Four-

This is one of those times that I don’t think I’m very good at expressing myself. Today is Lynette and I’s anniversary and we’ve been married 4 years. It is amazing how fast time flies when you are with the person you love.

It's possible, when I made the announcement that I was going to marry Lynette some people were surprised. I imagine that Lynette is not the type of person many felt I would end up with. Looking back, it sort of surprises me also.

Lynette is feisty, independent and self sufficient. She is innovative, creative and diligent. She can get things done and gets them done right the first time. At work, every boss she has ever had was sad to see her leave. If someone tells her something can’t be done, she does it anyways. I don’t think all that can be described in one word, but that is how she is.

Those are some of the qualities that I value much more after being with her for 4+ years. While we were dating, I fell in love with her for other reasons, but these are the reasons why I fell in love with her after we were married. I imagine that 4 years from now I will have a new set of reasons why I love her.

So Lynette thanks for making my world more exciting. Without you, I know I would not be as happy as I am today. I’m glad we are together and can’t imagine anyone else I would rather spend good times and the bad times with. I love that you are always here for me.

Love

Scott

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New York -

Last weekend I got to go to New York. As a new engineer, I was invited (along with approximately 75 recent graduates from around the country) to my company’s headquarters for a conference designed to welcome all the new professionals into the company. I was excited to go and dreading the trip all at the same time. Mostly my dread came from the fact that I was not too sure how I would react to the chaos called New York.

The chaos started early because there had been a security breech prior to my arriving to the airport. TSA shut down the entire terminal and evacuated everyone causing me and many others to have to wait in line over an hour before entering (or re-entering) the terminal. I was disappointed with my fellow human beings as I observed everyone’s reaction to this “inconvenience”. Unfortunately, complaining and cursing was the norm.

The thing that irritated me most were the “elite” ticket pass holders (people who pay big bucks to streamline security). One by one they approached their “exclusive” line and inquired about the delay. Without fail all of them bitterly complained about the situation. One shouted angrily at a TSA official saying: “YOU NEED TO GET YOUR ACT TOGETHER!!!” In some ways, I understand their frustration and that they paid a lot of money for this not to happen, but for them to expect special treatment when approximately 25 pilots and stewardesses were also waiting nearby is just ridiculous to me. If the pilots aren’t even allowed into the terminal than it should be clear that no one will be let in—no matter how much you paid to be considered “elite”.

Personally, I appreciate the increased security measures. I’m not exactly sure the reason for evacuating the terminal, but I’m glad they did—even if they didn’t find any danger. Ultimately, my flight was only delayed by 15 minutes (which was made up in the air). So to me, no harm was done.

Well, that is enough for tonight. This post is already getting way too long. Lynette has kindly informed me that my posts have been a little bit wordy recently. I don’t want to put you to sleep, or make you stop checking my blog so I’ll post some more about the trip later and mention some of the small acts of kindness I observed that helped restore my confidence in humanity.

Scott

We Are SO Cool!

Since all of you have been asking, we want everyone to know that yes, we now have working air conditioning. Thanks to all of our friends and family who took care of us and gave us support through our little tragedy! We really appreciate all of you! So, Thanks!!

The coolest part of getting our new air conditioner was the crane. Also, the workers forgot to bring ladders so they had to climb onto our neighbor’s roof to get onto ours. That was funny! So, we are nice and cool now...and much happier!

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Things Got Worse -

I never knew my Dads mother, but growing up Dad did mention her sometimes. He said that she always used to say something like this:

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"People told me, 'Cheer up, things could be worse'…so I cheered up and SURE ENOUGH THINGS GOT WORSE!"

Grandma Honey

Well Grandma, I think I know what you mean.

You’ve probably all read the post about the AC in our house going out (or at least you’ve looked at the pictures). Now, something is going on with Lynette’s truck. It looks like it could be the transmission, or the clutch. I need to have someone who knows what they are doing check it out before we assess the damage that will be done to our bank account. Until then, we are sharing my car and pinching our pennies.

Through it all, I have to say that we have been blessed despite these major problems. I felt like I was guided when I opened the Yellow-Pages to Northwind Air Conditioning and they offered $1700 less than the original quote from another company. I’m not sure why I chose to call them, but that name stood out in my mind, and I did. I feel very lucky that Jake Greer from Northwind Air was able to come out and give us a great quote on such short notice.

Then, the major problems with Lynette’s truck happened within 0.2 miles from our home. She was at least was able to get home despite the trouble and being stuck in the middle of a major street for approximately 10 minutes.

And, last but certainly not least I have felt an outpouring of love and support from my family. Although we didn’t say yes to everyone who offered us a place to sleep, offered us their car to drive and other favors, we truly appreciated all the help they are willing to give. I could tell they all were genuinely willing to give up whatever for our comfort.

Times like this make me realize that family is, without doubt, the most important thing in life.

Scott

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Here are some more pics I found while looking through an old photo album:

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Grandma Honey and Grandpa Juel.

Here is a pic of my uncle that made me laugh.

Its Hot! -

In case you weren't sure, NO air conditioning in AZ=NO GOOD! Yesterday our air conditioning went out. It was 109 degrees yesterday. In case you weren't sure, that is HOT. Our house is 2 story with all 3 bedrooms upstairs. We decided the kitchen was the coolest room in the house and moved everybody downstairs. Everybody being me (Lynette), Scott and Coppersmith (our very hot little rabbit). We pulled our futon matress down the stairs (not fun in the sweltering heat) and put it right on the kitchen floor. And there we slept, or tried to sleep. The air conditioning guy is coming to fix it today between 12-3. How convenient, that is the hottest part of the day. If I sound grumpy it is only because I am, and I am HOT. In the temperature way that is.

Scott decided it was too hot to sleep in the same bed so he slept on his cot. I was glad. It was HOT, even though we had every fan we own pointed at us.

Our Poor little roasting bunny...

Yes, he is laying on an ice pack. Poor bunny!

More Fishing -

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I’m not sure what is more fun—to catch fish yourself, or to watch kids catch fish. Actually, I know it’s more fun to catch a fish yourself, but watching kids fish is a close second. I recently noticed that the AZ Fishing Regulations Code of Ethics includes “sharing fishing knowledge with others, especially kids”. So thats what I did last weekend.

On this trip, I went fishing with two nephews and the son of a friend from church. All the boys worked on getting the fishing merit badge. I had an especially good time because Lynette came. Also, my brother-in-law and the church friend came up with his wife. Lynette followed the old adage of Take only Pictures, Leave only Footprints. She didn’t fish, but took some great pictures (see below). Also, she posted a little about her trip on her blog. Click here to see what she had to say about it.

The weather was a bit muggy, and I was reminded why I prefer dry heat over warm temperatures with humidity. When there was no breeze the weather was close to miserable because once you start sweating, you can’t stop. On the other hand, the haze and mist made the scenery quite beautiful. There were some places that I didn’t think belonged in Arizona because the view was so green and so picturesque.

All in all, I really enjoyed the weekend. We got rained on a bit when we were packing up and leaving, but enjoyed ourselves none-the-less.

Take a look at the pics, they pretty good. Lynette took almost all of them. I need to remember that when she takes the pictures there ends up being no pictures of her (as in this trip). Next time I'll have to sneak the camera away from her to get a couple of shots of her.

Scott

Teaching the knots.

This fishing hole quickly became a nice swimming hole because of the heat.

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Preparing the fish to cook

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