Me And My Bud

This is me. Not much to tell, really. Born and raised in Sacramento, California, moved to Reno, Nevada when I was 12 and graduated from Reno High School in 1983. Went to a year of college at Ricks College in Rexburg, Idaho (now BYU Idaho) and served a religious mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints from March 1985 to March 1987 in various cities in Brazil.

I have always been a gym rat. Always with a ball in my hand. Always wanted to be a pro baseball player for the San Francisco Giants. Picked up volleyball when I was around 10 years old when my Dad coached a competitive church team in 1975. Began playing a lot in 1982 when a bunch of guys near where I lived in Reno invited me to their group. I played on the Ricks College club team and then the University of Utah club team in 1989-90. I began helping as an assistant coach for Utah's women's team, and did that for about 3 years. I also helped coach the Utah Predators of the National Volleyball Association (A U.S. women's pro league) in 1994.
I graduated from Utah in 1991 with a degree in Exercise Science and worked in a Physical Thereapy clinic as an exercise physiologist until 1995, when I answered an ad for the head volleyball coach at the College of Eastern Utah, and was hired. I have been there ever since.

This is my wife, Laurel. She and I met the first day of English class at Ricks Collgege in September, 1987. As I tell the story, (her story is a little different) she wouldn't leave me alone. She followed me everywhere and, as you can see, has really good taste in men.

Actually, I had to go after her. She comes from a small town in rural Utah called Heber City, and graduated from Wasatch High School in 1987. She is the 5th of 6 children, and yes, has red hair. I proposed to her on Valentine's Day, 1988 and we were married on August 17th of that year.

Laurel is a very talented, driven person. She plays the piano and has taught all of our children how to play. She is extremely creative and loving. When she finds something of interest, she focuses on it until done and done well. She loves to read, and has helped instill reading to the children and myself. And she, too, loves to travel like myself. I'm sure she wishes I had a more lucrative job so that we could do much more travelling than we do. But she has found creative ways of seeing places at discount prices that has allowed us to see many things.

Laurel and I recently celebrated our 20th anniversary with a really fun trip to the Oregon Coast, We stayed in a small little coastal town called Depoe Bay. Known for it's whale watching locale, it did not disappoint as we saw 2 whales the first day there, one just 40 yards from where we were standing near our rental. We also spent a day in Portland.


Of all the trip, Laurel loved the Lighthouses the most. She really fell in love with them. We saw 3 different Lighthouses, and they were truly magnificent.

Yellowstone and the "no show" bears

This past July (2008) my family spent 5 or so days in the Idaho/Yellowstone area. It was beautiful and expansive. We stayed in a wonderful, charismatic rental cabin in the Island Park area, which is just 20 minutes or so from the West Entrance of Yellowstone. The cabin was a perfect abode for our family, as camping is a favorite, although elusive, hobby for each of us. The setting was as camping as you can get, except with beds, a kitchen and an 8 person hot tub on the back patio. It was an "A-Frame" style, fully furnished, and picture perfect cabin, and we often wondered if we should go see the local sights, or just stay and enjoy each other's company in that perfect setting. But, we did go play during the day, and then made a campfire in the back yard amongst the woods (and bears?) in the evening. We would usually end the day with a late-night dip in the hot tub before going to bed. Paradise.

We spent two of the days inside Yellowstone National Park, and we loved it there. The only 2 things the kids complained about was the long driving inside the park, and the non-existence of the famous "bears." We looked and looked and never saw a bear. We saw buffalo, deer, elk, eagles, and other small animals, but never a bear. One of the other days we just walked around the town of West Yellowstone and had fun. We even saw "Oklahoma!" the musical performed at the Playmill Theater.

Mexico. . .for Thanksgiving?

Thanksgiving 2008 was by far the most unusual Thanksgiving we have had in our 20 years of marraige. We spent the holiday on a Carnival Cruise ship that sailed to Mexico!

Our stops were in Cabo San Lucas and Ensinada. It was the second cruise for Laurel and I and the first for our children. The kids could not believe the amount of food available. (Including an all-you-can-eat, 24/7 soft serve ice cream machine!) Getting on the ship the first day, my 15 year old son Landen (on the far right) ate lunch at 1pm, snacked at the buffet (and ice cream machine) around 3:30pm, had dinner with us in the dining room at 6pm, snacked more at the late night buffet at 10pm and then proceeded to order room service at 1am. It all culminated with him throwing it all up in his cabin at 2am. But, he was back at it the next morning at the 8am breakfast buffet hording down eggs and bacon. A true cruise eating expert.

We all ate tons! Let's just say we certainly got our money's worth! The scenery was wonderful, although the cruise itself was a little bumpy the whole week. (I even got a little seasick on Wednesday) All in all, it was a great time!

My first blog. Wish I knew what I was doing. My blog is meant to allow a look into my interests and my family. My life is certainly no more interesting than the next guy.

My wife and I are the proud parents of 5 children. They give me much joy, and many grey hairs. I get old. My wife still looks like a teenager.

I will post pictures and paragraphs about my life as an educator and volleyball coach. I will also post my dreams of some things I would really like to do in my life. One of those is travel. I have always wanted to see things and places. I have been really lucky to have travelled as much as I have. Recently, I have been to Oregon and Mexico on different trips, and over my lifetime I have seen Hawaii, Brazil, Florida and the Grand Canyon. I have been to 5 different major league baseball stadiums and I have seen Ben Vereen spit while he was singing as we sat on the front row at the Musical "Wicked" on Broadway. I have riden the Indiana Jones ride at Disneyland what seems like a hundred times, and have stood where King Kong swung at the top of the Empire State Building. I have been lucky to have seen so much.

But there is so much more to see.