The Harbers

Summer Adventures Part 2

2011-09-18T08:43:00.000-07:00

After being down in Bayou country we came back to Vegas for a few weeks and then headed up to Utah for Ben's brother Aaron's wedding. We had so much fun seeing everybody especially Lauren, Travis and the boys. It had been way too long since the last time we saw them. Weston was in heaven with his cousins.

After the wedding in Logan I braved it and drove to Reno without Ben. (He flew back to Vegas). I use the term "brave" very loosely. Lauren actually drove the whole way while I entertained the boys, so it was really very easy. If I had to do it by myself, I would be saying something else completely!

I stayed in Reno for a week; Ben flew to Reno for the Wedding reception, and then we drove back to Vegas together. Ben's mom did a beautiful job with the reception. I know she had some stressful times, but it all came together perfectly. We had so much fun with Ben's family!! Thank you for the memories!

This picture is from when we were in New Orleans, but for some reason I could not put it on the last post - Weston giving a kiss to the crawfish! I love LA!!!

Travis, Eric, Lauren, James, Christel, and Ben (Logan, Utah)

The happy couple! Jessica and Aaron

Papa and Grandma with the Grandkids

Caitlin and Weston playing at the reception

Papa and the boys making s'mores

Cole, Weston, and Jackson playing in Grandma and Papa's backyard

The Andersons and the Millers

We had so much fun this summer with both of our families. We are so blessed to have such amazing people in our lives.
Summer is over but are our adventures? Not quite! We are still going to Hawaii at the end of the month and Disneyland in October. So excited!

Summer Adventures Part 1

2011-09-16T19:38:00.000-07:00

I'm so far behind in blogging!! I'm so impressed with the people that are able to take care of their kids, clean their house, work out, blog, and do everything else that life throws at them. It amazes me because I feel like there are so many of you that are able to do it. I obviously am not able to do it all, but I am trying.
So here is a quick summary of our summer adventures!

In July we went down to my home of Baton Rouge, Louisiana where I was able to spend time with my family and friends. I love Louisiana and look forward to this trip every year. This year I was able to go with my sister and her kids to the Global Wildlife Center, just outside of Hammond. It was so fun and Weston had a blast feeding the animals, especially the giraffes.

Weston with Patrick, Will, and Phillip

We were able to spend some time in Baton Rouge at Grandmommy and Paw Paw's house.

Weston and Paw Paw

After spending time in Baton Rouge, we headed down to Gulf Shores, Alabama for a week. I love the south!!!

back: Phil, Elizabeth, Tricia, Dad, Mom, James, Me, John

Front: Phillip, Patrick, Will, and, Weston (Ben was taking the picture)

My little swimmer!

Father's Day gift

2011-06-23T08:52:00.000-07:00

As most of you know I'm not a crafty person, although I try to be. For Father's day this year Lauren, Ben's sister, and I decided to get a little crafty for the gifts for the Grandpa's. I thought they turned out pretty cute and they weren't that hard. The hardest part was taking the pictures of the boys!!

I think we are going to have to do this for the Grandma's for Christmas.

I got this idea from itsagirlthing1.blogspot.com. I'm not that creative to come up with this on my own.

It's official...

2011-06-17T12:34:00.001-07:00

Weston is now potty trained! What's funny is that he was ready and I was not. Hearing that boys are much harder than girls and not to expect him to be potty trained until he's 3, I was fine with waiting until January. Also, we have trips planned this summer - I'm flying by myself with the boys to Baton Rouge at the end of this month, driving to Salt Lake in August and Reno in August, going to Hawaii with the boys in September and Disneyland in October - so I really didn't want to potty train him until after all of our traveling.

But when he started seeing his other friends using the potty and getting treats, he decided he wanted to also. This child will do anything for candy!! He has been in big boy underwear for a week now with a few small accidents. He now even tells me when he needs to go potty with out me reminding him. He's doing so well with it, so I am very proud and happy for him. I will just have to make sure he goes to the bathroom every time we see one while we are traveling and hopefully everything will be ok.

Weston's potty training poster - I'm not very crafty, so this is what you get from me - but it worked. Every 3rd space had a picture of a piece of candy. So, when he put a sticker on that space, he would get candy. Every 30th space had a picture of a character from "CARS", so he would get a "CARS" car when he put a sticker on that space.

Weston's Candy Jar - for every 3 stickers he put on his poster, he was able to get one piece of candy out of the jar.

What - the Harber's have a post?

2011-06-17T08:06:00.000-07:00

Yes, we haven't blogged in two years, but this year I'm going to try to start blogging again. I feel like we have so much going on that I really want to keep a record of it.

So, keep checking out page - you will no longer be seeing that "little frog" from two years ago!

Our little frog

2009-11-03T16:30:00.000-08:00

Weston's first Halloween -

The Friday before Halloween, we went to the Stake Track or Treat. You would think that with two huge bags of candy from Costco and a pumpkin basket full of candy, that we would have enough - oh no we ran out.

Weston was a good sport and kept his hat on all night, but the feet were another story. He was taking those off every chance he could.

On Halloween night we went trick or treating with our good friends, the Brown's. They have a little girl Sienna, who dressed up as Princess Aurora (Sleeping Beauty). Check out her fancy wig - I laughed at it all night!!

Can't wait for next year!!

Available Now on iTunes

2009-10-20T23:17:00.000-07:00

Revenge on the Virgin River Rim Trail

2009-10-07T20:24:00.000-07:00

We took a quick weekend trip to Brian Head last week. Got to see some family, ate some great food, and had my revenge on the Virgin River Rim Trail. If you look a few posts back you'll read a tale of pain and suffering on this very trail. This weekend was quite different, in fact the ride was super enjoyable. Just a quick disclaimer...we didn't ride the whole trail this time but I'm sure that if we had it wouldn't have sent me permanently to the "Hurt Locker" like last time. Not to be confused with "Davy Jones Locker" but relatively close.

Unfortunately the cold hit a bit early and most of the leaves had already dropped. It would be worth the trip to Cedar Mountain just to see the early fall color change. Team Sabrosa (minus one team member) pushed the pace so hard we didn't have much time to enjoy the scenery anyway. You know it's been a good ride when you're breathing hard and start to taste blood.

LOTOJA 2009

2009-09-14T05:57:00.000-07:00

When I woke up in Logan at 5:00 am on Saturday I couldn't stop think about how strange it was that I had actually paid a good amount of money to torture myself in an all day event. Fortunately I had a later start time so I was able to get in a good breakfast and some last minute preparation on the bike. At the starting line there was a lot of anxious and nervous folks. I had to laugh at the guys that couldn't stop sizing up their competition. Everyone has their own way of dealing with stress; if I remember right I was singing primary hymns in my head (I Am a Child of God).

I'll spare you the details of the 11 hour ride and just say that there was a great deal of suffering that occurred in the 206 miles between Logan, UT and Jackson Hole, WY. You learn a lot about yourself in a race like this; the emotions range from the incredible feeling of joy when you finish a long steep climb, to the dark and evil places your mind goes when you're in the flats in a nasty headwind. My goal of breaking 11 hours was missed by 3 minutes. Although there where multiple times through the day that I thought, "What in the HELL am I doing" it wasn't 30 minutes after the race that I was already planning what I could do different next year to do it faster. I can't explain it, but it has to be some kind of mental illness.

I couldn't have made it without some great training partners and an awesome support crew that included Paul Harber, an my imaginary friend that was with me on the Geneva Summit and Salt River Pass. The biggest thanks goes to my sweet wife for supporting me through the last few months and not complaining about the long Saturday rides.

I'm definitely in need of a short break, but I'm sure it won't be long before I'm planning the next event.

Good-bye Hailstones! We'll miss you!!

2009-08-02T13:37:00.000-07:00

Lauren, Cole, Jackson, Travis

Ben's sister, Lauren and her family moved to Reading, Pennsylvania this week. We are going to miss them so much! Good luck in your residency Travis!!!

Visit down south

2009-07-30T10:27:00.000-07:00

At the beginning of the month, we (Weston and I) flew down to Baton Rouge, Louisiana to spend some time with my family. I was so nervous to fly by myself with a baby, but Weston did great! I had no problems!!

When we fist arrived in Baton Rouge, we made our usual trip to Tiger Mania, where Weston got an LSU t-shirt and bib (I have to start him early!). Then we went to Coffee Call for some beignets (French donut) - a Louisiana favorite. I have to make a least a couple of visits to Coffee Call while I'm home or my trip doesn't feel complete!

My aunt Carolyn and my cousin Diane came in to town to visit. Diane's little boy, Andrew, is only two months younger than Weston, so it was fun for them to finally meet. It was so good to see them - it had been way too long!

Weston, my nephew Patrick and Andrew

Diane, Andrew, Weston, me

A few days after I arrived, we left for Gulf Shores, Alabama for the annual Moody family vacation. I love Gulf Shores and look forward to this trip every year. I call it the "happiest place on Earth". I know most of you think that's Disney World, but one visit down here and you would change your mind.

This trip is the only time each year, that my family gets together.We had a blast hanging out on the beach, playing the Wii, and going to the "Shark Store" (my brothers love this store!) The "Shark Store" is a huge place filled with souvenirs (0r junk). It's just like the souvenir store on Sahara here in Las Vegas, except you can get air brushed t-shirts here. It's great! :)

Ben flew down for a few days to join us at the beach. It was so much fun to have him there - I even played Risk with him (that's true love because I really hate that game!)

Weston loved the beach. He would sit in the sand and laugh when the water would come up. It was so fun!!

Back: Tricia, Dad, Mom, Weston, Laura

Middle: Phil, Will, Chris, John, Ben

Bottom: Phillip and Patrick

Weston - notice all the sand on his face - he really enjoyed eating it

Weston and Daddy

After spending a week at the beach, we traveled back to Baton Rouge and Weston and I spent another 4 days with my parents. We were able to go see my grandmother and great Aunt Merle. It was so good to see them and I know they were so excited to see Weston for the first time.

