Just a couple of pics

Yes, that is me at the Dome of the Rock, and you can see the push-ups are working out.



The first to play hacky sack at Armageddon



At the Sea of Galilee


Just enjoying the sites in Umm Qais.


Just a few random shots. Hop you like them.

Get the tortillas ready.

So we all know how much we love Chorizo. I mean, talk about a staple food growing up. Nothing could beat a Saturday morning waking up at 5:30 with the smell of chorizo and eggs cooking in the kitchen (followed by some tortilla chips, of course). Well, nothing could beat that until now.



All I want to know is, what day are we having this at the beach house?

How many items can you identify with?

Check this out. Although it's a blatant rip-off, it's still pretty funny. I thought it especially funny considering Mom's recent family photo suggestion.

What is fellowshipping?

So last night, the bishopric called and asked me to speak in church this Sunday on fellowshipping. I don't know anyone except the primary kids and a couple of guys I play with on Thursday nights for basketball, and you know what, I'm fine with that. I haven't gone on splits in 8 years and bolt to the car right after church while I wait for Jenn's weekly ad hoc YW's meeting even when the car interior tops 300 degrees. It's like when Zack asked Screech to wait in line for the U2 tickets in Season 3. You just know he's not qualified and he'll probably screw things up anyway (which he did). I don't want to be one of those speakers who get's up and says, "Sometimes I think a person is asked to speak on something because that person needs it the most, and that's true in my case....etc....." Not that there's anything wrong with that - I just don't want to go there.

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Anyway, I was thinking about telling the story of how we almost left the church in Madera since Sister Donnavan didn't greet Mom during Relief Society or talk about the fried chicken in Delano that the Slaughters brought over after we first moved in. Maybe I should bring up the time that Jenn and I visited BYU during Christmas and Trevor barely introduced us to his "friend." If there is a way I could integrate Spiritual Crocodiles into the talk, it's a definite must, especially since not a lot of people have heard the talk/video/soundtrack/seminary lesson/etc.

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And since we are the most outgoing and anti anti-social family out there, I was hoping others might have some ideas or different angles in which I could frame this talk. Suggestions are welcomed.

to pee or not to pee, revisited

So, that's pretty much what I saw, but not until the third day I peed on the stick. To be entirely honest, Mayka knew I was pregnant before I did since she saw me crumpled in a useless heap in her hallway and came to check on me. I had no idea what had happened other than the fact that by the time I knew I wasn't going to stay on my feet, Mayka was asking if I was alright. She immediately guessed I was pregnant, but I couldn't believe it because who faints four days after they conceive? By the next week, Mayka's thoughts were haunting me a bit, so Wednesday, I peed on the first stick in a three pack of Equate pregnancy tests. Yes, that is the Walmart brand, and I can not recommend it to anyone no matter how poor, as you will soon understand. The whole reason I bought Equate brand in the first place was because the test I took in February was negative, (I didn't take one in March),the one I took in April was negative. I was expecting another round of negatives, so why pee on a $20 digital stick with a smiley face when I could get three of them for $8.88? So, by Wednesday morning I was rather curious if Mayka was a better doctor than me, so I peed on the stick. Nothing happened, so I threw it in the trash. I didn't really think about it again until sometime four hours later when I again had to pee. I went to the bathroom and saw the test in the trash -- this time with a tiny little vertical line indicating a positive test, but the controls hadn't worked properly. So, still unsure, I waited until Thursday morning and used the second test in the box. Once again, the controls didn't work, but I at least left it sitting out so I wouldn't have to dig through the trash for it later. Finally after way more than 10 minutes, I could see a slightly darker tiny vertical line, but no controls, and the instructions clearly say results read after 10 minutes are not valid. So, Friday morning, I used the last one in what I believed was a defective batch of pregnancy test. This time, within ten minutes, the controls worked, and the test came up with a legit looking positive. So, in the end, it took me almost a week to actually figure out I am pregnant. Now I'm six weeks in, and still not sure if I believe it because I don't really feel like I'm pregnant other than being tired, oh, and the fainting that one day at Clint and Mayka's. Though my family should know before Tustafiesta, after my first doctor's appointment, I just wanted to let you all know now, mostly because Danella wanted to know what I'd wear at the wedding -- maternity clothes.

Broad Street Run 2008

Since Chad asked about it, I thought I'd post the picture in question. This picture was taken last month during the last mile of the Broad Street Run. It starts in North Philadelphia where you wouldn't dare tread unless you were surrounded by 20,000 other runners in the early morning. The entire course is a gradual descent (i.e. monotonically decreasing for those mathematically inclined readers) and is considered the fastest ten miler in the nation. Anyway, Kim took the picture and I thought I looked pretty good with the naval ships in the background until I looked closer. You'll notice that I'm behind a guy who sticks in his shirt (red arrow) and wears long socks (green arrow) and just barely in front of an older guy who looks like he is still trying to lose weight (yellow arrow). At about mile 9, I saw a guy in the distance who was losing control of his lower limbs. I looked to see if he had lost control of his bowels but fortunately for him he had not. Just as I passed him, he collapsed. Don't worry, he looked fine when I looked back.



Aiden also raced. He was proud to have won but doesn't understand the significance, or lack thereof, of winning in the absence of competition.