save the date

As promised I'm keeping you updated. Plans are now finalized. The biggest event of the year for me will be happening on December 28th. Chelsey and I will be married in the Draper Temple. We're super excited. Now it's just on to planning receptions, taking pictures, making/sending invitations and junk. Hopefully it'll all go smoothly. :)

life-changing decisions

I know that a very select few people follow this blog, so I feel obligated to keep you informed on the most intricate details of my life. I recently started dating a girl named Chelsey (recently here meaning 20 months ago.) She's great. We have now recently (recently here meaning yesterday) announced our engagement. So this is all pretty new to me. It looks like things are going down in the end of December but we don't have a firm date set yet. I'll keep you posted on all the details. I am just SUPER excited and had to share that little bit of info with the www.

Vampires aren't even real

I don't understand the infatuation currently circling the globe with vampire movies and TV shows. This is just silly. Let me just inform you all, vampires are not real. Edward is not real. Jacob and his body are not real. All the other recent Twilight tag-along vamps are also not real. I am proud to say that I have not fallen under the spell of these twisted teenage ridiculous romances. I will stay away from the vampire franchises who are trying to suck money from unsuspecting teenagers with no sense of taste, class or reality. And I will stick to my zombie movies.

Bloody Water

If you don't like bloody pictures, don't continue to the bottom of this post. It goes in depth about my snorkeling experience at a place I now call Sharks Cove.

I was vacationing with my mother and older brother in the Hawaiian Islands. Most of our time we were on the main island called O'ahu, the rest of the time was spent in the ocean. One day we decided to see how we fared at snorkeling. We took the mask and mouthpieces out to the beach right behind the condo in which we were staying. It was fun but boring, at first. We didn't really see anything but rocks and coral, at first. I had gone out further than I would have if I had known how far out I had gone. I saw something that looked purple on the ground, I dove down to get a better look...and it was weird looking. I still don't know what it was, probably a purple rock. That experience ended fairly uneventfully.

We decided to go to a place where more people snorkeled, we figured it would be more interesting. If we had only known. We went to a popular place called Sharks Cove (that's why I call it that.) Right when I first put my face in the water I could see fish all around me. The three of us stayed pretty close together for the most part. It was so cool to see all the different fish. They seemed to be used to tourists because they would swim right up next to us. It was all fun and games at first. My mom had some trouble with her mask and it started to rain on our stuff back on shore, so we didn't stay long. None of us really found out why it was called Sharks Cove until later.

We had such a good time that a few days later we were back. We wanted to see more things than we'd been able to see on our previous visit, boy did we ever. My mom didn't come this time, it was just Rendon and I. I started to get out into deeper water and saw a huge school of decent sized fish, there had to have been over 400 of them. It was so cool. I dove down to where they were (only about 6-8 feet) and they would scatter and swim all around me. I loved it. I didn't suspect anything. I got Rendon's attention and he came over and saw the fish with me, he also very enjoyed them. It was then that Rendon saw a group of people out further than we were, they seemed to be looking at something. We decided to go see what it was.

We started to go out there to see what all the fuss was about. I got there and Rendon wasn't with me, he had been distracted by another awesome fish. I saw that he was coming to join me, and it was a good thing that he was. I looked under the water and saw two swimmers dive down about 15-18 feet and go under the coral reef and come up through a hole that was a good 6ish feet from the point the swam under. I couldn't see how there could be any harm in doing this, so I decided I wanted to try. Rendon caught up and I told him what I was going to do. At first he cautioned me not to do it, but I really wanted to. If only I had known then.

I got to the point above the cove that I thought would be best to dive from. I secured my goggles and took one last deep breath. I kicked my feet up, pushed my head down, and started heading for the ocean floor. As I approached I noticed how dark it was under the coral. I hadn't really thought about that. When I got down to the level of the coral I could feel my mask and ears being pushed on by the pressure, but that couldn't prepare me for what I would see under the coral. I got to the ocean floor and looked under coral to see a shocking sight. There was nothing there. No fish or anything, that should have been my first clue. I started swimming under at a quick pace because the total absence of fish had put an eerie butterfly feeling in my stomach (even 15 feet under water.) I was also swimming quickly because my eyes hurt from the pressure.

