Tuesday, December 11, 2007

Wannabe Photographers

Inspired by Meredith's post and pretty bored with Lesley out of town for work, I thought I'd get my blog on and share some photos Les and I have taken over the last while. Someday we'll take a class and attempt to get up to the level of Marci Romney. These will have to do for now. They are in reverse chronological order with the exception of the last pic.

Snow pictures at a park in Draper



Seals at Pier 39 in San Francisco



Dallas Ohler skiing at Bear Lake



Sunrise and Sunset in Caribbean


Classic Ute fan we found golfing - Friend of David & Theresa's?
(my favorite thing is his mullet....Lesley prefers the thug-style Air Jordans he's wearing. I wish the pictures showed the cigarettes he smoked at each tee box)



Shots Lesley took while on a work trip in Puerto Rico



My beautiful wife
(Come home Les.....I miss you!)

Saturday, December 8, 2007

Rain & Refs Ugly Up Game for Pretty in Pink


It was a wet and gloomy day in Provo on Friday night as Pretty in Pink lost in the championship of the D-2 women's flag football tournament. All year long Pretty in Pink has destroyed their opponents on the strengths of their athleticism, skill, and finesse. These strengths were mitigated on Friday however by a monsoon and the worst refs I've ever seen in intramural history. (At one point, I threatened to turn one of them into the Honor Code Office for what I viewed as blatant dishonesty. My threats had no effect.) Pretty in Pink was clearly the more athletic and attractive team on the field, but they couldn't overcome the elements and the officiating and lost 2-0 and 6-0 in the double elimination tournament (yes, they lost the first game on a safety).The rain was relentless, and the game was stopped time after time because the above pictured ref liked the sound of his own whistle. The refs completely took over the game and didn't allow the girls to play. It was disappointing to see a normally beautiful offense muddied up by the conditions, both human and natural, but I feel that we all know which was really the better team. After the game their were some tears shed, hugs exchanged, and harsh words passed on to the ref, but when reflecting a day later, it is evident that it was an exciting season for Pretty in Pink. A season in which junior standout Meredith Winter dominated both offensively and defensively. The domination for which she receives my award as Flag Football Player of the Year.

Meredith Winter: Player of the Year
Whether it was making leaping grabs in the endzone, running a reverse for a TD, or taking a pick back to the house, Meredith was the main playmaker for Pretty in Pink. In several games this year she scored all of her teams points and single-handedly led them to victory. Her agility, grace, and competitive nature are envied by all, but rivaled by none. As only a junior, Mrs. Winter has vowed to work hard in the off-season and come back even stronger next year. She attributes much of her success to her teammates, her husband Brandon, and her siblings and their spouses. "You know, I just couldn't do it without them," says Winter, "They give me strength to achieve the impossible. They're everything to me." And accomplish the impossible she has. Who would have ever imagined that this young woman from Albany, Oregon would grow up to become the player of the year? Kudos to you Meredith Winter, the 2007 Flag Football Player of the Year, kudos.

As for the rest of the team.....most of them will return for next season. Although they fell just short this year, the future is bright for this group of young women. The potential and expectations are high, but high expectations don't bother Meredith or the rest of the team at all. I think Bronco Mendenhall put it best when he said, "the best is yet to come."


Below are a few other photos from the game.


Sunday, December 2, 2007

The Challenge

As I sit to write this post I'm realizing that Trevor and I like to pose challenges to each other. I'm not really sure where it came from. I know my older sister poses "challenges" to Trevor and I on occasion (taking their family portrait for example), maybe that's where it came from...who knows. But anyways...back to the challenge at hand.

Shortly after getting married Trevor challenged me to decorate our house using only garage sales, thrift stores, free stuff lying on the side of the road, etc., etc., etc. (I should note, this is not including items like beds/mattresses, couches, things that can't really be re-vamped) So, as I would any challenge, I accepted. However, I would almost dare say that Trevor has taken more ownership of this challenge than I. Home decorating seems to be yet another one of his "things."

The financials are as follows:

Coffee table at local garage sale (found by Trevor) - $5
Paint stripper - $12
Paint stripping utensils - $4
Black Beluga paint - $12
Sand paper - $4

Cost of coffee table made TV stand = $39 (this is a very sturdy TV stand, not the fifteen-dollar-will-break-when-you-sit-on-it-and-wobbles-when-you-walk-by-it-end-table-from-IKEA-stand.)

Below are pictures of the completed project and steps it took to get there. (side note: I did contribute to the physical labor portion of this project, it was just not recorded seeing as how I was the historian)



Expect more posts soon of our other finished projects...