Pops are out right?

We got to spend a spring break of sorts in California over Easter. Beth and her sisters and mother drove down together and I was able to join them over the weekend. They were able to keep busy doing the usual and even made a field trip to Disneyland. It was certainly a nice break from the extended winter going on around here.

Here's a few photos from the park.

Lily having fun and not so fun on the slides.

The female version of this photo. Same sweater and everything.

We found a handball in the bushes at the school and got busy. Which brings me to the subject of this post. Pops are out right? Beth and I disagreed on this fact. Probably because she is the one who hit it. Here I am busting out just one of the moves from my childhood. Cucumbers! Not even a surprise Watermelon! could catch Beth. She is a handball wizard.

Girlfriend Rock

According to my resume (anybody know how to get the ' over the e?) a few of the things I have to offer the world include "Strong written and verbal communication skills. Ability to think critically and analyze information to produce results. Effective team player and motivator."

I've always thought that if there wasn't some crazy hard rule about a resume only being one page I could include some of my real skillz. Maybe I could just edit experience and take out "#1 fastest drive-thru attendant at El Pollo Loco summer of 1995." One of those skillz would be "EXCELLENT mix maker."

I was reminded of this a couple weeks ago after a letter from my little brother Elder Michael. Apparently earlier that P-Day he had borrowed his Mission President's computer and made a quote "sweet mix" and asked if I remembered all the "sweet mixes" we used to make. Do I remember? Of course I do, I made one that morning as well. His mix would probably only be considered sweet by other missionaries or mothers on a Sunday afternoon but still. Upon further thought I wonder if it's hereditary. The next best mix makers I know are my little brothers, both tied for second.But will we be able to teach Jack?

Since blogs are an excellent forum to share bits of wisdom I thought I might occasional share a mix. This particular one is called Girlfriend Rock. If you can't figure out why take another second. Yes these were all on my computer, including Elton John and Avril Lavigne. With the exception of Ocean 11 I'm sure they are all available for download (now $0.30 more!). I haven't been able to find them since the glory days of Napster.

1. Rock 'n Roll -- The Sounds
2. Girlfriend In A Coma -- The Smiths
3. The Rock Show -- Blink-182
4. Even Hitler Had a Girlfriend -- Mr. T Experience
5. Rock Your Body -- Justin Timberlake
6. Ex-Girlfriend -- No Doubt
7. Rock Lobster -- The B-52's
8. She Has a Girlfriend Now -- Reel Big Fish
9. Punk Rock Girls -- The Queers
10. My Girlfriend's Dead -- The Vandals
11. Solid as a Rock -- Ocean 11
12. Swiss Army Girlfriend -- Mr. T Experience
13. Crocodile Rock -- Elton John
14. Girlfriend -- Avril Lavigne
15. Rocksteady -- Ocean 11
    

Best Friend?

*Note from JohnE - after a couple weeks this is the best I could come up with for my 100th post.

One of the things I love about living in what some consider the middle of nowhere is the excellent recreation available. The cycling, running, and swimming around Heber Valley is an absolute treat (OK maybe not in Winter). On a run you are more likely to see an Osprey, Sandhill Crane, Bald Eagle, or of course the Hawk than a pigeon or a crow. However, there is a potential danger to running in the country. Because of this danger I have been become quite literally a scaredy cat, always on the lookout. I switched earphones because noise canceling earphones open me for not so sneak attacks. What is this danger you ask? It's the country family dog.

Now I am a dog lover and a former dog owner. I hope to one day own a dog again. I just have to wait until my kids are old enough and I can trick them into wanting a dog so bad they'll sign away their life promising to care for and clean up after it. But I was and will be responsible about it, no matter how "nice" or "loving" she is. Cheyenne, while crazy, wouldn't hurt a fly. Actually that's not true, I once saw her eat a fly out of the air. But whenever I was outside with her she was either on a leash or tied up, because other people don't know she's crazy friendly. Apparently this common courtesy doesn't apply to families that own more than one acre. Once you hit the acre mark it is no longer required to fence or tie your dog. I have a couple favorite routes and have over time learned and named every stinkin dog. Luckily I've never been attacked let alone bitten. At least not since the mission but then I was actively trying to get onto properties so I guess it was bound to happen.

