the Flip minHD

We got a new "toy" at work today...a Flip minoHD. Its a super cool tiny digital HD camcorder, no bigger than your cell phone. I brought it home tonight to check it out, using it in low light, checking how well it records sound, etc. Our hope is to use it at work to record student interviews. So anyways, I took it with me tonight to our ward activity -- The Scottsdale Art Walk. All the art studios/galleries along Main Street in Scottsdale opened up there doors, put out wine and cheese and musicians littered the street to serenade the promonade of art patrons. It was actually pretty fun. The weather was PERFECT and I saw some absolutely BEAUTIFUL pieces of art (and someday when I win the lottery, I'll be able to afford to purchase something). The evening ended at the Sugar Bowl -- a great old fashioned ice cream parlor. This video clip show you what we ate. And I confess that I ate the WHOLE DARN THING!

Anyways, I LOVE the FLIP camera and in fact, I'm going to save my penny's and get me one.

Vote for CJ

My friend CJ is applying for "The Best Job In The World", a competition to become a travel blog writer for the Queensland Tourism Department in Australia. She made a FABULOUS video application and it's posted on the competition website. The decision on who to hire is going to be based on which video entry gets the most hits/votes. So check out her video clip.

http://www.islandreefjob.com/applicants/watch/fPDtipTk828

And "Vote for CJ"!!!

Mardi Gras & New Orleans

"Laissez les bon temps rouler!"

Mardi Gras is coming up next week. In 2004 my sister and I drove to New Orleans, LA with her two children (2 years old and 4 years old at the time) to visit our cousin Natalie and her family. Natalie and Anthony were living in Metarie at the time (a suburb just outside of New Orleans). Of course we had a great time visiting the Perry family, but the absolute highlight of the trip was Mardi Gras. This well known party is relatively misunderstood. It turns out the Mardi Gras is a time for family parades, fun with friends, food and beads, beads, and more beads. We spent one damp evening catching beads and one entire day cheering on the parades. IT WAS SOOOO MUCH FUN! It actually was one of my most favorite vacations ever. Here are just a few of the photo highlights.

Children in NOLA sit up in boxes attached to the top of 6 ft ladders during the mardi gras parades. From these "box seats" they have a better chance of catching the good beads tossed from the floats in the parade.Kate and Natalie are enjoying all the fun and beads -- despite the drizzling rain.Here are the party goers after all the fun is done for the night. Can you see all the beads around all of our necks...and the stroller is also filled with even more beads. We were all headed home for a good night sleep so that we could do it all again the next morning.The next day it was more parades and more fun! I think this was the Rex parade.Here's Kiki with her kids up in the box seat. Everyone yells, "Throw Me Something Mister!!" and then the float riders throw out beads, balls, plastic gold coins, cups, toys, beads, and more beads.So at the end of the day here's what the kids took home...can you say "BEADS!"The kids had sooo much fun playing "pirate" with all their treasure.

So, if you get the chance go to Mardi Gras in New Orleans...just stay off of Bourbon Street on Mardi Gras night.

Flashback Friday -- My Very First Memory

Have you ever recorded your very first memory? I mean your very, very earliest memory. My Flashback Friday has me flashing all the way back to 1976 and my very first memory. I know that this memory takes place in Honolulu, Hawaii, not because I remember that, but rather my mother helped give my memory context later. I was a about 2 years old. Anyways, in my very first memory I see myself sitting on a slab of cement with my legs stretched out in front of me. I can remember looking down between my legs and seeing a blob of yellow play dough smashed into the cement. I don't remember why I was playing with the play dough, or whether there was anyone else with me. I just simply remember happily playing with my yellow play dough.
So the cool part is, that a few years ago I was looking through old family photos and guess what I found...a picture of me on that day. Cool!!
Now I really don't remember anything else from our time in Honolulu, Hawaii (which included about the first 3 years of my life), but all the pictures my mom took while we were there, and the stories my Grandma Johnson love to tell about it, fill in all the blanks.

The Little Red Hen

An old story with a very poignant application today...

The Little Red Hen

An industrious little red hen decided that she would like to eat a lovely loaf of bread. In order to have yummy bread to eat she knew that she would have to make it. So the first step would have to be growing the wheat from which to make the bread.

"Who will help me plant the wheat?" asked the little red hen, of the other animals in the barnyard.

'Not I,' said the cow.

'Not I,' said the duck.

'Not I,' said the pig.

'Not I,' said the goose

'Then I will do it by myself,' said the little red hen, and so she did. The wheat grew very tall and ripened into golden grain.

'Who will help me reap my wheat?' asked the little red hen.

'Not I,' said the duck..

'Out of my classification,' said the pig.

'I'd lose my seniority,' said the cow.

'I'd lose my unemployment compensation,' said the goose.

'Then I will do it by myself,' said the little red hen, and so she did.

At last it came time to bake the bread. 'Who will help me bake the bread?' asked the little red hen.