I was also able to spend some time with my best friends from high school, Jenny, Allison and Kim. I can't believe we have all stayed so close for over 16 years!!

I love Louisiana and spending time with my family. Thank you so much mom and dad for a wonderful trip. I can't wait until next year!! I love you!!

Grandmommy with 4 of her great grandchildren: Patrick, Phillip, Weston, and Will

Weston with Grammy (my mom) and Mick - he loves dogs!!

Weston with Pawpaw (my dad)

Ride Log for July 25, 2009

2009-07-27T10:02:00.000-07:00

Start at Brian Head Ski Resort (9,600 ft elevation at base)

Mammoth Creek

Long Valley Junction

Town of Panguitch (lunch stop w/ incredible cherry pie)

Panguitch Lake

Back to Brian Head

105 total miles with 7,800 vertical feet of climbing

Is this ever going to end....

2009-06-19T03:24:00.000-07:00

So, it's 3:30 in the morning and I've been up since 2 am listening to Weston cry. I'm trying to get him to sleep through the night, but this is really not fun! I know I should be sleeping in bed tuning out his crying, but I can't.

He is over 5 months old and still wakes up at least once a night - although we had some good nights this past week where he slept from 9:30 pm until 4 or 5 am. I don't understand why he can't do that every night.

Does it get better???

4 months old and growing...

2009-05-27T09:34:00.000-07:00

Our little man turned 4 months old on May 8th and weighed 14 lbs 6 oz and was 25 1/2 inches long. It's amazing how much they change in just a short amount of time. He talks all the time - I didn't know a little baby had so much to say!! He can roll over from his stomach to his back and can sit up for a short amount of time by himself. Our very serious baby even laughs and smiles a lot. It's so much fun to see his personality.
We decided to take him swimming for the first time a couple of weeks ago and this was his reaction:

I can't really blame him - the water was really cold. I wouldn't even get in!

He has also tried rice cereal. Although I'm not sure how much he has actually tasted. Most of it ended up on his face and chin.

He is such a fun little boy and I can't believe he'll be 5 months old in just 1 week!

Hardcore Granny

2009-05-12T06:34:00.000-07:00

Just a little tribute to my granny that's headed for the Florida mission field this week. She's way more hardcore than the chick in the video.

Good luck grandma!

Like Father, like son...

2009-04-18T14:12:00.000-07:00

Just thought I'd share these pictures of Ben in a velvet romper (with lace) and a sailor suit... and he's worried about what Weston wears! He wore the same type of outfits when he was little and turned out just fine.

Easter Outfit

2009-04-14T11:05:00.000-07:00

One of the biggest disagreements Ben and I have is dressing Weston. I love the cute little rompers that baby boys can wear. Ben thinks they are gay and a boy, no matter their age, should never wear them. Well, for Easter I dressed Weston in one and I think he looks adorable. Maybe it's just a southern thing!

I can't believe he is already 3 months old!!

Smith & Wesson Thanks You Mr. President

2009-04-07T20:11:00.000-07:00

Potential Halloween Costume

2009-04-02T15:15:00.000-07:00

You're Not Hardcore

2009-03-27T07:19:00.000-07:00

I'm not suggesting that I am either; but the reason I can make the statement in the title is that I witnessed two stunts that raised the bar in my mind.

A few weekends back I cruised up to St George to do a quick ride with the Sabrosa Crew. Before I headed up I was told that there may be a few different calibers of riders that might be tagging along. It was meant to be a leisurely century (100 miles) up to Zion and back so no big deal.

1st Stunt

John decides to ride a damned newspaper boy delivery bike. Now granted it's a beautify handmade bike built by his own hands but it's a fixed gear outfitted with fenders and a freaking canvas saddle bag on the back. I'm pretty sure he does this kind of crap to make people like me feel like a tool that show up with a light fancy-pants bike. He's not in the picture above but I can assure you he has a subtle smug smile just like the one he has when he beats you up a hill on a bike that weighs twice what yours does.

2nd Stunt

Now when Mr. Sabrosa plans a ride he will typically invite all types. There happened to be a couple of folks just getting into cycling and then there was the guy on a mountain bike, carrying a backpack equipped with a telescoping handle and rollerblade wheels in case he wanted to just pull it behind the bike. Turns out he didn't plan on riding the whole 100 miles and got picked up around mile 40. The 2nd stunt is in reference to Billy; he's the guy in the picture wearing sweat pants, cargo shorts, and skate shoes. This crazy sucker tried to leave his house without a water bottle because he claimed he didn't need it. Now Billy did ride the whole thing and kept up with the group. It's scary to think how fast this guy will be once he figures a few things out.

Despite getting schooled by the folks above it was a beautiful ride, and great to knock out the years first century. Next time a plan on wearing my one piece speed suit and and the teardrop time trial helmet. Maybe that'll give me a edge.

Weston at 2 Months

2009-03-10T16:26:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was a tough day for Weston. He had his two month appointment and was given his first set of shots. I swear he was mad at us for the rest of the day. He would wake up from his naps screaming and would not calm down. He would scream for 30 minutes to an hour and then fall back asleep. By 4 p.m. he forgave us and was smiling and playing again.

Here are his current measurements: 11 lbs, 11 oz (50th percentile); 22 1/2 inches long (30th percentile); and his head measures 15 inches (10th percentile - I think the girl measured wrong because he seems to have a big head to me. Maybe it's just his cubby cheeks that have me fooled.)

Here are some new pictures of the little chunk. Thank you cousin Aubrey for his "I love NY" onesie. He loves it!!

24 Hours in the Old Pueblo

2009-03-05T06:09:00.000-08:00

I'll start by saying that out of the two 24 hours races I've done in Tucson this was probably the more enjoyable. Not to say that last year wasn't a good time, but this year was a blast. The weather was perfect, we had a rad team, and oh yeah I didn't have to sleep in a tent. Lucky for me Rob's buddy pulled his camper out. I don't like to be a pansy but when you come in from a lap at 2:00 am I'd much rather climb into a heated camper than a cold tent.

2009 Racers Sabrosa Cycle Team

Sorry ladies the hot gentleman showing his nipples is happily married. Not that it needs justification but this was taken after riding bikes for 24 hours, needless to say we were pretty beat.

Rob coming into the transition tent

Just a minor correction from Laura's previous post, we actually came in 15th out of 135 teams. John and Racer (as always) pulled some super fast laps; I'm proud to say that Rob and I had a few decent laps ourselves. On average I think my laps time were about 15 minutes faster than last year. I'm sure it's due to the magic that that Mr. Sabrosa weaved into the Surly. With a few new bits and pieces she rides like a whole new pony.

John was picked for the Lemans start; he did his first lap in the Hot Rod suit. Imagine how you'd feel getting passed by a guy in a one piece dickies suit, wearing a cape?

This is just a small shot of a few of the bikes lined up at the start. The intention was not to include the guy in the goofy hat, and no I don't know him.

Dan finishing a lap.

This was a great weekend that I'll definitely look forward to next year. I've promised to drop some time on my laps next year so that I can continue to ride with the same crew. Rob, you better get on that pony; I plan on widening that 12 second lap average next year!

President's Day Weekend

2009-02-27T10:59:00.000-08:00

Ben went out of town to participate in a 24 hour mountain bike race in Arizona. (They came in 13 out of 135 teams. I'm sure Ben will do a post about it soon.) So, my brother, sister, brother in law, and three nephews came into town. It was so much fun to have them here to keep me company.

New pictures of Weston

2009-02-02T11:57:00.000-08:00

After many request - here are some updated pictures of Weston!

A New Tax

2009-01-22T06:42:00.000-08:00

IT’S JUST BEEN ANNOUNCED THAT OBAMA IS GOING TO CALL FOR A 40% TAX ON ASPIRIN!

THE REASON GIVEN – IT’S WHITE AND IT WORKS!

Weston Michael Harber

2009-01-12T21:47:00.000-08:00

Spiritual Nourishment

2009-01-06T23:28:00.000-08:00

At first glance you see a plain IN-N-OUT cup to hold a veritable cornucopia of delicious beverages. But just yesterday an interesting discovery was made with regard to this very normal looking cup. As I tilted the cup to enjoy the drink of my choice, my eternal mate noticed something that seemed out of place on the bottom.

What a concept; a one stop shop to enjoy a delicious burger, and also receive a spiritual message. In my book IN-N-OUT can now be considered soul food as it provides nourishment for the body, mind, and spirit. Maybe this has been there forever but it's the first time we've noticed it. I had reservations about posting this information for fear that some jackass lawyer (no offense Brent, Andrew, ect) would find cause to sue; but then I realized it's a message that should be shared. It's a pleasant surprise coming from California company where one would expected something like, "NO on Prop 8". We already won that battle so I guess it would be a waste of space anyways.

I'm not sure how this scripture is relevant to sporting events where you see it commonly posted; however on the bottom of a disposable cup makes complete sense. The Harbers want to take this opportunity to thank IN-N-OUT for displaying this great message.

Name of the First Born

2008-12-28T23:59:00.000-08:00

After much deliberation between the wife and I we've finally agreed upon a name for our first born son. We wanted a strong name that would help to define him as he grew into a man. Of course we thought of different family names, but kept coming back to the same one. In light of the history that has been made recently we have decided on .... Barack. This name will stand for strong leadership shown by pimps, players, and hustlers around the world.

This may be met with some resistance from both sides of the family but we hope that you will respect our decision. Mostly we wanted to get ahead of the wave for 2009; it's surely to be in the top 10 of used names.

Baby Bump

2008-12-13T11:19:00.001-08:00

After the many requests...

The good that was done by telling my wife that she looked beautiful in the picture was quickly undone when I asked why she was sporting such a fake smile. I'm still learning.

