A few more pics from the post hike swim.

Joe prepares for his speech!


More wadding out into the "deep" Joe really didn't want me holding his hand, so I let go.

Which inevitably led to Joe taking a face dunk, although I am pretty sure he did it on purpose, it definitely had Denver concerned though.


At that point we lasted another minute or so, and then I pulled him out because he was shivering too much. That of course made Joe mad, not because he was cold, but because we left the water.

P.S. notice the shirt, our friends Cassie, Eric, and Avery gave Joe that SWEET shirt for his birthday....Future Telemarker..we can only hope

Our friend Steve and his dogs Gonzo and Fibi, came into town to visit for few days this week. One of the days Joe, Diesel, Denver, and I took them up to Tony Grove (20 min out of town) to go for a little hike. The pictures that follow are from that.

Joe got warmed up in the parking lot. But he spent most of the hike in the backpack. We did let him hike about 50 feet of the trail. He only fell 3 times, it is a pretty rocky trail.



After the hike we went down to the lake to throw sticks for the dogs, Denver usually wins, because he cheats, starts running before you throw the stick.


Joe got jealous of the dogs running in the water!



So I let him stand in the water. Very quickly though he started walking out into the lake. Eventually he was waste deep....it was only about 65 out and breezy, the water couldn't have been much over 50 but he didn't care! The dogs were there and it was water dang it!

Wanted to post a link to my buddy Fritz's web page. He finally updated his cartoons, and I really like this one. If you get some time, he has posted some of his cartoons on foldsy.com, a place where you will soon be able to buy greeting cards from the artists that get selected by voters on the site. So you can go here to vote for the fritzcartoons images.

We recently made a trip to Cincinnati for Lindsey's cousin's wedding, of which we did not take any pictures. However, while we were gone our friend Joy (and her dog Everest) came up from Salt Lake City to stay with Diesel and Denver and we did some pics of that before we left town.

But the first pic is of one of the ways we can identify nap time...you will notice an empty milk carton in his hand (he now drinks real milk). Often now when Joe gets tired he will go and lay on Denver, he usually attempt to do this to Diesel too, but Diesel sleeps with one eye open (gripping his pillow tight) so he will get up and move before Joe has a chance to catch him.



Joy and Joe had fun playing with one of the large canning pots (they are standard issue in Utah, so you can hoard your 3 month food supply for the last days).



Finally Joe discovered that Everest is just as chill as Denver, except he licks more, which Joe found to be pretty funny...


But Everest is not as big a fan of a pot lid on his head.


p.s Moran, sorry there are not more doggie pics but this is a start right?

Shortly after Joey was born our friends Jake and Steph gave him a Tonka dump truck. Lately he has really started having fun with it, especially when Papa runs him around in it. It has become one of the number one ways to forget about falling and hitting the head on the ground, table, box of crackers etc...

Lately I have noticed that every task I try to accomplish takes any where from 25% to 75% longer. I thought it may be related to the new environment and adjusting to the move. But we have been here long enough I am pretty sure that it not it. So I am going to go Google "project efficiency" and while I do that you can enjoy these recent pics of the boy.


Copper tubing is COOL! (and expensive, have you all seen what the price of copper is these days)

"HEY! This pot is empty!"

"Perhaps I should put a wrench in it, Papa won't need this for a while."



"Never mind, I'll just put this lid back on top and bang it for a while!"

Time to catch up on some photos. These ones are from our trip to visit my folks. It was really hot while we were there, so we decided to go to the beach. Joey loves water so we figured he would really like this. Unfortunately it was about 70 at the coast, and there was a really strong breeze. The water was comfortable, but with the air temp so mild it made swimming really cold.


Grandpa held him up while the waves came in.

With the cold air getting totally covered did not seem like a fun proposition

But the rushing water on the way out was pretty cool.

The best part was cuddling with Grandma when he was done swimming, she even let him drink from her water bottle.

Lindsey, Joey and I went to our first Monday Night Football game last night. It was Real Salt Lake vs Toronto FC. Currently RSL is sitting in first place in the Western Conference of MLS. We got to the game about 20 min early and were able to purchase tickets in the 7th row on the corner (one of my favorite places to watch a game from). Once we got into the stadium we realized the reason there were so many seats there, it was one of the only places in the stadium still in the sun. By the way RSL currently plays on the U of Utah football field, which is turf, a horrible soccer pitch. Anyways, the sun was only on us until about half time, to keep Joe cool we dumped some water on him, which may have been his favorite part of the game.

