24th of July Report...

Not much new happening...for the 24th of July we took off and went up to Park City and stayed a few days at the Canyons Resort. We had planned on going camping, but a very persistent telemarketer had been badgering Michelle for weeks, insisting we come up to the Canyons and listen to a sales pitch on "time share ownership". Now, nobody hates these things more than me. I went to one about 10 years ago, and committed that I would never go to another. After the 8th phone call, Michelle convinced the guy to give us two free nights at the resort immediately after the pitch. So I relented and we went up. We sit down with the sales person (George Williamson) and as we introduce ourselves, I immediately commenced to inform him that I was in no way interested, that if he wanted to just give me my two nights, and perhaps move on to someone who was actually interested in a time share, that it would be alright by me. He felt that after his pitch I would have a different opinion, and I told him that he had been warned. He was actually a very interesting man...after he had probed us for information about what kind of vacations we enjoyed (I told him that we didn't vacation, only "camped"). I asked him what kind of adventures he had been on...it turns out that he had spent two years on a sailboat sailing around the world back in '83, among other really cool adventures (restaurateur, finished 174th at the 2009 World Series of Poker, among others!). One of his daughters is an actress in CA. So it turned out that we mostly talked about him. Every time he got 5 minutes into his pitch, I would throw out something like "OK that's cool...let's go back to this sailing trip...." and we would talk about these cool adventures. Here is a sample of our dialogue..... George: Well, would you ever like to go to Hawaii? James: No. It's too far. George: How about Europe? James: Oh, yes! I served my mission there! Does the timeshare cover airline tickets? George: Oh, no. James: Well.....I am afraid that's a problem...so, what islands did you stop at on your round-the-globe sailing trip? George: How about we take a quick tour of the property and get you on your way? I was genuinely intrigued. In the end, everyone loves to talk about themselves, and George was no exception. I had told him that I wasn't interested...I am in Sales, and I have a pretty good understanding of sales pitches, sales questions (Shaun Steel, arguably one of the best Sales people I have ever been around is my mentor/sinse/Jedi master) and I really don't like to spin my wheels with people who are there for the free HP camera, etc., so I would just as soon give them the free shwag and move onto someone who could make me some money. I did empathize with him; he is simply trying to make a living. Very cool guy!

He was a really interesting guy though! We even talked religion. Learn more about George here:

http://www.pokerpages.com/players/profiles/115430/george-williamson.htm

http://www.edesber.com/PDFs/JambalyaParkRecord02-14-1998.pdf

After checking in, we didn't do much but hang out at the pool (see previous posts...my girls are part waterdog). We did go up to Park City and ride the Alpine Slide and Alpine Coaster.

Sorry, no pictures. In my haste to escape the heat of the valley I forgot the camera.

4th of July Weekend

4th of July weekend was fun-packed and busy. Friday started off with the parade in the morning, followed by a neighborhood barbeque with the Otts, Holmes, and Kupiec families. We had a great time just hanging out, eating, quoting movies, and lighting/watching fireworks.

We also took the annual trip up to Bear Lake with the Hunts, Steels, and Glovers. Our good friends the Hunts have in-laws that live right on the lake. We go up every year to waterski and just hang out. Great friends from our South Jordan ward. There are a couple houses for sale in our old neighborhood, and they about had me talked into moving back! We really look forward to the Bear Lake trip...the kids have a GREAT time hanging out at the beach and riding the tube. The beach has a very gradual slope and the kids can go out 50-75 yards and be in just a couple feet of water.

Here are some photos from the weekend...click to view larger size photo.

Justine and friend Lindsay from old Alps class


Dad and Mads


Emilie


My good friend Kenny Hunt


Justine's 1st waterskiing attempt!



Dad giving a lesson....

Almost made it!


Diminished wakeboarding skills...soon dad will be only running the flag.


Em

4th of July party


Em & Mads


Parade. Not dad's favorite...but mom and the kids love it!


Justine and friend Morgan


This guy was handing out business cards at the parade.
Wildman Drywall...for all your gypsum needs.

