Cliff Notes

Wishing you an Eventful New Year

2011-12-22T15:15:00.003-07:00

Happy Halloween

2011-10-31T13:50:00.006-06:00

Once again, we held a Halloween Dance for the Mid-Singles in our area, we held our event at the local LDS Chapel and had over 300 attend. Not bad for a Dance held in a church gym. The 2 fro boys are cousin Trent and our friend Jim.

Uncle Cliff

2011-02-24T10:35:00.007-07:00

Recently my sister decided that while her husband was deployed for 15 months in the Air Force, she would move her family (6 kids) to my mom's house in Idaho. I was able to spend a couple of weeks in at my moms around Christmas time to help her prepare for this huge change in her life. At the end of January my sister and her family all moved in from Lousianna. They had a moving company do all of the work, except it was hard for me to just watch, so I chipped in when it came to unloading the truck. My sister had decided to move only the things she needed into mom's house and the rest would go to storage. So using my uncle's truck and horse trailer, we hauled everything else to storage. We ended up having to move twice, because the first storage unit was too small for all of their extra stuff.

After the first week was over, I decided to stay another week and make sure they were all settled in (as much as could be). My sister and I dropped off her husband at the airport, and then decided to stop at Costco. That was a mistake, my sister had been talking to my mom about building a swing set in the newly landscaped backyard. Of course they had a swing set on display at Costco and my sister asked "would you be able to build that for us?" I thought for a minute and replied "If you want to get it now, I can start on it Monday, thinking she wasn't ready to buy it yet. So we ended up buying the swing set later that afternoon, and I thought to myself it should only take a day or two. When all was said and done, it took four and a half days to complete. The slide itself came in 30 pieces and took the last 6 hours to complete.

During the build, my nephew would be outside helping me, and my other nephews and nieces would watch from inside, anxiously waiting for it to be completed. Now I said earlier it was a mistake to stop at Costco, but after seeing all of my nephews and nieces enjoying their new play set, it was well worth my time to be "Uncle Cliff"

Happy Holidays!!

2010-12-16T10:23:00.026-07:00

Wishing all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year

This year has been a very enjoyable time of my life.

I was able to spend a few months at my mom's landscaping her back yard, including a new automatic sprinkler system.

During the summer I attended our 20 year class reunion, 14 of the 20 from our class were able to attend. It was nice to see everyone again and be able to spend time with their families.

In August I hosted our first Irving reunion, we rented a cabin in Midway, UT. We spent time as a family at Temple Square, Hoogle Zoo, and of course on the lake.

Wanted to take a few minutes to express my gratitude to the things in my life that I have been blessed with.

My Dad, Mom, and each of my brothers and sisters, including my 11 nephews and 6 nieces.

All of my friends that have come in and out of my life over the last 30 years, especially those that have stayed in touch and continue to be a part of my life.

My career that has allowed me to enjoy so many things in my life.

Most importantly, the Gospel of Jesus Christ in my life. I am so grateful for His gift to me, His Birth, Atonement, and Resurrection.

May each of us take time to reflect on the true meaning of Christmas

P.S. I have had a few friends ask me to post my recent talk in Our Singles Ward, click on the pic to read

Halloween Dance

2010-11-02T07:55:00.006-06:00

Once again, A few of my friends and I hosted another Halloween Dance for Mid-Singles in the area. We ended up with about 600 people again this year and had a great time. We had many people remark that it was even better than last year. It was a lot of prep work, but in the end I think everyone had a great time. As you can see, my costume was a huge success, except that I had a few girls say no to me when asked to dance. I ended up floating the floor and having pictures of me taken with others, it was a lot of fun.

IN-N-OUT is here!

2009-11-19T17:39:00.023-07:00

The In-N-Out in Orem, UT finally opened up this morning at 9:00 AM (That's right 9 AM for a burger). If you have read a past post of my love for In-N-Out, you would understand my events of the past 2 days. At 4:00 AM Wednesday morning I pulled my truck into the Drive Thru, and was the first 1 in line. I spent the next 29 hours in (and around) my truck, waiting for the chance to be the 1st to go through their Drive Thru. I was first approached by the GM of the opening ceremony and was congratulated for being number 1, received a stocking cap, and was invited to their Employee Only Dinner that night around 5. Through out the day I was approached by many of their employees (cooks to Store Directors) each of them wanted to hear of the passion I had for an In-N-Out burger. I was interviewed by 3 TV news stations (1 was In-N-Out TV) and 1 radio station. I spent the night in the back of my truck, nice and warm, (22 degrees outside) while people were sleeping on the sidewalk to be the 1st to go through the doors. At 9:00 Thursday morning they presented me with a Collectors Coin, T-shirt, and all of my food was free for the past 2 days , of course all of it was In-N-Out.

