Farewell President Hinckley

Like many of you I am saddened at the passing of President Gordon B. Hinckley earlier this week. Even though he was showing the signs of his 97 years it always seemed that President Hinckley would live forever. For much of my life prophets were always so frail and worn down that President Hinckley's energy and zeal were inspiring. You thought he would never run down or take a break.

Even though I've lived through many different prophets (including three on my mission) I have always felt that President Hinckley was my prophet. He was always there, either as a counselor or as the prophet. His voice has been such a comfort and his sermons have touched me heart; changed my life. I never met President Hinckley, but I know I'll never forget him.

I was really touched today to watch a tribute to President Hinckley by talk show host, Glenn Beck. I may not like his program much, but his remarks about our beloved prophet spoke to my spirit. President Hinckley inspired us with simple messages: Be kind to one another, love each other, treat others as you would be treated. Farewell President Hinckley...

U23D 4 US

I have seen U2 in concert twice and each time it's been an amazing experience. U2's show is one to be witnessed live, complete with hard rocking tunes and inspiring commentary. All of things may be true, but a live concert also has it's draw back - bad sound, annoying concert goers, and cost. This leads us to U23D, a look back at U2's Vertigo tour in Central and South America. What an experience! I thought that the 3D could be a big miss, but I was wrong. I felt like I was actually at the concert. Every time that Bono and the boys moved or the crowd raised their arms in approval I thought I was actually there. The movie was a 15 song set which spanned U2's career, from New Year's Day to Vertigo. It was fun to see the band recapture their political edge, as the show had plenty of ideology to go along with the music. All that in 30 minutes, along with the chance to wear some pretty cool glasses.

After the movie, our group of six headed over to Spaghetti Mama's for dinner. Being the first time any of us had ever been there, we didn't quite know what to expect. I hadn't eaten lunch that day, so I was ready for some food. Upon reading the description of the Baked Lasagna it was time to eat. I quote: "You've heard of the Leaning Tower of Pisa? Wait 'til you've seen Mama's lasagna!" When my plate finally arrived, I thought it contained a grocery style sample of my dinner. Needless to say, the Leaning Tower of Pisa is safe and sound as the largest item in Italy.

Exploring Columbus

Since I returned home from Columbus a couple hours ago, I thought I better highlight the rest of the trip. No, the weather didn't improve - I think it actually got colder, and started to snow this morning. Yes, we still found things to do (especially since this is a TV conference and Tim and I don't really do much with KUEN).

After our workshop, I attended a session in which Autumn presented her work with NetSafe Utah. She did a great job, but I couldn't handle much more time with the outreach specialists - they were reaching out a bit far for me. So, Bryan came to our hotel and took us around his town. We saw German Town, with tons of great houses and a lot of neat old brick streets. Then we headed to The Ohio State University to see campus.



OSU was great. I can't believe how old everything on campus still feels. The U has been around about the same length of time, but it certainly doesn't have the nostalgia that came with Ohio St. We saw Bryan's office, and then headed towards the center of campus to check out Orton Hall, one of the oldest buildings on campus. Fortunately, there was a geocache at the hall, which helped me accomplish my goal of claiming a cache in Ohio. Bryan wasn't very impressed with the idea of caching in the cold.

After dropping Tim off at the hotel, Bryan and I headed out to his house for dinner. Along the way we stopped by the Columbus Temple (it's a pretty cool little temple, nestled on the end of a small street), and a candy store to pick up some Buckeyes for Tara. It was a lot of fun to spend time with Bryan, Ellie, Nora, and Andrew. The kids warmed right up to me - which was great since I was missing my little ones at home. I probably spent too much time at the Warnicks' since we talked until after 11 PM. It's so good to have friends to talk with, no matter where you are. After a long evening, Bryan dropped me back at the hotel around 11:30. Thanks for being my chauffeur (nothing's changed) and for showing me some good Midwest hospitality Bryan and family. It made my trip.

This morning Tim and I attended another session at the conference and then we decided to take an historic tour of the capital. What a cool building. With all the attention being paid to the renovation of the Utah capitol, it was fun to see how someone built their government center. Our guide answered all of our questions, but one: Why was this town named after Columbus? He only said it was because Columbus found our country - really?! There's got to be a better story than that. Still, it was fun to learn about the history of Ohio and see an incredible building.

