Monday, June 26, 2006

To the moon and back....


Kudos to those who know why I used the title for this blog. If you don't check out the children's book "Guess How Much I Love You" by Sam McBratney and illustrated by Anita Jeram

Rachael and I were married on June 26, 2004. Today we are celebrating our 2nd anniversary! I am so blessed to have Rachael and I can't imagine what my life would be like without her. She embodies Prov 31:10-31. She is so supportive of my ministry and is often times working with the youth right alongside me. We've laughed, cried, and dreamed together, and all I can do is simply thank God for her.

For Rachael,

I love you without knowing how, or when, or from where
I love you straightforwardly without complexities or pride so I love you because I know no other way than this:
Where I does not exist, nor you
So close that your hand on my chest is my hand
So close that your eyes close as I fall asleep

Wednesday, June 14, 2006

gone to the dark side...

So I have to admit something...

I have never really liked soccer. I have heard Chad and Jake talk about it like it is the greatest thing in the world but I just couldn't get into it. All the low scoring and ties. It just seemed to slow moving for me to get into it.

until...

World Cup 2006 hit huge! Even though the U.S. got spanked in their opening match, it has been a blast watching the games that I have seen. I actually wanted/got to sit down and watch the first half of Brazil vs. Croatia and I was into it. Soccer has the great ability to get you involved because you don't know if each play is going to work or be stopped by some great feat of athleticism. So here it is....I'm hooked. No longer the ignorant american, my hat is off to you, soccer/futbol. I guess you are #1 sport in the world for a reason. Just call me darth. American Football is still my #1 sport but I think there could be room to start watching/playing another.

Tuesday, June 06, 2006

Denver Part 2 - The rest of the story

Mile freakin High...need I say more?

Party on Wayne...Party on Garth (Zach and I gettin' our mullet on)

Rachael, Zach and I at the Denver Aquarium

Riding a 4 person bicycle at the Denver Aquarium

A tiger, a creepy green eel, a diver with turtle above (for me to poop on), Zach with a horseshoe crab, another tiger, and the un-manned 4 person bike...all at the Denver Aquarium. That place rocks!

Some street performers on 16th street downtown....The statue lady really scared Zach! She moved right as he was right in front of her...he thought she was a real statue! The froed out robot was a riot to watch.

We went to Denver with the whole Robbins clan and Mike York for a seminar on finances. We took Saturday and Sunday and decided to hang out in Denver. We went to the aquarium and found out that they had changed it around quite a bit since I had been there last. We rode the bicycle built for four and quickly found that it is difficult to coordinate that many people with a pedaling rhythm. We then headed inside to check out all the wildlife. We came up on the big shark tank right as it was feeding time for the smaller fish in the tank. Divers emptied two nalgene bottles of grub and then started looking for shark teeth on the bottom of the tank.

After the aquarium we decided to drive by Invesco/Mile High to see if we could take a tour. We found out that they were holding a Fan Fair and that for $15 we could get into the stadium and meet players and coaches (see previous blog). We decided to do that on Sunday and headed downtown to eat at the Cheesecake Factory. Rachael and I had some awesome pasta and we split between the four of us...Godiva Chocolate cheesecake and fresh strawberry cheesecake. I'm drooling just thinking about it.

We walked up around the 16th street mall and I came to this observation...Denver has culture! Salt Lake has culture as well...boring! There were street performers playing music, dressed up in all sorts of crazy costumes, and people actually hanging out downtown. It was cool to see. A lady was dressed up to look exactly like a statue...she even held completley still. Zach walked right up to her to see the statue and she moved into a different pose. Zach turned into a Denver Broncos lineman as he pushed a man three times his size to the side as he ducked and ran away.

We then headed to the Denver Museum of Nature and Science to see an exhibition called Body Worlds 2. (www.bodyworlds.com) here is an example of what you can expect to see at a Body Worlds exhibit:

I have edited the image...so if you are wondering what is under the black box...don't...trust me...you don't want to see it. I won't lie, I was a little creeped out looking at all the randomly placed humanity. It did, however, remind me that our bodies are awesome! God is truly amazing as evidenced by His creation. Wow!

We ate dinner at a mexican food restaurant and I had to console Jordan as Holly wasn't there with him (see picture above). If you are ever in Denver and are looking for some good Mexican food...go to Jack N' Grill on Federal and 25th ave. It was awesome! They use New Mexico chile! My lips were burning which is a good thing. We stuffed ourselves and resolved to never eat again....or at least hit the treadmill and do a few sit-ups...

On Sunday we checked out of our hotel and headed to Invesco. It was awesome to see the players up close and personal. You can see our blog below for some more info on the Fan Fair. Here is Zach getting an autograph from Willie Middlebrooks.

All in all our trip to Denver was great! I am jealous of Gino-Dean, whom I totally forgot was in Denver, who gets to experience this on an everyday basis. You are lucky bro! I'll be back to Denver soon enough for a Broncos game. Who's down for Indy vs. Denver on 10/29/06? Let's get tickets!

Monday, June 05, 2006

Denver Part 1 - Meeting Barrel Man



Hey everyone....

Rachael and I just got back from Denver! I'll have a ton more pictures soon but I wanted to share this with you guys. If you are a Denver Broncos fan you know how cool this picture really is.

We found out about a the Fan Fair at Invesco while we were there. There were a ton of players and coaches that were there including John Lynch, Willie Middlebrooks, Dwayne Carswell, and Rod Smith. We got to Invesco/Mile High Stadium right as it opened and quickly found ourselves with lines waiting to get autographs from the players. We didn't wait in the lines but instead played blackout bingo lead by two new Broncos. The prize was two tickets to a regular season game. I was so close (only two squares away) but so far away when someone called out bingo and won the tickets....but it was fun anyway.

That leads me to the picture. For those of you who don't know...Barrel Man is the most hardcore Broncos fan ever. The guy wears just a barrel to games (even in the cold) and has become a staple at Mile High. The Broncos give this guy free season tickets and have fashioned a bobble head in his likeness. How cool is that?

I will soon post part 2 of our Denver adventure. Including our experience at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science....pictures to come!