Final Post

This will probably be my last post as tomorrow I will be getting married. For all future updates visit http://meridith-taylor.blogspot.com/ But I wanted to share a final thought about the love of my life.............

A little over a year and a half ago I felt as if my whole world had fallen apart. I was left torn, broken, and hurt beyond what I thought could ever be repaired. It was a hard lesson in life, but one I endured with hope and optimism. Yet life moved on. On one winter evening, I met the most intriguing, interesting, caring, stunningly beautiful woman I had ever met in my life. Never before had I ever felt so drawn to anyone, and the funny thing is, I didn't understand why. I hardly knew her, yet I felt I did. We had hardly spoken, yet I felt we had spent years conversing. But as time went on, I knew why I had felt that way that evening. Meridith has been the single biggest blessing in my life. My decision to marry her has been more impactful than any other event in my life. Tomorrow I will marry the woman of my dreams, and I couldn't have asked for a better companion. She blends with my family and friends so well. She is a wonderful mother to 3 wonderful children whom I love dearly. She is an excellent example of kindness and charity to all we seem to come in contact with. She has a unique ability to get along well with others and see the best in people....a gift not all are born with!! She has compassion on those that need it, and reminds me to do the same. She pushes me to be the very best I can be, and has helped me overcome so many obsticles in my life already. But most of all, she loves me for me. She see's through my imperfections and loves me anyway! I am so happy she is mine and that I am hers! I love you Meridith, Hailey, Bronson, and Madison!

A Single Man's Last Hoooraaah!!

Wow, it takes effort to go that long without updating a blog! A few weeks ago I went on a trip with my dad and 9 others. We do this every year with a group of guys and its always a blast! This year we went down through southern Utah, into arizona, and colorado. My dad and I like to joke that we do SOME riding, and a lot of time shootin the breeze and kicking rocks at gas stations! I got made fun of my fair share because I bought a 2004 Honda Goldwing for the trip! I guess that officially makes me the old man of my buddies! Its all good though, cause I got the last laugh when I sold it the day after I got home for a killer profit! Good times had by all. Here's some pics!

Dad and I the first Morning in Torrey, UT

Riding through Capital Reef National Park
We took a ferry accross Lake Powell. The ferry was freakin huge!!

One of many rain storms we got caught in!

We stopped at the four corners area to stand in 4 states at the same time! Ask Jory where the real four corners is according to GPS!!!.....Haha...Inside Joke!

Ted and Chris sharing a moment on the John!

I had speakers built in to my helmet so I was able to listen to my iPod the whole trip!

Mesa Verde Indian Ruins near Cortez, CO

More of the ruins.

Cool view on along the Million Dollar Highway in Colorado.

On top of Independence Pass, CO Elevation 12,095 ft.

Independence Pass, CO

More of Indepence Pass, CO

On the way back my dad and I stopped in Vernal at the Dinosaur National Monument. If I have a piece of advice about that place, i'd tell you to save your money. They have closed down the area where you can look at the fossils, so basically you pay to walk into a dinky museum and a gift shop.

The redeeming value of the Dinosaur monument was this sweet dinosaur that is just outside of the gate! Saddle and all I got padre to climb on and give his best prehistoric cowboy impression!

My trusty Goldwing got the job done, and has me convinced that touring bikes are the only way to go out on the open road. I had an iPod hookup, am/fm radio w/ 6 disc CD changer, heated hand grips, a plush seat, and of course, reverse for backing up!! haha!!

Above everything else, its just good to spend some time with my Dad. We really haven't gotten the opportunity to do that all that much over the last several years so I love every moment I get to spend with him. He's been a huge support and wonderful example in my life. I'm stoked that we finally are going to get to live by each other again. So even though you have to constantly tell me to slow down on these trips, ..... thanks for building memories with me dad. You're the best!

It's Official!!!

I'm only going to say that its official! Last night I proposed to Meridith! We are planning on getting married the weekend of August 29th! So thats about all I'm going to say about it, cause I don't want to steal her thunder! So go to Meridith's blog for details!....she should be posting pics shortly. I'm so stinking excited I can hardly stand it!

I confess......I LOVE HER!!!

