Once you go Black...

Going to the Big D (Maybe)

2012-02-06T10:35:00.000-08:00

With Devon graduating this spring, September began full-time job hunting season. The season started off a huge success. Devon was getting interview after interview and even some second round flybacks with a couple of our favorite companies, all the while we were thinking it was a huge possibility we could return to Denver to work for Western Union. Unfortunately, the momentum shifted. It was one rejection after another. It, also, became very clear that Western Union was not planning on extending any offers to last summer's interns. We were devastated! Then January 26th (exactly one year to the day, that Devon got his internship offer), AT&T called and offered Devon a job in Dallas. After all the rejections it was great to know that someone liked him! Not only did they like him, but out of the 11 people they flew out to Dallas to interview, he was the only one they were authorized to, at that time, extend an offer!

So, now we have a lot of thinking and praying to do. We have to accept or decline the offer by February 24th. Since Devon has the whole week of Presidents Day off, we decided to plan a trip to Dallas. Everyone insists I'll love it (and I'm sure I will), but I want to check things out before I fully commit myself. Devon's already sold, I mean it's pretty much the Mecca of College Football. The only problem he sees is choosing what team to cheer for ;).

On a separate, but related note, we put our house up for sale. Since moving to Dallas is a huge possibility, we wanted to get a head start in this housing market. We understand the market is tough right now and we might have to rent it out, but I'm really hanging on to the hope we'll be able to sell. I have a HUGE emotional attachment to this house. It's my house. I picked out the flooring, the wall colors and the cabinets. I installed the sprinkler system and laid the sod. Devon & I had our first kiss in this house, he proposed to me here and we brought our first baby home to this house. I'd rather officially pass this house on to a new family, so they can start to make their memories here.

A lot of changes coming for the Blacks, but we're really looking forward to our next adventure!

Bowl Update

2012-01-09T17:45:00.000-08:00

An update for all of you out there that are anxiously waiting to see if I won my bowl picks... I'll tell you it's not looking so good. The BCS Bowl Games are worth six points, where as the rest are worth just one point. Since Clemson decided to bend over for West Virgina (sorry for the phrase, but it's all I can think of to really convey my feelings), I have been shot down to 13th place. I was a little bitter and a little disappointed, but I figure it's all for the best. Devon and I have a little tradition of getting a Papa Murphy's Pizza and eating it while we watch the BCS Championship Game, if I was still in the running for first place I just wouldn't be able to enjoy tonight. I guess there is still a slight glimmer of hope that everyone ahead of me picked LSU and my pick, Alabama wins. It's a long shot, but just in case ROLL TIDE!!!!

College Bowl Season

2012-01-02T22:22:00.000-08:00

This fall Devon introduced me to the Deseret News College Football Grid Picks, where you vote on which teams you think will win on a particular week and the person with the most corrects picks wins a prize. During the season my ranking fell between about 400th-1,100th place. Even though there was no hope of me winning I continued with my picks because having a team to cheer for helped me get more involved with College Football. When Devon told me they had Grid Picks for the bowl games, I was all over it. A few weeks ago I sat down and made my picks. Much to my surprise, I've been incredibly accurate! Since the beginning I've been ranked first overall. It started out with about fifteen people ranked first, then it got knocked down to four people, then the other day it was down to just two of us and as of Saturday I am the only one in first place. I am enjoying this because I now have bragging rights as the College Football expert in the family and there's a $100 Amazon gift card on the line. But I'm beginning to think that the bad outweighs the good. I am developing an ulcer watching these games, I text continually to get updates, I even listen to the games on the radio in the car and worst of all, I yell at the TV (it's gotten so bad that even Devon thinks I'm out of control). Luckily, I've only got six games and one week left. Maybe I'll come out of this thing $100 on Amazon richer or maybe I'll just coming out understanding my husband's obsession a little better. Either way I'm just ready for this to be done!

Thanksgiving

2011-12-01T10:04:00.001-08:00

We spent Thanksgiving in California this year. Since we've been married we've always spent Thanksgiving in Utah, so it was a nice change.

Tuesday
We spent most of the day driving. It was our first road trip to Cali with West. Despite having to make a few more stops, West was really good in the car. He did get a little antsy about Barstow, but Devon says that's where I start to get antsy, too. We made it home just in time for a nice lasagna dinner. Then Ricky took Devon golfing and I went to the movies with Shannon and some of her friends. My mom was stuck watching West ;).

Wednesday
While Devon caught up on some sleep, my mom and I took West into her work, so she could show off her grandbaby. Weston got enough attention to last him another year. After running some errands, we met Ricky and Shannon at Domenico's for dinner. It's still my favorite place to eat when I go home :)

Thursday
Thanksgiving was a little out of the ordinary. We went to my uncle's house in Central California, but due to a family emergency, extenuating circumstances and an appendix removal it ended up just being my uncle and our family. Despite the low numbers we still had a great time!

Friday
Devon and I were able to spend the morning at the Los Angles Temple, a much needed trip! My mom, was once again stuck with West. ;) Then Friday night we had some fabulous panini's over at Ricky and Shannon's!

Saturday
We took West to the beach for the first time with my mom, Ricky and Shannon.

That night West went to his first USC game!

Since it was a late game, I was a little worried how he would act, but he was perfect! He even made some new friends...

You may have noticed a theme in this blog; we were with Shannon and Ricky everyday! It used to be that I was lucky to see Ricky once during a vacation home; marriage/Shannon has sure changed that guy ;)

Sports

2011-11-15T08:32:00.001-08:00

I don’t have an athletic bone in my body, but I enjoy playing sports. I love the competition, the friends you make and that it’s fun exercise. The spouses association for the MBA program Devon is in, gets involved with the campus intramural sports. I wanted to join them last year, but my pregnancy precluded me. So this year I decided I was going to sign up. I originally wanted to play soccer, but was told the team was pretty competitive. Since I don’t want to be the one everyone hates, I decided to just sign up for flag football. It was a blast! We ended up playing the same (amazingly advanced) team three times in the regular season, due to forfeits, and got killed each time. We played two other teams and had the same result. Finally, during the tournament they matched us to a team equal in ability, but out of the eighteen girls on our team, only five decided to show up. Since you can play up to seven on the field, we were two men down. It took us the first half of the game to figure out how to defend their seven. Unfortunately they capitalized on our confusion and got two touchdowns. We finally got everything figured out the second half and shut them out, but we only had enough time to get one touchdown. As a funny side note, when we scored our touchdown, we were ubber excited, so all of us were hugging and jumping in the end zone. The referee came over and we pulled him right in to our huggy/jumpy circle. He actually just came over to ask if we wanted to go for one or two extra points, but he was a really good sport.

But that’s not all…an e-mail came out to the spouses association that one of the soccer teams was in dire need of more players. I responded by asking if they were super competitive and stating that I had no athletic ability, but I would love to join. They said that they just needed more people and would love to have me. So, I showed up and got my bum kicked!! First of all, I had no idea how much running soccer involved. Second of all, I had no idea I was that out of shape! But, even though there were times I felt like I was going to throw up, I still had a great time! Unfortunately, because of conflicts, I wasn’t able to make the next two games. But, since they won their first tournament game, I am able to play in another game this Thursday night. Wish me luck!!!

Halloween

2011-11-01T14:04:00.000-07:00

I was SO looking forward celebrating Halloween this year with my little boy! Luckily it didn't disappoint...

We started off the festivities by visiting a pumpkin patch

Weston loved getting buried in the corn box...

But, not as much as he loved trying to eat it!

The petting zoo was great, but West was terrified of the goats!

We all had a great time on the hay ride...

And taking pictures in the hay!

But my favorite part of Halloween was dressing West up! As soon as I found out I was pregnant with a boy I knew he was going to be a referee for Halloween, just like his dad! In August I started looking for a ref costume, but could not find anything! So, I decided to ask a friend of mine to make one out of Devon's old shirt. She did an AMAZING job!!

See, isn't he the cutest little referee you've ever seen!!!!

My boys!!

I just can't get enough!!!

This is with West's little friends at our MBA Babies playgroup.

West and I out Trick-Or-Treating with his cousins, but no treats this year...

All the cousin! (Almost)

Before you leave, I'd like to add a little plug for my friend who made West's costume. As you can see, she is super talented and sharing that talent with everyone in her new Etsy shop. If you want to check it out, here's the link:

http://www.etsy.com/shop/sharedjelly?ref=si_shop

Myrtle

2011-10-27T20:41:00.000-07:00

In July of 1998 I decided I wanted a kitten. I combed through the classified and found someone nearby selling them for $5. I took my friend Caren with me and we picked out Myrtle. Most cats march to the beat of their own drummer, but Myrtle took that saying to a whole new level. She was weird, to say the least, but she was a loving cat!! I had to leave Myrtle in California when I moved to Utah, but I loved seeing her every time I went home. No matter how long since my last visit, she always knew who I was. Devon became quite the Myrtle fan, he even wanted to bring her back to Utah with us, but Myrtle was old and set in her ways, so we figured it best to let her stay in the place she knew.

Well, my Myrtle died this week. As a tribute to my kitty, here are some of my favorite memories of her...

* Every time you pet her, she wanted you to pet her, she didn't want you to pet her or just because, she would let out a VERY loud 'RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRROW.'
*She always had her spot, a place she would lay all day and all night. Her spot would last for about 3 weeks, then she would choose another spot. Some of these spots included; a chair at the dining room table, the corner of my mom's closet, the rug under the toilet, the bottom of the stairs (this was, by far, the most dangerous spot) and my drawers.
*She had dry patch of skin on her back that she loved to have scratched. When you scratched it she would do this licking/biting thing. One of my favorite things to do was bring her to my mom saying that Myrtle wanted to give her kisses, so my mom would put out her cheek. I, in turn, would scratch her spot and she would start biting my mom's cheek. About the 100th time I did this my mom started to catch on.
*She LOVED to be loved! She would come and sit on your lap and you could squeeze her so hard and she would just sit there loving every second of it.
*Once I realized I hadn't seen her all day. Thinking she was just hanging out somewhere weird, I didn't think much about it. Later that night I was in bed and I kept hearing this faint 'rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrow.' I opened my drawer and out she popped. That was her new spot, but I didn't know it and shut the drawer. She had spent most of the day in that drawer.
*She loved to lay on you, no matter how inconvenient it was...

You could move her off 100 times, but she would always come right back. At night she would try to balance on my side (she was pretty big, so this was a difficult task), whenever she lost her balance, she would dig her claws into me. I found it was safer to just sleep on my stomach, so she could sleep on my back.

Going home to California just isn't going to be the same any more. I'm going to miss my little Myrdles!!!

Thoughts on Motherhood

2011-10-03T11:16:00.000-07:00

I was listening to Dr. Laura the other day while cleaning my house. I was a tad bit annoyed because I just had a few things left to do and every time West couldn't see me (even if for a sec), he would scream. Instead of it taking me the 10 minutes it should have to finish up, it took about an hour. Just then a lady called in and was talking to Dr. Laura about some issues she was having. Dr. Laura asked her what she was doing right then and the caller said she was feeding her baby. Dr. Laura asked her to tell her one annoying thing about what was going on at that moment. The caller had trouble thinking of anything and finally said that every time she said something her baby would stop eating and look up at her. Dr. Laura pointed out that her baby was doing that because he loved her. He was overpowering his natural instinct to eat, to receive life sustaining nourishment, to look at his mom, because he loved her more than food. WOW, I, along with the caller, started to cry. I immediately thought of the times, while feeding West, that he would just look up at me and smile. Yes, it took a little longer to feed him, but it sure was worth it. At that moment I realized it didn't matter if it took me two additional years to finish up my housework. All that matters is that my baby loves me now and needs me now. I know it won't always be this way! Once he's a teenager (if not before) he's going to whine when I come into a room, instead of whining when I leave one. And I'm pretty sure once he's a teenager, he will no longer love me more than food ;). So, for right now I'm going to soak up every second of my baby needing me!!!

Hiking the Y

2011-09-17T08:17:00.000-07:00

For our first date Devon and I hiked up to the Y. It was a FABULOUS first date. We met at Wal-Mart and headed up to the base of the mountain. It was starting to get a little chilly, so Devon pulled out some old jackets from his trunk. He put on his Mountain View High School Choir 2001 jacket. I was very taken aback. I knew he was at least a year younger than me, but I graduated in 1999, so 2001 seemed incredibly young! (He is a year younger, but since his birthday is in September and mine is in August he's two grades behind me.) As we started up the mountain I was really surprised what a tough hike it was. It wasn't long, but very steep. At the time I was in the best shape of my life, running six miles a day, but this still proved very difficult. But, of course, I couldn't let Devon see me struggle! Once we made it up we sat and talked for a LONG time! By the time we started hiking down I knew I really liked Devon. I was thinking my feeling were reciprocated until, at the end of the date, Devon said, 'I'll give you a call.' I'd been on enough dates to know that was usually a brush off. But, much to my surprise, he did in fact give me a call!

Well, two and a half years and one little West later we hiked again. This time I am in the worst shape of my life, so the mountain proved to be a very BIG challenge, but we made it and had a FABULOUS time!

Shorty

2011-09-13T16:41:00.000-07:00

Devon and I are about average height (maybe just a tad below average), but we both have tall genes in our families. The hope was that our children would get those tall genes, we never got. Well, for the first of our offspring, it's not looking so hot. I took West to his six month well child exam last week. The nurses did all the measurements and then left West and I to wait for the doctor. When the doctor walked in West was sitting on the exam table in his diaper. The doctor looked at him and said, "Hmmm, wow, well, umm..." He paused for a minute then continued, "His percentiles were so low (Height 5-7th; Weight 20th) that I wasn't expecting such as healthy looking baby. Was he premature?" He was not. Of course I got worried. He then proceeded with the exam. As soon as he was done he said, "Yep, he's doing really good! Very well proportioned. Just a short little guy!" UGH, the words I hoped I'd never have to hear. I know it's too early to know for sure, but I'm thinking the NBA might not be on the list of potential career paths West can take. On the bright side, the doctor said he's got a big head. If he's going to get his dad's height, he better get his brains!

