Can it be five years already?

November 22 was Evelyn's 5th birthday. I know every parent laments the quick passage of time, but it still doesn't help me feel any better. I truly can't imagine a more wonderful kid. Clearly, she is fun to look at. I can vouch that she's fun to play with. She's a perfect big sister too. What makes her so special is that she loves deeply. I am most thankful for how deeply you love me, sweetie!

Here's a few more pictures from the Evy hall of fame, just for your viewing enjoyment.

Now I'm Zeus

Last week I went on my first significant hike since moving to SLC. I climbed Mt. Olympus. I can still hardly believe I live just five miles away from a trailhead that goes 5,000 feet straight up a mountain. This has got to be one of the better metropolitan area hikes around. I waffle back and forth between calling it a hike and a climb. When I read that it was just 3.5 miles each way I figured it was going to be a piece of cake, but it's nearly a 5,000 ft. jump in elevation to get to the top. Do the math: 5,000 ft./18,000 ft. = 28% average grade. Given some of the trail is almost flat that means some seriously steep hiking/climbing. The last half mile or so is a rock climb, especially when you can't find the trail and end up going up the north face of the moutain...oops. Somehow I did manage to make it to the top and I was greeted with a nearly perfect view. You can see the picture chronicles of my journey here.

For those of you not living in Utah, the hike kind of reminded me of the Mt. Wilson trail (see also mtwilson.edu) in Pasadena/Sierra Madre. Mt. Wilson is longer but this means the elevation gain is spread out more. The guel is still worth the wait...a nice city view from the top.

Five days after my hike the first snow came, but I'm hoping to sneak in another good hike before ski season begins.

Two years ago...

It's hard to believe! It was two years ago today that this little guy landed in my life. I could easily be like every other dad on the planet and go on and on about how he is the most special kid around, but I'll just tell you all why Jenson is so special to me.

1. He has a great head of hair. The few times he has had his hair cut it was dad who was kicking and screaming. I like it long.

2. He is a jokester. He lives for the next laugh. I can already see his mind trying to figure out the next way he can pull one over on me.

3. He is affectionate. Lots of little boys are not, but he'll cuddle with me whenever I need it, which is all the time.

4. He loves his big sister. I can't wait to see him protect her when they get older.

5. He's a momma's boy. He might be my little buddy, but he LOVES his mommy to death.

6. He does everything at full speed. There is not one lazy bone in this kid's body.

7. His smile keeps me going even when most everything tells me to quit. This I am eternally thankful for.

Happy Birthday Jenson! I love you!

Another missed concert

This was supposed to be the year of the concert for me. Had tickets to opening night of U2, but I had to bail for an emergency trip to Oregon. Friday I had tickets to see Coldplay in San Diego. I was even going to fly down from Utah for it, but thanks to Allied's 10 day delay on moving our stuff to Utah my tickets were sitting in a box on a truck somewhere in the middle of the Mojave desert. I guess it just wasn't meant to be.

The moving trucks finally did arrive yesterday so the new house is pure chaos right now, as is my office. DSL and DirecTV will be installed on Wednesday so life will return to normal in a couple days. It will even get better after new carpet and home theater installation.

My first class is tomorrow. It's an elementary social studies methods class for masters students. I'm really looking forward to it. For my students reading this blog, fasten your seat belts because we're doing the class in the computer lab and this means lots and lots of digital history. You'll find out what this means soon enough.

Walking the Talk

A couple days ago I bitched and moaned about how nothing being down to save children in Niger, and today I had to admit that I am no different. Do what I did today and donate your money and not just your lip service. Isn't it worth skipping a couple of venti mochas for the sake of saving a life? http://www.unicef.org/

Too Hungry to Blog

Got a big move coming. New job. New house.
That is, I'm too busy to blog right now. Sorry to disappoint the legions of fans out there.

But before I do...
Here we spend $100 billion a year on a war that's all about oil (you're kidding yourself if you think it's about anything else) when we could have saved hundreds of thousands of children starving in Niger for a whopping $1/day per child. That cost is now up to $80/day per child because we ignored the call for help last year. Here's one of the casualities. Amisso is 3 years old and weighs only 12 pounds.

I hope this picture makes you sick. Sick of our country's and our personal complacency.

Paradise in Palau

I have once again broken the blogging commandment of thou shalt post frequently. This time I have an excuse. Actually, I have two excuses. The first, I am very busy. Try selling a house, buying a new house, getting ready for a 700 mile move, redesigning a class, and getting reading to travel to Palua for two weeks all at the same time. The second excuse, I'm in Palau. Somehow the blog got shelved.

Well, I've been in Palua for four days now and I'm having a swell time. I'll start having a super time when Jen gets here in a couple days. I'm teaching a technology class to Palauan teachers. We just completed our third day (out of ten total). I have been very impressed by there good attitudes and their go getter attitudes. For some reason they're being very nice to me. Either it's the Palauan way or they're just trying to butter me up for good grades. I'll assume the former.

I have wasted no time having fun. The fish here is fresh, yummy and cheap. The snorkeling has been good, and in a few days I'll start my scuba diving. Palau is rated by many as the top scuba diving destination on the planet. I can't wait! The rainy season just started so I've been getting a little wet. I rented a scooter and on Sunday I couldn't figure out why I was the only one riding around the island on two wheels. Then on Monday the heavens opened up. I look like a goober riding around the island in the rain, but I think it's still pretty fun.

I have already taken some nice pictures of the island and its people. This one is my favorite. It was taken at the big bridge which connects two of the country's islands. I snorkeled for a while, did some flips off a wall with some kids, met a nice local named Hudson, and I took this picture. It speaks well for the lifestyle here.

Come back later for more Palau updates. I'll be here until July 19th.