Prom... So Fun!!

Some other rides from that day...

Roller Pics

The hill we were stuck on
After we got off, the car stayed up there for the rest of the day (Sorry the pics are so small, all i had was my phone and it takes horrible pictures:(
Sitting... Waiting...
Beth's nervous face
hiking down

Ready for a little more excitement?

After a marvelous weekend at the cabin, I decided to drive back to southern Cal with Bethanie and her kids. We did all kinds of California things, like swimming, going to the beach, laying out, etc. Well by the time Thursday rolled around, Beth and I decided we needed a little more excitement in our lives, so we took the kids to school and headed up to Valencia for a day at Magic Mountain. We did anything our little hearts desired (taking pictures with extremely buff guys etc.), and ulitimately had a fabulous day. The park was closing at 6:00pm, and it was about 4:45 or so, so we decided to take one more chance on their 85 mph roller coaster, Goliath. Was this a mistake? Who knows.
We sat in our favorite seats - the vert back seats on the train out of about 7 or 8 cars. We started going up the first ChinkyChink hill (ya know when they pull you up and up and up....) and if any of you know how high this particular roller coaster is, you know about the adrenaline rush Beth and I were getting when we were reaching the top. Well out of nowhere, the ride suddenly came to a hault. There are two trains that run the same track, so we just figured the second train wasn't far enough ahead of us, and we were being held up there so the other car could finish it's ride. Well as the minutes past, we figured that definitely wasn't the case. Glancing behind me was a very scary thing, because there were no other cars or people back there. Only a long long long STEEP piece of track and a lot of open air. Suddenly a guy appeared into view around the bend, and he started hiking up the forever long stairs that go up beside the track on both sides. (He happened to be climbing up on Beth's side of the track.) About 5 minutes later he reached our car, and told us all that the computer system that runs the coaster had a small glitch and had automatically shut down, so as soon as they rebooted their system we would be going again. The guy (probably 19 or 20 years old) stayed up there with us and made sure we were all OK, and Beth and I were just enjoying the view and taking a rest. The hill we were on was so steep that even though we were in a sitting position, we were laying on our backs. I'd have to say it was quite comfortable, given the circumstances.
About 15 minutes went by, and again I glanced behind me, only to behold a girl in a tank top with slacks and dress shoes was hiking up the hill with a huge crowbar looking thing in her hand, this time on my side, followed by a guy in nice pants and a tie climbing up on Beth's side. When they finally reached us, she said, "Ok you guys, we are going to be getting you out manually, starting with the top car." Beth and I looked at each other, then chuckled a I-can't-believe-this-is-happening-to-us chuckle.
After a few minutes of evacuating the top cars, they let the first group of about 10 people go down. We all clapped for them as they passed, and watched as they slowly made their way down down down.... Then it was our turn. But of course, by the time the girl got down to me, she was super tired and couldn't release another lap bar. So the guy got Beth out, climbed over her seat, and worked on my lap bar. Finally it released, and I finagled my way out of my seat and onto the stairs. We slowly made our way down, (Beth was the only one going down the stairs on her side because of the mix-up in getting me out) and as the wind lashed our faces, I'm sure we were all thinking, "Why, out of all the rides at this crazy place, did we pick this one at this time!?"

Prom night

Jake and Maddy sitting in a tree......
Oh, young love off to the prom.
I had the pleasure of being the chauffeur for these cute little scallywags for Jake's Junior Prom...
We picked up Maddy (took lots of pictures) drove to Carver's restaurant, then picked them up and drove to Woodcreek High School in Roseville Ca for the Junior Prom. The evening was the warmest since last summer.
Don't they look cool?!!!!!!

I don't know why this is so small - but if you want to see more engagement pictures (they are gorgeous), just go onto Mackenzie's facebook.

Arachnophobia

Ok everyone. Taylor sent us an interesting letter in the mail the other day, and I want to share it with you. This is what he wrote on the envelope:

' This is the story of a life and death struggle between missionary and beast, only to be read Family Night the 13th. Read the story first, out loud by father if possible, then observe the accompanying photographs for effect. I warn all who might recieve these words, they are not for the faint of heart. Good luck.'