Denver Adventure Week 12

2011-08-17T15:01:00.000-07:00

This is it, our last Denver Adventure post! As soon as I got back from California, we started packing. While we were living in our apartment it sure didn't seem like we had much, but when it came time to pack it all up, it sure seemed like we had a ton!! Once all the packing was done it was time to say goodbye to our friends at Western Union. Adriana was Devon's boss this summer, Diane was his mentor. They were two fabulous women! Every time West and I came in they made us feel so at home. They made sure to involve all of us in this internship experience.

Diane in on the left and Adriana on the right

They both loved West!!
Especially Diane! But the feeling wasn't always mutual.

Right after lunch we went back to the apartment to pick up Hamilton.

It would be an understatement to say that it was difficult to get Hamilton into her kennel. But once she was in, she was pretty good.

A few last pictures of our empty apartment and then we were finally headed home!

Once home Devon headed back to Denver with his brother and dad's truck to pick up the big stuff.

I had this mess to clean up...

West was able to get acquainted with some new toys that he was too little to play with when we left.

West had a little cousin born just before we came back, so we got to meet him!

It is SO good to be home! I love having a washer and dryer, sleeping in my own bed, vacuuming with a real vacuum, eating off of real plate with real utensils and of course, having family around. But I really am going to miss Denver. It was certainly a great chapter in our lives. The whole experience was exactly what we hoped and prayed for!!

Denver Adventure Week 11

2011-08-10T19:22:00.001-07:00

I didn't realize how much we did this week, until I sat down to type up this blog.

Monday morning my mom and I took West out on a paddle boat at a nearby park. Once again West looked awfully cute in his life jacket.

Monday night we went to another Rockies game, but this time West actually cheered for the Rockies.

Tuesday night my mom babysat, so Devon and I could go out for my birthday. It was $12 Tuesday at the local family fun center, so that's what I wanted to do. Unfortunately, everyone else in Denver had the same idea. So, after dinner we opted to go see Harry Potter, instead.

A few months ago when Devon & I came to check out Denver, we went to Rocky Mountain National Park. Just before the park entrance there is a little city called Estes Park. While we were driving through, we commented that it would be a fun place to take my mom when she came to visit. So on Wednesday, my mom, West and I headed out there. It was a super cute little city and we had a great time!

On Thursday we left for California with my mom. West got to do a lot of things...

He got to ride in an airplane!

He was sooo good on the plane. When we got off and were waiting for his stroller, everyone commented on what a good baby he was.

He got to meet lots of new people!

He got to go eat at Dominicos!

He got to go to a Wedding!

Finally, he got to go home and see daddy!

Denver Adventure Week 10

2011-08-09T13:38:00.000-07:00

This was a pretty eventful week! My mom came to town, again, so West and I spent our weekdays with her, while Devon was hard at work. The second day she was here West decided to roll over from his back to his stomach for the first time. He'd been getting SO close for the last couple of week, so I'd been watching him like a hawk, hoping to get it on video. But of course, he finally did it when no one was looking. I put him on his back in the living room, left for a second, came back and this is what I saw...

The next day we went down toward Colorado Springs. I'd read about a little town called Manitou Springs, at the base of Pikes Peak, it looked cute so my mom and I went and checked it out.

We had a great time, but we really had fun when we found the arcade.

West had a blast on the rides and we had a blast watching him!

We also went to the Denver County Fair. This was quite a disappointment!! The whole thing was in one building, there was no good food and they only had a handful of animals.

Friday night we all went to the 16th Street mall in downtown Denver. It's an outdoor mall with shops, street performers, etc. We had a great time. West even tried to steal grandma's Diet Coke.

On Saturday we tried Elitch Gardens again, this we brought my mom along to watch West. Things went much better this time!!

Denver Adventure Week 9

2011-07-25T15:09:00.000-07:00

This was our last weekend in Denver that we didn't already have planned out. We weren't sure what we wanted to do, so Devon's co-worker suggested we go checkout Evergreen, Co. It's just a 30 minute drive out of the city into the Rockies. After looking it up online, it looked like the perfect day trip.

We started out at Lake Evergreen. It was gorgeous!

Since they had infant life vests we decided we would all take a paddle boat out. West looked so cute in his little life vest!

But he did not like the lake as much as we did...
So I made him a little cover and he seemed to enjoy the ride a lot more!
When we were done on the lake we found a little cafe and stopped in for a sandwich. West used a high chair for the first time.
He also had hat hair for the first time...
Once we were all recharged we decided to take a hike to Maxwell Falls.

We had a great time, but were a little disappointed when we reached our destination.
I wish there had actually been a falls to go along with the sign!

Denver Adventure Week 8

2011-07-22T09:38:00.000-07:00

This week we went to the Denver Zoo! We had a good time, despite the heat. West didn't care much for the animal (he just finally started noticing our cat at home), but he loves to be out! Any place where there's a lot to look at he loves.

West napping in preparation for all the excitement to come

Lazy gorilla

West, doing what he does best, looking cute! I can't get enough of him in that hat!!

Tigers playing

Funny looking bird

The Lion

All of us, as we were headed out.

(Guess I really didn't need to caption, the pictures are pretty self-explanatory)

Later that night we went to a BBQ. It was for any past, present and future BYU MBA that was in Colorado. We had a great time. One of the girls who is starting the program this year offered her parent's house. It was right across the street from the temple. Last year I wasn't too active in the spouse's association, being pregnant and working, but this year I plan to kick my activity into high gear, so it was good getting to know some of the wives a little better. Devon had a good time swapping war stories with the guys.

After this week, we only have four left, CRAZY. I can't believe it's almost time to go home. I'm going to be sad to leave, but I am SO ready to get back to my house with my bed, my couch and my washer and dryer!

Denver Adventure Week 7

2011-07-15T15:35:00.001-07:00

There are two BYU interns at Western Union this summer, Devon and Dominic. Dominic's family was out of town, so Devon invited him over for dessert Friday night. We had a good time getting to know him better. He was even nice enough to bring the dessert. It reminded me of the time we invited some neighbors over for dinner and they insisted on bringing the turkey.

Saturday, Western Union had their annual summer picnic at Elitch Gardens, the local amusement park.

It was kind of a rough day. This was our first amusement park with West and we both had different expectation on how it would go. We thought there would be more we could ride on as a family, but there were only two rides we could all go on:

The Tower, which did have some beautiful views of the city...

And the Carousel...

West loved the Carousel, so it made me really excited to take him to Disneyland.

I spent the rest of the day riding a few rides while Devon stayed with the baby (his choice, not mine). While I was standing in line for my last ride of the day, it closed due to lightening. I wanted to leave, but Devon wanted to stay, because if the rides are shut down for more than 90 minutes, you get a return voucher. While we were waiting to see if the lightening would linger, we ran into Devon's boss and her family.

Her son shared his newly won Smurf with West...

Fortunately, the rides stayed closed for at least 90 minutes, so we received vouchers to come back any time this summer!

The day may not have gone as planned, but at least get to try again another day (hopefully when grandma's in town!)

Denver Adventure Week 6

2011-07-15T13:53:00.000-07:00

We were able to celebrate the 4th of July here in Denver. This is one of our favorite holidays. I love that we already have a lot of established traditions. Devon loves (and so do I), that this is one of the only holidays that still retains in original meaning. It's not defiled by commercialism, as are many other holidays.

We decided to kick off our 3-day weekend by touring the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs. We started our tour in the visitor center...

We then, took a little hike to go see the Chapel. I had no idea that campus was on such a big, beautiful piece of land!

The Chapel blew me away, it was gorgeous! There was a wedding going on, so we weren't able to go inside, but there was still plenty to see...

Monday morning, we started out bright and early by going to breakfast at a little restaurant named the Egg & I. Unfortunately I forgot the camera at home, so no pictures. After breakfast we went home and grabbed the camera and then went bowling. I think West had a good time...

After reading a speech by Samuel Adams and the Declaration of Independence, we headed to a near by park to stake out our spot for fireworks.

West was mesmerized by the fireworks...

Well, for a little while...
It was a great day! We are very grateful for this wonderful country we live in!!!

Donald Duck Orange Juice

2011-07-08T13:28:00.001-07:00

My mom didn't have much patience for illness when we were growing up. My dad, on the other hand, LOVED taking care of sick kids. So, needless to say, whenever we got sick we went straight to dad. He would immediately run out and buy everything we needed to get better; chicken soup, Dimetapp, Popsicles and of course Donald Duck orange juice. He never bought just regular orange juice, cause that doesn't have the special healing powers that the Donald Duck variety had! This became somewhat of a tradition in my home. No matter how old I got DD OJ always made me feel better. Then, the travesty of all travesties occurred....THEY STOPPED SELLING IT! I've been searching and searching for years, but no luck. Just last night I was searching through the weekly grocery ads; lo and behold on page two of the Albersons' ad, there it was, DONALD DUCK ORANGE JUICE. When I saw this, my first thought was to call and tell my dad the good news. Unfortunately that's something I can no longer do. That realization made me cry. I then started thinking about West and how much my dad would absolutely adore him and how much he's missing out on. That made me cry even more. But, I remembered that just because I can't see him doesn't mean he's not around. I don't know how it works in heaven and I don't know how much 'free time' you have, but I'm sure my dad's not missing much. And even though these little moments make me cry, I'm so grateful for them, they show what a big part of my life my dad was and make me feel so close to him. So, as soon as West is up from his afternoon nap, we're headed to Albertsons, because no matter how old I get there are two things that will always be true; sometimes I still need my daddy and Donald Duck orange juice always make me feel better!

Denver Adventure Week 5

2011-07-05T15:49:00.000-07:00

A girl at church told me about this candy company that offered free tours. So, we decided to head down and check it out.

This is all we got to see...

Needless to say the tour was a little disappointing, but at least we got some cute pictures out of it!

VERY late Saturday night my mom came in for a visit. She was only supposed to be coming out once this summer, at the end of July, but she missed her grandbaby too much and decided to come visit us in June, as well. We had a great time, going on walks, looking at model homes, shopping, eating out, taking West to the park and shopping some more!

She even watched West Friday night, so Devon and I could go on our first real date, since he was born. It was so nice to get out and spend some alone time with my husband!

It's always fun when my mom comes to visit, I even think Devon likes it ;) Except this time he was little bitter that she didn't make him enchiladas. West especially loves it, cause he gets spoiled rotten! The joys of being the first grandbaby!

Denver Adventure Week 4

2011-07-05T15:08:00.000-07:00

The Black family decided to all take a trip together this summer. When the idea first came up, we were pretty sure we wouldn't be able to attend. However, it worked out that the family decided to go to Steamboat Springs, CO, just a few weeks before we got our offer to spend the summer in Denver. Steamboat is only 3 hours away, so we were pretty excited that we would be able to attend, at least for the weekend. Even better, Western Union is really flexible about the hours worked on Friday, so at 1:30pm Devon had his 40 hours in for the week and we were able to head out. We had a great weekend eating, swimming, shopping, rodeoing (is that a word?) and just spending time with family!

West and Creed on the way to go shopping on Main St.

West dressed up for the rodeo

Yee-Haw

Our family on Main St.

Devon and West taking a rest

West all bundled up watching the rodeo

West all bundled up and sleeping at the rodeo

West and Grandma hiking

Fish Creek Falls

Most of the family on Sunday afternoon

All of the cousins

Devon and I have been near family since we started dating, so it's been different being so far away this summer. But we were really grateful, that we didn't have to go the whole summer without our family!

Denver Adventure Week 3

2011-06-22T14:00:00.000-07:00

Our weekdays are pretty boring, we get up at 6ish, Devon works out, then I work out while he's getting ready. Devon leaves for work. West and I spend the rest of the day doing various activities such as, walking, shopping, swimming, watching The Hills, The Bachlorette and 16 & Pregnant, playgroups, cooking and household chores. Devon gets homes, we eat dinner and then hang out around the house. So, weekends are where the fun is!

This weekened we were invited to a BBQ at the home of a lady Devon works with. Despite the sudden rain storm, we had a blast! Devon's really been blessed to work with such a great group of people. It was nice for me to meet them and for both of us to get to know them on a much more personal level. Almost everyone had kids so there were tons of little ones running around. West was the only baby, so he got LOTS of attention. Unfortunately, I didn't get any pics!

The next night we took West to his First Dodger game! Devon is not a baseball fan, so he doesn't have a team. I'm not a huge fan either, but I did grow up with the Dodgers. One of the most distinct memories of my childhood is seeing my Grandpa Pikop in his chair, watching the Dodgers on TV with the volume turned down and the radio broadcasting the game right next to him. Hearing Vin Scully say, "It's time for Dodger baseball," always takes me back to those days. But, my grandpa isn't the only Dodger fan in my family. My dad loved the Dodgers, my brother Ricky loves Los Doyers and my Mom loves Dodger dogs. So, it was inevitable that the Dodgers would choose us (Cause as Devon says, you don't choose your team, your team chooses you).

This picture was taken as soon as we got there by the usher. It was hard to see our camera screen in the sun, that is why Devon's head is cut off, but luckily he got the most important people in the pic ;).

Devon bought West this cute little outfit for Christmas last year. Even the Rockies' fans came up and said how cute he was!
I guess these games aren't as exciting for West as they are for us, we're just glad he lets us enjoy them!!

Denver Adventure Week 2

2011-06-22T13:38:00.000-07:00

This was a pretty laid back week. West and I spent a lot of time walking and checking out the parks in the area.

I fell in love with City Park, so on Saturday we took Devon on a picinic there. (Sorry no pics)

Since there's not a lot to write about this week, I'll show you some pics of our little apartment.
This is supposed to be our dining room, but it's just turned into the ironing area and the place I let West swing when it's hot (it's the only place with a ceiling fan and we're trying to save money by not running the AC).
This is out modest kitchen with an even more modest amount of kitchen gear. We brought up the bare necessities and eat off paper plates and plastic utensils.
This is our living/dining/office/play area. The couches may be ugly, but they are pretty comfy!

t doesn't get much more classy than a TV sitting on the floor. We decided not to purchase cable this summer, but luckily we have netflix through the Wii!
Our/West's bedroom, Mickey Mouse comforter and all...

Grandma/apparently Hamilton's room. This was the only big furniture we brought with us and we lost a piece on the way up here, so it still hasn't been set up.

