Hazards Presentation

Rob is our ward's emergency preparedness representative. He was asked to give a presentation at church yesterday and put lot of thought into the information he felt was important to convey.

He was presenting to people living in Traverse Mountain but a lot of the information, especially when it comes to earthquakes, is very applicable to everyone living along the Wasatch Front. I encourage everyone to watch it, or at least scroll through in order to get the gist of the information.

Here is the link to his video presentation.

Hazards Presentation

End-of-Season Wrap Up

A lot has happened over the last few months. Nothing major, nothing big. Just a lot of small things that, when wrapped up in one neat little blog post makes my life seem significant and full of blessings. Which it is!!

We wanted to takes the kids to Lagoon this year for their first time. I hate going in the heat of the summer and since we weren't planning to do the waterpark it wasn't necessary. I also hate waiting in lines with kids. No fun at all! So we went the 2nd or 3rd weekend it was open, Saturday March 31. It was the BEST Lagoon experience I have EVER had. The weather was nothing but pleasant. The lines were barely there but there were still enough people to make it feel festive. We had a wonderful, wonderful day.

 

My sister bred great dane puppies and the kids had a fun time holding and playing with all 10 of them. It solidified Madeleine's desire for a puppy, which isn't going to happen.

 

My kids decided they wanted to do jobs to earn money for the computer version of Minecraft. We made this list a month ago and they have earned and spent exactly $3.50. Money is NOT a motivator for them. So instead I divvy out the jobs as part of their daily chore...for free. Playing is their real motivation. Which, hopefully will change a little bit as they get older!

Skiing and sledding in the kitchen. (Click pic or here is link).

Now for individual updates.

ROB
Started running 4 times a week. Taking the HAM Radio test next week and is preparing to give a 45-min lesson at church about hazards in our area. Passed his Project Management Certification at work and got a nice email from his boss.

You were very well prepared for the interview.  It was clear to the Board that you have a solid understanding of the basic principles and practices required to manage projects for URS.  We appreciate your dedication and commitment to URS and the Salt Lake City office.  We believe you have great potential for growth and we appreciate your good demeanor in the office as well as your technical skills.  We also really appreciate your significant contributions to our SLC geotech practice and the mentoring you provide for our younger engineers.

JULIE
Still busy with primary. There have been so many ward and primary changes in the last 15 months that it has yet to slow down. Planning a trip to Israel with my dad in October. About to meet my goal of jumping into a handstand from downward-facing dog without using a wall. It's taken 5 months of work so far. 

NATE





Your kids Lego table ever look like this? It looks like one of those "Seek & Find" book scenes. But if you look closely the items tell you an accurate story of who my son is. 

Tested for Advanced Placement and didn't get in. They only accepted the top 1% or 2% (can't remember) from the school district. Hoping he gets pushed more in a few areas during 3rd grade. If he doesn't we may need to find another solution. Finished soccer. About to start swimming lessons with Madeleine. Their reward for finally learning how to swim will be a trip to Cowabunga Bay. 


MADELEINE
Click on pic or here is the video link.






As soon as school got out for the summer Madeleine started playing school at home. She has made great strides in her reading and now writes phonetically. It's so adorable. She LOVES singing silly songs and memorizes them readily. Also finished soccer.


CAROLINE
Finished her 8 months of speech therapy and has made dramatic strides in her language. She may not need to go back in the fall (but maybe later as she ages). Has digressed in her behavior, though. Lots of whining, uncooperativeness, and tantrums. Cut her hair into a tragic mullet. The only way I'm surviving is because of her best friend who keeps her entertained many days of the week.

Click on pic or link for video.

Dinner and Walk

A little while back Julie and I were able to head out to dinner in Salt Lake at the Koko Kitchen. We don’t get too many dates so each time we get out is a special occasion. Here is a photo that I made of Julie right outside of the restaurant. These photos were made on medium format film and I love how this portrait turned out. I love this woman dearly!

Then we walked across the street and we sat down on the curb to make a photo of a bunch of dandelions. We got low to make the photo a little different. Here is what we came up with!

Forever

I was going through some old photos and found these two. I took a picture of them because they mean so much to me and I don't want to lose them.

