"I Love You"

Why are the simple words 'I love you' so nice to hear?Almost always, the feelings behind these simple words is expected and often times anticipated; however, there is a sweet, overwhelming feeling incurred by these straightforward words. No matter how anticipated they are, these words satisfy something deep in the soul, a feeling that seems only possible in fairy tales. As I have matured, these words have gained significant meaning. The only feelings I can recall that correspond with those aroused by these words are those I felt as a missionary, bringing souls unto Christ and seeing others accept the invitation of the Lord, Christ, to come unto Him. Maybe that is why we call charity the pure love of Christ. As we bringourselves and others tosalvation, we develop charity and experience those feelings associated with it, the very feelings endured upon hearing those beautiful words. Recently, I was address with these three simple words by a dear loved one, how my bosom swelled with joy, how I felt important, how I felt truly loved. I felt a literal swelling in my heart. How I adore those three exquisite words, 'I Love You.'

Another Tribute: Becca

Every year on the 21^st day of July, I have the privilege to commemorate the coming into this world of my little sister Rebecca, Becca for short. Becca is amazing. She has taught me so much. She is the only reason I can say that I know the meaning and have been to a regatta. Last year Rebecca was the player of the year on Langley High School’s crew team. She amazes me that she’s such a good rower. I recall as a young whippersnapper, my brothers and I went to the Ashburn pavilion, a swimming pool and work out facility. We decided to try the ergometers, also a vocabulary word learned due to my sister, because we thought they looked cool. Oh how my back ached after using that machine! How I regretted having used it! (In all reality, I did enjoyed using it but truth be spoken, it was one of the harder work outs I had ever done.) How surprised I was when I came home from college one day to see a real ergometer in our basement! ‘What was it doing there?’ ‘Where did it come from?’ and ‘How did it get there?’ all raced through my mind at the same time. As it so happened to be, it was the schools. Becca got it on loan to further her training. What dedication she had to her newfound joy.

First one to Greet me from the Brazil

Becca has always had a soft spoken but strong personality. I have been impressed over the years how much Becca puts up with. With five older brothers, she has been the victim to a lot of injustice including but not limited to my barbarisms, brutalities, and balky behaviors. She is a true example of humility.

She's Beautiful

Another thing that sets Becca apart from the majority, i.e. all, of my family, is that Becca is undeniably the most into graffiti. I sent two years of my life living within the graffiti covered walls of Brazil as a Latter-day Saint missionary. Throughout my time as a missionary, I came to not only appreciate but also love the expressive art behind good, wholesome graffiti. I do not wish to promote the illicit behavior of tagging but I intend to speak of the art form of graffiti and its style of art. I find it beautiful when properly done (this includes permission). Rebecca and her friend graffitied her bedroom. It was a very cool and innovated bedroom look.

In conclusion, I wish to express my gratitude for my younger sister. I love her and wish I could be closer to her, not only in distance but also in bond. I am proud of her and will only admit this once, I think she’s taller than I am. Today she turns 16 and can now officially ‘date’ under our standards. I, therefore, ‘can not’ get mad at her dating; however, if you are reading this and get any ideas, you better beware… As she is my younger sister and is leaving the pre-dating world, I would like to have fun by reminiscing with an old childhood practice, acrostic poems.

First Time Driving!

Mom, Ignore These Last Two Photos

Rower

Excellent

Beautiful

Empathetic

Caring

Can’t believe there’s another C, wish she was here to help because she’s so much more Creative than I am

Awesome Sister

Pants Club

Yesterday I joined the ranks with the Rip Your Favorite Pair of Pants Biking Club. This club has existed for sometime. Legend has it that it has been around since the creation of bicycles, back in the early 1800’s. Baron Karl von Drais is said to have officially started the club in Mannheim in 1818, the year after he publicly displayed his invention. The Parisian guild, which led to membership worldwide, was instated in summer of 1820 when Drais looked for greater and a more diverse support group.

I was first introduced to this club in late May this very year. My friends and I planned a wondrous trip down to a little city called Moab, located on the desert flats of eastern Utah. For those who don’t know Moab is a wonderland for those outdoor inclined people and for all that is good in the world. She is known for her camping, hiking, mountain biking, and off-roading. One of our friends Aubrey was graduating from Brigham Young University and planning on taking a job in New York City working for the National Basketball Association. Aubrey, who happens to be the most outdoor savvy of all our friends, had never been to Moab.

Maybe not the most savvy, but pretty savvy...

So naturally, as a going away present for our dear friend Aubrey, my roommate, Greg, and I set out to plan a trip to Moab. As Moab is a Mecca for mountain bikers, we decided to attempt the most famous mountain bike trail in the world, Slickrock Trail, and this is where our story begins.

Slickrock Trail is known for her unforgiving uphill climbs, her duplicitous downhill descents, her beautiful bends, her ridged rock formations. My favorite part of the trail is Swiss cheese ridge, a beautiful, relaxing straightaway, for a lack of a better word. Although this section is still challenging, it is possible to get a fair amount of speed climbing and descend the various prominences. Technical skills are required but this section is relatively easy physically. The trail starts in a parking lot and continues roughly two and a half miles until you reach the ‘main loop,’ a section about six miles in length. As Greg would come to testify, the placement of first two miles has no representation of its difficulty. Although the downhill portions seem most dangerous, as you get the maximum amount of speed and appear to have least control over your bike, Greg would soon come to realize the perfidious uphill ascents pose an equally dangerous threat, one of a different nature. As Greg followed me up a particular hill, he placed too much weight backwards and proceeded to pop a wheelie. As he slipped off the rear of his new bicycle, his seat catch hold of his Oakton lacrosse shorts. The pressure and momentum of his body was too much for the frail material and continued to tear his most prized possession literally from his body. These weren’t any pair of lacrosse shorts; these were the practice shorts that had led Oakton High School to an impeccable season, winning the Virginia State Lacrosse Championship and warranting Greg one of two enormous state championship rings. Greg was heartbroken but in that small moment he sacrificed a small token for a greater good, to enter into a greater cause, to get a greater purpose in life, to join a high rank amongst that very club named after those who have sacrificed and lost their very britches in the line of duty.

