Finally...

Yes, I'm lame... I've been busy... honest. It's just that a few Christmas projects have taken up my normal blogging time. This is not a sign of a blog slowdown. If anything, you'll see more of my blog in 2009. I'm even pondering a change to Wordpress... we'll see...

So, I've got a lot to catch up on. How about we dive right in?

The King and Kate: Way back in November, Katelyn had a role in Ridgeline Elementary's production of The King and I. Her specific part was a member of the Chorus that recounts Uncle Tom's Cabin to the Western guests of the King of Siam. The highlight of her role is the singing of the phrase "Run Eliza!" and we all had a good time with her in singing it with her.


Yes, that's a tuna can on her head.

I was way impressed with this production. Not only was it done using a ton of sixth graders, but the director was able to get most everyone a good part in the play. The actor that played the King was great and the story flowed pretty well.

And Katelyn looked beautiful and did a terrific job. She's a natural.


Trip to D.C.: Needless to say, our family was very excited to go on this trip but didn't really quite know what to expect. I guess for me I had a vision of a dirty, ugly city that had a cool downtown district and a couple of cool site to see that were government related. I had no idea how wrong I would be proven upon arrival.



In short, I fell in love with an amazing city rich in history and steeped in architectural beauty. It was a wonderful experience to be amongst so much history, surrounded by edifices that spoke to the hard work and testimonies of our Founding Fathers and the nation they worked so hard to build.

Everywhere we went, there was an interesting footnote to the birth or growth of our nation and I was mesmerized by the whole experience. It was cool beyond words -- but I'm still going to give a blow-by-blow recounting of my favorites part of the trip for the benefit of my awesome in-laws -- Mom and Dad Orton.

Day One: First off, I have to say that I could get used to a chauffeur - which is what we had the whole time we were there. Our limo was a half million dollar touring bus driven by quite possibly the nicest guy in the world -- Jay. That was a definite highlight of the trip.

So, on day one Jay dropped us off at the Washington Mall. Of course, we had to explain to Dallin and Katelyn that this mall wouldn't have an Aeropostale store - that the D.C. Mall is home to all fo the famous Washington D.C. monuments.



So we got out and proceeded to explore. The day was cold and windy, but as Mom Orton and I decided, it just made all of the American Flags stand out so much better. We started out at the Washington Monument and before the afternoon came, we'd gone to the top of the Washington Monument, ran to the Lincoln Memorial, got lost inside the Korean War Veterans Memorial and then walked very quickly back to the Bus at the Washington Monument. It was a fast few hours, but a ton of fun.

The top of the Washington Monument was amazing. From this vantage point you see the true genius of the layout of Washington D.C. -- Everywhere you look is something amazing - The White House, The Pentagon, The U.S. Capitol Building, The Lincoln Memorial, The Jefferson Memorial and the awesome downtown district of the city. The streets are beautiful. It was all just soooo cool.

The Zoo: After we hopped on the bus we went to the National Zoo. I'll admit that I wasn't overly excited about this part of the journey... until I got there. I've been to a few zoos in my day -- even the one in Paris -- but I've never been to a zoo that didn't charge admission and I've never been to a zoo that put you so close to the animals. And since it was so cold, the animals were out and moving and interacting with other animals. We saw lions that actually walked around and tigers that looked at you and cheetahs that looked as though they could jump over the fence.

And panda bears... we saw panda bears like crazy!



We saw them walking around, and climbing trees and eating bamboo and making panda bear noises (They kind of sound like sheep a little). The pandas were definitely the highlight of the zoo for me.

Day Two: On this day, all of the adults except for Grandma and Grandpa went to the Washington D.C. temple for a session -- which turned out to be in Spanish! While the adults were inside the temple, Grandma and Grandpa took all the kids to the Visitor Center and spent a few hours in instructing all the kids on the importance of the temple in their individual lives. They wrapped up with a family prayer. Our kids thought it was an amazing time.


After the adults and kids were reunited, we posed for pictures in front of the temple.

We then hopped back on the bus and went right back to downtown D.C. where we spent the rest of the afternoon and evening in visiting the different Smithsonian Museums. We started with the Museum of Natural History, then moved on to the Air and Space Museum. We loved the Air and Space Museum for its simple realism. Right before our eyes were the capsules from moon landings or the original Wright Brothers plane -- the first craft that flew successfully.

We also saw missiles and rockets and exhibits about the Red Baron of Germany. This Smithsonian museum was definitely a highlight for me as well.


We then crossed the mall and arrived at the Smithsonian Museum of American History. This museum was different than I expected, but fascinating nonetheless. Not only did it have a wing devoted to fun pop culture items -- like Dorothy's ruby slippers and Jerry Seinfeld's puffy shirt -- but it also housed exhibits to American cars, musical instruments and an amazing exhibit exploring all of the U.S. presidents. It was fascinating.



By then our feet were pretty tired, but we still had the Smithsonian Museum of American Art to see, so we hailed a taxi and enjoyed a relaxing end to our amazing day. The kids especially liked the portraits of the American Presidents. I enjoyed the Ansel Adams exhibit.


By the time the day was through and Jay had driven the bus back into downtown D.C. to pick up the Poyfair family, we were beat but wishing we had several more days to enjoy all of the Smithsonian museums in a little more detail.

Day Three: We woke up on Thanksgiving Morning and made our way to Mount Vernon. While traveling, we all took a second on the bus and talked about the things we're most thankful for. Julie wrapped it up nicely when she said our common theme was 'Faith, Family, Freedom." I think she was right on.



