Last night my Dad's uncle & aunt came to visit. During their visit they talked about the vacations they've taken to Egypt, some countries surrounding Egypt, and their trip to Canada. I have been to Vancouver, but did learn about various Canadian cities and several interesting facts about Egypt especially that I was unaware of. It felt like I was indirectly visiting those places as they were talking about them. Visiting with them also made me more aware of some experiences that a few of my ancestors had before they came to this country.
I made some Canadian friends, through playing some online fantasy sports games in recent years, and have enjoyed visiting with them about Canadian history from time to time since then. It's been interesting to gain a more in-depth understanding about the historical significance of the Canadian holidays and events that take place each year up north. A portion of my Dad's LDS mission was in Canada and I always enjoyed talking to him about that even though I didn't quite understand it, or have the attention span yet to fully appreciate it, at a young age. My Dad has a Canadian flag that he'd fly on a flagpole outside every once in awhile as I grew up. I think that definitely helped me to have more of a respect for the different countries in the world.
I have some very good memories of family vacations to various places growing up and we've continued to have great family vacations in recent years as well. I've enjoyed reading my friends' blog posts about the interesting places they've been that I haven't seen which has made me more interested to be able to visit those places as well. I recently watched a documentary on the History Channel about why the states have the specific shape that they do which was fascinating to me as well.
I appreciate having parents that have made an effort to take Sheila & I on several "field trips" to see more of the world that we were studying in school. During the summer after I graduated high school I went on a family vacation to Hawaii. Having just taken a high school history class certainly did assist my understanding of the U.S. historical events that occurred in Hawaii, such as Pearl Harbor, and made it a much more memorable vacation. One of my favorite college classes was my Intro. to Religion class as I enjoyed the opportunity to study more about the religious or cultural history of several countries. I do appreciate the knowledge that I've been able to gain about the world around me starting at a very young age and the enjoyment from learning more about history that I've had in my life so far.
Random Thoughts From a Thoughtless Mind
My Favorite Sports Teams
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Monday, April 26, 2010
Things to Do… #11, #18, #25, #29
This weekend ended up being a very interesting and meaningful weekend for me. On Saturday I did enjoy having a normal day where nothing noteworthy or “blog worthy” happened except for taking a break from working on writing a college paper to play with the cat.
On Sunday, I had the wonderful opportunity to visit with two of my best friends, Jeff and his wife Lacey, in person. Jeff’s parents recently returned from an LDS mission and each spoke in a church meeting that I attended yesterday. The subject of Jeff’s mom’s talk was focused mainly on how respect related to Jeff’s parents being able to serve a successful mission where they could have memorable experiences of truly helping people.
She mentioned that it is very important to have respect for yourself, and basically not go into a unfamiliar situation doubting what you’re capable of doing, in order to more effectively help other people. As she was speaking I remembered back when I began using a wheelchair consistently, in high school, that I initially didn’t have very much respect for myself and doubted what I would be capable of doing for the rest of my life because I had lost the ability to walk.
Jeff and Lacey were players on the high school basketball teams. I was the basketball manager and remembered Jeff thanking me after each of the games, or most of them anyway, for keeping the statistics so that he could have a better chance to improve before the next game. Jeff doing that helped me to refocus on what I still could contribute rather than possibly what I couldn't. Jeff and Lacey consistently went out of their way to make sure that I was feeling like a valuable part of that team even though I wasn’t able to actually play in the games, as I would have preferred, which I am still grateful to them for. It seems as though each member of Jeff’s family was also very supportive and complementary of whatever I had going at that time in my life as well. So I just wanted to mention that I sincerely appreciate the positive impact that Jeff’s family’s kindness to me has always had on my life and that I’m grateful for the opportunities that I’ve had to associate with them over the years.
On Sunday, I had the wonderful opportunity to visit with two of my best friends, Jeff and his wife Lacey, in person. Jeff’s parents recently returned from an LDS mission and each spoke in a church meeting that I attended yesterday. The subject of Jeff’s mom’s talk was focused mainly on how respect related to Jeff’s parents being able to serve a successful mission where they could have memorable experiences of truly helping people.