We think it's kind of funny that we're moving backwards. Instead of starting off in a little apartment and moving into a house, like most newly married couples, we started off in a house and have moved into a little apartment. While I miss my home TONS!!!! It's kind of nice not having all the responsibility that comes with owning a home. It literally takes me 5 mins to clean (10, if I do a deep clean). So, the rest of the time is spent playing with West!

West the Comedian

2011-06-08T15:30:00.000-07:00

The other day I was getting West ready for bed, by swaddling him. In order for this to work most effectively, his arms need to be down at his sides, this usually takes a couple of attempts. The other night West was being particularly difficult. I would put his arms down and he would immediately lift them over his head. After he did this about 10 times Devon was ready to step in to assist. I tried one last time by myself and this time as West’s arms went up he let out the loudest giggle! It was as if he was putting his arms up on purpose, and then let out the giggle when he couldn’t hold the joke in any longer.

Just a few days later, I was sitting on the couch holding him. His head was cradled in my left arm and I had my computer on my right side. I was looking over at the computer, when I heard him make a noise. I turned to look and he was holding out his pacifier about ½ inch away from my mouth, ready to stick it right on in. Once again, he let out a loud giggle!

These are probably just coincidental incidents, but since I’m a mom I’ll just think that my child is a naturally gifted, budding little comedian.

Denver Adventure Week 1

2011-05-31T11:01:00.000-07:00

I've always wanted to go to Mount Rushmore, but never had the chance. After I found out we were moving to Denver, I looked up to see how far away it was. I was surprised to find it was only 6 hours away! I talked to Devon about it and we decided we'd go on one of our long weekends. It just so happened that Memorial Day was out first weekend in Denver and it worked out well for us to take a little trip. We headed out early Saturday morning and headed straight to Rushmore.
The next day we decided to head down to the Minute Man II missile facility. It was one of the places they had missiles ready to launch during the Cold War. Since it was a 2 hours drive from Mt Rushmore area, I was a little skeptical, but it turned out to be really cool.
This is the door into the room in which the missiles would have been launched from, we got a kick out of it.
This was the actual missile, located down the road about 5 miles.

All of this was located just outside of Badlands National Park. So, one day before our annual pass expired, we were able to see our 7th and final National Park of the year.
That night we took West swimming for the first time. We were surprised that he really seemed to like it.
The rest of the summer had a lot to live up to!

2011-05-25T08:32:00.000-07:00

Hopefully now that I’m officially a stay at home mommy, I’ll be a little better at staying on top of this blog! Here’s what’s been going on in our life since our last post….

December
As usual, we took our annual trip to California. This normally the highlight of our winter, as we get to get out of the cold. Not this year! We hit California just in time for monsoon season. Despite the horrible weather, we had a great time with family and friends.

January
During this month, the miracle of all miracles took place! My brother, Ricky FINALLY got married. We were able to fly down for the wedding and this time we really did get out of the cold. We were greeted with 80 degree weather the entire weekend! The wedding was BEAUTIFUL, as was the bride. Ricky didn’t look to shabby either. I guess the old saying is true, ‘The best things do come to those that wait.’ Ricky has a wonderful wife and I lucked out and got a fabulous sister-in-law! That makes me 5/5 in the good sister-in-law department.

February
Most of this month was just spent waiting for little Weston to make his appearance. While waiting I did have a couple wonderful Baby Showers to help me prepare for his arrival.

March
9 months of waiting was finally over!! Weston Richard Black made his appearance, March 4, 2011 at 10:47am, weighing in at 8lbs even and measuring 19” long.

He was even more handsome that I could have ever imagined! I won’t lie; the first week was EXTREMELY hard! I thought, ‘there is no way I can ever do this again.’ But as my body adjusted to very little sleep and he adjusted to being in this new world, things got a lot better! We were really blessed with a wonderful little guy!

April
Unfortunately, I had to go back to work just 6 weeks after West was born. Luckily, it was only for a month! Although it was hard to be away from the little guy, it gave dad and him a little time to bond. At the end of the month, we got to celebrate West’s first Easter!

May
What a crazy month and it’s not even over yet!!! May 1st our little guy was blessed!!! This is a day I’d been dreaming of since I was about 12 years old. It did not disappoint! Devon gave a BEAUTIFUL blessing!! All of our families were there and we even had friends come in for the big day.
The week after everyone left, we headed to Denver, Co. Earlier in the year Devon was offered an internship with Western Union, which we gladly accepted. We took a long weekend trip to check out our apartment and meet the people he’d be working with. After all the business was taken care of, we were able to have a little fun and drive up to Rocky Mountain National Park.

That pretty much catches you up! I’ll keep you posted on our life in Denver. We’re looking forward to play dates, swimming, weekend trips and LOTS of sporting events!

Baby Moon

2010-11-13T13:09:00.000-08:00

Devon and I aren't avid travelers, but we do enjoy - and have been able to take quite a few -weekend road trips. With West on the way, those trips will soon be few and far between. So, while Devon had a week long break, we figured it would be a good time to take a little baby moon. Since I still had to work and we had a lot going on that weekend, we ended up with just a Thursday and a Friday to get it done.

Thursday

We left Thursday morning and headed to Moab. I'd never been to Arches and really wanted to hike to Delicate Arch. Devon insisted it was an easy hike, so we took it on. It wasn't as easy as it would have been had I not been pregnant, but it wasn't bad and was very well worth it!

After taking in a few more of the sights...

We headed to our hotel in Cortez, Colorado.

Friday
Friday morning we went to Mesa Verde National Park. From the moment we drove in, I was blown away.

From there, things only got better. We were able to hike down to and take a tour of the Cliff Palace Dwelling. It was amazing, it almost looked like it wasn't real.

We left Mesa Verde and headed to Four Corners. This was a place that I've always wanted to go. Where else can you be in 4 places at once?!?!?

Four Corners is literally in the middle of nowwhere. When we were about 5 miles away Devon said, " I hope they take a card," as we had no cash on us. We pulled up and sure enough they only took cash or traveler's checks. We asked the attendendent where the closest ATM was, she stated that there was one at a store just 5 miles up the road. We headed out and found it with no problem, however the ATM wasn't working. We asked the clerk where the next closest ATM was. She stated that there was a gas station just up the hill. So, we headed up the hill. Ten miles later we were at the gas station. We walked in, found the ATM and, guess what....it wasn't working. We asked the clerk where the next closest place was and he stated Shiprock, New Mexico, which happened to be about 20 miles away. After a small break down in the gas station (I think I'll blame it on the pregnancy), we headed to Shiprock. Per our Tom-Tom, it appeared that Shiprock only had two gas stations, so I wasn't too optimistic. But when we pulled in there was a little shopping center. It had a grocery store and a quick loan store. We figured we'd try the grocery store first and if all else failed maybe we could take out a loan for $6. We found an ATM in the grocery store...yep, you guessed it, it didn't work!! Luckily, the store offered cash back. We left armed with a pack of gum and a twenty dollar bill.

An hour and a half later, we were admitted into Four Corners. I do have to say I was a little disappointed. The idea of it is cool, but the monument was under construction, so there were cones and caution tape all over the place. Nonetheless, we got all the important pictures.

I love these little trips! They may not be fancy, but they're memories we're going to have forever.

West Richard Black

2010-10-08T11:21:00.000-07:00

After months and months of waiting, it's now official, we have a very handsome little boy on the way! I could hardly sleep last night, I was so anxious to find out who the little one in me was. I was also a little scared; would we be able to tell or even worse, what if they found something wrong. Luckily the worrying was all for naught. He looked totally healthy and we got a VERY obvious view of the goods.

So, the name...As you can tell we've already got a name picked out for the little guy. Truth be told, we've had all our baby names picked out since we were dating. I've wavered a couple times, not wanting to change the names, but wanting to change the order, what we name our first girl, first boy, etc. But Devon put the breaks on that quickly, reasoning that we've already agreed on these names and there's no reason to go starting trouble now.

West Richard, formally Weston Richard, was the name we decided on for our first boy. West is a name that was introduced into my life a few years back and I fell in love! I suggested it to Devon and he said he liked it, but did not feel it was a 'real' name. We agreed that his official name would be Weston, but he would go by West.

Richard is my dad's name. My dad, more than anything else, wanted to be a papa. Unfortunately, because all of us children have lagged behind in the baby making area, he passed away before he had the chance. I guess he figured going to heaven was the only way he'd get to be a grandpa at all. In fact, after two months of trying and not getting pregnant, we sat down and had a little chat with my dad. We told him that we understood that he loved being up there with all his grandbabies, but it was time he let one come down. Surprisingly, a few days later we were pregnant. It was only fitting that we name our first boy after him.

Now, the real countdown in on! Only five more months until I get to hold this little guy. At least there is enough to keep be busy until then! I've got to get working on West's BYU nursery...

First Day of School

2010-09-17T09:31:00.000-07:00

Everyone is allowed to post a good brag blog every now and again, right?? I hope so, because this is mine. This picture is of my incredibly handsome husband on his first day of MBA school at BYU. I can't begin to tell you how proud of am of this man, but I'm going to try. It's not an easy feat to get into BYU and especially not to get into the MBA program at BYU. I'd like to think it was all the support from his loving wife that made the difference, but I know better. There was so much he had to do before he even knew me.

So, I'll start at the beginning....Devon worked hard his undergraduate years, getting good enough grade as to have options after he graduated. He decided a long time ago that he wanted to be a reporter, so as a senior in high school he staring working on that path. While, because of a myriad of reasons, this didn't end up being the path he chose, all the work he put in shows his dedication to a field and gave him some variety on his resume. He's worked at a few different companies over the years, each of which have taught him things & introduced him to people that have lead to other, better jobs.

Now, flash forward to just about a month ago. After talking to people who had just finished the program, we both knew that networking was going to be key to finding a job. This is something that takes Devon out of his comfort zone. But before school even started he was contacting second year students, getting their feedback on the companies they interned for and was getting contact information for people within the company. He contacted past alumni who were working in the companies currently recruiting at BYU to start building relationships and figure out which companies would be the best fit for us. He was reaching out to the recruiters, introducing himself, getting to know them. He was on the computer researching the companies, finding out their business strategies, general info, etc. I didn't realize how far ahead he was until I had a back to school night for the spouses. The second years were talking about ways we could help our students in their search for an internship. They suggested that we do research and make fact sheets for our students, so if they got an interview they could study the fact sheet on the way to the interview. I almost laughed, what on earth could I put on that fact sheet that my husband didn't already know? He had been researching these companies long before class even started.

This had all taken place long before he even stepped foot in a classroom, but now that class is in session I have even more reason to be proud of him. Anyone that knows Devon knows he's not a morning person, especially when he doesn't have to be some where. So, I was a little worried when they put him on the late class schedule. But without fail he's gotten up at 6am every morning so he can get to school a couple of hours before class starts and get some study time in.

I'm so grateful that I have such a wonderful husband who is already working so hard to provide for our family. I know this isn't easy for him, but he knows and I know that it's all going to be worth it. My life isn't going to be easy for the next year and a half, I'll have a good load to carry. But I know that whatever I have to go through isn't nearly what he's going to have to take on. Our future is in his hands and I'm so proud that he is more than willing to take this on and continue to work so hard for our family!

We're pregnant.

2010-08-14T11:12:00.000-07:00

Yes, it's true. The baby is due on March 6th.

Our First Anniversary

2010-06-26T07:47:00.000-07:00

For our first anniversary Devon and I wanted to take a little trip. Our anniversary happened to fall over Memorial Day weekend, so it was perfect. Originally we had planned to go to Moab, but since a Super 8 Motel room was going for over $100 bucks, we went to plan B....Kanab, UT! Okay, it's better than it sounds. It was actually a perfect location. We were 30 minutes from Zion and one hour from the Grand Canyon.

Day One was spent at Zion. In the morning we took a little hike called the Watchman. It was a decent hike with pretty good views.

That afternoon we hiked up to Emerald Pools. Devon used to going swimming there as a kid. When he was just a little, little guy he almost drown. So, a big shout out to the big hairy man that saved my husband's life. (I owe him one!)

Day 2 took us to the Grand Canyon, North Rim. WOW! This was my first time and I was blown away by how beautiful it was!! Pictures do not do it justice.

Then the fun began! We did something that I've wanted to do since I saw it on an episode of The Brady Bunch. We rode Mules down the Grand Canyon! It was amazing!!!!! I even had a little near death experience of myself. Before I tell you about that, you'll need to get to know our mules.

This is Dagwood. To sum it up, Dagwood was lazy. He liked to go at his own pace, which was considerably slower than the rest of the mules...

About 10 minutes into the ride, Ron our guide, had to give Devon a switch to give Dagwood a little motivation.
Then there was my mule...

Tom. Tom was the exact opposite of Dagwood. Tom did not like being stuck behind the rest of the mules, he had his own agenda. The only thing that these two mules had in common was that they like to eat. Hence where the near death experience came in.

On the way back up we needed to to stop about every ten minutes to let they mules rest. These little rest stops looked something like this...

Tom didn't like these rest stops, he wanted to be moving. But, if he was going to have to wait, he was going to eat. I was trying my hardest to stop him from eating the grass, but like I said, he had his own agenda. Now, there was this luscious looking patch of grass down the edge of the cliff and Tom decided he had to have it. So, he kept inching forward. I began to freak out. Devon assured me that I wasn't even close to the edge. But then Tom made a final lunge toward the grass. I screamed and Devon called up to Ron, our guide. At least, I thought it was Devon. Come to find out, it wasn't Devon at all, it was Gabe the rider in front of me. Ron was able to talk me through getting Tom off the edge of the cliff. After that experience I was holding the reins so tight that Tom started trotting backward, almost causing Devon and Dagwood to trott of the cliff (served Devon right for not protecting his wife ;) After than experience Tom did not calm down.

If you look at this next picture you'll see that Tom and I are right in front of Devon (he has the camera.)

In this next picture, you will now see that Gabe and Big Mac are now in front of Devon and Tom and I are in front of Gabe and Big Mac.

Apparently Tom did not want to ride behind Big Mac, so first chance he got he took matters into his own hands.

All and all we had a great ride! We saw some gorgeous views.

And made some new friends.

That night we, of course, had to go to...

To properly celebrate our first anniversary (it's Outback, but Devon's head is covering half the sign).

