Glug, glug, glug

A sprinkler pipe burst at SoccerPlex due to this extreme cold snap and as the water cascaded down the stairs I wondered if I was seeing my future going down with it. Hopefully they have enough insurance to cover it and money won't be a problem because this is the type of problem that could burden a business, but since the indoor field and futsal court didn't get wet I think we will continue with business as usual. It was definitely a different atmosphere going into work today with water gushing through the ceiling and the fires alarms blaring.  I ended up canceling class which was a bummer because I had to see all the kids come in and one by one try to explain why there wouldn't be soccer today. Not to pleasant of a task (on top of the frantic race to suck up all the water creeping towards the field). But I continue to press on and I've started making plans to present the best case on why I should be in charge of developing our youth program. Started digging through they OYSA site which is full of fantastic stuff for aspiring soccer coaches which is something Trent and I have been talking about and getting nationally certified would be a tremendous step. Considering my journey into the world of soccer began in one of the Stott Center's gyms it wouldn't hurt to get some background in the game that I have grown to love. I only hope as I make the commitment to coaching that I will have to opportunity to again feel the experience the same passion I did when playing those rec teams. I have some trepidation moving forward as I've never really asked more of any of my superiors, not even a raise because I have always considered myself well paid but there is a certain point where you just want to be your own boss (or at least have some control in how things are done) in order to have to have a sense of ownership in the world.

The final tango

Summer is winding down and we have been really getting out there. Having landed the apartment in Portland and having a whole week off we've had the chance to really get out there. It's been a fantastic week.

We attended the Monmouth Stake Temple night and it was a beautiful time. Being able to again strengthen our faith and renew our commitment to living the gospel brings so much joy. And the amount of people who responded to President Petersen's call to fill the chapel makes me so proud to see the saints heed the Lord's servant. So many came that we were able to witness the selfless nature of brethren who when seeing that we were filled to capacity and there were women without seats graciously got up and offered their own. It was good to see that gallantry still has a place in the world.

OMSI was amazing. We took Tyler, Connor and Trent to see the museum (Trent being a first timer). It was funny because we had never been to a musuem together as a couple (the only other time was when I arranged for Brynn and I to go with Trent to Willamette University's art musuem, Trent acting as my beard) so Brynn didn't know that i'm a slowpoke when it comes to looking at things. Especially when most of the exhibits are interactive, I can spend ages in each section. So as the others ended up zipping through I was moving as slow as molasses. This obviously didn't sit well with Connor because as I was nearing the end of the second exhibit she ingeniously (I think having had seen this technique practiced with Karli and Bill) invoked the wife clause ("Brynn wants to see you") and off we went to the CSI exhibit. All in all it was a fantastic way to spend the day seeing ourselves do the weather on TV, making paper airplanes, flying into space in a Gemini capsule. I think we were there for four hours and I hadn't made it all over the museum.



One of the biggest rip offs was the State Fair. We each hadn't been for years personally because of bad experience working there with the carnies. Ten bucks to get in and no way we are going to pony up three to four dollars to get on the lamesauce rides, we ended up going back and forth up the aisles looking at people's wares and food. Ended up finding a new exhibit to the fair. It was a Sea Lion outreach program that held shows every day to educate people about sea lions and it featured two sea lions that had been rescued. The neat thing was that you could buy a ticket to get a kiss from the sea lions and sensing that this would be the one redeeming factor of our outing we each got a ticket. The kiss was so cold and wet but not as gross as you would think. Each dollar also went to funding the program and the sea lions themselves.