TJay Belt's Personal Thoughts

Racquetball and Fitness

2012-01-03T14:20:00.000-08:00

I play a lot of racquetball, and do so because it is fun, but offers rewards in fitness as well.

But in order to keep track of each time I play, I use a tool called RunKeeper that doesnt translate well to racquetball. It wants to know how far of a distance I ran? or hiked? or biked? But how far would I run if I could keep track of how far I move in a racquetball game? The court is only 40 feet by 20 feet. But if I run a bunch within the court... how far did I go?

What about calories burned? Ive read that in a competitive game one could burn up to 900 calories in an hour. This is a gauge I have been using for some time.

But today I found a website that has some descent information about the game and how it translates to other activities.

Here is the website. Here is the information.

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FITNESS BENEFITS

The average number of calories burned during racquetball play ranges from moderate at 640/hour (Prevention, 1995) to 794/hour (Men's Health, 1995) - to a high level at 822/hour (Sports Training Institute). At the UW Racquetball Club, according to commercial heart rate monitors, top players average between 1000 and 1200 calories burned in an intense hour long match.

An average game will take 20 minutes, during which a player will run a distance of approximately 3,650 feet - or over two miles in one hour of play. (U.S. Olympic Training Center).

Racquetball players work at a constant rate of 75% to 85% of their maximum heart rate for the duration of the typical racquetball game. (USRA Elite Training Camp, 1992).

Racquetball offers both aerobic and anaerobic benefits, with both sustained high level heart rate activity and quick bursts of energy required during play. The nature of the game, with intense bursts of exertion, is similar to high intensity interval training which has been shown to be the most effecient method to burn fat. (The main difference is that racquetball is fun!)

Racquetball works nearly every muscle group, including sustained, repetitive use of large muscles that increase calorie burn and reduce fat percentage.

PARTICIPATION (based on the 2005 SGMA study)

There are 5,533,000 Racquetball participants in the U.S.

The number of players increased by 13% in 2004.

69% of the participants are men.

Racquetball participants are more likely than the general population to engage in activities such as squash, scuba diving, volleyball, and rafting.

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According to this, an hour of racquetball gains me nearly 2 miles of running and almost 900 calories burned. Of course, if the level of play was less, these numbers would be less as well.

This I will use from now on, which will help me keep track of the numbers that RunKeeper likes. As well as notifying my of goals met or exceeded. If I play for 3 hours, at a high level, this would be a record, for example.

My 2011 SALPASS Schedule

2011-10-07T10:03:00.000-07:00

Just 3 more sleeps til I'm at the annual PASS Summit

To copy everyone else, here's where I'll be during week:

Monday

Arriving in Seattle mid-afternoon

Tuesday - Friday

Attending the Summit

Saturday

Leaving Seattle early morning

Ok, haha. There are more details than that... here is a better one. As of Friday 11:20

Monday

Leaving my house 9:00 AM to go to airport
Flying to Seattle at 11:00 AM
Arriving in Seattle 12:30 PM
Finding the hotel
Monday Night Networking Dinner @ Lowell's - 6-9 PM

Tuesday

Breakfast w\ Andy Warren at Top Pot Doughnuts on 5th Ave. - 6-8 AM, maybe
Special Networking with Don Gabor - 3 PM - 5 PM
First Timers Meet and Greet : room 618 5:15 PM - 5:45 PM
First Timers Orientation and Networking Session - 5:30-6:30 PM
Welcome Reception and Quiz Bowl - 6:30-8 PM
Red Gate Party - Sponsored by SSC - 8 PM - 11 PM

Wednesday

Day 1 Keynote - 8:15-10 AM
I want to attend 12 sessions in 5 hours
Chapter Lunch - 12-1 PM
MVP Deep Dive 2 Book Signing - Between Expo Hall and Dining Hall - 1 PM - 2:30 PM
Exhibitor Reception - 6 PM - 8 PM
SQL Karaoke at Busch Gardens - 9:30 PM - 2:00 AM

Thursday

Putting on my Kilt
Day 2 Keynote - 8:15-10 AM
I want to attend 12 sessions in 5 hours
Women In Technology lunch - 11:30 AM - 1:30 PM
Community Appreciation Party - 7-10 PM
Friends of RedGate Dinner - 7:15 PM -

Friday

Day 3 Keynote - 8:15-10 AM
I want to attend 13 sessions in 5 hours

Saturday

Leaving hotel 7:00 AM - 8:00 AM to go to airport
Flying to Utah at 10:19 AM
Arriving in Utah 1:10 PM
Go Home
Rest

As many of you are, I too am excited to attend the Summit. I look forward to learning and networking. The rest is extra. Those are the goals. LURN + NETWORK.

If you see me, say hi. I have new MOO cards to share with you. You might even get a hug or at least a fist bump. If I don't recognize you, just realize I am getting old and forgetful. Remind me who you are and we'll talk about stuff.

Visiting my Sister - SQL Saturday Austin 2011

2011-10-06T21:59:00.000-07:00

I had the opportunity to visit my sister this past weekend. Worlds collided, and I was able to attend a SQL Saturday event in Austin Texas, which is where she lives. I brought Christy with me and we flew out on a Friday midday, arriving in Texas around 6pm. There was a speaker dinner for the event at 6pm that we attended. By we, I mean myself, Christy along with Nisa and her 3 kids, whom came to pick us up at the airport, braving traffic on a Friday night to retrieve us. The kids loved seeing the planes, I fear more than seeing us. But we made them fall in love with us by the end of the trip. After they met us at the airport, we went into downtown, near the college campus, mere blocks from where the event was scheduled to occur, to a BBQ joint and had us some dinner. The host of the speaker dinner were nice enough to allow me to bring all my visitors along.

I always love these events and especially the networking that goes on. There is something exciting about walking into a room of strangers and striking up a conversation with them. Even more exciting to keep it going, changing, evolving. What is fascinating to me is the nervousness I feel that is wrapped with a confidence that allows me to push the conversation. Others struggle, while yet others seem to perform this task easily. I fall somewhere in that gap, more on the less struggle side. Not that it's easy, but it just happens. My good wife will accompany while I perform this feat, even though she may or may not enjoy it. But I was fascinated that my sister would simply slip into a conversation with a bunch of SQL geeks as if she lived in that world already. It must be a genetic thing to be able to join in a conversation, easily, efficiently, and flow with whatever is occurring already, organically. I was impressed.

After the dinner, we went back to Nisa's home and simply hung out with the family and talked, chatted, played, goofed, and so on. Until way too late. Way too late. When we finally got to bed, it was after 2am. This normally wouldn't be a problem, except that I had a 7am start to the day, with a 30 minute commute, and little idea how to get from point A to point B.

The morning came way too quickly. As it usually does. But this morning, it was way too quick. Once awake and showered, I left the house I barely had seen the night before, crawled into a vehicle I wasn't sure had a color or not, and drove north, to an area I had seen only 12 hours previously. Along the way I decided to take a scenic route, adding 15 minutes onto my commute and a bit of back tracking. Once on the correct path, I was able to find the event location and park the car and leave it unlocked. Doh. I didn't realize this until the end of the day as I returned to the vehicle (remember I wasn't sure what color the car was? that made finding it in the parking lot quite fun. I shoulda paid more attention to it). The SQL Saturday event was great. I had volunteered to help out with sessions and as luck would have it, I had one of the first sessions. I attended a session each hour and learned quite a bit. At lunch time I practiced a technique I later blogged about on my professional blog for talking to strangers at events. At 2pm it was time for my session. There were 20+ people in my session that created a great interactive event that let us all learn from each other, with me simply directing the conversation. Once completed, and depleted of energy, I struggled thru the next sessions. Its always so draining to perform thusly, but I wouldn't give it up, its energizing as well as depleting.

When the event was completed, I reluctantly left my cohorts and wondered a parking lot until I was able to locate Brett's vehicle, and returned south to where this house was that I forgot to look at when I left closely. 98% of the return trip was completely controlled and directed well. Once I reached their neighborhood though, I realized that I wasn't quite sure how to get to their home or even once there, which one was theirs. It happened, all by myself I was able to find it, ultimately. But not quickly. Once back at their home, only the boys were left, as the girls had all left to go shopping for cowgirl boots. I rested a bit, and even fell asleep (remember the 4 hours of sleep the prior night, yeah). As soon as I did fall asleep though, the girls returned, awaking me to their excitement and stories. Soon, we all took off, with a friend of Christy's that happened to lives nearby, to dinner. A great little TexMex food locale called Chuy's was our watering hole for the night. All 10 of us talked, played, ate, and enjoyed each others company.

The next day found us sleeping in, hanging out, watching LDS conference, hanging out, jumping on the trampoline, killing flies, getting tickled, wrestling, and simply enjoying each others company. We had a flight out of Austin to Salt Lake City at 7pm, which allowed us a large portion of the day to simply 'be' together. We took advantage of it. We forged bonds and rekindled friendships. Check out our photos over on Facebook that we took of the kids and us, mainly at the end of the last day, as we traveled back to the airport.

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150328100408402.357051.695503401&type=3

All in all it was a lot more fun than I thought it would be. That's not to say that I was expecting a disaster or an awful time. Its just that you can look forward to something, make plans, and when it actually happens, it happens better than you could have planned. That's what happened. Fun was had. I learned tons and shared tons of my passion with SQL Server. We had a great weekend.

