Cub Scout Camp 2013

Cub Scout Camp is all week for our camp, but I drew parent volunteer duty today. I'm here with one other mom to supervise the 7 kids ages 8-10 who are part of our den. All told, there are probably a couple hundred kids here. 

This picture shows about half the camp at the opening flag ceremony.

The day got off to a great start when I was signing in this morning. As I bent over to check in, one of the rambunctious kids yelled right in my ear. It wasn't intentional, but it also wasn't very fun. I hope that's not a harbinger of things to come. 

I'm going to try and post some pics and updates throughout the day. 

First station of the morning was arts and crafts where the boys made fishes out of a CD. It went a lot better after S. figured out how to use the glue dots. I think a lot of glue dots got wasted. Hope they don't run out by the end if the day...  :-/

Archery was up next. I even got to shoot a few, which was fun. I was impressed with how well the kids listened to the archery RangeMaster, and how well they shot. 

The June Gloom is in full effect at the moment, but maybe the sun will burn off the coastal haze soon. 

Now it's on to lunch...

30 minutes left for lunch. I don't know what we would do if the fire department hadn't come to the rescue!

Cheap entertainment  :-)

The firefighters truly showed that they are Camp Pendleton's bravest by facing the onslaught of bored, hot cub scouters with nothing but their fire houses for protection.  Still, I think the firefighters came out on top judging by how wet the kids were...

Following boogie board races in a shallow pond built by the camp staff and a windy beach ball/volleyball game, we are on to knots...

Luckily, all the boys managed to master tying a square knot. As a reward, they got to tackle this obstacle...

Less than an hour left people!!

The grand finale...the cub scouters hit this water slides while I find a nice seat in the shade.  #bestideaever

These helicopters have been buzzing the camp all day. It's been really fun!  It's also been awesome seeing the tanks and humvees roll by all day too. 

Camp's done and we are out if here. Too bad I won't be back tomorrow. :-/

I'm so tired that I'd go take a nap if I didn't have to go into work!

Father's Day 2013

R. and Me (circa 2005) - M. and Me  (Feb. 2, 2013)

Today was Father's Day.  It was a lot of fun to see pictures and tributes from friends, family, and other acquaintances to their dads yesterday.

I did a birthday post for my dad's birthday last year.  I'm not sure what else I can add to that.  He's still my dad.  He's still my hero.

The picture above is a composite.  The one on the left is from 2005.  It's a picture of R. and me and I have it framed and it sits in my office. I think it's from watching the fireworks for the 4th of July in 2005.  I love that picture.

The one on the right is from earlier this year and it's a picture of M. and I at S.'s basketball game.  I love how cute and chubby his little arm is and I love how his eyes are locked in on the basketball game.  I also love the way that his hand is resting on the basketball.  It's no secret that we love hoops in my family and I hope M. loves the game as much as I have.

The Rug Rats - June 2013

I'm not the perfect dad, but I'm trying to improve.  I still have a long ways to go. But I'm really grateful that I am their dad.  Happy Father's Day!

Kona Inspired

Kona - Ironman World Championship

I have a dream someday of participating in the Ironman World Championships in Kona, Hawaii.  So I couldn't help but feel touched by this column today from Doug Robinson in the Des News.


Dean Bullock is from South Jordan, Utah.  He's a father of 9 kids and grandpa to 17.  He's also a triathlete.  Last summer, he was diagnosed with a serious brain tumor.  The prognosis isn't good.  He will apparently be lucky to make it another year.  His dream is to compete at Kona and he has probably only once chance left to do it.  The race is this October.

Slots for Kona are next to impossible to get, but he has shot to get a special slot if he gathers enough votes on a video that he submitted for the "Kona Inspired" program.

Please consider viewing his video here and voting for him.  (You can vote once per day).  Click on the magnifying glass and type in "Dean Bullock."  Then click on one of his videos and click on "<3 Vote for This" in the bottom left hand corner.  It's that easy and it will only take about 20 seconds!

Dean, I've never met you even though we competed together at Ironman St. George this year.  I doubt my one vote or this post is enough to put you over the top, but I hope that you make it--both to Kona and through this challenge.  Keep fighting the good fight!

