Spaghetti Pancakes and Wooden Wheels

Happy Easter!

2008-03-29T10:07:00.003-06:00

Happy Birthday DaD!

2007-11-04T09:07:00.000-07:00

Happy Easter!!!

2007-04-08T21:03:00.000-06:00

We Did It!

2007-04-06T11:21:00.000-06:00

Saturday, March 24, 2007

Thanks to everyone.

It was an absolutely wonderful day.

Everything was perfect:

Weather
Flowers
Bride
Brides Maid (Maya)
Family
Friends
Pictures, Pictures, Pictures (we still have not seen our Photographer's pictures)
Reception Location - Inn on the Creek in Midway, UT
Reception Food (mmmm! Yummy prime rib and chicken)
Decorations
Unity Sand
Original adaptation and performance by Jason (bro-in-law)
Wonderful speech by Jill's brother Chris
Short and sweet Toasts from our Fathers

The day was incredible.

We really had a great time celebrating with our family and friends.

Deciding which pictures to put on this post was just taking too long so you will have just look here for the favorite pictures (so far).

Here are the rest pictures that Chris and Stephanie took with my camera.

Thanks you guys, you did a great job.

Brittany's Swim Meets

2007-02-22T09:20:00.000-07:00

Here is the belated post about Brittany's swim meets.

While I was in Utah, a couple of weeks ago, she had two events.

One at BYU against Wyoming and one at the UofU against Utah.

It was a real challenge to try to get decent pictures with the lighting in the pools.

Plus I was sitting up in the bleachers using a zoom lens.

For the Utah event, several of us rode TRAX from Sandy up to the U.

Maya and Isabelle really enjoyed that.

We had a pretty large cheer section for Brittany as most of the family was able to be there.

Brittany did really well, winning her individual events and making up some huge ground in the relays.

Check out the write-up on the BYU site.

Brittany is the featured picture for the article!

"BYU started out winning the 200-medley relay with swims from Brittany Davis-Burk, Jamie Bloom, Angela Goodson and Leilani Roberts (1:45.52). Davis-Burk then collected the next two Cougar first places by sweeping both the 100 (57.35) and 200 (2:03.64) backstroke events."

Here is a report from www.cstv.com

There was a tie for first in the Individual Medley! I don't know how often that occurs but I thought it was pretty amazing. That may have been the difference between first and second place for the meet since they had to split the points for first in the event. This was the only loss of the season for the women.

Great job Brittany!

You can find a whole bunch of pictures of the Wyoming meet and Utah meet.

Happy Valentine's Ya'll !!

2007-02-14T18:51:00.000-07:00

We hope everyone is having an awesome Valentine's Day. We kicked back, had a little of our favorite food (Quiznos), and waisted time watching TV. Darn mind-numbing cable.

Oh, and we got an orchid. Ain't it perrty!
Stay tuned for the rest of our Valentine's adventures coming up this weekend at the Winter Ball!

Christmas Eve

2007-01-08T07:40:00.000-07:00

The Christmas Eve tradition was enjoyed again with a great meal of soup in bread bowls then gifts are exchanged.

Since the family size is increasing we exchange names and set a low dollar amount.

It is always a fun challenge to get a great gift on a small budget.

Then my mom and dad (really just mom) distributes their gifts to everyone. Each year they give each group (grand kids, boys, girls) the same gifts.

The grandkids get PJs which they immediately change into and then run around the house. This year, Parker and Peyton got Monster Truck jammies that were a HUGE hit.

The boys got Emergency Kits for the car.

The girls got pewter nativity statues.

For some reason I did not get any pictures of these gifts!

My mom also gives a new book to everyone and we read it together. This is always a great part of the evening.

Then the evening ended in true Festivus style although those who competed did not realize it at the time.

According to the tradition, Festivus does not end until the head of the household is pinned in a wrestling match.

Dad was not letting this holiday celebration end easily as you can tell from the pictures!

Here are the rest of the pictures.

Bouncin' Off the Walls

2007-01-02T10:06:00.000-07:00

So, the Burks celebrated the day after Christmas at Bouncin' Off the Walls.

We all had a blast letting the kid inside each of us out to play for a couple of hours.

You can find the rest of the pictures here.

Happy New Year!

2007-01-01T01:07:00.000-07:00

Hope everyone's 2007 is a great success.

Have fun!

See you all again soon!

Proof of Thanksgiving

2006-12-02T10:25:00.000-07:00

Here is some proof that Thanksgiving actually occurred on the East Coast.

