Ernie's Thoughts and Musings

10:10 Mini Movie - No Pressure - The left would like to dictate how we think

2010-10-05T23:13:00.005-06:00

This movie / ad was well put together. Too bad it exposes how the left would like to limit original thought.

I guess that isn't any surprise.

Wedding Announcement Fotos; Recife (almost a year ago)

2010-04-25T21:56:00.004-06:00

I haven’t blogged for awhile. It seems that life has been going by very fast. I have had too many marvelous things happening all at once. I have also been back at school. This has created another outlet for my writing cravings. It left blogging low on the priority list. Then again… So many marvelous things have been happening. I need to get things journaled before I forget the details.

(playing downtown Recife)

The first important thing I want to remember happened in August. It had been months since my last visit to Recife to see my fiancée Cynthia. We felt that we might get our appointment to the embassy in Rio for the fiancée visa interview in November. We wanted a trip in-between because it was so difficult to be away from each other. We planned a great trip. A few days in Recife and a few days in our favorite beach town Porto de Galinhas.

In Recife we spent effort trying to find the perfect foto for our wedding announcements.

(a date at the temple)

(a serious attempt at a wedding announcement foto)

(a not so serious attempt at a wedding announcement foto)

(another not so serious attempt)

(a view at sunset)

(sunset)

(romantic)

(one of my favorites)

(another favorite)

(at Porto de Galinhas we tried more wedding announcement fotos)

We have been married now for 4 months. Its a true joy to look back at what we wanted to be our wedding announcement fotos.

November 11th

2009-11-11T09:12:00.001-07:00

Arizona Gothic

2009-11-02T08:42:00.001-07:00

So Kohler picks up the hot-dog fork and says… Hey lets make a picture like that one painting. We could have worked a little harder at copying. We were working from memory.

AZ Camping – Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument

2009-11-01T18:14:00.001-07:00

One Friday afternoon after work I packed the kids into the car and we drove off into the desert. We love camping. I grew up in Western Washington. I don’t remember many camping trips in Washington when there wasn’t rain. Camping in Arizona is a different story.

It was late afternoon when we arrived. It was still well over 100 degrees. There was one thing that would make it so that I would enjoy myself no matter how hot it got. I got an e-mail from the Department of Homeland Security on our way out of town. The e-mail said that the Department of Homeland Security approved our application for a fiancé visa and they were going to send it to the National Visa Center for further processing. YAY!

We choose a campground that was away from the National Park facilities. We setup the camp. It was Kohler’s job to take fotos as we pitched the tent.

One good thing about the heat was that it appeared that we were the only ones brave enough or stupid enough to be out there camping. We had the campsite all to ourselves. Kohler took full advantage of this. He was as loud as he could possibly be.

We went on a hike. It was only supposed to be a couple of miles so I wore my Brazilian flip-flops. There was a dried up cactus on the ground. I kicked it. The spikes went all the way through my flip-flops. I spent the rest of the night pulling spikes out of my foot and my flip-flop.

The cactus were really sharp as Dylan demonstrated for us.

It was still fun though. There was an old abandoned ranch-house and coral. It was great to explore.

The kids freaked themselves out a little bit with ghosts and spiders and snakes. I’m pretty certain we did not see any of those things.

We hurried back to the campsite and I started dinner. There are few things that taste as good as meat cooked over hardwood charcoal.

Dinner was good. The sunset was awe inspiring. The kids settled in to their tent. We played a game together. Dylan played us a part of a song from his Zune, and we guessed the name. I did okay, even with the new stuff.

Every once in awhile I would sneak away to take fotos.

The next day we explored Tombstone, AZ. The kids really enjoyed it. That night we watched the movie. Kohler couldn’t believe that we were just there! It was exciting for him.

It was a great weekend spent with the kids. I loved the fotos I got. I loved the games that we played and the memories that we made. The best part was that we were one step closer to getting our visa.

Kohler’s Annual Birthday Trip

2009-10-29T14:36:00.001-06:00

In our family Kohler has the unique distinction of having a birthday in the middle of summer vacation, right before the 4th of July Holiday. For the past two years I have taken the kids to the national park of Kohler’s choice as part of his Birthday present. Last year we went to Mt. Rushmore. This year Kohler decided to go to the Grand Canyon.

The canyon is amazing. As you walk up to the edge you suddenly see how gianormous the canyon is. You suddenly feel small and insignificant. There are places that you can stand at the edge of this enormous canyon where you can see the curvature of the Earth. You get an impression of just how big the world is. It is almost unfathomable.

At first you do not feel safe standing at the edge. In many places the drop to the next step is not as far as it appears when you are further from the edge. Dylan and Kohler saw this right away. Sierra did not get close enough to the edge to see this until later. She could not understand why Dylan and Kohler were jumping around all over the place so close to the edge. It took her hours to get enough courage to walk up and peek over. Even when the drop is not so far you still get the feeling of vertigo when you look up and out over the expansive canyon.

Sunset was the greatest. The canyon lit with a dizzying array of colors, tints, and hues. We were rained on. We were haled on. It was well worth the wait.

Kohler did NOT like it when the rain made it so his hair lost it’s fluff.

Sunset was when Sierra finally got brave enough to go to the edge.

I LOVE the colors that come out at sunset. Skin tones are much more rich.

Even I looked okay with the canyon behind me.

Bothers and sister goofed off together as always

We explored.

The park's architecture was impressive.

Thanks Kohler! It was another fantastic summer vacation.

Hmmmm. Where will you choose next year?

Rich in Beauty

2009-10-19T20:38:00.001-06:00

I love to visit Alto do Mandu. This is the area where my fiancé lives.

Alto do Mandu is built on a hill and from this view you can acres of palm trees and heavens of blue skies with fluffy clouds. I love these steps that bring you right up to the house that my fiancé lives in. The walls are covered in moss alive with scurries of geckos. Sunsets from this vantage are breathtaking.

