The Japanese don't need Saki...they've got Human Tetris!

EXCELLENT! My favorite: the group of four that don't even come close to making it! Next they should have elimination rounds where they speed up the platform shapes...

Leslie & Alex's Wedding -- Monterrey, Mexico

Les and Alex decided to have a destination wedding. Well, at least a destination for all of us. (They will be making Monterrey Mexico their new home.) And so we came. That was some party, Latin-style. As you can see Leslie was a beautiful bride and the wedding was just perfect. The girls gathered and... as you can see, some are married, some not. Some are pregnant, some not. With all our different, busy lives, it was nice to get together and celebrate this happy occasion with Alex and Leslie Esparza! Felicitaciones! :)

My Adorable Family

The end of July -- a hot month in Utah. The month my family picks to gather round and have a little reunion. So hot, in fact, that my niece Anna can't decide which will help her stay more cool -- playing pearl diver, dancer, or dolphin trainer. (Just look at her face! That kid is always cracking me up!)

She's got to stay on her toes in order to survive with these 2 crazies as her older brothers. This shot was taken right after Nick (black t-shirt) gave Corbin (blue shirt) a noogie. The girls can usually get away from the boys if they put on a "dance concert" to some music that their brothers (and grandpa) really hate, i.e. Barbara Streisand. Imagine these 3 little cuties dancing around the living room in their ballerina outfits to Babs. Yeah... all the boys left. :)
We had hours of fun at the waterpark (baking) all day Saturday, with over 50 cousins from the Perkins side. It was life-guarding duty all the time for Aunt Kristie. But, how could you not want to jump in with the kiddies when they are so dang cute!?

On Sunday, we got to see Conner James, the oldest grandchild, (who was just ordained a deacon) pass the sacrament! I can't believe my little sister Lori has a 12 yr. old!!! He did such a great job, and he takes his responsibility very seriously. Conner is a great kid, a help to his mother, and great example to all the rest of our family. His younger brothers and sisters all look up to him and even his baby cousin, Alaina, lets him hold her. It's official. I love my family. :)

Michael Bublé -- Will you marry me?

Is this man still single? Pretty much... if he sang to me, I'd do anything he asked. *grin*
O.K. so this video is dumb, but you gotta love this guy for his voice. I want to be the mic he's dancing with! ;)

Sequoia Nat'l Forrest

Two weekends ago, I made the four-hour trek from Sacto south, to meet my old L.A. friends in Sequoia for a weekend backpacking extravaganza. I had just finished up with third round interviews for next year's position, and was exhausted. Tired or not, waterlogged or not, my L.A. compadres wanted to meet in Three Kings, make the one-hour windy drive to Mineral King (clandestine style, so as not to pay the rangers) and hike the 3.5 miles in to Mosquito Lake #1. I needed to make a pit-stop around Fresno area, but John said, "Sorry, just put on a diaper and keep drivin' -- we're burning daylight." Awesome, huh?

Yes, we did start our evening hike at around 10:30p.m. after a couple slices of greasy pizza. This is what the trail looked like at night, minus the AMAZING stars that seemed to light the night on fire. *sigh* At mile 1.5, we saw headlamps down the trail in heavy pursuit. It was then that the lie was hatched. We decided that we'd be visiting French hikers that were on the way to our designated campsite. (John's mission days to France would come in handy, and yet, how sad that we'd be using it to LIE!) :) Somewhere around 3:00a.m., after getting off the trail a couple of times, we somehow stumbled on Mosquito Lake #1. We found flat ground, put up tents, loaded the bear cannisters, and fell over into bags. How tired is Whitney? Did her legs fall off?





The next day, we set out to find the other three Mosquito Lakes. This required some bouldering. FUN. Since I forgot my swimsuit and I didn't want to skinnydip in mixed company, I watched Whitney, Joel, and John swim out the island and take turns diving off. Look how funny Joel's "no-arm" dive looks. (That was in honor of his wife, Natalie, who we all missed dearly on this trip.)

The trek out provided some of the most beautiful views of the Sequoias yet. If the boys didn't think we'd mock them, I'm sure they'd have frolicked through these fields of wildflowers singing "The Hills are alive...." Instead, we got to watch Joel get eaten alive by all the mosquitos in the world. I suppose that itching, or the layer of dirt & grime was the reason for the head dunking contest in the river that was proably 10 degrees. (I think John won. He might still be suffering from slurred speech.)

Upon our exit from Mineral King, we were pleased to see that Sarah's reliable Sub-y-ru chariot had NOT been eaten through by the marmots. AWESOME!

Singing Johnny Cash all the way home was certainly a highlight. Amongst the L.A. crowd, for years now, Yosemite/Half Dome Kamp Krusty has been the annual tradition. Should the semi-annual be Sequoia? Why not? :) Thanks friends!

My Mensa Friends

Know Your Presidents - The best bloopers are a click away Did you know that the word "Mensa" means "table" in Latin? The name stands for a round-table society, where race, color, creed, national origin, age, politics, educational or social background are irrelevant. The only classification that matters in this society is intelligence. Mensans range in age from 4 to 94, (see genius baby video), but most are between 20 and 60. In education they range from preschoolers to high school dropouts to people with multiple doctorates. There are Mensans on welfare and Mensans who are millionaires. As far as occupations, the range is staggering. Mensa has professors and truck drivers, scientists and firefighters, computer programmers and farmers, artists, military people, musicians, laborers, police officers, glassblowers--the diverse list goes on and on. I have decided, in my 37 years of life on this earth, that I know (personally) about 8 certified geniuses. I can't count Hugh Nibley, because I only sat in on a lecture, and have read his work, but never met him in person. These 8 acquaintances of mine collectively hold more than a dozen advanced degrees from prestigious universities in fields of study ranging from law, langauge, and music, to engineering, rocket science, and nuclear physics.


Last weekend I was out on the Sacramento Delta, wakeboarding. There was a moment in choppy waters when the boat owner made reference to the possibility of cavitation within his engine. Kristie's response? "Cavi-what?" Oh well. Engineer, I am most certainly not. I am, however, a very naturally curious person, and I spent Saturday evening reading up on cavitation as it pertains to the Bernoulli principle. Ahhh, I love to learn about things I've never heard about! It really does make me happy! So... let's see... for those of you reading this posting, what can you tell me about cavitation as it pertains to Bernoulli's principle? Here, I'll give you a little hint (see picture below), but you can't cheat and go look it up. If you think you might be a Mensa candidate, or, perhaps, you took college physics, post a comment, and we'll see who our newest Mensa member is!

A cruel summer, indeed!

O.K. These are, quite possibly, the 3 worst coiffed/dressed women in history! Seriously, did they have a stylist? It's funny how teens fall prey to every trend, no matter how AWFUL it may look. Although I can't scare up a picture to prove it, I am embarrassed to admit that I owned one of those disgusting "Units" outfits, complete with matching jelly shoes and bracelets. My thought: Where were the fashion police in the 80's, or at the very least, the folks from "What Not To Wear"?