I have seen no such evidence that anything happened in Utah this year!

You can find more pictures in this SmugMug Gallery.

Update at Jeff and Kendra's

2006-11-20T10:15:00.000-07:00

I forgot to post the pictures of the some of the progress.

So here they are...

These were taken in November, 2006.

Happy Halloween!!!

2006-10-29T18:31:00.000-07:00

From the Fairy in Richmond.

Bathroom Accesories

2006-10-23T20:50:00.000-06:00

The other day I was in the bathroom and had just been searching for a brush.
I searched through 3 rooms and finally found one, and was able to return to
my morning routine. A few minutes later I was turned to the towel rack to
dry my hands only to find a bare rack. I had just hung two fresh towels on
this rack the day before. "Do you want me to pull a Cecil on you guys!" I
shouted. Jason looked at me a little puzzled. I then relayed to him how I
now found the beauty of the brush on a rope and the safety pinned towel that
was always in the bathroom, courtesy of Dad. I guess Dad had felt like I did
this morning, one too many times. I will admit that only time that the
safety pinned towel was annoying was when there were no fresh towels in the
cabinet and had to drip dry or dry off standing very close to the towel
rack. Just a little moment that took me down memory lane. Shar

Jeff and Kendra's House Projects

2006-10-05T08:30:00.000-06:00

Here are some pictures of the current projects going on.

The back sidewalk was poured last week. The AC guys did not arrive to remove the old AC unit so we quickly had to figure out how to suspend it above the new concrete. I think we did a pretty good job.

We had to wait quite a bit longer than anyone thought it would be until we able to finish it. It was very wet and then it dried in a confusing way with the last poured areas actually being ready before the first.

Hopefully it still looked good in the morning.

On Saturday, Jeff was working on the sprinkle system all day with his hired help.

Pretty soon it will look like a real yard again.

The Kitchen is looking magnificent even though the electrical still needed to be finished (and should be finished by now).

Sorry Kendra, I'm sure you would have rather seen the counter tops sparkling clean, but it is just portraying the true state of almost completed.

Here are the rest of the pictures.

Division Wall

2006-08-27T12:15:00.000-06:00

Last Friday evening during our family camping outing, we tackled the Upper Division Wall in American Fork Canyon. It was only a couple hundred feet from our campsite so most everyone came over and either climbed with us or watched for a bit.

I was belaying Curtis' lead when he made me a bit nervous a couple of times. He was 3/4 of the way to the top and about 5 feet above his last quickdraw when he stopped. From the bottom it looked like he was making very slow deliberate moves - but not upward. Then he down-climbed a bit (not a good sign) and checked out the serious bulge below him. He was is in a pretty bad place if he needed to fall. A couple more anxious minutes, some sewing-machine-leg action, then up he goes and clips the next bolt.

Phew!

A bit of a rest, then a couple of more moves and progress stops again. More very slow movements then up the chains and the route is complete. He takes a couple of extra moments at the top then I lower back to the deck.

Curtis has this look on his face of mixed frustration, stress, and a bit of pain, and a touch of relief to be down. He fills us in how his bad shoulder dislocated FOUR times during the climb! Those movements I was trying to intrepret from the ground were him slowing moving his arm into a position that would allow his shoulder to pop back into the socket without peeling him off the wall!

He also had it dislocate the night before playing hockey so the shoulder was not up to snuff.

The rest of us (Justin, Brittany, Chris and myself) took turns on the climb. Then Maya, Natalie and Parker gave it a good shot too.

On Saturday we climbed the other side of the wall (Les is More - 5.10a) where Jeff lead the climb. Curtis attempted it but bailed about half way when his shoulder dislocated again. I made it almost half way which is a personal best for me as I have never even attempted a 5.10a before.

Great stuff. Can't wait for more. Here are the rest of the pictures: Physical Therapy, Les is More, Others.

Family Camp Out

2006-08-26T11:53:00.000-06:00

One of our favorite things to do as a family is camping. Every year, for as long as I can remember, we pack up our stuff and hit the road.

We often headed south to Burk reunions in the mountains of northern and eastern Arizona. Or we headed north to Yellowstone and The Tetons. Or sometimes we just went up one of the local canyons around Salt Lake City.

This time we tried a new spot close to 'home' - American Fork Canyon. As it turned out, we camped directly across (less than 200ft) from one of the better climbing spots in the canyon - Division Wall.

