Baby Dallin

The wait is over! Our little boy, Dallin, is here. He weighed in at 8 lbs 1.1 oz, and was 21 inches long at birth. It was a rough delivery for all involved, but they are both healthy and well. Thanks for all the well-wishes and congratulations. :)

Remembering 6 7 and 8

I've been crunching my brain trying to remember classmates and events from 6th, 7th and 8th grade and it's trickier than I thought it would be. It's amazing to me that most of the people I remember were classmates over several years and through high-school. Carlin Walser is probably the only exeption, only knowing him from 7th and 8th grade. And what ever became of Mr. Rassmussen? (Chris?) I didn't ever get to know him that well, probably because I really didn't get excited about band until our Sophmore and Junior years of High School.
Anyway, just thought I'd share what's been on my mind. I'm also super excited about our new windows. ...and dissapointed with Alice In Wonderland. I've been busy at work, mostly doing computer inventory for all of our operations and offering support internationaly. Business is also good, I'm growing and learning. I'm learning Spanish, reading good books and learning the hard way what it really takes to be a good Varsity coach. :)
...Those are the basics. See you 'round.

Young Halloween Results

Just a quick tip I learned while typing this post: don't click on any of your pictures while in the "Preview" screen. You lose everything you've worked on, and you have to start over. (Sigh) Anyway, Here are a few pictures from the Young Family's Happy Halloween Extravaganza! (2008) This is my Jack-O-Lantern. (My second favorite part of Halloween!)


So this year Melanie wanted to dress up as a family and do something cute. I was okay with that as long as I didn't feel like a Halloweenie doing it. When she suggested Peter Pan and Wendy, I almost said no. But the thought of Erin being Tinkerbell had me sold on it. So even though I was gone two weeks out of the month (one week in Miami and another week in Washington State) I was still able to make our costumes in time for all the Halloween parties.

Erin looked so cute, ... I don't think it's fair that Daddies melt into puddles over their daughters. I'm just warm putty in her hands, and I can't help it. THAT's what got me into those green tights, which actually turned out to be thin green panty-hose! I had to put on THREE other pairs of normal panty-hose to blend out my hairy legs. Even then I felt totally exposed.


... at least until I finished the shoes. Then - because of some unexplicable reason - I felt much better. There must be something in the commitment of a complete costume that erases all the doubt and shame you should normally feel when you are dressed up like a complete fool. I felt great, it was fun. Now that it's over, I don't have to worry about being a faerie-boy next year. I can move on in my life, and do something ... else.

Catastrophic Blessings

A while ago someone shared the definition of catastrophe as something turning upside down. I've thought about that recently as it could relate to circumstances. Melanie and I are experiencing catastrophe, only all the downs are now turning to ups. Do catastrophic events always imply negative outcomes?

Anyway, things are looking very well for me and the fam. Thanks for the prayers everyone, hope you all enjoy the rest of conference!

Dumb, Lucky, Successful

Hello again friends. I know that everyone has been curious as to how things are going for myself and our little family, so I'm going to catch everyone up. To make the story less scary, I'll tell you the situation in reverse cronological order. I start work on Monday with AgReserves, Inc in SLC (Right next to Temple Square). They manage a lot of the Church investment/agricultural real-estate. I'll be their Help Desk Administrator. It's taken them 5 interviews over 2 months to "offer" me the job. Great benefits, starting at about 37K, the works. It's a mystery to me, and I don't want to sound like I have the Midas Touch or anything, but I've only sent out two resumes in my life. The first was an assignment for school, the other was to AgReserves. As most of you may know, the best way to get a job is by networking your way to it (Fact). So I didn't want to play "the resume game". Part of it was that I was too prideful to do it, the other part of me didn't even know where to start. My greatest disadvantage is I don't - nor do I ever - plan to build any kind of career, so it was going to be hard being honest when anyone asked me "so, where do you plan to be five years from now?" What I have planned would sound like a slap in their face, and I don't even feel comfortable sharing it here. But knowing that the future is uncertain, I could also honestly say "I don't know WHERE I'll be in 5 years, but I can tell you the kind of person I'm working on becoming."

