Blue Skies Ahead

Grand Canyon - Rim to Rim

2010-10-18T12:33:00.002-07:00

Last Friday I took a quick trip up to one of the 7 Wonders. The Grand Canyon. It really was a quick trip. We left Thursday at 4 pm and got back Friday night at 10 pm. But we did a whole lot... Like, 21 miles.

We set up camp at the top on the South Rim:

After waking up at 3:30, we hit the trail right at 4:30am.

We made it to Bright Angel Campground at the bottom in just under two hours. We really made great time going down.

We found some picnic tables at Phantom Ranch and stopped for about a half hour to eat and recoup.

It was 7 miles from top to bottom, and then from there, it's 14 miles to the top via the North Kaibab Trail... only 14 miles.

Gotta stop the blisters before they start.

We hiked a bit more and stopped to eat again a couple hours later.

About the time we saw this chopper flying through the canyon, we were hoping they had sent it for us... or at least I was.

Cottonwood Campground is the halfway point on the North Kaibab, meaning there's only 7 miles left! I was wishing I hadn't used to much energy coming down the South trail so fast earlier. But the Canyon sure is beautiful.

This is the last picture I took before I died. I had just ran out of water. And it was hot. This is right after the last bridge you go over in the canyon, and from there, it was just steep switchbacks all the way up the last 3 miles or so to the top.

Luckily, there's a water station at about 1.7 miles left. We rested and refilled there before starting the last stretch of switchbacks. But right after we started from there, it started raining. It was falling nice and steady almost the entire rest of the hike out. And it was cold. And miserable. Though I really think the cold that the rain brought helped ease the pain and soreness in my legs. Really. It was kind of a blessing in disguise. But a miserable blessing, because I don't like hiking in cold rain. I was fortunate that I bought myself those new hiking/outdoorsy pants you see me wearing, because they dried super fast when the rain stopped (and here Shirley thought I was dorky for buying those pants).

All in all, it was fun. And though I tell Shirley there's no way I'd ever do it again... I really would. Though next time I would make sure to train much better beforehand. I made it out in 11 hours. Seriously one of the hardest things I've ever done.

One Last Update

2010-09-08T10:50:00.000-07:00

Oh yeah, and Shirley had her birthday!

It was loads of fun.

And in other news... I'm a pretty handy guy. Just thought I'd throw this in here. Though out back porch has been a mess with all the little projects goin on.

Still Catching Up - 24th of July

2010-09-08T10:47:00.000-07:00

We went up with our friends Natalie and Jack to St. Johns for the 24th of July weekend. She grew up there and they invited us to head back with them for the Holiday.

Now, growing up, I honestly never made the connection that the 24th of July was a big mormon holiday. I never did. Looking back I remember doing things like miniature pioneer treks around the neighborhood when I was in primary at church, but I never associated things like that with the fact that we were celebrating the 24th of July and remembering our pioneer ancestors who bravely trod across the country to find a place to settle and practice freedom of religion.

It wasn't until I was serving as a missionary in Montana, where members in even small, small towns would gather to celebrate the holiday, that I realized the 24th is a big reason to celebrate! They would gather together and play stick ball, wrapping a softball in rabit skin and using an old tree branch for a bat. It was fun.

So, anyhow, we wanted to get out of Mesa (where, admittedly, they do celebrate the day - just not as much as in a small town) for the 24th. and go somewhere where they knew how to do the day right.

It was a week long celebration in St. Johns that the whole town got in on. There was a youth dance and a junior rodeo and all kinds of other things leading up to Saturday. We got there early Saturday and, missing the big community breakfast, made it in time for the Parade! They had a full on parade! I caught a couple pictures of the coolest float I have EVER seen.

Meet Abe Lincoln. He stood up! And then would sit down just in time to miss getting decapitated by the power lines. It was amazing!

After the parade we went back to the house for lunch and then headed out to the Rodeo! Did I mention I love rodeos? Cuz I do. Sometime I pretend to want to be a cowboy. Anyhow, it was a real rodeo and everything! And how do you know if it's a real rodeo? Simple... does it have real bull riding. And this one did.

It was awesome.

The celebrations continues with a big community dinner at the park in town and then a nice program in the highschool auditorium. Following which there was the adults only dance that lasted late into the night.

We stayed for church Sunday and drove back home. Another short trip, but packed full of fun activity.

Late Updates - Cabin Trip

2010-09-08T10:31:00.000-07:00

We like to go to the Mackey family cabin. It's an old kind of cabin. I like to say it's like a "dad-and-granddad-built-it-with-their-bare-hands" kind of cabin. But it has a nice feel to it, and there are never too many bugs in the kitchen/bathroom when we show up. We've been trying to make a lot of little trips like this this summer since we're having that babeh soon and are not sure how often we'll be able to get away after he/she (probably 'he' though - we just don't know for sure yet) comes. We managed to take two pictures on this trip.

The first is random, but it's just a picture of the kind of stuff we do when we go to the cabin - eat cheese-its and play games. This is one of our recent favorite games. It's called Ticket To Ride. Ever played it? It's loads of fun. Give us a call sometime and we'll have a game night and play it. Really, do... it cost a lot and I want to get my money's worth out of it. Plus it's fun!

