July in Oklahoma

Been living in Norman for the most part of July while I've been working and coaching. I have been able to take a few side trips on the weekends, exploring and experiencing some of Oklahoma I've never seen.

- Noodling festival in Paul's Valley

- Chickasaw National Rec Area
- OKC Redhawks games in Bricktown (plus reggae fest)

- University of Arkansas team camp for the volleyball girls

Summer Travels

Two June weddings in Utah, both my brothers'. Noah & Kendalyn June 9 (Draper) and Jeremiah & Allison June 29 (Timpanogas).

While in Utah we went hiking, bowling, and played some golf too.



USA adult national volleyball championships in Phoenix over Memorial weekend. 2nd year in which I have participated.

(photos to come)

I also moved into my new apartment...

Updates!

Just wanted to post a few highlights of recent happenings.


April 22 - OKC THUNDER v. Lakers. First ever NBA Playoff game in Oklahoma! And I got to attend!! And the Thunder won!!! A sea of blue...

May 19 - Stillwater Tornado! Even though we are in tornado alley, a tornado hadn't touched down in Stillwater for over two decades. That all changed this month. Even though it turned out to be not a large tornado (thank goodness), the funnel still touched down on the north side of town and damaged a few things. This was a very slow moving storm (maybe 25 mph), and we had at least a half hour of warning time before the actual storm hit. Once the twister touched down just east of I-35 along highway 51, the sirens went off in Stillwater... and blared for 3o minutes straight. Of course, I had the tv turned up loud so I could hear them while I stood outside pretty much the whole time watching the progression of the storm (remember I live just one block south of HWY 51). Turned out there were definitely two areas of circulation near the hook of the super-cell. The one further north would put a funnel down for a bit then take it back up again. The one further south was the circulation which went right over our house and right over my head. I was just too excited and couldn't get myself to go inside. The clouds were swirling right there, but never seemed to be too organized, which was good. If i did see anything start to organized, I would probably have to race into my house down into the basement. But we were lucky, although it would have been cool to see a tornado.

April 1-3 - NIRSA Collegiate Club Volleyball Nationals (Dallas, TX). Coaching my OSU girls' last tournament of the season.

(I also got a new phone! The new HTC Droid Incredible)

May 10 Tornado Outbreak

A severe weather outbreak occurred across Oklahoma as tornadic storms formed along a line from north to south Monday afternoon through the evening. An exciting yet devastating event. The first tornado warning was put out mid-afternoon north-west of the site I work at (multi-vortex tornado pictured near Wakita). The second tornado warning was released just south of the site near Billings (#2) at about the same time I was driving that way back home after work. Just off the exit on I-35 I drove past an overturned FedEx truck and golf ball to baseball size hail. The Norman tornado (track 6) was likely the largest of yesterday's, followed a path over highway 9 just a few miles east of the OU campus and the National Weather Center.

Norman Tornado

Related blogs:

http://www.norman.noaa.gov/2010/05/10-may-2010-tornado-outbreak/

http://www.patricktmarsh.com/2010/05/day-130-high-risk/

http://tornadoscientists.blogspot.com/

Thankyou, April

I don't know whether I'm happier April is here or March is past. But I am excited that both have occurred. March was discouraging, from start to finish, although not all of it was accursed (the weekend of NCAA march madness in OKC with BYU basketball was amazing). But other than that, I've been disappointed.

Now a glorious April has arrived, and I am more filled with life again. General Conference is always a great way to start off a month, and I definitely felt the spirit of hope and peace during the sessions, especially strong during Priesthood. "Patience is a purifying process that refines understanding, deepens happiness, focuses action and offers hope for peace." (Uchtdorf)

April is also a favorite time of year because it is a full month of Spring! ... my favorite season. Every spring I rave about how much I enjoy the return of new life, the new warmth, and of course the ThunderStorms! I've also started this week with a new workout routine and meal plan. And I'm already starting to feel better with more energy and strength as I try to get back in shape.

Thankyou, April. I'm looking forward to a great month.

March Madness: NCAA Tournament 2010

BYU! BYU! BYU! Double overtime in the Ford Center in Oklahoma City. The last time the University of Florida had played in the tourney they won the NCAA championship. 3rd row seats behind the bench. Amazing. So happy for Noah, Jimmer, Michael "Jordan" Lloyd, and the rest of the team. Loudest I have yelled probably ever. Jo's poster and mom's t-shirts got us on tv all throughout the game. Totally worth changing my flight to leave a day early, and waking up around 3am to travel from DC to OKC and get to my seat just as the player starters were announced.

We were able to return for the 2nd round session at the Ford Center, even after Friday's 70 degree weather turned into near blizzard conditions on Saturday in Oklahoma. Before the BYU-Kansas State game tipped off, we witnessed the biggest upset of the tournament so far, with Northern Iowa knocking off the big boys of Kansas. Although BYU lost, they fought hard.

Washington DC

Our annual ARM Science Team Meeting (now ASR) was held just north of Washington DC this week. I was only able to escape for a few hours to check out the sites. Also got to see a few friends while I was out there. It went by pretty quickly.