Last week we were fortunate enough to go on a helicopter ride over Temple Square and see the Salt Lake Temple and the conference center all lit up from the Christmas lights. It was an amazing site and I posted the video below for all to enjoy. Michelle and I were there with my mom and dad and Josh and his son Sam. It has always been one of my dreams to fly in a helicopter and it was amazing to be up there. I felt safer in the helicopter than I did during the takeoff of an airplane. I wonder which one is safer. The opportunity came because we do IT work with Classic Aviation and we have a good friend there that invited us to go to whom I am extremely grateful. It was about a 15 minute ride and has been one of my favorite things we’ve done this Christmas season.

From Helicopter video

He looks like a pilot

Click here to view these pictures larger

I just downloaded Picasa 3 and it has become my picture editor of choice. It really makes it easy for me to post pictures to blogs, email pictures, make videos, make collages, and many other things that I didn’t have time for yesterday. As I was playing around with the 500 pictures that we took from Yellowstone I decided to make this video. It took me about 1.5 hours, so if you don’t appreciate it, then don’t tell me because I want to think that my hour and a half was time well spent. Joking aside, it was easy and fun to make the video and reminded me of the great time we had in Yellowstone.

We saw a lot of wildlife. You’ll see on this movie that we saw some ducks, squirrels, groundhogs, pelicans, mooses/meese (two babies with their mother), a bald eagle, wolves at night, buffalo, deer, elk, mosquitoes, and pretty much everything but a bear, and the irony was that I had intense desires to see a bear while Michelle was secretly praying not to see a bear, and of course we didn’t see one, but we came within 3 minutes of watching a grizzly bear swim a 2oo yard river and then dart into the woods. We actually went to look for that same grizzly bear 30 minutes before his supposed swim (everybody gladly showed us their awesome pictures of the swimming bear). We received a tip that there was a bear siting on the other side of the bridge so we quickly crossed the bridge and decided to take the trail on the North side of the street. 25 minutes after searching for the bear, I saw people in the distance running across the bridge- we sprinted back to the bridge just in time for everybody to tell us how cool it was and to show off their photos. If we would have gone South I am confident we would have seen the bear but we barely missed him and thus we are still alive and unscathed.

I highly recommend Yellowstone, and if you want to see a bear, ask people all day if they have seen one, and then when they tell you where the bears have been sited (get specifics), go directly there, do not stop and go South. I did learn that you don’t want to sneak up on a grizzly, so you want to sing, clap and make noise (which, yes mother, we did).

When you see old faithful try to be closer to the South side or to the far right of the geyser as you are facing it. We were really close and all we saw was a bunch of steam and we missed most of the water show.

Perhaps my favorite part of Yellowstone was when we saw this group of “Geyser Gazers” “Geyser Geeks” or “Geyser Gurus” that had stationed somebody at Fan Geyser all day so that they could alert people of “activity” of the geyser that would possibly indicate a 90 ft fan like explosion of water and steam. We decided to watch with them, but after watching the same 2 ft spring of bubbling water. The young kid got on his walkie talkie and with the disappointment of a kid that waited in line for 1/2 hour for a lollipop just to be told they were all gone said, “the activity of the water has ceased and I think you’d be wise to turn around.” I heard his voice through all the walkie talkies of those people standing within whispering distance, and I asked him “who does that all go to”- he replied ” oh all these people here (there were 12 of them, and half of them were his family). I laughed hysterically once they all turned around and walked or biked back with their faces facing down but with hopeful hearts that next year they would be fortunate enough to see it go off (it only goes off every 5-12 days). Despite my ridicule, I secretly wish I was a “Geyser Geek/Guru/Gazer”.

