In January, I decided it was time to get in shape for good. Over the course of the year, I trained for an ran my first marathon (the Utah Valley Marathon in June), participated in the Wasatch Back Ragnar relay race (one week after the marathon) and completed P90X (technically I still have a couple of weeks left). I went on several hikes and golfed a number of times. I’ve found that while I am not passionate about sports like most people, I am passionate about being active and enjoying the outdoors. During my marathon training and hikes, I discovered multiple trails and interesting paths. Over the last three months, my dog Buddy and I have been joined by my neighbor, Bob Freeze, as a jogging companion. I enjoy his company a lot as he’s a better conversationalist than Buddy.

I achieved the goal of losing 40 pounds of fat this year and have been working diligently to maintain that weight loss. And while exercise is an important part, cutting out/down on food that makes me fat (you know, the stuff that tastes good) is essential. My brothers Aaron and Nate and I made a pact to keep it off or pay severe penalties. Each Friday morning for the past year, we’ve reported our weigh, body fat percentage and waist measurement. It’s been a great system to keep us from going back. Collectively, we’ve lost 150 pounds and we’re determined not to find them again.

My work at US Bank continues to go well. In April, I will have been there for four years as a business banking officer. It’s a challenging, rewarding job that I both love and hate. As a business development guy (read: salesman), I am constantly having to court new business clients. When I get them to move their relationship to US Bank and/or do a building loan or line of credit for them, it feels great. When I get rejected or when I can’t get the bank’s credit analysts to approve a loan, it feels terrible. It’s all part of the job, I guess and I try to balance the highs with the lows.

In March, I was called to serve as the ward clerk of the newly formed Traverse Mountain 9th Ward with Bishop Robert Phelps. It’s been a great blessing for me to be able to serve in that capacity and I’ve learned a lot. And while I’m not as passionate about paperwork and statistical reports as I am about teaching, leading and working with the youth (as I’ve done for many years), I am enjoying learning this side of church administration. It has been a blessing to watch a new ward form and a new bishopric grow together in unity and love.

I’ve been blessed to be able to continue my pursuit of the arts. My acapella group, BLEND, gave 16 performances throughout the year and we’ve distributed a few hundred of our CDs, which we released last year. If you’d like to listen to any of the nine tracks, visit www.blendsingers.com.

Early in the year, I auditioned for Lehi Arts Council’s production of “The Importance of Being Earnest” and landed the role of Jack. We performed the show in a little theater in downtown Lehi during the last week in April. I loved being a part of this show and really enjoyed working with my fellow actors. The part was difficult as I had to memorize nearly 30 minutes of just my dialogue. If you’re interested in watching a couple of minutes from the closing scene to hear my British accent, I’ve posted a clip on YouTube. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bnseib5jFxo. You can also read more about it on my blog. Just scroll down for pictures and video.

My family is doing great. Robin and I agreed that it was time for her to pursue a second degree in addition to her English degree from BYU. So she began studying Interior Design at LDS Business College. It has created some challenges with scheduling, but with James in pre-school now and the older kids all in school all day, we felt like now is the right time. She’ll be going part time for the next few years with classes in downtown Salt Lake 2 or 3 days/evenings per week. She’s really enjoying the subject matter and looks forward to being able to channel her passion for beautifying things in a profitable way. She’s extremely artistic and talented, and I know she’ll do great! She also was recently called as a counselor in the primary presidency and that has created new opportunities for her to grow and to serve.

My oldest son Parley turned 12 in May and was ordained a deacon. He’s only two inches shorter than me now (he’s already passed up Robin) and his voice has changed. He’s dealing with middle school challenges like girls and acne, and he’s loving this new era of his life. He enjoys karate (he’s testing for his yellow belt this week), band and drama. He’s improved a lot in the piano this year and plans to start composing music.

Brianna (10) is now in 5^th grade and always seems to busy herself with some art project or other. She’s more quiet and reserved than our other children and always seems to be reading a Harry Potter book, playing a computer game or drawing a picture. Brianna recently began taking ballroom dance classes offered at Traverse Mountain Elementary, and it has been fun to watch her progress socially and artistically.

