One In, 4 Out

I went to the orthopedist last week to look at my shoulder. He said he wanted to give me a shot of cortisone. The only cortisone I ever had was back 26 years ago when I had poison oak so bad I was a huge puff of itchy rashness. He had a student with him so I was on stage. He marked the spot then poked the needle in, moved till he found the spot he wanted, then sunk it in. Man, I was really hurting for a few days. It's not so bad today. I have to wait 4-6 weeks and if it's not better he wants to scope it and clean it out! Ugh.
Chantel got her 4 wisdom teeth pulled out on Friday. It is so hilarious to see the patients in the back recovery area, wasted and dazed. Chelsea sat back there sobbing, Chantel was just wasted and rubbery. It was classic trying to get her coat on and then walking her to the car! She repeated 50 times that she counted to 15 or 5 or 10. She was funny.
I had to almost carry her to the door. She was freaking out about so many things, but remembers nothing.
I should have videotaped her! I could always use a little blackmail material.

Stuff

So here is some stuff that has been going on-
Chelsea had a dance concert at the high school. She does ballroom and has a fun time. What we hate having to sit through is all the modern dancing stuff. I swear every one of their numbers they start on the floor, do a lot of rolling around on the floor, smack the floor, and the end of every dance they fall to the floor. And every song that they dance to is some emo song. It is funny how when they are done with each number there is clapping, but at the end of each ballroom dance the crowd roars. Chelsea was cracking us up because she kept having these funny faces during their numbers. She is in California right now with the whole dance group. I guess one of our kids has to make it to Disneyland!
Chantel is finishing up her first real semester of BYU and is realizing how bad Physical Science really sucks! Finals next week and then she comes home for a couple weeks. Should be loads of fun.
I have been struggling to find the Christmas Spirit, even with a month and 1/2 of Christmas music! Abby, Madalyn and I went out this morning in the freezing snowstorm to go do a wee bit of shopping. It was fun and actually added a feeling of the season. I guess with work being so stressful (we are reeeeeealy struggling with the economy) I am freaking out and pretty much just worry about taking care of my family. I need to exercise more faith.
We as the Bishopric had a small get together at the Wakefield's last night to say thanks for all they do. All I know is that Bradley (Marc Anthony) Frandsen is one big hoot. Fun stories, great comments, he loves to bake, heck, I wanted to take him home! It is weird that I have been the Bishop for over 5 years. Anyway, they all rock for all the time and effort they put in to make the ward run as well as it does. And thanks to their WONDERFUL wives for putting up with all the junk and time away.
The hard part has begun- Holiday goodies have started to be dropped off at the house. I have little willpower! Mmmmm, cake & cookies. I guess I will be running even more.

Thanksgiving

Well, we started Thanksgiving with a bang, or should I say with a BARF! At 2 AM Madalyn was vomiting, and of course she threw up a couple times in the hallway and then got to the bathroom. Nothing like the upchucking sound in the wee hours of the morning! So, Teresa and I were cleaning barf out of the carpet for a while. Teresa already suffers from Vomit Phobia, so once she was done cleaning she was off to go shower. Anyway, Madalyn made it through the night with no further barfies and hasn't had a problem since.
I got up and ready for my Turkey Trot Run. It was raining, but it held up right before the race began. I'll tell you what, this years shirts are the dumbest ever! I really want to design one and ask for them to please use it! I met up with Carl and his friend Brad, and 3 of my nieces, they were there to take pictures and cheer us on. I forgot to bring my gloves, but it didn't matter. Anyway, we got to the starting line and waited, as always, then finally after 10 minutes were off. I started with a pretty good pace. In fact my first mile was around 6:20-ish. I fell in behind some high school girl and kept pace up until about the last 3/4 mile and then she pulled away. Well crap, I'm 42 and she is 15! I tried to kick it on home and was shocked to see that I was under the 28 minute mark! I finished at 27:56. In my age bracket, 40-44, I was 5th and 69th overall. Carl came in at 35:57, so I missed my goal of beating him by 10 minutes. His girls missed him finishing so he popped back on the course and had them snap a picture. I told him he would make a great Democrat the way he was re-writing history! I am very satisfied and a bit shocked at my time.
We went to Carl's house for Dinner. I picked up my mother en route. She hasn't been out like that for a long time and she did real good. My brother David, his son Hayden, and his two daughters, Miranda and Carly, were down from Idaho. It was a lot of fun to hang out with them. We ate and got bloated, played games and reminisced about our childhoods and such. It was very fun. When we got home I was so stinkin' tired that I don't remember laying down in my bed at 10 PM! I was out like a light. So, it was a great and fun day, and no one barfed at night!

Pre-Thanksgiving Misgivings

Here's a couple Thanksgiving memories-
Of course we always had the Turkey Bowl football games. One year, probably late '70's, I get the ball in the open field and there is nothing but green and goal post in front of me. I ran as fast as my wee legs will let me. I'm jubilant as I picture scoring a touchdown when I see fingers coming into my vision from above. I feel a sharp scalp pain then see my feet in the air! My brother David chased me down, reached out and grabbed my hair and pulled me back causing a complete horizontal flop to the ground. But I held onto the ball!
Another rousing story from T-Day is when Carl ate so much he thought he was going to die. So, Carl, our friend Lance and I head over to Kaiser Hospital. While waiting Carl suddenly exclaims, "I need to barf!" So he grabs one of those kidney shaped plastic dish things, heads into the stairwell and proceeds to vomit about 3 times the amount that that poor little dish could hold. Lance and I lean through the door to see orange (with lots of black olives) barf everywhere and that little dish filled to rim and Carl saying, "I feel better... let's go." So we walk away leaving all the vomit in the stairway! Man, we suck! And why didn't he just find a bathroom?!?!
My Grandma Snyder, who was born in 1895, couldn't hear a thing and talking with her on the phone was BRUTAL. I recall a Thanksgiving in the early '80's when David answered the phone, said a couple words, then told me the phone was for me. I say Hello, only to hear my Grandma talking. David was beat red from laughing at me having to deal with her. The sad thing is I see myself acting too many times the way my dad did with his mother. I gotta be nicer or I am off to hell. (I've thrown in a couple pictures of Grandma, probably circa 1920 and then 1960) I do love my Grandma and she made the BEST coleslaw EVER! Too bad she took that recipe to the grave.
So with the Turkey Trot (who came up with that name? Sounds like what happens after eating too much then running) it is supposed to be wet and cool. Carl said the other day he would like to run one day in a blizzard. Well, last year was horribly cold and the wind was blowing from the east. Egads it wasn't fun. But I have learned that running with sweats isn't fun, and keeping a big sweatshirt leads to chaffing of the chest.

Sometimes You Gotta Turn It Up

You know, every now and again you just gotta turn the volume up. I am at "11" (Spinal Tap joke) right now and enjoying it. My wife has left the house to attend a play, so it's all good. When I haven't listened to Zeppelin in a while and then put them on, well, it is rather therapeutic, especially after a nutty week at work. Plus, you just forget how great they were.
It is funny how different songs put you in different times and places. Ramble On and I am in Lance's dad's truck listening to an 8 Track tape of Led Zeppelin II. When the Levee Breaks and it is 6th grade cranking up my dad's Panasonic, giving it all it can take. The neighbors were probably cringing! Too bad. Immigrant Song and I am in the back of Steve Fisher's Toyota with these girls we picked up from Monta Vista High School. The funny memories are when listening to Physical Graffiti- I'm back with Lance, Carl and John at Christmas time driving in Lance's '79 Capri! Kashmir and Ten Years Gone really put me in the Christmas spirit. Yeah, that may sound odd, but true nonetheless.
So, I am trying to get all ready for the Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving. I am sooooo happy that running doesn't affect my back. It makes my shoulder hurt, but the back doesn't feel it until I am done, then it gets kinda funky feeling. I went to the surgeon a couple days ago. He said healing is in increments of 3 months, 6 months and 12 months. It will be 3 months on the 25th! Wow. He said the pain will take time, but with all the nerves that were cut the numbness is probably permanent. Let's just hope there aren't any continence issues. My shoulder still really hurts and the weather is freaking it out, too. Anyway, Jayton and I have run the 4 mile route the last 2 weeks. I have improved my time form last years race. He says that it is all due to him. And it is. He he keeps a brisk pace and pushes me. So, the goal is to beat my brother Carl by 10 minutes. I don't know if that is possible, but I will try. Don't tell him or we won't be let in for Turkey Dinner at his house!
I did attend the Spinning Class a couple times. You would think it would hurt my back, but it was the pressure on my shoulder that really killed me. And I wanted to wear my helmet in there, just in case.
Whew, how about this economy and the Changity-change-change that is going to take place. Oh, wait, Clinton cabinet, Lyndon B. Johnson and FDR ideals and tactics, hmm, oh well. Obama is too important to fail, so he will be given a bail out.