The Batch: Cinderella's Coach

Cinderella's Coach

The Batch spares no expense when it comes to taking care of its Bachelor/Bachelorette.  Lavish wardrobe, hair and makeup budget, even transportation are all fully covered.   In years past, we've seen boats, private jets, and so many helicopters that it makes me wonder why there hasn't been a helicopter in sight this season.

Desiree's Coach

The answer may be that The Batch might have already blown its transportation budget on this 2013 Tiffany Blue Bentley Convertible.  MSRP on these babies, in case you were wondering, is almost $300,000.  I'm not sure if this is a product placement for Tiffany's, Bentley, or if the color was simply so garish that the dealership couldn't figure out anything else to do with the $300,000 car besides loan it to ABC/Disney for a month or two to be featured on The Batch.  As an official Disney princess, no expense is to be spared for our Bachelorette.

Tiffany Blue vs. Baby Blue

The guys all looked and acted appropriately jealous as Desiree drove off into the sunset with Brooks her expensive, brightly colored care.  I did have to take issue with one of the guys (I don't even care enough to know his name, I just know that he is a federal prosecutor and that later reveals to Desiree that he has some sort of manageable disease) whines about seeing Desiree and her date leave in "that baby blue Bentley."

I am a fashion idiot and I don't even pretend to know my colors, but any guy should be able to tell the difference between Tiffany Blue and Baby Blue.  Baby Blue is the color of the North Carolina Tarheels.  Tiffany Blue is the color that you spend a lot of money on when you get something nice expensive for your wife, girlfriend, or significant other.  I'm just embarrassed--as a guy--that he can't tell the difference.

The [Boring] 1on1 Dates:

Luck of the Irish?  Brooks' Green Tux made him look a bit like Seamus from the Disney movie...

Desiree's first 1on1 date was with Brooks.  Brooks is a former model.  Except that this season all of the contestants appear to be former models, so it might make more sense to just assume that they're all male models unless I tell you differently.

Brooks is kind of boring, but I have a feeling he may be around for a while.  They got dressed up as bride and groom (remember Desiree works in a bridal store).  Des looked beautiful in all of the gowns and Brooks looked like a leprechaun in this hideous green tuxedo that she made him try on.

Then they drove around LA and ended up with a private picnic at the HOLLYWOOD sign in the hills above Los Angeles.  They kiss.  Brooks remarks:  "This could be the first kiss with somebody that I spend the rest of my life with."  Something tells me that it won't be Desiree's last kiss of her life this season this episode.  :-/

Kiss Da Girl

The second date was perhaps more boring.  The guy was ex-military from Montana and had never been to the beach before.  He was in a really bad accident as a kid and showed Des some pics of himself in the ER and of his totaled truck. Des was just glad he was alive.  (Yes, he actually brought pics on the date to show Des.  See my comments below about "Oversharing".)

Later, he found himself in a hot tub with Des.  He looked painfully awkward as Des stared him down (all thoughts of Brooks evidently forgotten....).  Finally, Desiree had to channel her inner Ariel (yet another Disney princess) and tell him to just kiss her already.

I'm pretty sure that both dudes got roses.

#rightreasons

Mr. "Rated PG-13" Isn't There for the Right Reasons?

I've learned a few things about hashtags.  Besides being annoying and the secret to being an online marketing genius, hashtags are apparently hip.  You don't have to be able to even read them (i.e., don't use capital letters or spaces--no matter how long the hastagged phrase), but they should be funny (hopefully).  I reserve the right to throw them in occasionally in this post.

The group date involved 14 dudes making a rap video of an original song called: "Right Reasons."  Some rapper named Soulja Boy directed.  I have no idea who Soulja Boy is but the dudes all lied and acted like they'd heard of him.  He's probably about to launch a comeback...

Basically, the video proved the old adage about how models can't act--because none of these male models could act or sing a lick.  The video was terrible, despite having some clever sight gags and jabs at former Batch villains/tools/contestants.

