PARK PICS

My kids are addicted to going to the park! They always want to go. Well, therefore, we are always on the look out for new ones. This one is over by Cesar Chavez. It is actually pretty good. It was really, . . . REALLY windy that day so we didn't stay for very long but we still had a good time. Anyway, here are a few pics. Oh, the last photo is one of the girls after a horrible loss to their Daddy in a water fight. We were in the back yard and started flirting with a little water and before we knew it even Mom was involved in a massive water fight (well actually it was just me with a hose, ha ha ha) - she also lost (she finally got her own hose) but was wearing a white shirt so I have been forbidden to post any pics :). As for me - well I was dry :D.This really was a cool slide, it was really long.Hannah absolutely has to do anything Daddy does.You can't tell that they lost?? They just like getting wet. :)

End of Semester Stress

I don't know why, but I just can't make myself finish anything until I am up against a deadline. It kills me, it really does. I have the know how, and it is definitely not a case of lack of time (although I always have something else I could be doing). I think it just comes down to extreme anxiety issues and how I deal with them. My wife thinks I am a pansy (although she uses some other more choice and perhaps less appropriate terms) you get the idea. But, either way I just can't do it, until it has to be done.

So, the point of this entry is that I am coming into my busy season. The law school semester is almost over. Actually, my last semester of law school is almost over. And, as always, I have waited till the last two weeks of the semester to do anything (anything really productive anyway). Today starts crunch time. I have two papers to write, (well I actually already wrote one, but it needs extensive revising). AND, I have one final. Not too bad, eh? Although, I haven't read anything all semester long for my final- I know- That was stupid! BUT, nothing I haven't done before. :) The way I look at it, I give up one week (entirely) for a lot of free time along the way.

One wrench in my system though, is a business conference/training that I have to attend this weekend. It is all day Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and half day Sunday. Usually, for finals prep, I am used to spending all day everyday preparing, so this time around will be interesting. Luckily I don't have that much to do and it is my last semester so my only "real" concern is getting a passing grade. :D

Oh, yeah and the Character and Fitness. Aauugghhh.

Changing the background!

Okay, so I guess I am not as smart as I thought! I did accomplish my goal of changing the background on my blog, not once, but twice, but I guess I erased all the side information on our blog, which, doesn't make my husband too happy since he is the one who has to "rewrite it!" Anyway, Torel wants a black background, but this is as black as it gets for me. I am sure he will change it when he has "time!" (Which just means that right now he doesn't but when it fancies him, he will.) :)

Mountain Bike Branding

In response to my wife's earlier post below, -sorry honey, but I know everything- :D. No, I am glad to see that Lisa is taking an initiative to contribute to and update the blog. It makes it a better blog and it lessens the amount of work I need to do to maintain it (regardless if I ever actually do that work or not!).

Anyway, a few weeks back, a friend of mine and I started mountain biking at night. I am totally addicted to this practice. It is almost a necessity here in the phoenix area. Especially since we are already reaching temps in the nineties. So, we have begun riding more and more during the cooler nighttime hours. Hopefully this will allow me to bike through the summer and not lose any physical gains that I have achieved over the last few months. Well, we (my friend and I) were doing a pretty extensive ride one night and towards the end and with about 1200 feet of elevation to descend, my buddy's light started going out. It was shorting (which I later, in a masterful manner I must add, repaired). I know, I know, I am a mechanical genius - please I don't need any adoration - it is bad for me. SO, I went awfully slow with lots of break use in an attempt to allow my friend to use my light to get down the mountain. Needless to say and unbeknown to me, my disc brakes heated up like a hot branding iron. Here is a pic. of the disc I am talking about. The disc work just like those in a car, it is squeezed between to brake pads via a hydraulic mechanism.Ok, so that little disc got burning hot (I know - you see where this is going - just bear with me). Well, at night (at least this particular night) it was still pretty cold. My legs were fairly icy after having been exposed to this cold for about 2 hours. Well, at the bottom of the hill I leaned my icy cold leg up against this burning hot disc. WaLa - A perfect mountain bike brand.I especially like the little holes. It stung pretty bad but I didn't realize I had branded myself until I got home and took a shower. I was so proud of my "stupid" injury I woke my wife up (it was about midnight) and made her look at it. She responded, "Nice, leave me alone!" She later came around. :)

I AM SO SMART!!!

