What I am Looking Forward to This Spring/Summer

I love the Spring and Summer, much more than the Winter, although the Winter certainly has it's benefits. Here are a few things that I look forward to this Spring/Summer:

• Mt Whitney
• Going to Jerusalem
• Squaw Peak 50 Miler
• St. George Marathon (technically this is in the Fall)
• Trail Running
• Climbing with my climbing buds
• Weekend trips to Southern Utah
• Swimming
• Running Kings Peak
• Ice Cream during hot weather
• Learning how to play golf
• Learning how to play tennis
• A new social scene in SLC
• Yankee baseball
• Soccer
• Sprint Tris
• BBQs
• The 4th of July
• Fireworks
  
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Costume 5k

Last Friday I accomplished one of my life goals--to direct a race. But I never expected the race to be a costume 5k. About a month ago my good buddy Ryan Coates suggested that I help him with his semi-annual soccer tournament, I was a little reluctant considering my busy schedule. A couple of days later he came to me and asked if I would direct a 5k race, to which I immediately exclaimed that I would. I learned really quickly the hardest part about putting on such a race is the marketing. To market my costume 5k I created a group on Facebook, emailed my friends, had a friend write an article about the race - http://universe.byu.edu/node/2578, and even dressed up in a santa costume and ran around BYU campus handing out fliers. The result: 85 costumed runners and one of my goals accomplished. It's worth noting that the person who won the costume contest dressed up like a hobo and pushed a shopping cart full of some of his belongings the whole way! Seeing a costumed hobo push a shopping cart for 3+ miles made all the hard work of putting this race on worth it!

8 Pleasant Surprises Up to This Point in the Summer

1. College algebra is easy
2. Finding random people to run with
3. A college algebra problem taking me 2 hours
4. Working at Qualtrics
5. Being tired, every night, when my head hits the pillow
6. So excited to wake-up every morning, that sometimes I'll wake-up a couple of hours before my alarm clock
7. The challenge that comes with teaching institute
8. Being stretched beyond my ability, but through "The Enabling Power" being able to learn and grow.

What I'll Miss the Most

I graduate in August, exactly one month from today. Over the past few months I have been searching my memory for the gems that I haven't locked away in my BYU memory treasure chest. Back in February ish I began pondering over what I'm going to miss about BYU the very most and I finally realized what it was going to be as I watched my dad scurry across campus, waving to passing students as he went. For the last 4 years my dad has been a major boon for me. I don't know how many times I've been perplexed with an issue only to be prompted to walk up to my dad's office to talk to him. I'll never forget one problem that I had (which actually escapes me at this moment, oddly enough) when my dad was there for me. I dropped down in his extra chair and watched him try to work through a certain issue he was facing. He began talking to me about it, and I as he did I realized that it was weighing heavily upon him. At that point I chose to keep my issue to myself, until he seemed to just stop mid-sentence and ask me, "what's on your mind?" I was surprised by his abrupt mid-sentence halt, and I realized that he knew I came up to his office for a reason and that there was no use trying to get out of this now. After talking out my thoughts and hearing his thoughts and taking a lot of his work time, he hugged me and told me he loved me. There have been times in my life when all I've needed was a hug, and for those very few times--which I can probably count on one hand--my dad has been there to hug me for the majority of them. I guess it's not important to remember the said problem that I had, but I'll never forget how my dad has been there for me during my BYU experience. I will miss those random, office visits. Thank you, dad.

Rainy Rodeo

Last night my friends and I created our own rodeo, and as I sat on the fence like the Man from Snowy River watching my buddies herd the sheep I thought to myself, "self, I think I was born to do this." Okay, so I'm putrid at roping sheep, but it was a lot of fun. The highlight came in the evening on a grassy knoll overlooking southern Utah Valley. A cold rainstorm began to soak those who were watching our made-up barrel racing. And as I sat there I thought, maybe I should find shelter underneath something... but the longer I sat there the more drenched I became and the more it oddly felt good. Sometimes we avoid things like a rainstorm, when it may just be the refreshment we need.

Like an Ocean

It comes in waves, like a lapping ocean over driftwood.
The sun quietly slips behind its abyss begging you to follow.
But, a certain mold is created by sitting and waiting on warm sand.
It's better that way, plus the sun will be there tomorrow.

My 3rd of July

The 4th of July is my favorite holiday, for many reasons that I won't go into detail about. But this year's 3rd of July may give the 4th a run for its worth. After getting two hours of work out of the way, I hiked to Stewart Falls. I don't know how many times made the jaunt to those falls, but I forget every time how beautiful those falls and the surrounding greenery is. My only regret is that I didn't get up there before anybody else to really take in the beauty instead of all of the people awkwardly sliding and slipping down the falls' embankment, as entertaining as that was. There's nothing like quiet contemplation in a place that really brings out gratitude and the meaning of more important things.

In the evening a group of friends indulged ourselves in eats at Brick Oven Pizza. For probably the second time in my life I didn't look at the menu. I knew exactly what I wanted: cheese, extra basil, cooked romano tomatoes, and almonds--it was a large and I left two uneaten pieces.

Afterwards, I enjoyed the usual June 3rd festivities of camping out for the Freedom Festival parade. It's fun to see Provo transform into a bustling metropolis... well, sort of, when the blue suits and gold badges let it become more like a metropolis.

At 3:00 AM I finished my last two pieces of pizza that I save. But, the absolute highlight came at 3:35 AM (which was really July 4th) when a friend called me to ask me a question. We talked for about a hour and when I hung up I laid in bed thinking about what we talked about and what we didn't talk about. I gained so much from our conversation that I almost decided to forget sleeping for the night. My mind eventually relaxed and at 7:50 AM my alarm woke me up... for the official start to my favorite holiday, but the 3rd of July will be on my mind, hopefully for a long, long time.