Sadly, Desiree may have been the best rapper of the bunch...

Still, I liked it better when the #rightreasons cliche was something that felt like an inside joke for the audience and viewing public--not something that the producers and contestants taunt us about or rub in our faces.

By the time the segment was over, the phrase "right reasons" was as overplayed as the whole hashtag phenomenon.  I definitely heard that phrase way too much tonight!

Smarmy Ben ended up getting the rose on the group date.  The bad part was that we had to seen him gloat about it for the rest of the night.

Epidemic of Oversharing

I'm not sure what it is, but all of the contestants this year appear to have some inexplicable urge to share all of their "shortcomings" with Desiree right up front in their reality "relationships."  Ben brought his son to the very first night to "share" that he was a single dad.  Tonight, one of the contestants told Des about his druggie mom and troubled upbringing (not exactly the thing that inspires confidence that you are marriage material).
Then, during the pre-Rose Ceremony cocktail party, the color blind federal prosecutor raced to button hole Desiree.  He felt that it was very important to let her know something very important about his personal health.  No, it's cancer and it's not a "communicable" disease--it's Type 1 diabetes!  Phew, based on his build up, I was expecting it to be something much worse.

Call me crazy, but there might be better things to bring up at the start of a relationship than your entire family or medical history--especially if it's kind of a downer.  Maybe, for example, a contestant might try to win Desiree's heart with his sparkling personality, quick wit, or model good lucks something fun/funny.

My friend (JC) who is very bright thinks that the producers must tell the contestants to overshare to boost the drama.  Of course the producers don't care if the contestants have any dignity by the time that they leave the show and the producers don't care who "wins" the show as long as the ratings are high.  I think the contestants need to ignore the producers.

Smarmy Ben (Off Camera) Interrupts the Announcement

But I digress.  During the midst of the color-blind federal prosecutor's soul baring session, Smarmy Ben interrupted to steal Des away.  The federal prosecutor was outraged!  Fireworks ensued as the townsfolk contestants lit their lanterns and gathered their pitchforks to chase off Frankenstein Smarmy Ben.

Ben is quickly becoming the favorite guy to hate amongst all the guys in the house.  On the one hand, it drives me crazy how the guys act like the title of the show is "Mr. Congeniality."  They are (purportedly) there to try and win Desiree's heart--not to bromance all the other dudes.  On the other hand, I am not a fan of Smarmy Ben and there is a certain sense of satisfaction in seeing all of the guys knock him down a peg or two (if that's even possible).

Here's my advice for the guys:  stop the oversharing and the catfighting and see if you have any actual connection with Des.  But of course, that would probably make for boring tv and that's why Fleiss and Harrison make the big bucks for this show.

The Dearly Departed

Say Good-Bye to Will (who admitted during the rap video that he couldn't dance), Robert (King of the Sign Spinners from Phoenix), and Nick M. (Who?)

From the previews, it looks like we are in for quite the drama next week.  Brian (yes, he's a model), is going to get a surprise visit at the Mansion from his ex girlfriend.  Shockingly, she is also a model.  (But not that good looking by the way.  Brian and his model girlfriend may well be the most forgettable looking model couple I've ever seen.  Oh well.)  I can hardly wait...

NKOTB - Remix (I Like The)

Team Dyer Straits

Tonight we played in a 3 on 3 tournament at my brother's high school. It was a fundraiser for his high school basketball team.  They also had an alumni game and L. played in that too.  The original Dyer Straits is an intramural inner tube water polo team at BYU founded by my siblings that has won a bunch of intramural championships.  I never played intramural inner tube water polo, but I know my siblings have had a lot of fun on that team.

L., who put together this team, used the same name because there were supposed to be at least three brothers playing.  Our team was pretty stacked. Brett L. and I are both 6'3". My brother L. is 6'6" and A. (aka Thor) is 6'9". It was fun playing with those guys because they're all good basketball players and play smart.