The short truth is that I knew whatever job I got, no matter how great it may be, it is my goal to make it as temporary as I can. Not that I'm going to quit as soon as the oportunity comes up, but my goal is to continue slowly replacing my fultime income with passive income from my PPL business and other investments. At that point - no matter how much time it will take - I'll happily quit my job. After my first Major failure (what I've come to call this summer's experience), I've learned that to rely soley on my PPL income is too stressful on our finances. Buisnesses work better if you can earn the bulk of your money from a job while building the business part time. I've tried to make things work anyway, and I don't know how the Lord has made things work for us over the last year, but things have worked out. But I've learned only now to put that part of my pride behind me, and allow myself to work a job fulltime.

I've been risky, but we've been aware of the risk. It's bitten us hard this year, but Melanie and I are grateful for having passed through it. We now know what it's really like to go 7 months with absolutely NO INCOME and NO MONEY. It's been one of the greatest blessings of our life together. Randy Paucsh said in his book THE LAST LECTURE, "Experience is what you get when you don't get what you want." ... and we've been gainning a LOT of it recently. But it's liberating to know exactly how wonderful life is to those who keep a positive attitude, and posture themselves accordingly.

Just so you know, I'm not planning to open our shop for business until mid 2009. We are organizing ourselves and taking care of preparations. We already have investors lining up, one for sure who is giving us about $50K. I spent two hours with our attorneys yesterday, and things are looking great.

Everything is going well, because we have so much to be thankful for. I wish you all the same wellness, and hope you are all taking steps that lead you closer to your own dreams. (And if you know anyone looking for a business to invest in, we're offering a return of 8% to 15% depending on the amount of their investment.) Good luck my friends.

A Dream Fulfilled!

Hello, comrads! I'm very excited today because I was able to fulfill one of my dreams: Ridding in a Hot Air Balloon! Unlike most, I didn't have to wait on a list, or pay a fee, or go through any of that. I heard that all the spots were filled, and that there wasn't even a chance of me riding. While walking around taking pictures and being fascinated with every one's inflating balloons, on of the ballooners (pilots) took notice of my interest. I was just standing there a few feet away from his basket with my camera ready to film his take-off. People started to back away to avoid getting hit by the basket, but I stayed close so I could get a good shot. "You wanna go up with us?" The rest is history. I jumped into the basket, asked "where do I sign", then threw my keys to Robert Peterson. "Give these to Melanie for me." He couldn't believe it! He was there as part of a pilot group to help the ballooners. (I assume to get one step closer to being able to ride in a balloon.) He tossed the keys to Melanie, "Here. You're husband's going up." Melanie couldn't believe it. "DID HE ASK?" He answered "NO! THEY asked HIM!" I felt for him. Anyway, I uploaded many pictures for your viewing pleasure.

Have a great day guys!

Growing Pains

Wow! Look at all the pretty posts! I must admit, today has been amazing for me. I've spent the last two hours reading up on the blogs, and taking the scenic route throught the links provided. I've never been more honored to be a considered a friend among you.

So, what have I been up to these days? ... I've been growing. A lot! I took a sales team out to Minneapolis for a few months (surly the sharpest guys I've ever hired) and with enthusiasm and guts labored to bring a more enlighting form of media to those families. After two successful summers you'd be sure I'd do well, yet I was presented with possibly the greatest failure of my life. Not only myself, but the three guys on my team. One chose to go home after 4 weeks, and get a low-wage paying job. (No one could blame him; it was the logical thing to do.) The rest of us knew the math, and knew that even 3 or 4 good weeks would earn us more than working a job for the remaining 10 weeks of the summer. So we chose to keep working, earning nothing, and living off of advances from our future earnings. Scary, yes, but we decided we wanted to do something great with our summer. We wanted to use this as an opportuninty to escape our comfort zones and gain the character strength learned from steady adversity. Long story short, we were transfered to Utah to finish our summer. The company was impressed that we hadn't called it quits by now, so they planted us in the most fertile soil in the nation: Northern Utah. So here we are, and we'll finish the summer strong.