Lily (7) continues to be our fireball with lots of energy and passio. She is very sociable, very curious, very enthusiastic and often exasperating. She loves to write stories and enjoys playing with her brother James, who is our brown-eyed caboose that we all just adore. He is constantly saying the cutest things. He’s had to adjust in some ways to Robin’s school schedule and being shuffled around from pre-school to babysitters, but for the most part he’s done well.

As a family, we’re now fully settled into our new house. It’s hard to believe we’ve been here for 18 months now. We’re slowly making improvements to the house to make it more like a home. Robin sewed curtains for two of our rooms (the rest are still bare) and painted one room a cheerful shade of yellow. We upgraded the furniture in our great room with the purchase of a large entertainment center and some new sofas. We also worked hard on the landscaping around our house by re-doing our rock wall, installing a stone staircase to more easily access the upper level and planting nearly 40 shrubs and a few trees. Little by little, our house on the hill feels more like home. We love the neighborhood and have made many great new friends here.

Finally, we took our first out-of-state vacation in three years just last week. On the day after Christmas, we drove to Palm Springs and enjoyed 70 degree weather. After a couple of days, we drove to Long Beach to play on the beach and visit the Aquarium of the Pacific and the Queen Mary. We ended the trip with a visit to Hollywood and a stop in Las Vegas. We drove 1,750 miles (25-30 hours) over five days, but we had a great time.

We feel extremely blessed by our Heavenly Father at this time of year. We’ve had our share of challenges too, but we try to focus on the positive and remember what’s most important. We count ourselves blessed to have so many friends and family members that support us. We love you and wish you a very happy and prosperous 2012.

Training
I began training in February, but the cold and windy mornings made it difficult, not to mention that my serious calorie and carb restriction left me with insufficient energy to properly train. I decided to take a few weeks off of marathon training to wait for better weather and focus on losing weight. By the first part of April, I hit my initial goal of 30 pounds lost (roughly the weight of my three-year-old son) and I resumed my training. I remember after running my first 7-miler, I was sore for days and injured my Achilles tendon. I couldn’t imagine being  able to run 26.2 miles!

But I was told that if I just logged the miles, I’d be able to do it. Over the course of 10 weeks, I went on 20 runs over 7 miles (with several in the 14-19 mile range). I ran mostly along trails such as the Jordan River Parkway (by Saratoga Springs, Thanksgiving Point and in Bluffdale/Riverton area), the Porter Rockwell Trail on Draper’s bench from the Point of the Mountain to Draper Park, and the Lehi trail from my house in Traverse Mountain to downtown Lehi. Since my training pace was about 11:30 per mile, these long runs took a great deal of my free time. But I really enjoyed the training, especially when the weather was good. I got the “runner’s high” also known as natural Prozac, and I got to see some beautiful scenery while contemplating my life (and memorizing my lines for my play by listening to a recording I had made of the lines on my iPhone).

During the training, I often had pains in my left knee, right ankle and right groin, but I pushed through the pain and my body strengthened. By the time I ran my longest pre-marathon run of 19 miles, my body was used to the distances and my recovery time was a fraction of what it had been after my first long run.

First Marathon
On Saturday, June 11, after 10 weeks of serious training, I felt ready for the Utah Valley Marathon, my first.  I was so nervous. Could I really run 26.2 miles? Would I be sore for weeks afterwards? Would I be injured? Could I make it to the finish line in less than five hours?

That morning, I got up at 3:00 a.m., showered and put on my marathon gear, including my racing bib with timing chip and my $100 running shoes. I drove to downtown Provo and caught a marathon bus to Wallsburg, a tiny town Southeast of Deer Creek Reservoir. We arrived at 4:45 and huddled around campfires for an hour before beginning at 6:00. I started out with a 9:30 pace and I felt really good. The first section was gorgeous, the weather was ideal and it felt exciting to be running with all of those other racers.

