God bless America. 9/11 - we will never forget.

I hope we can all take a few minutes to remember the innocent lives that were lost on this day 6 years ago.. as well as all of the brave soldiers who have and are currently defending freedom around the world. We owe them a great debt of gratitude.

Here are a few flags flying over our nation's capitol...

From Sunrise to Sunset...

My favorite place in DC, WWII monument

I've spent a little over 3 years on the east coast now, and I've grown pretty attached. It's amazing how much I'm going to miss it, when I think about it. First and foremost, I'll miss all the good friends that I've made out here. I love how diverse and interesting my group of friends is. From orthopedic surgeons to professional photographers to computer engineers to government employees to graduate students to ex-speech writers turned entrepreneur/home re-habers. I can always count on being engaged in some kind of interesting conversation or hearing a great story and always laughing a lot whenever we hang out.. whether it's over dinner or a TV show. So, I'm really going to miss my friends. The dance parties, the movie nights, the Sunday dinners, the TV show parties (24, AI, OC, FOC, ETC).

I'm also going to miss the aesthetic beauty of this area. It's my understanding that Virginia and Maryland have laws preventing billboards along the freeways, and it's amazing what a difference it makes. I've always loved driving here because it's so beautiful and green everywhere you go. Of course, in the winter it's not nearly as green, but I'm not sure if I've seen a more beautiful sight than freshly fallen snow on the billions of bare trees and branches being lit up by the orange glow of the morning sunrise. Fall is another time of year that just blows my mind with the beauty of it. With the change of colors on most all of the trees, it seems that if you were to snap a photo in any direction you look, you'd have a picture that would perfectly represent the autumn season. Then, DC is famous for it's springtime beauty, thanks to the cherry blossoms.

I just realized I'm talking a little too much about flowers and nature. In any case, I'm going to miss all the nature out here. I will especially miss the river, and sailing out on the Potomac. Luckily, I'll have another body of water-- the pacific, which should keep me pretty satisfied in that department (which would be..the bodies of water department, I guess?). It's late.

I'm really going to miss the basketball out here. I've played with a couple different city-league teams, and I've enjoyed being the lone white-boy on the team. I'll definitely miss the street ball pick up games, and showing the brothas that some white boys can jump. And, I'll miss my buddy "Radar." (I'm actually not sure what his real name is.. he goes by Radar because "when he shoots, it's like the ball has a radar system in it to find the hoop every time." He is a pretty dang good shooter too, so I've never really questioned it. Radar and I met at the park and we swapped numbers. Since then, we've been playing at different street courts and gyms around the DC metro area for over a year now. He's a regular at our semi-exclusive Monday night hoops at the church, and has become a good friend as well.

Here's a little video clip with commentary from my team and I during the championship game of our Arlington city league...

Janine came to our City League "Championship" (Spring 2005) and took some shots - She's amazing in so many ways (we won it)


Get up white boy!

Finally, I'll miss the architecture of all the buildings out here. From the monuments to the row houses in Georgetown, to the classic Virginia colonial homes, I've really enjoyed seeing all the classic colonial architecture.

The house that the Jeffries brothers built (or signed a lease on over 4 years ago - 2 1/2 yrs. of which I had the pleasure and at times displeasure of living in it)


Virginia charm. I never lived in this house, but just wanted to post a good example of the cuteness and quaintness of the Crystal City neighborhoods (aka little Provo - though I feel the two are worlds apart)

Everyone always talks about how they love where they're from, and how it's the greatest place in the world and so on. I've lived in a lot of different places and I tend to find the many positive things about each place I've lived in. I have a ton of good things to say about DC and living here. It really is a great place to live. There is so much to do and see. It's super picturesque, and so close to other great places like NYC and North Carolina's outer banks. It's a great place to live, and if you don't mind having to get bundled up for a couple months in the winter, and the 3 1/2 drive to the beach, it's really close to unbeatable. Oh, don't forget having to deal with some pretty ridiculously humid days-- where all it takes is two steps outside an un-air-conditioned area and you're immediately starting to feel a layer of perspiration cover every square inch of your body. That sounds pretty dramatic, but there really are days like that. You may need to experience it to believe it.

