Real life

Man I hate these http://www.viralnova.com/mom-confession/  I could go on and on about this.  Sorry you decided to have seven kids and your life is just so hectic.  Its called decisions, we all make them.  I know my wifester gets tired, she works three jobs, is raising our daughter, and continually cleaning up after me.  She is the best, and we all know it.  She rarely complains ,and sure as hell doesnt have time to write a very elaborate blog about how hard her life is.  eh, whatever.

Next up on the blogoblast will be instagram heros. 
I need a chocolate shake.

Tulsacali

A few weeks before my yearly trip to Tulsa I got an invite to go the US olympic training center in Chula Vista California.  I was pretty pumped, and had some logistical planning to workout because that would mean that I would fly straight from Tulsa, to San Diego, and be there for an additional five days.  After talking it over with the hussy, we knew that it was too good of an opportunity to pass up. So I sent my info back, and they booked my ticket.  Dealing with the USOC is pretty awesome and they made the process super simple.

So off for the ten day journey I went.  The first destination, is one that every bmxer knows all too well.  The grand nationals in Tulsa Oklahoma.  Now this is the biggest race in history, and this year it turned out to be the biggest ever.  718 motos!  This made for some very long days.  I go back and forth on this race.  Its so exciting and Im thrilled to be a part of it, and sometimes do well,  and then comes the time away from the family.  The grom is getting to the point where she really knows when Im gone, and that makes it hard.  We do have facetime, and we are lucky to have that.  I couldnt imagine traveling without being able to see and talk to her.  Tulsa went well, I finally won a race that has eluded me for many years, the Race of Champions.  Winning this race means I get to run the Red #1 for the 2014 season, so Im pumped. Everyone goes to the grands with their A game, everyone is trained, healthy, and ready.  Luck comes to play in a major way.  Lets just say that luck wasnt with my on my gate for the main event on cruiser.  But its racing, and things happen, and we move on.  Head up, and happy with 2014 and another 20+ national victory year!



The straight to San Diego from Tulsa.  I love it there.  Honestly for many years, I hated California.  I had the worst luck there, and never really enjoyed it.  That changed in 2011, and I have been back multiple times each year, and it looks like there wont be any slowing of that in 2014!  I am excited about my new opportunity, but have to wait to officially announce that one.

I was able to workout in a killer weight room, run a foot race on an olympic training track, and ride the Beijing olympic replica track. I was part of the Pan America Sporting Organizations High technical camp.  So it was a lot of classroom work, and then some hands on training on the tracks, and in the gym.  It was a great experience and I am so lucky to be a part of it.






Back to home and the mega cold weather.  We are making the best of it and the grom loves playing in the snow.  Yes her hill resembles a starting hill and has berms, get off it.

AAAAAAAAANNNNNNNNNNNNDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD  today we closed on our new home!  yup, homeowners 2.0  here we go again!

Stay up peeps.

got away

Tuesday got away from me a little faster than I would have liked, so here is my music selection for Tuesday.  Taking it a little mellow today. 

One week from today and I will leave for nine days.  Im excited for the the trip, but also bummed at the same time.  This trip will tie the time for me being gone from the my girls. I will head to Tulsa for the Grands, and then will fly straight to Chula Vista from Tulsa for five days.  Im excited to learn and have the opportunity to ride the supercross tracks, and train there.  Should be awesome.

Sucka

Taking everything day as it comes.  Zach got me to go outside of my comfort zone the other day at the gym. I don't like lifting heavy, I find it counter productive to my zombie apocalypse training, but sometimes ya gotta do it.  I didnt know Brent was filming when I did this, shows why my back will be out in a five years.  I guess its better than being fat.  For all of you parents out there, if you get a few seconds, you should youtube Batdad, the guy is effing hilarious.  I can tell you have been doing squats..............