Where in the World is Cliff?

2009-10-04T15:39:00.005-06:00

Since when is calling someone to see how they are doing or what they are up to, considered "Old School" It seems in this time of "Instant Updates" via Facebook and Twitter, many of us have forgotten how to pick up the phone and call someone. Do I really think that everyone on my Facebook page really cares that I woke up with a headache this morning, or that It is so late and I am so tired.. yet have enough energy to log on and update my Status saying so? Unfortunately I am not immune to this new crave of communication.. I don't update my status too often, but I do find myself reading other's updates. I have found out though, that creating an Event on Facebook is one of my reasons in justifying the use of it. The only downfall is that, after creating an event I often forget to invite many of my friends that are not on Facebook. Needless to say, because of this new trend I have neglected my Blog (I'm sure most of you are tired of me talking about myself anyway)

So what has Cliff been up to?
Since my last post I assure you that I have been on many adventures during this past summer. There was the vacation to Las Vegas for the Mountain West Basketball Tournament in March. In April I went back to my mom's in Idaho and spent some time completing some of the projects around her house. A quick trip to Lake Powell in May. I was able to make it back to the Grand Canyon and hike back down to Havasupai in June. During the month of July I spent time behind the boat, wakeboarding, wakeskating, and a new thrill wakesurfing. In August I planned a trip to Buena Vista, CO for a whitewater rafting trip and on the way back stopped in Moab for a night. (Of course I rented a jeep for the day)

Back in May I was diagnosed with a Bi-lateral inguinal hernia, and had to meet with a Surgeon. We had looked at a couple of dates on when to schedule the operation, but my vacation plans were always interfering. He told me to figure out my summer and let him know when I was done playing and we could do the procedure (I had to plan on 6 weeks of recovering) I decided the best time of the year would be between Wakeboarding and Snowboarding seasons, so I went under the knife on Aug. 31st. Unfortunately, I forgot about Fall rides on my motorcycle, and didn't realize that I would not be able to ride during recovery.

After my 1st week of operation I had my cousin Janna and her husband Randy take me Grocery Shopping, it was all I could do to walk from the parking lot to the front doors. As you can see from the pic, I ended up using 1 of Walmart's electric carts. (Probably the closest to being on my bike until I check in with the Surgeon this week)

It has been a grueling and long period of recovering, I was not allowed to lift anything over 1o lbs for 6 weeks. I felt pretty bad, and very uncomfortable when I had to ask others for help. Luckily enough I have great friends and family that were around to take care of me. Hopefully I can return the favor some day when I am able.

If any of you know me well, I didn't let that stop me from having some fun. An old roommate (Brian) came into town for a long weekend and we were able to go to Cedar City and see our other roommate Mat. It was great to catch up with them and reminisce. I also made it to the BYU football games, a couple of dances and a night up at Midway with 40 of my friends for a night.

I am looking forward to this month of October, Halloween has always been one of my favorite times of the year and we are planning a huge costume dance that night.

Week in Miami

2009-02-10T09:25:00.015-07:00

Recently I spent some time in Miami at a conference for work, I was fortunate enough to go out a little earlier in the week and spend some time with my brother in law Nato and sister Robin. Here are a few of the pics.

Everglades Alligator Farm

No, that is not me!

This is me, conquering my fears

Christmas Card

2008-12-13T12:03:00.010-07:00

Wishing all of you a Merry Christmas!

I have so much to be thankful for this year, I thought I would take a moment and reflect on my past year of so many adventures.

Snowboarding - especially with my little sister Ina

Moab - with my brothers and dad

Havasupai - Grand Canyon

Wakeboarding - Bear Lake, Lake Powell, and Utah Lake

Camping in Grand Teton

Cedar City - enjoying time with good friend Mat and family

Zion National Park - hiking Angels Landing

Disney World - 2 weeks with family

Texas - visiting with my brother and his 2 boys

Mesa Verda National Park

Minnesota - visiting with good friend Marcus and his family

New York - training - "job security"

Mom's - Thanksgiving, and more importantly, my little bro's Wedding

Last Call for Wakeboarding

2008-10-27T13:39:00.013-06:00

As Fall has started to turn into Winter, My friend Dean and I decided that we needed to do 1 more trip to Utah Lake before we winterized the boat for the year. A weekend ago his kids were on Fall Break from school, so we headed out on Friday afternoon and launched the boat. The air temperature was very enjoyable at 73 degrees, but the water temperature was a different story. As we cruised out into the middle of the lake, where it was almost glass (perfect condition for wakeboarding) we threw in the thermometer to check the water temp. If you can not make out the reading in the pic, it was 48 degrees. We decided that it would be okay with our Wet Suits on, but as you can see from the Pic's, the wet suits were in the garage and we had to wakeboard without.

