Why construction?

I took a peek at our site today and couldn't help but think, this is cool.



A while back I put up pictures from about this same angle showing a whole bunch of piles dangling in the air. Those have since been chopped off and we have been placing 80 tons of reinforcing. The weird tan color is this lame cardboard that the engineers want to create a void between the concrete we will pour and the bay mud (clay).



As you can tell 80 tons of rebar can get congested in an 85' x 141' box.

Below are pictures from the Gym we are building. Again, the reinforcing is absolutely crazy on this project.



This crazy contraption runs the gravel into the gym, which is below the reinforcing in the picture above. The guys who operate these things are pretty amazing with reaching into very tight spaces. Fun to watch!

No More Horsing Around

We had a Callister family dinner last weekend. It was fun to get together, but the highlights were forcing Allie to ride the go-cart in her skirt and checking out Uncle Calvin's horses!

Allie's Birthday

Allie's birthday was a huge success. We had a ton of fun and lots of wonderful people came to celebrate. To answer the questions posted a while ago we have the list below.

1. Where was Allie Born? Bountiful Utah

2. What year was Allie Born? 1985

3. How many kids are in Allie’s family? 8

4. What is the name of Allie’s High School? Davis - Home of the DARTS!

5. What is Allie’s favorite cereal? Life

6. What is Allie’s favorite color? Pink

7. What did Allie study at BYU? Elementary Education

8. When did Allie marry Lee? Dec 27, 2006

9. What was Allie’s fastest mile time? 4.56.03

10. What is Allie’s favorite meal? Chicken Enchiladas (but pretty much any dinner 'thing')

11. What is Allie’s favorite dessert? Ice Cream

12. What is Allie’s favorite snack? Popsicles

13. What is Allie’s maiden name? Passey

14. In which foreign country did Allie compete? RUSSIA

15. What track events did Allie run? 800m & 1500m (400m when forced)

16. What is Allie’s favorite candy bar? Twix

17. What sports has Allie played competitively? Soccer, Softball, Track, Cross country, Basketball

18. What instruments has Allie played? Piano, Violin, Gutar

19. What are Allie’s parent’s names? Bob & Wendy

20. What something Allie loves to ride? Razor Scooter

21. How old was Allie when she lost her last baby tooth? 16

22. Where did you first meet Allie? (Insert answer here)

23. What movie must Allie watch when she is sick? Little Women

Are you kidding me?

How did Brooke stay in?

All about Al

Yesterday was so FUN! Allie has successfully completed another year of life. I had about a million things I was going to do for her birthday, and only one day to do it! Unfortunately, an unexpected work meeting was scheduled while we were in Utah and I had to adjust some of the plans. In the end, I hid a few gifts for Allie to find during the morning (since I had to be at my meeting in Marin). She then went to work and found that someone had given her the day off without ever telling her, so she just worked the morning. After work she found another gift. Then I came home (after about an 1hr 45 minutes of traffic). I had a bunch of people come to my parents house for a little BBQ dinner for Allie. It was awesome! She didn't really know that anyone was coming, other than a little slip of the tongue on my drive home. The dinner was fun and the company was great. Below is a list of questions I gave everyone as dinner was winding down. Most of the people that came didn't really know the answers, so it was extremely funny to hear all the answers! So, this leads me to the thought, how many of you know my Al?

Well, it is such a privilege and honor to be married to such a great person! She is my love! Celebrating another birthday with her has been fantastic; now, I just can't wait to give her the rest of her presents.


1. Where was Allie Born?
2. What year was Allie Born?
3. How many kids are in Allie’s family?
4. What is the name of Allie’s High School?
5. What is Allie’s favorite cereal?
6. What is Allie’s favorite color?
7. What did Allie study at BYU?
8. When did Allie marry Lee?
9. What was Allie’s fastest mile time?
10. What is Allie’s favorite meal?
11. What is Allie’s favorite dessert?
12. What is Allie’s favorite snack?
13. What is Allie’s maiden name?
14. In which foreign country did Allie compete?
15. What track events did Allie run?
16. What is Allie’s favorite candy bar?
17. What sports has Allie played competitively?
18. What instruments has Allie played?
19. What are Allie’s parent’s names?
20. What something Allie loves to ride?
21. How old was Allie when she lost her last baby tooth?
22. Where did you first meet Allie?
23. What movie must Allie watch when she is sick?

Wendy Willson Willis

What a great trip Lee and I had out to Utah this past weekend for Wendy's wedding! Some of the highlights included, but not limited to the following:

• Not working Thursday or Friday
• Seeing Cait’s beautiful pink Prom dress.
• Bridal shower with fondue, so yummy! (Thanks mom for helping out with the food.)
• Seeing high school friends and finding out that Corrine is pregnant!
• Sleeping in until 10 on Friday and Sunday!
• Running in West Kaysville
• Seeing Sammers and Amber
• Eating Katie’s yummy ice-cream and the Creamery’s cookies and cream milk!
• Visiting Thomas
• Going to Goodwood with Jenna and Tyrel and eating a yummy food. And trying to go bowling (but we should have known Friday night in Provo…no lanes! Ha!) Playing games instead. I’m sure going to miss them not being there to visit when we go back to Utah. So sad.
• Watching Enchanted (love that movie!)
• Going to the Temple!
• Finally meeting Greg in the temple. And seeing how happy and cute Wendy and Greg are together.
• Taking a million pictures of the wedding that the professional photographer wanted to take pictures of us too!!
• Going to Ti-pan (best decoration store ever!)
• Seeing Wendy’s new place! And passing her niece through the milkbox in the broom closet.
• Visiting Grandpa and Grandma Passey. Seeing old pictures and hearing stories. (oh, and getting my b-day card and ice-cream)
• Playing games with Maren.
• Having it snow a bit.
• Having Sunday dinner with the Family (best rolls ever!)
• Flying on Jet Blue home (gotta love your own TV, the food network, and HGTV)
• 
  