Caitlin Anderson (my sis) Named Big Sky Player of the Week

2008-11-26T08:55:00.000-08:00

Anderson Named Big Sky Player of the Week
Courtesy: Weber State
Release: 11/25/2008

Courtesy: Robert Casey

Caitlin Anderson led the Wildcats with 22 points against Washington.

OGDEN, Utah (November 25) ‑ Weber State's Caitlin Anderson and Idaho State's Michelle Grohs were named Big Sky Conference Women's Basketball Co‑Players of the Week for games played between Nov. 17‑24.

Anderson scored a game‑high 22 points to lead Weber State to a 77‑66 win over Washington on Wednesday, Nov. 19. It was the Wildcats' first win over a Pac‑10 opponent since 1996.

The sophomore forward hit 9‑of‑15 shots from the field (60.0 percent), including 2‑of‑3 from the 3‑point line (66.7 percent). Anderson added a team‑high 10 rebounds to record Weber State's first double‑double of the year. The native of Reno, Nevada also knocked down 2‑of‑2 free throws in the Wildcats' lone game of the week.

Now this guy has his priorities strait!

2008-11-13T09:20:00.000-08:00

Of course I would never do this to my pregnant wife. On second thought, if she had her body pillow she would probably be very comfortable.

George Washington Quote

2008-11-11T07:21:00.000-08:00

The name of American, which belongs to you, in your national capacity, must always exalt the just pride of Patriotism.... It should be the highest ambition of every American to extend his views beyond himself, and to bear in mind that his conduct will not only affect himself, his country, and his immediate posterity; but that its influence may be co-extensive with the world, and stamp political happiness or misery on ages yet unborn.
When firearms go, all goes - we need them every hour.
A free people ought not only to be armed and disciplined, but they should have sufficient arms and ammunition to maintain a status of independence from any who might attempt to abuse them, which would include their own government.

A free people ought...to be armed. -- Speech of Jan. 7, 1790 in the Boston Independent Chronicle, Jan. 14, 1790. George Washington

This quote was brought to my attention by a crazy (soon to be lawyer) in the Bay area. Lets hope that we never have to defend ourselves from our own government; but in the mean time buy all the guns and ammo you can afford like you were planning on it.

Gooseberry Mesa

2008-10-28T15:25:00.000-07:00

Just a few pics from a recent trip to ride Gooseberry Mesa in Southern Utah. I was accompanied by "The Kush" and "The Douche". Unfortunately Mr Sabrosa couldn't call in sick, and "The Tammer" was hard at work; they missed out on a great ride. How do you like that, we drive all the way from Vegas and the local guys don't join us.

Time for a Road Trip

2008-10-20T16:59:00.000-07:00

I just filled up on $ 2.97/gallon gas!

Every one of us idiots that's still driving a tank of an SUV knows this is cause to celebrate. Maybe I should offer up a sacrifice to the Oil Gods of the Middle East and go on a road trip.

Back From the Break

2008-10-14T09:03:00.001-07:00

Whoa...that was a longer than intended break from the blog posting. I'm not going to make excuses, mostly because I hate when when people say they don't have time to do "XYZ" task (although I have been fairly busy with work).

To get you folks up to speed, The Harbers are doing well. Laura has really started to get big (sorry babe). About two weeks ago I had the very cool experience of feeling my man child move in Laura's belly; she on the other hand gets to experience what it feels like to have a mosh pit inside of her. He starts to get real active right around her bed time. Ha ha

Cooler weather has set in Vegas and has made for some nice riding conditions. Mostly road riding these days, but I hope to hit the dirt a little more often. Unfortunately the cooler weather comes with more wind. I swear this has been the windiest year in Vegas history. Maybe I could commission AL Gore to do a documentary on the cause of increased windy conditions. My guess is that he would link it to the down turned economy.

I do feel bad not reporting about this earlier but to top of the summer we had the chance to spend a few weeks in China with the Nelson crew. It was truly one of the most amazing trips we've done. Before the trip China was not at the top of my list of places to visit, but after being there I would definitely recommend it to everyone. The good news is that no one on the trip picked up "The Bird Flu" or "SARS" (that we know of). More details on the trip later.

You Can't Count on the Chinese Calender

2008-08-19T21:21:00.000-07:00

The Chinese have come up with tons of cool stuff like fireworks, dragon costumes, the Chinese star, and superior capabilities to built long walls. However, the Chinese calender falls short of the list of great inventions/achievements.

My oh so sweet wife has come to grips with the fact that she can't count on internet tests and/or the Chinese calender when it comes to foretelling the gender of our future child.

IT'S A BOY!

Family Vacation Report(s)

2008-07-15T05:53:00.000-07:00
Anderson - Harber Trip

Even thought the first trip was over a month ago I figured it was still worth reporting. We spent a week in McCall Idaho with a few of the Anderson crew. My mom, Eric, and Cate made it for the trip while the rest of the fam were caring for babies back home, or spreading the good word in Mexico. It was a great change of scenery from Vegas; I like the desert, but I love the mountains! The Payette river was at a super high volume and raging. On the drive from Boise we stopped to check out a few guys paddling the class V section of the North Fork, those suckers are nuts.

We kicked back and enjoyed the cool weather, played tennis, a little golf, and ate at some great restaurants. Thanks again to the Andersons for the good time.

Moody - Harber - Hoopes Trip

The second trip was a bit more recent. Laura went down a few days early to Baton Rouge to get in all the southern living she could squeeze in before the Gulf Shores trip. I ended up flying into Pensacola mid week to meet everyone in Gulf Shores. The Moodys rented an awesome beach house that everyone could stay at; great access to the beach and super close to a nice pool.

We ate some great seafood, hung at the beach and played a few games of Risk (possibly the greatest game ever conceived by man). For those on the left coast that have not experienced the Gulf it's quite a bit different from the Cali beaches we're accustom to. Super fine white sand and warm water, the only draw back might be the jellyfish. I'm happy to report that this year I did not have to experience a jellyfish sting (unlike last year). Laura on the other hand just about became topless on the beach in an attempt to remove a jellyfish tentacle from her bathing suit.

I enjoyed seeing a different a part of the country that sometimes makes you feel like you've traveled out of the US, and of course Laura always loves going home. Thanks again to the Moodys for the fun trip!

Virgin River Rim Trail

2008-07-03T07:36:00.000-07:00
When Mr. Sabrosa says that it's going to be epic riding on Cedar Mountain he really means it. I figured I was up for the challenge since I had been doing fair amount of riding, and the thought of escaping the Vegas summer heat was very attractive. The team included Mr. and Mrs. Sabrosa, the Tammer, and myself.

We started at Strawberry Point just a bit past Duck Creek; elevation 9000 feet. I felt like I was at the basecamp of Everest since I had just come from Vegas, about 2000 ft. The ride is 33 miles of some of the most incredible single track I've ever been on. Most of you are familiar with the Cedar Breaks area, well the trail basically skirts the edge of that whole plateau and then drops down to Woods Ranch. If your thinking that it couldn't have been that tough because the trails starts at Strawberry and drops down to Woods Ranch, you're wrong! I had slightly underestimated it myself; in total we climbed over 4200 vertical feet at an average elevation of 9300 ft.

Round about the 20 mile mark I started hurting; probably a combination of high altitude, some gnarly climbing, and not enough food. When the bottom falls out like this there's not a lot you can do but suffer through the rest of the ride. I told the crew that I was officially in "The Hurt Locker, " and yes John if the ride had continued much past Wood Ranch Davey Jones would have been involved. Although it was slow going for me after that point I still thoroughly enjoyed the ride. Towards the end of the trail we rode through some beautiful aspen forest, this is when the trees started talking to me. Maybe this is what Indians experience when they're on their vision quest.

Even though I got punished pretty bad the ride was well worth it. I would definitely recommend the ride if you're up for amazing singletrack, incredible views, and a ton of climbing.

First Ultrasound

2008-06-10T09:41:00.000-07:00

Laura is with child!

There have been many jokes in the past both verbally and on this blog, but it's finally true. She had her first ultrasound yesterday and everything up to this point checks out great. It's an experience that I can't even attempt to explain when you hear your baby's heart beat. At this point he/she is only a little over 1/2", about the size of a gummy bear.

Laura is positive that it's going to be a girl but I'm not sure if this is based on some internal instinct or the countless Internet tests / Chinese calenders she's been doing. I'll be happy either way but I'm guessing it'll be a boy.

We'll keep you updated.

Mexican Bowling

2008-06-03T11:40:00.000-07:00

After seeing this photo I'd think think twice before riding my bike in Mexico.

A car has plowed into a bike race along a highway near the US-Mexico border, killing one and injuring 10 others.
Police investigator Jose Alfredo Rodriguez says the 28-year-old driver was apparently drunk and fell asleep when he crashed into the race. The photograph was taken by a city official that was spectating.

Wheel Sucker

2008-05-29T15:44:00.000-07:00
According to a sheriff's report, George N. Magalhaes, 35, of Fort Pierce, Florida, traded his purple 19-speed mountain bike for four rocks of crack cocaine. Unfortunately, the dealer was an undercover detective, who arrested Magalhaes and sent him to jail.

Bottom line: It doesn't pay to abandon your ride!

Assult on Mt Charleston & Highway Robbery

2008-05-20T08:55:00.000-07:00
Last weekend I made the years first trip up Mt Charleston. Due to the lack of riding partners I had to roll solo. I’d definitely rather ride with a group but sometimes it’s kind of nice to ride alone. You can cruise at your own pace and have some time to think.

Turns out my decrease in weekly mileage has helped a ton. The past few weeks I’ve been playing in the overtraining danger zone. This happens when you’re putting in too many miles, or riding with guys that are too fast. I say that it helped a ton to cut back because I felt fresh and was able to stay aerobic almost the entire way up; the top gets a bit steep so I went anaerobic for a bit. The ride was great and I definitely look forward to riding up there more this summer.