And the mystery woman is......................Meridith!! I have fallen in love with the most amazing woman I have ever met. I couldn't dream that life could ever be so wonderful, and I owe it all to Meridith. She is encouraging, uplifting, friendly, humble, and always seeks the good in all things. She is also an incredible friend, and an excellent Mother to her children. I'm so blessed to have her in my life! Now everyone join with me in Thanking Carrian Cheney for introducing us!!! We will be getting married this summer,....if of course she says yes!!...More details to come!!

Another New Bike

Well, last weekend I sold my bike I bought a month ago. I decided that I'm just going to keep buying and selling these bikes to make a little money on the side. Saturday a kid drove down from Logan and bought my bike. As I walked into the house with cash in hand, Meridith said to me, "you're going to buy that one in LA, aren't you?"!! So sure enough, Sunday morning I hopped a plane to Burbank, CA. The kid I bought it from picked me up from the airport, and took me back to his place where the bike was, and in about an hour, I was headed to Las Vegas! I stayed the night in Vegas and rode the rest of the way home the next day! It was a long ride, but it was a ton of fun! So here it is, my new bike!!...Its a 2005 Yamaha Road Star Warrior Midnight.

I'M AN UNCLE!!!!.......again!!!

Thursday morning Kami called me to tell me Nalani was going into labor and baby Cash was on his way. I left work a few hours later, and not too long later we were able to welcome teeny tiny little Cash into the world!...okay, just a little sarcasm on the whole tiny comment! He weighed in at 9lbs 14oz and is 19 inches long. Dude, its awesome, his fat little cheeks just rest on his chest, and he's the cutest little guy! Check out more pics and information on Nalani's Blog at http://nalanisnonsensenews.blogspot.com/

My New Ride

For the last several weeks I have been combing through the internet trying to find just the right bike at just the right price. Call it a mid-bachelor chrisis if you want, but a mans gotta do what a mans gotta do! So after many late nights searching, and many phone calls, I tracked down my new bike! Its a 2004 Yamaha Road Star Warrior! Now for you guys, its 1700cc's of raw fuel-injected goodness!......oh who am I kidding, no guys ever read these blogs....we all know if by any small chance they actually get on and look at these blogs, they only skim through the pictures!! The bike was surprisingly clean with not a single scratch on the paint.....and by the way....HOLY CRAP it's fast! This is actually my second one of this particular kind of motorcycle, so I'm pretty stoked! So here's to a great year of riding with my boys....and perhaps a few rides with the ladies as well!!

While I was in Oregon, I stayed with Maile and Nate and Dad came down too. We had so much fun catching up and I was even able to have a little shadow named Quinn! I love my nephews so dang much, they are a riot! I helped Dad and Nate put in 12 new can lights and 3 new pendant lights in their kitchen. It was a fun project and Maile was pretty darn excited when we got all done!

I stole this off Maile's Blog cause I love this picture of Quinn and Cannon and I!

Us guys doing electrical work.

Dad and Cannon

Okay, and last, since I am a guy, I have to brag about my new speakers that Nate hooked me up with! My brother-in-law Nathan Thomas is an attorney and COO for a high end speaker company in Oregon called Aperion Audio. http://www.aperionaudio.com/ I got two new tower speakers, a new center channel, and a new Subwoofer! They sound freaking amazing! Thanks Nate!!

They come boxed with foam, and in these purple velvet bags to protect the finish!

Superbowl Sunday!!

This afternoon we went out to Lani and Craig Martineau's house for our annual superbowl party. It was kind of a small party this year, but we still managed to have a good time! We missed those that weren't there this year but it was fun having a little bit of a smaller crowd this year so we all could relax a little more!

Gotta love all the tasty lo-cal dips.

Me and my friend Meridith. Her daughter Hailey took this pic...she's 4 years old, so its a little shakey and blurry!

Lani looks mischevious, and Peyton looks a little less than impressed!

Luke has a habbit of taking pics on my camera when I leave it laying around!!!

It was a lazy day, and we loved it!

Silly animals!

