Yesterday we went to Santa Cruz… Seriously, lakefront property in Tahoe, Ski chalet at Deer Valley and the beach house in Santa Cruz.

Well, we are off!

Thought I would share a few updates, and maybe a few pictures of the California trip. This last weekend was super busy. Friday night, we went to the Lehi “Round Up” Rodeo with Ty and Ashley. The weather took a turn for the worse, and about half an hour into it we were soaking wet, and ready to get out of the rain. We headed over to Emmet and Ethels for some cheese fries and dry accommodations.

Saturday, we packed up the Jeep and headed off like a flock of turtles, leaving Salt Lake around 1:00 pm. The goal was just to make it to Reno, knowing that there wasn’t too much scenic on the way. We were surprised with how green the Nevada desert had become. All of the rain in Utah this month has apparently been falling in Nevada too, making for an emerald landscape across the wasteland.

Saturday evening, we pulled into the hotel in Reno, and settled down for a long evening nap.

Sunday was a fun drive. Normally, you get back onto I-80 and roll into California. We decided to take the scenic route, and drive through Lake Tahoe, and then through the El Dorado forest. IT WAS GORGEOUS, and I hope to have a summer lake/winter ski home there someday.

Now, funny story… Melissa was up in the car feeding Rush, and I was kind of wandering around the waters edge. I decided to get my feet wet, so I took off my sandals (didn’t want to drive in wet shoes…) and put the camera/wallet down and walked around. The water was a few feet deep, but there were these huge rocks just below the waters edge that I could walk on. The large rock that is in the preceeding

photo looked like it needed to be climbed on, so I went and jumped on, and rather then making it to the top, I bounced off, and went all the way into the lake. Luckily, the camera was far away and try through this…

I ended up scraping up my leg pretty good, and taking a chunk of skin off my big toe, but ended up being OK.
I got dried off just fine, and we headed into South Lake Tahoe for some lunch. The drive into Sacramento was long and curvy but we enjoyed the landscape. When we got into Sac, it was 105 degrees. I wasn’t sure the car was going to make it, but some after some fierce Sunday traffic, we made it into Fremont in time for dinner at the Bain house.

Monday was a lazy day, and today (Tuesday) we are headed down to Santa Cruz to see my cousin Sam, and maybe hit up Mavericks and Half Moon Bay.

Fun trip!

This is Jake.

My name is in the title too, so I figure I can post here once in a while…

We had our ward Fathers and Sons last weekend and I was reluctant to go, but ended up having a great time. Made some new friends, and ate some great food. Emphasis on the great food. Just three doors down, lives a Dave Clawson who is a professional dutch oven chef, and he brought the works for the ward. Friday night he prepared brownies, cakes, coblers, and lots of good food for everyone to enjoy.

Saturday morning, I helped prepare our “Man Hash”. Basic recipe here:

• Onions
• Peppers
• Bacon
• Suasage
• Potatoes
• Eggs
• Cream of Mushroom Soup
• Cheese
• Mushrooms

Toss that all in a dutch oven and get excited for an awesome breakfast.

After breakfast, we cleaned up, and headed back home. Along the way I stopped at a marker for the Pony Express.

And then drove up a mountain at Five Mile Pass.

Had a great time playing around!

From the LDS church:

Throughout history, the Lord has commanded His people to build temples. Temples are literally houses of the Lord. They are holy places of worship where individuals make sacred promises with God.

In response to HBO’s recent decision the Church has again shared this video along with the following request: “Please consider posting this video to your Facebook profile, blog, or personal website and/or sharing it directly with family and friends”.

I have seen a lot of people hopping on bandwagons, spreading emails about boycotting HBO, and other similar things. The Church has taken an official stand on the matter, and that simply, is do nothing. From LDS.org

Certainly Church members are offended when their most sacred practices are misrepresented or presented without context or understanding. Last week some Church members began e-mail chains calling for cancellations of subscriptions to AOL, which, like HBO, is owned by Time Warner. Certainly such a boycott by hundreds of thousands of computer-savvy Latter-day Saints could have an economic impact on the company. Individual Latter-day Saints have the right to take such actions if they choose.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as an institution does not call for boycotts. Such a step would simply generate the kind of controversy that the media loves and in the end would increase audiences for the series. As Elder M. Russell Ballard and Elder Robert D. Hales of the Council of the Twelve Apostles have both said recently, when expressing themselves in the public arena, Latter-day Saints should conduct themselves with dignity and thoughtfulness.

Not only is this the model that Jesus Christ taught and demonstrated in his own life, but it also reflects the reality of the strength and maturity of Church members today. As someone recently said, “This isn’t 1830, and there aren’t just six of us anymore.” In other words, with a global membership of thirteen and a half million there is no need to feel defensive when the Church is moving forward so rapidly. The Church’s strength is in its faithful members in 170-plus countries, and there is no evidence that extreme misrepresentations in the media that appeal only to a narrow audience have any long-term negative effect on the Church.

I am proud and happy to announce Rushton Ray Spurlock.
Quick Stats, 7 lbs, 3 ozs. 19 inches long.

Who doesn’t like lists…

1. When I get out of the shower, and I forget to bring a towel, she is there for me.
2. Dishes. Being. Done.
3. Reasonable bedtime. See here.
4. The smell of her hair, even after a long day…
5. Sharing drinks.

The list could go on, but I am tired, and looking for #3 pretty sternly. Two more sleeps.

In the odd chance that you are driving down Lehi Main street, looking for a song to play when the sun is setting, wanting to shout at the top of your lungs, here is one of my favorite Billy Joel songs.

Scenes From An Italian Resteraunt – Billy Joel

1. Drink all of her Diet Cherry Coke
2. Clean the house, maybe.
3. Go see Indy.
4. Go see Speed Racer.
5. Get a cat.
6. Buy things for myself that she might want to get for me for Fathers Day.
7. Play Carcassonne by myself. (I would prefer people to play it with, just don’t know who would want to do that…)

That about sums it up. Any other suggestions?