365: Week 23

Day 155

June 4: Looking closer. 

Attempting to take a picture every day for an entire year, does a few things to you. At least six out of every  seven days, you question your sanity -- not to mention commitment, but also it causes you to look at your world differently. 

The majority of the photos that I have taken so far this year have been at one of two locations: work and home. I've shot flowers and sunrises and clouds -- all the pretty stuff. Lately I've found myself taking a closer look at the weeds.  

I don't know what this is, but it sure is deadly looking. 

Day 156

June 5: Friday night sunset in the back yard. We have a great view to the west -- except for the power lines. I did everything I could to try to shoot around the power pole. Finally I accepted defeat.

Day 157

June 6: Yes. I took a picture of the television screen. 

I'd like to say that the reason was because I was watching a Land of the Lost marathon, and I started thinking about Sid and Marty Krofft, and got all nostalgic for the campy shows they produced that define so many of the Saturday mornings of my very early life. 

All of that is true.

But I took the picture because, while watching the Land of the Lost marathon, I lost all track of time, and it was 11:55 pm before I realized that I hadn't taken a photograph for the day yet. 

Day 158

June 7: My favorite hat. 

Everybody wants to have a little Irish in them. And I do -- very little (one little branch of the family tree). But Irish is Irish!

I'm not exactly sure what I've gotten from my Irish heritage -- not my looks, or my name. I don't drink or dance.

But I DO love potatoes!

Day 159

June 8: The Skyscraper. 

This is the Ferris Wheel at our local amusement park -- Lagoon. 

Lagoon is a decent enough park, and it's only about a mile and a half from our house. We've gotten season passes for the last six years.

Monday we went for the first time since coming back from Disneyland. Honestly, it was a bit of a letdown, but if you take Lagoon a couple of hours a week, it's not a bad way to pass the summer. 

Oh, and I made myself sick, on the Merry-Go-Round, of all things.

Day 160

June 9: have a little ice cream with your raspberries. 

I love vanilla ice cream with raspberries -- frozen or fresh. 

Do you want to know the truth behind this picture? It's another 11:55 pm shot. 

See, we've been playing Lego Indiana Jones on the Wii, and we keep finding all these new boards, and I lose track of time, and I was eating a giant bowl of ice cream at almost midnight, and that was the most interesting thing I could see around me without getting off the couch...

Day 161

June 10: I write. 

I mean, you know I write (you're reading my blog), but I also like to write. The tactile function of placing pen on paper. I carry a pen with me everywhere. 

EVERYWHERE.

A Parker Jotter. With gel ink. 

I have carried some version of this pen with me for nearly eighteen years.

Have it with me all day long. I keep it in a pocket in my pajamas (hey, you never know -- I'm also a "list" guy). 

If it was waterproof, I'd take it in the shower. Linus Van Pelt and his security blanket have nothing on me and my Parker. 

June 6, 1944

I had hoped to get this up earlier. 

There is so much that I want to say, but my subject is so vast, that I can really only say a few words.

Sixty five years ago today, the world was saved. 

Nearly 160,000 Allied troops stormed the beaches of Normandy, France, in the greatest invasion in history. On June 6, 1944, the liberation of Nazi controlled Europe began. This day the tide was turned, the victory of democracy and freedom, over the evils of totalitarianism was set in motion. The dawn of liberty was breaking over the dark and horrifying landscape of death and destruction. 

Names that ring out to us years later: Omaha. Utah. Sword. Juno. Overlord.

Ideals won out over ideaology.

The majority of troops were American, and every major battle in American history was a preparation for this day. 

Because of Bunker hill, because of Valley Forge, because of Gettysburg and Shiloh and Antietam, because of San Juan Hill and the hellish trenches of No Man's Land -- because of men like Washington and Lincoln and Pershing -- there was an American Army that day, an army of citizen soldiers -- and a tradition of fighting for ideals. 

For what they knew was right. 

And that day they did fight, alongside the ever stoic, ever valiant British and Canadians. 

4414 of them died.

But they advanced, in to the mouth of Hell, and they took back France. 

They took back the Netherlands.

They liberated the death camps.

They took back all that Hitler had stolen.

They saved the world that day.

Thank God for June 6, 1944.

What follows are the orders for Operation Overlord, from General Dwight D. Eisenhower, to all allied troops participating in the invasion of Normandy. 