Alto do Mandu may not be the most wealthy neighborhood in Recife but it’s beauty is priceless.

DanBings for Breakfast

2009-04-11T15:11:00.001-06:00

Lately I’ve been paying Sierra to scan old fotos of my mission etc…

Some of the fotos that really brought back a bunch of memories were from my first area in HuaLien County. We went to the same place for breakfast every morning. It was my first exposure to Chinese breakfasts. I had never considered Chinese food for breakfast before, and I was reluctant to try it my first morning in Taiwan. It was AMAZING! One of the things I liked most mornings were DanBing and DoJiang cold. Dan Bing translates as egg cookie. DoJiang is simply soymilk. I missed soymilk so much when I got back to the United States that I made it myself from scratch several times. I’m so grateful that I can walk into any grocery store now and find it. The plain stuff is almost the same as what we drank in Taiwan.

Since scanning those fotos I have been craving DanBings. To my surprise my kids love them. Kohler was afraid to try them last weekend. Today he asked for them! I was happy to oblige his wish this morning.

Here is how I made them.

#1 You start with green onions and you chop them up finely.

#2 You beat 2 eggs. I use egg beaters. They are better for you and you don’t have to beat them. Then stir in the chopped onions. To make it authentic add some white pepper. (some people don’t like white pepper. I LOVE IT!)

#3 I use two frying pans this makes it much easier. Heat them both up on the stove with a little oil or a spray of PAM. You can use spring roll wraps or the raw tortillas from Costco. Lightly fry one side of the wrap.

#4 In the other pan pour the egg-onion mixture.

#5 Place the wrap fried side down on top of the cooking egg mixture.

#6 When the egg starts to firm up flip both the egg and the wrap into the other pan.

#7 When the wrap starts to brown fold it in thirds.

#8 Cut it into bite sized strips.

#9 Dress it with chili paste and soy sauce.

#10 Finally watch your kids gobble them up. Sorry Kohl, I should have taken another foto, your eyes are a little funny in this foto. But you CAN tell that you enjoy it.

Alto do Mandu

2009-04-10T21:41:00.001-06:00

A few of the days that I was in Brazil in February Cynthia had to work. This was a good opportunity to work on my Portuguese with these two ladies, Cynthia’s Mom, and Grandma.

They are two of the most fun ladies I know. This day I talked them into going for a walk with me around Cynthia’s neighborhood, Alto do Mandu. This is a beautiful part of the city. The neighborhood is built on a pretty tall hill that Cynthia’s family lives at the top of. The family has lived there for generations and many of her cousins live close by. Evenings spent in Alto do Mandu are often enjoyed out side talking to the neighbors. It is a very fun place to live.

Mom and Grandma love to laugh. My Portuguese is not very good at all but they are still a joy to be around. They truly know how to have a good time. They KNOW how to have joy.

We walked down the hill, around the hill and then back up the hill on the other side.

We only stopped for a rest once. That break was filled with laughter also.

When we got back Mom and Grandma waived their arms in the air and yelled: ‘Chegamos, chegamos!’ ‘We’re back, We’re back!’

This was another treasured memory from my trip to Brazil.

Spitinho

2009-04-09T09:46:00.002-06:00

I like food. If someone calls it food, I will probably put it in my mouth. In any part of the world my favorite food is street food. In China there are some street foods that I would steer away from. There are still many that I like. My favorite above all is the stuff that is barbequed over hot charcoal. I love being in a place overseas and smell that sizzling meat over wood smoke smell. My mouth will water immediately.

In India a couple of years ago I went to a Muslim section in Delhi. I walked hundreds of yards through this alley that was filled with people that appeared to step out of the past. The alley was packed with humanity. No one was in western dress. It was all ankle length robes and beards. There were beggars in the muck. I was greeted with strange stares. It seemed that their eyes were saying… 'I wasn’t expecting an American here.' I was driven. I was driven by that meat and charcoal smell. Finally I found it. Grilled skewers of lamb meat and onions were my reward. It had been covered in garlic and fiery curry style spices. It was heaven in my mouth.

It was hot and humid my last Saturday in Brazil. Cynthia had to work half a day. It was difficult to be away from her after the amazing weekend and start of the week that we had alone together in Porto de Galinhas. I was grateful for the time that we were going to have together. Cynthia’s Sister drove me to her work to pick her up.

The first news was not good. Cynthia had lost her position in the company. It was really still a new job. She was only just at the end of her three month probation period. I felt that perhaps the company had just used Cynthia in a dishonest way to cover for an administrative assistant that was out on maternity leave. When this other employee came back to work, they told Cynthia that she was no longer needed.

This was very difficult to swallow. Cynthia really amazed me. She expressed her feelings about it. What amazed me was her faith in Heavenly Father’s hand in her life. She was able to look at her situation with an eternal perspective, and honestly say; “Heavenly Father has something else in store for me, and I will be okay.”

We enjoyed the rest of the afternoon and the evening. We spent the afternoon on the temple grounds talking and taking pictures. We talked about future possibilities. A real blessing to me was to be able to be there while the love of my life suffered this set back. I never feel so helpless than when my love is suffering and there is little I can do because of the 7500 miles that separate us.

We ended the day at one of those amazing street vendors selling ‘spitinho’. This is the Brazilian version of barbequed meat on the street. It was amazing. I have been trying to replicate the end result ever since. My favorite part is this garlic sauce that they put on it with crunchy flavored manioc crust on top called ‘farofa’.

Any moment I spend with Cynthia is a treasured memory. This tender afternoon and evening was tinged with sadness. It reset our perspectives. It allowed us to test our faith in Heavenly Father’s hand in our lives. This memory will stand out in my life as the cream of a treasured moments. I am so grateful that I could be with my honeysinha on that day.

