I had indeed missed a turn but it really did turn out for the better. We got a great night of sleep and were able to get off first thing at 11 o'clock in the morning. Unfortunately lately that truly has been a first thing in the morning time for us. During the drive we were able to get a bit of school done with the kids. We normally don't do full days of driving however we want to be in Idaho Falls this Saturday so we needed to get a few miles under our belts. I was also excited to see my brother Robert and his family.
It truly was a crime against nature to drive through southern Utah at the rate we did in the season we did. It is beautiful down there, as it always is, but right now it is not frying or freezing as it always isn't. We did stop long enough for a quick leg stretch to hike up to Wilson Arch. We also stopped at Hole-In-The-Rock for a Tuesday Family home evening in as much as we had run out of time on Monday in Mesa Verde. We were happy to see the Hole-In-The-Rock tour open in as much as it almost always seems to be closed when we come through. After a quick lesson and an ice cream we were surprised to find that the tour was closed. It wasn't a big deal, but did serve as validation that if we really wanted to do that tour we would need to make a better effort at it.
We did a quick little hike up to Wilson Arch.
I don't usually get excited about metal art but the Hole-In-The-Rock gift shop area had some cooler than normal stuff.
This sculpture of a man is made almost entirely of golf club pieces.
We had a wonderful visit with my brother Robert and his family. He has about a half acre of land so there was plenty of space for us to make a great camp site in his back yard. When Robert was in college he built a small shed he converted to living quarters as a way to save some money while he was going to school. He still has the shed in a slightly more cut down form from his college days (It doesn't have a stove or a bed anymore). The shed made a wonderful office from which I could do my game development. Since buying the new Suburban I haven't re-tooled my desk so that it will fit the new dash. It was also nice to have enough room to use my graphics tablet. I haven't used the tablet much because it doesn't really fit well in the Suburban. I really like the tablet for Photoshop work. I can tell it will get even better as I pick up skill with the tablet. Even at my amateur level of skill with the thing, I do get great productivity enhancement with it.
Robert's back yard provided a great campsite and a great office.
Becca baby sits a little girl named Sidney. Natalyn was instant friends with her. The two ran around together like little twins. Our boys were thrilled to get to play with a more abundant toy supply than they were used to. The favorite of their cousins' toys were the light sabers. Another favorite of everybody was the trampoline. Becca let me experiment with her camera a little while were visiting. I am not sure if it was a good experience or not. Becca has one of those digital SLR cameras. The type that when someone points one at you, you are not sure if you should smile or put your hands up and not make any sudden movements. I was quickly spoiled on the great options it had for controlling the focal point of the picture, shudder speed, and all sorts of other things that someone who really knew how to operate the camera would take advantage of. I was also surprised how much difference a good flash made.
I enjoyed experimenting with Becca's camera.
Natalyn and Sidney were instant friends.
The trampoline was very popular.
It was a lot of fun to have the cousins together.
I was trying to remember why David wasn't in the above photo, then I did.
Becca, Lexie and Lisa tied a quilt together.
I was delighted David and his family came over from Vernal for a visit.
I was delighted Dave and his family came over from Vernal for a visit. I wasn't quite sure how I was going to get to see him with our tighter than normal schedule. I was very interested to hear about the work he is doing. He had been out all night looking for black footed ferrets. On that particular night his group didn't see any. At one point the black footed ferret was either extinct or extremely close to extinct in North America. He is working in a effort to keep the population viable. I have mixed feelings about how much effort should be expended to save a weasel. I think it is a real shame to have a species go extinct but I am not sure it makes sense to spend millions of dollars to create and artificial environment for them. One of the major causes of the black footed ferrets demise was the conversion of prairie land into farm land. This conversion wiped out huge prairie dog populations and hence the food supply for the ferrets. In the end I think my mixed feelings bias toward the feeling that people made the problem and it is good they are at least doing something to try and mend the problem.