My short run is an excellent out and back. It's 4 miles to the top of Memorial Hill and back. Plus from the bottom of the hill to the top is exactly a mile so if you want a good 10K you just run the hill twice. Here is who you need to be on the look out for:

1. Grendel (Mile .67 and 3.4) - This house is actually the worst I have come across. Grendel is an Irish Wolfhound. If you haven't ever seen an Irish Wolfhound think Shetland Pony but instead of ridiculous think terrifying. The size of a small horse and looks of something bred to kill wolves. And it's not just Grendel because also at the Nielsen's is . . .
   
2. Killer (Mile .67 and 3.4) - Killer is a champion German Shepherd. Very pretty and almost jet black. For a period I was the Nielsen's home teacher and know both these dogs to be gentle giants but it still doesn't help when they come running. They are only outside if someone in the family is working in the yard which is amazingly often when there is 3 acres to tend. Plus I know Killer is employed by Wasatch Search and Rescue. Whatever his intentions may be his job is literally to hunt humans and that is scary.
3. Tad (Mile .75 and 3.27) - Tad is a six month old Golden Retriever and reminds me of my dog growing up. I guess I spoke too soon when I said I hadn't been bitten because Tad (who is a tad) did run up to me and do that jump on and mouth thing puppies are so fond of.
4. Bucky (Mile .88 and 3.14) - Bucky is the ultimate pound rescue mutt. Even though he doesn't wear a collar it does look like he treats the property as an invisible fence and just gives a few warning barks.
5. Danger Zone (Mile 1-3) - You aren't in the clear once you get to the hill. Like any road with no one and no houses around this is where people come to walk their dogs who need a leash without a leash. Just be ready if you see any cars parked at the bottom.

A popular long run is 10 miles and is sort of a half tour de heber. It's a picturesque run over the river, through the woods, to grandma McEuen's, by the lake, along Soldier Hollow, and home. These roads are particularly populated by families with many acres therefore not required to follow the guidelines set by society. Here is a quick sample of who to look out for:

1. Orange Lassie (Mile 1.64) - A descriptive name but I actually haven't seen the Hyde's dog in a while so maybe the obstacle has been handled.
2. Ren (Mile 2.61) - The first of two annoying toy dogs on Casperville Road. About the size of shoebox this dog has the best hearing of any dog I've seen. No matter which way the wind is blowing you can't sneak by Ren. Ren is persistent and doesn't stop barking but because of his size it wouldn't bother me if it wasn't for his effect on . . .
3. Stimpy (Mile 2.64) - Stimpy is a yellow lab and honestly would not give a care if it wasn't for the noise his friend and neighbor makes. If Ren is out then Stimpy gets up and puts on a show. If I run up and see Stimpy alone all he does is lift his head look to Ren for instructions. If Ren isn't around then Stimpy goes back to sleep. Gotta love old labs.
4. Napoleon (Mile 2.83) - This dog has made me madder than any dog. A miniature pinscher with a true Napoleon complex. This dog actually chases and tries to attack cars. Napoleon is also one of the few dogs that I can run faster than. The annoying part is he doesn't give up. Unless you turn and face him at which point he turns and runs like he just got beaten. But eventually he turns around and starts chasing again only this time a 1/4 mile behind.
5. Grizzled (Mile 3.35) - This is a true cattle dog and looks like he is about 20 years. Even though he sits right on the road he doesn't bother to investigate. Which is a good thing because despite his age I would pick him in any scrap.
6. Amigo (Mile 4.3) - Amigo is a border collie mix. After a few initially intense moments where he thoroughly checked me out and began following just behind me (forcing me to keep my head on swivel) I invited him to come run next me so I could more easily watch him. He ended up keeping me company for over a mile at which point he turned (hopefully for home). Since then he has joined me one more time.

And it goes on with 5 more named unfenced dogs before mile 8 and the civilization of downtown Midway. Sure there are pluses like I get to work on my neck muscles for swimming and I've heard that running backwards is good cross training for something. I guess I'm just jealous that I probably won't ever get to be one of the those people the rules don't apply to.

