybe a late afternoon napski for the kids
- second DVD of the trip - I'm guessing 'The Incredibles"
- stop in Elko for gas at the Shell station around 8:30 PT
- take contacts out in favor of glasses
- third DVD of the trip (if Angela caves) - I'm guessing... I have no idea
- stop in Wendover and pull a few slots (just kidding)
- enter Utah airspace around 11:30pm MT
- everybody but Dad dead to the world by this point
- iPod cranking
- drive through the stretch west of Tooele with all the "Drowsy Driving Causes Crashes" signs
- blow through SLC at around 1:00am MT... probably wishing we could stop
- arrive at Christine's house in Provo around 2:00am MT
- the party begins.............
Thursday, July 19, 2007
T minus 1 day and counting
Tomorrow at this time we'll be stuck in traffic in the Bay Area. Not really the best way to get things rolling on our summer vacation, but it's a reality that we have to just plan for. We've been feeling especially grateful for our family and good friends lately. You all make our lives so much better - we hope on some small level we can do the same for you.
We get asked a lot what our long-term plans are...stay here, buy a house, keep renting, move back to Utah, move back to Texas, etc., etc., etc. We don't know the answer to any of these questions, but we'll let you in on our thinking. We would love to be able to purchase a house in our current school district and in our current ward. We don't know if that will be possible. We think we could be here for many more years, but we also leave our minds open to other possibilities that may present themselves later. In other words, the current plan is to stay in California, but we can envision certain specific scenarios that would facilitate a move elsewhere. We're grateful that we have a good frame of mind that allows us to stick in our current situation as long as it seems right, and we don't feel an urgent need to make any changes. Hope that answers your questions.
We'll see most of you very soon! Love you all.
We get asked a lot what our long-term plans are...stay here, buy a house, keep renting, move back to Utah, move back to Texas, etc., etc., etc. We don't know the answer to any of these questions, but we'll let you in on our thinking. We would love to be able to purchase a house in our current school district and in our current ward. We don't know if that will be possible. We think we could be here for many more years, but we also leave our minds open to other possibilities that may present themselves later. In other words, the current plan is to stay in California, but we can envision certain specific scenarios that would facilitate a move elsewhere. We're grateful that we have a good frame of mind that allows us to stick in our current situation as long as it seems right, and we don't feel an urgent need to make any changes. Hope that answers your questions.
We'll see most of you very soon! Love you all.
Wednesday, July 18, 2007
World's greatest recent inventions (according to JR)
We had our new home teacher over last night and we found out something really cool about him - he built the world's first functioning microwave oven. Pretty cool, huh? So I'm sitting here at my desk surrounded by a bunch of cool little gadgets and I started thinking (dangerous, I know): "what are some of the coolest inventions of the last, say, five or ten years?"
So I'm going to compile a small list. I'm sure I'll miss some great ones that maybe others can chime in on, and I'm not talking about the boring ones like clean water systems in third world countries - I'm talking about the really cool stuff that makes MY life better (ok, that was quite tongue in cheek, but seriously...).
10. Sport Turf for football fields: no more of those horrific astroturf fields - this has greatly enhanced my football viewing pleasure. And anything that means less Cougs will get hurt is always a good thing in my book.
9. Back-up sensors for cars: just imagine the pain and expense this has saved people (also grouped into this car innovations category are self-parking cars, cars that turn on without a key, cars that open up when the key gets close, and hybrid cars).
8. Bose Noise-canceling Earphones: OK, I admit I don't have these because the Morgan had to go to preschool last year. But have you ever tried them out? They're unbelievable! They make my life better just knowing they're out there, and someday I may have a pair.
7. Flat-screen monitors: I have a 24-inch monitor, and with a phone call to the techie guys could have another one in like an hour. I remember the day when monitors were so big and heavy that they took up half your desk, and if you ever had to move them, you were left with crushed fingers and a hernia.
6. Portable DVD players: This has single-handedly made our frequent drives through forsaken places possible. I'm not sure what's worse - west Texas or Nevada, but the good thing is, the kids have never even seen those places, because they're watching DVDs and not fighting (usually). One request for portable DVD players next version: please insert a mechanism to systematically destroy any DVD starting with "Barbie" and ending with "Rapunzel".