As I approached the halfway mark in Provo Canyon, I realized I was on pace to finish in 4 hours and 21 minutes, or just about a 10-minute mile. That energized me and I pushed hard for the rest of the race. However, the last six miles on University Avenue in Provo were brutal. I was tired and wanted to slow down. But my goal of finishing with an average pace of less than 10-minutes per mile propelled me onward. And I thought I was on track to hit that goal until I realized that a marathon isn’t 26 miles, it’s 26.2. Realizing that I had to make up about 2 minutes over the last six miles was disheartening. It would mean I’d have to run each of the last six miles about 20 seconds faster than normal at a time when I wanted to slow down, not speed up.

At mile 24, I realized I wasn’t going to make it so I slowed down a bit. But at mile 25, I decided I would forever regret not making the final push. So I ran as fast as I could. I remembered the scripture from the Bible that I had read that morning:

Isaiah 40:31 – “But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.”

I began whispering to myself the phrase, “Run and not be weary, walk and not faint.” Over the next several minutes, the whisper grew into a loud chant that helped me create a cadence for my faster pace. It energized me, so that when I saw the finish line, sprinted to it. My older kids ran out to join me in the last 200 yards and we finished the race together. My time was 4:20:57 with an official pace of 9:58 per mile. Just about one minute more total time, and I would have missed my goal. My last mile was my fastest, and I realized that the difference between hitting my goal and missing it happened in that last mile. That little additional effort made all the difference. What a great feeling I had that morning as I crossed the finish line and celebrated with members of my family. That afternoon, I treated myself to a full-body massage and a swim at Alta Canyon with the kids.

By Tuesday I had completely recovered from the soreness. I thought I would be sore for weeks, but since I had trained so well, I bounced back quickly. And that was good, since I had another serious fitness challenge awaiting me…

Wasatch Back Ragnar Relay
A friend of mine invited me to participate on his 12-person relay team in the Ragnar Relay Race just one week after my marathon. The entry fee is usually about $100 per person, but his company was covering most of those costs and they had a last-minute drop-out. He asked if I wanted to join and I agreed, not knowing fully what I was getting into. I didn’t run for five days, allowing my body time to recover. I did go swimming twice, played racquetball and golfed 36 holes, but no running!

The race began in Logan on Friday morning, June 17, but I was part of the second shift, so my race began at Liberty Park in thte town of Liberty in Odgen Valley. I was runner #11, so my leg of the 192-mile relay race wasn’t until about 6:30 that night. It was a brutal run on Trapper’s Loop on the road from Pineview Reservoir to Snow Basin Ski Resort. It was uphill the entire way with a 935 foot elevation gain over 3.2 miles. But I got it done and it felt great.

We arrived at Morgan High School at about 8:00 that night and laid out our sleeping bags on the grass by a nearby river. I attempted to get some sleep, but didn’t get much. At 11:00, it was time to load up for the next van exchange at East Canyon State Park. My next leg began at 4:50 a.m. Saturday morning and was 5.5 miles of relatively flat terrain around Rockport Lake, which I completed in a 10-minute per mile pace. This was after having sat in a truck for 4 hours while waiting for my teammates to complete their portions of the run.

We arrived at South Summit High School at 7:00 a.m. and I dragged my sleeping bag and pad into the dark and silent gymnasium where dozens of exhausted runners were slumbering. I slept hard for two hours and then woke up, showered in the locker room and ate breakfast. It was the best sleep and the most welcome shower I had had for a very long time.

My final run began that afternoon at 2:17, from the top of Wasatch Mountain State Park down into Deer Valley Resort. It was a 1735 foot elevation drop over 7.3 miles. It was a leg killer, but oh so fun because it was fast. I pushed hard and finished this extreme downhill leg in less than 9 minutes per mile. We then made our way as a team to the finish line at Park City High School where we all crossed the finish line together and got our medals. It was a great feeling!

We had a great team of really cool people. The scenery and weather were excellent. The only downside is that we didn’t get a lot of sleep and there was way too much time sitting in a van waiting for my turn to run (10 hours in between runs), but it was a blast.

