7 Years, Oh The Memories

7 years full of memories

• Scaring Becky when I came home early from a trip to Twin Falls with flowers.
• Our first trip to Las Vegas where I got a ticket for "miss use of high beams" and we spent $380 for a room at the Venetian.
• Buying our 1978 Winnebago and taking a trip to California that just wouldn't end.
• When we found out that we couldn't get pregnant and we drove out to a farm and picked up Martha and Chester (our cats), we couldn't just leave one so we picked them both up.
• Teaching Peter to eat and use the litter box and then having him die on us. We drove all over trying to find a place to bury him until we found the perfect spot.
• Driving down to meet Audrey for the first time.
• Sitting in the bathroom trying to figure out if the pregnancy test was really telling us that we were pregnant.

There are so many memories and I know that there are many more to come. I am so happy that we are together and for the life that we have made. Even through the bad times we have a great time. Becky you are my best friend and the love of my life.

I love you

Happy Anniversary

I'm More Thankful Than You

Happy Thanksgiving!

I am excited for this holiday and so thankful for everything in my life.

I'm thankful for my parents and all they do for us. They are wonderful examples to my daughter (and shortly a son) and I am so thankful for who they are and to be their son.

I'm thankful for my siblings and what they bring to my life. Lyric is a great friend and confidant, Ariane is a caring compassionate sister, and Marc is someone that I can always count on. I am grateful to have them close and in my life.

I super thankful for my family and all they do for me. Audrey is amazing and I don't know how we got along without her. She is loving and sweet, and she is always there to warm my heart.

I am thankful for David, I know that he is not here yet but as it gets closer the more excited I get to see him. After years of not being able to get pregnant, what a blessing it is to be having a baby and a boy at that.

I uber thankful to my wonderful wife. Becky is the best thing that has ever happened to me. Without her I wouldn't have Audrey, David on the way and I wouldn't be the person that I am today. I am so thankful for her example in our home. She is a wonderful mother and wife and I love her so much.

Boise State = Classless and Small Time Program

I do realize that I am a HUGE BYU fan and therefore I am a little bias. I also realize that I have other post on hating BSU football. I guess if you are not looking for this type of post then you may want to move on.

This last Friday I was invited to go to the BSU football game against Fresno State. I love college football so I agreed to go. I have been to other BSU games in my life and for just football it is always a good time. As always the game was a lot of fun but the atmosphere was horrible. I have grown up going to BYU games and I love the atmosphere there. I think that BYU is a classy school with mostly classy fans. A couple of weeks ago at the SDSU v. BYU game I was reprimanded by the lady sitting next to me for yelling at a SDSU player. Although I don't think that I was out of line I do think that this lady, who had two young boys, was in the right. I was not so lucky at the Boise State game. I want to lay it on the line as to why I think that Boise State is classless and why I think that they are a small time program.

#1. The Stadium - I sat there the entire game thinking that the stadium is so small. I have been going to LaVell Edwards stadium since before it was named that so this may be a reason that I think that Boise's stadium is so small. It only holds 50% of what LES holds and LES is not the biggest stadium out there. I also think that the blue field is a joke. Regardless that BSU fans think that it isn't a gimmick, it is. It is ridiculous and REAL football powers don't need gimmicks. While I am on it the stadium needs a revamped video board and sound system. They were horrendous, and the backing up beeping when BSU stuffed Fresno behind the line was annoying.

#2. The Band - While I have a friend that played in the band I will have to knock it. The rule is that the band cannot play songs during a play on the field. Apparently by taking their band out of the stands and on to the concourse nullifies the rule. After half time the band sat on the concourse and played during action on the field. A few years ago a few coaches came out and said that BSU was playing music during plays and thought that they were just whining because they lost. After being there on Friday night I am wondering if this is what they were talking about.

