Rangi's World

Breaking the Silence

2012-02-09T22:47:00.000-08:00

You would think a trip to Europe would spark a blog post or two. Unfortunately it has put me into blogging funk. Not because I don't have anything to blog about, but because every time I sit down to blog about the trip there is so much to tell that I am overwhelmed and give up. I am not usually a quitter but I am finally throwing in the towel on this one.

This is my only offering, a slide show.

My French could have been better. My driving could have been much better. In only three days of car rental I had a hat trick: a parking ticket, a speeding ticket and a "fender bender."

That said, the trip was awesome, better than awesome. It was the trip of a lifetime. To call it anything less would be an insult to not only my trip planning skills but especially to my credit card bill. As long as I keep making my minimum payment I will have it paid off in a mere 23 years, but I promised to take Sara back within 5 so I might have to open another one then.

I uploaded it in HD so it's probably worth expanding it to full screen. (bottom right corner)

My most popular Halloween costume ever!

2011-11-06T08:01:00.000-08:00

This year when the family was tossing around Halloween costume ideas, Rig threw out one he was excited about and I quickly shot it down.

"I want to be the Grim Reaper this year!"

"What, that's lame. Every fifth grader is the Grim Reaper, you should be something cool."

I immediately realized that I had hurt his feelings. I tried to change my tune and convince him that his idea could be cool, but the damage was done.

"Dad you always think up cool things I never do."

So I let him in on the secret of my inspiration- the internet. We went googling together and we came up with the inspiration for this:

An external frame backpack, some of Dad's clothes and a jar of pretzels from Costco and we had a masterpiece on our hands. I call it "boy with head in jar" and it is pretty creepy. I have never seen a costume get more attention than this one did. He easily won the costume contest at the Ward party.

When it was time to go trick or treating Rigdon got stared at, gawked at, poked and prodded, and had to take pictures with complete strangers.

After 3 houses of which Rigdon had been invited in to all of them and posed for pictures at two of them, he turned to me and said "This is going to be a long night." But just like his Dad, he is a ham and loved it almost as much as I did.

The costume is pretty hot and doesn't exactly excel in breathability. So after about half of our normal route he was ready to call it a night, but I wasn't. I was still enjoying the praise that each new doorstep brought. (For the record I am totally OK with living vicariously through your kids once in a while.) I compromised with Rigdon and let him take the lid off the jar to get some fresh air circulating and he finished off our neighborhood. It was a great night.

P.S. Sara is in charge of posting the cute pictures of the girls.

More High Sierra Action!

2011-10-16T21:09:00.001-07:00

I invited Bram and his boys out to do Mt. Langley with us in September but he couldn't make it. So we picked a different weekend and tried to find a different 14er to do. If you are only going to do one California 14er you might as well make it Whitney, but we didn't have permits. So I dug through websites and guidebooks until I finally found a route that was 34 miles and would give us a chance to bag 3 14ers; Whitney, Muir and Langley and most importantly didn't require a permit. Two thirds of the milage would be back country (no trail) and there would be some class 3+ scrambling, not to mention a lot of route finding. It seemed like a lot to bite off with the group we had, which included an 8 year old, two 10 year olds, and a 71 year old (Bram's Dad Ernie). However Bram and I are adventurers and so getting in over our head is part of the fun.

Same trailhead we had been at just a month ago but a totally new adventure.

Bram and I have a lot of things in common including good looking offspring.

The boys were stoked for any wild life.

The first day we carried our packs right past Langley and down the back side. It was a brutal day up over 12,000 feet and back down.

Rig posed with Upper Soldier Lake where we descended to spend the first night.

The meadow by the lake we camped at was beautiful.

The next morning we set out early in hopes of making it to Whitney and back.

After only hiking with us a short ways Ernie showed his 71 years of wisdom and decided to let us fools adventure out on our own.

I think we were all enjoying the freedom of not having a trail in the beginning.

The boys seemed to have plenty of energy especially since dropping their packs. Here they are stopped to throw rocks at a marmot.

The first part of the route finding had proved easy and we made the first 4 miles relatively fast.

Eventually the terrain got less friendly and the route finding less obvious.

Bram and the rest of the group trusted me to lead us as I was carrying the guide book. That was a mistake.

I made a horrendous orienteering error that led to me not being able to figure out why these lakes were not on the map. According to my poor route finding skills we needed to climb up what looked like an impossibly steep ridge. Forget me reevaluating our course and trying to determine if we were really where I thought we were. Instead I looked the direction I believed we needed to go and told the boys it was time to man up. I needed Bram to slap me upside the head and say "Are you retarded?" but that is not Bram's style. If Bram is faced with a challenge, he always accepts no matter how heinous it appears. People like that are not easy to find. Trust me I am always looking for them. This is one of the many reasons I am lucky to have a friend like Bram.

With no one to put me in check the group started up the ridge. It was soon steeper than class 3 which wasn't that bad until the rock got very loose. Then we all got pretty scared. Soon we were in over our heads. There were some tears that followed and those of us who weren't crying wanted to be. Despite our dyer situation it still didn't dawn on me that I had made a mistake reading the map.

We finally made it to the top of the ridge that was just over 13000 feet. We got our first view of Mount Whitney.

It was here that I broke it to the team that we were not going to make it to Whitney that day. For the record I still didn't realize I was lost. I just thought we didn't have enough time with the terrain that was still ahead of us. This was Rig's first time failing on a summit attempt and he did not take it well, there were more tears.

It was too steep and loose to descend the way we came up. We had to scout around on top of the ridge to find a portion that was a little less steep.

Everyone was pretty disappointed as we descended back to camp.

But we crossed this snowfield and the boys had a snow ball fight and that cheered things up.

Somewhere in our hike back my horrendous orienteering error became clear in my head. I stopped the group got out the map and came clean with them. This was again a time when I would have expected a normal person to slap me upside the head and say "Are you retarded?" but Bram didn't. Another reason he is a keeper.

Harry is a little daredevil. He is always finding something to challenge the older boys to.

Bram felt bad that Rig and I had been up in that same area just a month earlier but I could go there every weekend.

By the time we made it back to our camp that night, it was so dark that we hiked right by our tents and couldn't see them.

The next morning we broke camp and carried our packs to 12,000ft. We dropped them and headed up Langley.

Rig can be trudging along, barely keeping up with the group and then when he senses the summit is close, he is like a shark that smells blood and all the sudden he just wants to get to the peak.

First one to the top again.

Back again exactly 4 weeks after our last trip up.

The whole group made it including 71 year old Ernie, who actually did it twice. Once with us and once while we were all lost on a cliffside.

I am convinced there is not a more fun mountain to descend than Langley.

Rig getting ready for the base jumping merit badge.

Stockton going huge.

Harry with some Kung Fu flavor.

Rig with the method.

For the record Bram wanted to get a picture of me jumping off the rocks and after two mistimed attempts I finally said,

"Dude I am 36. I don't need a picture of me jumping off a rock!"

We finished our 3rd day by hiking all the way out. It was our biggest day and it really tested the boys. I was impressed with all three of them and with Ernie.

It was a treat to have Bram and the boys adventuring with us. I am sure we have many more adventures to look forward to.

Rig bags his 2nd 14er!

2011-09-17T21:45:00.000-07:00

This year for our annual father/son outing we were shooting for Mt. Langley, another California 14er. We invited our good friends the Hills, who just moved to Reno to meet us for the hike.

This was Rig's first time carrying his own pack.

Rig was really looking forward to spending some time with his best friend Micah again.

They insisted on hiking together.

There were scattered thunderstorms that we were hoping not to fall victim to.

But the rain came, and it came hard. We tried to take shelter under a tree, but to no avail. We were all soaked to the core. It was a little scary how fast the trip went from nice and pleasant to cold and miserable.

We had hoped to make it a little further the first day but the boys were shaking uncontrollably and we decided it best to set up camp and get them in something dry.

The boys were fine once we got them in something dry and fed them some hot chocolate.

We woke the next morning to sunny skies and views of Mt. Langley.

It was only 4 miles and 4000 feet away.

The boys with a view of Cottonwood Lakes where we had camped.

The hike was a class 2 scramble with a lot of sand that is not much fun to hike up.

It had a couple of fun little bouldering sections.

Rig zoomed right up them.

After the struggle we had on Whitney last year I expected Langley to be tougher than it was, but Rig made it look like a piece of cake. He was the first one to the summit to claim his second 14er.

His buddy Micah was not far behind.

Soon we were all enjoying the summit together. I look pretty silly in me pirate hat but unfortunately the way the Cougars are playing, I would have to say Damon looks more silly.

The sand that made things slow going up made things fast coming down.

You could launch off the rocks with reckless abandon and land in the soft sand.

Micah getting some air.

Rig with a little something he picked up from Mr. Miyagi.

We saw a bunch of marmots.

Descending the snow Rigdon couldn't resist trying to ski it.

He had mixed results with that.

We got back to camp with plenty of time to hike out that day but our friends talked us into staying one more night and we were glad we did. It gave us a chance to do the things we rarely have time for.

We ran through the beautiful meadow,

climbed on rocks

and logs.

I even took a swim in the frigid mountain lake. Luckily I am microscopic in the picture because I am wearing my all white board shorts.

We even got treated to a beautiful mountain sunset.

The next morning we had 6 miles to hike out. We got up early and skipped breakfast in attempt to make it out and to McDonald's for breakfast.

We were on the trail by 7:00. To our car by 10:00 and to McDonald's by 10:40,

but it was 10 minutes too late. I asked the lady if there was anyway we could get a couple Egg McMuffins and I was swiftly denied. We were stuck eating McDoubles.

Two California 14ers down, thirteen to go.

Adventure Week!

2011-09-07T22:30:00.000-07:00

Sara will tell you I have a problem with over booking our summers. My motto is:

"Better to have too many things to do and not enough time to do them, than to sit home and watch TV."

I hate letting free time slip away into nothingness. So this summer when we had a week at home with nothing on the calendar I got nervous and decided to formulate a plan. I picked out 6 activities that I had been wanting to get around to and I boldly declared I was going to take the family to do one each day of the upcoming week. I dubbed it "Adventure Week" and the kids (and Sara) were immediately on board.

Monday was a trip to Crystal Cove to go snorkeling.

When we got there the surf was too big to go snorkeling so we played in the tide-pools and let the shore-break pummel us in the sand.

If you count one too many redheads in this picture it is because Jessica and Penny were staying with us for Adventure week.