Earthquake Preparedness

2011-04-01T14:47:00.000-07:00

Earthquakes can be very dangerous and can occur at any time of the year. Identifying potential hazards ahead of time and advance planning can reduce the chances of death, serious injury, or property damage.

When preparing for an earthquake, plan on having enough food, water, clothing, medical supplies and other necessary equipment for you and your family for at least 72 hours. Assistance from local fire and police departments may not be available immediately following an earthquake.

This checklist will help you get started on the essentials.

(This information is taken from http://earthquake.usgs.gov/learn/faq/?faqID=77 ):

1. Fire extinguisher

2. Adequate supplies of medications that you or your family are taking

3. Crescent and pipe wrenches to turn off gas and water supplies

4. First aid kit and handbook

5. Flashlights with extra bulbs and batteries

6. Portable radio with extra batteries

7. Water for each family member for at least 3 days (allow at least 1 gallon per person per day) and purification tablets or chlorine bleach to purify drinking water from other sources

8. Canned and packaged foods, enough for several days and a mechanical can opener. Extra food for pets if necessary.

9. Camp stove or barbecue to cook on outdoors (store fuel out of reach of children)

10. Waterproof, heavy-duty plastic bags for waste disposal

Before The Earthquake Strikes

Pick "safe places" in each room of your home. A safe place could be under a sturdy table or desk or against an interior wall away from windows, bookcases, or tall furniture that could fall on you. The shorter the distance to move to safety, the less likely you will be injured. Injury statistics show that people moving as little as 10 feet during an earthquake's shaking are most likely to be injured. Also pick safe places, in your office, school and other buildings you are frequently in.
Practice drop, cover, and hold-on in each safe place. Drop under a sturdy desk or table and hold on to one leg of the table or desk. Protect your eyes by keeping your head down. Practice these actions so that they become an automatic response. When an earthquake or other disaster occurs, many people hesitate, trying to remember what they are supposed to do. Responding quickly and automatically may help protect you from injury.
Practice drop, cover, and hold-on at least twice a year. Frequent practice will help reinforce safe behavior.
Wait in your safe place until the shaking stops, and then check to see if you are hurt. You will be better able to help others if you take care of yourself first, then check the people around you. Move carefully and watch out for things that have fallen or broken, creating hazards. Be ready for additional earthquakes called "aftershocks."
Be on the lookout for fires. Fire is the most common earthquake-related hazard, due to broken gas lines, damaged electrical lines or appliances, and previously contained fires or sparks being released.
If you must leave a building after the shaking stops, use the stairs, not the elevator. Earthquakes can cause fire alarms and fire sprinklers to go off. You will not be certain whether there is a real threat of fire. As a precaution, use the stairs.
If you're outside in an earthquake, stay outside. Move away from buildings, trees, streetlights, and power lines. Crouch down and cover your head. Many injuries occur within 10 feet of the entrance to buildings. Bricks, roofing, and other materials can fall from buildings, injuring persons nearby. Trees, streetlights, and power lines may also fall, causing damage or injury.
Inform guests, babysitters, and caregivers of your plan. Everyone in your home should know what to do if an earthquake occurs. Assure yourself that others will respond properly even if you are not at home during the earthquake.
Get training. Take a first aid class from your local Red Cross chapter. Get training on how to use a fire extinguisher from your local fire department. Keep your training current. Training will help you to keep calm and know what to do when an earthquake occurs.
Discuss earthquakes with your family. Everyone should know what to do in case all family members are not together. Discussing earthquakes ahead of time helps reduce fear and anxiety and lets everyone know how to respond.
Talk with your insurance agent. Different areas have different requirements for earthquake protection. Study locations of active faults, and if you are at risk, consider purchasing earthquake insurance.

During an Earthquake

Drop, cover, and hold on! Move only a few steps to a nearby safe place. It is very dangerous to try to leave a building during an earthquake because objects can fall on you. Many fatalities occur when people run outside of buildings, only to be killed by falling debris from collapsing walls. In U.S. buildings, you are safer to stay where you are.
If you are in bed, hold on and stay there, protecting your head with a pillow. You are less likely to be injured staying where you are. Broken glass on the floor has caused injury to those who have rolled to the floor or tried to get to doorways.
If you are outdoors, find a clear spot away from buildings, trees, streetlights, and power lines. Drop to the ground and stay there until the shaking stops. Injuries can occur from falling trees, street-lights and power lines, or building debris.
If you are in a vehicle, pull over to a clear location, stop and stay there with your seatbelt fastened until the shaking has stopped. Trees, power lines, poles, street signs, and other overhead items may fall during earthquakes. Stopping will help reduce your risk, and a hard-topped vehicle will help protect you from flying or falling objects. Once the shaking has stopped, proceed with caution. Avoid bridges or ramps that might have been damaged by the quake.
Stay indoors until the shaking stops and you're sure it's safe to exit. More injuries happen when people move during the shaking of an earthquake. After the shaking has stopped, if you go outside, move quickly away from the building to prevent injury from falling debris.
Stay away from windows. Windows can shatter with such force that you can be injured several feet away.
In a high-rise building, expect the fire alarms and sprinklers to go off during a quake. Earthquakes frequently cause fire alarm and fire sprinkler systems to go off even if there is no fire. Check for and extinguish small fires, and, if exiting, use the stairs.
If you are in a coastal area, move to higher ground. Tsunamis are often created by earthquakes.
If you are in a mountainous area or near unstable slopes or cliffs, be alert for falling rocks and other debris that could be loosened by the earthquake. Landslides commonly happen after earthquakes.

After the Earthquake

Check yourself for injuries. Often people tend to others without checking their own injuries. You will be better able to care for others if you are not injured or if you have received first aid for your injuries.
Protect yourself from further danger by putting on long pants, a long-sleeved shirt, sturdy shoes, andwork gloves. This will protect you from further injury by broken objects.
After you have taken care of yourself, help injured or trapped persons. If you have it in your area, call 9-1-1, and then give first aid when appropriate. Don't try to move seriously injured people unless they are in immediate danger of further injury.
Look for and extinguish small fires. Eliminate fire hazards. Putting out small fires quickly, using available resources, will prevent them from spreading. Fire is the most common hazard following earthquakes. Fires followed the San Francisco earthquake of 1906 for three days, creating more damage than the earthquake.
Leave the gas on at the main valve, unless you smell gas or think it's leaking. It may be weeks or months before professionals can turn gas back on using the correct procedures. Explosions have caused injury and death when homeowners have improperly turned their gas back on by themselves.
Clean up spilled medicines, bleaches, gasoline, or other flammable liquids immediately and carefully. Avoid the hazard of a chemical emergency.
Open closet and cabinet doors cautiously. Contents may have shifted during the shaking of an earthquake and could fall, creating further damage or injury.
Inspect your home for damage. Get everyone out if your home is unsafe. Aftershocks following earthquakes can cause further damage to unstable buildings. If your home has experienced damage, get out before aftershocks happen.
Help neighbors who may require special assistance. Elderly people and people with disabilities may require additional assistance. People who care for them or who have large families may need additional assistance in emergency situations.
Listen to a portable, battery-operated radio (or television) for updated emergency information and instructions. If the electricity is out, this may be your main source of information. Local radio and local officials provide the most appropriate advice for your particular situation.
Expect aftershocks. Each time you feel one, drop, cover, and hold on! Aftershocks frequently occur minutes, days, weeks, and even months following an earthquake.
Watch out for fallen power lines or broken gas lines, and stay out of damaged areas. Hazards caused by earthquakes are often difficult to see, and you could be easily injured.
Stay out of damaged buildings. If you are away from home, return only when authorities say it is safe. Damaged buildings may be destroyed by aftershocks following the main quake.
Use battery-powered lanterns or flashlights to inspect your home. Kerosene lanterns, torches, candles, and matches may tip over or ignite flammables inside.
Inspect the entire length of chimneys carefully for damage. Unnoticed damage could lead to fire or injury from falling debris during an aftershock. Cracks in chimneys can be the cause of a fire years later.
Take pictures of the damage, both to the house and its contents, for insurance claims.
Avoid smoking inside buildings. Smoking in confined areas can cause fires.
When entering buildings, use extreme caution. Building damage may have occurred where you least expect it. Carefully watch every step you take.

Examine walls, floor, doors, staircases, and windows to make sure that the building is not in danger of collapsing.
Check for gas leaks. If you smell gas or hear a blowing or hissing noise, open a window and quickly leave the building. Turn off the gas, using the outside main valve if you can, and call the gas company from a neighbor's home. If you turn off the gas for any reason, it must be turned back on by a professional.
Look for electrical system damage. If you see sparks or broken or frayed wires, or if you smell burning insulation, turn off the electricity at the main fuse box or circuit breaker. If you have to step in water to get to the fuse box or circuit breaker, call an electrician first for advice.
Check for sewage and water line damage. If you suspect sewage lines are damaged, avoid using the toilets and call a plumber. If water pipes are damaged, contact the water company and avoid using water from the tap. You can obtain safe water from undamaged water heaters or by melting ice cubes.
Watch for loose plaster, drywall, and ceilings that could fall.