My Mermaid and Me

2009-03-15T22:08:00.001-06:00

This experience was so much fun! I just HAVE to share it. Cynthia and I spent a few days in this very small beach town over Carnaval by ourselves. The first day we were there we didn't bring the snorkel stuff because we wanted to take fotos and we were afraid that if we went swimming together and left our stuff at the beach, our stuff would get stolen. This was a pretty good bet. The beach was CROWDED for Carnaval.

On Monday I convinced Cynthia to only take stuff that we didn't mind to get stolen so that we could go snorkeling. I am pretty sure Cynthia didn't quite see what was going to be so wonderful. I have seen some cool things snorkeling before. I was excited to see what these reefs at Porto de Galinhas had to offer. We went out soon after we got to the beach that morning. Cynthia was a little bit apprehensive at first. I don't think she trusted herself as a swimmer.

Soon she got the hang of it. It turned out she did great. The fish were spectacular.

There were many fish and all kinds of spectacular colors. Bright yellows. Bright blues. There some red fish, and some brightly colored orange and cream striped fish. sometimes we would be swimming along and suddenly there would be schools of thousands of fish right below us as far as we could see. It was unbelievable.

As long as I was holding her hand or had my hand on her back Cynthia was willing to keep going.

When she started seeing the fish she got more excited that I did. It became incredibly fun to watch. If I saw a fish I would quickly look at Cynthia to see if she saw it also. I would hear her squeal with glee... and she would point. She would get so excited it became more fun for me to watch her that it was for me to watch the fish.

We swam until we feared we were getting sun-burned. there was a part of the reef way off in the distance where many boats were. I thought it would be fun to swim out there and see the fish out there. But it was very very far. I think Cynthia was nervous about swimming out so far away from the beach. But she really enjoyed snorkeling and she really enjoyed the fish. I was proud of her.

The next day we went snorkeling again. This time Cynthia was much more brave. We swam out to those boats that Cynthia is pointing at and we swam back. IT WAS FANTASTIC. We even swam past the firemen on the wave-runners telling other swimmers to go back because they were not swimming very well.

Snorkeling will be something we certainly do again.

2009 Carnaval Slide Show

2009-03-06T09:32:00.001-07:00

Porto de Galinhas

2009-02-09T21:22:00.002-07:00

I've been in Arizona for almost a month now. So far I'm really enjoying it. Sierra was here last week. For her Birthday present I bought her a plane ticket and we spent the weekend together.

On Friday we went camping out in the desert with the two Lignell families. It was fantastic. I love the desert at night. Even though the moon was bright you could still see the stars way better than from the city. You could see the splash of the milky-way through the middle of the sky. That spiral arm of the galaxy that are distant members of.

It was fun to go camping in January. the fun part was that it felt like a Northwest Washington summer.

We went swimming every day she was here. It was sunny and warm.

I was sad to see her leave. I'm so glad she and her brothers will be back this weekend. It gives me something great to look forward to in a time that may otherwise be yucky.

It's been raining the past couple of days here in AZ. It hasn't been warm either. I'm glad to know that it can rain, but it makes me even more excited for the other thing I have to look forward to. The week after next I'm leave for carnaval vacation in Brazil with my fiancé.

We are going to spend some time in Porto de Galinhas. This has become one of my favorite spots in the world. Porto de Galinhas has beautiful beaches, sun, warm surf, and the town is just a little out of the way beach town. It will be a fantastic place for a vacation.

I hope to have many more vacations in this spot or spots similar to this.

Obama... What Would Reagan Do?

2009-01-21T09:40:00.002-07:00

Yesterday was great occasion. For obvious reasons it was a proud day to be an American. I didn't vote for Obama, but he is my President. I will support him. I will also speak out against his policies when I believe that they are flawed. His inaugural speech scared me.

I was annoyed when Obama said that we are in the worst economic disaster since the great depression. This isn't true. By any measure Ronald Reagan inherited a much worse economic situation from Jimmy Carter than Obama is moving into.

	1981	Today
Inflation	12%	3%
Unemployment	7.5%	7.2%
Prime Interest Rate	20.5%	3.3%
People in Poverty	14%	12%
Dow Jones	951	8000
Median Income (Todays dollars)	42,000	50,000
Maximum Tax Rate	70%	35%

Reagan pulled us out of that economic crisis and he ended the cold war. Obama's motto should be: "What Would Reagen Do?"

What scares me is that Obama’s policies are much like Carter’s or FDR's policies. Please remember that if it wasn't for World War II and FDR's promise to keep the United States out of the war that he would not have been re-elected because of his economic policies.

Things are going to get much worse.

The financial markets are reflecting that Obama's ideas are flawed. After the inaugural speech the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 332 points. This IS the worst inauguration speech drop of the Dow Jones in history.

The proposed economic stimulus package will cost more than;

Both of the Iraq wars

The Vietnam War

Korean War

World War II

All of the NASA projects

The Savings and Loan bail out

The Louisiana Purchase

And the entire cost of the New Deal

It will cost more than those things combined, and adjusted for inflation.

The United States will borrow more this year than in the previous two hundred years combined.

This is not what Reagan would do. Please Obama, ask yourself... What would Reagan do?

Joy

2008-11-13T10:50:00.001-07:00

I'm grateful for the atonement. I'm grateful for joy. I'm grateful that I can choose joy. I choose joy by choosing to live in harmony with the plan of happiness. I don't have to choose this. This is the magic part. It's magic because when I choose joy my joy is greater BECAUSE I choose it. I LOVE that!

Brazil for Christmas

2008-11-08T18:49:00.001-07:00

To most people it will seem that I just got back from Brazil.

I did not get close to enough of it when I was there in October. I have had a concern about what to do for Christmas. I have not considered Brazil because Delta® doesn't fly to Recifé until December 21st. I thought for certain that I would not be able to afford a Skymiles® seat on Delta's maiden voyage to Recifé. I looked it up last week, and I COULD afford it. I booked the tickets and I will be with the girl I love for Christmas!

I am so excited!

A Hero

2008-11-08T17:59:00.001-07:00

My divorce was a horrible thing. It was worse than a death. I can describe it as a horrible death that happened over and over and over again. Sometimes we experienced the same death over and over again in the same day.