Despite the trials, Melanie and I (and the other three guys that have been living with us... and Erin) consider these last 3 or 4 months the most rewarding we've ever had. Erin is our biggest joy-bringer, and we've all grown closer to our Savior. We have also learned much about integrity, and watching out for "our people". Keeping the guys alive has been quite the trick, and anyone who says money isn't important hasn't gone very long without it. (Melanie and I were playing to the tune of 5 months!) But you learn to stay alive, and not be cheap on the things that matter most. We honestly don't know how we're able to get by the way we do sometimes, but we make sure we keep the Lord a big part of it.

Okay, I'm done sharing the difficulties (as educational as they are sometimes,). What I really wanted to share with you is my next post....

Ready, Go, SET!

I feel very blessed... now. All through high school, and clear up to about two years ago, I felt miserable about my chances of finding my path to "success". I vividly remember several conversations in the Herd room where I felt like the odd ball; it seemed at times that everyone else in the Herd had a direction they were going except for me. It seemed like everyone was good at something practicle, something marketable, something you could actually build a decent carrer out of... except me. It's weird feeling like now I'm the only one who has found their path, is confident in the direction they're going, and truely feels "set". I'm applying for a patent this week, have already contacted an attorney and set an appointment to sit down and do all the paperwork. My PPL Business is growing exponentially, and I'm getting better at my sales job.

I don't talk much about what's going on, because I feel that soon I'm going to be resented by many people I care about.

Just hang in there, guys. Make a plan with the end in mind, find ONE way that works for you, and stick to it. Just don't give up on your dreams. I love you guys too much to see you give up on your true potential. Stay awake, keep your eyes open, put a pen and pad by your bed, and keep track of those small ideas.

I wish you all the best!

Christmas is upon us

Oh, boy! Did last month go by too quickly for anyone else besides me? It's already well into December, and we're getting closer to Christmas time. Melanie and I will be moving up north to Layton next week, and we will probably live there for two years or so. This summer we've decided to go to the curious land of Mini-appleless in Minnesota for Living Scriptures. Until then, I'll be growing my PPL Business as usual. It's been a blessing to be able to take 3 to 4 months away from business without it affecting our income or jeopardizing my ability to come back and still work for the company after the summer. (I could take years off if I really wanted to) I'm also thinking of taking up a part-time sales position at a car dealership or something, whatever will fit my time frame. So that's the plan for the Youngs, what's new for you guys?

New Blog

I've finally created a Blog. Come one, come all! Visit That Young Fellow today!

My Scruff

FYI - If you see me looking extra scruffy these next three weeks, it's for good reason. I don't like me with facial hair, but for Halloween this year I need a beard. I could make a fake one, but i didn't want to wear any glue on my face this year. When I asked Melanie what she thought about this on a scale from 1 to 10 - 10 being totally okay with it - she was an 8.

So, yeah. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

Coin for Tawa

Mr. Tawa is having me build a large 20 inch diameter Indian head penny. "Why?" you ask? Well, it's because Mr. Tawa has betrayed us, and his daughter is on Cedar High's drill team. :) As soon as she said that they needed a big coin for one of their prop routines, Mr. Tawa imidiately tracked me down, and started throwing cash at me. I gave in. (I'll post pictures once it's completed.)

Make today a great one, guys!

New York Backyard

Presenting my latest creations, the Brooklyn Bridge and the Statue of Liberty... out of card board and paper.

