Eagle Scout Court of Honor

Tonight I had the opportunity to speak at the Eagle Court of Honor for one of the young men I taught in our old ward. It was quite the honor to be asked to share some thoughts and be present to see Josh receive this award. I couldn't help be remember all the great experiences I've had through Scouting and all that I've learned. I literally grew up in the Scouting program having a dad who was the Scoutmaster for most of my life. It was a pretty neat experience to be up there myself after watching my dad do countless Eagle Courts for so many years. It's also cool to me that I can still recite the Scout Oath and Law and remember so many of the things that I learned in Scouts. It's not just the knots and learning to make campfires, though. I learned so much about life and becoming a man in Scouting. They say that going on a mission prepares you to become a great man and husband and father. Scouting prepares you to be a great missionary. I don't think I ever really took for granted what a blessing it was to be a Boy Scout because I always enjoyed it so much. But I don't think I ever realized more than I did tonight how much it meant to have my dad there with me so much. We got to go on a lot of trips together. I got to see so many amazing things with him in a Scout uniform! I know I couldn't have had a better teacher and leader. Being an Eagle Scout puts you in great company... Men who have led countries, walked on the moon, won professional sports championships... But none of them are cooler than my dad. Thanks, Dad.

Elder's Quorum Pinewood Derby

Well, the Pinewood Derby was AWESOME! I have to admit, it went even better than I thought it would. What a great night! There was a lot that went into this and it all started with my car. Optimus really turned out great. I'm not sure how many hours went into this project, but it sure was worth it.

Getting the track was quite the experience, but "Jack the Track" came through and got us all set up. I'm pretty sure that track is like Jack's child... He sure does love that thing. But for loving it so much he sure didn't take very good of lane 3... (I'll get to that in a second.) So yeah, we had the track, we had the trophies, we had a great selection of soups and rolls, and it was great.

We had 14 cars show up! Not bad at all. We had a cow car, Lightning McQueen, the Mystery Machine, and even a car with a fan mounted on the top and one with a balloon! Quite the selection to be sure. We assigned everyone a random number to determine the bracket seeding and then voted for a the Best-in-Show prize. Tim's "Wet Willy" Jeep and trailer won top honors, beating Optimus Prime by two votes.

The racing was epic. We set everyone up in a bracket and let 'em roll! Optimus was killing it! I had only won one, yes, ONE race in my entire Pinewood Derby career and Optimus brought the speed for the first two races. I was lined up against the balloon car and I was actually winning the race! The balloon, when inflated, would push the exhaust pipes on my car and that helped keep me even with it until it deflated. My car weighed more so I was pulling away... until disaster struck. Lane 3. Cursed lane 3... There was a notch out of the track in lane 3 and my car hit it, and lost a wheel!! Yep. Optimus lost a wheel. As one little kid said at the finish, "He started to transform too early!" Hahaha. So that's how my Pinewood Derby dreams were dashed again.

The rest of the races were good. The fan car dominated everyone else in the races. That car was FAST! There was a battery pack to charge it and even with a 2 feet head start no car could catch it. The balloon car would go on to take 2nd and the torpedo car would take 3rd. In the end, no trophies for the shelf, but everyone had a great time. Looks like we'll have to do it again soon! I'm thinking a panzer for the next car... one to blow up the fan car! Or lane 3...

Colby's New Gig

This was the start to an awesome weekend! I was at work on Friday and had just pulled up to the house I was working on when my friend, Colby, called. I answered, asked immediately to call him back, and hung up because my boss was waiting for me. Once I got a free minute I called him back and felt so bad that I'd put him off because... he got the job he was trying for! This was a huge deal because it really seemed like an uphill battle for him to get the job. Colby and I have gone through quite a bit this last year and I was so happy for him to get the job. Not only is it higher pay and a better situation, but it now gives him weekends off and allows him to come to Church again with his wife. We all prayed really hard for this and it's always so amazing and uplifting to "get what you ask for." It's more than that, though. It's that what we were all praying for was in accordance with what the Lord had in store for them too. We had to exercise a lot of faith and patience, but it paid off. Congrats, man. I'm so stoked for you! Oh, and it's extra steezy because he now works for Red Bull. Maybe we could get a sponsorship deal... ;)

Flowers?

So I ordered Amber some flowers for Valentine's Day... this is what came back... Umm... FOR REAL?! I swear they looked better in the picture! Good thing these flowers aren't a symbol of our love!! We got our money back. Haha.

Valentine's Dance

This year for Valentine's Day, we were able to do something we haven't done in years... Go to a formal dance! The U held a dance at the football stadium so we went with Tim and his date out to dinner and up to the dance. We went to dinner at Macaroni Grille and it was prime. Had some awesome pasta and headed up to Rice Eccles Stadium. The dance was up in the suites overlooking the city and it was a beautiful view... but nothing compared to how Amber looked! It's funny how you lose chances to dress up and go out after you have a child. Apparently they need constant attention? Jk. She looked amazing, though. Absolutely gorgeous. Really took me back 7 or 8 years to when we used to go to High School dances. Pretty cool that we're still doing it. I love you, baby!

Tim's Latest Piece

Tim had a coworker ask him to do a portrait of his kids for his wife for Valentine's Day... It turned out AMAZING! I'd post a pic for a teaser, but just check out Tim's blog site to get the full version. The kid's got mad skills, yo. That's all I'm saying.

Pinewood Derby Car

Well the Pinewood Derby is fast approaching and I've got my car started! Tim and I spent most of Saturday working out in the man cave on our speedsters*. (*Speedsters may be the wrong term to use since we are going more for looks than speed or performance.) I finally decided on making the Optimus Prime semi truck from Transformers! Turning out sick so far! Take a look...

Go Utes!

As if today wasn't a good enough day already, Jeremy just said: "Dad, go Utes!" I have succeeded as a father!!!

Tim Olsen Originals

Check it out! Tim has started a site to share all of his artwork as well as offer his services for custom pieces! Obviously, his stuff is freaking amazing because he's not really human? (That's the best explanation I can think of for it.) So be sure and stop by his page. You won't be disappointed, trust me! (Mostly because I designed it for him. Hey-oh!)

http://www.timolsenoriginals.blogspot.com/

Here's a little teaser... Jeremy Jones, son. Uhnn!

Spread the word!!!

Just Curious...

I'm just curious to see who's checking out my blog (if anyone... Haha!) so if you don't mind, leave a comment with your name or follow me! Thanks.

P.S. Mom and Amber, yes I know you read my blog. THANKS! ;)

Sick Day

So I've been battling with a sinus cold the past few days and I thought I was actually getting better... negative. It hit hard last night and even harder this morning! I was not feeling good at all. So I stayed up late last night and finished my Spanish paper and emailed it into my professor this morning. Special thanks to Prof. Esplin for accepting it and being understanding!! Wow, college is a lot cooler when your teachers actually act like normal, caring human beings! ;) I also skipped out on work today to rest and I'm finally feeling a lot better. It's been sooooo great to have a day at home with Amber and Jeremy, even if I wasn't feeling too hot. We had a GREAT nap! Hey-oh! So yeah, overall, it's been a good day...