Belize!!!

3/3/11 From the Colorado winter chill to tropical beach – two moderate commercial flights and one flight in a 20 foot “sardine can” plane and we arrive on Ambergris Caye in Belize, The town is San Pedro an island town famous for scuba diving on the 2^nd largest barrier reef in the world where the main transportation method is golf carts not cars. We stayed at the Royal Caribbean (fancy name for a big movie set of Easter egg painted cabanas). The people are all very friendly and greet us warmly. Even the lady clerk at the local corner grocery store took both of her hands to shake hands with us and introduce her family. They eat rice and beans with chicken stew. The prices are about the same as the states. That evening we had fish on a beach side resort/hotel.

3/4/11 On our first dive we saw some big rays and beautiful blue angelfish in the water because of the white sand beneath. Afterwards, mom took a break while I went on the 2nd dive. BEST Dive ever. The dive master netted some sardines for bait and filled a porous container to take on the dive. The bait worked and it attracted about 8 large huge nurse sharks, two moray eels, and several large groupers. The dive master taught us how to approach the sharks with a hand on their belly and dorsal fin and then flip them over of rub their tummy’s just like a dog that loves to be scratched. The dive master wooed a 12 foot shark with this method as we ascended to the surface and his buddy teased him that he gets more action from the shark than his girlfriend. We stopped at a little roadside stand where our cook was wearing big pink curlers and sent the other cook on her bicycle to get paper napkins. That night we went on a night dive where we saw more big rays and a big green eel and lots of big groupers. It's kind of eerie when they ask you to shut off your flashlights and you are in the dark. We planted one light on the sand pointing up and all these little blood worms were attracted to the light, Then these colorful small fish came by to eat the blood worms, then the larger fish came to eat the smaller fish and the critters kept getting bigger the longer we watched. So fascinating to watch the food chain appear.
3/5/11
I went diving all day to the Blue Hole, Lighthouse reef, and Half moon caye with sharks and groupers. The Blue Hole was a 140 ft. dive down to a cave formation. We were swimming in and out of these massive stalactites and stalagmites. Down that far and for that long I started feeling a bit of nitrogen narcosis, but not enough to kiss any sharks. At the second dive site a turtle came right up to my face and I touched its back On the 3rd dive we did a wall called the Aquarium. It’s a small rock formation and tons of colorful fish. On the way back we saw a flock of birds diving at the surface. The tuna had circled sardines and that attracted several large Mako sharks. These guys were about 10 to 15 ft and are man eating sharks they were so crazed they were coming out of the water chasing the sardines.. Then a 25 ft. whale shark swam by and all the divers went nuts to get in the water. The boat was rocking in the huge waves and people were running all over the deck slipping and falling - grabbing masks, fins, and snorkels to get in the water with that whale shark. It was so dangerous and so fun. Forget those silly Mako sharks we want to swim with a whale shark. I got in but we didn’t see the whale shark while in the water.

Mom went shopping and got a great shell necklace and found an outlet store with t-shirts for $2.50. That night we ate at the most amazing restaurant in Belize, the "Hidden Treasure" The fish was in an amazing sauce made of cream, butter, Parmesan and white wine. Then they served true coconut pie for dessert. Thick fresh coconut.

3/6 We squeezed back into that tiny plane and flew back to Belize City. To save a few bucks we rented a Hyundai at the airport. About 5 minutes from the airport we hit a nasty pothole and it cracked the fiberglass rim. After a $150 repair we got a 4 wheel drive truck, so much for saving a few bucks. We went to Atun Ha. I learned that on one side of each plaza the Mayans created an acoustical effect that enabled the Priesthood leader to stand a top the temple mount and speak to thousands without shouting. Tracy was on top of the temple talking normally and I stood several football fields away and heard her like she was standing next to me. We read from Mosiah 2:1-6, about a similar event from the past.. We had fun telling out guide about the BOM. The poverty In Belize City was shocking. An incredibly poorly maintained city with very few services. Don’t ever need to visit that city again. Did see an interesting kite festival.

3/7 We saw the Belize zoo and got our foreheads licked by a Jaguar. We also went cave tubing. It was so other worldish to be in this dark cave and hear a waterfall ahead and come around this corner to see the sunlight from another opening lighting up this patch of jungle. It was out of a Jurassic Park movie set and so primal. I could see why the Mayan called it the fertility cave because of the interesting phallus like limestone formations.

