There's a man with an upside down head
His hair fell out one night while in bed
So he let his beard grow
So that no one would know
He's the man with the upside down head

Summer is officially over! Breck and I took full advantage of our lack of responsibilities this summer, spent more money than we had, and it seemed like we were away more than we were home, but we had a great time:

After a month spent on the other side of the planet I returned in time to spend Breck's birthday party at Pineview Reservoir with friends. We love this lake.



We survived the rapids of the Snake River and chaotic "homemade" fireworks show at the Yates Family Reunion in Star Valley over the July 4th holiday.



A quick weekend was spent in the heat of Las Vegas to see Breck's favorite comedian John Hefron. (Mr. Hefron made sure to "keep [his] hands where we could see 'em" to avoid offending the husbands standing by).



No kids, no clubs, and no clothes? I guess we might as well drive a Harley up to Bear Lake this year.



Hey, there's my campground!



We can see the Lagoon fireworks from Chip & Colleen's backyard.




Aiden transformed into a power ranger at the Utah Arts Festival.




Isn't Paul the best? He invited us up to his Cabin near Oakley.





Always fun to spend time with the family. Croxford Family Reunion 2008 in Jackson, WY. I guess we forgot to get any pictures with the actual family. But here we are.



We always manage to find time for golf with Ty & Sue.



It's become tradition to see Jack Johnson in concert every summer. Hope he comes back next year.



Here's our new fountain in the backyard. Thanks for your help mom and dad!




Go Utes!



See you next summer!

THE TREE

The tree is ART created by hand
Grown up from a seed that was put in the land
Whether put there by God, Mother Nature, or man
It's beginnings & ends are all part of the plan
The tree is LIFE from it's roots to the air
Giving freely it's shade & fruit it will bear
Doesn't discriminate or discern between rich man or poor
Gives to young & to old until it has nothing more
The tree is the MAN from a boy he has grown
Always learning from mistakes that he must atone
Trimming off dead branches to make room for the strong
To find the place in the world he'll belong

Here's a link to some photos I took in Japan:

http://www2.snapfish.com/share/p=418251214425928389/l=403620025/g=134834261/otsc=SYE/otsi=SALB

Keep in mind that this was a trip to study architecture so there were a lot of attempts on my part to take artsy-fartsy architecture photos that most people probably won't enjoy. Also be warned that although I posted only about half the photos I took, this album still has over 800 pictures in it, so it's a big commitment to look through them all. Enjoy!

Here`s a little excerpt from an ongoing poem I`ve been writing while in Japan:

...And now here I sit with a pen in my hand

Trying to comprehend this foreign land

Trying to define an undefinable place

As I try to navigate through Tokyo`s rat race

Mile after mile, new sight after sight

Hard to take it all in, try hard as I might

My feet still both have blisters & my back is beyond sore

But I`m even happier now than I`ve ever been before

Seeing all new places & learning all new things

Never been so nervous since that day we exchanged rings

And where is that ring & the girl its attached to?

Want to be here, right now in this place...but with you

So now I sit here listening to these machines as they spin

Thinking about where I`ll go & remembering where I`ve been

Trying to focus on the reason for this journey

Moving slow but at the same time in a hurry

What would other travelers think, what would they do, what would they need?

What can I grow out of my own traveling seed?

The rain continues to pour, a typhoon on the coast

Now we won`t get to see a building I wanted to the most

Work continues, pen to paper, try to focus as I might

My thoughts fall back to the giant sumo men I saw last night

My thoughts on the past & about what`s to come ahead

What thoughts have been thought, what ideas have been said?

The train moves to Nikko and there`s a stairway to heaven

As the journey continues through days nine, ten, eleven

We`ve seen the history of Tokyo & the present & future

I try to relate to my own home & family & culture

I want to take it all in, want to learn & to know

To apply to my work & make my architecture grow...