Use the telephone only to report life-threatening emergencies. Telephone lines are frequently overwhelmed in disaster situations. They need to be clear for emergency calls to get through.
Watch animals closely. Leash dogs and place them in a fenced yard. The behavior of pets may change dramatically after an earthquake. Normally quiet and friendly cats and dogs may become aggressive or defensive.

whats going on

2011-02-28T08:39:00.000-08:00

with the Holiday season over, still in the middle of winter, and yearning for spring and summer, we always find ourselves in an odd mix of busy and hibernating.

We've been busy on and off with Racquetball tournaments as the season winds down. Yet as it winds down, we start up the summer league for the youth, and when that winds down, the season starts up again. So, it seems that we stay busy with racquetball all year long. So, this activity is in spurts, on and off, but usually somewhere on our agenda. A couple weeks ago we hit a new level of play, with Kylie and myself playing in a doubles match in the UVU tournament. We played in a round robin and ended up playing 4 other teams, for a total of quite a few games, which tuckered out Kylie something fierce. She had a blast, and is looking forward to another tourney and another chance for us to play together. Next week, in fact, will be that chance. We'll be playing sometime between Wed and Saturday, hopefully multiple times.

Not much on the motorcycle front is occurring, since its wet or frozen everywhere. We did get out in January for a big bike ride and get muddy and cold, and had a blast riding.

We are in full swing preparations for our trip to Greece, which is less than a month away at this point. Much excitement and planning still occurring to ensure that we pull off the trip successfully.

I was able to go to Colorado Springs recently for a Professional Development event (SQLSaturday) and it was paid for by work, which was a blessing and another tick in the PRO column for my new job. Oh, I have a new job. Should detail that. But since it seems to happen every few years, you know the drill. Got frustrated, found something better, moved to the new place, loving it, honeymoon still going on, still loving it.

is thankful for

2010-11-25T09:14:00.000-08:00

existing and being able to be thankful
a Heavenly Father who knows him and is allowing him this earthly experience
ability to read, in 2 languages
ability to work with my hands to create
ability to envision something, work hard to achieve it
innovative products that enhance our lives
people who he connects with that feel like they've been friends for millenia
family, both present and distant
friends who become family
family who become friends
an old table that has stayed unused for many years and returns as a new office table
being able to connect with people physically, emotionally, spiritually thru multiple means and media
seeing other people struggle and learn, and learning from them
ability to want more, to become more, and to slowly achieve more
being older, yet still feeling young at heart
a sweet daughter that connects with him so easily
a sweet daughter that takes care of everyone around her so thoroughly
a son that is so terribly happy all the time one must comply to his state of happines to truly enjoy being in his presence
a sweet wife that works so hard at the family, at her newfound love with her job, and basically still lets him hang around her
his house, a house that seemed too much at one time, then not quite big enough, now is just right
his toys, both large and small, that allow him small diversions into that childhood he so richly enjoys to escape from adulthood
friends to play with, learn from, grow with, and experience life together
a warm electric blanket on cold nights
leather gloves that shield his hands from the outside chill
a new streetbike that will take him on journeys away from reality, once its warm enough to enjoy it again
books, stories and tales that transport him to another plane for brief momments
neighbors who step up to help out when needed
new and exciting opportunities on the horizon
his ability to enjoy racquetball, dirtbiking, motorcycling, waterskiing, snowskiing, paintballing and other activities that keep the heart pumping and young
his ability to teach, train, mentor and share his knowledge with others
his ability to learn from others and add to his store of knowledge
jim the boatwrap guy that protects his little ski boat each year, so come summer, play can ensue on the water once again
waking up late on Thanksgiving morning, and feeling overwhelmed by thankfullness

Emptying the Storage Unit

2010-10-14T09:17:00.000-07:00

Back in June, we got a storage unit to hold all the junk we had in the basement for the last decade. It was quite a bit of stuff. The highlights are as follows:

Christmas stuff
Halloween stuff
Easter stuff
Camping stuff
various hobby stuff
Waterski/boat stuff
junk, lots and lots of junk

Its amazing what accumulates when you have a storage area like a basement to simply put stuff in. It accumulates. And its seemingly all important stuff. With the storage available, its hard to get rid of any of it. So, it all went into the storage unit.

Before extracting it from the storage unit, after the basement was completed, we made a few rules. It had to go through a QA process. We had to justify anything that we brought back home. Everything. This has been quite the chore, and has been spread out over various evenings and days. For example, the Christmas stuff... It was contained in various boxes, i think about 6 containers in total. Each of those containers was opened, and each item was transferred from that box to another box. We actually purchased some new containers that would stack better, were simply newer, and much more sturdy that previous containers. The plan was to transfer into these containers anything we wanted to keep, while discarding the rest. Either to the trash or to DI. Quite a bit has gone to both locations.

I am proud to announce that the Christmas, Halloween and Easter stuff all went thru the rigorous process of QA first, and were successful. We cleaned a fourth to half of the stuff we had been saving all these years. With limited space now available to us to use in the basement, some cleaning and pruning was necessary.

As the weeks have marched on, and we continue to pay the fee to store stuff, some of which is not anything we really need, while other is necessary, its obvious that this can be addicting, and we could simply quit and keep the storage unit. Paying out monthly payments to keep the stuff. However, that was another of the goals of this task. Have the storage unit during the summer, maybe into the fall, but not much after that. We are now dangerously close to 'after that'. This next week will see the last of the items removed from the unit and placed in their final resting home. Be it our home, or elsewhere. In fact, one item we were particularly sad about throwing out actually got placed last night in a good home. We pulled all the carpet from the basement when we finished it. A large green carpet that had covered those floors for over a decade. Last night, another family was in the storage unit place, and came wondering by to talk to us. We offered them the carpet, on a whim, and they accepted. It will now live in their basement, covering their floors.

We should have taken pictures of this process, similarly to the pics of the basement progress. It would have been fun to see the items disappear from basement, rematerialize in the storage unit, then disappear again.

Soon, we'll be back to just our house and surrounding property that contains all of our worldly possesions. Soon.

Semi annual conference

2010-10-03T21:26:00.000-07:00

Every six months we get the opportunity to listen to LDS Church leaders expound on topics that they feel we should hear. The topics are always interesting, and oft times they are exactly what we need to hear. But the overwhelming reason to listen to conference for me is to hear those things that I need to hear, and feel the spirit confirm them to me. We all need repeated reminders of where we are headed and how to get there.

I grew up in California and didnt have the chance to simply wake up and watch conference on the TV. Ever since my time at BYU, I have felt blessed to live in a place that allowed me to watch it so easily. Yeah, I can read it later or even rewatch it on TV or over the internet. But there is something in me that says I need to watch it as it occurs. Be there, in case I miss something. Besides, the repetition of rewatching it will need to occur anyway to ensure it gets pounded into my skull.

For our family, we try to watch each session, or listen to each session. Since 6 of the 10 hours occurs on a Saturday, and Saturdays are either play or work days for us, its always interesting to find ways to listen and learn, as well as implement some sort off fun or todo list crossing off. In the past, we've spent Saturday conference time in the basement, cleaning and organizing it.

However, with the basement now finished, this is unnecessary. So, I woke up early Saturday morning and made myself a list of random tasks. 16 in total. Most of which could be done while listening to conference. With various radios and TV's turned on throughout the house, we could come and go from different areas in the home and outside working on tasks, yet still listening. By breaking us up into groups, it makes it easier to listen and not spend the entire time yelling at each other to be quiet so that we can listen to conference and be edified. ;)

Sunday typically finds us watching it on the TV in the family room as a family together. Its always a challenge to keep the kids either not making too much noise or actually listening, or preferably somewhere in between. Its funny after the first sunday session, we typcially need a break, and our breaks usually involve watching TV. But having spent the last two hours glued to the TV, watching TV isnt really a break. Finding something to do, that only takes 2 hours is always interesting.

This time, after the last session finished, and our naps concluded, we grabbed our books, some drinks, some blankets and headed up Provo Canyon to chill out. We spent a few hours hanging out, reading, playing tag and enjoying the time together.

All in all, the weekend came and went, lessons were learned, the spirit was felt, fun was had, time spent together as well as 6 out of 16 tasks completed on Saturday.

our back yard is on fire

2010-09-26T09:52:00.000-07:00

We've been slowly making progress on the backyard patio for a while now (read:years).

A year or so ago, we pulled the trigger on some of the design of the patio and purchased some large blocks to put in the patio as steps. this was a bit premature, as the actual patio floor wasnt yet in place. This was forcing us to kick it in gear and get it completed. The upper patio got completed first, while the lower patio was still undone for quite some time.

Last month significant progress was made on the lower patio, and we got the firepit put in as well. The lower patio now has a floor completely finished up to the waterfall. In the middle of this floor is a firepit. Last night was its maiden voyage, in celebration for Kylie's birthday. We got the fire going, and enjoyed sitting at home, yet seemingly out in the wilderness enjoying a roaring fire. You can see a picture of it on Facebook here.

