Halloween Fun

I'm sure after you read about our strict disciplinarian stance and the Trunk or Treat you all wondered whether or not Kennedy would even be allowed to celebrate Halloween this year. The answer was a resounding YES! Even if our holiday season didn't get off to the best start, the kids were able to join their friends in the neighborhood in search of adventure and fun size snickers.

Since I took a couple hours off work today, we took advantage of the time to create the family in pumpkin form. They say that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, so I guess having a bunch of gourds that resemble the clan is a good thing. Our papa pumpkin was definitely carved to match the shaky weekend we had with a 24 hour bug that Tara and I picked up.

After a brief party at my sister's house it was out to the streets for our little duck and witch combo. Tara took the kids out with some of the neighbors and they had a great time begging treats off of kind people around us. I think Kennedy is finally starting to become interested in making a good haul. Last year we quit trick or treating after about 4 houses. This year the kids and Tara made it all the way onto another street. At this rate we'll make it through the entire block by next year! I can't say I'm upset at the limited number of requests though. We have enough candy to last through Christmas.

I think everyone had a good time with this Halloween. The kids liked their costumes (even if Alex had a "hand me down" from two years ago), Tara and I were able to socialize with friends and family, and, most importantly, there were plenty of leftovers from our Trick or Treat bowl! Happy Halloween Everyone!

Going on a Witch Hunt

We have had some fun this Halloween season with witches. Last Saturday, some ladies in our neighborhood got together for a little "witches tea." This has become an annual thing for us and it's always fun to have some good food and and adult conversation for a couple of hours with some of the local witches.


A few days before that, we spent a couple of hours with my friend Strawberri and her kids at Gardner Village, looking for some witches. It was all worth it when we found the witches and the kids got a pumpkin cookie from the local bakery. The kids also had fun riding the pony and going to the petting zoo.




You might remember that in August, we went on a bear hunt with Aunt Char at Bear Lake. Yesterday, the bear hunt became a witch hunt. My sister Char used to dress up every Halloween as a witch and I have to tell you, she was pretty convincing. She has the cackle, warts and all. It's been a few years since we have seen the witch, so Char had a little party on Monday to bring out the wicked witch one last time and to try and scare the little ones in the family. After a fun witch hunt song and some nervous kids, the cackling witch entered and needless to say, Kennedy was petrified. She just about choked me to death trying to get away from the scary witch and was screaming like crazy. I thought she would get over it, but after about an hour of whining and crying, I realized that Kennedy was not going to join the other kids as they played games and decorated cookies with the witch. So as any great mom would do, I stuck her upstairs with a video and her blankie. It wasn't until the witch costume came off later that Kennedy decided she could enjoy the party. What can I say, my child is a wimp.

Trunk or Treat

Alex the Duck had a quacking good time at the annual Trunk or Treat earlier tonight. I love any event that allows us (the Mormons) to open our doors to everyone in the neighborhood to just be friends. There are too many walls which divide our streets and the best way to break those down is our kids. And everyone loves the Trunk or Treat - who wouldn't? Tons of candy, dressing up early, games, and a free meal - sounds like a pretty good deal to me.

Unfortunately, not everyone had a chance to participate in the festivities. Kennedy wasn't invited to the Trunk of Treat this year. No, she's not on the banned from the 4th Ward list - note, this list does not exist, at least I've never seen it. If you look closely at the picture of Alex you'll quickly see why Kennedy didn't make the event. I guess on Monday she decided to go Catwoman on Alex's little face and she needed to have a consequence. Timeout just wasn't enough. It almost killed us to tell Kennedy that Alex and I would go to the Trunk of Treat and she would have to stay home with Mommy. Just imagine the wailing on that one. Still, I think Tara got the Ward's vote for parent of the year when they saw Alex and learned why they didn't see Kennedy.

Clowning Around

Since I was at UEA all afternoon I couldn't pass up a photo op with an old friend...

Diary of a Red Sox Fan

The Red Sox won the World Series!!! For the second time in four years the Boston Red Sox are the best team in baseball. Who would've guessed when the BoSox were down 1-3 to the Indians that we'd be talking about a sweep in the World Series. It wasn't' even much of a contest with the Rockies only leading for 3 innings for the entire series. I guess once Boston got going there wasn't anything or anyone to keep them from the crown.

