NIca continued...

ok. so its not that exciting of a reveal for the cliff hanger. the horse-drawn buggy: preety much saw everyday in the streets of the dirty Nica. it never got old, nor failed to surprise us that they rolled that way. the flaming car: well, that was kinda crazy. we were following the local missionaries (thats where the Guatemalans, Costa Riqueño and gringos come in) to dinner. we were following the assistants and all of the sudden we came across a flaming Jeep in the middle of the road. no ambulance, no one trying to do anything accept by-standers jumping around the car dancing. i saw one kid pushing around a flaming tire, like it was no big deal. maybe it was some kinda protest or manifestation for Ortega and the FSLN party. who knows really, and it probably was an old tune for Nicas. Unfortunately we didn't get a pic of the disaster, but like the car itself, that image is burnt in our minds forever.

our dinner with the missionaries and mission presidente Fraatz was pretty sweet. It was cool to jive with young elders again, and share my wisdom and their excitement for the work. One elder was from Murrieta and when he found out that i was from the ENC he nearly foamed at the mouth. "i love Swami's" he kept saying to me. we talked about encinitas surf spots for a bit, but i tried to divert the trunkiness and lead the chat toward the mission. i ended up moseying down to hang out with the "nativos," the elders from south america. we bonded over mission stories and futbol over a nice meal. the elders were shy and timid at first, but opened up once they knew that they could get whatever hey wanted thanks to daddy-warbucks Randall. it was pretty sweet, and i know that those kids had something to write home about- as if baptizing the country wasn't enough. the Managua Nicaragua mission is the highest baptizing mission in the church. preach on brethren!

recto, recto, recto...

¡que dios bendiga a los estados unidos! well folks, i am back from the motherland II Nicaragua. a week long journey that took me and the old man across the spans of time. last Wednesday we arrived in the late evening in the capitol of Nica...Managua. it was poring rain, and we got our first taste of "directions" to our hotel at the car rental: "turn left, go two blocks, and straight, straight, straight. can't miss it!" we later learned to grow accustomed to ambiguous directions, that changed depending on who you asked, and calculating at least 2x long to get anywhere because we would inevitably get lost. not a single sign to guide us on any corner, instead a broken down car, perhaps a malnourished and maimed dog and a man with a toothless smile eager to help an american. an adventure to say the least. a typical vacation it was not, but definitely one that will never be forgotten.

highlights of the trips of trips are coming shortly....heres a cliffhanger to keep you on the edge of your seat:

it involves a donkey-drawn carriage, a flaming car, 3 Guatemalans,1 Costa Riqueño, 6 gringos and a chase. to be continued...

stung out on Strung Out

so for those of you who don't know me and the mrs. celebrated 2 years of wedded bliss on sunday(aug 5). YEAH US!!its crazy to think that it has already been 2 years..i guess time flies when you are having fun. the past 2 years have been awesome and i am more in love with mrs. lokestroke everyday. i think she has earned a few stripes or some angel wings for putting up with my stubborn, passive aggressive ways. i guess you can say that we celebrated in a not-so-typical way. Erika has been obsessed with the punk band Strung Out for the past 10 years. I know, I know, you are saying to yourself "what about Hanson?" Thankfully she does like other music, thats not so Hanson-esque.I for one have to be compltely honest- i wasn't the biggest fan of Strung Out...i listened to them occasionally in highschool, but never really jumped on the train. Erika on the other hand, dreams of lead singer Jason Cruz
on a regular basis, and would consider leaving me for him if the opportunity presented itself. i was quite impressed by the end of the night though, and have rekindled my interest in the old punk band. they definitely know how to put on a good show. since saturday i have been listening to their cds on my ipod non-stop. there is something about going to a concert that makes you appreciate and enjoy music better. i felt the same way about the Strokes, Wolfmother, the Shins, Motion City...just to name a few.

Viva la Rock!

keep it simple

so i did one of these sweet online tests that my sisters and bro-in law love so much. turns out, its pretty right on.