This is the highway robbery part:

I hit the Charleston Lodge and pulled over to fill the water bottles. I didn't know if there’d be water available so I was prepared to be happy with just about anything. Luckily there was a café inside that sold drink so I was pumped. I grabbed a Vitamin Water and headed for the cashier; the clerk rings it up says, “That’ll be $ 3.25 please.”

Me: Excuse me?

Clerk: $ 3.25

(I thought for a split second about going out back a peeing in my water bottle but remembered that should be reserved only for desperate occasions.)

Me: I must have grabbed the wrong one; do you have the nonalcohol version of Vitamin Water?

Clerk: Vitamin Water doesn’t come with alcohol, does it?

Me: No man I was just kidding because that seemed to be a bit much for a bottle of flavored water.

Clerk: You know, it’s just that rule of supply and demand.

This is where I just smiled, signed the receipt and walked out. Not only was the guy too slow to get my joke but he was going to make some jackass comment about supply and demand. I would much rather had him say (and probably laughed with him),” Bend over and grab your ankles cause there’s no other shops to buy drinks up here.” I’m no econ major (unlike my beautiful bride) but I’m pretty sure they bought those drinks at the same Costco that I do.

To be honest I have no problem paying a premium for goods where the premium is earned. For instance I would gladly pay (without complaining) $ 5.25 for a Vitamin Water in the middle of the Sahara Desert, or maybe on the trail to the Everest Basecamp. But the difference there is that the Sherpa that sold me the water out of a cooler, from the back of his yak truly deserves it. I will complain however when some idiot tells me it’s a matter of supply and demand 15 miles from Vegas.

I didn’t let this ruin my ride but it did provide for some interesting perspective. I just paid $ 3.25 for a 20 oz beverage. At the per gallon price that would be $ 20.80; and I complain about gas prices!

Botox Lifts: The Next Breast Thing?

2008-05-16T16:32:00.000-07:00

http://wcbstv.com/video/?id=112359@wcbs.dayport.com

No offence to any of you that have partaken in the botox trend but the above video is just too weird. Our society must put an unbelievable amount of pressure on people to the point where they're willing to inject poison into their bodies to look good.
What's next? Are men going to follow in Dave Chappell's foots steps and botox their balls to take the wrinkles out? In the words of Mr. Chappell, "They're smooth as eggs!"

Damn the Wind!

2008-05-13T08:38:00.001-07:00

I went for a short ride this morning and encountered the storm above. It makes being outside extra enjoyable when you get sandblasted on top of being blown around. I'm pretty sure Las Vegas is being punished for it's sinful ways because I don't remember the spring ever being this windy.

Sweet Revenge

2008-05-06T07:10:00.000-07:00
If you're a road cyclist you'll probably agree that ignorant motorist with their constant honking can be pretty frustrating. You might not even be in the way and they still decide to lay on the horn.

The link below is to the Surly (producer of very fine bicycles) blog and has the best story of sweet revenge that I've heard in a long while. You'll enjoy it whether you ride bikes on the road or not.

http://www.surlybikes.com/2008_05_01_blog_archive.html#3974086754644713558

First (unofficial) Century Ride of the Year

2008-04-21T10:51:00.000-07:00
This weekend I had the opportunity to ride with the RED BURRO crew out to the Nevada/California state line. Aside from it being a bit windy the weather could not have been better with temps in the low to mid 70s.

We started at the top of Summerlin, rode through Red Rocks, down Blue Diamond Hwy, through Southern Highlands and then the frontage rode that parallels the I-15. The ride was cut a bit short at Primm when we found out that the state line was another 12 miles (one way). The total ride distance was 93 miles, so just short of the official century length. I felt totally justified calling it a century due to the wind we endured.

While the ride was very enjoyable I was reminded how much work I still need on the bike; these guys were animals! For them it was a fairly easy pace to build their early season aerobic base, for me it was all I could do to keep my heart rate under 95% of my max. At one point during a climb I was pushing 190 bpm, that's pretty nasty considering my max is 193.

I'm really liking getting out for long Saturday rides and can't wait when it's time to start charging up Mount Charleston.

Can You Believe My Mom Blocked MTV?

2008-04-08T06:54:00.000-07:00

This is what I was missing out on when my mom decided to have MTV blocked while in middle and high school. In the past I've struggled to help my mom and other misguided souls to understand that Snoop just wants to be a good example, and this photo is clear evidence. Sure he may have had to write a few edgy lyrics but everyone has to feed their family somehow.

It's a good thing I didn't tell my mom about the BET channel, think of all the other good examples I would have missed out on.

Ford Ironman 70.3 Oceanside, California

2008-03-31T15:07:00.000-07:00

The pressure started to mount about a week ago. I was having moments where I couldn't wait for the race, and then other times where I wished I hadn't even registered. My training for the last few months hadn't turned out like I planned due to some sickness and a bit over over training. To top things off the weather was not going to be too favorable. The forecasted air temps were in the low 60s, overcast and the water was going to be about 58 degrees. Come on...I picked San Diego because the weather is suppose to be sunny and warm .

Friday came and we loaded up with the Stubbs for the drive down. When we arrived in Oceanside it was definitely cooler than I had planned; I couldn't stop thinking about how cold it was going to be coming out of the water and getting on the bike. It was at this point that I thought....the upside of the cooler weather is that maybe I'll be hypothermic half way through the swim and not have to finish. I'm pretty sure everyone could tell that I was a bit nervous.

Race morning came and I was surprisingly calm. Once I got to the transition area to setup I had forgotten about being nervous and was now super pumped. There was rad music playing and over 2000 competitors hustling to get ready. My swim wave started at 6:50 and to be honest I didn't even think about the 58 degree water. In fact most people said I was crazy for wearing a sleeveless wetsuit but I was plenty warm. The swim went well but I wished I hadn't been so conservative. Finished the swim in just under 40 minutes.

Then onto the bike...I started out feeling pretty sick with a belly full of salt water but my stomach calmed after a few miles. The first half of the 56 mile course was fairly flat and I was averaging around 22 to 24 mph, I started to get kind of excited because I thought I would beat my expected time. Then I hit the 2nd half of the bike course and it was all downhill (my performance, not the course profile). I was behind on my hydration and had to force myself to eat. On top of the course being a bit more hilly the wind had picked up. My average speed dropped and I ended up finishing the bike course in a little over 3 hours. This is not meant to be an excuse for not riding faster but I was blown away by the other competitors bikes, most of the bikes I saw had wheel sets that were more expensive than my whole bike.

The transition from biking to running was interesting due to the fact that my stomach was not happy. Nothing went down easy but I kept drinking and eating so I would have enough gas to finish. I pretty much suffered through the run and only averaged about a 10 minute mile with a run split of 2 hours 13 minutes.

Total time with transitions was 6 hours 11 minutes. I was slightly disappointed because I was hoping to break 6 hours but hey it was my first one and I learned tons. I did have some interesting thoughts while on the course; I had a few moments of intense gratitude that I was capable and had the opportunity to participate in an event like this. And even as much as I suffered at different points during the race I found myself feeling almost sad that it was over towards the end.

Anthony sure has had some good exposure on the Harber's blog lately; I fully expect 10% of his earnings if he's discover by this photo:

This one's even better because it makes him look like a giant:

It may not be for a few more years but I do see a full Ironman in my future. I would like to leave you with my opinion that racing and/or suffering in any epic event such as this will bring much joy into your life. Now get out there and find something to register for! Oh yeah http://www.active.com/ is a great place to find all kinds of events in your area.

Speed Racer & Local Spot to Score

2008-03-08T13:03:00.000-08:00
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I don't know what's better the one piece race suit or the gold helmet. On top of looking the part this sucker has skills on the track; lets just say there were new records set last night at the Las Vegas Mini Gran Prix. I'm still not sure why the track operator was unhappy when Anthony did his victory doughnut through the grass after his lap, isn't that what all the big Nascar guys do?

We then headed to an old Vegas favorite Luv-It Frozen Custard; not ice cream...Custard! The location across from the Stratosphere couldn't be more perfect, you can satisfy that sweet tooth and then score some crack across the street. And if cracks not your thing you can head over to one of the hourly motels or just get married at one of the ten wedding chapels in the area. Hey you can't beat the custard and if you don't step on an old needle in the parking lot it's well worth the trip.

A Result of Paying Tithing!

2008-03-02T08:19:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was one of the best days ever. I had just gotten back from the Saturday road ride and was doing a bit of cleaning up in the garage. Matt (the hero of the day) rode over to throw his bike on the stand and do a little maintenance. After he was done he headed home; after a few minutes he returned and said that he thought he saw my bike that had been stolen in a garage down the street. I bolted down the street and saw that beautiful green Surly pony sitting there. I didn't even knock on the door, I just swooped it!

I got back to my house and realized that this sucker was just on the other side of the street only about 5 doors down, I had to go back to find out who the bike thief was. The people that answered claimed they had moved in only two weeks ago and that the bike was there when they moved in. Either way I was just glad to have it back.

Huge thanks again to Matt with the eagle eye!

Oh yeah...scroll down a bit to check out the post from the Tucson 24 Hour Race.

Weber State Star

2008-02-21T11:16:00.000-08:00

This is my little sis...when she's not dunkin she's making shots like this. Look out MJ!

24 Hours in the Old Pueblo

2008-02-20T09:56:00.000-08:00

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Does riding your bike in circles for 24 hours sound like a good idea? Yeah I don't know who came up with this idea but he/she is crazy sucker! Even though this race was a little out of my league I had to take the opportunity to ride with Racer's Sabrosa Cycle team. Maybe someday their speed will rub off on me.
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Last Thursday we started the voyage down to Tucson. I say voyage because it took us about a day and a half to get there. We had a stop in Phoenix where we stayed Thursday night, and then visited every Home Depot on the way out of Phoenix Friday morning. The Home Depot trip was with the intent of purchasing a propane heater due to the freak weather we were about to encounter. When we finally got to the race site it was snowing/raining; it's super fun setting up camp in weather like this:

Needless to say to say I wasn't super pumped about the weather. The race was going to be epic enough without snow and freezing weather. Lucky for us the bike gods were nice enough to show show some kindness and let the sun out right before the start of the race. I felt bad for the guys that had the first lap; everyone was outfitted with gear to ride in subarctic conditions. The rest of the race was clear skys and almost warm weather.