And now I’m going to rest…

Nine of our 12 teammates on the Atlas Title team at the Wasatch Back Ragnar Relay.

Me at the Ragnar finish line.

In February, we bought a great 2004 Honda Odyssey to replace our 1994 Mercury Villager and we’ve loved it. We were able to sell our old car without too much trouble.

I’m still driving my 1995 Toyota Camry with 250,000+ miles on it. The pain job is fading and the interior is pretty ugly, but it still gets me from Point A to Point B, and I love not having a car payment. I’m hoping it will just keep plugging along.

At the end of March, our ward was divided and I was called to serve as Ward Clerk for the newly created ward. It’s been a fun challenge to work to get everything established for the Traverse Mountain 9th Ward, and I’ve enjoyed it. 

From January 1 to April 1, I lost 30 pounds and have kept it off for the last six weeks. To help me never revert back to my former weight, (I’ve gained and lost this same 30 pounds four times before), I have donated most of my clothes to the DI and gotten new ones, which is expensive. None of my suits fit anymore so I’ve either given them to the DI, or taken them into the tailor to be altered. Unfortunately, even after the alterations, they don’t look as good as the two new suits I recently got from Pierre Phillipe, a tailor in Lehi. Here’s an one of my two new suits for my new body.

A few months back, I began training for a the Utah Valley Marathon on June 11, 2011. While training for a big race like that is time-consuming, I have really enjoyed it. There’s nothing like running through nature (trails, parks, canyons, etc.) and having all that time to think about life or listen to interesting podcasts. Yesterday, I ran almost 17 miles down Provo Canyon to get a feel from what the course would be like for me in just four weeks. It capped of a very agressive training week in which I ran almost 50 miles over five sessions with rest days on Sunday and Wednesday.

Finally, on Saturday night, I had the cast of “The Importance of Being Earnest” come over to watch a DVD of our final performance. It was so much fun to see all those dear friends two weeks after the show closed on April 30. It was a short run (just five performances) and a small venue (seating 100 or so), but it was so much fun to tackle the challenge of brining the character of Jack to life. My fellow castmembers did a great job and we really enjoyed it. The rehearsal schedule was just two nights a week in February and March. April, however, was quite intense and time-consuming. So I’m glad it’s over, but I’m so glad I had the chance to be involved. Here’s a little clip of the conclusion of the play, in which my character (Jack Worthing) discovers his true origins, his relationship to the other characters on stage and his real name.

Here are a few photos from the show. For more pictures, scroll down to my earlier post about the play.

In early February, I auditioned for Oscar Wilde’s hilarious play, “The Importance of Being Earnest” and I was offered the lead role of Jack Worthing (a.k.a Ernest). This romantic comedy is full of extremely witty dialogue as it satirizes the English aristocracy in 1890s London. The story centers around two proper gentlemen (Jack and Algernon) who use the same pseudonym (Ernest) to escape social obligations by pretending to be someone they’re not. 

 

My character, Jack Worthing, pretends to have a younger brother named Ernest who constantly gets into trouble, giving Jack the excuse to leave his country estate and enjoy the pleasures of London while using a fake  identity. During his visits to town, he meets and falls in love with Gwendolyn, who informs him she has always dreamed of marrying someone named Ernest. When Jack’s secret is discovered by his friend Algernon, a series of hilarious events ensues.

 

My involvement in this play has been so much fun for me. It has also been a challenge as I’ve had to memorize many pages of dialogue and tried to perfect my English accent. We had our final dress rehearsal last night and I’m pleased to say that the show is going to be highly entertaining.

 
We only have five performances from April 25 to April 30 on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday at 7:00 p.m. at 685 North Center Street in Lehi. Tickets are $7 and can be purchased at http://www.lehiarts.com/Buy-It-Here.html.

 

Below are some photos taken during one of our first dress rehearsals. Costumes have been improved since these photos were taken. 

Jack learns that Gwendolyn has always dreamed of loving someone named Ernest -- and she detests the name Jack.

 

Algernon tries to reconcile with his friend Jack.

Jack Worthing is in mourning due to the “death” of his fake brother Ernest.