I know it sounds dumb, but I just figured out how to change the background on our blog. I am very impressed with myself, especially since I had to login to Torel's part of the blog to do it! The best part is, he doesn't even know! Ha ha. So Happy Easter!!

I Love the bucket!

So on Saturday we were playing in the loft and Hayydn is now mobile, so my favorite place in the house to be, is in the loft, since it is mostly free of crumbs, dog hair, and tiny objects to put in his mouth, cause that is the phase we are in, anyway, he found that he likes to crawl into this bucket. Of course he couldn't sit up in it on his own, cause there just isn't enough room for him to turn all the way around, so mom helped and here is what we get...until he moves and the bucket rolls to one side and he falls over.

Fitness Credit Card

Ok, prepare yourselves! I am feeling a little chatty.

So, I was sitting in my private office this morning (if you don't get that one let me know and I will explain). I couldn't help but notice that I still get a pronounced three pack when I sit down. I would post a picture but someone might shut down my blog :D. This phenomenon is quite alarming to me. You see I have been putting in extensive exercise since the beginning of the year. I started riding my mountain bike in December. But, in January I added treadmill time. I basically put in about 5 hours of serious mountain biking at various locations each week. Everyday that I am not on the bike I spend a little over an hour on the treadmill. I exercise just about everyday except for Sundays. All in all I average a little more than a 1000 calories burned per day. Multiply that by six days and you are only a little shy of two pounds worth of exercise each week. Now I understand that 'muscle ways more than fat' and all that junk but what I don't understand is how I still have this awesome pudgy three pack??

Ok, ok, ok, (Ha ha I can't help but think of Leo on Lethal Weapon when I say 'oks' in my head). So, I have to admit that I feel great! I am arguably in excellent cardiovascular and aerobic shape (or perhaps it would be condition(ing)?). I have never been able to keep up with my buddy Jared Burr (sorry Jared for putting your name out there on the internet :)) Jared has information OCD. Anyway, now I can actually keep jared in sight. And that is no small feat. This guy plays basketball 3 or 4 times a week, plus biking, plus hitting the Gym-oftentimes doing two activities on one day. What he doesn't realize is that when my outsides catch up with my insides I will have long out grown him! (Better work harder Burr!) But you wouldn't know it by looking at me. So, I have come up with the Fitness credit card.

In today's world of instant gratification you don't have to wait for anything. You simply pull your credit card out and put yourself in more debt - right? Well whatever might be wrong with that idea economically speaking it is in every way RIGHT physically speaking! What is the number one reason people stop exercising? (ok I don't really know, but stay with me). People don't get the results they want and it is just way to stinkin' hard to work through pounds and pounds of fat! How cool would it be to simply pull out a credit card-of sorts-and bam you get your rock hard in super shape bod up front? Maintenance is much more easily obtained when you have lots of lean muscle mass and can actually perform the activities needed to maintain it. Don't get me wrong this isn't a freebie card! And it definitely cannot be included in your bankruptcy action. So, that being said you will eventually have to pay, and with interest probably more than you would have paid otherwise (and not in dollars, you gotta pay the same price - Blood, Sweat, and Tears. However, so often people work so hard to get their bodies into peak conditioning and never quite get there. At least with the fitness credit card they would get to enjoy the benefits a little before it eventually goes away. And we all know that as we get older certain areas are just destined for fattiness (that is if you actually have a life and cannot plan your whole day around your exercise). I think this kind of debt is like school or house debt. It is acceptable. One cannot put too high a price on his/her health. Right? I don't know, I am just really liking the idea of the Fitness Credit Card!

Oh, and just a disclaimer - - I understand that if you want to talk spiritually, at least as far as the word of wisdom is concerned, that yes there is a lot of growth to be obtained from the battle betwenn carniality and spirituality. But in my own farcical world, if you can just suspend your disbelief a tad, you have to admit that a fitness credit card is a pretty darn cool idea!My Fitness Credit Card Bod (Although, I wouldn't have to put too much on my card cuz I am almost there :))

Fun at the park

Torel forgot his lunch/wallet and so of course I, his loving and sacrificing wife, came to his rescue. I picked up lunch, picked him up, we took the kids to the park to play, and then took him back to school. It was a fun little 45 minutes. This is a picture of the kids on the bench before we took Torel back to school.

Hello Everyone

Torel insists that I contribute to his blog so he set up this access thing and forced me to add a post. I am not very technologically advanced but I will do my best to make this blog all it can be! Ha Ha Ha.