Here's a quick video showing our teamwork in action:

Plus, it's always fun to play with my brothers. I was disappointed that S. was a last minute no show because he couldn't get his work schedule changed.  Even though L. is  tall, he has an outstanding jumpshot:

I also managed to get a shot of L. dunking before the alumni game.  He makes it look pretty easy:

I also managed to put down a few:

(thanks to Brett L. for directing traffic out there!  :-)

We won all 3 of our games--the first two were blowouts (15-2 and 15-4) and the last was a little too close for comfort. We won by a score of 15-13, but were down 13-9 after they hit a few surprise 3 pointers. We cranked up the "D" and put the game away though. 

Here are some pics from the festivities...

Pre-game warm ups.

Brett L. shoots a 3.

A. shows his mid-range game.

My miracle nephew.

L. goes in for the dunk. 

Brett L. hits a layup.

L. catches a pass.

L., A., and Brett L., it was fun playing tonight.  I'm looking forward to next year!  (S., we need you next year too!)

The Batch: Snow White and the 25 Dwarves

Snow White: The Batch's Latest Princess?

After casting such forgettable characters as Caveman (Ben Flajnik) and Ashley Hebert, ABC decided to leverage its Disney synergy by going deep into the vault to cast Snow White as the latest Bachelorette.  After all, who doesn't love a Disney princess?

Meet Desiree Hartsock.  While she may not be the "real" Snow White, she's pretty much a dead ringer for our cartoon princess.  After seeing the first episode of the season, I'm convinced that the Batch casting team is a big fan of hers, because they really did bring us 25 dwarves to star alongside Snow White/Desiree this season.  I don't know if I've ever seen a more perplexing, mixed-up, creepy, crazy, desperate, awkward, pathetic bunch of Batch contestants in the history of the show.  Hopefully by season's end, one of these bachelors will rise above the shortness of stature (figuratively speaking) of his comrades to win Desiree's heart.  It should make for a very interesting season...

Mirror, Mirror on the Wall...

Let's recap some of more awkward moments from the first knight (we'll deal with him in a bit) night.

Top 3 Worst Limo Moments:

Doc aka Scary Larry

Larry actually is a doctor.  He came out and wanted to show Desiree a cool dance maneuver.  Only, it didn't go so smoothly.  At its best, it looked  pretty awkward.

"When I Dip, You Dip, We Dip..."

Then Larry went for the dip and Desiree tripped on the back of her gown.  Oops!  (Luckily, he kind of caught her.)

Then Larry spent the rest of the evening apologizing and obsessing over his slip-up.  He would have been better served to have just laughed it off and move on.  Instead, he swore as he walked off and the camera bleeped it out.  Way to stay classy, San Diego!  Desiree was not that impressed.

As if that wasn't bad enough, his one-on-one conversation with Desiree was kinda disturbing and downright stalkerish.  He alternated between psycho intense and desperate.  The conversation went something like this.  "I definitely watched Sean's season....You were my favorite...You looked like really hot....I'm excited its you.."  Desiree could only laugh nervously.  You know it's not going well when Desiree told him that he looked "Sleepy."  Seriously.  Maybe she had dwarves on the brain as well.

Diogo the "Happy" Knight

The sight of Diogo alone getting out of the limo was pretty dang awkward.  The pic above makes him look pretty decent in that suit of armor.  Trust me, seeing him slowly clank and clang from the limo up to Desiree did nothing to validate the iconic knight in shining armor from the fairy tales we all read as kids.

The best line of the night may have been when one of the other contestants warned him not to get too close to the water because he "might not float."

Unfortunately, when he got eliminated at the end, he wasn't so happy as he moped to the confessional camera about giving "everything" to come on the show and not knowing where to go from here.  "Sir" Diogo...please collect both your dignity and man card on your way out.  This was one night of your life...you will survive.

Micah Made His Own Clothes...

...that's just "Dopey."  Notice how Dopey's clothes don't really fit him all that well?  Neither did Micah's.

He tried to explain that he made his own clothes just like Desiree made her own dress for her first appearance on the show.  The difference is that Desiree looks good in the clothes that she made.

