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Summer of '09

The last summer of my high school life.

Kind of a scary thought. After this school year, I will become a real person, with responsibilities. So this summer, I lived it up.

Seminary

Every Tuesday at eleven, all the cool kids went to summer Seminary. Yep, it was awesome. Our Seminary teachers are the coolest. They always had awesome lessons and we got Otter Pops after. It doesn't get any better than that. I even got to teach a lesson one Tuesday. I think I did pretty well, yeah I guess I pretty much killed. I think I want to be a Seminary teacher when I grow up. It would be a choice career.

We met a lot as the Seminary council too, which was pretty awesome. We went to the ropes course for our "council social" I know, fancy right? That was at least the third coolest thing I did all summer. We just got to chill there with the seminary teachers. Almost all of them came with us and we just chilled. I think I want to be a Seminary teacher when I grow up.

Timpanogos

After living in Utah valley for over sixteen and a half years, I finally hiked to the top of Mount Timpanogos. Twice. Both times I went at midnight, and they were probably the two coolest hikes I've ever been on. The whole thing kind of sucks until you get to the saddle, as soon as you come up over it and you see the whole valley lit up...oh man, it's so sick. I want to go again soon.

I made my mark on the shack

Yeah, I guess I'll kind of go down in history. The world will always know that I, B-rock Duclos, hiked to the very top of Mt. Timpanogos on Aug 10, 2009.

Yeah, I'm practically famous. We also discovered/met a stud of a goat who we named Chompy. Here, through the wonders of modern technology, you can pretty much meet him too!

If this isn't the second most epic photograph ever, I'm not sure what would be

Chompy

Here he is, leading the way for us

The Big One Seven

On July 30, 1992 a legend was born.

Seventeen years later his birthday is still celebrated

What the bulleted list format?

• I received a MacBook Pro. I love it. I don't know what to name it yet though
• I made two trips to Miller Motorsports park, possibly one of the coolest places in the great state of Utah
• I went 180 miles per hour in a legitimate stock car, sitting shotgun to a pro
• I took Jameson for the second trip
• We raced in the coolest Go Karts
• We drove around the outside of the track in a golf cart in order to get the full experience
• I want to go again

La escuela

School. The reason I wake up in the morning.

Not.

It started off quite luxurious. Due to inconsistent schedules between the two schools I attend, I had no first or second period for the first week. This allowed me to attend the seminary opening assembly four times. It was nice to be there because my group was in charge of putting it together, and I was pretty proud of the video we produced.

Unfortunately, these scheduling inconsistencies also forced me to take early morning seminary. So I'd wake up to go to school at 6:45, then go home until third period. I liked it though, early morning seminary is cool because I get to go every day, but kind of weird because it's only 45 minutes long. It's not so bad now that we're kind of in the swing of things. I enjoy having seminary every day. It's a good way to start the day, and my class is really cool.

But then...

My UVU classes started, and I transferred into AP US History. Homework hit me like a brick wall. It's like all my teachers were talking, saying, "Okay guys, let's hold off on the homework, then slam it on him all at once! It'll be hilarious, wait for it...wait for it......Now! Hahaha good one, guys!"

I wouldn't put it past them.

No, but seriously it's not too bad, and I'm keeping on top of things. Also, my classes are pretty sweet. Newman is hilarious, he just told us the story of the battle axe, I don't remember the last time I laughed so hard.

The Land Down Unda

A couple of days ago, my parents left us for Australia. They went with Kendall and Megan and are spending some time with some of the families Kendall taught on his mission.

They left Wyatt, Fu and myself all alone, in charge of the house. It's kind of lame cooking and cleaning and all that stuff, but it's all good.

Homecomemos

Is Spanish for Homecoming. I'm stoked. Dances are the coolest. I'm going with Stacie Norton, and we are going to party. It. Up.

Our day date, genius. We're renting sumo suits and we're going to battle it out. I know, genius. That's what I said.

Maybe I'll be able to fulfill my favorite item on my bucket list, item number 19. That is, and I quote, "Win a dance off (against someone who is not white)". Then, my life would almost be complete. I just hope the opportunity presents itself, these things can't be planned you know.

So yep, I'm pretty stoked to be back in normal life. Maybe I'll even put stuff up on this little thing every once in awhile.

Also, is it just me, or are photographs nearly impossible to manipulate on this publisher thing?

Ready, Go

After a brief four month period of inactivity, I have posted something on this blog.

Let's see how long it takes for someone to notice

I can get through this. I think.