And here's Shirley cooking something in the kitchen. I think it was potstickers. She was craving them that day. :-)

The end.

Late Updates - 4th of July

2010-09-08T10:21:00.000-07:00

I was looking through the camera and realized we had a few pictures I could share!

Shirley and I went to san Diego for the Fourth. It was kinda a last minute trip. Shirley didn't know she would have that monday off until the thursday before. So we booked a hotel last minute and headed out Saturday morning first thing! We hardly ever take pictures, but I'll share what we have.

We got there too early to check-in to our hotel, so we found a park in the south bay and hung out there for a bit.

Then we checked into the hotel and made ourselves at home there.

After going to church on Sunday (the 4th), we went and visited Balboa Park. We like this place. It's huge and there's so much to do there, and it's neat.

Balboa Park is also home to biggest outdoor organ in the world (not sure there are really that many outdoor organs anyway, but it's a nice thing for them to boast about). They do a cool organ concert every sunday.

After the park we made a stop by the Temple to see it. And they had it all scaffolded up! You can see the temple from the freeway, so it was weird to pull up and see it covered in scaffolding.

After the temple, we made our way to Mission Bay to get a spot to watch some fireworks. We went early to be able to find a place. It was SO cold. But it was cool because from the where we were, we could see 8 or 9 different fireworks shows that night, including the one SeaWorld did.

On Monday morning, we went and paid a visit to Old Town San Diego. I like it there. There's a lot of history and I like that sort of thing. We went to the Mormon Battalion LDS Visitors' Center while there, and they a had a very cool presentation for us. We did manage to get one picture the whole morning there:

When it was time to go, we realized one of us (ahem...) had locked the keys in the car. We have roadside assistance, so we just called our insurance and they sent a locksmith. He was literally there for 45 seconds at best. He pulled up, slid a little bar down the window, popped the lock and left.

Then we drove home. It was a fun getaway.

2010-08-29T22:10:00.000-07:00

Been a long time since last posting.. again.

So here we are. Things are going pretty well I must say.

We found out we're pregnant:

We're due on Jan. 30th! We find out if it's a boy or a girl on the 10th of Sept. (that's like a week and a half!) I'm really pretty excited for confirmation that it is in fact a boy... as that's what I fully believe it is. A lot of people keep asking "When are you gonna find out what gender it is... Or are you going to?" They always add the 'are you going to' part. Don't mean to offend anyone... but that's foolish. Why wouldn't we want to find out? I'm a pretty practical man, and I think it's absolutely foolish to not find out.

In other news, we got that nasty stump out of the front of our yard! When we moved into this house, everything on the inside was completely remodeled, so we didn't have much to do on the inside... but the yards were a mess. They've been a work in progress since then. The backyard looked like this:

And the front yard had this ugly palm tree in it:

So we mowed all the weeds away and started pulling out all the ugly brick lining/pavers:

And then we cut down the tree:

And then summer came and it got too hot to do anything, so the stump and the backyard just sat all summer long. (Here's the tree 3 months later):

Finally, a couple weeks ago, we broke down and hired a guy to come with a tractor and take out the stump as well as haul away a ton (actually about ten tons) of rock/gravel from the backyard. We just want it all to be grass. So, currently, the front and the back are all just dirt and we're (I'm) working on the sprinkler system so it can be ready and then we can prep for and plant grass. I'm pretty excited that things are finally moving along. Though all the rain lately is slowing down work on the sprinklers... too much mud. And that's that!

To change the subject, Shirley and I have been trying to go on a lot of vacations, or just do fun things, since once the baby comes, we anticipate such activities being limited. The picture above is from an awesome camping trip we took a few weeks ago. This summer we also went to San Diego for the 4th of July, we went up to Shirley's family cabin a few times, we hiked 4 Peaks again (I really like this hike), we went to St. John's for the 24th of July celebrations, and we've just generally had a good time.

And that's it for now.

Fall 2009 update...

2010-01-18T12:53:00.001-07:00

Dear Blog,

It's been how long since I last posted (not including Saturday's announcement)??? 118 days actually (that's 3 months and 27 days, or 2,832 hours). Oh really? Goodness I'm sorry. How come I haven't posted? What have I been up to? Well, let me tell you...

College football started at the beginning of September. More than past years, and much to Shirley's dismay, I was very into it this season. I even started a sports blog, where I enjoyed writing about college football. Seriously though... I'm a huge fan of college football. Actually I like pretty much all football, I just don't watch a whole lot of the NFL games simply because they're on Sunday and I don't really watch tv on Sundays. But I could talk college football all day long.

Apart from writing about sports, I've also been playing a lot of sports lately. About the time college football season started, me and a bunch of guys started playing football on Saturday mornings. I even went and bought some flags, my own football, and even some gloves to up the competitiveness a little.

I think it was September when I got called to be the Elders' Quorum Secretary at church. I like the guys in the presidency. They're fun to work with. But every Thursday night we go out and make visits to people... and then we have a meeting every Sunday either before or after church, so that's been keeping me busy.

