I'm a Winner!!

We just got back from the Employee Appreciation Day party at the stadium. What a party! Tim, Vickie and I were treated to some of the wildest karaoke and displays of athletic skill I've ever witnessed. The highlight from the party has to be the Bingo game full of wonderful prizes. Tim and I played for a while and the stuff was pretty good. Free massage, ski passes, a wok, all very acceptable prizes. Of course what was the reward when my number finally came up.... a two night stay at ....McArthur's RV Resort in St. George. I almost didn't want to go up when I knew I'd won. The real kicker for the two night stay is ...

The passes aren't even free. It's really a buy one get one free stay at the RV park. Let's get this straight. I have to 1) Rent an RV 2) Drive said RV down to St. George and 3) Stay for 4 nights so that 2 of those nights at the RV park are free. What a deal!!! Anyone want these before they go to EBay!!!

Dr. Covili...err Just call me Jared

Meet the students of T & L 5140. I’ve been meaning to talk about my little night job for the past few weeks, but I guess seeing is believing. Tonight we went geocaching and now we’re discussing the wonderful world of blogging. If all goes well, these students will be technology leaders of tomorrow's classrooms (if I don't corrupt them fist that is). Maybe I need to ask Bryan how to be a real college professor!

Good Job Mommy!

Yesterday was one of those rare instances where you can truly enjoy the innocence of a child. For the past month or so we've been working with Kennedy at using the potty. For her, the potty has become a bit of an obsession. She wants to talk about it, to sit on it, and to watch others sit on it (one of the secrets no one tells you before having kids!). While we were at Sacrament Meeting yesterday Tara took advantage of the fact that I was sitting with the family to sneak away for a restroom break. I didn't think anything of the fact that Kennedy wanted to know where Mommy went.

"She went to the Potty," I replied as we continued to play with the toy giraffe she had in her hands. Moments later I realized the error of providing too much information. As Tara came back into the chapel Kennedy spotted her. Immediately she stood up and loudly proclaimed:

"Good job Mommy! You used the potty! Good job!"

You can only imagine the color of Tara's face as she returned to the family Pugh. Everyone in our section was laughing as Kennedy gave her mommy a congratulatory hug. While fighting back the tears the man in front of us turned to me and said,

"Does Tara need a treat for her potty reward?"

That was it. I had to bury my head in my lap as I laughed for the next two minutes. You've got to love kids!!!

Fun at Work

You've got to love a rainy Friday at work. Since everyone has been going a bit office crazy for the past month I suggested that we take advantage of the wet weather and take in a flick. Somehow the motion passed unanimously and we headed down to the Gateway to watch Talladega Nights: The Legend of Ricky Bobby. The movie was funny, but watching Vickie watch the movie was hilarious!!! She couldn't stop laughing and I, in turn, couldn't stop laughing with her. The rest of the theater probably didn't enjoy our row, but we had a great time.

After the movie, we came back to the office and experimented with a new gadget we purchased last week, a Logitech webcam. The camera isn't anything that special, but it came with some software that allows you to become an animated character. I want to introduce you to Vickie, the stick figure of the office.

Click to Play

Guarantees in Life

Are there really any guarantees in life? My anniversary was yesterday - a wonderful 9 years - and so everyone at work asked what we did to celebrate. Of course we went out to dinner and enjoyed a nice evening alone. The next question was whether or not we were able to get a little "alone time" later in the evening. I didn't respond to that question, but it brought up the issue of guaranteed days in the year where couples should spend some "private time" with one another. After some deliberation it was decided that there are 5 days a year where a "time to be friendly"” guarantee should be enforced. Here's my list:

• Anniversary


• Valentine's Day


• His Birthday


• Her Birthday


• New Year's Eve (is there a better way to ring in the New Year?)

There were a few other suggestions by the folks at work, but I wasn't sure that I wanted to include Father’s Day, Mother’s Day (wouldn't some consider that to be a day of rest), President's Day, or International Speak like a Pirate Day on my list. What about you, are there any guarantees in your life?

Together Again

We finally finished everything for the big Cottonwood 4th Ward reunion and it was great! I know that I didn't know many of the people in attendance over the week of celebration, but I was so glad to give back to the older members of our ward. It was so fun to see them get excited about seeing this person or that person. Trying to figure out who "so and so" was with grey hair (or no hair in some cases!) I think we had about 200+ people involved over the week and it's just amazing how many lives are touched by the 4th Ward. It even gave our family a first chance to have a new family photo that includes Alex!

