Happy Holidays

Well its hard to believe that its this time of year again... It seems like only yesterday that everyone was getting ready for summer! But as great as summer is, I think that Christmas is my favorite time of year. With our family spread out through the country, and with everyone on such wild schedules, it seems that Christmas and weddings are the only time that we all get together. Luckily for my family, we have had a lot of weddings in the past couple of years to keep us in touch.. unlucky for my family, I am not going to be adding to the repertoire of family weddings in the near future!!!

Speaking of weddings, my cousin Carlee has officially gotten engaged to longtime boyfriend Patrick, so congratulations to both of them! It looks like a destination wedding is in the plans.. Look out "dirty south", here we come........

Last week, I officially put the golf clubs in the closet. Its always a sad day to turn the lights out in the golf closet.. But its hard to complain when we were able to play golf for 8 months in MN this year.. Before you start feeling sorry for me, you should know that I will be travelling to play golf every month this winter somewhere warm (its nice to have friends in Arizona/Florida/California).

As far as travelling, I am still planning on going somewhere warm in Febuary, with or without you. I have no set plans and I am open for recommendations. If you would like to go with me let me know! I am thinking of going to Mexico for the time being. I am taking 2 outfits and 3 pairs of swim trunks because I plan on vegging out on the beach for 4-5 days. I will be finishing up my p90x training the 2nd week in February, so I am treating myself to a few days of being a bum.

Believe it or not, I am still trucking along with the p90x program, or in my case, the p102x program. With the 90 day (12 week) program you are supposed to workout 6 days a week, including Saturdays. Since it has to be illegal to workout on a day starting with "S", I have changed it to a 5 day a week program, extending it to 102 days. Don't hate!

There is only one thing that might put a cramp in my Febuary travel schedule, and that would be a trip to Miami for SUPERBOWL XLIV. Being the Vikings fanatic that I am, if you dont think that I would buy a last minute plane ticket to miami---you are wrong.. but time will tell! I am secretly hoping for a matchup against the Packers in the playoffs. How sweet it would be to put the 2009 Hat Trick on them.... SKOL VIKINGS...!!!

As far as me, I have been busy "working for the weekends".. This winter I will be doing a lot of ice fishing and travelling. This past weekend I got my first ice fishing fix of the year. Some people just dont understand how much fun that can be, but you can't knock it until you've tried it.

With that being said, I hope that this finds everyone excited for another great holiday season. Its important to remember how much we have to be thankful for this time of year. Don't forget that "The little things in life, to some people are the big things".... If you see a bell-ringer for the Salvation Army, drop a few cents in the red bucket.. Or at the very least give the bell ringer a courtesy "happy holidays"...

I look forward to seeing everyone over the next few weeks. If ANY of you are in the Minneapolis area looking for something to do, or if you get stranded and need a place to stay, I always have two very important things---An open door and liquor.

Happy Holidays!

Until next time,

JCL IV

"Remember, if Christmas isn't found in your heart, you won't find it under a tree."

Vikings, Vows, and Veterans...

Well it has been a while since I have updated the 'ol blog so I figured now was as good of a time as any...

First off, I would like to say Happy Veterans Day. Thank you to all the veterans, past and present, who have dedicated themselves to our freedom. It is important to remember that we live in the Land of the Free because of the Brave.

The past couple of months have been crazy. I have gained a brother, lost a tan, and met some great people.

In September, my sister Jeanne got married to Kevin Krigbaum in Bemidji (home of the Beavers).. It was great to get all of our family and friends back together for a weekend we will never forget. My Dad and I hosted a party at our lake house on Thursday night and had an absolutely gorgeous night on the lake (see the picture below). On Friday night, we had a perfect evening on the lake for the Grooms Dinner, and the weather on Saturday for the wedding was even better. It was amazing how the we got a taste of some good weather FINALLY in September. Like I have been saying, Fall is the new Summer....

On a different note, how 'bout them Vikings?!?!?!? As hard as the 1998 season has been to get over, I think that Brett Favre has helped the healing process. As a season ticket holder for the games, I can honestly say that the Metrodome has been electric this season... It is great to see grown men crying in the streets of Green Bay, and to watch all of the Viking fan pesimists to finally start putting a foot in their mouth.

So what is new with me? I am still living the dream in Minneapolis. I recently started the P90x workout program in order to take my mind off of the winter months... Today is day 11 of the 90 day program. Each morning that I wake up, it feels like someone beat me with a stick in my sleep, but I am hoping that the soreness starts to fade away as the workout goes on.... and don't worry, I am not putting up before and after pictures. Since the 90 days will be up in Febuary, I have set aside a few travel days. The destination has been narrowed down to France, Mexico, or San Fran.. I will update you when I get things planned..

Other than that, I have been doing some travelling to see some old friends on the weekends and have met some new friends along the way..

I found a quote a while back that makes a lot of sense to me everytime that I run into buddies I haven't seen in a while:

"The truth is, you have your oldest friends in life, and then you have everyone else. Nothing will trump your oldest friends. Any amount of time can pass without your feeling as if you've grown apart because, really, you can't. It's like a plant. You just have to water it every so often and you're good"

With that being said, I am looking forward to the holidays..As always, the Larson/Fox/Loomis holidays get interesting.. If you think we get crazy during weddings and public festivities, you should see us when we are behind closed doors! All joking aside, it is great to get everyone together for a few days at a time...

In closing, I hope that this finds everyone happy and healthy... Get outside and enjoy the weather while it lasts. I am hoping to even get out and play a few rounds of golf over the holidays, probably a bit optomistic but we will see. Like always, if any of you are in my area, look me up. I am never too busy for friends, old or new...

Until next time,

JCL IV

"I never think of the future - it comes soon enough."

Clubhouses, Cabins, Cubicles

Well, another fabulous summer has almost come and gone... I haven't had time to eat or sleep, let along update my blog. Hopefully the cold weather hasn't kept everyone indoors. I just keep telling myself that a cold summer=warm winter. But who knows.

As most of you know, I have spent the majority of my summer tearing up weekend golf tournaments and travelling around to visit friends and family. Over the past 3-4 months, I have found myself at about every small town in Southern Minnesota playing shortstop golf tournaments. My friends have named me "The Shortstop King". The fun thing about these tournaments is that when it is all said and done with, the amount of time spent belly-up to the bar, singing karaokee, and gambling is waaaaay greater than the amount of time spent on the golf course.


For any golfers, I encourage you to get involved with a few of these tournaments. The host-courses are unvelievably receptive for new players and the members at the courses love to see new faces. Let me know if you want any information or a schedule. Seriously.

Lets be serious though, it is no longer golf season so that means one thing.... SKOL VIKINGS.

This past spring, I was smart enough to order three #4 Brett Favre jerseys. One for myself, one for my Dad, and one for my Grandma (biggest Favre fan I have seen). She even wore it to get the mail the day that he signed a few weeks ago. Nonetheless, it has been a great year to be a Vikings fan. I have already booked my flight for the Superbowl.

BUT Probably the biggest thing going on right now, is the excitement that surrounds my sister Jeanno's wedding September 26th in Bemidji. It is always a blast to get all of the Larson/Loomis/Fox clan together to tear up the dancefloor and lose some of our dignity. I look forward to updating my blog with photos and stories from that weekend, it should be a dandy.

I hope that everyone is enjoying the last few days of summer. I am excited for the next few months, they should be an adventure. If any of you are in the Twin Cities, let me know. I always have room for friends, family, and the occasional stranger.

Until next time,

JCL IV

"Don't aim for success if you want it; just do what you love and believe in, and it will come naturally. "


www.twitter.com/johnclarson4

Life.

Like most of you, I am waiting for the true "Minnesota Summer" to arrive. Where are the 85' and Sunny days? Some people are saying that it is going to be a cold summer all around, but I have faith...

As most of you know, my summers consist of playing golf and heading to the lake. This summer I have also included some running (1/2 marathon on september 19th). In other words, good luck trying to find me on the weekends. But the one thing that I truly enjoy is competiting in amateur golf tournaments. Not only do I love the competition, but I get to spend a lot of time with my family. A lot of tournaments are around my hometown, Springfield, so it allows me to spend a lot of weekends back home with my friends and family. But most of all, I get to spend a lot of time with my Dad (the worlds best caddy). Since he began caddying when in high school, we have become a pretty fierce duo.

I recently joined a 36 hole golf course in Stillwater, MN (about 10 minutes from work) and I have been fortunate enough to get out and play a fair amount of golf already this summer, so we will see how much this "real-world" really affects my golf game. If you want to follow where I am at and how I am doing, I listed some of my tournaments below.

June 12-14: New Ulm Invitational (New Ulm, MN)
June 19-21: Springfield Invitational (Springfield, MN
June 22-24: MGA Players' Championship (Wayzata, MN)
July 10-12: Palmer Kise Invitational (Redwood Falls, MN)
July 20-22: MGA Amateur Championship (St. Paul, MN)
July 27-31: The Birchmont (Bemidji, MN)
Aug 8-9; State Publinks Championship (Stillwater, MN)

Other than golf, it is officially wedding season. I am anxiously awaiting my sister Jeanno's (and Kevin's) wedding in September! With both of my sisters getting married in such a short time period, I have decided to wait a little while......

With that being said, I hope you all find sushine and warm(er) weather in the days to come. I look forward to catching up with everyone in the near future...

Until next time,

JCL IV

"Remember to enjoy the little things in life, someday you might look back and realize that they were the big things..."

DOC III Recap

Well, a weekend that was highly anticipated by both players and fans, has come and gone.. but the memories will live on.

This past weekend, the 3rd Annual Dane Odden Classic proved why it is one of the most enjoyable golf tournaments/weekends that I have been involved in.

The DOC literally brings people in from all over the country, this year we had friends from all over the midwest, as well as our buddy Jason Riesenberg who flew in from Las Vegas, NV.

At around 2:00 p.m., all 20 participants (a record high) met up in the parking lot of The Harvester Golf Club. Some of us had not seen each other in close to a year, while some of us were meeting for the first time. Not only does The DOC reunite old friends, but it creates new friendships that will last a lifetime.

In first two years of The DOC, the weather has been picture perfect. 75 degrees, no wind, and sunshine.. This year was a different story. All week, we had been watching the forecast. Everyday of the week was partly cloudy, apart from Friday. For the first time in 14 years, The Weather Channel had correctly predicted the weather 10 days in advance. We played all day in rain and wind for 15 holes before a short lightning delay.

Even though the weather tried to stop us, we had a good time (shocker). With every birdie, roars were heard from all points on the golf course.. Shirts were taken off on hole 15 (see picture right), and after a short rain delay, all 20 of us had the course to ourselves which enabled us to play a 20-some, not a 4 or 5 some, a 20-some for the final two holes.

After 16 holes, there was a two-way tie for first at -12 (My team, as well as Drew Dalziel's) with the other two teams trailing at -10.

Hole 17, like always, brought the drama. Every year, Tyler Roth has had the shot of the tournament. Being a 41 Handicap, you would think that (Roth) is unable to hit a shot under pressure. However, he clinched the tournament in a playoff during DOC I, by draining a 40 ft putt. On Friday he hit arguably the best shot that I have seen in over 4 years. Roth (who must have been in a coma) hit a driver to 7 feet on the short par 3, to lead his team to birdie as well as narrowing the lead to 1 shot.

View the video of Tyler Roth here on YouTube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GKye0bAveBk. You might also want to check the ESPN top ten plays of the week.
**Roth is also looking for a new 3-wood, but this is not the time or place for that story.

On the 18th hole, a 540 yard Par 5, my team safely recorded an easy birdie and thought that we had the tournament locked up because co-leaders (Dalziel, Seitz, Seehusen, Iverson, and Braet) had to take a lateral drop off of the tee-box. However, Drew Dalziel proceeded to hit a 3-wood to 12 feet, to give their team a shot at birdie and share of the lead.

Brad Hempstead's team made a great eagle on 18, but they fell 1 shot short. Supposedly the team led by Dane Odden birdied the last hole to finish -10, but they still finished DFL.

To make a long story short, the team of (Dalziel, Seitz, Seehusen, Iverson, and Braet) made their putt to force a playoff. It was too dark to play extra holes, so we decided to have a 20 yard chip off instead. After a series of average chips, co-captain of my team, Rob Rutt, came through like he had all day, hitting his chip to 2 feet. Drew Dalziel was the last hope for his team. (I have seen Drew's short game, and believe me I was not very nervous). Drew hit a poor chip (weird) and my team came through victorious.

With our victory, a few records were set. We set the tournament record by shooting 59 (-13) and Fellow co-captain, Rob Rutt and myself, became the first 2 time champions of the tournament.

But, like I have said from the beginning, this tournament is not about winning or losing. It is about spending time with our closest friends and creating memories that will last a lifetime.

The future:

Next year will mark the 4th year of The DOC. We have thrown out some ideas and we have decided to put the proceeds of the event towards a charity. If anyone has any ideas on where the money should go, let me know.

**We are looking to grow the event every year, so if you are interested in joining us next year, it's an open invitation, you can sign up online at the DOC Website.

Thank you to all that attended this year:

Dane Odden....Johnny Larson....Drew Dalziel.... Brad Hempstead.... Rob Rutt.... Patrick Hall.... Tyler Roth.... Adam Seitz.... Kevin Milligan.... Jake Bettis.... Jason Reisenberg.... Brett Iverson.... Nick Grossman.... David Allen.... Ben Henkels.... Jason Seehusen.... Adam Wuebker....Jake Krause.... Mark Boll.... Dave Braet.... Dave Blum....

Until next time,

JCL IV

DOC III

One of my most anticipated weeks of the year is here. It is time for the 3rd Annual "Dane Odden Classic". What is The DOC you ask? Well.........

About 4 years ago in quite arguably the best college bar of all time, Peoples Bar & Grill, a bunch of my college buddies and I had an idea to put together an annual tradition. We didn't care what it was, or how we did it.. But what we did know, was that were way too much fun, to never get together after we graduated.

As a group (self proclaimed "DA CREW), we partied about 5-6 nights a week.. spent money that we didn't have... and offended more people than you can imagine..


From a recent e-mail chain, there are numerous versions as to how The Dane Odden Classic actually came to be... But this is how I remember it:

"It was a Wednesday evening... Brad Hempstead, Terry (tdub) Wurzer, and Johnny (drama) Larson, (and possibly Patrick Hall, he is unconfirmed) just got done with a grind session at the infamous Veek National Driving Range. Like most college kids at Iowa State, Drama, Dub, and Hemp, were looking for a cheap dinner and beverage combo. People's Bar and Grill had $.25 wings and 2fer1 beverages; the perfect combination. (There was also a Rock, Paper, Scissors Tournament that night for those that remember)

While waiting for their dinner, the three amigos started talking about college, and how they never wanted it to end. They put their heads together to come up with an idea that would get all members of Da Crew back to their stomping grounds. They developed a plan, to put together a golf gathering and had all of the details worked out, minus the name... The three started throwing out name combinations such as the JLO (Johnny Larson Open), the PBR (Peoples Bar Reunion) and the DCC (Da Crew Classic)... but nothing seemed to flow just right.. But they were on to something.......They were forgetting one member of Da Crew that had graduated.. Dane Odden. The curly, hockey haired, gem, that we had all had the opportunity to know and love. His Name worked perfect. The Dane Odden Classic. From there, the logo was drawn out on a People's Napkin, and the tradition had begun........"


With that, we developed an anual golf outing at The Harvester Golf Club. We split up everyone in teams of 5 based on their ability. With that, we play a 5 person scramble tournament. We play golf all afternoon on Friday, and party the rest of the weekend.

As a member of the Championship Team,

(See picture and add TDub)

I look forward to successfully defending the title with team co-captain Rob Rutt...

The details are irrelevant.. What is important is that we have begun a tradition that has been growing over the past three years. We have big ideas for The DOC in the future, but it still has one true meaning; It is a weekend for all of us to get together, act foolish, and reminisce over the times that we had at Iowa State University.

I will be keeping everyone posted with the stories from this weekend...

Until next time,

JCL IV

**The First Annual "Dane Odden Classic" victory party....

Half-Marathon

For those of you that know me, I am not a huge fitness/health freak. I have been known to eat Chipotle 2-3 times a day... Take a nap that lasts 5-6 hours.. and even take a taxi for a two or three block ride home..

Don't get me wrong, I am not a couch potatoe.. I play golf almost everyday and enjoy working out.. But running has never been my cup of tea...

A few weekends ago, I was sitting on my couch (weird) and a fitness commercial came on, inbetween a UFC fight on Spike TV. I started thinking of things that I could do, for a summer project, to get in shape..

I thought about a marathon.. BUT, I have gone on vacations less than 26.2 miles from home. If I am going that far, I am going to jump into my car, turn up the radio, and set the cruise control.

Then I had the idea of a Triathlon, but the swimming would destroy me. I may drink like a fish, but I don't swim like one....

So I decided to do a half-marathon, the 16 week training for a half-marathon is just what I was looking for.

I talked it over with a few friends and family members and I have decided to do the North Country Half Marathon in Walker, MN (about 15 miles from our lake house) on Sepetember 19th. So those of you that are interested in a bit of free entertainment, feel free to come out and support or even join me for the 13 mile death march...

Since starting my training, 10 days ago, I have logged 14.9 miles into my training log (http://www.runnersworld.com/). I bought a new pair of Asics running shoes last night, and I plan on putting them on their maiden voyage later this afternoon with the 4 mile run that I have scheduled.

I plan to keep everyone posted, so feel free to check in from time to time and see if my legs have fallen off!

Until next time,

JCL IV