Our World in a Minute

Unfortunately, I've been suffering from a severe case of Writer's Block lately; thus, the blog, too, has suffered. I'm forcing myself to sit and write so that "Uncle Mike on a mission" actually has something to read this week.

Let's begin with problem-solving...

Like all the other crazed resoluters, I've been "very much considering" getting more fit. I started by going to a district-sponsored class called "Powerful Mind/Nutrition". The class did nothing for me...super boring, not motivating, and no aha moments.

Then Wednesday night for enrichment, excuse me, "Relief Society" we had a guy in our ward (who's a trainer for Gold's Gym) come and discuss nutritional tips. That was a much better class; it taught me how to calculate my daily caloric intake, and gave me some tips for a more effective workout.

So...I've pretty much got a world of amazing nutritional information going on in my head, but this body of mine (for some reason) won't get in gear. Maybe I should just accept the marathon invitation from my friend, Lindsay; that would most likely get me up and training (although I may have burnt that bridge with her after the smart remarks I made after receiving the invite). Solutions to my latest problem, anyone?

Next, let's talk about hot air...

This is my teaching partner, Andrea (whom I love), and me...and this is our class's hot air balloon getting ready for take-off.

Yesterday at school the third grade launched their mini hot-air balloons (after much icky construction time). Let me tell you...ultra-cool, but THE biggest pain in the neck to make:( Quite frankly, I was secretly glad to see the thing go...The third graders do this every year, and have always gotten to relaunch the balloons several times. But because of the extremely cold temperatures outside, it made for excellent flying conditions and we never saw our balloons again. Once launched, they drifted far, far away, and looked like they landed somewhere around I-15 near Thanksgiving Point...you can see in the pic below a tiny little spec of color in the sky as it creeps up happily towards the freeway...I haven't yet heard of any car accidents over there, so that's a good thing.

Moving on...

We've recently gotten the chance to meet up with old friends. Our first encounter was over Christmas Break. We met up with the Tiede's at the Grand America for their breakfast buffet. We ate like kings, but more importantly, loved catching up. It's been a couple years since we've seen Cameron, and nearly a year since seeing Rachael and Olivia so it was a much needed event.

Kate and Olivia in the G.A. toy store

Then last weekend some other California friends, Matt and Laney, paid us another much needed visit. They always make for a night of fun and seem to be very popular ;) so we were honored to get a Saturday night with them. We dined at Los Hermanos, and then they taught how to play chicken foot; super fun, but not as fun as the very dark, top-secret info Laney revealed about the show House Hunters. If any readers are curious as to what that may be, talk to me personally...I'd hate to ruin the show for any die-hards. Anyway, you can see why we live for nights with these people...

That's about it in the world of the Blackhursts...you're welcome, Uncle Mike. Hopefully you'll send us a super LONG letter, super soon.