Many days I suffered these deaths all on my own. I have never felt more forgotten by my Heavenly Father. I had never felt more alone.

It was sad and the whole thing had sucked donkeys! (This phrase was borrowed from early 90's SNL skit.)

Kat and I both made many mistakes. Many couples make the same mistakes. At the worst of the times in my marriage I would look around and think to myself. 'Whew... We are better off than most people.'

When I found out that my marriage was over it was a shock. I was very surprised. I never thought it would happen to me. It made me angry.

Kathleen did not want to work on our marriage and that made me sad. She did start to develop a vision of our future that took me a long time to buy into but ultimately I started to see that vision also.

Kat had this idea that she and I could keep our friendship for the kids' sake. Her vision was that for the kids we could remain divorced and still respect and help each other.

My divorce was the easiest and cheapest ones that I have ever heard of. We didn't use lawyers and we carefully drew up our own papers keeping each others needs and feeling at the forefront. There was still fear from both of us that the other may want to treat us unfairly. Ultimately we made things very fair for both.

Every once in awhile egos will get hurt and those harsh feelings got uncovered. Now these pains are quickly eliminated. That ego (that little me) is quickly reminded that it is not in charge that it does not control us, and our true spirits take over to heal and point us in the right direction again.

Finally I feel comfortable that I am going to be okay. I have found a girl to date that is wonderful. As much as I love Cynthia I also have this knowledge that I will be fine with or without her. This makes it so that there is not a pressure to be someone that I am not. This knowledge allows me to be genuine. My future marriage will be much better for this.

I see that I am a much better person since my divorce. Things that I have learned rarely get learned by people. I had enormous motivation to learn these things and learn them quickly. I would not have learned these things as clearly as I did without Kathleen's patient feedback.

It hasn't been easy for either of us to make these changes in our lives. We have had to take a hard close look at our insecurities and shortcomings and had to figure out how to make these things strengths.

Kat and I have become a team again where it comes to our kids. We are patient with each other and we support each other in discipline and goals.

Thanks to Kathleen's vision we have maintained our friendship. We have both moved on and left pettiness and egos behind. If she hadn't had this vision and shared this vision with me it would have been easy to just keep our relationship to a contractual level. It would have been very difficult for our kids. It would have been easy to be vindictive and petty.

Kathleen has been a hero in our divorce. She hasn't always made the choices I agreed with, but she gave me a vision for a future that put our children first and made it so that we could both be happy and enjoy our lives.

My future doesn't include Kathleen as the most important person in my life. I am excited for that role to be filled by another. I will be forever grateful to Kathleen for being so cooperative in our divorce. I am also grateful to her for showing me a vision where our we can put our children first and make things as good as possible for them.

Thanks Kat!

Paralelepipedo

2008-10-28T21:56:00.006-06:00

I am not certain that I am spelling this correctly at all. I am spelling it the way I heard it. I am new to Portuguese someday perhaps I will know. Maybe Clay or Cynthia will help me out here. I will correct it when I find out how to REALLY spell it.Paralelepipedo is the cobblestone that make up many of the streets in Brazil. This word is very fun to say. Try to say it with me:

pah - dah - leh - leh - pee - PEH - doo

It is much more fun to say than it is to walk on. I found myself tripping very often. It was not just me either. I saw many Brazilians trip on the cobblestone everyday, just as I was doing. I started to think it was funny.

The cobblestone was nice to look at. It really added an extra level of atmosphere. Recifé was unique to the cities that I have seen all over the world. Recifé would not have been Recifé without the palm trees, the coconut milk stands, the colorful buildings, the people sitting outside their homes at night talking and laughing, and yes... Recifé would not have been Recifé without the cobblestone streets... the paralelepipedo.

I have been thinking of all of the ways that I could blog my trip to Brazil. My heart has been filled with a richness for the past few months as time led up to my trip. I felt I was already in love before I left.

Certainly I have found love in Brazil... it was beyond all of my dreams of what love could be. No one wants to read about this though.

I have been finding peace in my life for awhile now. I have been CHOOSING happiness. I could be happy going alone but I have longed for a relationship with a woman that I could love, adore, and cherish. Life without someone to share it with lacks richness... Life without a companion lacks color.

I believe that I am in the type of relationship now that I have always longed for. One where I am comfortable to be me. One where my companion will be comfortable to be her, one where we are both genuine. This is magic.

But I thought people would enjoy reading about paralelepipedo more than anything else. So that is what I wrote about.

The View from My Office

2008-10-28T18:52:00.001-06:00

My position has been moved out of state. I was given the option to move with my position or not move and not keep my position.

Today I told my manager that I will move. I was thinking about this when I looked out my window and once again realized that I have enjoyed a FANTASTILICIOUS view for the past 7 years. I will really miss this view. I have been lucky to work from this vantage point.

PROFESSOR CHAOS

2008-09-30T12:13:00.002-06:00

Sometimes when we FEEL our prayers are not answered we feel like PROFESSOR CHAOS... The truth is... Our prayers are always answered.

Later in this episode Professor Chaos (Buttars) tries to flood the world by turning on the hose outside their house. He is a little frustrated when after waiting all day with the hose on he only manages to create a mud-puddle. Very cute!

Prayers Not Answered

2008-09-30T12:10:00.001-06:00

For the last two years it seems that many of my prayers went unanswered. It seemed to me like I had a righteous desire. The things that I prayed about didn't seem to happen the way I expected them to happen.

I didn't know what I was doing wrong. Why weren't my prayers being answered? Last night I was reading talks from the last general conference and I ran into a talk by David A. Bednar that gave me some insight as to what may be going on. The following is an excerpt that I found some strength in:

Discerning and accepting the will of God in our lives are fundamental elements of asking in faith in meaningful prayer. However, simply saying the words “Thy will be done” is not enough. Each of us needs God’s help in surrendering our will to Him.