My game development is at an interesting point now in that it is starting to look and play like a game. My progress is sort of double sided. Even though I am really pleased with what I am doing the closer things get to completion of the game the scarier they get in that progress on the game brings to the forefront the fact that my current financial plan depends on a successful implementation and distribution of my game. The more my game looks like a game the more I start comparing it to other games currently available on the market. I am not after the front tier game market, it is my intention to simply try to pick up crumbs beneath their table. With that said, a game is sort of like a poem or song in which a part of oneself is exposed. I have always been sensitive to criticism. People who know my son David know his reaction to the word "no". I do the same thing inside when I am criticized. I hope my desire to succeed can overcome my aversion to criticism. I imagine most people fight a similar battle on the inside themselves.
When I did the climb of the Grand Teton last fall when we got to the Upper Saddle there was a 40 - 50 mile an hour wind that caught us in the face by surprise. With the cold, the wind, the fatigue and the presented challenge of hanging our hind ends over several thousand feet of cliff to continue the assent, moving forward from that point was probably the most challenging part of the climb, not from a technical perspective but from a mental perspective. That was a time that required swallowing one's resolve and moving forward in the face of fear and uncertainty. I was able to make that move last fall and would like to think that inside of my soul is the resolve and strength to face a similar although different challenge this year.
I was able chat with Rob quite a bit the night before we left. He was getting some final things together for a presentation he would do in Salt Lake on Friday. I felt a bit guilty that he would need to be up at 5 AM the next morning to travel for the presentation but was at the same time, happy to visit with him and look at pictures. I don't think I even heard him leave in the morning. I had a great night's sleep after keeping him up chatting.
We left first thing in the morning on Friday which got us out by about 1 PM. With that said, I think I had the best run of the entire trip that morning. There is a dirt road which leads to a cemetery close to Rob's house. There is an interesting contrast in that run to the cemetery. Running through a mountain field next to running water embodies one of the deepest symbols of life, whereas a cemetery, of course, presents a vivid symbol of death. I was happy to be on the life side of the contrast. I tried the run Thursday but didn't quite make it all of the way. On Friday I loaded my iPod with the movie Nacho Libre so I could listen to the movie while I ran. The mental distraction did the trick and I was able to run through a couple of side stitches (some from running, some from laughing) and complete the entire run. If anyone feels they are suffering from excessive mental purity I would highly recommend the movie Nacho Libre as an antidote. The movie is hysterical. I, of course, resonate with the plot of a skilless hero driven by passion to success.
The kids enjoyed watching Nacho Libre on the iPod while we were driving.
Driving Friday was more of the traditional grow cramps in your backside type of driving we used to do before we changed lifestyles. Having been invited to dinner with cheesecake for dessert at my mom's house, we all felt motivated to put on miles quickly. Dallin has learned to tell time on a digital clock and through out the trip has been our time man. The interval changes depending on how tired, hungry, or restless he is, but our trips are salted with announcements from the back seat of the time and its relation in the day to meal times, snack times and bed times. Snack time is traditionally 3PM so after three we can pretty much count on announcements from the back such as "It's 3:12, that's 12 minutes past snack time", followed 5 minutes later by "It's 3:17 that's 17 minutes past snack time." Trying to make good time on the trip to Pocatello we broke our resolve and did let the kids eat in the new suburban even though we had intended on not ever letting them eat in the car. I am sure we are not the first people in the world to bend our standards around cheesecake. To our relief, the kids were very good with their eating and left minimal messes.
Dinner at my mom's left no disappointments. Well, none other than I have been making some good progress in reducing my waist line, and eating like I did at my mom's isn't the sort of thing that maintains that kind of progress. With that said, the meal was great. My sister Mary is staying with my Mom for a little bit. She is an excellent cook.
Lexie's Grandma Meikle's 80th birthday was on Friday and her party was at noon on Saturday. We were able to get ready and be at the church 15 minutes before the party started. I was very pleased with our timing. It was a lot of fun to see Lexie's aunt's, uncles, cousins, nieces, nephews etc ... and especially great to see Grandma Meikle. She is a very wonderful lady. It is hard to think of Grandma Meikle without thinking of a smile that will just barely fit on her face because it is so big. She is a great example of love and happiness to me. The food at the party was of course yet another great chance to overeat which I fully indulged in. Something I noticed about myself during the party which I don't fully understand, is that at the beginning of the party as everyone was asking me how I was doing I would respond "GREAT", and truly meant it. After about an hour into the party when people asked me how I was doing I would respond "Good" and truly mean it. Even though I was having a great time and liked seeing everyone there and liked visiting, I was getting very drained. I haven't done any formal study about psychology or personalities, but from what I know, I believe that characteristic classifies me as some sort of introvert. Even though I like being around people I get my energy and charge when I am away from people.
