To Recap. . .

It has been way too long since my last post.  So here comes a recap of the massive adventure I went on during the last two months of the offseason.  My first stop was San Francisco, where I needed to take care of some not so fun things like storage.  Ughh.  Believe it or not, my belongings are scattered in four different states.  Not really looking forward to dealing with that when the time comes.

San Francisco has great street art. Loved this one!

Next, I made my way down the coast to one of my favorite places: Los Angeles.  I hadn't been to LA in over a year, so it was nice to spend a week seeing some of my friends and training with one of my old teams, Ajax America. 

After a week in LA, it was time to amp up my training and focus on getting ready for preseason.  So I headed east to Arizona, which I hadn't visited since I graduated from Arizona State University in 2006.  It's crazy how the time flies. I was able to get in some great training with a few different teams, including a boys club team.    

It was so nice to visit this beautiful field again.  It brought back some great memories. 

While I was in Arizona, the Ellen DeGeneres show came to ASU to have a giveaway contest.  I tried really hard to win one of those cars...no success.  

I made it up to Sedona for a weekend.

I didn't see any real javelinas this time, but I thought these pink ones were pretty cute. 

After about six weeks in the AZ I made the long trip back north to Salt Lake City.  I made a pit stop in Las Vegas, and stayed in the fine hotel you see below.  It was the cheapest deal, I swear! 

I spent a week in Utah with my family while I packed up for Boston and lucked out on a few beautiful, clear days. This is a view of the mountains from a park near my family's home.

This was the first time in nine years that I was able to spend my birthday with my family! I used to love having my birthday at Benihana's as a kid, so I thought that would be the perfect spot to celebrate this year.  And we happened to get our best family portrait ever while we were there :).

And finally, I made it back to Boston.  I could not be happier to be back with the Breakers this year!  It feels so good to be playing soccer with the team again.  I have already had such a blast this past month.  I think it's going to be an awesome year.  More to come soon . . .

Skate 4 Homies Art Show

Earlier this month I created some skateboard decks for the Skate 4 Homies art show.  Skate 4 Homies is a foundation started by my sister and her boyfriend. S4H works with after school programs to teach kids skating fundamentals and safe skating practices.  They also work to provide skate equipment to kids who can't afford to buy it.  The kids earn the equipment by completing community service and other goal oriented activities.  They held an art show on December 18th with all proceeds going towards their program.  Many of the boards are still available for purchase on their website. 

This was the first board I made, which also happens to be my favorite.  I called it "California Dreamin'" 

I also made these two boards using photos I took.  I took the one on the left in the Harvard Square T station in Boston.  I took the one on the right in the Krystal Cancun hotel in Mexico. I am proud to say the Mexico one sold.
                                                                                            

My cousins painted the two awesome boards on the top row.

 

This is the "Mother Board" by James Bayless of Ethereal Furnishings.



And here are a few of my favorites, donated by the very talented Abby and Amy LePeilbet.  The top two were painted by Abby, and obviously the bottom one was painted by Amy.

World's Best Pancakes

Just the sight of this picture makes my mouth water.  These are my dad's famous pancakes, of which I am the BIGGEST fan.  My dad used to make these every Sunday morning when I was growing up.  I remember when I was about five years old, we had a pancake eating contest.  My older sister Heidi won but felt so sick afterwards that she pretty much hasn't liked pancakes since.  But I, on the other hand, have never lost my appetite for pancakes, especially my dad's.  I have to take a little credit, though — I did help train my dad to become the best pancake maker ever.  When I was younger I would never eat a pancake if it was much darker than the ones pictured above.  I would complain in a very whiny, annoying voice, saying, "I wanna taaaannn one!"  However, my mom likes them dark (yuck), which my dad can also cook on demand.  Anyway, I am going to share his not-so-secret recipe with you today.  Good luck, though. I doubt they will turn out quite like my dad's . . . I think he is holding out on a secret ingredient, or something.

Here is the master hard at work.

And the special recipe is......Betty Crocker Pancake Mix! (Just Add Water Version). This particular box is Buttermilk, but he also uses the Original.  Both are quite tasty.  Not sure what is going on, but lately we have had a hard time finding the mix at the regular grocery store.  We did have luck at Walmart, where I stocked up by purchasing four boxes.

Trick Or Treat

Halloween is one of my favorite holidays. I love the fall weather and all the spookiness. This was the first time I've been at home to hand out candy with my dad. He loves it. With Halloween falling on a Sunday this year, there was confusion here in Utah as to when trick-or-treating should take place. So we lucked out and got some on Saturday and Sunday! It was a lot of fun to see all the little kids' costumes.

Here I am with my bro and sis. Aren't we a cute bunch?


I found this old picture a few weeks ago here at my parents house. This was my Halloween costume in second grade. I was so proud of myself for coming up with that one! Not quite sure what my dad was. Willie Nelson maybe?

Here are some festive cookies I decorated this year. As you can see, they double as Halloween costumes.

So so so so so so so so so so amazing

For those of you who haven't seen this yet, check it out! Beckham was on Ellen this week and they played a hidden camera prank. This is one of the funniest things I've seen in a while!

First Stop

My first stop . . . Utah! I haven't been to my hometown since Christmas so it has definitely been nice to get a good dose of family. I was also greeted by these two little critters -- Kibo and Lulu. Although, I'm not sure what Lulu is doing sitting in a basket full of old stuffed animals . . .

My brother Trent has recently taken up Stand Up Paddle boarding. I had never tried it before so that was one of the first things on my to-do list. Luckily we were able to get a paddle in at the Jordanelle before the weather cooled down too much. It was a lot of fun and a great workout.





My sister Heidi is a master pumpkin carver. Here is her latest masterpiece: a tribute to Lulu.

Let The Off Season Begin!

This picture says it all... roaming is exactly what I will be doing for the next few months. The off season is short this year so I decided to be free and spend my time wherever I want when I want. I plan on catching up on some quality family time and having a few adventures along the way. It feels kind of strange not to have an actual place of my own, but at the same time this sense of freedom to go anywhere anytime is pretty nice too. So I guess for the next 5 months- home is where my bags are.