And so she flies!

Dale often tells me about how he flies in his dream.  I don't.  However, I have wanted for some time to try the sport of paragliding because I liked the idea of trying to fly.  I've been in a hot air balloon and I've flown in a small plane.  Of my remaining flying choices (sky diving is definitely out and hang gliding seems awkward), paragliding seemed the safest and easiest to do.  You get to sit up and just enjoy.  So, when my niece said she wanted to paraglide for her birthday but she wanted someone to do it with, I jumped at the chance!  

Last night, we each took a tandem flight from the 

world-renowned Point of the Mountain between Salt Lake and Provo.  It was great!  Jessica gave the best description.  Though it was fun, there really wasn't ever an adrenaline-rush moment.  I was prepared to scream going over the edge, but I didn't even squeal 'cause it was so smooth!  Then you just kick back in your seat and enjoy.  We chatted, took pictures, enjoyed the scenery, etc.  I was one of those people you look up and see when you drive on the interstate past the Point of the Mountain.  

As we came in for a landing, the air currents pretty much stopped and dropped us like a rock.  It caught me off guard and gave me a nice drop on my butt, but it was all part of the experience!

This picture shows me just before takeoff.  There are a lot more fun pictures to see here.  I hope some of you will look at the pictures to see shots from the ground and the air.   

I recommend it.  I'd do it again.  I've checked it off my list.  Who knows what's next.

There's a roller coaster near our house!

And bumper boats, and flying airplanes, and go carts, etc. etc. Liberty Land in Lehi, Utah, recently opened its gates. This has been a much-anticipated time for our family. For months, the kids have watched as a miniature Mt. Rushmore has risen on a fake mountain alongside the interstate. Going through the mountain you could see roller coaster rails. Well, it opened, and we checked it out. There weren't very many people there, so we had a lot of area to ourselves, and Cheyenne took full advantage of it. Nothing makes her grin from ear to ear more than high speed. I couldn't capture her face on the coaster, but I got a good look here and it still communicates her sentiments. Overall, I'd say it was okay. They still have lots of it under construction, and it's generally geared toward the "under 12" crowd, but I can guarantee you we'll be back -- if only to ride the coaster again, and again, and again, and again........

Editor Note: I've tried for two days to post this and add a picture. Blogger must be having issues. Enjoy the note now and I'll try again later with the pictures.

What I learned last night

I know in the past I've blogged about silly little things I've learned during a day, but this one is serious. Last night I was up late sorting through old files so I can get rid of unnecessary papers. At first I had David Letterman on, but it wasn't resonating with me so I decided to switch to Nightline to see what they were talking about. I was instantly sucked in as I watched a very disturbing report on slavery and human trafficking. I had no idea. It was unbelievably sobering. At the end of the report, they remarked that emancipation organizations estimate there are more than 27 million slaves in the world today - the largest number ever in human history. I was shocked. Today, I've spent some time reading and researching about some of the programs out there that are targeting the problem. As with so many social ills, the roots lie in poverty, lack of education, and human greed. Therefore, the solutions lie in education, economic development, and love. ABC's website had a story of an 82-year old grandma who spends half her time in Nepal working to free slaves by providing families with an animal to raise and sell for profit along with money for their daughters to attend school so they don't feel tempted to sell the daughters to make money and feed the others. It's a solution that costs around $75 a year and is working. Wow!

And so, I know I have a small audience of blog readers who may be as ignorant as I. I would encourage you to go out and read a little also just to be aware. Today I feel a lot more grateful and a lot more responsible to help create change. If you want some places to start, go to www.abcnews.com to read the Nightline report. Then you can also go to www.freetheslaves.net or www.TENcharities.org to see what organizations are doing. Lastly, you can go to www.madebysurvivors.com to buy goods produced by survivors of slavery who are trying to overcome its effects.

I know most of my readers well enough to know the high level of charitable service you already provide in the way of service hours, goods, and monetary donations. I raise this topic simply to raise awareness of another social problem. I know we can't solve all the problems, but being aware they exist has to be a start. Thanks for being the kind of people you are and for helping to make my life one of comfort and peace.

