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Yesterday Cami and I took the boys up the air show at Hill Air Force Base, in Ogden. I friend of mine from work was going to take his family up and invited us to go with him, so we went. I called up our old missionary friend, Brandon Morrell and picked him up on the way and we spent the day looking around the base at the airplanes, helicopter’s and even a Monster Truck (I’m not sure why it was there?)

Throughout the show, there were lots of different pilot flying over and performing their tricks and some amazing stunts. It is crazy to see what they do with their planes. We walked around and let the boys explore and see what was there. After a while, they were getting ready for the main part of the show so we headed over to sit on the grass and watch.

The main attraction were the F-16 Thunderbirds. They were awesome. I think I had more fun then Koby and Spencer. I really don’t know what to say about it, but it was amazing.

Here are some pictures of before the show started.

Then here are a couple of the Thunderbirds:

The top airplane is upside down

One of the cool facts about the airplanes is that they can go over three miles straight up. During the show they did go over two miles up and were nearly out of sight. It was amazing.

Here is a video of the complete show, although this was performed at another air show. They perform the same show all over the place and I found this on YouTube that someone else recorded. (It is much better in person)

brandon Uncategorized

It is amazing to me how slow time seems to move on a day by day basis, but how fast it really passes by. It seems like not too long ago we were sitting in the hospital and getting ready to go into the delivery room wondering if we were going to have a little girl or another boy. Either one would have been awesome and we are so grateful that he was healthy, strong and perfect. I remember that moment when I found out it was a boy right before I told Cami and thinking about how excited I was. Another boy! How lucky we felt.

Well, that was two years ago and Clay is growing way too fast. We had his second birthday this last Sunday, so I thought that I would post a few thoughts about Clay. (By the way, I haven’t read Cami’s post yet - she is working on it right now also - so if this is somewhat repetitive I apologize).

One of the things that I love about Clay, and the reason I titled this entry the way I did, is that he is obsessed with basketball. If anyone knows Spencer and how crazy he was about basketball then you will find it funny that I think Clay is as crazy, but probably more so then Spencer. He is constantly shooting the ball in the hoop here at our house. And it is not just a small ball. He has to use the full size one that doesn’t even fit inside the basket. He is getting much better too as we constantly find ourselves helping him get it out so he can shoot it again.

When ever we are outside or in the car he is always wanting to find basketball hoops. He loves to count them and see how many we pass and gets so excited when we pass one. I am sure that it doesn’t help the matter any that we completely nurture his excitement for the sport. After all, Cami made a basketball cake for his birthday and we also got him a basketball pinata. We also let him wear his basketball shorts and shirt basically wherever we go.

Anyways here are a few things that I love about my boy:

1. Obviously he loves sports (mostly basketball)
2. He is a boy and so he loves to be outside (I guess girls at this age also love this?)
3. He absolutely loves Koby and Spencer and follows them around everywhere and copies whatever they do - he has to be just like them
4. He is generally obedient - If we ask him to pick up something, he usually does, he helps the boys with their chores most of the time
5. He is not very obedient - I know this is contradicting what I just said for #4, but there are times when he, as with all kids, where they are blatantly disobeying to test their limit, or get away with things to test out Cami and I
6. He is very healthy. With the exception of his tubes in his ears and the infections leading up to that, he has been very healthy and has been growing as he should. Cami took him to his 2 year check up yesterday and he is in the 98th % for his height and 85th% (I think) for his weight. Maybe he will be our 6′6″ child and can play center?
7. He is constantly going 110%. He never seems to slow down. Cami always jokes about him being all the way on and running full steam ahead or all the way off, but this is only when he sleeps. I am not sure the other kids had energy like he does.
8. He always laughs. With Koby and Spencer, there is mostly always something to laugh about, but even when he get hurt it is pretty easy to get him laughing and over whatever it is that is bothering him
9. He likes bugs, but then again, what little boy doesn’t
10. He has blue eyes - Until he came along, I was the lone blue eye in our family. Now Clay and I have that in common and this is great!

There are many more things that I could write about Clay. He is a complete joy to have in our home. As with the rest of the family, I love him so much and am grateful to have him in our family.

brandon Family

I have been slacking on my blog lately , but it is mostly because I go to work, come home, play with the boys, go to bed and then do it all over again. Not a lot to write about.

Sure there have been times that are blog worthy, but I either just haven’t gotten around to the, or Cami has written about them. And quite honestly does a much better job keeping track of our life.

But, this summer we have lots of intentions to have fun on days off from work. So I will try and post a little more regularily.

For the last couple weeks, Koby and Spencer have been asking if we could go hike to the “Y” on the mountain. It overlooks Provo and Orem and everytime we drive up through there, they find the Y on the mountain. Well, this week as they have been asking again, so we took off and headed up there today.

I also found an app for my iPhone called Trail Guru that tracks where I am, how fast I am travelling and what my elevation is (among other things). I can start it when I leave and stop it when I get back and it tells me everything that I need to know.

I am sure we will be going more hike and fun outdoor stuff this year and I will try my best to keep this blog updated.