A quick jump into the lake and a shrilled pitched voice yelling "Hit It!", once pulled out of the water the run was very enjoyable. Just look at the smile on my face. Maybe I am insanse, but it was a lot of fun.

Graveyard Golf

2008-10-20T19:05:00.001-06:00

Last Friday we had a Halloween Party/Dance for our singles group. I was asked to help with the Mini Golf room, I was told in the past that they used chairs as obstacles and buckets for the hole of the greens. Well, if any of you know me, I felt that would have been kinda lame. So I decided to build my own 3 hole mini golf course.

The first hole was 12 feet long and about 2 feet wide, with 3 large "woop de doos"

The second hole was designed to look like a gravesite, it was 6 feet long and about 4 feet wide. If you putted the ball through the pelvis of the bones, good chance you made a hole in one.

On the last hole, you had to drive the ball up a 2 foot ramp and into the pumkins mouth with a Par 1, in order to get a candy.

We finished off the room with a lot of different Halloween decorations, including a large Bat, Coffin and Pumkin Scarecrow. The only lighting we had were a few rope lights, a black light, and a couple of strobe lights. It turned out really cool and I know everyone had a good time playing Mini Golf. The games were suppose to go from 7-9 that night, but they asked if we would be willing to keep the "Graveyard Golf" open for the entire night. Of course I said yes!

Mesa Verda National Park

2008-10-16T09:36:00.000-06:00

On my way back from visiting my brother in Texas, I stopped in Cortez, CO. I spent the night in Mesa Verda National Park campground and then visited a couple of Indian Cliff Dwellings.

1st Week of Disney

2008-09-04T18:46:00.028-06:00

Magic Kingdom

For the next 2 weeks I will be in Florida, living in Disney World. 2 of my sisters, Robin and Ina, and their families, my mom and I have all made the journey to Orlando. We have gone to Animal Kingdom and Magic Kingdom, tomorrow we are heading to Epcot and Hollywood Studios on Saturday. I ran into Mickey in Animal Kingdom and he insisted on getting a pic with me, so I agreed.

Today was my favorite day, so far. We had made dinner reservations at Cinderella's Royal Palace, and wouldn't you know it, we got to meet Cinderella. She told me she had been waiting for Prince Charming for some time now and was glad her search was over. I told her that she should probably keep looking and kissed her on the cheek.

It has been a great vacation so far, but I have only been here for 3 days, so we will see how the next 7 days are. If any of you are wondering what you do in Disney World for 10 Days, I will let you know once I know. More to come later...

Labor Day at Zion

2008-09-01T11:03:00.000-06:00

This sign reads "narrow route with Cliff" I'm on my way up to Angels Landing in Zion National Park. I'm sitting at Angels Landing as I post this to my blog. Enjoy your Labor Day inside.

Heritage Park

2008-08-27T10:42:00.003-06:00

Last Saturday I attended a singles activity held in the "This is the Place" Heritage Park in SLC. I had always seen the park as I headed to Hogle Zoo, but have never looked around. We were able to ride the train around the park, look at all the old buildings, and even got to walk through Brigham Young's house. The monument pictured above includes the first settlers of the area, not just the Mormon Pioneers. I suggest to anyone that has not been there to make a point in doing so.

Eventful July

2008-08-21T18:17:00.030-06:00

For the 4th of July I went to visit my sister Ina, her husband Gregg and their 2 boys - Tyson and Kaleb in Twin Falls. On Friday morning I rode with Gregg's dad on their horse drawn wagon in the Buhl 4th of July parade. I must admit it was a lot of fun, even though there were a lot of weird people waving at us as we drove down the parade route. My sister Becki and her husband Ethan (Buck) and their kids - Josh, Emily, Bryce, and Erin all joined us for Fireworks Friday night. We went to the hotsprings on Saturday and my nephews took turns riding down the waterslide with Uncle Cliff.

On Tuesday we packed up our Camping gear and headed to Grand Teton National Park, in Wyoming. We set up camp and I grilled up some chicken for everyone. The next day we decided to go find some buffalo for the kids to see, and us of course. We drove through a range area and came across a heard of buffalo, we decided to keep our distance and tried to zoom in with our cameras. Afterward we decided to go for a boat ride on Jenny Lake and then hiked up to Hidden Falls. As you can see from the pic on the left, the falls are actually hidden by the trees.

