Oh Yeah!

No not a Kool-Aid reference, but a realization that I still have a blog! So after months of delay I thought I would throw down some thoughts on my mind....lets do this the old top 5 format....

1) Family is awesome.

This past weekend we welcomed in the Clemente family as Mariel married Kristin's brother Matt. I know I am stretching the tree with an in-laws in-laws, but I can't help myself. One of my biggest realizations over the past few years is how important family is to me and that I need to make larger strides to stay in touch with my immediate family!

2) Basketball is still my hands-down favorite sport.

Tomorrow marks the end of the best tournament in the WORLD, ever! And while I am sad to see it end, it did remind me of how much I still love basketball. And lately I have enjoyed many new opportunities to play with people in charity tournaments and just old fashioned pick-up style.

3) Global Warming is 110% a load of crap

Don't believe me, move to Wisconsin.

4) The Tribulation will occur in my lifetime

Lately with the G20 it seems more and more obvious that the pieces are moving into place with the political agenda being pushed (both by the US administration, and the UN/EU leaders) it seems that globalization financially will happen over the next 20 years, with a new global currency being introduced in the next 5. Watch for peace in the middle east now folks.

5) Finding yourself is the hardest thing one does in life.

With the world the way it is and I the way I am, it seems that it will be forever difficult for me to "know what to do with myself." And sadly it gets harder and harder to approach God with these concerns. I think it is because I am so results driven that I refuse to believe I have to wait for anything, whatever it is, and in that probably lies a lesson by Yahweh to force me to rely on Him more....the funny thing is that this wasn't some revelation I just had while typing this, but one I had some time ago, and yet I find it so difficult to follow through with the answer....almost like I am secretly trying to sabotage myself...

I guess Jeremiah was right, our hearts are totally crooked and cannot be trusted....

July Updates....

Wow, its been 5 weeks since a post! I should probably do something about that, eh?

Independence Day was a great weekend! My family (and one of Ashley's friends) came down from Minnesota for a visit....an by "visit" I mean were passing through so my sister could see the Jonas Brothers in Milwaukee (again) :) We hit up the Henry Villas Zoo, the Dane County Farmers Market, toured the UW campus, hit up concert on the square, saw some fireworks, and overloaded my dad with crazy liberals and their whacked out ideas (sorry dad). Though they were down for almost 4 Days, the time flew by!Fortunately we were back up in Minnesota for my old neighbors wedding. It was a fun weekend spent downtown, though VERY short!


Early in the month we also made a trip to the always enjoyable Pine Lake Camp. Kristin's parents were up there for the week, but Kristin and I could only manage a couple days visit with them and our dear friends, the Coenen's. We had a fun visit as always, and even saved the day as Jim, Matt, and myself found and pulled out (by the grace of God) a mast that had fallen into the lake a week earlier. Nick was pretty grateful....although I think he was MORE grateful nobody drowned while diving 20 feet to the bottom of the lake!

We also got to welcome in Garrett Conrad to the world, Dave and Jessi are adjusting great! My favorite line is one Jessi said, "having 2 kids is WAY different than having 1." Classic.

The following week Kristin and I went though our roller coaster ride of finding out we were pregnant, but unfortunately miscarried in the 5th week. It was a hard thing to wrap ones mind around, but we have had much care and support from friends and family. As my wife wrote, we are TRULY blessed with such a great support group!

At the end of July, I accepted a position at Merrill Lynch as a client associate! I am excited (and nervous) about this opportunity, but feel that I will have a great chance to learn a great deal about the finance industry. The office is downtown Madison, so I will get my first exposure to working in the hustle and bussel of a big city...wait, it is still Madison....so it is more hustle and bussel of a moderately sized city....

All in all this has been quite the month; laughs, cries, cliche lines....the whole works.

Playing The Warren @ Notre Dame!

This past weekend Kristin's side of the family had a get together in South Bend, IN. It was a nice short trip that was highlighted with a 9 hole round at The Warren, Notre Dame's home golf course.

It was a fun round, my brother-in-law tagged along as well and had a fun time. I wish I had taken pictures of the course, but I forgot the camera in the car, oh well...take my word, it was pretty sweet!

All in all I played quite well, never "worm burned" a shot, everything flew nicely, accuracy was off as usual...but I hope to tackle that beast this season. When it was all said and done, I shot a generous 50 (I say generous as I improved some sickly lies on like 3 holes). I had just one snowman, another 7 and the rest were bogey or doubles. I did manage one par on #8 which felt pretty good! Also hit a par 5 in two, and by "hit" I mean I was pin high, but 10 yards to the right in the rough....

Big thanks to Scott for the hook up this weekend, we had a blast!

Matt and I after our 9.

Gotta love the ND logo on the carts!

I remember a time when you had to find sprinkler heads and pace your distance from them to determine your yardage to the pin.

The official tee time clock.