The Life of Pizza John

I've mentioned we were in the process of buying a boat but sometimes timing just isn't right and things don't work out as expected.  After being under contract on two different boats we decided the timing just wasn't right.  We will still live on a boat in the future, but we decided to put (at least) one more life adventure before it. I've spent a lot of time on in Hawaii, specifically on Kauai.  When the boat we were looking at was damaged in Hurricane Irma we started looking around to see if there were any more Leopards for sale (in our price range). One of my searches pulled up the exact same boat we were under contract for on Kauai and I thought to myself....uhhhhh, I've been visiting Kauai for years and I've always wanted to move there....why am I not?  It just hit me!  I mentioned it to Alia and that day we decided to move. Within two weeks we sold everything we owned and were ready to make the move.  Alia drive the car to California to be shipped,

This year we decided to extend our Thanksgiving trip from part of a week to almost three weeks!  It started off with Alia driving across the country in the Honda Fit(more on this later) and me flying to San Diego to meet her a few days later! It was Grandpa's(aka Alex) birthday so people traveled from all over to meet and camp in San Clemente.  We surfed, ate, drank and had a merry time.  I got to surf some fun breaks I've been wanting to surf for quite a while including Trestles and San Onofre. Once everyone left for the weekend, we headed back to dads place in Carlsbad where we were joined by Jordan and Dad to hang out for a few days.  Again, we ate, drank, I surfed and we all had a merry time!  It was fun to explore all the different beaches and areas since I had not spent much time in the San Diego area.  Alia and I got to eat dinner with my boss and meet his family which was fun.  We experience the horse races at Del Mar. Everyone took bets on the different horses a

My mom made these treats growing up and I'm not 100% sure, but they may be the reason I am so addicted to sugary treats today.  Most people would take one bite and say "hey, these are REALLY sweet" and save the rest for later.  Not me!  I've been known to polish off a whole pan of these in one sitting.  Now, I limit myself to making these once a year and I will usually take them to a Christmas party so I don't eat the whole pan myself. 3/4 cup better 1.5 cups crushed graham crackers 1 can sweet and condensed milk 1 cup chopped walnuts (small, but not too small) 1.5 cups chocolate chips 3/4 cup coconut 1 cup butterscotch chips -Put butter in 13x9" glass dish and put in oven while it is heating to 350 degrees. -While the butter is melting, finely crush graham crackers (I prefer using a food processor). -Once the butter is melted, take the pan out and sprinkle the graham crackers evenly in the dish. -Pour sweet and condensed milk over the crust as

I completely forgot to add the video from our last surf trip! It's super late, but here it is! We didn't get a ton of footage so it's not the most exciting video, but oh well.

Since I really started surfing about 8 years ago, it's really been my escape from triathlon and life in general.  Not that I need an escape, but there is nothing like paddling out, catching some waves, then returning to life feeling like a new born ready to take on the world.  I've never had an interest in surf competitions and I've just enjoyed having surf in my life... ...but things change. Anyone that knows me knows how competitive I am.  I don't have to win all the time to be satisfied, I just like to compete and grow in all aspects of life.  This started with surfing at the beginning of 2017 when a couple other friends decided to set a goal to surf 100 sessions this year.  BUT, we had to decide what counted as a 'session'.  We decided on the following: 1) Must catch 3 waves 2) You cannot paddle out, catch three waves, then go back to the beach and repeat for another session.  It has to be a legitimate separate event of the day. The first rule has

Just when I think I've been on the best surf trip in the world, I go on another one that blows the last one out of the water.  Another year and another guys surf trip.  This was the biggest group yet with 5 guys, including the standard David, Jeff and Jay...plus we added Shawn this year. We usually have a Eukre World Championship and since it is a 4 player game, we had to get a little creative with a round robin approach.  In the end, Jay and Shawn took the Championship title from David and I, but I hope they know we will be back with a vengeance next year. When we originally planned this trip, it was only for Samoa, but when we realized we had to do a long layover in either Hawaii, Fiji Australia or New Zealand, we decided to make it a two week trip and spend a week in New Zealand as our 'layover'. We decided to rent RV's in NZ since a couple in the group had done it before and said it was the proper way to chase swell and wind.  They were right!  We ended up driv

Each year I do a hike with Mike around the summer solstice where we try to pick something people do in 2-3 days and we do it in 1 day.  This year was a little different.  Due to lots of rain and flash flood warning (and hiking up and down rivers), we had to bail.  It was raining so hard you couldn't see more than 20 feet ahead and it didn't help that it was dark.  We decided to start at sunset and hike through the night and the next day due to the complexity of this hike and so we could get home at a decent hour the next day.  Needless to say, we started at sunset and finished around sunrise since we had to cut it short.  It was still pretty hard, especially due to the rain, darkness and terrain. Even though it was out of our control, I'm bummed we were not able to finish the hike, but we will be back next year to check it off the list.  We are even going to have a backup in a different area in case the weather in the Adirondacks is looking bad. We got to hang out with

As usual, not a ton of great places locally for 'foreign' types of food so I get to create my own!  I originally learned about Pho when working at Sorenson in SLC with Ryan, Mike and Miranda and it has stuck.  Definitely one of my favorite meals. Soak Pho Noodles in water for at least 30 minutes.  Use as much as you want since they will not be added to the whole mixture below and can be used for days. Fill a medium sized pot with about 6-8 cups of chicken stock.  I use water and 'Better Than Bouillon' because it is easy and tasty.  Then add the following: 1 inch minced ginger 2 tablespoons brown sugar 2 tablespoons fish sauce 5 star anise 1 cinnamon stick 2 tablespoons minced garlic Once that has sat for a while (anywhere from 10 minutes to many, many hours), take 3 chicken breasts cubed and add to the mix and cook till done. To serve this, you can put noodles in a bowl, then pour the hot soup over them.  Let sit a few minutes before eating.  Have a

Fun weekend visit with Dad and Daria.  Check out the video below! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mj0-93irZ7I

I've always tried to live somewhat of a minimalist lifestyle, but since we have started boat shopping I have really started to think about this idea more and really embrace it.  If you walked into our bedroom you would see a bed and two free-floating night stands where we charge our phones and keep a couple books.  You won't see anything else in the room.  It feels open and nice.  This is how I like my life.  I'm not a huge fan of clutter and 'stuff'. Since I've been downsizing even more I've had to make some decisions as to what to keep and throw away/donate/sell. In the process of this cleanup, I've come across some things that I didn't exactly want to get rid of but they serve no purpose other than taking up some space so I thought I would share some stories here about the items.  Some of these items I got rid of a long time ago, but came across pictures and thought it would be fun to remember some old times! I love the story behind my old Po