Spring Skiing

Original plans to do a complete post of our day at Beaver Mountain were scrapped. I'm lazy and my dad did such a good job here that I'll just send interested parties to Emmettville. Special thanks to Norda's for the new gear and the original Norda for filling in on Lily duty. A couple money shots:

Four Generations of skiing the Beav.

Jack rolling solo. Still has no idea how to stop.

Jack's first season pass, free with the purchase of an adult season pass. Beth and I laughed at this picture for days.

Dear Mr. Hawk

COME ON! I know it was my first ride of the year but am I really that slow? Did it look like I might keel over any minute and provide a tasty treat? What about that large doe and raccoon I passed earlier? They were already dead. It's really disconcerting and slightly depressing to see your shadow constantly circling me for the entire climb up S.R. 32.


Regards,
Not so fast

skithebeav

Check out the first couple photos at skithebeav.com.

Annoucement: In less than 9 months . . .

Lily will double in age. How cool is that? She had her 9 month appointment this week and although I don't remember the details I do remember she was in the 25th percentile across the board. I'll probably come back and insert the actual numbers so I have them available for reference. Earlier this week I couldn't remember how much she weighed at birth and came back to the blog to check. I was shocked to find out she was over 8 pounds! That just seemed too big for the little girl.

She loves pulling herself up onto anything, especially her brother if he stops long enough. Luckily she really hasn't experimented with stairs yet, at least beyond the first stair. She did seem to inherit the same toughness as Jack which comes in handy for all the face plants she pulls off. While trying to play with her cousins she made it up the first step only to roll off onto the hard wood floor. 4-year-old cousin Porter ran to report to Beth that she fell down the stairs and didn't even cry "It was like a trick!"

Her first tooth is making good progress and I can't think of any food she hasn't liked. The Green Pea baby food causes her to make funny faces but she'll eventually open her mouth up again.


Showing off her tooth to mommy.

Car trips are fun especially in Aunt Marci's minivan. Gives her a chance to get those darn socks off.

One of my favorite things to do is have two-year-olds give each other 5. They both want to be the one giving the 5 and end up whiffing several times. Porter understands a little better that someone has to take the 5.

Ice Cream treats at the Dairy Keen.

Jack finds out he's not the only "heaby" one.

Spring Forward

You know Spring is on it's way when Nativity scenes start showing up for an encore.
(one of several I've noticed that probably haven't been seen since the Christmas day storm.)

Good day

While I'm firmly in the iPod Love Group I've had quite a turbulent relationship with the little miracles of late. Amazingly we've owned 7 iPods (six models) but only ever bought one ourselves. That is what happens when you work in sales for an organization that figured out salesmen will do anything short of trading their first born into slavery for a chance at a free iPod. Sure the promises of hitting quotas, increasing job security, potentially $1000s in commissions, pleasing bosses, and job promotions are all nice but fleeting. However, give someone a whack at $149.00 of hardware in a cool box and watch them line up to run through fire.

In just the past few months the iPod gods have been angry:

1. The iPod video was removed from my back pack with what appears to be a bullet hole in the screen. But not a bullet from a gun, more like a bullet pressed at a slow speed with someone's palm. Or maybe it was from a gun and it actually saved my life. Maybe the iPod gods weren't angry. For $179.00 the Apple store can try to fix it but no promises. Or you can buy a used one eBay for way less.
2. While flying from Irvine to Dallas I had a layover in SLC. Jeff was on the flight so I put out the seat occupied card and walked with him off the plane. 15 minutes later I return and my iPod Touch and iPod Shuffle are missing from the seat back pocket. The cleaning crew was nice enough to leave the gum wrappers. When contacted by the airline the crew had no recollection of finding two iPods.
3. I kept the original iPod shuffle in my gym locker at work. A few weeks ago I couldn't find it only to later find it in my pocket. Of course it was after my shorts had been through the washer and dryer.