The course was perfectly fitted for a 24 hour race. and with the recent rain it was hard packed and fast. The course was 16 miles of mostly single track through super thick cactus; it sounds ridiculous but I've never seen that much cactus. I witnessed a couple of unfortunate suckers that took corners too fast on the night laps and ended up in a cactus bed; not fun!

I'll tell you what really made the race, our support crew was amazing! Shea and "The Tammer" were top notch. These guys did just about everything for us; big thanks again to the support crew.

We ended up doing pretty well, 13th place out of about 140 teams in the 4 man open class. I've promised to bring faster lap times next year if they'll have me back so I've got to get myself in shape. Below is how the hardcore racer takes his shower, I on the other hand treated myself to the shower trailer.

Right after the finish we packed up and head back. I knew it was going to be a long drive back so I celebrated with a 2 lb bag of peanut M & Ms, raspberry filled powder doughnuts, and a 4 pack of Full Throttle. I don't think the human body is meant to have that much caffeine and sugar in one sitting. I have to apologize if I was a bit out of control on the ride back; it was the Full Throttle talking. Below is the best way to describe the way you feel after riding a 24 hour race and then getting the car for 8 hours:

Thanks again to everyone that helped make the weekend happen; I'm already looking forward to next year!

Catalina Buffalo Run

2008-02-12T07:38:00.000-08:00

Last Friday we made the trip down to southern California for the Buffalo 1/2 marathon on Catalin Island. Our running crew included John (Laura's brother), Jesse, Baker, and myself. The support team included Laura, and Paul & Nola Harber. Laura was super disappointed that she couldn't run due to an injury (or was that a story fabricated to cover something else?) but she's on the road to recovery.

It was already going to be a pretty epic race due to the fact that the course was so tough, but for Jesse and Baker it was ultra intense because it was their first 1/2 marathon. As you can see on the course profile it's a consistent climb for the first 5 miles, oh yeah and in those first 5 miles you climb almost 1600 feet. There's really nothing I can say to describe how gnarly it was; all I remember was that every time you thought you were reaching the summit you would round the corner and it just kept going strait up. Needless to say it was a painful one!

Althought it was one of the most difficult races I've done it was compensated by the fact that it was absolutly beautiful. The majority of the race was on fire roads through the interior of the island; we had amazing views of the ocean and the weather was perfect. Everyone did great with strong finishes. The good thing for Jesse and Baker is that with this being their first half marathon everything else will almost seem easy.

Saturday afternoon we headed back to Newport and hung with the Jones and the Morphys. We had some amazing Califoriental food; I don't know if it was exceptionally good or I was just really hungy. Either way it hit the spot. The other highlight to the trip was seeing our friend's kids. Baker and Matt are always one step ahead in the game of life; I'll be there someday guys.

I had to laugh at this picture, it's similar to the one at the top of the page but this is after the race. We're still smiling, but it's pretty obvious that we're beat. One of the things I love the most about these events is the addictiveness. On the boat ride back and the drive home there was a ton of planning for the next race.

Get out there and register for a race, any race...it's the ultimate motivator!

Awesome clip from UTI race

2008-01-17T15:06:00.000-08:00

2004 Olympics triathlon silver medalist Bevan Docherty of New Zealand lives up to his motto of "He who wants it most wins!" Here, he sprints from behind to clutch victory from the grasp of compatriot Kris Gemmell at the 2005 New Plymouth ITU World Cup triathlon.
I was so pumped after watching this clip that I had to go for a run. Some day I'll be passing suckers like that on the course. Ha Ha

Military prepares for the Democrats to takeover!!

2008-01-11T06:56:00.000-08:00
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This is just one of the many ways thoses suckers will weaken us if they're in the White House.

Now That's a Red Blooded American!

2008-01-06T08:26:00.000-08:00

For those that are new, turn the music off at the bottom of the page so you can listen to the clip.

Great Start to 2008

2008-01-04T05:54:00.000-08:00
Well I had this grandiose plan to start the New Year with a super positive blog post to get the year started right. You know, list all the resolutions and tell you guys what a great year it's going to be. That plan is ruined and I'm now just pissed.

I went out to the garage yesterday to find that one of my precious ponies had been stolen. Some sucker had the guts to walk into my garage and take it right off the ceiling hooks. Granted I've learned my lesson that I can't leave the garage door open, but this was in the middle of the day.

It gets better....I called the insurance company and they proceed to tell me that it probably doesn't make sense to file the claim because after they depreciate the value of the bike it will be equal to my deductible. Needless to say I was pretty pissed. I've come to realize that insurance is basically a legal scam, you're damned if you have it and really damned if you don't.

I really do hate to start the new year with such a negative vibe but I can't help hoping that whoever is riding my bike falls and breaks their neck. With my luck the criminal will repent in the next few years and won't have to suffer the eternal consequences.

When work gets in the way of Blogging

2007-12-22T03:24:00.000-08:00

Typically this time of year is pretty slow for my business, that's not been the case this year. I'm not complaining but it definitely has cut into the more important things in life like maintaining the Harber blog and training.

OK...work has been busy but more than anything there hasn't been a ton to write about. I can sum up the past few weeks pretty quick:

Laura and I had the opportunity to go to the NFR (National Finals Rodeo) twice this year thanks to Mr. Paul Harber. It made me laugh that Laura was so into it; she kept telling me how much she was looking forward to it and was excited to be there the whole time. I thought this year was exceptionally good; those cowboys are amazing athletes. This was also the little buckaroo's first year at the rodeo, from what I hear he enjoyed himself pretty well.

Other than the Rodeo it's been Christmas parties and shopping. I'm very grateful for my sweet wife that takes care of the majority of the shopping. She also gets credit for the holiday decorations around the house. This is another activity that I try and stay out of, but I do enjoy the decorations once everything is up.

We had a great game of Risk with the boys last week. Thanks to the Moodys for introducing me to my new favorite game.

I've been slacking major on the training schedule. After next week I need to get serious and get with the program. The half marathon is a little over a month away, and the half Ironman is only about 3 months away. Jesse's going to be a serious contender at the Buffalo run on Catalina.

Harber weekend in SLC

2007-12-07T13:09:00.001-08:00

We spent last weekend in SLC with the Paul and Nola Harber Family. It was a kicked back weekend just to hang out with everyone. We went out to eat, did some serious shopping and checked out the lights at Temple Square. We were lucky enough to get snow for most of the weekend... It definitely helped to get into the holiday season.

The one bummer was that Southwest lost my bag. We were planning on carrying on our bags until we found out one of the traveling family members had to check their bag. Laura and I decided to check ours since we would have to wait at the baggage claim anyways. All bags made it to SLC but mine. The best part is that I still don't have the bag (as of 12/7/07), and Southwest makes you wait 30 days until they reimburse for anything. I didn't realize how much I had in the sucker until I started to itemize the list. The most missed items in the bag are my running shoes and my heart rate monitor. I can't afford to let 30 days slip by without essential training tools, especially while that sucker Anthony is in the middle of his "eye of the tiger training."

Unfortunately I didn't have my camera for the weekend so not many photos until someone emails me some. I did receive one photo that I loved. I gave my nephew a doughnut at breakfast one morning and he had no problem taking care of it.

The Dirty South, Turkey, and Football

2007-11-28T08:48:00.000-08:00
We had the opportunity to spend Thanksgiving with the Moody's this year in Baton Rouge.

Although the trip was short we did a ton of stuff. First of all the food was great, my favorites were the sweet potatoes and the turkey gumbo. Thanksgiving day we kicked back and then played a game of RISK. Apparently I'm way behind in the times because this was the first time I had played this game. It's probably one of the funnest games I've played. Way better than Monopoly because you attempt to conquer the world instead of just buying properties.

On Friday we went to the LSU game. Most of you know that I'm not a football fan but it was still pretty fun. The LSU fans are crazy for their team; I'm told the tailgating starts the day before the game and they party hard all the way until the game is over. Laura knew that I wasn't super pumped about the game so she said tried to encourage me by telling me that the game would only be a couple of hours long. Just my luck...it went into triple overtime and we were there for almost 5 hours. It did end up being pretty fun overall and even better to watch the fans go nuts; unfortunately LSU lost to Arkansas.

Saturday we checked out the Baton Rouge velodrome that unfortunately had been converted into a BMX park. For those that don't know a velodrome in an oval cycling track with steep banked turns. I thought it was an odd city to have a velodrome built in but I guess it was used for a youth Olympic event. We also visited the State Capital and saw the bullet holes in the granite where Huey Long was shot.

Other misc. activities were trips to Coffee Call for beignets (southern doughnuts...kind of), and a few solid hours logged on the Wii.

Big thanks to the Moody's for the Southern Hospitality and a memorable holiday.

High Altitude Training

2007-11-05T09:24:00.000-08:00

OK it was just a mountain bike trip to Brian Head but being at 10,000 feet is definitely different than riding in Vegas.

We were joined by the Stubbs and the Hanson's (aka Team Sabrosa Cycles). We rode the ORIGINAL Brain Head trail "Dark Hollow," little did we know that the trail had been changed. After a couple of miles down hill we realized that we were on a trail that hadn't been ridden for many moons. It actually turned pretty epic, along with a ton of fallen trees there must have been a huge mud slide that wiped out a good portion of the trail. On top of the trail not being in tip top shape Anthony was having a tough weekend. Not only did he burn a hole in his lung on the first climb, but he damn near ripped his derailleur off his bike. Oh yeah and he also had two gnarly wrecks. I started feeling sorry for his new bike, this was only the second outing for the new pony.