5. Bluetooth headsets: these babies are cool - it knows whether it's my desk phone or my cell phone that's ringing, and I can be out in the hallway and still take the call. I don't have to take my cell phone out of my pocket, and no wires you have to fumble frantically with to find the earpiece before the phone stops ringing. I must call for a moratorium, though, on all those wannabes who walk around with their earpiece in all day, whether they're on a call or not...that doesn't work for me.
4. Google products: This sounds like a plug for my company, but they really make my life better. Gmail - no more deleting emails as I hit the size limits; Calendar - Ang and I sync our calendars together so we know what we each have going on; Blogger - this may not make YOUR life better, but I think it's pretty cool; Docs & Spreadsheets - we share packing lists, schedules, and many other docs; Picasa - photo sharing has never been so easy, high-quality, and free (well, it was free when you just showed someone your prints, but you know what I mean) - love the easy edit features; Talk - coolest thing is you can attach whatever picture you like to your name - I like that.
3. Blackberry or other email/calendar/phone devices: I know some of you curse your blackberry, but just think about how this has changed your life...you always know when an appointment is without having to open up your computer and check; you can do a lot of critical work from the golf course via email and IM and the nice wind-canceling headsets (see above); you can keep every important contact and piece of data in your pocket for use at any time; you can check scores and read articles in church; and you can fake like you're important by whipping it out and thumb-typing furiously with an important-looking scowl on your face.
2. iPod: I ran 14 miles this alone morning, and I would not have made it without my trusty iPod. I had my training partners Bob Marley, Los Lonely Boys, Linkin Park, Yellowcard, and many, many, many others to keep me company. Special nod to the "Shuffle" feature! And of course, digital music and MP3s obviously go hand in hand with iPods as a key invention.
1. DVR: I don't even need to explain why this is so cool - no more commercials, no more VCRs, no more missing programs you like but don't even know are on, pause, replay, watch something while recording something else, etc. Two things that would make it cooler would be if it automatically knew to keep recording until the end of the game if it goes over the allotted time slot, and if it automatically deleted anything recorded off the Disney Channel.
So there you have it.
So I'm going to compile a small list. I'm sure I'll miss some great ones that maybe others can chime in on, and I'm not talking about the boring ones like clean water systems in third world countries - I'm talking about the really cool stuff that makes MY life better (ok, that was quite tongue in cheek, but seriously...).
10. Sport Turf for football fields: no more of those horrific astroturf fields - this has greatly enhanced my football viewing pleasure. And anything that means less Cougs will get hurt is always a good thing in my book.
9. Back-up sensors for cars: just imagine the pain and expense this has saved people (also grouped into this car innovations category are self-parking cars, cars that turn on without a key, cars that open up when the key gets close, and hybrid cars).
8. Bose Noise-canceling Earphones: OK, I admit I don't have these because the Morgan had to go to preschool last year. But have you ever tried them out? They're unbelievable! They make my life better just knowing they're out there, and someday I may have a pair.
7. Flat-screen monitors: I have a 24-inch monitor, and with a phone call to the techie guys could have another one in like an hour. I remember the day when monitors were so big and heavy that they took up half your desk, and if you ever had to move them, you were left with crushed fingers and a hernia.
6. Portable DVD players: This has single-handedly made our frequent drives through forsaken places possible. I'm not sure what's worse - west Texas or Nevada, but the good thing is, the kids have never even seen those places, because they're watching DVDs and not fighting (usually). One request for portable DVD players next version: please insert a mechanism to systematically destroy any DVD starting with "Barbie" and ending with "Rapunzel".
5. Bluetooth headsets: these babies are cool - it knows whether it's my desk phone or my cell phone that's ringing, and I can be out in the hallway and still take the call. I don't have to take my cell phone out of my pocket, and no wires you have to fumble frantically with to find the earpiece before the phone stops ringing. I must call for a moratorium, though, on all those wannabes who walk around with their earpiece in all day, whether they're on a call or not...that doesn't work for me.
