Fun with the Wasps!!!

Last year, one of our neighbors had a situation where a hive of wasps had built a nest behind the vinyl siding on the outside of their kitchen bay window over the kitchen sink. Those pesky wasps had eventuall burrowed through the dry wall and started moving into the kitchen one by one. My dad and I ran over to help them, and threw a quick patch of dry wall putty over the hole to keep the wasps out until they could call an exterminator to come try to kill the nest.

Well, this year Jill and I have been having similar issues. These wasps could be seen flying in and out of a few tiny spaces in the vinyl siding, and we knew there had to be a nest in there somewhere, but the real challenge was how to kill the nest. About two weeks ago, we called an exterminator company called Beeline Pest Control to see if they could come find a way to kill the nest. The guy came, sprayed the area, and then told us to wait 5 to 7 days to see if he had been successfull. A week went by and the dang wasps were still extremely active flying in and out of the nest. So, we called and arranged for them to come out again and try to kill the nest. Afterall, they "guarantee" that they will keep coming back until they get the nest. The guy came over this morning and sprayed in the hole again for about 20 minutes straight. Jill waited around while the exterminator completed the job and then had to leave for work. When we came home tonight, we heard a lot of buzzing noises and found a few wasps in the INSIDE of the kitchen window. Where were they coming from? All of a sudden Jill realized where the wasps were. They were INSIDE of the light fixture above our kitchen sink. Here's a picture of what it looks like:

So, the wasps have found a way into the kitchen through light fixture. We've decided to leave the light on all night until the exterminator can come back tomorrow and try to kill the wasps from the inside of the house. I was impressed with their service, as when I called them at around 9pm tonight, they were there to answer the call. Hopefully, there won't be a Part 2 to this story.

Mueller Park

One of the things that Steve and I love to do together is to take short walks or hikes. This morning we got up and headed up to one of our regular walks in Mueller Park. We love Mueller Park because it is beautiful, with a variety of different walks to choose from and it is close. Today that was especially important so that we could get home and do some chores, before we settled in to a day of College Football.

Steve remembers hiking in Mueller Park with his dad and brother up to Rudy Flats, and camping out there to watch the deer.

We saw this deer earlier this summer as we drove out of Mueller Park, heading home.

This morning we just did the walk straight up through the park, we had just started the walk and turned to take the trail through the park when we were approached by the Park Hosts and one stated that if we were going to walk off the road at all we needed to pay $3 per person for walking in. While I am all for paying to use the park systems in our communities if you are camping, hosting a party or a BBQ etc. so that you can help pay for the upkeep, $6 to take a 40 minute walk through the park with your spouse seems a little ridiculous. Especially when you can pay $6 to get an entire car of people in the park for the entire day. Luckily, most of the walks that we like to do in the park can be done on the main road, or from a trailhead that is not in the park. So, for now we will probably continue to stick to the road, and our free hikes and walks, and then support the park with money for picnics etc.

Our trip to Texas

Jill and I have a goal to visit every state together. This past holiday weekend, we hit four of them. Late last year, when rumors started floating up that BYU may be invited to play Oklahoma in the first ever Cowboys Classic college football game, my wife suggested it might be fun to go down and see the Cougars play. This was to be the first college football game ever played in the brand new Dallas Cowboys football stadium.

I've been a BYU football fan since I was a young child, when my dad would buy season tickets for him, my brother, and myself. I can't recall my father ever going on the road to see the Cougars play an away game other than the occassional game against the Utes in Salt Lake City at Rice Eccles Stadium, so we decided to invite my folks along for the trip.

We flew out of SLC on Thursday, 9/3/09, early in the morning. Our flight to Dallas, TX was a bit weird, as we first had a layover in Minneapolis, MN and then continued on south towards TX. That night we grabbed a bite to eat to eat at Pappas BBQ, a recommendation of the hotel front desk clerk.

The next day we grabbed a quick breakfast from Sonic and then headed out on the first of the two road trips we had planned. We were going to start by heading east to Texarkana. Jill had used the very scientif "thumb on the map" method to calculate the distance, and figured that it was about 70 miles or so. It actually turned out to be about 140 miles, but it was a fun drive. Texarkana is a pretty cool little town. The Texas/Arkansas border goes right down the middle of town, and the town's Courthouse is split evenly down the middle as well. The 2nd level of the Courthouse is evenly divided, one side is all Texas offices and the other side is all Arkansas office.

After our stop in Texarkana, we drove south and crossed over into Louisiana, and stopped for a walk around Shreveport. Shreveport, LA, from what I could tell, is basically a town of casinos. It really wasn't my favorite stop, but it was cool to see at least once.

The next day was the day of the "big game". The primary reason for the whole trip in the first place. We got up and grabbed breakfast at my favorite Scottish restaurant, McDonalds, and then drove into downtown Dallas to visit the JFK Memorial and museum. Visiting the museum, as well as being able to take a tour of the warehouse that Lee Harvey Oswald shot JFK from was haunting. After this tour, we drove a couple of miles away to a place Jill had read about called the Thanksgiving Gardens.

X marks the spot on this picture, of where the car was when shots were fired.
JFK Memorial

As we walked around town, you could see the many sports fans walking around the sites. The Oklahoma faithful were all clad in their crimson red, while the Cougar fans were wearing blue.

A few hours later, we dropped my mom back off at the hotel and then headed on our way to find the stadium to see the game. Oklahoma was favored to win by 22 points. The stadium was packed. Attendance was over 75,000. Most of those attending were wearing Oklahoma red. OU fans outnumbered BYU fans by at least 4 to 1. That didn't stop us from shouting and making ourselves heard. Even Jill, a proud and stubborn U of U fan, couldn't help but cheer as the Cougars fought, teeth and nails, to earn a 14 to 13 victory over OU. What a game!!!