This was my first exposure to this elite league of gentlemen and ladies bounded together by a similar experience. At first, I admit that I laughed at my friend Greg and was glad to be excluded from their ranks. However, with time I would come to realize the importance of this fraternity in every young bikers life. It was yesterday that I fully comprehended the impact of this association. I went with my mountain biking class to Midway, Utah, situated in the foothills of the Wasatch mountain range near Heber, Utah with the intention to ride at the Dutch Hollow bike trial. After a hard ride through the Enchanted Forest, Boneyard Trail, and the 1000 Turns of death, we leveled off on a flat piece of trail called Aqueduct Trail.

It was an easy and fun straightway conducing to good speed. Everything was going fine but a split second would usher me into the previously mentioned institution. For a nanosecond I looked over the edge of the trail that led to the 100-foot fall over a 60 to 70 degree descent. As I diverted my attention from the trail to the enormous fall by my side, my foot catch hold of something, most likely a root or rock, off the side of the trail, which sent me, flying off the trial. In an entanglement of body and bicycle, I tried to stand up; however, something would not allow me to actually stand up. Every time I tried, my foot just slipped down. Quickly I realized that I was on an incredibly steep hillside and need to be careful where I placed my feet.

As I hurried to avoid being seen by anyone in my class, Grant came around the corner. “Are you okay?” “Yeah, I’m fine,” I responded, as all men would independent of the severity of the fall. “How did you stop from falling all the way down?” As I looked back, I realized that I was incredibly lucky that I hit the only four inches of flat land on the hillside and miraculously stopped. “Did you rip your shorts?” Of course my pants already had two one inch holes in the front so I ignored the comment as I wiped off my dirty hands and legs. It wasn’t until we returned to the parking lot that I realized that I had really ripped my pants. There was a six-inch rip straight across, accentuating the bottom of my left gluteus.

Today was my day. I had finally ascended the ranks and could finally call myself a member of those glitterati.

A Tribute

Today I realized how much I miss my older sister, Jessica. She’s such a good example. She’s amazing. She’s the oldest child and the first to serve a mission. She’s the only sibling married and has two wonderful children. There are several reasons that I miss my sister but themain reason is that she is just awesome! It seems like every time I talk to her, she has a new fun project that she’s doing. She quilts, she sows, she does everything.

Next, she’s amazingly fit. Irecall coming back from my mission, during which she had her first child, and if I hadn’t know that it was her child, I would’ve thought she adopted because she was as skinny as ever. In the fall, we did a sprint triathlon in Vegas together and I recall Jessica having so much energy that not only did she do the whole triathlon but she did extra!

Next, Jessica has the cutest kids ever! Now when I show pictures of my niece, I almost feel like I’m being boastful because I do notthink any other babies even compare to her. Teagan, Jessica’s daughter, is the cutest, most adorable kid I have ever seen. She’s fun to talk to, she’s cute as can be, AND she gives wet willies. What’s cooler than that?

Who'd have thought she'd give wet willies?

She really is a doll though!

Jessica is also, an amazing cook. When she returned from her mission from Thailand, she cooked the best dish ever, sticky rice. It was the sweetest thing that had ever touched my tongue. It was heavenly. She cooked an amazing Thanksgiving dinner this last year (if you get invited, don’t bring your laptop…her husband isn’t as great as she is…(inside joke, he's alright)).

In summary, Jessica is the best. As a youngster, she was an example for me to go on a mission, to be a better person, and to broaden my horizons. Today nothing has changed. She continues to amaze me and motivate me to be better. We’d all be lucky if we could find more friends like her! Love you and miss you Jessica!

Repulsive Attraction

Why does it always appear that you're interested in things you can't have? Women who aren't interested, cars that aren't affordable, luxuries that are out of the question. For me, the chase is attracting, it's tantalizing, it drives me closer. It is easier and sometime more enjoyable to flirt with someone who isn't interested. There is nothing to lose or to be ashamed about when being rejected. This seems independent of your likes and your feelings of the person. Not that it's not completely independent, but as my brother puts it best, if a person is above the line, then circumstances can change your level of attraction. I do not wish to suggest that just because someone isn't interested that this brings interest and attraction. I do not believe this in the slightest. I do, however, want to suggest that with a minimal level of friendship someone's dislike can easily spark the other's interest.

A Realization

This week was marked with true love. A college student full of smit (i.e. smitten). Amongst the mundane looks of others, nothing compares to her beauty. A hidden gem, love at first sight, an earthly ecstasy. As King Ahasuerus replaced his previous engagement with his new love, I too have been persuaded by unimaginable beauty, indescribable grace. Due to this inconceivable beauty, I have set aside my preconception and fallen victim to love…

Utah valley is known for its lackluster lands, its dull desert flats, its monotonous mountains. It is not know for its luscious lands, its fertile fields, nor its crowed city life. However, amongst the gloomy desert flats of mid Utah, exists a small place called the Uinta National Forest, a Garden of Eden amongst the dark and dreary world, a paradise set aside in the mountains, a monument of the sweet Lord’s hand. Fertile forests, clear creeks, robust reservoirs, towering trees. A hidden gem, love at first sight, an earthly ecstasy. No place compares with her beauty. As King Ahauerus, I too have been infatuated by beauty, beauty of a different kind, beauty nonetheless.