Never a bad time to do a handstand.

Tuesday was only for the older kids. We went Canyoneering in our own Cucamonga Canyon.

It started with a 3 mile hike around to the top of the canyon.

Descending the river was a piece of cake until we got to the first waterfall. It was going to require a rappel.

With great confidence in Dad's anchor setting skills, Rigdon was the first one to take the plunge.

It was Rig's first time rappelling but he lowered himself down in a flash.

Livi watched nervously for her turn.

Livi was excited but cautious. It was a 50 foot rappel and it took about that many minutes for me to lower her off.

When we finally got to the bottom it was time to dawn the swimsuits as the canyon had narrowed enough that staying dry was no longer an option.

Our dry bag became a flotation device.

The cool water felt awesome on the hot day.

Finally we reached the natural water-slide. Again Rig was the guinea pig and agreed to go first.

The hike back to the car was hot but we managed.

It was an awesome outing and definitely one of the highlights of the kids summer.

Wednesday was surfing lessons at Doheny.

Like everything Rig does, Livi is not far behind.

Here they are paddling for the same tiny white-wash.

Rig has really improved this summer. Though this is a cool picture, it by no means does him justice. He has started paddling out with Dad where all the waves are overhead for him. Sometimes he gets hammered but he always comes up smiling. To say I am proud of him is a huge understatement.

A surfer without a leash inevitably becomes a surfer without a board.

Livi manages to stand up on most waves.

And when she does she always waves to the beach.

Past Dad and keeps on going.

Caroline is too little to paddle out by herself but she still paddles out with Dad and gets some waves.

When everybody gets tired of surfing the boards double as benches in the tide pools.

Mom loves when she gets some free time to read.

Jilli with an eternity of crabs to catch in the rocks in front of her.

A cheesy grin after she catches one.

The two cutest girls on the beach.

Thursday was a family hike to a waterfall that we never found and eventually ended up lost in the San Gabriel wilderness. (I knew the way out the whole time I just couldn't find our way back to the trail.) This was perhaps our most adventurous day as we forded the river too many times to count and then eventually bushwhacked our way back to the van with 5 kids, two of which were in backpacks and another two who were begging to be in backpacks. It was family bonding at it's finest. Unfortunately we forgot our camera and have no pictures to share.

Friday was suppose to be a trip to a mountain lake but everyone was pretty tired so instead I stayed home with the kids while Sara, Jessica and LeeAnn had an adventure at Nordstrom's. (LeeAnn was out shopping only 3 weeks after her lung transplant, now that is true love.)

Saturday was the coup de grace. We were climbing Mt. San Antonio (Baldy) the tallest peak in LA county at just over 10,060 feet. We talked about it being a family event but decided it better just me and the older kids. It would be Livi's first summit.

It was originally a sixteen mile round trip but Dad knew a couple of short cuts.

However there was no way around the 4,000 vertical feet we needed to climb. Livi and I had to fight to keep up with Rig.

We took our fair share of breaks.

Despite the steep climb the kids never complained (on the way up.)

You know you are getting pretty high when you find snow in July in sunny SoCal.

When we finally neared the summit the tortoise had overtaken the hare.

Livi was the first one to the top.

Rig wasn't far behind to bag peak number 4.

Anyone who climbs mountains knows there is something special about the whole experience.

Livi is no exception. This summer she only had one journal entry and it was on climbing Mt. Baldy.

The hike down was a test of toughness for both of them, but it was especially difficult for Livi. She responded to the challenge in a big way, and I was just as impressed with her as I ever have been of Rig.

One full week of Adventure left us all feeling a little like this,

but it was a big hit and if I have anything to do with it, Adventure Week is going to be a new summer tradition in the Smart Family.

Are we there yet?

2011-07-17T14:26:00.000-07:00

I love a road trip. One of the bonuses of climbing Rainier was it made for a good excuse to take the family on our longest road trip yet.

In the months leading up, we took a short road trip up to visit Dave and Robyn in Berkley, only a little 6 hour jaunt, but by the end of it Sara had vowed that there was no way she was riding in a car all the way up to Washington.

“Come on Babe, this is the trip of a lifetime. Think of everything we are going to see. All the things we will experience. It is certain to be an epic.”

After a couple weeks of sweet talking her I had re-sold her on the long journey.

We blocked out 3 weeks on the calendar for the trip but actually made it home in 2. There were highs and lows along the way but there always are in anything that epic.

Here are some of the highs and a couple of the lows.

Our first stop was in Reno to visit our friends the Hills.

We spent a day at Lake Tahoe. It was beautiful.

It is the second deepest lake in the US after Crater Lake which we would see the next day.

This place in Aden, California had fresh strawberry shakes to rival those of Taco Amigo. Not that we had a choice of where to eat. It was the "Oney" place in town.

We all were looking forward to a hike at Crater Lake but all the trails were still covered in snow. Thats a lot of snow if you are from SoCal.

Rig practiced kicking steps so he can climb Rainier someday.

No one makes an RCHS beanie look as good as Caroline.

Rig at Crater Lake.

As soon as we checked into any hotel the first activity was always Bed Gymnastics.

One pair of beds did fall apart and I had to reassemble them.

Jillian couldn't jump across the gap but that didn't stop her from participating. Most nights she would get rough-housed off the bed and end up in tears but that didn't stop her from participating either.

The trip was the hardest on Jillian. When we finally crossed the Columbia River into Washington everyone cheered except her.

"I hate Washington!"

The kids tried to cheer her up.

"Here Jilli, you can play with my doll."

"I hate dolls!"

"Jilli you can have my happy meal toy."

"I hate toys!"

"Jilli you can pick out the next movie."

"I hate movies!"

"Jilli you can..."

Jilli cut off the next sibling with a line that became an instant family classic, "I HATE EVERYTHING!!!"

Everything got better when we finally got to Sheila's house. We got spoiled for 4 night's in Yakima. It was much needed respite for more than just Jillian. Swimming, relaxing by the pool and feasts that rivaled the Ricker's 3 times a day, it was just what the doctor ordered. For the rest of the trip Caroline and Jilli both kept asking if we could go back to Sheila's house. Sara only asked a couple of times.

My only regret of the whole trip is that Sara lost her camera in Seattle. So the only pictures I have of Sheila's house is a photo shoot of the girls with these bunnies.

Darrell took the Rainier clan and their families on a hike to do some mild spelunking.

It was beautiful.

I traded my Rainier hiking buddies in for these two.

I used red-eye reduction on this photo and I don't know if it is better or worse.

We posed with the same piece of scenery for a cutest couples contest.

You pick the winner.

The contestants are:

Me and Sara.

Roman and Michelle.

Or Jillian and Rhett.

From Yakima, it was on to Seattle.

There are lots of cool things to see around the Space Needle.

"Look Mom another homeless hippie!"

We ate dinner at Ivar's and fed the pigeons.

Jillian ran out of shrimp so I told her to fill up on ketchup packets.

We went to the public market and watched them throw the fish around.

It was going to be about 70 bucks to take the family up the Space Needle. We saved some money and went up the Columbia Building for 1o bucks instead. At 76 stories it is more than twice as tall as the Space Needle. That is some good value for your viewing dollar.

If you look close you can see the wimpy Space Needle in the skyline.

We left Seattle via the ferry across the Puget Sound. We are all smiling because we haven't realized yet that Sara's camera is still somewhere over there.

Port Angeles was as close as we got to Canada. It was only 18 miles across the channel.

Port Angeles is the gateway to Olympic National Park.

This beautiful lake in Olympic NP is where we realized we didn't have Sara's camera.

We did some awesome hikes in Olympic.

Jillian does not appreciate the sound of a rushing waterfall.

This is Rialto Beach in Olympic NP.

These giant trees get washed up on the shore and it gives the beach an eerie feeling.

It feels like you are in the book "Where the Wild Things Are."

We saw a bunch of Elk up close in Olympic NP.

This is one of the few times Sara actually drove on the trip.

Olympic NP is incredibly diverse: mountains, lakes, waterfalls, hot springs, beaches, wildlife, even a rainforest.

Everyone told us it will be raining on the peninsula. It always is.

So we borrowed umbrellas from Darrell and Sheila, but we must have brought the good weather with us from California because we never saw any rain not even in the rainforest.

Last stop in Olympic NP, Ruby Beach.

Livi said this was the coolest beach she had ever been to and that is saying a lot for a Californian.

There were tide pools, sand and cool rocks to climb on.

Finally it was time for the visit to Forks. The rainiest city in America and it was sunny. Talk about Sara's bad luck. You can't spot a Cullen in Forks if it's sunny because they have to stay inside.

We found the Vampire Threat to be high.

We made the drive down to La Push and crossed the treaty line.

For dinner we had to get the Bella Burger.

It came with a complementary set of Vampire teeth.

"Look out Jilli, she's coming for you next!"

We spent the night in Forks and luckily in the morning there was at least a little bit of drizzle, unfortunately we woke up with some dental abnormalities.

We did the full Forks tour. It took about 2 minutes. In other words the town is tiny.

Sara posed with her boyfriends. For the record I am totally Team Jacob. Edward seems like a pretty boy.

Last stop in Forks with Bella's truck.

We did most of the trip off the interstates, which meant lots of small towns with a Forks type feeling minus the vampires of course. We had a couple of sections where we went days without seeing a McDonald's. It was awesome.

You can only eat so much fast food. So we had to get a little creative with some of the lunches on the trip. This was our cheapest. We fed the whole family for 4 bucks at the dollar tree, two boxes of cereal and two cartons of milk. So I splurged and let everyone pick out a toy. Just what every family with 3 daughters needs, a couple more stuffed animals.

The kids were pretty good travelers. Most the time they kept their seat-belts on. As you can see from this picture Caroline was the most likely offender. Luckily Jillian couldn't undo her own seat-belt, but she was relentless in requesting help from anyone else. This was her most common phrase of the trip. "______, Dit me out!!!" (Insert family member in the blank.) She would yell at one person over and over for 5 or 10 minutes then without a break switch to the next family member. We are a pretty hearty family but everyone has their limits. Eventually someone would give in and unhook her. I knew we had lost total control of Jillian when I turned around and she was bouncing around the backseat totally naked and someone had drawn tattoos all over her body. It was one of the lows.

We were all excited to be back in CA.

We had seen amazing beaches but somehow when you get to California they just get sunnier.

The next major landmark was the Redwoods.

The tallest trees in the world.

