Optimized

Under ideal conditions, I look something like this.

Camping Out

To prove I could simultaneously be the best and worst father ever, I recently camped out with Evan until 1am (on a school night) to pick up the brand new Call of Duty. How was it? Kind of fun as a father and son thing, but let's just say the Marlboro/Mountain Dew/Nacho Cheese Dorito crowd was out in force. Unless our next war is hosted on an XBOX server, America is screwed.

To avoid cleaning his room, Evan recently camped out in this makeshift fort.

Pocatello: Novemeber 2010

We spent time last weekend in Pocatello for Zach's mission homecoming. We came up from Salt Lake. Others came over from Boise. It was actually pretty great. We were all together, but did a variety of different things. Remember, photos can be enlarged to show detail or weirdness. You can also right-click an enlarged photo to save it to your own computer.

Some of us spoke about missionary work.

Some of us had our eyes opened.


Some of us were even Bourne again.

Some of us engineered.




Some of us "engineered".

All of us ate pork.

Some of us said cheese.




Some of us pained.

Some of us ponged.

Some of us styled.



Some of us ducked out for pictures.


Some of us leaned in for pictures.




It was great to see all who came. A special thanks to all of the Southwicks. Zach for giving us a great reason to get together... and a talk well given. Ken and Annie for the beds, meals and counter space for all my stuff. Chelsea, Sydni and River for being the cousins and kids you are. One piece of advice though... I'd get rid of that creepy picture on your fridge with the pink frame. (see first photo above)

Clutch Play

As part of a recruitment effort, Hailey was asked to submit 15 designs to a purse company looking to add to their stable of designers. While she had never done any accessory design, she went right to work sketching. She did all of the design and color... I added the sweet Charlie Harper style straps. She even had a brief interview yesterday when she dropped off the work. Who knows where it will all end up. But ither way, not bad for a rookie. A few samples...

Chile Verde

A nice recipe for chile verde I found on the interweb. We've made it twice so far and have already fine tuned a little. It's not quite Red Iguana, but getting close.

I like things a fairly spicy, Tracy less so. In fact, she often accuses me of intentionally making things too hot for the rest of the family to eat... leaving more for me. A plausible theory, but mostly untrue. If you like things mild, follow the recipe exactly. For a little more heat, we use 3 poblanos and 3 jalapenos, leaving some of the seeds in. A pinch of red pepper flakes would also have the same effect. (not that I've ever done that...) Yes, everyone in the family could still eat it... some just reached for their glasses a little more often.

A couple of other minor notes...

1. We just use the pork tenderloins from Costco... I think they come two in a package.
   
2. I also add a large yellow bell pepper as well... an add from another recipe.
   
3. A full bunch of cilantro can be a little overwhelming... I might do about two-thirds. Although letting it cook longer probably mellows the flavor sufficiently as well.
4. I just place all of the tomatillos, peppers and garlic on a cookie sheet and blacken together... not sure why they add an extra step.
   
5. You can serve over rice or with tortillas. We choose the latter, wrapped like burritos and smothered with more of the verde, enchilada-style.

Sorry I failed to capture any final photos... by the time it was ready, I forgot all about photography. Trust me, it looked good enough to eat.

In case you missed the earlier link... get the original recipe here.

Fall at 50mm

Okay, I promise... This will be the last gratuitous photo barrage for at least a week or so. I'm not saying anyone loves my writing and is counting the days until I do more, I'm just feeling a little guilty about taking the "easy way out". As much as I like to write, it takes me a lot of effort to string together a few clumsy sentences. Clumsy photography comes much easier. A note for my very few readers... please click on the photos you like. They get bigger.

Berries behind the house. Probably not edible...

Eden's new autumn hair color. Also not edible...

The leaves on our favorite tree turned just in the last couple of days.

When obscured by said tree, our house seems almost quaint.

This is me, perpetually in need of a shave.

This fall has been a gift... blue and gold.

Eden patiently poses. Man, I love this lens.

Halloween 2010

A big thanks goes to Tracy for carving pumpkins, making cupcakes and answering the door... mostly while Hailey and I obliviouly played LIMBO downstairs. She just makes thing nice for everyone. Is it any wonder we all prefer to stay home?