We have already enjoyed using this patio for various activities. the main one i enjoy it for is working from on those days when i stay home in the morning. And evenings when I sit out there, listening to music, and just chillin. Now, add fire to the mix, and you got yourself a very enjoyable escape pod located within feet of my back door. Here's to many years of use. Next project, finish up the waterfall to add an even more zenlike quality to the outside of our home. Imagine listening to music, with the soft melody of water falling, while a fire warmly soothes your toes... you wanna come and visit on one of those crisp fall evenings with me, huh?

My Little Girl

2010-09-24T09:21:00.000-07:00

This weekend, she turns 14. I continue to be amazed to hang out with her, and interact with her, as a parent and often times as a peer. We have built quite the relationship of peerness surrounding our racquetball interests. She often attends games of mine and coaches me, successfully. I return the favor and coach her.
This peerness has migrated to other places of our relationship. Its amazing to see her turn into a real person with her own values and habits and goals. She is still a child, but the adult she will become peeks thru on occasion, often catching me by surprise to see who she will be and realize we will be adults together at some point. In the not so distant future.
Her birthday is this weekend, and in preparation for this momentous event (all birthdays should be momentous) she is planning her planning for Friday night with friends. We took a trip down to the park nearby to see about using a pavilion, and to make sure that it had power for the radio and music that she 'needs' to be present at the activity. We rode our bikes down there, and it was odd for me to simply be along for the ride as she made her plans, and envisioned how the party would occur. Very much in control of what she wants to happen, and able to see the vision of how to accomplish it, i stand back in awe as she takes the reigns and gets it done. A joy to participate in this transition from child to adult.
We had a great time looking at the park, riding our bikes around, and simply being together. She allowed her little sister to tag along, and i could go on and on at the amazing things that this child does to cause me to stand in awe and wonder as well. But this post is mainly about my eldest. My soon to be 14 year old. The amazing experience it is to participate in her life and help her 'become' whom she will be. I always thought that parents had a little more control over what their children became. But that is not so. We can point the rope in the direction we want, think it should traverse space, ensuring its headed in the right direction, but we must realize that its a greased rope that we are unable to grasp and control. Gentle nudging does the trick, if its started at an early age, and followed thru continuously.
I mentioned before that she has her own values and habits and goals. I love to see her stand up for herself, even against her parents, when something conflicts with her values. She is persistent in reminding anyone the way it should be. Amazing. I stand in awe.

Happy birthday daughter. Thanks for sharing your life with me.

Christmas 2009 - Summary

2010-01-01T20:47:00.000-08:00

We recently returned from a week long vacation that started in Sea World for Christmas day, and ended all over California. Multiple locations were visited, much fun was had. Each day, adventures were had and pictures were taken. To capture these, I tried to summarize the day with pics in a blog, to record these adventures for ourselves mainly, as well as for friends and family. If you missed any of them, they are listed below.

If you do not want to read the blog posts, I will attempt to provide a summary here as well, and the last blog post about the trip.

While on our trip, I tried to update Facebook with as many status updates as possible, so that those following the trip could keep up. I did do some twitter updates, but since that crowd is typically work related, I refrained from updating on twitter as much about personal matters. Thus, Facebook provided the majority of the status updates. I had been talking about the trip for a bit prior to its actual departure, and continued while vacationing. At the end of the trip, I had totaled 40 updates via Facebook. Only 8 of these were statuses about blog postings. With these posts, other folks added over 72+ comments or likes to my updates. Out of interest, I summarized these additions to my Facebook feed. 33 distinct people made comments with 52 total comments. 14 distinct people flagged my statuses as statuses they 'like', with 22 total 'likes' having been logged. 40 distinct people made comments or 'likes' to my statuses. I wish I knew how many people were actually following the updates.

So, how many more summaries, totals and the such are there?

new tires purchased to make the trip possible - 4
days sleeping away from home - 8
distinct hotels - 5
1 day we were in 4 distinct states
9 state lines were crosses (some multiple times)
low temperature - 13 degrees
high temperature - 73 degrees
days above 60 degrees - 5
days above 30 degrees - all of them
miles travelled - 1900
visits to In N Out - 1
cheapest meal for family of 5 - $29
most expensive meal - $100
most spent on food in 1 day - $100 (same as above day)
Argentine restaurants visited - 1 (above as well)
longest stretch in the car - 7 hours
latest arrival to a hotel - 12:00am
earliest arrival to a hotel - 7:00pm
days without my trusty pillow - 4
new pillow purchases while on trip - 1
days with more than 1 hour travel - 6
hours of car travel - 30
extra hours of car travel due to traffic - 3
visits to gas stations - 5
visits to the ocean - 5
opportunities to pet a dolphin - 5
actual times petting a dolphin - 1
animal toys purchased to replace long lost toy - 1
animals purchased for Trey to remember Sea World - 40+
number of days Trey was homesick - 1
nights in bed and asleep before midnight - 2
mornings we woke up earlier than 9am - 1
consecutive breakfasts with biscuits and gravy for Kylie - 3
meals we skipped - 4.5
days we ate on any kind of schedule - 0
days we actually had time to exercise and actually exercised - 1
movies watched - 1 + how ever many the kids watched while in back seat
electronic devices to entertain the kids - 5
pops purchased to drink while driving - too many to count
times one kid got in trouble for messing with another kid - fewer than expected
times we had to stop and do laundry to have enough clothes for rest of trip - 1
hot fudge sundaes eaten - 0
coconuts drained, opened and shared for first time - 1
cemetaries visited - 2
grave sights visited - 5
grandparent graves visited - 4
graves of beloved animals (Pete) visited - 1
quantity of pictures and video taken - 1300+
pictures taken - 1200+
size of digital media created - almost 10G
number of people happy to be home, missing the warmth of the trip, full of good memories from this awesome adventure - 5

Christmas 2009 - Part 8

2010-01-01T11:29:00.000-08:00

Our last morning in Tehachapi was upon us, as was the drizzling rain with an amazingly cold wind. We had to be out of the hotel by 1pm, but were rather slow about it. Breakfast was provided downstairs as it was the previous day, and like the previous day, we barely made the 10am cutoff time, descending to feed in our jammies, with the sleep still in our eyes and he confused morning sensations still filling our sleepy heads. After feeding, we had some time on our hands, but not enough to leave and return, so we simply hung out and stayed. Exercising was on the menu, and for the first time in the week we have been vacationing, we actually accomplished this task. Showers were in order next, as well as loading up all our gear for the long road ahead of us. We had a few hours left in Tehachapi before we needed to get on the road and head to Mesquite. Christy brought the car around and started loading up.

Treyson, loving the hotel

Once all our miscellaneous gear was gathered, bagged, shuttled outside, and safely ensconced in the car, we got ready yo take off. As we began to depart from the hotel, I noticed the infamous 'Check Engine' light was illuminated. Crap. Turning off the car, and restarting it did not reset the light, as I had hoped. After opening the hood and checking all the things I could think of to check, we took off to find a Checker or AutoZone. As we approached the store, I could tell something was wrong, as there was a shake or shimmy in the engine. Worry creased my brow, as we drove to the auto part store, with a scared quiet nervousness wafting from the backseat. Once at the store and after describing my dilemna, they described theirs. They are not allowed, by law, to diagnose the 'Check Engine' light anymore. They are only allowed to sell me the device, with no refund so that I can determine what the problem is. This doesnt help me. I ask him to suggest a mechanic, realizing that I never visited a mechanic when I previously resided in this town. A mechanics shop was suggested, and we headed to it. This time, the car was acting normal, but the light remained on, glaring at me. Once at the location (J&H on Tehachapi Blvd) i described the dilemna I currently existed in. We were to hit a couple more spots to see sights, and then take off to Vegas and Mesquite. We had our day planned, had checked out of the hotel already, and needed to be moving, not stopped by vehicle problems. With our dilemna understood, and probably not heard for the first time, the owner grabbed his fancy dancy detector device to interpret what our car was trying to tell us. As we talked, we realized this this man was my parents neighbor. He knew my dad was a teacher, and I knew where his house was located. We had just been there the day previous, visiting my old home. He diagnosed the problem as a miss fire in cylinder 4. This could be all kinds of things... He investigated, and swapped out a plug as well as the cable. After a couple of attempts, got the right combination of products to try out. He reset the code, gave us back the original parts and said to drive around the block. If the light came back on we were to return to his shop, if not, we were to go about our business with his new years wishes. I couldnt not leave without paying him something, but he refused, claiming I was his Ex Ex Neighbor. Wow. What a Christmas present.

We went about our last few tasks, with a vigilant eye on the infamous light, and were pleased that it has not turned back on since. We went out to the Perryman's racquetball court, in the hopes of showing the kids where my love of the game was born. The building was still there, as I remember it, but was locked. The Perryman family was not present and the court was not open. Bummer. But in the grand scheme of things, we were driving our fixed car, and on schedule for the day. Pictures were taken and we departed. Lunch was had at a favorite restaurant, Domingoes. This is a favortie of the Belt family, and Christy spotted it the day previous, with desires to eat the vittles they prepare so well. A very full lunch settled in our bellies, and we took off on the long road to Mesquite. The valley was still socked in with clouds and fog, which prevented us from seeing the grand glory of the windmills dotting the hillsides. We were able to see some of the windmills and grabbed some photos of them as we departed the valley. The kids were amazed at the quantity of windmills they could actually see, and I was amazed at the memory of the vast quantity of true windmills. This is one of Christy's favorite parts of visiting Tehachapi.

