Cute Baby Bree

This is our new adorable niece Bree! She was born Oct. 9 and weighed 6lbs 1oz and was 19 inches long. I went down the weekend she was born and had tons of fun holding her and seeing family. Congrats Jer & Sharla, thanks for the cute nieces, we love them!!

Wal-Mart

So today I had an interview with WalMart for a summer internship. Before I go further, let me put to rest any thoughts that I would spend my summer as a greeter. Nothing against greeters, but my focus is more on the technology that supports a business. So I could be working on improving the self-checkout kiosk programs, or a host of other nifty projects. It's pretty funny thinking about it, because the only side of Walmart I know is the retail store. But honestly, it's a good internship. They pay to move you out to Arkansas and back, give you a rent stipend, and pay you for your time. So as far as compensation goes, they are one of the better options I have seen so far. I haven't been offered a spot, but if I do, it's nice to have the option. Another plus is that the Ozarks would be right in my back yard.

Sunday Drive

The trees in the mountains are changing colors, so we took a drive up Squaw Peak road to see the colors. Things were fairly uninspiring for the first little while, but the higher we climbed in our trusty Honda, the more vivid and beautiful the scenery became. Here are a few pictures from cascade mountain to rock canyon, but they can't really compare with being there.


This last one is overlooking Utah Lake. It was spectacular.

Don't Reach!

During our recent family trip to New York, we stayed a few days in Rochester. Our first full day there, all the boys went fishing on Lake Ontario. It was fun catching a fish 10 times the size of anything I have caught before, but the real fun was Captain Len. We got an early start and as soon as we had a fish on the line, Len jumped into action.


As it turns out, there are a set of unwritten rules when charter fishing. Somehow, each of us managed to break one or more of these rules. When that happened the captain was not happy and he made no effort to hide it. Well, it turns out that my offense was reaching. Yes, I reached. I can hear the collective gasp of all you experienced fishers, and I bow my head in shame.


Obviously, Captain Len was emphasizing the importance of this rule when he put the above picture on his website. I was working the net on a catch and I made the fatal error of reaching for the fish with the net. Len, screamed: "DON'T REACH! DON'T REACH!!!" and quickly snatched the net from my hands and proceeded to reach over the boat for the fish. I am obviously new at this since I noticed no difference in our net handling. After the trip was over, Len apologized to my Dad for getting a little upset with us, so I have to give him credit for that. So if you find yourself in Rochester, look up Captain Len of Bullseye Charter Fishing, you are guaranteed a good time.

The End of Summer

The end of Summer is upon us and we are scrambling to pack in as much fun as we can. Kate and I both start school tomorrow, so today we went tubing down the Provo River as our last hurrah. We went biking Saturday and had a fun time running over the helpless pedestrians perusing up the Provo River Trail. We've had a fun summer and although it is never easy to settle back into a "normal" schedule, we are ready to hit the books and all that good stuff. Besides, fall is a really nice time of year. Here are some pictures of recent summer events:

Camp Mia Shalom

Making Happy Factory Toys

The Girl's Camp crew

Ariel view of Lake Powell

A run down the famous Lake Powell Slide


Landing with no injuries!


Bike ride up to Vivian Park


Before entering the frigid waters of the Provo River

Tubing was a lot of fun, until we got to the end and I realized that I didn't bring my keys with me. Luckily, a nice fisherman took me up to the top of the river while Kate patiently waited at the car.

Ice Cream Man and Scientist

Ok, so here is another story from my childhood. For those of you unfamiliar with this classic, most of you are Kate's family, enjoy.
If you ever talk to one of my siblings or parents and ask them what I wanted to be when I grew up, they will all give you the exact same answer: "An ice cream man and a scientist." Now, the scientist part can be explained. Back in my early years I was a regular viewer of Mr. Wizard's World on nickelodeon. Mr. Wizard was a sort of prelude to Bill Nye the Science Guy. Through his many experiments using ordinary household items, Mr. Wizard helped me develop a great interest in the laws of nature and the way things work. So, being a scientist was a natural choice for me.


My desire to be an ice cream man is not as clear-cut as the scientist part. I don't recall any particular catalyst that made me want to pursue a career in frozen dairy sales, other than the obvious perk of having ice cream available to me at any moment. But regardless, I was adamant that I would be an ice cream man in the summer, and a scientist in the winter. Currently, I am not really shooting for either career, but it still sounds like a lot of fun. I think the picture at the top pretty much sums it up.

About Kate

Kate is gone to Girl's Camp for the week, without a computer or phone, so now is the perfect time to do a post all about her. In typical bachelor style, I have not been eating well and the house is a mess, making her absence even more obvious. Anyways, Here are some pictures and details about Kate that some of you may not know.

Kate used to be an avid traveler, until she got married. Her dad works for Skywest and the flying benefits allowed them to travel all over the world. The picture above was taken in Krabi, Thailand with Laura the resident elephant at the hotel. When she married me, her flying benefits were terminated.

Kate is the only person in my family, besides Arie, that never knew Domino, our immortal Labrador. Kate also dislikes cats, so it goes without saying that she was not too pleased with my kitty cat dance post earlier this month.

Kate is hilarious. I would have to say that 99% of what makes me laugh each day is attributable to her. She cracks me up like nobody else.

Kate loves to camp. This comes in handy because she is camping all this week. This is a picture of her at the Johnson Family reunion a few weeks after our wedding. If we could, we would go camping a lot more since we have such amazing mountains right in our back yard.

Kate is an academic whiz kid. She earned straight A's through high school and was a regional sterling scholar. She spent a year on the exec council at Dixie College, was voted outstanding freshman of the year, and through scholarships she never had to pay for any of her college costs. Ok, I am bragging, I know.

And finally, Kate is a Skier, not a snowboarder. She refuses to strap on a board and see what it's like, but we get along despite this. As a bonus, you can see that she also has a pretty good scowl.