An anniversary trip wouldn't be complete without a truck full of polygamists...

On day 3 we drove home, but kind of took the long way. We were able to hit one more National Park on our way out...

I'm very grateful that we had such a wonderful trip. But so much more than that I'm grateful that one year I ago I married such a wonderful man!!!

DISNEYLAND TRIP 2010

2010-03-26T17:36:00.000-07:00

Devon and I decided it'd be fun to take a trip to Disneyland at least once before we have kids (we can imagine the Magic Kingdom takes on a whole new persona once kids are involved). Devon hadn't been to D-Land since high school and I hadn't been in a good 5 years, so in February we packed up the bags and headed to So. Cal.

Day 1
Devon and I have a completely different idea of vacation. I like to get as much done as I can and if that means getting up before the sun, I'm totally down with that. Devon, on the other hand, views vacation as a time to relax and sleep in. I would have been ready to head to Disneyland at 7am, but since we'd driven in just the night before, I let Devon sleep in and we got to the park around 10am. Here we are all bright eyes and bushy tailed...

We quickly learned the true beauty of fast passes. Between the smaller crowds and fast passes we managed to never wait longer than 10 minutes for any ride. Day one was mostly spent going on rides we hadn't been on in years....

And some we'd never been on before....

This is on California Screamin', our new favorite ride. And this is my new favorite picture of Devon, he looks so worried!

We were able to have a new experience on Splash Mountain. WE GOT SOAKED!

I'm pretty sure the guy in white may have had something to do with our rather wet predicament....

At about 10pm it started to rain, since we'd done just about everything we wanted to accomplish that day we packed it up and headed home, but not before spending a few moments with Mr. Lincoln and....

Day 2

This was the day I was least looking forward to! It was the only weekend day we would be in the park, so I new the crowds would be a bit thicker and it was supposed to rain. I thought if we can ride a few rides and hit a couple parade I'd be happy. But as it turned out Day two was the best day we spent in the park!

Since we'd bought 3-day park hoppers we were able to take advantage of 'Magic Morning,' which lets you into the park an hour early one day. Surprise, surprise, I was actually able to get Devon up at 5:30, so we could be to the park by 7am. When we pulled into the parking lot we were the third car! Here is a pic of the huge crowds we had to battle that morning...

We were able to run onto every ride x2 in Tomorrowland, it was amazing! Once the park officially opened we were running out of Tomorrowland as all the masses were running in. We went to Frontier Land and basically had that place to ourselves.

After a few more hours of running directly onto rides, we'd gotten done by 10am, as much as I'd hoped to accomplish in the entire day! Even Devon had to admit the before-the-sunrise wake up call was well worth it!

And then at noon we did something we'd always wanted to do, but never had...We ate at the Blue Bayou!! It was fabulous! A little pricey, but the food was amazing and the atmosphere was spectacular. We decided to wait what they said would be about and hour, to get a water-side table and it was well worth it (especially worth it, since it only ended up being about 10 minutes)! I wish I'd taken a picture or two, but sadly I didn't!

After a mid-day nap in the car we spent the rest of the afternoon in California Adventure, where this fabulous shot of me was taken...

Oh, and it didn't rain a lick that day!

Day 3

Our final day at Disneyland, sad!

The night before, Devon and I had gotten into a little argument about this ride...

He utterly refused to go on it, but I didn't want to go alone. I wonder who won that argument...

But I couldn't win this one...

I had to ride the Maliboomer all by myself :(

As a mid-morning snack, Devon bought his very first...

I couldn't believe he'd never had one before...He was not disappointed!

For lunch we had Disneyland's famous turkey legs...

For some reason mine was super salty, but I'd been so long since I had one that I thought that was just how they were. When Devon was done with his he had some of mine and sure enough mine was way saltier than his. If I would have known before we ate the whole thing, I would have taken it back, oh well...

For an afternoon snack we had my favorite Disneyland treat...

Ice Cream from the Gibson girl!

To sum it all up....we had a blast! We definitely made some memories.

Now we just can't wait to go back with a kid or two in tow.

P.S. There was one more highlight of this trip I forgot to mention, spending time with this lady...

I love you mother! This picture was just too cute, it was begging to be posted!

The big news...

2010-03-22T20:39:00.000-07:00

That's right. Back to school again. Annette and I were very happy to get back into BYU where the program rankings are high and the tuition is low. The stressing over GMAT scores, work experience, interviews, and essays are done. Now the stressing over internships, class projects and tuition begins. We can't wait!

My Curse

2010-01-30T09:59:00.000-08:00

I've come to the conclusion that I'm cursed. I'll need to give you a little background before you can really understand the magnitude of this cursing. A few years back I had a friend that LOVED Red Robin and would beg us to go any chance he got. The only problem was; there was NOTHING that I liked there, I'd tried about everything on the menu. Then one day I found it! The Honey Mustard Chicken Sandwich, it was love at first bite!!!! After that day I was the one begging to go to Red Robin any chance I got. I spent about 4 years enjoying my Honey Mustard Chicken Sandwich, loving every last tasty second of it, that was until they did the unthinkable! RED ROBIN PULLED IT OFF THE MENU AND STOPPED MAKING IT! I was devastated and I think I've only been back 1 or 2 times since (1 0r 2 very untasty times.) So, here starts the curse, yep just starts. A few month ago Devon and I went to Chili's and I was looking forward to my Caribbean Chicken Salad. It's a perfect salad, not to heavy, but filling none the less. But guess what, yep Chili's discontinued it and took it off their menu. Then, just last month we went to Outback. While Devon looks forward to the steak, I look forward to their Blue Cheese Crumble Salad. It is one of the tastiest salads I've ever had. But, they got rid of it! Luckily they still serve the Aussie Cheese Fried or Devon and I would have to find a new favorite restaurant. Just when I thought things couldn't get any worse, I went to Wendy's Thursday night. They discontinued the only fast food salad that I love, The Southwest Salad. You couldn't beat the taste and size for only $4.99.

Some have concluded that I just have bad taste in food and like the food items that no one else likes. But I can't fathom that being the reason, each of these items I've just described are a little taste of heaven and I can't imagine anyone not falling in love with just one bite. I've lost a lot of loves over the past year, but as long as Dominicos is still serving pizza, The Lotus Garden still has cheese won-tons and Mimi's Cafe is still bringing me their french onion soup, life will go on!

2009 Year In Review

2010-01-02T09:21:00.000-08:00

When I look back at 2009 there is no way I'm going to be able to say it was an uneventful year! Devon and I decided this was a year of change, some for the wonderful and some for the not my type of change kinda thing. So, here we go, hold on, I'm gonna take you for a ride through our crazy year.

January

The year started out with a bang!

On January 29th Devon proposed to me! It wasn't supposed to be a surprise, since we'd been talking about if for a few months prior and even had the ring picked out. However, Devon was pretty sneaky. The night after we'd picked out the ring he told me it would take 5-10 business day to get it. So, I thought I'd be waiting a week or so. The next evening he called and said he was coming over. I hurried, got showered and in my jammies before he came (had I known what was coming I would have dressed a little more appropriately and not had wet hair). He told he'd received something funny at work and wanted to show me. He pulled over his computer and started the most romantic slide show. It was pictures of our past year together with captions on each one. The last caption read, "Now there's just one more thing..." He knelt down and asked me to marry him, shaky hands and all! Of course I said yes!

February

I was going to take advantage of the long President's day weekend to go down to Long Beach and visit my family. I'd just gotten engaged and had to show off the ring and my dad was in a long term care facility, not doing so good. I had a great weekend. I got to spend a lot of time with my family, especially my dad. On Monday I was getting ready to go see my dad one last time before I left when we got the call. He'd passed away during the night. This was the not my type of change kinda thing, but in spite of losing my dad I have a lot to be grateful for.

First of all, I got to be there. When my dad's health started declining one of my biggest worries was that I wasn't going to know when things were bad enough for me to go home. But I guess I didn't need to know, Heavenly Father would get me there, one way or the other. Secondly, Dr. Laura says that when someone dies we shouldn't say, "sorry to hear about your loss." Instead we should say, "I'm glad that you'll miss them," because that when death is really sad, when we're not going to miss the person. Luckily I had an amazing dad that I miss horribly every day! Thirdly, something else Dr. Laura says (she's my new obsession this year, but that's another blog post.) The one way that people live on forever is that they have qualities that we adopt that get passed down through the generations. My dad had so many qualities that I want to emulate. Our kids aren't going to know their Papa here on this earth, but they are going to know who he was because of the qualities of his that I posses and hopefully will pass on to them. And last, but not least, I have the knowledge that families are forever, what more could I be grateful for?

March

The week after we got home from the funeral I got a call from Devon that he'd lost his job, two days later I lost mine. What a way to start off life together, unemployed! The saddest thing about losing my job was that I LOVED it!! I loved what I did, I loved the company and I loved the people that I worked with.

They weren't just co-worked they were my friends, my substitute family. When I moved here I had no one, but these guys became like brothers and dads to me. They checked my tires, helped me move, would come over and fix things at my home, tease me to keep me humble, they let me into their homes, their families. Even though I don't work there any more, I will always be grateful for my years with Fieldstone.

May

Okay, May is where things started to look up! On May 30th I married the love of my forever, Devon, in the Newport Beach, Ca Temple.

Though the road to the temple was rough, knowing that no matter what Devon is mine forever, made it all worth it!!

June

For a few days Devon and I got to rest from job hunting, wedding planning and just about everything else, to spend a great honeymoon in Lake Tahoe.

Just after we returned home from Tahoe, Devon was offered a job that has turned out to be quite the blessing in our lives.

July

July ended four months of job hunting for me, as I was finally offered a job with the Social Security Administration.

While it's a hard job, I'm finding out that it is well worth it, causing me to learn things I never thought I could and grow in ways I wouldn't have imagined.

After July things slowed down, thank goodness! We've been able to really enjoy our first year of marriage. We've taken a few trips to Cali, gone to and watched a few hundred sporting events (including my first ever BYU vs UTAH football game), taken a few trips to southern Utah and had a two new nieces born into the family. This truly has been the year of change!

Finally!

2009-12-07T15:41:00.000-08:00

Devon was hired onto his current job with a less than desirable schedule, but after months of looking we had no choice but to take it. We just held onto the hope that his schedule would change before basketball season. But after many months of rumors and quasi promises that he would be moved to an earlier shift we had just about given up hope. Until last week, when we gave up all hope as he was moved to another department. When they moved him they made it very clear that this department was open till 10pm and someone would need to be there. We were devastated, not only was he not being changed to an earlier schedule, he was getting forced into a later schedule. We both had it! After some less then desirable thoughts about his company, we decided if they were going to do this, he was going to start looking for another job, ASAP! Well, I'm happy to say, but a little embarrassed to admit that after all the trash talking, they told him they were putting him on the 7-3 schedule. WHAT A BLESSING! Now, he'll get to referee, as much as his little heart desires. Which is great for two reasons: 1. He LOVES it! 2. It's all extra cash in our pocket.

Now that Devon is working a earlier shift, it means that I get to go into work earlier. So, I decided to start working 4 ten hours days. That way Devon and I can get up at the same time and with his referring we'd get home about the same time and I have a whole extra day off during the week. This is only the first official day of our new schedule, but I'm already loving it!

Advantages of Marriage

2009-11-14T15:38:00.000-08:00

There are lots of advantages to being married, never having to go home alone, someone to mow the lawn and waking up next to a very handsome man every morning. But one of my favorite advantages was FINALLY becoming an aunt. My family isn't really known for being very productive in the whole baby making business, so at the ripe old age of 26 I was still nephew-nieceless. But then I met Devon and on May 30th I become the aunt of 1 niece and 3 nephews. Only a few months later I had 2 more nieces. A big thank you to Devon for allowing me the opportunity to have some of the cutest nieces and nephews around! (And to their parents for making such cute kids)

Bringing Out the Big Guns

2009-10-09T21:12:00.000-07:00

I just think this is super cute! (Ignore grumpy Devon at the end...)

Wanted - Dead or Alive!

2009-09-06T23:19:00.000-07:00

Earlier this week we had a flyer taped to our front door by a neighbor neither of us really knows. Apparently this person canvassed the whole subdivision with the notices that were captioned by a large "$50 Reward" headline.

What is the reward for, you ask? Information leading to the identification of a dog owner.

The full-page flyer includes a grainy black-and-white photo of the dog suspected of decorating this person's yard, and an excerpt from a city ordinance proclaiming the illegality of allowing your dogs to crap on someone else's lawn.

This neighbor says that he has "tried everything" to keep the dogs off his yard (except the old fashion .22, I suppose), and it "was the last straw!" when he and his son found new deposits in his grass TWICE this week.

He leaves his name and phone number and promises to anonymously reward the person who tells him the owner of the dog(s) he describes.

Who knew that in these trying economic times, such a problem could be so consuming, that you would not only offer a fair amount of money to entice a snitch, but also spend the significant time it must have taken to distribute the flyers all around Hawks Landing?

I could definitely use the $50, but even if I did know the identity of the scandalous dog owner, I think it would be much more fun to keep the information to myself and see if this neighbor takes even more drastic measures to squash out such an apparently outrageous problem.

My Husband

2009-07-31T15:01:00.000-07:00

This is a little late, but too good not to share. Here are a series of text messages between Devon and I on July 15th...

Devon: 9:47am Im running the dishwasher. If I don't have time to do the dished before I leave you are forbidden from touching them.

D: 9:50am And were all out of dishwasher detergent.

Annette: 10:01am I'll grab some on my way home, I have to go to Wal Mart anyway.

D: 11:31am Baby. Near disaster! It involved the dishwasher. A stupid mistake by me. And lots of paper towels. But don't worry. Everything is fine.

A: 11:34am What'd ya do?????

A:12:40pm So ur gonna leave me hanging and not tell me what happened??

D: 1:01pm Just a little water on the kitchen floor. Didn't have time to make the bed or do the dishes because I had to clean up. But I think Hamilton (our cat) was entertained.

A: 1:08pm How did water get on the floor??

D: 1:48pm Don't ask questions. Just accept the facts.

By this time I'm starting to put 2 and 2 together...

A: 2:10pm You put dish soap in the dishwasher, didn't you?

