Wasatch and we know it.

Our little buddy has finally returned from a mission to Brazil.  We are bona fide lovers of all things Farrington, so it felt great to spend last week with the clan enjoying the land of creamies and wasatch together.  We love you guys.

Posters were made in anticipation of the homecoming

We choreographed an unintentionally seductive welcome home dance in his honor.  No, I don't have pics, dang it.

We ate fancy donuts and fine pizza at the request of one Patrick F.  Twist our arms buddy.

We dimple dell'd it like the 16 yr. olds that we are.   

Candice wishes she was a mermaid and I think this pic embodies her passion.  I'm totally serious about her wanting to be a mermaid.

We finally met little Camille.  She is fat and precious; we both fell in love with her immediately.  Such a delightful little person.  I'm not sure how parents feel about other people kissing their babies but I'm sorry if I grossed you guys' out- baby skin is the only thing better than butter.  I lose all control.

Patrick and baby Dane(live up your shirtless years while you can baby Dane).  Patrick was the least awkward return missionary I've ever met.  He makes everything look effortless.  That guy still plays the guitar at all times, including the bathroom.  An effort was made to teach Candice to play the guitar.  I think she liked learning a lot, thanks Patrick.

 Patrick with cute girlfriend Michelle, she is hardcore and waited for him for two full years.  He's well worth the wait, if you ask me.

 Patrick loves his fruit smoothies and it shows.

Four forks for one meal? 

 We had our Utah wedding reception in this amazing room at the JSMB circa 2001.  So fun to revisit.

 Exotic weaponry and bondage shorts are the only stimulants I need.

 Juanito looking quite pleased with his gat skillz.  

 Kaylene was all "you want some sucka?"  We all thought it was hot.

 Gradence Clearwater Revival laying down the smack, full auto style.  UMP baby. 

I know it looks like I'm trying to compensate for something in this pic but the spirit of gangsta' prompted and we obeyed.

  

Yeah, another machine-gun video.  I want to kick someone's a-- every time I watch it.  So inspirational. 

Later, Grady and I  punk rawked the crap out of his car's sound system and blatantly disregarded any council to eat meat sparingly.  Shout out to Devil's Daughter bar and smokehouse for encouraging our testosterone production that night.

We escaped the city heat and headed to the family cabin.  In this pic we are lamenting the destruction of what was a perfect replica of the bridge depicted in the movie Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom.  Sad times

We love animals and now we want a horse.

Brats are so cabiney and delicious.

 Rousing game of horseshoes

  We teeter tottered our way to rock hard abs.

 Denise woke us up early to witness Ryan being surrounded by a gaggle of moose.  It was amazing.

I snuck outside to get a better shot.  I was pretty close but not as close as Ryan obviously.  Pretty rad.

If you think I look tired in this pic, then you're correct.  I don't know how parents get through long periods of sleep depravation.  Mothers, you guys rock.

 Mo' Moose

Tubein' in cold mountain water.  It felt so refreshing and also prompted massive amounts of shrinkage from my brethren.

 Cousin Derrick made the fatal mistake of steppin' up to one Johnny Farrington, the closest thing to a human silverback I have ever seen.  Kaylene looks on as Johnny delivers a beat down Derrick will not soon forget.  Also, notice that as a couple, they are to be commended for their well sculpted posteriors-nice work guys.

 Candice floated down the river with a tiny tube that was submerged the whole time.  Her bum took a flogging.

To wrap things up, we played a game where people chose an animal that most closely resembles your personality.  I was a little surprised that not everyone thinks I'm a dog (american bulldog or cane corso) because I pretty much am.  Anyway, I got kitten, pony and harbor seal.  So much for my tough guy persona.  Apparently, I'm not fooling anybody.  And Mike, you really are a giant sasquatch beaver, it's obvious to anyone that knows you.  Big snuggles to all the Farringtons, until next time...

Vail

Today, I'm suffering a little bit.  Why?  Because I'm hungry and I want to eat cake, sushi and gravy cheese fries.  After a weekend of gluttony and pleasure it's hard for me to get focused again and maintain my disciplined eating habits.  I just want to let go but doing that brings it's own set of miseries like- I hate myself for looking like a slob (which because of my crappy genetics, happens in no time).  The thing is, I'm happy most of time but sometimes you look around and realize that there is a price to pay no matter what decision you make.  One of the four noble truths of Buddhism is that to live is to suffer.  That guy was onto something.  He also says that to overcome suffering we need to work on becoming enlightened -see shedding carnal desires, become the masters of our emotions, detachment from physical things.  In other words, more pain and discipline.  On this topic, I would argue that LDS teachings are basically the same with a few differences thrown in for good measure.

What does this have to do with Candice's birthday?  I'm not sure but I'm feeling a little introspective and it probably has something to do with the fact that I'm listening to smashing pumpkins, sunny day real estate and say hi to your mom right now.

Ok, so about hedonism, I'm a fan and this weekend is perfect evidence of that.

Not to toot my own horn but making Candice happy is basically one of the few things I feel I'm good at.  Lloyd Dobler and I are kindred spirits.  Here's how it all went down.


Let's start with gifts.  There's no need to go into details but I was proud of one gift in particular.  As you know, Candice is a yoga gangsta' if ever there was such a thing.  She can now do all the downward dogging she wants on this custom mat featuring her coupled with all sorts of potentially dangerous creatures.  Alligator, timber wolf, lemon shark and mountain gorilla to be precise.  She is a little worried about appearing narcissistic in yoga class but she's just going to have to deal with it.  I'm hoping that the spirit of the wolf will carry her onto new yoga heights.