I'm actually the Project Manager for D&T Entertainment here in Southern Utah, and last week I put together some decorations we needed for a private event in someone's back yard. The customer only gave us two days notice, and this is proof to me that - in many cases - desperation leads to inspiration. D&T was put together by Devin Brooks and Terry Meeds, and we're the ones that will be doing many of the major high school dances and university events from here on out. Our first major event will be the "Cedar Sheek" hair show/competition held in November. (Keep your eyes open for details two to three weeks prior.) Anyway, just keeping you guys up with where my creativity is going. See you guys later!

Latest from the Natest

Hail friends! With school up and running again it's obvious that everyone has little time to dilly-dally around with lesser priorities. I've had a to-do list on my white board that has only grown over the last two weeks! So, today I've decided to check off some of those items. One of which is this post.

I recently attended an international convention for my company, Pre-Paid Legal, two weekends ago in Las Vegas. One of the truly amazing things about a home-based business convention is that you meet so many people who are less capable than you are (as far as circumstances and skills), achieving great success by simply applying proven systems and "doing the thing". It proves that after finding a solid company with a solid product, if you stick and stay you'll get your pay. Something you don't see too often is a network marketing company that is supported by attorney generals and the president of the National Chamber of Commerce. In fact, on Saturday Sep. 29th a documentary (not an infomercial) put together by many of the U.S. attorneys general about PPL will air Nationally on Court TV. It is the first of an educational series to better inform U.S. citizens about the changes in our legal system, and what our company is doing to help average-income americans obtain access to it. This is really big for me, guys. Please tune in Saturday morning (the 29th) at 9:00 if you can, so you can know a little bit more about the credibility of what it is I'm so proud to be a part of.

You guys are great! Things are going well, I'll talk to you guys later!

Grand Illusions

I had a dream last night where I ran into Superguy unexpectedly. "Wow, how are you!?" I asked excitedly. ...I don't remember his immediate response, but we discussed this blog and how important it was that I post something new. This is strange because I've been meaning to post what follows for about 5 days now. Anyway, I hope this will be as interesting to some of you as it is to me.

Of all the things in this world that interest me, I have to say that puzzles and illusions are among my favorites. There are some clever Brits that have put together a pretty nerdy website that I've been visiting off and on for a while now. They explain many mysteries through articles and links to valuable research, and have come up with some of their own through fascinating gadgets and toys (all of which can be purchased through their website). One such illusion I thought Bach would find particularly interesting is their explanation of "The Moon Illusion". While Superguy may want to add this unusual math technique to his bag math skills. I'm sure everyone will enjoy the seemingly endless variety of stuff this site has to offer.

I made a visit to the doctor yesterday to find out why my throat was still red, swollen and full of canker sores, and didn't clear up after all the antibiotics and stuff. (I'm going on day 17 now.) He took a look, recoiled in surprise and said "Ooh, ow ow ow!" He explained that my "canker sores" had actually become ulcers; one covering my entire Uvula (the dangly thing in the back of the throat", one next to it, and the other two off to the sides where my jaw meets my throat. And the cause of all this: Stress. That's why the anibiotics didn't work, nor will they work. The Doc gave me a piece of paper with a formula I could whip up at home that coats the sores and sooths the pain, but it's just going to have to run it's course. I've debated about whether or not to post a picture of my throat. Leave your votes in the form of comments. See you guys later, enjoy the website!

