New toy

We haven't had a car payment for about five years, and it's been wonderful. We have been hoping and praying that our two vehicles would last forever (yes, that would qualify as a miracle) and they have been surprisingly reliable. Well, they still work great but we realized that statistics don't lie, and in a couple of weeks our college students will be home and working. Riley got his license this week and that means we have five drivers, five different work locations for the summer, and two cars to get everyone there. I'm pretty sure we could have made it work, but my plan went something like "I take the Civic to work, and you guys figure everything else out while I'm gone." I do see the flaw in that plan and I think I'm a pretty generous guy, so I'm taking one for the team. That's right - I sacrificed and bought myself a new car. It's been fun, but I'm already having some trouble with the car. It seems that everyone else in the family thinks it's theirs. Here's some photos...

It's a 2008 Honda Civic EX Coupe, and it's a kick and a half to drive.

So we're now a two Civic family. My old one is in the background. I always referred to it as "The Black Pearl" because that was the name of the color. Riley has changed it to "Black Beauty" and when I informed him that was a horse's name, he immediately put a picture from the movie as the background picture on our home computer.

I love the chrome exhaust finisher. The kids love the moonroof.

My favorite thing about it is the stereo controls on the steering wheel. That and the direct connection for my iPod with a little place to put it. The girls all love the blue lighting on the dashboard.

Start spreadin' the news...

I just got back from a short business trip to New York. I spent most of my time at a trade show in Manhattan, but was able to get out and see a few sights, too. My boss wanted me there to show a piece of software I have been working on to our largest customer. It's not every day that people gasp when they see software, but that's the reaction we got. It also started a 45 minute discussion about how the software could be used in their stores. So the show went great, but I had a better time admiring the architecture and culture of the city that never sleeps. This is the Queensborough Bridge, the first built to link Queens and Manhattan, separated by the East River. I got to cross on the bottom level and the top on my two trips across.

The world famous Carnegie Deli. My hotel was right next to Carnegie Hall. I went and got a hot pastrami sandwich from here right when I got into town and it was worth every penny ($13.95). No cheese, but the best hot mustard ever. I also had a slice of their cheesecake which was unbelieveable. No wonder New York is famous for it's cheesecake. These guys will FedEx a cheesecake anywhere in the U.S., and don't think I won't be ordering one.

The glorious hotel Wellington. I took this picture from right in front of the Carnegie Deli after I had bought my dinner. Most of the hotels are older and so exhibit a certain amount of "character". I relate a little more to the elevator in the movie "Thoroughly Modern Millie" which wouldn't go unless they danced in it. The elevators here made some of the same noises.

The view from my hotel room. Apparently you have to pay $400+ per night if you want to see anything remotely interesting from your window. I didn't mind - it was actually very quiet and I was able to sleep well. And I saved the company a few hundred dollars.

My hotel room. It's the "World's Best Hotel Room", much like the "World's Best Cup of Coffee" in the movie "Elf".











A random shot of the skyline in Midtown Manhattan. I found it was very difficult to get good night shots with my little camera. The magnitude of the city is unbelieveable. The little brown buildings in the foreground are taller than anything here in San Marcos.








The show wasn't too far from my hotel, so I decided to walk back through Times Square. I don't even know how to describe the place. So many people, so much action. I couldn't begin to take in everything that is there. I did walk right past the theaters where Wicked, Rent, and Legally Blonde are playing. I stopped in a little shop and bought "I Love New York" t-shirts from a guy that didn't speak much english, but that's not so unusual.




There - you can see the "Wicked" marquee in the top right corner. It's pretty amazing to realize how many thousands they cram into this tiny space on new year's eve.
















The Jacob Javits Convention Center where the National Retail Federation's "Big Show" is held every January. It's even bigger than it looks. The nearest bathroom to our booth was probably 200 yards away.

Here's our booth near the end of the show when things had died down. Throughout the day there were usually 20-30 people in there (even though the Elvis impersonator in the next booth was doing his best to drive away all customers). From left to right: Irvine sales team, UK sales team, New Zealand/Australia sales team (in the back), and the San Diego sales team. Notice the snazzy matching shirts - they brought me a large which I haven't worn since sophomore year of high school, so I had to wear the button down shirt and sweater I had worn over there. They somehow gave me a sponsor sticker when I checked in as well, so I don't know what people were thinking when they saw me not wearing the uniform and a sponsor badge. So I just acted like I owned the place...

Tanner Time

This has been a big week for young Tanner and so we wanted to share some of his accomplishments. He just got back from the church where he had his board of review for First Class Scout.

Only a First Class at 11 years, 9 months can smile like this. He already has a plan for when to be an Eagle Scout. Much of the credit goes to his wonderful scout leaders and a motivated stake Primary Presidency. Oh, and many hours with mom at his side.

Here he is helping his scout leader, Brother Beus cook a spaghetti dinner at one of his campouts.

About 1.5 miles into a five mile hike.

Tanner also played soccer this year for the Prowlers, and they were the champions of the boys under 12 division.

Here's Tanner with the hardware.

Lining up for shin guard check before the championship game.

After the game, showing who the champs are.

Helping Hands

This last Saturday Riley and I had the opportunity to go help with the clean up effort in one of the fire zones. We spent the day clearing brush, trees, and other debris from a home that had burned completely down. It was dirty, messy, sweaty work with dust and ash flying (we had to wear masks to breathe), but it was also a very humbling experience.

Before the project started - still clean!

After - and we had already brushed most of the ash off so we wouldn't completely ruin the car on the ride home.

Fortunately we remembered gloves.

Treats only, please.

Here are some pictures of our trick-or-treaters...

Aarrgg! Avast!

What's left of our shrinking family. It used to be a big production to get the kids out on the road on halloween. Now they can almost go by themselves. You Thomas Dolby fans will recognize that Alicia went as "Europa" this year.

This is the official start of the holiday season. November 1st is when the thanksgiving decorations come out, and the day after Thanksgiving is "Decorate for Christmas" day. Luckily, we have an extra week of "Christmas Season" this year with the early Thanksgiving. We hope your holidays are fantastic!

Lost and Found...Pictures

Disneyland + family = FUN

Some people were more creative than others.

Turns out you can't remove your head, lift your feet, drink water, or throw gang signs and expect to get your picture published.

BYU sisters made the trip complete.

Geyser! Geyser! Geyser!

Nice headband, horsey.

Cute.

Before nap time.

Are we having fun yet?

"Together we are strong." - Natalie S.

Mom went on a ride. You can always count on us to keep an eye on the cousins. Who knew that big wet pole was behind us?

And in this corner...

Tanner is really enjoying his first year playing soccer. He's been nicknamed "the bullet" and has become proficient at slide tackling. His coach really likes him. I think this is mostly because he skips water breaks at practice to work on new moves, and never gives up running for the ball. After several games the coach has praised Tanner and asked the team to try and play more like him. Today Coach Cesar yelled at the ref because he didn't call a foul after Tanner was knocked down. (The play before our team was penalized for Tanner's zeal.) I worry what Tanner is taking away from this experience. Today after the game he asked me if I could please open my file cabinet to check the soccer schedule. He wanted to see who he is fighting next week.