They are pretty special. I am by no means a tree-hugger but I loved walking amongst those trees as much as any part of the trip.

Check out the size of the base when they fall over.

Ridiculous!

We couldn't go all the way to the Redwoods and not drive the car through one.

We were all stoked to see Paul Bunyan and Babe.

Never was I more happy to see a gas pump than this one. I had pushed it a little too far and realized that if the next tiny town didn't have a gas station we were not going to make it to the one after. We drove into the town and saw a Chevron that was out of business. My heart dropped. I was thinking I was going to have to ask a farmer if I could buy some gas and then we saw this at the other end of town. I had to wait for the tractor to finish pumping his gas but I wasn't complaining.

I had seen a family hike on TV called Fern Canyon and it was a non-negotionable. We were doing it. It required a pretty good distance on a dirt road and we had to cross a small river in the car.

The check engine light is on now, but it was totally worth it.

The kids all said it was their favorite hike of the trip.

Livi is turning into quite the adventurer.

Whenever there was something to explore she was the first one out of the car.

We stayed at some nice hotels, some average ones, and one very poor one. This was the very poor one. We were having trouble finding any vacancy and didn't want to push on to the next town. I came back from the lobby to report the price of the room to Sara.

"It's only 60 bucks but the lobby stinks...bad."

"How bad can it be, we can handle it for one night."

"I can handle it, if you can."

We probably would have extended the trip a few more days had it not been for the Motel Garberville. It was bad enough to make Sara and I both decide to wake up early, find the interstate and bolt for home.

The kids didn't seem to mind. Sara wouldn't let Rigdon sleep on the floor but it looks like there was plenty of room in the bed anyways. Heck it looks like we could fit another kid or two in there.

Despite the ending, the trip was awesome. I asked Sara if she wanted to do one to New York next summer and she said that is going to have to wait a few more years, but if I start sweet talking her now you never know.

Guys Trip on Mt. Rainier

2011-07-07T22:16:00.000-07:00

Two years in the waiting, this year's guys trip was perhaps the most anticipated yet. Mount Rainier is the most prominent and most glaciated peak in the continental U.S. At 14,411 feet it is the 5th tallest and certainly one of the most dangerous mountains in the country. Needless to say we were all pretty stoked to give it a go. Bram put it into perspective when he stated in an email "I am as excited to climb Rainier as I was for my honeymoon."

This years group included the regulars, myself, Rocky, Roman, Bram, Rhett and then we also picked up some locals Nick and Derrick and then of course the person we are all indebted to for making the trip possible our guide Darrell.

In an attempt to ward off blister as long as possible, Rocky and I wanted to start the hike in running shoes, then when the terrain turned bad we would put on our boots. We asked Darrell how soon we would be encountering snow on the trail. "As soon as you leave the parking lot." We thought he was exaggerating a bit and so we wore our running shoes to the trailhead.

When we got to the parking lot and saw the trucks parked next to 35 foot high snow banks we quietly changed our shoes.

As we started the hike there was thick cloud cover and no sign of the summit. Within a couple of hours we started to clear the clouds and almost instantly we went from gray skies to blue and spectacular views of Rainier and the clouds covering the valley.

Emerging from the cloud cover.

Roman with the summit in view. The summit didn't look that far away and distance wise it wasn't. It was just that darn elevation.

Blister break.

The climb requires a staggering 9000 ft of elevation in 9 miles. That is 3000 more than Mt. Whitney requires in 11 miles. Basically that means it is steep and for the Smart brothers that means blisters. Try as they did to spare their feet, Roman's and Rocky's both got hammered. My were spared thanks to a generous gift from Bram. He got me the Air Jordan's of hiking boots and my feet never faired better.

Darrell leading the charge. He was impressive to say the least. Despite being 18 years my senior and exactly twice Roman's age, he kept right up with everyone. After the weekend was over I didn't know whether to be more impressed with his pharmaceutical hook-ups, his patented water basketball "flying hook shot" or his mountaineering skills. OK, I guess it was his mountaineering skills.

Darrell gave Rocky a chance to lead the charge for a while. Slowly the clouds were getting further away.

Finally at Camp Muir 10,000ft, I found a bored and lonely Rhett. He had already staked us a sweet spot and set up a tent. He's also not a bad photographer and he's available.

We spent the evening melting snow for the next days climb and eating a smorgasbord of Mt. House dinners.

Roman enjoys a Mt. house. I had two other pictures of Roman in this exact pose looking much less photogenic. It was hard for me to refrain from posting them, but I did.

Pictured right here is the Walrus. It doesn't look like a 4 man tent does it? But Darrell claimed it was as long as you are all short and not scared of touching the person next to you. I usually fit that description no problem but Darrell and his pharmaceuticals were making me a little nervous.

We turned in at about 9:00 to get three hours of sleep before the Midnight wake-up-call. The best conditions for climbing Rainier is when the weather is the coldest so you start at 1:00 in the morning so you can summit and get down before the snow starts to get soft.

At midnight I put on my crampons for the second time ever, got roped up and we started climbing in our two teams under a full moon bright enough that a head lamp was optional.

The 3 hours of sleep wasn't quite enough for Roman,

or Rocky.

This was the first time most of us had done any technical climbing on a big mountain and it was in the dark.

Despite the darkness I still noticed enough live threatening hazards to get my attention on the way up. I will admit it I was a little nervous more than once.

Everything was going without a hitch until we got to about 12000 ft. We had just made it through the most technical section. That is when most of us started to feel the effects of the elevation. But have no fear our wise leader had his pharmaceutical hook-ups on hand. They had been the butt of every joke the night before in the walrus. A prescription drug that starts with a V and is meant to rekindle the love life in relationships. Yes that's right, Viagra. Darrell's secret weapon against altitude sickness was a bottle of Viagra that he rushed out to the pharmacy for the night before the trip. He claimed some Himalayan study had been done to prove that Viagra allowed you to do more work at higher elevations. Basically those desperate enough or adventurous enough partook. I was not one of them, but Nick was and about 1 minute later he hurled.

It was a barf with a pretty sweet view.

This is where some doubts started to creep in. Nick had just spewed and Derrick was not feeling good either.

We climbed another 500 feet and Nick barfed again. (I had the courtesy not to take a picture of it this time.) I thought to myself "Two-thousand feet to go and he has already barfed twice. He is not going to make it."

Derrick and Nick.

As you can see Derrick was not looking much better.

Rhett was constantly wanting to push the pace. If the Viagra had any adverse effects on him you couldn't tell.

We went to 13,000ft and stopped again. This picture isn't big enough to tell but the look on Darrell's face is screaming, "I wish I hadn't taken that Viagra."

We choked down enough Cliff Bars we should have all been sick.

I had never been on any mountain that felt that high. We were so high it felt like we were going skydiving. Throw in the cold wind and the it felt like we were climbing Everest.

Finally team Viagra had to relinquish Bram as he had not partook and put him on our rope. Our new 5 man team struggled up to the crater and from there unroped and climbed to the summit.

Bram and Rocky just about to take the summit.

Me on top of the state of Washington.

After our hike back across the crater, this is how we found Team Viagra. Fast asleep on the summit. They had gutted up and made it. The effort by each of them was inspiring, but Nick's effort was superhuman. To throw-up twice and still have 2000 feet of tough climbing to go and suffer through it. That was pretty tough.

We let Team V have a nap while we relaxed on the summit.

Rocky re-taped his blisters.

Eventually we all got a picture on the summit together.

The trip back down wasn't as physically demanding but probably more dangerous.

Most accidents happen on the descent as the snow has turned soft.

This is where you don't want to end up. We crossed 4 or 5 crevasses. They were all small ones that we were able to just jump across.

Rhett led us up but I got to lead our team down. The unobstructed view was sometimes a little nerve racking.

If Roman falls here there is a giant crevasse below him and if we can't stop him then we will all end up there together.

The good thing about climbing in the dark is I didn't notice a lot of the most dangerous parts as we were going up, but you couldn't miss them as you were descending.

Team Viagra plus Bram posed with a crevasse big enough to swallow a house.

When we finally got back to Camp Muir we couldn't believe we still had 5000 feet to descend, but we were able to glacade a good chunk of it and that got the spirits up.

Roman going into a tail-spin.

Finally back to the parking lot. Rocky pledged to never put on his boots again. He made a memorial to them and left them in the parking lot.

The trip didn't officially culminate until we got spoiled a few more times by Sheila's cooking and then our two climbing teams had to face off in a vicious game of pool basketball that actually resembled UFC more closely than basketball and that is no exaggeration. Bram led all scorers and Darrell got voted most inspirational. Darrell is awesome to be around because he somehow shows no signs of getting old. His game of water basketball is still as violent and lacking in finesse as ever. You think "Dang if Darrell is still this big of stud I don't have any excuse to let myself get old." I hope I can still play a sport who's only rules are no eye poking or fish hooking when I turn 54. That sounds like a pretty good life goal to me.

All in all Mt. Rainier was as epic as it gets and well worth the wait.

Washington Trailer!

2011-06-30T16:13:00.000-07:00

I know these trailers are a little lame but the kids love them and they are so easy that I can't resist.

I have 2 posts in the pipeline, one from our recent trip showcased above and one from our annual guys trip.

They were both... you guessed it... epic.

Blue Collar Beat Down!

2011-06-12T05:57:00.000-07:00

One of the positives of being a teacher is having the time to do your own home improvements. One of the negatives of being a teacher is the limited funds that require you to do your own home improvements. I have dedicated this week to putting in a new wood floor. It has been a punisher and unfortunately I am going to have to dedicate at least another week to it.

Demo-ing the tile was the worst. I ran the jack hammer for most of 14 hours that day.

That is a real man's work. Rocky and I once had a job where we ran jack-hammers for 12 hours a day, 7 days a week. We would do it from 6am to 6pm for two weeks and then switch from 6pm to 6am. It doesn't get much more miserable. Guys would quit that job after only a few hours. I was proud that we lasted half the summer. Anytime I think my job stinks I remember back to that job and I am instantly grateful for a classroom of even the most rambunctious teenagers. That's enough of my uphill in the snow both ways story.

Midway through the week I took a break to go mountain biking. There are two really fast sections of the trail that I ride on a regular basis. When I ride them I often think "Man, I hope I never wreck here!" I never had until this week. It was ugly.

My head took most of the impact. I put 10 cracks like these through my helmet. Helmets are a pretty incredible thing. My riding buddy, Jon, saw it and thought I was knocked out. I wasn't. I just didn't feel like getting up yet. My neck was sore and my bell was rung but I still have my 36 year streak of never having been knocked unconscious.

