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Landon's basketball team had its last game of the season on Saturday, which turned out to be quite exciting. They were down by 4 points at the half, tied after the 3rd, and up by 2 with 10 seconds left. All they had to do was get the ball in play and run out the clock - hopefully without getting fouled. They managed to get the ball in, make a few passes as the other team tried to foul, resulting in a loose-ball scrum as time ran out! They ended the season with a winning record, just one game above .500. Most important, each boy showed improvement, everyone seemed to have fun, and not one single parent was injured or arrested in the process ;-)

Landon made 3 baskets in the game, including this 3-pointer - which the ref called a 2-pointer!

Viva Lost Wages

I recently returned from a 3-day Vacuum Dealer's Trade Association convention in (where else)

Las Vegas!

The main purpose of the trip was additional education, training, and certification for central vacuum system installations. I know, I know, you are all anxious to hear more - but I won't bore you with all of the gory details. I actually did learn some good stuff, and had time to explore and see the sights with the boss and his family.

When I left Utah, it was well below freezing and stuck in an inversion.


It was very nice to finally get some airtime - even if it was encased in a big ol' passenger jet air airliner! In Vegas it was sunny and 60+ degrees - WooooHoooo! The airtime and sunshine were just good for the soul ;-)


We attended some classes, did some hands-on training,


and spent a few hours at the huge business expo, checking out all of the new and exciting products.


The city that never sleeps continues in its constant state of growth and expansion. Although tempted, I didn't even drop a single quarter gambling.

For me, "...one is too many, and a thousand never enough." So I knew it was best to not even start. In Vegas, everything seems to be geared toward sucking every last cent out of your pockets. The second largest "industry" there seems to be anything sexually oriented. From the moment you step out of the plane and into the airport the pornography is in your face. There are people lining the streets handing out dial-a-prostitute cards. They "snap" the cards against each other and shove them in your face! They were quite annoying, so I just started taking each of their pictures as they approached me.

Most of them would then avoid me or turn away, some objected saying "don't take my picture!" So I said, "If you can hand out this trash I can sure take your picture!" The next largest activity or industry here seems to be alcohol, drinking and getting wasted. I'm not throwing away 1,100 days, so that was not an option. Next in line was shopping, but I was not in the mood to spend money on overpriced junk. So that left the options of seeing shows and sightseeing. So I decided to just explore, people-watch, and take tons of pictures.

This was much cheaper, and gave me the opportunity to become more familiar with our new camera!

I took hundreds of pics - and about 1 of every 10 or 20 turned out half-way decent. I learn a lot by trial and error, and that's the beauty of digital photography. You shoot, look at the results, tweak your settings, and repeat.

Gradually you figure out what works best for your camera, shooting conditions, and desired results! It's much cheaper than developing film and wasting prints, and the learning curve is much quicker.

I had fun spending a number of hours experimenting with some timed exposures. A few turned out nice, but I wish I had brought my tripod to sharpen the images up a bit more.


After 3 days in Vegas it was nice to return home to my own bed, pillow and family! The temperatures had actually climbed a bit in my absence, with some of the snow melting as the inversion had begun to lift! Maybe I can get to launch soon!

Klondike

About a year ago I was called to be the Assistant Scoutmaster for our local troop. The Scoutmaster has been trying to motivate the boys to build a sled to enter into the annual winter "Klondike Derby" camporama. This is a two-day overnight winter camp, complete with activities such as igloo building, map & compass, snow sculptures, morse code signalling, snowshoe relay, mitten knot tying, first aid, steal the bacon, snowball accuracy, bear bag toss, and cooking contests. The event culminates with each troop competing in a Klondike Sled Race, where the boys pull a sled of their own construction, loaded with gear and one passenger.

This year the boys all agreed that it would be fun to build the sled and go to the Klondike Derby, so we began construction about a month prior to the event. We started with a pair of thrift store skiis and some scrap lumber, roughly following 3 or 4 different plans found on the internet.

Zach & Landon worked on their "Head-Clamping" Merit Badge.

With adult supervision and guidance, and only a few minor mis-calculations, it gradually began to take shape. We attached the riser blocks from below, countersinking the screws, filling in the base with p-tex, and then filing it all smooth. Next we added the cross pieces, on top of which we attached the deck.