“Prayer is the act by which the will of the Father and the will of the child are brought into correspondence with each other”. Humble, earnest, and persistent prayer enables us to recognize and align ourselves with the will of our Heavenly Father. And in this the Savior provided the perfect example as He prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane, “saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done. . . . And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly” (Luke 22:42, 44).

The object of our prayers should not be to present a wish list or a series of requests but to secure for ourselves and for others blessings that God is eager to bestow, according to His will and timing. Every sincere prayer is heard and answered by our Heavenly Father, but the answers we receive may not be what we expect or come to us when we want or in the way we anticipate.

Prayer is a privilege and the soul’s sincere desire. We can move beyond routine and “checklist” prayers and engage in meaningful prayer as we appropriately ask in faith and act, as we patiently persevere through the trial of our faith, and as we humbly acknowledge and accept “not my will, but Thine, be done.”

Instead of worrying about how my prayers are answered or not I need to figure out how to put my desires in alignment with what Heavenly Father wants for me.

Family Vacations

2008-09-22T18:41:00.003-06:00

One of my favorite things to do with my kids is to go on vacation. It almost does not matter where we go. We are going to have fun. We always bring home fantastic memories.

The photo to the left is my kids in Hot Springs, South Dakota. This trip was Kohl's idea for his birthday present this summer. He said: "I want to go to Mt. Rushmore for my Birthday."

On July 3rd,Thursday night after work, we left our home near Salt Lake City and drove all night.

We had ample room in our van for everyone's stuff, and everyone to have a seat. We brought food treats, and books on CD to listen to on the long journey. The books I brought to listen to I felt were ones that would grab our attention and keep our minds occupied to pass the time. Two of these books were ones that we all enjoyed.

Sierra and Kohler did fall asleep for awhile. Dylan managed to stay up with me most of the night. I always had at least one kid up with me.

At 5AM it was Sierra that rode by my side. That last hour of the journey Sierra's excitement was palpable. We were driving the back way through Custer State Park and we saw a herd of antelope. This was the first time that Sierra had ever seen antelope and it really was exciting.

When we drove around one corner suddenly off in the distance you could see it. Our goal was in-sight. To see Mt. Rushmore at sunrise was a treat.

With Dylan and Kohler still asleep Sierra and I left the car to explore. It was a cold morning. Walking around was invigorating. My mind was loopy from the long drive and being awake all night. Walking to the edge of the trees and viewing Mt. Rushmore on the other side of the valley was enough to clear my mind.

We drove up to the gate of the park an hour before the park opened so we drove a little further and parked. We ate some breakfast and had some time to take a few photos. Kohler and Sierra had a blast pretending that they were in the 2nd National Treasure movie.

Finally we were in the park and we could see the mountain in it's full glory.

We toured every inch of the park. Kohler was still certain that we could get to the parts of the mountain that he had seen in the National Treasure movie. He was dedicated to finding a path that would lead us to the top of the mountain. He was not satisfied that the back of the mountain was off limits until we found a fully uniformed park ranger and asked him.

Later that day we drove to our hotel. We took a nap and ate dinner. That night we played games outside until the sun went down and the Independence Day fireworks began.

We were tired. It took some energy from all of us NOT to be grouchy... We had shared some magical moments together and ultimately we grew closer.

The following day we drove to the other side of Custer State Park until we found a herd of bison. Kohl was NOT excited to be driving through the State Park to see bison. He didn't care about bison. He wanted to go swimming. We we finally saw the heard of bison he quickly changed his mind. They herd was nearly three hundred meters away. Even that far away these animals were impressive. They were massive. We were in their home and they WERE wild.

Kohler did finally get to go swimming. There was a hot-spring pool in the town we were staying at. The pool was gianormous and was constantly flowing with fresh warm spring water. There were waterslides and other things that occupied our time for 5 hours. After half a day swimming we were very worn out. and it was easy to talk the kids into going back to the hotel to watch a movie.

We spend the next day driving home. It was a tremendous weekend. Recently I was talking to the kids about going back to Washington for Thanksgiving. They asked if we would fly or drive. When I said that we would probably drive they became very excited. For some reason the road-trip is part of the adventure with these kids. I am so glad.

Maybe we will drive to South America someday!

Big City Small Town Lifestyle

2008-09-03T18:54:00.006-06:00

These two scenes take place only a a few minutes a part and only a few blocks apart. This is GuangZhou. It is one of the oldest cities in China. Many people in the west still know this city by the name that westerners gave it hundreds of years ago Canton.

I am amazed that such a quiet and serene scene could take place a mere few blocks from one of the busiest markets in the world. I love China for many reasons. One of the reasons that I love it is for it's urban landscape. It amazes me that in one moment you can go from a busy bustling noisy city center to a quiet serene domestic setting. This happens all over in many of the large cities in China. Just one block from that first photo is the scene where this third photo was taken. If you didn't know it; these next photo would almost seem rural.

China Transport

2008-08-27T11:57:00.004-06:00

Some of my photos were used in this video:

http://lenscape.org/streaming/china_moves.html

I Grew Up 5 Miles from this Spot

2008-08-26T10:20:00.002-06:00

I grew up only 5 miles from this spot but 2 weeks ago on a trip back to visit my parents was the first time that I was able to see something like this. Before I left Washington 7 years ago, a buddy and I would go to Boulevard Park in Bellingham for lunch and watch whales. We would often see them in August and September there in Bellingham Bay. Even then I couldn't imagine seeing one with Mt. Baker in the background. It was truly a remarkable moment. One that I will treasure always.

Washington Whatcom Falls Visit 2008

2008-08-26T10:07:00.001-06:00

They posted a sign this year at Whatcom Falls that stated that it was against the law to swim there. They said that there would be a $1000 fine. I was disappointed. It didn't stop me from jumping in. But I did not enjoy it as much as I would have otherwise. It is still a gorgeous spot. When it is nearly 100 degrees outside who could resist jumping in.

