Kids and Critters

She's not stretching there. That's just how she sleeps sometimes. We're happy our cats and dogs get along better in this house than they did in California.

Yes, that's a rattler. I came across it while hiking along the Bonneville Shoreline Trail. For the past two weeks or so I've seen a lot more rabbits and quails on my hikes. I suppose it's only natural to also see more predators too. Thank goodness this wasn't a cougar! I'm also fortunate that I saw it before I got too close and the dogs didn't decide to aggravate it. Lucy (our little pug/chihuahua) was off-leash and could have easily been bitten. I'll come back to this trail after the weather gets a bit cooler.

Our friends the Cranes came and visited us from Texas. We were very happy to have them over and get caught up. Brian and I took the kids for a hike and made dinner so the ladies could go and get the nails done.

Becca found this little tree bug while giving the Cranes a tour of the back yard.When it spreads its wings it really looks like a leaf.

Becca will be in Modesto this week and next visiting Mariah (above) and Xavier (below). A friend of a friend was driving out and wanted the company of another adult. Becca's without a car but got a free ride out to see the kids.

I'm a lone man right now. It's nice to have the dogs with me this time around and a friend from Church just brought over fish tacos. Life could be worse. It's a real shame I can't go out and see the kids though. I'll have to wait until Thanksgiving Break when we'll be going out for Mariah's baptism.

Bloody Paws and German Honey Cookies

We took care of a friend's dog this week. He's a good natured, well behaved pointer named Toby. Since the dog spends most of his time by himself, I thought it would be nice to take him out on a hike with our dogs. I had seen our friends out with Toby on their bikes so I figured that he would do just fine. If my little half-chihuahua muts could handle 2-3 miles in the mountains then Toby certainly could, right?

We hiked up to the higher trail that few take and I let Lucy and Toby off leash. He took off into the brush like a rocket. Less than a minute later a rabbit came bounding out. Strangely, the dogs didn't chase it. Toby went up and down and all over the place. I was worried that I might lose him so I leashed him after about a half an hour. Towards the end of our hike I could tell he wasn't used to such long walks but I didn't think much of it. The next day, Toby was walking around as if he were a 15 year-old dog. Becca inspected him and found that some of the pads of his feet were also worn off. Yikes! I guess my little lap dogs are more hearty than I thought.

 

My German meet up group had another get together. I had a hard time keeping up with them last time and I wondered if I should go again. I fared better this time and am really glad that I went. There's another get together in August and I'm looking forward to it.

Becca was her typical sweet self and made German Honey Cookies (Honiglebkuchen) for me to take to the potluck. They were quite good, especially for her first time ever making them.

For those of you who haven't seen my Facebook page lately, I've been trying to help a friend win a multilingual contest. Deutsche-Welle (Germany's BBC) is holding a competition about being multilingual and my friend Richard submitted a video where he speaks 16 languages. He and his main competitor are neck and neck and I would really appreciate if those of you who have Facebook accounts would vote for him.

Crutches and Banana Leaves

I neglected to mention little Caleb Dorton's baby blessing from last Sunday. We enjoyed seeing Mike, Aunt Marsha and Uncle Martin from New York and Emma and Deb from Bountiful. It was an honor to be invited into the priesthood circle, particularly because it was my first time participating in that ordinance.

Our friends Mike Sessions and the Davila's drew nearer to sainthood by taking an unruly group of teenagers from California to Utah this week. They went to see the sights in Salt Lake and eventually came down to Provo to visit the Missionary Training Center and Brigham Young University. They asked me to set up lunch and the BYU campus tour which I did, including a special presentation from an Argentine member of the International Studies Program Office. He talked to us in a special room where ambassadors and other dignitaries come to speak at BYU. The boys were unruly and generally unresponsive so I was surprised to hear one say: After my mission I'm going to go to school here! It's moments like that that make your efforts worth while.

Poor Casandra (above) was the only young lady in the group so Becca whisked her away from the boys for a while. She and Becca established a special bond when Becca was Young Women's president and the two enjoyed their one on one time. Here they are in front of the South Jordan Temple where they met up with the rest of the group to do baptisms for the dead.

We don't miss having an SUV most of the time but now and again it would be handy. On Friday Becca became aware of a free compost tumbler in South Jordan. We zipped up to South Jordan only to find that the tumbler wouldn't fit in the car. Undeterred, Becca improvised in her typical creative Becca way. I drove home slowly.

The Provo Temple (the closest temple to us) will be closed for cleaning until the 24th of this month. This Saturday I went for the second time to the Mount Timpanogos Temple in American Fork. I can tell that I've gotten horribly spoiled again because I find it annoying to have to drive twenty minutes to the temple. Per Elder Scott's general counsel to the Church I have increased my temple attendance since moving to Utah. It has been a wonderful experience: a great way for me to perform service and feel spiritually renewed and centered.