When I opened my eyes the first thing I saw was blood. That is always unsettling. Fortunately they were just minor scrapes positioned in the right spot. (I asked Sara if my nose was swollen, she said "No it's always that big.")

My knee was missing a decent chunk of skin, but my ribs hurt more than anything. I didn't realize I landed in poison oak until the welts started showing up on me a few days later. The roll through the poison oak was just insult to injury.

I felt pretty good to walk away from it with only scrapes and bruises. None of the injuries were bad enough to get me out of doing the floor just bad enough to make doing the floor more miserable.

I put in 5 solid work days, all 12 hours plus. By the 6th day I was starting to become a lot less productive and didn't last more than about 5 hours. Between the bike wreck, my aching back and hitting my hand with the hammer enough times to rewrite the book on Mormon curse words I was beat down to say the least. The phrase overworked and underpaid comes to mind. At least I have something to show for my hard work. Here are a few before and after photos.

Front room before.

Front room after. Notice the pony wall I took out.

Kitchen before.

Kitchen after.

Family room before.

Family room during.

For my next week of work I am going to talk to my boss about getting some better hours.

P.S. Thanks to my good friend Aaron for his generous time helping.

Sara skydives!!!

2011-05-20T21:33:00.000-07:00

How would you approach your wife if you wanted her to go skydiving with you?

I knew my wife well enough to know it wasn't going to be an easy sell. As a mother of 4 she worries more than she used to, and usually favors spending extra money on home improvement over entertainment. I had found a good deal on skydiving and needed someone to do it with me. Sara is always my first choice when it comes to sharing an activity, but sometimes my choice of activities are out of Sara's comfort zone.

Most the activities I have talked her into turned out good but there have been a few mixed results.

Backpacking = great

Whitewater rafting = great

Downhill Mt. Biking = good

Rock Climbing = not as good

Private surf charter = bad

I think I have toned it down since the private surf charter in Costa Rica. Those were likely the best waves of my life. Eight to ten foot sets that peeled perfectly for 300 yards. I get a smile just typing the last sentence. Unfortunately when Sara reads this she will not be smiling. The waves were way out of her league. Not daring to paddle through the large waves to the beach she was stuck on the boat with the spanish speaking skipper. The large swells I was riding were putting quite a rock on the boat. Pretty soon Sara was seasick. While I was enjoying surfing nirvana she was blowing chunks into the emerald 85 degree water. Around mid day she could take no more and finally got the guts to paddle through the large waves to the shore for some respite from the constant motion. There she sat on the rocky beach for the next 5 hours without a lick of shade from the 100 degree Costa Rican sun and not so much as a volleyball named Wilson to keep her company. I thought it was great that she moved to the beach. I was getting the rides of my life and now I had a witness. I would wave to her after every wave, I even paddled in to spend a good 5 minutes or so with her. She had an awesome view of all my awesome waves but that view came with an expensive price tag and I'm not talking about what it cost to charter the boat. She got scorched, blisters the whole works. If you ask me I will say that was some of the best money I ever spent. I'm sure Sara doesn't remember it as fondly. That was two kids ago and maybe it was time to get her out of her comfort zone.

Enter Skydiving.

Without scaring her out of it, I needed to drop some subtle hints to feel out what my chances of her actually jumping were. I racked my brain over the perfect 'feeler comment.'

"Skydiving, now there is an extreme sport that guys and girls can enjoy together!"

or maybe,

"I listened to a podcast on skydiving the other day. Man, that must be exhilarating!"

or how about,

"Would you have guessed that scuba diving is two times more dangerous than skydiving? Pretty crazy huh?"

Everything I came up with reeked of Ralphie trying to score a Red Rider BB gun. I was in serious danger of overplaying my hand.

Since purchasing Lola last summer, I don't so much as put an extra box of cereal in the cart at Costco without first asking Sara's opinion. After much contemplation however, I felt a surprise attack was my best chance of getting Sara to jump out of a plane. I decided to just buy the tickets, kidnap her for the weekend and drive her to the airport without her having any knowledge of what she was in for. It may have been a little brash. It was definitely a bit of a risk but that's what makes it exciting.

When it was time to finally kidnap Sara on Friday morning before Mother's Day, she was shocked.

"We can't leave because of __obligation 1__."

"Canceled that a week ago."

"We have ___obligation 2__ tomorrow."

"Took care of that."

"What about ___obligation 3___."

"Jenni is filling in for you."

I was at hero status, at least for the moment. Skydiving wasn't until Saturday so I had planned all of Friday to be fun surprises for Sara. I wanted to make sure she at least had some good memories of the weekend in case skydiving backfired.

Sara's first surprise was the Carlsbad flower fields.

They were a hit.

Other surprises included a bike ride at the beach,

A trip to the San Diego temple,

And what girl doesn't appreciate a quick stop at Nordstrom's.

Finally it was time to stroll the beautiful La Jolla coast for sunset.

She'll forever be Queen of the corny photos. One of the many reasons I love her.

It is amazing how much you can fit into a day when you don't have the kids tagging along.

Am I romantic or what?

My hero status had swelled as the day progressed.

We ate at PF Chang's where Sara did Cheesecake shots.

That night I slept uneasy. Partially because I was jumping out of a plane in the morning but mostly because I was worried how Sara was going to react when she found out she was jumping out of a plane in the morning. We had so much fun the day before I didn't want skydiving to ruin the weekend.

I wasn't going to tell her what she was going to do until she figured it out. That happened faster than I expected. As soon as we turned onto Airport drive she said,

"I am not jumping out of a plane."

"You don't have to if you don't want to, but I already paid for it."

The conversation that followed will remain private. Let's just say I lost my hero status and there were some tears and for a while I was regretting my decision.

Opening her mind up took some convincing from me and a phone call to her sister who had already been skydiving. Then seeing a couple people go before us gave her some confidence as well.

I think the scariest part of the whole thing is signing the paperwork. You read about 40 different things that can go wrong to result in your death and then you have to sign that you have a proper will and have financial provisions for any dependents. If Sara could make it through that, she could certainly jump out of an airplane.

You get a lesson in skydiving that lasts five minutes or less from your instructor.

You knew Sara's instructor was legit. He wore a No Fear sweatshirt and had a long flowing ponytail. If that doesn't scream qualified, I don't know what does.

Always looking for a little extra adrenaline Sara requested to sit in the open doorway of the plane for the flight up.

Finally the moment you have all been waiting for. The video.

Sara's instructor told us we would be wired for at least 5 hours after. He wasn't exaggerating. Sara was stoked like I had never seen her. For the rest of that night she couldn't calm down. She just kept saying things like, "I can't believe I jumped out of a plane." and "That was the coolest thing I have ever done." and "That was the best Mother's Day gift anyone could have ever gotten me." In the end it turned out to be maybe the best 200 bucks I have ever spent. Maybe even better than the surf charter and for now I am back to my previous hero status.

Movie Trailer

2011-05-08T23:08:00.000-07:00

This is to wet the appetites of my 3 readers for my next blog post.

Until next season...

2011-04-14T21:40:00.000-07:00

Last weekend was the end of the snow season at our local resort. Rig, Livi and I had season passes this year and we had a blast. Especially me, as I snowboarded more this season than the last 10 combined.

I hate to admit that when we moved here 11 years ago I was a bit of a snow snob. I only snowboarded on rare occasions in Utah. After 8 years in SoCal I finally gave the local resorts a chance and was surprised how much fun I had. Though they couldn't offer what Utah could, they could offer a lot of things Utah couldn't.

A shot of Rig and Livi. Rig's board is from a garage sale and Livi's skis, boots and bindings are circa 1979 and were a total of 7 dollars at the DI.

Rig got a helmet at DI. Livi got a giant fur ball at the Gap.

I had to teach Livi to ski even though I never had. It wasn't very hard. I told her to make her skis a pizza if you want to go slow and french fries if you want to go fast. She was a natural and did a lot more french fry than pizza.

Here is a picture of Rig about to throw a big spray on one of his famous heal-side turns. Rig looks like a pro unless you watch him close and realize he rarely does a toe-side turn. I guess that will come eventually.

I always try to keep some candy on me to share with the kids on the lift. This is Livi contemplating the best way to eat a Mike and Ike.

Livi had to get comfortable in the board park if she was going to ride with me and Rig.

Mom got to spend two days with us on the mountain. She was there for Livi's first day and actually deserves most of the credit for teaching her to ski.

Livi skied one day of SoCal powder and it was not to her liking. She ended up having to sit and rest here in the snow while me and Rig tracked out as much powder as we could without her. The next powder day we let her go to school.

If you are noticing a common theme with all of these pictures, it is the blue sky. It is like spring skiing all winter in California.

Rig and I did sneak in one epic powder day at Sundance with uncle Roman. Don't be fooled by the blue sky it was freezing and snowing most of the day, but definitely worth it.

That Utah powder is pretty special. Rig thought he had died and gone to snowboarding heaven.

Heck so did me and Roman.

Riding the lift in Utah you mainly think about how cold you are.

Riding the lift in SoCal you wonder if you should apply some more sunscreen.

Eating lunch in Utah you have to fight for a seat to huddle in the lodge.

Eating lunch in SoCal you kick back and listen to the music and wonder where you can stash your jacket for the second half of the day.
(I know I have officially turned soft because I started buying lunch at the resort.)

The SoCal mountains can't touch the Utah mountains but our terrain parks definitely hold their own. Plenty of obstacles to tear an ACL on.

This is Rig coming off a box.

Dad learned his lesson for at least one season.

Rig, more heal-side.

But the number one thing SoCal resorts have on Utah is their proximity to the beach. I managed to surf and snowboard in the same weekend twice this season. Thank goodness for furlough days.

Roman snuck down for two surf sessions this winter, and Rocky made one although he didn't make the picture.

The sun has set on my first year as a season pass holder in SoCal. I admit it's not Utah but I can think of a lot worse places to live.

Spring Break in Death Valley!

2011-03-27T22:23:00.000-07:00

This Spring Break we were going to head up to Big Sur for the week but the forecast was for rain all week so we outsmarted old mother nature and headed for the desert. It was our first trip to Death Valley.

I knew we had made a good choice when the first car I saw when we got inside the park was an AMC Eagle. You could title this pic

'The One Roman Let Get Away.'

We were greeted by blue skies and a chocolate lake, I tried to go swimming in it but it was only three inches deep all the way across.