Perryman racquetball court

Once out on the desert floor near Mojave, it was like reaching back into my memory of many other trips on these roads. There is not much to see out here in the desert, but its still reminds me of so much that I always enjoy the trek across the vastness. There is a new freeway system that circumvents the old highway which we decided to take, much to our chagrin later. The new freeway joins i-15 on its way to Vegas south of Barstow. The 15 minute road that we were to travel thru Barstow to the point that the old highway meets was so full of traffic at this hour, that it took us an incredible amount of time to traverse. An accident had caused a lot of congestion and backup, and we crawled along envying the snails that were probably winning this race. This was only a taste of what was to come. The road to Baker was as slow as we had just experienced, with bouts of speed, followed by huge periods of random brake checks. It seemed that the entire California populous was headed on the same road as we were. The funnest part of the entire trek from outside Barstow to outside baker was stopping on Zzyzx road to take an unplanned pee break. Once outside of Baker, for some reason, the beast that is traffic decided to spread out a bit, speed up a bit, and flow in a normal fashion. Speeds were again reached that caused our calm to become active again. We had lost an hour or more in slow traffic. This forced us to not swing by the Las Vegas temple as previously planned. This would have caused us even more of a delay, forcing our arrival at the hotel in Mesquite to occur after midnight. We skipped visiting the temple, drove straight thru Las Vegas with no stops, realizing that to traverse this town takes almost a half hour, as the town has grown and grown. I remember reaching Craig road on the north end of Las Vegas, then driving for 15 minutes before really hitting town. This is no longer the case. Town seems to stretch from Paruhmp to Craig road with few breaks.

Domingos

About to head from Tehachapi to Mesquite

The sun setting over the Tehachapi mountains, as seen from Mojave

The hills alive with windmills

Christy attempted to capture traffic

A little around an hour later, we arrived at Mesquite, and settled down for the night. No food stops were necessary as we were still full from the great meal at Domingos in Golden Hills in my home town of Tehachapi. This sustained us amazingly for the entire 5 hour trek. That and a couple snacks, helped us make it. Bed, arguing, playing, wrestling, getting yelled at again by mom for messing around, and we all finally laid down to get some rest. This was our last sleep away from home, last night in a hotel, the vacation was almost over, and no one wanted it to be so.

Christmas 2009 - Part 7

2009-12-30T10:56:00.000-08:00

Morning comes again, as it always does, but this time it has brought with it fog from the San Joaquin valley to the Tehachapi valley. Everywhere you look, there is a thick blanket of it on the ground up to the sky. It does add a neat bit of spleandor to the surroundings. After having the beast breakfast we've eaten so far, we departed into the thick muck to sightsee around my home town. We drove around almost aimlessly, visiting old schools, churches, homes, buildings, anything that sparked a memory from my childhood. Stories were shared with my children, questions about my childhood were asked, and may sights were seen. Christy did a great job of forcing us to stand and take pictures in front of different locales.

The fog always makes me wonder what creatures are hunting me from within its dark confines

The hotel in Tehachapi. Odd spending the night in a hotel in your hometown

My first house on Welch Court. Tree gone. Bushes gone. Memories still intact.

My home. We drove down Sierra Vista drive, on my way home, and was flooded with memories of the countless trips down this road. My childhood home looked fairly similar to how i remember it, yet different. I knocked the original doors I remember dad hanging, and was greeted by some kid that apparently lived in my home. Odd. Soon, a man and woman met us, and the too appeared to be living in my home. Odd. Looking around, it was similar, yet odd. The floors in all the rooms have been tiled. The paint is different. The kitchen counters and cabinets have been brought up to an age more distant from their original 70's glamor. The rooms looked the same, yet odd. I wondered around, showing my family, as well as the current home owners different things that they didnt know about the home. I indicated where we buried the time capsule when the home was built. I showed them the cabinets that dad built in the game room and the rest of the woodwork that he installed in said room. I showed them the burn mark my corduroy pants left on the wood burning stove. I pointed out the alcove that used to be mom's sewing area that has now been converted to a closet. The home owner and I both told stories about the plethora of pins we've both stepped on in this area that seemed to be embedded in the carpet. I showed them the wall that mom built in the bathroom. On and on went the tour, both interesting to current home owners as well as my kids. We thanked the family and went out to the back yard. This still seemed to be the same as I remember it, with the exception of a dog run that was added. This dog run ended in the garage, where half of my old room has been converted to the dogs home. The garage portion of the barn was almost the same as I remember, and i even remembered the studs we used to use to climb into the attic. Behind the barn, we took a moment to talk about Pete and attempt to find his grave, which no longer remains marked. Stories were told about the yard, the dirtbiking, playing with pete, the garden, the fort, the decks, most of which no longer exist. It was so great to see the place, and we are so grateful that we had the chance to wonder around inside and out.

My old room in the barn

My old room in the barn, inside

Where I think Pete is buried.

Outside my home

Outside my home

Up the street live the Moat's, whom we were requested to visit by most of the Moats girls via facebook. So, we did, and had a great visit with Sister Moats, who said I should call her Cathy, yet that still didnt seem right, given the years and years of habit that were formed calling her Sister Moats. We talked about all our families, all the kids and kid's kids, and simply had a great little time reminiscing.

From the Moats home, we drove around where I used to ride my dirtbike and explore the empty fields west of our home. No longer are the trails present, having been replaced by progress, homes, roads and so on. Odd to drive my car where I used to walk or ride thru fields. More exploring of the area occurred. I stopped by and entered the glass shop I used to work in. It too looked largely untouched, as I stood next to the tables I used to use to build screens, windows and the like. We ended up eating at Jack in the Box, which is largely unknown to our tastebuds, after wondering around Golden Hills for a while. Once we got some foods in our growing vacation bellies, we jumped onto the freeway to head to Bakersfield. The quantity of oil rigs, orange orchards, as well as other farming seemed to amaze the kids. Oranges, oranges and more oranges were everywhere, all dotted with the occasional oil rig.

After an hour on the road, we arrived at the Cemetery and had a great visit with the deceased parents of my father. My kids got to know and love Grandma Belt, but never had the chance to meet Grandpa Belt. I retold stories of his life, my interactions with him, and how much he would have loved them. Tears were shed as well as smiles. Again, for the second time this trip, we were privileged to spend some alone time as a family, reflecting on our mortality as well as those loved ones that have passed on before us. It made me want to go up to Lake Isabella to visit the old cabin where so many memories were forged into the recesses of my adolescent brain. As one of my kids said, how cool it would be to be able to go back in time and watch the proceedings of some of these most favorite memories.

Belt Grandparents burial location

On the way back up the hill, we made a stop by the Tehachapi loop.. This location is one that I never visited while spending the first 18 years of my life only 10 miles from its existence. Firsts for all of us were on the agenda for this trip, and we satisfied this in many different ways. Learning about the loop, how it influenced the growth of LA as well as California was fascinating. As we drove away from the loop, we headed north, which I mistakenly assumed would return us to the freeway. It did not. Again, another first. I was able to drive on a road that I have never been on, in my hometown. Interesting road, compounded by the thick fog that engulfed us.

We were not terribly hungry, but stopped for some food anyways at the Apple Shed. I remember when it was an actual apple shed. Driving around new 'old town' was interesting, as one way streets caused us to go this way and that as we explored the night, seeing the old town thru the lingering fog. All of a sudden, I remembered the Hitching Post, recalling that it is a movie theater. We went to see a movie that we all were excited to see, Avatar. Pictures were taken to share with Anecia, from the locale she used to work when she was living here.

A shout out to Nisa

The night got away from us again, as we returned to the hotel late after the movie, hung out watching tv, blogging, and unwinding from the day. Only a couple days remain, and goals still exist for us to accomplish. Good night, and we'll begin again tomorrow with new adventures.

Christmas 2009 - Part 6

2009-12-29T22:36:00.000-08:00

Monday morning we wake up in San Juan Capistrano to an empty house. The night before, there were 2 + 5 + 6 people in the home we were staying in. Ed & Marie (Christy's uncle and aunt) let us stay over at their home Sunday night, and already had house guests (Chris Hillman and family). Ed & Marie took off to work before we got up, and the Hillman's took off hours before them, on their way back to Utah. It was odd to hang out in an empty home. We showered, packed up, ate some breakfast and took off. Our plans for the day originally included waking up, hitting La Brea tar pits, and making our way to Tehachapi. As we have continued to do on this trip, our plans were ever changing, augmenting and decrementing as we saw fit and the mood struck us. We had decided to add a trip by the LA temple, a trip to see the Hollywood walk of fame, a visit to my cousin MichaelBrent, a visit to Christy's other aunt and uncle, along with starting the day off with one last visit to the increasingly popular beach. Some of these items had to drop off of the itinerary. We were unable to see the walk of fame, visit with my cousin MichaelBrent. Dinner plans were supposed to occur in Tehachapi, but were unable to be make that event either. The events we were able to hit were thoroughly enjoyable. We were sad to miss some things, but time simply was not on our side.