Then we attached the side upright supports and the large dowel handle. Finally we attached some cord to contain the gear, and a large rope "harness" to allow at least five boys to pull at once.

After 2 evenings and half of a Saturday we ended up with a sturdy yet sleek sled, which wasn't too heavy. Testing on the hard packed snow revealed very little friction - even before waxing the skiis! It seemed the only limit to the speed was how fast the boys could run. It developed a bit of inertia once moving, so without any brakes the race had better be only on the flats!

With practice, the boys quickly learned how to steer while standing on the back of the skiis and leaning one way or the other.

The Scoutmaster was scheduled to be in Peru for 2 weeks as part of a surgical team, so I would be leading this trip. The week before the campout it became apparent that with other conflicting activities - such as the ward ski party and league basketball games, the number of boys planning to attend was dwindling. With such a long hard winter and other scheduling conflicts, I was having difficultly finding the second required adult leader. By noon last Friday I was down to 2 boys (out of 11) and one leader (me), so I had no choice but to postpone our Klondike Kamp until next year :-( But at least we have the sled all built and ready to go for next winter :-)

Klondike Klobberhead was NOT too keen on the sled-dog idea!

Although there is a definite resemblance to Max!

Desperately Seeking Sax

So, Thursday after school Tanner anxiously went out the door, after mumbling to Mom, "I'm going to look for my saxaphone." Not quite believing what she heard, Keri said, "What?!" After a pointed interrogation from Mom, Tanner finally admitted that he "lost" his saxaphone (still in its case) after getting off the bus the previous day (Wednesday) - which happened to be the day of the big blizzard! He seemed to think that it was somewhere near the snowbank by the bus stop. Upon further questioning, he admitted that some other boys were playing "hide Tanner's saxaphone" while Tanner was involved in a heated snowball battle. Tanner either forgot about it or couldn't find it, and didn't remember until the next day when he didn't have it for band class :-0

So Keri, Tanner, Landon & Clover started digging and searching the 4 foot high snow piles along the street by the bus stop. If the saxaphone was still here, it was now buried under another foot of snow that the snowplows pushed after the blizzard. At this point I arrived home from work, puzzled at the seemingly pointless family digging project, and soon found out about the "missing" saxaphone - which was only very recently paid off!! Keri said, "I've already said a prayer" - but I could tell from the concern (read: panic) in her voice that her faith was a bit less than perfect.

So, while everyone was frantically digging, I went up the door of the corner house and asked if, by chance, they had seen an unattended saxaphone in the last day. The lady of the house smiled, and said, "As a matter of fact, we have!" as she brought it out from the next room. Apparently her young son brought it in the previous day before it got dark. I thanked her and re-thanked her, and then slowly walked toward the search party, with the case strategically out of sight behind my back. I thought about letting Tanner "sweat it out" for a while, but instead just stood by and watched them dig for a minute until Tanner noticed what I had found. Then Keri saw it and shrieked, "No Way! - Prayers really ARE answered!!"

By now the boys involved in the "hide the saxaphone" activity had arrived to apologize and help in the search, after their parents found out what had happened. Since it was already found, they got to do some service by shoveling out the driveway of the corner house which saved the sax from the blizzard!

Tanner's name and phone number were inside of the case, but the "finders" hadn't taken the time to look inside yet. Before he left for school the next day, we put his name and number on the outside too. We told Tanner that it would take months (or years) of allowances to pay that one off!

What a Tease ("Uncle Already!")

Mother Nature is such a tease - sending us our January thaw the first week in February, only to dash our Springtime hopes with a blizzard yesterday! It was forecast to be a "fast-moving storm with about 2 inches of accumulation." It actually lasted from noon to about 8 pm, dumping about 6 inches, with 40-70 mph winds in the valleys resulting in blizzard-like conditions and drifted-in roads!

Interstate 84 northbound into Idaho was closed for hours, and many highways turned into impassable parking lots. Most community activities and events were cancelled Wednesday evening, as the snow consistency and temperature resulted in a 2" glazed layer of slushy ice on all of the roads which made it very difficult to start, turn, or stop safely.

Many drivers got a "crash course" in Newton's First Law of Motion.
Landons school bus was stuck for over an hour on the way home. And in one Utah County school district, the buses could not get through their routes, so they returned hundreds of elementary aged kids to school until the plows could catch up sometime in the early morning hours! Many of the kids ended up spending the night at school - what a raw deal that would be to be stuck at school on a snow-day!