After the tour, we took in a couple of local entertainment locations, and headed to the airport. Our trip was officially over. In the end, it was fun. Cold, certainly, but fun to enjoy another town and participate in a national conference. I'm glad I went, but next time let's do it in June.

A Vision for the Class of 2020

We finished our presentation at NETA this morning and I think it went pretty well. We planned to have about 60 people in the session and by the time we finished there were people standing along the walls to hear our content. It was great! Since this is conference for people involved in public television, we tried to show technology tools that they could use to reach their audience. Still, who doesn't want to know more about Google Tools, Internet resources, and other cool technology gadgets.

It was fun to present on a national stage. I think we do some great things at UEN and it's important to let people know about it. I'm really glad that Laura gave Tim and me the chance to get out of the office and share some of the great resources we've studied and the incredible programs we've created at UEN. I think our session was very valuable and it was cool to get the positive feedback from the audience at our session. If you want to hear some of the comments check out our presentation blog:

http://neta2008.blogspot.com

Introducing Kylie Ann

Yesterday Kennedy introduced me to her friend, Kylie Ann.

"She's standing next to me, mom," Kennedy said.

Oh, I see. Now we have pretend friend. Right now she's standing in the corner, according to Kennedy. Kind of freaky if you ask me.

Kennedy tells me she has black hair and is 3 years old. I guess this is normal for her age-I hope.

Anyway, introducing the newest member of our family-Kylie Ann.


Since I don't have a picture of Kylie Ann, I decided to include a picture of some of Kennedy's real friends, Saydi and Liam. They had fun playing today, even if they did have to compete with Kylie Ann.

Celebrating in Columbus

I decided that for my 33rd birthday I had to do something big - so I headed east to Columbus, Ohio. Isn't that what everyone does on their birthday?! Okay, so I'm presenting at the NETA conference tomorrow morning and today was our travel day. It was a fairly uneventful flight and we made it to the hotel without problems.

Columbus looks a bit like Salt Lake, but it is COLD here! It may say 26 degrees, but it feels like we're in the single digits. I've spent about an hour outside since I've been here and I need to get in a hot tub to warm up.

The best part of my trip was getting together with Bryan tonight. We met up for dinner at a local pizza joint and then headed over to The Ohio State University to watch a basketball game with Illinois. The game was nothing to write home about, but it was great to spend time with my friend and catch up about everything.


I guess it's time to go to bed, since it's already 12:39 EST, but my body feels like it isn't even 11 pm yet. Still, I know I'll feel it in the morning, when the alarm goes off at 5 am MST - WOW!!

Brand New Day

With a new year comes several new adventures. One thing that gets overlooked sometimes are the changes at Church. Today, we had a big change for our regular worship. Alex went into the Nursery this morning. I know that Tara hasn't been this excited to attend Church since Kennedy went to class a year and a half ago. The only difference was that Kennedy went into the Nursery and we got Alex four weeks later. Not much of a break.

Alex has become really restless over the past couple of months at Church, so the Nursery is a life saver. It seemed that we both spent as much time in the hallway, as we have in our meetings this winter. Still, it's not as bad for me since I sit on the stand and Tara is alone during Sacrament Meeting. At least Tara will get to listen for the first two hours each week.

Alex had a great time in Nursery. He loved playing with the other kids, spending time with the teachers, and listening to the music. It is so neat to see our little boy grow up and start to develop his own personality. Living in Kennedy's shadow can be difficult at times, but Alex is his own person and we love watching him shine.

Play Day

My friends and I were trying to get together for a shopping day last Saturday, but Jared had to work and it just wasn't working out. So being the good friends that they are, Angee and Pats came over for a play day. Between the three of us, we had 7 kids running around. Kennedy had a blast playing with all the girls and destroying her bedroom.

The older kids (us) played a little Guitar Hero. I've been playing for almost a month and just barely started playing the hard level. Angee had played one song and was already on the medium level. She's a natural! Now Patty on the other hand....

It was great to spend some time with my friends and all the little munchkins.

By the way, thanks, Ang, for the pictures. I stole them off of your blog. (Is that legal?)