D: 3:03pm You'll never know unless you can get Hamilton to sing.

A: 3:10pm I bet I can make you sing...

Sure enough I was able to make him sing. We didn't have enough dish washing detergent to fill the whole tray, so he supplemented the difference with dish soap. Lo and behold suds began to flow from the dishwasher and covered the kitchen floor. Luckily he was home to advert catastrophe! The only sad thing: I wasn't there to see it!

My husband may not be perfect, but he sure tries and I LOVE him for it!!!

Lazy weekday mornings.

2009-07-13T07:23:00.001-07:00

I spent two weeks in job training working from 10 a.m to 6 p.m. Once I finished training I was assigned a team and started working at 7:30 a.m. - not a bad schedule, really.

Well, after one week of that there were some personnel shakeups and I've gotten put on the noon to 8 p.m. shift. I'm not very excited about the change, especially since Annette leaves for work at around 7 in the morning. Now, here I am sitting at home a little after 8 a.m. wondering what I'm going to do for the next three hours.

There is some house cleaning and dish washing to be done after being away at the family reunion all weekend. I could read a chapter of two of the book I've been working on. I could do some long-overdue Japanese study I never seem to have time to fit in. It looks like I'll have to start going to the gym in the mornings instead of late afternoons like I'd planned.

I think working the afternoon/evening shift is a lot more fun when you're single and can stay up as late as you want...

0% Unemployment Rate

2009-07-01T20:51:00.000-07:00

That's right, the Black household has hit an unemployment rate of 0%! After almost four months I've finally found a job!! And the best part, I'm actually excited about it. I'll be working for the state. This is a completely new field to me, so there's a lot to learn, but I'm sooooo up for the challenge. Besides just being excited for the job itself, I'm excited I'm working for the State. First of all we'll get GREAT benefits. Second, I'll get off EVERY state holiday. Third, two words....JOB SECURITY!

It's been pretty discouraging the last few months, getting rejected by job after job after job. Every time I'd find out I didn't get a job Devon would say, "you just weren't meant to get that one, there's another that's better for you." I tried to believe it, but it was hard. But, as much as I hate to say it, Devon was right. In terms of job responsibility, security, pay, benefits, work environment and long term career goals, this jobs is heads and tails above all the others I've interviewed for. I am very blessed I was not offered any of those other jobs, leaving me open and available for this opportunity.

Happy Day!

2009-06-19T19:39:00.000-07:00

Since I know all of you have been worried sick about this, I'll put your minds at ease.... Devon and I FINALLY got to use our Seven Peaks passes. Since it looks like rain tomorrow, we decided to try late this afternoon and it was PERFECT!! We had a blast! Warm weather, short lines and fun rides, who could ask for more??? And to top it all off we were able to eat dinner out on the deck, on our new patio set. It's really beginning to fell a lot more like summer!

Employed, and armed with a new patio set.

2009-06-16T15:14:00.000-07:00

So I have a job. A real, 40-hour-a-week one.

It's not a great one. In fact, I'm not all that excited about the job itself, but it is nice being numbered among the ranks of the employed again.

I got hired by P****** Security, one of those Utah County security system sales companies. I'm going to be a supervisor in their customer service call center. The starting wage is mediocre and I'll probably be working a crappy evening shift, but at least I'll have a full-time paycheck coming in again. I start training on Monday.

In other news, Annette and I used some of our wedding gift money to buy a nice seven-piece patio set. We found a great deal on one through Wal-Mart and went to buy it yesterday. Unfortunately we grossly overestimated the size of the car and realized soon after leaving the store that it was going to be a real trick getting the bigger of two boxes in.

In somewhat of an embarrassing but nice turn of events, a kind lady with a suburban was driving by at the time. She asked if we lived close and said she'd be happy to have us load the two big boxes into her car and drive them to our house for us. Rather than wrestle with the box for 45 minutes we swallowed our pride and accepted her offer.

A day later I have finished assembling the six chairs and one table and it looks great! Six-and-a-half foot sun umbrella included. Maybe we'll get a chance to break it in when the weather clears up this weekend.

A Little Bitter....

2009-06-15T10:29:00.000-07:00

Back in the good ole' days when Devon and I both had jobs we decided to purchase 7 Peaks season passes. When we lost our jobs, we thought we'd lucked out, we may not have any money this summer, but we'd at least have one good date activity that wouldn't cost us anything more than what we've already paid out. All and well and good, except it won't stop raining!!! And the days it's not raining, it's certainly not warm enough to go walking around in nothing but our swimming suits. We're still holding out hope that Utah might show a few symptoms of summer before the end of August!

My First Post

2009-06-09T16:54:00.000-07:00

Devon's being bugging me all day to post something....Since he's gone to all the work of making this our blog instead of just his, I'd better oblige. Besides that these last few months (especially the last few weeks) have been pretty eventful.

It all began a few months ago....Devon and I decided that we were going to get married. I've been married previously, so I knew I needed to start working on the process for my temple sealing cancelation. I contacted my ex and met with the bishop before we were officially engaged. We felt good setting a date, as we would have 4 1/2 months to get everything done. Things went smoothly, we got letters from everyone in less than a month. Everything was then turned into my Stake President. This is where the fun began. I contacted the stake executive secretary multiple times to get an appointment. Each time I was informed the Stake President was busy, but would try to get me 'next week.' After a few weeks of this, the stake split and my ward became part of a newly organized stake. Apparently my former Stake President wanted my new Stake President to handle this, hence why the executive secretary kept putting me off. Finally after a month of trying I had an appointment with the Stake President! At the meeting he told me he was going out of town and would write the letter and submit the paperwork as soon as he got home. With a month and a half to go I was notified, by my bishop, that the paperwork had been submitted. Everyday I was out checking the mail. With about 3 weeks to go till we were getting married, I still had nothing. Worry turned to fear when Devon and I were hiking down from the Y on May 6th. We ran into my Bishop, who informed us that my Stake President hadn't actually sent in the paperwork because he was waiting for his official church stationary. We were assured that someone would be contacting Salt Lake.

Just two weeks before the wedding we received official notification that the paper work had been received by the First Presidency and that we could call on Friday (just one week before the wedding) to see if it had been reviewed yet. On Friday I received a call that there was no word on my paperwork, but we could check back Tuesday. On Tuesday, we were told that a decision was possible on Thursday. My hopes of heading off to California worry free were shattered. But I still had hope for something to come through Thursday.

About half way to California on Wednesday I received a call from my Bishop that he had just spoken to the First Presidency's office and my sealing had been canceled!!!! They had even agreed to call the Newport Beach Temple and verbally give permission for us to be sealed, since there wouldn't be time to mail a letter to me. We were ecstatic!!!!!!!! Then after about 2 hours worth of phone calls to the temple, sealers, stake presidents, our family and friends, everything was set!

I heard it said, and even experienced it, that every wedding has a wedding day disaster. Ours was a wedding week disaster that had a very happy ending. After that everything else went perfectly. Minus some June Gloom, our wedding day we wonderful. I was able to marry the man that I love, in a place that would allow us to be sealed forever. I never realized how much I took getting married in the temple for granted. It's just something that you do. It wasn't until there was a chance of it not happening that I really realized how much it meant to me.

I'm not really sure how to judge the actual length of this post, but I'm thinking it's pretty long. So, I'll have to give more details about the wedding, receptions and honeymoon later. :)

Real life...

2009-06-08T11:01:00.001-07:00

The honeymoon is over. We're back at a normal Utah County elevation near a more normal sized lake. I've got a few scattered items I still have to get from my parents' house, but other than that I'm moved in and will start the slow process of unpacking.

Over too is the ice cream reception, though if you need any chocolate syrup let us know... we've got enough to last us through the millenium.

So I'm back to picking up whatever part-time money I can scorekeeping softball or refereeing or whatever. I have two referee evaluation camps coming up in the next couple of weeks. If I do well at those I'll hopefully get a few more varsity games this next basketball season.

And... back applying for jobs. Yes, we'd almost forgotten we were unemployed but were reminded when we realized we didn't have to get up and go to work this morning.

Let the real fun begin!

Suitable...

2009-05-18T18:46:00.000-07:00

My how time flies. Two-and-a-half months later and we're down to just 12 days before the wedding.

After putting it off for a few weeks Annette and I finally got out and did some suit shopping. I haven't worn a suit since my mission and we figured my own wedding was an appropriate occasion to make a new purchase.

The most interesting part of the suit shopping experience for me is seeing the different personalities and the varied effectiveness of the salesmen.

Our first stop was Mr. Mac where we found the sales staff to be nice, but underwhelming. After showing us two suits, the salesmen concluded that they just didn't have what we were looking for and recommended that we come back some other time when they had more inventory.

We made a brief foray into Missionary Mall and actually found a workable suit, but decided the durability-to-style ratio was not favorable. And, the salesman there looked completely lost when faced with a prospective buyer that was not 19-years-old singing "Armies of Helaman" as he walked in the door. The most excited he got was when the topic of where I served my own mission came up.

We ended up making a purchase from Men's Warehouse, where the salesman was very good and got us what we wanted. We got a two-for-one deal on some very nice, high quality suits which will set me up for the wedding and other formal occasions down the road.

Hopefully this marks our last major expense.

The Recession Hits Saratoga Springs

2009-03-05T12:53:00.000-08:00

Eight-six days till the wedding and Annette and I just found out - less than four days apart - that we are both now unemployed.

I got told on Monday that I had two more weeks left to work before being laid off. This morning she was told her entire department was shutting down. Ouch.

I suppose it's not all bad. It will be a good story to tell our kids when they start grumbling about having to go to work when they're teenagers.

94 days...

2009-02-25T15:57:00.000-08:00

Who knew this could be so complicated?

No, I'm not talking about the dress, the colors, or pictures.

It has nothing to do with the reception or the cake.

No, none of that. The issue at hand now causing so much complication is honeymoon related - more specifically, hotels.

Annette and I went to dinner last night and then back to her house where I was eager to watch the BYU game. After BYU fell way behind in the first half I switched the game off and we started looking at room rates online. We already know where and when we're going, but the issue of where exactly to stay became the subject tedious research and comparison.

I turned the game back on midway through the second half to find that BYU was making a comeback. All the while Annette was pecking away on the keyboard visiting this website and that analyzing locations and amenities.

I tried to get her to turn the computer off and watch the end game with me, but it was to no avail. Maybe this is one of those things that a man is just not going to understand, but I never would have guessed that this would become such a serious issue in the wedding planning process.

Mercifully, she thinks she has found what she is looking for and I'm hopeful that a final resolution and reservation will be forthcoming soon.

I can only imagine what other facets of wedding planning will be like if this alone requires so much time and attention.

106 days...

2009-02-13T11:57:00.000-08:00

I've decided I don't like being engaged.

I love my beautiful fiance, and I'm very excited about moving into this new stage of life. But, the intermediate period is no fun at all. I wish we could just skip right to marriage.

Engagement just seems to bring the expected increase in responsibility, but with ever-limited benefits. I suppose I should take President Monson's advice to just live in the present and enjoy the moment.

But, I will be very happy when I don't have to drive back home to Orem every night.

Engaged

2009-02-03T13:08:00.001-08:00

Yes, after many months of dating/courtship, Annette and I are finally engaged - officially.

The truth is we had been talking about marriage for some time, and at one point even had tentative ideas of getting married in March. But, around December we settled on a late spring wedding and started getting serious about it.

We first went ring shopping in November, and Annette found what she thought she wanted. But, as the weeks passed those ideas changed, and we went shopping a couple more times through the holidays and into January.

The ring was finally purchased about a week ago at Sierra West with the help of the famous Bro. Bowen, John and Michelle's former bishop, a current counselor in my bishopric, and VP of the company.

I officially proposed on Thursday, and we made requisite announcements throughout the weekend.

Originally we had planned on June 6, but that has now been bumped back a week to May 30. We will be getting married in California, either in the LA Temple or the Newport Beach Temple. After a honeymoon to Lake Tahoe, we will return to Utah, hold an open-house on June 6, and be done with it.

Of course I will be moving to Saratoga Springs, which will increase general commute times, but is overall something I'm looking forward to.

The Big Call...

2009-01-29T08:58:00.000-08:00

I got home late on Wednesday, which is OK because Thursdays are the one work day I can sleep in a bit and not feel too guilty.

I got up at 7 a.m. for breakfast and then went back downstairs to sleep for another hour and a half. At 8 I was interrupted by my ringing cell phone. I quickly looked down and didn't recognize the number. Being half asleep I let it go to voice mail. When I got back up 45 minutes later I found a message from the sub-varsity assignor. He said he had spoken with THE big wig. He had gotten the state supervisor of officials to give me a varsity game.

Tomorrow I will officiate a 1A boys varsity game. Now, in honesty, some of the bigger JV games I've done are probably better games in terms of skill, speed, etc. But, I'm in. I've got a varsity game which a lot of other referees would love to get. I never expected to get one this early on. I was thinking I'd be extremely pleased if I got a couple next year.

Obviously I'm very happy, very much looking forward to it, and very hopeful that it's just one of many more to come.

Haircut...

2009-01-28T10:56:00.001-08:00

As you know, for the last several years I've sported the short, closely-trimmed haircut that I do myself every other week or so. It's been great because it only takes about five or 10 minutes to do, and completely takes away any daily hair maintenance other than the standard washing. It also fits thinning hair a bit better.

Well, the time has come to take more drastic experimental measures. On Monday I had Annette shave my head.

The object is to look more athletic (for refereeing) and also just to see how it looks in general. So far I kind of like it, and Annette says she does as well. It will require more of a semi-weekly trim than a bi-weekly trim, but overall time shouldn't be a big issue. Here are some pictures so you can make your own judgements.

A year on...

2009-01-15T07:51:00.000-08:00

I still very much remember a 5A JV boys game I did last year. It was the first really "big" game I had done and it also happened to be between two county rivals. It wasn't a bad game necessarily, but I left fairly humbled with a lot of things in mind I knew I had to improve.

I remember being a little too tentative on some big calls, and then being really eager to make some others that I should have been more patient on. I remember my partner and I lost track of the foul count and ended up with an eight-to-one foul ratio in the fourth quarter in favor of the winning team (not good).