About a month ago I was up in Morgan, UT wiring a house for the owners of Roberts Crafts. I was part of a crew of 6 guys. While we were up there, we ended up making friends with a little squirrel. We started by feeding him some chips and random food that we had in our lunches. Soon on of our guys was grabing a tool out of our trailer when he saw the squirrel run by with a whole slice of pizza in its mouth! He then saw it trying to drag the slice of pepparoni up a tree!! We were all laughing so hard when we heard that! Here's a shot of our friend....

The funny thing is, that the week i left for Hawaii, the fun really started....We have a 19 year old apprentice named Ben. He is a short tiny little guy who could seriously pass the sacrament and look like the newbie!! The guys were eating lunch one day when our little friend showed up looking for food. Ben for some reason thought it would be funny to chase this poor squirrel down. As he dissapeared out of sight down a hill from where the guys were standing, the all suddenly heard Ben screaming bloody murder. The tossed down their lunches and ran to the top of the hill to see Ben with a death grip on his leg screaming.."please little squirrel, don't bite me!!!..I'm sorry, but please don't bite me!!" As they watched in disbelief, they realized that the squirrel had somehow managed to run up his pant leg! Ben was trying to prevent it from getting any further up his leg, thus taking and hiding the wrong kind of nuts!!!!! Of course the guys weren't going to help him, but all started to pull out their camera phones and starting taking pictures instead of helping! With friends like that, who needs enemies, right?! I had to share that story, cause I was seriously dying laughing when I heard it!

This year has been really cold and really snowy. I have noticed more deer and elk down lower this year than any year I can remember. Last week my buddy Jesse and I were out in Saratoga Springs just west of Lehi doing a service call when we saw this heard of 29 Antelope bedded down in this field. It was quite the sight, especially considering they were within a few hundred yards of the busiest intersection of that whole area. I thought it was cool so I took a picture.

Final Hawaii Pics!

I wanted to post a few final photos of Hawaii.....mostly because its cold as crud here and i'm sick of blizzards and wishing I were on sunny beaches again! Here's a few last shots that I took with my Canon 10D.

I took this photo the first night I was there from the Ko ohlina resort that we stayed at.

And for Luke...It was taken at 1:30am f/3.5 30 sec ISO 200.

Looking down toward the North Shore from the temple grounds. My dad and I took this photo Christmas eve. My padre is my favorite photo partner...we always have a blast chatin and killin time!! This was a great way to spend Christmas eve!

Moon behind a palm tree.

The day I left.....hey...at least a storm was rollin' in!!

An Evening at the PCC

Friday night we went to the Polynesian Cultural Center. It is divided up into several areas that each represent one of the islands of Polynesia. We spent time at each of them watching the demonstrations, and went to the big show at the end. It was pretty rad, and along with several pictures that I took, I took a few videos too! This is my first attempt at posting videos, so we'll see how this goes!!

These are some Tahitian dancers.....I cant believe how they shake their moneymakers!

This dude was crazy, and so much fun to watch!

Pretty cool Hula Dance.

More Fire Dancers!

Nate and I decided that every woman should learn how to do this!!

Laie, Hawaii Temple

This morning I took a stroll by myself to the Temple grounds for some peace and quiet! The house we are staying in is only about 1 1/2 blocks from the Temple. I took along my camera and took some pics.

Front view.

Turning around from the picture above, this is the view of the street leading up to the temple. At the end of this street off in the distance is a small temple garden on the beach of the North Shore. If you look close, the first left hand turn off this street is the street we are staying on. You can see the Temple lights at night from our living room!

Standing up by the temple overlooking the front grounds.

Gardens behind the Temple. There are some cool vines hanging down everywhere!

I also took some pics of some various plants and flowers on the grounds. Kind of my ode to Uncle Carl!! Here they are!

Kolekole Pass

Today we set out for the Scholfield Barracks to pick up Ben from work. After we grabbed a quick bite at the PX, we headed out for a place called Kolekole Pass. It is property that is owned by the US Navy, and is only accessable if you have Military escort. It just so happens that my Brother-in-law Ben (Kami's Husband) is in the Army. It was a beautiful pass, and a really fun drive. The only other thing we did today was go to a small beach town on the North Shore and walk around at the shops. It was a lot of fun even though it kind of drizzled all day!....don't feel too bad for me....it was still 74 degrees outside!