Now we were down to the originally purchased iPod mini* and the newly won iPod nano. Until yesterday they have been more than sufficient for the two of us. Turns out I own a lot of crappy music and don't need 60 GB to hold it all times. 8 GB is plenty. Plus my running shoes had Nike+ and I have loved connecting to the nano. I don't know about anyone else but I am terrible at estimating how long and far I have been running. I guess I could wear a watch or chart a run ahead of time but whatever. I would usually return after 27 minutes and 3.5 miles thinking it was more like 45 minutes and 6 miles. Nike+ has been 99% accurate on distance for me. (Disclaimer: this is for workouts in unknown territories, I'm not that big of an idiot at home).

Back to yesterday . . . I started really wanting another shuffle to keep at work. They are so convenient with the clip and the size. While thinking this I looked at the shuffle that had been washed, spun, rinsed, spun, and tumble dried. I had repeat visions of plugging it in and melting my own hard drive but decided to try it anyways. Nothing happened for several seconds and just as I thought I better not push my luck the orange light turned on. I then held up the earphones and pushed play, again nothing happened for several seconds until I hear the sweet sounds of The Mr. T Experience. I was so stoked to be back in business and immediately called Beth with the news.

"You broke another one?"
"This is the one that went through the wash."
"You put your iPod through the wash?"
"I told this, remember?"
"Which one the blue one?"
"No it was the white one."
"The video?"
"No the shuffle, the one that looks like a thumb drive."
"Oh, hmmm . . . good day."

Yes. Yes, it was.

* Looking at the iPod mini today brings back memories of Macs in elementary school. Little gray screens used to play Oregon Trail (that game owned!). But the mini to this day still has something the other iPods with screens don't, a clip that works. What is up with that? Why do we either have to use the arm bands or have it bouncing around in a pocket. The sweet spot on the arm bands is impossible to find. Either it's a tourniquet or it's falling down around my wrist. I just want to clip it to my waste and not have to dislocate my shoulder to adjust the volume.

First Tracks

This was one of the most exhausting ski days of my life. And it was only for an hour. And we never left the rope tow. The recent warming trend finally forced me to load Jack up and take him on a proper ski hill. We went to Sundance where you can ride the rope tow for free, as long as you can get to it. It's just a short hike up the mountain with your skis and a two-year-old who will tell you himself every time you pick him up that he is heaby (it's not a typo, it's a quote.)

The trip started out bad with Jack refusing to wear his snow coat and REALLY wanting his mom to come. He doesn't get the Lily is sleeping excuse. Well if Lily is sleeping then you are free to come with, right? If Lily is sleeping then we must therefore take full advantage of our time without the little shadower. Probably a good thing he didn't wear his parka because it was warm and that kid runs hotter than anyone I know. Not one time this winter has he played in the snow without sweating profusely. Just like his uncle Michael.

But the trip ended well as I decided to quit while we were ahead, leaving him wanting more. A little trick I learned from George Costanza. Plus our liftie friend Creed gave Jack a giant chocolate chip cookie to "sweeten the experience."

This is actual footage of Jack's first trip down the hill. It is a total roller coaster of emotions. First it was the apprehensive "whoa! daddy! whoa!" Then after 30 seconds he is feeling good and gets into his tuck to pick up speed. Then a near death experience prompts the ever popular "up! up!"

A couple more short videos toward the end of the session. He's getting good at the green part of Red Light Green Light but needs a lot of work on the red.

At one point I did start to wonder if he was tolerating the downhill just for another opportunity to ride the rope tow up.

Snowmassssssssssspen

We were able to join the extended Miller family for a few days of the annual trip to Aspen last week. Per Grandpa's rules no kids under 7 unless they are still attached (literally) to their mom. Luckily my mom was nice enough to accept our Christmas gift of a plane ticket to come watch Jack for a few days. Aren't we awesome gift givers?

The trip was great as usual. It started out fantastic with Jack basically pushing us out the door so he could watch The Incredibles with his grandma and Lily sleeping for more than 4 hours of the 5 hour 20 minute drive. We had three days of fun skiing and excellent lunches with each day getting a couple inches of new snow. Unfortunately we missed Thursday and Friday which turned out to be the only blue bird and powder days of the week. The drive home did not go as well as Lily's lack of sleep gave us flashbacks to 2007 and a horrible drive home with Jack. I still need to ground him for what he did as a four month old.
Lily has since gotten a haircut to reduce the effect of the widowhawk.