I remember not being exactly sure how to deal with the coaches in a couple of situations and being a little flustered when I got yelled at.

Yesterday I did another 5A JV boys game, and I'm happy to say that I think I've improved quite a bit. I always hope to leave with some things in mind to work on, and I had a couple of those. But, just in terms of managing the game, coaches, calls, etc. I felt good.

The biggest thing was that I felt very comfortable. I wasn't flustered when a coach had a complaint. I didn't feel tentative, and I definitely felt like the game was at my level of competency, whereas last year it was maybe half a step above it.

It so happened that a varsity referee was there evaluating us. Based on his post-game comments in the dressing room I think I probably did well. Either way I'm trying not to worry too much about evaluation scores right now. I have all the time in the world to work my way up. I think the best way to do that is just do my best in every game and learn from whatever constructive criticism I get.

Yesterday was definitely a positive step for me, and I think it's a sign that I really have improved over the last year.

Christmas in the LBC (...and Las Vegas)

2009-01-07T19:25:00.000-08:00

Pre-game of the Las Vegas Bowl on December 20

We were sitting on the top row. To my left was a group of about four English gentlemen. I doubt they knew much about American football, but they did put down several beers.

The car ride home. Bummer of a game, but we drank it off.

And then the much-anticipated, highly-touted trip to Long Beach. We flew in the evening of December 23rd and the fun started...

Day 1: Christmas Eve morning. I was forced under threat of physical violence to get a pedicure. At least they had some sports magazines...

That night I met some of Annette's cousins...

...and participated in a high-stakes game of UNO.

Annette and her dad posing by the Christmas tree.

After going to a movie on Christmas Day, we headed over to the Hexbergs where we watched Thor open is numerous presents...

...and spent some quality time with the 50 percent of the Black family that was down there.

The next day we went to lunch with some of Annette's old college friends.

I was sporting my new Arsenal sweatshirt while fighting off the rabid dogs.

That night we went for sea food with her high school friend Michelle and her boyfriend.

Of course I couldn't go to the Marengos' without becoming acquainted with the famous Bob...

...and Myrtle.

On Monday we ventured North to see Hollywood.

We went by Grauman's Chinese Theatre...

...and the walk of fame.

I soaked in as much of the warm blue skies as I could.

We made a quick stop here...

...before I talked them into a stop here.

Then it was back to the cozy Long Beach Airport where a kind security guard snapped a farewell photo. I boarded the plane for my trip back to the frozen tundra.

One down, one to go.

2008-12-30T19:28:00.000-08:00

I got half of my car fixed today. The damage that was done by the rental car back on Pioneer Day was repaired this last week and I picked it up after work this afternoon. It looks great. Once I (hopefully) get my $500 deductible recovered from that I will spring to get the other half fixed from the hit and run I suffered over the summer.

I'm finally home after spending 10 of the last 11 days on the road. Pictures forthcoming from our trips to Las Vegas and Long Beach.

A hostile takeover of my unconscious thoughts.

2008-12-08T08:49:00.000-08:00

I have found myself doing unprovoked ten-second counts at random times throughout the day. I also cannot stand by a mirror for more than a few seconds without busting out my "hit" or "hold" mechanic.

This is extremely annoying to Annette.

My first four games of the season are wrapped up. The first two were sophomore girls, the next two sophomore boys. The first game was solid. The second was a lot more sloppy and more difficult to officiate. But, that was no excuse for the brief circus act I did in the form of an inadvertent whistle.

It really wasn't "inadvertent" per se. It's just that by the time I blew it, the foul I was going to call could not be called. A white team player was pushed in the back before the shot, but she quickly made an uncontested layup. Cue Devon, standing there with his hand in the air like an idiot.

I quickly waved play on while trying to explain that the whistle didn't mean anything. I resolved that next time I have a stupid whistle like that (hopefully never) I'll just run out to my partner and pretend like I'm discussing something important, then return to put the ball in play with everyone thinking I was just double checking something valid.

My first boys game started a little sloppy but the second half cleaned up quite a bit. My partner gave a well-deserved technical to the home coach. That meant it was my job to give him a second one if necessary. It looks bad if one referee dishes them both out. He behaved for the rest of the game, though, and I didn't have to.

The second boys game was pretty good. There were a couple of calls that I could have called differently. Not that they weren't fouls but they didn't HAVE to be fouls.

For example, a player pulls down a rebound, gets a hard bump and loses the ball out of bounds. A foul? Yes. But, it's just as easy to blow the whistle and just give him the ball back out of bounds. That's what an evaluator would tell me to do. It saves time, saves a defensive player a cheap foul, and game flow improves.

There was one other call I would like to see a replay of. I gave free throws to a home-team player who I really thought took a good hit from a defender after releasing a three-point attempt. The visiting-team coach was incensed and was sure it was a flop. In retrospect I probably should've held the whistle. But, if that's the worst I did then I can live with it.

My next three games are all JVs - two boys and one girls. One of the boys is a pretty big 5A/4A matchup so it will be a good test of where I'm at early in my second season.

On Your Marks...

2008-11-18T13:32:00.000-08:00

The season is here. The Utah County Officials Association had its first meeting yesterday. For the second half they divided up into two groups - varsity, and JV. I initially went with the JV group but the assignor pulled me and a couple of others out out and said we should stay in the other room with the varsity refs because the JV discussion would be too basic.

I'm certainly not expecting to get any varsity games this year, but it's nice to know they think I'm at least a little ahead of the curve.

After the meeting I went to Canyon View JHS to do a couple of adult city league games. Orem recruits high school referees to do their adult games and pays us a little bit of money. The quality of play (and knowledge of the rules) leaves a lot to be desired, but it was the perfect chance to get the stripes back on and shake off some of the rust. I am hoping to get quite a few more JV games this year and I'd rather get warmed up with some city league stuff than with two full-fledged 5A boys teams.

After four months off I am a bit rusty, and noticed a couple of little things I can work on in my next game. That's exactly what I was hoping for.

Game assignments for the first half of the high school season should be made by Friday. I feel a lot more prepared for this season than I was for last season. I think it's going to be a blast.

The Gym

2008-11-12T11:29:00.001-08:00

Two words that inspire an amazing array of emotions in people.

With basketball season creeping up I've hit *The Gym* a little harder than usual to make sure I'm in shape when I take to the court.

My own workout routine isn't all that spectacular. I hit the weight room a couple of times a week, and alternate between speed and endurance workouts.

I've known some people who are big time runners and would regularly lace up and go jogging for two hours. You know, the people who run marathons every year.

Personally, I do enjoy a good workout and I like being active and in shape. But, I'm not sure I could ever reach those heights of dedication and endurance. I was reminded of that yesterday when I had to push myself to finish my little 30-minute treadmill run. For now I'm happy to stick with improving my humble 5k speed and making sure I can get up and down the court/field as needed.

Unhealthy practice?

2008-10-27T09:53:00.000-07:00

So I think I might want to take a break from sports talk radio for a week or so. I've realized that it probably isn't that good for me.

Obviously it's not exactly a concentrated haven of intellectual wealth. Especially during football season when it just thrives on hyping up BYU vs. Utah smack talk. It really gets old and stupid pretty fast.

There is never any real news or reporting that goes on. It's all just opinion and entertainment. So if I want to inundate myself with information about this week's upcoming games I wouldn't go there anyway.

I might take a day or two off from listening to it live, and just catch the "Best of" daily podcasts. That way I can hear the 10 minutes of substance the pundits have without the other two hours and 50 minutes of commercials and garbage.

Utah State and RSL

2008-10-16T14:24:00.000-07:00

This was the first game where Annette and I actually got to sit together. She has been a real trooper about this whole BYU football thing, even going so far as to wear a Cougar sweatshirt.

And we also went to our first soccer game together at Real Salt Lake's new stadium. Annette said she really enjoyed watching the continuous action of soccer. More good news for me.

Zion Pictures

2008-10-07T11:20:00.000-07:00

A few snapshots from the weekend:

The long and treacherous climb up Angels Landing...

Standing triumphantly on the summit...

...and the view of the canyon.

Calling my shot

At some overlook in another part of the canyon.

Jen, David, and Emily

Annette's new friend

David and I scaling the treacherous water slide...

...and sliding down.

Annette's turn.

Let's go jump in the pool...

An early fall weekend in Zion...

2008-09-30T14:17:00.001-07:00

This past weekend Annette and I took the trip to Zion we have been planning for a couple of months. I was last there about four years ago and was very much looking forward to taking one last warm-weather vacation and getting in some outdoor adventure.

The trip didn't disappoint.

We arrived at the park late Friday morning. The main parking lot was full so we found one virtually unmarked lot right outside the main entrance and pulled in there. The plan was to just pay the walk-in fee. Right off the parking lot there was a well-worn trail with a sign directing us to "Proceed to the Park Entrance" and pay. We followed the trail and next thing we new we were standing at the visitors center boarding the shuttle. Apparently Zion isn't exactly Ft. Knox, and we were a bit surprised how easy it was to just walk right in.

We immediately tackled Angels Landing. I had never done that hike before because in 2004 no one else wanted to go and, in all my trips prior to that, I was too young and Mom wouldn't allow me to join Dad and the older kids. I had always quietly thought that this was more paranoia on her part than anything else, but now I can definitely see why she refused to let me go.

It was a great hike. I had heard about the narrow parts with sheer drops and safety chains, but I had always envisioned that as being a relatively short part of the trail. In fact it's quite lengthy. Still, neither of us ever felt like we were in imminent danger of falling, and we made it all the way out to the point and back down. We felt especially cool when we walked by all the people that just stopped at Scouts Lookout (the part before the chains/sheer drops, etc.) and a few people that abandoned hope midway through the chains and turned back. It was a sunny (but not scorching hot) day and the view was well worth it.

Later that afternoon we walked back to the parking lot, planning on just getting in our car, driving into the park (paying the fee we hadn't paid coming in), and seeing some sights before going to dinner. I was there reminded of how tiny my car really is. Upon arriving at the lot, I looked where my car should have been and saw nothing. This didn't concern me since usually my car hides pretty well behind others, so I just took a few more steps over. But, I still couldn't see it. At this point I was starting to get a little incredulous that Zion would have towed my car from a completely unmarked -- and by all indications public -- lot with no warning. It wasn't until I took several more steps clear around the only car I could see that I finally saw my car's trunk. The car next to mine was just some little four door sedan, but my small, sleek Saturn was totally invisible on the other side of it.

We were staying with Jen and David (Annette's best friend and her husband) at David's parents' house in Toquerville. They had elected not to join us for Angels Landing but we all went to a great Mongolian BBQ place in St. George that night.

Saturday we went on a short hike to a lookout point over the Pine Creek part of the canyon, then to a "Watering Hole" along the river where there are some deep pools for swimming and jumping in. We went back to Toquerville to dry off and change clothes, then David's brother Matthew took us rappelling out in the desert. This was another first for me, but it wasn't so bad. The cliff we went off of wasn't very high and Matthew was very good at explaining the proper procedures and safety precautions.

We left Sunday at lunchtime after a brief (but panicky) search for my missing car keys. I thought for a moment I might have lost them rappelling. But, we found them and arrived back home in time for Sunday dinner with the family.

I'll post some pictures soon so you can all look on jealously. Let me just tell you this time of year is the perfect time to go down there. It was much less crowded than in the summer, the weather was perfect, and we got everything done we wanted to do.

I can't wait to go again next year.

Christmas Plans

2008-09-17T09:58:00.000-07:00

So I've been threatening to go to California around Christmas for a few weeks now, and things are finally set in stone - just don't tell my company yet.

Initially I had thought about going the week after Christmas, and over New Years. But, with BYU's win over UCLA and some consultation with Annette, I decided it would actually be better to go over Christmas. So, I'll be flying out the afternoon of Dec. 23, and flying back home the evening of the 29th.

As it turns out, Annette had actually been secretly hoping for a BYU loss because she was afraid a BCS bowl would throw a wrench into my California plans. Since such a loss does not appear to be forthcoming, I chose a week that pretty well covers all realistic bowl possibilities. The Las Vegas Bowl is three days earlier. All the BCS bowls are later. A disastrous invite to the Poinsettia Bowl is the only one not covered (it starts about when my flight lands), but if we lose enough games to end up in that bowl I think I'll be OK missing it. With that sorted out, Annette can now stop secretly hoping for a loss. Although she will have cause to laugh if somehow we end up in the Rose Bowl and I have to trudge back down to Pasadena on New Years Day right after I flew out... maybe I could get my return flight adjusted.

One near-hitch in plans came this week when I was talking to my co-worker Bob. He is planning a trip to Japan with his (Japanese) wife and newborn child around that same time. There is one day, Friday the 26th, where he thought I would need to be at the warehouse to fill in for him and get some things shipped out. I think he could sense my complete disgust with the idea that the warehouse would actually open back up for that one day, right after Christmas and right before the weekend. He said he would "talk" with the higher-ups and see if we could stay closed that day.

Sufficeth to say I was disgusted enough by the idea that I had Annette go ahead and book my flight without waiting for an answer from the higher-ups. If they try to tell me I have to work that day I'll just say my girlfriend already booked my flight so I'm stuck going out of town, "Sorry, but you'll have to cancel your precious Friday shipping day for one week - the DAY AFTER CHRISTMAS."

Anyhow, I'm looking forward to the trip. It will be fun staying with the Marengos. I haven't been to California since Fall of 2001 right before my mission. I haven't been to southern California since Christmas of 2000 when the whole family hauled down to San Diego. So, rock on. Maybe I'll get to see Meredith or Julie if they're not in Utah that whole time.

Time to hang up the notebook?

2008-09-03T13:28:00.000-07:00

The thought crossed my mind about midway through the second half yesterday.

I was covering a girls soccer game at Timpview. It was just like the dozens of other girls soccer games I've covered for the newspaper in the last three or four years. It was a bit chilly though...

The thought I had was that I don't really look forward to a lot of these games anymore.

Now, obviously girls high school soccer has never presented any special thrills, but I've gotten to a point in the last year or so where most high school games I cover in any sport don't get me all that excited.

There are exceptions, of course. I really enjoy the playoff games for football, boys soccer, and boys basketball. There are a couple of regular-season games every year that are entertaining and fun to watch too. But, 80 percent of the time I'm just going to a game, going through the motions, and hoping it doesn't go into overtime.