We had great food and the ladies must have played 50 games of Mexican Dominoes. Another good weekend; unfortunately I think it'll be the last without snow at Brian Head.

SEMA SHOW 2007

2007-11-02T05:44:00.000-07:00
Thanks to Jared I was able to get into the SEMA show this year. It's one of the largest car conventions and is typically reserved for buyers of all kinds of auto goods. We spent almost 4 hours there and didn't see even a quarter of what was on display. These were a few of my favorite rides.

Halloween Post

2007-10-31T09:13:00.000-07:00
This awesome clip came from another fellow blogger, and it's perfect for the Halloween post. Be careful if you're letting your kids out tonight, there are too many psychos out there.

Filipino Inmates Perform Thriller

If you're going to watch the video go to the bottom of the page and turn off the backround music.

AZ Machine Gun Shoot

2007-10-26T13:56:00.000-07:00
Last weekend made 5 weekends in a row that I've been out of town. This weekend I went down with Jared, Bob, and Tony to the MG Shooters "The Big Sandy" machine gun shoot in Arizona.

My favorite by far was Bob's CZ 37. Belt fed and fairly accurate. There are only 5 in the US registry and it's blast to shoot.

Basically guys are just hammering with nonstop shooting all day and night. They had tons of stuff to shoot at; sticks of dynamite, 50 gallons barrels, an old jeep, but the best were the remote controlled planes. They even flew the planes at night with glow sticks on them. It was awesome watching guys shoot down a plane at night with tracer rounds.
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This is Jared on his Browning 1919

24 Hours of Moab

2007-10-18T10:31:00.000-07:00
Last Thursday Mr. Ryan Kushman and myself headed to Moab for a 24 hour mountain bike race. We were joined by the other three members of the Sabrosa Cycle Team (John, Delena, and Mark) and a bunch of other cool folks.

The race is started with about a 200 meter run so that racers are not trying to pedal over the top of each other.

Mark coming through the gates into the transition tent.

The race was a blast and we ended up doing pretty well considering 1/2 the team was sickly. We took 5th in our category, and 65 in the overall (about 400 teams total). Much thanks to Sabrosa Cycles and the support crew for all they did.

Ryan and I stayed in Moab for a quick ride Monday morning and then headed back. We decided on the Slick Rock trail since it was Ryan's first trip to Moab. For those that may not know the name is given to the ride because 99% of the course in on sandstone...pretty cool.

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Brian Head Weekend

2007-10-17T01:37:00.000-07:00
So the trip to Brian Head was intended as mountain bike trip (and to listen to conference); mother nature had other plans. It ended up snowing so we pretty much stayed inside and relaxed. There was a heated game of Monopoly, a little Yahtzee, and a lot of Mexican Dominoes. The poor sucker Anthony had even gone down to California to pick up his new bike for this weekend and ended up not being able to ride. For the record this has been the third weekend in a row that was spoiled by the weather.

When the weather did break we got outside for a few games of paintball. I got ruined in every game.

It ended up being a fun weekend. Thanks again to Mr. and Mrs Harber for letting us come up and for the great food.

Ford Ironman 70.3 Oceanside, California

2007-10-09T16:48:00.000-07:00
It's official... I'm registered!

I've debated for the last few weeks about doing the 1/2 Ironman in Oceanside, California. It's a huge jump from doing sprint distance triathlons but I had to just commit and register for the event. I have almost 6 months to prepare myself, and trust me I'll need every day.

1.2 mile swim
56 mile bike
13.1 mile run
If you know Anthony please take the opportunity to let him know how much you would like to see him register for this event. I have attempted to get him to register by a combination of bribery, betting and flattery (trust me he hasn't not registered cause he's scared, this man is a fierce competitor). This obviously hasn't worked so far so see what your persuasion can do.

Kokopelli Traithlon

2007-10-05T06:45:00.000-07:00

The tall man in this photo is the luckiest guy. If you didn't already hear the triathlon was cancelled due to bad weather. We were standing in the water ready to start the swim and the race director called it. Laura and Krista had already started the swim before they called it. Good job to both of them for at least doing the swim.

If you had been following the posts in the last few weeks you would know that Anthony and I had a wager on this race. Everyone should remember that he beat me by 10 minutes on the last race but I was back into fighting shape. Unfortunately there weren't any races that we could both schedule in the immediate future. We've agreed to up the stakes on the bet and register for the 1/2 Ironman in March. The details of the wager haven't been worked out yet but it's going to be huge.

Dear Abby article in the New York Times

2007-09-25T08:01:00.000-07:00
Sorry guys I couldn't resist posting this:

Dear Abby,

My husband is a liar and a cheat. He has cheated on me from the beginning,
and, when I confront him he denies everything. What's worse, everyone knows
that he cheats on me. It is so humiliating.
Also, since he lost his job six years ago, he hasn't even looked for a new
one. All he does all day is smoke cigars, cruise around and B.S. with his
buddies while I have to work to pay the bills.
Since our daughter went away to college he doesn't even pretend to like me
and hints that I may be a lesbian. What should I do?

Signed: Clueless

Dear Clueless,

Grow up and dump him. Good grief, woman. You don't need him anymore.
You're a United States Senator from New York and a Presidential candidate.
Act like one.

Lord of the Flies Weekend

2007-09-24T12:16:00.001-07:00
The trip to Havasupi was one of the best guy weekends I've had in a while. There were dudes in our group from San Francisco, The OC, Phoenix, and of course Vegas. This place is amazing, you hike 10 miles through baron desert and then come to this canyon filled with waterfalls and super lush vegetation (yes I used "vegetation" for lack of a better word). Thanks to Ryan Bunker for the pro photos.

Havasu Falls

The hike down to Beaver Falls

Stubbs cliff jump at Beaver Falls

Mooney Falls (we're on the bottom right)

The Crew
We ended taking the easy way out by taking a helicopter instead of hiking out. From what I hear this is the way to do it anyways. The main reason we took the helicopter out was that Anthony's feet were a bloody mess by the end of the weekend. Maybe Anthony will bring some shoes next time instead of thinking he can backpack 20 miles in sandals. There was a time long ago that it may have worked but the days of your youth are over Anthony, sorry buddy.

Trunk Monkey Compilation

2007-09-20T07:50:00.000-07:00

Catching Up

2007-09-18T07:04:00.000-07:00
The last few weeks has been pretty eventful, unfortunately I haven't been keeping up on the posts. I have a renewed commitment to post at least once a week.

August 31 - September 2

This was the weekend we celebrated the 1 year anniversary and my 29th birthday. We decided to go to Reno for a couple of reasons; it was the weekend that my mom and Eric had the timeshare in Tahoe, and also it was the Reno Rib Cook-off. The place at Tahoe was amazing we kicked back, hung at the pool, and played a ton of tennis. It was great too because we had almost the whole family there (including grandma Joan). Laura and I even got a chance to take a tennis clinic from the club pro. The Rib Cook-off was incredible as always, Eric's company is one of the main sponsors of the event so we had access to the VIP section. Once in the VIP section you can eat all you want of every rib available. I'm sure everyone was as sick as I was when we left.

September 7 - September 9

I was lucky enough to be chosen to be part of the support crew for team Stubbs/Slade in the Logan to Jackson bike race (this is a one day, 206 mile bike race). Anthony and Chad were animals and both had strong finish times. The photo below is one of the most critical moments of the race when a rider went down at Star Valley. Me in the green shirt and Anthony in the black and white, take notice of his blond locks flowing in the wind.

Lucky for other riders Krista and I were there to save the day. We directed traffic and kept the casualties to a minimum. Side note-when the accident actually happened I was in the Star Valley Dairy buying cheese curd (a food of the gods). Krista saw the guy go down and was the first responder. This was just one of the cases that got us to be awarded with the best support team of 2007.

With race ending in Jackson we had a chance to ride the Alpine slides and visit with our good friend Andy that we hadn't seen for years. This was super fun weekend!

September 14 - September 16

Trip to Havasupi - there will be more to follow when I get the photos from the trip.

Good for Judge Moore

2007-08-22T11:58:00.000-07:00
August 22 is the day in 2003 when Alabama chief justice Roy Moore was suspended from the bench for refusing to obey a federal court order to remove a Ten Commandments monument from his courthouse.

It's great that there are still people out there that are not afraid to stand up for what is right.

Sweet Home Alabama

2007-08-02T23:51:00.000-07:00

We had the opportunity to spend last week in Gulf Shores, Alabama for the Moody/Harber/Hoopes family vacation. I admit that I was a little sceptical about the spot but it was a blast.

Dr. Hoopes and I flew into Biloxi, Mississippi on Monday night and then drove about 2 hours to Gulf Shores. We were greeted with a major storm when we landed; I was praying that Katrina wasn't making a coming back. OK maybe I overreacted but we get about an inch of rain in Vegas per year and it was really coming down. We made it safe and met the rest of the crew that had been there since Saturday.

Being in the gulf of Mexico the water was super warm and clear. There were days when there would be little 2-3 foot rollers and then the next day the ocean would look like a lake. The only thing that didn't allow me to totally relax in the water were the jellyfish. Even though the burning sensation passes pretty quick these little suckers hurt. Lucky for us there weren't any stings bad enough that first aid had to be applied on the beach. I question whether or not urinating on the sting will really take away the burn. Sounds to me like a joke that someone played during spring break in Mexico and it just stuck. It would have to hurt pretty bad for me to resort to letting someone pee on me.

Besides hitting the beach we played put-put golf, ate some great seafood, and played at least a hundred hours on the Wii. The other highlight was the local water park. It reminded me of the days at Wet N Wild (with a little redneck flair). I wish I had taken a picture of the rules for the water park; one of them stated that you couldn't wear cutoff jeans on the rides. It was funny to me that enough people were doing it that they had to post it as a rule.

It ended up being a great trip; thanks to the Moodys for setting it up. The Harbers will be looking forward to next year.

