Pictures of Randomness

Adam has a pretty cool blog of some of his pictures and I thought that I would copy him by putting up some of my pictures that I like. Some of these are ancient and some are not so ancient. These don't include any people, just landscapes and such.

What 24 looks like

I'm 24. Like the popular tv show, but with less terrorists. This weekend the parents and I went camping at pinnacles to celebrate. After some time we realized that we hadn't been camping in SIX years. While sitting around the campfire we got to reminisce a little about past trips. Sky camp with sheldon and jason coming up and then playing mission in the tall grass, lost coast with adam blazing the trail to prove his manliness, I thought of coast camp with our offpath adventure that resulted in poison oak fun, Camping with the Baley's and I carried my own backpack (with just my coat, mind you) until someone carried me on their shoulders the rest of the way, buetano with the slugs, manresa beach with bikes, chain lakes with mosquitoes and so on and so on. I guess being very old makes you reminisce about the good ol' days and such.

On Friday night it was perfectly quiet in our campground

and we were in an open field. It was perfectly still, and it seemed as though the world had stopped. A nice feeling when my week consists of work and then nearly immediately to an activity or choir practice every night except friday. It felt GOOD. We also used the campfire to respectfully dispose of an American flag, as well as garments. I remember two times before where I was one of the color-guards retiring the colors, back in scouts, and it moved me to think about what that flag stood for, and how much has been sacrificed for it. Pretty cool experience, and it was one of the opportunities to realize how much has been given and sacrificed just so I can live a life of my choosing. It crazy to see the unrest in the middle east and currently in Egypt but usually when I hear a report about the unrest or the violence, I don't really allow myself to grasp the import of the situation and think about all the individual lives that are being affected by that crisis. Sorry, I'm not trying to make this a political blog, but sometimes I get carried away in my rambling, as I'm sure all of you know very well. haha

The weather was very warm when we got there but that quickly changed as the sun went down. The fire proved invaluable even for a springtime in California. Now this next part is somewhatshameful for me, but here you have it: it was a COLD night. Due to the frost and

ice on the tents and the campsite, we estimate it was around 28 or so to give it that good of a frosting. I, going to school in Idaho, thought that I was impervious to cold and that anything above 15 is nothing. Well, its only nothing when you're wearing the right clothes and your sleeping bag is decent. All of us woke up several times due to the cold and the less than ideal sleeping conditions, but it was still a lot of fun and proved to be yet another experience that helped me be more grateful for what I have.

Change is Good

I've had an opportunity to reflect on some things recently, and one of those things that I have been thinking about lately is change. Change is usually a scary word that invites feelings of fear of the unknown, uncertainty about the future, and so forth. This last week and these past weeks have been a lesson to me that change is not bad, and is often a very good thing. While this list of recent changes seems to be very simple and almost unimportant, I view this events in a different perspective that goes much deeper.

Weather

This picture is not a mistake. This is what the sky looks like this morning, and my purpose in sharing this is not to rub it in. For about the past three weeks or so, nearly every morning the valley has been covered in fog. Not the nice little fog that burns off by 10 but the kind that sticks around all day and never lets the sun out. It was kinda depressing but maybe thats just because I'm a spoiled california boy that likes his sun in the winter. Recently the fog has been gone and we have been having some sunshine around here, which makes a world of difference. So thats a good change.

Apple Tree

This is sadly what is left of the Granny Smith apple tree in the backyard. Dad, Eric McCray, and myself spent saturday morning and part of the afternoon cutting it down, and then removing the stump. While it is very sad to not have this delicious tree anymore, it was very clear that the entire tree was diseased and would not be the productive tree that it has been in the past.

Another thought came from the roots, themselves. While the actual task of digging a trench and cutting the roots was no easy task, I was rather surprised that it wasn't harder to rip the tree out of the ground. We left the trunk and a limb on the tree so we had some leverage, and the tree came out much easier than I thought it would or should. There was no taproot. No singular, strong root that was at the core of the supporting root system. Again, this observation goes deeper than taking down a tree.

Temple

I guess I'll end my unnecessarily long post on this item. Yesterday the three YSA branches went to the Sacramento temple. The Oakland temple is undergoing renovations and cleanings and such so our normal temple wasn't available for our monthly temple trip. Thankfully the Turlock branch arranged for us to go to Sacramento to do baptisms. This was my first time doing baptisms there, and it was a very enjoyable experience. It was a new temple, and a different experience than what I was used to. Afterwards I was able to snap a couple of pictures, including this one. Not a great shot, but still helps me remember the feelings of that evening.

So change isn't a bad thing, and is often a necessary and a great thing. Its a wonderful thing to know that our lives are being led by a benevolent Father that wants us to become like Him, and has provided a mortal existence for us to start that journey. I've had some recent insights on being led, and they are a continuing reminder that I am just a mere child and have yet to understand a great many things. I'm not worried, and I look forward to the future and the wonderful ( and not so wonderful) changes that await me.

There and Back Again

(this is what rexburg area looks like right now)

SO I am not the best blogger. Big shocker. BUT I plan on being a little bit more consistent than once every 4 months, as is the current pace. So a little update on my life. I survived another semester at school, and learned how to safely navigate all sorts of fun driving conditions. My favorite is snow on polished ice. Oh, and I am of the opin

ion that the majority of drivers in Rexburg (aside from me, of course) should not be allowed to drive when its not dry pavement. Looking back on the semester, I haven't gone on as many excursions as I did the previous semester. That is in large measure because once winter sets in, you aren't going very far off of the main roads. However, Nae came up before the snow hit so we did a circuit of Yellowstone and then went south to Teton national park. It was sweet.