Halloween was good fun. Have I mentioned before that I'm a lousy picture taker? So yeah... there're no pictures of us in our Halloween costumes. But we did get pictures of our pumpkin carving!

For Thanksgiving Shirley and I decided to take the long trip to Idaho to spend the holiday with Shirley's Aunt Debbie and her family. They live in the small town of Jerome Idaho, and I loved visiting there! The scenery and landscapes reminded me so much of Montana, where I served as a missionary. We were less than 2 hours away from Boise, and the Broncos (Boise State University) were playing a big conference game at home that weekend. I wanted to go so bad, but it didn't work out.

The week after Thanksgiving, we got our first Christmas tree! We think we got the perfect sized tree for our little apartment. It was great. On a side note, I love basketball and like to watch as many NBA games as possible. So here's a shot of our sweet tree, and me eating a chili dog while watching a Suns game on tv and watching another game on my computer. I was a happy camper that night.

Funnily enough, about the time the college football season started winding down, so did our enthusiasm for playing football, and the focus kinda turned more towards basketball. Shirley's brothers were all in town for the holidays, and I got to play a lot of ball with them. And since then, I've been playing once or twice a week with friends. Shirley even got me some new basketball shoes (my previous ones were 5 years old!) and a new basketball for Christmas! I'm pretty much a baller.

There was of course school, which is always hanging over my shoulder and sometimes taking over completely, but everything turned out alright there. And besides that, it was just a lot of having fun being married and loving my beautiful wife. Dec. 30th was our 1 year anniversary! I hear stuff like "the first year was tough" and such, but for us... it was great! And we're very happy.

Anyways, that ought to be good enough for now. I'll try to keep 'em comin more often, and probably shorter, though I'm gonna be taking 19 credits this semester, so we'll see if I actually have any free time. Enjoy.

The Return

2010-01-16T20:07:00.001-07:00

I'm gonna start blogging again
Tomorrow... or maybe monday.

College Football

2009-09-22T16:30:00.001-07:00

Like College football? Then tune in to collegefootballwatch.blogspot for all the goings on in the world of college football.

I live for college football (and my wife too still) during the fall. And ever since this season started I've wanted to start writing about it. So I did. on collegefootballwatch.blogspot. Seriously, I could spend my days reading, writing, and watching college football and I'd be happy. The tough part is that there're things like school and work and money that get in the way. I mean, if I didn't have school or work I could just watch last week's highlights and read all the stats from last week's games. If I had loads of money I could buy a huge-screen tv and get all the sports packages and what-not from local cable companies so that I'd never miss a game - not even the ones on the other side of the country.

Anyways, that's all I've got. If you like college football check it out.

San Diego!

2009-09-10T13:35:00.007-07:00

Labor Day weekend, how I love thee. Let me count the ways...

1) The San Diego Temple.

It was amazing! We went to San Diego to be there for the Sealing of Jared Ray and his then fiance Tamara. After the Sealing we stuck around with Jordan & Christine and Kevin & Julia to do some sealings ourselves. The San Diego temple is absolutely beautiful. I love it - everything about it had me in awe, especially the Grand Staircase going up to the sealing rooms on the fourth floor. It was marvelous.

2) Luigi's at the Beach

This place had the biggest slices of pizza ever. They make 30" pizzas. That's 30" in diameter, which means each slice is 15" long. In case you were wondering, that's 707 square inches. They serve it by the slice, which is an eighth of the pizza (80 square inches). Here's a picture of some random girl because it's the only picture I could find on the web, and we of course don't believe in taking our own pictures (really, this whole weekend we only took 3 pictures). Notice, the pizza slice is the length of her arm.
Also, Luigi's at the beach is freakin amazing. Not only was the food good, but the football was even better. Let me explain: We showed up there at 1:00 in the afternoon last saturday, which also happened to be the first saturday of college football. Well, Luigi's had about 10 big screen flat panel tv's hanging on their walls, showing 6 or 7 different college football games. It was amazing. They won my heart for forever.

3) Mission Beach

I love the beach. And i especially enjoyed my time at the beach this particular day. Was it crowded? Heck yes, it was Labor Day weekend. But it was stil a lot of fun. Last time Shirley and I went to the beach it was cloudy and cold, but last weekend it was sunny and warm. We stayed at the beach for, like, 5 hours. We played in the waves and had a grand ole time. I even tried body surfing and got pummeled several times. But it was a blast. After we got tired of sucking down salt water, we took a break from the water and built a mighty edifice to me. Well, it was a sand fortress. Do we have pictures? Of course we don't. But it looked something like this:

Perhaps it didn't actually resemble this particular building... but it was something like this.

4) Balboa Park

On Sunday we went to Balboa Park and had a picnic with Julia & Kevin and Kevin's parents. Following the food, we wandered the many sights of the park, and then settled down at the Organ Pavilion for the free Sunday afternoon concert. Organ Pavilion is home to the Spreckles Organ Society and the Largest Outdoor Organ in the world. Each Sunday at 2:00 (since January 1915) there is a free organ performance for all to enjoy.This picture is obviously not from a sunday afternoon performance, but this is the Organ Pavilion Outdoor Organ in all it's glory.