New Wager

2007-08-02T23:30:00.000-07:00
I do consider myself a betting man so when it came to the Kokopelli triathlon on St George I didn't hesitate. A friendly wager of dinner at Fleming's is on the line. Now granted the guy I made the bet with beat me by 10 minutes in the last race, but I have come a long way. I'm now closer to my fighting weight of 165, and have been training 4 to 5 days a week.

This is where it gets funny. I was telling my sweet wife about the bet and she asks if Anthony is going to give me a handicap. I looked to see if she was joking and unfortunately she was dead serious. I'm so glad to know that she has so much faith in me. OK maybe she does have a somewhat valid reason to make a comment like this...every time I come back from a ride with the sucker I talk about how I just got ruined. The guy's an animal on the bike.

All I have to say to Anthony is that you better be training hard until September 22 cause I'm gunning for you. Maybe this time I'll sink to your level and cheat with a wetsuit.

Great Quote

2007-07-17T08:30:00.000-07:00
Nothing too exciting to write about lately but I did run across what I thought was a really great quote:

Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.

- Leonardo -

I found the quote to be interesting because the majority of people would think that to be sophisticated one needs to be complex and deep. Maybe this means that I have a shot at being sophisticated some day.

This also reminded me that far too often I find myself getting wrapped up in things that are not important. We could all do ourselves a big favor by stepping back at looking at what is really important overall. It's crazy how fast time goes by; one of my biggest fears it to look back and realize that I was not focused in the right direction.

Time to Fight Back

2007-06-28T09:10:00.000-07:00

One of the joys of road riding is the constant honking by drivers. Someone please let me know if I'm misinformed but I thought bikes were allowed on the street. It seems as thought it especially bad here in Vegas. Yesterday I not only got the honk, but this idiot in an 82 La Baron tried to edge me into the gutter. He had no traffic on his left and I have no idea what caused this guy to do it. Typically I would honor this move with the bird and shout back some friendly words. Unfortunately you can't do this in Vegas anymore, not only will you get run off the road but the driver may decide to shank or shoot you.

Maybe riders in Vegas should ban together and get strapped. I wonder how a jerk driver would feel if I countered his honk with some hot lead. Here's a million dollar idea for someone out there; a jersey with a built-in holster.

I just wish we could all get along (and share the road)!

Red Rock Running Company

2007-06-26T13:20:00.000-07:00

I am by no means a competive runner but I can say that when you're sportin the correct gear it definitly helps. The guys at Red Rock Running Company know how to get it right. When you make a fitting appointtment ask for Eric, Chris, or Mark. After running in the wrong shoes for I don't know 10 years I stopped in this shop to see if they could help with my knee problems. I ran on the treadmill (in the shop) for about 10 seconds and apparently it was obvious.

I know this may seem like a random entry but after running the other day with no pain I realized how big of a difference it has made.

Red Rock Running Company
7350 West Cheyenne
Las Vegas, NV 89129
702-870-4786

Utah Summer Games

2007-06-22T10:37:00.000-07:00
Last weekend I cruised up to St George for a triathlon that was part of the Utah Summer Games. With it only being two weeks since the marathon I planned on just just taking it easy and having a good time (that's my excuses for being slow).

I registered for the sprint distance which is as follows:

700 meter Swim
14 mile Bike
5K Run

The bike and the run I felt pretty comfortable with but the swim nearly killed me. Not only was I not in swimming shape but you wouldn't believe the number of cheaters in wetsuits (excuse # 2 for being slow). My main reason I did this race was that I felt like a hypocrite after pushing Anthony to do the San Diego Marathon. I blame Anthony for pushing my to do this tri.

My finish time: 1 hour 36 minutes

Anthony: 1 hour 24 minutes

Anthony, think about how bad you would have felt if I had drown.

Bend, Oregon

2007-06-18T08:21:00.000-07:00

I'm a little behind on the updates, but better late then never.

The Monday after the marathon we flew up to Portland. It was about a 3 hour drive to Bend but it was very worth it. We passed by Mount Hood and some of the most beautiful country I have seen. Living in the desert really makes a person appreciate the green that that you see in this part of the country.

One of the highlights of the drive was our participation in a police chase. We were passing through this tiny town when we saw a highway patrol car attempting to pull a car over for speeding. The driver slowed down to the speed limit but would not pull over; this went on for 10 to 15 minutes. The highway opened to two lanes in our direction and a driver from behind us passed the cop and the pursued driver. He got himself in front of pursued driver and started to slow down. So being the good citizen that I am I also pulled past the cop and along the side of the pursued driver so that she could not pass. I was thinking that this lady would just slow down at this point but no she flips a U turn into oncoming traffic and heads the opposite direction. The cop obviously flips around and continues to chase her. I felt that we had done our part so we just continued on.

The place we stayed was called Pronghorn, just outside of Bend. I couldn't imagine a better place to recover from the marathon. They had a 36 hole golf course, pool and spa, gym, etc. I have never see a golf course that was so manicured, and some of the most diabolical holes ever conceived. Apparently the course was designed by Jack Nicklaus and he's know for this. For the most part we just hung with the family, it was great.

The other highlight of the trip was getting to see Smith Rocks. This is a very well know climbing spot in the northwest. Unfortunately no climbing to be had on this trip, I was still working on walking without a limp.

It was also on this trip that my nephew Jackson took his first few steps. His dad Travis doesn't want to count these since he wasn't there. Sorry Travis it's just one of the sacrifices of being in medical school. You missed a great vacation and your child's first step.

San Diego Rock & Roll Marathon

2007-06-06T06:50:00.000-07:00
Four months of training, the perfect diet, custom fitted running shoes and my wife still beats me to the finish line. I love having a hardcore wife!

We arrived in San Diego Saturday afternoon just in time to meet part of the crew for lunch. In addition to Quinn and Megan (fellow runners), Baker, Jenny and Matt Jones (spectators) all met up to eat and then headed down to the expo to check in for the race. Anthony and Krista decided to go to Mexico for the afternoon; I figured he was trying to get in a cheap session of blood doping to get an edge on race day. We were just happy to find out they didn't end up in a mexican jail.

The prerace dinner was Thai food at a spot near our hotel. The highlight of dinner was Baker considering running the race with no training under his belt. Correction, he had a couple of 4 mile runs in the last month. This guy has so much heart that he probably could have finished.

The morning of the race was perfect; about 60 degrees and overcast. We started downtown and ran through Petco Park, the Gaslamp Quarter, and the San Diego Harbor. Following the downtown section, the course traveled up Highway 163, and then through the bayside communities, Sea World and ended up at the Marine Corps Recruit Depot in Point Loma.

My main problem was that I waited to long to light the torch, it wasn't until mile 15 that I really tried to step it up; by that time I was already fatigued. Everything else went pretty well until mile 23 that was when I started really feeling the pain. I continued to push with the goal in mind to finish under the 5 hour mark. I ended up finishing strong and was very satisfied with my first marathon.

Official race times:

Laura 4:36:44

Ben 4:51:19

Anthony 4:57:42
.
Kathleen 5:08:20

Quinn 5:10:50

Megan 5:10:51

It felt so good to be done with this race; we now get to rest for the afternoon and then off to Bend, Oregon for a week of vacation.

Memorial Weekend With the Stubbs

2007-05-29T10:26:00.000-07:00

This weekend was pretty epic. Not so much that we did anything super hardcore but we did fit in a ton for a three day weekend.

Friday night we headed out to Lake Mead. Despite being a holiday weekend we got a great camp site on a beach. We had some of the Colonel's original recipe and talked until we ran out of firewood. Another thing that we enjoyed were devil's food cake donuts by Entenmanns. I typically don't enjoy donuts but these things were sweet ecstasy. The lake was great that morning, we got in some wake boarding and some wake surfing. Wake surfing is where you start about 6 or 7 feet of the back of the boat and then when the wake builds up you can let go of the rope and surf the wake. It was a blast!

Around 12 we cleaned up the boat and headed back to Vegas. We regrouped and packed for the second leg of the weekend.

That afternoon we took off for Zion. A quick stop for dinner in St George at Cafe Rio was delicious. We all had the pork in some form. If I remember right Anthony and I had pork burritos and the ladies had pork salads. Much like the Colonel's original recipe, Cafe Rio must have some additive that makes the pork highly addictive.

That night we camped out at a spot right outside of the park for an early start. That early start happened around 9:00 am, I think everyone was pretty tired from the day before. Anyway we got our permit for a slot canyon called Pine Creek, it's a Zion classic. I don't think the pictures do it justice but it is beautiful. When you enter the canyon it fairly narrow, there are sections that it's only wide enough for one person to walk through and the sandstone walls can be well over 100 feet tall. There are different part where you have to rappel and you're in and out of water the whole time. Laura and Krista did great despite the water being absolutely freezing; some of these pools of water never see the sun because the canyon is so deep and narrow.

I was especially proud of my cute little wife for being so brave there are a couple of rappels that could be pretty scary even if you had done it before. The last rappel in particular was the biggest challenge for her. I will admit that while it's 100% safe it can be mentally tough. This last rappel you have to hook onto the rope and then swing out over the edge. By the way it's a 200 foot drop and there's nothing but air under you. This may have been a bit much for her first time ever rappelling. I love her for being so hardcore.

That little dot at the top of the rope is my scared wife. She was frozen there for a bit but she made it down.

That night we made it back to Vegas and slept like zombies. It was obvious that I haven't had a weekend like that in a while because I was beat. Monday we made it to 2 different barbecues which was the perfect end to the Memorial Weekend.

Moments of Doubt

2007-04-30T07:20:00.000-07:00

Last weekend was both fun and painful. Quinn invited me to a buddy's cabin down in Arizona to play paintball. This was the perfect spot to play, 10 acres of tall juniper trees and rolling hills. We has 3 games of 4 on 4, it was a blast. That crazy sucker that's wearing a short sleeve shirt in the picture actually wore it during the game. I think he was trying to prove that he was man enough to take a shot, but welts that he had after the game sure weren't worth it. This was the fun part of the weekend.