Our seats were directly behind the Real Loyalists, they had about 3 drums and a collection of people doing cheers the entire game, that definetly made it a lot more fun. Joey really seemed to enjoy the drums and occasionally partook in the clapping. Most of all he liked climbing the stadium steps.

For most of the first half RSL dominated play, there were a few break aways for TFC and even a shot off the post, but no it remained 0-0 at half time. The second half RSL was attacking the goal at our end of the stadium. They continued their first half pressure and finally in the 63rd min. one of their center backs, Olave, broke through for a goal. Up until then he had played an exceptional defensive game, with the excpetion of one ball "stab" that let his man get in deep to the box with the ball.

The game looked to be in RSL's hands until the last ten minuets of the game Olave commited a foul just outside the box, directly in front of the goal. It looked as though the player actually tripped on the turf, but Olave had made a sliding stab at the ball, so that will often get called, he should have just stayed on his feet. This tied the game with less than 10 minuets to go.

RSL went back on the attack, and had several good attempts, until finally in the last 3 minuets RSL ripped a shot from about 20 yards out, the keeper deflected it toward the top of the box, Robbie Findley collected, beat two defenders and put a shot low to the keepers left to put RSL up for good.

So some parent lessons learned from the game. Joey only really watched the game when the ball got close to our end, but at least he showed some interest. Try to get seats in the shade or bring a water squirt bottle. A baby carrier back pack is crucial for the long walk, and for dancing to the drums during the game. When a home goal is scored cover the boy's ears, because he does not like the sudden explosion of sound.

One final note, not soccer related, but it did put a good cap on the evening for Joey. As we walked to the cars, Joey in the backpack, the University was watering their lawns with large sprinklers. Much to Lindsey's disapproval Joey and I wandered through the sprinkers, this was met with large squeals of laughter and joy, and also a lot of bouncing in the pack.

We only had our camera phones (we forgot the good camera), so here is a photo I took.

Quick post from Joey's birthday. Not a lot of photos, I didn't take them, Lindsey's brother Charlie did. My thought is why take photos when a professional is in the house. He is really good at what he does, and knows his craft, so here is a link to one of the photos he took.

A couple of videos from our visit in Idylwild. Joey was a little tired and a lot giggly. My Uncle Keith is playing throw the gladware back on the couch with him.



The second video is more of the same.

Few new pics. Grandma Shirley was making a cake for Aunt Joellen's birthday, and she gave Joey some of the frosting, he decided to share it with Grandma. The next day we ate breakfast with Great Grandma Tiefel, at which time Joey decided to give our some of his much coveted kisses.

Here are the photos of Joe on the horse. I am not comfortable enough with my horse skills to reign them and hold Joe, so I had my mom walk Dozer and I rode with Joe. He was a little hesitant at first but once we got started going he started laughing and squealing, we set him on the saddle by himself for a while, but that was a bit of a mistake because it was hard to get him off of the horse with out some screaming.

Joe and I are visiting my folks in Southern California for a few days, today we went to my favorite restaurant, P&L burgers, they make an amazing pastrami sandwich and fried zucchini. Joe liked the zucchini and the pastrami, but the free suckers were the biggest hit. We also went to see my mom's horse, Dozer, out at the ranch, Joey took some time away from the horses to feed the goats, goats like straw...

Thanks for sticking with checking this while we moved and I took the time to vent some thoughts. I am realizing that with the new lifestyle and lack of daytime conversation I tend to have a lot of thoughts rattling around and the Blog seemed like a nice place to let those out. I may need to start a new one specifically for that. Who knows if anyone would read it, but at least it would be out there.

So with out further ado, I present the most recent video, it is ended with a few recent photos taken from our new house and the surrounding mountains. Enjoy, I know we are.

Joey is WALKING! I have video, will post it soon, but I am having some hardware issues with my computer. It has forced me to migrate to Lindsey's computer, but for some reason my video software won't load on hers. As I type the problems are being resolved though.

Anyways, the purpose of the post is to share the "good" "breaking" news I saw on CNN today. I usually avoid all of those pop news channels out of respect for my own dignity, but it is nice to every once in a while pop on there to see what "framing" is going on in the popular press i.e. shale oil will save us all, saddam=Al Queada etc.