I kinda wish we had had more time to explore more of what Balboa Park had to offer, as I understand that there was much, much more to see than what we were able to. I think I should like to go back and see more of the park one day. But as it is, that pretty much sums up our vacation from last weekend.

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In conclusion, I've realized that I only have 4 ways that I love Labor Day weekend. Is 4 enough to say that I love it? Is that like saying "I love you" after only the fourth date? Even if it was four great dates? Maybe I just 'like' Labor Day weekend. Or 'I have a really good time with it.' Or maybe it's just a crush, I don't really know yet. It's too early to know I think.

Wyatt Earp

2009-08-27T21:54:00.003-07:00

This is one of my new favorite movies of ever. It will change your life... or just make you want to be a cowboy for the rest of your life. Kevin Costner is perfect for the role of Earp.

Mo-hawks

2009-08-25T13:40:00.002-07:00

Today's observation while walking around campus: The Mohawk.

Wikipedia says

The Mohawk or Mohican is a hairstyle. In the most common variety, both sides of the head are shaved leaving a strip of noticeably longer hair in the centre. Mohawks became common in punk subculture and Rivethead subculture in the early 1980s and were then adopted by various other groups, becoming more diverse in style. Today, Mohawks are still associated with the punk subculture, but have also become part of mainstream fashion.

The Mohawk hairstyle is named for, and often associated with, the people of the Mohawk nation, an indigenous people of North America who originally inhabited the Mohawk Valley in upstate New York to southern Quebec and eastern Ontario.

In modern punk fashion, the Mohawk is often dyed brilliant colors and worn so that it points straight up, often to impressive height. The Mohawk is also a feature of goth fashion. The Mohawk is also known as the signature hairstyle of Mr. T, the actor who first became famous playing the boxer Clubber Lang in the movie Rocky III and later as Sgt. B.A. Baracus in the television series The A-Team.

I saw a few kids with mohawks today and I thought to myself: What do people who sport mohawks think when they're getting ready in the morning? Maybe I've just forgotten what it's like to have to do my hair in the morning, since i'm blessed to not have to do that anymore. But I saw a guy with a full on, stiff, spiky, mohawk and I imagined him doing his hair this morning and thinking to himself "dang my hair looks good." I laughed to myself. in my head.

That's all.

2009-08-24T15:47:00.004-07:00

I always feel insecure when I blog without pictures. It's like i'm not cool. and stuff. Shirley just hates that I don't blog about all the cool things we do. Well, today is the first day of school, but I got out of class early and have nothing to do for an hour or so, so here it goes. I don't have many pictures, but at least I'm alive.

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The First Day Of School

I don't really remember being nervous for school to start last semester, or the semester before that, or really ever since I started college. But I was today. It was weird. I think it was because my schedule wasn't entirely set and I wasn't excited to be going back to school. Or something. I don't know.

But I got here and I've been smiling ever since. I forgot how funny school is; how weird people are, how young freshmen look, how weird people's conversations are, the wierd ways people do their hair, the weird ways people dress, etc... I just like being on campus and seeing people. It makes me smile/laugh.

When I was registering for classes, I was thinking that I was going to have three semesters left, and that I would graduate next fall, but earlier this week I realized that if I could get into an ACC444 class this semester (they were all full at the time) I could work it out so I graduate in the Spring of this year! I've been checking the ASU registration page, like, every ten minutes for the last week, and about a half hour ago, a section opened up. I'm gonna graduate next Spring! I'm pretty excited.

I think my wife is the opposite. She graduated 3 months ago. And was fine until today when I was getting my backpack together and getting ready for class. She's suffering from withdrawal from not having school, and she wants to go back. I wish I could trade her. I think I'd like to be done and just working not... But that's how it goes, eh?

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Sherwood

Sherwood is one of my favorite bands. I saw them last summer and they covered the song Holiday from The Get Up Kids, who are also one of my favorite bands. Since then I've been a pretty big fan. I even have 2 Sherwood shirts! You know someone must be a good fan if they have a band shirt (ok, maybe not, i'm just saying...)!

Shirley and I saw them early in July this year and it was great. It was the first concert I've been to in a while and I had a lot of fun. They played with Copeland, who was headlining that tour. Because of this, I think most of the folk there were Copeland fans, more inclined to enjoy the more mellow tunes produced by Copeland than the sweet fun music created by Sherwood. It seemed that when Sherwood played, most the people in the crowd just stood there. It made me sad. I enjoy concerts... though I imagine I likely won't go to many more. They're not quite as fun as they used to be, which it is part of maturing, which is really fine with me.

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More to come...

New Blog!

2009-06-15T13:45:00.002-07:00

Not like i do a great job keeping this blog updated or anything, but i started a new blog anyways. One that i'm actually a lot more excited about (so maybe i will be better at updating it).

It's about hiking. So if you enjoy the hobby... feel free to hop on over to Mike's Hikes and check out what adventures we've been up to.