Use Extreme Caution

No reason for the title of this entry.
I have been hesitant to write after hearing how people are stealing info from blogs to use for identity theft. I'm sure some how Scoopy will come into play somewhere down the line.
We had a fun Halloween. Madalyn and Emily went trick-or-treating and Bishop Billings and the Wakefields all went along with them. It's always nice when after a couple blocks the girls say, "I'm done." Oh yeah.
We had a fun party at the Cleggs place. Janice Kapp Perry made a special appearance! (It was Andrea Frandsen, but she was convincing). I feel bad singing the karaoke because I don't know any of the new songs, new meaning anything after 1978.
I find that I am dragging a bit; I need to do something like a painting or write a story or something. Oh well.
Hey, 2 Christmas music stations already!
How about those crazy Californians and their protesting and now extreme "tolerance" towards the Mormons! Um, didn't a whole lot of other churches and people vote for Prop 8? Huh, I guess you can be tolerant as long as you agree with me.
Chantel had a blow out in the dumb van today. The side of the tire ruptured. It's always fun to change a flat when the weather is cold.
Hey, I missed the Turkey triathalon over at the Rec Center. Geeze. I really wanted to do it this year. But alas, I still haven't been back on my bike yet. My back is really tight and sore with the cooler wet temps. Lots o' fun. Jayton and I did run the 4 mile Turkey Trot route. I was at 30:01. So, I am going to push it real hard to be under 30 minutes. I went and bought some new shoes today; my Pearl Izumis are getting old and I can feel my shins starting to hurt. So I will give them a wee break and then go hard.
I miss my Tama Swingstar 7 piece drum set. Here is a 1983 shot of me in my room playing. I don't think baldness runs in the family. Leif Garrett maybe, but not baldness.

Updates on Life

So it has been 9 weeks since I got in my accident. I am still doing the physical therapy thing. The PT is scraping the scar tissue in my knee and up my thigh. Wow, the pain is awesome. My shoulder still hurts and the back is still sore, tight, funky, etc. I had to have that mole removed because all the trauma made it turn black and the surgeon said Let's get that out of here! You know, I went in to visit him with certain expectations of just being looked at and him saying It looks great, have a Tootsie Pop, but I wasn't expecting to go lay down for 40 minutes of needles, cutting, snipping and yes, even cauterizing. (Is that bacon I smell?) It really was pretty crappy. But, the stitches are out now and I started trying to get a bit active. I ran outside in the beautiful fall weather. Man, I HURT! Oye. And I ran again with Jayton today. He's running nervous, you know, it's that 10k in 9 months. I hope the physical activity can loosen up my back. All the bouncing really makes the shoulder sore, but I gotta do something or go nuts.
The other fun thing was we are pretty well moved into the Sunset Heights building for church. It has been alright, but we kind of have the redheaded step-child feeling; those 2 wards have been there for decades and now we are showing up. The good news is our new building is being framed right now. Yeah! Wakefield is going to love when he is the bishop and will just have to walk out his back door. Boy, it will be so easy for him.
Chelsea had a band concert last night. She is also in the Jazz Band. She got to start their first song off (for the Halloween concert) by screaming real loud and shrill. She was good at it. Must get it from her uncle.
Can anyone tell me why they would actually vote for Obama? This is probably the 2 worst options we have ever had for President.
I think I will read the Masque of the Red Death, The Black Cat, and The Tell Tale Heart to the children, you know, for fun. Here's a picture of Edgar Allen Poe that I drew years ago.

Ohio

I had the opportunity to go to Ohio from Wednesday morning to Friday afternoon with my boss. There is a wonderful philanthropic couple out there by the name of Gib and Louella Reese who have built many buildings for the Ohio State University campus in Newark, OH and have bought and dedicated a number of bronze sculptures for the campus and throughout the town. We were outside of Columbus and I was impressed by the beauty of Licking County where were. I haven't really ever had the chance to be around gazillionaires, but they were both real cool, in fact everyone that we met and worked with were fun. The community has made a big commitment to giving back to the community and I thought how cool it would be if we could see more of that around our city. Oh well.
I stayed at the Cherry Valley Lodge. Man, it was beautiful and HUGE! My suite was bigger than the upstairs of our house! But, it was cold and my heater took forever to get it warm. I did get a chance to watch both World Series games. You know, once again being in a place that has cable TV proves to me why I don't have it here; I sat and flipped channels for hours. And there still was nothing on worth watching. I did enjoy watching Fox News, but that's probably it. So, don't try selling us a dish, cable, comcast, whatever, because I will never get off my butt!

It' Just Scoopy!

Back in oh, about April when I was shopping with Teresa, we were walking down the ice cream aisle when I saw the ice cream cone boxes. Sugar cones all the way! On the cover of the red box is that happy clown Scoopy! I pick it up and what's this?!?! A promotion for a Scoopy doll! You gotta be kidding me! You need to send in a check, or money order, and two UPC symbols and wait 6-8 weeks for delivery. Good thing the cones were on sale. Teresa wasn't happy, but who doesn't love an ice cream cone or Scoopy?! Upon further review the offer is valid until June of 2007. Crap.
Well, I sent in my check and the UPC symbols not even 2 weeks ago, expecting to get a note back saying the offer has expired, but what came in the mail yesterday! Aw whoopee! It's Scoopy! My wife said they probably have a ton of them left because who would order something so horrible?
So now we have Scoopy on the cabinet in the room. I tell my kids if they hear evil laughing in the night they know exactly where it's coming from. Man, what's better than an evil clown in the house?!

What the...?

So I was walking out to my car when I noticed something long on the driveway. Hey! It's a snake! It was over 3 feet long and was getting some sun and hanging out. I yelled for Teresa who walked out and freaked! She wanted me to stick in a bucket, but what do I grab it with? I stood on the grass looking like a moron with my leather gloves on, holding a box to trap it. Our cat, Sally, came over, rolled on the driveway for a moment or two, then notices...ooh, what's this? As she tries to sniff it, the snake gets into strike mode, hisses real loud and even shook it's tail like a rattlesnake. It was pretty weird. Teresa called animal control who promptly showed up and told us, "Aw, it's just a Blow snake. They eat mice and rats. You probably want to keep it in the yard, don't you?" Uh, no. I picked up a dead mouse this afternoon that the cat had killed, so we're OK in that area. The officer dude who picked it up with his little tong things (as it hissed at him) said he had just grabbed one that was about 4 times as big. Well, if we get one that big the cats, not the mice, will start disappearing. Wait a minute, maybe I should call him back...

Say Cheeeese

Yeah, we know which side of the family the girls get this from........their mother. Right?

Teresa's Birthday!

My lovely wife is another year older, or should I say, she's 35... again. She rocks. I made dinner for us tonight (I'm taking her out tomorrow night). The BBQed burgers were just a wee bit well done, but I kind of like the crusty-ness. Anywho, I hope she enjoyed her gifts. She made her own cake--I did offer, but she said she'd do it herself. Chantel and Skyler were over to play the Train Game (Ticket to Ride).
I quote from Pink Floyd's Time... "Shorter of breathe and one day closer to death". Just to keep it cheery!