Sometimes life is too busy to blog

For the past 2-3 weeks, I've been thinking in "blog terms." That is, every day things happen and I think to myself, "This is how I'll write about this on my blog." Well, by the time I finish my day and fall into bed, the blogging just doesn't always happen. And so I find myself needing to enter some brief little entries just to show my life hasn't stopped, just my writing about it. Bear with me and maybe my life will slow again to a bloggable pace.

June 21, 2008 - We attended a fun Western Show and Dinner at Showtime Utah in Pleasant Grove. It was a fun dutch oven dinner highlighted by a performance by a western band. And lest you be turned off by "western" band, I'll say they augmented the western music with everything from "Summertime" to Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody." Cheyenne and her pink cowgirl boots loved it!


June 26, 2008 - We celebrated Zebra's 27th birthday! Cheyenne informed us days before that Zebra was turning 27 (in zebra years) and we needed to celebrate. First, Cheyenne and I took Zebra for a pool party in the afternoon. I haven't been to a public pool in a long time thanks to loving sisters with pools. (I love my sisters more now. I love them a lot. It frightens me that I know the word "cryptosporidium.") Anyway, Zebra sat in the pool bag and watched us play in the pool. When we came home, her other friends and Dale joined us for cake and ice cream. Cheyenne tells me that Kitty's birthday was on the 28th, but it got trumped by a wedding!


June 28, 2008 - My sweet mother-in-law married again. My father-in-law passed away seven years ago, and now she has married a kind widower from the local community where she lives. We like him a lot and we're so happy they have found companionship in each other. Cheyenne just loves that she has someone else to call Grandpa 'cause she loves grandpas! The wedding and reception were in her backyard, and it was beautiful. I just learned that her new husband eloped (though his parents knew) for his first marriage, so this was a fun thing for him to have a full-blown wedding. He got to feed his wife cake with people watching! I feel a little like I married off my daughter as we went through the whole process with invitations, sprucing up the yard, making the cake, serving the food, etc. It was all so beautiful. I send loads of thanks to everyone who helped - my family was awesome! And I share a couple of pictures to capture the moment.


June 30, 2008 - I do Scout Camp laundry. Daniel returned home from six days at Scout Camp just a couple of hours before the wedding. My nephews picked him up and brought him to the wedding while his clothes fermented a little longer at home. Two days later, I was back home and ready to do laundry. For any of you who've never sent a boy to camp, it's hard to describe the level of dirt. Even the pictures I took of his clothes didn't quite capture the moment, so I took this picture of the wash water while I washed his "white" clothes. They were white when they left -- and after three times through the wash water looking like this picture, they were mostly white when they came out. I consider it a sign of the level of good time that he had. My favorite, though, was his really dirty pajama shirt. It was almost as dirty as his scout shirt. I want to know what was going on in that sleeping bag at night, but then again, I don't!

Friday the 13th

The day came and went. Daniel really did turn 13 on that very day. Our new basement received its first initiation to a party full of teenagers. Everyone escaped unscathed. I'm taking a deep breath now and moving forward. I learned a few big words along the way:

Triskaidekaphobia - Fear of the number 13 (I did know this word)
Paraskevidekatriaphobia - Fear of Friday the 13th
Hippopotomonstrosesquipedaliophobia - Fear of big words

Now go to work and impress your friends!! Oh, and if anyone knows the word for "Fear of 13 year olds" let me know 'cause I may need that one in the coming years!

One of my favorite artists in the field today

Sometimes when you find something you like, you just need to share it. This up and coming artist's work just makes me smile every time I walk by her pieces. These are all pieces that I picked up for nothing really, but I have not doubt they will continue to appreciate in value as her popularity grows. "Stegosaurus" is one of my favorites. When asked about her inspiration, she said, "I wanted to make a long neck, but it turned out looking like a stegosaurus." Didn't Michaelangelo once say that when she sculpted, he just started with a block on marble and found the statue inside?

