It's a Conspiracy

So they just added another area code in Utah, but this one is in addition to the current area code. So now when I need to call my neighbor across the street to send my daughter home, I have to use an area code. That's right...I have to use ten digits to call across the street. I had to reconfigure my Tivo to use 10 digits and I had to go into all my contacts on my cell phone and change them as well. What a pain. I remember a Seinfeld episode where this occurred,but Salt Lake doesn't have anywhere near the population of New York.

So in rebellion against those who made these decisions, I no longer use my phone to get my daughter to come home for dinner...Now, I put down the Doritos, get off of the couch, and actually walk across the street to get her.

I'll show them.

The Idiocy of Long Distance Running

This past weekend was an easy weekend for running...I only had to run 10 miles. I know some of you will think that is crazy, but I am proud to say that I am at the point where 10 miles isn't too big a deal.

But long distance running is pretty stupid at times. While running the 10 miles I guess I was focused on other pains or something else because I failed to notice something quite disturbing and disgusting. About 10 minutes after I was done I had already removed all the sweaty clothes and was in my nice clean sweats. I entered our kitchen to go make a protein shake and finally noticed that I had an uncomfortable stinging pain. It still slightly hurts today (3 days later).

It makes sense now that I think about it. I was running for an hour and a half in temperatures that ranged from 26 - 34 degrees, so it was quite cold, but this hasn't happened to me before. Some people put bandages over to prevent the rubbing and inevitable pain later...but again, I have been running for 4 years now and this has never happened.

Well, now a scab has formed right on the tip, it hurts just thinking about it. Anyways, the picture of my shirt, post-run, should explain...


Thank goodness blood rinses out in the washing machine.

"Undress the Mannequin"

Friday night (Feb 13th) Em's sister dropped off their kids to spend the night at our house, in exchange for them taking our kids to spend the night at their house on the 14th. It was a great trade because that meant we didn't have to find babysitters for Valentines. After they left with the kids we decided to go to Tepanyaki, the Japanese Steak House. There was already an hour and a half wait at 4:00, so we went clothes shopping. We finally got in to eat and it was delicious. We then decided to go see a movie. The movie we chose didn't start for 45 minutes so Em said, "we should go pick up a special outfit for tonight." I tried to play it cool and prevent myself from shouting "that would be awesome."
So we went across the street to a store and headed to that certain area of the store. I always feel somewhat uncomfortable just standing around...but we have to make sacrifices to get action.
Anyways, Em found an outfit that she liked and we headed to the front to pay but Em saw a Valentine display which had a mannequin in a special outfit. She really liked this outfit (So did I, it looked nice on the plaster woman, but I knew it would look better on my wife). Em asked a sales clerk and they said they didn't have anymore of those outfits...except for the one on the mannequin that happened to be the right size for Em. Well, when Em wants something, she gets it. The next thing I know the store employee is starting to remove the outfit from the mannequin. It was more difficult for her than she would have thought so we are standing there with arms of the mannequin lying on the floor, the lady hugging the mannequin trying to hold it up as she is trying to get the bottom part of the outfit (which is very minimal) off. She then yells across the store, shouting she needs help to undress the mannequin. Finally, Emily gave me that look that eloquently says..."you need to help her if you want any tonight." So I had to take the legs off the stand and help pull the bottom part of the outfit (which again, is very minimal) off the mannequin. Who would have thought it would be so hard to take some strings off a mannequin. It was quite the sight to see arms, legs, and pieces of bedtime outfits strewn across the front entrance of the store.
When all was said and done, the struggle with the mannequin was all for naught...because I wouldn't run to a restaurant at 11:00 at night and get Em a molten chocolate cake.

Emily's editorial: I don't think that it is appropriate for Kris to discuss our private life on his blog page but since he has I feel like I need to set the record straight. It wasn't at 11:00 at night, it was at 9:30 and the restaurant who makes the delicious molten cake is in the same shopping center as the movie theater and the store where we bought the "outfit". I had been promised the molten cake, I had been saving myself for that molten cake all day, I even denied myself desert at Tepanyaki. So I all have to say is... if I didn't get my dessert why should Kris?