That evening we ended up driving around Teton Lake and having dinner next to the lake. It was such a nice change of pace to hang with some of my family and enjoy being the "favorite" Uncle Cliff.

For the 24th of July I was invited to go to Bear Lake with the Sommerville's, Dean and his family. We stayed in a little cottage in Garden City and spent most of our day on the Boat. While on the lake, we brought out the new wake surf board and I learned how to wake surf. All of us, Dean, Spencer, Annika, Sharon and I were able to "get up" in the first couple of attempts. It was such a blast to be with everyone and just enjoy the beautiful water at Bear Lake.

Havasupai in June

2008-08-13T20:13:00.003-06:00

In June a group of friends (17 of us) headed down to Havasupai Waterfall, located in the Grand Canyon near Supai Indian Reservation. We hiked 10 miles in Thursday morning around 4:00 AM, equipped with backpacks and camelbacks. We brought in our own food and supplies to last us 4 days of camping, and relaxing. While there, we were able to explore many of the different waterfalls in the surrounding area. We played in the pools and cliff jumped into the water of Havasupai Waterfall on the first day of our hike. We spent all day Friday hiking down to Mooney falls, spent lunch near my favorite rope swing location that launched us into the river, and then another 3 miles down to Beaver Falls. On Saturday some of us hiked 1/2 mile to Navajo Falls, and the rest of the day played in the pools of Havasupai again. Some of the group ended up hiking to the village Sunday morning and taking a helicopter out, a couple of us hiked out Sunday evening, and the rest hiked out Monday morning around 3:00 AM. Even though most of us had blisters and/or sore muscles, each of us had an experience to remember. The slide show below is only a selected few of the pictures that were taken that week, most of them came from my friend Keith's camera, who flew in from New York to join us on our Havasupai Adventure!!

Moab in May

2008-08-06T11:33:00.035-06:00

In May the Irving Boys - Myself, my brother Charley and his two sons Everett and Taegan, and my brother Kenny, took a week and went camping in Moab, UT. Everett and Taegan were glad to be taken out of school and the rest of us were enjoying a few days off. On Wednesday my dad drove down from Salt Lake City and joined us for a few days. Long walks to the arches were taken on the first couple of days. Some of the hikes we accomplished were the Sand Arch, Windows, Broken Arch, and most impressive the Delicate Arch.

Thursday was the main reason for the trip. Two shinny red jeeps were rented to go rock crawling. The trails were steep!! It took a little encouraging to get my brother Charley to go up the first good climb. I even had to get out of my jeep once, climb back down and drive his jeep up the rock. I think I was just as scared the first time I went with my brother-in-law Gregg and sister Ina last year. I also had to tell my Dad to stay in the jeep for a couple of the climbs, he was ready to get out and walk up the rock. I think his heart skipped a beat once or twice. Over all we had a great time, and by the end of the day my brother Charley and his 2 boys were really getting into the "Jeeping Moab".

I think that 1 of the most enjoyable times during that week was our 4x4 experience to Gemini Bridges. I have always seen the sign when I head into Moab every year, but never knew anything about it. When we rented our Jeeps they gave us a trail map of suggested routes and sites. Gemini Bridges was one of the approved trails we were allowed to take the rentals through. It was a good 15 miles over some very extreme rock climbing and also a lot of sand trails. We first went to the top of the Bridge, overlooking 500 feet of sheer drop off. The 100 foot Arch was once 1 Arch, but then it had been sliced in half, like a slice of bread. Hence the name "Gemini" or 2 Bridges. We were able to walk over the narrow Arch and look down into the crack that split the 2 Arches. What an amazing feel of fear and excitement at the same time. Afterward we took another hour long trail down to the bottom of the canyon and were able to see the Bridges 400 feet up in the Air. This picture was taken from below, with a lot of zoom. Trust me when I tell you that it was 400 feet up the canyon wall before the actual Gemini Bridges started. I thought I had seen all of the Arches in the Moab area, but was greatly surprised to find a new Arch. Fortunately for us we had modified jeeps and a trail map to find such a spot to admire.

“Chadders” not “In-N-Out”

2008-04-07T12:19:00.004-06:00

I would not consider myself a connoisseur of “In-N-Out Burgers,” although I have made a few road trips recently to enjoy such a burger.

