Five Things

This is a very quick Valentine's Day post to the girl I love more than I ever have. The thought here isn't to talk about the very best things about Tracy... just a few of the things I love most about her at this very moment.

1) She's so cute in her new glasses.
She'll hate these pictures, but whose blog is this anyway?  It was quite a process... and she strayed temporarily into some pretty scuba-sized lenses... but photo-bomber Hailey helped step in and save the day. I think she ended up with the perfect pair. She's like this hot librarian now. She also hates it when I tell her that.

2) She's got this thing with animal prints.
I have to admit I don't completely get it, but in spit of the teasing, seeing her happy makes me happy. And she's way happy with them animal prints these days. Sometimes she wears two or three at a time all layered up. I worry where it's going to lead, but she assures me she's not becoming that lady... the loud one from the east coast who also wears cheesy gold shoes. She told me we could do a photo shoot to show the whole collection... even the bra... but so far that hasn't happened yet. She's all talk sometimes. :)
















3) She's pretty much buffed these days.
Come on... Seriously? Look at those guns. Daddy like...

4) She's one bad-ass baker.
Maple Bars, Churros, Macarons, Yule Logs. I haven't even photographed the half of it. Come on... Seriously? Daddy like. Daddy is also doing Weight Watchers now... Thanks pal.  She may never ever want to do this... but I could honestly see a bakery in our future.

5) The time we spend together
Okay, it entirely possible we watch too much TV. Breaking Bad. Mad Men. Downton Abbey. We also may be go to bed too early. Is 9pm too early? (At least when I'm not up all night working... ie tonight and most nights lately). Don't judge us too harshly. Yes, we still have a 15 year old in the house, but we always make sure he has a big plate of hash browns before we retire.


Whatever we're doing... cooking, reading scriptures, running errands... whatever. I'm just grateful. I'm just sorry there hasn't been more of it lately. I love you Tracy Ann.

Forty-Four

I turned 44 yesterday.

The Iceman (George Gervin) also wore that number on his jersey when he played for the San Antonio Spurs.

This was during the time I really started tuning into basketball... somewhere in the early 80s. I'm mostly tuned out now, but in those days I would play or watch whenever I could. Because there was no ESPN and barely any cable, there wasn't all that much to see. While I would coincidentally catch a game here and there, my daily fix often meant checking the newspaper for the scores. To be a little more accurate, I would glance at the final score and then I would study the stats.

I don't follow the game closely enough to know what changed since then, but during this time you could usually count on most teams in the Western Division (especially the Spurs) scoring a colossal number of points. And when they played Denver with Alex English and Kiki Vandeweghe, the totals went up from there. The Spurs might put up 133 points only to lose by six. The Iceman, Artis Gilmore, Johnny Moore and Mike Mitchell... It was ridiculous... glorious.

I don't remember when I fell in love with the Gervin or the Spurs. Probably at the same moment. Watching him play made me just love the game, the same way Tarkenton did with the Vikings, the way Kellen Winslow did with the Chargers. Win or lose, my teams then are my teams now. I'm stubborn that way.

Wait... Where am I going with this? There's a point, I promise.

Gervin didn't really play defense. He played offense... putting big numbers on the board, all season long. Unsatisfied with my production in the past couple of years, I'm hoping a little of the number 44 magic rubs off on me in 2012. The plan is do to do more, be more, see more... and maybe weigh a little less. Working out, eating better, reading scriptures, taking pictures, calling family, writing notes, being grateful, less sitting, more hiking... it's all there in the game plan. Okay, there isn't really a game plan... just a desire to make a little more out of my forty-fourth season.

I can't promise I'll play any defense... but with Tracy's help,  I plan on chucking up a lot of shots.

Freeze Tag

Just in time for the new year!... Photos from Halloweeen. I may or may not have the will to post some sort of recap for 2011 in the next few hours, but I did want to take a moment to throw these photos in a place that might stick. As late as they are, the moment they represent was something of a highlight... maybe one of the better things I did all year. While that fact or thought may reflect badly on me,  I think it will be nice to have it up here, rather than filed away on my computer.