Allergies

Does anyone have a good cure for allergies??? I am dying this year! Zyrtec and Claritin don't work. I used to take Seldane before it was taken off the market years ago. It used to be that I went and got a Kenalog shot, and my ills were cured. Apparently, they quit giving Kenalog shots because "the mortality rate was too high". Just give me the Kenalog shot...I will take my chances! Maybe I can go to Mexico and get a Kenalog shot.

Restored Blessings of Salvation

Today was a great day! Tonight my good friend, Paul Ahoto'e'iloa, received the Melchizidek Priesthood and was ordained an Elder. I first met Paul a few months ago. He was a less-active member of our ward who had recently been visited by our Bishop. The Ward mission was asked to start visiting his home on a regular basis. We made several visits and then taught Paul and his girlfriend (Natalie) the discussions from Preach My Gospel. It was a sweet experience as we watched Paul and Natalie progress. After a couple months, he advanced in the Aaronic Priesthood, faithfully attended to his priesthood duties, and attended the temple for the first time in over 13 years. Tonight he received the higher priesthood, and next week he will receive his Patriarchal Blessing. Sometime in the early fall, Paul and Natalie will be sealed in the SL Temple. What an awesome couple! I feel truly blessed for the chance I've had to get to know them, and my testimony has grown as I have watched the change in their lives. Tonight I am grateful for Joseph Smith, and all those who paved the way for the Gospel of Jesus Christ to be restored in it's fullness. I am blessed with an incredible wife and 3 daughters who make life wonderful for me!

The Best Father's Day Gift Ever!

Father's Day started off like this:





We then had a wonderful tea party, complete with cookies and water! A great breakfast!





Michelle took the girls to get pictures taken this week for Father's Day...my favorite gift ever!!!
















Here is photo of Justine's dance recital earlier this week...

YouTube - Big Game has arrived!

If you are considering purchasing data storage for your network, please ignore my comments on this video...I have recovered from the error of my ways. If you buy storage, buy COMPELLENT!

My spot is at the end of this video.

DisneyWorld Vacation

We spent May 5-12 in Orlando for our family vacation. We had a GREAT time! We stayed at the Hilton Grand Vacation Club and spent several days at the various Disney parks. We even took a day and drove to Daytona Beach for a day at the ocean.

A typical day consisted of going to a park, coming home, 2-hour nap, and then a few hours at the pool. Repeat. 6 times. We couldn't have picked a better week to go; we walked up to literally every ride. The first 2 weeks in May falls between Spring Breaks and the end of school. 90 degrees and sunny every day. We had to split up the family on the flights as we had frequent flier miles on Delta and Southwest had the best fares, so mom and Emilie took Delta and the rest of us flew Southwest. Fortunately I was able to book the flights so we arrived close together time-wise.

Enjoy the pictures! Click on picture for larger size photo...

Eating breakfast on the hotel balcony; 75 degrees and beautiful!


Family @ Magic Kingdom...did I mention there were NO lines?


Emilie @ airport...she is excited!

Emilie in hotel pool...she would live in the pool if she could!

Did I mention that they love water? This is 5 minutes after check-in.

Maddie jumping to Dad.

Maddie in pool.

More pool.

Not sure when this was...the pool must have been closed.

Day 1...boat ride to Magic Kingdom!

Splash Mountain 2008. Dad gets really excited on this ride.

Splash Mountain 2004. Excited again!

Splash Mountain 2001. Our friend Steph Bullock asked who the special needs
guy was in the back...

Dino Ride. I didn't want to buy the photo, so I took this picture as our
photo came up on the monitor. Poor Em was scared on this one!

Mom and Emilie

This is us waiting for the tram at like 11:30PM.
Emilie is baked and not happy!

Family

Girls

Girls


Horse show

Justine jumping rope on Main Street

Justine

Emilie & Madelyn

Maddie driving the car. This is the ride that has the rail that you drive
down. She banged the car back & forth all the way around. My
head was pounding after this ride!

Mom & Maddie

Splash Mountain

Ride

THE BEACH

Dad

This wave must be 10-12 feet high. Brave.

Em & Mads

Emilie on boogeyboard

Emilie waiting for the big wave set to come in...

Justine & Mads playing in surf

Justine boogeyboarding

Big Wave!

Justine in waves

"Is that Dad saving that beautiful girl from that shark?"