When you hit that water for the first time and feel that rush of ice-water engulf your body. You pop-up and you can hardly catch your breath. You then look up at the cliff where you had so recently stood. It is a rush of exhilaration that runs through your body. It is the shortest moment that has a long lasting memory. This memory is connected through your life as a thread that ties that shortest moment to all the years in your past when you have enjoyed that very thing in that very place and had those very same feelings and emotion.

Whatcom Falls has a richness that can't be found too many other places on God's green Earth. It has a richness of sight, smells, and emotion. It is even combined with a richness of friends and family because a visit to Whatcom Falls is often accompanied by a picnic.

I don't know that a sign could ever keep me from jumping. There is too much life to be enjoyed in this spot.

Stinky Tofu

2008-08-26T09:44:00.001-06:00

I went to Taiwan on my mission. After two months in the mission training center in Provo I left to Taiwan with 19 other missionaries. We were greeted warmly and then sent out on a scavenger hunt to put our newly learned Chinese to the test.

One of the 20 items we were sent out to find and bring back was Chou-Dou-Fu. The exact translation of this is Stinky Bean Curd. I was the first one back with all twenty of my items. I picked up the Stinky Bean Curd last. It wasn't hard to find. I only had to follow the smell of the dairy farm. Quite literally this unique street food smells like cow crap. I had them load it up with the hot sauce, and I hurried back to the mission office in Taipei. This was my first hot meal in Taiwan, and though it smelled horrible. It turned out to be a great way to eat hot-sauce. Fried to a crisp on the outside and tender and chewy on the inside. It gave the chili paste hot-sauce just the right texture.

In Taiwan old men would ride their 3 wheeled bikes through the neighborhoods yelling at the top of their lungs "CHOOOOOOU-DOOOOOOOU-FUUUUUU" and we would run downstairs and buy some. It became a favorite street-food of mine from Taiwan.

Since returning from Taiwan I have not seen it or tasted it or smelled it. For the first couple of years I would pass the dairy farm and smell that similar smell and my mouth would water.

Two weeks ago I was in GuangZhou, China. I walked outside one of my favorite wholesale jewelry markets and I smelled that smell. It was the first time in almost 20 years that I smelled that smell. I couldn't help it. I had to have a serving. It smelled as bad but tasted as good as I remembered. It was a pleasure that I had forgotten. It is so much fun for me to visit China. It feels like going home.

Turning Points

2008-08-21T12:55:00.001-06:00

DSC_4732b, originally uploaded by Ernest Pratt.

This is Kohl. Kohl is my youngest son. He is the most enigmatic child I know. I took Kohl, and his sister on a road trip to San Carlos, Sonora, Mexico immediately after my ex-wife and I announced our divorce. It was refreshing to be on the road with my children. It helped me to realize that I could be an influence in my children’s lives forever.
This trip gave me great perspective. On the way home we stopped at a McDonalds in Hermosillo. I think the kids got sick playing in the play place. The next day they both got sick all over my car. They got sick all over my car many times. Before my divorce this would have upset me. I would have felt put-out. This time though… it was an opportunity to show them how much I loved them. We made an unplanned stop at a hotel in Flagstaff, where we could clean-up and I could just take care of my precious children.
Helping my children was no longer something that ‘I had to do’. This became something that ‘I got to do’. This road trip became a huge turning point in my life. It represents a point in my life where I grew-up a little. Man! I wish I had learned these things 16 years earlier when I thought I was ready to get married.

Kohl was mesmerized by the beach and the sea. We were usually the only ones on the beach. We spent all day there every day for a week. It never grew old. With sunsets like this, and temperatures that allowed us to play in the water into the evening. It was a paradise with my children. This moment represents life altering epiphanies for me. It gives me the courage to move on and do it right this time.

San Carlos Road Trip

2008-08-21T12:53:00.000-06:00

San Carlos Road Trip, originally uploaded by Access Granted.

ROAD TRIP
I have been to Mexico many times. I have been there for business to places like Mexico City, Monterrey and Torreon. I have been to border towns Nogales, Tiajuana, and Juarez.

I love Mexico. I always wante to share it with my kids. I wanted to go to a place with out tourists and I wanted the freedom to drive. I wanted to be on my own schedule. I didn't want the typical Mexican vacation with cowds of drunk Norte Americanos and kitschy souveniers.

I had always wanted to drive my own car and take my children for a foreign experience.
San Carlos Sonora was the perfect place. It took 17 hours to drive from Salt Lake. This was really not too bad. It takes just as long to drive to the place where I grew up in Northwest Washington. The trip down was gorgeous great weather. Not too hot. Beautiful views of State and National Parks. Great Sunrises and Sunsets.

San Carlos was amazing. I think it may have been off season, because there were absoulutely no crowds. It was still warm enough for swimming in the sea and in the out door pool.

I have many adventures for work. I travel all over the world. This was my oppurtunity to give my two little kids a taste of that same adventure. Parts of it were hard. That increased the adventure was all. To instil in them the sense that we could plan and then accomplish something that not many people get to do is an invaluable gift that I can pass on.

I plan to do this again. It will leave an indelible impression on these two little kids.

Passions

2008-08-21T12:52:00.001-06:00

I have been inspired by a friend tonight. Learning about her plans and pursuits to follow her passions has made me think about my passions and the point in my life when I stopped pursuing them.
I really wanted to be an Anthropologist . After my mission I really focused on just that. I took classes at the university, and with my background my professors fell in love with me right away.

In the first few months of my mission I lived in a large area on the Pacific side of Taiwan. There were many villages where Taiwan aboriginal people lived. These were the Taroko, and Amoko tribes. I was fascinated with these groups. I had no idea they existed before I landed in Taiwan. They had a language far different from Chinese. I found them very interesting. They were extremely friendly, and open. They were very physical people that almost tackled you when they greeted you. The older generation were exceptionally friendly. They had tattooed faces. They loved to tell stories. We befriended this lady that swore she was over 100 years old. Everyone called her Auntie 100. She would walk miles a day to the mountains to pick fruit of which she would eagerly share with us. Whenever she saw us she would almost tackle us with a big warm hug. It was common for her to slap the backs of our necks.