 Together, Buddy and I have jogged more than 5,000 miles. We both love it (except on cold dark mornings in December, January and February). And yet, even with ice and snow, or rain and sleet, we somehow manage to get out six days per week and jog for 30 minutes. Our pace isn’t impressive: about 2.5 miles per day or about a 12-minute mile. On days when I don’t really feel like going and want to blog, email, Facebook or reconcile my finances instead, Buddy kind of hangs around me and any time I shift positions, he thinks that maybe that means I’m getting ready to get on my jogging suit (which is black and white to match the dog — coincidentally) and grab the leash for our next jogging excursion. He’s not push or obnoxious, he just subtly lets me know that it would mean a great deal to him if we went out jogging together. And those kind and hopeful brown eyes really get the to me. So we’re pretty consistent.

However, while our leisurely daily jogs are nice, I’ve decided that it’s time for a stretch fitness goal; one that will really push me to the limit; one that will give me a chance to cross something off of my bucket list. A full marathon. Not a 5K, a 10K or even a half marathon. I’ve decided that I may as well go for the whole thing.

I started training in January and did four “long runs,” but for the past few weeks, I’ve stopped doing the long runs and focused on losing weight that will slow me down. That fat loss required some serious calorie restriction, so I haven’t had the energy to go on long runs. I’ve lost 25 pounds since January 1, reduced my gut size by 7 inches and lowered my body fat from 25.6% to 19.6%. I’m now ready to resume my marathon training in earnest. Yesterday, I committed myself financially by paying my entry fee to the Utah Valley Marathon on Saturday, June 11, 2011.

There’s a great video on the marathon at http://www.utahvalleymarathon.com/

I chose this particular course because it’s mostly downhill, but not too steep (from Wallsburg past Deer Creek Reservoir down Provo Canyon and ending in downtown Provo). So it’s a relatively easy marathon at a great time of the year. The race is 12 weeks from today. My goal is to finish, and do it under five hours. Sure, it’s not a particularly lofty time goal, but I’m starting to realize that just finishing is going to be pretty hard.

A few weeks ago, I ran 7.5 miles. It was hard and I was pretty sore afterwards. A marathon is more than three times that amount: 26.2 miles. I believe the name comes from Greek history in which a messenger ran 26.2 miles to deliver a message to Athens during the Battle of Marathon. According to the story I heard, the messenger ran that long distance, delivered the important information and then he keeled over and died. I hope that won’t be the case for me. I’m certain that the way to avoid injury and death is to do the proper training and nutrition. I’ve also been told I need the right shoes (which are not going to be cheap.)

So if any of you long-distance runners have any advice for me as a novice, please feel free to share.

I’m at risk for heart disease, diabetes and cancer. I want to change. But I can’t seem to make it stick.  Here’s a quick summary of my major diets over the past several years:

• May-Aug 1996 – Lost 35 pounds (from 201 to 166) – Low calorie, low fat, TONS of exercise
• Jan-June 2004 – Lost 33 pounds (from 204 to 171) – Low carb
• Jan-May 2007 – Lost 20 pounds (from 198 to 178 ) – Low carb
• Aug-Sep 2007 – Lost 11 pounds (from 196 to 185) – Low carb
• May-Oct 2008 – Lost 30 pounds (from 197 to 167) – Low carb

I lost between 6-10 pounds twice in 2009 doing a low carb diet. In 2010, I lost weight 7-10 pounds two times doing the HCG diet. But the weight came back when I went back to “eating as usual.” Unfortunately, I started 2011 at 194.

I am happy to report than since January 1, 2011, I’ve lost nearly 11 pounds and three inches off my middle. I’m down to 183, but my ideal weight is in the 160 range with at least 4-5 more inches off my middle.

So what am I doing wrong? Why can’t I get it off and keep it off? Exercise hasn’t been a problem. I jog six days a week for 30 minutes each day quite consistently, and have been doing that for nearly seven years. I suppose I need to do some strength training and that will help, but I hate gyms and I don’t like pain… 

I’ve decided that one major reason I can’t seem to keep my belly fat off is because I haven’t fundamentally changed the way I approach food.