Grom loves coloring and drawing so we spend some quality time on the floor together. Currently I have wet pants due to a little snow fight we got into, she won of course.  Im becoming more and more of an anti snow person.  Especially with the little one around.  I hate the fact that in a month from now, it will be dark and cold for what will seem like forever.  I have really enjoyed getting out and playing outside with her.  I bought a her a little soccer net and ball and I think we will probably wear that thing out pretty quick come next summer.

"wanna play with me"  yes I do.  holy crap, when she says that, its time to put down everything at that moment and play with her.  Like I said, this usually means we are laying on the floor playing with cars, or drawing, but its awesome.  She is getting pretty dang good at asking for things and giving you the cute little innocent look, and then she bats her eyes.  I might beat her mom for teaching her that, Im so screwed when she really wants bigger things. We bought a her a new head board for her big girl bed that she will be using when we move into our new house.  I like the current color.  She wants it pink.  Fine.  What the grom wants, the grom gets.  Oh yeah, we bought the house.  More on that to come as well.

Hadley has really taken to the bike on the track. Insisting on going down and up the jumps by herself. I was a bit hesitant at first but she has the last straight at rad canyon dialed. So fun to have her out the smiling and laughing all the way.

Nice little Sunday afternoon we are having today. Blue skies, temps in the 40's just loving life.
Got a few emails from the USOC this week. Stay tunes for some details on that later. I took this photo while laying on the floor looking out the window.  I thought the gold leaves looked awesome with the blue skies.  Im such a hippie, minus the being a bum, wearing tye dye, and smoking weed.

I dont usually eat meat, but when I do, I completely disregard any table etiquette whatsoever!  Actually I eat meat all the time, and that previous statement was my poor attempt at humor. Get off me, I think Im funny in my own mind.

Classic

My wife hates this song, but for me its just a straight up classic and will never die.  I crank this up everytime it comes on. Everytime!

Tuesday tunage

This came on my Pandora today, I dig the tune.  "Its survival of the fittest from the cradle to the grave"

worrying is like a rocking chair..................

............Sure it gives you something to do, but it doesn't get you anywhere.

Tuesday tunes

Driving the grom home from dance tonight we were listening to Marky Ramones Punk Rock Mania on Faction and they played some good tunes from some of my roots in punk rock.  Bouncing souls and Hot Water Music.  Yeah, I might try and influence the little one with a little but of the older punk stuff.  New punk is garbage.  Hot Water Music isnt punk, but hey they're good and I dig it. I love music, so glad that I listened to such a variety growing up.  When I went to grab dinner on Saturday for the wife and grom, Notorious came on, I sat in the truck in the parking lot until the song was over.  Sometimes its good to just sit back and enjoy a song.


The bouncing souls.  This song was also a snowboard video from back in the day.


Hot water Music.  They play the hell out of this song on XM

If there is one band that sticks out from my early high school years in Price, its MXPX.  Life in General was the first album I got of theres and is still one of my favorites.

One of my all time favorites.

The deck.

Like I have said, living with the in laws has been good.  We have been able to take care of some projects that we have been talking about for quite some time.  The biggest of them all being the deck.  I have lost sleep over this deck, it has seriously had me terrified at moments.  See my father in law goes all out when he does something, and when it came to the deck, he had to design it to last the apocalypse.  This means steal.  lots of it.
The original plan was to have a 42' beam.  Thank god this didnt happen.  Plan B, two beams at 21' each, weighing in at 450 lbs each.  For the past four weeks we have been discussing how we are going to lift each beam onto the 3 main columns, each of those weighing in at 100 lbs.  Ill tell you what, I have had nightmares of these beams getting dropped and snapping my leg in fourteen gagilliion pieces.  We thought we were going to need 20 guys to come and help us, and that was becoming harder and harder.  So I got to talking to my dad last weekend when he came to town and he was like, "oh, you need an aroustabout".  Just like that he had looked it up on his phone, sent me a photo, and the project had a new light.  Needless to say, I slept well that night.
Fast forward a week, and one machine rental later, two pots of coffee, 15 eggs, 4 pounds of banana pancakes, and some Pink Floyd, and the beams are up and the stairs are in place, oh and those suckers weighed 508 lbs.
Here are the photos for ya pops, thanks for the heads up on the machine rental.  Thanks Zach for the help without hesitation, and thanks Larry for measuring 28 times to make sure this all went together right.

getting it ready

putting up the columns, and our temp bracing that has been holding the deck for a few weeks.

