Ten years ago today...

Aaron tagged me so here goes (geez, I wish this were freeze tag instead).

Ten years ago I was...
Living with Lorin Ethington, Jordan Lilly, Monte Overton, Lucas Nunn and random other dudes that would crash in our one bedroom apartment in an old hospital. We had bb gun wars inside and had an old washing machine with a tv on top of it that we would shoot at with .22's through the bedroom window. The shells would melt into the carpet. I had graduated from Heritage Academy, but all my friends were in their senior year, so lunch at Chandler High was a regular thing for me. I was probably taking classes at CGCC or something, but didn't take them seriously. I was skateboarding everyday for at least a couple hours, often driving the 70 miles round trip to the Phoenix skatepark. I was delivering pizza at T.C. Luigi's driving a crappy little orange truck that my brother gave me. The thing was like a little tiny mazda with a camper and it looked like it had been rolled a couple times. It actually threw a rod one night while I was out on a far delivery like 10 miles away from work out in east jeebus nowhere. This was in the days before cell phones and it was 10:3o at night, so I had to walk 4 miles to a pay phone and called Jordan to come pick me up.

Five things on my "to do" list:
- Plant my fall crops (check my BFF blog for details).
- Find a good, cheap tractor to buy so I don't have to worry about my uncle loaning out mine.
- Convince Natalie that a Vespa would be a worthwhile investment due to the cost of gas.
- Figure out how to convert the old horse barn into a hip retro-modern home.
- Start making money so that I can afford numbers 1 through 4 on this list.

A snack I enjoy:
Pickles, but I'll settle for just about anything salty.

Five I'd do with unlimited money:
- Completely restore the old hospital.
- Get my Dad the care that he needs (Screw the insurance companies! They've ruined the American healthcare system! Don't get me started!)
- Buy a homestead in the middle of nowhere and live completely off the grid. There's freedom, right there!
- Go to Italy and become a certified Vespa mechanic just for kicks, then buy everyone I know a scooter and start a scooter club.
- Get back into promoting local music

Places I've lived:
- Chandler bred, Chandler dead!
- The historic Goodyear Hospital (twice and maybe again in the future)
- Somerville, MA
- Southy (South Boston, MA)
- Mesa
- Home again

I guess that's it. I'm gonna break the chain and not tag anyone. Sorry, but it really is too much of a commitment for me. I mean, then you have to go read the posts of people you tagged to make sure they do it, comment on their post, blah blah blah. How about if instead of you writing a whole bunch of crap, everyone who reads this just leaves a comment about something that you and I have in common, or just something that my post reminded you of. That sounds easy enough.

I'm starting a garden club....

for guys, aged 20 - 40. No ladies! Okay, not really, but that is what it felt like yesterday when I taught Elder's quorum. I found out a couple weeks ago that I was teaching, but was never given a topic. At our presidency meeting I finally asked what I was supposed to be teaching on. I was informed that since it was a presidency choice I could teach whatever I wanted. That's a loaded gun, right there! Now, there are a million different topics that I could have taught, but I wanted to try something different. So, I taught the Elders in my ward about gardening. Don't worry, it came straight out of a priesthood manual and I backed it up with conference talks, scriptural references and primary songs, so it was legit. Not only that, but Natalie overheard one of the guys in class tell his wife that he was going to start a garden. Then today, Reuben and I helped another brother in our ward pick a good location and give him some tips on getting started. Sounds like the lesson was effective too. I think it is awesome that so many guys around my age are interested in gardening, or, as I like to call it, micro-farming (sounds not quite as gay). I have to give props to some of the guys who have always done it. Fortunately, it is "cool" now, so you don't have to hide anymore. Greenthumbs and greenhorns, stand and be proud! Even if you don't know what you are doing, but are interested, come join the club. So far, we meet at church on Sunday and through the occasional phone call. Let me know if you are interested.

Happy Belated Pioneer Day!

Monique, Tom's sister, decided we should all celebrate Pioneer Day. It was a great idea. The kids husked corn and we made butter. We even had fish for lunch. Here are several pictures of us shaking our creme to make our butter. The kids loved it and so did Tom.

I love it too. The butter tasted so good. I think I might start making my butter now. There is not salt or any other stuff put in it. I don't know if it is healthier but it seems like it would be. Plus you get a good arm work out every time you need more butter. I may be crasy but I might keep making my own. If you haven't made homemade butter, all you do is get creme and shake for about 20 minutes. It was way cool. Thanks Monique!

Was everyone I know born in July?

I'm not even gonna try to list everyone I know born in July because I will definitely leave someone out and tick them off. Let me just say that like half of my family has July birthdays. So happy birthday to everyone born in July.

However, I can't just leave it at that, see, because Natalie's birthday was July 11th. Yes, I know that has come and gone, but we were camping that weekend, so lay off. Anyway, I just wanted to take a minute to wish Natalie a happy birthday and to tell her to just make up her mind as to what she wants already! Natalie is an awesome wife and an amazing mother. I've never met a more patient person in my life. Seriously, it drives me crazy at times. How can one person put up with so much crap from one guy for so long? Anyway, I love her and know you do too, so call her and wish her a happy birthday. She won't care that you're a week late (yeah, she's that patient).




Gosh, I used to be so good with words..... what the crap happened?

Oregon

We made it home from Oregon. We had a great time. Here is Tom being amazed at how berries grow wild on the side of the road! This is taken at a rest stop on our way to Oregon.

We got to go to an orchard a pick berries. This is one thing that I am jealous that we do not have in AZ. You can go pick fresh raspberries and for a bucket full pay only $5.
Brecken loved the berries but he would not eat any that we not the perfect shape.
Karsten kept eating the berries off the ground. A little dirt don't hurt!
We went to a fountain and let the kids play. This was a cool fountain because the water came in and out like waves.
We ventured up to the coast for the 4th of July. It was beautiful. The boys loved the ocean. They loved running away from the waves. They didn't realize that in Oregon there are "Sneaker Waves". You think that you are far away from the wave but it just sneaks up on you. First Karsten went in! (Here is my lovely boot protection!)Then Brecken! The water was cold. Luckily we brought another set of clothes to change into.We all loved the beach. We even got the fire some of our own fireworks out into the ocean after dark.

Here are a few fun and funny stories about our trip:

1. Tom got 2 speeding tickets. Therefore driving cost the same amount as flying.

2. We hiked 2 miles to get to the beach. We had no idea it took that long to get there. It was fun though.

3. We ventured to a new beach for our firework show and got our car stuck in the sand.

4. Tom learned that you can not put 3 morters (fireworks) in a shooter at the same time.

5. The Columbia river is about 100 miles and is beautiful to drive by.

6. Brecken learned the "Scare Crow" baseball throwing technique from his cousins and still sleeps with his mit that they gave him.

We had a great time on our trip.

Fun in Utah

We are having a great time on our trip to Utah and Oregon. On our way up to Oregon we decided to stay a few days at my Grandma's in Utah. It is so beautiful up here. The weather is in the high 80s and nice and green. We enjoyed a few days with family and we are now on to the next part of our trip.
Heres the boys playing farm with my cousin Kevin. Kevin was a great play mate.
Oh how we love our Grandma Mary. She gives the boys rides and plays with them all the time. We also love our Papa Kurt, he too plays with the boys. (His picture didn't make it in the running for the blog.)

We are having a relaxing time and enjoying the beautiful weather. Can't wait for our next adventure. We should arrive in Oregon in about a 12 hour car ride. The boys did great on the way to Utah. Hopefully it is the same for Oregon.