So we had to wait a few days, but we finally got to read it! It's terrifying. This is his story:

'It all started Wednesday, the third of April in the year of our Lord 2008. A thought crossed my mind, it went something like, "Odd. I've been in this apartment for almost 4 months, and not once have I seen a bug of any kind. And I'm in Florida, the home of insect infestations. Hmmm..." To my chagrin, I would learn why; not a day later than thought crossed my mind. We had returned for the night, and began to undertake an outstanding planning session when, out of the corner of my eye I saw something shoot up the wall and behind a poster of the Sacred Grove. I instantly stood up and eyed the poster warily. I began to say, "Elder Johnson, I think a really big spi-" when a giant spider, the likes of which have never been seen, darted from behind the poster. Elder Johnson let out a scream reminiscent of the time Brent broke Tony's door down, and Tony thought death was imminent. By this time we were both scrambling for cameras and pants. Within a matter of seconds the beast had traversed the entire room. The fiend must have traveled upward 15 miles an hour, without exaggeration. He then took cover behind a bulletin board. Elder Johnson dialed our DL for advice and found an empty home, so he left a hasty message to the effest of, "Bring RAID now!" I looked away from his hiding place for mere seconds, and when we pulled it down, the 8-legged houdini had vanished. "How the sin did a 5 inch spider disappear without us seeing?!" was the phrase that escaped my mouth as we both ran to the safety of the center of the room. We eyeballed the hundreds of potential hiding places he might have taken advantage of. We armed ourselves with brooms and 5 pound weights. We began over turning furniture, and rifling through piles of papers and magazines (Ensigns of course). After 20 minutes of nothing I sensed movement underneath an upside down chair. I motioned for Elder Johnson to come to my side of the room. Sure enough, our satanic companion appeared on the opposite side of the chair. I nearly jumped out of my skin! E.J. made a frantic swipe with the broom, but the bug sidestepped it easily and scrambled under a desk drawer. We immediately pulled it out, but it had magically disappeared again. We knew it was in the desk somewhere, but cleaning out the clutter would be suicidal. E.J. cautiously poked around with the broom handle for a moment. Suddenly, a glint from one of the bandit's many eyes appeared behind some books. E.J, remaining calm and collected, executed an excellant jab and took one of it's legs. It began to panic and made the crucial mistake of hesitation that cost him another leg thanks to the heroic Elder Johnson. Enter Elder Slade. I hucked a 5 pound weight at the trapped beast, finally taking it's life. Although crushed to death, there was no gruesome gore splattered everywhere. This erroneous arachnid was built to survive, but the blunt trauma was too much for him to take( The photo illustrates how tank-like he was. He didn't even look dead!). Thus concludes the epic story of a humble missionary companionship's struggle with an unwelcome guest...until next time.'

Um..ya. I want my mommy. (The spider is above that white paper...it's kinda hard to see on the blog!)

This is to scale. Notice how his guts are NOT scattered everywhere. This guy was killed by a 5-lb weight!

This was the aftermath.
Walking amongst the carnage, a million thoughts of reflection coursing through him.

Well he's here!

April 2, 2008 - 6:28 pm: Healthy Dinner, Grocery Shopping, Notices "Changes" In how she feels.

April 3, 2008 - 2:49 am: The "Changes" are real and good. After a few sneezes and a hiccup there is a little brother intruduced to Emmy. All she can say is "Dirty Baby." Fer Cute is all I can say.

April 3, 2008 - 7:03 am. After 4 hours of eating (refer to picture #1) he is asleep and I though a booger shot would be nice but at the exact moment that the shutter on my camera snapped he inhaled and all the little guys just vanished.......Poof. "Fer Cute" (refer to comment #2)

The "Engagged"

Here are some cute pics of the engaged ones. The other couple is Mackenzie's Steinagel cousin, Breeana, who is getting married a couple of weeks after her. Good timing gals.