Ashley and I at the Mall

While I was in Utah I got together with my friend Ashley from High School and we did what we do best, nothing really. We just walked around and took random pictures. It was great, Ashley's always been such a great friend so this post is dedicated to you and your awesomeness.

Haley's Soccer Game

In Utah we went to my sister Haley's soccer game. It was the playoff game.



















Her team is called the Lehi Strikers.








They lost that game but, they were 2nd place in the league. So Haley was a little sad, but they sure did well.

the JAZZ game!!!!

So along the way on our travels through Utah, my older sister Emily decided to solidify her spot in heaven and get Jazz tickets for Game 3 against the Lakers. So her, Kim and my old man all met in Ogden and hopped on the train and headed to Salt Lake City for the showdown. It was great to ride the train cause we missed all the traffic both going to and coming from the game. (Also I (Jake) was interviewed by both the Standard Examiner (see http://www.standard.net/live and the video entitled "Follow our Drew Godleski as he rides FrontRunner to the Jazz game) and a TV station from Spain, Canal +, for my thoughts on the game).

It was an awesome game, very intense and extremely loud the entire time. Some kid named David Archuleta sang the national anthem. The song wasn't too bad, but everyone, including Kim and my sister made a huge fuss over him....anyone heard of him?

Anyways, the Jazz played a decent game and pulled it off in the end, 104 - 99. It was a TON of fun to get to go to a Jazz playoff game and my sister is awesome for pulling it off.

Kim getting ready for the game wearing her new boyfriend's shirt.

Photo op on the train on the way to the game.
View from our seats. Pretty high up, but closer to heaven so our prayers got there first.
David Archuleta singing the national anthem. Apparently none of the Jazz players wanted his autograph.
Mr. Archuleta again. Not a bad singing voice for picking some random kid to sing at the game. Maybe this will help him launch some sort of career.
Jake and Old Man River stoically observing the refs not allow Kobe to be harmed the entire game.

MOAB: Bikes & 4-Wheelers....

Ok, so if you don't already know, little miss Kimberly and I are spending our summer outside of the broiling oven of Phoenix and going to be living in the humid sauna of St. Louis while I prove to my wife that I am capable of holding down a good job. For three months at least. On our way out to the exciting Midwest, we are visiting both of our families in Utah.

So we met up with Kim's family in Moab, Utah, which has got to be one of the most amazing places on this earth. Perfect warm weather. Beautiful breathtaking views. And plenty of rocks to climb on with both 4-wheelers and your conventional peddle bicycle.

We had so much fun riding on the Jeep trails and passing all of the slow-poke trucks creeping along. We made a good attempt at Slickrock on our bikes, but had to stick to most of the practice loop. Still made about 7 miles of it though. Still incredibly tough.

A big cliff on the Slickrock Trail.
Kim taking pictures of herself. Classic pose.
We hiked to this little hole in the rock.
A long line of Jeeps and FJ's. We just went around them.
One of the longest, steepest hills we had to climb.

Fun Pictures

These are my sisters and of course Jake, in the "bright" colors that they are! Hahahaha, fun.

Farewell Dinner with Thunderbird Pals

Saturday night we had a farewell dinner at Cheesecake Factory, for the Thunderbird friends, because most of us are leaving for the summer, graduating or will be gone by the end of it. I am so grateful we've had such great friends to share the school year with Jake and I will miss you all so much!

Jake's Pie

I came home from work the other day and Jake had made me a beef pot pie. Sure was sweet.

Me Learning to Take Pictures

I went out to Sahuaro Ranch the other day and took 150 pictures of roses. I want a picture of a Rose to go over my bed, but I don't want to pay very much for it, so I decided that I would teach myself how to take better pictures. Tell me what you think. This was a lot harder than I thought but, I liked about six of the 150 and here they are!

YW American Idol Standards Night

For YW's we did an American Idol Standards night where the contestants were judged according to their actions. It was really fun. I was Paula Abdul and my friend Aaron was a "white" Randy!

the Church is still true...

President Monson cheers on Jazz.....

(In response to my good friend Bry's similar blog post)

For people who know me well, they know that one of my perhaps borderline unhealthy obsessions is with the Utah Jazz.....Since I've been at school in Phoenix I don't get to catch as many games on TV and I prefer, but I do watch enough (channelsurfing.net) to keep me alive. I love wearing my Jazz gear to the gym (which is a local Phoenix Suns sponsored YMCA) and getting awesome looks from people. Whenever the Jazz do play the Suns on TV its a lot of fun to go to a local sports bar or restaurant and be the only Jazz fans (and sober people) in the whole place.

Recently on the Deseret News, there was a great article (see above link) about how President Monson enjoys going to a few Jazz games a month. What an awesome guy. Besides his daily duties being a Prophet, Seer and Revelator, he takes time to enjoy a very important and worthwhile past-time.

I have always tried my best to follow the Prophet and in this regard I can say I am definitely 100%, if not 110%.

spring training baseball...

One of the joys of living in the Phoenix area is being able to enjoy Spring Training Baseball! 12 Major League teams call the Phoenix/Tuscon area their home for a few months and the games are a lot of fun.
Yours truly at a Royals/Dodgers game. Surprisingly the Royals won.

Our CRUISE to ENSENADA

Me, Mom, Haley
My sister Jennifer
Mom and I
Mom and Dad at formal night
Jan and Darrell at formal night (family friends)
Us in WINDY Ensenada!
Family friends Tyler, Donavan and my sister Sara
My sister Haley at formal night
Jake and I at formal night

fun rock climbing on the boat!

school, school and more school....

Since I am spending so much of my time within the walls of Thunderbird School of Global Management working on my MBA in International Marketing Strategy, I thought it appropriate to share a little bit about this sunny place...All in all, it has been a wonderful experience thus far and I would recommend it to anyone!

"Since its founding in 1946, Thunderbird has been synonymous with global leadership in business education.

This leadership is recognized by major publications around the world, which have consistently named Thunderbird as a leader in global business education. The following is a list of our current rankings."

Business School/MBA Rankings

• #1 “International Business” 7th consecutive #1 ranking
  The Wall Street Journal/Harris Interactive 2007 Survey of Corporate Recruiters

• #1 “International Programs” 12th consecutive #1 ranking
  U.S.News & World Report 2008

• #1 “Best in International Business” Full-time MBA
  Financial Times 2008

• #7 "Distance-learning MBA"
  Economist Intelligence Unit 2008

• #7 “Most Family Friendly - Best Business Schools”
  Princeton Review 2007

• #7 “Great Opportunity for Minority Students - Best Business Schools”
  Princeton Review 2007

My sister Haley

Last month my sister Haley came to visit, just her. We had a blast. She is growing up so fast. I was so happy she came, we went go-karting (WE LOVE IT) and to the science center. She showed two books that she wrote and illustrated and let me tell you they were a better job than I could've done. She gets straight A's all the time and is a very intelligent, sweet person. She is such a great example to me and I told my dad that if he ever wants to give me money or anything, he needs to buy her a ticket to come visit. I really haven't been able to see her much since I've been in college and married, so it was a great time. I love you Haley!

Kim

I try to Imagine...

"Imagine no possessions
I wonder if you can
No need for greed or hunger
A brotherhood of man
Imagine all the people
Sharing all the world

You may say that I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one
I hope someday you'll join us
And the world will live as one...."

-John Lennon