Alfredo (first picture below) invited me to help him shoot photos for his stake Halloween party. A couple of things about the last sentence:

1) Alfredo didn't need my help. I'm pretty sure he had it covered. I think he mostly invited me along to teach me a little more about lighting (he's kind that way) and maybe to share in an experience he knew would be worthwhile (he's also kind that way).

2) His stake is more diverse than most... at least ours anyway. Among the four or five wards, there is at least one Spanish speaking ward and another that is special needs focused.

White it was just a few hours of pointing and shooting, it felt more like a gift.
The cast of characters... The costumes... An utter lack of sarcasm...
Meh... A more talented writer could explain why.

I just have these photos.

What the What?

This is the sort of thing that happens at our house.

In fact, it happened tonight.

We have no explanation.

There is no explanation.

While I'm not sure we would say were proud.

We are not embarrassed.

Do normal people do this sort of thing?

Probably not.

Do we want it to stop?

Not yet.

Battenkill

This is an old post that's been stuck in draft limbo for a long time. Rather than just kill it off, I thought I'd cripple it forever with some really surface level thinking. I won't write a novel. I couldn't even write an essay. 

Maybe just bullet points?

- The upper Provo
- A bamboo rod that's been in the family for almost 50 years
- Very modest success (lost one on the line, a couple of strikes)
- Some of my favorite people ever
- Freddy looking wider than usual (sorry man... my bad)
- Jordan looking creepy (sorry man... it's you)
- Nate as his usual, hyper-generous, river-guide self
- A camera to fall back on when fishing was slow
- The lightest of rain

Called to Swerve

I teach Sunday School every few weeks at church. It's also sometimes called Gospel Doctrine. I like the sound of that better. Sunday School? I mean, anyone can teach that, right? But the Gospel stuff... combined with the Doctrine part? You really have to know what you're doing to tackle that sort of thing. Wouldn't you? You would think so. And yet... they have me teach Sunday School every few weeks at church.

The image above is a remedial photo-finger-painting I made on my iPad while Anne (a fellow instructor) was teaching two weeks ago. Thinking she might enjoy the image, I emailed it to her after church. I almost emailed it during church, but thought she might think badly of me for sending her emails from the back row while she taught her lesson. I'm pretty sure she's impressed with my self control.

Invasive Species

We've been to Pocatello twice in the past couple of months. Once in late October and again at Thanksgiving. I suppose eastern Idaho won't sound all that alluring to most... but for us it is. It's a short drive to a place that feels like having a country house (sorry Ken and Annie)... much in the same way that St. George (sorry Todd and Bill) feels like going to a beach house. Pathetic? Probably, but you have to make the best of things.

Hopefully we haven't quite worn out our welcome yet up there, but we'd have to be close. Inviting oneself somewhere frequently can have that effect. An important note: If you're going to impose on friends or family living in the country, fall is a great time to do it.

A few photos below of what one sees and does... and please don't drop off before the end. I wouldn't want you to miss one of the few fish I've caught in recent memory.

Falling Off

Apparently I haven't posted since October 15th. Ugh. Not sure what's been holding me back. Guess I just haven't been feeling it lately. I suppose I put pressure on myself to be clever or insightful or something. Not a good idea... those moments are too few and far between to rely on for content.

We've been busy mostly. Fall was beautiful here and it actually lasted more than a week. Or maybe summer just ran long. Either way, it was something to be grateful for. It's only just now getting truly cold and the snow has yet to really fly. Those with season passes get uptight, the rest of us who only dabble in winter sports don't seem to mind.

I don't know that I have a million things to say about the last couple of months, but I do have a fair amount of photos. Everything I post may be way overdue, but still worthwhile I think. Guess I consider this a bit more time capsule than news report.