We ended up using 3 sites in order to accommodate our small tent city. The campsites were not laid out very well for tents but we made it work.

The kids spent a great deal of time throwing rocks into the river and getting very dirty and wet.

The bigger kids spent time On the rocks. I will save that for another post.

Why does the food on a camping trip taste So Much Better? Maybe its that fact that instead of draining that extra grease from the sausage, you let it soak into the hashbrowns and pancakes. Maybe its the extra 'seasonings' from the fire on your hotdog or tin-foil dinner. Maybe it is just all in my head. But I don't think so!

The tin-foil dinners were awesome, the banana boats were delicious, the full breakfast ensemble was scrumptious...

Justin showed the little ones how to catch, clean and eat a trout.

Brittany (the newest member of the Burk Clan) at one point mentioned how she was so glad that she married into such a great family. That was later followed by my brothers 'welcoming' her (initiating/hazing/call it what you want) fully into the fold by demonstrating proper (and improper) Blue Dart techniques. What do you think Now, Brittany?

Jason and Curtis played the guitar around the campfire while the rest of us struggled to remember the words and tried to sing along.

Saturday we hiked up to Timpanogos Cave. I had forgotten how long and steep that hike is. The little ones all did quite well. I was proud of Maya who did the whole hike by herself without any complaining. The only incident was when she ran right into a rock that was sticking out into the trail and skinned her knee. She rode on my shoulders for a bit but quickly wanted to walk again.

Great times with the fam.

Looking forward to the next one.

Here are the rest of the camping pictures and the Timpanogos Cave pictures.

Super Sid

2006-08-15T12:17:00.000-06:00

On Sunday we had an impromptu Going reunion. Sid Going and his wife Colleen were in town (from New Zealand) to make a cameo appearance in a rugby movie. The movie is being produced by another relative (through marriage), Adam Abel who also produced Saints and Soldiers.

Sid, known as Super Sid in New Zealand, was a celebrated half-back rugby player who played for the All Blacks during the 1960's and 1970's. The Going name is very well known even today as I found out during my visit to New Zealand several years ago.

Growing up, I remember the Super Sid book on our living room book shelves and I have often conveyed the fact that I have famous New Zealand relative. It was nice to finally meet him. Although I did get a short tour of his house in New Zealand while I was there. Unfortunately he was out of the country at the time.

So for a little background, mom is a Going and is a first cousin to Sid. My grandfather (Melvin Going) moved to Utah from New Zealand (Maromaku, Northland near the Bay of Islands), along with several of his siblings. Other siblings stayed in New Zealand. The Going family now has more US descendants than NZ descendants. My Grandmother Ellen (pictured sitting with my Grandfather Melvin with Sid and Colleen standing behind) is Melvin's second wife and is full Maori. So anyway, I'll end the geneology lesson there and just say, I'm proud to be quarter-kiwi!

In two years there is going to be a big Going reunion in New Zealand. Lots of the US relatives are trying to make the trip and hopefully we can get some sort of group rate. I can't wait to visit that incredible country again.

You can find more pictures of everyone here.

Our Blog

2006-07-17T21:35:00.000-06:00

Check out our blog- The Adventures of Matt and Cami It is still a work in progress.

We made it!

2006-07-17T18:02:00.000-06:00

We made our way safe and sound to Richmond, Virginia! We are in the process of writing the whole story in a blog. stay tuned...

Curtis and Brittany

2006-06-30T11:56:00.000-06:00

Congratulations

Curtis and Brittany!

Here are the links to about 700 pictures!

Favorites

Slideshow of the Favorites

Temple Grounds

Reception

Happy Fathers Day

2006-06-19T08:17:00.000-06:00

Hey Pop!

Hope is was a good one!

Graduation

2006-05-17T18:08:00.000-06:00

Matt and Cami have graduated (along with a few others in our family)! Here are some pictures of Cami's graduation. Matt decided that he didn't want to walk so when his diploma comes we'll get a picture of him with it. We are so happy to be done with this part of our school career. Thanks to everyone who have helped us to get to this point.