I need to lose the fat and then monitor my food intake carefully for the rest of my life. I can’t keep going off and on diets. I have to change my lifestyle permanently. Maybe you do too?

Obesity is an epidemic. Diabetes is becoming such a major medical problem that it could easily bankrupt our health care system in the coming years. Forty years ago, obesity rates were 13% of Americans. Ten years ago, obesity rates had jumped to 23%. Today, American obesity rates have climbed to 33%! Why? I think it has a lot to do with our increasingly sedentary lifestyle.

However, I am convinced it has a lot to do with the USDA food pyramid’s focus on grains and other simple carbs. In the decades that the food pyramid has been emphasizing this plan of a high-carbohydrate, low-fat diet, obesity rates have skyrocketed. This can certainly be attributed to the availability of processed foods. Corn and associated products (subsidized by the government) are in everything. Our grandparents’ generation knew that breads, pastas and starches (like potatoes) were foods that pack on the pounds. Why do you think cattle at feed lots are fed a corn and grain instead of grass to fatten them up? It’s because simple carbohydrates are quickly converted into glycogen and, in turn, into fat stores. What’s more, they spike our insulin levels and make it that much more difficult to release the fat our body stores.
 
Our current American eating patterns are totally contradictory to thousands of years of human evolution. We’ve evolved eating a high protein diet rich in nutrients and healthy vegetables. Only in the past few decades when the agricultural industrial complex came to power have all these high-carbohydrate foods become staples of our diet. They are so available because they are cheap and subsidized by the government. But they are contrary to our body’s natural way to process food. Thus the dramatic spike in obesity rates in recent years. It’s killing us as a nation.
 
Some suggest that it’s all about “calories in” and “calories out.” I am certain that it’s not that simple. It’s not just a will power issue. Often naturally skinny people say that it’s just a person’s lack of self-control that causes them to be fat. And while I’m sure there’s some truth to that, there are a lot of complexities in the body’s chemistry and the way insulin regulates the body’s fat reserves that makes it extremely difficult for many people to lose weight.

Many studies have shown that people on a low-calorie, low-fat diet experienced less fat loss than those on a low-carb diet that did not have a specific calorie restriction. That’s because dietary protein and fat satiates us much more than carbs, so we naturally reduce calories because we’re not hungry. (Eating eggs for breakfast vs. a bowl of cereal is the perfect example of this — you get hungry more quickly with the bowl of cereal, even though the calorie input is the same.)  
 
So is the credibility of what I’m saying compromised by my confessions above? That low carb living isn’t a viable long-term solution since it’s not a realistic lifestyle? I’ve been on a yo-yo because I’ve allowed myself to get in “diet” mode and then get OUT of diet mode. Long-term health and weight maintenance REQUIRE a lifestyle shift, and that’s where I have failed. I work hard to lose some pounds and then go back to “eating as usual.” This simply doesn’t work. I am a living example of that. I’ve lost the same 30 pounds three times now. I’ve lost the same 10 pounds at least five times now.

This current weight loss I’m engaged in is the last time for me. I’m not going back. That’s because besides being ugly, belly fat is SOOO detrimental to my health. It significantly increases my risk for heart disease, cancer and diabetes.

My brother Aaron is a fitness guru, and he’s helping me design a plan to lose the belly fat and then do what I’ve never been able to do before — find a realistic maintenance plan in which I can slowly add back carbs and find that perfect nutrition balance that allows me to stay trim. I’m not getting any younger, so now’s the time to make the change. Permanently this time.

Merry Christmas, Everyone! 

2010 has been a very eventful year for our family. The biggest, of course, has been our change of address. After only one month, we were able to sell our dear Riverton home of ten years, and almost immediately found a great location to build a brand new home. We had visited Traverse Mountain several times in the past and fallen in love with it, but never thought we would be able to live here. However, thanks to some changes in the market, we were able to get into a much bigger and more beautiful home. We enjoyed the building process immensely, and were excited to create our dream house.