Well today the "breaking" news was that high gas prices might be good for us! Shocker, I know. Believe it or not, people are driving less, the freeways are less crowded, projections are that local pollution in larger cities is going to decrease if these trends continue. And mass transit is seeing record numbers of use, which in turn is leading to increased revenue, leading to increases in service. Estimates are that people are walking more (something all of us can use, and as a nation won't do anything but help our obesity problem.) With the decrease in traffic, officials are projecting roads will last longer (less taxes to repair over worn roads). Those that are driving are on average driving at much slower speeds, presumably to save fuel. This is leading to a reduction in automobile accidents, which inevitably leads to a reduction insurance premiums. In addition many people are switching to 4 day work weeks in an effort to mitigate commute days. This leads to more time at home with family, less days of child care and more relaxed weekends. Eventually leading to better overall health (the average American work week is well over the average for other industrialized nations.) Of course this means a generation of kids actually getting to be raised by their parents (less need for public monies to be spent on child services and future prison costs). AND, while there has been a significant slow down in housing starts, the report was pointing to some indicators that people in metropolitan areas are abandoning the subburbs and looking for ways to live closer to where they work. Whew! I haven't even gotten to the overall reduction in everyone's carbon output, in fact I will leave that alone, simply put, the high gas prices might actually wind up saving our society money! Who knew?

It seems that when a commodity is priced what it is truly worth it will be used in responsible ways. Specifically a commodity as important as oil can have a huge impact on the way we live our lives. I am sure oil prices are not all supply side driven, much of it probably has to do with speculation etc (re: Enron), but still the less you use the lower the price should become. I just wish someone would in form John McCain about this principle. His solution to percieved problem of having high gas prices is simply put, "let's lower them". He wants to temporarily suspend the federal taxes on gas, taxes used to fund our roads, oil supply lines etc. That makes no sense, that's like giving the hungry baby a piece of candy. It may satisfy the crying for a short time, but when that sugar is digested, the problem of hunger will come back in an even bigger way.

If we artificially reduce gas prices, won't that lead to increased consumption of a limited resource? I know I slept through or skipped most of econ 101, but what I remember from studying for the tests was that cost of a good is inversely related to supply, and both are tied to demand. If you reduce the cost, demand will increase, leading to a reduction in supply, which in turn leads to an increase in price. Not really a complex idea (probably why I passed econ 101 with minimal attendance), so why does McCain miss it? Because he is playing rhetoric politics, "I feel the pain of the working man." Or perhaps it is more that he believes Americans to be short sighted ignorant nationalists who believe all of our problems are a result of bad congressional democrats and non-Christian (muslim) terrorists, and have nothing to do with their life choices.

Of course Obama doesn't seem to be doing much good either. He wants us to penealize the oil companies for their "windfall" profits. Please, they are companies making profits no different than any other company in this country. Why are people still willing to pay $1000 for a computer that has $40 worth of hardware in it? Because the market perceives the value of that item. If there were people artifically pushing the price of oil up, that should be dealt with. But in reality, the writing is on the wall for the big oil companies. They are the bad guys, the term "carbon footprint" is everywhere (I actually read today that Orin Hatch used the term in a public bus dedication here in Logan). The days of oil are numbered, maybe more in decades than years, but the current western society push is to reduce our dependence on oil, in the states it's often "foreign" oil, but the fact remains the same, the average citizen is looking for ways to use LESS oil. In addition as it becomes more expensive to find, collect, and process oil, someone will need to pay for that. This is the price we pay for severing ties with oil rich latin American countries and disabling the infrastructure of one of the largest oil producers in the middle east.

So to sum it up. Suck it up. The high oil prices are not that bad. It may mean we need to change our life styles some, but this does not mean we were evil in the past. We had lived our lives according to what was available. Now we must do the same. The days of cheap oil may be gone, if so it leaves the market wide open for solutions. I say....about time. I just wish this would become more of the public dialog, specifically in an election year. It is a great opportunity for a leader to demonstrate their commitment to truth and honesty by calling these high oil prices for what they are. An excellent market incentive to improve American's way of life (yes people it can get better than it currently is). If one candidate would do that, I would become a single issue voter in an instant, until then I'll just keep listening to try and determine who will cause the least damage over the next 4 years.

One other positive note. The report on CNN mentioned that many companies are starting to consider bringing outsourced jobs back to the States, as travel for executives and transportation of goods is becoming increasingly expensive.

Two final words!!! BUY LOCAL!

The move is done...sort of
We own only one house now, and it is not in Moscow.
I have contacted some but not all of you with our new numbers/address
E-mail me if you would like those things, I do not want to post them here.

Pics are coming soon.
Long story short, Joe can walk but won't believe it.
The new house is almost as big as our new garage...so come visit PLEASE! This much space is embarrassing with out having people stay here!
The scenery here is impressive, and the people we have met are nice....still feel like life is in a holding pattern of sorts...

