Welcome Home Elder Squire

My younger brother, Jordan returned home from his mission yesterday. He had been serving in the Jacksonville, Florida mission. It was exciting to see him. Most of us agree that he doesn't really seem to be too different from when he left. I took the day off from school (aided by the fact that the U closed down because of the snow) and we spent the day hearing about some of his stories. If you want to read about his experiences, most of his letters are archived on his blog - which I will now be turning over to him (I set it up for him while he was gone). Welcome home!

She's 7 Months

Ada is 7-months old today. She has such a unique personality and it is so exciting to watch her grow. We have added lots of pictures to our space and written about her growth as well.

More important than Ada's 7-month birthday though, is that it is my 1/2 birthday. With that in mind, now is a good time for everybody to start planning their gifts for me. I have updated my wishlist and there are items there for any budget. Pick something nice out and happy shopping.

The New WEB

On Friday I went to the dedication of a new Engineering Building here at the U. It's built 'on top' of another building and is very environmental friendly. The building is called the Warnock Engineering Building (WEB) and is named after John and Marva Warnock. Thay are both graduates of the U. John Warnock is the co-founder of Adobe Systems (you know Adobe Photoshop, Acrobat, etc.). John Warnock spoke at the dedication along with Dean Richard Brown (a former High Councilman of my ward), President Young (President of the U), Secretary Michael Leavitt (former Utah Governor) and Ed Catmull (Founder and President of Pixar Animation Studio, also a U graduate).

It was a very inspiring dedication and one that I am grateful I made time for. It is always neat to be in the presence of great people, people who have made a name for themselves. I am also looking forward to studying and meeting in this beautiful new building.

Tuesday's Top Ten

I've seen other blogs that have different 'lists' on different days of the week. Instead of copying any that I've seen, I'll just do my own thing. So here is today's Top Ten list:

Top Ten Places I'd Like to Visit (International Edition)

1. Maldives
2. Moscow, Russia
3. Australia/New Zealand
4. Dubai
5. Jerusalem/Egypt
6. Machu Picchu
7. Greece
8. Costa Rica/Belize
9. Thailand/Singapore
10. South Africa

Honorable Mentions:
Bahamas, India, China, France, Germany

Sad Week

It's been a sad week around here. There have been so many accidents and tragic deaths in the last few days. It's really tough and makes me so sad. Here are some of the news stories that I have felt impacted by:

Eric Sieger killed in Iraq - I grew up in the same ward as Eric Sieger. He was quite a bit younger than me but I remember him and when he and his siblings were adopted. He is the first person that I've known to have died in Iraq. His funeral was today.

Home blows up - Las week, a house in Saratoga Springs blews up with the mother and a Questar gas guy inside. The house was totally destroyed. A father was left single with an 18 month-old in the hospital. Sad.

Drunk teen driver kills 3.5 - On Friday, a 17-year old boy drove drunk and killed the pregnant mother, Ben (11) and Anna (9) of the William's family. The father (an LDS Bishop) lived, along with two children (one of whom wasn't in the vehicle, the other of whom is in critical condition). The father publicly announced that he forgives the teen. He is a much stronger man than I.

Trolley Square shooting spree - Earlier tonite, a crazy man walked through Trolley Square shooting people at random. It is still unknown how many total victims there are. There are 6 dead (including the gunmen), but many are still in critical condition. What a disturbing thing to have happen just 1.5 miles from home.

There are so many crazy people out there. It simply scares me sometimes. How can I protect my family from people/things that are dangerous? I guess that God has a plan for everyone. I pray for everyone involved in these heartbreaking tragedies.

Albert Einstein's Explanation of Radio

I've been studying for a test in Wireless Communications when I came across this quote I liked by Albert Einstein:

"You see, wire telegraph is a kind of a very, very long cat. You pull his tail in New York and his head is meowing in Los Angeles. Do you understand this? And radio operates exactly the same way: you send signals here, they receive them there. The only difference is that there is no cat."

Doesn't that just make perfect sense?

My Favorite Super Bowl Commercial

Here is a video of my favorite Super Bowl commercial. It really is quite ridiculous.

Video: Garmin Super Bowl XLI Commercial

This is a little taste of what Ben and Jenn will be getting in the mail...

Colts 29, Bears 17 - Congratulations Ben and Jenn

Superbowl XLI has been decided. The Colts destroyed the Bears 29-17. The Bears started out hot in the first quarter and were quickly doused by the Colts. The star of the game for the Bears was their amazing quarterback Rex Grossman. He finished the game with two fumbled snaps and two interceptions. The Bears finished the game with five turnovers to the Colts three.

I was pulling for the Bears - but I knew full well that the Colts were the better team. I'm happy to see Peyton Manning win the big game. The Colts dominated every aspect of the game and it was amazing that the Bears were as close as they were for most of the game.

Ben and Jenn Iverson won my now infamous 'Guess the score for a candy bar' game. They guessed a final score of 28-21 for the Colts. Their white chocolate reese's peanut butter cups are on there way. Congratualations!

Remember the warmer days?

Remember when it used to be warm? Although it's been colder than usual the last 6 weeks, there was a time when it wasn't that cold. I took this screenshot in November when it was actually colder in Jacksonville, Florida (where my brother Jordan is serving a mission) than it was in Salt Lake City. It's always nice to remember the warmer days.