This is me chewing on a betelnut palm fruit straight from the tree. Betelnut chewing is common in South Asia. It provides an alkaloid high.

I was so fascinated with their language I diagramed the grammar and started keeping a dictionary. By the time I left the area my Taroko was as good as my Chinese.

After I got back, I was called to be the ward mission leader. Right after that, our ward absorbed the Lummi Indian branch. (This was a branch that my Grandma had started in the 1960s.) It was my job to track down all of the branch members and find out where they were and let them know where and when we meet. Also I found out what we could do for them etc...

Many of the people were older and knew my grandma. These folks seemed to enjoy talking to me and I spent as much time as I could out there. When I realized these people still spoke Lummi, I was enthralled and I learned as much grammar and vocabulary as I could. I wrote it all down in those marbled Mead notebooks. This was all before Windows 3.11 was
sold so keeping it on computer didn't occur to me. I shared these notes with the Anthropology dept. at Western Washington
University. It wasn't long before I was in the Honors Anthropology program.

The next year I got married. I was young, and though I knew what my passion was, I also wanted to do the right thing. My ex-father-in-law found out what I was studying and he came unglued. He couldn't see how my family could survive on an academic's income.

Because of my naivety I succumbed and changed my degree to something I wasn't so interested in but would make more money.

At the time I worked at a Software company, and soon realized a career that most college grads couldn't get into. I was making more money than my already college graduated friends from High School, and to get ahead I had to learn things that I couldn't at college. So I quit college and focused on my software career.

I have worked for two companies since my mission. A company in Washington that sold Business Software and a company here in UT that sells Educational Software.

The good news is my dream has kind of come true. No, I'm not a professor who gets to study little known cultures. But... I work for a company who sells language learning software all over the world. I'm their International Technology Engineer. I get to travel around every once in awhile and experience some pretty cool things.

I am going to pursue my passions. It was a mistake to do anything else.

Progress

2008-08-21T12:49:00.000-06:00

One of my favorite places in Beijing was a place just across the street from TianAnMen Square. This place was a maze of winding narrow streets. Cars could not navigate streets so narrow. Motorcycles even had a hard time getting past pedestrians during most times of the day.

There were little shops near the entrance where you could have silk clothes made. You could buy souvenirs. Further in there were old homes and restaurants. Everywhere you walk you could the older crowd speaking in their Peking Hua, a dialect of Chinese with a thick tongued accent.

I have had fantastic meals in this market. Restaurants were not proper restaurants, they were just homes open up to the public. To walk down these streets was to step back in time. Most of the buildings were more than two hundred years old. To walk into one of these restaurants put you in another world. You would have an old man snoring in the corner wearing his 'mao suite' on his table would be a pile of spit out bones, by his side would be an equally slumbering dog. There would be a group of men at a table getting drunk playing a drinking game, voices getting louder with every chug. There would not be menus every dish would need to be discussed by the girl taking the order.

To me this was always the 'classic BeiJing' the 'classic China'. This was where in the middle of international class modern city, you could take a short walk and experience the beauty and feel of times past.

Last year on a trip to China with my oldest son. This was one of the places I just knew would be a highlight. I wanted to show him this 'classic China'. I wanted to step back in time with him to this place that time forgot.

Of course I had talked this place up. I told Dylan all about it. When we got there... we were three months too late. The whole area had been bull-dozed but for the gate at the entrance. This was a real let down. I understand the need to modernize. I understand the need for progress. When large historic areas are removed... you can not help but have feelings about it.

Romantic Love

2008-08-21T12:47:00.001-06:00

I wrote this months ago... My thoughts my have changed a little bit on this subject: Please read with a grain of salt.

This year has been tumultuous for my life. There have been many experiences around this idea of Romantic Love that has drawn my attention and my thoughts. I have put a lot of energy into figuring out what Romantic Love is to me. I am feeling deep love for another person right now. I am trying to figure out what makes up those feelings.

A person does not fall in love with another through altruism. Romantic Love is a selfish emotion. Selfish in this case is not a negative trait. Selfishness can be a virtue.

You fall in love with a person because you regard them as a value to you.

You can't fall in love with a person by saying... "You mean nothing to me. I don't care if you live or die, but you need me so I am in love with you." That isn't love. No one that is conscious of who they are, where they are going and what they want would desire this kind of love.

Romantic Love is the choice of another person as a great value. What you fall in love with is the same values you treasure embodied in another person. These values can be beauty, intelligence, actions etc...

You fall in love with a person because they contribute to your personal happiness. I say this very carefully. Someone who determines their happiness based on what another person does or does not do is destined for misery. I believe that happiness is a choice, but people find that they enjoy some things more than others. People find that they have affinity for some things more than others. If you find that another person contributes to those things that you enjoy or have affinity for, then they contribute to your happiness. The key is not to expect these contributions from another person. Un-met expectations kill Romantic Love.

If you try to base your life exclusively on your relation to another person. It doesn't matter how wonderful or however much in love, it will end up to be a relationship of dependence.

Each person should be free to choose their own creative goal or purpose. If they are like two individual people traveling on the same journey and happen to find that they are traveling on the same journey together then love is a fantastic supplement to their individual creativity.

Romantic Love is that selfish emotion. It is that choice to be on that journey with another. When felt for the first time or in new ways this causes excitement. This excitement is a fun and magical thing.

Whatcom Falls - Bellingham, WA

2008-08-21T12:42:00.000-06:00

Whatcom Falls Park is this spectacularly wooded city park not far from downtown. Through the middle of the park runs Whatcom Creek which runs from Lake Whatcom to Bellingham bay through a series of beautiful mossy waterfalls. The word Whatcom comes from the Lummi phrase meaning "Noisy Waters".