I Was There, Too

I was actually there in the canyon, too, taking pictures and having a fun time. I thought I would put this picture on, obviously because my wife is a major babe!

Dad's Bevy of Beauties!

We made it up to the canyon to take some pictures of the Girlies, and yes, my little wife is included as a Girlie. Aren't they so beautiful. And fun!

On a sore note, at physical therapy the PT used these hard plastic torture tools, and cocoa butter, to scrape up and down my knee and thigh to break up the scar tissue. OYE! Man that hurt!!! I know, I know, Wuss.

I bought the Pumpkin Spice Kisses. I like pumpkin AND spice, so I'm diggin' them. They taste a little like a piece of pumpkin bread or something like that. Teresa will have nothing to do with them. "Just give me chocolate."

It's (Almost) the Most Wonderful Time of the Year!

I love Fall and the weather getting crisp and baseball playoffs and football and Halloween and candy and candy, and, oh, candy. I love the color changes in the mountains, and we will be up there soon for family pictures. You know, every year we seem to get warm about this time of the year and then all the sudden the bottom drops out and it's freezing. Oh well.
The other day I bought Percy Faith's 1966 (the year I was born!) Christmas album from iTunes. It's a classic. On Sunday I was doing some indexing and started listening to it when Chelsea, who was laying on the couch, stands up and exclaims, "Dad, I can't do it! Not yet!" and stormed out of the living room. Oh well.
Mary at work and I were both talking about how we love this season; October (or as we call it Rocktober, you know, to sound like we're cool stoners) is the doorway to the Holiday season. Think about it, during the next 3 months you don't need an excuse to eat fudge, it's just there. The smells, the decorations, the memories, more time with family and friends, etc. I even bake gingersnaps every year with the girls. I love reminiscing about all the holidays back when we were in elementary school. I might go visit my daughter just to get the feeling.
I just think it's classic that within a short period we go from celebrating the Devil to celebrating Jesus. Pretty interesting.

In the Stands

It seems that I have been in the stands for a while now- watching the softball team play and at the Mountain View High football games (we are obviously pretty hard up for Friday Night activities, but as Putty on Seinfeld says, "You gotta support the team!"). Plus, Chelsea is in the Pep Band, so it gives us a wee excuse.
It hurts to be watching the softball team and not be out there on the field. It is fun to root for the dudes, but I prefer having the Frandsten's yelling for me! Oh well. Jayton and Grover had a pretty good collision in the outfield last night. Jayton even said he felt like me this morning when he was trying to move around (he took a knee to the upper thigh). I just remember when he smashed into me and drove me into the gravel that is the warning track. I was picking gravel out of my skin for a week. Too bad we lost.
It is fun to be around my brother Carl's family. Carl is affectionately known as C-Train. He lumbers down the base path at break-neck speed. That's a joke.
And it is fun to be by the Hatch's at the football games as Teri screams for JC. I would prefer to be watching football in the rain/snow/cold; it brings the football ambiance. Here's a picture of my street that I grew up on in football weather.
I thought about how excited we were to go to football games back at Cupertino High School so many years ago. We started sneaking into games back when we were in elementary school. Back then the band would perform at half time then there would always be fireworks! We would be so excited during the summer to hear the band practicing. We would ride our bike way out to the school to watch. We actually had a HUGE awesome marching band, they were impressive. The funny thing about attending the games were I don't remember any of the high schoolers actually watching the game- we would just roam back and forth in front of the bleachers (between the bleachers and the fence) and that space was always jam packed with kids to the point where you barely moved, but that's what was so fun about going to the games. And the hope that somehow you would end up meeting girls!
I rode Chantel's cruiser bike to the church to pick up some paperwork. Pretty scary, but you have to get back on the horse. My shoulder is starting to feel pretty good. Yesterday at physical therapy they hooked my back up to the electo-things. So I had them going on my shoulder and back, and I fell asleep on the table! I was dreaming away. Classic.
I can't wait to get running again. I only have 10 months to prepare to beat Wakefield in the 10K!!!

Frankenstein, That's Me!

So I've been in physical therapy for my shoulder and knee. I love the electric stimulator things and watching my muscles twitch up a storm. Ultrasound just leads to gooeyness, but I guess it works. My lower back/upper bum area still is rather sore, especially if I sit for any length of time. And I still have the numb strip, but as one one of the doctors said, "It could be in a worse spot". Yeah, let's just hope I forever have control of my bowels.
The youth in our ward did a 'Bishop's Night' on Wednesday. It was pretty funny. My counselors, daughter and wife told stories about me, they gave me a bell for my bike, a clock and chocolate kisses and we had a cupcake walk. They also gave me a scrapbook with their pictures and testimonies in it. It was pretty cool. Then Erin Grover produced a chocolate cake that is one of the most delightful things I have ever eaten!!! Holy cow, I would love to sit there with a fork and gallon of milk and go to town, but that is probably not in the low-cholesterol diet plan. Crap.
Work is being very patient with me for which I am very grateful. Hopefully I will be able to sit longer and concentrate more.
I visited the surgeon today who said my laceration is healing up nicely. He said there is a bit of fluid in it but should be OK. He told me to get stretching and start getting active, not to over do it, but start doing things. I am happy to hear that.
Teresa says I look like Frankenstein, so I thought I would attach a picture of how things are looking. Teresa is always worried when I show my scar that I will show my crack. Only if you're lucky!

Media Joke

You know, the media always claims they aren't bias; that they are objective to all candidates, blah, blah. The Charles Gibson interview of Sarah Palin and what happened to McCain on The View are great examples of what the media is all about. Stupid Gibson, he wasn't asking questions, he was interrogating Palin and trying to get her to slip up. She's the VP nominee, for the love of Pete! Where are the media to ask Obama these questions?! Good heavens. The media claims not to be liberal, but a research page found that over 80% (which I think is way too low) vote Democrat. And it is obvious. Glenn Beck has a segment each day regarding the national media headlines for Obama compared to McCain. It's laughable.
I have a couple thoughts: McCain's choice of Palin has excited Republicans because conservatives, which I am, now have a reason to vote FOR McCain, rather than voting AGAINST Obama. Second: How dare the Republicans have a strong, smart, articulate, qualified woman on the ticket?!?! The media all have their undies in a bunch over this.
Obama's choice of Biden is coming around to look bad. Even Biden said that maybe Hillary should have been the VP choice. Wow, there's confidence in the Democratic ticket.

Some Happenings

Well, I thought I would give some updates on life-
I have had to go to the surgeon's office twice to have fluid drained out of my back. It's no fun. In fact today after he pulled the needle out I got all hot and sweaty and started seeing all the spots in my periphery! I also visited the orthopedist who said as of right now I need to get to physical therapy and do that for a while, so I am hoping for improvement there. Sleeping is getting a bit easier.
Chantel is at the BYU (you'll notice if you speak with anyone who is older that it's "THE" BYU) and has had the realization that she is going to spend her whole life reading for her classes. I tried to warn her, but I'm just the dad; what do I know. But, on Monday she was eating at the Cannon Center by herself when a big dude sat next to her and chatted up a storm with her. He plays on the defensive line for the football team (Brock Richardson). So 2 days later she's eating there again all alone when she hears some people talking and hears her name. Turns out it's Brock again and this time he has Fui Vakapuna and Solomone Kafu with him. So she ate with them and marveled that they could snap her like a dried twig! You need to know Chantel had a 100 lb. party when she finally reached the century mark in weight, which was a month ago! Brock is 6'2" and 260 lbs. Pretty classic. Hey, get us some tickets, girlie!
Chelsea is dancing up a storm in ballroom and loves it. She is also doing well in Jazz Band. We are going to trade in her sax for a new one. She is also going to Home Coming so she gets to wear her pretty dress. Should be fun!
Teresa got her hair cut and colored. She looks so cute that I can't stop kissing her. I think she's sick of me. Which is another reason I went back to work this week. It has been pretty crappy and hurts a lot to be there, but I have given Teresa some well needed respite.
Our good buddy Rob Clegg won tickets to the BYU vs UCLA game today by singing the National Anthem on 1280 the Zone! Go Rob! I always knew you had the pipes.
I guess lastly I want to say that I think it is freaky how an event like 9-11 has turned into a Bush-Bashing and how people actually think that our government really did it. C'mon, what are you, psycho?! The government could never pull anything like that off no matter how hard they tried. All kidding aside, people and nations hate the USA and will try always to do what they can to destroy us.
But we have Michael Phelps, so we're fine.

