I originally went to Utah for a few reasons. I felt like it was time for a little change in my life and after a lot of thought and prayer I felt like moving to Utah was the change I needed. There were other things that attracted me to Utah as well,… if you can say there’s anything attractive about Utah. And no, girls weren’t one of the attractions. Sorry to disappoint everyone. In fact I didn’t go on a single date the whole time I was down there, so I’m sure you’re all relieved to know that I’m still the same guy. While I'm on the subject of my pathetic social life, I got told by a 5 year old this summer that I should get married. No one told him to say it either he just came up with it. He was totally serious and sincere too. That was a bit awkward but pretty funny. Anywho, there were some good job opportunities there, specifically drafting jobs. So it was good for me to interview for those jobs and get that experience. Unfortunately they all pretty much told me the same thing, “we like you and would like to hire you but since you’re only going to be around for a few months, we can’t.” That was a little discouraging but I understood where they were coming from. Eventually I found did find a job. Jake hooked me up at the auto parts warehouse where he used to work. Although it wasn’t what I really wanted to do, it kept me busy and made me some money and I’m thankful I had it. Another huge perk that came along with Utah was that I got to lace up the cleats, strap on my “old trusty”, and get back on the diamond to play some fast pitch softball! Holy Crap that’s a tough game to get the hang of but freaking fun! Tom Hanks was so right in A league of Their Own when he said, “It’s supposed to be hard. If it wasn’t everyone would do it. The hard is what makes it great.” Just as I started to get the hang of it, the season ended so that stunk, but the fall league started up a month later and I even got to play catcher in my last game! I haven’t got behind the dish since little league and I think I broke my finger trying to catch Kalab’s nasty risers but it was so worth it! I love the game! That was possibly the biggest high light of my summer; sorry I don’t have any pics of that.
Aside from softball I got to do plenty of other fun stuff. Mike and Aurelia came down for the 4th and we got together with some more family for a barbecue. The barbecue and corn on the cob were awesome as you can see from the expression on Lara’s face. I’m not sure what Sis and Mike were thinking though. Speaking of food I had a few of my occasional strokes of genius in the kitchen this summer and came up with some instant classics. So any time you want to try my Oreo waffles or marshmallow French toast, just give me a call. They’re really good I promise! Anyways I guess some one thought it was Sinco de Mayo because we smashed a piñata later. Gotta represent our Mexican heritage. Ha ha it was fun for the kids. And of course when it got dark my pyro side kicked in and we lit off a crap load of fireworks and it was one of the few 4ths when I didn’t start anything on fire! 
Speaking of holidays, Utahans get one more holiday than everyone else in the country. They celebrate the 24th of July like it’s the 4th. I’m talking businesses closed, parades, fireworks and everything. The 24th of July was the day the Mormon pioneers entered the Salt Lake valley. I thought it was a little odd too but it’s a day off of work so it’s all good. I was camping the weekend of the 24th so we couldn’t light off any fireworks but camping was a blast. I must have eaten at least 20 smores while we were there. And one night we had a chubby bunny contest around the campfire. It was so funny. What you do is cram as many mallows in your pie hole as you can then try to say chubby bunny. I only got 6 before I gagged and ralphed them into the fire. As you can see Kyle couldn’t hold them in either. I went fishing up there and even caught a couple of fish...um...illegally because I didn’t want to buy a Utah license…but I threw them back so that justifies it right? Ha ha 
It was awesome to get to spend a summer with Jake and his family. We did some way fun stuff like mountain biking, hiking, off-roading, and jet skiing. We took a drive up the canyon one Sunday and took a hike around a little lake that had fish jumping everywhere. I so wish I had my float tube and fishing pole with me! We look like we're ready for a hard core hike don't we. ha ha Actually if you look very closely at this picture you can notice something "unnatural" or fake. If you can pick it out then you're awesome. Ha ha look hard! 
Now, a guy can’t own a Toyota pickup without testing it on occasion. This time we tried to make it over the Wasatch mountains and drop down into Midway. Since it was June there were still snow drifts in places, big ones. We had to get a running start to bulldoze through some of them but eventually it got too deep so Clarkson, Hammond, and May (reference to Top Gear, inside joke) had to turn back but it was a heck of a lot of fun! Thinking of trucks, I made a few additions to the Black Pearl this summer. Ha that’s what I named my truck. After another tire bl
ew out on the freeway I decided that I better not push the life of those old tires any longer. So I broke the bank a little and threw some 33’s on there which got it off the ground a little more. I added the running boards as well to make it a bit easier for the ladies to get in and out…… oh wait reality check, I never really have ladies ride in my truck……um…So I guess their just for looks, and they do make the Black Pearl look good. As Marty McF
ly would say, “Check out that 4x4. Now that is hot!” Speaking of which, it does kind of look like Marty’s truck from Back to the Future doesn’t it. Except I really need the redneck roll bars with the KC lights. One of these days I'll have them...wait, but if I do that then I'll have to start wearing skin tight wranglers. I don't know about that. 
My sister in law Lara is awesome. I went with her a few times down to The Art Institute at Thanksgiving Point in Lehi. At this art institute they make all kinds of glass art work. It is amazing to see what they can do with glass. I got to see them work on the stained glass windows that are now in the Draper Temple. Those were really cool! The real reason why we went to this art institute was to make some pulled glass flowers. They’re actually pretty easy to make and fun too. You just pick out two colors that you like and they mix it into a ball of molten g
lass and melt it in. Then you basically just use some tongs to pull it and shape it into a flower. It only takes about five minutes and it comes out looking really cool! Now I know your all thinking I’m girly for making glass flowers. Don’t make fun of me! Ha ha. At least I’m man enough to do something a little girly every now and then.
My weekend at Bear Lake was so awesome! Jake and his family took me up there for a few days. We rode 4wheelers, went for a bike ride, and of course went nuts on the jet skis. I tell you what, 60mph on a jet ski is crazy and when I say crazy I mean it’s freaking awesome! As fun as that was the coolest thing about Bear Lake was that they have all the tools and equipment to make a baseball bat and I made one. This ha
d to have been the coolest thing I did all summer. I went to a hardwood supply store in Salt Lake and picked up a couple of bat blanks, Jake got some measurements from the Rawlings website, and we went to work on it. Jake had made a few bats before this so he guided me on what to do. I started with the bar
rel then worked my way down the handle and finished by shaping the knob and the cap. Every 4 inches I gouged down to a specified diameter then took a larger chisel and chipped away the wood in between joining the grooves to make the handle flow smoothly into the barrel. Eventually I worked 
my way down to the knob which is fairly tough but I took my time on it and it I think it turned out well. After I got it shaped, there was a ton of sanding to do to get it smooth. So Jak
e helped me sand it down starting with very coarse sand paper then working our way down to the finest grain available for a very smooth finish. After 2 ½ hours of shaping and sanding I took some cuts with my first hand made bat! I was picking saw dust out of my pockets for the
next week, but it was so fun making it! Then a few days later I got Jake’s wood burner and put the “WonderBoy” and lightening bolt on there which is, of course, from The Natural. The only thing I have left to do is to take a ha
m bone and bone it so it doesn't chip, then maybe I’ll put it in a trombone case and carry it around with me. Ha ha just kidding. Over all, I guess it was worth going down there for the summer. I am very glad that I got to know Kalab and his family better, and am very fortunate to become friends with his in-laws Roger and Sharon Cook. And it was great to spend more time with Jake and his family.
Ok if you've read this far I'm sure I've bored you to death so I'll shut up now. Ha ha -OUT-