The stairs.  These things were beasts and such a pain to get where they were.  Putting them in the final place was super easy.

Making Zach work.  The kid is soft.

Ginger needed more coffee.

The beams in place, next up railing, and trex

You can see the stairs in place as well.  Thank the maker for that lift!

New music tuesday

A pretty cool aspect of my job is that I drive alot, and be that I drive alot, I listen to alot of music.  So I have XM radio in the truck, and it is awesome.  I always get to hear new stuff, and today, I bring you new music Tuesday.  Though it may not be new, its whats on my playlist now.  So give em a listen and maybe Ill post some next week.  Wax and Watsky are two rappers from California, I dig their styles and they entertain me.  Viewer discretion advised, there is cussing.




I like this song alot, but I dont like the video and the movie scene in the middle interrupting the video.

good human

creepin

Old man winter is creepin in on us here in Utah.  I like this time of year.  Im a fan of hoodie weather and the crisp air, makes coffee in the morning that much more enjoyable.  Well, heres the latest.  We're still at in the in laws.  Its going pretty good, and the projects that my father in law has been planning are coming along great.  I may not be too excited for the beam portion of the deck, but thats more based on the fact that I like to be lazy around the house than actually doing the work. And, well, I like to complain a lot.  I sure have enjoyed not commuting as far every day.  I miss the ellis show, but not enough to make up for that drive.  I cant believe I did that commute for two year.  I guess my out look on the drive was that it gave me time to gear up before work, and calm down after.  XM radio also helped out a shit ton so there was that.

The neighborhood that we are in right now is totally awesome.  We have been trying to sneak in walks on the blvd before old man winter really shows us who is boss.  The grom has totally found her balance on her strider which of course makes me happy.  So we have been getting in some bike time together.  No need for sprints when you can put around with the grom.  I love seeing the joy this little one gets out of everything.  I wish as adults that we could maintain that love for life and not let everything be such a downer.

 Went to Canada last weekend for their national Championships.  I love Canada, if it werent for socialism and Canadians I would probably move there.  Just kidding, the folks up there are straight up awesome.  Maybe if the wife would get her passport she would go with me on time.

 When you travel with bikes you know you have to get smart when it comes to flying them.  Golf bags dont get charged for over size, and they fit a bike perfectly.  Doing it this way saves me about 150 bucks each way.

 So this view is cool......................

 Aggies VS BYU.  We were done after the first ten second of the game when BYU intercepted the first pass and ran it back for a touch down.  A little bit later, our quarter back who is the back bone of the team would blow out his knee and is done for the season.  Moving on, still rooting for the Seahawks, and anxiously waiting for Aggie Basketball Season.  Im usually not a fan of Pro Sports but Seattle drafted two Aggies two years ago, and I love that city, so yeah.

A couple weeks back we did some family photos.  This photo pretty much sums it up.

Maybe, just maybe things might be on the up and up.

shnazzy pants

Sometimes I catch myself doubting myself, actually I do that quite a bit.  Not sure why, just something that I, in my 30's still struggle not to do.  If it werent for the people in my life, Im not sure how my life would be going.  Having people that stand behind you and believe in you is the most amazing thing.  I always reflect on the past, and like the song says, "i wish I knew then what I know now".  Shit would have been much easier, and the ridiculous things that I thought were the end of the world would have been so easy.  But eh, cant live like that, live and learn.