You will bring about the destruction of the German war machine, the elimination of Nazi tyranny over the oppressed peoples of Europe, and security for ourselves in a free world. 

Your task will not be an easy one. Your enemy is well trained, well equipped, and battle-hardened. He will fight savagely. 

But this is the year 1944. Much has happened since the Nazi triumphs of 1940-41. 

The United Nations have inflicted upon the Germans great defeat in open battle man to man. Our air offensive has seriously reduced their strength in the air and their capacity to wage war on the ground.

Our home fronts have given us an overwhelming superiority in weapons and munitions of war and placed at our disposal great reserves of trained fighting men. 

The tide has turned. 

The free men of the world are marching together to victory. I have full confidence in your courage, devotion to duty, and skill in battle. 

We will accept nothing less than full victory. 

Good luck, and let us all beseech the blessings of Almighty God upon this great and noble undertaking.

Photostory Friday: Kisses

Hosted by Cecily and MamaGeek

There is nothing in the world like a kiss.

 

A kiss can just light you up. 

The kiss is the most intimate and personal form of human contact.

 

I remember, clearly, the first time I kissed my wife. It was after our second date, in the dorms of Southern Utah University. I asked her permission -- I was more chivalrous back then. 

That kiss was electric, I felt it to my toes. That kiss was light and life to me, it was hope and promise. It was acceptance and desire. 

Cloud nine? Cloud nine was so far below me that it made me dizzy to look down. 

My pictures are often driven by emotion and a search for life, and that's why I love to photograph kisses. 

Little kid kisses

They are almost always big and dramatic.

 

Kids rarely peck lightly on the cheek. 

And I always love the response of both the kisser and the kissed.

Parents and children

The tenderness of unconditional love. 

A mother's kiss is a prayer and a blessing. 

The Promised

The thrill and energy of brides and grooms. 

I LOVE this moment -- right before their lips touch (can you see the sparks?)

And this moment: Everything is possible. 

Now get out of here, and go light someone up with a kiss!

365: Week 22

Day 148

May 28: Matt the Bear.

Matthew earned his Bear badge in Cub Scouts this week. Each badge comes with a corresponding mother's pin. Part of the ritual of advancing in rank, is for the Cub Scout to pin the bear pin on his mother's lapel.

Day 149

May 29: Self portrait. 

I can play the guitar for months at a time (not without stopping, duh, I'm only human!) and then let it sit for months at a time too. I recently picked it back up. 

By the way, this is a "C" chord -- "C" is for Chris!

And cookie (that's good enough for me).

Day 150

May 30: Through the fence.

We've had a LOT of amazing evening skies this week, and Saturday was no exception. I framed this shot through the rails of the fence in the front yard -- that's why it looks like it's in Widescreen format. 

Day 151

May 31: Perpetual motion.

Even standing "still," Emma vibrates with energy. 

Day 152

June 1: Remember those amazing skies I was talking about on Saturday? Well, Monday night was the light show. I have never tried to photograph lightning, so this evening I sat on the back deck, listened to the rain, watched the show and tried to catch lightning. 

This was the best shot I got, but the experience was one of the most relaxing things I've done in a long time. 

Day 153

 
June 2: In 2001, we started a Christmas tradition of putting our kids' handprints on a white shelf each year, that we keep our Christmas media (cd's, books, dvd's) on.  It's been a fun way to mark the growth of our children. 

The problem is, we don't always get right to the handprinting. 

We finally put on Christmas 2008's prints this week. Now we can put the shelf away for the next six months. 

I can hear you asking "Why bother at this point?"

Day 154

June 3: More flowery goodness from the previous owners. 

Would you like to know what a romantic I am? I know that today is the fifteenth anniversary of the day I asked Sharon to marry me!

Happy Anniversary, Sharon. 

I love you!

Photostory Friday: Five Olives

Hosted by Cecily and MamaGeek

Do you remember when you could put black olives on all five of your fingers?

Back then, every day was a new adventure, and dreams weren't just dreams. 

When you looked in the mirror, you liked what you saw. 

Really liked it. 

Your small world was a VERY BIG place, and wonders were everywhere!

Setbacks were just bumps in the road.

You tried again. 

You laughed more than you cried. 

You believed. 

I wish they made bigger black olives. 

365: Week 21

Day 141

May 21: Self Portrait

I'm a drive-with-the-windows-down kind of guy. I can't wait until the weather gets warm enough to let the fresh (-ish)  air blow through my hair -- what's left of it (my hair, I mean).