That's a big three inch deep lake.

Death Valley's biggest claim to fame is the lowest point in North America, Badwater Basin, -282 ft below sea level. It also might be the brightest place in North America with that desert sun bouncing off the white salt. I'm not sure if Rigdon or Jillian ever even saw Badwater Basin.

Family picture. Jillian still trying to cover up.

Slot canyon 1 of 3.

The kids were troopers as we averaged two or three hikes a day.

We told the kids it was a race to the natural bridge. Caroline was the first one there. She is going to be an athlete someday. Rig and I climbed up on top of it but I had the camera in my pocket so Sara couldn't take a picture of us from the bottom.

Fodder for the next Smart Girls video.

Caroline was not as fortunate on the race back down the canyon to the car. She tripped and belly planted on the dirt and rocks. She did that at least once a day for the remainder of the trip.

This is the called Devil's Golf Course, and yes I told them to line up like that for the picture.

Sara going cowgirl.

(Wrangler Bum, where you from?)

Jillian was a little under the weather. That made her less than agreeable for most of the trip. She tested mine and Sara's patience as well as the single guy camping next to us.

Rigdon and Livi are constantly messing around with each other and always appear to be having way too much fun. Most the time I am grateful that they are such good friends but sometimes it can test your patience as well.

More messing around. I think they are pinching each others necks for this picture.

After being tuckered out from a long day of hiking, they would always get a second wind when we got back to camp to ride bikes.

Caroline actually rides her own two wheeler very confidently and for the most part keeps up with Rig and Livi, but for longer rides she comes on the tag-a-long with Dad.

Jilli resists bike rides always siting the same reason, "I too scared." Mom is a pretty crazy driver. Eventually she warms up and smiles a bit.

If you ever camp in Death Valley make sure it is at Texas Springs. This was one of the coolest hikes we did and it was right in our campground.

Caroline climbing on all fours to keep up with Rig and Livi.

Up on top surrounded by cliffs 100 ft above the ground.

Everything in Death Valley seems like it has the word Devil somewhere in it's name. Rig and I named this part of the hike Devil's Backbone.

Livi held my hand for part of it, Caroline did for all of it.

Cool scenery.

Ridgon is always excited to show off for his sisters.

Ready to hike the Badlands.

Ready to ride a horse through the Badlands.

Jillian refuses to wear her sunglasses unless they are upside down.

Rig led Mom and Livi up a treacherous ridge.

Two sisters still hiking the Badlands with one on strike.

One of the favorite sites was the historic Scotty's Castle.

Inside the Castle courtyard.

The kids got recruited to the Jr. Ranger program. They all took it very serious. This is Jillian looking extra studious with her Jr. Ranger workbook.

This is Ubehebe Crater. I begged anyone to hike down in it with me but it was raining and pretty cold. For what it was worth Rigdon said he would have done it with me if he had his skinny jeans. I am not quite sure what to make of that comment and am just going to leave it at that.

Livi slept out with me one night under the incredible desert stars. Taking to Livi and sharing my ipod to listen to Beach Boys music until we fell asleep was one of the highlights of my spring break.

Jillian finally at least warmed up to Caroline.

Pillow pets and mummy bags. Pretty darn cute. The next night I got to share the bed with these two. Getting to listen to Caroline and Jilli's pillow talk was one of my other highlights of spring break.

The kids were looking forward to nothing more than our trip to the sand dunes. They wanted to climb to the tallest dune. We saved it for the last day of the trip.

This is the way the blondes go up the dunes.

This is the way the redheads go up.

The tallest dune was a only a one mile hike, but through the sand I didn't figure the kids would make it half way before they wanted to turn around. I was wrong.

They bounded up dune after dune just to roll down the other side. Sara even got caught up in the excitement and couldn't resist rolling down a giant dune. She complained of sand in every orifice of her body for the rest of the day but the kids didn't complain once.

What a whiner.

As we finally neared the summit of the tallest dune. The wind became very intense and the sand was stinging like it came out of a sand blaster.

Once we could no longer hide below the ridge 3 of the 4 redheads started crying in unison. I pleaded with them.

"We've come all this way. We are only minutes from the summit you guys have to make it."

"No they don't, I am getting them out of here. Give me the backpack."

Within minutes Sara and the girls were reduced to tiny dots in Death Valley's version of the Sahara Desert.

Even though I was only kidding about the whiner comment I have to officially take it back because Sara carried Jillian all the way back to the car and never complained once.

Rig and I were left to summit.

Overall Dad gives the trip an E rating for Epic.

We can't all be Jimmer!

2011-01-27T23:41:00.000-08:00

Rig just started his first season of organized basketball, and if you are coming from this gene pool and you want to contribute to your team's success you might have to find some ways other than scoring. So I have been lecturing Rigdon lately on the value of defense and so far I think he is buying into it. Below are some clips of Rig's suffocating defense from his first game.

The guy he guarded never scored but he did get a few shots off. In his second game I told Rig the only thing better than holding someone scoreless is denying them the ball all together. Rig heard that, and the guy Rigdon guarded his second game only touched the ball once the whole game and when he tried to shoot, Rig blocked it.

After the game Sara asked me, "Do you feel bad at all that the kid that Rigdon guarded the whole game never even got to do anything?"

"Heck no! Rigdon never scored either and if you can't score then the only thing you can do to level the playing field is play tenacious D. I am simply teaching him how to compete with what God has given him."

And for a Smart on a basketball court that ain't much.

Smart Girls by Weezer

2011-01-11T01:31:00.000-08:00

I heard this song for the first time last night and immediately couldn't wait to make the video below. My favorite band wrote a song about the girls that make Rigdon and I luckiest men alive. Come on, it doesn't get much better than that.

Enjoy. I do everyday.

I never get enough of those Smart Girls!!!

Thanks Weezer!

Big Mark

2010-12-29T10:48:00.000-08:00

Despite the fact that Rocky has had some mixed results when it comes to finding the perfect Christmas tree in the Utah forests, this year we trusted him to lead us to the promised land and he delivered.

The outing started with breaking Ricker out and then a trip to Reed's Drive-In for the donut sized onion rings.

Three cousins getting their saturated fat for the day.

The kids got their snow stoke on.

Cute mittens.

Sara loves these kind of outings, but in her head she builds them up to be a picture perfect event, where you walk 5o maybe 100 yards in the beautiful snow and then suddenly spot the perfect tree. She was a little surprised to start out repelling down a snowy slope, then bushwhacking through winter foliage and finally crossing a frigid stream, but she was tough and thoroughly enjoyed the whole outing.

After hunting for quite a while we finally found the perfect tree. Sara thought it was too big. It didn't fit in the camera lens but I was sure it would fit in our house.

(Have I mentioned lately that my wife is hot?)

Bringing the trees back across the stream.

Those are the two Smart brothers who are smart enough to work a chain saw. Roman and Beetle went to cut down trees last year and got the saw running but couldn't figure out how to turn the safety off. Eventually they decided to take the blade off and rub it back and forth on the trunk of the tree. It was like combining lumberjack technology with caveman intellect. You can probably guess that the trees they ended up with looked more like sticks and the chain saw was never operational again. I'd say you could classify it an epic fail.

Danny was a workhorse pulling the trees back to the car.

600 miles later the tree was perfectly placed in our front room. It literally had only a few inches to spare. We measured it at 13'6". I named it Big Mark, after my all time favorite Utah Jazz player.

There is Big Mark in all of his glory.

Oh wait a second, there is Big Mark in all of his glory. This is one of my favorite christmas presents. Already in worship position, he really adds to this nativity scene. Next year I am going to get him into the local Creche Festival.

Rigdon the Parkour Phenom.

2010-11-14T13:06:00.000-08:00

This week Rig has been into parkour videos on youtube. He called me outside to see one of his tricks and I said "Let's just make your own video."

Some of Rigdon's inspiration:

Rigdon's first parkour video. (Many to follow.)

Happy HalloWayne! (and Garth)

2010-11-06T22:46:00.000-07:00

This year Sara and I were a pretty big hit at the ward Halloween party as Wayne and Garth. Everyone kept asking me "How do you come up with this stuff?" I admitted to most people that it was actually a stolen idea from my little brother and his wife.

What we all strive to be.

This was definitely my favorite costume combo of 2009. I could barely wait a year to copy it in 2010. (Michelle looks awesome.)

By the time we got pictures Sara's hair had died down a little bit. She has the extra challenge of four kids to get in their costumes and look after.

Jessica and Dave heard about our awesome costume idea and jumped on the band wagon. Jessica does have sweet Garth hair.

Our vehicle was not quite Garth's Gremlin, but it is definitely in the same family and if Lola had a stereo you can bet it would have been bumping a little Bohemian Rhapsody.

On our way home from the party we couldn't resist going to the mall to cruise the local strip a few times. If you saw Wayne and Garth rolling in a VW bus with a load full of kids wouldn't you be a little stoked? People were.

If you have a wife with blonde hair there is no easier couple costume that gets people more fired up than Wayne and Garth. Go for it 2011.

Caught in the act!

2010-10-28T15:15:00.000-07:00

I soloed with the kids last weekend so my dear wife could travel across the country with her sisters. Upon her return I was flipping through the pictures on her camera when I found this.

Brace yourself.....

Gone for a mere five days and she is ready to run off with the first VW that is slightly more top heavy. Oh the shame. Hopefully I can keep this from Lola.

Though I have to admit they make a pretty good looking couple. Maybe Sara would be interested in a his and her combo.

An 8 cow woman.

2010-10-17T23:15:00.000-07:00

No, I am not talking about Sara. (She is much more than an 8 cow wife.) I am talking about my second love, Lola.

When Lola first entered my life she made mine and Sara's relationship into a rather awkward love triangle. Sara used to put Lola down often with her version of "Mahana you ugly!" and one time in the heat of the moment she threatened me with "It's either me or her, you decide!" but Sara is finally warming up to her and sometimes she even shares the stoke of Lola.

Here are some highlights of our relationship.

First I gave her a make-over.

Before.

After.

The makeover isn't finished yet, just on hold until the Lola fund is replenished.

(You can see Jilli has the Lola Stoke. She calls her Lolo or Lala. It is really cute.)

Rig and I took her camping with the scouts. It is the closest I have ever been to infidelity.

I loved winding through the canyon roads with Lola so much it felt like I was cheating on somebody.

Always Flirty.

Here I caught her peaking out from behind a pine.