(I'm on the bottom right, Quinn Brown top second from the left)

The painful part of the weekend was the long run that Laura and I did. Lucky for me she was having an off day so I was able to keep up. We did 18 miles and I suffered the entire time. I bought Laura a GPS watch that gives her the pace, distance and her heart rate. I would desperately listen for the chime that would go off to mark every mile. You know it's going to be a bad run when you are looking forward to the first mile alarm. It's after a run like this, that I doubt that I will have a strong finish at the marathon. As we finished I thought, "If I had to run another 8 miles could I do it?" My answer was that maybe if my life depended on it. I think I'll be fine, it was just a rough day.

My Wife the Champ

2007-04-22T21:27:00.000-07:00
Not that a ton of people read our blog but just wanted all the dedicated friends to know that we're still kicking.

Laura and I did our long run this weekend together; 15 miles. For those of you that know about our difficultly training together that is a huge surprise. For those of you that don't know I'll try and explain:

The main problem is that Laura is very competitive (and so am I). The other problem is that she is faster than me (for right now). My sweet wife is very subtle about this, but she like to display her abilities when we run together. To be completely honest I get a little insecure when she slowly pulls away and picks up the pace. I hung with her for the most part this weekend but she still finished before me. I am so proud of her for training hard it just sucks that she's stronger than me (for right now). If I'm going to keep up with her at the marathon I have a lot of work to do. Only a little over a month away until the San Diego Marathon!

My advise for the week is to find something to train for, it's great motivation to get yourself in shape.

Cool & the Gang

2007-04-04T16:05:00.000-07:00

Last Friday Laura and I went to see the legendary band " Cool & the Gang". OK maybe not legendary but they had some great hits:

Get Down on It
Celebration
Fresh
Too Hot
Jungle Boogie
Ladies Night

The show was at a fairly small local club, I was surprised that they would play at such a small venue; sounds like times have been better for the band. Anyway it was a good time and the jams were funky.

President's Day Weekend

2007-03-21T14:04:00.000-07:00
I know that I'm back tracking, but I have to make up for the past. This was a fun weekend, and I have to post it even though it was a month ago.

We headed up to Salt Lake on Friday after work. For some reason I really like this drive; it's about 6 hours but feels like 3. We got to Laura's sisters house around 11:00 and stayed up talking until 12:30. The next morning I woke up early and met up with my buddy Matt Gover. We did some ice climbing down in Santaquin Canyon; I hadn't done this for a while and it was a blast (OK, it scared me but I hadn't done it for 4 to 5 years).

This is a 2 pitch climb that we did called Squashhead. It's a classic in Santaquin Canyon.

Saturday afternoon I jammed up to Ogden to see my little sister's basketball game. They beat Sacramento; it was good to see my little sis, mom, and Eric.
The next day I went with Matt down to the San Rafel Swell. This is a awesome place basically in the middle of nowhere. This is home to some of the best desert crack climbing in the west. The whole place is a maze of slot canyons, and sweet desert scenery.

These are few photos of Matt climbing at the first
spot.

There was only one guy from our group that attempted this climb, it looked pretty burly.

The rest of the weekend was spent with Laura's family. She has 3 nephews, 2 of which we played with in the snow. Man they have a lot of energy. The drive back from Salt Lake was pretty hairy. It was a blizzard all the way from SLC past Cedar City. Finally halfway between Cedar and St. George it cleared up. We must had counted 10 cars that had slid off the highway.

Being in Salt Lake made me realize how much I missed it. There is such good access to tons of outdoor sports that I love. But as with many things there are seasons in a person's life and right now Las Vegas is the place I need to be. I did make a promise to Matt to get up to Utah a little more this year and I look forward to it.

Official Race Times

2007-03-21T11:13:00.001-07:00
Yes my wife is faster than me. This is one of those small reasons that I chose her, she is always outdoing me.

Laura Time 2:07:33 Pace 8:30 mins. / mile

Ben Time 2:20:57 Pace 10:46 mins. / mile

She's going to have to train harder, I'm only getting faster and I plan on at least keeping up with her in the San Diego Marathon.

Six Tunnels Half Marathon

2007-03-19T07:46:00.000-07:00

This was a big weekend for the Harbers. It was our first race of many planned this summer. Saturday morning we drove out to Lake Mead for an 8:00 start. It was nice to start in the morning but it wasn't long until it was in the 90s.

The course was staged on an old decommissioned Union Pacific railroad track. We ran through six tunnels where they had to cut through solid rock for the original track (hence the name of the race). The race then continued through the middle of the desert, and at this point it was blazing hot. The course turned into and old fire road that was sand a loose gravel. This made it pretty tough not to mention the 2 mile stretch that was uphill. Laura and I both said that we were glad we didn't notice how steep the course was until the way down. I'm just happy that I heard from many different people that it was a hard course, it kicked my butt.

I will now reveal my race strategy. Laura thinks it's because I got to the start line late, but I say it was purely strategic. I started at the very end of the pack, there might have been 10 people behind me. My start was slow so that I could warm up, and I had to let the pack thin out. After about 20 minutes. I picked up the pace and immediately started passing people that had started too fast. It easy to start too fast when your excited for the race. Because I had started in the rear, all I did the whole race was pass people. This was purely mental for me, every time I passed someone it was as thought I took their soul (Ha Ha) and their energy.

Laura and I both finished faster than we had planned. I will have the official finish times by tomorrow.
We recommend everyone find something to train for otherwise it's hard to get out and exercise. Only 2 1/2 months to the San Diego Marathon!

Back in the Saddle

2007-03-14T20:44:00.000-07:00
I realize that I haven't posted anything for a long while. I had a good friend say that he was constantly checking the blog and that he was disappointed not to see anything new. I then received a threat that if I didn't at least make an effort he would remove me from his favorites list. So here you go, I'm going forward with a new commitment to post at least once a week.

Hello San Diego

2006-10-10T06:12:00.000-07:00

Last Sunday I headed down to sunny San Diego for the Crittenden Mortgage Broker Conference. On the way down I took the I-5 south a little too far south and almost ended up in Mexico, unfortunately Jordan wasn't up for Tijuana. The opening on Monday was very interesting, only about 200 guys, but most were very legitimate. Even though most of them were legit, it was so funny to hear them brag about the deals they had done; probably a lot like old men talking about their last fishing trip. I did expect it to be bigger but after talking with some of the guys I was not disappointed, we will definitely get some good business from this conference.

Just a quick interesting fact from the world renowned news anchor Ron Burgandy, "San Diego is originally translated as meaning The Whales Vagina." I bet most of you didn't know that.

Chicago/London Trip

2006-10-08T21:57:00.000-07:00

The last few weeks have been a blur. Tuesday (9/26) morning I flew out to Chicago for the start of a week long business trip. The city was great, unfortunately I only spent about two days there. The short time in Chicago was to attend "The Money Show" where the focus was networking with registered investment advisers. Despite the short time I did get to check out down town, and sample the deep dish pizza.

The following day we packed up the display booth and shipped off to London. The flight was about 8 hours, and not too bad. We were welcomed to London with rain and bad food. That afternoon we set-up our booth for "The World Money Show." This was Diamond Bay Investments first international showing. The investors (as always) had very interesting questions that made the days go quick. The Brits were extremely opinionated, and had a lot to say about the US. I felt that we had a good response, but many were hesitant about the US real estate market. The spin that UK news reporters put on US news way out there.

This was a shot from the London Eye, it's a huge Farris wheel with capsuls you ride in. Over 400' tall.

The biggest disappointment was the food. I couldn't even find decent fish-&-chips. We didn't have a ton of time but still managed to check out a few sites...Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, The London Eye, and Buckingham Palace. Lucky for Laura I had time to stop at "Harrods" (huge British department store).

After four days in London it was time to head back, this was the part that I dreaded. It was pretty much was the worst thing I have every done. After siting on the runway for 2 1/2 hours the plane finally took off. Because we were late taking off I missed the connection in Chicago. I wasn't able to get out until the next morning, so 24 hours of return travel turned into 36. I was glad to be home, and to see my cute little wife.

Late Night

2006-09-23T03:06:00.000-07:00
It's after 3 am and my cute little wife has been passes out for a solid 3-4 hours. I'm on the Morphy's computer (in the dark) cause I'm still wide awake.
We drove down to Huntington after work today, and made great time. The Bullsharks were over until about 12, and then the party just keep going. It's great to catch up with friends and meet new people. Every time we come down we think about how nice it would be to live down here. I'm thinking it would be worth to give up a few comforts of Las Vegas to live near the beach (and great friends). I have to attempt to get some sleep, breakfast at the "Sugar Shack" will be the first priority in the morning.

Catching Up

2006-09-19T20:30:00.000-07:00
A ton has transpired in the last month...a wedding, the honeymoon, and now marital bliss. Everyone told me that it would fly by and they were right. Thinking back I wish everything would have gone in slow motion so not to miss anything. It could not have been better, the wedding was beautiful and thanks again to everyone that came.

After the wedding in the LDS Las Vegas Temple, and the reception at The Las Vegas Country Club we were off to Kauai. The Grand Hyatt was incredible, and we did tons fun stuff...helicopter tour, snorkeling, catamaran ride up the Nepali coast, kayaking, and yeah lots of fun stuff. It was super hard to come back, but lucky for us we both have jobs we enjoy.

The next couple of weekends were busy as well. My little stud brother's mission farewell, and another reception in Reno. Now that we are finally back it's a matter of getting settled into the house. I don't understand how newlywed people can have so much stuff. We'll get it figured out.

I hope to get some more photos of the past months events soon.

The Beginning

2006-09-19T20:19:00.000-07:00
Big thanks to the Morphys for introducing me to the blog world. Laura and I hope to create something that we can share with everyone, and hopefully everyone will enjoy.