Volleyball!

Day 4: A picture of your night

Lizzy in her best volleyball stance.

Tuesday and Thursday nights are volleyball nights in the Sartin household. We go down to Golds Gym here in town to play volleyball for a few hours. It's been a lot of fun just playing and making some new friends, its usually a lot of the same people that show up so its been cool to meet some new people. Tonight was a solid game and I got my jump serve going pretty good. There is quite the mix of players down there from really good to really really bad, some nights its a little frustrating and other nights its really great volleyball but either way we try to have fun. The ceiling is pretty low in the gym so it really makes you a more acurate quick passer because if not then its going off the rafters (which we play off of by the way haha) There is always a lot of laughs and poking fun of each other which really makes volleyball nights a lot of fun. It's funny, I have always enjoyed playing volleyball with Tyler and Jaclyn growing up but have really grown to love the game. I am tossing around the idea of putting on a tournament here in the tri-cities this summer. Something similiar to Spike and Dig (huge outdoor tournament in Spokane) except I would like to be able to host it down in the park right on the river which would just be awesome, if anybody knows anything about putting on a v-ball tournament feel free to give me some advice, I wouldn't want to make any money off the deal just enough to cover the expenses and the rest would go to some sort of charity. Right now this is just a thought in my head but im thinking if I want to make it happen I need to start putting it into action some time soon. Hope everyone else had a fun night and I will back tomorrow to continue the 30 day picture challenge. Goodnight and God bless!

Boy Meets World

Day 03 - A picture of the cast from your favorite show

If you aked me what my current on air favorite is I would say How I Met Your Mother because that show is just hilariously awesome. But my all time favorite is without a doubt Boy Meets World, its just a great show with a lot of laughs and a lot of serious moments. It tackles pretty much everything a kid deals with growing up and the cast is just awesome. If you have never really watched this show find it on DVD and check it out. Another cool thing about this show is watching these guys grow up, the show starts out with them as little kids and ends with them as full grown adults. It was on for a really long time. It's really relatable and absolutely hilarious at times but can really get serious. I could easily see myself growing up as Cory Mathews and falling in love with Topanga. I think alot of us did growing up (fall in love with Topanga that is). Who wouldn't love to have a friendship like Corey and Shawn, a girl like Topanga, a crazy brother like Eric and especially an awesome teacher that always has all the answers like Mr. Feeney! Love. This. Show!

My Brothers

Day 2: A picture of you and the person you have been close with for the longest.

Andy Stamschor & Tyler Jaquish

I am lucky enough to have two of them! To be honest, I don't really know who I have been close with the longest between these two guys. They are my two best friends (other than my wife of course)....scratch that they are my brothers, I consider these guys family and would give them anything in the world if they asked for it and know they would do the same for me. I love these guys, Tyler we have spent so many countless hours playing some kind of sport together or competing against one another whether it's basketball, volleyball, tennis, cross country whatever, heck even video games! I love you bro! Andy, we are so close people mistake us for brothers all the time, we have done so much together as well such snowboarding, snowmobiling, wakeboarding, and pretty much anything else you can think of. You have both been instrumental in helping me become the man I am today. You have always been understanding yet ready to tell me to knock my crap off when I'm doing something stupid. We have been through so much together. I don't know what else to say because you guys know how much you mean to me. I couldn't ask for better friends you guys are the greatest!

30 Day Picture Challenge

So the first thing Tyler says to me after reading last nights blog is " Hey man read the blog, nice! I dare you to start the 30 day picture challenge." Well Tyler I accept your challenge! and to which I say bring it on!

Here are the requirements for the 30 day picture challenge

Day 01 - A picture of yourself with fifteen facts.
Day 02 - A picture of you and the person you have been close with for the longest.
Day 03 - A picture of the cast from your favorite show.
Day 04 - A picture of your night.
Day 05 - A picture of your favorite memory.
Day 06 - A picture of a person you'd love to trade places with for a day.
Day 07 - A picture of your most treasured item.
Day 08 - A picture that makes you laugh.
Day 09 - A picture of the person who has gotten you through the most.
Day 10 - A picture of the person you do the most messed up things with.
Day 11 - A picture of something you hate.
Day 12 - A picture of something you love.
Day 13 - A picture of your favorite band or artist.
Day 14 - A picture of someone you could never imagine your life without.
Day 15 - A picture of something you want to do before you die.
Day 16 - A picture of someone who inspires you.
Day 17 - A picture of something that has made a huge impact on your life recently.
Day 18 - A picture of your biggest insecurity.
Day 19 - A picture of you when you were little.
Day 20 - A picture of somewhere you'd love to travel.
Day 21 - A picture of something you wish you could forget.
Day 22 - A picture of something you wish you were better at.
Day 23 - A picture of your favorite book.
Day 24 - A picture of something you wish you could change.
Day 25 - A picture of your day.
Day 26 - A picture of something that means a lot to you.
Day 27 - A picture of yourself and a family member.
Day 28 - A picture of something you're afraid of.
Day 29 - A picture that can always make you smile.
Day 30 - A picture of someone you miss.