It's been a Long Day

As I rolled over in bed this morning I wondered why I hadn't heard my alarm. I had it set so I could get up about 30 minutes before my ride was going to get to my house. Unfortunately, it hadn't gone off again and I had 10 minutes until the guys from work would arrive. Not the best start to the day. It's bad enough when you have to work on a Saturday, but it's even worse when you're running late.

Ross, Rob, and I taught down in Orem today at the Business teachers' winter conference. It is a good conference and all of us were excited that we were promised a free lunch when we finished teaching our sessions. I was hungry since I didn't get a chance to eat due to my late wake up call. When we arrived at the banquet room, spirits were high. That quickly ended when I saw we were having a potato bar for lunch. This followed the free dinner we had on Wednesday night for Ward Conference - soup and salad. Can we please get some meat - hamburger, spam, anything?!

I came home around 2pm and the bad karma continued as I watched the Nevada caucus results roll in, with Hilary scoring her second straight win. I guess crying in front of the New Hampshire voters is still carrying the Clinton camp. Obama scored higher than expected, but he really needs to take South Carolina to get back the momentum.

Finally, I sat down to watch the last few minutes of the Utah - byu game. Another disappointment. I haven't had much of a chance to watch the Utes this year, thanks again to the Mountain, but the end to today's game made me so upset, I'm glad I only read the box scores. The Utes stormed back to tie the score at 50 and then threw the game away in the last two minutes with missed free throws and no execution on offense. Why didn't Johnny Bryant just shoot the ball?!

All in all, it's been a Saturday to forget. At least it's a three day weekend, so I can still salvage the next two days, right?

U2 in 3D

I just heard about the new u2 concert film for IMAX and it looks incredible. If it's anything like Rattle and Hum, it's going be great. Anyone want to go?

Confessions of a Basketball Junkie

It's January again and that means a few harsh realities : the days are short, the temps are cold, and Ward Ball is back. The 4th Ward team looked pretty good as we've played on Saturday mornings for the past month or so. It didn't hurt that we were playing on a short court and the opponent was ourselves.

We started playing games in earnest three weeks ago and it didn't go very well for the first couple of games. Our first game was ended early after a hard foul (the worst part is we committed the hard foul), and the second game ended early after we had our score doubled (I think the final score was 64-33). Needless to say our confidence was low and our play was ugly.

Tonight things started to look up. I knew good things were in store when I was the tallest guy on the court. If our guys could play smart and take advantage of our size, we just might have a chance. Surprisingly enough, we did just that. I couldn't hit any long shots, but I was able to make a bunch of layups. Russ had a big game, and we held out just long enough to win by 14. Who cares that we played the worst team in the Stake - we finally got off the donut and earned a W. I think I'll celebrate with some well deserved ibuprofen and a good night's rest...

Plumbing 911

A couple of nights ago I encounter a clogged drain in the bathtub. This is a fairly common problem in our home. We're talking about original plumbing that's over 50 years old and it's living on borrowed time. Normally, we will try to clear the drain by forcing water through the system with a hose. For the 6 years we've owned the house, it's worked every time. Make that every time but one.

After trying to clean out the clog for an hour I figured it was time to go downstairs and see what I could do with the pipes. Our plumbing was set up with an interesting twist, a drum trap. Basically, it's a large cylinder where the drains empties originally, before going out through the main waste pipe. I don't know the wisdom in this system, since it goes against gravity and common sense.

I decided that I would try to empty the trap by loosening the cap with my giant plumbing wrench. After torquing the cap for a few minutes I thought I was making headway. That is until the leak started. The pipes were so old and corroded that I caused a leak by separating the pipes. Big problem.

You know you're in trouble when you call your plumber cousin at 9 o'clock at night and ask him what he's doing tomorrow. Fortunately, Chrys was able to come over the next day and two hours later the drum trap was gone and a new drain was in place. It would have gone faster if I hadn't bugged him with a ton of questions about what I could do to fix the plumbing problems in my house. He gave me some great tips and now it's time to see to see if I can become a do-it-yourself-er.

Book Club for Men

I can't believe it, but I am actually in a book club. For the past several years I've wanted to get into a club, I've even tried to beg my way into one or two, but each time I was rebuffed because the groups were "ladies only'". Why can't men join with a book club? Are the women discussing books, or is it more of a social activity? Regardless, the only way I could get into a book club was to start one myself.