Today was a sad day for me.

I sent my last scripture text message to my seminary class.

Scripture text messages were kind of my passion/calling in life.

It was rough. I didn't cry but I kind of went catatonic for a while. Like Cameron in Ferris Bueller. Carrie had to revive me with some hilarious reminiscing. I'm pretty sure we looked nuts.

I'm going to miss that seminary class. I think it was the best yet.

Memories

• Sister Brown's birthday song
• The talent show
• Monkey
• Bacon
• Scripture scavenger hunt
• The thank you card to Papa John's
• Darin Hillyard's embarrassing moments
• The Rubik's cubes
• Saying San Francisco instead of Spanish Fork in the announcements
• When we got 100% reading and I almost cried
• The question of the day
• Throwdowns
• Frodowns

I can get through this

MORP

The day date-Highlights

• We had the most gangster group known to mankind
• We had a giant inflatable waterslide/bounce area
• I got a pretty major sunburn, which I didn't notice until the next day
• It actually wasn't that major
• We engaged in a water fight
• Eryn Haws and her little buddies crashed our party
• We played the Skittle game
• A few of us decided to see how many Skittles they could fit in our mouths
• I decided to never eat Skittles again
• We went back to the waterslide
• Somebody's nose was almost broken
• Luckily, they didn't have any communicable diseases-other than the swine flu
• The nose was healed and we ate otter pops
• There was a small preview of the quality of dance moves that could be expected later that night
• We went home

Dinner-Things I Learned

• We had the most gangster group known to mankind
• I am the king of awkward pictures
• It's nice to have a man in the background, rototilling his garden
• I can fly (I already knew this, but we got photographic proof)
• Cheesed potatoes are the best kind of potatoes
• Quoting Nacho Libre is a nice dinner table activity
• Megan Abel has never seen Nacho Libre
• That shopping bag was not in fact a garbage bag
• The ice cream man does laps around Carrie's house
• It's embarrassing to be the only one at the table who gets up to chase the ice cream man
• Carrots are not the best food to eat while chasing the ice cream man
• There is nothing worse than the feeling you get when the ice cream man gets away
• That feeling gets worse when you see two small children showing off their recently purchased frozen novelty treats
• Eating celery burns calories
• Some things are more enjoyable to throw up than others

I thought of about 98 Nacho Libre jokes while I wrote that. But...

The Dance-I'm sick of lists

So, after dinner, we got ready to dance. We had some glowsticks and some gangster flashing amulets. We got a little sidetracked by some glowing coals, but we got past that and drove away. We could tell we would be the coolest kids there.

We arrived.

We were.

We stood in line for pictures and said hello to all the kind people we knew there. There were a ton of people there.

We took our pictures, our couples pictures were probably really good. At least Megan's half were.

Then we went to the dance floor, made our entrance, and proceeded to tear it up. We're pretty gangster for a bunch of white kids. Sometime, between stellar dance moves, Megan and I spotted a man, sitting on the top of the bleachers. He looked lonely so we went and kept him company for a while. His name was Michael. We made a new friend.

Somebody then had the idea to go outside. The sprinklers were on. We got a little wet. Megan got soaked.

We peaced out and went to Kati's house. We were planning on having a fire. We built the fire pit inside and then realized we had no materials for combustion. We searched for a while and decided to go to Chase's house.

Jameson and Robyn had to leave us at this point.

Chase had a fire pit and wood ready for us. Our first attempt at lighting a fire didn't work out so well. So we chose an alternative solution.

Nobody was hurt. We are all okay.

We tried the fire again, turns out it was a structural issue. We lit it up and roasted things. I dripped some nice liquid starburst on my finger. We shared some nice conversation and we all went home.

Morp. It was a blast. Thanks everyone who helped plan it

Thanks Megan for bringing me along.

It's Been Awhile

These past few days

Saturday

I went to a stake dance. It was pretty good, I busted some sweet moves.

But, during the dance, I had a stroke of genius in my scripture text message. It went as follows:

Like the morning dew on a delicate flower...

Like a majestic eagle soaring overhead...

Like Darin Hillyard's bootie shake...

The words contained in your scriptures are beautiful

Go enjoy the beauty

I thought that was pretty poetic. Since humility is one of my strong points, I won't say I'm a professional, but... Yeah, I'm kind of a professional.

I also went and picked up a fruit bouquet for my mother. My brother in Tennessee ordered it for her as a Mother's day gift.

I drove to Draper to pick it up. It was, after almost a year of having a license, the first time I've driven on the freeway without another licensed driver in the car. I was kind of proud of myself. I didn't crash.