• 

Sammer Jammers

I don't think my niece, Samantha knows about her nickname that Lee and I have for her. I think that ever since she was born Lee and I have been calling her "Sammer Jammers." Not sure why, but it just stuck.
Last weekend we were lucky enough to go visit Sam and Amber. (We were sad that Brent was at work and we couldn't visit with him too!) Lee and I had a lot of fun playing with her. It is sad to live so far away and miss her growing up. Every time we see her there is something new; she can talk now! It was so fun to have her talk about her baby. She would tell us that the baby was sleepy and that she needed to put her down. So she would shake out the blanket a million times flapping it in the air to just have it land in a pile on the floor. It was then funny to watch her just throw (literally throw) the doll onto the blanket. She would then put the baby down and two seconds later the baby needed a bottle or diaper change. Back and forth she went.
She is so cute and fun. It was fun to talk with Amber and to see there new minivan! Sam was also excited to show us how she can drive the van and click every possible button or switch on the dashboard.
I was a little bit jealous of Lee when Sam said "Uncle Lee" to him. Now we just have to work with the "Aunt Allie" or even "Allie" for that matter. :) We sure wish that we were closer to see them more often, but the visits are always nice! We sure love you guys.

Sharks vs Flames

This seems to be a common theme these last few years. Round one of the Stanley Cup is our favorite team playing our other favorite team. In years past, I have stuck with my childhood favorite, the Flames. Some seasons it is sad to be a Flames fan, other season, I wish I had more paraphernalia. This year, I decided to mix things up. My vote went for the Sharks when the Cooper family email began circulating. It was a hard decision, but my sweet wife decided that she would cheer for the Flames to "mix things up." I love her for her ability to raise to every challenge! After Game 1 last night, well, I am beginning to think she will be winning a milkshake before I win.

GAME 1: Flames 3 Sharks 2
Game 2: Flames 0 Sharks 2
Game 3: Flames 4 Sharks 3
Game 4: Flames 2 Sharks 3
Game 5: Flames 3 Sharks 4
Game 6: Sunday April 20 5:00 PM
Game 7: TBA

STANFORD

Yesterday we had the wonderful opportunity to got to Standford to watch some of my old teammates from BYU run at a track meet there. Watching everyone run I was brought back many memories of how really painful running can be. Lee decided that running in a circle is not what he calls "fun" and that he had no desire to run. I still enjoy running, but am thankful that I don't have to race the clock, heck, I could walk if I wanted!

I was especially excited to see Jenna at this meet! I was lucky enough that her ankle was better this week for her to come. I don't know how she could take off 5 days and come back and run a 5K faster then I have ever ran one! She is just amazing! I was so happy to see her.

Lee and I also had fun walking around Stanfords campus and having a little picnic lunch. It was a beautiful day. A little windy, but nice. The night got a little cold and I was sort of wishing that I would not have worn my flip-flops, but blanket helped.

We loved all of the trees around campus...these were right out of a Dr. Seuss book. Check out my "new" shirt, given to me by a friend!

Baglewich

Have you ever experienced a world class, top-notch, tummy-tickling, lip-licking, lunch time special made by the hand of my ever skilled wife? I am by far the luckiest guy this side of CHINA because it is a BAGLEWICH week! I know, this might be confusing to many of you out there in the blog-universe. Allie has made baglewiches for my lunches this week. Even better, she has prepared them all in advance (possibly allowing her to sleep in for once!) AND she let me get a box of 30 lunch chips of the "Baked" variety at Costco on Friday. This is going to be a great week, I can already tell....

Don't be too jealous. I know I sound like the most fortunate guy in the universe. Well, I AM! She is the best! Maybe, one day, if you comment enough and get us flights to your neighborhood, she will make you one.....maybe!

Chop the Mop

We recently came to the conclusion that it was time to trim up my hair. After a little convincing, Allie pulled out the scissors after our usual Saturday morning workout (which consists of a pathetic Lee riding his crooked bike along side Allies fast paced run). The difficult thing you must understand is that hair is special in our family. The longer my hair gets, the more relaxing head rubs I get, especially without asking! So, trimming up the hair feels like giving up head rubs (totally doesn't because Allie somehow still finds me "cute" and offers head rubs just the same! Even as I sit her and post, my head gets rubs...I LOVE IT!) Well, back to the story, we decided to cut the hair. I put on Ratatouille while Allie went to work. The amazing part of this story is that Allie has had no formal education on hair cutting; she doesn't even get the luxury of using electric clippers. Allie is a great sport and always makes things work out so perfect! I have enjoyed having my hair cut, now for about a week (just in time for Wendy's wedding).

Please forgive the dorky pictures, but I just want the world to see what Allie has to put up with on a daily basis. Sad but true...

Baby June

We apologize that we didn't have an update today, we have been entertained by Baby June. We might have more to say later on this weekend. Before I sign off, I want everyone to know that Baby June is the most incredible baby ever! She hasn't cried once this whole night and, in fact, pretty much asked Allie to just put her in the crib instead of walking around until she fell asleep. This is GREAT! (Pictures to follow later...)