We cooked dinner on her stove top.

First day of school party at sonic. (In California there are no seat-belt laws in the back-seat for cars older than 1972. So there is no limit to how many kids can ride in the back. In the Smart family we are taking back some of our personal freedoms and it feels great.)

The kids loaded up with their blankets for the drive-in.

In a matter of seconds the seat folds into a bed and the kids are viewing the movie in style.

Are you ready to buy a bus yet? You'll have to find your own, this one is not for sale.

The high ceilings and wood floors naturally lend themselves to basketball, so I installed this hoop. It was a lot of fun until Caroline air-balled a shot right out the window. Now we need a new ball.

Tailgating before the Rancho football games, you can always spot her in a parking lot.

Lola has made me the most popular guy in the ward as far as the primary goes. Everyday after church there is a party in the bus. Most of the primary kids flock to Lola and play car, house or basketball until I am ready to go. Then Lola and I drive home as many kids as want to come (usually 10-15) and their parents come and pick them up from our house.

She is a true treasure.

Rig earns Man Status!

2010-10-04T20:43:00.001-07:00

Leading up to this summer, I asked Rigdon if he could pick one thing to do during his summer what would it be. He said he wanted to climb Mt. Whitney. At 14,497 it is the highest peak in the 48 continuous states.

Then I hurt my knee and told Rig the trip might have to wait for another year. The more I thought about it, the less fair I thought it was that Rigdon would miss the highlight of his summer for my bad decision. So I decided I would have to man up and take him this year. If Rigdon was that eager to venture up Whitney I could risk the fact that my knee might not be 100% yet.

Rig is ready for action. I should have had him commandeer the mysterious boots in the picture because his Nikes became a major liability on the slippery snow.

We were lucky to be there for some fall foliage.

Still all smiles probably 2 miles in.

The logs were no doubt one of Rigdon's favorite parts of the hike.

Rigdon asked if I thought we could take home a Christmas tree.

"Dude, I know I'm already carrying gear and food for both of us on an injured leg but I do have my limits. Plus I think there might be a rule against that."

The hike was full of surreal scenery as you will see in the pictures to come.

The massive white granite walls never get old.

Rig is like a little Ansel Adams. He takes in all the beauty of the outdoors and loves every bit of it.

Most of the hike was under cloud cover and light sprinkles. This was the first time we saw the sun so we decided to take a picture.

Finally at high camp, 12,000 ft.

View from the tent.

Mt. Whitney was yet to show us her face. She hid it under a veil of clouds the whole day.

This is as the sun sat before a restless night of lightning and thunder that would scare the heck out of both of us. I had never been that close to lightning with only a tent as protection, it was at least a little disconcerting for me and I think may have brought some 9 year olds to tears. Luckily Rigdon wasn't one of them. We both laughed it off by morning when the sun came out.

Rig is looking about as well rested as I felt.

Luckily mom made us bring toothbrushes or we wouldn't have had anything to eat with.

The weather made for epic scenery in every direction.

This is the last place to pump water before the summit. The best thing about backpacking with a 9 year old is they beg to pump the water. (Notice Whitney still veiled in the background.)

Seriously, you couldn't photoshop more epic scenery.

Finally, just for a moment, Whitney unveiled her wretched face to try and intimidate the little guy.

As we approached 13,000 ft, it started to be a struggle for Rig. I hadn't gotten him to eat much of a breakfast off the toothbrush, neither of us slept much, and he was trying to go from 1400 ft that we live at to 14,000 ft. I was starting to wonder if I had gotten him in over his head. I began to doubt if he would make it.

It was a struggle but Rig made it to 13,500 and we got the view into Sequoia National Park. With 3 miles and the toughest 1000 ft left, Rig said he had a headache and felt like he might throw up (Altitude Sickness). I had someone take this picture of us together in case this was as close as we got to the summit. I asked Rig if he wanted to turn around and go back, but he said he wanted to keep going.

This was the last view we got before the weather turned almost instantly nasty.

(As a side note I have a picture of Rocky in front of this exact piece of scenery and Rocky looks much more worn than Rig.)

Snow started to fall and Rigdon's treadless Nikes put him at another disadvantage.

Rigdon slipped and stumbled up the increasingly rocky trail. He banged his knees and ankles over and over. It was painful to watch. I asked him if he wanted to turn around at least five more times, and a couple of the times I almost hoped he would actually take me up on it. But every time he told me he wanted to make it.

The conditions continued to deteriorate which just made things more miserable. The snow started to fall fast enough that it was hard to follow the footprints of the people who were just minutes ahead of us. My watch said we were getting close but with visibility at almost total whiteout conditions we didn't see the hut at the top until we were probably 20 yards away.

When we stepped inside the hut there were about 20 people already in there trying to warm up. When they saw tiny Rigdon had made it to the top they all applauded and cheered. My eyes swelled with tears I was so proud.

Unfortunately the hike was only half way over. It was still a struggle back down especially the next 3 miles until we got below the snow line that was getting deeper by the minute. As I watched Rigdon labor back through the rocky snow, banging his knees and ankles just as many times as he had on the trip up, I continued to be more impressed with what Rigdon had shown me that day. I'm sure other 9 year-olds could have made it look easier, but the fact that Rigdon struggled like he did and still wouldn't quit, spoke volumes to me. I couldn't help but remember earlier this summer when I had given Rigdon a hard time because he wouldn't do a flip off the side of the pool and Livi would. What a fool I felt like now as I had watched Rigdon display such courage and toughness. Because of some mixture of how proud I was of him and how foolish I felt for my comments earlier in the summer, I just hiked behind Rigdon in silence and cried like a little girl.

Rigdon made a believer out of me. I will never doubt his spirit again.

P.S. Don't tell Rigdon about the crying part, he thought I could have really carried a christmas tree out.

Tear Jerker!

2010-09-19T17:25:00.000-07:00

Sorry I haven't posted anything in a while. I was watching some Mormon Messages today and had to post this video. If you haven't seen it, please watch it. (Warning: watch it in private if you worry about people seeing you cry.)

My own Dad could have starred in this video. He is the most unselfish person I know. He literally gives everything he has to his family. I am very blessed to have him as my father.

My father-in-law also could have starred in the video. He is someone who knows the trials of having a wife with MS but would never complain for even a second.

They are both awesome examples to me of what a father and husband should be like. I am grateful for them and hope I can continue to strive to be more like them.

Kayaking the Channel Islands Guys/Couples trip 2010

2010-07-11T13:19:00.000-07:00

Thanks to my knee injury I could not do Rainier as planned. Bram and my brothers didn't want to go without me. I told them they should go anyway but I was secretly glad they didn't. Hopefully we can all go next year. We had to come up with a Plan B for this summer. We decided to Kayak to the Channel Islands, not as epic as climbing Rainier but pretty epic none the less.

I have a friend who kayaked with a group, the 12 miles to the first island, Anacapa. In an effort to one up them I decided we should shoot for the second island, Santa Cruz. My friend put me in contact with the guy who led his trip so I could get some advice. When I told their leader of our plans he didn't think it was a very good idea on our first time out.

"My first time it took us 10 and 1/2 hours to get to Anacapa. We arrived in the dark. You guys are biting off quite a bit. Are you all pretty experienced on the open ocean?"

"Four of the five of us have never even sat on a Kayak."

"If I were you guys I would shoot for the first island at best."

"Well, we kind of like to get ourselves in over our heads."

"I think you've done that."

He went on to tell me about the low morning visibility and then the afternoon headwinds and finally the currents that surrounded the islands. All of which were likely to hinder our efficiency. He helped me chart a course that included aiming for an oil derrick when we left Oxnard, then to the east tip of Anacapa, along it's four mile shore line, then from the west tip of Anacapa to the east tip of Santa Cruz finally into a fierce head wind along the shore line of Santa Cruz to where we could camp at Scorpion Bay. He said it would be at least 22 miles, a true epic. Then he wished us luck.

I had to do my usual overstating of our abilities to get the blessing of the charter boat that was to pick us up on Santa Cruz.

"That's a pretty long paddle and there is some pretty stiff wind forecasted for that day are you guys all experienced."

"Oh yeah, we do this kind of thing all the time."

"So you guys certainly have a portable V.M.S."

"Yes, of course." (I googled it as soon as I got off the phone and still have no idea what she was talking about.)

With that let the trip log begin.

Maybe the most incredible feat of the trip was fitting five kayaks on a short bed truck without any special racks. It took us until 1:30 a.m. and we had a 2:45 wake-up call. That meant we were all going into the epic on an hour of sleep or less.

Three out of four Smart brothers ready to sit in a kayak for the first time.

Leaving the harbor for the open ocean.

Free on the open sea.

Finally nearing Anacapa.

Finding a place to beach for lunch was tricky, this was about as good as we could do. Beetle managed to roll his kayak while trying to beach and had to be rescued by Rocky.

Rocky's rescue efforts led to multiple flesh wounds.

When Bram beached he got cut up as well.

Bram exploring a sea cave on Anacapa.

The lunch party got broke up by the Ranger. We convinced him we were capable of getting to the next island and he finally left us alone. But ten minutes later he was back with word of strong winds ahead. He kept asking us the same questions over and over.

"Are you guys all experienced?"

"Yes"

"Do you guys know what a it's like to paddle into a 10-knot head wind?"

"Yes"

He didn't seem to be buying it. Maybe it was the rental numbers on the sides of our kayaks. Beetle couldn't take the pressure and finally came clean with him.

"Actually four of us had never ever sat on a kayak before this morning sir. He's the only one with any experience." (Pointing to me)

The Ranger then proceeded to scald me like I was in junior high.

"You brought four totally inexperienced kayakers all the way out here in scramblers and camping gear. " (Scrambler is the type of kayaks we rented, apparently they are not intended for open ocean.)

He then asked for a emergency contact number. I gave him my home number where all five of our wives were staying.

"I'm going to call your wife and tell her that I saw you and you were alive and had made it this far and that I urged you to accept a ride to Santa Cruz from us, but you guys refused help despite my warnings of strong winds ahead."

Thanks Ranger, that ought to put them all at ease.

Just as we had finally convinced the Ranger to leave us in peace. The rudder on Beetle's kayak broke, making it almost impossible to steer. Beetle didn't waste any time in making a decision.

"Excuse me Mr. Ranger, are you guys still going to Santa Cruz? Do you think I could get a ride?"

About two hours later we would all be wishing we had broken a rudder.

This is Beetle's kayak getting loaded into the Ranger's boat.