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Just as a side note about blogs... does anyone remember the days before Myspace and Facebook and Blogger? Does anyone remember LiveJournal? I think it was one of the first big blog websites that started getting people warmed up to the whole web log (blog) thing.

I was just thinking how my perspective has changed over the years. At first, when LJ came around i thought "What the heck? Why would i want to keep a public journal? A journal is for, like, my personal thoughts and ideas. I don't need to share that with people online!"

But then came Myspace, and then Facebook, and then Blogger (at least that's the order in which i subscribed to these great (ahem) social networking tools).

When blogger started getting big, i started thinking of it as less of an online journal, and more of just a method to tell your old friends what you've been up to in life. You know, the people you don't actually talk to anymore, but still feel like you know them so well because you read their blogs? I kinda thought blogs were just a way to keep up with friends, maybe even show off a little bit when something happens worth showing off.

But now i'm starting to see it as both of the above. The main purpose seems to be to write all about what i've been up to so i can have something to show old school mates, or extended family, but it definitely serves a dual purpose. I don't really keep a journal like i probably should, but when i look back in five years, I'll be able to look at my blog and remember some of the cool things I've done.

And so Blogger, I salute you. Here's to you helping me keep a journal by disguising it as a social networking tool.

Summer

2009-05-19T21:10:00.007-07:00

It’s been a long time, and boy is there a lot to talk (type) about: How the semester ended up, Shirley’s graduation (obviously the semester ended good enough, cuz she graduated), Our California trip, our church calling, our wedding pictures, our job searchings, summer, the adventures of Mike and Shirley…

So let’s find a good place to start…

Since the semester is over, I’ll just leave it at that. Shirley passed, so she graduated. I did well enough. I have, like, a B- GPA. It should be higher, and I feel kinda lame, but I’ll work harder next semester.

Shirley’s graduation! We got to hear Obama speak. Most of the audience cheered for him like he was a rock star. It was weird. He is, however, and excellent speaker. And he gave a great speech.

We’ve been beginning our adventures… We plan to have a lot this summer. Some of our ideas/plans include a trip to the Kern River in California for rafting, a trip to Colorado (maybe) to visit Shirley’s brother, a few camping trips, some hiking around Arizona, Maybe another Cali trip, Fossil Springs, The Oracle Caves, etc… We love adventures. We’re gonna call this summer “The Adventures of Mike and Shirley!”

Immediately following Shirley’s graduation ceremonies, we got in the car and left for California in search of sunny skies and great fun with our friends Jack and Natalie. We spent all day Friday (in honor of my birthday and Shirley’s graduation) at Disneyland. I hadn’t been there in over 2 years, and Shirley hadn’t been in, like, 15 years. It was amazing. I love Disneyland – happiest place on earth!

Saturday was spent at the beach (didn't take any pictures, sorry). We got a firepit and got our coals going and made tin-foil dinners for lunch. That was awesome. We threw the Frisbee around, played in the water a bit, and then took naps. It was pretty overcast the whole time at the beach though. That was a bust. But still enjoyable.

We stopped in Blythe on the way home to get gas. Gas was so much more expensive on the North side of the freeway! What the heck! When we stopped at the McDonalds after getting gas (the cheaper gas), I walked across the street to take this sweet picture.That circled part is this: (32 cents cheaper gas!)That seems like a sufficient enough update for now…

Just on a side note, if you know of anyone hiring, I’m looking for work. I’ve been reduced to about 12 hours a week, and that’s not gonna cut it. Thanks!

Spring slump.

2009-03-31T12:39:00.004-07:00

It's that time of the semester again. This morning in my Institute class a girl behind me said something like: "This is gonna be the hardest week of the whole semester for me!" For me that was a couple weeks ago.... This week? to me?...will probably be the laziest week of the semester.

Every semester, about this far into it, I hit this point where I'm just so unmotivated with my school work. It's terrible i know, but i don't want to go to class, i don't want to do homework assignments, i just want to sit here and eat this delicious leftover casserole that I'm eating... and then play basketball or play Freecell on my computer. I'm lame, thanks. Lucky for me this semester i have a new secret weapon... Shirley.

She reminds me to get to work and do things. She asks me if i have homework and then forces me to actually do it. Mean, i know. Like mom back when i was in fifth grade. Harsh.

(Dear Shirley, please don't take this as an invitation to further harrass me about my school work. Thanks. I love you so much!)

This is not a confession begging repentance or a change of heart. I'm content with this time of the semester. It just happens. Then after a week or, i get back up and get back to business and finish out my wonderfully average straight B semester. Yup, straight B's. In my 4th year of college, i have almost a perfect 3.0 GPA. Every time i get an A that would bring it up a little, i get a C in another class that brings it right back down. I'm content with that too, and that's kinda another subject anyways.

So really, i was just at school not studying and realized that i haven't posted in a while. So there's somethin to chew on.

Fistfights.

2009-03-19T08:11:00.002-07:00

So lately, Shirley and I have been really hooked on this show Alias. It's great. It's about this CIA field agent who is always going on these crazy missions and fighting and beating up bad guys and such. Well, i think Shirley might be getting a little too into it. Or something.

