Asteroids Do Not Concern Me!

Thursday, May 15, 2014

"Daddy, where's my wedding dress?

Ari and Derek Velez Mt Timpanogos Temple 4/25/14

Marrying off your first daughter is like becoming a parent all over again. Kar and I were married for 10 years before we had children. During this time, we became expert 'armchair parents.' We used to sit back and watch all the mistakes that family and friends made trying to raise their kids. We marveled at their repeated stupidity. How could they do that? What were they thinking? Occasionally, we would be very impressed with their parenting skills and took note of those things. After 10 years, we knew it all! We slept like babies at night knowing that when we had kids, it would be a breeze. After all, we had become experts, or had we? We have gone through a similar experience and mindset when it came to throwing a wedding. We were ready. It would be no big deal, or would it? Well, it is no shock to find out that when we adopted our two girls within 2 weeks of each other 27 years ago, we suddenly had no clue what we were doing as parents. When the pressure was on, we choked. We quickly had become outmatched and outgunned. We made our share of mistakes, but eventually figured it out, I think. Much like parenting, staging a wedding for our daughter Arianne turned out to not be such a simple thing as I thought. My eyes were opened. Nevertheless, after a whirlwind of effort, planning and execution we finally pulled it off. Or had we? We did it all during a somewhat short engagement period. We were incredibly efficient! But, at 10:30 PM on Thursday night April 24th (the night before the wedding), Ari called me. We had just had a wonderful rehearsal dinner at Heaps Brick Oven and were winding down in prep for the big day ahead. I answered and she said, "Daddy, where's my wedding dress? In shock, I handed the phone to the mother of the Bride, who covered her face with her hands and exclaimed, "Oh my gosh! I forgot to pick it up from the dry cleaners today." A mini-meltdown ensued. But, after Googling the cleaners, we found out they would be open the next day at 7:00 AM. Whew! Disaster averted.
The wedding day was a dream. Our little girl had grown up and found the man of her dreams and married him for all time in the Mt Timpanogos Temple! What a beautiful thing to be together with family and friends on such a blessed occasion. So many memories of Ari and Ally played in vivid color in my mind. What a wonderful journey it has been, culminating in the awesome day for Ari and Derek. Their life together is just beginning. What amazing adventures lie ahead for them. We can't wait to see how it all turns out and look forward to being a big part of it.
CONGRATULATIONS MR. AND MRS. VELEZ!!!!!
Please enjoy a few photos taking you down Memory Lane:


Sleeping girl with curls

Ari and Alex

Ari and Ally Indian and Cowgirl

Ari and Dad

Ari and Mom on Dumbo

Ari and Grandad Forsling

Honing her driving skills

Bike riding with Timpy

The Maid

The Look

Bears in Yellowstone

On the beach in Kaua'i

We finally have a son!!

Walking The Bride down the Aisle at the post sealing Ring Ceremony At the Springville Museum of Art

Beautiful Mom and Beautiful Bride

Kar with Forsling Sibs

Mom and daughters

Proud parents of the bride

Day's and Forsling's Friends Forever

Grandma and Grandpa Linnemeyer

Harry and Mike, Blood Brothers


High School buddies and wives

Temple Tulips

Parting Shot:

Fiesta Days Carnival Spanish Fork, UT July 24, 1989


Fiesta Days Carnival July 24, 2013

Wow, so many sweet memories!

Wednesday, November 20, 2013

Turtle Mania in PV

Turtle Sunset Bahia del Sol

This past week, Karalee and I had the opportunity to spend a week in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico with some old and new friends. We also developed a special relationship with the Olive Ridley turtle. We were the guests of Dr. John Hales, his wife Marilyn, and Jim and Sue Linnemeyer. Allen and April Humphries completed the group of eight adventurers. It was fun getting to know the Humphries, they are great people! We spent the week at the *****Star time-share resort, Bahia del Sol in Nuevo Vallarta, just up the coast from Puerto Vallarta. The finest attribute of Bahia del Sol was its proximity to a spectacular beach. Even better, this beach is a nesting ground for the iconic Olive Ridley sea turtle. After 30 days of eating and gaining strength, the Olive Ridley females come ashore in the dead of night and lay their eggs, 100 at a time. After burying the eggs, they return to the sea. Approximately 60 days later, the flock of youngsters hatch from their eggs and dig their way to the surface. From the beach, they return to the sea. Only 1 out a 100 Olive Ridley's survive to adulthood. Poaching has also taken a toll on the species. The eggs are rumored to contain an aphrodisiac. As a result, these turtles are considered vulnerable and soon may become endangered. To assist the Olive Ridley's survival, a sanctuary has been established on the beach near Bahia del Sol. When the young turtles hatch, they are gathered up, given refuge and subsequently released back to the sea at dusk each day. This offers protection from waiting predators both from the skies above and the seas below. Hopefully, the Olive Ridley will continue its circle of life!


Baby Olive Ridley making his way to the sea.

Sandy Turtles

Adult Female Olive Ridley Turtle (The adult males never return to the beach)

Kar and her Baby Olive

The Hales' and Linnemeyer's have been making the trip south to Mexico every year for over 20 years. They have developed and honed an unparalleled program and schedule, guaranteed to provide the utmost in leisure and relaxation. The schedule basically went like this: A little before 9 AM we rolled out of bed and made preparations to stroll down to the beach. Jim took care of us by having spots reserved for us each day. Jim is the man! Our mornings will filled with boogie boarding, swimming, reading and lounging (heavy on the lounging). Breakfast and lunch was available from the resort's beach side cafe. You can't beat that! Mid afternoons were spent preparing for the day's signature event: DINNER! Virtually no cooking was required which was A-OK with the Forsling's. The Veterans picked a place for us to dine each night, always making excellent choices. By far, the best restaurant we visited was Karen's Place, overlooking Banderas Bay in Bucerias. Karen, originally from England, opened the place in 1998. It was exquisite! We dined comfortably under the palapa, enjoying fantastic seafood and lobster mashed potatoes. The potatoes had to be about the best thing I have ever eaten. Every night after dinner we ventured to a nearby mall in our 10- passenger van, for ice cream. Gelato, hot fudge sundaes and awesome company made for a fantastic dessert. The concluding event in the Hales/Linnemeyer PV program were cards. "Shoot the Moon' took place in the Hales' condo. These games always included demonic competitiveness from certain players who shall remain nameless. Remember, "It's just a game." Each blissful day blurred into the next as the week went on.
The sunsets were sensational, the ocean was orgasmic, the constellations were killer and friendships were forged!
The trip of a lifetime! We hope we are lucky enough to do it again sometime!