Sunday

Mother's day

My mother is the coolest. Really. I love her. I don't know where I'd be without her. Not only is she an amazing cook. She puts up with seven men. Yeah, I love her. Thanks mom.

Monday

AP test

Bad

I don't know how well I did on it. I hope it was good. I don't want to get the grade report.

We also started filming the Seminary end of the year video. It's going to be so sweet. I'm excited. Also, everybody should go to summer seminary, if possible. Every Tuesday at 11 am. Seminary building. Michael Phelps will be there.

Backwards

Morp is on Saturday. Megan, I won't lie... I'm pumped. It's going to be awesome. We have a sweet group, and I've got some sweet moves to bust. It will be legendary

An assortment

Hmm... Hello

El Cinco de Mayo

Cinco de Mayo this year was pretty awesome. I brought a cow piñata for my Spanish class. It was so cool. It was a piñata. At school. It was awesome. Taylor Adams and I left Spanish to go get cheese, a rope and a baseball bat from his house (the cheese was for quesadillas, not the piñata)

It was a cow piñata, she was a beauty. We named her Lupe

We hit Lupe with the baseball bat until candy came out

Lupe's head is now mounted on Mr. Barnard's wall

I also ate some spectac Mexican food, with some homemade, from scratch tortillas. It was good stuff

How can I possibly be expected to handle school on a day like this?

-Ferris Bueller

These past two days have been perfect weather. Really, it's been awesome. I sat there in school today, and repeated those same words over and over in my head.

Today, I came to school kind of late, had a meeting all through lunch, and stayed after school for a biology review. I hardly saw anyone all day. It was kind of weird.

Detailing

Jameson Ricks and I, we detailed a car today. It was qu

ite enjoyable. I like to take care of cars. It feels good to start with a dirty car and end up with a nice clean one. I want to do this as a job during the summer. Jameson, are you in? But I'm worried we won't get much business. It would be cool though, we could make some bank

Parkinson's?

Michael J. Fox, that's right, our own Marty McFly, has Parkinson's. I didn't know this. I saw it on the television. It has to be true.

Frozen Novelties

Moose bars are the new Otter Pops. I think I lived on otter pops during the summers of my childhood. Moose bars are the best. I love them, they go for 9 for a dollar at your local Macey's, along with Monkey bars and Juicies.

Where can I find one of these?

I saw this in a garbage can outside. I'd like to visit a babe farm some time

Stocka Lady...Stalka Lady?....Stocka Lady

This weekend was a memorable one

Friday

A camping trip was planned for all the young men in our ward. We went up separately as quorums. The priests met at 5:30 and we waited for about an hour and a half for the bishop to show up. Then my leader locked his keys in his car. We decided to go bowling instead. I don't know if I've ever laughed so hard in my life. Chris Busby could be on television. Michael Van Dijk is quite possibly the most skilled stunt bowler I've ever met. It was great.

Saturday- list style

• I watched Ferris Bueller with Mandi
• I met Mandi's grandparents, they're nice
• Mandi met Barky
• We watched the end of Cool Runnings
• Jameson and I ate balls of fish cooked by Michael Fu
• We got Carrie and went to the store to buy Reese's, Peachy O's and Starburst
• I bought a 27 cent piece of candy
• I received a receipt
• I kept the receipt for my records
• We had a dance party in Jameson's basement
• We became professional rappers
• I discovered/confessed my true love for the Stocka lady.....stalka lady.......stocka lady....
• We jumped on the trampoline
• We built a violent fire out of wood that was sappier than a Spanish love song
• I told lame jokes about how sappy the wood was
• We roasted marshmallows
• Jameson played his stringed instrument
• Moves were busted
• Hearts were touched
• Memories were made

Sunday

Braadyn Ward wrote me a poem on my telephone. It was nice

I gave a mini-lesson in Priest's quorum. I killed. My leader was crying because he was laughing so hard. I told a story about a donkey egg. It was pro.

Automatic doors?

I am bothered by the tiniest, and most insignificant things. I don't
get it. It kind of bothers me.

Anyway, today I was supposed to go camping. We ended up going bowling
instead. (long story)

So, I was riding in my leader's mini van, and I noticed that little
button on the ceiling that opens the automatic side door, (one of the
small things in life that bother me) but then I think,
"Seriously, when would you ever need this?"

Really, I can imagine some crazed mother of about 3 sets of twins
hauling down the freeway doing about eighty five screaming at her
children, "if you don't shut up, so help me, I'll...don't make me open
the door!"

