President Romney?

What do you think of Mitt Romney? He is a Republican, the former Governor of Massachusetts (an extremely liberal state) who is running for President. He is also Mormon, the first serious Mormon presidential canidate in US history. While there are a couple other people whose politics I tend to agree with a little more, I am quite proud of him and feel I have a lot of interest in how he and his faith are portrayed. I am grateful for people like him who are bringing us further into the mainstream of society. I have had the opportunity to meet two other leaders, Senator Gordon Smith, a republican of Oregon (who is one of the leading Rep. critics of Bush's Iraq escalation) and Senator Harry Reid, a democrat from Nevada who is Senate Majority Leader, the highest office a democrat currently holds. When I met these Senators, I thanked them for their example and integrity. As for 2008, I already have a preferred candidate, but since it is so early in the process (still a whole year until the first primary) I'll wait to tell you why I like her.

26!

Today is my 26th birthday. At 9:06am, Utah time, I was born. Thanks mom and dad!

President Obama?

Have you heard the news that Senator Barack Obama has formed an exploratory committee for a presidential run? This is a legal step towards announcing a full-fledged canidacy, which he says will happen on Feb. 10th. What do you think? He's very exciting and what the Washington Post called "a walking hope machine," but can he live up to all the hype and expectations despite such a lack of experience?

It finally snowed the other day, so Sarah and I drove about 45 minutes north to the town of Lac-des-Loups, at the northern tip of the Parc de la Gatineau and enjoyed a winter hike together. The road we had hoped to drive on to find hiking trails turned out to not have been plowed and so we had this entire road to ourselves. The weather has been so schizophrenic, raining and freezing enough times that the road we walked on was basically snow covered ice.

Fete des Rois

Sarah and I enjoyed a fun French tradition last weekend, inviting some friends over to celebrate when the Wise Men arrived in Bethlehem. As Sarah's family did it growing up, you bake a cake (she made a phenomenal Almond cake) with a little decoration hidden on the inside. Whoever ends up with the piece in their slice of cake becomes King for the year. Someone sits under the table and as each piece is cut, decides who will receive it (to ensure fairness of course). Marie-Claude, a new friend of ours who was recently baptized in our congregation, and her son Alexandre, were among thos who came over. As fate would have it (thanks to a quick switcheroo), Alexandre ended up our King. One of his major powers is the ability to select his Queen. Ever the diplomat, he selected his mom.

"Young" Men

If you've been reading my blog over a period time or have ever got me talking about my time as Young Men's President in Montreal, then you know how much I loved working with these boys. One of the highlights of the trip Sarah and I took to Montreal over New Years was seeing them again. It's unbelievable to me how impressive these kids are. Check out this post from May 2005 to see their growth.

Holiday Dinners

Sarah and I had so many wonderful meals with people we love during this past holiday season. Check out the pictures posted on our family blog about these dinners.

Hero

I read an amazing story in this morning's NY Times (and Toronto's Globe and Mail as well) about a true New York City hero. A 50 year old man was standing on the platform of the downtown 1 train at 137th st (a stop I rode past every day for many years on my way to Jr. High School), waiting with his 2 young daughters, when he saw a nearby 20 year old man start convulsing. The young man started having a seizure and fell to the ground and then rolled off the platform onto the train tracks. Of course, just as he fell, the 50 year old man noticed the lights of the oncoming train turning the corner. He reacted quickly, jumping off the platform onto tracks, positioning the man in the little rut between the two tracks and holding him down so that the train passed over them. Apparently it was just inches from his head, as the rut is only one foot deep. They cut power to the trains and then got the two men out of there. Amazing! The young man was taken to St. Lukes Hospital (one of my mom's former hospitals) and the other guy resumed his day, taking his daughter home and then going to his evening construction job. What a story.

Happy New Year!

I'll be honest, I wasn't overwhelmingly happy when the clock hit midnight on Dec 31st. I have loved 2006 and consider it one of the best years of my life so far and am sad to see it over. Of course, I look forward to the opportunities of 2007 and am optimistic that it will be a great year. Sarah and I were in Montreal over the holidays and celebrated New Years Eve by dancing to spanish music until 1:30am! It's nice to be back home and get to work on our goals. But first, I've updated the blog, bringing back, by popular demand, the clock detailing how long Sarah and I have been married. I've also added a new counter which counts the number of hits this blog has received as of today. All the best in 2007!