#3. The Fans - All teams have fans that are questionable. I have seen it at BYU and I am sure that all fan bases can agree that there are fans of your team that are on the edge. I was really unhappy with the actions of these fans. When I first got to my seat I sat down and the guy next to me told me that I needed to scoot over. There wasn't any room to scoot over and I said that. He then told me that "This wasn't San Francisco". Now I know that I live in a very conservative state but pulling out a gay reference didn't sit well with me. Next the marching bad took the field and a video played about sportsmanship. It said that the BSU marching band was going to play the Fresno State fight song to show sportsmanship. As they started playing the entire stadium, and I mean entire stadium, started to BOO. The guy next to me started yelling "why do we have to do this every time? This is a joke". I was appalled since I know that some of the storied programs in college football do this very same thing. Next as Fresno State took the field that BOOING started again. I asked a fan about BOOING the opposing team and he said "it was kind of their thing" as in it was what BSU fans did. Also I don't think that anyone around me could go 4 words without using the "F" word. I know that I am Mormon and because I don't use that language I have a problem with it, but really it wasn't just about me. There were kids 3-8 years old sitting all around me. I found this offensive and thought that it was ridiculous.

I feel like I really went in with a open mind. I was just going to watch a football game and instead ran into a bunch of rednecks and gun toting tea partyist. In my opinion BSU has a long way to go before they become a "Big Time" program and that is not saying anything bad about their football team, their football team is amazing.

A friend at work overheard me talking about books that I was reading a couple weeks ago. The next day she showed up with a couple books that she thought I would like. Recently I have started checking books out on the Internet that people have recommended to me. I mentioned awhile ago that I had read one of the worst books that I have ever read and unfortunately a friend had recommended it to me. So I was a little leery when Leila brought this book to me, but she assured me that it was a good read and that she thought that I would like it.

Well Leila you were right. This book was a great book and I really enjoyed reading it. The writing was amazing, it captured me from the beginning and kept me hooked through the last line. The story was unique and I loved the characters. The thought process was kind of all over the place but I really enjoyed it.

The story is not unlike anything that you have ever read, a simple plot that is older then the dust. Boy meets girl, girl likes another boy, that boy doesn't like her and she can't find it in her heart to love the first boy. Arturo is a young writer who has moved to L.A. from Colorado. He has written a short story and is working on a novel. He meets a girl in a cafe, Camilla, who at first likes him but after time can't stand him. Camilla falls in love with Sammy who is sick and dying in the Santa Ana desert. Arturo hates Sammy but Camilla gets him to help Sammy write a book as his dying wish. Sammy can't stand Camilla and the only reason that she is around is because of Arturo. The story goes around and around until Camilla is driven crazy and ends up in mental institution.

I would like to say that Camilla represents Arturo's inner self and that he can't get over his short comings. I would like to tell you that Sammy is the struggle between life, love and death. I think that this story is too simple for that, I think that the story is just the story of Arturo Bandini...a great writer. I would recommend this book to anyone, I really liked it.

Every Friday I go to lunch with a friend. Over the past couple of years we have found that we have a lot more in common then some of my other friends. Most of the other guys I hang out with are single and have no kids, but Tony has a wife and daughter. We talk about everything from religion to politics to life to family and once in awhile football. It has turned out to be a great friendship as we have both struggled over the past year with jobs and money. It has been nice to be able to discuss sales and financial problems with someone who works in the same field as myself.

Today was no different. Tony called and asked if I wanted to go up to Table Rock to have lunch. I told him that I wouldn't mind heading up there since I had never been before. We made the drive up to the top of the hill but as we came around a corner we noticed that the gate was closed. We looked at the sign and noticed that it said that the road was open May-October, so we had just missed it. Tony asked if I wanted to hike to the top and eat our lunch or if we should drive the truck to the top of a smaller hill and eat there. Not wanting to sound like a wuss I voted that we hike to the top. I wasn't prepared for this hike since I was in my Birkenstocks, and I had to exert extra energy to keep my shoes on. About half way up I was thinking that this was a dumb idea and that we should have stayed in the truck and eaten our lunches there.

As we made it to the top though the view as amazing. We caught our breath and then headed over to the edge to eat our lunch. The conversation was nothing new. Jobs, life and a little football but from the top of Table Rock it seemed like it didn't matter. As we walked back down to the truck it felt like we were walking back into reality and all of a sudden we had jobs again and worries but for a moment those things didn't exist.

I am grateful for the friends in my life and for the opportunity that I have to live in such a beautiful city. I wouldn't have thought of going up to Table Rock and I sure as heck wouldn't have thought about hiking up there but I am so glad that we did.