I don't know what else it would be for.

Also vanilla frosties. I can't stand them. Frosties are chocolate.
Today, at Wendy's, I asked for a frosty and they did not ask me what
flavor I wanted. I almost did a dance.

Favorite Words: Part 3

Plot

Thicken

Cantaloupe

Hablabamos-Spanish, it means "we used to talk" the h is silent and a is a as in salt

Favorite Words: Part 2

Birthday cake-both words are fun to say on their own. But together...

Griddle- another fun one

Liquid- flows off the tongue

30 years!

Yes, that is how long my parents have been married. They're pretty
awesome. Really, I've had nothing but good examples if I don't turn
out right, it's my own fault. You can quote me on that.
Mom, I know this is the third time I've said this today but... Thanks
for sticking with the old man. I love you guys

I won't lie

I've noticed lately that I like a lot of weird things such as:

• The Antiques Roadshow
• Wife Swap
• The National Association of Stock Car Auto Racing (you may be more familiar with the acronym this is commonly referred to as-notice the capital letters)
• Words that are fun to say
• The Food Network (especially Good Eats)
• Old television shows like Get Smart
• Moose bars
• The book "To Kill a Mockingbird"
• Doing the announcements in Seminary
• Sending the scripture reading text message to my Seminary class
• The liberal use of parentheses

Yeah, I really do watch Wife Swap, don't judge me.

(Notice the lack of acronyms, I'm sticking to it)

Favorite Words: An Introduction

Throughout the course of normal conversation, I often come upon words that I enjoy saying that I would like to incorporate into my everyday vocabulary. Words such as crisp and refreshing. I decided I would post them on here, for my benefit and for your own. It would be beneficial to me because I could have them documented and increase my exposure to them. You can read them and try saying them out loud. Maybe you too can fill your vocabulary with enjoyable words...

Posts will typically be as follows....

Favorite Words: Part 1

Tender-This could be used to describe something that's really cool

Cusp-Harder to incorporate into daily conversation, but I think I could do it every once in awhile

Folks-I'd like to start referring to my parents as my folks

Another Dream

One of the items on my bucket list that I am especially excited about is, "Come up with an inspirational thought that they put on the marquee of the Fellowship Bible Church of Lindon" (direct quote from the list). I don't know how easy this will be... word on the street is that the man who comes up with the quotes gets them as direct revelation. But I'm committed.

Reading this, you might get the wrong idea. Let me clarify a few points:

• I belong to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints
• I am not considering joining the Fellowship Bible Church of Lindon
• I may never "come as I am to worship" at 11 am
• I do think that some day I may be able to come up with a quote, in accordance with my personal beliefs, that might inspire others if put in a public place, say... on state street in Lindon right next to Los Hermanos.

So no worries, I'm not leaving the church. I'm just looking to inspire.

I'm also practicing for my dance off against somebody who isn't white. Wish me luck.

(I got this picture from fbclindon.org)

On a separate, unrelated note, I've decided to stop using acronyms (for personal reasons). If you hear me using an acronym in the future, it's because I don't know what it stands for.

A dream

Today

Spirit bowl

I was assigned to "build a city"

Apparently "build a city"=cup stacking competition

Participation in a cup stacking competition is the fifteenth item on my bucket list

It's now crossed off

One more dream realized

Well that was nice

Today, I skipped lunch. At about dinner time I was approximately 94.6 percent famished

we went to China Lily. I love China Lily. Really. I had Tiny Spicy Chicken, Salt&Pepper Chicken and Green Bean chicken. (my three favorites).

Even better though, Sylvia, my former employer, came and said, "oh, Brock. You left your last check. I'll go get it for you."

long story short (or maybe just a little shorter)... I got paid 51 dollars. To eat at China Lily. Yep, I didn't see that coming.

Also my fortune said I would take a vacation to a sunny shore. Yes. That was nice indeed

Biology is killing me

This, my friends is an endoplasmic reticulum. (fun to say, try it) I have been studying Biology for hours. The AP test is in like two weeks, but don't quote me on that. Yeah, Van Dijk's giving us tons of homework and what the, I'm putting up a picture from my textbook. How nerdy is that?

Very

Anyway, I should probably go to sleep, I have a Biology review in the morning.

6am, yep probably won't make that one, sorry

but then I have to go after school on Wednesday. Fun

Also I get points for the nerdiest post

Hello

I have a blog. I am now cool.

Does this make me cool?