Totally Tubular

Today I went to the doctor to have my drainage tube and staples removed. I had heard from a couple people that having the tube yanked was going to be pretty painful. It hurt when they cut all the stitches that were around the opening and that were holding it in place, but the tube slipped out without any pain at all. The staples on the other hand were pretty painful. They had become attached to scabs, so just about everyone stunk getting popped out.
My butt is numb still where the slice is and into my bum cleavage (I guess there is no other way to say it). The doctors have told me it may be a long while to get the feeling back, or it may not come back at all! That would stink. Oh well, I am lucky that I can walk and move after this incident, so I'll take a numb-bum any day to the alternative! I hope the shoulder can heal up, too.
Thanks to everyone for their prayers and concern. It means a lot to me.
I will get a new picture of my back on soon.

Birthday Girl

Madalyn had her 9th birthday on September 1st, you know, that cold, wet Labor Day (blast this global warming!). Madalyn rocks. She loves riding her bike & longboard, she likes playing board games, Transformers, playing with her friends, listening to music, playing the piano. She enjoys going on walks with her dad and is happy to hold his hand when they do. She wanted "Army Men" for her birthday, which we couldn't find, probably because they aren't politically correct anymore. Or maybe I need to hit the Dollar Store to look. Madalyn is a lot of fun and is a beautiful 9 year old!

On my front, well, tomorrow I hopefully get my drain taken out of my back as well as having the staples removed, too. How do they do that? Do they have a staple remover like the one you have on your desk? Oooh, that will hurt. My shoulder really hurts and I have another week before going to the Orthopedist to have him look at it. I have this pretty cool bruise, though, that is like a flame coming out of my armpit! I apologize for my disgusting whiteness!

Snyder's Down!

So last Monday (Aug. 25th) it was fairly hot and I was sick of running in the hot weather. The previous Saturday I had ridden my bike and thought I would go for a ride again. And so I set off. I went to Main Street then down 1200 South to the roundabout through UVU and then along 1200 West by the freeway. I was cruising about 20 mph when I came up to College Road. I saw a white car coming south and was going to turn left onto College Rd. but obviously she didn't see me because she turned right in front of me! I grabbed my brakes and for a brief moment thought I might make it around the back of the car. I locked up and knew I was going to eat it either into the asphalt or the car. I started to endo a wee bit then SLAM! right into the car! It immediately felt like someone had hit me in the lower back with a sledge hammer and my right shoulder was on fire. My right knee started throbbing as well. I got up off the hot pavement and started heading over to the grass. The driver got out of the car and asked, "Are you alright?" to which I said "No! I'm not alright!!!" Then the driver asked if she should call an ambulance to which I said Uh, Yeah! A guy who saw the whole thing grabbed my bike and laid it next to me. I reached over and grabbed my cell phone and called home. My daughter Abby answered and I blurted out "I've been hit! Get Mom!" Teresa got on and I repeated that I was hit. I tried to explain where I was and suddenly there were 2 ambulances and the fire chief right there so I hung up. They just happened to be on their way back from a call, drove by and did a double-take, saw me writhing on the ground and stopped. They asked where I hurt and I told them my lower back, so they rolled me onto my side. I felt the hot flow of blood run down. They started cutting my clothes and got very excited about the gash on my back, saying things like "Whoa! That's pretty amazing. Oh, it keeps on going! Hey, it drops down...you'll want a picture of this!" Then they got quiet and started talking about facia and muscle and spine and that's when I got worried.

Well, I was placed on a board, had my neck in that big brace and had my head and chin taped to the board as well. I was loaded up and off to Utah Valley Medical Center. Teresa came down 800 South and couldn't see anything and left to go to the hospital. She was freaking out a bit, not realizing where she was going. Chelsea was with her and said "Mom, do you want me to drive?". I had the paramedics call Chelsea's cell phone to tell them where we were going. They were at the emergency room already waiting.

When we got there, they took quick x-rays of my shoulder, wrist and knee. They cut off all the rest of my clothes, too. So, when your mother tells you to always wear clean underwear, well, do it! I was taken into another room to have an MRI done real quick to make sure my spine was OK and then I came back in and an ultrasound was performed to make sure my organs were OK, too. Teresa and Chelsea were allowed to finally come in. Ken, Jayton and Rob came in to give me a blessing which was real nice. 

The ER nurses then did something that I thought was odd; they handed a jug to my wife and asked her to collect my urine as they lifted me up to place gauze on my wound. First of all, I can't go if I know my wife is outside the door at home, let alone in a busy ER room. Second, when they lifted me up the pain was so intense I got all hot, white and sweaty and about passed out!

I asked Teresa to show me my clothes that they had cut off. The back of my shirt had a big tear in it, but when Teresa turned it around it also had a big chunk of meat stuck to it! Pretty nasty.

Well, I was taken into another room and prepped for surgery. I asked them to please make sure I was unconscious before they inserted the catheder. They obliged. I was in surgery for over an hour and ended up with lots of internal stitches and 25 staples on the outside as well as a tube

 sticking out for drainage. I woke up in my room with my family standing by me. Man, that first night was really bad. Teresa stayed until 2 AM with me then went home. 

Well, I had family and friends and even co-workers stop by over the next few days. I want to say thanks to all of them- it really means a lot to know people care. My family was well taken care of with food and love. I was able to get out Thursday evening from the hospital. It has been a struggle, especially with my shoulder; it really hurts and is in a sling. I will be involved with physical therapy for months! Teresa took a picture of my back wound. 

I ended up with 3 wrist bands- 1 for the ER, 2 for surgery 3 for general hospital admittance. 

Moral of the story, don't get hit by a car.

Or, suck it up and run in the heat

Some Happenings

So here are some happenings that have been happening...

The Olympics are on. Phelps rocks. Stupid French swim team. Some Jamaican dude is really fast yet really cocky. The American Gymnasts are getting ripped off. Guo Jing Jing and Dong Dong are my 2 favorite Chinese athletes.

I had a birthday dinner the other night at Maccaroni Grill. The Wakefields were in their car and we followed them. We being Teresa, Chantel (this was part of her birthday dinner) and myself. When we got into the restaurant there were a bunch of friends waiting- the Grovers, Frands(t)en's, Hatch's, Roberts, and Clegg's. We sat at the end of the table,  so I really didn't get to say much to anyone, but it was fun and fattening (they brought Chantel and I a couple big pieces of cake, and you know me, I am a cake-a-holic). I am honored to have such great friends and neighbors.

On Saturday morning the wind was blowing 200 mph. That may be a wee exaggeration, but not by much. I managed a pretty fast 5 mile run, but then did a huge number of walking lunges with 60 lbs. Holy crap, Sunday I was so sore I thought I was going to die. Then on Monday Jayton and I went running in the canyon. I couldn't run! I was taking little strides because I hurt so bad. Ah, there's nothing like a crappy run to make you feel really dissatisfied. 

So we had a 9:15 PM softball game last night. I have been playing catcher this go around and am fine with it. I only got out once and that was a line drive right at the 3rd baseman. It is also pretty fun having my brother, Carl, there playing, too. If only he could run! But we 10-runned this team. We are 3-1. Last week we were a little flat and lost a game we probably could have won.