Last February ‘07 my cousin Trent and I decided to head down to a wedding in Turlock, CA. As we started our journey from Caldwell, ID we headed southwest through Sparks, NV. We spotted an “In-N-Out”; I made a comment to my cousin that we needed to eat at an “In-N-Out” at least once during our weekend trip. I then jokingly explained that I would be okay if that was all we ate during our trip. He immediately replied “Sounds good to me”. And so it was, we decided that we were not going to eat anything else but “In-N-Out Burgers.” We spent the night in Nevada and headed out the next morning to meet up with my sister and her family in Sacramento. As we were driving down I-80 we stopped in Roseville, CA where we could enjoy our first “In-N-Out Burger” around 1:00. I of course had their “Double Double”. Nothing tastes better than 2 fresh hamburger patties and fresh cut fries. After lunch we continued our journey into Sacramento, once at my sister’s we decided to go eat at, you guessed it “In and Out.” Ethan and Becki grabbed some food from McDonald’s for the kids then met us in Elk Grove, for some great “In-N-Out” burgers. On our way back from the wedding we spotted another “In-N-Out”, we thought for a minute of going to the Outback that was right next door. (You know I love the Outback Steakhouse) I quickly reverted back to our original plan explaining that I can eat at an Outback anytime, so we went to “In-N-Out”. We ate at “In-N-Out” for all 3 meals on Saturday as well. As we headed back home we made one last stop for “In-N-Out” in Sparks, NV. Knowing that was our last chance for a great burger and fry.

The following September my cousin Trent and I were craving “In-N-Out” The closest one was in Sparks, NV five and half hours away. We decided to make a road trip; we left our place around 7:00, called our Uncle Jerry to see if he wanted to go with us and proceeded to Sparks. We arrived in Sparks around 2:00, had a Double Double again and then turned around and headed back home. I bought a cheap cooler from 7-11 and put in a couple of burgers and fries to take home. When we got home around 7:00 I pulled out the cooler, the hamburgers were still surprisingly good, how ever the fries did not make it.

A couple weekends later I was in California for the BYU – UCLA football game, as soon as I got to my hotel, I asked the hotel manager where the closest “In-N-Out” would be, he told me music to my ears “2 blocks north. Needless to say I ate there for all 3 meals while staying in California that weekend.

Recently I made a journey to “Chadders” in American Fork, UT. I have heard of the similarities between them and “In-N-Out”, so I decided to try “Chadders” for myself. “Chadders” has a great burger and great fries, but I would not ever consider them close to being like “In-N-Out”, except for the familiar look of their building, as seen in the picture I posted. I’ll continue to make trips to “In-N-Out” any time I am around California, Nevada, and Arizona.

The Wii Salesman:

2008-01-31T16:51:00.000-07:00

I have owned a Nintendo Wii for about a year now, and have come to enjoy many of the games I have tried. Right now I’m starting my season in the Tiger Woods PGA Tour ’07, and am exited to be playing along with Tiger Woods and many other great athletes. (It’s more realistic when you use the Nerf golf club) I also recently conquered the Spider Man – Friend or Foe campaign, nothing like being a true Super Hero. I have yet to finish the Lego Star Wars Complete Saga, or even come close to beating my first game Zelda – Twilight Princess. The Madden ’07 and NBA ’08 make me feel as if I’m part of the game. (Throwing the football and actually shooting a jump shot.) Then there is the Mario Party which is always enjoyable with a group of friends involving all the mini-games. I think the most fun I have though, is watching friends come over and creating a Mii for the first time and then trying out the Wii sports. (Bowling, tennis, golf, baseball, and boxing)

Over the past year I have been able to visit friends and family, and because of the size of the Wii, have brought it along with me. Many of my friends and their families have enjoyed playing the Wii sports and other games (Wii play). I like to think that I have helped some of them convince their wives to look into buying a Wii for themselves. The other day a good friend of mine (Marcus) tossed around the idea that I should try to be a representative of Nintendo and sale the Wii door to door, I can just see my presentation:

Knock, knock

“Is the woman of the house at home?” (Almost all salesmen target woman during the day) I would be knocking doors in the evening, knowing that most husbands would not reject my sales pitch.

“Ma’am are you trying to find a way to bring your family closer together?”

“What would you say if I told you that I have the solution to your problem?”

“If you give me 15 minutes in front of your TV, I will show you how your family can come together.”

I would then set up the Wii, with the Sensor bar on top of the TV. Plug in the Console and starting with the youngest child create a Mii for each of the participants. Once the Mii’s had been created, pull out a total of 4 remotes and let them try Tennis. Probably would have to move some furniture around, as most living rooms are not set up specifically for the Wii. After brief instructions I would let them swing away, hopefully there is enough space in the room to do so. I would make sure that the wife tried tennis for herself, and was enjoying the game as much as any one else.

The Closing,

“This Nintendo Wii is already set up for you, how many remotes would you like me to include in the packaged deal?”

“Will you be paying by Credit Card, Check or my favorite Cash?”