She mentioned that it is very important to have respect for yourself, and basically not go into a unfamiliar situation doubting what you’re capable of doing, in order to more effectively help other people. As she was speaking I remembered back when I began using a wheelchair consistently, in high school, that I initially didn’t have very much respect for myself and doubted what I would be capable of doing for the rest of my life because I had lost the ability to walk.
Jeff and Lacey were players on the high school basketball teams. I was the basketball manager and remembered Jeff thanking me after each of the games, or most of them anyway, for keeping the statistics so that he could have a better chance to improve before the next game. Jeff doing that helped me to refocus on what I still could contribute rather than possibly what I couldn't. Jeff and Lacey consistently went out of their way to make sure that I was feeling like a valuable part of that team even though I wasn’t able to actually play in the games, as I would have preferred, which I am still grateful to them for. It seems as though each member of Jeff’s family was also very supportive and complementary of whatever I had going at that time in my life as well. So I just wanted to mention that I sincerely appreciate the positive impact that Jeff’s family’s kindness to me has always had on my life and that I’m grateful for the opportunities that I’ve had to associate with them over the years.
Friday, April 23, 2010
Things to Do... #30
With all due respect to my Dad the person that I most admired growing up was my incredible mother. Although my mom died of breast cancer she continues to have a far reaching, positive influence and impact on my life. I always looked up to her as an example of the exceptional person that I still aspire to be throughout my life. It's an honor to have the same birthday as my mom as well. I remember having a very difficult time enjoying the opportunity to celebrate my birthday the year after my mom passed away, because obviously it wasn't quite the same.
My mom was the type of parent that I didn't want to disappoint even when she wasn't able to be completely aware of what I was doing at school or wherever else. She always encouraged me to further my education as much as possible. I think she'd be very pleased that I'm getting closer to earning a college degree from a university.
My mom was the first person that I really felt comfortable telling absolutely everything about my life to. She was more like a best friend to me than a parent most of the time. I appreciate that I've developed that same type of relationship with my stepmom as well. I think there's just some things in life that you only feel comfortable with telling your mom and nobody else. At least that's been the case for me. I'm grateful to be able to say that I've had two moms, a dad, a sister, and a brother-in-law that have been very supportive of me in my life.
I appreciate that my dad was willing to work hard at his job so that my mom could stay home and watch me use my GI Joes to ensure that the basement was secure enough for Sheila and I to play Nintendo, help me make a hamburger out of PlayDoh or play basketball with me despite it probably being far from her favorite activity. I'll always be thankful that my mom was willing to continuously make an effort to be there to support, encourage, and help me through whatever I had going on in my life at that time. I'm grateful for the countless life lessons that she taught me as I grew up and the example that my mom set for me in my life. I love you mom.
My mom was the type of parent that I didn't want to disappoint even when she wasn't able to be completely aware of what I was doing at school or wherever else. She always encouraged me to further my education as much as possible. I think she'd be very pleased that I'm getting closer to earning a college degree from a university.
My mom was the first person that I really felt comfortable telling absolutely everything about my life to. She was more like a best friend to me than a parent most of the time. I appreciate that I've developed that same type of relationship with my stepmom as well. I think there's just some things in life that you only feel comfortable with telling your mom and nobody else. At least that's been the case for me. I'm grateful to be able to say that I've had two moms, a dad, a sister, and a brother-in-law that have been very supportive of me in my life.
I appreciate that my dad was willing to work hard at his job so that my mom could stay home and watch me use my GI Joes to ensure that the basement was secure enough for Sheila and I to play Nintendo, help me make a hamburger out of PlayDoh or play basketball with me despite it probably being far from her favorite activity. I'll always be thankful that my mom was willing to continuously make an effort to be there to support, encourage, and help me through whatever I had going on in my life at that time. I'm grateful for the countless life lessons that she taught me as I grew up and the example that my mom set for me in my life. I love you mom.