 

so lets begin with day one......

 

Day 01 - A picture of yourself with fifteen facts.

Just in case you were wondering what the facts where, I got these in an email awhile back and thought they were pretty funny (the comments are not mine but really make it hilarious)

1. If you yelled for 8 years, 7 months and 6 days, you would have produced enough sound energy to heat one cup of coffee. (Hardly seems worth it)

2. If you fart consistently for 6 years and 9 months, enough gas is produced to create the energy of an atomic bomb. (Now that's more like it)

3. A pig's orgasm lasts for 30 minutes. (In my next life I want to be a pig)

4. Banging your head against a wall uses 150 calories an hour. (Still can't get over that pig thing)

5. Humans and dolphins are the only species that have sex for pleasure. (Is that why Flipper was always smiling?) (And pigs get 30-minute orgasms? Doesn't seem fair)

6. The strongest muscle in the body is the tongue. (Hmmmmmmmmm........)

7. Right-handed people live, on average, nine years longer than left-handed people do. (If you're ambidextrous do you split the difference?)

8. The ant can lift 50 times its own weight, can pull 30 times its own weight and always falls over on its right side when intoxicated. (From drinking little bottles of...?) (Did taxpayers pay for this research??)

9. Polar bears are left handed. (Who knew....? Who cares? How'd they find out, did they ask them?)

10. The catfish has over 27,000 taste buds. (What can be so tasty on the bottom of the pond?)

11. The flea can jump 350 times its body length. It's like a human jumping the length of a football field. (30 minutes...can you imagine?? And why pigs?)

12. A cockroach will live nine days without it's head, before it starves to death. (Creepy)

13. The male praying mantis cannot copulate while its head is attached to its body. The female initiates sex by ripping the male's head off. (Honey, I'm home. What the....) (Well, at least pigs get a break there...)

14. Some lions mate over 50 times a day. (In my next life I still want to be a pig ... quality over quantity)

15. Butterflies taste with their feet. (Oh, Geez) (That's almost as bad as catfish)

the challenge has officially started! Enjoy!

 

Unexpected Love

I was going through old files on my computer tonight and found this. I actually wrote it for an english class I was taking my junior year of college. Lizzy and I were engaged at the time and we had to write a story about a moment in life we never wanted to forget. I edited the ending and added pictures to update it for today but the rest is untouched.

Unexpected Love

Cow cutting isn’t really considered a “rodeo” event. However in high school rodeo we get to compete as “rodeo” contestants. Most of the rodeo contestants felt that we didn’t belong and it showed. Cutting was not a part of the normal rodeos you see on tv or at your local fair so we never hung out with those kids or got to know any of them until that summer at nationals. Finally my friends and I were starting to get to know the rest of our teammates from Washington, and boy did it turn out to be life changing.

            It was the first night the “cutters” were hanging out with the rest of the kids, and as we were running around the campgrounds doing things that teenagers do, I saw her.

Her name was Lizzy and she was the most hyper girl I had ever seen. She was a bundle of energy and everybody knew her. She was bouncing around, talking and joking with everyone, and it was obvious that she was in her element. Not only was she full of energy but she was also incredibly cute! Little did I know, on that warm summer night in Farmington, New Mexico, I would meet the love of my life.

            It wasn’t until the next day though until we actually met. It was my birthday and my family and friends were all going out to lunch to celebrate. My good friend and fellow cutter Andrea showed up and standing next to her is Lizzy. Even though it was supposed to be just family and friends, I didn’t mind her coming with us because as I said before, she was really cute!

            As we got into the cars to leave for lunch, Lizzy jumped right in the car and sat right next to me. It was about that time that I realized, not only is she really attractive and full of energy, I think she likes me! During lunch she sat by me again and we got to know each other. The entire rest of the week we were practically inseparable. We went to the dances every night and hung out during the day. We discovered that we both liked to ride horses, snow ski, play basketball, and we even both wore number 25!, Best of all, she only lived 45 minutes away.