If any one comes out to visit us and you are up for a challenge, the BYU hike is well worth the time.

brandon Family

From the Chicago Tribune:

DETROIT - Michael Jordan accepted a Hall of Fame jersey, looked at former competitors John Stockton and David Robinson and threatened to make another comeback.

“Every time I see these guys, I want to put my shorts on,” Jordan said.

The former Bulls great was elected to the 2009 Basketball Hall of Fame class along with Robinson, Stockton and his coach in Utah, Jerry Sloan. Rutgers women’s coach C. Vivian Stringer was also elected.

As remarkable as Jordan’s career was, a five-time MVP who won six NBA titles, he said this day was one he never imagined.

“I would never have envisioned myself at any point being in any hall of fame,” he said.

The announcement was made in Detroit, site of the men’s Final Four, on the day Jordan’s North Carolina Tar Heels will face Michigan State for the national championship. He won a title with North Carolina when current coach Roy Williams was an assistant in 1982.

Induction is Sept. 10-12 in Springfield, Mass., home of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.

I also found this video on ESPN.com today that says it all. He is the greatest of all time.

brandon Amazing Things, Sports Michael Jordan

Last week (when Cami was gone) the Koby and Spencer wanted to do some “science experiments” on our kitcher counter. One of them included getting water into a cup. Rather than simply filling it up, they built a contraption that let them spit the water into a row of straws and then into a cup.

There were a couple variations that they came up with, but what was really runny was that they were the ones that thought it up and how to do it. Then they were the ones that built the whole thing. I only helped show them how to put some tape on to hold the straws to the cups. Everything else they did themselves.

It reminds me of the old Rube Goldberg books from school. Does anyone else remember them?

brandon Family

A week or so ago, I had an opportunity to go to Koby’s school for the annual Dad’s Day. Every year the kindergartener’s have a day where they present a little program and only the dad’s are invited to attend. They spend time learning a couple songs and a little presentation. We also got to write and color with them in their journals, sit at their desks and also see the different stations that they play with during their day.

We were able to spend about an hour there playing with them and seeing the classroom. It was a lot of fun and I was excited to go and see him with his friends from school. He likes school a lot and does really well in his class. I am really proud of him and how smart he is (I think he gets that from me).

These were part of Koby’s kite that he made at school. I love how much he likes BYU. Every time he has a project that he works on he makes it blue and white, and if possible, includes the letters BYU somewhere.

This part of the presentation that the kids did for the dad’s.

brandon Family dad's day, northridge elementary

I blogged about this before but one of the things I like about living here in Utah County is the depth of the sports program. I think that it is very valuable to the youth, as well as to us older guys. It is fun to get out and play sports with other members and get a little exercise in the process.

Our Men’s basketball team took 2nd place in the Stake tournament and were then invited to play in the Regional tournament. We were excited about that and knew that we would have some fun games. Cami has been at all of them except the one tonight, which was probably a good thing.

We have won 4 in a row in the Regional tournament and had some really good games. The team we played tonight though completely dominated us. They had one player that played for UVU last year, another that played at some college out of state and then another one that could have played in college. It was just bad from the start. The one guy that played at UVU had their first 20 points in about 4 minutes and we never had a chance.

No big deal though, we had fun and still get to play one more game (it is double elimination). We will play next Wednesday, so we will see how that goes.

brandon Church, Sports

Over the last couple weeks, we have done a few fun things as a family. I have been a slacker in updating my blog recently, but I wanted to write about a few things we have done in the last couple weeks.

A couple weeks before the break, our priests quorum had a planning meeting where we talked about what we wanted to do over the next 6 months. One of the things that was suggested was a winter campout. We planned it for the Friday night before Valentines day. I admit that I was not too excited to go, but eventually agreed that I would attend. A week or so before we went, I went to Sportsman’s Warehouse and got a bunch of cold weather gear. Things like wool socks, hand warmers, new gloves and a poncho. I felt like I was pretty prepared and got layered and went.

We decided to go to Lehi to some hot springs out there. We went and set up camp for about a half hour, then headed off to the hot springs. The parking lot was about a quarter of a mile from the hot springs and walked down to them. It actually was really warm and quite nice. I was pleasantly surprised.

We spent an hour or so there and then headed back to the camp where we had a little fireside presentation and we hung out and tried to stay warm. That night it snowed a couple inches and was very cold. I was not too excited to set up a tent to sleep in, so I offered to drive, then slept in the back of the van. While it wasn’t super warm, it was certainly better then being out in a tent. We got up, cleaned up and then headed home. Overall it was a lot of fun and I would do it again if asked.

That Saturday, was Valentines Day. Cami always does such a good job with Holidays and getting the boys excited about the little things. We always make little heart pizza’s and have fun together. This year was no different.

On Sunday of that week, we went up towards Park City, Utah and spent time with my Aunt and Uncle at their cabin. There were other family members that I haven’t seen in a while and it was a lot of fun to spend time with them. Koby and Spencer met some cousins that they had a lot of fun with.