We spent a good deal of time talking about getting the "mennin"(meningitis) from the geyser vapor or having a bad case of the rubies.(this has no correlation to anything) We also sang country songs, ate sugar peas, many rolls, and talked of getting a good cantalope (antelope). We found some buffalo in Teton that were in a "fenced" enclosure but the fence was super small and was open in a lot of spots.

I got as close as my stupidity would let me, and I snapped these. Those suckers are big. Just saying. But fortunately I didn't die, and neither Nae or I got the Mennin so it was a fun trip where nobody suffered severe injury. Score. So there you have it. My life in a small nutshell. Now im back at home working at the lab again, and saving up for the future. Its a new year, which brings change and different challenges and adventures. Im ready. Its crazy to think how life changes from year to year, but exciting too.

Embrace This Day

Life is good. I am genuinely happy. Don't worry, I could still complain about sleep deprivation, the dating scene, or homework, but I don't notice any of those things right now. In fact, I am going to try to never let them be a focus ever again. Even though things have been a little hectic this week, I feel very content with everything in my life. It started with getting a blessing on Sunday from my Elder's Quorum President (he's my roommate). Things changed for me. I changed. Then a phenomenal lesson in my religion class opened up Alma 36 in ways that I never could have imagined. I changed some more. I have a hope for the future that is burning in me that cannot be quenched by the economy or whatever the world may throw at me. I am going to make a difference in the world. My children will make a difference. And this is not because of any special ability that I have, but rather that I am going to try to live my life a little more like a byu devotional given back in 1996. My friend David sent it to me on facebook, for which I am very grateful. I don't feel fear or regret about opportunities that I chose not to pursue, or even apprehension about what comes next. It will be alright in the end. I'm just waiting for the next big trial in my life, but when it comes I will face it as a new man. I don't deserve any of the countless blessings that I have been given, but I am very grateful for them. Life is good. Even when its hard, life is amazing.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=snAjZ8mfoYw

Musings of a tired boy

While taking pictures of stars (moonrise) out in the desert, with my brother, I came to the realization that there is so much light. No matter how "dark" it is at night, there is always light. It can be hard to see it at time, but its always there.

Er, 4 months of blogging?

So my first semester at BYU-I has been pretty awesome. So awesome, in fact, that I didn't have the time to blog. Or rather sleep was more important than blogging. Or maybe I was just lazy. So here is a little slice of what life has been like (aside from the lovely hours spent searching for research or reading textbooks or writing papers etc) I goofed off sufficiently at the beginning of the semester to earn me a 3.1. Now my cumulative gpa is only a 3.5. Please do not accredit that to this next picture because my grades were on the up-bound the entire time I was dating her.

Biggest event of the semester was this girl here (not the fatty dandelion). Her name is Hailee, and yes, we are dating. And no, I am not planning on proposing anytime soon. And yes, she can sing. Gorgeous voice, actually, and yes, she can sing soprano, but prefers alto. Um, I can't anticipate any other questions from the family right now so you'll just have to ask them later.
I finally got to go camping with Andy's family. I'm rather jealous that he has a great campsite 20 mins away from his house. It was a fun weekend and we shot lots of cans.

While visiting an old friend before she went on a mission, a crazy lightning storm came up and I ran home and got my camera. To the left is President Eyring's son's house. It was a fun night.
On a Sunday drive I, along with 4 others, went for a drive to Tetonia. We stopped along the way a couple of times for pictures. It was a much needed break.
The blurry head is one of my fhe sisters. I don't know which one. I was mostly interested in the mountains, anyhoo. I really want to climb that big mountain.
The view. Almost worth the -20 degree weather in the winter.

On another trip I went to cress creek with some friends. As you can tell I like to look my best on these little excursions. The picture was a request made by Barbie, one of the sisters I hometeach. The flower smelled like fruit loops. Not even kidding.

This is the view from cress creek. Its about 20 mins away from campus and it overlooks this nice little valley. One of the places I like to go :)

Mesa Falls. It was really pretty, and my econ partner, Betsy, wanted to go. See, going places and doing things was always better than doing our weekly econ assignments, but this was our "reward" for getting it done. She brought along her roomates....uh.... (forgot the names. they're the girls) She is the one with her arm around Jordan. (i tried to set them up but it didn't work)
And of course i couldn't leave out my fhe sisters. We had a lot of fun even though half of our lessons were spent harassing me.
I made many an excursion to take pictures with dates, friends, and by myself. Photography was my escape from going insane.
My other escape was going to the temple. It has been such a blessing having the temple only 20 mins away if I walked. (only walked twice)
Now seeing how its good ol' Rexburg, there isn't that much to do for fun. You have to get creative. VERY creative. I apologize to those with sensitive dispositions, but you chose to look at this blog, nobody made you. This was an 80's night date that was a lot of fun. It turned into an impromptu dance party that made our manager come up and tell us to be quiet. Ooops?

My semester has been an eventful one. I grew a lot. I had more powerful, spiritual experiences in the one semester than I perhaps did in the preceding two years after my mission. I've met a lot of people who will be my lifelong friends and made a lot of great memories. This is only a very small slice of life since April but hopefully it will update y'all to whats been going on in my life as of late.