Newspaper delivery this morning was a challenge, as all of the paths I had tracked into the snow between houses were filled in, leaving me the option of busting through 3 foot drifts on many sidewalks. Rather than take the time to plastic-bag every paper, I just found a dry spot on the porches and inside storm doors, which all added about fifteen minutes to the normal 25. But I'm NOT complaining or looking for sympathy - because I am the only one still willing to do our "family" paper route - even in these conditions!

I keep thinking that "this is the last time to shovel this winter" - and then another storm comes. I know, we need the snowpack for our reservoirs, but a little reprieve at least in the valleys would be nice! I think most of the small to medium reservoirs will fill this summer - although it will take a number of consecutive above average winters to bring Bear Lake and Lake Powell up to capacity.

There will definitely be some serious spring skiing this year - probably into Summer at some resorts!

I guess I'm just ready for some air time, seriously Jones'in, suffering from an acute case of Airtime Deficiency Syndrome - but I can be patient - I think. Cody et al are travelling to Hurricane/St. George this weekend to warm up and fly. I can't get away from work to join them, but I told Cody to at least think of me as he racks up a few hours ;-} Cody recently checked the road to Short Divide, and it will not be passable for a couple more weeks, if the thaw returns.

The forecast is calling for temperatures to warm into the 40's by Presidents Day!

"My (our) Three Sons"

Landon (12), Tanner (14) & Josh (16). The bright sun made it difficult for them to smile, but you can still see how handsome they are! This pic is before Mom gave them haircuts (kicking & screaming) this evening ;-)

Two More Points!

Landon scored the first two points of their second (double-header) game today. Unfortunately, the other team was like a relentless buzz-saw, handing our team a 24-54 defeat. Chalk this one up to experience, and hopefully learn from the loss!

The Making of a Two-Piece Sectional

So, Keri has been searching for a new sectional couch for our family TV room downstairs for the past year or two. She religiously scoured and scanned the want ads, Craig's List, and KSL Classifieds. She finally found one in near-new condition, that was in her price range and only 25 minutes away! So we picked it up last night, brought it home, and started hauling the old sectional and couch upstairs. No problemo, right? - Wrong...BIG Problemo!

There is a tight corner at the bottom of the stairs, around which we just could not coax, compel or coerce the big couch. We tried 3 different angles and attitudes, only ending up wedged in tight each time.

Keri jokingly said, "get the sawz-all and cut it in half!", but we decided instead to enlist some help and try once more - after all, we got it down here, so there must be a way back up & out! Well, it was "Trent," our home teacher's un-lucky day - mainly because he was home and he answered the phone! So (an hour and a half later) we tried once more. Finding ourselves within inches of clearing the corner, I was tired and frustrated, so I told him to go ahead and push while I pulled,

resulting in a nice hole in the textured ceiling sheetrock above the landing

and two damaged corners - and we still could not make the corner. So we backed down, and went to "Plan B" - Instead of the sawz-all we removed some bolts accessed from the underside, which allowed us to separate the couch into 2 pieces, but not without damaging it.

Oh well - at least we could then easily make the corner and drag it upstairs and out into the driveway. We then managed to get the new 3-piece sectional downstairs without any further damage - YAY. Keri was happy again - even though she had to remove the old couch (now in pieces) from the listings on KSL.com. She only would have made $75 for it - which was definitely NOT worth the trouble and resulting wall damages :-) You know what they say about "hindsight" - life goes on!

She will still sell the old tan sectional (including a sofa/hide-a-bed which has been stashed/suspended in the garage rafters the past two years) for $150 - to help offset the cost of the new furniture (and pay for my wall repair work ;-}) After much puzzling and consideration, we finally decided that the big couch was put downstairs before our kitchen remodel three years ago,

which included part of the stairwell ceiling - making it impossible to remove it the same way (in one piece anyway!) So I get to refine my wall repair skills, and I made it through without using one four-letter word,

and just a few three or five-letter words!

322+ Feet!

Check out this video of Robbie Maddison's record breaking jump on New Year's Eve in Las Vegas, NV when he literally flew beyond the entire length of a football field. The advances in suspension design, material weight to strength ratio, and engine technology on his tricked-out 500 cc motorcycle are incredible. It makes you wonder what Evel Knievel could have done on one of today's machines!

