My Friend

One of my best friends from high school and college was diagnosed with a brain tumor about 3 weeks ago. Mary Ellen has 3 sweet kids, a cute husband and way to much good stuff going on in her life for this to happen. Mary Ellen and I became friends in middle school, mostly because we both played sports. That friendship has lasted through high school, Snow College and beyond.


Mary Ellen had a biopsy about a week and a half ago. The doctors were very positive and told her they thought it was benign and should be easy to treat. Of course they had to wait until the official results came in from the biopsy before they would know for sure. Well, this past Tuesday, Mary Ellen went in for a meeting with the doctor. She called me after. They pretty much told her that she had a tumor that could not be cured.

"How many kids do you have?" the doctor asked her.
"Three" she said.
"Don't have any more" he replied.

Wow. I didn't know what to say to my friend. They didn't give her any estimates on time, he just told her that he's never seen anyone live longer than 20 years with this type of tumor. They can't operate. That scar is from the biopsy surgery.



As I talked to Mary Ellen, I was amazed at her positive attitude. She said they went to get ice cream after the doctors appointment. Live it up, right!

So Mary Ellen is doing just that. Our friends from college all got together yesterday to spend some spiritual time at the Women's Conference at the Conference Center. We had so many friends there, some LDS, some not, but they all came together for Mary Ellen. We went to dinner afterwards and Mary stood up to thank all of us for our support. It's amazing and unfortunate that sometimes something so tragic has to happen to bring us all together.


With this happening to Mary Ellen, it has made me reflect on my own life. How would I live my life differently if I knew my time was limited? I hope that I can look at myself and improve my life. I hope I can be a better mom, better wife, better friend, daughter, etc. My friend Mary Ellen is a great example. I've never known anyone who enjoys life more. I hope that she can enjoy life for a long time to come.

What a Bunch of Posers

I don't know why we attempt to take a family picture every Fall. We seem to wait too long to catch any of the colors and then we settle for taking pictures where ever we can find parking. Such was the case yesterday. We actually thought we could still get the Fall leaves in the photo, but we were too late. The cold temps from earlier in the week had finished off the brilliant trees, and we were left with the same yellow as last year.

Color was really the least of our troubles with family pictures. Any of you who've taken pictures with small children know that it's about the same of trying convince a bunch of teenagers not to take their cell phones with them - anywhere. Kennedy has decided that she really doesn't want to smile in any picture she's in. She'll look at the ground, stick out her tongue, cross her eyes, anything but smile. Alex has a little case of distracted toddler and he can't sit still long enough for any kind of photo.

When it was all said and done we took 74 pictures yesterday and ended up with 2 family shots that are usable. The rest of the photos will make a blooper reel someday, but for now, here's the latest look at the family.

G 59

I was so close to redeeming the anniversary that wasn't yesterday. It was annual Employee Appreciation Day at the U, which meant another round at BINGO. Last year, you'll remember that I won a huge prize - Buy one get one free at the RV Park in St. George. I don't think I could top that, but I made a gallant effort. It was a blackout game for one free night at the Park City Marriott. The numbers kept coming and I was right on the cusp of a weekend getaway for Tara and me. B 2 O 74 I was in the zone. Only one number left G 59, come on G. The pressure mounted, then fell as I 19 was called and Blackout came from the crowd. Needless to say, no trip to Park City and I went out dejected over my loss at BINGO.

Change of Season

I know that I'm as ready as anyone for the weather to get cooler, but when Tara came back from the canyon and showed me the pictures a cold chill went down my spine. I don't want any part of the summer heat anymore, yet I don't think I'm prepared to see snow on a regular basis. Good thing we don't live at 7500 feet!

Precious in his Sight

Tara and I have been working off and on at teaching our kids about about the Gospel. Sometimes it works better than others. Last night we were having a short Family Home Evening (I know, I work late on Mondays) lesson about how Jesus loves little children. We used the painting, Precious in his Sight, as the object of the lesson. While talking about the picture Alex kept jumping towards at the image saying "Da-Da." I guess it's a good thing that Alex thinks I look like Jesus, but perhaps it's time for me to get a haircut.

