Saturday, June 23, 2007
World's Ugliest Dog
After all of my beautiful vacation photos, here's a not-so-beautiful one of the World's Ugliest Dog.
Man, that's one ugly dog!
Man, that's one ugly dog!
Trip to Utah
We got back from Utah a few days ago, but I've been so sick since then that I haven't been able to post any trip photos. (I missed three days of work in a row--when has that happened??) But I'm finally feeling a bit better, so here are a slew of photos for you all.
Nauvoo
On our “way to Utah”, we stopped at the church historical site in Nauvoo, IL.
Our first view of the temple (aside from seeing it from across the river).
Our family at the brickyard. (Note for the unrelated—our ancestor Philander Colton was actually a brickmaker in Nauvoo, although not at this location.)
Emily was chosen—big surprise!—to help out at the “Just Plain Anna Amanda” musical.
Leslie being a bit odd for the camera.
Our friends Thomas and Debbie, who went with us to Nauvoo.
It must have been an amazingly impressive structure for the 1840s frontier. Breaks my heart to think of it getting ravaged and burned down after the Saints were forced out (it was rebuilt just a few years ago).
Pauline took this cool shot of the sky.
Leslie decided she liked sleeping in the motel’s closet.
Red Butte Garden
In Utah, we visited the Univesity of Utah’s “Red Butte” botanical garden with my dad. It was impressive.
We even saw a moose!
I think this shot was just after we went to Red Butte, actually, while we were waiting to see the new Joseph Smith movie on Temple Square. Boy, doesn’t she look thin??
Jewel Cave
On our way home, we stopped in South Dakota. This was Jewel Cave National Monument.
Leslie & Emily in the cave.
A nice cave picture.
The world’s largest “cave bacon” structure. I think this was over 10 feet tall.
Mount Rushmore
We also stopped by Mount Rushmore, of course.
The initial view of Mount Rushmore.
A nice family photo-op!
Leslie sticking her finger in George’s mouth (she was going for up his nose, but we missed the angle slightly).
Emily giving George a nice peck on the cheek.
Emily, on a rock.
The so-called “nostril shot”.
The original artist’s conception of the project… but funds ran out due to WW2, and the artist died, so it was never completed like that.
Nauvoo
On our “way to Utah”, we stopped at the church historical site in Nauvoo, IL.
Our first view of the temple (aside from seeing it from across the river).
Our family at the brickyard. (Note for the unrelated—our ancestor Philander Colton was actually a brickmaker in Nauvoo, although not at this location.)
Emily was chosen—big surprise!—to help out at the “Just Plain Anna Amanda” musical.
Leslie being a bit odd for the camera.
Our friends Thomas and Debbie, who went with us to Nauvoo.
It must have been an amazingly impressive structure for the 1840s frontier. Breaks my heart to think of it getting ravaged and burned down after the Saints were forced out (it was rebuilt just a few years ago).
Pauline took this cool shot of the sky.
Leslie decided she liked sleeping in the motel’s closet.
Red Butte Garden
In Utah, we visited the Univesity of Utah’s “Red Butte” botanical garden with my dad. It was impressive.
We even saw a moose!
I think this shot was just after we went to Red Butte, actually, while we were waiting to see the new Joseph Smith movie on Temple Square. Boy, doesn’t she look thin??
Jewel Cave
On our way home, we stopped in South Dakota. This was Jewel Cave National Monument.
Leslie & Emily in the cave.
A nice cave picture.
The world’s largest “cave bacon” structure. I think this was over 10 feet tall.
Mount Rushmore
We also stopped by Mount Rushmore, of course.
The initial view of Mount Rushmore.
A nice family photo-op!
Leslie sticking her finger in George’s mouth (she was going for up his nose, but we missed the angle slightly).
Emily giving George a nice peck on the cheek.
Emily, on a rock.
The so-called “nostril shot”.
The original artist’s conception of the project… but funds ran out due to WW2, and the artist died, so it was never completed like that.
Friday, June 15, 2007
New house!
We are in Utah on a house-hunting trip, and yesterday put an offer on a house (and had it accepted). It's a very cute house, in a nice location, and in a great neighborhood. And the elementary school is literally about a stone's throw away. The junior high is too, for that matter. It's in north-east Orem, about a 12 minute drive from campus (if no traffic).
Here are some pictures!
The house from the outside.
Pauline has wanted a front porch for ages!
A nice kitchen!
There are three bedrooms upstairs. Here's the master bedroom.
And here's the master bathroom.
A view from the upstairs.
The downstairs family room. It's below ground, but the large southern-facing window lets in a lot of light. There are also two more bedrooms downstairs.
We somehow couldn't persuade them to throw in the car...
It has a nice backyard--not too big, but a lot bigger than a lot of the houses we were looking at. I think the listing said a 0.27 acre lot size. In the back yard there's some fenced-in garden space, some rose bushes, a maple tree, and some lawn. There's also a strawberry patch in the front yard.
Back yard looking the other direction...
...and if you look closely, you can see that there's a working water fountain! Just to add character.
It's everything we hoped for, and we feel extremely fotunate.
Here are some pictures!
The house from the outside.
Pauline has wanted a front porch for ages!
A nice kitchen!
There are three bedrooms upstairs. Here's the master bedroom.
And here's the master bathroom.
A view from the upstairs.
The downstairs family room. It's below ground, but the large southern-facing window lets in a lot of light. There are also two more bedrooms downstairs.
We somehow couldn't persuade them to throw in the car...
It has a nice backyard--not too big, but a lot bigger than a lot of the houses we were looking at. I think the listing said a 0.27 acre lot size. In the back yard there's some fenced-in garden space, some rose bushes, a maple tree, and some lawn. There's also a strawberry patch in the front yard.
Back yard looking the other direction...
...and if you look closely, you can see that there's a working water fountain! Just to add character.
It's everything we hoped for, and we feel extremely fotunate.
Saturday, June 02, 2007
In other news... (karaoke bar)
From http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20070531/lf_afp/philippinescrimeshot;_ylt=AgkV3..wgWcA1fZQvq3seVrMWM0F
Most bizarre part of the news story for me: "Deaths and violence are not uncommon in Philippine karaoke bars." What???
Man shot dead for bad singing in Philippine karaoke bar Thu May 31, 4:21 AM ET
MANILA (AFP) - A jobless man was shot dead by a security guard for singing out of tune in a Philippine karaoke bar, police said Thursday.
Romy Baligula, 29, was halfway through his song on Tuesday night in a bar in San Mateo town, east of Manila, when 43-year-old security guard Robilito Ortega yelled that he was out of tune.
As Baligula ignored his comments and continued singing, Ortega pulled out his revolver and shot him in the chest.
Senior Superintendent Felipe Rojas said Baligula died instantly.
The security guard was detained by an off-duty policeman shortly after the shooting.
Deaths and violence are not uncommon in Philippine karaoke bars.
The popular Frank Sinatra song "My Way" has been taken off many karaoke bars in Manila after it was found to be the cause of fights and even deaths when patrons sang out of tune.
Most bizarre part of the news story for me: "Deaths and violence are not uncommon in Philippine karaoke bars." What???
