Skiing with Clive at Sun Valley

Just recently went skiing with Clive at Sun Valley (again!).  This is Clive's first year skiing and the other day he took me down 4, yes count them, FOUR black diamond runs.  

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Clive with the Gondola and Rock Garden in the background

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Brent skiing the Rock Garden

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On Rock Garden, Skiing down to the Gondola

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Clive drug me down my a bunch of black diamonds.  Here we decide whether to go down Upper Holiday or Rock Garden.

Thrilling ski video sure to be a classic

(Jessica Louise scores the video)

Just read an obscure but fascinating Jane Austen novel...

Very compelling, but a little harsh in some chapters.

Olympic Dream

I took some PTO from the employer, drove to Vancouver and on a whim was a last minute replacement for the U.S. Ski Team. This looks like I was skiing in the aerobatic freestyle event but really this was my downhill giant slalom attempt gone awry.

At least my Jello Pudding sponsors were proud.

That was my Olympic Dream

Best Remix EVER! Trust me!

Random Madness:

Who doesn't like a good sledding wipeout??

Crazy air and speed!

Poor little guy gets it twice!!

Early morning hoops: Part 2

Last post I introduced you to some of the awesome brothers I play hoops with in the AM. We call ourselves the "Wood River A.M. Basketball League" or "WRAMBL" for short.

Below, I have pictures of four more members of the league.

Let me introduce you:

Joltin' Jeff Shiver (Last weeks MVP)

(seriously... how can you frown when this guys around? You can't!)

Shon "The Enforcer" Stevens

(Only guy to block my shot six times in one game... ever!)

Brian "Lefty" Bothwell

(Way too fast)

Joltin' Jeff Shiver stealing the ball from Dave Gardner... again.

Andrew "Laser" Schiers

(swing low, sweet chariot)

The AMBL of the Wood River Valley: Or just... WRAMBL

As many of you may know I play basketball every Tuesday and Thursday mornings at 6:00AM at the lovely LDS Church Building located in Hailey, Idaho. I meet with a group of guys that love the game of basketball. We call ourselves the A.M. Hoops League and I am the League Commissioner.

Our total league roster is approaching close to 20 participants with 9-12 members showing up any given Tuesday and Thursday. This league has been around since late October of 2009 (so we go way back).

The goal of the league or "League Mission Statement" (if we had one...) would read something like this:

"Get your flabby self off of the couch and get in here and play some ball"

By-Laws include:

• No Fighting
• Limited Bickering
• Call your own fouls
• No "stink-eye"
• Show up regularly (a few members might be in jeopardy)
• Work hard
• Learn the game
• Have Fun!

We start our games every morning with a prayer, which we've discovered through experience is mainly so I'll be a good sport (yes, Heavenly Father definitely knows my name).

It's a great group of guys to be around so let me introduce to a few of the guys that were playing just this morning:

Dave "Soft-Touch" Gardner

Travis (Stockton) Smart

Nathan (Nash) Kirk

John "Yippee, I just scored another basket over Brent Hope" Maulden

Luuuuucas "Those aren't Boos" Snell

Jason "The Assassin" Smith

Jared "Doctor" Hill

Clive "Hopie Bryant" Hope III

Allen Iverson and Freddy "The Terminator" Monjaras

Dave "N.C. Blows" Gardner (Again)

Bradley "oooohh I hope we win" Thompson

And Finally, Brent "Henry Finkel" Hope

League Commissioner/Player

There are several more players that I do not have pictures for yet. These guys are awesome also. Their names are:

• Joltin' Jeff Shiver (Last Week's MVP)
• Michael "Slash" Griffiths
• Andrew "chase the laser" Shears (This guy is really fast)
• Ross "Spin-Move" Sutton (One word: Amazing)
• Vin "Beef-Cake" Doan
• Shon "Enforcer" Stevens
• Nathan "Slick" Bingham
• Don "Hooks" Toussaint
• Brian "Lefty" Bothwell

and finally our Director of League Affairs

• Robert "Tom Jones" Farnsworth

I'm Huge in Japan!

The Snuggie is for whimps!

This is what I see during motion sickness

Been to Vancouver? Check out this time lapse. Crazy beautiful!

Those clever Lions!

Nyquil Dream: Part 9

I haven't had Nyquil in about 8-10 months or so (thank you flu-shot!). This is how I remember feeling and looking the morning after Nyquil. Usually I would need to attend an all employee meeting at work that same morning looking like this.

Random Madness

Overreact

O! My wailing heart! My quaking soul!

My wailing, quaking heart-soul!

Now the void of empty voidness opens before me

and is empty

like

my

soul.

O blackness! O darkness! O despair!

The sorrow of fifty billion apocalypses

rises like an army of seventy trillion skeletons,

each carrying a dying child

and weeping.

My soul screams – why?

Why? Why? Why? Why?

It howls despairingly like the despairing ghost of a despairing banshee.

Why? Why? Why? Why? Why?

Why did I forget
to charge my phone?

From the excellent website (click): How to write badly well