10 Years Together

I know that anniversaries are supposed to be these really big deals where the world stops and a couple can celebrate their love, but it never seems to work that way. Yesterday was our 10th anniversary and it seemed like everything wore Tara and me out to the point that all we wanted to do was go to sleep.

I started the day teaching at BYU and ended it teaching the U. Both were great classes, but by the time I got home I'd been at work for about 15 hours and I was spent. Tara didn't get any break as well. She watched our kids and a neighbor all day and when I walked through the door I could tell she was done as well.

Long story - short. We didn't do anything to celebrate our 10th anniversary. No presents, no vacations, no - anything else people do on their anniversaries. The sad thing is I don't think either of us feel badly about the way the day turned out. Sure, it would have been nice to go away together or to buy one another a nice present, but we're not really in the position to do those things right now. We were comfortable with a simple dinner and the chance to have a couple of moments to relax after a long day.

The Honeymoon

Ten Years Later

1-2

I'll admit that I didn't think the Utes would beat UCLA last week, but I was blown over by the comments Jared sent me in an email earlier. It seems that Cougar fan was brimming with confidence about their team and the message boards on the Internet displayed their zeal too well.

(Note these were all prior to games on Saturday)

A sampling of comments from last week:

The Yewts are horrible...the Urban era was all you have ever had and
will have...face it! BYU rules collegiate sports in the state of
Utah!!!!

The school formerly known as Utah or "BYU lite" will not win this
weekend.

Since the Utes have no shot at running the ball on the Bruins, its
gonna be up to Grady to move the ball on offense... in other words,
the U better win at UNLV or they will start 0-4

I agree that UCLA is beatable.
But not by the Utes!
Get real Utah. Your season is OVER. You'll be lucky to win half of
your remaining schedule.

pretty much agree with everyone else, it sucks to be a u fan.
It really sucks.
I mean the u has the chance to be the suckiest bunch of sucks that
ever sucked.

The Utes are where they like to be. Great in their minds and stinkin
on the field.

UCLA will crush you... but good luck with the positive attitude!

What does it mean to be a true fan? Does it entail writing off your
team through the tough times? Should a true Ute fan only show up only
when the team is spouting sucess (i.e. Fiesta Bowl)? COME ON PEOPLE!!!

I understand that there are a bunch of Zoobies pretending to be Ute
fans in this comments section. They are trying to degrade our team and
bring us down. Let's come out and show our support for our Ute team on
Saturday and quit bickering about Ludwig, the offense, Wit, etc. I
don't think the team needs bickering right now. They need our true
support next game and for the rest of this struggling season.

Didn't the Meyer years and the year after produce the best recruiting
classes in Utah history? They should be a solid 2 deep team. Wish that
they were better this year. Its going to be embarassing for the state
and the conference this Sat and in Oct.

Ben Olson is going to light you up, he still has blue in him, can't
wait for that thrashing. I'd almost drive 10 hours just to see it in
person.

BYU will have +200 yards rushing. BYU's defense will weaken the Golden
Hurricane to a tropical depression. BYU wins 35-17.

This game will have some remarkable similarities to the Arizona game.
BYU's defense will dominate until Tulsa scores a flurry of points at
the end of the game. This won't matter because BYU will already have
controlled the line of scrimmage, the running game, and had several
key pass receptions (I'm seeing Collie and George starring in this
role in this game). BYU will struggle (again) in the kicking game.
However, the final score on Saturday night will be BYU 32 Tulsa 21.
(Stan you may refer to me as "the Swami" and Brian and all other
naysayers will refer to me as "Mr. Nostradamus". Thank You.

Brian, you're clueless. It won't be a high-scoring game- it's too hard
to score on BYU's defense. We gave up 7 points to UA and 20 offensive
points to UCLA, who both have superior athletes to Tulsa's. The ONLY
way Tulsa has a chance to win is by winning the turnover battle. If
the Coogers commit 3 turnovers again this week like last and Tulsa
plays mistake-free ball, I'd give you a chance. Otherwise, this is a
blowout.

I am a big Utah fan and I really dislike the team down south....but I
have to say go Cougs! We are suffering here in SLC and BYU can't lose
to a mid-major non-conference team. Beat the crap out of Tulsa.

If you bet like that in Wendover you'll come back broke. The Cougs
will win this game by three TDs. "Our" offense is just getting started
and this could be the breakout game. The Utes are a lost cause this
season, even when Johnson (who isn't that good) gets back in the game.
It'll be a miracle if he can last through the UNLV game. The Cougs
will run all over Tulsa's defense and the short pass will come up huge
for "us".

Last week was an awesome game. I wish we had won but I predict the
Coogers will go undeafeted the rest of the season. GO Coogers!!!!!!

Byu will win by at least 14. Their defense is too good for Tulsa to
score more than 21.

I so want to spend time and write an articulate and intelligent
comment, but why when 90% of what is written in response to this
article is moronic, stupid, or completely off subject.
No, I won't waste my time. For the 90% of you who have no clue, spare
the rest of us and go back to the UtahUte website and waste their
time, since obviously, you write as well as they play.

BYU made a good Arizona team look bad.
BYU could have beat UCLA, easily a top 10 team in the Rose Bowl.

Tulsa beat Bo Didly tech . . .
Tulsa will not be able to handle BYU's defense, and BYU's offense will
continue to improve.

Based on the fact the game is being played in Tulsa, I'll give them 3
extra points . . . final score, Tulsa - 10, BYU - 30.

Even when everything looks bleak as a Ute Fan you have a day like Saturday to make the world seem right. In case you don't follow sports the final scores on Saturday were UTAH 44 UCLA 6, Tulsa 55 byu 47. This leaves both teams at 1-2 for the season. Cougar fans kill me.

Alex the Destroyer

Alex likes to get into things, I should say Alex likes to get into everything. I know, I know it's the age. At 14 months he really isn't old enough to care about a lot of toys and he's figured out that the house has all kinds of fun surprises. We put child proof latches on all the cabinets in the kitchen, and we've baby proofed the living room. Still, there's one object that draws the constant attention of our little guy - the CD rack.

Back to Manti

I guess Manti has officially become our temple. We were married there, we've been sealed to our children there, and now we've gone a Ward Temple trip there. For the third straight year the Cottonwood 4th Ward has taken our act on the road. It's been a lot of fun for the Bishopric to plan these little excursions and I think the members have really enjoyed the trips as well.

I think one of the best parts of the trip each year is the bus ride. I know that I'm a big advocate of mass transit, but it's so relaxing to hop aboard a bus and let someone else worry about how we get there. I can sit back and listen to my iPod or talk to my neighbors. Yesterday I did a little of both. The audio for the day came from the recorded copy of Giving, by Bill Clinton. I didn't get very far into the book, but I like what I've listened to so far. The rest of trip was engaging conversation about religion, politics, and sports - what could better?

After trips to Vernal, Logan, and Manti I guess the question needs to be asked - where do we go from here? My idea is to head North to the Idaho Falls Temple, but we'll have to see if we can get the budget for a trip to the Laie Hawaiian Temple.....

Hey There Mac

Today the saga finally ended. On Aug 7th Apple announced the iMac redesign. New look, faster processor, more hard drive space, a much cooler machine. This was just the news we were waiting for. Tim and I immediately called our tech support and asked them to order each of us a new computer. The Apple website stated that delivery for the new machines was 1-3 business days. No problem, right. Wrong.

Since we work at the U, we are supposed to use the Bookstore as our Apple distributer. Shouldn't be a big deal, it was 2 weeks before school started and there wasn't a whole lot going on up at campus. So a week went by and we didn't think anything of it. Then two weeks went by and we wondered what was going on. Tech support said they thought they placed the order. The Bookstore wasn't sure an order was placed. We started to get supervisors involved. Still, no results. Three weeks, then four.

Finally, our division supervisor got involved and called the Bookstore this morning. The computers were finally ordered this week and the earliest we would see them was the 15th - of OCTOBER! It appears the iMacs were coming from China and there were delays in shipping. I could fly to China and get them myself before October 15th. Needless to say this didn't go over too well with our supervisor. Right after she got of the phone with the Bookstore we received the following call:

The Bookstore just told me that the soonest we could have the computers is the 15th of October. So, I canceled our order. I just got off the phone with the Apple Store at the Gateway. Go get your computers!

As you can imagine it didn't take us long to get down to the store, pick up the computers and start configuring them. They are really sweet. One thing about Apple, they make a great machine and it looks awesome! I guess I don't have any excuses for getting my work done!

Mountain Meadows

Tuesday marked the 150th anniversary of the Mountain Meadows Massacre. It's been an interesting event to witness here in the heart of Zion. Like so many people my age, I only heard about the massacre in the past 10 years or so. Even though I was raised in the Church and have studied a good deal of the history of the church I was surprised how little I knew about this tragic event. I know it's not something that people want to bring up and discuss, but there's always a problem when a group is unwilling to talk about part of their past.

I can't really say what made the members in Southern Utah commit such an atrocity. It certainly doesn't fall in line with anything in the doctrines of the Church and shouldn't be condoned by any members in the Church today. There are still a lot of unanswered questions that have been raised over the years: What was the provocation for the attack? How much did Brigham Young know about the event? Why would they kill women and children? What did John D. Lee do on his own and what was he instructed to do? I can't answer these questions, but it seems to me that the truth probably doesn't put many early church leaders in a good light.

I was really impressed by the memorial service that was held in Southern Utah. Elder Henry B. Eyring spoke and offered his love to all affected by the events of September 11, 1857. I really believe that the only way for true healing to take place is for the Church to acknowledge to tragedy and reach out the descendants of the Baker-Fincher party. I hope Tuesday's services were a step in the right direction.

In Memoriam

Dancing Queen

I vowed that I would not be that mom that stuck her kid in dance when she was 2. Well, here I am, eating my words. Kennedy started dance class last week. It all started a few months ago when we went to Chloe's dance recital and one of the little 2 year old classes danced to the song "I love being a princess" from the Backyardigans. (All you moms out there know the show and probably the song.) Anyway, ever since, Kennedy has been wanting to "dance like a princess" and practices almost daily in her not so quiet "talent shoes" as she calls them.


So last Tuesday, my not so petite little girl headed to dance class with her little pink outfit, tights and ballet shoes. She was a little shy at first with her teacher, Kasha, but was soon out there twirling and dancing like the little princess she is (or at least thinks she is.) I hate to make any predictions here, but I think Kennedy is going to end up like her mom, to big and clumsy for ballet and tap, but hopefully talented enough to play a little basketball or softball.

Bear Lake Fun

I know it is a week late, but I wanted to post about our Bear Lake trip. While growing up, my family went to Bear Lake every year. We started going with my mom's family even before I can remember. We spent hours on the beach with all the cousins, Aunts and Uncles and everyone in between. My Grandma Measom would help us make bracelets out of the tiny shells we would find on the beach. My Uncle Glade would bring full size candy bars from his store and we would eat until we got sick. One of my favorite trips to Bear Lake was when I was about 11 or 12 and there was a big storm that hit. After the storm, Jessica and I went to the beach and the waves were huge. The water was warm (Bear Lake is usually very cold) and we played for hours in those waves.



My family has tried to continue the tradition of Bear Lake and we still go almost every year. So we spent Labor Day weekend at Bear Lake with my family (only 41 people). Quite the crew and I was in charge of the vacation this year. After several different versions of who was going to sleep where and who was cooking what meals, and several hours on the phone, we made it.

The trip to Bear Lake consisted of Alex whining most of the way until I broke down and gave him a sucker, and Kennedy claiming that she didn't like Bear Lake and wanted to go home. I knew we would be fine if we could just get there! We made it at about 8:30 pm on Thursday (just in time to see the Utes lose) and once we were inside the condo with Grandma and Grandpa Houtz, Kennedy decided that Bear Lake was pretty cool.


As Jared has already posted, we spent most of the time at the beach, trying to stop Alex from eating the sand, and building sandcastles (although Kennedy spent most of her time trying to wreck the sandcastles.) We went to the playground, played on the grass, rode scooters and played mini golf. Mini golf is much more interesting when you have 8 kids under the age of 6 playing with you. We also had a great game of wiffle ball (Houtz family vs. the in-laws). I am glad to say that the Houtz crew pulled out the win after a slow start. I think that puts us at 2-0.


We had a great time at Bear Lake this year. The weather was perfect, the card games competitive and the company was fun. I love Bear Lake. I hope that it is a tradition that we can keep up as long as possible.

Choose Your Weapon

I am such a fan of Bill Simmons, the Sports Guy. Almost every Saturday I check out his articles from the previous week. One of the reasons I like his column so much is that he gives his readers a chance to share some of their finds on the web. Most of the best stuff comes off of YouTube - have I mentioned that YouTube may just be my favorite website. This week there was a classic commercial from my past. The Converse Weapon ad from 1986. I can still remember the debates back in 6th grade about which weapon boys were going to buy, Magic or Bird. Of course, later that year the Air Jordan's came out and the debate was over. Too Classic!

Birthday Wishes

I wanted to send out a couple of birthday shout-outs while I'm thinking about it. First, today's is my dad's 71st birthday. My dad is still pretty active for an old guy, although you'd never know it because the only pictures we take are of a sleeping Papa. I guess he needs a little extra rest to keep up with all the grandkids. Happy Birthday Dad!

The second birthday greeting is for the blog. Last week marked the second anniversary of the blog. It was an interesting year in the entries of blogdom. We changed names and dramatically changed the appearance of Half Truths and Mild Tales. I have to say that I think the changes have worked so far. Blogger keeps giving us new options which makes the whole experience a lot easier. Polls, Video, Banners, and more have all given me a chance to stop spending so much time in the code. So, after two years and 421 posts the blog is stronger than ever, I only wish the content was stronger than ever.

Last but not Least

So Alex is the last one to get the star treatment. Once you start you just can't stop. I actually had to use a couple of different pictures of Alex, since the first results came back with all women. I think it will work out this time with Paul Newman being a part of the list.

DeDe or Shirley?

After creating the look-alikes for both Tara and me, I guess it was time to make ones for the kids. Kennedy really has a lot of blondes in her collage; I love the comparison to Shirley Temple, not so sure about Jeff Daniels though....

Do I Really Look Like That?!

If Jared can show his other sides, I guess I can too. I don't know if I really like Jessica Alba, but I think it's better than John Ritter.

Part of the Crowd

I guess I need to follow in Chappo and Bryan's footsteps and compare myself to the celebrities. I have to laugh when those guys are compared to the likes of George Clooney and Mel Gibson and I look like Sonny Bono! Oh well, I suppose it's all in fun.

Going on a Bear Hunt

Another Houtz reunion has come and gone. This year Tara was in charge so we followed tradition and returned to Bear Lake. I have enjoyed every place we've gone over the past few years, but Bear Lake over Labor Day just seems like a Houtz trip. Everyone was able to come up for most, if not all of the weekend and it was perfect weather to spend time relaxing at the lake.


For us, the trip was a perfect chance for our kids to play with their cousins. Having just returned from a camping trip where Kennedy and Alex were the only kids, this was a BIG deal. Last week, we were the only form of entertainment and this week, there were about 10 kids to play with. Kennedy absolutely loved spending time at the lake. Even though she repeatedly said that she "wanted to go home" on the drive up, once we settled in she loved it. Playing in the sand and running in the water, she never wanted to go back to the condo. Even Alex enjoyed playing along the shore. Too bad he still thinks that everything goes in your mouth. He spent a good deal of the week with a sand goatee, but I guess that's life with a one year old boy.



The highlight of the trip was Aunt Char and the Bear Hunt. She repeatedly gathered together all the kids under 6 years old and had them sing and act out a cute little song about going on a bear hunt. I think by the end of the trip everyone could sing the lyrics. Still, watching Kennedy get excited to sing and play with her cousins made it all worth listening to the song a few too many times.


Watch the kids go on a Bear Hunt

I am amazed that the Houtz clan can pull off a trip every year with so many people. It is a testament to Lynn and June and the bond they've developed with their children. I think June told me that they've gone to Bear Lake about 40 times in the 50+ years they've been married. I guess it shouldn't surprise me that June wants to go to the beach every year. Where else can she spend 3 days in a bathing suit, sporting the "Granny 9" to all the beach goers.

All in all it was a fun trip. Everyone had the chance to relax over a long weekend and it was nice to spend time as a family. With Char in charge of the trip next year I'm sure you'll read about the 2008 Houtz Family Reunion at the Lake once again. And that's okay with me.