Just a photo update. We are in the middle of packing and closing up life in Moscow. Lindsey's folks have made some trips up to help out, and Uncle Charlie came up once too. So here are a couple of shots of Joey's favorite thing to do with Uncle Charlie. The third picture is what happens when papa lets you eat crackers out of the box. They are much easier to eat off of the floor. And it's a lot easier to share them with the dogs this way. They can eat out of your hand and off the floor, at the same time, it's really pretty funny, at least Joey thought so. The last two are of Joey being silly with mama's sunglasses.

Just had to post this link to Dad Gear, I really like the idea behind of the diaper vest, especially since half the time it's already what I do. Of course that was with winter jackets, I am a little concerned what I will do when it get's nicer out.....the vest is the perfect answer. It's a little hookie I know, but I did get to thinking about the advantages it would have as a backcountry ski vest! Having the side pockets for a small water bottle, would help keep your h20 from freezing, the pouch for the changing pad would make a great ventalation gap when skinning, and the large pockets in the front are great places for your trail bacon and snickers not to mention some extra wax or your digital camera!! of course no backcountry trip is complete with out a good diaper wipe dispenser. you laugh, but that's one of the biggest ways being a dad has impacted my packing for the backcountry, those things are life savers on a 4 day trip, where you are sweating in gore-tex and wool.....well that's as graphic as I need to get.

My how time flies. Here's the executive summary. Lindsey accepted a position at Utah State University, I have decided to discontinue my PhD, I had hernia surgery on May 5, and Joey got his first tooth.

Is that all? No, we close on our new house in Logan, Utah June 4, we have two offers on our house right now, the first offer, should everything go through will close on June 14. So for 10 days you can come visit us at our summer home (we'll be those people with two homes). We still don't know when we will be moving, but it will not be before June 4 and most likely not after June 14.

Why leave Moscow? I find myself saying the same thing from time to time, however, as I was leaving for what in all reality was my last ski day of the year last Saturday (that's right May 3) It struck me that next year I will only be driving 27 miles to the ski hill, not 2.7 hours! But alas that is not a good enough reason to leave a place like Moscow. This is a beautiful town, and in the next couple of weeks it will only get better. The students are leaving, the tulips are out, the sun is shinning, the trees are leafing out, and it's nearly paradise. The people here are great, we have really gotten into the community here and have come to appreciate the diversity that a small college town in the middle of wheat fields actually has to offer. So why leave? Simple answer, the University of Idaho. It's not a bad place, aside from being another U of I (beat the Hawks), but as a faculty member Lindsey is not entirely sure it is a place she should be building her career. Of course it's less of what she is "running" from, and more of what she is "sprinting" to.

Utah State University is in Logan, Utah, a town somewhat similar to Ames, Iowa (where we did our undergrad). They are both about 50,000 people, they both have land grant institutions, and both are in the middle of ag land. However, that's where the similarities start to drift apart and rapidly depart ways from there. The ag land in Logan goes only as far as the mountains that boarder the Cache valley (name of the region) . The valley itself is a fairly rich dairy region, but the Wellsvilles (west) and Wasatch (east) quickly shut down the farming operations. There are rumors that abound about the powder skiing to be found in the Wasatch, both in area and back country. And I am hopeful about the mountain biking scene.

That said, the program Lindsey is going to a very strong. In addition, the position is a 70/30 teaching/extension (as opposed to her 100% teaching at the U of I).

As to the PhD, I've come to the realization that it takes a certain person with the right kind of drive and motivation to achieve such things, as well as a person at the right point in their life. The events of the past year (Joe) have changed me in a pretty signifcant way, such that I am no longer that person who has those qualities demanded of a PhD. It was a difficult decision, but all in all I think it is one I will value for a long time to come. I am really looking forward to the next year of helping Lindsey settle into a new position, house, town, etc and taking the time to be a full time papa.

Of course the full time papa stuff needs to wait a while, as I just had hernia surgery last Monday. They tell me no lifting 20 lbs or more for minimum 4 weeks. Joey is easily over 20 (more like 23) and is more wiggly every day. His first tooth came in on Tuesday and his first steps are a couple weeks away. Lindsey has been great through out it, she was able to take some sick leave to stay home with me, and her brother came up to help out for a couple of days as well. The worst part is not holding the little man. I got to lay with him on the couch for a short time last night, but then he decided to practice his finishing shot in his sleep and kicked me in my stitches, that was over fast.

So sorry for the long post, it's been a while, and thought we should bring you up to speed. There have been plenty of pics, and I even have a video I have been working on, but that will come at a later date.

For now enjoy these few that Uncle Charlie took.