Happy Birthday Marines

John A. Lejeune's Birthday Message (1921)


On November 10, 1775, a Corps of Marines was created by a resolution of the Continental Congress. Since that date, many thousand men have borne the name Marine. In memory of them, it is fitting that we who are Marines should commemorate the Birthday of our Corps by calling to mind the glories of its long and illustrious history.

The record of our Corps is one which will bear comparison with that of the most famous military organizations in the world's history. During 90 of the 146 years of its existence, the Marine Corps has been in action against the Nation's foes. From the Battle of Trenton to the Argonne, Marines have won foremost honors in war and in the long era of tranquility at home. Generation after generation of Marines have grown gray in war in both hemispheres and in every corner of the seven seas [so] that our country and its citizens might enjoy peace and security.

In every battle and skirmish since the birth of our Corps, Marines have acquitted themselves with the greatest distinction, winning new honors on each occasion until the term "Marine" has come to signify all that is highest in military efficiency and soldierly virtue.

This high name of distinction and soldierly repute we who are Marines today have received from those who preceded us in the Corps. With it we also received from them the eternal spirit which has animated our Corps from generation to generation and has been the distinguishing mark of the Marines in every age. So long as that spirit continues to flourish, Marines will be found equal to every emergency in the future as they have been in the past, and the men of our Nation will regard us as worthy successors to the long line of illustrious men who have served as "Soldiers of the Sea" since the founding of the Corps.

The Art of Jump Pictures

Almost by accident I discovered how much fun jumping pictures are. It is nearly impossible to jump for a picture and have a grumpy face. A little over a year ago 2 missionaries serving in our area wanted a picture of them that clearly showed their joy in serving a mission. We decided that a picture of them jumping in the front yard might be worth a thousand words. They agreed and the rest is history, sort of. I quickly discovered that getting a decent picture of someone jumping is easier said than done, at least for someone of my skill level in photography. I have had so much fun taking hundreds of pictures of friends and family jumping I'm afraid this is going to be a long-term project, and hopefully one that continues to improve in terms of my photographic ability. I have learned that many others share my passion for jump pictures and there are many thousands of images on the photo sharing web site Flickr. I have a link to my Flickr page on this blog so check it out if you have time. To all my friends and family who are growing weary of jumping for my camera, ... uh sorry, but I can't kick the habit.

Happy Halloween Everyone

I love Halloween, even if it isn't a real holiday. And the way I celebrate the day it has no correlation to anything remotely evil and in my universe it's a time to watch children of all ages have fun dressing up and enjoying treats of all kinds. If you find a connection with Halloween to some sort of unspeakable darkness, don't tell me about it. I had a great time in my happy little world!

Fall Leaves

Morp

Last Saturday was Morp (prom spelled backwards) at Brighton High and Kylie and her peeps wanted some gun pictures and since they are totally politically INcorrect but totally appropriate, I helped them out. We had a blast doing them and the kids got to hold some awesome guns. I heard rumors they all had a good night.

Ward Halloween Party

We had a rocking Halloween party and nearly everyone wore a costume but Brenda Sim took home the bacon, that's her on the right. Marsha is too nice to be a witch but the costume worked. The other pictures are of the clever Kris Shaw who thought it would be funny to come to the party dressed up as .... me. Yep, camera, M-16 short brown hair, the whole shebang. I guess I should have taken off my mullet wig for the last picture to make a real comparison but you get the idea. My self esteem? Gone :)

A Few Recent Photo Shoots

Fall is my favorite time of year, all the way through New Years Eve. Football is on every channel and the temperatures are down from summer and the colors pop with the light of the changing season. I've been lucky enough to be invited to take some family pictures of friends and here are a few from the past week.

A Week Later

It's been a while since I've spent much time around a newborn, Kylie is nearly 18 and might think it was a little creepy if I tried to hold her like this. Heck I would think it's creepy too. I stopped in at Christensen's today to give Everett, or as he would prefer, Jesus Richard, (don't judge that name until you hear the whole story) his official Marine Corps Bear in full MarPat digital cammies. Since our area of Utah is green and we are close to the mountains his bear came with the woodland digital pattern and I have to admit I was pretty excited. I live a few doors up the road from JR and his family so I can enjoy all of the benefits of a week old newborn and miss any of the downside. I'm not sure he cries and for all I know he sleeps all night long without a stir. That's my perspective as a neighbor, Wyatt and Andrea might tell a different story. But here we are a week later and I'm thinking newborns are pretty dang cute.

JUMP

David Lee Roth is someone I rarely quote, actually I never quote him, but Summer Adamson's jump immortalizes his famous song. Thanks Summer, the check's in the mail :)

Everett Joseph (Richard) Christensen

Better late than never. Everett Richard or as he prefers, JR, was born Thursday and boy is everyone happy to get him here, none more than Andrea. I waited to post this until she had a chance to post her pictures, but now it's fair game. The best story I've heard for a long is how Andrea asked for her camera when the doctor said "push". He told her he had delivered around 4,000 babies and thought he had seen everything ... until Andrea asked for her camera to document the birth from the other end :) And I thought I loved taking pictures. Glad you're here JR!

Plumbing Sucks

Last week before I left Manti I noticed the ground was squishy around the sprinkler box and sure enough I found a leak. The problem is, the pipe is old black inch and a half and is rusting away in the clay soil. This isn't your fathers clay either, this is cement clay. While I was chipping away at the ground with the shovel I wondered what the pioneers thought when they tried to dig or plant in this mess. I have a whole new respect for them! Anyway, I had the help of a neighbor putting the pipe together and just when we thought we had fixed the broken piece ....

This was the darkest part of the repair, and no I didn't swear. A new hole blew out along the old pipe after each new section was replaced. I hate plumbing.

This was the happy ending.

The Neighbor Boy

It was a slow night at the Smith house until John decided to wear Kylie's shoes. Wow what a change! It reminded me of some other posts about shoes ... in a weird sort of way.

I Survived Another Birthday

Two of my favorite people each gave me a card and they are both keepers. I tease Andrea about her hippy stuff in her house and occasionally in her art so I really appreciated the thought on her "hippy" themed card that she made. Kirsten found the other one that cracked me up. I'm so completely not even close being dorky. In fact my picture is next to "cool" in the dictionary. Haha. Thanks to everyone that helped make this one of the best birthdays.

The Harvest Moon

This full moon is known as the Harvest Moon for obvious reasons and while driving to the house after a meeting toinght I realized how much ambient light the moon provides. The picture of the girls was taken strictly with ambient light. Holding still even when sitting is hard for 15 or 20 seconds so the focus isn't crisp but Ilike the effect.

The End of The Garden 2009

It happened last night, 22 unforgiving degrees. I figured it was coming and I'm not complaining too loudly because last year it froze on Labor Day so the garden had an entire month longer this year. I'm disappointed in the pumpkin crop though. I sure can't figure them out. The months of May and June were cool and wet and maybe the buggers didn't get a good start at life but I think I only averaged 3 pumpkins per plant and I expect more than that. Is a garden worth all of the work? Don't ask.