Flatiron!

Sometimes i can't quite put into words the things i like about Shirley, but every once in a while the wording or phrase of how to say it will pop into my head.

Shirley - She's feminine but not girly. She likes hiking! Yesterday we went on a hike in the Superstition Mountains. We hiked Flatiron!

I read two or three websites about the hike before we did it. Most of them said to allow 5 hours for the hike. Just for the record, we made it up in 1:45, played at the top for :45, and then made it down in 1:20 - for a grand total of 3:50. Take that 5 hours!

Shirley's 14 yr old brother Sam came too. We were glad he did. He's funny, and in pretty good shape.

First, we found this sign that said that our trail was leading us into the wilderness. Weird, huh? It was a fun hike though!

And yes that's my shirt wrapped on my head like a dew rag. I forgot a hat and my head was gonna sunburn - i had to impovise!

Adventures and Experiments.

I want to post about all the cool adventures I've had or will have.

Don't be confused here, i don't think they could all fit in one post, but maybe every once in a while when i have free time and i can remember a specific adventure i had or went on, i will blog about it.

I'd like to experiment with putting pictures in the blogs too. We'll see if i can figure it out.

I'm going to start with a fishing trip i went on a little over a month ago. It was a rockin time. Just me and a few other guys. We went up to Bear Canyon Lake for just a night. I think Doug and I each caught one. Jordan caught 3 or 4, and Kevin... well, he got some good practice at casting.

The Bald Mission Call

Okay, i know the title of this post is misleading, but i heard somewhere that people won't even want to read your articles if they have boring headlines. So there ya go.

Today was cool. I got up early and Shirley and I went to the blessing of Sydney Anna Mackey, Morgan and Katie's baby daughter. We stayed for the whole block of church. During opening exercises for priesthood meeting, the Bishop was asking Morgan to introduce his visiting family. We all stood up and the Bishop, looking at me, says: "Well, we know at least one that is for sure a Mackey." He was referring to me being bald, much like Morgan is. We all had a good laugh. Of all the guys there, i was the one that wasn't a Mackey. It was funny. I guess i already fit in.

After that there was a family lunch at Morgan and Katie's. That was pretty good fun too. I'm enjoying getting to be part of the family now. Now that they all know I'm stickin' around, i really feel like i can tell a difference in most of their attitudes towards me... more open, like some of them are starting to 'invest emotionally' in my friendship/brother-in-law-ship. That's probably not very well said, but you know what i mean anyways.

I love Shirley. We're getting married in 72 days.

Tonight my brother opened his call. I've been jokingly telling myself that he's gonna get called to Argentina Bahia Blanca mission just for a nice dose of irony (that's where Shirley's missionary Tyson went). Well, he invited 25 friends (literally), so our small house was packed. Once they finally all arrived, he opened it, read it first to himself, said "YES!" out loud, and then read it to the rest of us: "Elder Stock, You are here by called to serve... ...the Argentina..." (at this point I'm thinking wow, he really is gonna go to the same mission as Tyson. wow.) "...Neuquen Mission."

So there it is. The Argentina Neuquen Mission. I'm really quite happy and excited for him. Way to go David.

School, Work, Halloween, Christmas and Shirley Mackey

Today was a cool day. Good as any lately anyways. School was school, though i was freezing all morning. I never noticed how cold they keep those buildings!

Work was good. We've been busy lately and i'm enjoying it more; feeling more productive. I need a raise. I've worked there 10 months and am still at my starting rate. Plus I'm getting married and need more money. Maybe i should more seriously start looking for a second job.

As i mentioned above, i was cold today. It reminded me of winter heading this way, and how excited i am for the holidays! I saw pumpkins when i was at wal-mart today. I really want to carve a jack-o-lantern! (Shirley, if you read this, can we do that soon?!) Also, i got randomly thinking about Christmas while driving to work. I won't be married till 5 days after, but i still want to put a small Christmas tree in our apartment ... to help the Christmas spirit drag on a little more.

I love Shirley. She's studying tonight, so we weren't going to see each other. I couldn't stay away. I got some ice cream and drove over there. I called her on the way but didn't tell her i was coming. When i knocked, her roommate let me in. I kept her on the phone until i was knocking on her bedroom door. I think she liked the surprise. It was good to see her, even if only for a little. We ate our ice cream and talked for a bit. Then, i left her to her studies. Good luck on your test Shirl!

Softball

I love softball. I don't get to play that often. In fact, i haven't played in years. But i switched into the University stake and they play co-ed church softball! I'm loving it. My favorite is to pitch. One game i had seven (7!) strike-outs! In slow pitch softball! It was amazing. We joke that if i get 6 strike-outs, everyone gets a free slurpy (cause at the diamondbacks games they give everyone free slurpies if they get 12 strike-outs). It's fun.

Tonight was no exception; it was fun. Shirley came with to watch. She came last week too. I love her. So, i was out there pitching - and doing pretty well too - and right before a batter stepped up to the plate, Shirley gets up from her seat and comes and jumps on the chain link backstop (holding herself a foot from the ground) and yells "Hey pitch! Will you go to the rodeo with me?!" It was classic. Priceless. I was smiling so big. She said she could see it even from all the way over in the stands. But she said she didn't hear when i yelled back: "I would LOVE to!" It was great though.

She's so cool. I just love the fact that she keeps our relationship interesting and fun! It's a girl ask guy dance/rodeo and instead of just taking for granted that we're engaged and i would just go with her if she said "we should go to the rodeo on Saturday," she makes it exciting and really cool by yelling at me in front of all my friends and ward. I love her. I wanted to yell out "That's right everyone, that's my girl!"

The New Frontier.

I wanted to start blogging again. I think it's a cool way to let loose the things in my head.

I had a blog a while back but deleted it for reasons unknown to the majority of you all.

I feel this could be the beginning - or the rebirth - of a long and meaningful relationship between myself and blogger.

Also, I'm in love with a Ms. Shirley Mackey. I'll be marrying her tuesday December 30th. Can't wait.

Stay tuned.