Hello to all who are keeping track of me via blog,
Sorry I don`t have any pictures to post yet. It`s not that I haven`t taken any, but I just haven`t been able to transfer them to the computer yet. Tokyo has been amazing this week. We`ve been going non-stop and I haven`t hardly even slept (although that has a lot to do with the time-change I`m sure) We`ve walked over 30 miles around the city and my feet are definately feeling the effects so if anyone has suggestions on a quick-heal method for blisters I`m all ears. I`ve already worn the two different pairs of shoes I brought so maybe I`ll just buy some new shoes to keep moving the blister locations to other parts of my feet.
This has been an amazing experience so far and I`m sure it will only continue to get better.

Sayonara,

Preston

In 2005 I paid $150 to attend the Utah Rider Education course where I was able to get the motorcycle endorsement on my drivers license I needed to finally Stop Dreaming, Start Riding (according to their motto). Little did I imagine that it would be a full 3-years later that I would again navigate the streets on a motorcycle. May 3, 2008, the dream came alive again:

Breck and I traveled to Southern Utah for the weekend to spend some quality time together before I head to Japan for a month. We both skipped out of work early on Friday and drove the 300 miles from Salt Lake City to Hurricane, Utah. We arrived just in time to settle into York & Annie's beautiful home, grab some pizza & beer, and lounge on the couch to watch the Jazz eliminate the Houston Rockets from the first round of the playoffs. We woke early the next morning as planned in preparation for a quick day-trip to Vegas, baby! This drive to Las Vegas, however, would not be just your average road-trip. This journey would be aboard a 2008 Harley Davidson Fat Boy. "In the saddle of a Harley-Davidson® Softail®, no road is ever lonely. Sunlight breaks through treetops to dance on chromed steel. The wind offers its constant stream of praise. And the world unfolds before you with open arms." I was admittedly nervous about not only riding a Harley for the first time, but traveling at 80 mph mere inches above the asphalt of the freeway navigating 100 miles through the desert with my hot biker babe riding on back. Despite my confession to Breck that I had never done this before and was a bit nervous, she had all the faith in the world that I would do just fine. We handed over our credit card & signed our lives away and were ready to go.

After some brief driving practice in the parking lot and through the surface streets of Washington, Utah, we traveled down the sloped freeway entrance, merged into the flow of speeding cars and loud semi trucks and were on our way. Zero stops and 2 hours later we enjoyed our moment in the spotlight as Vegas-goers' stared as we cruised the Strip atop our trusty steed. We made our way to our destination at the Tropicana Hotel to see BODIES: The Exhibition (http://www.bodiestheexhibition.com/) on display -- I'll admit that this part of the weekend was mainly for Breck's enjoyment as cadavers and deformed fetus' are not really my cup of tea. Although I didn't have much of an appetite following our up close and personal journey through the human body, Breck convinced me that an In-and-Out burger would be just the energy boost I needed for the Harley ride back to Utah. She was right. After lunch we hopped back on our Fat Boy (mmm, a Fat Boy Ice Cream Sandwich sounded like a great palate-cleanser after that deep-fried lunch) with full stomachs and more confidence in my motorcycle-driving skills than I had had on that morning. The drive back was uneventful but relaxing and enjoyable. That evening we returned "our" bike back to Zion Harley Davidson with smiles and sunburns on our faces as proof of that days adventure.

Sunday morning brought another warm sunny day and a chance to golf 9-holes on beautiful Sky Mountain golf course before our 4-hour drive back to Salt Lake.

Possibly the ultimate American male's weekend getaway.

It's official, I'm going to Japan! I'm incredibly excited that I will be spending 4 weeks from May 12-June 12 with some classmates traveling and studying architecture in Japan (this image is the most visited castle in Japan, Himeji Castle). If anyone has any suggestions on where to go or what to see, let me know. Also if you have any extra money laying around that you don't know what to do with, I've got a good way to spend it...I'm willing to wear a t-shirt the with your name on it the entire trip if you'd like to be recognized as an "official sponsor".

I keep telling myself I'm going to keep a blog in order to keep in touch with family and friends. I've been saying that for years now as indicated by my initial entry in this blog in June 2006. I figure if I've got time in my "busy" schedule to spend a week cruising around the Caribbean with my beautiful wife and her family (Thank You, by the way, to Chip & Colleen for funding this adventure) then I certainly can find time to document my thoughts occasionally in writing. Let's hope it's not another 2 years before I have another thought.