            When the week ended, I hadn’t made the finals, but her brother was going to be competing for the national title in steer wrestling. My family decided that we were going to leave for home before the finals started so we could get home early. Lizzy wanted to ride home with us, but her parents wouldn’t let her. We said our goodbyes and I couldn’t help but feel that I was leaving someone really special behind. Even though she only lived 45 minutes away, I wasn’t sure I would ever see her again. About halfway home, I noticed that she had left her purse in our motor home. I have never been as excited to see a purse in my life! To this day she still claims that she did not intentionally leave it in there. I now had a reason to see her again and boy was I excited.

            As soon as I got home I called her told her I had her purse, we set up a time and date for me to return it, and I made sure to get a date out of it. My friend Tyler and I drove up to Tri-Cities to take Lizzy and her best friend Carli out on a date. However it wasn’t that simple, first I had to meet her mother. Now that sounds simple right? Lizzy’s mother is like nobody I have ever met. She had only one mission to achieve during our conversation, and that was to strike as much fear into me as possible. Though my intentions were pure, I had just turned 19 and Lizzy had just turned 16, so I knew that she was a little uncomfortable with the age difference. So as she procedded to lay down the law, I nodded my head and said yes ma’am a lot, and by the end of our conversation, I was not even aloud to put my hand on Lizzy’s knee much less kiss her.

            From that day on we continued to hang out quite a bit the rest of the summer. I was leaving for college that fall and wasn’t sure if I wanted to do the whole long distance relationship thing. After a good conversation with a friend I decided to give it a shot. So on September 1, 2003, at a team roping in Benton City, Washington, I asked Lizzy to be my girlfriend.

             Almost four years later our families went camping and horseback riding in the mountains. My sister and I went up early to “save a place to camp”, however that was not our intended plan. We rode up the trail and found the perfect place for me to ask the biggest question of my life. Later that day Lizzy and everyone else arrived for the weekend. The next morning we rode up the trail and when we reached the spot my sister and I had found the day before, I got off my horse and  waited for Lizzy to find the note tied to the tree then, in front of our friends and family I got down on one knee and asked her to marry me.

For those of you that don’t know she said YES! After a gigantic hug and a kiss later I told her to turn around. Carved in the tree that she had to walk by to get up to the spot where I was waiting for her was carved AJ + Lizzy 2007. We have since been back to see our tree and just like our love for each other it has continued to grow. After the tears and screams of joy we celebrated with a glass of wine that I had hidden behind a log the day before and continued to ride up to the very fitting “surprise lake” and enjoy the rest of the day with our family. We have been happily married now for almost 2 and a half years and he has been quite the ride. We of course have had our ups and downs like any married couple but God continues to strengthen our love for each other. We have laughed together, cried together, celebrated together, prayed together, grown together and loved together. I look back at everything we have done and shared TOGETHER and I am so amazed at how great God is and how so incredibly blessed I am. If you have someone in your life like that remember to tell them you love them every day and kiss them goodnight every night. If you are still searching for that perfect person for you. Remember that God has a plan and trust that he will fill any void you may feel, trust in him and he will take care of you.

PS: I love you lizzy!

My first ever blog

After really enjoying reading some of my friends blogs I figured it was time that I join the ranks and become a blogger myself. Not really sure how much I have to say about much of anything but I figured lets give this thing a shot because hey it sounds like fun. To kick things off I thought I thought it would be fun to just do one of those silly Q & A emails that we all get every now and then that have crazy questions that allow you to get to know the person that sent it to you just a little better. Sometimes they are really funny so here goes.