So this past weekend I went to San Diego for a race.  We were trying to get the girls to come with me, but I was unaware that you had to book the companion ticket at the same time as my ticket.  I called Delta four different times trying to figure it out, but their loyalty to their customers sucks, and they wouldn't budge.  So I was able to book the girls a room in Park City at a pretty rad spot, the Sun Dial lodge.  Killer rooms, views, and they treat people right.  They had a good little girls night, and followed that up with a trip to the circus.  I am not a fan of the circus.  It makes me sad to see the animals like that, but I think the grom enjoyed it.  They both probably would have enjoyed it more, had the seats been better, but come on, 90 bucks for lower bowl tickets to the circus, nah.

San Diego was fun.  I got to see one of my lifetime friends race her last race, culminating an amazing career.  It was awesome to see the respect that she has in the sport, and how many fans she has. 
The GT team had a sponsored table at the BMX Hall of Fame.  This was a really cool event, where some heavy hitters were inducted to this go around.  GT always treats us right, and pretty much spoils us every where we go.  What an experience it has been being on this team.  Pretty damn lucky to be a part of if you ask me. 

Old man winter showed its ugly face today.  Not too sure how I feel about it.  But then again, changing of the seasons can bring good change.  I am a fan of hoodie weather though, so there is that.

 The grom just found her balance point on her bike. So rad!  I sit back and watch her and just love how much fun she has doing things, and enjoying first time experiences.  The wifester and I sat back and laughed that at 5 pm the grom is out riding bikes, and then at 6:15 pm she is in her pink tights at ballet.  I love this life. 

 

 

 Most people focus when they are about to race, me?  I find the camera and let it know not to take it too serious.

 The future of BMX racing and GT bicycles.  Sean Gaian and Felicia Stancil.  2013 world Champs.

 Some of my Team

 Stupid human tricks with the wifester.  I like her. Alot.

Life as we know it

Life has been crazy lately.  Currently we live at in the in-laws.  in the basement. Our stuff, well, its all in a storage shed, where apparently shit just gets broken.  We sold our house two weeks after I got home from New Zealand and we moved the next week.  It happened so crazy fast, and it cost us a ton of money, but things have been good as far as not driving as far everyday, and being home with the family more.  It has weirdly brought some normalcy to our life.
The curveballs are coming every other pitch though.  The wife has been cursed with pretty much everything.  Her job likes to not pay her, she has two ulcers, her knees are jacked, but she is still hot, so she has that going for her.  Things will go up, they have no other option, and damnit Im not going to let it go backwards.
The grom is growing like a body builder on the sauce.  Seriously though, I love it.  Every single day she is doing something new, and growing in amazing ways.  Being a dad is awesome, and I love soaking up every single minute.  The wife got me a bunch of daddy/grom dates for fathers day, so the wee one and I have had some fun times.  We went on a date to Boondocks, drove some go-karts, played some mini golf, and rocked some games for tickets.  We also went swimming at Cherry Hill resort in Kaysville.  It was so awesome and we even got to watch some planes fight a fire on the mtn side in Farmington.  Pretty wicked.
Im going to try and write a bit more, if not for anything else, then to write down everything that is going on in my head.  Some will be rants, some will be updates, but its my blog and Ill do what I want.