We got there Sunday afternoon and stayed up eating and playing games well past midnight. Then we got up early and played on the snowmobiles, played more games, went out sledding with the boys and played more games. Then we stayed there and helped clean up and play more games then eventually headed home at about 5:30 that night. It is only a hour and fifteen minutes away, so it was close enough to get to very easily.

It was a lot of fun to catch up with family and spend time with them. We are looking forward to more chances to see them  and play some more games.

The next weekend, Tim and I took the boys to the UVU basketball game. This is one of the very fun things that we love to do together. There is a big practice gym behind the stands that we sit in that they go mess around in while they are not watching the game. Every once in a while they come watch a bit with me and eat popcorn and treats, then it is off to play some more and pretend to be college basketball players themselves.

Then tonight, the boys decided to make a tent in their bedroom that they are sleeping in tonight. They were pretty creative and excited about their tent. They wanted to get bathed and brush their teeth at about 7:15 tonight so they could lay in their tent and read books.

Finally at about 8:00 we read scriptures and said prayers, then they settled down and are sleeping right now. They are a blast and I love hanging out with them. I wish that I could spend more time with them, but love the time I do have at home with everyone and look forward to coming home after work and seeing them all.

brandon Camping, Church, Family

There is an annual conference called the TED Conference that I have been following and talking about from time to time. It is a conference that happens every year where people from all over the world come and talk about technology and business. They talk about how to use our skills and industries to make a positive impact on the planet and human civilization.

This last Thursday night (February 5) they hosted their annual conference in California and for the first time part of it was also broadcast to a bunch of movies theaters around the country and over the web in real time. It was their “What I Wish For The World” segment. Every year they have nominations for people that are making huge changes in the world and they get a chance to get up and share their ideas with everyone.

In a talk by Sylvia Earl, one of the 2009 TED Prize Winners, she spoke about how the ocean is vital to human existence and how we need to protect it. During her talk, she showed some of the new features in Google Earth. If you haven’t seen it or played around with it, you need to download it and just take a look. I will promise you will be hooked.

Some of the cool things about it is the ability to travel the world and explore places you would not otherwise visit. It is actual satellite pictures of the earth that you can zoom into from outer space all the way down to a street view.

Not only can you see street view, but in the latest release you can go underwater. You have the ability to see the ocean floor and move along it as if you were walking on the bottom of the ocean.

One thing they do not have yet is any type of life under the ocean. I imagine that one day they will have a layer that would display certain types of fish and wildlife that are in a particular region, but that is not there yet.

They have also implemented their street view technology so you can simulate walking along the roads. This is a little weird but way cool. I can see how people could have mixed emotions about this feature. I think it is awesome and could prove to be a super valuable tool, but some people may feel it is an invasion of their privacy.

I am making some videos on how to do a few things in Google Earth, but keep getting sidetracked playing around with it. While I am working on that, here are some screen shots of some of the cool things you can find.

#1 - Washington DC - Capitol Hill, Library of Congress and the Supreme Court

#2 - New York City

#3 -  Our Old House

#4 - Agua Azul - A 360 View

#5 - Portuguese Flags

#6 - Underwater in Hawaii

#7 & 8 - One of the features that I didn’t talk about was the ability that you have to explore Mars (and soon other planets as well) and other parts of the solar system. You can zoom in pretty far and see where certain craters are and other bits of information. All very interesting.

Well, I hope that you have as much fun with this as I am. It is going to be really interesting to see what future enhancements they can make to the program.

brandon Web/Tech google earth, technology, TED Conference

We went to bed n Friday night with a full day already planned for Saturday. We got up and got going and didn’t seem to slow down until the kids were in bed for the night.

Here is what we did:
Because I coach the young men basketball team here in our stake I have games this time of the year. I usually take Koby and Spencer with me and let them run around. Koby is getting where he can throw a normal size ball up and make it most of the time. He is getting strong and likes to shoot when there is a break in the game or at halftime. The kids on the church team are nice enough to let them be there in the middle of the action, so that is nice. A couple of them even chase him around and pretend to try and block his shots. It is fun for them.

After that, we got ready and went to a really fun swimming pool here in Lehi called the Legacy Center. There are all the standard fun things like a lazy river, kids area and a really big water slide that the boys can go down all by themselves. There are two really nice things about it:

1. The deep end of the pool is in a seperate part that you have to get out and walk a little bit to get to.
2. The water is really, really warm. It almost feels like a spa. I think it was the warmest water in a pool I have been in in a while.

I forgot my camera, but will take it next time we go. They have a rock wall that Spencer saw some kids trying to climb. He said he wants to check it out so we will go next time.

After we got done swimming, we got showered off and headed to the BYU basketball game. One of the good things about being here in Provo is there are two University’s with pretty good sports teams. We have been to two BYU basketball games and two UVU basketball games. The boys love it, mostly because we get treats and they can wear their BYU or UVU t-shirts. BYU played Wyoming and beat them pretty badly.

After that we went and met Cami at Grandma and Grandpa’s house and had dinner and dessert. By the time we got home, it was after 9:00 and ready for bed.
It was a lot of fun and I love hanging out with my boys.

brandon Family, Sports byu, Sports, uvu