More details and picture to come

Ultimate Frisbee

GMAT studying

Michelle’s Birthday

Bought Food Storage

Dinner at Francks

FHE Latin Dancing

Play Basketball at the Energy Solutions Arena

Fireside about Joseph Smith

Ward Amazing Race (stopped to try and Win wicked tickets)

Strawberry Burnt Down Trees

Played Compatibility

Went up to Strawberry

First Golf of the Season

Ward Temple Night

FHE Ultimate Frisbee

Sang at a Fireside

Went on a spontaneous trip to Zion National Park

Hiked Angels Landing

Went Skiing for the last time this season

Dinner with old friends (Andy and Heidi)

D &C Institute Class

Ward Ministry Night

Taxes

Sang at General Conference

Calderwood/Horn Wedding Reception

I took to meditating 5772 ft. above sea level on the highest point of angels landing. more details to follow

Well it is that time of the month again. I go through my calendar and expenses and ask myself what I did or didn’t accomplish in the last month and then I try to figure out how to make the next month better. This usually consists of a commitment to spend less, train for the upcoming race (this time the ragnar relay), work smarter at my job, be kinder to my best friends, go to bed earlier and get up earlier, home teach every single person (even those that don’t return my phone calls), read more, and eat healthier.

So where did March go? I’ll sum it up in a few words. Choir Practice, Volunteering at Draper Temple, skiing, new business ideas, church basketball, U of U gymnastics tournament, National Dancesport Championship, blogging, starting to study for the GMAT , painting, planting peas, and of course a lot of Valcom work both day and night.

I have learned that I feel a lot more productive in the car when I listen to a book on CD. This month I listened to “Presidential Courage” which went through all the presidents of the United States from the beginning and described situations where they had to go against the popular opinion to do what was right for the nation. I recommend it but just know that although the content was interesting, the reader was a little dry and hard to listen to.

Some random things I learned; people react very differently to abstract art, when I am stressed I clean my room and car, it is possible to study for one month and get over a 700 on the GMAT, I like V8 fusion, Kyoto’s is still the best Japanese restaurant in town, www.condron.us is an interesting way to blog surf (but beware lest ye waste time), how to prune a pear tree, how to sell your art, that I can throw the cup, that you use to pour laundry detergent, into the washer with the clothes and it comes out perfectly leaving no residue around to worry about, I have a lot to be thankful for, memorizing gets easier the more you do it.

That’s all for March

So I promised at least a blog a month that would explain what I did the previous month. This is not just for your enjoyment, but a good time for me to reflect and remember what I did and decide what I am going to try and do better next month. I also find that when I write about what I have done and thought about, I learn, and I like learning.

Shaun invited me to an orientation for the BYU Executive MBA program and it is definitely something that I want to do, and I think it is the best program for the cost. I will probably wait a year or two before I start due to the cost and I will need to save up a lot, but I will get back into school someday. Work is going well and there is still a lot I have to learn before I am good at my job, so perhaps I may be here a little longer.

Our institute choir had the opportunity to sing at the fireside on March 1st, where Elder Hales spoke about finding and staying on the high ground. He said we need to stay on the high ground together and that we need not get discouraged even though all around us things are getting worse. He counseled us to learn how to budget our time and money, to not be wasteful, and to find joy in this life. He gave a few points as to what a couple has to do to maintain a great relationship and I have listed what he explained that both people in the relationship must do to be successful. They must:
1. Know who they are as children of God
2. Know the doctrines (specifically, temple covenants)
3. Choose to obtain God’s kingdom
4. Understand sealing covenant and that courting days are over
5. Think of the other more than self
6. Converse often and talk early about little hurts and offenses
7. See the good in each other by not nagging or speaking ill of each other, by being willing to change your heart and repent, and working hard at improving your relationship as well as cultivating a thoughtful spirit.

I believe this counsel, and I believe that if more people would live by these principles, more homes would find the happiness, faith and strength that is required to endure the tests of the tough times. I have been extremely blessed by the excellent example of my parents and my siblings as they live and have lived these principles.

I never thought that so much of my life would be in choirs, but I find myself in 3 choirs; ward, institute and temple. It takes a lot of my time, but I am learning how powerful music can be in teaching us the doctrines of the kingdom. I will expound on this at a later date.

Valcom reserved a suite at Energy Solutions Arena to watch the Utah Jazz beat the Memphis Grizzlies. It was a lot of fun and I am glad that Michelle could come. It was almost as fun as watching BYU beat the Utes.