Rob Clegg was released as the 2nd Counselor in our Bishopric on Sunday. This was really hard for me because he has been in this since we were called almost 5 years ago! He is now on the High Council and I can't wait for him to come speak at our ward! 

You know, we saw The Dark Knight and I still don't know why everyone is so freaked out by it. I didn't think it was so "dark and creepy". Geeze, have you ever watched 24? Way more violence and such there.

Chuck will be coming back this fall! 

Jason Russell let me know it's Robert Plant's birthday. He is 60! The Zeppelin memories go way back. I always crack up thinking of my brother trying to tell my dad (who HATED rock music; he was a classical music and Marty Robbins fan) what a nice easy album Led Zeppelin IV was--Carl was obviously trying to tout Stairway as the "easy". I remember having that album on my dad's stereo just blasting When the Levee Breaks so the whole neighborhood could hear. And I think that was when I was in 5th grade. Good times. One time my dad got really hacked off to see my Joe Walsh You Can't Argue With A Sick Mind on his turntable. He picked it up and chucked it down the hallway. The record actually got stuck between the wall and baseboard as it scraped both side of the album on it's roll down the hall. But, as soon as dad was gone, another record would go on the turntable. Rock on!   

Forty-Fetchin'-Two!

OK, so I'm 42 today. And I got to spend my birthday in a truck traveling home from the Sculpture in the Park show in Loveland, CO. It was fun being there since last Wednesday (which was Chantel's b-day). I got to be with Ken Donnelly and his wife Melanie for a couple days, setting up the show and attending the seminars. We had a fun time eating out and hanging out. We even went to a movie, Mummy 3. Wait for the dollar theater.

We stayed at the Comfort Inn, which was real nice. I was in the room by myself until Gary Price and Justin came. The show was fun and we got to meet a lot of nice people and artist's. Ken and I tried drumming up some business for the foundry at the other sculpture show going on across the street.

Gary and Justin left after the show. Ken and I loaded up and got back to the hotel. Though I love Gary & Justin, it still is nice being alone in the hotel room. 

The Wakefields brought over a card and socks. When Jayton loses a race to a 42 year old, he is going to be devastated. 

It's weird that your body gets older, but inside I still feel 17!

Chantel's Legal!!!

Our oldest girlie is 18 today!!! Holy cow! Happy Birthday Chantel. Why did your 18th birthday come so quick and it seemed to take 25 years for me to turn 18?

I am so proud of you. You have been a great example to your younger sisters. You are F.U.N. fun! I am so pleased that you received your Young Women's Recognition Award, too. What a great example to the Young Women in the ward. You know, there is a joke church-wide about "Bishop's Daughters", well, if they all were like mine, the joke would go away.

Hey, you can vote now, too. Just don't vote Obama. Or McCain. Oh crap, who do you vote for?

Anyway, Chantel, I love you and am so proud of the awesome young woman that you are. Get smart at the BYU, stay close to your Father in Heaven, and make sure you emulate the life of

 your mother. You Rock!!!

Random Sampler

So we are playing softball again in the Provo City League. I guess it's summer, or fall league, I don't know. I jacked my knee up in June rounding 3rd base and it is giving me crap. I can run, but any lateral movement really hurts. That's why I am playing catcher! My brother, Carl, is playing with us, too. It's a long way from the Youth Softball days back in California. Our church team was awesome for a few seasons, going undefeated in Stake play then having one of the most exciting games of my life against the hated Saratoga 2nd Ward to win the Region. Carl always pitched for us, but he is playing 1st base now. I think the funniest part of the whole deal is our fans! We have a great group who come out to cheer and support us. (Though it is weird to have people yelling "Go Bishop!" from the stands) We won our 1st game last week, in fact we 10 runned them and the game ended after 5 innings. So, we'll see how we do. Coach Grover is loving his new role and I'm sure is up late at night working on line-ups and position changes.

Chantel and Chelsea both have copies of the latest Twilight book. Chantel went to the party at Barnes & Noble, only to run to Walmart to buy her copy at midnight (she figures being #702 she would have been there for quite a while waiting). I took Chelsea over to Costco this morning to get her copy. Chantel took hers to work, much to her mother's chagrin, so she could read on break. Teresa is trying to get Chelsea to take breaks so she can read her copy. I have never wanted to read them, just like I have no desire to read Harry Potter. 

Let me ask you if this qualifies m

e as a dork- Our back yard is pretty big and mowing it is kind of a long, crappy experience that must be endured each week. After mowing the front and side yards, I run with the lawn mower in the back, just to make it go faster. So what used to take 30 minutes is now about 12 minutes. Am I really that much of an idiot?

Another disappointing season from the Giants. I don't like the Dodgers or Manny Ramirez, and now that they are hooked up, I don't like them both that much more. I hope the Devil Rays can pull it out because I am tired of the Red Sox and the ever hated Yankees. I would love to see the Cubs finally win, but who are we kidding.

Well, the Wakefields got us eating snowcones from the place right by the SCERA pool. Geeze, as if I don't already struggle

 trying to eat right, now I want the Tiger's Blood snowcones with the ice cream at the bottom all the time. Man they are tasty. I did make a coconut cake last week that was pretty yummy. But I took the remaining few pieces to work so I wouldn't eat it. Mary did. 

That's an old picture I painted, I think back in 1998. No reason for it, just thought I'd throw it on.

What the Heck?!

OK, I have been working hard the last few months to control my cholesterol, with great results, and I have been exercising a lot harder, such as running 6.5 miles with Jayton, and biking, and the Spinning class over at the Rec. Center (man, they need some better seats!!!) and a wee bit of weight lifting (I about killed myself with walking lunges). I guess I am burning more calories and trying to eat the right stuff, but the problem now is I AM ALWAYS HUNGRY! What the heck? I get home from work, want a snack, then we eat dinner and an hour or two later I want to eat again. Ken Donnelly tells me if I were to just eat some junkfood I wouldn't be hungry anymore, which may be true. My biggest problem is being in the habit of a bowl of cereal around 8 o'clock. I keep telling myself that instead of eating I should do something else, like do some artwork. My "room" is now downstairs because Chantel has taken over my art room. I have a small desk, my guitars, but really not a whole lot of room. Plus, there is nowhere to put my supplies. So, I guess what this comes down to is that it is Chantel's fault that I am hungry all the time. Oooh, she'll pay for this!

Memory Game

Jason Russell is doing this on his blog and so I thought I would do it as well. And if you have visited here before, you know how much I love memories!

Here's what you do

1. As a comment on my blog, write a memory that we have had together and it doesn't matter if you've known me a little or a lot.

2. Post these instructions on your blog to see what kind of comments you get. If you have left a comment I will assume you are playing and I will visit your site.

I thought I would throw this 1988 picture of me and Teresa up. We were freshly engaged. Man she's hot! And yes, my hair was parted in the middle!

Summertime Blues

I find it funny how different songs will elicit different memories. Like how No Quarter from the Song Remains the Same will ever be tied to dancing with Amy Dixon, who was a good foot taller than me, at Sandy's backyard party. My neck hurt so bad by the time we were done (it is a good 14 plus minute song) but man it was worth it! Any Air Supply song and I am right back at Stake Dances in California.

Well, in my iTunes library I have a number of Allman Brothers songs and any time 

they come up I am back in the summer of the 70's. I miss those days! I have two older brothers and one younger brother. We would get up whenever, watch Alice and Laverne & Shirley reruns, hang out with the dudes on the street, go over to the school across the street and play baseball, go swimming at the high school, hit the beach, and hang out in the evenings. Total freedom. We would beg people for their bottles then take them over to Safeway and get the deposit money and buy some junk. Plus, every year we would make the trek from the Bay Area in CA to visit my grandparents in Utah, who lived up in the hills above the Provo Temple. Those were always exciting trips. We would load up on all kinds of junk food for the trip and would buy a ton of Mad Magazines and Mad books. This was also back in the day when no one was really wearing seat belts. I recall a great deal of the trip would be spent up in the back window of the car as we seemed to be traveling for days through Nevada! We would sit on my dad's lap and he would "let" us steer the car. One year we dropped down south instead of just getting onto I-80. We stopped at Calico Ghost Town. We bought

 corncob pipes and my grandma wouldn't even talk to us about them! It was my ONLY time ever traveling through Las Vegas. This is back before it's major transformation; it was still where Sammy Davis Jr., Sinatra & Dean Martin were kicking butt.   