I wasn't quite sure what to expect from Mount Vernon. I've been to my fair share of restored houses from long ago. I've been to Fort Clatsop and Fort Vancouver and several pioneer homes throughout Utah. I expected Mount Vernon to be something like that -- an old, musty house that seemed like it belonged in another century.



But the great part of Mount Vernon is that the house is only a very small part of what you go so see there. You start out by walking the grounds of this farm that in its day was the very pinnacle of forward thinking farming techniques. While you walk around the grounds you can't help but learn and respect George Washington for his industriousness and genius in running such a complex operation. For me, the whole grounds of Mount Vernon transformed from a neat history lesson into a deep appreciation for a man who was truly like no other the United States has ever known.

(One tidbit that I found particularly fascinating is that Key to the Bastille is actually housed in George Washington's front room.)

Then you go into the George Washington Museum and you learn about his life away from Mount Vernon -- the battles he won and lost, his faith in God, his perfect integrity and you learn to love this man for what he was -- the Super Cool (not penultimate) leader of a fledgling democracy who stepped down from offers to be a king to return to Mount Vernon and be a farmer. You can't help but leave Mount Vernon with a greatly improved appreciation of the man who was our first president.

Not only that, you got to see his dentures.

We left Mount Vernon and ate Thanksgiving Dinner at a lovely restaurant on our way home. I'm thinking everyone got their fill of food.

Day Four: Philadelphia was amazing. By this part of the vacation I was starting to suffer from history overload. Philly just made it that much worse... or better.



We started by gazing at the Liberty Bell, then took a very fast tour of the Mint -- it was pretty much closed -- then ate a Philly Cheesesteak sandwich, took a tour of Independence Hall, walked two blocks to the Christ Church and sat in the pew where George Washington and John Adams worshipped while they were presidents, then walked back to the main square where we jumped on a 'duck' or an old World War II bus that doubles as a boat.



The Duck took us on a tour of the streets of Philadelphia, then plunged us into the Delaware River for a tour of the waterfront and other parts of the city only accesible by boat.




Day Five: On the fifth day of the vacation, we shed our tourist personalities and came together as a family to support Kadyn Acor's decision to be baptized a member of the Church of Jesus Christ. She looked beautiful in her white dress and all her cousins were excited to share this special day with her.



We all had an amazing time. I simply loved this vacation and am excited to go back to Washington D.C. Thank you again Mom and Dad Orton for the awesome trip. I completely enjoyed it.

Dustin's birthday: Because Mother Nature and United Airlines didn't cooperate with us on our trip home, Dustin spent his birthday flying from Chicago to Palm Springs, California before driving through Las Vegas and finally home at 3 a.m. the next morning. He was a good sport, though and so we celebrated his birthday the next day.



He especially liked the Cowboy clothes -- thanks to Grandma and Grandpa Orton.

Biz Trip to Europe: I was home for only a few days before I was crossing the Atlantic Ocean and landing in Zurich, Switzerland to demonstrate and sell Carrot Culture Leadership training. We spent the first day getting accustomed to the time change, then we worked on our presentation. The next day we spent in an office in downtown Zurich in presenting our demonstration.

Later that evening Max Brown and I went to a Chocolate Store to buy a bunch of Swiss chocolate to bring home to our families and the Carrot Culture team. The chocolate was so expensive there that we decided to go with the cheapest bars we could find.

When we got home we realized we actually bought Ecuadorian chocolate that was pretty bitter. I'm not sure if I could have screwed that one up more if I tried -- I go to Switzerland and return with Chocolate from Ecuador. Duh.

The next morning Max and I flew to France. We flew into a pretty decent snowstorm and the shuttle to the hotel was running way behind, so it took us two hours before we even got to the hotel. By then we were both cold, demoralized and cranky and despite the fact that it was only 1 p.m. in the afternoon, I decided that I didn't want to take the time to travel into Paris. So I ordered room service and prepared myself to sleep the rest of the day away. Before I did this, however, I was able to chat with Karli who promptly questioned my sanity.

"You're not going into Paris? Are you kidding?" she asked. And she was right. I quickly got dressed jumped on a RER train and was as the Notre Dame de Paris by 4 p.m.


It was wonderful to be back. I took a self-guided tour of the Cathedral and snapped some of these shots...

I tried many times during my mission to snap a picture of this crypt found inside the Notre Dame, but never had a good enough flash to capture it. Now and I do and I present it to you.. yes, that's the grim reaper taking this poor guy away.


After getting my fill of the Notre Dame, I then walked past the Hotel de Ville and made my way to the Centre Pompidou -- one of my favorite places to visit during my mission. I snapped a few photos, grabbed a hot chocolate from a Starbucks and then made my way back to Notre Dame and the Metro stop.


I then jumped on another RER to the Champs de Mars, where I walked along the Seine River to the Effiel Tower. It was decked out in blue and was sporting the stars of the European Union. I was able to snap these photos, and yes, I needed a tripod.



As I crossed the Seine I was treated to a spectacular sight that I cannot explain. I can only steal someone else's Youtube clip of it....



Here are some of my photos

and proof I was there!


After I witnessed this awesome spectacle, I hopped back on the Metro to the Arc de Triomphe and snapped this photo



I then walked down the Champs de l'Elysee


and finished at the Place de la Concorde.



After that, I jumped back on a Metro and made my way back to the hotel. I'm so glad I did this. I had a blast. Thanks to Karli for waking me out of my silly haze and getting me there.

Well, I now consider myself caught up. I do have a few more things I could post right now, but I'm sure I've bored you enough with this post as it is. I bore you with more details of my life this weekend with my Christmas wrap up post.