Look -- no hands!

Braden made two of four free throw attempts in his Jr. Jazz basketball game Saturday. Either he accomplished the feat with what seems to be a lack of arms, or his handspeed was too fast for the human eye. Either than, or maybe he's trying to take to flight.

Comments/suggested captions

• "Braden's Army was defenseless." -- Mitch, 02-24-09
• Braden, who used too much stickum, amazed everyone on the court that he could make a free throw with his hands still attached to the ball. The crowd - not so impressed." -- Mitch, 02-24-09
• "Famous basketball movies - Teen Wolf, Air Bud, My Life as a Teenage Basketball Ghost." -- Mitch, 02-24-09
• "It's like 'Back to the Future' -- Braden's disappearing in the photograph." -- Aaron, 02-24-09
• " 'Braden, where did your hands go?' 'Coach told me to put them in my opponent's face.' " -- Aaron, 02-24-09
• "That's a great 'shot!' " -- Jenna, 02-24-09

Who, me?!?!?!

Braden seems to be asking the referee if he really should be called for the foul in a recent ward deacons basketball game. Funny thing is ... the game hadn't started yet, and he's already working the refs.

Comments/suggested captions

• "Five dollar ... five dollar ... three foot long." -- Mitch, 02-24-09
• "If you think I've got bbal skills - you should see my fishing skills . . . I caught a fish this big." -- Mitch, 02-24-09
• "Mom, where's my pre-game hug?" -- Mitch, 02-24-09
• "I only missed the 3-point shot by this much!" -- Mitch, 02-24-09
• "FIGARO!" -- Aaron, 02-24-09
• "It's Braden's trademark expression." -- Jenna, 02-24-09
• FROM SCOTT: Yes, it is his "trademark" expression - you've got a similar face on one of the posts on your blog, and I've found another photo recently of him making the same face when you and Tyrel were here. Maybe I'll start collecting "mouth-wide-open expressions of Braden for a future blog. Anyone is will to submit contributions." -- Scott, 02-25-09

Separated at birth?

Left: Scut Farkus, "A Christmas Story" (1993)

Right: Austin Taylor, Provo (2004)

Comments/suggested captions

• "YES! YES! YES! This post was for me - right, Dad? That's even better than I expected! (I know I had a good eye for look-alikes. Austin is just lucky I didn't relate him to a Disney character like I do with most people.)" -- Jenna, 02-09-09
• "Does this mean if I hang out with Austin that I get to be one of his 'toadies?' " -- Aaron, 02-10-09
• "They both have sort of the same sneaky smile on their faces, too." -- Cheryl, 02-23-09
• 
  

Three hats and a 'fro?

   Some comments were made about an earlier post showing Austin coming in from a snow Ukraine winter day wearing his snow-covered Russian hat - about how other photos showed how the color of his hair closely matched the color of his hat.

   Here's a photo from June 2004, shortly after his return from his mission, that shows him and his hat as well as the hats he brought back for Jenna, Breanna and Braden.

Comments/suggested captions

• "Breanna and Braden look so young in this picture! Love the hats ... do you guys still wear them?" -- Michelle, 02-07-09
• "I really think I will be printing these out to entertain (and hopefully not offend) my 2 Ukrainian co-workers." -- Jenna, 02-09-09
• "You guys look like mushrooms." -- Aaron, 02-10-09

'What kind of kids eat ..... what kind of dogs?'

   Another image from our May 2005 trip to Ukraine and Russia - this coming from the famed Tverskaya Street in downtown Moscow, just a block or so away from the Kremlin and Red Square. It is also just outside the entrance of the apartment we rented for our stay in Moscow (talk about a PRIME location - it's like being in New York City and staying on Broadway, within sight of Time Square!).

   A quick bit of background: Tverskaya Street (also known as Gorky Street) dates back to the 12th century. It was the center of elite social life from the 17th and 18th centuries to even modern times as far as nightlife and entertainment. It is Moscow and Russia's most expensive shopping street and the world's third most expensive street as far as commercial rents.

   So, imagine our thinking when we found this hot dog stand located on Tverskaya Street - we would pass it every time we would leave and return to our apartment. It's name is "Star Dogs" - but in the Cyrillic alphabet, their "S" looks like our "C" and their "R" looks like our "P". Then, the "T" in the logo looks like a lower-case "r" ... and now you can see why we thought the stand was selling "crap dogs."

   Lori took much delight in this establishment. And, no, we never had the heart - or the stomach or the mind - to try one of Moscow's "Star Dogs."

Comments/suggested captions

• " I guess it's better than 'Dog Craps' ..." -- Aaron, 02-10-09

'The field is white already to harvest'

   A photo from Austin while serving his mission in Ukraine - likely his first winter, 2002-03. He'll have to tell us the city. I think he was trying to convey that winters in Ukraine were extreme - either that or he lost the tag-team wrestling match against a dozen powdered doughnuts.

Comments/suggested captions

• "Remember the photo of Austin wearing that hat on a warmer day ... it was sort of the color of his hair and looked like a pretty good 'fro.' If that is the case, then this photo is Austin with 'highlights' or what hairdressers used to call a 'frost' (quite literally!." -- Cheryl, 02-03-09
• "Funny because I was actually just telling my Ukrainian co-worker about Austin's hat that looked like it was his hair. Thanks for the visual. There's one picture where he really looks like the bully kid from 'A Christmas Story.' -- Jenna, 02-04-09

By a nose

   Several of you made comments about "faces" and "noses" in an early post that had a photo from Goblin Valley State Park (August 2007, stopping off after our time with the James Family reunion at Lake Powell). So I thought you'd be interested in seeing this rock formation we found hiking in the middle of the park, well into the formations.

   I'm just waiting for one of my brothers to label me as "the post-nasal drip."

Clowning around with 'you-know-who'

   You've heard of women that have a thing for "the big guy in the red suit." Well, we've found a pair who have a thing for "the guy with the big red hair" - and, no, we're not talking about Carrot Top, either.

   This is a shot from May 2005 outside the McDonald's in Yalta, Ukraine (the Crimean peninsula) on the promenade along the Black Sea. This is during our trip (Lori, Austin, Cheryl and I) to Ukraine and Russia, and Austin has enough sense to stay out of the picture - he's probably around the corner or inside cringing from embarrassment.

Comments/suggested captions

•  "I'm lovin' it! =)    " -- Jon S., 02-05-09