Halloween 2008

Here are some pictures from Halloween this year. Kelly was the ghost of Grace Kelly whom Igor brought back from the dead because he was sick of giving life to old ugly creatures, He wanted someone beautiful.We also carved Jack-O-Lanterns, had some powerful Jedi trick or treaters
and a little party later on.

My First Century

Last Saturday I finished my first 100 mile bike ride. There were probably a few hundred riders riding to raise money for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. I had paid the entrance fee but did not raise the $250 requirement so they wouldn't give me a bib number which ment I wouldn't recieve aid at the rest stops. So I decided to ride unofficially anyways and take my own energy sources and hydration fluids. For the first 50 miles I rode with 2 or 3 different groups and people. Since they were nice enough to let me draft I would help pull too. There was a strong head wind for the first 7 or8 miles and around mile 30 or 35 the tail wind was so strong that me and one other guy cruised at about 25mph for at least 3 or 4 miles, that was a blast. So after the rest stop at the 45 mile mark I was by myself and climbed a gradual hill and flew down it going 35mph, then fought some more head wind and rode with a few guys until mile 65 when they stopped to walk around. I felt like stopping too but I thought my legs would tighten up on me so I kept trucking along. Between miles 80 and 90 I about died all alone in the desert with no sign of life but a 5 inch lizard that raced across the hot asphalt. I thougt my body was giving out even though I had fluids and carbs in me... I crawled at 12-13mph with a soar lower back and tired thigh muscles from being on my bike for 85 non-stop miles. And just as I was about to get off my bike I saw the lead motorcycle and the lead group coming my way (which let me know I was still on the right path)... then a few more riders passed by me and told me the last rest stop was just a few miles ahead. I got up out of the saddle and pedaled the rest of the way with more energy and vigor. Upon arrival at the stop I realized my camelpack was drained and I needed abit more water and gatorade to survive. I ate another cliffbar and walked around for ten minutes. The next rider to arrive opened my eyes and told me the resent 10 miles was a decieving up hill climb that appeared to be flat (this turned my discouragment into excitement). The last 14 miles were spent with that rider and we battled the heavy head wind together taking turns pulling every 3 or 4 minutes. As we descended the gradual grade at a steady 20mph I felt rejuvenated and ready to take on anything that came my way. It was a strong finish to the end and I finished in 5 hours and 40 minutes with and 10 minute break, putting me 10 minutes ahead of my goal. I had won the personal race I set out to beat (100 miles in less than 6hrs).
It was a satisfying accomplishment and I look forward to more similar journeys that will require great physical health and mental strength. I have yet to run a marathon and I am planning on a 200 mile ride from Seattle, Washington to Portland, Oregon with my brother Jason. These are my next 2 big adventures to prepare for.
There is something about pushing my body to the point where I feel can't go any further and then pushing past that barrier to achieve a wonderful task that causes me to grow and ascend to greater heights. I am most grateful for the physical body I have been richly blessed with. I thoroughly enjoy accomplishing difficult physical feats because it is one way I express gratitude to my creator for the magnificant bodies he has given us.

Desert Adventures

This is my friend Sam.

He is riding a Monster cruiser with 36inch wheels.

Sam and His girlfriend, Emily, came down from Utah to visitme and one of Emily's friends. We had alot of fun. The last 3 days consisted of a hunt for an AK-47, a fun mountain bike ride,and a very difficult but rewarding hike. I hope you enjoy these pictures as much as I do.

The hike was a climb over 2000 feet in elevation change. The last mile to the top is not travel by many due to the difficulty of climbing, not just hiking. It was hard, but worth it. It took about 2 1/2 or 3 hours to get up with 3 or 4 breaks along the way. Coming down took about 2 hours. We were told that it is the most difficult hike in the Phoenix area.

The view was beyond description. If it weren't for the smog we would have been able to see all the way to Phoenix (about 30 miles away).
It was almost more impressive than the Grand Canyon and I think it was because I scaled the mountain on my own two feet and the view was breath taking. I now know for myself why temples are compared to Mountains, for I truly drew nearer to God upon the rocky cliffs there.
It was windy up there so we built a fire, had lunch, and even ate cooked cactus as shown here with Sam and Emily. It tasted like aloevera, (now I know that if I am stranded in the desert I can servive on something). Though it was very slimmy, it was eatable and I am sure it can keep someone alive.
I love this picture because it shows the highest point we climbed to from the trailhead. The peak that is furthest off in the distance is where we had lunch. It was probably twice as high as the cliffs on the left side of the photo.