I got under the coral where I thought the hole would be, I looked up.....and there it was. But when I looked up through the hole I saw something that made my stomach turn. I could see Rendon up above me but he wasn't even watching me. I had just done something I though was awesome and he didn't seem to care. I quickly swam up to alleviate the the pressure from my eyes. Rendon had apparently been watching but was trying to fix his mask on my return journey. The first words he said were, "I'm doing it." I let him know how much my eyes hurt from the pressure, but he wanted to do it anyway, I don't think he knew how much it hurt. He made the same dive and came up saying it didn't hurt that bad. I felt a little lame for it hurting so bad.

At this point we decided to swim back and get some dinner or something. We joined back with my mom and were going back to the condo but we decided to stop at another beach first. It was nice and relaxing. We just chilled, my eyes still kind of stung. We went home and showered and got ready to go out for dinner. Rendon was showing me some of the options of restaurants we hadn't tried yet. While we were talking he looked at me and said, "Is there something in your eye?" I didn't feel like there was. He told me to look to the side, I did. "Oh my gosh! Dude, go look in the mirror."














Apparently, my mask was too tight so when I dove under the coral the water pressure had burst the blood vessels in my eyes. The doctors said it wasn't serious unless it affected my vision, it didn't. They look much better now.

They do have sharks there though...sometimes.

Pictures of Sharks Cove (I didn't take these)

what color does an Angel turn if you choke it?

Many of you may not know this, but July 24th is a holiday. It is Pioneer Day and is probably not celebrated anywhere outside of Utah. So to celebrate the occasion, my family went outside of Utah. It all started about a month ago. I mentioned that I had a list of things I would like to do before I died. Going to an air show was one of them. When I mentioned that my dad got online and found out that there was going to be one in Idaho Falls on July 24th. Not only would it be 'an air show', but the premier act would be the Blue Angels, the most famous show team in the world. Seeing an air show I thought would be cool, but seeing the Blue Angels was what I would have thought to be an unattainable dream, and yet it happened.

The day was amazing. We started by walking around looking at different planes on display. At about 10:20 we were able to see the B2 stealth bomber fly overhead. It was pretty amazing. We kept checking out the planes on display until the show started at 12. The day showcased several prop planes doing various stunts, including one plane with a woman standing on the top wing while flying. The jets that were showcased included Russian MiG and the Air Force's F16. All of these were pretty amazing and exhilarating, but nothing compared to the Angels.

Their show started before the pilots even got in their planes. The way that they did everything was perfect and in sync. I was in awe the whole time. I got chills several times throughout their hour long performance. I really couldn't do them justice by trying to explain their majesty and sheer awesomeness. I felt like a little kid seeing a real firetruck for the first time after playing with a toy one for three years. Every move that we had seen the other jets do, the Blue Angels did while flying in formation.

The moral of this story is that air shows are awesome and the Blue Angels are the best. If you ever have the chance to see them, take it. A small trip and a few dollars for an entrance fee will be totally worth it before you even see the Angels fly.

checklist

A little while ago I started my very own birthday tradition. On my birthday I would make a list of things I just wanted to do. For example eat ice-cream, see a movie, go golfing, or fall madly in love. The number of items on the list would equal the number of years that I had been alive. Here was this year's list.

1- Go back to sleep after waking up √√
2- Drink chocolate milk √
3- Throw around a Frisbee √
4- Long-board somewhere √
5- Drive with my arm out the window √
6- Get a snow cone √
7- Eat at J-Dawgs √
8- Drink Dr Pepper √
9- Laugh really hard at a new joke √
10- Listen to The Format √
11- Speak Russian with someone √
12- Learn a new song on the guitar √
13- Spend time with the family √
14- Kiss Chelsey √
15- Break something √
16- Fix something √
17- Eat peanut butter kiss cookies √
18- Watch 10 favorite YouTube videos √
19- Go shooting √
20- Eat at the Pizza Factory √
21- Do absolutely nothing for 15 minutes √
22- Win something √
23- Open a present √

The day was a success. I started right when I woke up...by going back to sleep and ended 20 minutes before midnight. I said that I started this tradition a while ago, truth is that while ago was the night before my birthday. The idea just came to me so I decided to try it. I loved it. I will keep it going on into my old age when each item on my list will be a different pill that I have to take.