I also hate to be hot, so I turn on the air conditioning.

While the windows are down -- which is still not as dumb as driving around in a convertible, with the windows rolled up. 

I never said I was practical. 

Day 142

May 22: "No Dad! Don't take my picture! I HATE it!" 

(Can you see the smile underneath?)

Do you know what I love? I love little kid fingers -- they really tell a story. 

Day 143

May 23: I decided to make chocolate chip cookies on Saturday. I followed the recipe EXACTLY (well, I doubled the chocolate chips) and instead of chocolate chip cookies, I got these. 

Whatever they are.

They look like cow pies, don't they?

Day 144

May 24: Sharon has always maintained that Matt is her best snuggler.

Don't ask where I come in on that list.

Day 145

May 25: Remember my nephew Jackson? Here he is exploring his aunt Sharon's hands. 

Day 146

May 26: The sweet smell of summer. 

Russian Olives are the only trees that I can smell before I see. These trees are EVERYWHERE along the roads and highways of Utah. I think they're, basically, giant weeds -- I don't know if anyone actually plants them.

Day 147

May 27: And the sweet taste of summer!

If you have never had anything from the "Simply" people, I suggest you go out and buy all of their products. 

Right now.

Would you like to know the best way to enjoy these? Pour them into smaller plastic bottles and freeze them. Then ENJOY!

It the delicious frozen gift, that keeps on giving!

Photostory Friday: Standing there

Hosted by Cecily and MamaGeek

I came across a story in the local newspaper this morning, about a website called Stoodthere.com This is a website where people can log on and tell stories and post pictures of the amazing places they have visited. You can also vote for the places that are already listed -- which are then compiled into a top 100 list. The lists are in constant flux as the votes are coming in (number one is always changing) -- until the voting closes. 

There are established lists for the UK and the United States, and some other areas, but they are currently compiling the list for the 100 Greatest Places to stand on Planet Earth. Some of the places in the running I have been to (the Golden Gate Bridge, the Las Vegas Strip), but most I haven't. 

I love things that take my breath away, and the list of places I would love to stand on this planet is almost endless (the pyramids of Giza, Machu Picchu, the Lincoln Memorial, the Great Wall of China...).

Though I haven't been to many places, some of the places I have been are spectacular. 

I'd like to share two with you, one made by the hand of man, one by the Hand of God. 

First: The Salt Lake Temple.

 

This is the building I was married in, so it holds a very special place for me, but beyond that, the story of it's construction is one of struggle and faith and sacrifice. 

More than once called the St Paul's of the American West, the Salt Lake Temple took forty years to build. It is constructed of granite blocks, quarried from a canyon twenty miles to the south. Those giant blocks were hauled -- essentially dragged -- from the quarry to the building site, sometimes taking as much as four days to haul a single block.  

Today you can still walk through the meadows of Little Cottonwood Canyon and see the debris of the stonecutters -- for me it's like touching the past, connecting with my own ancestors. 

Once the blocks made it to the building site, they were cut so precisely to fit together, that no mortar was used in the construction of the building. Many who laid the foundations of the Temple in 1853, were gone before it's dedication, in 1893. 

Every time I stand before the Salt Lake Temple, I stand in awe. 

Second: Mesa Arch, at sunrise. 

Utah is full of some astonishing natural landmarks, and I've seen many of them, including some that are more famous than this one -- particularly, Delicate Arch in Arches National Park (practically our state symbol). 

Mesa Arch is located in the Island in the Sky section of Canyonlands National Park. It's an incredible natural arch, poised on the precipice of a 1,500 foot cliff -- and I mean RIGHT on the edge (if you fell off, you could whistle three choruses of Yankee Doodle before you hit the ground).

But this isn't just a story of where, but when. Many people visit Mesa Arch during the course of a year -- almost none of them comes at the right time. 

Mesa Arch, Sunday morning, just before sunrise. 

 As you stand before the arch,  amongst the boulders and sage brush, you are treated to a show like no other. The sun comes over the Eastern horizon like a nuclear blast. It fills the ancient valley with golden light, and blazes right through the center of the arch. For nearly five minutes it sets the sandstone on fire, changing it from brown to yellow to orange to red and back.

 

And the only other people I have EVER seen there, at that time, were other photographers. Those who chase the light. 

So now, I'm curious -- where on earth have you stood?