Don’t hate me for this one. I kind of consider Shiny Toy Guns as, kind of, the Jonas Brothers of electro-rock. It may seem like an oxymoron. But that is just my take. So I can totally understand if you just want to skip right past this one. However, I am really kind of digging their sound, and if you grew up listening to what I did, you might, also. I feel kind of bad coming off of a two week hiatus with these guys (especially since it is #60 [It would be nice to hit hard on the tens]). Just the same, here it is, and I’m standing behind it.

Oddly enough, the song that I’m sharing is actually a cover of one of my favorite new wave 80’s hits. It is new take of “Major Tom (Coming Home),” by Peter Schilling. Such a great song. And I feel like STG really does it justice. Check it out.

After our race on Sunday morning, Reagan and I had a very long and relaxing visit with Piper. For some reason, all of the photos that I took, came out looking like Piper was groggy and sad. She probably was groggy. She definitely wasn’t sad though. Just the same, I thought that if she could talk, she probably wouldn’t want me posting those shots of her, not looking like her normal princess self.

After our visit with Piper, we met up with some friends of ours (John and Kat), who are visiting from SC. Reagan knows John from HS. We spend the evening palling around lower Manhattan, since it was so nice out.

Highlights included a jumping contest on the benches at the Battery Park City Promenade.

^–Reagan’s Jump

^—John’s Jump

^—My Jump (shot by Reagan)

Kat also had a pretty impressive jump. But the lighting was throwing off the AF, so it came out all blurry. I’m retarded.  More photos of this outing are here.

Our new running club had it’s first club points race, last weekend. Our friend Zach Tolbert came out and shot the race for us. It was perfect weather and a lot of fun. Becca was totally on the ball, with getting our jerseys made and delivered before the race.

It was a bit chilly, before the race, but the sun was out, and it was perfect temperature, for running. Our team did very well. Additionally, we had a mystery person sign up as an NYRC affiliate, who beat everyone else on the team, by almost a minute. Jessica (whoever you are) if that is your way of trying out, you passed. Hahaha.

With the impending warm weather, comes spring fashion. Yay! Flipping through the ads at the beginning of my magazines has made me especially excited for the warm weather. Among all of the uber-creative and super aesthetically appealing ads, there are always a handful of duds. To me, the Hilfiger ad above was the largest dud in the most recent issue of GQ. I “get” using a little bit of irony, to get attention. But, come on, dude. Is anyone really going to go water skiing with sunglasses, button-up long sleeve shirt and jacket, complete with a pocket square? These kind of ads remind me of those over-saturated family portraits shot on railroad tracks. In what universe does that composition naturally occur? I’m not hating, here. I’m just posing a question. Maybe I just need to be educated. Anyone?

Anyway, the Hilfiger water-ski ad still takes a back seat to Khaki Jogging. And of course, underwear pull-ups is still squarely in first place.

I saw this board on Format, today. So sick. It has all of the essentials, like sprayed on grip tape (old school Nash-style) and a built in bottle opener. Here is the Format description:

Santa Cruz introduces the ‘Land Shark’ Cruzer, which will surely revolutionize the age-old beer run tradition; full-equipped with a bottle opener on the bottom of the board, the Land Shark is just the kind of ride you’ll want for trips to the corner store before grabbing brews with their buddies this summer. The first board from this new range is the Rasta and it measures 8.8×27.5-inches and features 65mm Santa Cruz Road Rider wheels and spray-on, clear grip on the deck. The Santa Cruz Land Shark Cruzer is currently available for purchase here…

Man, I am so ready for warm weather.

When Reagan and I were in Salt Lake, I had the great privilege of photographing my grandparents, at their house. When I was very small, I lived next door to these grandparents. When I was younger, I didn’t realize how fortunate I was to have known all of my grandparents. Living so far away from them now, I certainly appreciate the time that I have to visit with them, a lot more.

^—This is my grandfather’s infamous work room. Many a fine piece of steel jewelry was crafted on the bench grinder.

^— I really liked this shot, because I feel like it captures what happy people they are.

^—–This is my cute grandma, showing us her canning storage. The majority, if not all of the items contained in those jars, were grown right in their own garden.

If you get grossed out by people kissing, ignore this post. Here are a couple of more shots from our little shoot in Sandy, UT.

^–Reagan, dancing around in excitement over her new (second hand) glasses.

^—About to get a room, hehe.

Tuesday evening, Reagan’s parents drove us to Kolob Canyon, which is in the northern end of Zion’s National Park. It is only about 20 minutes from where they live. It would be a spectacular sight under any circumstances. But, the way it was lit up in the evening, with the patchy clouds, and contrasting trees/snow, made it absolutely gorgeous.

^—Reagan’s hair dancing around in the wind.

^—Photo by Joe Baker

More photos of Kolob here.

It has been a pretty amazing seven days. We have had a blast hanging out with our families. Monday night we took a trip to the Cedar City bowling alley. Reagan’s parents took us bowling with her brother and sister-in-law. The shot above was Reagan’s idea, since one of the best parts about bowling is the awesome rental shoes.

Before the bowling session, we were able to wander around town with some of Reagan’s friends and hit some thrift shops, etc.. We also dropped by Reagan’s old hair school, to say what’s up. It was beautiful weather, all day. The temperature was in the 50’s and the sky was as blue as can be.

Here are a couple other of my favorite shots around town:

This is the part of vacation that is kind of a bummer. It is that part where, although you are still on vacation, it is hard to enjoy yourself, because you know it is almost over. And, the stress of the logistics of traveling back coupled with the stress of having to catch up on real life again start to weigh you down. Maybe I’m wound a little too tightly. Hehe.

Nothing caps off a mini-family reunion like family photos. It was a pretty miraculous ordeal, considering all of the logistics. Highlights included, watching a huddle of moms try to position all of the grandkids:

Kelton’s awesome face, during the huddle:

And last but not least, my brother Pete bribing my autistic sister Laura to be in the group photo. After everyone had tried their hand at coaxing and pep-talks, cash money spoke the loudest. Genius move, Pete.