More Hot Air!

Here is a clip of Landon launching our most recent homemade hot air balloon on Friday night. It climbed to a couple grand and drifted a mile or two north-northwest. The entire flight lasted about 9 minutes!

Airtime: 9 Minutes!

Super-Snowy-Super-Giant-Sunday!

Okay, okay, so maybe Punxsutawney Phil was correct - at least for today. It's going to take some serious snowpack in the mountains to make up for the years of drought, but it seems that we may be making a significant dent! We got dumped on today - about 12 inches of new, wet, heavy, white SNOW - and there's more on the way! We made it to church early, but many other wards across the region cancelled services today due to the snowfall, bad roads, power outages, and other related problems.

After church we had to dig out just to get into the driveway, as the snowplow had left a two foot high berm blocking us out! Everyone in the neighborhood came out to help each other shovel, push, & snowblow all afternoon.

So much snow has accumulated, there is nowhere to put it, as the mounds along all of the walks and drives are about five feet tall now! Some of the young men in the ward helped the elderly & widows in the neighborhood clear their walks too.

We even had some snow-play-time before the "big game" (apparently, Tom Petty still rocks!)

"What did I say about jumping off the roof?!!"

Hey kids, don't try this at home!!

("I wish you would step back from that ledge, my friend...")

Airtime: About 2 seconds!

GroundHog Day!

This morning on Gobbler's Knob, Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow, predicting six more weeks of Winter. Phil's prediction was actually contrary to a number of his counterparts in other states and in Canada. Eitherwhichway, I'm not superstitious (knock on wood) ;-\

Do YOU ever feel like Bill Murray, just stuck in a rut, reliving the same day, over and over?! On many occasions I certainly have. For example, many mornings I will be doing my early morning paper route and I see the same people, doing the same things, as I walk past the same route, on the same path, day after day. It's like deja vu all over again!

This person is at there kitchen sink making coffee, that person is out for an early morning smoke, this person is walking out to his paperbox - just waiting to call and complain if I'm even one minute late, that person is warming up his pickup in the garage, these two big dogs start barking, this person is just coming home from an early workout, that person is just leaving for work - driving like a maniac, this car flies by throwing the "other" newspaper out as he goes, that person is out walking her dog, a garbage truck drives by, a lifted jeep with noisy tires drives by, a 2-stroke moped screams by in the distance, and so on, and so on...

When I first noticed these repeated patterns of life, I became a bit discouraged at the monotony. After considering it all for a while, I came to realize that it is not such a bad thing, but actually a blessing and opportunity. Each new day brings the hope of new experiences - many unknown, and a relatively clean slate in my book of life. Even though I make many mistakes throughout the day, tomorrow is another opportunity to live life a little better.

Sometimes I need to be more proactive, and just look for opportunities to do things differently by "mixing it up," being a little daring, by getting out of my comfort zone. It is usually by doing this that I find true growth and gain a much needed new perspective.

Look to This Day

For yesterday is but a dream

And tomorrow is only a vision;

And today well lived, makes

Yesterday a dream of happiness

And every tomorrow a vision of hope.

Look well therefore to this day;

Such is the salutation to the dawn!

- Kalidasa

First Date!

Guess WHO had his first date tonight?! I'll give you 2 clues - it wasn't Tanner (14), and it wasn't Landon (12).

It's Josh!! (16)
He was invited by "KJ" to the girl's choice high school dance tomorrow night; But first, tonight they went to a movie with two other couples before "the big dance" tomorrow night. Now, isn't that Special?!!

Here they are Saturday night on their way to dinner & the dance!

Jones-in'!

Whoever said that all good things must come to an end was being a bit too brutally honest. I would love to remain in denial, but the calendar today says February 1st, 2008, and I got Zipp-0, zilch, nada, zero, skunked-airtime in January. So, my streak of consecutive monthly flights has come to an abrupt end :-(

December 3rd, 2007, was my last airtime experience, with a 70 minute flight, culminating 17 consecutive months of hour + flights from Short Divide!

After a number of dry winters, this one has been a welcomed wet one, so the road to launch has been impassable since mid-December.

As soon as I'm done typing this posting, I'll stop feeling sorry for myself, because at least the new month brings the hope of some Spring airtime - even if the groundhog does see his shadow!