I did get to see my old Teachers' Quorum advisor, Jeff Vincent, during the party. I think it's been a few years since he and I last spoke, but it's always so fun to get together with him. I know it wouldn't fly today, but when I was 15 Jeff and I drove all night up to Yellowstone to meet up with the rest of the group on a camping trip. He was a very important part of my early teenage years and it's great to see him again.

Take a look at a before and after from those Teachers' Quorum days.

1989


2006

A Website for Alex

So, I've been feeling a bit guilty about not creating a website for Alex. He's officially been with us over a month now and it was time to give him a real web presence.

I can't believe how easy it was to build this website with a Mac. The new iWeb has to be one of the coolest things ever! Sorry to go on about technology, but Mac has it right. Anyway, without further ado....

www.uensd.org/staff/jared/alex

ps - while I was on the computer I decided to update Kennedy's website as well. Check them both out. They're great!!!

9/11

On Monday, I had the opportunity to go see the flags in Sandy that represent all the men and women who died in the terrorist attacks and those who gave their lives while trying to save others. I was quite emotional during our visit to the flags. I went with my sister Charlene and Kennedy and Alex. We started out by walking through the flags that represented all of the soldiers from Utah that had died fighting in Afghanistan and Iraq. Each flag had a picture of the soldier, where they were from and the date they died. In the middle of the flags was a gun propped up with boots and a helmet on top. This really struck me hard. I couldn't stop thinking about these people that gave their lives for our freedom. We continued to walk through the approximately 3000 flags on display. They seemed to go on forever. It really hit me how many people lost their lives on 9/11. It seems that our world has changed forever because of this one event. I hope that we can return to normal again someday-whatever normal is.

Getting Ready

For the past few months the bishopric has been preparing for the ward's 50th anniversary. It's been fun to see all the older members getting excited as the reminisce about the good ol' days. As someone who grew up in the ward I knew several of the names being mentioned, even if I didn't really know the people themselves. Earlier today we had four former bishops of the ward speak. It was neat to hear from all of them, but my favorite was Bishop Mac Bay. He was the bishop of the ward in the early 60's when they constructed the chapel as a ward. It was so inspiring to listen to him tell of the effort and sacrifice of the members during those 7 months. To look out and see several of the older members weep as he mentioned them by name will be a lasting memory. It's a great legacy to be part of the Cottonwood 4th Ward and I can't wait for the reunion this Saturday!

For my part of the reunion I've made a 4th Ward at 50 video. Here's a sneak peak. Enjoy!

Logan Temple Trip

Over the weekend our ward went on the annual temple excursion. This year we packed up the troops and headed north to the Logan temple. I've never been inside the Logan temple, so I was pretty excited to see it. The only other time I've even been on the grounds was two years ago at Youth Conference where we worked at cleaning and painting the iron fence. Needless to say this was a little better experience.

I learned a few things on our trip to Vernal, so this year I made a list of do's and don'ts.

1. Do not play any outside music!
2. Do bring your Ipod and listen to your heart's content.
3. Do not sit in the vicinity of the widows (a bit too demanding).
4. Do sit near the back of the bus where you can stretch your legs.
5. Do not wear your suit coat on the bus.
6. Do not eat too much at the Golden Corral - it's a long ride when you're uncomfortable.
7. Do find a group to talk with and learn something from the members of the Ward.

It was a great experience to go the temple. Tara and I are always glad to spend a relaxing day with the ward and to enjoy the feelings of the temple. We really have some great people in our ward. It's always nice to spend time with them on days other than Sunday. It gives you such a different perspective and you get to see such fun sides to people. We had a great time in Logan and can't wait until next year when we go to Manti!!!

Read the Schedule

A couple of days ago I thought I would try a different bus. For the past couple of weeks I've seen a bus that was headed to East Millcreek, not too far from our house. Tuesday I figured I would make a go of it. Unfortunately, I wasn't very observant when I boarded the bus and I ended up on the Inbound instead of the Outbound. No big deal I thought. We'd simply go downtown and turn around for the return trip. We did go downtown, but before I knew it we were headed out of the city going - West!!!!

I watched in agony as we went further and further into Rose Park. Unknown to me the #14 East Millcreek turns into the #20 Rose Park when it goes downtown. After I watched everyone leave the bus I decided I might as well talk to the driver. Since we still had another half hour on the return trip to town, he and I had plenty of time to get to know one another. We made it back to the U about an hour after initially boarding the bus. Finally at 7pm, almost 1 1/2 hours into the trip I was at my stop. I can't believe my experiment actually ended up costing me my entire evening. I guess I'll stick with the old reliable #8 11th East bus. Sometimes there's a reason why it's the road less traveled.

Houtz Family Reunion

The Covili family spent Labor Day in the small town of Torrey, hanging out with my family and enjoying one last summer vacation.
Kennnedy had a blast playing with her cousins and all the toys. Alex did what he always does-sleep! Jared and I spent Saturday conquering the Cottonwood Wash. I know that Jared already talked about the Cottonwood Wash hike, but I have to talk a little about it. My brother Alan has a knack of finding great hikes in Utah and this was another one. We had so much fun. It was great to be with my family and work together to figure out how to conquer the bouldering and the crevices in the wash. We also had a couple of chilly swims in the wash. We didn't quite make it to the end of the hike since it was getting late and a few of us had kids that were being watched by family members. I would say that this was the highlight of the camping trip. Jared and I both enjoy this kind of technical hiking and I hope we get to do more of it in the future. We spent some fun time after the hike playing grass games and participating in the Houtz Olympics. I don't want to brag but I think I came in first place.

Sunday was spent going to church, relaxing and doing a little geocaching. We didn't find many caches, but we saw some beautiful terrain and tested out Alan's new truck on a pretty hairy 4 x 4 road. It passed with flying colors. On Monday, we took Kennedy swimming and had some last minute fun before we had to leave. We took the long way home through Emery and Price and spent some time geocaching. All in all, the Houtz family reunion was a success. We all had fun. The sad thing is that I think that our family is getting so big that we won't be able to get together like this much longer. We will enjoy it while it lasts.

Baby Alex

I guess it is time for me to blog a little. I think it's been a couple of months since I have posted. Jared reminds me quite often that he blogs a lot more than me. He also has a job where he is at a computer all day. I have a job of changing poopy diapers all day. Anyway, life has definitely changed at the Covili household. With the addition of little Alex, we are now a family of 4. Alex has been with us for 3 weeks now and I can't imagine life without him. He is part of our family and we love him so much. It is fun to see Kennedy kiss and share her toys and blankies with her baby brother. She has been really good with him. We hope and pray that he will be able to stay in our family.

Conquering Cottonwood Wash

One of my favorite parts of the Houtz Family Reunion is the annual all day hike. Last year I missed the Subway because of work and I've been kicking myself ever since. This year's reunion is in Torrey, UT., so we're right on the outskirts of Capitol Reef. Earlier today we went on a great hike to a place called Cottonwood Wash and everyone who went had an adventure.

The trip started out with a 20 mile drive to the turnoff for the canyon. I don't know how I drew the short straw, but I ended up riding in the back of a pickup with Willie, Phil, and Austin down some of the bumpiest roads I've felt in a while. Still, we finally made it to the start of the wash and in we went. The hike had two main parts: the descent into the canyon and the canyon itself. The first part was pretty boring, more or less a mile of hot desert sun over slick rock. Once we made the turn into the canyon things started to pick up.

I guess I should mention that this trip wasn't really a hike. Alan is into canyons where you'll need to go bouldering. It's pretty much what you'd guess: having to climb over boulders that block your path through the canyon. I love what the web says about Cottonwood Wash. "The only way to make it through the canyon is through teamwork and ingenuity." I think that says it all. There were several places where you couldn't make it over the rocks without help or creativity. Most people would claim that their favorite move on the trip was the "Covili Roll," where I had to pull my body up an enbankment with my legs actually going over my head at one point. I'm just glad that Alan had a tight grip!!



In addition to bouldering, you're also required to swim across channels to make it to the next section of the canyon. I thought it would simply be wading across some puddles of water, but I quickly realized that I'd need to swim, once the water went over my head. I can't even tell you how cold that water was, needless to say there was a good amount of "shrinkage" on the hike.

All in all, it was a great experience. I love that Tara's family is so willing to explore new places and try new things. I'm just glad that I get to tag along every once in a while. I'm also glad that there was plenty of Ben Gay back at the cabin.

Still Sleeping

As you can tell from most of the photos we've posted of Alex, the little guy likes to sleep. I would guess he sleeps about 15-18 hours a day since we got him. We've gone to parties at the zoo, out to restaurants, had Kennedy screaming at home - nothing seems to phase him. If I didn't know any better I would definitely say that this kid takes after Big Al (we all know he can sleep through anything!). Still, Alex is a peaceful little boy who likes to catch up on some zzz's.

That is until about 4 am. For some reason he likes the wee hours of the morning to say hello to everyone. It isn't every night, but there have been a few occasions where Alex has wanted to take a midnight stroll around the house. Tara will laugh that I'm the one posting this (since she's the one who's always awake with Alex), but it's hard for anyone to sleep when someone's awake. Of course it doesn't take much to get Alex to go back to sleep and then we wonder if he'll ever wake up!