3/8 Even though I’ve never had a good experience riding horses, We stayed at the Banana Beach Ranch where they do "horse whispering". We rode our horses through the beautiful lush jungle by the river. We galloped and I stayed on and actually kind of enjoyed it! We took the afternoon and drove down to Punta Gorda. The beach is not lovely here, in fact they get a lot of garbage from Honduras, but we stayed back up in the hills in these little huts. We ate at the Mangrove and had delicious shrimp and conch fritters. We stayed with Bruno who is an enterprising German who build cabanas for tourists and is a cave guide. He became a fast friend and wanted us to move there to help him with several business enterprises.
3/9 We went to Eliadio Pop’s cacao plantation in San Pedro Columbia. Eliadio was so proud of his farm and his 15 kids. His 30 acres had 3 kinds of cacao and mangoes that he planted, limes and palms. We watched them dry roast the cacao beans, dry roast them and then squish them with a rock and grind them into a paste. They made this dark chocolate drink that was pretty amazing. It was the same a CoCo Samoa and I loved it. We saw Labam tuun and Mayan ruin that is famous for a crystal scull that was found there. We visited a chocolate factory and fell in love with Belizean chocolate bars. Tracy made me eat several on the trip (actually I had to have at least one chocolate bar a day)

3/10 We went with Bruno and Silliano (Eliadio's half brother) into 2 cave systems. TIGER CAVE - The first cave had wonderful limestone formations. We even found Mayan pottery pieces.

We were in the dark for hours, way way in the bowels of the earth. My little helmet flashlight went out and I thought….humm It’s really dark down here and there’s big deep holes to fall into and sharp rocks cutting my hands. We saw big spiders and eels and what was that low growling sound? There must be a reason they call it Tiger cave!.

After an hour we came into a huge limestone cavern and the sun rays shone down through the roof. I stood in the light and it was amazing. It felt like the world was working to keep us in the dark and stumbling around but the Savior is this incredible source of light that brings warmth and safety to us.

The 2nd cave was called Blue Creek. It was like home for me, we swam almost the entire way through the cave. It also had awesome limestone formations. These areas are pretty much undeveloped to tourists and so we named some of the formations for them. I loved this rough and raw experience in these ancient caves.

3/11/11 We drove and stayed in a beautiful beach town named Placencia, not as developed as San Pedro. I seriously wanted to buy a lot and build a vacation house here, but you have to pay all cash.

3/12/11 I went diving and saw the largest nurse shark ever, easy an 18 footer. There were also turtles and a gorgeous massive eagle ray. Mom had fun finishing a Mistborn book on the beach and checking out all the jewelry in the 2 shops.

3/13/11 The last day and we went for one last adventure before heading home. We went to the Mayflower National Park. It was a dramatic hike through the jungle to a 140 ft waterfall. I got too carried away and lost mom in the jungle. Actually she was on the right trail and I was off climbing through the vines and underbrush. I paid a price for veering off the right path and the pool at the top of the hike wasn’t the sweet cool refreshing rest we wanted. We got home at midnight and return to work……bummer.

Its a Fritter Frightmare

Kevin Olson (my CPA partner) and I go to the same trainer who is trying to return our bodies into the Charles Atlas like forms we had in college when we both swam for our respective universities. That requires a rigid and consistent daily calorie count. Well a while back some evil person brought into our office the most incredible apple fritters ever. These were plate sized mounds of luscious apple and cinnamon sweetness. Kevin and I colluded and decided to split one, locked the office door and began to feast on the incredible treat. Unfortunately his wife Becky opened the door and caught us before we were finished. Our sugar glazed smiles gave us away and she immediately reported our crime to Mary Ellen our trainer.

Last Friday morning Mary Ellen sought our repentance by driving us through one of the toughest “burpee” invested workouts ever invented. It was designed to be the Mother of All Fritter Hell Workouts. There were weights and cardio and ab work to burn off the guilty pleasure of that apple fritter that had now become part of my growing love handles. It was to teach us a mighty lesson. But throughout all the intensity of lifting and groaning and sweating I kept thinking of how delicious that apple fritter was. I concluded I would do it all over again, but this time I wouldn’t share with Kevin and I would lock my office door when I knew Tracy wouldn’t be coming by the office.

Last weekend Austin and Stacy came to visit and it was great to see Austin and meet Stacy. We got in a little racquetball, some Wally ball, lots of eating, some split 10 work and some well need visiting. Monday rolled around way too early and we had to say good bye. It was such fun to see Austin with a RLGF, real life girl friend and him free from the burdens of a World of Warcraft habit.

I was lucky enough to have a short business trip to Arizona and was able to visit with Don and Leslie. It was so delightful to stay with them in their new home. They take great pride in really decorating it so nicely. I doubt Don will ever miss any Marine barrack or foxhole because they have done such a great job on making a house a new home. We had a super visit and I got to hear some new Marine stories as we looked around for some houses to buy.