The funny thing is you'd think that I would be ecstatic over watching my team winning another championship, but there seems to be something different this time. I don't know if it's simply that there wasn't an 86 year gap between titles. Maybe it's due to the fact that the Yankees weren't part of the run this year? I don't think that's it. The truth of it comes down to the fact that there's only one first time. It doesn't matter whether it's sports, love, travel, whatever - you can only experience something for the first time, once. In 2004 and for the first time in my life the Red Sox had won the World Series. Nothing can rival watching a team overcome 20 years of frustration (during my time) to win it all. For most people it doesn't seem like it's that big of a deal, but I can only say that watching the Jazz win the NBA is the only thing that could compare. Can you imagine Utah when that finally happens?

I'm happy the Red Sox met expectations this year and won it all, but I'm sad to see the season end. It's been fun to watch Manny, Big Papi, Pedroia, Tek, Lowell, Youk, Schill, and the rest play everyday. Heck, we even got to see them twice in person this year. 2007 will always be a nice memory as the year the Sox led from wire to wire and finally put the underdog role to rest. Whether I like it or not, the Red Sox have become one of the true Big Boys in baseball - if it means more championships I guess I can live with that....

Overnighter

With all of our attempts to get Denver gone by the wayside, Tara and I decided to take advantage of some extra babysitters - my mom and dad are still in town - and head to the hills. As you may recall our 10th Anniversary came and went without much notice, so this was our chance to get away. So, we went to a movie (Dan in Real Life - great film if you get the opportunity), ate at a restaurant (since we've had kids if there wasn't takeout we didn't go), and rented a room (the Mountain Retreat at Snowbird - Board, Breakfast and a Tram ride, not bad for $116).

We had a lot of fun. It's rare to get away, even if it's only for a night and we're only 20 minutes from home - it was great. To be honest we didn't even do that much, I think I fell asleep by 10:30. Still, both of us recharged the batteries and realized that we can still have fun on our own. Not bad for a couple of 30Somethings...

Workman's Comp

Earlier today I took advantage of the day off to complete a little project I've been meaning to get to for a while. Don't ask me why, but every Saturday for the past month we've had rain. Not storms, just showers - but enough to keep me from mixing up some cement. Today we had clear skies and I had a couple of helpers, Coleton and my dad, to cement in a board in the driveway.

Here's the problem with my help. When we were just about finished with the job we had a medical emergency. Without warning my Dad suddenly sprung a leak and before we knew it, we had a bleeder on our hands. Needless to say we don't have any workman's comp at our home, so I'll have to work solo from now on.

Diary of a Red Sox Fan

As much tension and pressure as I felt during the series with the Indians, that's how comfortable and relaxed I am in the series with the Rockies. I don't know what it is, but the Sox really seem to have an edge in this matchup. Over the first two games Boston has outscored Colorado 15 -2 and they hold a commanding 2-0 lead in the World Series. Even if our attempts to get tickets to game 3 didn't really work out (we'll be watching on T.V. ) I have a good sense that the Red Sox may be finishing off this series in 5 or 6 games. It's a little weird to have the team we've watched so long on the verge of winning it all. After so many years of frustration, I don't know how to handle the idea of the Sox winning 2 titles in 4 years. The last championship kinda snuck up on everyone after the Yankees comeback, but this year it's been a slow and steady ride to the top. All I know is that if Boston keeps playing the way they have over the past week, we'll be watching a parade going right down Yawkee Way in a couple of days. Let's go Red Sox.

The Way We Saw It

A couple of months ago Jared Fawson invited me to participate in a discussion group with some friends of his. Since Jared and I have great conversations about a variety of topics I thought it would be interesting to see what other people he knows talk about (it can't be all sports - can it?). So The Way I See It was formed through Google Groups and the banter began. There are about 10 or so in the group and we all come from different backgrounds and opinions (I've decided that my thoughts tend to be in the minority, especially politically).

Earlier we had a little gathering with most of the group in attendance. Nothing major, just a chance to put names and faces together. It was a lot of fun. Even though I didn't really know anyone besides Jared and Janalynn, I've enjoyed learning about everyone else online and they're just as interesting in person.

The big surprise of the night came when I learned that one person in the group, Sandra, was someone I'd met before. I was shocked when she came up to me at the beginning of the night and asked if I had worked at Raging Waters about 10 years ago. That's not something you hear everyday! Still, after talking for a while I remembered that Sandra was one of the office staff at the Rage. It's been years since I've thought about that college job. It was great to see her again and to catch up on a few old friends. In case you don't recognize the skinny guy, that was me with Pete Harmon (owner of the world's first KFC). What a great blast from the past!

Now that I've met everyone, I guess now I'll have to open up and share the real Jared. I've been laying low and looking not to offend a bunch of strangers. I don't mind offending people I know.