You Are Strawberries with Cream

Fresh and uncomplicated, you are always enjoyed but often overlooked. You're confident in who you are. You don't need a facade to feel better about yourself.

What Dessert Are You Most Like?

goin fishin'

so the search is over kids. for those of you who know me, i have been talkin about gettin a new surfboard since i graduated. erika can attest to my constant jibber-jabbering about types, sizes, colors, shapers, brands, deals.....my incessant trips to surf shops, and complaints about my current board.i even went on craig's list and found a Channel Islands Flyer
(not a fish)that i bought then sold for a profit. well the griping can stop. here it is kids: aint she a beaute? its a Kane Gardens Classic Fish. i have been searching for months and am so stoked to be able to surf in this crappy summer surf. so how did i end up with this pez? i saw a posting on craig's list for a rep who was having a surplus sale down in La Jolla today. so after work, i hopped onto the good ole 5 freeway ready to go check it out, but pretty much camped out in traffic.so i called the KG factory on the way down, and got directions to it. KG headquarters was closer and i couldn't handle any more of the bumper to bumper. i hadn't planned on going to KG but it must have been fate. Shirley, the shaper's wife and office manager helped me out on finding me a shtick. I met Stu and he lined me up with it. the nicest people ever and a easy-going and joyful experience. stu is the man and i will definitely be a life-long customer of his. goin straight to the HQ got me nearly 50% off retail price. can i get an amen?!so to all you who so generously contributed to the mrlokestroke surfboard fund, I thank you from the bottom of my heart.

la segunda ronda

(thats round 2 for those of you who don't hablar the español)
so i last left you with a few little thangs that i love about my lil wifey, with a promise to share more. a man of my word, here ya go:
she is a hard-worker.don't let the blonde hair, bright white smile, and beautiful blue eyes fool ya...the etrain works her tail off. as pointed out last week by a certain miss Sarita Tayebi, she could be a spoiled brat and demand everything from daddy, but chooses to earn her keep. she has an amazing work ethic, something that i need to adopt more of. she has worked hard her whole life, and won't settle for anything.(except me i guess) she was a Hinckley scholar at BYU, ran a restraunt in p-town and currently works her butt of at Nufaces Spa, and her own business of esthetics on the side. on top of all that she works hard around the house, making sure our pad is perfectly clean, and smelling good. i really look up to her for being so driven and dedicated.

she is fitness-conscious: i never really have told her how grateful i am for her dedication to fitness. she runs daily, usually with her mom and her faithful pup "Bus-Bus." i don't know how she does it, running is the last thing i wanna do at 7:00am. she has even ran the dreaded, infamous 26.2 miles of a marathon. she got me hooked on yoga...sadly we haven't been able to practice much and harness our chi out here in s.d. she totally dominated the class in provo; bustin out dolphin stands like it was her job. i take great pride in bragging to all my friends about how in shape she is and dedicated to taking care of herself. when we first started dating she would surf with me, and one of our first times hanging out she showed me up hard core wakeboarding. check her out at lake havasu earlier this summer:total domination!









sometimes i call her Lyric. the girl knows every word to every song she has ever heard. she has a knack for memorizing the words to songs after only listening to them once. its pretty amazing actually, and always makes me laugh. she loves to dance in the car while she belts out the high notes, in her own renditions. she usally changes the wording around for fun. as a side note of her knowing the words to every song she hears, she knows how to rock! we have seen several shows together, concerts at dive clubs, and full of tools trying to be cool. she has jumped around in a mosh pit and held her own in a packed house full of sweaty, smelly dudes. wolfmother, the shins, death cab, panic, strung-out, just to name a few...its her dream to see Bad Religion live. Etrain is closet p.f.r.