You see, last night (this morning) at 2:30, she punched me right in the stomach! She was sound asleep. She didn't even know she did it! I had gotten up to get a drink and when i crawled back into bed we were both laying on our sides facing each other. Well, with her top arm, she just straight up punch me right in the gut! I was like "What the?" Then she made this semi-conscious "aww.." and put her arm around me. I thought at that point maybe she'd woken up and realized what she'd just done. Not so.

When we woke this morning i said "haha, hey, remember last night when you socked my in the gut?" and she just laughed like i was joking! Not joking though.

Anyways, it was pretty funny. Might not be so funny if it hurt, but i'm a tough kid.

So, i don't know, do we need to curb our Alias viewing? Maybe cut back a little bit? I'm not sure i'd like it too much if we start having kick boxing fights in the middle of the night just because of some crazy dreams caused by some crazy show.

From an empty room on the first floor...

2009-03-17T08:13:00.005-07:00

I love basketball! March madness is here. The regular NBA season is winding up and getting pretty interesting, and I just played on Saturday with a bunch of guys! I love basketball!

But today is about something else that i just might love even more than basketball.

I thought i would have to be doing homework right now before class, but found out that it's not due till next week. So i have time to blog about something I've been so excited for for the past week!

We're going to California!

I don't know how it got brought up, but i was just joking with Shirley about how we're gonna go to Disneyland for my birthday day since it'd be free this year and all. Well, somehow it turned into the plan! So we're going! It'll be right after school gets out, and right after Shirley's Graduation! So then we get to go. I'm so happy.

I love California. If i had more time, I'd tell you all about why i love it so much.... but It's kinda time to get ready to go to class. I lost all my pictures when my computer crashed, but i downloaded a few great ones from my facebook profile for you:

D-Wade for MVP

2009-03-12T11:37:00.004-07:00

I love basketball. Sometimes i even secretly wish we had a TV and cable so i could watch basketball all the time (though i think Shirley knows this, so maybe it's not a secret).

Now, there's a big difference between college sports and professional sports, and some people love one and hate the other. A lot of people say stuff like: "Oh, college is way better than Professional. In College they play because they love to play. The pros just play for the money and they don't even care and they're not even fun to watch." Well, guess what? In college they play so they can make it to the pros where they can make money. Money Money Money.

Anyways, while i do prefer college football to the NFL, i definitely enjoy the NBA better than college hoops. Don't get me wrong, i love basketball and try to follow the NCAA, but it's complicated and March madness comes and goes so fast, and i don't have time to follow it all that well when there's a million college teams competing and so on, and so on.

But the NBA?... Well, it's simple: only 30 teams, one website that covers it all, an 82 game season (so i don't feel like I'm missing half the season when i get busy at work during tax season - college only plays around 30 games in a season), and players play in the league a lot longer than in college, so i can get to know (or watch) a player for a few years and watch his game develop and see who i like and don't like. This way i can develop favorite players and coaches and can really follow the game.

So there you have some of my reasons for why i think the NBA is better.

And some of my favorite players? Here's a few (in no particular order; just as they come to me):
D-Wade (Flash), Lebron James, Shaq (The Big Cactus), Brandon Roy, Marcus Camby (A blocking machine), CP3 (Chris Paul), The Truth (Paul Pierce), LaMarcus Aldridge, Vince Carter, Kevin Durant, Stephen Jackson, Kevin Garnett, Grant Hill, Al Jefferson, Rip Hamilton, and a few others ,but this list is getting long.

Oh? You noticed i didn't have Kobe on there eh? Well... ok, I'll admit it - I'm a Kobe hater.

So, the reason for this post?... Like the title says: Dwyane Wade for MVP!

I read this article that i really enjoyed. One of the best I've read on basketball this season.

Wade had off-season surgeries on his left knee and left shoulder before the 2007-2008 season. After a disappointing 06-07 season, I was convinced that the return of the 2006 Finals MVP was here. I had faith in Flash. But i was wrong. Wade's left knee continued to give him problems through the 07-08 season and the Heat finished with the worst record in the league as Wade decided to take off the last 21 games to begin rehab to prep for the 2008 Summer Olympics. But this year?.. Well, this year Flash is back. He leads the league in scoring is 8th in the league in assists, 2nd in steals, and at only 6'4", he's a surprising 20th in the league in blocked shots!

For a sweet YouTube video of his latest heroics (a game-winning, buzzer beating 3-pointer in double-overtime) click HERE!

Barnes & Noble

2009-03-09T12:03:00.002-07:00

Mad Props to my new favorite bookstore in the valley = BARNES & NOBLE

Thursday night, on the way home from some softball games, Shirley and i Decided to celebrate the beginning of spring break! (We took our last test in our last class of the week on thursday so we're done with school till the 17th!)