Part of that weekend was spent with the family at the aquarium and Danica took a few pictures and movies. It is so fun to share that experience. I got to pick the shark eggs off of the coral where they had laid them. I kept hoping that they wouldn’t see what I was doing and come attack me.

We are moving after 16 years in Highlands Ranch and mom wants to talk about it on her blog so all you get in this blog is this picture of Austin, Stacy, and mom in an empty lot and our new view of the mountains.

We head out to Belize this coming week to dive the Blue Hole and ride horses in the jungle. It will be a trip with something for both mom and I. It is a happy vacation.

The mission changed out the sisters and we had elders back so that means I get to play more racquetball. I wish with all that extra play time I would get better at kill shots in the corner. The elder from Canada knows his scriptures very well and the elder from California won’t be with us long. He has a serious ear infection that requires this intense surgery where they remove all of those tiny ear bones and replace them and he could lose his hearing. It’s been fun to have him here, even for this short time.

Winter Weekend

We were wondering when winter was going to show up. A week ago Friday the temperature was almost 70 degrees here. I was ready to break out the sunscreen. Then just 3 days later the thermometer dropped to -15 degrees. It missed breaking the coldest temperature ever recorded in Denver by just one degree. Wind chill was at -30 degrees.

I had a really sweet 59 year old lady client pass away this week and attended her funeral on Friday. It was a challenge realizing that she was only a year older than I. She had 7 kids. I realized sitting through the funeral that the things remember and cherished in one’s life are the shared memories and fun personalities. It isn’t the long hours we work, the great sale we close, or the taxes we pay. It happens to be the love we shared, the service we provided, the laughter we enjoyed, the tears we shed, the funny stories we tell, the time we spend together, the hard times and pain we endure and survive, the thoughtful gesture we so willingly gave, the kind remark we communicated, and the times we just spent being in a loved one presence. Too bad it takes a funeral to help realign my priorities.

We were headed to the mountains with Danica and family to see the snow sculptors in Breckenridge, but they came down with pneumonia and so it became on early Valentines weekend for Tracy and I. We saw the carving at night and they had them lighted with changing colors.
It was spectacular. I loved the scuba diver one and mom loved the snowy horse – surprise, surprise.

The High and Lows of the Week

There seem to be so many things happening within the family I wanted to do a recap. Thanks for including us in your lives so we may understand the events of our family:

Tiana and Preston are facing a crushing sad loss with a miscarriage. I remember when Tiana was just a few years old how excited she was to think she would be a mother someday. Words escaped me to describe the haunting feelings that that day has been delayed for a while. I'm ever so grateful for the maturity of both Tiana and Preston during this difficult time. I'm frustrated that the temple isn't open to place their names on the prayer rolls.

Don and Leslie rented out the Arizona house this week. We scrambled around to get all the paperwork and bank accounts set up right and sure enough disaster struck. No sooner had the renters moved in that the plumbing backed up and there wasn't a working bathroom in the house and the lady is 9 1/2 months pregnant. Don is earning his management fee handling the problems.

Danica and Dave have had a minor loss this week as one of their Chinese foreign exchange students move in with a neighbor. It seems that they became great friends as soon as they weren't going to live together in the same house.

Austin has been socializing with a girl from work as they have tried to set up for each other among their friends. That didn't work as well as them just being each others friend and they have spent some good time together. Some future plans are a little up in the air. Way to go Austin.

I have decided to become a high school swim official for the rest of girl's season and boy's season. I'm scared of becoming a diving judge because I remember all the unkind things parents and coaches said about the high school judging. I said a lot of them myself.

I have a new anxiety reducing strategy I'm using at work. I have a point system for work activities. As soon as I reach 20 points I can kick back and relax knowing I've put in a good day's effort, and not worry about things and sleep better. So far I'm averaging 28 points a day but my target is 30 and then I will be able to relax and sleep better.

New Year's pictures and video

Christmas Thoughts

It is always a struggle to put aside the fun, colorful, and thin decorations that wrap themselves around the reasons we celebrate Christmas. This year was no different but two back-to-back videos helped me.

The first was from the Church’s Christmas web site and it was a series of interviews of people who as adults discovered the gospel, repented and joined the church. They all expressed the incredible lows and depression felt by living worldly rules. They described their inability to find happiness or peace from a treadmill of a modeling career, or empty business transactions, or endless intoxication. Then when they prayed for help and received the Savior’s warm forgiving embrace they felt the true power of the gift of his life. He gave us the way to return to that safe harbor which is our heavenly home. I realized that is the reason we celebrate his birth.