I am grateful that the friendship Sam and I created years ago is still being strengthed by the fun things we are able to do together, even when we live far from each other. Thanks Sam.

Fabulous February Frenzy

Lily and I shared our 4th and 24th birthday yesterday, the 26th of February 2008. Aaron, Lily, and Carter picked me up in the morning and we went to a small airport to look at cool planes. Then we played at a park and joined Jill for lunch. At 2 o'clock 5 of Lily's friends came over for a princess tea party birthday bash. It was a lot of fun to help and observe the cute little pretty princesses.
The highlight of the day for me was spending time with my sweet wife, my sister, and her family at Red Robin and cake and ice cream after words. I had never seen Red in person and it was fun getting a picture with him.


I am grateful for my loving wife. I cannot express my love and gratitude for her sufficiently.

I felt tender love as we sat together and sang happy birthday with our own two little families. I feel privileged to have shared a special day with my sweet niece, Lily. Blowing out OUR cake was so much fun and I hope we can do it again many times.

I received wonderful gifts that enrich my life, each of the gifts closely relate to my favorite hobbies and other things I enjoy very much. As I think about it, each simple gift was a strong symbol to me that my family loves and cares about me.

But far beyond the gifts, I treasure most, my family and the love we share together. It was expressed in many ways yesterday through simple words, cards, and phone calls. Nothing is more precious to me than my family and I hope and pray that we can all draw closer to each other as time carries on. Thank you all so very much for your love, support, and example.

Desert Mountain Ride

I went on a 45 mile bike ride yesterday and it was a lot of fun. I saw a whole lot of desert. Cactus are some pretty neat creations. They are like trees and instead of leaves or fir needles they have sharp "pokies" as Lily calls them. The one seen here with my bike must have been about 20 feet tall. Well I thought you all might like seeing some different vegetation than you're used to. I am still not used to the desert but I like it. I enjoy all of the varieties of God's creations.

After riding for about 45 minutes I decided to get as close to these mountains as I could, the image below is where I ended up. Who's house this is, I don't know, but they were kind enough to fill up my water bottle. I hope Kelly and I will make time to hike on these mountains before we leave, I was told there are trails all over the other side of the cliffs. I really enjoyed riding to these cliffs and admiring the massive landscape. It is impossible to capture the beauty of nature without seeing it in person.

February Fun

Well, Kelly and I had a good Valentine's Day and we exchanged cards. I made one for here with the Adobe Illustrator software and she gave me a cute pop-up card of 2 cats in Paris. We also had heart shaped pancakes for breakfast that were really yummy with Chocolate chips in them.



The following image was captured Sunday, February 17, at approximately 7:59pm at the home of Aaron and Jill Robison. It is reported that Kelly was trying to imitate her husband, her motives were unclear and she got away with his belongings. If any of you have seen this woman please let us know as soon as possible. Her husband said, "She took every possible thing from me including my wallet and shoes.... "

Human Energy - amp energy

I had the opportunity to ride a bike and get paid $20 an hour. It was quite fun but not so easy. Over the last 3 days I spent 20 hours in the saddle and probably road more than a few hundred miles. It was exhausting mostly because of the uncomfortable seats which even the cyclists couldn't stand. I would say that most people who did it were not bike enthusiest although 2 or 3 professionals did show up.
Well... as you can see these wheels are turning wheels that are attached to little electric motors. We pedaled 42 bikes to create electricity which charged 160 batteries that enabled the tent to have lights and sound for the microphone and music. They also claim there is enough energy produced to sustain 30 minutes of the Superbowl's Fox pre-game show. They plan on having plasma screens tomorrow so they can watch the game and keep riding. All 42 bikes are riden for 12 hours a day for 4 days. They also said that the environment friendly event is going to be submitted to the Genis Book of World Records because it is the largest amount of human produced sustainable energy ever created. So we will just have to see what happens.

According to the amp gauge I produced about 1 to 2 amps steadily but got up to 9 and 10 amps if I really pedaled hard and fast. What that really means I am not sure but it was fun and and I think it is a neat idea.
If I had tons of money to blow I think I would start an exercise gym that produced its own energy for the lights, music, etc. To create energy that feeds it self. They had several differant performing groups come to entertain us and they said that their entertainment fed us which produced power so that they could use our energy for their microphones. Its like a constant circle of transfered energy. Any ways... check out this link to see more of the amp energy event and what I have done for the last few days. http://www.humanenergy.ampenergy.com/ oh.... yeah... amp energy is a new energy drink we were promoting. Don't tell any one I said this.... but in my opinion the drink isn't really an energy drink... in fact most riders always wanted water to drink instead!