My Driving Advice

Some thoughts I've had while driving lately:

1. Folks, come on, in order to merge you have to be going the same speed as oncoming traffic.


2. If someone is behind you, no one is in front of you, and you aren't passing anyone, MOVE OVER to the farthest right lane until this rule doesn't apply.


3. If there are two lanes and I'm in one and the other one is free, don't ride my tail and get mad and then zoom around me like I did something wrong. Change lanes and pass. It's not that hard.


4. Check your blind spot before changing lanes.


5. If someone is letting you in their lane and you want to change lanes, take it. Don't sit there and go back and forth (you go, no you go, no you go) Just GO!


6. When at a 4 way stop, follow common sense.


7. Going 30-40 mph over the speed limit is NOT OK.


8. Wear a helmet when riding a bike, motorcycle, skateboard, roller blades, etc. Even if it isn't the law. Your brain is valuable.


9. Utah needs to take a lesson in how construction is done in Las Vegas.


10. When did detours just be one sign that directs you away from the closed street and doesn't consist of multiple signs telling you have to get around the closed street?


11. Notice if you are in a Utah road block and do something about it.


12. Do NOT gawk at every cop, accident, etc on the road. It just makes it harder on everyone. Check the news to find out what happened if its that interesting but don't hold up traffic.


13. Be safe when using your cell phone and driving at the same time.

Now to step off my soap box and to get back to my day. Enjoy my rantings.

The Invasion of Dumbo

One day a couple of months ago, we found that the folks that own part of the field behind our house decided to put a horse back there. I woke up one morning and looked out the window and was so frustrated, I named the horse Dumbo. It's not that I don't like horses. I really do and I think they are beautiful creatures and really fun to ride. I just really don't want one in my back yard. I guess it is better than a house back there though.

So, about a month ago, the horse disappeared. I figured the landowner decided it wasn't a good spot for horses. YEAH. However, I got back into town yesterday and was so busy that I got back after it was dark. I woke up and looked out the window and Dumbo had multiplied!!! There are now like 10 horses back there or something!! I had to do like a quadruple take because I couldn't figure out if I was having a nightmare or not. I'm a little concerned that they will starve from not having enough grass to eat or water to drink.

Photo Shoot - James 1 year

So a few months ago, I did a photo shoot for my nephew, James, and Cloyd and Kimmy. I'm finally getting around to editing the shots and am through with about half of them. Although, newborns are much easier than toddlers. With toddlers, you just have to go with the flow. We had many more good pics to choose from last time. I hope more of my neices and nephews will give me a chance to get some more practice on photographing kids. They are so fun to shoot. Here are some of my favs:

Where have we been?

So I know all of you have been anxiously awaiting for a blog post from us... So here it is:

We have been super-busy over the past 9 months or so..Bear with me, this will be a long one.

Shauna's 10 Year Reunion
My 10 year reunion is coming up in 3 weeks. I'm super-excited to see the old High School gang (especially the girls from CHEER); although I'm really disappointed on how many folks are not going to be able to make it. Some of my best/most loyal friends I haven't seen in years can't come. If you don't know about it and you were in my class, check out www.cimarronmemorial99.com I'm struggling with what to wear. Should I wear a church dress I already own? or maybe go buy a new dress? I bought one online but it doesn't fit right. Here are some options I am thinking of, let me know what you think...

This dress is from Shabby Apple.

Also from Shabby Apple.

This one is from Bridal Expressions. It is a little pricey and a little too fancy I think.

This one you have to click on this link. I'm worried about this one being too fancy too. But it is super cute. I'd get brown.
It is so hard to find a cute, in style, cocktail dress that isn't overly fancy with sleeves and down at least to your knees. If you have any suggestions, please I'm dying to know...

Our Landscaping
We've recently been working on our Landscaping and have big huge piles of dirt and crazy holes in our yard right now. We started out with the grading and the stone steps in the front which are almost done now. We have to have them fix 3 of the steps but other than that it is starting to look pretty good. It is amazing how expensive landscaping can be. We ran out money very quickly. It's a good thing bonus time comes soon so we can get more done soon (crossing our fingers).

Sam's New Job
Sam got a new job since I last posted and he is loving it. He is working at L-3 Communications and is working on "communications devices." I'm told that is all I can say about his job. He is using a lot of the same technologies that he used in NI so he is showing up the veterans since he is an expert at them. This job is a great fit for him and he loves having every other Friday off.

Our New Neice and Nephew
Krista and Lindsay both had babies! Congrats! Krista had a girl, Brooklyn Nicole Warnick. Lindsay had a boy, Cash Norman Roundy. Both kids are doing great and are looking cute (I only know from pics for Cash though, we haven't seen him yet)

Shauna's Trip To Florida
At the last minute, I decided to hop on the DisneyWorld train and go with my parents and two brothers. The flight ended up being a mess because I missed my flight from Dallas back to Salt Lake so I flew from Dallas to Minneapolis to Salt Lake to Atlanta to Orlando. We went to 4 parks, 2 water parks, Cirque Du Soleil, and I took a side trip to the beach in 6 days. It was busy, busy, busy. We had a blast running from ride to ride and feeling like kids again. I enjoyed the Rockin Rollercoaster the best. It is a good ride. I went to this remote island called Caladesi Island on the Gulf for the beach. It was not crowded at all and I saw turtles and had some great shell collecting. Here are a couple of pics:






Shauna's Trip To Dallas
I got to go to Dallas for USA Gymnastics Visa Championships and National Congress (a coaches training). It was so much fun. I got to see all of the up and coming junior gymnasts as well as the seniors. We have some great gymnasts in the pipeline and a lot of depth on the team. If things go the way I think they will, we are going to have a great Olympics in 2012. The coaching conference was really informative and I learned a lot of new drills I'm applying to my classes right now. I had been to other conferences but not on this scale. We stayed in the host hotel so we got to see gymnasts like Shawn Johnson, Terrin Humphrey, and Justin Spring just walking around the hotel. During a couple of the sessions Mattie Larson, Chelsea Davis, and Corrie Lothrop sat in front of us because they were injured. It was so fun to see them interact during the meet. Overall, I was in heaven. We also stayed in this amazing suite that was probably about 1000 sq feet. It had a dining room, living room, bar, bathroom, etc. All thanks to DC! It was awesome. I also got to visit with one of my old Jerusalem buddies, Sarah Hansen (now Tanner). It was so fun to see her. She is one of the most inspirational and strong women I know. Her daughter is gorgeous too! It's too bad it didn't work out to see any of our Austin buds, but hopefully soon.

If you are still reading, I'm impressed! Don't give up.. Not too much longer.

Kemple Family Reunion
My mom and dad were in charge of the Jim Kemple Family Reunion this year. We did lots of fun things like had a marshmallow roast up Cottonwood Canyon where some people camped. I wish I could have but I had to work early that morning. I also took a detour and went sky diving along the way. What a RUSH!! I can't wait to do it again. I'd post pics, but I don't think any of you want to see my fat flopping around due to the air pressure. It was one of the best things I have every done. We also went to some of the sites just around Salt Lake City, like the zoo and the aquarium. One of the funnest things we did was play Family Feud. It was so funny to see the dynamics of the family from generation to generation and how involved some families got.

Shauna's Trip To Israel
I got the opportunity to travel to Israel for business. It was so touching to go back to the same spots I did when I lived there for school 9 years ago. Sometimes I would visit a place and would just start to cry inside because of the memories I have of that Holy Land. It is one place that has changed my life forever. However, it was also very different with the changes due to the new Palestinian territories. The Palestinian-Israeli conflict is one I find myself torn in all different directions on due to my time studying in Israel. I see both the good and the bad in the territories and it breaks my heart. I got the opportunity to go to a Bahai temple after hours and get a guided tour from a volunteer there. It was very interesting and it always amazes me how the basic pillars of religion are usually the same. I can't wait to go back again and maybe take Sam with me. I don't have any pics uploaded to this puter yet so hopefully I'll post some later. You all know I'm not the best poster when it comes to pictures.

Shauna's Trip To Boston
I also got to travel to Boston for work. I was very impressed with Harvard (almost wished I went there for the campus alone-It was gorgeous) and was expecting a lot more out of MIT which was very cold. The Microsoft campus there was fully loaded and overlooked the river running through Cambridge. Shira, a colleague from Israel, and I had a lot of fun eating tapas, going shopping, and touring around the Boston area including the famous Freedom Trail. We even made it out to Salem and visited the witch museum which I enjoyed a lot. Here are some pics:








Shauna's New Office
Our new Microsft office opened in Lehi recently and it is really cool. It came with XBox, Guitar Hero World Tour, my own office again (NO MORE CUBES :) ), and some very modern furniture and collaboration rooms. We recently had our grand opening. You can read more about Senator Hatch playing Guitar Hero here: http://blog.mvryan.org/2009/09/microsoft-udc-we-do-everything/.

Whew! I think that's about it. Any questions?

Going Home

I think no matter where I live, Vegas will always be home to me. And I'm going home!! We will be in Vegas on Dec 26th - ~Jan 4th. If you want to hang out while I'm there, post a comment or give me a call.

Happy Turkey Day!!

I hope everyone is having a good Turkey day! We are in Alton and it is snowing like crazy but Thanksgiving dinner was good. It's also Sam's birthday so Happy Birthday Sam!

I'm excited for tomorrow because we can start getting ready/celebrating Christmas which is my favorite holiday.

The Last Month... Or So

I haven't posted for a while because even though we've had a lot of ups and downs lately, nothing has really compelled me to write. Here is brief overview:

• We threw a great big Halloween Bash. It was lots of fun and I was really excited that 2 of my friends from Jerusalem showed up


• I've had 3 meets for the kids I coach gymnastics. They did really great and I'm really proud of them.


• Sam's looking for a new job


• I'm so glad it's November and it's only snowed once


• We went to Denver for the Gymnastics Superstars performance. Which was awesome


• My mom had her 50th b-day

That about sums it up.

Pen Pal

In Texas, I was a volunteer for a program called GirlStart. This is a great program that teaches young girls about technology and gets them excited about it. I've been looking for an opportunity like that here in Utah but have not been able to find one. Still looking... However, the other day I came across a volunteer program where you become a pen pal to a student that is in 3-5 grade. Over the school year, you read 5 books together and write back and forth on the issues of the books. It sounded like a great opportunity for me because it is something I can do from anywhere and at anytime (midnight or 1 AM). So I signed up. I'm really excited and it should be really fun. If you are interested, you can check out http://www.in2books.com If you know of any non profit organizations in Utah dealing with getting young girls excited about technology and computers, let me know.

Rain

It is finally raining today!! I love the rain. I love the sound, the smell, how everything is greener just after, etc.

Fringe

Have you seen the new TV show Fringe? I think this is probably one of the best shows since ... The X-Files. It is a story about a group of people (brought together through a case) who are investigating cases dealing with "Fringe" science. The team includes an FBI agent, a scientist from the 70's who studied "Fringe" science and then was put in a nut house for 17 years, the scientist's son who attended MIT for a while but has mostly been a criminal for the last while. The stories are unique and add a new flavor to sci-fi. Check out the latest two episodes on streaming.myfoxutah.com (this will go to your local fox website) under Drama and let me know what you think.