'That would be overtime for me,' said the cow.

'I'd lose my welfare benefits,' said the duck.

'I'm a dropout and never learned how,' said the pig.

'If I'm to be the only helper, that's discrimination,' said the goose.

'Then I will do it by myself,' said the little red hen.

She baked five loaves and held them up for all of her neighbors to see. They wanted some and, in fact, demanded a share. But the little red hen said, 'No, I shall eat all five loaves.'

'Excess profits!' cried the cow. (Nancy Pelosi)

'Capitalist leech!' screamed the duck. (Barbara Boxer)

'I demand equal rights!' yelled the goose. (Jesse Jackson)

The pig just grunted in disdain. (Ted Kennedy)

And they all painted 'Unfair!' picket signs and marched around and around the little red hen, shouting obscenities.

Then the farmer (Obama) came. He said to the little red hen, 'You must not be so greedy.'

'But I earned the bread,' said the little red hen.

'Exactly,' said Barack the farmer. 'That is what makes our free enterprise system so wonderful. Anyone in the barnyard can earn as much as he wants. But under our modern government regulations, the productive workers must divide the fruits of their labor with those who are lazy and idle.'

AZ Renaissance Festival and a trick buffalo

I had a ton of fun on Saturday and then Saturday night I got the flu. It hit me like a truck -- one minute I'm enjoying a cowboy dinner the next my throat was killing me and I was fighting a headache. Anyways...I did really enjoy my Saturday. I started out the day with a really good work out (and it didn't hurt that my favorite gym eye-candy was there :) ) Then I picked up my cousin Jeana and we headed out to the AZ Renaissance Festival. It has been years and years since I've been there, but the paper had a buy-one-get-one-free coupon so I decided it was time to check it out again. Jeana and I had an enjoyable time walking around, checking out some of the acts, looking at the beautiful crafts, and eating some medieval food. I brought my camera because I knew it was a chance to practice my photography skills sooo here are a few of the shots I took.Here's Jeana and the Fool...


Some of the characters at the Festival worried me, because they were just a bit tooo into their character (if ya know what I mean).
There were also some amazing artists and fun crafts as well as delicious food.

So after the adventures at the Renaissance Festival I hurried home so that I could meet with my brother Ryan and head out to way, way north Phoenix to go to a cowboy dinner put on by an old co-worker. Neal now works for a company that puts on this full cowboy dinners with entertainment, activities and old fashion cowboy dinner. Here are a few of the highlights.
First, Ryan and I had a shoot out with some old fashioned pistols -- witnesses will tell you that I out drew Ryan 3 out of 5 times! Next we threw hatchets and tossed horseshoes. Ryan even tried to sink a few golf balls into the outhouse.


The dinner was held at the AZ Living Pioneer Museum, so Ryan and I made sure to visit some of the exhibits of the Museum -- including some old buildings filled with old western tools and materials, a wheel wright, and an old church. Dinner was mediocre -- steak, potatoes, corn, rolls, and salad. The band was great and the dinner entertainment was pretty darn good to. The evening was capped with a trick buffalo. This buffalo has apparently appeared in every tv or movie that has a buffalo in it. It was actually pretty amazing.
When the buffalo first came out Ryan turns to me and says "This looks like the beginning seen of an episode of 'when animals go bad'!" So of course I had to pull out my camera and take pictures, just in case!

17 Year Friendship

We met 17 years ago at Ricks College in Rexburg, ID. We happened to be put in the same dorm room in Dorm 6. Diana was from Omaha, NE and I was from Mesa, AZ and we were 18 years old. We hit it off from the very beginning. Perhaps it was the fact that we both had an over-active sense of fun. We are both creative people and we both are passionate about many of the same things -- our family, the gospel. That first year at Ricks College with Diana -- and Karen, Kika, Kuippo, and Kim (we were the 2 non-Ks) was one of the most memorable years of my life. I had soooo much fun and met sooo many fun and amazing people.

Well Diana and I had so much fun together that first year that we had to room together our 2nd year. So the second year we were room-roomates at Royal Crest in Rexburg, ID. Again an another, almost, as memorable year.

Diana and I have a friendship where we may go a few years with out contact; however, the instant we talk again it's like no time has passed. She is one of my very dearest friends, and always will be.

This weekend Diana came out to AZ with her mom to visit her sister in Gilbert. It was the first time I've seen Diana in almost 10 years. She did visit AZ one other time in 1998 right after I got back from my mission. So it's been a while. We were only able to visit a few hours (spent some time looking at old photos and playing the "Remember when..." game -- oh the memories!!), but it was soo wonderful to reconnect with her. Of course I wouldn't let her leave without capturing a few pictures. So I decided to post them. The first picture is of the two of us during our second year at Ricks College.

This would have been about 1994 -- 15 years ago.

This picture was taken on Sunday, February 1, 2009.
Where has all the time gone?