More Blanche

I found more pictures and can't wait until the next attempt!

Lake Blanche, almost :(

We gave it a valiant try, towards the end return hikers said "your almost there!", "only another 30 minutes" and my favorite "around the C turn and straight ahead" Well they might as well have said "go over the river and past the mountain that burns" because about that time the rain came came down and Szymanski's went home.

But if it was only that easy, the dadoo's puppies still ache from the pounding of the boulders and rocks along a poor excuse for a trail. We did return safely, bruised but still eager to continue our hiking experiences!

Off we go to Lake Blanch

We are ready to go, well except for Sarah, who is primping before the trail. Sarah! Sarah! lets get going... Well see you all upon the return!

Harry Potter, coming to a theater near you!

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince will be shown in theaters, November 2008. That's only a few short months away, even before the return of 24!

What is your favorite Potter Movie? I liked the 4th, Goblet of Fire, the tri-wizard tournament with Victor Krum and Cedric, oh my oh my!

Here is a list of the movies and a short plot summary, the last book will be broken into 2 movies and released in 2010 and 2011.

Vote for your favorite......

#1 Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone

Harry Potter is an 11 year old boy. At a young age, he was attacked by Lord Voldemort who killed his parents; his survival brought unknown fame to Harry. He was taken by Hagrid to live with his aunt and uncle. Eleven years later, in 1991, Harry enters his first year of Hogwarts along with his new friends Ron and Hermione.


#2 Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

Harry, Ron, and Hermione return to Hogwarts for their second year which proves to be more challenging than the last. The Chamber of Secrets is opened, leaving students (and ghosts) petrified. Harry learns that he can speak parseltongue which leads to many students believing he is the heir of Salazar Slytherin. Near the end of the year Harry, Ron and their new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher, Professor Lockhart, discover the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets. There he battles the young memory of Lord Voldemort (Tom Marvolo Riddle) and his basilisk. During the battle Godric Gryffindor's sword appears out of the sorting hat (brought by Fawks), which we later learn from Dumbledore that the sword would have only appeared for a true Gryffindor.


#3 Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

Harry's third year truly begins when the Hogwart's express stops moving, a Dementor attacks Harry and is dispatched with the help of new professor, Lupin. The Dementor flees but not before it causes Harry to faint. A prisoner named Sirius Black has escaped from Azkaban prison, he was incarcerated there twelve years previously for apparently aiding Voldemort and the Death Eaters. Harry, believing it was Black who caused his parent's deaths, finds out at the end of the year the real truth.


#4 Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire:

Harry's fourth year begins with him having a nightmare about Frank Bryce being killed by Voldemort. At Hogwarts, there is a new professor, Alastor Moody, Hogwarts is hosting the Triwizard Tournament, a dangerous tournament between three schools of magic. Fleur Delacour, Viktor Krum and Cedric Diggory are the three champions. But Harry's name appears out of the Goblet of Fire making him a fourth champion.


#5 Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

Harry's fifth year begins with Harry being attacked by Dementors in Little Whinging. He finds out later that the Ministry of Magic doesn't believe that Voldemort has returned and is in for a hard year. Professor Umbridge, a representative of Cornelius Fudge, is the new Defence against the Dark Arts teacher, and the rebellion between the students of Hogwarts and the Ministry of Magic begins.


#6 Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

Harry believes that Draco Malfoy and Severus Snape are up to something. Harry falls in love with Ginny Weasley, Ron's sister. Towards the end Professor Dumbledore and Harry face an army of Inferi and return to Hogwarts to find that Death Eaters have attacked. The film is due for release in November 2008.


#7 Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
Harry, Ron, and Hermione's quest to find all of Voldemort's remaining horcruxes begins. It's meant to be Harry's final year at Hogwarts but Voldemort's rise to power prevents him from attending. The trio undergo a long adventure to destroy Voldemort once and for all.

Lost, in Utah?

While hiking at Solitude we ran across this site. I immediately identified it as "hatch". And thought, "is Locke nearby?" It is well secured so I couldn't gain entrance, however my mind went to back to the 2006 episodes of the countdown clock and those black and white video images of the "Others".





We have to wait another 7 months, February 2008 to find out what happens next. Will we be back on the mainland with flashbacks to the island or will we see a reversal of fortune with the Others as the good guys and Sawyer and Jack as the bad dudes?

I have managed to keep up to date by following the podcast and website of Jay and Jack. Check it out!

It's back!

It's true the return of the Dadoo Challenge, check it out on the Dadoo Challange!

Fire cracker of a week

It's been a hot July and we are just in the first week. So much fun to celebrate the birthdays, both Grandpa Smith and The Mom and Sister Susan is just around the corner.


On Saturday we celebrated with a hike and dinner at Solitude, a fun ride on the ski lift dropped us off on a cool"er" altitude. We walked the tree covered trail which led to another trail


....which led to another trail, we saw chipmunk-like animals scurrying around in the meadow, even deer but no antelope. There were pretty mountain flowers and the air was filled with the aroma of pine and new stuff, err like you would find in the mountain during early summer days.