Anyway, the music has me waxing nostalgic. I even rode my bike up around Oak Hills just to get the smell of the bushes and trees that are up there. I just hope my own children will have

 these kind of memories to look back on and not just that gas is so freaking expensive.

Girl's Camp

One of the best parts of being the Bishop is we get to visit the Young Women at Girl's Camp at Mia Shalom, up in Fairview Canyon past Electric Lake. The setting is beautiful and there was even snow at the top of the ridge!

This year not only did my two counselors, Ken Roberts and Rob Clegg, go up but our Ward Clerk, Thomas Grover, and Exec Secretary, Brad Frandsen, went as well. I thought it would be good for them since Thomas' wife is our Young Women's President and Brad's wife is the

 Laurel's Advisor and both were already up there. It is our opportunity to bring dinner up for the girls so for the last couple years we have bought some pulled pork from the Smokehouse.

 Rob grabbed some rolls, watermelon and potato salad and Ken bought a bunch of Little Debbie's snacks. We met out front here, loaded up Brad's vehicle and took off. 

It was fun having the 5 of us cracking up as we discussed all types of topics in the car. While driving up the canyon we were impressed at Rob's deer spotting abilities and Thomas' know-it-all botany skills. My skills weren't needed (I can suggest and see the best places to go surfing). 

It's always fun to pull in and see the girls and their leaders all sunburned and dirty and so happy to see us.

 I was 

excited to see 3 of my daughters and to know they were fine and having a good time. The Grover's were so cute with their reunion of love. 

Rob's wife, Laurie, is our Stake YW President, so he was happy to see her and his two daughters, too.

We got dinner all set up and started eating. Holy crap there are a ton of mosquitos up there!

 We were grabbing the closest bug spray and would go to town! The food was delicious and it was fun hanging out talking. And how can you go wrong with Little Debbie Nutty Bars? Of course we peeled them apart to eat them.

We met with the whole stake and watched some fun skits. President Wolfert gave a great little talk and then we went back to camp and had a fire and testimonies. I was the smoke magnet! Oh well. It was a great meeting. I think one of the best parts of the whole experience is right after the meeting; we all seem to hang onto each other and no one wants to say goodbye. The feelings of love are strong. 

We packed it up, gave hugs and were off. We talked about all kinds of car accidents and freaky road experiences on the way home. 

Anyway, I love that opportunity of going up there and the feelings of being around the girls and the spirit that they are experiencing. 

We took our girls to China Isle for a big Chinese dinner after they got home and showered.

20 Years of Full-on Rockin' Bliss!

Today is mine and Teresa's 20th Anniversary! Holy Cow! It's so weird that it seems like yesterday, yet so much has taken place. We have moved from California to Utah, back to California, then back to Utah. The birth of 4 daughters, school, work, more school and work. Teresa has gone from sewing to making fabric dolls for boutiques (and me having to haul around her big giant backdrop fence things to Pleasant Grove and other places) to stamps to scrapbooking. We finally got into a house 7 years ago. My psycho-ness. All kinds of fun, stupid, boring, mundane, loving, hilarious, scary, tender, and every other type of experience has taken place through the years. I am still madly in love with my wife and say often to anyone who will listen that I still can't believe she said yes to my wedding proposal (what was she thinking?). I still feel like a teenager full of excitement when I hold her hand. She has the most luscious, kissable lips this side of Texas, and I love just hanging out with her. She's a freakin' babe! She taught and showed me that pork chops can be juicy, tender, and full of flavor! Our daughters are wonderful and beautiful because of her. I hope my daughters will realize that they have an amazing mom. If there is anything happening, Teresa is taking pictures of it. Anyways, I am excited for the next 20 years!!!

Independence Day

Well, I woke up at my usual time on account that I always wake up at 5:00, laid around for a while, then finally got out of bed at 5:15. I went upstairs and had a big bowl of Fiber One (Man, they should be supplying me for free for all the advertising!) then got dressed and ready to run. I had my iPod all ready with a 10K playlist. I stretched and hung out waiting for Jayton to pick me up, which he did at 6:20. We both grumbled that we are paying money to feel pain! We parked, got over to Kiawanis Park, then tied our Race Chip to our shoes. I had to go to the bathroom one last time so I headed over to the port-a-potties and waited in line!I made it back to the start of the race with a couple minutes to spare, but got right next to Jayton, which is miraculous with the thousands of people there. I never did find my brother, Carl, though. They shot off some kind of booming firework and we were off! To walk. It took a while to get the crowd moving, but your official time didn't start until your foot chip crossed the starting line. 

Jayton went ahead of me as we rounded our way onto 9oo East. I could see him the whole time and he was never more than a couple hundred feet ahead of me. We took a left by the Harmon Bldg and headed downhill. We took a left at the Chevron Station and headed south. Volunteers were handing out water, but it was too soon for that. We wove our way onto University A

venue right by Zions Bank (across from Provo High) and down the parade route! It was funny seeing everyone yelling for us. I saw the little KNRS tent and Bob Lonsberry broadcasting. I yelled "Hey Bob!" He waved. We ran passed a house that was cooking bacon. I wanted to stop. I tried to grab a water from the volunteers. You know, you can't, well I can't, run and drink out of a cup. I had more go up my nose than in my mouth! We made a left turn on 100 South then another left back to Center Street. We ran all the up by 7 Peaks then made a quick U-turn and

 came back down. At the turn, I didn't want Jayton to see me, which he didn't. A right turn back onto 900 East and back uphill! It was brutal. We turned back into Kiawanis Park and to the finish line. I managed to sprint it to the finish. I didn't realize that my wife and daughter were there with Jayton's wife, Beth. She took photos of me running. Wow, look at that muscle definition in my leg! 

So, I ended up with a 46:52 for the 10K. Jayton was at 46:23. Here are some pictures of us nice and squishy looking.

After getting home, our family ran over to Macey's for the French Toast breakfast. Yummy.

We came home, I dug up a sprinkler, and then we headed on out to my brothers for lunch. It's always fun going over there. Ivette always makes such awesome food! We laugh and mock each other and watched some of the Giants vs Dodgers game. We had to leave to get Chelsea to work at 4. Later we went to the Wakefield's, played games and had some delicious salsa from Rob Clegg, then we went to the back of a parking lot on State Street to watch the Stadium of Fire fireworks. The Clegg's, Wakefield's and Grover's all went. And Chantel's 

friend, Skyler, came, too. Beth brought cake, and I'm not turning that down... ever!

We watched the show then got ready to leave. Thomas Grover yelled at Skyler in German a few times, which really warms my heart. Ah, German, the language of love.

We got home and had to light off our fireworks. Oye, are they not all the same orange sparks with the white, crackling sparkles!?!

So, there you have it. It was a fun and tiring day. My legs don't really hurt today, in fact I got up and went for a bike ride this morning. 

I guess I will need to train so I can beat Jayton in a race. I wonder if he'd be as ticked as my brother? 