After our breakfast in a borrowed home (thanks to ed and marie) we headed south to the beach. We went to an institute at dana point that advertised some tidal pools with animals to poke and watch. There were tons of rocks, the tide was low, allowing us all the chance to get close to nature. Turns out that Treyson doesn't have a problem with poking a sea anemone, but is terrified of small crabs. Who woulda guessed? Kylie would simply sit on a rock staring out into the bliss of the blue without a care in the world, dreaming of worlds she hopes to create for her future. She is in love with the ocean. She is making plans and trying to figure out how to live near the ocean as well as work within it and its wondrous creatures. Alyssa is so brave, wanting to learn and experience all she can wit the ocean and its creatures.

Alyssa in San Juan Capistrano

I call this one "The Birth of a Dream"

Trey having a blast

The lovely ocean

As we headed north, bidding adieu to the ocean for now, we encountered the other creature that stymies so many folks in this state as well as us today, traffic. We headed north along I-5, encountering tons of unanticipated traffic, along with a crazy naked old man that would drive with his window down yelling at the beast in front of him that was unforseen traffic. The kids got a kick out of him, and we should have gotten a picture of his antics, but feared retribution if we were seen taking his photo. We drove on. Along the way, we again used the tool we have used to reach almost every destination, my smartphone with internet access and google maps. With the gps of the phone, the ability to have google maps tell us where to go and how to get there, we have had quite an interesting time traversing the state.

We reached La Brea tar pits a bit later than we had anticipated. Lunch was supposed to be somewhere exciting and unique to California. After departing the freeway, approaching La Brea, we passed 5 Subway restaurants before finally stopping at a Del Taco for nosh. This was disappointing but unavoidable. When we arrived at La Brea tar pits, there was a line to enter the parking lot, coming from the opposite direction from us. We sneaked in to the line of cars and the car behind us entered the parking lot, followed by the attendants closing the parking lot, marking it as full. We had just breezed in. After we downed our lunch sitting on the grass of the museum under the heat of the California sun, we discovered the outlying park attractions before entering the museum proper. The kids were fascinated to learn of the bones being extracted from the tar, as well as loved seeing the actual tar pit in pit 91. Once in the museum, they looked at every display with interest, reading the plaques, looking at the bones of creatures long gone. There was a movie we watched that taught us a lot about the area, the creatures inhabiting it, how they lived and died. It was very informative as well as interesting.

At La Brea tar pits

At La Brea tar pits

At La Brea tar pits

At La Brea tar pits

At La Brea tar pits

From there, we took off to see he LA temple. The sun was going down soon, so we were able to get some interesting pictures of us, the temple and the sunsetting. We love to visit the temple. The kids get interested in religious topics, questions are asked, things are learned.

LA Temple

LA Temple

LA Temple

From the temple, its a quick jaunt to the freeway, which takes us north towards Tehachapi. Before heading on the long trek to my hometown, we swung by an aunt and uncle of Christy's. Aunt Charlene and uncle Fred live in Chatsworth, which is along the way, so we stopped by for some visiting and dinner. We have been the recipients of many gifts and good thoughts from aunt Charlene over the years that we needed to stop by and visit with them. We ended up having a great time, great food, great conversation, and a great time. Christy had a great time catching up on some family history.

After a great time at the Rio's home, we headed further north to Tehachapi. After getting on to the Palmdale/Lancaster freeway, I was finally able to shirk the use of the gps/phone/google maps and simply drive to the location by memory. We reached our hotel in Tehachapi (the best hotel by far) just before midnight, and simply crashed. Each night has seemed to catch us unawares as it progresses later and later and we simply do not want to give up the day of vacation time to sleep quite yet. It will be hard to readjust our schedule once we get back home. We will have to though.

Christmas 2009 - Part 5

2009-12-27T22:35:00.001-08:00

Day 5 is a Sunday and started even more lazily than day 4 did. We had to be out of the hotel room by noon, but were in no hurry to depart. Things eventually got packed up and loaded into the car. Amazingly, we were able to get it all in there, even with the extra that we have picked up along the way. The coconut that was purchased on the second day was finally drained and opened up. Having spent a lot of time watching Survivor caused us to beg the question, could we actually drink the milk and eat the flesh of the coconut? Turns out we could, but we'd not enjoy it terribly. The milk was clear, but still tastes like it should be cloudy. It was not entirely coconutty as I expected, which was great, seeing how I do not like the tast of coconut. Seeing Alyssa heft the globe in the air, only to smash it down on the ground was worth the wait. Two throws in, she halved the coconut almost perfectly. Going over the room with a finetooth comb, ensuring we left nothing behind, we were ready to depart. The rest of the day only had plans to sightsee somewhere, see the San Diego temple, and make it to San Juan Capistrano to spend the evening with Christy's aunt and uncle. We talked about it, and decided to drive over the bridge in San Diego to Coronado, see an old hotel, drive south along the Coronado island/peninula. From there, we would visit the border of Mexico, so that the kids could tell stories of seeing mexico. On the way north, we planned on seeing the temple in San Diego as well as stop by the beach along the way. We also detoured into San Diego, drove down harbor way, ran across a road called Belt Street (which we u-turned to take pictures of), saw the huge naval ships and other ships. We were even able to drive down town to see the old wooden ship that Christy and I visited once while on a cruise. We swung by the temple in San Diego and wondered around it, taking pictures as we went, visiting with the missionaries, and even seeing the most Utah license plates we've seen on the trip so far (4). We swung by 2 beaches during the day, one where we actually got out and picked up shells, the other we simply looked at from within the confines of our vehicle. Since we rarely get to see the ocean, yet are drawn to the water in all its forms, we could sit mezmorized watching the waves, listening to the crashing, and smelling the odd smells that waft by. Its always a great experience to be at the beach, even more so for the children. The day ended with us reaching San Juan Capistrano visiting with family, chilling and relaxing.

Pictures coming...

Christmas 2009 - Part 4

2009-12-27T21:29:00.000-08:00

Day 4 finds us waking up late and deciding not to goto the Zoo. We had thought that our passes we currently hold for a zoo in Utah would gain us a discount of sorts in San Diego, but that is not the case. The kids voted and decided to not goto the Zoo, but to sightsee and possibly goto an aquarium. Getting up late and lounging about on vacation is something we have heard about other people doing, but rarely get to experience it ourselves. It is all its cracked up to be! The aquarium we went too is called the Birch Aquarium, and is part of the University of California San Diego. The first thing we see as we approach (besides the California Lake Treyson decided to call the ocean) was a submersible. The kids were fascinated with this device, and we stood and talked and read about it for quite some time. Once inside the aquarium, it was a mad dash from spot to spot, taking videos and pictures of everything we could along the way. We'd stop in awe and look at each display. We'd look for all the creatures that the display would teach us about. Hunting and looking until we could find as many as possible. It was a great learning experience for all of us. There are tidal pools that are open to the public, with creatures aplenty living in the shallows, awaiting the eager fingers of the young and young at heart to touch and feel and mess with. There are actually two tidal pools, one open while the other rests. I interpret this as, one open for abuse from humans, while the other recovers from the recent abuse it suffered at the hands of the curious. At first the children were a bit shy at touching the sea creatures, but soon got over their initial feelings, and began running from opened creature to opened creature. Waiting for the animal to open up again so that digits could be inserted causing its closure once again was a lesson in patience for them. They loved it. We had to be careful to keep an eye on Treyson, as he being short, ended up climbing up onto the walls and almost joining the water bound animals below.

Treyson mezmorized as he stares into the large fish tank

Treyson mezmorized as he stares into the large fish tank

Lemme stick my finger in this one now!

Lets both stick our fingers in this one!

AHHHH, we've been eaten

AHHHH, we've been eaten

There was a device that let water flow from one end to the other, allowing kids the chance to divert the water with a series of blockage devices. There is a video of them playing with one, that seemed to capture their attention more so than anything so far. Kids playing, building, always a good attention draw.
Watch the video here.

The second half of the aquarium was an advertisement for global warming, which is ironic, because the 'global warming' we are currently experiencing in Utah is what forced us to venture south in search of warmth for this holiday season. There was a newsroom where the kids could stand in front of a green screen and read the telecast from the teleprompter. Performing the newscast on a number of topics could be performed then watched later on a large screen outside the newsroom. Kylie and Alyssa both got to take a turn talking and messing with the other during their respective newscasts. Videos will be uploaded for your enjoyment.
Alyssa Part 1
Alyssa Part 2
Kylie

After the aquarium, we went close by to visit the ocean, for the first time for the children. AS soon as we parked, and they could close their gaping mouths, they all ran out, practically disrobing along the way, in search of the tidal waves. In spite of the frigid water temperature, each of us went into the water, some further than others. Treyson, being the shortest, and most affected by the pull of the tide, ended up being thrust to the ground by one particularly vicious wave, causing him to become drenched. Did this upset his demeanor? Affect his mood? Only slightly and only briefly. He was back at it, soaked and all. The kids loved their first adventures wit the ocean. Plans were already in the works as to how they could live here, goto college here, even marry and stay here. Oh the visions of the future from the young. The memories and plans will stick with us almost as long as the pervasive grains of sand we walked away with.

As the sun was coloring up the palette of the sky, we were able to snap quite a few shots of the sand and surf and children walking, holding hands, and simply being at the beach. One forgets how wondrous these experiences are for the first time. Being able to witness the utter joy thru their eyes again, even when you knew it was gonna be incredible, is still an awesome experience.

