Rockin' Hard

Last Friday, Jessica and I went with my parents and had the amazing experience of "honoring our pioneers" with the beloved Osmonds at the Conference Center. Jessica can attest that I was rockin' hard the entire evening.

I enjoyed all the Osmond tributes to Brigham Young, the early saints, the first Osmond converts, the pioneers crossing the plains, and....um....actually, I meant to say that I enjoyed all the Osmond tributes to the Osmonds. 50 years and aging!

This is Merrill Osmond, my favorite Osmond. One of my claims to fame is coming within fifty feet of him at a Hale Theatre production that he starred in. His face makes me smile for some reason. And that's what the Osmonds are all about...making our lives just a little bit happier.

This is Donny and Marie, the lovable brother/sister duo that we all grew up screaming our brains out for. (I hesitate to post this link of Donny, because if my wife sees this I am scared she might fall in love with him). My favorite moment of the concert was their medley of songs that they seemingly decided to do right there on the fly. It was amazing. They spotted a couple of stools on the stage, sat down, and obviously had nothing planned in advance. I assume the original plan was to just shoot the breeze and talk about The Pyramid Game and Dancing with the Stars. But Donny came up with a brilliant idea and suggested that, OH!, let's sing some songs that we used to sing!

Somehow the orchestra picked up on the cue, and they were off and running, jamming out with a bunch of old songs and flooding the audience's minds with wonderful memories.

To cap it all off, the Mormon Tabernacle Choir sang a rousing rendition of "Come, Come Ye Saints" that was wildly appropriate for the title of the concert, but really had nothing to do with the concert itself.

I can't wait for the Jackson Five reunion tour....maybe next Pioneer Day. I'm sure President Monson would be thrilled.

Updated States List

I finally wended my way down to New Mexico over the Fourth of July holiday. We were down in Blanding visiting my wife's brother's family when we decided to make the trip to the Four Corners. It was a little underwhelming, but it was kind of neat to go there. Photos can be seen on my family blog.

My ideal visit to New Mexico would have been to approach the Four Corners carefully, and put one foot squarely in the middle so that I could say I've had one-fourth of my foot in New Mexico, and that would be the extent of my stay in the so-called Land of Enchantment. But it is impossible because the road that goes into the monument area comes from New Mexico. So unless you do some creative rugged hiking, you go to that square state well before you ever reach the monument.

I don't know if I'll ever visit New Mexico again. If I do, it will probably be for a BYU-New Mexico football game, and I will knock two items off of a couple of different lists: University Stadium and the Albuquerque New Mexico Temple.

Also, I used to always have Montana on my "Visited States" list, but I guess I am not completely sure I had ever been there. I went on a Scout trip back when I was a priest, and I always thought we had gone into West Yellowstone. However, I can't say I was completely positive about that. But last week Jessica, Hayden, and I officially went to Yellowstone and entered Montana, so I can now count it for sure.

I don't know what the next 'new state' will be for me. Certainly a future business trip or job interview could take me to a number of places. My wife's sister's family, the Horstmanns, live in Cleveland and the possibility is always there for us to make a trip out to Ohio (though the chances of this potential vacation dropped severely after learning that this state reportedly has no good milkshake places. A good milkshake place is a must). If my family goes on a vacation to Spain next year, then the layover possibilities could put me in either Georgia or New York. I've always wanted to go on a cruise, which could take off from Texas or Florida (or could take me to Alaska if I chose such a cruise). I can't see any driving vacations to any new states...I guess the best possibility would be to drive to Mount Rushmore or something, where I could check off South Dakota. I don't know...this map could look the same for quite a while.

Updated Temple List

Last week, I visited two temples that I had never been to before:

Idaho Falls Idaho Temple. Of course the temple itself is beautiful, but I found the surrounding area--it sits right on a river--particularly pretty. Their visitors' center is new, and I liked it a lot. Hayden loved that you could walk up to and touch the Christus statue.

Rexburg Idaho Temple. We made a quick pit stop in Rexburg on our way up to our vacation in Island Park and Yellowstone. This temple was dedicated earlier this year, so it still has the look and smell of a brand new building. The grounds/gardens are beautiful, and I thought the temple was pretty. I don't know if I can ever be a fan of BYU-Idaho without their football team providing athletes to my BYU-Provo squad, but this temple helps me appreciate Rexburg and BYU-Idaho a lot more.

Here is my new updated list of temples I have been to:
1. Bountiful Utah
2. Denver Colorado
3. Idaho Falls Idaho
4. Jordan River Utah
5. Laie Hawaii
6. Las Vegas Nevada
7. Logan Utah
8. Los Angeles California
9. Manila Philippines
10. Manti Utah
11. Monticello Utah
12. Mount Timpanogas Utah
13. Provo Utah
14. Rexburg Idaho
15. St. George Utah
16. Salt Lake
17. San Diego California
18. Washington D.C.

I have also been to the construction sites of the Draper Utah and Oquirrh Mountain Utah Temples. But I won't add them to The List until I've been to them post-construction.

The closest temples that I still have never been to:
1. Ogden Utah (61.78 miles)
2. Vernal Utah (176.96 miles)
3. Twin Falls Idaho (247.03 miles)
4. Boise Idaho (364.57 miles)--I have seen this temple off the freeway, but never visited the grounds.
5. Reno Nevada (540.18 miles)

Story of the Year

This is a pretty funny story.

http://www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=3399172

Random Link #18

Random link.