No Luck

I spent two hours yesterday working at getting tickets from the Rockies website. After seeing the same screen refresh for the millionth time I finally learned that tickets were sold out. I guess I'll have to check through a couple other leads I have. You know the kind - I know a guy who knows a guy.....

No Wonder

At 10 am this morning I rushed to my computer in hopes of buying tickets to Game 3 this weekend in Denver. I tried and tried but couldn't get into the system. Tickets were probably gone by 11, or so I thought until I read the following message on the Rockies website.

This morning, after more than 8.5 million hits on the Colorado Rockies website, Paciolan (Pack-ee-o-lan), Major League Baseball's ticket vendor, experienced a system wide outage that impacted all of its North American customers. As a result, the Colorado Rockies have suspended the sale of 2007 World Series tickets scheduled to be played at Coors Field.

"It's been an extremely frustrating morning for our fans and the entire Rockies' organization," said Keli McGregor, Rockies' team president. "We are working diligently with Major League Baseball and Paciolan to resolve the issues impacting online ticket sales for the 2007 World Series."

Although some ticket transactions (less than 500 seats) did take place this morning, virtually the entire allotment for all three games of the World Series scheduled for Coors Field remains intact. A plan for the sale of the available World Series tickets will be announced as soon as the details are available.

I know it's a long shot to get tickets, but to quote Lloyd from Dumb and Dumber:




"So you're saying there's a chance."

Diary of a Red Sox Fan

All I can say is unbelievable!!! After the Red Sox offensive disappeared in games 3 & 4 in Cleveland I thought the series was over. 65 times a team had led a best of seven series in MLB history, 55 times they had won the series. I can honestly say that I gave Boston less than a 10% chance to come back against Cleveland (and that's only because of 2004). The Red Sox looked finished. I really thought that I had jinxed the team with my declaration that I would attend the World Series when the Sox played the Rockies. Everything was against Boston.

Still, game 5 was all Josh Beckett. The Indians barely got any hits after the first inning and the Sox won 7-1. The odds were looked in our favor. With Schilling pitching game 6 and the home crowd cheering on the struggling hitters the Red Sox pounded the Tribe 12-2. I even thought I could switch the Karma by attending Stake Conference instead of watching the game. Brilliant move on our parts. When we left it was 4-1 Boston and by the time we got home it was 10-1.

Last night was game 7 and it all came down to Dice K. All season long he has been a source of frustration to Red Sox fans. Immmensely talented, but terribly inconsistent his record certainly didn't warrant the $100 million Boston shelled out to get him. I'm not going to say he earned all his money last night, but he managed to get out of the 5th inning with a one run lead. The game was intense with the Sox clinging to that lead into the bottom of the 7th. Cleveland had multiple chances to tie the game or take the lead, but it was to no avail. Finally, Boston broke through on the bat of Dustin Pedroia. In the final two innings he would have a homer and a double with 5 rbi's. What was a 3-2 lead turned into an 11-2 rout. The Sox are back in the World Series!! Now if I can only get tickets to Coors Field and game 3. Wish me luck they go on sell tomorrow.

Dancing with the Star

When Kennedy gets in front of a crowd there's a 50/50 chance that she'll open up and show her incredible personality. The other half of the time she becomes extremely shy and won't even move. Last night we saw both sides of Dede. For the past month Kennedy has been taking a basic dance class. She has absolutely loved the class and really had fun shaking her stuff. The Halloween performance was yesterday and Kennedy did a great job. She may not have known all the moves, but she was very into the performance. She followed the teacher's lead and even interacted with the audience a time or two. That was the first time they did the dance.

The second time they performed "Dem Bones" Kennedy was done. She stood in front of the crowd and barely moved. Until she decided to pick her nose that is. That's when she really engaged the crowd. Oh well, what do you expect from a two year old. Tara and I were really proud of her and I'm so happy that she's having a good time. Who knows maybe she be a future Dancing with the Stars competitor....

Familiar Faces

Maybe this is one of those pictures that only makes sense to people in Utah. Let's see how many of you recognize this pair of local celebrities. If you don't know who they are perhaps it's time to renew your recommend....