So Mexico was a lot of fun. It’s hard to explain how much I love to fly in an airplane and the feeling of going somewhere else. I like the fact that at the end of the day on Thursday I could say, “It is amazing that this morning I was in my bed in Utah, and now I am walking on the beach in Mexico, and it is the same day. I love technology, and planes, and beaches.” We walked the beach, had dinner, and then went and played tennis. It was a ton of fun.

The next day we went to the jungle and went on the Ziplines. I highly recommend the zipline tour. We went through the company called Selvatica and it was a great experience. We flew through the trees, rightside up and then upside down several times. It was a blast, and then from there, we mountain biked to a natural spring (Cenote), which had a zipline right over the water and then a 15-20 ft drop. So we played in that for about 45 minutes and then mountain biked back. The zipline into the cenote was probably the highlight of the trip. As soon as I get the videos and pictures from Michelle, you will understand why I loved it so much.

The next day we went and swam with the dolphins and I learned anew why they are one of my favorite animals. They are super intelligent, kind, and quick and powerful. It was amazing to see their coordination as 2 dolphins would come up behind you at the exact same time and put their noses on the bottom of each foot, and propel you out of the water and carry you 15 feet. If you have the chance to do this, as they say, “Its an experience of a lifetime.” Although if you have to choose between the Ziplines and the dolphins, choose the Ziplines.

Did I mention we got to see a 2-toed sloth? It was amazing to see how slow they moved. They really do move in slow motion and I thought it very entertaining to see them move like they were trying to not let a motion sensor sense them. I don’t know how animals get their names, but whoever named this one, did a great job, or did we get the word sloth from them.

I left my cell phone in the shuttle that brought us back to the airport, and I admit that I am addicted to having a cell phone by my side. I felt sad, distraught and lost. I have since invested in 3 more T-mobile dashes as backups, and I learned that if you lose your sim card and go to a T-mobile store they will give you one for free. I tend to lose or break about one cell phone every year and so I had invested in an extra sim card and so all was not lost. Besides they found my phone and so after a couple of long days I was reunited with my beloved companion.

I have recently been obsessed with learning about bloggers and blogging and SEO (search engine optimization), and how to use a blog as a tool for good. I’ll let you know what my conclusions with all these projects are when I know more. Recently (like 4 hours ago) I started the blog bumstobloggers. The name explains it, but the blog explains it all.

Lastly, I have listened to two additional books on tape. “The Audacity of Hope,” by super liberal and now President, Barack Obama, and “An Inconvenient Book” by Ultra conservative Glenn Beck. I guess I go from one extreme to another. My views definitely are more conservative than liberal, but I find the story of Obama inspirational and very interesting, while I view Glenn Beck as more open, honest, and hilarious.

Well that was February 2009.

Mexico, February 2009. On our way to go Ziplining, our driver displayed this note. I thought it was so funny, I had to take a picture. Clever marketer I’d say, and I found it hard to say no to tipping my friend Jesus. I dare say a lot of Americans just think he is a religious driver who is appealing to the religiously inclined. Lest my title not explain it well enough, the driver’s name is Jesus pronounced (hey-SOOS) and he just wanted to thank us for tipping him.

This bird looks nice, but it can bite pretty hard. The HP tour guide said I could hold them, so when I went to pick him up, he bit me like he is biting this wood.
Despite my usual tendency to sleep in on vacation. I wanted to get a picture of the sunset. This was taken about 6:25am and I took about 50 pictures. I have a lot of work to do to become a photographer. We were tired for most the day.

At night we had to find some entertainment that didn’t include alcohol or dancers whose wardrobe, or lack thereof, reflected the struggling economic conditions. We went and sat on the beach the first night and walked around. This is me trying to take a picture of us and the beach.

We decided to go parasailing and this was our transportation to and from the boat.

This is us parasailing and the parasail design reflected our sentiments.
This was the beach at Playa del Carmen, where the waverunner came and picked us up to go parasailing. The man who hooked us up with the parasailing tried to convince us to go deep see diving. We were too tired after swimming with the dolphins and parasailing, so we turned him down for the opportunity to go fishing. Someday though, I plan to do that.

I took quite a few pictures and there will be more posts to come. Check out Michelle’s blog for additional and better insights.