What appears like clear water all the way to Santa Cruz. We all were betting the Rangers were just exaggerating. Turns out they weren't. We were soon battling white caps that crashed over our bows and wind that made us feel like we were standing still. It was finally becoming an epic.

After suffering through our ninth, tenth and eleventh hours of paddling we finally arrived at our destination, with Beetle being the first one to greet us.

I think all of us are a little disappointed in any guys trip if at least one person doesn't call us idiots. But when the Ranger refers to you as F-ing Idiots you know you have accomplished something. Word had gotten around the campground that there were five guys paddling over from the mainland and when we finally arrived we were mini-celebrities amongst the other campers. One of the kayak guides on the island used the words gnarly and heroic in defining our paddle. I think I liked the Ranger's words better.

The next day five hotties showed up on the island. I was the first to spot them and immediately called the one in yellow.

We tried two people in a single kayak but it wasn't working out for a multitude of reasons. The first being neither of us could feel our legs after five minutes. We elected to take turns instead.

Sara navigates a tunnel.

Heading on through.

Yours truly paddling through a little key hole.

Mindy paddling 7 months pregnant. I literally called Mindy and begged her to come. It was worth it. Unfortunately she threw up on the boat ride over, but things got better after that.

Here is Mindy on a long romantic walk with Beetle.

Bram and Selenia on the same romantic walk with Rocky and Sarah in the distance.

Bram got called an idiot twice. Once by the rangers and then once by all of us for flirting with certain death for this picture.

That's a long ways down Bram.

Beetle is about 5 feet from the edge and not getting any closer. Right after I took this picture he looked over and asked me if I thought he could make it all the way to the water if he ran and jumped. "Beetle with your compact frame and low center of gravity, absolutely."

A beautiful wife and coast.

This picture is for Roman and Michelle to photoshop themselves in. They went on the hike but they went by themselves and there was no one to take their picture. Sorry guys.

Meet Lola!

2010-06-04T22:25:00.000-07:00

Since my surgury I have not been able to drive stick. This has meant me rolling in the family mini-van while Sara is left with my well aged 96 Cavalier. We have been talking about me getting a new car for at least a few years but her having to drive the Cavy on a regular basis has intensified things. So we have been car shopping.

We got a sitter last weekend and went to the car lot. We went to every major dealership. Sara liked the Volvos but I couldn’t afford one. I liked the Challenger but figured a bike rack would ruin it’s good looks. We ended up at the Honda dealership. We test drove a Civic. It was nice. It was practical. It was in our price range. But it just wasn’t me. No offense to Civic owners, but I just couldn’t drive one. It was just a little too main-stream. So the hunt was still on.

It is my nature to get over enveloped in things. I was spending more time than is healthy on every craigslist in So. Cal. If you know craigslist you know you have to act fast to get a good deal.

This week I got left home from Disneyland with Jillian and my crutches. I don’t know if Sara meant it or if she was just feeling bad for me but the last thing she said was, “You have my blessing to buy a car if you find something good.”

That was the kiss of death.

Jilli had even become familiar with my craigslist addiction and would cry as soon as I sat down at the computer. But it wasn’t long before we had a hot one and were out on the road. The guys house we ended up at had a parking lot of classic cars in his backyard. The one I had driven out for was not worth the trip, but the vehicle right next to it was. I don’t know about Jillian but for me it was love at first sight.

“Are you selling that?”

“Yeah, I was going to throw it on craigslist for 45 hundred I just haven’t gotten a chance yet.”

Two hours later the hunt was over. We reached a price of $3800. (Maybe I do have a little of the Ricker in me.)

Meet Lola.

Ain't she a beauty!

Once he said he would throw in the personalized surfer plates I was a goner.

Inside the bubble top. So much potential. So much head-room.

Sweet wood floor, two 110-outlets, a bench that folds into a bed, sink, propane stove, icebox. She's the swiss army knife of automobiles.

If you have seen Ghostbusters, it isn’t hard to imagine the scene when I brought Lola home. (If you haven’t seen Ghostbusters, please stop reading my blog. Permanently.) Imagine the scene when Ray brings home the Ecto-mobile for the first time. Sara playing the role of Peter Venkman and me as Ray.

Sara: “You can’t park that thing here!”

Me: “Everyone can relax I found the car. It needs some suspension work...and shocks...and brakes, brake pads, linings, steering box, transmission, rear end…”

Sara: “How much?”

Me: “Only 3800.”

I guess to end up with a 1970 bus when you were secretly hoping for a Volvo most wives would have reacted quite a bit worse than Sara did. Sensing my excitement she bit her tounge and didn't say one single mean thing. Sara is a horrible liar and could not keep up the facade forever. Her excitement for Lola was not quite what I had hoped. Upon me probing a little further she finally shared her feelings. I don't remember the exact wording but this was the gist of it:

"Of all the cars that I saw you look at or ask me about on craigslist that is by far the ugliest one."

That hurt a little but I guess I probably deserved it.

I know I should have given Sara a chance to weigh in on the purchase of a 1970 bubble top VW bus, but the temptation was too great and I conceded. Sara is not quite able to visulize Lola's full potential yet, but give her some time. Venkman eventually warmed up to the Ecto-mobile, right.

Happy Birthday to an RCHS legend!

2010-05-22T15:35:00.000-07:00

"Man Mr. Smart, I saw your sister on Youtube, that girl got flow!"

If only I had a dollar for every time I heard that.

It is the birthday of the only red headed rapper I know. The girl who showed us that rapping isn't just for thugs. The girl who established the white-mormon-middle-class on the scene. She is the founder of Los G's. She has rapped along side the likes of D-lish, The Abominable Ro-Man, B. Rizzle Nizzle, Rocko, Pop Rox and CherDawg. The girl who is single handedly responsible for the trend that has led to the Swagger Wagon commercials. That's right, it's the one, the only Riz Na$ty! Happy Birthday to the coolest girl I know. (After Sara.)

I thought I would get a little more mileage out of some of my extra credit Birfday Raps. They are remixed in HD and there are even some previously unreleased cuts. (You know they have to be bad if they didn't make the cut last time.) The Swagger Wagon is at the bottom, which only could be better if Toyota shelled out the dough to get Riz Na$ty as the mom.

Happy Birthday Rach, we love you!

Impressing the little guy at any cost!

2010-04-28T17:03:00.000-07:00

Chairlift Talk while riding over the board park:

“Wow did you see that Dad?”

“Yeah pretty cool.”

“Whoa Dad did you see that boardslide?”

“Yeap, that was sweet.”

“Oh my heck, Did you see that jump Dad?”

“I can go bigger than that Rig.”

“You can?” Tone of disbelief.

Just about a month ago Rig told me he didn’t think I could beat up his seventy year old Karate instructor at the YMCA. I was already feeling an intense desire to start reliving some of the glory days in the park, throw in the fact that Rigdon was starting to see me as something less than superhuman and I was ready to commit to a gap jump.

So on our next run I chose the smallest one in the park and went for it. It felt pretty good. I hit a couple more and it just started to feel better and better. I finally hit a big one and it was exhilarating. I couldn’t resist a euphoric scream.

“Did you see that Rig?”

“See what?”

Other than myself, Rigdon is the least observant person I know.

"That jump I just hit!”

“You did that big jump?” Same tone of disbelief.

On our next run I was golden. My park mojo was thriving. I was hitting all the jumps with confidence. I stopped to see if Rigdon was taking in any of my skills. He wasn’t. I decided I would have him get the big jump I had already done on film this time. Then he couldn’t miss it.

After some careful instructions of how to use the camera, Rig was ready to go. Rig was to record me on a medium jump and then the big one.

I took off and smoothly landed the smaller jump and confidently pointed my board towards the jump that just last run had been so exhilarating. I remember thinking to myself, “Am I going too fast? Nah, the last one felt great plus I’ve got the same color hair as Shaun White.”

The take off was perfect. I left the ramp as straight as I ever had. Then I remember thinking “I should be going down by now.”

I saw the landing come and go underneath me and my next thought was “ Holy crap, I am going to break bones.”

If only I had been so lucky.

This is the one that got my knee. It doesn't look like this guy is making it to the landing. Better to under shoot it than over shoot it as I learned. I landed over towards the left edge of the picture.

I was not waiting around for pity. I unstrapped my board, jumped up after the wreck and made a self assesment. My knee got wrenched really good but everything else seemed to be in tack. Although I knew immediately knee injury was the second worse senario only to back injury. I walked over to Rigdon expecting a “Dang are you all right?” or a “That was huge Dad!”

There was no such reaction.

“I think I have to go home Rig.”

“What? Why?”

“I think I hurt my knee in that wreck.”

“You wrecked?”

Turns out I was wrong about Rigdon he is even less observant than me.

Bet you can guess how the footage of the wreck came out. Here it is below.

The only proof that anyone even witnessed my wreck is if you turn the volume up you can hear some guy say "He way overshot it!"

Why I don't own a motorcycle

2010-04-04T12:45:00.000-07:00

I had a season lift pass to The Canyons over a decade ago. During that winter I worked up to doing all the biggest jumps they had in the park. I didn’t do them with much style. I couldn’t do a single technical trick, not even a 180. That stuff didn’t interest me, but I could go big, and I liked it. I liked it a lot.

In my one season as a pass holder, I sufffered one wreck that resulted in a broken wrist, which to this day is still broken. Then while recovering from the wrist injury, on a day with spectators gathered in the park, I was going pretty big and getting some love from the crowd. Eager to impress further, I decided to save all my speed for the biggest jump where the crowd was gathered. It was going to be awesome.

Upon take-off my arms instantly began flapping violently and the awesomeness was underway. It was obvious to all that I was going to over shoot the landing by a good margin. The only question was weather the arm flapping would keep my board under me. It didn’t. I might as well had not even had on a snowboard because it was the last thing to hit the snow on impact. I had impressed them all right. After that jump, I had a whole group of them tending to me. You know it is a good wreck, when the first thing people ask is “Can you still move your legs?” That wreck did not result in broken bones, but once I was sure my legs still worked I elected to walk down the mountain. The next day my backside turned black and blue and swelled up like I had a football trapped under my skin. I was left wearing sweat pants for weeks. Lesson learned? Maybe not.

This is not my wreck. This was just the wreck most reminiscent of mine on youtube. To better imagine my wreck, put me on a snow board add more arm flapping and more spectators and imagine the cursing in english rather than french, and you have it.