On Saturday Jim, my boss at the D-News, called and said they needed some help in the press box for the BYU game. It's still cool sitting in the press box in some ways. The food is good, the running stats are nice, the TV sets and internet are convenient, and interviewing the players and coaches is interesting. But even after that, I found myself thinking that sitting with the commoners in the stands is just fine by me.

What does get me excited, however, is refereeing. I had more fun refereeing some sophomore and JV basketball games last season than I did covering most of the varsity games I went to, and I find myself a lot more enthusiastic about the two club soccer games I'm going to work Saturday morning than any of the three high school games on my calendar this week.

There are a couple of reasons for my difference in attitude toward the two. As a referee, you still enjoy the spectacle of the sport and the spirit of the competition, but you're also involved hands-on in what is happening. You're actually on the field with the players and you become part of the game, instead of just a spectator. Also, reporting involves deadlines, interviews, feature stories, box scores, etc. Little things that make it less convenient and more of a headache most of the time.

So, I think I'm about ready to hang up the notebook. For now I don't think I'll completely retire from sports reporting, but my big focus is going to be on refereeing. I'm going to make refereeing my No. 1 priority during basketball season, and only sparingly cover games for the paper. I'm also going to get on with boys high school soccer this spring and look at doing football next fall.

The Deseret News has been good to me. I've worked for them since 2000 and had lots of memorable experiences and fun times. And, covering the BYU football team for the Daily Universe in 2006 was awesome (I'll always prize that AP picture of Johnny Harline's catch with me in the background). But, juggling both sides is getting more complicated than it's worth. Monetarily it's probably a wash, but I'm definitely enjoying refereeing more, and that also has more future potential in terms of opportunities, money etc.

I told Jim I could promise him my availability through this fall, but not after that. I think my days as a dedicated sportswriter are coming to an end. But, my days as a dedicated sports official are just beginning.

Let me check my planner...

2008-08-27T09:28:00.000-07:00

I've decided that I actually like being busy. I didn't believe I did for a very long time. Most of my memories from about age six to age 16 involve me wanting to do one thing, and my Mom telling me that instead I had to mow the lawn, do my violin/piano practicing, mow Brother Betts' lawn, make my bed, sweep the basement stairs, dust the family room, etc.

Now it wasn't that I was assigned lawn mowing and chores, because in retrospect none of the jobs I was given were all that egregious (except the annual "clean the basement" assignments). But they were always presented like it was a sentence. I imagine a judge sitting in his black robes saying something like, "Devon, we all got off to a late start today and there is a lot of work to do. I'm sentencing you to pick up the apricots and have your bed made before I'll feed you lunch. Then you can mow the lawn this afternoon. May God have mercy on your soul," followed by the banging gavel.

So naturally I remember thinking anything that made me busy was to be dreaded and avoided at all costs. Oh how glorious were the weeks when I went to scout camp and I got a free pass from my violin practicing.

As time has gone by, there are more and more things that fill up my schedule, to the point where there isn't much unscheduled time anymore. But, what I've found is that more things are things that I have put there myself. Working out time, refereeing, newspaper assignments, scripture reading, etc. They're all my own devices. And, on rare days where I actually have some down time, I feel bad for being so unproductive.

I suppose life will always schedule a lot of things for us that we wouldn't necessarily choose if we were just given a clean 24-hour slate every day. But, my attitude is much different now than it was back in the days when I loathed the sentence to trim and haul off branches from the pyracantha bush.

It took a while, but in my early adult years I have finally discovered that work isn't necessarily a sentence. And, being busy is usually a lot better than the alternative.

No. No plans. And it's definitely the other person's fault.

2008-08-19T11:27:00.000-07:00

Living in Utah, Annette and I have reached that stage where everyone starts asking. Some people approach the subject with more tact than others, but it generally follows the same pattern.

Instigator: "Are you two engaged yet?"
Devon: "No" (or some form thereof).

*brief pause*

Instigator: "Do you think you will be soon?"
Devon: "No plans" (or some form thereof).

*longer, more awkward pause*

Instigator: "Oh. Well, that's OK" (or some other stupid form thereof).
Devon: "Yep."

Now, frankly, I don't mind this exchange. Usually the other person just ends up feeling a little stupid and quickly runs out of things to say. And they're typically deterred from broaching the subject again.

I prefer it this way. I don't see any need to discuss in detail the progress or direction of our relationship. If and when there is an engagement, it will be announced on our terms. Annette, however, pointed out a result of such limited, conversation-stifling communication.

The longer the dating relationship continues with no definitive end in sight, the more people are going to start talking amongst themselves about why Devon and Annette aren't engaged yet, and who is holding the process up.

My instinct is that people will decide it's the other person's fault. In other words, the one they're not directly connected to. A friend or acquaintance of Annette is probably more likely to think Devon has some commitment issues and is stringing her along. An acquaintance of mine is more likely to conclude that Devon has some legitimate reason for not being engaged yet, and it must be something to do with her.

Either way is just fine with me. I think for now I'll just leave it up to everyone else to speculate. It's much more fun.

Graduation Day(s)

2008-08-15T09:58:00.000-07:00

Well, the big day(s) has finally come and gone. I add the '(s),' of course, because they always make university graduation a multi-day affair with the general commencement AND the convocation.

I think I liked commencement a little better, although it did require standing out in the 90-degree heat while we were lining up for the procession. The whole marching in thing is a bit long, but kind of fun, and the KBYU-TV cameras lend it a sense of importance. Elder Scott spoke and gave a good address and an enjoyable time was had by all. Mom, Dad and Annette all came, and Thor was there representing Sarah and Jared's family. The rest of you will have to live with the shame of not sending an emissary (although come to think of it the only graduation I made it to was Sarah's).

I wasn't too excited about having to get up early for convocation this morning, but it wasn't so bad. This time we just had to line up in the cool, air-conditioned confines of the HFAC basement. The De Jong Concert Hall was pretty full.

Being summer and not being a particularly large college, the name reading didn't take too long. The other presentations and speeches were good and appropriately brief. There wasn't even much weirdness from the theatre arts and music majors. There were no post-convocation refreshments, however. I see it as an ironic reflection on the lack of financial resources most degrees in the college of fine arts and communications offer.

I was a bit taken aback by the behavior of one particular former professor. I had a single class from the guy more than a year ago and had a brief but unpleasant run-in late in the year (involving him losing his temper and storming out of the classroom).

Anyway, I've since seen him on campus several times and always smiled and said hello, with varying responses. When the faculty lined up to congratulate us as we left, I got to him and he immediately looked away and ignored me. Later, I left the building and was walking alone to my car when he hurriedly brushed passed without bothering to acknowledge my existence. I hear he didn't get his tenure. Maybe student evaluations had something to do with it...

Alas those days are now over. I still have to tie up a couple of loose ends with internship paperwork, but that's that. I will next darken the doors of a classroom when I go to business school in the next two years or so. But my undergraduate days are done, and not a moment too soon. I do turn 26 next month, after all.

The picture was taken outside the Marriot Center yesterday.

Cloaking Device Activated

2008-08-11T12:18:00.000-07:00

I walked out the family room door and across the street to my car to go to work this morning. I stopped cold in my tracks when I saw a big chunk of my car body laying on the ground and a gaping hole in the front driver's side.

Yes, sometime between 1:30 and 10:30 this morning, I was the victim of a hit-and-run. Besides being PO'd at whoever left a big, obvious crunch in my car and drove off, I'm also wondering if my Saturn came equipped with some kind of Klingon technology.

On Pioneer Day I was pulling out of the parking lot at work and an out-of-state driver in a rental car back up a good 10 feet right into the opposite side of my car. I'm still trying to figure out how he didn't see me. Now that both sides have their own battle scars, I'm thinking I might unknowingly have a cloaking device installed in my little Saturn.

I'll need to have that checked out when I take it into the shop. That device sure could have come in handy when I got pulled over for speeding in Saratoga Springs the other night. The cop pulled me over for going between 55-60 in a 45 zone (after midnight). He only gave me a warning, though. I think he felt sort of stupid because he'd followed right behind me for maybe five minutes, and by the time he finally flipped his lights on and stopped me, I was about 20 feet away from a 55 MPH sign.

I also picked up a rock chip on the freeway on Saturday, but I'm not complaining about that too much since that won't require a $500 deductible.

This is the damage done to my car on Pioneer Day.

The Last Hurdle

2008-08-05T14:41:00.001-07:00

As if four-and-a-half years of classwork and tuition, it would seem that there is one last great hurdle that must be overcome in order to graduate college - that is the bureaucracy of BYU department procedures.

I have enjoyed my time at BYU and value the education and degree I am about to receive, but it is difficult to imagine a more convoluted, watered down process filled with signature lines and office phone numbers of countless employees (many of whom seem to collect substantial salaries while serving a single mundane purpose, deriving a sense of usefulness by making an otherwise simple task immeasurably more complex and time-consuming).

But alas, I am now down to a few simple steps that must be taken before I "walk" next Friday. I have to get a cap and gown, I have to turn in some assignments to the bureaucrats at the communications internship office, and I must show up at the proceedings.

Assuming the transition to full-time work here at Access TS goes alright, I'm then a full-fledged college graduate. Time to go buy the Princeton Review book and get started on my GMAT studies...

New Office

2008-07-30T11:32:00.000-07:00

My supervisor, Aki, called me into his office the other day and asked if I would move locations and take over responsibilities for someone they would be "letting go" (he ended up quitting first).

I'm now typing from a new desk in the company warehouse in North Orem. I still have the same basic responsibilities as I had before, but now I'm learning some of the warehouse functions and I'll be doing more work dealing with the receiving/shipping aspect of things.

I think this is ultimately a good move. It will give me the chance to do real full-time work and give me more experience in different aspects of the company. I'm not working in the main office anymore but I'll still drop by a couple of times a week and they guys there still need me to do some things no one else knows how to do.

I'm working with a couple of interesting characters. Bob is the de facto "manager" of the warehouse and the idea is for me to basically learn all of his responsibilities. He seems to have some mild ADD, though. I've never seen the guy sit still for more than about five seconds at a time. He sits at his desk with music playing and is always making some kind of noise.

There's some older woman named Gloria who works here as well. Apparently she's been a warehouse worker for more than a year and does most of the manual labor with the packages. She has been showing me the system for receiving and shipping. Gloria is the type of person that makes me tired within about five minutes of talking to her. She speaks with a voice moderately above a whisper, very slowly, and it's painful watching her work. She'll show me something that theoretically is supposed to be complex (like how to measure the cubic inch volume of a box and divide it by 166), but then spend the next five minutes showing me how to accomplish such a task at an excruciatingly slow pace.

Apparently Gloria wanted to take over for the guy who got fired/quit and learn the managerial responsibilities. Bob told Aki that he didn't trust her enough because anytime she starts doing things with the computer she completely messes it up and causes him more work.

So, this is probably where I'll be for the next year or so. I'm trying to determine exactly what my job title is. I think it's something along the lines of Account/Logistics Manager. I have to talk to Aki about getting company benefits, and I'll probably ask for a raise since I've been here more than a year now.

Assuming those things fall into place I'll be happy to stay here for a little while after graduation. It offers me the scheduling freedom I need to fully pursue my refereeing career this winter, and also do some newspaper work on the side if I need to.

Off the Grid

2008-07-24T12:33:00.000-07:00

The last two weekends I spent "out in the sticks" so to speak. Last week I spent Thursday through late Saturday night at our big family reunion up Spanish Fork canyon, and the weekend before that Annette and I were at a cabin near Cedar City with a friend and her husband.

Neither of these places had any cell phone coverage and, although they're not exactly isolated, it's a significant change of pace from even the hamlet of Utah County. I think the division between places with and without cell phone coverage is significant in our modern society.

Both weekends were really fun. I like all the camping, swimming, and hiking in appropriate doses, but it's also interesting to notice how seldom I checked to see what time it was, worried about being late for something, or thought about what time I needed to wake up in the morning.

When you're out in the sticks, you go to sleep when you're tired, wake up when it's too light outside to sleep anymore, eat when you feel like it's time to eat, and go about the day at your own pace without worrying about matching everybody else's.

In his book "In the Eye of the Storm," John Groberg talked about being a missionary in Tonga and what the tiny island he was on called "boat days." This is when a ship would arrive periodically with news, mail, etc. Those days were big events and he described how it was a community experience with everyone sharing the joys and sorrows of the news and letters they received together.

Later in the book he talked about going back home to California and being impressed with the incredible hurry everyone seemed to be in. Groberg commented that perhaps heaven would be more like "boat days" back on his remote island than the frantic world we spend most of our time in.

I imagine there is no need for cell phones in the life beyond, but I also wonder if the times we spend out in the mountains with family and friends, unmolested by 24-hour news networks, voicemails, supervisors, and the unyielding demands of schedules are more a reflection of the society we'll have in heaven.

Referee Camp

2008-06-29T15:31:00.000-07:00

This past Thursday, Friday and Saturday was the big summer referee camp I've been looking forward to this off season.

It's the same one I went to last year, sponsored by the SWAC (Scenic West Athletic Conference), and held in conjuncition with Dave Rose's camp for high school teams at BYU. Referees from whatever level pay and register to go work the games over the 2-3 days and the SWAC brings in some of its top officials (one had just been hired by the MWC last year, another is a Pac-10 and FIBA international referee, and one is even in the NBA D-League) to watch, mentor, and critique us. Most of the referees there are already at least at the varsity high school level, some have broken into JC or lower college divisions, so I was definitely among the youngest.

I picked up a lot of things over the course of a few days that immediately made a huge difference in my game and will help me improve a lot during this coming season. The camp wears you out though. We started off Thursday afternoon and I did three games, not getting home until 10:30 or so. I had to be back at the Smith Fieldhouse at 7 a.m. Friday for a classroom session and did six games that day, again not getting home till after 10:30. At 7:00 Saturday morning it was back in the classroom and three more games before finishing up that afternoon.

The highlight for me was the second-to-last game I worked early Saturday afternoon. The last day of the camp they organize the teams into tournaments and I was working a varsity quarterfinal game with Mountain View and Alta. I was a bit apprehensive because I've had some unpleasant experiences with one of the coaches, but I went in trying to focus, work hard and apply the lessons I'd learned from the camp, and my previous times dealing with the coach.