4. Google products: This sounds like a plug for my company, but they really make my life better. Gmail - no more deleting emails as I hit the size limits; Calendar - Ang and I sync our calendars together so we know what we each have going on; Blogger - this may not make YOUR life better, but I think it's pretty cool; Docs & Spreadsheets - we share packing lists, schedules, and many other docs; Picasa - photo sharing has never been so easy, high-quality, and free (well, it was free when you just showed someone your prints, but you know what I mean) - love the easy edit features; Talk - coolest thing is you can attach whatever picture you like to your name - I like that.
3. Blackberry or other email/calendar/phone devices: I know some of you curse your blackberry, but just think about how this has changed your life...you always know when an appointment is without having to open up your computer and check; you can do a lot of critical work from the golf course via email and IM and the nice wind-canceling headsets (see above); you can keep every important contact and piece of data in your pocket for use at any time; you can check scores and read articles in church; and you can fake like you're important by whipping it out and thumb-typing furiously with an important-looking scowl on your face.
2. iPod: I ran 14 miles this alone morning, and I would not have made it without my trusty iPod. I had my training partners Bob Marley, Los Lonely Boys, Linkin Park, Yellowcard, and many, many, many others to keep me company. Special nod to the "Shuffle" feature! And of course, digital music and MP3s obviously go hand in hand with iPods as a key invention.
1. DVR: I don't even need to explain why this is so cool - no more commercials, no more VCRs, no more missing programs you like but don't even know are on, pause, replay, watch something while recording something else, etc. Two things that would make it cooler would be if it automatically knew to keep recording until the end of the game if it goes over the allotted time slot, and if it automatically deleted anything recorded off the Disney Channel.
So there you have it.
Tuesday, July 17, 2007
A random drive-by Tagging
Here I was, reading Caroline's blog, minding my own business, when BAM!!! - she tags me. So here are the answers to the standard question:
4 Jobs I've Had:
- Lawn mower
- Construction worker
- Finance
- Controller
4 Movies I Can Watch Over And Over Again:
- Bourne (Identity & Supremacy)
- That Thing You Do
- Gladiator
- Tommy Boy
4 Places I've Lived:
- Utah
- Australia
- Austin, Texas
- Bay Area, California
4 Favorite TV Shows:
- Lost
- The Office
- The Unit
- Prison Break or 24 ... it's a toss up
My Favorite Foods
- Barbecue
- Tex-Mex
- Vietnamese/Chinese
- Italian
4 Websites I Visit Daily
- BYU football related: Cougarfan.com, TotalBlueSports
- Google Finance
- blogs
- ESPN.com, Drudge Report tie for 4th
4 Places I'd Rather Be:
- Maui
- Fly fishing
- Europe
- anywhere with my family
4 People I'm Tagging: (meaning you copy and post yours on your blog..)
- Vince Young
- Roger Federor
- Levi Leipheimer
- Bronco Mendenhall
A couple of Tour thoughts
Yet another rider who I have not cared for too much has impressed me again this Tour. Christophe Moreau, who I've always viewed as kind of a pouty pretty boy, really impressed me in Sunday's stage. He rode hard in leading a chase group, where a bunch of would-be contenders just let him drag them along, for almost the whole stage. I was impressed with his work ethic and his pride in himself in riding the right way. I was not impressed with some of the big names who just sat on his wheel and then jumped around him at the end after in-fighting and posturing the whole time - Alejandro Valverde, Iban Mayo, and Cadel Evans to be specific.
It's too bad to not have a real GC contender among the Americans anymore. I like Levi Leipheimer and think he's an outstanding bike rider, but I just don't know if he's going to be able to separate himself. Maybe he can, and I think his strategy is to just stay with the big boys for now, but I haven't seen anything inspiring from him yet.
I'm enjoying the outstanding individual efforts that are coming out this Tour - some old names reviving themselves and some new names exploding onto the scene for one special day. It's a neat event that seems to bring out peoples' best and worst.
It's too bad to not have a real GC contender among the Americans anymore. I like Levi Leipheimer and think he's an outstanding bike rider, but I just don't know if he's going to be able to separate himself. Maybe he can, and I think his strategy is to just stay with the big boys for now, but I haven't seen anything inspiring from him yet.
I'm enjoying the outstanding individual efforts that are coming out this Tour - some old names reviving themselves and some new names exploding onto the scene for one special day. It's a neat event that seems to bring out peoples' best and worst.
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