It Hurts When I do This

As part of my duties in the Bishopric every Tuesday night we go out visiting members of the Ward. Since a large portion of our population is over 60, a good number of our visits are to older singles. I think it's great to go out and visit those who spend the better portion of their days alone. Still, there are times when I don't have a lot to contribute to the conversation on these visits. Take last night for example. We visited three older sisters and the talk centered around aging and illness. This isn't uncommon for our visits, but it was particularly obvious this time. After we left our final appointment I thought I should make a list of the various ailments we discussed during our three and half hours of visiting. In no particular order:

• Shingles
• Knee Replacement
• Brain Surgery
• Adjusting a Shunt
• Open Wounds
• Bifocals
• Trifocals (You knew it was coming)
• Support Hose
• Thyroid Abnormalities
• Hair Loss
• Loss of Balance
• Loss of Appetite
• Lack of Circulation
• Diabetes
• High Blood Pressure
• Strokes
• Old Age

All in all a pretty standard evening when you make house calls.

Another Amazing Race

It had been a year and a half since we last held the Amazing Race in the Jordan School District (JSD), and that's a year too long. This is one of my favorite parts of working at UEN - I love getting out and having fun with teachers. The JSD is full of wonderful teachers and I've really enjoyed setting up these GPS obstacle courses for them. Today we went even further with the challenges and the course to the enjoyment of all involved.

Last year the race centered on locations just in the Jordan area, this time we took the teachers on a race around town. Naturally you want to "one up" what we did last time, so we added a few new wrinkles into the mix. Rather than have participants use so much gas and time driving around, this year everyone rode TRAX downtown to reach our various locations. We also threw in a new physical challenge this year: the rock wall.

Each team was assigned a country to represent during the race so when they reached Momentum and the rock wall the challenge was simple: climb the wall to retrieve your country's flag and the next coordinate. It was a blast! Teams were able to bond and build memories through this great challenge of endurance and determination. It was incredible to watch some of the teams as their member struggled to reach the summit and grab the flag. It was the highlight of the day. Of course I had to go up the wall since I was there. It was a lot harder than I thought - my forearms are pretty sore...

What a great day to be involved with teachers and technology. Everyone had fun, they learned some new things about their town, they got to use GPS units in some exciting ways, and the schools bonded in a unique and memorable way. I can't wait for the next Amazing Race!

Diary of a Red Sox Fan

Since I lasted posted about the Sox they've polished off the Angels in a 3-0 sweep and already won game one against the Cleveland Indians. That's right I did say the Indians. As much as everyone wanted to see a yankees / Red Sox ALCS I am extremely happy to see the Indians in the visitors' dugout. I think we're the team to beat, but it's a good thing to know that ny won't even have a chance against us this year.

The Sox are on fire right now. Four straight wins and the pitching has been dominant. Both Beckett and Schilling didn't allow a run in the first round and Dice K only gave up 3 in his start (this is a huge improvement from his 8+ ERA in September). As good as the pitching has been, the real story of the playoffs is Manny and Papi. Through the first four games the Dynamic Duo has been up 36 times and they've reached based on 29 of those appearances! They're hitting .632 with four home runs (two each), nine RBI, 15 walks, and 12 runs scored. Where were those numbers Jeter and ARod?!

There's still a lot of series left, but the Sox have a good chance to return to the World Series. I don't want to jinx it, but if the Sox and Rockies make the Series I'm finding a way to Denver for game 3. It's still early, but you never know. Let's go Red Sox!

Photoshop Fun

I've spent the last couple of days teaching some Photoshop basics up in Brigham City, so I thought I'd play around with a recent picture taken of Alex playing outside in the grass.

Conference Recap

Like many of you my weekend was spent watching General Conference. I like conference for two reasons: the chance to worship in your pj's, and the opportunity to hear from inspired men and women. This conference was like the rest in that there were great talks and beautiful music, but it was unique in the fact that we would learn about the new counselor in the First Presidency and a new Apostle.

If you checked the blog last week, you saw the poll about which of the Twelve may become 2nd Counselor. The poll declared a tie between Elder Ballard and Elder Eyring, but the tie was broken on Saturday when President Hinckley named President Eyring the new counselor. Even though he wasn't my vote in the poll I was extremely happy with the choice. If I had one major thought about this conference it was that Elder Eyring truly assumed the mantle of President Eyring. Each talk he gave demonstrated his intelligence and compassion. His ability to share the doctrine, as well as his tender heart. He was great.

As we head back to church this week I need to make some suggestions for the next six months of Teachings for our Times. Here are a few of the talks and speakers that made an impression on me.

• Elder Donald L. Hallstrom - Will you ever forget the image of Easy Street and the Dead End?


• Elder Spencer J. Condie - I loved the line: "And GOD remembered Rachel."


• Sister Julie B. Beck - Mothers Who Know


• Elder Dallin H. Oaks - Trying to choose things that aren't just good, they're better.