How were we going to celebrate?! By purchasing Season 2 of the TV show we're hooked on, Alias. So we stopped at Wal-Mart, and we stopped at Best Buy... and we checked at Target and K-Mart, and even Borders, and guess what?! None of those five(5!) stores had it. It was getting late, so in a last ditch effort, we stopped at good old Barnes and Noble and asked the nice young lady in the movies/music section if she could help us find it. She looked it up in the computer and then went to a little secret box under a shelf and pulled it out for us. She held it up like a glowing ensign of goodness! We went home and watched an episode. It was quite an adventure.

The next morning Shirley's sister says "Oh, my husband has all the seasons of that show!"

I know.... I'm a terrible person.

2009-02-17T12:13:00.004-07:00

But i thought this was funny.

I've been wanting to blog lately, but everytime i think of something cool to blog about... i forget it by the time it's time to blog.

But i saw this guy on campus. He was.... heavy. And he was skating around campus on one of those long, really flexible boards... I told someone about it and they asked why i didn't take a picture. Well, he was moving along pretty fast for a big guy on a longboard and i didn't have time to whip out my camera phone.

But i drew this picture. Nevermind that he looks like humpty dumpty. Just notice the amazingly accurate flex of the board. Almost touching the ground.

hahaha. Ok, sorry for wasting your time. There you go.

2009-02-10T12:56:00.001-07:00

Shirley thought she was all bad!

But i totally wasted her at Pinball.

Shout Outs

2009-02-06T14:02:00.002-07:00

To all my peeps.

Want to rent a Condo?! Go HERE.

Want to talk politics?! Go HERE.

Blogging Another Blog During Class

2009-02-05T17:06:00.014-07:00

My Hard Drive crashed a couple weeks ago. It was a sad day. I almost cried. Really. I lost a lot of things. Most pressing on my mind was the fact that i lost a lot of pictures, and a lot of music. The music i can get back eventually... the pictures are gone. I lost a lot of documents; spreadsheets I had made for my budget or for running, all my school documents and papers that i've ever written, etc. I lost software; quicken and iTunes and Microsoft Office... It was sad. Really.

But, i plugged in my camera just now to upload the picture from the last post, and i realized that there are a lot of pictures on my camera! So, here, i will share a few (even some that Shirley might not want you to see). Here you go:

Shirley's so photogenic sometimes

Sometimes I am too!

We went to mexico in November and stayed at THIS beach house:

And played on THIS beach.

One time we went to Zoolights.
I bought a drill with one of our wedding gift cards. I'm so manly.

And we got married!

I think we look cool in this picture.

And i think we look funny in this picture.

And there you have it. You're welcome.

Blogging during class

2009-02-05T16:38:00.003-07:00

So I'm bloggin during my SCM300 class. But I've been wanting to blog this since yesterday morning, and i have my camera with me right now for to post pictures.

David left for the MTC yesterday. It was a big deal at the Stock house. Mom cried (as she's done with each of us), Shayna was sad, Shirley was reminded of certain memories of the past, and all present were confident that he will be a great missionary. We ARE confident. He's gonna do a solid job. I've even written him already! Not that that has anything to do with him being a solid missionary, just thought i'd announce how on-the-ball I am.

We went tuesday night to the house and the family was there, and some close friends were there, and the Stake President showed up, and he was set apart as a full-time missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Then Wednesday morning we woke up at 5:15 and went to the airport to see him off.

He's gonna be awesome!... Once he learns the language. The poor kid's gonna be held up in the MTC till April 6th. Hope he likes the food.

Poll results

2009-01-30T10:15:00.004-07:00

So... we went to the game. It was a lot of fun, even though ASU lost. I owe Shirley big time (Shirley, I owe you big time!)! Sorry, we didn't take any pictures. I know, my blog is boring and pictureless lately, but at least i'm writing. Here's one i just found though.

Today is our One-Monthiversary! Shirley got up early and made me breakfast! I love her. We're going to the temple after work to celebrate. We love the temple.

QUICK! I'm taking a poll.

2009-01-29T15:29:00.002-07:00

Please help.

I want to go to the ASU basketball game tonight. My wife thinks i should go to my MGT300 class instead (big lecture from 6:00-9:00).

She said if i put it up to a vote and get more yes votes than no votes then i can go. Anyone who reads this before 5:00 tonight, please leave me a vore comment with a yes or no.

Thanks!

-Mike

One Night In Bankok

2009-01-27T08:22:00.002-07:00

There's something to be said for waking up early. I won't tell you what I say when i wake up early... but once i get going, i feel pretty great! It's 8:30, I've been up for 2 hours now, and i feel very awake.

Went to the bookstore. They still don't have my book on the shelve, so i come back here to the institute building and chill. Literally. My hands are freezing. I'm wearing my little gloves. And my jacket. Cause i'm cold.

My computer crashed this weekend. It was sad. I lost everything; all my pictures and music and old saved files and software - everything. But i'm ok with it. I didn't even cry. Maybe that's because i haven't yet thought of a picture that i want to look at and tried to look at it and remembered that it's gone. Maybe when that happens I'll be sad.

I broke Shirley's glasses this weekend too (everything's breaking lately). Sat on 'em. Since it was a saturday, not very many eyeglass places were open. We did find one though, and since we needed a more immediate fix than ordering a pair of glasses, she walked out of the office with contacts. She's a contact wearer now. And i love her. Even though i brake her stuff.