Broom Hockey

To accept the Grover Challenge, I will regale you with a story involving a broom; Ward Broom Hockey. As youth we were way excited when the Young Men activity on Thursday Night (Yes Thursday. I grew up NEVER seeing Mork & Mindy because it was on when we had Mutual Night!) was Broom Hockey. It was played in the gym, and we didn't have a nice wood floor. We had cement with these tile things. It was hard! We would prepare our brooms; wrapping the lower quarter of the stick with duct tape or black electrical tape (we figured it would toughen up the broom). The puck was always a roll of masking tape and the goal was the where the basketball key lines met the out of bounds line. The goalie usually was on all fours with their broom laying flat to keep the puck out. Shirts vs. Skins, always, and it never failed that some of the more "fleshy" fellas were Skins, always. (Nothing like squirting off some big sweaty dudes shoulder- kinda like pinching a watermelon seed) Well, things would really get going and relatively violent. I remember one time going for the puck and getting checked right through the door, out into the hallway and almost killing one of the young women leaders. Ah, but such was Broom Hockey. One time we videotaped our game. It was hilarious to watch the mayhem, especially in slow motion.

When I was a senior in high school, there was a Young Adult Broom Ball game at the Ice Capades Chalet ice rink. My brother asked me to go, so I pulled on some football pants and we headed over. Wow! We never had injuries like this when we played. Maybe the co-ed game shouldn't be done. A girl named Shiree was coming up to the ball, tried to put on the brakes, lost her footing, and was slammed into the side while both feet were in the air. Brian McGhie took a broom handle shot to the mouth and left some teeth! There were numerous injuries the whole night. The funnest part for me was sliding into the real cocky dudes and taking them out. They were getting mad at me, but hey, it's broom ball! Toughen up, Chump!

Oh, there was this red headed girl, she was probably voted the "Most Athletic" in her high school, well, she kept coming after me, trying to take me out. Sorry, sister. She ended up on the ice a number of times. 

You know, watching Roller Ball so many times actually paid off!

The Anticipation

You know, the week before the 4th of July when we were kids was painful. Not like Christmas or Halloween, but there was a different excitement with the 4th. (What if the Declaration of Independence was signed the day before? The 3rd of July just sounds stupid) 

As kids we would do ANYTHING to get hold of firecrackers. We lived a half hour away from San Francisco, so someone was always making a run up to Chinatown to get illegal fireworks. We would rate firecrackers- Thunderbombs were the best, then Black Cat, and Lady Fingers, well, if you had them, you didn't say anything, you wuss. Packs would sell for 25-50 cents from whoever had them. 

We never just blew off packs of firecrackers at once; we would unwrap the big long fuse that tied them all together and do each one separately. And it usually involved blowing something up- a snail, little green army men, old model airplanes, etc. We would also blow up the glass that covered the water meters. Now if the firecracker didn't go off you didn't just move on; it would be inspected to see if there were any fuse left. If there was, it was always real dicey to try and light it and bail out of the way before the blast. If the fuse was gone, we'd do a "Fizzer" which meant we'd break them , dump out a wee bit of gun powder, and have someone right there as you lit the powder. It would start fizzing then someone would stomp on it and it would pop. 

A couple experiences- Mike Stark lit an M-80 in a pile of doggy-doo and it blew all over the front of his house! His dad, Lowell, whose blood pressure was already at dangerous levels just sitting calmly in a chair drinking a Schlitz, heard the noise, came out front and about had an aneurism! I think that's the first time the four letter word for poop was hurled in the neighborhood at such decibels. 

The other classic was our friend William's big brother was at the school yard one night, in the picnic table area, smoking pot with some of his stoner buddies. It was pitch black. We had some bottle rockets. Well, we fired them in at them. They shot in, bounced all around them and blew up. Those guys were freaking out. I still don't know why they didn't kick the crap out of us.

I just thought about this today as we were driving around. Man, I miss those days.

Sweatin' in the Outfield

I was lucky enough to be asked by Jayton Wakefield to play on not just one softball team, but two softball teams this spring. One is a co-ed team in Orem, the other a men's team in Provo. We pretty much have sucked it up in the co-ed team, but have been respectable in the men's league. 

Back in the day when I was a teenager we played church softball. I have always played in the outfield because, as any Snyder will tell, we hate the infield because of the thought of taking a ball to the chops. We are famous for the mitt down-head turned short hop play. Wusses, perhaps, but our teeth are still intact. Carl did pitch, though, and was very good at it. In church ball we took regions undefeated two years in a row with a perfect regular season. In area championship play, which took in all of the Bay Area in CA we did exceptionally well, too. My shot was always right over the 2nd baseman's head.  

Fast forward a couple decades and I am still in the outfield for the same reasons, though my teeth could use a good knocking out! It has been fun running around and diving for balls; I have even caught a number of them. Last night if I had made the catch on a screaming line drive that was tailing away from me I would have been on the ESPN highlight reel. But it hit the tip of my mitt and bounced out. Crap.

The problem I have is I cannot hit to anywhere but left field now days. I don't know why!?! It is very frustrating. 

Last night's tournament game was fun and we had a good crowd of spouses and friends cheering us on. Thomas Grover, our only lefty, has been the only person on the team to nail the yellow foul pole. He was able to burn around the bases for a home run. It was great. 

But alas, we were ripped off by some extremely crappy calls by an ump who obviously had a great relationship with the other team. (I bet they went and got Slurpees after the game and had a good chuckle!) We ended up losing by 2 runs. We play again tomorrow night for the men's team. Tonight is the co-ed team. We have already lost 1 game, so if we lose tonight we are done. So, I will be sweatin' in the outfield again this evening.

Maybe the Softball Gods will let me hit to center field.

Or not.

They're probably drinking Slurpees and mocking me.

6.2 Miles

So I've been running the 5K races with my brother, and he is ticked because I keep beating him. Well, the 10K is coming up on July 4th for the Freedom Festival. Carl will be running that with his friend. Jayton Wakefield wants me to run it with him, too. The farthest I have run is a wee bit over 4 miles (not including running with my wetsuit on back in high school when I was trying to make weight for a wrestling match!).

Jayton and I ran from the mouth of Provo Canyon up to Nunn's Park and back, which is pretty much 6 miles, in the heat! I was able to do it without dying and my legs are just a little sore today. So, I will have to keep it up for the next couple weeks. I have biked a couple times to work. That helps with the lung capacity.

A side note to the picture from the last posting. Back in the summer of 1999 Tyler brought his hair clippers to work one day. I walked into the waxroom to see one of my co-workers leaning over the garbage can and Tyler buzzing his head! My hair was needing a trim, 

but not a shave. Everyone started giving me crap, so I buckled and had him shave my head, too. Everyone ended up bald that day. It was pretty funny. That's our former business manager with me. We felt like we were in the nut-house, so we acted like it, too. When I got home, my kids didn't know who

 the freak was walking in our front door, and my wife cried. But, she really loved it and begs me to do it again. I don't know if the Stake President will be happy with that.

That's me in front with the sunglasses

Cholesterol, our buddy!

Back in January I had a physical, the first in about 15 years or so, and became acquainted with Dr. Jellyfinger. They took a lot of blood and ran the tests. I got them in the mail about 2 weeks later, telling me that my cholesterol was at 246 and that I needed to change my diet. So, this coincided with a bunch of women at work who were starting their own version of The Biggest Loser, which I automatically win because, well, as my wife will say every now and again... loser! (it's usually when I make an inappropriate comment). 

Anyway, I have made some serious changes in what I eat, and how much of it I do eat. It has been very hard to not eat chips, cake, cookies, brownies, Ho Ho's, Ding Dong's, etc. every day. And cutting out the cheese has been a nightmare! I love cheese, especially pepper jack and of course, Stinking Bishop!

As the months have gone on I actually started losing weight. I started out at 164.8 pounds as of Feb. 1. At the end of the competition at the end of May I weighed in at 150.0 pounds! Pretty sweet. 

This all leads me to Saturday. I had my cholesterol checked again and it came in at..... 171!!! I was pretty surprised. I figured it would be 239 or something like that. So, I wanted to celebrate with a bacon-wrapped steak, but my wife BBQed steak for me for Father's Day.

I guess I'm a LOSER after all.