Unofficial Plans

The end of the summer is nigh, and my time and effort have proved rewarding. Difficult and stressful, yet worthwhile. Melanie and I are moving back to Cedar for the fall to attend school, then to northern Utah in December to be closer to her OB/GYN. We will live there for a while (maybe a year or two) while we figure out our next step. That next step might be a move to Washington or Oregon, or we may decide to stay close to the Salt Lake valley. We are pretty much done with school after the fall semester, me graduating with a GE degree and Melanie with a degree in PE. We spend a lot of time together making family plans, discussing financial challenges, and making sketches and designs for our dream home. (We're young and realize it may be decades before that dream is realized, but it's our way of having fun together: building it first on paper.)
This is a humbling experience, being an un-insured young-and-broke married couple with a baby on the way who may not have a place to stay by the end of the month, but this is also a very fun time to be alive. We've been blessed with so much, and we've had so many good experiences so far. We're so thankful to have friends like you guys, and be able to be a part of all that we are. Being uncomfortable while stretching to achieve difficult goals has been bringing us happiness and helped us grow. ...that's an intersting thought: If character had appearence, whould it have stretch-marks? Anyway, that's the up and up with Melanie and I for the next while. Have a good week everyone!

Nerd Gathering Anyone?

I've been wondering these last few months when we will see each other again. I acutally carry pictures around with me to show families as I visit them. Two of those pictures I've carried with me since graduation! The first is the picture of all of us at graduation in our robes. The second is a picture of us in the St. George airport dressed in our missionary suits ties and badges. "What a great group of friends!" Everyone says. Imagine, your best friends from school - most of which were sterling scholars - all going on missions across the world, and we still keep in touch with each other! How exciting it is be part of such a wonderful clan. We each vary in talents and skills, and regardless of where we go from here I firmly believe that our friendship will stay alive for decades to come. I just finished reading Abe's commentaries from his other blogs, and I think he's done a pretty good job at opening to us some good information.

What's funny is no matter how far we've come, and after all we accomplish, it is built within us to move on to more challenging and difficult things. It's easy to think that we've yet to make that big step, that we are currently facing THE life altering decision. But that's the way we've always felt (at least for me anyway). High School, Senior Year, Graduation, that mysterious gap until the Mission, the Mission itself, and the list goes on. I remember being scared to death of the thought that we'd all be married and having kids someday, dooming our chances of ever interacting as a Herd again! ... It's obvious now that it's actually added something special to our Herd. I think it's safe to say we are all in a pickle right now trying to take "that next step" in our lives, and finding out what that step even is. But I know that greater things are in store for all of us and our families, and that whatever choises we make, the Lord will bless us. Make today a great day! I've got to run.

Young Stuff

Hey Everyone! Here we are at Lagoon on one of our days off. There's me, Melanie, Jensen Prestwich, Jake, and down below is Jessica Howard. These characters are my sales team. Good looking group, eh?

Apparently we have a home where the buffalo roam, and the skys are not cloudy all day. (We wish there were more clouds though, maybe it would cool off for once!) One of these buffalo beasts started to charge at me when I stopped to take this picture! (He's the mean fella' on the far left.)

This is a neat look at the ground cross-sectioned by a powerfull saw designed to remove concrete sidewalks. It cut so smoothly you can see many of the tunnels created by little pests in the ground!

Well, I just thought I'd share with you some of the amazingnesses of the Great State of Selling. ...er, I mean Wyoming. Make it a great day! Love you guys!

Hail Friends!

Hail friends, peace be with you! Melanie and I (and the little-one in the oven) are having a wonderful time here in WY. The gospel is true and thriving, and if you place yourself just right you can profit from it! (JUST KIDDING) That's what some people who know very little about Living Scriptures think the company is trying to do: Sell people on their religion. But this has been a wonderful experience, it feels like a second mission. So many people have waited for us to come by it's amazing. The company hasn't sent anyone out to WY for 5 years! Some of these families have told me they've been waiting for years just to get started. The stories I hear from some of these families on how these videos have blessed their kids and grandkids (and non-member husbands) are enough to make you feel as though you'd never want to watch anything else ever again! (except for spiderman and an occasional spy movie of course.) Needless to say, things are great up here. Melanie is healthy and well, and we are now 13 weeks along with ... little ... baby. As soon as we know the gender, we'll let you know the name... and gender. (boy, girl, or lizard) Cast your ballots, every vote counts! Good to hear from you guys!