Name: A.J.
Sex: only with my wife :)
Birth date: July 25
Location: Tri-Cities
Height: 6 ft
Eye color: Hazelish
Hair color: brown
What does your name mean: strength I think?
High school graduation year: 2003
Favorite relatives: all of them duh!
Summer memory: meeting my wife in Farmington New Mexico
Favorite TV shows: How I Met Your Mother, Boy Meets World....too many to list so those will do for now
What’s on your mousepad: I don't have one, it used to be spiderman back in the day
In the car- ac or windows: windows for sure, I love rolling around town with the windows down!
Do you believe in yourself: of course I do, why do I seem make believe?
Favorite game: basketball, thats more of a sport so game would probably be Poker with my boys
Favorite drink: Cool-Aid but its gotta be made by TQ haha if not its just not the same
Favorite food: usually any kind of pasta
Favorite colors: Red, Orange, Blue
Favorite cigarettes: yuck!
Favorite sounds: a really good beat that just catches my ear and instantly puts lyrics in my head
Favorite smell: the smell in the valley right after the grape harvest....sooo good!
Worst feeling in the World: being rejected, feeling like a failure or feeling all alone
Best feeling in the World: being in love
Favorite thing to do on a weekend: hanging out with friends and family doing something fun like snowboarding, snowmobiling, wakeboarding or playing some kind of sport
Favorite soundtrack: umm no idea dont really listen to soundtracks
Where do you see yourself in 10 years: having my own state farm agency, being a father and just continuing to live the dream
First thought in the morning: holy crap its cold here cuz my wife runs the fan all night! :) love you Lizzy!
Do you get motion sickness: nope but my wife sure does
Rollercoasters- deadly or exciting: a little of both, they usually scare the crap out of my while im on them then afterwards im like that was awesome!!!
How many rings before you answer the phone: usually 2
Future son names: not sharing
Future daughter names: ditto
Are you a good friend: umm ask my friends haha
Chocolate or Vanilla cake: vanilla
What do you drive: 2006 Chevy Duramax Diesel (insert Tim Allen grunt here...you know you were already doing it huh Ben :p )
Do you sleep with a stuffed animal: no but my wife does (I'll let you figure that one out haha)
Thunderstorms cool or scary: very cool
If you could meet one person in the World, who would it be: Jesus, I would probably just stand there in awe but it would definately be him
What is your zodiac sign: Leo
What do you wear to bed: your supposed to wear clothes to bed? jk basketball shorts
Do you eat stems of broccoli: what? no
Guys- If a girl ever asked you for the shirt on your back, would you
give it to her? Depends what she wanted it for
Girls- Would you ever ask a guy for his shirt?
If you could have any occupation when you get older, what would it
be: retired former lottery winner, seriously anything that would allow me to spend a lot of time with my family and friends
If you could dye your hair one color, what would it be: i used to streak it blonde back when that was cool
If you could have a tattoo, what and where would it be: I cross on my back
Favorite brand of gum: Wrigley?
What is your favorite quote: I don't really get to much into quotes and nothing is coming to mind right now.
Have you ever been in love: more and more every day :)
What’s on your walls in your room: paint....wow that sounds boring
Is the glass half-empty or half-full: always have full waiting to be filled up!
Pick a song that describes yourself or that you can relate to: probably one of my own, they come from my heart so they are easy for me to relate to.
Which do you prefer- Cool Ranch or Nacho Cheese Doritos: cool ranch
Favorite flavor Snapple: strawberry- kiwi
Which one, Coke or Pepsi: Pepsi
Which kind of milk is your favorite: non fat
If you were to kill someone, which method would you use? yikes thats just weird to think about, no thank you
Are you a righty, lefty, or ambidextrous: righty
Do you type with your fingers on the right keys: how do you type with them on the wrong ones?
When you meet a person of the opposite sex, you notice their: face (yes I honestly do haha)
If you could be one gardening tool, which one would it be: my wife says I would be a hoe...not sure how to take that haha
What kind of shoe would you be if you had an option: a flip flop (dont know why)
What’s under your bed: some bags to pack in , couple pairs of shoes
What’s the best number in the World: 25!
What is your dream car: an awesome diesel powered truck, thats all i need
Who is your biggest crush right now: Lizzy Sartin!
Nickname:  ajax, age, a-hota, apple jacks, heck even AJ is a nickname
School: EWU!!
Bacon Bits Or croutons: bacon bits
Favorite Salad Dressing: ranch or cesar
Do you Drink: yes
What type of Shampoo/Conditioner: whatever my wife buys
Have you ever been skinny dipping: umm yeah i have
Do you make fun of people: me? never! :p
Have you ever been convicted of a crime: nope
Best friends online/offline: you guys know who you are
One pillow or two: one
Pets: two dogs, Rocky and Cash
Favorite Movies: Shooter, Troy, Tommy Boy, Billy Madison, Gladiator and so many more, I love movies
Favorite type of music: Country, Christian, Hip Hop
Hobbies: Snowboarding, wakeboarding, snowmobiling, playing basketball, volleyball, and im starting to enjoy hunting
Word or Phrase you overuse: Umm....
Toothpaste: only when im brushing my teeth
Piercing or tattoos: none
Do you get along with your parents: sure do
Favorite beer: Kokanee
Favorite song at the moment: Eric Church- Smoke a little Smoke
Favorite subject in school: English
Least favorite subject in school: Math
Most humiliating moment: ask my friends im sure they have plenty :)
Craziest or Silliest Person You Know: all of my friends, they are all pretty dang crazy at times!
Favorite Holiday:  Independence Day, warm summer time hanging out with friends and family and of course theres fireworks!

hope everyone enjoyed the survey and have a great night!