Al Sur

This was the first year that we have taken an actual "spring break" trip with our family. At Lacy's urging we started looking at things to do and decided to head south to see family and have some fun.

We left Monday and spent a rainy day at my sister's house in Orlando. The kids had a great time, and I learned that Masters of the Universe (available on Hulu) has not aged very well. Our niece Nicole planned a delicious dinner, which included some fantastic cookies that are definitely not a part of my normal diet. I had 3 (they were pancake-sized and worth it).

The next day we went to Disney World, taking advantage of my brother's employment there to get a sweet deal. The kids had a lot of fun, and I've included some pictures below. Due to the crowd, we left the Magic Kingdom for Epcot at about 4pm, which was an excellent choice. We had a pretty tasty meal at the new restaurant in Mexico, as our first choice (the German Biergarten) was not available. We don't drink beer, but the buffet there is fantastic.

We will not be doing Disney during Spring Break again. Far too many people. But still a fun day.

The next day we drove to Miami, where we visited Vizcaya, an impressive estate (now a county park) with some beautiful grounds and a fantastic location. The house was built in the 1910's, and it must have been a fascinating time to be in Miami. We then enjoyed a visit with my aunt Elena and several of my cousins and their children.

The next day was spent at Zoo Miami (formerly the Miami Metrozoo). This has always been one of my favorite parts of Miami, though we hadn't been there in over 7 years. The vegetation now seems fully recovered from 1992's Hurricane Andrew, and the kids really enjoyed seeing the animals. Next time we will rent a quad bicycle to get around the very large zoo.

We visited my great-aunt Elsita, who we had not seen since the death of my abuelita in August of 2009. It was great to show her the kids and enjoy some of her delicious natilla (comparable recipe found here). We took a quick swim in the pool, and then I took Joseph and Millie to dinner with my Uncle Ari and Aunt Kelly. We also got to meet our new little cousin Star, born to my cousin Stacci and her husband JR. The name is a combo of Sta from Stacci and R from JR. Millie is pretty jealous of that name, and has asked me several times since why her name can't be star. Dinner at La Rosa was delicious. We also had a good meal at Havana Harry's (Tres Vacas Fritas & Churrasco), but La Rosa gets the edge for its equivalent meat and FAR superior black beans. La Rosa also serves the traditional toasted and buttered Cuban bread. Joseph ate palomilla twice.

Friday was a lazy morning packing our things and a drive back to Gainesville. We stopped in Orlando at Downtown Disney to enjoy dinner with our friends the Eichelberger's at T-Rex. We ate in the Ice Room, which was a trippy place to be. Periodically the light would change color and we are convinced that it made the kids a little crazy. After that we hit Ghiradelli's and cruised home.

It was a great little vacation. We've spent the last two days listening to our Church's semiannual General Conference and enjoying some "quiet" time around the house and some good food with friends.

Tomorrow? Back to the gym, to work, and to reality. Here are some photos, somewhat out of order, and a video of Millie showing off her rhythm.

Footballin'

BYU has greatly improved since the beginning of the football season. Jake Heaps, our freshman quarterback, seems to have found his stride. A win this weekend will make us bowl eligible, and I still hold out hope for a surprise victory over Utah to end the regular season. Here are some pictures from my trip to the game.

That's Eric, Nate, Justin, myself and Jon. Matt took the picture.

It is a little hard to see, but Justin has a sweet 'stache.

In other good news, the University of Miami has received a $5 million donation to its athletic program that will allow some nice improvements to their facilities.

Chilling

I'm in Denver, CO right now. A few years ago we decided that we (my college roommates and I) would get together to watch a BYU football game at least every other year. We live in Florida, Canada, Missouri, California, Colorado. This is the first year some of us have been able to do so, and we will be attending the BYU-Colorado State game later today.

It is very cold here. My Florida bones are not used to it, so I sit here at 6:30 contemplating whether I should do my customary 2 mile run at 25 degrees Fahrenheit.

We're having a great time. We saw the movie Unstoppable which was excellent, ate some fantastic burgers at a place called Smashburger, played pool, got some wings, hit laser tag and then played cards until late.

Aside from spending time with Lacy and the kids, there is hardly anything better than spending time with some of my best friends. I may post a video later today for AweVidSat. We'll see.

Who needs friends?

Everyone. Unfortunately we do not always cultivate and maintain the kinds of relationships that provide real happiness. Even more than that, deep friendships may provide health benefits according to this article from the WSJ.

Things like Facebook provide the illusion of intimacy. They are useful, and often enjoyable, but they should not be mistaken for the kind of friendship that can change our lives for the better. The article focuses on a study done using 2000 women, but I think similar conclusions can be drawn for men as well.

You've Got a Friend

The tremendous popularity of social networking has led to some questions about friendship. One of those is when and how to "unfriend."

This New York Times article looks at the politics friendship in the online age. I like this quote from Henry Blodget, interviewed in the piece:

Mr. Blodget asked Facebook to develop new friendship levels that would let users sort their acquaintances by degree of separation. He suggested categories like “ ‘personal friends’ or ‘work friends’ or ‘extra special friends’ or ‘BFFs’ or ‘friends you want to hear meaningless trivia about all day long,’ ” and implored, “Please give me the ability to put friends in these groups without telling them I have done so.”

It's a fun article.

La Ciudadanía (Citizenship)

Today one of my best friends, Walmir Da Costa, becomes a U.S. citizen. He was born in Brasil, lived in Venezuela, and has been in the states for the last 15 years. Although he may never root for US soccer more fervently than he does for Brasil's team, I know he is excited about this event, and we're excited for him.

Update:

I was able to attend the swearing in. It was a small group, nine people,  but also a very diverse one. It was exciting for these folks to reach this point. The folks at the Immigration office gave everyone a packet which includes voter registration forms. 

It is a credit to our country that the right to vote is only for citizens. This was a group which will likely embrace this right. That's good for America.

I thought this video from Craig Ferguson was appropriate. Ferguson also recently became a citizen and is pretty excited about the right to vote. It's a long monologue.