The other video showed a professional choir disbursed among a large group of holiday shoppers at a busy mall’s food court. They were wearing everyday clothes and couldn’t be recognized. Suddenly the mall music system stopped playing the jangle of some dopey reindeer song and a powerful organ started into Handel’s Hallelujah Chorus. A young lady stood up and in a beautiful voice started singing this inspiring piece of music. She was joined by others in the choir giving song to the ancient scripture of Isaiah’s adoration of the advent of the Savior’s life, majesty, and gift. Within a very short time the entire choir was standing and singing praises to God. What struck me was the setting. Here was a crowded shopping mall, the height of commercialism, taking pause as “ordinary” people raised their voices to honor the birth of the Savior and the promise of his perfect life. There is a vital place for the spiritual side of Christmas to shine and be remembered.

For Christmas weekend there was nearly 8 feet of snowfall in the mountains, but none here. It is so weird to have 50 degree weather in Denver this late in the year. We had Danica and Dave over for Christmas Eve and enjoyed one of the greatest meals ever prepared, with turkey, prime rib, fresh Chinese egg rolls, pear salad, and twice baked potatoes. It was a wonderful busy holiday kitchen and dining experience. We gave each other a moving dance party game and a soda pop maker. We must be at a very comfortable place in life to give such gifts.

At Danica’s on Christmas morning, it was a typical little kid gift opening frenzy. I received a special gift as my daughter’s had teamed up to digitize old family movies and I could watch 3 year old Austin praddle around the kitchen, stealing finger gouges of butter for a long time. Those old movies reflect a very blessed and happy group of lucky kids growing up with a big yard and big bedrooms, with a rabbit pen, a deer blind, a picnic table, woods to explore, and grass to run on with no TV. What a sweet treasure to watch those movies again and see our younger selves.

Congratulations to Don and Leslie

What a great experience I’ve enjoyed over the last couple of weeks. It has to be considered one of the highlights of my life to gather in Phoenix with Tracy, Don and Austin and go through the temple for Don and Leslie’s endowments. It was so powerful and sweet to be Don’s escort as he received his endowments and then join with Austin, Tracy and the Galan’s in the Celestial Room after the session. How lucky can one dad be?

The next morning was a kick as well because Don took us to the gym to workout. He said he would pair back his workout because we were there, but I encouraged him to challenge Austin, mom and I. So we started off with 3 sets of 10 pull-ups and did a ton of additional weight work on various machines. I’m delighted to say that I could keep up pretty well with Don and may have surprised Don and Austin. As long as I impress Tracy I’m good to go.

We went house shopping and picked out two houses to buy for Don to rent out as the start of a business. It was crazy to try and buy two houses, take the family’s Christmas picture, meet and party at the Galan’s, and pick up all the kids from the airport and get ready for the wedding and reception in only two days. It was fun busy and we even snuck in a couple of movies and a dancing contest.

The wedding was amazing because it became an early glimpse of heaven. Here were Tracy and I with all six of our kids in the sealing room at the temple. Don and Leslie were so striking and happy. It was strange to hear Bro. Barrand and it not refer to me. I looked out at our family and pictured us all in heaven together, all of us at the age of 24 and thought what a great promise for the future. With all the twists and turns of life to have us all arrive here and be able to participate in this glorious day for Don and Leslie was incredible. I will treasure that feeling always.

Half a day back in Denver and then we were getting up at 3 am for the plane flight to Orlando to kick around with Celeste’s family at as many amusement parks as Celeste could plan to attend. We spent Thanksgiving Day at airports but did squeeze in a wonderful turkey dinner at a local restaurant. It is a lot easier to eat out. We spent the next day shopping, getting discount (?) tickets, and playing at the pool with the grandkids. It was a good day.

We ended up hitting 5 parks in 5 days; Sea World, Disney Magic Kingdom, Disney Movie Studio, Universal Islands of Adventure, and Universal Studios. You could also throw in Disney Quest as well. We would pack a lunch each day and drag ourselves back home every night exhausted. Everyone including grand kids did great. Loved Sea World, although they have toned down the Shamu show and nobody gets in the water anymore. The Dolphin show was like a Hollywood production with cliff divers, trapeze artists, streamers, birds, and very colorful costumes. Somewhere in there the dolphins still brought tears to my eyes.

We liked Universal better than Disney: Newer attractions, colorful ideas, and far fewer crowds. The Harry Potter exhibit was incredible and Butter Beer is very good. I also like Toy Story Mania a ton. Everyone had their favorite ride and we got around to doing something for everyone. I got to be the designated runner to collect fast passes and move us to the front of the line. It helped to burn off excess energy while waiting in long lines.

I felt a little guilty spending a lot of money on amusement park rides and events but I got to be with and know much better my grandchildren who I don’t see enough of, as well as Celeste and Brad, but most of all, time away is good for Tracy and I.

It has been a great couple of weeks, now to survive Christmas.