While our house was being built, we imposed upon the hospitality of Andrew’s mother, Vicki, and lived in her home for ten weeks. For six of those weeks we also shared her home with Andrew’s brother Aaron and his family! It was a fun experience, but I think we were all relieved when we were able to move into our new home in June.

It has been wonderful having the mountain as our backyard. While it’s mostly rocks and grass, it has its own wild beauty. We have no neighbors behind us, and have enjoyed seeing some wildlife from time to time!  Parley and some friends saw a porcupine up by the small caves behind our house, and there is a large herd of deer that has been wandering around the hills ever since the first snowfall. I love seeing the gorgeous view of Utah Valley and Utah Lake every time I drive to the store.

Our neighborhood is full of young families, and all of us have been able to make some friends pretty quickly. Andrew wasted no time in getting not one, but three new callings: Building Clean-Up Coordinator, Stake Sunday School Presidency, and a committee to help families protect themselves against pornography. However, the time requirements for these assignments are much less than his former calling in the bishopric, so we’re not complaining! I have been called to be the Music Chairperson, and have enjoyed mining the musical talent of our ward by scheduling musical numbers, organizing the Christmas program, and, of course, playing the piano whenever needed.

Andrew continues to work at U.S. Bank as a Business Banking Officer. In October, he was transferred from the Salt Lake area to almost single-handedly handling the Utah Country market. It’s technically a shorter drive, but thanks to I-15 construction, not much of a shorter commute. In May, Andrew and I were lucky enough to go on a memorable vacation to Hawaii, courtesy of US Bank. Andrew has won this incentive trip because of his hard work in the fourth quarter of 2009. We spent a couple of days on the main island of Oahu, visiting some college friends in Honolulu, climbing the Diamond Head volcano, and going to the Polynesian Cultural Center. Then we took an inter-island flight to Maui to join up with the other U.S. Bank BBOs at a beautiful resort on the beach. It was an amazing experience, and we are grateful to our family for helping us with the babysitting so we could go!

Our kids are all doing well. Parley, our oldest, is eleven and a half, and growing rapidly. He already wears a size 8 shoe—only one size smaller than Andrew! He is ruling the school as a sixth grader, and recently performed an awesome karaoke-style duet in their class concert of the song “Fireflies” by Owl City, complete with choreography. He is looking forward to playing the trumpet again when our school band gets started in January, and just earned his Tenderfoot in scouts.

Brianna is nine this year and just had her first official sleepover with a friend! She continues to love anything art-related and has been taking art lessons from a neighbor’s sister for the past few months. She and her friend Lexi both love animals, especially horses and cats, and both plan on being veterinarians when they grow up.  Brianna has enjoyed having her own room in the new house, and has carefully decorated it with stuffed animals, her artwork, and a large pile of rocks and pinecones.

Six-year-old Lily is our little drama queen. Her sunny, outgoing personality is a joy to be around, however, that sunshine can turn stormy at the drop of a hat, and she can throw a temper tantrum like you’ve never seen! After months of her begging, we finally signed her up for gymnastics, and she is already moving up to the next level. She is incredibly flexible, and I wonder sometimes if she doesn’t have a career ahead of her as a contortionist.

Sweet baby James is still the baby of the family, and everyone adores him. But at three years old, he’s really not much of a baby anymore. With all the kids in school full time this year, it’s just him and me most of the time, and that has taken some getting used to for both of us. There’s no one else around to entertain him when I need to get something done, but on the other hand, we’ve both really enjoyed the one on one time together. After focusing mostly on the older kids for so long, it’s been fun going back the world of a preschooler. I’ve enjoyed pulling out the “Blue’s Clues” and “Bob the Builder” videos, and remembering what it’s like to explain the idea of trick-or-treating or the story of Santa to someone who’s just old enough to “get it”!

We hope you all had a great year as well and look forward to 2011 and the wonderful new things it will bring! Love you all!

Picture of our family taken at Robin's sister Amber's wedding.

Family portrait taken in Murray Park, October 2010.

