Shaun White Crash

This is the video of Shaun White's crash at Winter X 14. I only post it because I can't believe he walked away from it, much less won gold after. The double cork that he was attempting is the new "in" trick and it's absolutely insane to try. Understanding what I do about snowboarding, I have the upmost respect and pity for what these guys are doing. It's nuts.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GJYf9w-OQPk

Oh and yes, his helmit was strapped on tight. Killer.

The Week That Was

With school starting back up, I seem to be finding my evenings and "blog time" a lot more cluttered... That being said, I give you the week that was:

Sunday, Jan. 24: We actually had a visit from Elder Holland of the Quorum of the Twelve come to our stake for a special stake conference. Wow. It was amazing! I still can't get over his incredible testimony of Jesus Christ. One of the most impressive parts of the meeting, however, was his apostolic blessing from the pulpit. He blessed all who were attending and those for whom we pray for. That's a LOT of people. My thoughts turned immediately to a young man in our ward with cancer and also a dear friend going through a divorce. I've prayed a lot for them recently and now they've received a blessing from an apostle. Pretty heavy... in a good way.

I just realized that's pretty much the only thing I have a specific day for. Haha. So the rest will be mushed together.

Jeff is now off on his latest adventure, this time to the Philippines, Thailand, China, and wherever else he decides to go. I'm stoked for him. It should be a great experience! Nothing compared to our trips of course. ;) I guess part of me thought of how it would have been awesome to join him, but honestly I can say I can't be any happier than I am here. I really REALLY love being at home with my family. And that's an awesome and priceless feeling... I'm lucky to have that and I know it.

Tim also is gone this weekend as he is in Cali visiting his mission. I love him to death and it's been great having him here in our home, but it is nice to have just the three of us again. I do miss his mad breakfast-making skills, though...

Colby and I went and got our Pinewood Derby car kits a couple nights ago. I'm super stoked for the Derby. Feb. 20, baby! Gonna be steezy. I've settled on doing a Jeep style vehicle with snowboard rack and wench. Not sure how that will help me win, though. I guess some things never change as I am once again going for style over victory, but hey, that's how I roll. As Dad would say, "If you look good, you ARE good!" Word.

What's up with the Jazz lately?! They're actually winning... ON THE ROAD! I'm not a super over-the-top, live-or-die Jazz fan, but I can't help but get sucked in. Hope they can keep it up!

School has been going really well. It's so nice to have only one class on campus and have all of my online class assignments not due until April!! Hey-oh! We watched a really messed-up movie in there this week, though. We're talking about cultural issues in Latin America and this documentary was about mining in Bolivia. It was following a 14-year-old kid who worked in the mines... who'd been there since he was ten. I won't go into details, but it was heavy. One of those moments that reminds you how good you really have it.

Jeremy is talking up a storm. I can't believe how quickly he's changing lately. I love that he says "yeah" and "no" to things-- especially since there are more "yeah's" than "no's." I really love my family. Dang. Amber and Jeremy, you rock my world.

Well, that's it for now. I'm gonna post a couple of videos as well. Peace and love.

Back To School

Well, the day has finally come. I'm back in school. Haha not that it's been bad, though. I got into two online classes and one up at campus that's only on Monday and Wednesday, first thing in the morning. I only need 30 credit hours to graduate so... I'd better finish, right? It still is just funny to me. Mostly because there's so many weird looking people on campus... Haha. I was kinda wanting to just transfer to Weber, but as Amber so delicately put it: "I didn't work as hard as I did to pay for you to get this close and then transfer somewhere else! YOU ARE FINISHING AT THE U!" See? I always knew she was a Ute deep down. ;) Seriously, though, thanks for pushing me, babe. It'll be worth it in the end and I'm glad that I can some day soon put that over-priced, but meaningful, piece of paper called a diploma on my wall! So, off we go. 15 more weeks... 3 more semesters... 1 more year...