As winter snows melt and the sun begins to once again warm the earth my heart always drifts to thoughts of Whatcom Falls. To me Whatcom Falls represents the best part of summer.

The forest here has a primordial quality. The trees are dense, especially along the creek. The rays of the sun do not touch much of the ground. It is thoroughly filtered by the trees. The sides of the trails are covered by bushes weighed down by bright sweet tart huckleberries. The first water fall is merely 100 feet from the parking lot. It really is beautiful. You can see where the creek has cut itself into the stone. All around the falls are vine maple trees and a thick layer of moss and ferns.

A minute walk from the parking lot is a little slice of heaven. There is a waterfall that empties into a wide pool with cliffs on either side. There are ledges up to 50 feet tall to jump or dive from. It is a fantabulous place to spend a hot summer afternoon. After a day of working in the sun, I would look forward to going to the falls with friends to cool off. We also had a blast trying to show each other up, to see who the bravest was. On the top of the biggest cliff you could climb a tree and jump from a limb into the frigid waters below. You could also dive into where the waterfall hits the water. The walls of the cliff here are more narrow. It only gives you a 10 foot diameter hole to dive into. Nothing beats falling into the froth where water hits water. After touching the bottom of the pool the force of the waterfall spits you out into the wider pool.

One day after school many from our senior class left to go jump the cliffs. Me and several other guys decided to jump off of the cliff at the same time. I was on the far end. I guess it was the shallow end. When I hit my feet sunk deep into the gravel at the bottom of the pool. My hair didn't get wet though. I had jumped into an are that only had a few feet of water. It was enough to slow me down... but not enough for my head to go under.

I enjoy taking my kids here now. There are few places on earth like this. You have unsurpassed beauty and spectacular recreation.

A summer day spent at Whatcom Falls was a day well spent.

Life is Now

2008-08-21T12:40:00.000-06:00

The more you are focused on 'time' past and future the more you miss the now (the present).

The eternal present is the space in which your whole life unfolds.

Life is now.

Eckhart Tolle - The Power of Now

Peace Comes When I Accept What I Can Not Change

2008-08-21T12:30:00.000-06:00

Nearly 12 years ago my wife and I discovered through an ultrasound that the daughter we were expecting had a problem with a valve in her heart. The valve did not close all the way and it made it so that her blood didn't pump effectively. She was fine as long as she was inside her mother, but we knew that soon after she was born we would have to take some sort of action to save her life.

We didn't know what we were going to have to do to save our daughter. We didn't know how severe our daughter's problem was. There was no way to know until after she was born.

There were priesthood blessings. I gave my wife Kathleen more than one blessing. I blessed our daughter Cheyenne through Kathleen. Every time I gave a blessing I knew that everything was going to be okay but I could not ever say the words that I wanted to say in the blessing. I had wanted to say that the doctors would recognize what needed to be done. I wanted to say that the doctors would be directed by God's hand and be able to fix the problem with Cheyenne's heart and that she will live and grow and have a long and happy life. I couldn't add that to the blessings. I wanted to. I was told not to. The only thing I could say was that it would be okay... I could say that Heavenly Father knows and loves Kathleen, I could say that Heavenly Father knows and loves Cheyenne and has important things for her to do. I listened closely to other blessings that were given to Kathleen by her dad. Similar things were said. Never was said the words that I wanted to hear.

As the delivery day got closer the apprehension got worse. We did not know what was going to happen and that was the worst thing. The not knowing was devastating to our morale.

When Cheyenne was born the apprehension was not over, it got worse. The first thing was that the doctors had to determine what the options were for a treatment plan. We were given three options. We could have them operate and try to fix the valve. We could keep Cheyenne at the hospital and let her die. We could take Cheyenne home and let her die. We had no idea how long it would take for her to die, but it was almost
a guarantee that she would die if we did nothing. If we had her operated on, that was
probably the only way she could have a chance. Knowing these options did not bring peace.

We decided to have Cheyenne operated on. Deciding this did not bring us peace. We still did not know what the outcome of the operation would be.

We gave Cheyenne a priesthood blessing... Again I was not allowed to say that she would heal. I was able to say that everything would be okay. I was able to say that Heavenly Father knows the desires of our hearts and he did know what would be for our benefit. I was able to say that the best thing for us would happen. This did not bring us peace.

We had to wait for Cheyenne to be healthy enough for the operation. In the Pediatric ICU she had been losing strength. She finally rallied and she strengthened and she would be operated on the next morning. That night in prayer, I poured my heart out to Heavenly Father. The answer came to me to accept the inevitable. I prayed that if Cheyenne was here on Earth only to get a body, that she would be taken soon so that she would not have to continue living here in pain. This prayer was my outward expression of accepting what was to be. It was my acceptance of the situation right then and my inability to change it.

This brought peace.

I was at peace throughout Cheyenne's operation the next morning. I was at peace when the came and told us that she had died on the operating table. I was at peace throughout the funeral.

The only time I did not feel at peace after I had decided to accept the inevitable was when I realized that my wife was not at peace with what had happened with Cheyenne. I think that she was able to understand it intellectually. But she refused to accept that it was the best thing for Cheyenne and our family. She was not at peace, and I let myself hurt for this.

This last year has been very tumultuous. My marriage fell apart. My wife divorced me. I dated and let myself fall in love a couple of times. These relationships were great and loved being in them but they were not long-lasting and I am sad that these relationships did not last.

It took me a long time to accept my divorce, and that my ex-wife would prefer to date another man than focus on fixing what was wrong with our relationship. It was difficult for me to accept the loss of the new relationships that I had since my divorce. The more I accept these losses though and accept my situation as it stands right now the more at peace I feel. This allows me to focus on my life now and it gets me out of the unhealthy concerns of 'what broke' in the past.

My acceptance of me, my acceptance of my situation right now brings me peace.

flickriver

2008-08-18T22:13:00.000-06:00