World Cup

Well, here it is again, the FIFA World Cup. It's kind of funny because I got really hooked on Brazil soccer on my mission and I always check to see how the Selecao is doing, but I can't really say I follow it religiously. But when the World Cup rolls around, it sucks me in bad. This year is no different. Here I am, getting the World Cup app for my iPhone, watching GameCast on ESPN, and trying to catch any game I can on TV. I was pretty disappointed that the U.S. lost to Ghana and are out now, but that didn't stop me from buying a U.S. "Miss America" jersey off eBay. If you haven't seen it, Google it. It's navy blue with a bold white stripe across the chest that looks like a Miss America sash. It's rad. But my Brazilians are looking good! I had this picture sent to me from a friend in Brazil that was taken during one of the matches and it just confirmed what I always believed... Brazil really is the Celestial Team.

Softball Game #6

I'd better preface this by saying that I was being a real "Negative Nancy" about this game from the start. It was a cold night and we had the late 9:00 game against another really good team that had never lost before. I started out watching from the bleachers and we had first ups. We got one run on our first at bat and actually held them to one run as well. They looked to be coming out swinging for the fences early, but our defense was playing pretty solid. Second inning, we score two more and hold them without a run! So by this time, I'm not exactly believing, but I'm starting to get pretty excited. We come up in the third, get two quick outs, and then open the flood gates on them! It really got going with Tim. He hit a shot into right field and flew around the bases to score a home run. I was coaching first and ran towards him and we both jumped and shoulder slammed each other and were way stoked. This was about the time the other team started to lose it. We hung 5 runs on them and held them to one so it's now 7-2. I came into the game and our hot bats continued, led by Colby, and they just couldn't put the ball where they wanted and started making a lot of dumb mistakes due to losing their tempers. There was a lot of expletives flying around as they realized they were getting it handed to them by a "bush league team" of "middle aged women." And we absolutely loved it! I'm being completely honest when I say we didn't rub it in on them, but we didn't let up and played great. By the time it was all over, we beat them 17-3 and we were ready to get off the field and head home because they were not stoked. It'll be pretty hard to top this win. What a great game! Record: 4-2

Elder's Quorum Campout

A few weekends ago, we organized a camp out up to Brad Bentley's family's cabin in Monte Cristo for the Elders Quorum and their families. We actually had a great turnout. I only sound surprised because it was POURING rain all day on Friday. We all had a good time, though. Almost everyone slept inside the cabin and it was great that we had the space to accommodate everyone. Amber and Jeremy were troopers and joined me out in the tent. Even though it was raining most of the night, we stayed cozy, warm, and dry. It was actually a pretty good night's sleep until about 5:00 a.m. when the wind picked up. And when I say it picked up, I really mean that it was howling. Haha. I woke up once and the tent was practically flat on top of us! But everyone felt better after having an awesome breakfast of eggs, bacon, pancakes, and fruit. I'd definitely call it a success. We even hit a wild turkey on the way home! We weren't going fast enough to hurt it, but it was pretty surprising because I'd never seen a wild turkey before!

100th Post!!!

Hey-ohhhhh! Happy 100 to me! 100 posts... wow. I guess I don't really know what else to say. I hope people have enjoyed reading my blog as much as I've enjoying working on it. It really has turned into a journal for me. Probably more insight into my life than you wanted to know, but rumor has it a couple people are still reading it so it can't be all bad. Thanks for following and here's to the next 100! Later days!

Farmington Canyon

So a couple of weekends ago, Jeff and I took Jeremy on his first camp out with theBRIGADE. Nothing too intense for his first tB trip. We went up to Farmington Canyon for the night and had a really good time. I put Jeremy into his pack on my back and we hiked in about a mile and a half and Jeff knew a great spot right by the river. The canyon was incredibly green and the river was gushing with spring runoff. We set up a great shelter and Jeremy had a great time exploring the campsite. Jeff threw some vegi dogs on for dinner and Jeremy stuffed himself on Goldfish crackers and snacks. We were enjoying the fire until we started to feel rain drops start to fall. We retreated to the shelter and got ready for bed. It was a pretty decent rain storm that night, but Jeremy wouldn't have noticed. He slept right through everything. That little guy is a HEATER too. I didn't even climb all the way into the bag. Haha. We got up early the next morning and had a great hike out. Welcome to theBRIGADE, little man!

Softball Game #5

Well, this game was a nail biter to the finish! I think we only played okay this game, but we played well enough for the W. It was a close one from start to finish even though we fell behind early. It's that darned 4th inning that gets us every time. We turned on the rally, though, and we took a one run lead going into the final inning. They got people on base, but our defense held and we won the game 7-6. Not too shabby. The game really belonged to Tim, though. He was a freaking rock in left field and was catching balls all over the place! The other team started complaining that he was cheating because he was in front of the line in the outfield, but he was just that fast. He really shut them up later... when he hit an INFIELD home run! Yeah, it was amazing. Nice work, bro! Record: 3-2.

Jeremy is 2!!!

Happy Birthday, Jeremy! On June 1, Jeremy turned two years old. He decided that he wanted to have a Buzz Lightyear/Toy Story birthday party so we invited some of his favorite friends and went to the park by our house. We had a really great turnout. It's so cool to see how many great friends we have. Everyone seemed to have a fun time as well. Amber did amazing getting all of the decorations set up and the food was great as well. Casi made an AWESOME Buzz cake and it tasted soooooooooo good! And best of all, Jeremy had a fantastic day. Special thanks to everyone who came to share the day with us and bringing great presents! Happy Birthday, Monkey!