I made a huge error the other day and didn't check the settings on my camera. Huge no-no, especially when I have it set to 2.8 with an iso of 1600. Needless to say the pictures just came out pure white (super blown out). Anyway, I fiddled with them on Lightroom to see if there was anything salvageable. The results were actually pretty cool. I am thinking I might explore this whole blownout and then adjusted concept a little more. So, here was one that I really liked. It is a picture of Hallie and Hannah's friend Amalia.

Some pretty cool temple pics

I received an email from a friend with some photos that were taken by vpalmer39 of the Salt Lake Temple amidst some of SLC's extreme pollution problems. The photos are actually pretty cool. Anyway, I thought they were worth sharing.

Soccer

Well soccer season is over. I have to say that it was actually a lot of fun. Steve Faller and Jeff Hale did an excellent job of organizing and carrying out the youth soccer league. I would definitely do the league again. Anyway, they asked me to do the team photos and I decided to do individual photos as well. There were twelve teams and about 86 kids. It took about three hours and was quite a bit of work but I think overall the photos came out really well. So, here are the photos of my girls. Oh, and I need to add Hallie's team photos and I am not sure why they are weighted towards Hallie? But she is pretty darn cute -eh?

More Pics of Terel's State Championship Weekend

I must say that Terel is pretty studly. Perhaps some day he might be as studly as me, although, it will take a lot of hard work and dedication, BUT the kid does have potential! Too bad he is not more like Hayydn, now studliness just comes natural to that kid, must be genetic? Anyway, here are some more photos of Terel's State Championship wrestling weekend. Enjoy. (oh, and they are in no particular order).

News Story on Terel and Tyrel

02/17/2009

Snowflake's Terel Nichols joins late brother as state champion
By: Keith Morris , The Independent can be found at: http://www.wmicentral.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=20263259&BRD=2264&PAG=461&dept_id=505964&rfi=6

Snowflake's Terel Nichols has a good grip on Holbrook's Adrian Perkins during their 189-pound championship bout during the 3A individual state finals on Saturday. Nichols won 7-3 to join his late brother, Tyrel, as a state champion.
PRESCOTT VALLEY - Terel Nichols had a lot of family members on hand to cheer him on in his bid to win a state wrestling championship on Saturday.
"About 13," he figured.
There was one missing, however.
The Snowflake senior's older brother, Tyrel, did not occupy a seat at Tim's Toyota Center to witness the 3A individual state finals.
Sadly, the 2002 state champion recently took his own life.
"He got mentally ill," Terel Nichols said of his brother. "He wasn't all there."
Tyrel was a big part of his younger brother's life and was a key to his success on the wrestling mat.
And, although he wasn't physically there in the arena on Friday or Saturday, he certainly was there in spirit.
"Oh yeah," Terel said when asked if his brother was in his thoughts as he posted a 7-3 victory over Holbrook's Adrian Perkins to win the 189-pound championship and cap a 45-4 season. "It was hard but I wore this thing he took state in," Terel said, lifting his sweatshirt to revel the uniform with the block "S" his brother wore seven years ago in claiming the 171 3A title.
He wanted nothing more than to join his brother at the top of the medal stand.
"It feels good," he said. "My brother took his (title), now it's my turn...It was something I wanted to do."
He was hoping to win it all a year ago but had to settle for second place. Winning a championship took on greater significance for him when he lost his brother during his final season.
"I wrestled for six years before doing it," he said. "It's what me and my brother always wanted - to have two state champs in the family. So, I finally got it."
Terel is one of nine children. He has five sisters and one living brother. His oldest brother, Taj, died in 1987, nine years after falling into a pool and suffering brain damage as a 2-year-old. The large family offers him plenty of support in grieving for Tyrel.
"It means a lot (that) I could do it for them," said Terel, also a standout football player. "It kind of helps them too as long as it helps me. It means a lot. They're all supporting me and my brother's up there with me too, so it's good."
Tyrel was a big supporter of his younger brother on the mats.
"The last tournament I took was Moon Valley and he was there with me and I took first," Terel said. "I was named Most Outstanding Wrestler, had the most takedowns and most pins. After that he passed away and in my next tournament, I took fourth (at the Doc Wright Invitational). It was really hard for me."
But he was determined to succeed in his final tournament for both himself and his brother.
"I knew I could take state and I pulled it off," Terel said.