View from the first vantage point on the Kolekole Pass.

If you look close you can see the road that hugs the mountain.

Ben and I on top of the pass.

Punch Bowl & Hanauma Bay

Today we set our glorious Red minivan sail to head first to a monument nicknamed Punch Bowl. It is a large monument set up on a hill side that pays tribute to All fallen service men and women. On the walls there were large murals of all the war strategies and events as they transpired. It was very humbling to see all the names and to take in the views.

Looking up the Memorial.

Close up of the main focal point of the Memorial.

Looking down from the top of the Memorial.

Next we drove all over Honolulu looking for some damn Hawaiian BBQ place that was closed once we got there. Holy crap I was so hungry and honery by the time we got to a place that was open I thought I would scream! Of course I couldn't pronounce anything on the dang menu, so I asked for the combo.....hmmm....this is what I ended up with! It consisted of salt, salty, and ungodly amounts of salt!!!!

Hmmm........not so delicious!

Next, we headed over to Hanauma Bay for some beach time. It is a bay that is believed to have been created by a Volcano, which eventually eroded into an opening to the sea. Today, it is full of sea life and an active reef in fairly shallow waters. There are hundreds of varieties of fish as well as endangered Sea turtles seen regularly in the Bay. Nate, Ben, Maile, and I all snorkeled. It was my first time snorkeling, and it was so much fun. I saw some incredible fish, and I'm really ready to go get scuba certified now so that I can go into deeper waters to explore!

Headed out for the first time!

Mom and Dad coming to get in on the mix.

Here's a view of the bay from the shoreline.

Looking over the whole bay. Notice the flip flops?!! Another successful day of no shoes!

The last thing we did today was stop at a place called the Blow Hole. It is a hole in the rock, that when the waves crash into the rocks, it forces water up through the rock and it blows out like a whales blow hole! It was really pretty, as were the surrounding beaches! I know, I know....Shocker!!

Water shooting out...thus the name!

I want this as my backyard!

All this running around wore padre right out! Gotta love that gaping mouth! Another successful day in the Hawaiian islands!!

Christmas on the Beach!

I am a firm believer that every Christmas should be spent on a tropical Island!! This morning I woke up to Quinn screaming at all the toys Santa had left he and Cannon! It was so much fun to re-live Christmas through the kids. I had almost forgotten how much fun it was to lay awake at night just wishing the hours would pass. I would roll over and look at the clock every 5 minutes wondering if it were time to get up yet. I would force myself to not look at the clock for what seemed to be hours, only to roll over again and realize that only 15 minutes had passed! That was sooo much fun! Well, we were able to make it through only the first few presents before I opened one from Maile that stole Quinn's attention for about 10 minutes. It was a Whoopee Cushion! He and I made sure that we tricked every person in the room before opening presents could resume. I got quite a kick out of this present as you can see by this picture!

When that was all over, present opening resumed, and I think we all made out like bandits! Later today I promised Quinn we would go swimming. Maile, Nate, Quinn, Cannon, Ben, and I all headed out to the beach and had some fun for a few hours.

Boogie Boarding on Christmas......yeah baby, yeah!!

This was the view looking down the beach from where we were sitting.....sooooo dreamy!!

So I saw Nate catch a good size wave as these girls were walking up the beach...I could see it all taking shape and I got all giddy!..Just as his firm physique came scooting up the sand on the boogie board, these girls had to all but jump out of his way before he took them out at the feet! The greatest thing is the non-chalant look on his face...and his cool tone as he said "Hey there....how ya doin??"!!! I was laughing sooo freaking hard. Gotta love an Oram family vacation!

Another sucessful day of no shoes!

Quinn shaking his little booty in taunt to the waves!

Maile and Cannon were there to either cheer us on or laugh at us, i'm still not sure which!

I'm laughing cause Ben has no idea i just pee'd.......wait a minute...maybe he did too....hmmm...thats freakin sick!

Another beach we stopped at. I love this place. Nate and I decided that we could definitely quit our jobs and move here. We decided we could live on coconuts and wild chickens!...we have now coined the phrase "its coconut and chicken baby"!!