The after skiing schedule went like this. 4:15 Swimming/Hot Tub, 5:45 Meet for dinner, 8:00 make every effort to avoid the family "fun" card games by playing Wii, Guitar Hero, reading, blogging, or in extreme cases homework.

This is about as close to an action shot that was captured of me.

Cami was just one part of the army of helpers with little Lily Ann. Thanks everyone!

Pizzas the first night in Snowmass. I love any place that still puts enough cheese on the pie.

Beth and Grandma Miller on the balcony.

Finally a special thanks to Grandma and Grandpa for making it happen and letting us come. Also Amber for watching Lily so Beth could get some runs it. We love you!

February 14th

What does February 14th mean to you? To us it means only 2 more weeks of the fried Twinkies at Dairy Keen! You don't want to miss these and have to wait until next February. Make the drive and come say hi while you're in the neighborhood.

Funny buddy

Here's just one of the things we can't get enough of, Lily laughing at her brother.

You can see Lily is getting pretty good at moving around. Jack now enjoys an even longer bath because it's one of the few places Lily can't get him . . . yet.

Making a pizza

This is Jack wondering why in the world I am referring to a pizza. After a couple days of wearing skis around the house to work on his balance we ventured outside. In true Emmett form he was ready to quit early in favor of lunch but promised to try again. Just as soon as his dad finds some other sucker to carry him around. Grandpas????

2008 Year in Review

Before I start I'd like to make a quick public service announcement. As we dive into the depths of winter people need to remember one thing. Coats, parkas, sweaters, sport jackets, etc. can get dirty. Just because they have layers underneath and you don't wear them as often doesn't mean they can't absorb B.O. Please keep others in mind as you enter the 4th season without washing that coat.


2008 Year in Review

Best/Worst Commercials: This post can be contributed to a question asked by my professor in the Advertising/Promotion class I just started. He asked what our favorite commercials were this year and I drifted into my thoughts from there. Thanks to the wonderful world of DVR (would be in the discussion for best invention) my commercial viewing is limited to what' s on Sportscenter before bed and Playhouse Disney in the morning. Commercials I will rewind for are 1. Anything with Peyton Manning, he always nails it 2. DirecTV posing as the cable company commercials, mentioned in a previous post 3. Sonic with the two funny guys in the car and 4. The beer commercials with the NFL coach rants.

I could immediately identify the two worst commercials. Did that commercial just tell me to use TV to keep my kids from school work and sports? Or I don't know what you are selling just make that lady stop dancing.

Favorite/Most Inspiring books of 2008: My favorite book of last year was probably The Lions of Lucerne by Brad Thor. I picked it up by chance at the airport because it sounded intriguing and part of it takes place literally in my backyard Midway, UT. The book is actually several years old and was the first novel with Scot Harvath, the ex professional skier turned Navy SEAL turned Secret Service Agent turned CIA assassin. Lions was fast and fun and the insights/comments on Mormon and Utah culture were quite funny and only slightly wrong. I have since read and enjoyed the next 6 books with Scot Harvath. He reminds me a lot of me. Except for the blond hair, blue eyes, and daily expert use of guns. I shot a black powder rifle once when I was 12. But he's a guy who just really likes America, like me.

Most inspiring book of the year by a long shot was Breaking Dawn. After finishing that book I felt a little sick and kind of guilty about having just read all four of those books. The fact that I mostly enjoyed them probably made matters worse. Nothing inspired me more to change and do something with my life than when I finished reading. In fact I couldn't even start another book of fiction for several weeks and was stuck trying to make my way through John Adams.

Movies of 2008: Because I felt none of the sequels lived up to predecessors my movie of the year award goes to Twilight. This was the first movie made after 1969 that made my wife smile from the first second, all the way through the credits, and into her sleep. It was amazing to witness. And that wasn't even the first time she saw it. For me I had a hard time getting over the disappointing castings of Esme and Rosalie.

The one "worth it to own it" award goes to WALL-E. Simply because of the sheer volume of viewings you can get out of anything from Pixar. Jack is a big fan.