Valentine's Fun

Well Valentine's Day was a little bit different this year. My younger brother, Terel, had the opportunity to wrestle in the 3A Arizona State Championships Friday 13th and Saturday 14th. He won all four of his matches on his way to taking the championship. I was so proud of him. He has worked so hard at the sport of wrestling and he has got a lot of talent to boot. Terel is our second State Champion wrestler in the family. Ty was the State Champion wrestler a few years back in his weight class. He went on to Nationals and did very well. I will be honest, with Ty's recent passing, these State Championships were a little tough to handle. It was hard not to have him there with us. I found out that Terel actually wore Ty's State Championship singlet. So, that is a pretty neat story. I know Ty would have been (is) very proud of Terel.

It is kind of funny when I think about Terel being a State Champion. He is the baby of the family and for some reason even though he is as tall as me and much more musclular (ok, actually only a little bit. :) ), he is and will always be the baby. It is hard to believe that he is actually 18 years old. And I just have to say, while we are on the subject, he is the nicest kid. Honestly, I think he is the most tender hearted and caring one out of all of us. He definately has a lot of potential! Here is a pic of Terel holding his championship bracket -Anyway, the whole point of the story is that Lisa and I didn't get to do the traditional valentine's stuff (whatever that is). Unfortunately, we couldn't find a babysitter to watch our kids all day on Saturday (plus the girls had soccer). So, I had to go to the wrestling match alone. I did however write her a cheesy poem. She said I could post it on the blog. It was a a stream of consciousness poem and contains no edits and there are some "inside" references or spellings. :) Anyway, take it for what you will.

It has been eight years

Since I got down on one knee

And asked you, this beautiful, vibrant young woman

If you would marry me.

It was raining that night

Though I was not cold

My mind, heart, and soul were focused

I was striving with all my energy to be bold.

You see, you weren’t just some typical girl

At least not to me.

The Lord showed me your heart

Your immense capacity to show charity.

Sure, I was blown away

By your beautiful eyes, long brown hair, and curves galore

But inside, beneath your tough girl façade

The Lord revealed to me that there was much much more.

You are a beautiful daughter of God.

You are my Queen.

I am so grateful to the Lord

That with you I will spend all eternity.

Although you plucked me, a wildflower

From a world of seeming freedom

Where the sun constantly warmed my petals

A place I could call my own personal kingdom.

You took my rugged raggly roots and all from that domain

Without a moment’s hesitation

You knew we were meant to be,

You unabashedly declared this proclamation.

Over time, with great love,

Lots of patience and devotion

You opened my eyes and I was shown

A glimpse of heaven.

We have created a family

Three beautiful girls and one studly son.

What a great responsibility you and I have

I feel that my cup has over run.

When I look into your eyes,

Hold your hands – you pull me near.

I cannot hold you close enough

How can I show you how much I love you, how much I care.

I know, I know, “just take out the garbage.”

Perhaps, it is that simple, perhaps it is that clear.

Well, I know I am not perfect, in fact

Into perfection’s window I cannot even peer.

BUT, I know you love me anyway,

You see in me something better

Like I said, you have this amazing ability to love

And for “this” I am indebted to you forever.

You are my very best friend

It is with you I want to share

My every thought, feeling, and emotion

And although you don’t realize it – a friend like you is very rare!

Ok, so I rambled a bit – actually quite a lot

But you know this is nothing new.

I guess all I really want to say with this poem is;

My love, “My Enternal Sweetheart,” I love you.

Pretty cheesy - eh? What can I say, I am a cheesy guy :). I hope that it made up a little bit for Lisa having to stay home all day with all the kids, who, as it turned out, all got sick. Yeah, that went over well. :)

We got the girls these little doll necklaces and balloons. I am curious as to what age kids lose their attractions to balloons. My kids love-em to death. Seriously? I don't understand it but, I am definitely willing to embrace it (mostly because they are cheap! :) ).

Beautiful Moon-Rise

We came home the other day and Lisa brought to my attention the beautiful moon rise - and said 'You should photograph that." All I have to say is that I have trained her well. Anyway, it was quite a spectacular sight. Unfortunately, I don't think that I was able to capture the moment as I remembered it, but it still turned out pretty well. Here is the finished product.

My background is gay - okay

My wife made me put valentine-ish background junk on the blog so deal. It is only one month - I can survive.

Some Cell Phone Pics

I went to the park today with the kids to kill some time cuz it was beautiful. I am talking about 70 degrees with a light breeze - Nice! Anyway, I was playing with my cell phone camera and some pics came out pretty good, what do you think?