Near the bottom we met a wedding party and finally "Creekside at Solitude" for a light outdoor dinner overlooking the lower mountain and lake. Such fun, Happy Birthday my love! I can't wait till next time.

Its summer time!

I love the summer, and now it's upon us. Time for water fun, hiking fun, picnic fun and the like. The only thing that is not so fun is when it's over. But as I approach my 50th summer I think I'll just enjoy it.

1 Visit the Zoo - But don’t just walk through it and you’re done. Sit and draw the animals, figure out what they’re doing. Research where the animals came from and what do they eat. Have each child pick an animal to research and go back and visit the animal that their interested in several times. Try to come up with ways to raise money for that animal.

2 Visit the Museum -

* Art museum - Have them pick one of their favorite pieces of art and research the artist. Where did they come from and what other works of art are they known for?
* History museum - Research their favorite part of history and share what information they have learned. Build a model of that part of history.
* Science Museum - Find something that interest them in this area and have them research it. Build a machine or model of their interest.


3 Go to the park - Pack a picnic lunch, invite some friends and have fun.
Summer Fun Ideas

4 Go fishing - Dust off that old fishing pole and take them fishing. Learn the different types of fish that they could catch. What types of bait to use. Don’t forget that fishing license.

5 Go biking - Pack a small backpack with water, snacks, and drinks.

6 Go hiking - Hit those trails and start walking. Find some trails that you’ve never been on before.

7 Play a game - There are many great board games and for physical games go to the Great Game List http://www.funattic.com/game_list.htm

8 Plan a vacation or trip. Research together the area that you’ll be going and get feed back as to what everyone would like to see. Give them a journal and have them write down what they did that day. They won’t like doing it most of the time. When they go back the following year and read it they’ll remember certain events with fond memories.

What are your favorite summertime activities?

I KEA'd

With the muffin in tow we adventured to the big blue building now glowing in the south valley. Parking nearby, nay I say it was off to the nether lands past the river that burns! As we approached the blue, visions of wally world filled our heads.

We had waited 2 years for this event our very own source of take home furniture, ready to assemble all packaged in neat clean flat packaging, just right for the average Utahn.




Past the entry gates up the escalator following the mass of humanity , until, until.... There is was, our very own LEKSVIK just perfect for the family room

DYNGUS DAY!

Well another year and another Dynkus Day Celebration! The long winter months are behind us and the earth is yielding up the bounties of soft pussy willows and the cleansing of pure water.

My birthplace of Western New York has helped to preserve this joyous day of fun and mischief, a time to express ones love and affection, yes and also just plain fun.

These hearty souls have gathered some king size boughs and are ready to claim their victims. All in all it should be a great day for all, so Happy Dyngus Day to everyone!


Here are a couple of links to guide you to more Dyn fun!

http://www.dyngusdaybuffalo.com/

http://www.buffalonews.com/197/story/47992.html



Rember these dudes from the last post, Susan guessed "The dudes look like church dudes" Well she is correct they are none other than Brother Aaro's new Provo Bishopric!

What about these dudes?

Today was a pretty nice day, pretty yes and nice I might say! We visited Grandma, stopped at the Pie for a pie, Costco for a radio and Staples for a Brother, oh, no one can complain about that.


We also stopped at the new Quarry Bend Walmart too for a Brother but they only had a Dymo , I was said since I still have not purchased anything at the new Sandy edifice. Last week when it first opened, our whole office went to visit. With the intention of having lunch, we decided to pass when we found a over crowded McDonalds. Ty advised us to walk quickly so as not to have our feet burned on the floor. He claims that Walmart is owned and operated by none other than the devil himself, so surely they have built the store over an area of fire and brimstone!





Aaron is now mentoring me on the fine art of GTD, so we went shopping for a label maker. This fine machine will now grace my desk and will be a key element in bring order and sanity to the office and home. The Mom said "I hope you remember to throw out 50 tons of crap! So I put a 3 x 5 card in my In box to do just that, start counting dear.



GTD is an organization system which really makes a lot of sense, it forces you to recognize all your tasks and then lets you work on them as you have the time. I like it and it seems to have worked well for the other brother.



At Costco, Sister Sarah received her very own Costco card. They checked her ID carefully to make sure she is indeed 18, a young face for sure but she is 18 and a darling girl for sure. We also picked up an Ipod player for my very own Nano. Aaron reminded me that this is the third time I have purchased this item, previously I have taken it back in hopes of finding just the right device, well it turns out that it is the right one, so there!



Oh and who are these dudes, well you tell me? Any Guesses?

A gift to the world!

A Kitty and a mouse, by "The Dadoo....."

A Kitty and a Mouse
went for a stroll.
The Mouse ran to a house,
the Kitty talked to a Troll



Oh, Troll, who has more worth,
the Mouse or the Kitty?
Ahh, in the house on the fourth,
the mouse is not witty!