Race of the year: I've blogged about both the Battle at Midway and LOTOJA. While I loved those races and look forward to them again this year there were two other races that tied for race of the year honors: Irvine Stake Triathlon and Novell On-site Triathlon. Two very prestigious races, one against software geeks and the other against high schoolers on single speeds. But they gave me my first two first place overall wins and will hold special places in my heart. Special thanks to my competition, Casey Robles and David Warden, who have beat me before and will beat me again for not racing this year.

Television 2008: Most of the shows this year were abbreviated but that wasn't all bad. Although nothing will top the Lost season finale from 2007 when they introduced the flash forward I thought Season 4 was the best since the first season. So many things were finally answered it actually makes me nervous for what they might do this year. It's probably my favorite show. The best "new to us" show goes to Psych.

My Miscellaneous awards:
Accessory of the year = Reversible belt by Banana Republic. Matches brown or black shoes and does not need to be removed at airport security. Honorable mention ECCO's 'New York Bicycle Toe' Slip-on.
New addiction of the year = Blackberry. Honorable Mention Facebook, be my friend!
Funniest post of the year = Still laughing about my buddy Wes and the Urine-Nation. I could relate. Honorable Mention, too many of y'all.
Sports news of the year = Lance Armstrong returns, this is going to be awesome. Honorable mention, Elder Emmett reports he still has mad soccer skills.


It was an awesome year and we felt extremely blessed. Here's to a great 2009.

Flippin Busy

We have really enjoyed the new Flip camcorder Lily gave us. Beth captured a couple videos of her "crawling". She started experimenting a couple days before Christmas and is now getting pretty good. Her destination is usually wherever Jack is and it is a crack up to watch him try to play as she crawls all over him and his stuff. Yesterday she had him cornered behind the Christmas tree as he tried to play cars. As you can see she takes inspiration from the worm, the spider, and of course the army man.

Seinfeld Scene It?

The worst part of December was the 11 days we went without internet. The Comcast guy was on the side of our house fixing a neighbors internet and next thing you know I go upstairs and nothing works. The soonest a guy could come back out between our schedules and the holidays was over a week. Bust! Luckily between the office, the Coffee House, friends, family, and Blackberry I was able to keep the shakes to a minimum. I still have some catching up to do but there is one thing I gotta post.

Beth came through and got me Seinfeld Scene It? for Christmas. It is awesome. Jason and Heidi and Kurt and Jordan came over to play and although I failed to capture the event live I was able to recreate the board for the photo. Here's how the first game went. That's my piece (the puffy shirt) in the winner's circle and their pieces (cereal box and cigar shop indian) less than 1/3 of the way done.I have to give them a hand for the second game and making me sweat. It was me against all five of them, including Beth is no Seinfeld slacker, and it came right down to the end.

Christmas OEight

Once again a successful Christmas. We spent Christmas Eve and Morning in Heber and then drove to Logan. It was the whitest Christmas I've ever seen, Highway 40 had feet of snow but thankfully the storm hadn't hit the rest of state (yet!). It was all good though because it meant 18 inches of fresh snow at The Beav. Not quite the 30 inches Deer Valley got but it still held up for two days of skiing down to Spring Road.

Here are some photos from the events:
Most of the cousins on Christmas Eve in their new pajamas.
This is pretty much how Lily rolls.
Jack woke up excited but had no idea why. It must have been because his cousins were already up and running around up stairs. You can't see it in this picture but a minute later Jack opened his stocking and to his delight was an apple! After that it was like "hey Jack look you got new skis!" and he was all "It's a Red Delicious!"
He could still mostly play without letting the apple out of his sight.
Lily had a blast sitting with Grandma and observing the action. She was mostly indifferent about the clothes but the wrapping and ribbons were the best.

Everyone playing later that morning, mostly with other people's toys. Jack tries to once again horde Hallie's balls and Ollie plays with Jack's helicopter. Elena was the lucky one because nobody else seemed to want to play with her dolls and dresses. At least one kid we didn't have to listen to yell "Mine!" over and over and over.

In Logan Lily dazzled as one of three baby Jesus and gave new meaning to the phrase "I scream, you scream, we all scream for (Great Grandpa Emmett's) ice cream!"