Don't tell the kids this is just summer league, they wanted to win and the game was very intense. I was working with two great partners, though. We had a good crew chemistry and we all worked hard and did a good job managing things. I felt very comfortable and really started to get into a good flow after my first one or two whistles. The coach was in my ear from start to finish, but he was in everybody else's ear too and it made it easier to deal with knowing he was giving all of us the same dress down.

I reserve the right to brag a little bit here. I made what I think is one of the most beautiful calls I've ever made. An offensive foul on an MV kid driving toward the basket from my 'C' position. If you're ever interested in learning about three-man mechanics I can give you more detail, but to put it simply making a call like that from the C is one of my weaknesses right now. But, man it was beautiful! I had worked hard to get into the perfect position, I stepped down to follow the ball in, and when my whistle went off I sold it like a brand new Mercedes. It felt GREAT.

It wasn't a perfect game. One of my partners and I made somewhat of a hash of selling an intentional foul (right call, bad communication and mechanics), and I was a little sloppy in rotation at times, still being pretty new at working a three-man crew. But I was really in stride and made some other solid calls and managed the players and coaches well when I needed to.

As it was, the close, intense game came down to the last shot. MV had the ball, trailing by one point with less than 10 seconds left and the length of the floor to go. I had once again rotated over to the C at this point which meant I was responsible for watching the clock on the last second shot and determining of any made basket was good or no good. During the preceeding timeout I thought to myself that there was a very good chance the ball would come right down my side of the floor and I had to be ready to get in position, see the play and make the call. I could not afford to make a mistake here.

Just as I expected the ball came right down in front of me. I followed it down as the player went up for a running eight-foot layup. The shot missed but another MV kid jumped up and tipped the ball off the rim and in. I saw the tip, I saw the clock, I heard the buzzer and immediately made the call - the basket was good. I turned to the scorers table, made the big prerequisite gyration and threw my arm down indicating the shot counted, capping off all the drama.

It may sound a little silly, but after shaking hands with my crew, congratulating each other on a great game and spending a few minutes with the evaluator, I grabbed my bag and walked off the court with the most amazing adrenaline high. Going through all the twists and turns of a good, close game like that, being at the top of my game and getting it right at the end was an incredible buzz. It's what any referee lives for.

I've still got a lot to work on and many more hard learning experiences in front of me, but it feels good to see my effort and experience paying off in becoming a better referee. Unfortunately that's the end of the camp season and I have to wait till November or December to start doing games again.

Referee camp... and to think some people just spend their summer afternoons at boring barbecues.

Be it ever so humble...

2008-06-20T12:05:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I left the BYU testing center for the last time. As of August 15 I will officially be a college graduate, which means it's high time I moved back out of my parents' house.

I spent two eight-month stints living in Provo between 2004-2006, but even since I've been back home saving money and getting through school debt free (with the exception of my car).

Leif, Davide, and I (I just realized how weird it must sound to introduce two friends with those names) have been checking out some places down in Provo and we've found a promising neighborhood of duplexes. The first one we checked out is nice, with four bedrooms and lots of space, but apparently the owner isn't big on lawn care. By that I mean I've seen better landscaping at abandoned properties. We also found one with the same floor plan a few blocks away that looks kept up much better and has rent about $40/month cheaper. We're pretty set on moving into that neighborhood and are just looking for a fourth roommate.

After looking at those places yesterday we dropped by another friend's apartment in Provo and I started thumbing through their BYU ward directory - you know, the ones with everybody's mug shots, a.k.a. "The Menu." Perusing the photographs neatly organized by apartment sure brought back some memories. Even in the small thumbnail-sized pictures you could tell all the girls looked awkward and nervous, and all the boys tried to look "cool" or "funny." I'm not the biggest fan of BYU singles wards and the complex Mormon sub-culture that accompanies them. I don't know if sociologists have ever done studies, but I'm sure there is a gold mine of research into bizarre and inexplicable human social behavior that could come out of observing your average college ward in Provo.

The neighborhood we're looking at doesn't have the high-density housing and huge complexes which usually means an older group and hopefully a slightly different ward scene. Either way I can't stay at home forever. At least this time I'll have the benefit of moving in with people I know and things presumably get a bit more stable when you're out of college and aren't wrapped up in the dating scene.

Referees Are From Mars, Coaches Are From Venus

2008-06-09T20:41:00.000-07:00

The months of May and June offer a little fun in the form of off-season high school basketball camps. Coaches take their prospective teams for the next year to colleges and schools who host some three- or four-day semi-competitive "tournaments."

Most of these camps pay a little bit of money for HS referees to come and work, and the UHSAA formally sponsors some of the bigger ones and turns them into "referee camps" where we register and get mentored and critiqued by college officials and the HS higher-ups.

This week I've been working Dick Hunsaker's camp at UVSC to make a little cash on the side. These tournaments lack a lot of the formality and intensity of regular season games, but it's still remarkable how competitive some of the games can be, and we referees are certainly not immune from getting yelled at...

"How on EARTH could you call that a charge?!?"
(with hands thrown in the air and a look of incredulity that you'd expect from someone who'd just been told they were adopted from China)

"That's a foul! Hey!... Hey!... That's a foul!"
(repeated three times with accompanying foot-stomping and pointing)

"You're KILLING me! Turn around and watch when you're running down the court!!"
(sorry coach, I'm still working on being able to rotate my head a full 180-degrees)

Yes, it's all part of the fun. But the most interesting to me was a comment I got from a coach that wasn't coaching at the time. Hunsaker (UVSC's head coach) was sitting at the scorer's table watching the game I was doing Tuesday morning, when I called an offensive foul for an illegal screen...

"That's a good call! Good call. That's a GOOD call..."

It was a good call (and an easy one to make, the dumb kid was shoving the defender right in front of me), but I found Hunsaker's praise a little humorous. I've watched him coach enough to know he rides the officials as much as anybody, but he still took time to congratulate my "good call."

Most of the coaches I know are perfectly reasonable and personable off the court. I've interviewed a lot of them working for the newspaper and have never had any problems. There's just something about stepping into the competitive arena of sports that changes things. Normal standards of behavior do not apply.

I've learned that this also applies to referees. Since you can't expect coaches and players to act as they would off the court, I have to change the way I act and react as well. In a highly competitive environment where the No. 1 objective of everyone (but me and my partner) is to win, I've got to change my natural mindset to maintain control and respect.

I've learned that, most of the time, there's no need to (and in fact it's best not to) respond to a coach's or player's shouts of protest - it seems obvious, but it's not what we're naturally accustomed to doing in social settings. When a coach asks a legitimate question, I've learned to keep my answer accurate, but concise, and to resist the temptation of over-explaining myself in an attempt to "convince" the coach that I'm right. He'll never agree. I've also learned it's actually OK to just end the discussion and walk away at those times. As soon as I start arguing I lose respect and control. We naturally learn to make ourselves likable in society, but in refereeing, you can't be worried about people liking you. You can only be worried about making sure you're given proper respect.

It really is a different world when you step on the basketball court. But, the mental, physical, and emotional work of managing a good game between two competitive teams brings a lot of satisfaction, and I continuously find officiating to be an absolute blast - especially the better I get at doing it.

Sage Words of Wisdom

2008-06-05T15:35:00.000-07:00

The last class I'm taking to graduate is a course titled "Principles of Journalism." It was started as an introductory course to new and prospective journalism majors, but I've landed in it as a capstone. The bureaucracy of the communications department abruptly changed the graduation requirements in the middle of my major and then simply eliminated one course that was required when I started. So I'm stuck in this class to make up for it. It's really not so bad. The professor is helpful and the coursework is relatively light. But, everything we have studied and learned so far has only increased my cynicism about the journalism industry and my desire to continue my education in some other field.

The latest assignment we had to do was interview a current media professional and write a report on our findings. I actually interviewed two local media professionals, an entertainment critic at the Deseret News, and one of the prominent sportswriters at the Salt Lake Tribune.

Both interviews were good and fairly informative. The last question I asked them was what advice they would give students studying journalism. Below are quotes of their respective responses.

Deseret News Writer: "Don't. That sounds overly simplistic, but this is a horrible time for journalists because of falling ad revenue, buyouts, layoffs, etc. On the other hand, I think if you learn how to write well there are any number of jobs you can do."

Salt Lake Tribune Writer: "Changes majors. OK, I'm kidding -- but only slightly. Journalism is usually thought of as a profession of passion, and you definitely need that to survive a career. Make sure you REALLY want to be a journalist or you will probably be miserable."

Sage words of wisdom from some mentoring voices. Sometimes I can't help but chuckle to myself about the major I chose...

Fun with journalism...

2008-05-29T11:39:00.000-07:00

One of my last requirements before I graduate involves completing an "official" and "approved" internship through the BYU communications department. My high school work for the Deseret News qualifies for this, so it's not a huge concern.

I'm currently "officially" (you can see how happy I am with the bureaucracy of my department) registered to receive credit for the work I'm doing from May-August. June/July is usually when there's more down time with sports and so I've been in contact with the paper's Utah County bureau chief to see if there's stuff I can do outside the sports section, since I'm technically supposed to do the same amount of work every week I'm registered.

He has informed me that they are looking for two part-time community beat reporters to work a couple of 16-20 hour/week shifts this summer. The problem is three-fold. First of all, the shifts they need filled all involve evening and weekend hours that would basically scrap any plans I had outside of working for the entire summer.

Second, I'm paid quite well for the sports correspondent work I do for them. I haven't actually been told how much these part-time positions pay (the chief didn't mention that), but I talked to a classmate who had worked one of them. In his words, "you're basically working for free."

Third, although there are certain benefits that could come with the experience, my disenchantment with any and all journalism outside of sports is one of the big factors that has pushed me away from wanting to be a career journalist. I am simply not attracted to the idea of spending an entire summer writing about crime, citizen complaints, and community festivals.

With these apprehensions, I e-mailed the bureau chief and asked if I could come into the office to find out more. I received no response for almost a week, at which time he sent me a message only asking if I was "still interested" and saying they're in "dire need." I once again responded by saying I'm interested but would like to meet and sit down for a few minutes to find out more, when can I catch you in the office? - no response. This exchange leads me to believe they're mostly interested in finding a BYU student who will click their heels, salute, and jump at any offer with no questions asked.

Not to sound snobby or high-maintenance, but I'm just not that desperate for experience. For now, I doubt I'll be accepting one of the shifts, especially if it's this hard for the bureau chief to even tell me when I can come by to see him. I would like to see if there some other on-call or correspondent work that can be done until sports season starts. We'll see.

I just don't feel like it's worth sacrificing my entire summer to do assignments I have no desire to do and get paid next to nothing for it.

In the meantime, I think it's time I start prepping for the GMAT...

Covert Operations

2008-05-27T11:53:00.000-07:00

Ok, so the rumors you're hearing are true.

I am dating someone, and actually relatively seriously this time. For the last couple of weeks I've chosen not to go public with this. Mainly because whenever the parents find out I'm dating someone, the questions about which girls are present at my social activities stop, but the "when are you going to invite her over for dinner?" type questions begin.

I'm currently dating Annette Reddoch. I think you all know her. She is Ricky Marengo's little sister. She's obviously well acquainted with Sarah and Jared, and also John and Michelle through Fieldstone Homes, the retaining wall saga, etc. And she's met the rest of you at one time or another.

Jared first mentioned her to me several months ago and asked if I'd be interested in him setting us up. It finally happened earlier this month. She lives in Saratoga Springs which is about a 30 minute/mile drive from my abode, but not a bad trip to make once or twice a week.

We both enjoy hiking and similar outdoors stuff, and she was even nice enough to help me go shopping for some new pants on Saturday. She professes a love for college football, but I've warned her the limits of this passion will be truly and severely tested come August.

She has a great view of the lake and the mountains from her house... although she does not have Comcast or DirectTV which I informed her will drastically decrease the amount of time I will spend at her house during football season.

These obstacles aside I have enjoyed dating her so far and look forward to continuing the relationship and having the rest of you all get to know her better as well.

Three months to graduation...

2008-05-19T13:48:00.000-07:00

With the encouragement of a few friends and family I have decided to join the rest of you in the blogging world. I don't imagine that my life is especially exciting, but I do enjoy reading all of your blogs and I suppose this is a good way to stay in touch - especially since I seem to be the last one to ever find out news.

So in case you need an update on what's going on with me lately...

I am set to graduate in August. I'm currently taking the last class I need and I'll probably take at least one more in the summer just to pad the GPA for future graduate school applications. I've decided that career journalism is probably not for me, for different reasons. After graduation I would like to find a job locally and work for a couple of years before following in John's footsteps and getting an MBA - BYU would be my first choice.

I'm working part-time at a company called Access Technology Solutions in Provo. I've been with them for about a year. My job can best be described as international eCommerce logistics support. We do the middle work for retailers looking to sell their products internationally via the internet. I do various stuff dealing with that. A lot of our business deals with Japan so most of the people working here are Japanese or served missions in Japan.

I'm still doing high school sports coverage for the Deseret News. I'm as busy as ever with that, especially this time of year when all the state tournaments are going on. This could be the last year I do any of that, but I've enjoyed the ride.

My other "job," I've taken the greatest interest in lately. I've picked up refereeing more as an avocation, but I'm slowly getting addicted to it. I joined the local high school basketball officials association this past season and worked several dozen games as high up as the 4A JV boys level. I'm also a certified soccer referee through the US Soccer federation. I've gotten into it this year doing some games for the youth club teams.

The higher-ups in the basketball association have apparently been impressed with my first year and I've been told they have their eye on me. The assignor told me I can expect to get some bigger JV assignments and they'll be interested to see how I do with those. I'm excited about that prospect. I'll be going to a couple of camps over the summer and working hard to improve and get ready for the next season. This is something that I could continue doing indefinitely alongside whatever career or schooling I land in, so it's worth pursuing.

If you're interested in my dating life -- heaven knows Mom is, every single time I walk out the door to go somewhere she starts peppering me with questions about what girls will be there -- there's nothing I feel like reporting to the family gossip machine yet. But, there could be something soon. That's the best teaser I can come up with...