I gave Candice a massage and tickle sesh that lasted for a few hours.  I actually really like giving massages and if you've never had a tickle session, you're missing out on a seriously good time.  She gave me the best compliment by telling me it was her favorite part of the day.  Some of the best gifts are the ones where you give of yourself, you know?  I'm super cheesy. Sorry.

As expected there was good food at every corner of the weekend.  During dinner on her actual birthday, I busted a joke that sent Candice into a fit of belly laughter.  She leaned forward only to have her perfectly manicured bobble catch fire in the candle sitting on our dining table.  Luckily, it just singed the tips a bit.  You still look hot babe, burnt hair or not.

This cake doesn't look like much but it's our favorite.  It mostly has to do with the fact that there are 4 sticks of butter in this bad boy and it takes about 6 hours to make.  Labor of love homies, labor of love...

Lobster Ramen from sushi den. I wish I could work out everyday with a camelbak full of this broth on my back.  I'm pretty sure my bench would go through the roof.

If you don't want to kiss her cheek in this pic, I think it's pretty safe to say that you don't like money, rainbows or the American way.  I feel bad for you.

We got a beautiful room at the Arrabelle hotel in Vail for the weekend.  There are some things you should know about Vail.  It's flippin' adorable.  The town looks like a bavarian ski village that is jam packed full of water features, flowers and charming architecture.

Don't really have any great pics of the room but it was large and luxe.

Gazing on the mountains and quaint village of Vail in between swim sessions.  

Fake laughter, a specialty

One problem I have is that I fall instantly in love with anyone that brings me breakfast in bed or in this case, breakfast on our balcony.  To Anthony, the room service guy, I shall never forget you...

Candice always loves the really small bottles that accompany room service food.

Hiked around 

We dipped our toes in a river and talked for hours.  The best part about getting away is always the removal of distractions like business and electronics and reconnecting with each other.  Maybe our country wouldn't have a 50% divorce rate if people took more vacations and worked a little less on obtaining material possessions?  Look at me getting all preachy, sorry.  Truthfully, there's only like two things I know for certain.

1.  I love my wife

         2.  Chocolate is of God.

We took a kayaking class.  I was really surprised how much I sucked.  I'm an okay athlete but the instructor kept focusing on helping me the whole class.  Some times I get pissed-off when I'm made to feel "special."  I guess with kayaking, it's all about finesse and not muscling anything.  All I really understand is muscling things, so I failed miserably.  It was fun though.  I want to do it more often.

Cartwheel contest before we got into the water.  I lost again..dang it.

Blisters from the oars.

The only thing that tainted the weekend was that we couldn't help but talk about the Batman killings a lot.  Being a proud Coloradoan, I hate that our state is associated with some of the worst mass killings the country has ever seen.  It's been said so much lately, but it's true- life is precious.  Hungry or not,  I'm going to suck it up and appreciate this day because there are 12 people that don't have that chance.

This post is to remind me of what we've been up to.

It's been a while since we've updated the blog.  Here's what we've been doing.  Sorry, we don't have a lot of pics.

-Watching movies at the park.  So far we've watched The Wizard of Oz,  Ghostbusters and Goonies.  This activity, along with otter pops and nachos at the pool, make me feel like a kid again.  It's important to feel like a kid again.  In fact,  I'll vote for any presidential candidate that runs on the "everyone gets summer break"platform.

This picture has nothing to do with anything, we were having fun though.

-Candice has been modeling a lot for Gaiam yoga, check out her stuff here http://www.gaiam.com/category/apparel.do


-Candice lead the way on the Hot Rocks Griller challenge once again.  Great event, all the chefs represented in a big way.  Myself, I worked the strongman pole thingy.  Sadly, I couldn't get the bell to ring, came within inches though, got some loving for my efforts.

-Fourth of July fun.  We played four square, went to a drive-in (saw Madagascar 3 and The Snow White and the Huntsman), ate like hogs, had a 4th of July quiz, Wii tournament, went swimming, ate some more, played board games.  Sadly, because of all the fires, many of the scheduled fireworks shows were cancelled.  We did manage to catch some shows from our roof top deck, it comes in handy.

-Went to a burlesque club, saw a bunch of fun/crazy acts.  Candice is part of a group of dancers that will be performing around town with a burlesque theme (no stripping unfortunately).  Keep your eyes out for them.

-I've been addicted to playing Battlefield 3 online with my brother and the rest of the world.  It's this alternate reality chocked full of guns, strategy and 13 year old nerds.  I fit right in.  It's the only scenario that I can think of where war is a fun/good thing.

-Last night, I started running again.  Running is big here in the CO and last night's experience was the first time I started to understand why.  The rain was keeping me cool, my girl and doggie were by my side and I wasn't suffering or bored. I'm planning on doing 15-20 miles a week until the end of the summer.  Nothing too hardcore but a lot for me.

-Candice has been watching this show called Gossip Girl, not sure what it's all about.

-I've/we've been doing a lot of shopping for the queen of my universe's birthday.  Here is a small sampling of what she tried on.  What do you think?

Not so much g-approved but still a pretty back-had to try it on.

I think this is my fav of this group.

Finally, this picture is basically the best thing I have ever seen.  I want a bulldog.