A few months ago I mentioned how I was in an online discussion forum. Nothing major, just some friends I made through Jared Fawson. In one of the threads the topic of books came up and I saw this as my chance, I quickly suggested that we should pick one book a month and discuss it. I didn't use the term, "book club" for fear of being rejected by the female members of the group. Somehow everyone agreed, and a book was selected.

The first book we read was Speaking of Vegetables, I have Cancer by Stephanie Doyle. The best part about picking this one first is that Stephanie is a member of our group. How often does a book club get to read a selection and discuss it with the author? The book is an autobiographical look at Steph's bout with breast cancer in 2004. It is a funny book, examining how someone deals with "their cancer" and all the framework surrounding a major illness. Since the book is about 60 pages long, it's a quick read and well worth the time.

So, I guess that since I've started this book club, I better start reading a little more. Anyone know of a good book for next month?

Haircuts for Two

Monday brought another trip to Char's house and haircuts for the kids. Alex has been looking like an orphan lately with his hair and Kennedy screams so loud when I comb her hair I'm afraid DCFS will be calling soon. So I asked Cari to give the kids their first haircut.

Alex went first since Kennedy thought it was going to hurt to have her hair cut. Alex did pretty well for his first haircut. He squirmed and wiggled a lot, but we made it through with the help of Dakota and Char keeping him entertained. His hair is pretty short and Jared keeps calling him Butch, but I think he looks pretty dang cute.


After Char showed Kennedy several times that it didn't hurt to cut hair by randomly snipping pieces of her own hair and Ca's hair, she was ready. Kennedy sat on my lap and did a great job sitting still for Cari. She actually loved getting her hair cut even though you can't tell by the look on her face. She has told me several times that she wants another haircut. I might consider it, since she still screams at the top of her lungs when I comb it.


Thanks, Cari, for the haircuts and doing such a great job!

Peace and Quiet

One of my favorite aspects to riding the bus to work is the chance to read a book for about an hour a day. Some may ask how you can read with other people around you? It's actually pretty easy. Most people riding the bus are trying to do the same thing you are. It's almost as if there's an unwritten code that you leave people alone to do what they want to do on their trip.

Occasionally, you'll find that there is a person who breaks the rule, but you can quickly resolve the situation by putting in your ear buds, regardless if you have music playing or not - that's my favorite trick. What do you do when it's the driver who wants to chat?

Over the past month I've had a couple of eccentric drivers who think the ride is all about them. On the ride home we had the Song Bird, who chimed in about each stop in a lyrical fashion. He also complained about everyone else on the road, so the singing was a welcome change of pace. For the past two days I've had a morning driver who has given himself the title of the Trivia Driver. He insists on boring us with useless facts about whatever he heard on NPR that morning. Now, I like trivia more than most, but I don't want to be forced to listen to someone drone on and on whether you like it or not. It's hard to believe but there are days when I think I'd rather drive - at least then I can travel home in silence.

I'm a Partial Geek

I came across a fun site today at work that let's you take quizzes on various topics (My favorites were: how many 5 year olds could you take in a fight, how addicted are you to your Mac, and what are your chances of surviving a zombie apocalypse). I chose one about being a geek. After taking the quiz, I've learned that I am no where near as "geeky" as I had originally thought.


51% Geek

Jesus wants me for a Sunbeam

We had a major milestone in Kennedy's life today. Our little girl has officially left Nursery and entered Primary as a Sunbeam. Now, Dede doesn't always deal well with change, so we've been talking about going into Primary for a couple of weeks. She sounded excited, but with a three year old you never know what's going to happen.

Things started out well. As soon as she entered the room, the Sunbeams were introduced and she stood up with the other kids. After that Tara and I left to attend our classes. I didn't hear about the day until getting home a few hours later.

Apparently, Kennedy was a little sad to be in her new surroundings and started to cry in class. No big deal, just a few tears. That is, until the class went to get a drink and she saw Tara in the hallway. It took about 5 minutes to compose our new Sunbeam. Still, she eventually went back into class and she survived the rest of the day.

The best I got out of Dede is a simple, "Primary was fun", when I asked if she liked her new class. I guess that's better than a lot of things she could have said. All I know is that I hope Dede wants to be a Sunbeam, cause her mom and I sure want her to be one.

Christmas is Over?