Iron and Soul by Henry Rollins

I believe that the definition of definition is reinvention. To not be like your parents. To not be like your friends. To be yourself.
Completely.
When I was young I had no sense of myself. All I was, was a product of all the fear and humiliation I suffered. Fear of my parents. The humiliation of teachers calling me “garbage can” and telling me I’d be mowing lawns for a living. And the very real terror of my fellow students. I was threatened and beaten up for the color of my skin and my size. I was skinny and clumsy, and when others would tease me I didn’t run home crying, wondering why. I knew all too well. I was there to be antagonized. In sports I was laughed at. A spaz. I was pretty good at boxing but only because the rage that filled my every waking moment made me wild and unpredictable. I fought with some strange fury. The other boys thought I was crazy.
I hated myself all the time. As stupid at it seems now, I wanted to talk like them, dress like them, carry myself with the ease of knowing that I wasn’t going to get pounded in the hallway between classes. Years passed and I learned to keep it all inside. I only talked to a few boys in my grade. Other losers. Some of them are to this day the greatest people I have ever known. Hang out with a guy who has had his head flushed down a toilet a few times, treat him with respect, and you’ll find a faithful friend forever. But even with friends, school sucked. Teachers gave me hard time. I didn’t think much of them either.
Then came Mr. Pepperman, my advisor. He was a powerfully built Vietnam veteran, and he was scary. No one ever talked out of turn in his class. Once one kid did and Mr. P. lifted him off the ground and pinned him to the blackboard. Mr. P. could see that I was in bad shape, and one Friday in October he asked me if I had ever worked out with weights. I told him no. He told me that I was going to take some of the money that I had saved and buy a hundred-pound set of weights at Sears. As I left his office, I started to think of things I would say to him on Monday when he asked about the weights that I was not going to buy. Still, it made me feel special. My father never really got that close to caring. On Saturday I bought the weights, but I couldn’t even drag them to my mom’s car. An attendant laughed at me as he put them on a dolly.
Monday came and I was called into Mr. P.’s office after school. He said that he was going to show me how to work out. He was going to put me on a program and start hitting me in the solar plexus in the hallway when I wasn’t looking. When I could take the punch we would know that we were getting somewhere. At no time was I to look at myself in the mirror or tell anyone at school what I was doing. In the gym he showed me ten basic exercises. I paid more attention than I ever did in any of my classes. I didn’t want to blow it. I went home that night and started right in.
Weeks passed, and every once in a while Mr. P. would give me a shot and drop me in the hallway, sending my books flying. The other students didn’t know what to think. More weeks passed, and I was steadily adding new weights to the bar. I could sense the power inside my body growing. I could feel it.
Right before Christmas break I was walking to class, and from out of nowhere Mr. Pepperman appeared and gave me a shot in the chest. I laughed and kept going. He said I could look at myself now. I got home and ran to the bathroom and pulled off my shirt. I saw a body, not just the shell that housed my stomach and my heart. My biceps bulged. My chest had definition. I felt strong. It was the first time I can remember having a sense of myself. I had done something and no one could ever take it away. You couldn’t say sh–t to me.
It took me years to fully appreciate the value of the lessons I have learned from the Iron. I used to think that it was my adversary, that I was trying to lift that which does not want to be lifted. I was wrong. When the Iron doesn’t want to come off the mat, it’s the kindest thing it can do for you. If it flew up and went through the ceiling, it wouldn’t teach you anything. That’s the way the Iron talks to you. It tells you that the material you work with is that which you will come to resemble. That which you work against will always work against you.
It wasn’t until my late twenties that I learned that by working out I had given myself a great gift. I learned that nothing good comes without work and a certain amount of pain. When I finish a set that leaves me shaking, I know more about myself. When something gets bad, I know it can’t be as bad as that workout.
I used to fight the pain, but recently this became clear to me: pain is not my enemy; it is my call to greatness. But when dealing with the Iron, one must be careful to interpret the pain correctly. Most injuries involving the Iron come from ego. I once spent a few weeks lifting weight that my body wasn’t ready for and spent a few months not picking up anything heavier than a fork. Try to lift what you’re not prepared to and the Iron will teach you a little lesson in restraint and self-control.
I have never met a truly strong person who didn’t have self-respect. I think a lot of inwardly and outwardly directed contempt passes itself off as self-respect: the idea of raising yourself by stepping on someone’s shoulders instead of doing it yourself. When I see guys working out for cosmetic reasons, I see vanity exposing them in the worst way, as cartoon characters, billboards for imbalance and insecurity. Strength reveals itself through character. It is the difference between bouncers who get off strong-arming people and Mr. Pepperman.
Muscle mass does not always equal strength. Strength is kindness and sensitivity. Strength is understanding that your power is both physical and emotional. That it comes from the body and the mind. And the heart.
Yukio Mishima said that he could not entertain the idea of romance if he was not strong. Romance is such a strong and overwhelming passion, a weakened body cannot sustain it for long. I have some of my most romantic thoughts when I am with the Iron. Once I was in love with a woman. I thought about her the most when the pain from a workout was racing through my body.
Everything in me wanted her. So much so that sex was only a fraction of my total desire. It was the single most intense love I have ever felt, but she lived far away and I didn’t see her very often. Working out was a healthy way of dealing with the loneliness. To this day, when I work out I usually listen to ballads.
I prefer to work out alone. It enables me to concentrate on the lessons that the Iron has for me. Learning about what you’re made of is always time well spent, and I have found no better teacher. The Iron had taught me how to live. Life is capable of driving you out of your mind. The way it all comes down these days, it’s some kind of miracle if you’re not insane. People have become separated from their bodies. They are no longer whole.
I see them move from their offices to their cars and on to their suburban homes. They stress out constantly, they lose sleep, they eat badly. And they behave badly. Their egos run wild; they become motivated by that which will eventually give them a massive stroke. They need the Iron Mind.
Through the years, I have combined meditation, action, and the Iron into a single strength. I believe that when the body is strong, the mind thinks strong thoughts. Time spent away from the Iron makes my mind degenerate. I wallow in a thick depression. My body shuts down my mind.
The Iron is the best antidepressant I have ever found. There is no better way to fight weakness than with strength. Once the mind and body have been awakened to their true potential, it’s impossible to turn back.
The Iron never lies to you. You can walk outside and listen to all kinds of talk, get told that you’re a god or a total bastard. The Iron will always kick you the real deal. The Iron is the great reference point, the all-knowing perspective giver. Always there like a beacon in the pitch black. I have found the Iron to be my greatest friend. It never freaks out on me, never runs. Friends may come and go. But two hundred pounds is always two hundred pounds.