K, that's all.

Dinner

2009-01-21T12:28:00.002-07:00

Shirley loves to cook. For that I am immensely grateful. She loves to put out a meal for people. I'm sure if it were up to her, we'd have someone or some couple over for dinner every night. She also loves to make up new recipes and just throw stuff together. Don't worry, everything she's thrown together so far has been just great.

I'm blogging that:

So last night, we got home from school and she says: "What do you want for dinner?"
I say "Oh, just cereal or something, it's late and we're tired, don't worry about it."
She says "How about Shepherd's Pie? It's easy to make."

So we sit down for dinner and she wants to tell me a story about something that happened at school today. She begins...

"So i was at school today, and I see this man walking across campus with this big stick, and it had the big crook neck thing at the top. And there're sheep following him! Well, he sat down and took out his lunch and was eating it, and i said 'What's that you're eating?' and he said 'Oh, it's just something my wife put together for me.' So i got the recipe and thought I'd try it out tonight! Eat up!"

I laughed. And kinda rolled my eyes. And probably called her a Dork.

I love you Shir.

I'm blogging that.

2009-01-20T08:11:00.002-07:00

So, I love Shirley. And if any of you know Shirley or myself very well, you know that sometimes we can be kinda weird. Well, there is no exception to this when it's just the two of us home alone. Often times one of us (though since I'm the one blogging this, I'll say it's mostly her) will do something just really weird, or awkward, or strange. Our latest threat is: "I can't believe you just did that. I'm totally gonna blog about that so all the world will know how weird you are." Scares me straight every time.

Except neither of us are very devout bloggers... hmm... if we were though, you'd know all the weird stuff we do. Which could be awkward for you. Right now though, i am in the mood to divulge. Luckily for her i can't remember any of her awkward 'haha-I'm-gonna-blog-about-that' moments right now. Darn.

School starts today. Since my car is in trouble, Shirley and I are sharing her car. And since she has a 7:30 class.... I get to wake up with her and drive to school. I've decided that this will give me extra time every Tuesday and Thursday morning to do productive things like sleep, or study, or blog. So here I am, sitting in the institute blogging. Ah, it's too early.

Update

2009-01-14T12:07:00.004-07:00

I married Shirley 15 days ago. I love her. For our one and two weekiversaries we went to the temple. We love that place.

Until we break down and pay for it ourselves, we only get wireless interenet reception when the computer sits on the corner of the bed in the bedroom. Thus I haven't blogged in a while.

We're still unpacking things. There always seems to be things to do; family parties, dinner invitations, shopping that needs to be done. So, some of our boxes are left unpacked, just sitting there. Maybe someday soon things will quiet down and we'll find time to finish putting our little place together.

Combined FHE

2008-11-11T15:30:00.008-07:00

So last night we had a combined FHE. It was time for my family and Shirley's family to meet! It was a pretty good time. Almost all of my family was there, and, like, half of Shirley's. I had a short little lesson prepared, and then we dipped cake balls in chocolate for an activity. Some of the dippers got very creative with the decorations! Our dad's went and looked at my car for a little bit (poor thing has a leak and it gonnna explode), while mom stock and mom mackey got to talk about reception things...

All in all, i think it went well. Shirley thinks my family was scared of her family. I think the night was a hit though.

Sleepless Halloween

2008-11-03T23:30:00.006-07:00

I just finished writing a paper. It was only 5 pages, double spaced, and only took me about 2 1/2 hours to write, starting from scratch. Yet, i feel so drained and tired now. Maybe it's from the lack of sleep lately. Married couples - did any of you have this problem during the engagement period? I just always want to be with her, and it makes for some late evenings sometimes.

Anyways, Last week was Halloween! I really like halloween. I didn't really get into it that much this year though. Kinda makes me sad. This was the first year in, like, 5 years that i didn't even carve a pumpkin. But i did make a playlist on my iPod with halloween songs to listen to as i drove around all day and all night on halloween! Songs like: The Monster Mash, Thriller, This is Halloween, Oogie Boogie Song, and the theme from The Exorcist. It was great.

Shirley and I dressed as Morticia and Gomez, respectively, and we were awesome! I actually had people know who i was this year! As opposed to last year's fiasco with the smore ("Are you a pop tart?" duh...). Haha. I think what did it was my awesome homemade fake cigar! We went to the same party i went to last year, over at Sierra's aunt's place. She really gets into halloween, and she decorates so very well for the occasion.

Afterwards we were going to go to a carnival at Mesa Riverview, but it was too expensive, so we opted for some skeeball at the Peter Piper Pizza. You can guess who won. Good times.

Flatiron!

2008-10-26T05:45:00.015-07:00

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.

2008-10-19T22:05:00.010-07:00

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

2008-10-19T21:51:00.002-07:00

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

2008-10-15T22:59:00.005-07:00

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

2008-10-14T22:37:00.003-07:00

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.

2008-10-13T23:12:00.001-07:00

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.