• President Henry B. Eyring - Both of his talks, one about living up to our callings and the other about writing down the spiritual events in our lives.

So what about you? Which talks would you suggest?

What's Grosser than Gross?

I read a blog called Dumb Little Man from time to time. Generally, it's full of dumb little hints about living as a man. Today I was totally engrossed (pun intended) by the topic of keyboard cleanliness.

2,202,060How Many Germs Live On Your Keyboard?

That's equivalent to the number of germs on 440 toilet seats. Yuck!

Pick and Choose

I just found a great link (thanks Annie) to a Candidate Quiz for 2008. Regardless of which candidate you think you support, this quiz gives you a reality check as to which candidates' views you actually agree with.

	Dennis Kucinich Score: 32	Agree Iraq Immigration Taxes Stem-Cell Research Health Care Social Security Energy Death Penalty	Disagree Abortion Line-Item Veto Marriage
-- Take the Quiz! --

In spite of my results, I think I'll stick with Barack Obama.

On a Magic Carpet Ride

For the past few years Austin has been quite the actor. In fact I think he's been in about 4 local plays. As much as we've wanted to go to every play he's been in, something's happened each time and we've never made it. Until Friday that is. Tara and Kennedy went to see Aladdin, with Austin playing the role of the Genie. I can't think of a better part for him. Kennedy absolutely loved the play! She sat mesmerized for the entire hour and a half. When it was over she couldn't wait to go up and congratulate her cousin on a job well done.

While Tara and Kennedy were at the play, Alex and I were at Grandma and Grandpa Houtz' house holding down the fort. Alex is too young to try and take to a play and rather than stand around in the hallway I volunteered to stay back and watch him. Of course, it didn't hurt matters that the Red Sox and the Utes were both playing Friday night. The last time I wrote about both teams playing on the same day it didn't go very well, but this time it was totally different. The Utes won 44-35 and their offense really showed up. It was great because no one was giving the Utes a chance against Louisville, who started the season in the top ten. Needless to say the Utes tend to step it up against the national opponents, too bad they can't do the same against the local teams.

The Red Sox game was a real nail bitter, with the score deadlocked at three for much of the game. Now that it's the playoffs it seems as though everything is magnified and with each passing inning the tension increased. Tara and Kennedy came back during the 8th inning and everyone was ready to head up to the cabin for the night. I knew I couldn't leave with the game tied. I asked someone to leave me a car and I would be up as soon as the game ended. It didn't take long to make good on my promise. With two out and two on in the bottom of the 9th Manny Ramirez ended things with one swing of the bat...

Only on Campus

As we walked back to the office the other day we came across the remnants of a crowd near the Union. Apparently there was a group of students on campus who were looking out for the welfare of our souls. I guess I should say that it wasn't they who were interested in my soul bur rather, "Jesus deserves my soul." At least that's what their whiteboard said. I love the diversity of opinions on campus. Everyone should have a chance to express themselves and it's great to witness a little heated debate about the nature of salvation. I guess it's better than talking about politics.

Let's Go Red Sox

Alex and the rest of our family wish the Red Sox luck in the playoffs this year. As the 2007 American League champs, the Sox appear poised for a deep run into October. Like always it may just come down to how well we play against the Yankees - even though I like our chances better in the 1st round than theirs. I guess we'll just have to wait and see what happens. Let's hope Boston can return to the glory of 2004 and not the despair of 03', 86', 75', 67'....

Fantasyland

I've often been accused of living in my own world, but for a few minutes each day I'm actually in Fantasyland. I've discussed my obsession with fantasy sports for some time; still yesterday it reached another level. I was in the championship of the fantasy baseball league and it was down to the last day of play. My team had led the championship for the entire two weeks and on the penultimate (nice 5 dollar word) day of competition the lead had shrunk in half. Before anyone was awake I spent an hour or so pouring over the stats, desperately trying to set my lineup for the final day. When Tara came into the room I asked her what she thought I should do.

"With what - your fantasy team?"

Do you think I should start another pitcher?

"Jared, I don't really care, but I've been awake for about 30 minutes and all you've talked about is fantasy baseball. You need to get a life."

I couldn't argue with her logic, but I needed to finish up with a win. Finally, I went off to get ready for Church. As I left for the day, I made one last stop at the computer, changed my lineup again, and went to meetings. There wasn't anything else I could do.

As I came through the door after Church was over the MLB season was complete. All the stewing from the morning was meaningless and the championship was decided. In the end all the stress was trivial and the league championship was mine. I can't really say that I'm too excited with the win. I'm just relieved that I didn't lose.