ThunderBirds

I took off part of last Saturday(had to give up 6 hours pay and have been working since to get it back but it was worth it) to take Tiff and the boys up to Hill Airforce Base for the last day of Airforce week. I know what most of you are thinking, "Paul is one of those nerdy pilot dudes that loves everything to do with airplanes" and you are correct about the nerd part but as far as planes go I don't really go nutz over them. I didn't grow up wanting to be a pilot and I would much rather be kayaking than flying. That said, you don't have to like airplanes or even have a remote interest in aviation to enjoy watching the Thunderbirds. The Airshow was all day on Saturday but that is way too long to hang around with all the aviation goons. So we went to a Bbq with some other pilot friends and their families and let the kids play and then went to HAFB around 2:30 for the Thunderbirds show. There were around 25 million people there but we found a nice open area on the ramp for the kids to run and play and we settled in for the show. Unfortunately there is about an hour of pomp and circumstance crap before they fly but once the T-birds are airborne no eye leaves the sky. After the first pass Tiff was in awe, Noah had a huge smile on his face and Max just kept saying "Dad, dhoes panes ar SOOOOO past" all things considered the weather was great and the show was awesome and I had about as good a time as I can have around that many people.

Tiff, Max, Noah, and Tyler Lountzenhiser, and Tylers mom Karen walking out of the Picture. Tylers dad Bob and I went to flight school together. The plane is a C-130 Hercules.

looking up the afterburner of an F-18 hornet

Military Transport

C-5 Galaxy
This thing is, in your best scottish accent "friggin yuge"

Headed into the back of the C-5
The nose opens up too and you could drive greyhound buses through there.

click to enlarge this one and see if you can find the "problem" in this picture
then get a fork and gouge your eyes out!

Bob (byu hat) and Brett Wilson(another flight shcool friend) standing in front of the C-5 and thinking they are hilarious as they sign me up for the Air Force. The recruiter is just out of the photo.

F-16 Thunderbird on a low pass

Thunderbirds

Yeah, I can do that.

One of these things is not like the others,
one of these kids is doing his own thing!

All 6 F-16 Thunderbirds and the Wasatch

The view from where we were.

These 3 smiles are what made the day for me!

And that is it, I took about 250 pictures but I won't bore you with anymore. We all had a great time. If you ever have the chance to see the Thunderbirds I highly recommend you do it.

Boys, boats, dogs and dirt

Took the boys and the big black dog to swazeys for the weekend, well actually just for Thurs Fri as I had to work saturday. Grumma Nancy and Pocca Rick came down for the evening. Here are the picts. Oh and bytheway, the saying is "Leaves of 3, Let it be" Someday I will learn.

OK this one is from a few weeks ago on the Bridal Veil section of the Provo. Just had to prove that the new biscuit is being used. And yes, that is a mustache. Unfortunately it is Mustache May! It's not an easy month.

Boys and Boats. This is why Noah is named Noah and Max is Maxwell Waters

One tired waterdog. She chased a stick in and out of the river till I just could not throw it anymore.

Grumma Nancy and her Boys


Me and My Dog

Beauty and the Biscuit.

Boat Bouncing Boys

Camp at Swazeys, Tiff noticed right away that from this angle Gunnison Butte bears a striking resemblance to a .....


Not sure what dad is up to in this picture but he looks to have stolen some cookies.

Max and his first love.

For the love of all things good and Holy

Just for your info about 2 months ago a dude in South America drop a 127 ft waterfall and thereby set a new world record. There was however, a lot of controversy surrounding his accomplishment and the video plainly showed him going in upside down and then he just magically appeared on the shore carrying his boat. No one saw him land and if you come out of your boat it doesn't count as a record. So to put the controversy to bed, this dude Tyler Bradt just went ahead and dropped a 186 footer. Enough talk, just watch the damn video.

Spring dun did sprung!

The Ice has melted!!

The Flowers have bloomed.


The boys and the dog have all been walked,


The rivers are raging,

and most importantly, my new baby is here and getting used!!!!!
yes, I do fit
Tomorrow Tiff and I are hosting the second annual
B to the 8th
that's
Bridalveil,Boats, Boards, Bbq, Beer, Burgers, Brats(weiners) Brats(children)
it's a paddlefest on the bridalveil falls stretch of the Provo followed by a bbq for any and all local paddlers. Then after we're gonna longboard down the provo river trail in the dark and scare all the BYU zoobies trying to cop a feel without the Bishop knowing. Should have some photos of the new boat in the water after that, hopefully not upside down.

Dheres Dhosts!!!

"I see dead, orange people"

Since the day Tiff and I moved into this house everyone has taken great delight in trying to scare me into believing the place is haunted. And maybe it is. There was the night that I was on the river and Michelle slept over with Tiff when we were first married. They laid in bed talking about how Grandma Golda used to tell Michelle that if she wasn't good she would come back to haunt her, and just as they talked about it the window in our room that was almost impossible to open and close, just happened to slam shut!!
So with that in mind,
Last night I was upstairs getting some stuff together to go kayaking tomorrow. Tiff was in our room reading to the boys and Max decided to come up and help me. He loaded up some of my stuff and then....
with the upstairs hall light burned out,
he stands in the doorway
puts one hand on the door frame and stands on one foot while holding the other foot up on tippytoe and gently wiggling his hip back and forth,
He says,
in his most matter of fact way, and
in an utterly amazing little girl from Poltergeist impersonation,
"Daaaaaad, dheres dhosts."
Me: WHAT?
Max: "Dheres Dhosts."
Me: Ghosts?
Max: Yep, dheres dhosts
Me: Where are the Ghosts?
Max: Ummm, dhere ouside.
Me: OOOOOK, lets go down stairs and have mommy tell us why we celebrate Easter!!!

I was just waiting for his head to start spinning around like in "The Exorcist"
Tiff an I have been laughing our heads off about it today , in the daylight!
It wasn't so funny last night in the dark!

WOW!!!!!

I Love kayaking but I gotta say that I am glad that this picture is NOT me!
That dude is about to enter a brave new world of Pain!

My New Baby is in the oven!!!!!

It's a GIRL!!!!!

Here are a few of her stats so far.
6'3" long, 26" wide, and 34Lbs
She's going to be either Red or Yellow
She is currently in the oven and should be arriving at home on April 1st
Her Name is Biscuit, and she is beautiful!
here are the first pictures of my new baby!
I am One proud Papa!