Yeah, it might not be the best subliminal message to send to your potential future spouse by showing up in a garish, hodge podge, hobo suit that you made yourself.  And check out the weird letters that Micah put on his suit across his chest...Is it just me or do they spell the word "HIDE?" I have a feeling that that was exactly what Desiree was thinking when she saw that awful ensemble.

It's one thing to try and stand out from the crowd.  It's quite another when you literally brand yourself with a scarlet letter or letters in this case.  It just didn't work.  And heaven knows that I am no expert on fashion, but even I could tell that it was a fashion disaster.

The Creeper

In my prior Batch preview post, I called this guy the "Stand-In Guy."  I can't dishonor the beloved Dwarfs by even attempting to give him a clever nickname.  He is simply the Creeper.

He notes for the confessional camera at one point in the episode that his "Mom thinks [he's] good looking and my love tank has not been depleted for years.  It's just been steadily depleting.  We're looking at a very big love tank."

Well at least his Mom thinks he's good looking, but does that really tell us anything?  I'm not really sure what he means by "love tank" but I'm pretty sure that I don't want to see it or look at it.  :-/

He started off by trying to give Desiree a room key moments after he stepped out of the limo.  She told him that she wasn't that type of girl.  Yay Desiree!

Later, during the cocktail party, he tried to maneuver her into some dark room so that he could "kiss Desiree on the mouth."  He literally told the camera that as well as the other contestants.  Desiree managed to escape his clutches for a second time.  You know it's bad when even Scary Larry is dissing you for being weird (which actually happened).

Finally, as if he hadn't done enough damage, and perhaps fueled by more alcohol, he tried for a third time.  Three strikes and you're out buddy.  Desiree sent him packing even before the Rose Ceremony.  Which makes me wonder if he was gone before the group shot was taken and that really was a cardboard cutout of him in that shot!

#hashtagguy

Kasey is a hot shot advertising executive.  Apparently, all you need to do to be a social media ad wiz is to throw the word "Hashtag" in front of everything you say.  #hashtagthis #hashtagthat

#listeningtohimsaythewordhashtaginfrontofeverythingthathesaidwasreallyannoying

Honestly, can we stop already with the overuse of the word "Hashtag?"  It's probably most annoying to hear him say it over and over again--especially when it doesn't mean anything.  (At least if you're using it on Twitter or Instagram it performs some sort of function.)  Even something that might have been clever like saying: "#shrinkage" (pronounced "hashtag shrinkage") when the shirtless guy jumped into the cold pool was annoying because it was so overdone.

I'm not sure much more I can take of this guy.  #sendhimhomenow

Shirtless Guy

Zak W.

You know how some single guys have an online dating profile where they claim that they look younger than they really are?  Like they look like they're 30 even though they're really 45?

Well, Zak W. is the opposite.  He's about 30, but looks way older than that.  At least his face does.  Yes, he does have great abs, but it seems like maybe there's not much more to his personality than the chiseled abs.

I'd love to report to you that his "courageous" act to forget his shirt (Desiree asked him if he'd forgotten something when he got out of the limo) earned him the first impression rose.  Well, he did get a pre-Rose Ceremony Rose, but I got the impression it was more of a Pity Rose than anything else.

He stripped down to his skivvies and jumped into the cold pool by himself.  By the time he got out of the pool, Desiree and all of the other bachelors were gone.  Later, she saw him shivering in the house and--almost as an afterthought--decided to give him a rose for jumping in the pool.  We'll see how long he lasts.  I won't be sad to see him go.

Future Villains?

Ben and James

Keep your eye on these two as I think that they are the best candidates to bring the drama this season.

Ben showed up with his kid popping out of the limo, but the previews lead us to believe that his Baby Mama may show up to confront him later on in the show.  Desiree seems really taken with him.  Or maybe just with his cute kid, but he seems a bit smarmy.

James is shown in the previews crying to Desiree about some other guy hitting him.  Someone needs to pull his man card.  As Tom Hanks once proclaimed: "There's no crying in baseball!"  The same holds true for the Batch.  You need to maintain your dignity.

The previews still hold out the promise that this will be THE MOST dramatic season ever of the Batch.  At the end of the the episode, Desiree had handed out her roses and this is how we stood: