No Mo

I like almost everything about riding the bus: the time to read, sleep, listen to music - the fact that I'm not driving!!! However, I received an email earlier today that made me wish I had driven my car.

Subject: Any Mo Rocca Fans?

He needs a ride from the airport this morning and I am pretty busy with other details so if you can help I would love it! Let me know and thanks.
Cheers,

Kahli

Maybe I could still pick him up - if I take the #8 Downtown and transfer to the #73 Airport Express.... To bad, I guess there's no Mo today!

Back Home Again

Well, we survived our busy (sort of) weekend in New Harmony. It's always nice to go South and visit my parents, but it's also nice to get home and back into the swing of things again. Kennedy had a great time visiting with her Nana and Papa; it's neat to have 4 days where Kennedy gets their undivided attention. Thanks again Mom and Dad for the fun weekend - especially the trip to Golden Corral!!

Talk about a Busy Day

All the boredom of the last couple of snow days disappeared today. The snow was gone and the sun was out so we decided to head South. Even though St. George was only 50 degrees, it was still nicer than the 35 degrees in New Harmony. Along the way to St. George it was time to do some caching. We saw some incredible spots along the trip. We went to some old cemetaries in Silver Reef, Utah that contained some Catholic pioneer tombstones. How's that for diversity?!

After spending a few fun hours in towns like Leeds, Touquerville, Browse, and Silver Reef we made in to St. George. My dad wanted us to meet some of his relatives from Detroit who were visiting for the month. It was a nice visit with Cousin Marilyn and her family. It was a typical Italian family meeting, with big stories and big laughs. It's amazing to me how welcoming Italians are. I've never even met these people, and they treated me like any other family member. Mama mia!

Once the family reunion was over, my dad took us to some fine dining in St. George - Golden Corral! What a spread! Never let it be said that Big Al cuts corners when he plays the host. We could eat anything we wanted - as long as we willing to battle our way to the buffet through all of Washington County's senior eaters. What a mob - I guess we shouldn't have gone to eat at 5pm!

To end our long day we traveled North to Cedar City to visit Doris and Dean (two of my Mom's closest friends). We had a special present to give to Doris on this trip - her very own pink Utah Jazz hat. The pink hat has special signifigance, all proceeds go towards cancer research. Doris has been battling cancer for the past couple of years and her recent batch of chemo has given her a new shorter hairstyle. The pink Jazz hat is a perfect fashion statement. It was fun to visit with Doris and Dean, especially as we watched Toby do laps around the room. Kennedy was captivated by our furry friend - she barked repeatedly so she could talk with Toby. After the visit, we packed Kennedy into the car seat for a final time and arrived back at my parents' house around 10:30pm. What a day!

So, What are you doing on Sunday?

Over the past year and a half I've really enjoyed being a member of the bishopric. That being said, there is one thing I've always hated - scheduling speakers for Sacrament Meeting. I don't have any evidence to support my claim, but I think that most people don't pick up the phone when they see me call on their caller ID. It's like I'm a door-to-door salesman or something. "Boy, do I have a deal for you!"

I've been trying to get speakers for next Sunday for about two weeks and everytime I think I've got it settled, something happens and the speakers back out. Whether it is work, family, or nerves - there's always something to keep people away from the pulpit. Now it's only a few days away and I don't have any speakers scheduled for next week. So, what are you doing on Sunday?

Midnight Run

For the past couple of weeks we've been planning a trip down to my parents' house for President's Day weekend. Of course, everything was conspiring against us leaving early yesterday. I had to teach out in Grantsville all day and got home later than usual. Once I was home, we had to hurry and get ready for Ward Temple Night at the Salt Lake Temple. Anyone who goes to the SL Temple knows that it isn't exactly a quick experience (note - it is always a good experience, I just said it isn't a quick experience. Don't send me hate mail about my feelings on the temple!). We managed to get home a little after 8 pm and decided that we just needed to pack up and head out. Waiting another day would simply have put us behind, so we were out the door by 9 pm.

Driving at night is actually pretty enjoyable with a baby (Kennedy slept almost the entire way down). Of course I shouldn't say that I drove - Tara manned the wheel from Salt Lake to Parowan, but I finished off the last 40 miles, perhaps the most difficult part of the entire journey (at least that's the way I'll tell the story). Anyway, we pulled into New Harmony a little after midnight, a little tired, but glad to start a long weekend.

Cabin Trip

As much as Jared didn't want to, we made the trek again to Utah County on Sunday afternoon. After his BYU blog, I wasn't sure if I could get him to venture into my neck of the woods again. Maybe the only reason was because we were going to the family cabin. He doesn't seem to mind that trip as much. He should have reconsidered marrying a country girl from Mapleton (right in the heart of Utah County) if he was so scared of making the trip south of the point of the mountain every now and then. Anyway, we weren't going to the cabin for anything fun. We went to help the family clean up after the big Christmas party. It's not good to have Christmas decorations up past Valentine's Day, is it? My parents and two sisters helped out and it didn't take too long. We got some good food out of it and the highlight of the evening was Kennedy eating pumpkin pie with Grandma Houtz. She kept saying "mmm" and then "more". As you can see, she enjoyed the pie and the evening with family, as we all did.

For Dinner I'll be having Crow

I guess this is the right time for me to eat crow. Some of you know more about my aversion to this topic than others, but I've been forced recently to buy a product I've tried to avoid for years. Not a toupee, not a walker, no this is much worse - bought a cell phone.

I can already hear a few of you snicker, since I've argued against them for years. However, I have to admit that once I bought a phone I've become a bit obsessive. I've read the owner's manual for hours, pouring over every feature. Speed dial, special ring tones, picture ID for callers, everything is new to me and I like it. I still don't know if I'll turn the phone on (that's been the biggest complaint about any work cell phones I've had in the past - they're always off!), but I guess I'm becoming part of the digital age. Not bad since I'm a technology trainer. Anyway, if you need to reach me - just call.

Survivor Thursday

I know, I know - you're thinking I want to talk more about reality TV and the new season of Survivor in Panama. Wrong. This time, I'm the survivor. I survived BYU!!

Earlier today I went down to Provo to teach a class in Happy Valley. Everything reminded me why I went to the U instead of the ZOO. I drove around the entire campus trying to find a parking spot. Can you have a lot with more than 12 spaces?! Every lot I went in looked like it had been full for hours. After finally parking in Outer Darkness (good metaphor for BYU, hey!), I rushed across campus to find the education building. The only clue I had was that it was named after a prophet. I passed the Spencer W. Kimball, Ezra Taft Benson, Joseph Fielding Smith, and Harold B. Lee buildings - all to no avail. Everyone I passed looked at me like I was a refugee. Maybe I was. All I know is 2 people referred me to the Standards Office. I politely declined their invite, but appreciated their concern. Finally, I found the David O. McKay Building. I taught my class and left Provo as quick as I could. I had made it. Suddenly life looked a lot better as I saw Utah County in the rear view mirror. I'm a SURVIVOR!!!

Just for Heather

I was recently downloading pictures from my camera and came across some pics from Char's 50th birthday party. For months my nephew's wife Heather has been bugging me about why she hasn't appeared in the blog (since she is one of our five readers!), so now is her 15 minutes of blog fame. For those of you who don't know my niece-in-law, I give you Heather Bringhurst.

Progressive Dinner?

Last night we were part of a progressive dinner. For us the progressive part was that we got to eat all we wanted and hosted part of the event without having to prepare a single thing! That's what I call progressive! It was a fun evening that gave a lot of the younger adults (both single and married) a chance to socialize outside of church. The highlight of the evening was a get to know you activity where we shared little known facts about ourselves. My favorite fact was:
I have a hole in my head. by Ted Orgill. The best part of this was it was literal. Many of us already thought Ted was a bit off, now we know why!

Other little known facts:

I have a crush on Wonder Woman (Lynda Carter) - who doesn't!!

I sawed though my parents' antique table to help build a fort.

I toured Europe when I was twelve and, while curling my hair, set my bangs on fire since I didn't realize the diffence in voltage!

I recently got stuck in a clothes hamper.

The things you find out about your neighbors!

So Long Ross

I know that most of you never knew my next door neighbor, Ross Carter, but he passed away this week and I'd feel terrible if I didn't take a moment to remember him. Ross and his wife Jean, have been my next door neighbors for most of my life. My family moved into our home in 1978 and barring my mission and the first few years of marriage, they've been a constant neighbor. As a kid, I never really made an effort to get to know Ross since he was an grownup and I knew we wouldn't have anything in common. However, my return to the neighborhood a few years ago made all of that change.

Ross was always a welcome sight, either sitting on his front or back porch. Whenever I was out mowing the lawn I could usually find Ross outside enjoying time in the sun. We would stop and talk and Ross was always aware of the things going on in my life. Tara and I really have loved being next door neighbors to such wonderful people. The past couple of months have been very difficult on ol' Ross, as he was in and out of the hospital with complications due to diabetes and other ailments. His passing was met with relief, as well as grief, to all who knew of his struggles. Ross was a good man and I know we'll miss him. So long Ross.

To read more about Ross click here.