First time on a beach, running to the siren call of the surf

Trey didn't make it all the way to water before the overwhelming siren song of dirt caught his attention

Christmas 2009 - Part 3

2009-12-25T22:27:00.000-08:00

Sea World + Christmas day = Family WIN!!!

This is the present that Kylie has been wanting to be given her for a long long time. She has always loved the ocean animals, and has had a special affinity for dolphins as far back as any of us can remember. When she was younger, she got the chance to touch a dolphin, and was truly enamored with these majestic creatures. Her one goal at Sea World was to touch a dolphin. Our first attempt was thwarted, as we arrived at the habitat too late to be able to purchase food and stand in the intolerable human queue for our chance to feed the creatures. Instead, we gazed at the lucky ones from across the manmade pond, and jealously wished to be able to switch places with them. We did see dolphins swimming and frolicking in the water, and getting oh so close to our permanently outstretched digits. We tried and tried, but without success. A couple of separate attempts almost secured this goal in the win column, but more about that later.

The Shamu show.
When Christy and I were young, we both visited Sea World. My recollection is not so much of the park, the animals or the shows, but the single token object that I returned home with ( a sea lion ), that my brother destroyed by throwing into the unfinished closet of our home. When the glass sea lion struck the hard concrete of that small alcove, it shattered into as many pieces as my poor young heart did. I have often remembered this action and missed object with a longing on those that grow up without can understand. Not that the object would have embettered my life by any means, but its lose was still quantifiable. My goal was to get a sea lion to replace he one cruelly destroyed by my brother. You know who you are.
Christy was able to remember much more of her adventure at Sea World, and actually remembers seeing Shamu perform. As we sat with the children in the Soak Section of the ampitheater, eagerly awaiting the time when the show would commence, the excitement in the air around the Belt family was palpable. That smirk that turned into a grin was almost plastered from ear to ear on each of the children, and even moreso than could have been anticipated upon Kylie's face. Once the show began, it rivaled any performance of the 4th of July with its oohs and aahs and excited shrill squeals. The kids all loved it. All 5 of them.

The rest of the Park.
After the Shamu show, we made our way slowly around the rest of the park. Half the time was spent waling from place to place, half of the rest of the time seemed to be spent trying to find our way out of the ever present gift stores, and the rest of the time was actually spent watching animals. We saw as many attractions as we could. We spent as little as we could on food and gifts.

We saw killer whales, dolphins, bat rays, eels, starfish, otters, penguins, octopus, and so on. So many animals, so many smiles, so many great experiences.
I was able to find a plastic sea lion in one of he 300 shops to replace the one so cruely taken from my youth. $5 later, I had satisfied my own personal goal. Kylie's goal of touching a dolphin, was more elusive. After 3 attempts at the habitat, we stood near the water, reaching out into the wet to hope for that chance encounter, only to hear the worker announce that they were closing the area in 10 minutes, then in 5 minutes, then it was closed. We had failed. No touch. No experience. Kylie was so sad. Defiantly we stood our ground a few more minutes hoping that now, of all times, one of these beautiful sea creatures would stop close enough to be touched. When the worker approached us, kylie turned to him and asked if he could help her to touch a dolphin. He conceded and called Ripley over to us, and granted Kylie, Alyssa and myself the chance to caress these gentle creatures. I didnt even have to look at Kylies face to be able to feel the warmth of the smile now plastered across her face. Her goal was met. She met a 13 year old dolphin named Ripley, who's memory now lives within the huge stuffed animal she purchased with Christmas money from grandparents to commemorate that wondrous creature experience.

Kylie was amazed that palm trees dotted the earth, and kept wanting to touch them.

The girls on the shuttle to Sea World

The boys on the shuttle to Sea World

Belt family finally made it to Sea World

The kids first up close experience with the killer whales

No use putting a caption to describe the experience above

Silent pleading to touch a dolphin

The kids enjoyed posing

Some of our favorite creatures

Peak a boo

I'm trying to hide

Enjoying this sooo much

All enjoying this so much

Attempting to make faces as ugly as the eels already had faces

Waiting for Shamu

Waiting for Shamu

Trey started braying like the sea lions were doing as soon as he heard them.

Girls as penguins

Boys as penguins

Christmas 2009 - Part 2

2009-12-25T22:00:00.001-08:00

Christmas Morning.

They say to have a proper Christmas you must spend time preparing, decorating and stressing about the season. This year, however, we decided to minimize our decorations and even skipped setting up a tree entirely. We find ourselves celebrating Christmas in San Diego attending Sea World. However, as I have witnesses in my past as a child myself, Christmas is wherever you are with your family.

Christmas morning finds itself in our hotel room as it has in many different years past. Excited children of all ages stare in wide wonder at the collection of presents that appear in the night, deposited by the beloved elf. These children often tend to sit around on the floor in their new jammies unwrapping presents carefully selected and presented to them. This is how we found ourselves this morning. Stockings appeared to be filled as magically as they have when they reside in our home. The boy stood in amazement looking at the small collection of gifts and couldn't wait for them to be opened. WE made short work of the gifts this morning, and hurriedly got ready to see Sea World. More about that on the next post.
For now, enjoy some of the magic we tried to capture in photo of our Christmas morning festivities.

Christmas morning present opening extravaganza

Treyson is always so excited to get oranges for Christmas in his Stocking

Alyssa always tries to de-create the meticulous wrapping, slowly

Treyson loves presents, even if he cannot read yet

Kylie has been wanting these books for so long, she loves the Circue de Freak series

Books make great presents, especially for Christy

Christmas 2009 - Part 1

2009-12-24T22:21:00.000-08:00

Wednesday the 22nd, we got the car packed and took off around 5pm. After a couple stops around he neighborhood, and only 1 return trip to the house to get a last minute item, we were on our way south. The itinerary was to head to Vegas, eat at In N Out, then head to Whiskey Pete's. Having grown up in California, and having traversed the road from my hometown to Utah on many occasions as I grew up, I have always had a fondness and pull for Whiskey Pete's that defies definition. I never stopped at the casino, never stayed in the hotel, never did more than drive by. It sits on the border of Nevada and California. At the bottom of a long hill that is always fun to traverse going north, but forever in its incline as you head south, sits this odd casino/hotel. I would recall that one direction, travelling from California, it was a landmark of sorts, indicating that we were soon to meet the lights and display of Las Vegas. When this landmark was reached as you traveled south, it always meant that the trip was coming to a close, and home was just around the corner. The desert lay in all directions to either side of this odd oasis. It sprouts up as if from the nothing in the middle of the barren wasteland of the Nevada road. On the night of the 22nd of December 2009, we spent the night in the castle that is Whiskey Pete's. It is an old casino, and old hotel. The carpet is no longer tight across the floor, with visible waves around its edges, not like you see in the ocean at low tide. Everywhere you looked you can see signs of aging, of sag, of oldness. Yet, as we walked down the hallway to our room, our little 6 year old was wide eyed and amazed. This could be the finest of fine castles at the height of any kingdom on earth. He was amazed, and the only words that seemed to come out of his mouth were 'awesome'. Over and over, everything was awesome. Before leaving in the morning, we went up to the top floor, and found our way to the roof. The kids were able to look over the edge, see how high up we were, and look over the massive desert expanding out below them. Amazement was once again on the menu as their eyes grew in astonishment at the wonders they had never before witnessed. Seeing these things thru their eyes, makes us all revert to the days of yonder, and we all enjoyably returned for a moment to see the newness of it all.

Treyson's apparent joy at saying in the most awesome hotel ever!!

The girls enjoying their own room, and a little downtime after a long journey

The morning of the 24th, after standing at the top of the castle that is Whiskey Pete's, we piled into the car and headed south. As we drove, every 15 minutes or so, Christy would check the ever climbing temperature, and squeel with joy as we squeezed out 5 more degrees in increase. The night before, we had seen the temperature hit 19 somewhere north of St. George. By the time noon met us in the Pacific timezone, we were above 50. We even saw 63 at some point in the day. Having shed our coats and sweaters and winter hats while regassing in St. George the night before, we were now finding ourselves uncomfortably warm and loving to see the cars auto temp control choose A/C.

the castle

a pitstop to purchase alien jerkey. ended up just being earth animal jerky instead, so no purchase was made.

Before leaving on our trip, I had remembered that there was a motorcycle store my friend Marcus had mentioned. I had researched it, and found it along our route that day. We called the store as we approached, and found out that they closed at 2pm. We were going to make it. We had to rush a bit, but we did make it. As we entered this store, wondering what it would actually look like, our imaginations were woefully inadequate to guess its size. This store was amazing and huge. I felt like it was Christmas. And it was! Christmas Eve. We found ourselves wondering around and with rapt amazement wanting to see it all. However, only 25 minutes were alloted to our shopping frenzy. WE did find some great deals, and actually left the store having bought more than we had planned, and surprised ourselves as well as the children with more presents.