David's Baptism

As I said earlier in my Christmas post, we had a wonderful time with Amber's family here. The greatest part of all, however, was something that none of us had planned for. After the excitement of Christmas had blown over, we were back to work and settling back into our daily routines when I got a text from Amber on Wednesday the 30th saying: "David's getting baptized!" I guess I should back up a little and explain that Amber's sister and brother-in-law live in Texas and got married while I was on my mission. David has been going to Church with Sharee for over 5 years, but never had the desire to be baptized yet. I have always had so much respect for him for supporting her and their kids in going to Church and even going himself. Sharee has been supportive of him as well, always willing to answer questions, but never pushing him too much. So when I got that text, I was overwhelmingly shocked! It was too good to be true! So good in fact, that I called Amber to make sure it she wasn't trying to play a joke on me. Haha. But sure enough, David had decided that he was ready to "take the plunge," as he called it. So they called the missionaries and they came over that afternoon and started the discussions with him. They didn't have to go into much detail as he already knew everything they were saying. I was able to sit in on the second day's discussions and it was so amazing to see David in that situation. He was so confident and decided in his decision and you could see that the Spirit was with him. And it was even greater still to see the look in Sharee's face and the love that radiated from her towards her husband. It's the miracle of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It's what I love and miss so much about missionary work... Anyway, we got everything set up and ready to go and David was baptized on Jan. 1, 2010. Even now I can feel tears forming in my eyes. Like I said, I've always respected David so much and looked up to him like an older brother. But when he asked me to baptize him, it was an overwhelming honor. This was huge, so huge, for him and his family. I can't believe that I was able to be a part of it. And through the whole thing, it just seemed like he was always going to be baptized, that it was just a matter of time all along and that the time finally came. I can't even find the words to explain any more than that. This family has gone through so much the past year and I don't think any of us could have imagined something this good taking the place of Dad's passing last year, not even David. Just goes to show that there's always a reason to keep going, to never give up hope, and to keep hoping for what we care about most. Congrats, David. You're the man.

More Random Pics

Max Hall hates me. :)

Photo credit to Uncle Tim. Someone got creative with the Christmas lights!

Colby shows his true love for Twilight's Jacob. Precious.

Our first-place-winning gingerbread temple. Check out the eternal gummy bear family!

Yep.

Jeremy Randomness Dec. '09

Eating bread.

Putting on socks.

Dad's work bench.

Jeremy decided to sit in the blocks bin and bury himself. Not sure... ;)

Wearing dad's shoes.

Pushing a wheelbarrow.

Riding in his new truck.

Wearing dad's goat hat from Brazil.

Feeding himself with a spoon!

Just reading scriptures. No big deal.

Trying to escape Toy-R-Us in the 4-wheeler.

Ready to go out in the snow.

Taking a bath at grandpa and grandma's!

Christmas 2009

We had a fantastic Christmas this year. Honestly, I was pretty worried about how everything would go down with Amber's dad passing way last year at this time, but it turned out to be amazing! We had Amber's family in town from Texas and Alabama and it was great to spend time with them since we don't see them very often. It definitely made for a full house at Amber's mom's house!! We had a full house here too, though. Mom and Dad came down from Montana for the weekend and it was so nice to be together as a family for Christmas for the first time in over two years with Tim now being home from his mission. Christmas has always been a very special and happy time in our family and I'm so glad that this year continued that tradition. We've been so blessed in our lives and there's nothing better than sharing these blessings with family and friends. Amber made an incredible dinner for us the night mom and dad got here. It was AWESOME! Mini corn dogs, chips, dips, fruit pizza, chicken pillows, little smokies... so many goodies I can't even keep track of them all! The house smelled sooooo good and the food didn't disappoint! It was incredible! Thanks, Amber!!! We had Christmas with my family on Christmas Eve morning and it was great. Mom and Dad continue to spoil us incredibly, but nobody came close to beating Jeremy for presents! ;) He had a great time opening his presents. His big surprise was a Lil Tike's truck. It looks just like his dad's and he loves to sit in it! Even I didn't think it'd be such a huge hit! And anything that keeps him entertained more than 15 minutes is great in our book. Ha ha. We spent Christmas Eve with Amber's family and it was a very sweet and thoughtful evening. I don't know if I'll ever not get torn up when I think about Amber's dad reading the Bible to us on Christmas Eve, but her brother Rob did a great job in dad's place and you could definitely feel his spirit there. I just can't get over how lucky I am to have two sets of amazing parents who love us so much... Christmas day was another great day. We spent the morning with Amber's family and got together later for a great dinner! I don't think anything could have been better. It's pretty amazing how the Lord sends his Spirit to comfort us in difficult times and in ways we may not even notice. I'm so grateful for amazing family and friends. Makes the ride through life's slopes that much more enjoyable. Merry Christmas!!!

50th Post!!

So... yeah, it's been a while. What a way to celebrate the big 5-0 post, right? It's been a really busy past month, so there's lots to talk about. Thanks to everyone for following and reminding me to post new stuff! So without further adieu, I give you... my past month!