Our neighbors to the south call them "Brincadores" or "Hoppers"

When I was around 8 years old, my family lived in San Diego. Growing up down there provided several memories for me (some good and some bad), but no memories are more prominent in my mind than:
1.) Scooter teaching me how to cuss and I accidentally described my Dad as an A-hole when I was talking to Mom. I promise I had NO idea what that it meant. I only knew it was one of my new and cool words. Thanks big Bro.
2.) During school one day I was introduced to "Mexican nuts". I was told they are the most delicious nuts in the world. Not knowing any better I popped one in my mouth and chomped away. It was disgusting! It was super bitter, and tasted like dirt. I then saw Danny Padilla, a name I have remembered with great hatred, laughing his head off. He then showed me a small plastic case with what I now know as "Mexican Jumping Beans" inside. They jumped and wiggled around. It wasn't until later in life I learned that they "jump" because there is a small worm inside trying to break out. A thought that still makes me dry heave thinking about when I chewed one up.

When I recently came across this article on the company"The Jumping Beandito", I couldn't resist buying a few beans. They are a great company to work with. And all proceeds go to a great cause. Less then a week later I received an envelope with "Live Mexican Jumping Beans" stamped on the outside and a slight popping coming from the inside. So I'm pretty stoked to offer a few unsuspecting suckers a delicious "Mexican Nut".

Snow Cones Revisited

After weeks of protesting and picketing, I have finally given up my quest to get the "Summer Sno" snow cone shack of Orem shut down. I may have my own personal opinions on their questionable business tactics, but the bottom line is they do make one dang good snow cone. In fact they don't have just one, but they have 30 (plus 3 not the menu) flavors to choose from.

Well during my campaign, I would often over hear the question being asked "What flavor tastes the best?", or people would ask the cashier "What's your favorite?". Well, I was feeling pretty lucky that no one asked me, because I wouldn't know what to tell them. With all of the time I spent there I realized that I have only tried one or two flavors, and I would not able to answer "Which flavor tastes the best?".

So armed with my clip board, and my trusty assistant, Jake Budge (formally know as Jake Shirley, until he got married a week ago and we can only assume he took her last name), we set out to discover what truly is the best snow cone flavor. Jake and I decided that for our research to be unbiased we needed to make this a blind taste testing (meaning we would not be allowed to know the names of the flavors we were tasting.) We would then rank all 33 flavors in to the following four categories which we felt people could relate to:
1.)The Amy Winehouse or the "crap" category, This category would comprise of snow cones that tasted so poorly that they could not be recommended to anyone, under any circumstance, and you would be ashamed to ever admit ordering one from this category. Passion Fruit, and Bubble Gum topped this list.
2.)The Ann Heche or the "Weak-sauce" category were flavors that may taste ok, but you would never order because you know you would never, ever, ever be satisfied with it. In fact if you did, you would probably ask your self later "What the heck was I thinking?". Lemon-lime is a prime example.
3.)The Jennifer Anniston or the "You can never go wrong with" category. These are snow cones that you could recommend to anyone. It would be the "Go to" snow cone if you were ever stuck deciding which favor to choose. You could feel happy and satisfied ordering from this list. Cherry lead this category
4.)The Marissa Miller or the "Zenith of SnowCones." This is the snow cone you compare all other snow cones to. It's the snow cone your friends wish they ordered. The winner of this category also wins the "Golden Spoon Straw" or "Golden Stroon" award (which is the offical way to eat a snow cone.) Right now we have a two way tie between Dreamsicle, and Tiger blood.
While the verdict is still out on which favor is the best flavor, one thing is for sure... they make a great snow cone.
We may have lost the battle with the "Summer Sno" shack, but we will never give up the war on demanding the freshest ingredients in our snow cones. Accept NO substitutes!
We felt it important to thank C-note and Mrs B for their help and patience during our snow cone escapades, brain freezes, and tomfooleries. We love you ladies

Add the Salt Lake Roller Derby Girls to the list

The Roller Derby was so much fun, and I really think I'm addicted to them now! But who could blame me...
Girl in mini skirts, fish-net stocking, knee pad, and they all have names like:
-Punky Bruiser
-Eleanor Bruisevelt
-Bloody Mary
-Sandra Day O'Clobber
-Harriet Clubman
-Cybil Disturbance
-Alexa Rough
-Dirty Pirate Hooker #80085 (My personal favorite)







And the half time show was entertaining to say the least...
The object of the game is to get one player from each team (called Jammers, they have stars on their helmets) through the pack of girls (called Blockers) with out getting getting the jammers knocked down or knocked unconscious. For each member of the opposite team a jammer passes, she scores one point. The whole thing was just a blast, and the "Salt Lake Death Dealers" put on a great show. Unfortunately the Dealers lost to the "Leave it to Cleavers" and won't be moving on to the championships.

The only thing questionable about the night would have to be the crowd attending (minus Chellor and I of course).

There is NO way Chellor knew what she was getting into when she started dating me!

Every week Chellor and I take turns planning our weekly date night. I don't why I have earned the reputation for being "unromantic". I especially find it hard to understand since every time it's my turn to plan our date night, I AWLAYS hear Chels say something like "I can't believe you brought me here", or "You are unbelievable!" I once even heard her tell someone over the phone "I don't know how I ever found this guy! I can't believe my luck". It's hard for me not to think, I'm the world's greatest boyfriend!
I mean what girl in the world wouldn't love to go to:
ESPN lumber jack games
watch numerous rugby games on TV

A week long trip Vegas to attend the AWFS (Association of Woodworking & Furnishings Suppliers) and meeting Norm Abrahams.Follow Strongman competitions Monster truck ralliesWatch dozens of UFC fightsRout at Football games
Attend the National Arm wrestling Championship
I don't know if I need to nominate my self for "The most Amazing Boyfriend" award, or if there's just a t-shirt I could wear to let other know how awesome I am. Either way, I easily have to be in the top ten list for "Coolest boyfriend EVER!"


Who knows where my talent for finding testosterone driven sports came from, but I'm afraid Chels is forced to deal with it WAY to often. Sorry lil dude.

We've decided to adopt! And I am one proud POPS

With so much going on in our lives right now, who has the time to raise a family?! We had thought about it for a long time, and have pondered over questions like: "Is it right for us to raise a family around our busy lives?", and "How many mouths can we afford to feed on our budget?".

But once we made the decision to adopt, we have have never turned back. Chellor and I are the proud parents of 27 new Venus Flytraps. There used to be a few more mouths but one of our plants fell prey to a couple thirsty puppies searching for water on a hot day.

I know it will seem silly to most, but I really am afraid of their little mouths. I don't know if I'm afraid of the little teeth it looks like they have, or maybe I'm freaked out that one will just grab my figure one day while I'm watering them.

Thanks to a flippin sweet pseudo brother in-law, he let us post a video of one of his carnivorous plants feeding.

Caterpillar
Originally uploaded by eouio