Random Links #15, #16, and #17

I have three May links for you today to catch up. I have been thinking about May ever since Cinco de Mayo.

This web site was shown to me from my sister Jillian's blog. It has some fascinating stuff on there.

The only athlete I've ever known to have a first and last name both named after foods.

I still don't really understand what this is all about, but I hope I learn someday.

Random link #14

My wife Jessica thinks that I don't label my posts correctly because my links aren't always random. That may be the case; I don't know. But today is really improperly named because there isn't even a link. Just a thought.

I was thinking about something today during Cinco de Mayo. I think each country should start basing their time on the day of their independence. For example, the Mexican New Year would be on May 5 of every year. The United States of America (where I am a citizen) would celebrate their New Year on July 4. Each country would be on a different year.

Don't get me wrong...the months and stuff would be the same. I mean, I don't want the whole system to get too complicated. But I think it would be cool if today in America it were May 5 in the year 231.

Random Link #13

Creative ways to announce a pregnancy. Seriously, sticking the pregnancy test in a hot dog bun? Unbelievable. Whatever happened to the good old days when an announcement was simply posted on a blog?

Random Link #12

When we hear about the Great Salt Lake as a recreation spot, we usually laugh and mention the smell of the lake. Apparently, though, it used to be a rockin' place.

Random Link #11

My wife Jessica and son Hayden come home from Chicago today!

Random Link #10

Random link. Enjoy, I guess.

Random Link #9

This was the weirdest part of Chicago, easily. But it is pretty cool.

My favorite part of this park was when my nephew Christopher saw a homeless guy laying down on the lawn, and he went up and laid down next to him because he was tired.

Random Link #8

It's Sunday, so this link is apropriate. I have never been to the Chicago Temple.

Temples I have been to:
1. Bountiful Utah (open house only)
2. Denver Colorado
3. Draper Utah (under construction)
4. Jordan River Utah
5. Laie Hawaii
6. Las Vegas Nevada
7. Logan Utah
8. Los Angeles California
9. Manila Philippines
10. Manti Utah
11. Monticello Utah
12. Mount Timpanogas Utah
13. Oquirrh Mountain Utah (under construction)
14. Provo Utah
15. St. George Utah
16. Salt Lake
17. San Diego California
18. Washington D.C.

Temples that I plan on visiting soon with my family:
19. Ogden Utah
20. Idaho Falls Idaho
21. Rexburg Idaho
22. Madrid Spain

And one I've seen from a distance but didn't actually visit the grounds, so I don't know if I can count it:
23. Boise Idaho

And another one I don't know if I can count. I went to the temple dedication at the stake center, so in a way I think it counts:
24. Winter Quarters Nebraska

Random Link #7

I am a man, but I can appreciate beauty. I love looking at and walking through gardens. But as Jessica can attest, I struggle in motivating myself to grow one for myself.

Random Link #6

Yes, the Sears Tower might technically be the tallest building in the United States, but it certainly doesn't dominate the Chicago skyline. My favorite building in Chicago is the big black one with the two antennae.

And since today is Friday, just for the heck of it I'll throw in another link. I think this is my wife Jessica's favorite part of Chicago. This place is absolutely insane, and if we ever have a little girl and we visit the Windy City, rest assured the cash will be flowing and I'll be setting off retirement a few years.

Random Link #5

As you may know by now, my wife Jessica is visiting Chicago right now with my son Hayden.

Here is a link about one of the most interesting historical events in Chicago's history.

Lesson learned from the past two days: never tick off a goat or a cow.

Random Link #4

Three things factor into today's link:

1. It is baseball season.
2. My wife Jessica is in Chicago with my son Hayden.
3. It is the 100-year anniversary of the Chicago Cubs last winning a World Series title.

One hundred years is a long time. I mean, I've been around forever it seems and I'm only 28 years old.

The reason the Cubs haven't won the championship in 100 years? They're cursed.

But this could be the year they break this evil curse (and yes, a curse from a goat is the most evil curse I can think of...the more I read the word 'curse' the weirder that word sounds). Even though it's early in the season, the Cubbies sit in first place in the National League Central Division.

Curses can definitely be broken. Two examples:

1. The Boston Red Sox broke the Curse of the Bambino by winning the World Series in 2004.
2. I broke my own curse of performing poorly in clutch situations when I defeated my little brother Ryan for the 2006 Beast Jug ping pong championship game. I don't know why I had such a curse or where it came from, but I believe it was broken when my wife Jessica gave me a good luck kiss right before the match.

Random Link #3

This morning, I went to the airport to drop off my wife and child (Jessica and Hayden, respectively). They are going to Chicago to visit Jessica's sister Rachie and her family.

It was about a year ago that I also ventured to the Windy City. We had a fun time. One of my best memories was eating lunch at this place. We ordered our food, and by the time everyone sat down and situated themselves, my hamburger was already gone and I was sipping down my root beer. I inhaled that sucker, and my lungs loved it.

Random Link #2

If I ever get overwhelmed or frustrated with my financial situation (and we are actually doing pretty well), I take a look at this and I think that at least I don't owe $9 trillion.

Random Link #1

I thought for the first post of my Random blog, it would be appropriate to direct you to this site about random numbers. I hope you have as much fun on this site as I did.

It reminds me from when I was in college. My roommate Josh was majoring in statistics at the time, and I would try to get into arguments with him all the time about how to generate random numbers. I think I accomplished two things by doing this:

1. I annoyed the heck out of him.
2. I was able to add to the body of evidence that I am basically a huge nerd stuffed in a studmuffin's body.