On Rigdon’s birthday I took him snowboarding for the first time. He totally impressed me. We had a blast. I had the bright idea that we would both buy season passes next year and ride together as often as possible.

Then a couple of weeks ago, I saw a special to buy your season pass for next year now, and get the rest of this season free. I figured we could get in at least 5 more days this season. I decided to go for it and last Saturday morning I threw down the 358 bucks for mine and Rig’s passes. We were thouroghly enjoying our first day as season pass holders. I usually let Rig dictate what part of the mountain we ride, like his old man, he is drawn to the park.

Being in the park is not good for me. I get there and I am like a recovering alcoholic. I see the big gap jumps and the guys hitting them and my palms sweat and my stomach aches. I can’t wait to join them.

As of that morning I was now a season pass holder again and would have plenty of time to prudently work back up to some big hits. More on that thought in my next post I have to get back to conference.

Injury Report

2010-03-31T13:48:00.000-07:00

Since injuring my knee a couple of weeks ago, I have been the victum of at least 20 evaluations by family, friends and aquaintances. I have heard torn ACL, MCL, LCL, meniscus, knee cartilage, ect. You name it, someone has diagnosed me with it. Turns out most all of them were right. The MRI confirmed a torn ACL, MCL, LCL and meniscus. On the bright side, I guess I spared the PCL.

Crashology

2010-03-17T23:06:00.000-07:00

I believe most crashes can be grouped into three types.

Type I (Cosmetic Crashes): These wrecks are usually caused by a lack of skill or confidence. As a result they are usually lacking in speed and intensity. Without those two elements there is usually ample time to prepare for impact, thus the only injuries are usually to your pride. You gain no respect from your peers for these cosmetic crashes. To witnesses you simply appear inept.

These are wrecks of mine and Rocky's. They are both probably Type I wrecks but the fact that concrete has absolutely no give, up's these to somewhere between Type I and Type II.

Type II (Mojo Killers): This is where they start to get fun. In a good 'mojo killer' the recipient has at least a decent level of skill (enough to be dangerous). To witnesses he appears a victim of circumstance. These wrecks are almost always at high speed and never foreseen by the rider. For this reason they are rarely caught on camera. Here are a couple of examples.

Snowboarding Example: You're pretending to be in the Super G, on a steep freshly groomed run, whey you catch your back edge and before you can so much as blink, your head hits the snow at 40 MPH.

Mountain biking Example: With a smooth fast single track in front of you, your greed for speed urges you to make one more pedal than was prudent. That pedal catches on an unseen tree root. This pulls the bike ever so slightly from it's previous direction and when the tires grab the ground again the result is you flying through the air with nothing to protect you but a layer of spandex.

A good "mojo killer" leaves you in-tack physically, but mentally you are like a heavyweight boxer who has been knocked out for the first time. Sure after shaking the cobwebs out and re-gathering yourself you're ready to fight again, but the killer instinct that fueled you has been replaced with the fear of a knockout-punch. Your riding style has instantly grown 30 years more conservative. You're no longer able to cut loose and really enjoy the activity at hand. In a nutshell you have lost your "mojo" and only time will tell when it will return.

Below Rig and I discuss a Soft Type II crash I had a few weeks ago.

Type III (Hope you have health insurance): The third type are the ones that leave you not only mentally shaken but force you to completely admit defeat by rendering you physically unable to finish what you started. From my experience these wrecks are usually the product of riding beyond your abilities, poor judgement and almost always some good old fashioned hot-dogging. Type III wrecks are the only ones I really can afford to keep track of as the others are too numerous. Going into last weekend I had only suffered 3 type III wrecks. Yeap, you guessed it, I scored number 4 on Saturday. It happened where two of my previous three did, in a snowboard park. I just can't resist those big gnarley looking jumps. That story will have to wait for my next post. It is past my bed time.

Harry Potter Duel!

2010-01-16T16:24:00.000-08:00

Who doesn't love fireworks? One of the favorite past times of the Smart brothers is Roman Candle wars. To be more specific Harry Potter themed Roman Candle Wars. It is a great activity because it is always sure to get the adrenaline flowing, the price of admission is cheap, and so far the worst injuries have been mere flesh wounds. Here are the teams and the footage.

Fred and George.

Crabbe, Draco and Goyle.

Quarterback Forgiven

2009-12-03T20:53:00.000-08:00

I have never bashed any BYU quarterback behind phony screen names on the internet, but I certainly have said a derogatory thing or two in the privacy of my own living room. Nothing brings out the whining and complaints like a BYU-Utah game. Last Saturday after watching Max Hall throw for a career low in his last chance to beat the Yewts, while watching the rest of the team inevitably squander our 14 point lead, it was getting pretty hard for any true blue cougar fan to hold it in.

Then overtime came and Max seized his last chance to be a hero. Despite throwing a 25 yard touchdown pass on 2nd down to clench the victory from the jaws of defeat I was not quite ready to forgive him for letting the Yewts take us to the wire again. I was softening but I was not quite ready to forgive, that was until the infamous post game interview.

Nice job Max! That pretty much sums it up! I don't care how many General Authorities went there, they don't go there anymore! That was Awesome! Consider yourself fully forgiven from Rangi Smart. I promise to not say one more bad thing about you the rest of your career, no matter how bad you play in the Bowl game.

Teaching Intensity

2009-11-13T23:23:00.000-08:00

I may have heard this sentence more times than anybody in the history of the LDS Faith.

“Relax man, It’s only church basketball!”

Not that I am a hot head, quite the opposite. I am very level headed even after a couple uncalled fouls or an intenional cheapshot.

I get the relax comment because I have no offense and only one speed on defense, full speed. It’s not intenional. I just can’t turn it down. It doesn’t matter what the score is, or the fact that I have never even played a basketball game that mattered to anyone but myself, when I play defense, I only run a full court press, usually by myself. The worst part is, the more it bothers my opponent, the more I enjoy it.

I think it all stems from my personal belief that when you have short comings in anything, the quickest fix is to turn up the intensity. The second quickest fix is to put on your mean face. No doubt these are personal beliefs fueled by a lifetime of wrestling.

As a wrestler, I never felt bad about giving up one point for unnecessary roughness as long as I had at least a two point lead. In the video below I get a particular bargain on a unnecessary roughness call, leading 10-2 with less than a minute to wrestle and only being punished one point for a hum-dinger. I'll take that deal every time.

Recently I decided I needed to start doing what I could to pass the mean faces and intensity on to my offspring. Not that I would let any of my girls wrestle, but heck, life is just more fun if you have a good mean face in your arsenal. So I decided to get Jilli Bean started by working on her mean face and it seems to come pretty natural for her. Judge for yourself.

Pretty Boy Status?

2009-10-24T22:45:00.000-07:00

No, I didn't get a cell phone.

At the start of this school year Sara asked me to organize my closet. If she would have asked me how many collared school shirts I had, I would have guessed about 10 or so. Upon completing my organization I was shocked and embarrassed to find that I had over 40.

My first thought was "Holy crap! When did I turn into a girl?" I decided I better embrace my stockpile of sport-polos. So logically, I challenged a couple other teachers to see who could go farther into the school year without repeating shirts. After getting no takers at my proposal, I was stuck competing against my usual challenger, myself. A personal quest to see how far my arsenal of apparel could take me, the rules were collared shirts Mon-Thurs, t-shirst only on Fridays, jerseys only after big wins. I lasted over 11 weeks, almost one-third of the school year. Sara wants me to get rid of some of them now, but the way I see it, I have already amassed enough shirts in 10 years of teaching to go almost a third of the school year, if I keep this pace by the time I retire I will be able to go my whole last school year without repeating shirts and she can go my whole last year without doing laundry.

Special thanks to Sara for taking my picture on every morning that I wasn't already running too late.

Sara Re-defines Herself!

2009-10-07T21:48:00.000-07:00

The other day Sara and I were listening to a little John Denver, when she heard our friend John describe one of his lady friends as "wild as a mink, but sweet as soda pop." She was instantly enamored by the description. "Dang, that's how I want you to describe me!" I thought it a worthy description and have delivered by changing her caption on my blog to exactly that. Which brings me to my poll question: What better defines Sara? Wild as a Mink or Sweet as Soda Pop?

Rig bags peak number 2!!

2009-09-28T21:39:00.000-07:00

This trip was a year in the planning. Rig, Grandpa Steve and myself all anxious to take (or retake) the largest peak in So Cal, the 11,506 ft. San Gorgonio. The 3500 feet of climbing would be Rig's longest hike to date, at 22 miles round trip. (There are shorter routes but we chose the longer flatter route.)

Rig and I had to play hooky from school for a Friday morning departure.

I got us lost and had to go into "Lippy's Country Store" for directions. Who would have guessed Lippy was an asian man who didn't speak any English. Only in California. When I asked for directions to Fish Creek, all he could do was try to sell me night-crawlers.

My hiking buddies.

The word stoked is an understatement for Rigdon on these types of outings. He doesn't even complain when I quiz him on his times tables.

The first day saw about 6 miles, 2000 feet of elevation and plenty of epic scenery.

Rig is following in Uncle Bram's footsteps and is yet to complain about a single meal while backpacking.

Rig said his favorite part of the trip was being at camp. We had a beautiful spot at just under 10,000 ft.

We were all a little shocked at how fast it went from sunny and warm to bitter cold. Thank goodness I brought the tent for Rig's sake. I almost decided we didn't need it.

Day 2, five miles and 1500 ft to go.

There was a plane crash that literally straddled the trail.

Rigdon searched for bones of the 13 killed in the wreckage. Luckily he didn't find any.

Finally getting above the tree line.

Rig took the summit first. It was a very clear day and we had the peak all to ourselves for about 45 minutes. The view was awesome.

Holy Crap! I couldn't figure out how to set the timer on my camera and had to try to take a picture of us on the summit just by holding the camera out. After multiple tries with this as our best result, I was convinced we were the two least photogenic people to ever climb San Gorgonio.

Luckily another hiker finally showed up and took a picture at a distance that masked our lack of photogenics.

When we were hiking with Steve this is all we ever saw of him. He gave us a lesson in setting pace.

Even at the end of the hike Rig had the energy to run and jump off of any rock on the trail that tempted him.

Rigdon didn't have to be asked to smile for one single picture. He was smiling from ear to ear the whole two days.

Reality Check

2009-09-20T10:03:00.000-07:00

Make it 25 years without repeating as National Champions. My only condolences are that USC and Utah lost as well.