Questions for which I have yet to find answers...

why do the hours from midnight to 4:30 a.m. go by so faster when I'm awake than when I'm asleep?

why do I know that?

why is it so much easier to write a paper when the deadline is only 4 hours away than when it is 4 days away?

why is it that when I'm in school all I look forward to is summer, but when it comes I'm bored most of the time?

why is it that when I am bored I want to either eat something sugary or buy something cool?

how many licks does it take to get to the center of a tootsie pop?

how can you get addicted to Panda Express if there is no MSG added?

why do I feel better about these questions now that I've put them down in my blog?

exploring options

The latest talk is all about the new iPhone coming out...sometime. But is Apple really looking at all of their options? I hope they're considering absolutely everything in order to make this the best release of all.

Blind Date

Greeting at the door:
Him- Trying to decide if she is as pretty as his roommate said she was.
Her- Hoping he's not as much of a creep as his roommate is.

Car ride to the restaurant:
Him- Keeps conversation familiar by talking about his roommate, discovering how much of the conversation she will dominate all night.
Her- Finds out how close he and his roommate are, creep factor is now generally known, generally unknowingly dominates conversation.

Dinner:
Him- Hopes she'll order something cheep-ish, finally determines prettiness factor, tries to eat enough to be filled, but not look like a pig.
Her- Hopes he's not cheep, decides if she does not want to go out with him again.

Car ride back:
Him- Decides whether he'd like another date, wonders if he's going to get dessert, chuckles at himself for thinking of 'dessert' right after dinner (depending on decision- hope he can get the mints out of his glove compartment without it being awkward.)
Her- Decides whether she wants dessert, chuckles at herself for thinking of 'dessert' right after dinner, wonders if he's just chuckling because she is (depending on decision- goes through her meal wondering if there were onions or garlic)

Doorstep:
Him- Makes a comment either stating that it was kind of nice, or that they should get together again sometime, according to previous decision either takes some action or not, accordion to her decision either gets some action or not.
Her- Either responds to possible comment made about a future date or avoids it, according to his previous decision she has the option to get some lip-service or not, according to her decision either grants him his wish or shuts him down like a bad date.

After date:
Him- Depending on prettiness factor determined either brags about getting action (even if he didn't) or complains to roommate about getting set up.
Her- Depending on creepiness factor giggles all night or makes crepes.

Before?? and after

Where do 'before' pictures suddenly pop out from? 'Oh, my acne looks particularly bad today, where's the camera?' 'Look how far my gut hangs over my belt, I think I'll take my shirt off, frown, and document it. ' 'This may be a new record of plaque on my teeth, click' It worries me. Should I start taking random pictures of myself in odd poses in case my body suddenly gets in shape? Should I stop brushing for a few months and then contact Crest to see if they need a testimonial? I guess I'll just take some regular photos and see if I can change anything in the future.

X marx the spot

What is with the letter 'x' trying to over-run the alphabet? It used to be probably the most rarely used letter and now it's all over the place. I blame this mostly on young teenage girls, IM and texting. My belief is that it is mostly used because an average person thinx it's easier to use a single letter, 'x' than actually typing two FULL LETTERS! Hmm, they're probably right. Can you imagine what we've been missing? So I've tried only using 'x' over the past few days, it's amazing! Thanx to these innovators I have saved hundreds of milliseconds in e-mails and texts. It may seem that this new ideal of mine lax creativity, but I consider it to be brilliant. I have way more time now to read boox, which I actually usually spend watching movies and eating snax. I believe that the nation would save money if it only used 'x', we'd eventually save paper and solve the financial crisis with our banx. It's up to each one of us to bring 'x' into the spotlight. Sure we might get some occasional weird loox from grammatically correct people, but we have to do our part. Also, part of our part I feel should be changing the abbreviation for the central most state of the union to just plain X.
Just bringing 'x' into the spotlight isn't enough, we will have to push a different letter to the bax or our minds. Don't re-read this all now, but because of this I have eliminated the letter 'K' from this entire post....except for that one. Pretty sure I covered my trax. So join with me and hundreds of thirteen-year-old girls in our effort to annihilate the above mentioned letter...that follows 'J'

Cast:

Ice rinx (uncredited)
Tanx (uncredited)