So.. tomorrow I start my drive across the country. Approximately 2,700 which translates to 39 hours according to both google maps and mapquest. I'm planning on doing it in three days, which gives me 72 hours during which I'll be driving over half of the time. I think I can do it. I may be making a lot of phone calls.. since I will be flying solo. In any case.. I need to get to bed so I have a chance of staying awake. Next time I post, it'll be from where the sun sets.

This post is pretty wordy.. but I have a lot of photos to come.. Especially since I just bought a D80 Nikon that is capable (if the user is knowledgeable enough) of taking some really nice pictures. I bought it in New York City at B&H Photo which was an event in and of itself.. but since the purchase on Thursday, I've taken over 1,000 photos. The best of the best will be in the next post.

Summer Vacation For Everyone!

If I were the king of the world, I would grant everyone a summer vacation. Of course- I'd need to plan it properly so that not everyone would take their summer vacation all at once. We'd have to do it in shifts and not everyone can go to the same place either. And, only a certain number of employees from each company can go at once, because we can't be shutting down all our businesses for summer vacation. It's a daunting task actually-- to think about scheduling everyone's summer vacation so that it won't negatively affect our economy and global commerce. But, I guess if I'm king of the world, then I just delegate the task of scheduling everyone's summer vacations to the accountants, economists and human resource people of the world, so that I wouldn't have to worry about it. Also, if someone doesn't like the time frame that they were allotted for their summer vacation, they can't get mad at me. I just granted you the month off! Get mad at the people who scheduled it!

I got to thinking about this nonsense because I'm currently on summer vacation, while between jobs and in the process of moving my life from the east coast to the west.

Last week I was in Utah. My sisters Stef and Jess moved back up there and so the whole family was there just kind of hanging out. Mom helped the girls move into there places while Taylor and I ended up going wakeboarding everyday. We have amazing friends that were all about getting us on the lake, for which we can't be grateful enough.

Here are some pictures from the week...

Proper stretching is an important part of wakeboarding if
you're going to pull sick moves like "air railies" and stuff
(or even if your going to try to jump the wake)

C-boff.. just having a good time.. stay tuned for some upcoming
video clips of C-boff going faky and getting agro on the wake

Ryan taking off back there..
and I'm just enjoying paid vacation


sequence shot

T's got me on the better looking afro

This is after all three of us almost fell over backwards in the water
while trying to pose for the following picture..


Chels, Jenn, and J


Whit and J


Our fun little crew
(chels, ryan, whitney, me, jenn)


A little CPK after a day at the pool/on the lake
(aaron, jenn, chelsea, channing, sharla, j)


Alli slices through the water like a sharp knife through butter...


look at the size of that spray... leave some water in the lake Alli!


Stace might as well fix her hair in the mirror a few feet below her


Stace demos clean lines and big sprays


Slalom is fun, but I prefer a wakeboard

The pro water skiers and I
(Alli, me and Stace)


This was Taylor's first time wakeboarding...
he went from barely getting up to jumping off the wake...
see below


Taylor launches off this one.. and pays the price...
by the end of the week he was almost clearing the wake



Meanwhile.. back at the dorms...

the BYU co-eds in Jessica's perfectly decorated dorm room..
complete with her home-made bedspread and pillow cases-- she's so domestic


I'm explaining to Jess.. "if any guy lays a hand on you..."


the maughan kids


the fellas



the end
(ha ha.. yeah it's not that funny)

but seriously, who took this?