I call the next piece "The Happy Rhinoceros." It makes me happy every day when I see it. And finally, an example of her more abstract side. I call it "Bright Spot" because she really is a bright spot in my life and in my house.

Watch for more work by Cheyenne in the months and years ahead!

Walking a llama on the temple...

There are some things you just don't expect you'll ever do. One for me would be walking a llama on the second floor of a temple. Another would be voluntarily going down a 100' freefall waterslide. However, I did both of those things in the last couple of days. I have your attention, don't I?

From Friday afternoon about 4:00 p.m. until Saturday around 2:00 p.m. Dale and I participated in the first ever 24-hour Utah Valley race. It was a race sponsored by the Utah Valley convention bureau to spark interest in businesses and attractions in the valley. There were 37 teams of 4 (2 men and 2 women). It was similar to the Amazing Race where you had to decipher clues to identify a location, determine if you wanted to try that location and when, then go there to discover what kind of task they had for you. It was a blast! We joined our good friends Darryl and Syd Jacques to form our team, aptly named "Wilde Party of Four." We had a mandatory rest period from 2 a.m. to 5 a.m. (which meant a little less than 2 hours sleep), but in about 17 hours of active race time we did a lot! I'm including a list here for my memory as much as anything, but you can read along in case you want to prepare for next year's race! I'm listing each location and what we did there. For those familiar with the valley, consider the logistics of driving to these places. We bonded in the van!

Orem's Scera Shell for orientation

University Mall to find a hidden person with our team's clues

Trafalga to play arcade games

Provo's Center Street to run up and down gathering clues from statues on the street

Seven Peaks to ride the Freefall slide (did I mention I was terrified???)

Bajio restaurant in South Provo to eat shrimp tacos

Utah Auto Sales in Lindon to test drive a car to take pictures at the Purple Turtle and Discovery Park

School of Music in American Fork to form a rock band a play "Smoke on the Water" (so fun!!!)

Parade of Homes house at Traverse Mountain to count hidden cards in the house

Hutchings Museum in Lehi to hunt for/decode clues and one team member to eat a cricket (thanks, Darryl!)

Noah's in Lindon to play wallyball and billiards

Sundance to mountain bike (one team member - Darrryl) and hike to the outdoor theater to write a limerick

Spanish Fork to eat ice cream at Cold Stone (one quart in 6 minutes!)

Payson to bowl at South County Lanes (at midnight)

UVU to search for hidden envelopes at the baseball stadium

BYU to take pictures at the Maeser Statue and the Marriott Center

Back to the Scera

Day 2 - 5 a.m.

Hike to the Y (beautiful, but ouch!!)

Cedar Hills golf course to hit balls a set distance at the range (I'd never hit a golf ball - now I have!!)

Vivian Park in Provo Canyon to raft about 2 miles of the Provo River

CLAS ropes in SW Provo to climb a tree up about 20' then jump out to catch a metal ring

CLAS ropes to canoe a stretch of the Provo River (all of this was done by 9:30 a.m.!)

Young Living Farms in Mona to climb a rock wall and do paddle boats on the pond

Red Barn in Santaquin to eat ice cream (good ice cream!!)

Spring Lake Trout Farm in Payson to bait a hook and each catch a fish

Garage Sale in Payson to buy a team mascot

Hare Krishna temple in Spanish Fork to lead a llama through an obstacle course that included taking it up the stairs, around the second floor of the temple (outside) and back down the stairs (easily the highlight of my day!)

Springville Art Museum to find objects in various paintings

Provo City Library to take an online test

Sprint store in South Orem to each send a text message from their phones

Back to the Scera

We did great. We performed as well as the winners, but we came up just shy in points. They get a trip to Cancun, but we had a great time and some memorable experiences. I'd do again in a heartbeat!! Go Utah County. Oh, and did I mention I'm writing this blog from the comfort of my recliner since I'm having a hard time moving my legs today?????