One of the duties of being in the Bishopric is writing an article for the ward newsletter every third month. Normally, my article isn't really blog worthy, but I like the theme from this article and thought I'd share it with you.

The holiday rush is over. Life is getting back into more familiar routines. The students are back in school and the rest of us are back at work. As we look back on the past month, many of us will feel a sense of sadness at the end of the Christmas season. January may be the beginning to the “winter blues” that many experience. The question needs to be asked, “What changed as the calendar crossed from December to January?”

“The Christmas spirit is gone from our hearts and homes,” comes the reply. The Christmas spirit that was in your hearts in December is the spirit of Christ, and it can exist within our homes all year long. Alma addressed this issue when we asked each of us if we had experienced a change or heart or a desire to come unto Christ.

“And now behold, I ask of you, my brethren of the church, have ye spiritually been born of God? Have ye received his image in your countenances, Have ye experienced this mighty change in your hearts?” (Alma 5:14).

During December each of us does a few things that bring Christ into our homes. We display images of the nativity, which remind us of His birth. We sing songs of His arrival and glory in His Eternal mission. We read of Christ’s birth and marvel at the wonders regarding His humble beginnings. We spend time with friends and family, sharing in the love that can exist within our Eternal families. We give of ourselves, and the spirit of Christ is manifest in our sacrifice for one another.

Regardless of how much we love Christmas, eventually the nativities are put away, the tree comes down, and the lights go back in their boxes. Still, the spirit that we’ve felt for the past month doesn’t have to leave us. We can still display images of our Savior in our homes. We can still sing songs that remind us of His divine mission. We can read of His words and those of His prophets and follow His counsel. We can enjoy time with friends and family, sharing our testimonies of Him who brings us joy. We can still give of ourselves and make our world one of peace and harmony.

“And now behold, I say unto you, my brethren, if ye have experienced a change of heart, and if ye have felt to sing the song of redeeming love, I would ask, can ye feel so now?” (Alma 5:26)

Alma understood that once Christ enters into your life he needs to become a permanent fixture. Not like the ornaments that are boxed up in the garage, or the music that we sing for one month a year. No, Christ is our Lord and Savior; let’s make room for Him in our lives year round.

Obama: Hope in Iowa

As I watched the results coming in from Iowa last night I was even more impressed with Barack Obama. He took a close contest and turned it into a comfortable victory. How? He reached out to everyone: democrat, independent, even a few republicans and gave them hope.

A commentator on CNN made an important comparison between Obama and Hilary - saying that when people leave a speech by Clinton they comment about how smart she is. When they leave a speech by Obama they talk about how inspired they are. Don't we want a President who can inspire us to greatness?

New Look for a New Year

I decided to change the color scheme on the blog for the new year. Nothing against the red, black, and tan look from last year (it was a good Utes scheme), but you've just got to mix things up now and again. I really like the layout for the page, so I'm not ready to do anything drastic. Still, your blog should be like your hair - solid style, with a ability to adapt to an occasional whim. What do you think?

Ring In the New Year

I can't believe we made it to midnight last night. In fact, we were still going strong until around 2 am. When is the last time you stayed up past 2 am? I think it's been years for me, and judging from the way I feel today, I know why I go to bed before midnight. It's safe to say I'll never be called a Night Owl.

For New Year's we may have gone to my sister's house for soup and appetizers, but the main course for the evening was Guitar Hero. We started playing around 8 pm and didn't turn the game off until 1:30 am. It's fun to get the hang of the game and even better to stay on stage (without getting booed).

As surprising as it was to stay up past midnight, I was even more shocked that Dede made it right along with us. She was playing with all the little girls at the party and she did not want to go to bed. Kennedy even joined in the celebration at midnight by giving Tara and me a New Year's kiss.

Even though Alex missed the New Year at midnight, he woke up around 1 am and was ready to party! I guess a power nap helps everyone. He was so wired that we had trouble getting him down and so he had to cry himself to sleep. Not the best beginning to 2008, but there wasn't much else we could do.

2007 was a great year and I'm sorry to see it end. Our family really had some fun times and it's been fun to watch our kids grow up. Still, I look forward to 2008 and the adventures that lay in store. From Kennedy starting pre-school, to Alex discovering his voice it will certainly be an interesting year.