After visiting the Nirvana of dirtbike stuffs, we resumed our journey southward. The next stop was going to be a bit more somber. We found ourselves parking in the farthest reaches of the Riverside National Cemetary, wondering amongst the headstones, looking for a specific headstone. #51 in section 20a was the final resting place of my maternal grandparents. As we found ourselves wondering around the section 20a, we soon realized what direction the values printed on each headstone was headed, and started looking for the value we were searching for. As myself and Kylie got closer, we actually broke out into a run, carefully not stepping on headstones, yet hurriedly trying to be the first to reach the goal. We all congregated around the headstone, and started talking about grandpa and grandma Collings. Stores, memories, wishes, histories all flowed, soon accompanied by tears of sadness intermixed with those of joy. We remembered so many good things, and were able to tell our children many stories. They recalled many things as well, some simply stories I had told them, that they retold me. It was theraputic and a really nice way to spend the Christmas Eve afternoon as a family, realizing our own mortality, placing ourselves on the twisted strings that make up the tapestry of the human condition. They are gone. They touched our lives. We find ourselves in a location along the pattern of life, similar to where they were at one point in their lives. Our youngest started asking us where we wanted to be buried. Simply discussing the inevitability of our lives was an interesting conversation to have with our young children while we are still fairly young parents ourselves. None of us are at the point that we can see the end yet, but acknowledging it, is something tremendous.

on the road again!

the gravesite

mourning as well and reliving memories

Finally getting on the road again brought us even further south than even the parents have been in a long time. We crisscrossed freeways, tried to maintain a bead on the destination, and live thru the ever surprisingly and increasing traffic. We were amazed that so many people were out and about as we were on Christmas Eve. When we reached the hotel, and got settled in, it really hit us that Santa was coming tonight. We were enjoying the diverse couple of days travel and adventures, and had remembered the significance of the date, but it seemed to be out of reach. Here we were in a hotel all together as a family. There were a couple presents to be opened to continue our family tradition of Christmas Jammies. We relished in opening these presents as we have each and every year we can remember. After getting them opened, and tried on, we actually took them off and donned out swimsuits. The pool at the hotel is heated, as well as being near a jacuzzi. So, as a family, we spent the evening in the pool and jacuzzi. This is something we have never done on Christmas Eve before and may become part of the tradition. With the heat of the water, and the tiredness of the road upon us, the children all climbed into bed together to await the approach of the beloved elf. He will visit, he will leave presents in Cali, and more at our home in Utah. Our vacation is just starting, and already its been a success.

Twas the night before Christmas ... the children were nestled all snug in their beds

My 2009 Christmas story

2009-12-21T10:26:00.001-08:00

While I was driving home the other day from karate with Trey, I had been reading a book containing short stories by one of my favorite authors. While contemplating this story, I was reminded of another short Christmas story by Neil Gaiman I had read in the last couple years. Knowing that I was nowhere near the skill of these folks, yet wanting to contribute to the story telling genre, I started thinking about combining some of my experiences into a short story.

In the past couple years, as I have attempted to write more for my career, I have dabbled with writing in other areas. Some of the stories have been written about dreams that I or others have had, some have been about Halloween or scary topics. I enjoy writing, and hope to do more to hone this skill.

This story is about my experience with Christmas. It details a ritual that I always remember participating in and enjoy sharing with my children. I share it here with all of you now. If you are part of my family, you may well recognize this experience and correlate it to your own. If not, I hope that you may enjoy mine, and possibly incorporate it into your own holiday traditions, if it merits it. With no further delay, I present to you my Christmas 2009 story.

Seeing Him
In spite of the cold, it always makes me feel so young. It only happens once a year. Each year I yearn to experience it as if it were the first time that I remember from so many years ago. I yearn to believe and continue to believe. Although an entire year has been added to my age each time it happens, I quickly regress to the era before I was the one being called Dad. Back in time I would travel, to when I was eager to venture into the frigid night, to stand with rapt attention peering into the darkened sky, searching for the sign. The feelings welling up inside of me always cause me to reverse in age, if only for a brief stint. The excitement I experience, waiting to catch a glimpse of my oldest friend. I believe that he has always been there, though we only rarely commune. He is up there now, I know it. I’ve always known it. I believe it. High overhead; out of sight; never too far from my thoughts. For some, he has ceased to be. Luckily, this has not yet happened to me. As far back as I can recall I would brave the weather, entering into the cold night, to go through the annual ritual of seeing him again. Just on this one night and ever so briefly. In my mind’s eye I can make out every detail of him, along with his trusty steeds. Regardless of my age, or maybe because of it, the details seem always be clearer than they should be. When I was the child, the details were just bits and pieces of the whole vision. As I aged, the details would alter as my experiences were developed. What I never realized as that child from long ago was that all this vision started with a single color. The color red. No matter what was in the sky, at the suggestion of that blinking red light sailing overhead, the vision begins. Real or not, the rest of the dream wasn’t actually there at all. Yet it seemed then as clearly as it seems today to be so real. The rest of the details simply became real as it filled itself in; as I believed. Now I perform the role of the Dad, the ritual continuing, granting my children the opportunity to have their one on one encounter with him. To call him their friend as I have. The mere suggestion of that glowing red orb is all it takes to begin to paint the entire picture, and once again meet my old friend. I look forward to meeting him again and again and relish the chance to introduce him to each of my children with every passing year. On marches time, on continues the ritual, each year waxing and waning, and the belief gets stronger as the seasonal reunion approaches. I believe.

Thanksgiving 2009

2009-12-21T10:25:00.001-08:00

After hearing from enough folks about my lack of keeping a more current record of our comings and goins here on this blog. I have another blog that is dedicated to work stuff, and this blog, has mainly been about trips we take as a family. My goal has to been to document family excursions, such as motorcycle trips, boating trips, camping trips, and so on. I have not kept a more a detailed journal here, and now I vow to do exactly that. Goals are great, and often, they can be revised. So, here we go.

When I grew up, after us kids were a bit older, we stopped having the traditional holidays. Instead, we chose to alter our activities for a more grown up fare. During Christmas, you would find us on the slopes, rather than around a Christmas tree on Christmas morning. Thanksgiving, we would go snow skiing as well. Instead of mounds of presents, trips became the presents we received. Some of these trips were so memorable and non-traditional that they are worth sharing with my kids as well.

Last year for Thanksgiving, we went to Moab. We didn't have turkey, except for dinner at Denny's (it was the only place we found open without reservations). We did spend the holiday in Moab as a family, with my parents. It was kinda traditional, yet not so. The Thanksgiving before found me having to work on friday, and unable to go anywhere. We resorted to going out to 5-mile pass and riding motorcycles, followed by an evening watching movies and eating turkey sandwiches in a nearby rentable building. we played pool, watched a movie on the big screen tv and ate. Not typical, but we were together as a family. That is always the core. Family.

This Thanksgiving, we made the age old trek to grandmas house. We still had to twist it a bit, and put the traditional holiday on its ear a bit. Instead of hanging out on Thanksgiving day and eating turkey and going into a triptophan coma, we got up early and drove a couple hours to Jackson Hole to eat at one of my favorite establishments; The Bunnery. We made it just before noon, and was able to eat a great breakfast. Some breads and other items were purchased to consume later. We love the bread at the Bunnery. Since all other establishments besides gas stations or grocery stores were closed, we simple drove around looking at the scenery. The kids got to see some animals in the sanctuary nearby, as well as the Tetons. This was their first time to see these majestic mountains, and their awe was well worth the drive and cold temperatures. Being able to share with them some of my favorite places is such an amazing feeling.

The next day, Friday, was our Thanksgiving day. We hunkered down at my parents home, ate tons of food, played games, and just chilled. We had a great time. It was odd that we kept getting phone calls during the day, until we remembered this was our Thanksgiving day, not anyone else's. We are very thankful for our family, our health, being able to spend it together with each other.

It wasn't the typical Thanksgiving, but we spent it together as a family, ate some great food, and built some great new traditions. My oldest daughter played pool for the first time on my dad's pool table (she had to wait until older than 12 to do so). The last day, she and I played a game, and she beat me. Fair and square. My son helped me shoot some pool as well, and he thoroughly enjoyed the experience. My dad and I went shopping alone, and spent a ton of money (something that has never happened before). My youngest daughter and I played a few games. She also got the honor of picking the Redbox video they all got to watch on the way home.

Good times were had, great food was ate, safe travels were experienced, and we did it all as a family, and even visited other family members. Its how we do Thanksgiving.

Welcome

2009-12-21T10:20:00.000-08:00

Back during Thanksgiving, I heard from family that they wanted to read more about our life, but were not enjoying the work blog. I started blogging primarily for work. To gain more knowledge, and share that knowledge with others. As I have done so, I often find the need to share things that are not work related, and mixing them into a work blog doesnt seem appropriate. Goals are such that there needs to be a separation of duties between the distinct facets of my life. I started writing a hobby blog, where i chronicles my adventures in dirtbiking, racquetball, waterskiing, paintball and the like. This seemed natural to detail these activities, show pictures, and tell the stories of these adventures there. Not on the work blog though.
Now the time has come that more personal stories need to be told that do not fit in either the work blog, or the hobby blog. Just random things about family, that are neither an adventure for the hobby blog or work related.
So, I started this blog. Here I will detail the goings on of our family, as I see fit. I will start by reprinting my Thanksgiving blog here. It does seem to fit here better than the hobby blog. As we participate in life, more entries will appear here.