Wait it's may?

Been busy lately so while I wait this adjuster I will post photos. San Diego. Food. Mother's Day. The grom. Life. Whatever. I love life, you should too!

Cars and such

My wife will be the first one to tell you that I am abnormally obsessed with cars, well, Subarus and Volkswagons to be exact. I had a Subaru at one point but got a work truck and my car just sat, and be that we live in such a small town, it just never made sense to have three cars at our house.
With the move coming in the future, I am looking to buy a little car again, nothing too extravagant like the cars that I went and saw a couple of weeks ago, but something that I can drive and not pay up the wazoo in gas. My truck currently gets 13 miles to the gallon and its the suck to drive it any where for personal use because of that. It does have XM radio though, and that my friends is priceless.


So a couple of weeks ago we went to the Rocky Mountain Subaru meet. I really dont know much about cars, and I think that is what interests me so much in them. I like being a fan and just soaking it all in. One fella started rambling off a bunch of stuff to me, and I just looked at him like he had punched me. I looked at him and asked, "does it have a DVD player?" He wasnt impressed. Got to play with my new camera as well, pretty cool little toy.


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Location:City of Salt

March, where'd ya go?

March has come and gone and what a month. The wifesters birthday and mine fall in march. We had a good month overall. Got to spend a ton of much needed time with the family and gearing up for the rest of the year. We still haven't had any luck on selling our house but it only takes one person and we're outta Logan. Go karts for the birthday palooka was a riot like always. It was more like bumper cars but still had fun. The traveling trophy went to Steve spencer but next year his ass is grass! Probably not because I suck at go carts but its so fun.
We have finally hit some nice weather so have take. Advantage of that. It's probably a good thing or I think the wife would have went all redrum on me.
Enough talking here are some high quality phone pics