Katie made a wonderful cake for Grandma's birthday.
David and Natalyn loved the frosting flowers.
The party filled the better part of the church gym with everyone that came.
We were happy to see Natalyn and Justin getting along well this visit.
Lexie doing her best to remind Camron he's still "little" brother.
After the party we went over to Nana and Papa's house. My brother in laws, Camron and Landon, have a wii with the games Star Wars Lego and Guitar Hero III. As an up and coming force in the gaming industry I thought it perfectly right and logical to blow the afternoon playing video games, sort of. I am impressed with the creativity of Nintendo. By using the lego figures not only did they get tapped into a separate licensing channel, and create a great theme but they also greatly simplified their requirements for generating graphics. Lego movements are much easier to realistically simulate than person movements. The songs on Guitar Hero aren't the type I would normally listen to but once again a great piece of creativity in the game. I had a lot of fun watching myself improve as I played the game.
We had dinner at Katie's house after the party.
Darlene, Eddie and the Kent Meikle group had dinner at my in-laws, Katie's and Mike's, house. We sang Happy Birthday to Lexie at Katie's house. During our play of Guitar Hero Camron ran to the store to buy a copy of the game American Idol which is the same theme as Guitar Hero except that instead of playing notes on a toy guitar the players sing into a microphone karaoke style. How well or poorly you do in the game is determined by how well your pitch and rhythm match the song to be sung. I was more impressed with this game than any of the others because it is a game from which I believe a person can walk away with a real skill. I didn't do very well at the game compared to the other people playing because of the game's requirement that one be able to carry a tune. The evening really did turn out to be quite embarrassing for me. Somewhere in my latest streak of overeating I had found something to eat that my body decided would be best processed and expulsed as gas. My niece Maria was playing with us and there are few things that will send a fifth grader into an hysterical fit of laughter like a good fart. So between being the smelliest on and off stage I was feeling a little low yesterday evening. The upside is that it really was a lot of fun to watch someone laugh so hard that they can barely breathe. I am also excited for my next chance to play that American Idol game in that I really did have a lot of fun with it and I know I can get a lot better (there wasn't much room to go the other direction).
The American Idol game was interrupted when Mike announced that his game was on. His game turned out to be the Utah/Houston game of the NBA playoffs. I thought that sounded like a great alternative to what we were doing. Instead of the regular church meetings on Sunday, the schedule was for a regional conference. The regional conference would have the same broadcast in Idaho Falls as it would in Pocatello, so it was quickly concluded that we would attend in Idaho Falls. Lexie graciously put the kids to bed so that I could watch the game with Mike. Other than the live game I went to last fall with Nana, Papa, and the family that may have been the only basketball game I have seen this season. The game was great. Utah was clearly playing as the better team but didn't quite seem to be able to put the game away. The game stayed in doubt right to the final seconds and then ended as Kirlinko made a great shot block.
We slept and got ready for church in the trailer simply parked on the road in front of Katie's house. It seemed to work out really well. I wish I had taken in a pencil and paper to take notes at conference. There were a lot of great things to think about which were spoken during the conference. Two questions Elder Uchtdorf presented were 1) What are you doing to strengthen you faith in Jesus Christ and 2) What are you doing to strengthen the bonds of your family. I am not going to give my answers in the blog because the answers cross the line of what I am willing to share personally right now. However, I really do like the questions because they push to the core of a persons existence. For all of the worries and concerns that we fill our lives with, very few things really matter. I believe that a successful person is one who can and will spend their greatest energies on the items of the greatest importance. Questions like those are questions which help us focus on what the things of greatest importance truly are.
After conference it was a treat to run into some friends from Idaho Falls. Both friends, the Johnsons and the Harrisons, were expecting babies within the week. Camilla Harrison was actually on her way from conference to the hospital she was that close.
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