 

They were taken in August '02, two months before we got engaged. We were on a trip to St. George and Las Vegas with Rob's brother, his brother's girlfriend, and a mission companion from Tahiti. We went to visit grandparents and have a fun little getaway.

I found this little excerpt from an email I sent him July 26, 2002.

"The more I get to know you, the more I want to keep getting to know you."

After almost 12 years of marriage, the same is still true. I love you, Rob. Forever.

Big Surrrrrrr - Film Edition

A few months ago I received a Mamiya C220 film camera from my grandfather which I wrote about previously in this blog post. It was a while in coming but I’ve finally got a few images to share that were made with the camera. These images are from our recent trip to California. I hope you enjoy them and I’ll share a little about each one.

Fisherman’s Warf in Monterey, CA



I took this photo of the pier from the shore south of the pier. I love the idea of buildings over water; the thought is illogical but it is sure a lot of fun. It was a hazy day so the sky is blown out but I love how the reflections in the water also vary from dark to light shades.



This one was taken immediately opposite the photo above from the end of the pier back to the shore. The textures of the wood, water, and steel boats were wonderful.



This photo is fun because it was taken early in the day when not many people were on the pier.

Big Sur, CA



It is kind of hard to talk about these photos. So much of the coast looks like this. It is difficult to know what area to photograph. I love the dark tone of the water against the towering continent. So cool.



This one was taken looking north in Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park. What an amazing place! It was wonderful to spend this time with Julie and a blast to break in my new camera. Thanks Grandpa!

Ghettocation - Fairview Edition

Rob is working on a dam project. This dam project is taking place at Electric Lake, Utah (near Scofield). Seems the dam dirt is at risk for liquefaction during a dam earthquake. Dam engineers...  :)


SO, the kids and I joined him for a couple of days last week and a couple of days this week. There's nothing like getting away from the mundane of every day life by going to an even more mundane place. We stayed in Fairview at The Skyline Motel the first night. The pictures online did it too much justice.

Now THIS is a welcome sign and is sure to put any guest at ease. After all, no one would DARE to do anything dangerous or illegal with the threat of not getting a refund.

Everything was grimy and the kids just didn't GET that. They'd roll around on the filthy carpet, drop their toothbrushes on the old bathroom floor, and touch everything. Here they made an obstacle course by strewing all their belongings across the floor and then jumping on them. They also thoroughly enjoyed spinning in the chairs while I got dizzy watching.

The luggage rack always has been and always will be a top-notch form of entertainment for our kids.

As will opening all the plastic cups.

Cara made sure to make herself right at home.

After not sleeping most of the night because every time one of us moved the plastic bed cover screeeeched and screeeeeched, I was "awoken" very early by a rooster saying something more like "Aaaahhh-yoooooooo-uuh" rather than cock-a-doodle-doo. It took me a while to realize what form of beast was making such a sound on the other side of the window above my head..

We walked across the street to breakfast, daring to jaywalk rather than walk 15 feet to the crosswalk, much to Rob and Nate's trepidation.  Their wife and mom is such a rebel!

Nate and Rob liked the bacon and Madeleine and I enjoyed Utah scones.

Thank goodness for creamers, jelly boxes, sugar packets, and salt shakers for keeping my kids busy while waiting. Am I right parents?

Caroline wanted me to take a picture of her doing this. 

One night was all we could handle of this motel so I found a rental house nearby. Jackpot! It was so nice!! Clean. Check. And clean. Check.


While driving we encountered a herd. Click on the pic or here is the Video link.

 

One night we drove into Mount Pleasant for pizza. Nate was fascinated at the graffitied tables and couldn't understand why 1) someone would scratch the tables up like that, and 2) that anyone could say such a thing! 

We just had so much fun that we couldn't stay away and the next week drove down again. This time we stopped at the Spanish Fork River Park, but not before almost running over some sort of large rodent on the freeway. 

Playing Catch the Water.

We parked next to these bundles of cardboard behind a restaurant. Nate said, "I sure hope they plan on recycling these. Otherwise, I'll literally be very disappointed that we came here and saw all this waste." Seriously. That kid.

