Change in Plans -

Even though we thought we had the next couple of years planned out by going to Fort Collins we found another path that we should follow.

Lynette and I have decided to stay here so she can attend ASU. Our house is still up for sale and we are hoping to sell it soon. I go back and forth on selling the house. One day I'm ok with selling and the next I'd rather stay where we are. Currently I want to move someplace else. Lynette is constant as the north star on this and wants to move.

Before graduation I was too busy to update my blog, and after graduation I could have done it but I don't have high speed internet and posting these pics require a little faster connection than $8 per month dial up.

So I decided to come over to my sisters house to update it. Basically, this post will be the past month and a half in pictures.

Enjoy
Scott

Graduation -

After graduation, Lynette and I were taking pictures outside the stadium and Ira Fulton (guy who donated $50 million to ASU's engineering school) drove by, stopped and congratulated me. I got to shake his hand. Looking back I wish we had taken a picture, but it all happened so quickly. I thought it was a nice gesture.

Me and good friend, Sergio

Me with Jill and Chanelle

Me looking like I just got out of a religious seminary and ready to preach a sermon.

Clif, Nye, me and Sergio

Heather, me and Lori

Dean me and Debbie

Copper-Smith -

One of the most notable things that happened this past month was the addition of a new pet. Copper-Smith. For more details, ask Lynette.

He may look cuddly, but he has some mean claws.

Hard Work Pays Off -

I didn't get to go on the April campout because I was studying, and preparing for my final exams. It was another competition with other troops. This competition was basically an outdoor cooking contest (although other scout skills were tested). Normally, I am quite confident that they will win the competitions, but I was not as sure this time (since a cooking contest is more subjective). But they did great. They again got the highest score possible and got the ‘Presidential Award’. They cooked Jambalaya (after my urging because when I was a kid my troop won a similar cooking contest with that recipe).

I wasn’t there to see them in action, but saw them prepare for it. Each week, they got together to practice making a portion of the meal. Their hard work paid off. I hope that is something they are learning while in scouts, “Hard Work Pays Off”.

In preparation they gave a ‘cooking demonstration’ to the rest of the youth group that meets in the same building the scouts do. Here are some pictures of that. They demonstrated how to make Dutch Oven Cobbler, how to cook an egg in an orange peel and a yummy cinnamon apple dessert.

Here are some of the pictures of that presentation.

Scott

Needle Rock -

I forgot to post some pic’s about our March campout. We went to the Verde River and backpacked to a quiet and secluded sandy bank of the Verde River. At one point we had to climb a tree to get up on a cliff to be able to hike down to the campsite. It was a great team building experience.

The focus of the campout was Leave No Trace camping. Basically, the more you can get connected with the environment the easier it is to ‘leave no trace’. One requirement was to have all the boys teach a Leave No Trace principle, which are:

1. Plan Ahead and Prepare
2. Travel and Camp on Durable Surfaces
3. Dispose of Waste Properly
4. Leave What You Find
5. Minimize Campfire Impacts
6. Respect Wildlife
7. Be Considerate of Other Visitors

Scott

Morning Polar Bear, Burr.

Steve Nash -

I read the artical copied below on a link to the AZ Republic through Suns.com. I think its great. It shows what I have been saying all along.

If you want to see what I wrote in January about the Suns just click on the link below.

http://upsidedownmap.blogspot.com/2007/01/level-of-greatness-have-you-been.html

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Another reason to be a Nash fan

John Faherty

The Arizona Republic

May 4, 2007

We love Steve Nash because the following story will surprise nobody.

Early Thursday morning, just hours after the Phoenix Suns beat the Lakers, Nash walked off the elevator at Good Samaritan Regional Medical Center in Phoenix.

It's not clear why he was there, but he was not injured, so it's safe to assume he was visiting somebody at that quiet time.

Regardless, standing in the lobby waiting for the elevator was Beth Miller, my mother-in-law.

Miller was returning to the hospital for another night with her husband, who has spent most of the past two weeks in intensive care after surgery.

Miller, a big Suns fan, was shocked to see Nash but managed to congratulate him on his victory. He thanked her and smiled.

Then she told him, almost as an aside, that the Suns games were one of the few things helping to brighten her days during a difficult time.

Nash didn't say anything, but he stepped toward her and gave her a big hug.

"It meant a lot at the moment," Miller said.

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This look on Barbosa's face cracks me up