After coming home from the temple I treated Becca to dinner at our favorite Sri-Lankin restaurant: The Banana Leaf. Yes, that is a banana leaf you see above. South-Asian food is not particularly appetizing when you look at it but it sure is tasty! We had fun dinning at one of their tables outside in front of the restaurant.

Becca started to recover quite well from the pain in her leg but then she overdid it and she's back on the couch. It's not as bad as it was but she sure hates staying off her feet. She's looking forward to feeling better this week. I am looking forward to the new Batman movie coming out this week!

Germans, Apple Pie and Rain

I don't know if you have heard about the fires here in Utah. They've been quite bad; thousands have been evacuated from their homes. The dark clouds have been ever present and ash has been periodically falling on us. Then, very suddenly, it rained all day Thursday. The day before and the day after we had our typical sunny, hot summer days but Thursday it rained almost the whole day. Today I was told that the missionaries in the MTC fasted for rain. Now the smoke is totally gone and the air is clear.

There were still some puddles left over on Friday and Saturday and the dogs took advantage of them. They get overheated very easily, especially Lucy. She's half pug and half chihuahua which are both lap-dog breads. That means she's very affectionate but not very hearty.

Above is a cake that Becca made for the 4th of July. This week we took it easy. Becca has had a horrible, mysterious pain in her left leg which the doctors were only able to tell us what it was not. Since the schools were pretty much off this week I was able to take care of her myself. Fortunately, keeping her leg elevated has helped her recoup. If she can manage to stay off it this week I think she'll be just fine.

Our neighbor was very helpful to Becca the week before last while she fixed our sprinkler system. To say thank you she baked him an apple pie. Our sister-in-law Lorena came over and helped.

I had quite the cultural experience yesterday. I got together with a German speaking group in Salt Lake. I realized that it was the first time I had ever interacted with so many Germans at once: five of them! The other four of us in the picture are not native German speakers. Three of us were Americans and one was from Buenos Aires. The intermediate stage of language mastery can be frustrating. I was never lost in conversation but MAN do they still sound like they're speaking fast to me. The group will be meeting again in August and that will give me date for getting my German more fluent.

Our apple tree is really fruitful. We've still got a ways to go and the apples are already so big!

July 4th 2012

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.


Many died in the War for Independence so that all Americans could enjoy these rights today. I am proud of my country's values of religious freedom, equality under the law, democracy and self-determinism. As their heirs, either by blood or adoption, we have not always been true to these ideas. I hope that this day we can keep in remembrance the values and the people that have made the United States of America one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

I do not believe it is a coincidence that thirteen almost insignificant British colonies fought and won their independence from a major world power. After studying about the horribly oppressive and corrupt governments that have followed the independence of most other European colonies, I am more convinced than ever that our founding fathers were lead by God, imperfect though they were, to prepare this country to be a model of democracy and freedom. As modern Americans, I hope that we can live up to this legacy and be a force for good in the world.

Visits, Visiting and a Job at BYU

A couple of weeks ago we were able to enjoy the visit of our good friends Lorna and Peter Schofield. Peter participated at a baseball camp at BYU and Lorena had fun visiting friends that week.

It was great to see her and get caught-up on what's going on with the Schofields.

Next, Becca drove out to California with the dogs to spend time with Xavier and Mariah. Everyone had a GREAT time.

We're hoping to both go out to see them, maybe at the end of this month.

I stayed home, worked and watered our tomato plants. Not as much fun as what Becca did but I'd say I did alright.

Before

 After

I also hiked a lot, really pushing my limits. I hiked for between 1.5 and 2.5 hours a day from Monday to Friday and, on Saturday, Garit joined me for a hike to the peak of Y Mountain in Provo. We later calculated that that was about a 12 mile hike that we did in about four and a half hours. It got me thinking that maybe I could do a half marathon some day.

I have applied for a job at BYU as a coordinator for their study abroad programs. I would help faculty and students with their international programs and internships, get to travel periodically to checkout new possible programs for the students and even lead groups myself from time to time. Not only would this be a FABULOUS job for me it would help us in other important ways. The benefits are phenomenal! They would pay for my masters and even help me get into the program. I would like to ask you all to remember me and this job in your prayers. Recently, I have been blessed in my networking efforts to get closer to the people in the International Studies Office. I will continue to do my utmost to get this job but more sincere prayers would certainly be helpful to us.

We've been enjoying getting together with family, going to the water-slides and pursing our little projects. I decided to study some Afrikaans this week and, a couple of weeks ago, Becca made this painting. Not bad at all for her first try ever!