As a side note, I got him a book of idioms from the library and now he uses them whenever he remembers, much to my amusement. For instance, if Cara gets mad at him because he is trying to help her buckle her carseat and she wants to do it herself, he'll say, "Sheesh. Don't bite the hand that feeds you, Cara!" I laugh every time and he smiles.

We had some good root beer floats and after convincing Cara to give it a try (she hates tasting new things) she said, "I want to get one for me Nexterday!" I love that word! I'm going to start using it myself along with Lasterday.

The kids were hoping we'd find a museum. They think small town museums are terribly fun. Their favorite part was the rock and gemstone display. I have no idea why my kids are SO.INTO.ROCKS. but they truly are. One day I'll be sad that looking at and collecting rocks no longer enthuses them. It's been a big part of their lives so far. I know, I know. We're just one big happy family of nerds.

The 2nd floor of the museum was an art gallery and I was quite impressed with the collection. They had some fantastic paintings and sculptures, some by well-known artists that are unknown to me, but their posted bios were impressive ;)

And what's a trip to a small town if you don't drive through the small town's cemetery? On the way some type of antelope or deer hopped away from us. Madeleine intelligently named it an "antedeer". 

After the cemetery we found a large church parking lot so that the kids could practice their driving skills while sitting on my lap. I have fond memories of doing this when I was a kid.

We tried to go golfing, but despite being there during the posted open times everything was closed and locked up. We also tried to go horseback riding but that didn't pan out either. Kids and parents were disappointed. 

By far the highlight of the trip (obviously) was taking the bikes and letting the kids ride them up and down the empty lane in front of the house. This was so exciting because Madi learned how to ride a two-wheeler! It was so fun to watch her keep trying and eventually succeeding. Go, Madeleine! That's my girl!  

Overall Trip Rating: Better than Delta.

2014 Questions (Kid Edition)

Every year (and sometimes more often) we sit everyone in the family down and hit them with a series of questions. The goal is to record a little bit of their life, personality, and mannerisms in a way that can be looked back on and reviewed in a quick and fun way.

This year I got some nice audio recording gear for my birthday so our setup changed a bit. We used our Nikon D7000 on a tripod for the video and scratch audio. Then I setup a large diaphragm condenser mic (AKG perception 200) hooked up to garageband using the scarlet 2i2 interface. I pulled the video into garage band to cut out the scratch audio and insert the audio from the condenser mic. Worked like a charm.

The depth of field was a bit too shallow since the kids were moving around so much (I’ll fix that next time) but otherwise having them face the window light, and using the audio from the condenser mic really made for a nice product. I was quite pleased with the outcome. And now without further delay (click on the titles if you can’t see the video boxes)…..

Caroline’s Questions:

Madeleine’s Questions:

Nate’s Questions:

Hope you enjoyed these and we know our family will for years to come.

Big Surrrrr - Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park

We made it down to Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park and took a nice stroll to the waterfall lookout and then to the coastal lookout. Well worth our time as we enjoyed the breathtaking vistas!

For lunch we stopped at one of the only places to eat in the area and what a place it was. Eating lunch here and relaxing with this view was THE top moment for us during our trip. It was just so, so perfect. Rob loved the homemade lemonade, amazing macaroni and cheese, and the warm sunlight.

Take a look at what we saw on the way out. It made me chuckle.

We made a two-mile roundtrip walk to Andrew Molera State Beach. It was windy and we really wanted to head to the redwoods so it was a quick stop.

That’s when we drove to Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park. So peaceful. We both loved walking along the paths, smelling the woods, and being among the tall and beautiful trees.

After visiting the gift shop, face-timing the kidlings, and driving back to Monterey in the dark we ate dinner at Hula’s Island Grill, a funky place. Rob LOVED his fish and I LOVED my 7-layer coconut cake.

The next morning we took a little walk around the pier drinking in the sunlight and enjoying each other’s company. On the way back to SFO we drove through the woods and through part of silicon valley. We had such an amazing trip and can’t believe it took us so long to finish blogging about it!!

Thanks again to Rob’s parents for everything. We had an amazing trip and it was all thanks to their willingness to watch the kids. The kids had just as good a time with their grandparents as we had without our kids :)