Sunday morning we got up, grabbed breakfast at Denny's and then drove northward. Our first stop was in Dennison, TX to see the birthplace of Dwight D. Eisenhower. Then we drove around looking for Pottsboro, TX to see where my dad had first served as an enlisted military man at the no-longer existing Perrin Air Force Base. After stopping and asking around, we found an elderly gentleman at a gas station that knew where it was and pointed us in the wrong direction. Well, that almost got us there, but not quite. So it was up to Jill and her iPhone to save the day and find the directions. That's why I will always request her to be the navigator on our little trips. She's much better at directions than I am. After driving around Perrin, we headed further north up to visit Oklahoma.

It was fun to be able to say that we visited four states in just a few short days. I didn't really travel too much before meeting Jill, but now that we're married, she's passed the contagious "travel bug" my way and I have really started enjoying the trips we take. I can't wait for our next adventure together.

Too Old?

Tuesday night, with my birthday approaching in less than one week, I was left asking myself, Am I too old? or Are they too old?

The popular phrase "if the music is too loud, you're too old" was ringing in my ears as Steve and I drove home from the E Center Tuesday night.

We had gone to see the Depeche Mode concert and I left with several questions:

1) Am I too old for this?
2) Why do I enjoy concerts of other rock bands and stars that are of a similar age?
3) Do I only enjoy concerts of other old rock bands because I get to travel to see the show?
4) But the question that just kept coming back is: Are they too old?

Steve may disagree, but I choose to believe that there is something about the Alternative Genre of music stars, they are not ageing as gracefully as some of their other rock and roll counterparts.

It really isn't me that is too old, it is them. I would encourage them to continue with the music, it is pretty good, but embrace their age and let their shows grow older as well... the shock value described in this article really doesn't work as well 30 years later, and 30 years older.

A night at the Sundstrom's Annual Chili Cookoff and Croquet Tournament

So, late last week I got a call from my brother, Dave, asking me if Jill and I would be interested in attending the annual Chili & Croquet cookoff that he and Kim have hosted at their house for quite a few years. I said we'd love to attend, committed to making my best batch of chili for the chili cookoff competition. Once Jill came home, I relayed the invitation to her and informed her that I'd told Dave that we'd bring some chili. Translation: "Jill, you need to make some chili for the cookoff". On the day of the event, Jill made our favorite homemade chili and we headed on up to the Kaysville Sundstrom home. We had a lot of fun, despite being eliminated early from the Croquet tournament. It was good to be able to spend a fun evening with family, old friends, and even meeting some new friends.

Overstimulation

I think that overstimulation is a word - the definition I found of it referred to overstimulation of the pancreas, that isn't what I am talking about though. I am talking about, when you have worked so hard, and had so many things go right, and had so many opportunities in one week that your mind is done. Not because you are tired but because it is full, and needs some time to process.

That is what my week has been like and don't get me wrong I am not complaining, in fact it is hard to describe my mood as anything besides extremely pleased.

The week started on Monday, it was our friend April's birthday, so following work we went with her and some of her other friends to Desert Star Playhouse to see James Blonde. It was very funny.

Additionally this week, I was in charge of putting together our annual staff retreat, and in conjunction with that since we would have staff from all of our offices in town, we organized several mini trainings. The first training was hosted on Tuesday, with two more being hosted on Wednesday. I got home both nights so tired, but also excited because the trainings went so well.

Thursday, was the day of the staff retreat, the Utah Olympic Park hosted us for a very discounted price. The training was good, then we had the opportunity to watch the flying ace skiers -


After the retreat concluded about 5 of us stayed up at the park to take advantage of the highly discounted ride package we were able to purchase a Gold Package for $45, regularly $90.

The package included a bobsled ride, two zip line rides and the quicksilver Alpine Slide ride.

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I was so proud of myself, the bobsled was rained out so I will have to save that for another day, but I can't believe I did the zip lines, and they were awesome.

All of this activity probably would have caused slight overstimulation anyway, but then Steve and I topped the night off by attending Cirque de Soleil - Saltimbanco performance at the E-Center. Wow!!! It was amazing.





I would highly reccomend the show to anyone, Steve actually got pulled up on stage at the beginning of the night, he pretended to be very nervous about the whole thing, but I think secretly he enjoyed being tickled by the clowns in front of thousands of people. I love you sweetheart!

I wish that I would have had a camera for all of the days extreme activities, but I am so glad that I had the opportunities.

Long Drive Home

So earlier this week, I had to go to St. George for work. My boss and I drove down on Wednesday, had some meetings, conducted some interviews and then planned to come home Thursday. When we planned the trip, we thought it would be nice to go before the Holiday, then if we got home a little early on Thursday, we would be able to start the Holiday weekend a little early. Unfortunately, things don't always turn out as planned. We were making good time, and had just driven through Filmore, thought about stopping for lunch but then decided that we weren't that hungry yet, and maybe if we made it to Nephi we could have Wendy's.

Unfortunately, just as we got back on the freeway we saw this...


After, 1 1/2 hours, sitting on the side of the freeway watching emergency vehicles pass, they opened one lane, and we drove past this.



It was a scary but amazing site, if you can't identify the items that were left from the truck it was apples and broccoli, all the packaging had burned off, and there were no traces remaining, but the fruit and vegetables were still there.

The accident, was caused when one semi truck rear ended another, and they both started on fire. So even though our early start to the weekend actually turned out to be a late start, we were grateful that we were safe and not involved in the collision.