Father's Day

Though I feel Father's Day is a bit of a sham, I want to honor my dad. He passed away back in December of 1998. It's not until someone is gone that you really realize how much they meant to you. My dad was about 40 when I was born. I'm 41 now and have a daughter ready to start college, so the dynamics of our relationship were a bit different. My dad was from Oak Park, Chicago and grew up in a very different world. I feel bad that we really never knew a whole lot about my dad's past. He moved out to San Francisco while working for United Airlines in the 50's. There he joined the LDS Church, which ostracized him from his family. 

My dad loved to work on cars, especially the stupid Opal Cadet, which, I swear, we were lifting the engine out of, from a jimmy-rigged contraption looped over the rafters in the garage, every summer! My dad was always very entrepreneurial, trying to come up with some new business or idea. He actually had a prototype of the mask thing that's used at the dentist's offices for getting the nitrous oxide. A wee bit of funding and he could have made it big!

My dad worked different jobs to keep us going. 

I think the one thing that is impressive is that my mom got spinal militis back in 1979 and my dad stuck with her and took care of her until he died.

One last memory is my dad telling jokes, usually bad ones, but you'd be laughing so hard because he was laughing and couldn't get them out. 

I miss him and would love to ask him questions about life and where I am at now. I would love to have had him at my graduation last year and at my daughter's graduation. I would love to talk to him about his family history, about my grandfather, about living in Washington DC. Well, my dad wasn't perfect or the Best at one thing, but he set a great example and I am partly what I am because of his mundane but hard working existence. 

On the 7th Day...

We got home in the wee hours of the morning, so I put this off until today. I got up and did the morning rituals. I let the womenfolk sleep in. I cursed my bed one last time! I took the camera and went walking around Pennsylvania Avenue and such. I have put a few random snapshots on. It was still really hot and muggy and I was starting to sweat like a pig, so I came back to the Hotel. 

Teresa was up and going and I got Chantel up at 10:15. We packed and cleaned up a little bit. Chantel and I ran over to see the house where Lincoln died, across from the Ford's Theater, but there were huge amounts of children waiting to go in. So we jumped into a souvenir shop, bought some DC shirts and some magnets and came back. 

We loaded up, said a prayer, and went downstairs to check out. I am calling our room the McCain Memorial because the toilet paper is something they would have at a POW camp and the bed was tortuous!

We walked to the Metro one last time and were off to Union Station. Once there we bought tickets for the Marc then stopped at Sbarros for some pizza and spaghetti. We also bought cookies at a French Bakery. We walked a bit and hung out. I looked through a few shops. Why didn't I buy a Nationals pennant?! Man, I always blow it.

We finally boarded the train, which had no AC

 and was stifling hot. Our train took us to the bus which took us to BWI airport in Baltimore. We got checked in then went to the observation desk to watch for a bit. At the security check there was a mom dealing with her 2 young children and her mother. I figured we'd be seated real close to them.

Our gate was at the furthest part of the terminal and it was packed! There was a Potbelly's there, so I grabbed a shake and cookie for us to all share. The flight was supposed to leave at 5:15 PM EST, but the walkway thing that takes you to the plane was broken. It took them a long time to have us walk out onto the tarmac and up the stairs to the plane. I helped a couple ladies carry their stuff and stick it in the overhead.

And of course the lady with the 2 upset kids was in front of us!

Well, at 5:30 they announced that all flights west were delayed because of severe weather. We waited, they started the movie and passed out snacks, then waited more. We sat on the plane tight there for 3 hours! Then we got in line to take off and waited there for 30 more minutes. When we finally took off everyone clapped. It was funny.

The plane seemed angry as it jetted up and banked hard right.

Well, the flight was re-routed south before heading west. I'll tell you what, I was going nuts what with the screaming kids and the lateness of the hour. Chantel and I watched Seinfeld for an hour and 1/2. We would burst out laughing at some parts, probably ticking other passengers off. The one classic time was when Kramer was talking about the Sitcom that Jerry and George were supposed to be writing being about a circus..."Come on, a guy who's just a head, beeeyyyahhh...". It was the perfect time because we started crying we were laughing so hard!

I started getting the jimmy-legs, and I can't sleep on a plane, so I put on my iPod and cranked it up. We hit a massive turbulence and the plane dropped and people, including myself, freaked out. Ugh. The worst part was when we were still an hour and a 1/2 out. Oye!

Well, we landed 11:00 PM MST, then had to get our bags, then the shuttle to the car and then pay to get out. We stopped and picked up Abby & Madalyn, who were still up, at Carl's house, got some gas and headed home. Chelsea was still up, too. We grabbed a piece of toast and crashed at 1:30 AM!

Overall it was a great trip. I loved the time to spend with my daughter and wife. I think it brought us all a lot closer and made me see Chantel in many different situations. I realize she is beautiful, thoughtful, friendly, has a great sense of humor and is fun...F U N!

DC 6

I was having dreams of flying in very small wooden planes in the front yard of my house that I grew up in, probably from seeing the Air Mail planes. Oh, but then I'm rudely awaken by bedspring number 17 in my kidney! (My wife is right now popping an Ambien, so she'll be rather fun in about 15 minutes) Well, I let them sleep in until 9:30 to 10:15. We got all showered and dressed and then headed out the door, greeted by the already 90 degree weather and high humidity. I only have 2 dark colored shirts left, which doesn't bode well for being out in the sun. I had Teresa take a picture of me and Chantel in front of the FBI building. 

Our first, and main stop, was at the Newseum on Pennsylvania Ave. It was an expensive

 excursion, but we had a great time. We started off with checking out a couple sections of the Berlin Wall. Then we rode the tallest hydraulic elevators in the world to the 6th floor. We checked out the view and got a couple pictures and read a little history about Pennsylvania Ave. We went to the 5th floor and looked through the big exhibit there. We jumped down to the 3rd floor for a demonstration about a news studio. Some old gentleman kep

t asking rather random questions. You could feel other people cringing every time his hand went up. 

We ran back up to the 5th floor and looked at some more things then watched a

 video on this huge long screen.

The 4th floor had a big 9-11 exhibit and also info on the 1st Amendment. We then got to the 2nd floor and Chantel did a little newscast thing.

 It was pretty funny. We will be able to download it tomorrow off the internet. Maybe we will share the address. Then we went to

 the 1st floor and checked out some stuff and watched a 4-D movie. It was actually pretty cool. The whole experience was pretty cool. I thought it looked familiar from the George Stefanopolous Sunday morning show, and sure enough they shoot it there each week.

We walked out into the blasted heat! We walked up to the Capitol Building. Chantel and I wanted to go do "I'm just a Bill, stuck here on Capitol Hill", but you can't even get close to the steps now days. We walked around to the Library of Congress and went in for a looksee before they booted us all out and closed up. 

So, we walked a couple blocks and boarded the Metro. Of course there had been a train that had jumped it's tracks on the Orange Line. We had to wait an extra 20 minutes, but sitting down there is still better than walking in the heat. We made it back to the beautiful and amenity bare Hotel Harrington so the women folk could take a wee breather. I jumped out to take a few pictures of the hotel and such. 

When they finally got ready to roll, we went to Elephant & Castle for dinner. I got guilted into ordering the Bangers & Mash so that Thomas Grover wouldn't be mad at me. They were tasty, and they came with baked beans and a delicious apple chutney. I also ordered a side salad. They sausages were nothing like the sausages that I ate in New Zealand. We waited forever for our

 waiter to come back, then ordered desert. Chantel and I shared a brownie and ice cream dish called Big Ben Brownie, which we were shocked to see when they brought it out, and Teresa had an apple crisp. Totally bloated! We waited for a long time again for our waiter, got the check, paid and were done. We waddled back here and are laying around doing crossword puzzles, Soduku and this. I can't believe our trip will be done tomorrow! I think our other girls are missing us. We miss them.

My wife is now woozy and can't walk a straight line! Lightweight!