Sunday, April 18, 2010
30 Things I’d Like to Do Before… or After… I’m 30
1. Study the scriptures more and not just read them.
2. Complete my Bachelors degree in Criminal Justice.
3. Learn more about American & World History
4. Attend an NBA Playoff/NBA Finals game
5. Complete an activity with Sheila that she'd enjoy doing as much as #4 would be for me.
6. Find more hobbies than blogging or social networking
7. Make an attempt to learn how to play the harmonica. My grandpa gave me one when I was younger, but it’s been left mostly untouched in a closet ever since.
8. Develop some realistic goals.
9. Learn more about my ancestors.
10. Read a book for enjoyment & not just because it’s a book I’m assigned to read for a class.
11. Enjoy a normal day where it seems like nothing noteworthy happens.
12. Take 1st place in the NFL fantasy league that I’ve played with my stepcousins in
recent years.
13. Attend a Jackson Moose hockey game.
14. Attend an NFL game.
15. Travel outside of the
16. Visit more historical sites or landmarks
17. Spend time watching the beavers swimming around at the south end of
18. Visit with my best friends as much as realistically possible.
19. Ride a four wheeler.
20. Ride a snowmobile
21. Play horseshoes
22. Have a picnic
23. Learn how to dance a little better. Becky’s been kind enough to help me with that in recent years & fortunately hasn’t been injured in the process so far. ;)
24. Play basketball outside in the summer.
25. Be able to give sincere compliments to people more consistently. Hopefully I’ve already been close to that type of person but there's always room for improvement.
26. Learn more about the more obscure animals of the world.
27. Go golfing
28. Watch Sheila & David blast off fireworks during the summer.
29. Play with the family cat, Pedro, more. He’s a fun cat to harass whenever I get an opportunity.
30. Write a blog post about someone I admired growing up.
Saturday, April 17, 2010
Easter Weekend & My Birthday
David & Sheila came to visit me during the Easter weekend. I was grateful for the opportunity I had to watch General Conference with my family once again. We went out to eat & I enjoyed celebrating my birthday, a few weeks early, quite a bit.
Sheila, David & I also continued the tradition of coloring Easter eggs despite my advancing age...
On my birthday, I traveled to Idaho Falls with my parents. This year I wanted to do something that I'd never experienced before to make my birthday even more memorable. So I spent a few hours at the Museum of Idaho viewing various exhibits. I didn't know exactly what to expect, but I did enjoy the museum and would recommend seeing the museum's exhibits to anyone. I'm hoping to visit the museum again in the future...
Stilt Fox
The bear seemed almost as terrifying as turning another year older
A Native American Village from the historical era that I was born
I ate lunch at IHOP, dinner at Sonic, and went to the mall for awhile as well. I appreciated the suggestions of activities in Idaho Falls, from my parents, that helped to enhance my enjoyment of the day. I'm especially grateful for all of the effort that Becky put into making birthday cakes for me and will certainly enjoy the birthday gifts that I received. I'd also like to express my appreciation for the birthday messages from my best friends and cousins. Thanks to everyone who contributed to making this birthday a memorable day for me. As I've taken an opportunity to reflect on my life I can't help but realize that I continue to be very blessed and look forward to the upcoming years .
Sheila, David & I also continued the tradition of coloring Easter eggs despite my advancing age...
On my birthday, I traveled to Idaho Falls with my parents. This year I wanted to do something that I'd never experienced before to make my birthday even more memorable. So I spent a few hours at the Museum of Idaho viewing various exhibits. I didn't know exactly what to expect, but I did enjoy the museum and would recommend seeing the museum's exhibits to anyone. I'm hoping to visit the museum again in the future...
Stilt Fox
The bear seemed almost as terrifying as turning another year older
A Native American Village from the historical era that I was born
I ate lunch at IHOP, dinner at Sonic, and went to the mall for awhile as well. I appreciated the suggestions of activities in Idaho Falls, from my parents, that helped to enhance my enjoyment of the day. I'm especially grateful for all of the effort that Becky put into making birthday cakes for me and will certainly enjoy the birthday gifts that I received. I'd also like to express my appreciation for the birthday messages from my best friends and cousins. Thanks to everyone who contributed to making this birthday a memorable day for me. As I've taken an opportunity to reflect on my life I can't help but realize that I continue to be very blessed and look forward to the upcoming years .
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