Latest News!

We've been very busy since the last post! First of all, Danny's parents, Jim and Nancy, arrived on Wednesday night (two weeks ago) for a visit. The next day we went to visit Nancy's sister's family, the Fieldings, who live in Mesa. And then we went for a drive out into the desert, out by Red Mountain, and up to Saguaro Lake. The drive was beautiful! We saw some real desert landscape, with giant Saguaro cactus, Ocatillo cactus, and lots of other cactus species who's names I don't know. We also saw turkey vultures circling in the sky, and eating dead things on the side of the road! It was just what you would expect in the desert--like in movies! Then, on Friday we went down to Tucson to see the Mini Baja competition, which was the culmination of Danny's senior project at school this year. The BYU senior Mini Baja Team consisted of 10 members, of which Danny was one. What they do is build a little buggy-type vehicle, and then take it to the competition where they have various events for testing the cars. The competition was international this year, with cars from all over the US, Canada, and Mexico, with 123 total cars. The 100 mile endurance race is the most exciting event, and it was held on Saturday. Our team did very well, and it was really fun to go and be a part of the competition. Sophie behaved SO well, especially considering we were out in the desert sun for 2 days! The race site was literally in the middle of the desert--no buildings, no AC, no water (we had to bring in our own) and pretty warm! But, Sophie was just great through all of it. The following Monday, Nancy, Sophie and I went to Taliesin West, which was the winter home of Frank Lloyd Wright. The site was and still is a small architectural school as well. The tour was wonderful. Our guide seemed to have many personal insights and anecdotes about the life of Mr. Wright. Seeing the actual structures and rooms at Taliesin West was great, and learning about the life, work, and philosophies of Mr. Wright was very inspiring. He was a very driven, unique, and talented individual. Nancy left on Tuesday afternoon. Sophie and I spent the rest of the week mostly relaxing and cleaning the house, after having had so many visitors! But, we were SO happy to have everyone! Since then, we've been spending our time hanging out with some of the other young couples in our church, going shopping, swimming, and just having a great summer really!
(Hope you enjoy the pictures, even though they're not ALL of Sophie!)


The BYU Senior Team Mini Baja car!


Cowboy up! Just kidding. We all got these hats for free at the competition which is organized by SAE (Society of Automotive Engineers) And they were good to have, since we were out in the desert sun for 2 days, no indoor facilities, no A/C!


Sophie and Grandma Karpowitz at Danny's Mini Baja competition in Tucson


Danny, the team, and the car, posing on a big Caterpillar tractor. The event was held at the Caterpillar testing facilities in Tucson.


Danny and the team posing on a HUGE Caterpillar mining dump truck. These things are pretty expensive, I forget the exact ammount, but it's like 3 million dollars to purchase, and costs 3 cents per SECOND to operate!


Danny, Mini Baja car and the DUMP TRUCK!


There were QUITE a few breakdowns during the 100 mile endurance race. This is a team from Mexico, working on their car. Out of the 123 cars that started the race, only around 40 of them finished! We were one of the finishers, which is a huge accomplishment.


Danny and the team working on a broken axle that occurred during the race. They were able to fix it and still finish the race.


The 3 of us at Saguaro lake


Grandma and Grandpa Karpowitz with Sophie at Saguaro Lake


Picture of Taliesin West, Frank Lloyd Wright's summer home and school of architecture (still in operation) in East Scottsdale.


This is a great quote we saw at Taliesin West.