8k Mud Run - Virginia Beach

This past weekend a big group of us went down to Virginia Beach and ran the 8K Mud Run-- approx. 5 miles through deep beach sand, water, mud, forests, up and down little hills and around the military base. Probably 60% of the run was on sand and I have to say it was pretty tough. Especially provided the fact that the farthest I really ever run is up and down the basketball court. So, I'm not really in shape for this kind of long distance running. That's probably because I'm not a big fan of long distance running. Though, I have always been kind of curious of the allure these events seems to have to so many people. Since I've never participated in a running event like this, I've always had a hard time understanding why people will actually pay money so they can go run a ridiculous amount of miles, killing themselves on a Saturday, only to be sore for the next couple days. I realize you get a t-shirt and I don't want to belittle the importance of the t-shirt that memorializes the whole experience, but seriously.. I just didn't quite understand the hype. In fact, in my entrepreneurial mind I've over-simplified the whole concept and thought, why don't I call a bunch of people up and invite them over to my house where they can pay me ten bucks, I'll give 'em a t-shirt and they can run a couple miles around my neighborhood. I'll even time them.

Anyway, I really didn't get it, until this past weekend. This was the first "K" event I've ever done... surprising as it may be-- even after spending 5 years in Provo (which seems to be the capital of jogging) I never ran any of the 5Ks or 10Ks and especially not any marathons. So the "Mud Run" was my maiden voyage into the world of competitive amateur running as a hobby. And, despite the fact that I'm still sore, and I won't wear the t-shirt ever again except to do yard work or service projects (of course you have to wear it the day of the event after the race so everyone knows what you just did), I really enjoyed it. I think I'd like to do it again, or maybe even do a longer run- like a 10K or half marathon. This is crazy to hear myself talk like this.. but the competitive nature inside me makes me want to conquer another beast similar to or bigger than this one. Plus, I feel like it's really good for the mind and body to face a challenge that can seem at times like it's too great to overcome... and then when you do overcome the challenge there is a great sense of relief and accomplishment. It's an invigorating and addicting feeling. So, I guess I understand how people can get into these events and why they're willing to pay so they can run in them (even though running is quite free and you can do it almost anywhere you want).

One thing that really made a difference was the many race supporters that were standing along the whole race encouraging everyone along the way. That's something I don't mind paying for actually. Their constant encouragement throughout the race was a boost. I noticed their positive energy helped me to focus on finishing the race and forget about the pain I was feeling in my legs. So, maybe that's what the $40 really pays for. The support team out there to help you finish something you may not be able to have the will power or discipline to do solely on your own. In any case, I think I may be getting into this race craze. I'm not looking up the next one just yet, but I think I'm open to the idea of doing another event of some kind in the not to distant future. We'll see how this recovery process comes along...

Here are some pictures from the weekend and run:

When running a rigorous race like this, it's important to eat right and sleep well the night before... yeah right... I ate way too much at Olive Garden and don't let this picture fool you... we didn't get to bed till like 5AM


I was trying to get to sleep, but pillow fights, people Vin Dieseling people, food fights, dog piles, and people jumping on the beds made it a bit difficult for one to sleep, despite sleep-help devices such as these...


Can you tell we were all a bit loony and delirious? These were the most hyper of the bunch..


Preparing to run on 2 hours sleep... we were feeling pretty good


getting pumped


pre-race parking lot shot

at the starting line..
I thought we were supposed to have our game faces on..

introducing the mud pit.. where the shoes get heavier

the group jockeying for position in the mud pit..


Rob breaks free

Sarah tries to stiff-arm Rob..

Rob shows winning technique.. "high knees"

Sarah escapes Megan's wrath..

Megan was just Vin Dieseled by Blake..
by now, she's gotten used to it

looking at the sand with eyes of disdain


Upon reaching the finish line, we couldn't ditch our shoes fast enough.. Rachel and I were the "couple's team" with matching military camo-arm bands.. (they helped us run so much faster)

After we finished, we saved a load of money on our car insurance...

not really, but we took a pic with the Geico lizard anyway

Blake and I were so excited to be finished with the race we just started doing flips... though I'm not sure how we had the energy to do this...

Leap frog.. I must have been a bit delirious..

Our group minus Blake

Nice work team

LET'S DO IT AGAIN!



the next stop was the beach... it felt so good to lay on the sand that we'd be running on all morning


Treating ourselves to Dairy Queen... we totally deserved it


Knocked out.. after the mud run and a full day at the beach (where we actually got to surf too since Rob and Blake brought the boards and Croatan was going off--for Croatan)... thanks for driving Shelly!


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