Seven Peaks Water Park

I was the most scared I've ever been in my life! They have this new ride called the Boomerang. It's kind of like a half pipe, but it's shaped more like a V. You slide down one side (3 stories), around the curved bottom, and up the other side. I thought I was for sure going to fly off the ride and land in the asphalt. I got off and I was shaking. Literally shaking. I could not control the trembling and made some half-hearted attempts at playing it cool by saying, "yea, that was intense," which slowly degraded into comments like, "that was really scary," and "I'm never doing that again."


(See Lizzie and JT on the Boomarang!)


Shotgun Falls wasn't too bad. I went in front, JT behind. It's dark in there so you don't know when the drops are, but you're on a tube, so there is some cushioning. Jagged Edge was kind of cool. It was the tamest of the scary ones. It required some not so minor suit readjustment, but all-in-all it was good.


JT, the accounting wiz of the group, did the math to see what food we could buy with exactly $6.25. He did it, even with a last minute menu change. All-in-all, it was a fantastic day.

Here's JT being a show-off on the rope swing.

Cart Wheel Competition

Remember doing cart wheels as a kid? Catherine and Jon decided to turn back the clock at Brigham Young Historic Park. It was a well manicured field, perfect for spinning cart wheels. Let's see who can cart wheel the fastest:
Looks like Catherine ran into some trouble. But it doesn't matter who won, we all had a good time.

David Wilcox

I’ve been listening to Big Horizon recently. This was the first Wilcox album I bought. There are some real gems there, some of Wilcox’s best. These songs are introspective, thoughtful, insightful. I believe this album is also musically the best by Wilcox. The songs are arranged well. The music matches the spirit of the words. Here’s what I’ve been thinking about:

“That’s What the Lonely is For” Take hope as you walk the depths of sorrow and loneliness, for the deeper the loneliness, the greater your capacity for happiness. How big is the fullness of your heart? A mansion.

“Show the Way” Love, another name for Deity. Are you surrounded by darkness and depression? Does the world seem a cold place to be? Remember, Love built the stage. The plan will not fail. “There is evil cast around us, but it’s Love that wrote this play / And in this darkness Love will show the way.”

“Break in the Cup” Maybe you’re the secret missing piece of my heart, finally going to make me happy! Nope. We can’t solve each other’s loneliness with our own capacity. We must go to the waterfall, to God, “From whom all blessings flow.” He will continually fill us with His love, and when we love another we are full.

“Farthest Shore” Shiny junk? What’s really important, what can I take with me? What should I work for? U2 reminds us of “all that you can’t leave behind.”

“All the Roots Grow Deeper When It’s Dry” “In the day of their trouble, of necessity they feel after me,” (D&C 101:8). Suffering has a purpose. In times of trial and affliction, do we feel after the Lord? Doing so will plant us more firmly in sacred ground, and when the winds and the storms blow we will not be uprooted.

“Hold It Up To The Light” “I see if you gave me a vision, I would never have reason to use my faith.” Boyd K. Packer said there is a “moment when you have gone to the edge of the light and step into the darkness to discover that the way is lighted ahead for just a footstep or two.” Will he guide us? Yes, if we step forward in faith. The light will come, and with each step we may say, “This far it feels so right.”

Look Unto Me

I met Emily Dyches in Copenhagen. She was there working on the murals in the Copenhagen temple. I was there with Gramps for the dedication. We met in the church where the original Thorvaldsen Christus resides. She is a rising super-star in religious art. She did this painting for my birthday this year, January 2007. It only took 2 days. It is a wonderful gift to remind me of that trip with Grandpa, and is special because Emily was there, too. My first original piece of art, a true family heirloom. Thanks, Em!