one of the cutest things about the e-train is how she treats our puppy. he truly is a mama's boy, and she defnitely treats him like her little baby. she has about seven nicknames for him-shocking i know- and is always excited to see him when she gets home. she cuddles up with him, and baby-talks him in her arms.this may seem annoying or rediculous to some, but for me it has opened up a whole new side of the e-train. the mothering nurturing side. i know some of you are rolling your eyes about comparing children to pets...i don't want you to get the wrong idea. i look at the way she acts around buster as potential. she claims that she is not good with kids, or they don't like her...blah, blah, blah.NONSENSE! she has them eating out of the palm of her hand. having a puppy has created new opportunities for those mothering instincts and intuition to emerge. i watch her play with my niece and nephews and know that she will be a great mother.

so thats the tip of the iceberg of my love for mrs. lokestroke. I hope i shed a lil light on who i get to share my days with...lucky me!

pitter patter

not all the strength of the ocean
not all the heat from the sun
though others have tried
i just can't deny
for me YOU are the one
for true love is priceless
for true love you pay a price
theres nothing that can keep me from loving you
not fire, no not ice

for reasons unknown to me, i have this crazy little gene cruising around through me that keeps me from being able to have an adult bone in my body which denies me the ability to have an intelligent, developed and legitimately mature conversation. i used to pride myself on being a "great communicator" or listener. as a teenager i often played the role of the couples therapist- providing advice, an attentive ear, or shoulder to lean on. now i realize that was a load of crap that i told myself because i never had a girlfriend and the rest of my friends did. oddly enough, i find writing a form of personal therapy, and find my deepest and most thought provoking insights can be spelled out so much clearer when my mouth doesn't get in the way. that being said, i have come to the realization that i like to give shot-outs, "what-whats" and hollas at a lot of people out there, but am lacking in giving the recognition to my dream girl, my bride, my pahtnuh, my sweetheart and blue-eyed bombshell of a wife!

the etrain, as she is sometimes referred to, is my world. i consider myself lucky to have landed such a keeper of a woman. there is a mormon myth that says that the harder you work on your mission, the hotter the wife you get. i worked my butt off out in the motherland of España, but there is no way i could have worked hard enough to score the etrain by my own efforts. definitley some divine intervention was workin in as we were dating for her to be convinced to stick it out for the long haul with yours truly! why do i love this girl so much? thats not even a question- the real question is how does she put up with me?

ever since i met erika, i have noticed her love for life. she has this sunny countenance about her that glows and heats up a room. there is a song by ben harper called "she's only happy in the sun," and i used to call it her song, because she is truly a california girl...but then i realized that she brings out the brightness of the sun and radiates energy and spunk everyday. she loves life, the little things in life, and knows how to make them big.

those magic paws...yes the paws. i joke about how small of hands she has, especially when we first started dating. i felt like a great big grizzly when first started holding hands...her tiny, dainty hands next to mine always made me laugh. but, those lil paws harness the strength of 10 bears! those "money makers" are perfect for any sore shoulder, back or neck. having a message therapist for a wife is what sealed the deal for me. whether at Nufaces, at her parent's or on a church pew, she does have the magic touch!

nigs, tone-tone, two tone designs, bucket, grunge, mims, dady-o, yeen, lis,mama, fugs n' jugz....the girl has a knack for nicknames, and each one is more funny. she keeps me on my toes, with random names for random things and i laugh every time. g.b. hinx has to be my favorite, as sacreligious as it may be...her witty, goofy charm is what cheers me up in any situation. if you are ever one of those kids who never had a nickname growing up and felt like you missed out, give erika a call!

my own personal Giada DeLaurentis:homegirl has skillz! erika is obsessed with Giada, and i reap all the benefits of her wanting to be just like her. she is an amazing cook, something that developed while we were dating that i happily indulged in. she took a cooking class and would test our her recipes on me, which i greatly appreciated and gladly accepted. each week i get to sink my teeth into something "delish" and usually very healthy. its adorable to watch her cook, and its even better to watch her enjoy her own food just like Mrs. DeLaurentis. i am so lucky that she knows how to and enjoys cooking...life would suck if we were livin on top-ramen and mac & cheese.

round 2 of why i love the easy-E will have to continue tomorrow. in the words of mrs. lokestroke- "me's pooped!"