Xanadu

Last night my kid's elementary school had their skate night. My kids just rode their scooters but Em and I got the roller blades, or inline skates...I don't know what to call them anymore., it has been years since I skated.
Well, although it has been years since I skated, I'll be honest, I am still really good. There were tons of little kids so I had to hold back some, but I was awesome. We skated on the same rink that I used to go play hockey when I was in college. A bunch of us would rent out the rink at 10:00 at night and play hockey all night long. It was a blast. I think I could still do it if I wanted.

How good does this look?

It would be nice to eat a doughnut, but when you are trying to:
1) save money
2) lose weight
3) train for a marathon
...it makes it a little easier to say no. Every Friday morning at work we get an email saying that there are doughnuts in the break room for 60 cents. It drives me nuts because first, I hate mass emails and second, I hate being reminded that there is frosted fried goodness on the other side of the building.

We love you Grandma

My heart is saddened to learn that my grandmother from Canada has passed away. Seeing as I grew up in California I didn’t get to see my grandparents very often but when we did they were extremely memorable trips.
My first memory of a trip to Canada was when I was probably 7 years old. It was a complete disaster getting there. Our family would pack up in our yellow van, putting the ice chest between the two front seats, which would serve as an additional seat for one of the 11 kids. We would pile in for the brutal drive. I don’t know how my mother did it; my dad was smart and would fly up later so that he didn’t have to make the road trip. Seatbelts weren’t a high priority back then so we would constantly move all around the van. Mike and I would be in the back and he would punch the seat and then I would pretend to start crying. I would have to do it loud enough for mom to hear so that she would then start yelling at Mike. How completely stupid were we? We were trying to get mom mad at us which was almost suicidal. But what else were we to do on those long boring trips. We didn’t have iPods, cell phones, dvd players in the vehicle…the only thing we had was countless merciless hours of The Carpenters on 8-track.
On our way to Canada our van caught on fire, broke down in the middle of Montana, and Gary and Jim went hitchhiking (Thanks to the family who went out of their way to help us out), but we finally made it…and then the real fun began. I rode a horse for the first time. I vaguely remember having a night terror episode, screaming at the top of my lungs as Grandma came running in trying to figure out what was going on…and then the whole family had “rear” terror as the milk from Grandma and Grandpa’s cows wasn’t quite the same as we were used to drinking. It messed up our digestive systems and 11 kids were sick and all had diarrhea. I don't remember our van breaking down on the way back home but imagine all that time with 11 sick kids. I’m not sure which was worse, the trip there or the trip back home. I know I crapped my pants at least once and I am sure I wasn’t the only one. The smell stuck around in that vehicle for another two months.
Other trips to Canada were much better. When I was a teenager I remember sleeping in a camper just outside Grandma’s house. We were able to ride their ATV’s but the most memorable was taking the canoe and going fishing in one of the nearby lakes. My brother’s and I would spend hours out there casting the lines and catching the fish. I caught the biggest one, a 14 inch Pike. We brought it back and I helped (actually watched) as Grandma cleaned it and then we cooked it up. I don’t like fish so I naturally thought it was disgusting but I will always remember Grandma talking me through each step of the whole process.
The last time I saw grandma was when Lexi was born. We headed up there when she was a week old (Lexi...not my Grandma).
I truly wish I could be there as the family honors her life. I love being around them and all my dad’s brothers and sisters. My grandparents have quite the posterity with nine children of their own. We hope we will always make you proud. I love you Grandma and will be excited to see you again some day.
.................Edit to Post.................
Well...I am packed and ready to go to the funeral. I am hitching a ride with some cousins. It will be a long drive to Canada but it should be fun with all the ice and snow covered roads. I hear Montana is nice this time of year.

WF Video Contest

FYI...I won a $350 gift certificate for this video.
Emily spent it all on food storage.

Blast From the Past

Keep an eye out for some guy named Mike Pierce (towards the end). I ran into him on the streets of SLC.

Go BYU

Our BYU flag will be waving tomorrow. Hopefully my alma mater can beat the Utes.

Almost Famous Again

Here is another item our marketing team produced. (And I am not the bald guy-but it is my voice)