We’ve just posted links to the album tracks on our website so you can listen to our work. The first our eight sessions with Clive Romney, our first-rate recording engineer, was way back in July, so it’s been a long process. As a group, we would rehearse the pieces we were going to record. Then we’d go to Clive’s studio and we’d record each part individually to get it just right. We used headphones to listen to the beated guide tracks that Clive had prepared for each song — it felt pretty official.

Clive would then mix and edit the pieces the individual tracks so that they could sound as good as possible. It’s amazing what his auto-tuning software tools can do…

Studio recording and editing time isn’t cheap, especially when done by a seasoned professional and gifted musician like Clive. Thankfully, the album was financed by a generous contribution from a lady in my mom’s ward. She and her husband had heard us sing in their ward and he mentioned to her that we really should record an album. Unfortunately, he died suddenly in the summer of 2009 and we were invited to sing at his funeral. She was so grateful for our music that she wanted to give us a gift that would last. We were dumfounded when we received her gift last Christmas, and we no longer had an excuse not to get this album done. It was a lot of work, but well worth the effort.

Go to http://blendsingers.wordpress.com/album/ to listen and order a copy of the CD, which will be released this week.

Below is the artwork, designed by my friend and fellow group member Mike Peterson. Pretty cool, eh? Do you see the visual elements of BLEND?

On Thursday we visited Balanced Rock, the Windows, Turret Arch, and we hiked to a viewpoint for Delicate Arch in the distance. On Friday morning we hike around the Devil’s Garden area and saw Sand Dune Arch, Broken Arch, Skyline Arch, Tunnel Arch, Pine Tree Arch and Landscape Arch (this one is as long as a football field; very impressive.) We then drove out to Dead Horse Point (about 45 minutes away) and saw some pretty amazing views at the edge of the canyon. Saturday morning we hiked up to Delicate Arch and really enjoyed the views. We then drove west along I-70 in a three hour trip to Manti, where Robin’s grandfather and grandmother were celebrating their 90th and 89th birthdays respectively. By 7:30, we arrived back in our Lehi home after having driven nearly 700 miles in our old minivan.

The Moab hotel where we stayed had a hot tub, so each of the two nights we were there, we soaked in the jacuzzi for a while, which was welcome after hiking throughout each day. The hotel offered a free hot breakfast each morning and we did picnic lunches in the park each day, followed by dinner in a restaurant each evening. Friday night’s dinner was particularly interesting at the Sunset Cafe, in an old mansion on top of the hill overlooking the city. Built in the 1950s by Charlie Steen, a prospector who found a vien of much-sought-after uranium, this old home, now restaurant, has a very interesting history. The food was decent, although pricey enough that I just got the soup!

Anyway, we had a great time. Here are a few pictures from our trip. Just click on the picture for a better view.

Parley and Brianna in front of Turret Arch.

Lily May in front of North Window Arch.

Kids at the base of Balanced Rock.

Andrew admiring the breathtaking scenery.

Parley and Brianna in front of Turrett Arch.

Robin and James all bundled up for our hike.

Robin and kids in front of Sand Dune Arch.

Brianna in front of Broken Arch.

Lily in front of Landscape Arch. It's amazing.

Lily, Parley and Brianna at Dead Horse Point.

James hanging out near Delicate Arch.

Fearless Lily ready to hike over to the base of Delicate Arch.

Someone's thumb and our family near Delicate Arch.

Amazing Grace
I Love the Lord (set to Finlandia / Be Still My Soul)
Brightly Beams Our Father’s Mercy
Come, Come Ye Saints
I Know That My Redeemer Lives
O Danny Boy
In the Still of the Night
Two Silhouettes on the Shade
Goodnight Sweetheart

We’re five guys who starting singing together in the early 1990s as students at Hillcrest High School in Midvale, Utah. We all have regular jobs and have no aspirations (or sufficient talent) to become professional musicians. We don’t intend to make money from this album, except to fund future recordings. We just love singing together. And we love the messages of hope and inspiration that we can share with our music. Here’s a sample of one of our tracks. Enjoy!