Our Trip to Virginia

2006-05-11T23:42:00.000-06:00

The trip was a success! We got to Richmond around 11pm Saturday and found our hotel in the dark. It wasn't the best place to stay but it was cheap (for good reason too!). Corey came down with two of his friends from Northern Virginia. They took us on a tour of some of the complexes and downtown Richmond and had our first experience of CiCi's Pizza (an all-you-can-eat pizza, pasta, and salad buffet). It was yummy!The rest of the time in Richmond was devoted to finding an apartment, getting more information on teaching positions in the area, and visiting VCU campus to ask some financial aid questions. We will be living in the Legacy at Mayland apartments. They are being renovated right now and we will be the first to live in the apartment. It has hardwood floors, all new appliances, a balcony, den, and the area is awesome. Matt was mostly concerned with the area and the feel of the complex since I'm the one going to spend the most time there. Everytime we drove by there were kids outside playing baseball or riding bikes. There are a lot of other dental students living in the complex so I can hang out with the other dental school widows.
I had an interview with Richmond City public schools. The interview went really well and she sent me to a school that same day to interview with a principal for a preschool position. The preschools are part of the public school system in Richmond so the teachers are on the same pay scale as all other teachers. The interview went really good but she didn't say if I got the position or not. The principal said she would get back with the district lady and she would call me. My class would be 98% black, so different from here!
I also got the ball rolling with the other two districts in the area, filled out the applications, showed them my test scores, sent my placement file. One of the districts said they usually don't hire the bulk of their teachers until June and July so I might not have to fly out again.
We got everything done by Tuesday so on Wednesday we decided to go to a botanical garden. It was amazing! Matt was loving it. We were getting ideas for our future gardens. We really liked the idea of the "sunken garden" with the reflection pool. They also had a children's garden (good fieldtrip idea). The climate in Virginia is so different. Going down the freeway was wall-to-wall trees. We never really knew which way was north. We had a good time and now we are more excited for our new adventure to begin!

Happy Easter

2006-04-16T22:23:00.000-06:00

Let's Go Fly a Kite!

2006-04-11T21:04:00.000-06:00

We had our annual "Releasing-of-the-Kite" ceremony last week. Every year we make a couple of kites the old fashioned way with newspaper, string and dowels. We fly them a few times and then tie one to a tree and let it soar to its destiny. The other kite we give away to someone. This year Matt wanted to make a big kite. It was 5 feet tall and about 3 feet wide. On the final flight he painted it and sent it into the air with 2500 feet of string. It was soaring high that day. At the end Matt wanted to see what he could attach to the string. It started out being pieces of cardboard. The wind carried the cardboard all the way up to the kite. Then he got daring and tried a gatorade bottle. Well...it cut the string and we were never able to see just how far the kite had flown. Bummer! Maybe next year we'll rethink the whole gatorade thing and just stick to kite flying. Cami's kite (the smaller one) was given to a couple of cute little boys that live down the street. The last picture shows Matt in front of the tree we tied the string tube to signifying the last step in the "Releasing-of-the-Kite" ceremony. Next year's kite...over 6 feet tall! (DUN! Dun! dun!) If anyone wants to learn how to make the best homemade kite ever (that flies better than most store bought kites) we would be happy to show you how!

2006-04-11T20:52:00.000-06:00

Just a test

Top O the Morn'n To Ya!

2006-03-17T06:19:00.000-07:00

Happy St Patrick's Day!

Doesn't that conjure up some more great pancake memories?

The Frugal Genius

2006-03-15T10:07:00.000-07:00

So, as I was thinking about creating this blog I was trying to come up with something clever and unique. Both words I think describe our family in various incarnations. My reflections kept leading to stories involving the Mad Genius and Penny Pinching head of our family. There are many stories that display his uncanny ability to fix just about anything with the items found at hand. I'm sure that those stories (of fixing and of 'the items on hand') will soon be told.

The blog title and description foreshadow soon to be told stories of our youth.

Man I Love This Guy!

Thanks Dad for keeping it real!

"Talent hits a target no one else can hit;
Genius hits a target no one else can see."
- Arthur Schopenhauer

Burk Family Tales

2006-03-14T13:19:00.000-07:00

So I thought I would start a new blog where the family stories could be shared. As I think back on my childhood, what I thought was fairly normal at the time was really anything but normal. How many other people have experienced left-over pancakes, wooden wheels on just about any device that has wheels or a half-pipe in their back yard.

Hopefully this will become a repository of great memories, funny stories, and maybe a few touching moments too.

For as long as I can remember, Dad has been telling us to write 'this stuff' down. Each time we tell eachother of our new adventures, he reminds us. Well, I can only speak for myself, but I have not been good at following through.

This is my way of following through.

Hopefully everyone will join in.

I think this could be a lot of fun.