The truth of the matter
is only so true.
A Mouse on a platter,
for a Kitty so blue!

Bowling and discing!

This weekend Aaron, Sarah and Dadoo participated in some fun activities, first after much anticipation, including 2 weeks of practice we joined the the Response Keglers and Zions Bank at the Jr Achievement Bowl-a-thon. We had a lot fun with the Bankers and knocked down a ton of pins, even a few strikes! Many $$'s were raised to benefit Utah Jr Achievement. Our new Response Golf Shirts are so stylish, we can not wait until league play begins in another month.



Afterwards Mr. Sun was out so we stopped by the Creekside Park Disc Golf course to toss the disc. Sarah is getting much better with her throw and was spot on with several throws. Our disc's are off to Sarah. This is just the beginning of the season and there is sure to be more opportunity to try our hand. Aaro is particularly looking forward to tossing his new glow in the dark disc, oooooooo!

Maybe we can find a course in Las Vegas!

Happy Valentines Day

I do not have much to say other than much love to you all!

A kegle'n we will go

Our company is in the "throws" of starting a bowling team, so much fun. It is the talk of the office (Has there ever been an episode of "The Office" on this subject, Scranton surely has a large bowling market?) and everyone is excited to play a part. We have even ordered bowling shirts to at least make us look like bowlers.



For even more fun the Brother has accepted the challenge to join us. We will first participate in a fund raiser benefit for Jr Achievement with the bankers on February 17th and then start regular weekly bowling the following month.

To the right is an example of the style of the shirt we will wear, except ours will have a big bold blub on the back and our names stitched on the front. Wish us well!

Ehhh...

Yesterday, while Lesa went to visit Grandma, Aaro and I decided to go see a movie. And after a little negotiation Sarah consented to see Rocky Balboa. It was only later that I realized that Sarah was not aware that this is like the 6th Rocky movie. She was a good sport to go with guys to a boxing movie.

We met the Sharp's at the Commons as they were coming out of The Holiday, A chick flick for sure, but they said is was good. They commented that Rocky was supposed to be good too, whatever that means? Well I can say that it was good, the dialog was as expected in a Stallone film with plenty of ehh's, yo's and whatayadoin's. But it was pretty decent, with some blood and spit but no language or other yucky stuff.

I give it a 3 on the Dadoo scale of watch-a-bility.

24 Breaking NEWS!

To all devoted 24 faithful, there is significant news from the 24 set, it seems that Graham Bauer may not be the only Bauer brother to be revealed in episode 5.

Can you guess who this might be?

I am speaking of Kimberly Bauer's "half" brother, none other than the blond haired teenager who we are briefly introduced as Jack's nephew, Josh. Rumors are that this is Jack's son, apparently from a relationship with Graham's wife, Marilyn.



There are obvious similarities between Josh and Kim. the blond hair and facial features no doubt played a role in casting Evan Ellingson into this role. It will be an interesting season, stay tuned

24 is the bomb!

We are only 2 weeks into this years 24 and already Jack has befriended a terrorist, killed his buddy, witnessed a nuclear detonation and tortured his brother. Once again this is the longest day in good ole Jack's life!

This year is better since the brother Aaro is a huge fan, a 24 newby, and eager to join in the excitement of 24. 5 down and only 19 episodes to go.

I have one question to toss out here, wasn't Jack's brother in last year's season as one of the band of bad men who escaped on a plane to Europe? tink, tink, tink, tink........

Der Schnee

Snow in Tucson!





"Winter Storm Slams Southern Arizona

Although the heaviest snowfall in Arizona on Sunday was in the north, snow also fell in downtown Phoenix and Tucson, which received up to 11/2 inches, according to the National Weather Service.

Glenn Jones, who lives on a small farm in Marana northwest of Tucson, said he was cold and wet and would be glad when it warms up again.

"I had chores to do today, animals to feed, to get ready for the week," he said. "I don't like to work in it. It's too cold. That's the reason I moved here -- to get out of it.""

Winter in Arizona, get your mittens out Emma!

Bunco busted

The stage was set for an evening of fun and games for this troupe of young dice tossing hoodlums. Bright eyed and filled with glee, as the fateful day approached. Trouble was afoot and it was not good, nothing good comes from such activity.

Just fun and games? Shall our youth falter?

Well, either you're closing your eyes
To a situation you do now wish to acknowledge

Or you are not aware of the caliber of disaster indicated
By the presence of a evil dice in your community.
Ya got trouble, my friend, right here,
I say, trouble right here in Sandy City.



Why sure I'm a player,
Certainly mighty proud I say
I'm always mighty proud to say it.
I consider that the hours I spend
With a cue in my hand are golden.



Help you cultivate horse sense
And a cool head and a keen eye.
Never take and try to give
An iron-clad leave to yourself
From a three-roll bunco toss?

Well cool heads prevailed and the authorities ruled, no Bunco here, not in Sandy City!