The Final Four is set, and Tara is the NCAA Star once again. I don't like her strategy, but she certainly does well in the brackets. Every year Tara picks the higher seeds (she may mix in an occasional upset) and for the past two years she wins the pool. I think it's a sound strategy, but I hate the idea of rooting for the favorites to win. It's Un-American! Of course this year the 4 number one seeds made it to San Antonio (it's the first time that all the #1 seeds made the final four), so Tara looks like a genius. Meanwhile, I'm in 8th place due to my pick of Tennessee over North Carolina. Arrgh. I think the only chance I have to win a bracket is if I can get Alex to take our Utes to the top!
3/31/08
NCAA Star
The Final Four is set, and Tara is the NCAA Star once again. I don't like her strategy, but she certainly does well in the brackets. Every year Tara picks the higher seeds (she may mix in an occasional upset) and for the past two years she wins the pool. I think it's a sound strategy, but I hate the idea of rooting for the favorites to win. It's Un-American! Of course this year the 4 number one seeds made it to San Antonio (it's the first time that all the #1 seeds made the final four), so Tara looks like a genius. Meanwhile, I'm in 8th place due to my pick of Tennessee over North Carolina. Arrgh. I think the only chance I have to win a bracket is if I can get Alex to take our Utes to the top!
3/30/08
First Prayer
Kennedy gave her first prayer in Primary today. We talked about it this morning and I gave her a few ideas of what to say. I asked her if she wanted help and she said "no". So up she went to the microphone (she was pretty excited to talk into the microphone), and she gave her little prayer. She said she was thankful for primary, thankful that we could sing and thankful that we could go back to her house. I'm not sure what she meant with that last comment unless she was hoping we didn't have to spend all 3 hours at church. (I know I sometimes wish for that!)
I have to admit I was proud of my little girl. She didn't need any help and I thought she gave a very nice prayer, for a 3 year old.
I tried to catch a picture of Kennedy after church in her dress, but they didn't turn out, so I put up this cute picture that I took of her on Easter.
I have to admit I was proud of my little girl. She didn't need any help and I thought she gave a very nice prayer, for a 3 year old.
I tried to catch a picture of Kennedy after church in her dress, but they didn't turn out, so I put up this cute picture that I took of her on Easter.
3/27/08
Easter Double Feature
It's time for another double feature. This time we're going to watch a couple of fun videos from our Easter weekend. Let's take a peek at Alex the Dodger and Kennedy the Faller.
Alex the Dodger
Kennedy the Faller
3/24/08
Easter Fun
As always, we had to have at least 3 parties for Easter this year. We started on Friday with Candace and the kids coming over for some egg decorating and lunch. The egg decorating lasted about 30 seconds, with each kid scribbling on an egg and giving it to us to put in the dye. We finally convinced them to do a few more eggs, but they were just more interested in playing outside. In her annual tradition, Kennedy broke the first 2 eggs I gave her on "accident". For Kennedy, everything is "just an accident" now. She thinks she won't get in trouble by saying that.
Char, Jess and Dakota stopped by to have some lunch and play with the kids. It was fun having them over and the kids absolutely love them.
Saturday brought the annual Easter egg hunt and barbecue at my parents house. As soon as Kennedy found her first egg, she turned and said, "I just love Easter!" This was her saying the rest of the day. The kid loves candy and packed around her Easter basket all day. Uncle Dick tried to talk her out of some candy, but found out that Kennedy isn't too hip on sharing her goodies.
Alex had a blast finding the eggs, but decided that it was more fun to just stop and eat the candy instead of finding more eggs. For some reason, he can't eat chocolate without drooling it all the way down to his socks. I'm so excited to do that laundry.
It was fun spending the day with my family and just talking to everyone. I love going to my parents house and being with them.
They are such wonderful and caring parents and grandparents and they have an awesome yard for an Easter egg hunt!
I had to throw this picture of Kennedy and Dax on the blog. These two played in the orchard and had the best time. I caught this picture while Kennedy and Dax were chatting about people "tooting", one of Kennedy's favorite subjects right now.
Sunday was a very nice day, with spending some spiritual time at church and trying to explain to Kennedy the real meaning of Easter. I don't think she understood, but she sure understands that the Easter bunny brings treats.
After church, we spent the afternoon at Evan and Alicia's house for some delicious dinner, then we headed back to our house for another Easter egg hunt. More candy, more ruined clothes, more laundry. Love this holiday!
Char, Jess and Dakota stopped by to have some lunch and play with the kids. It was fun having them over and the kids absolutely love them.
Saturday brought the annual Easter egg hunt and barbecue at my parents house. As soon as Kennedy found her first egg, she turned and said, "I just love Easter!" This was her saying the rest of the day. The kid loves candy and packed around her Easter basket all day. Uncle Dick tried to talk her out of some candy, but found out that Kennedy isn't too hip on sharing her goodies.
Alex had a blast finding the eggs, but decided that it was more fun to just stop and eat the candy instead of finding more eggs. For some reason, he can't eat chocolate without drooling it all the way down to his socks. I'm so excited to do that laundry.
It was fun spending the day with my family and just talking to everyone. I love going to my parents house and being with them.
They are such wonderful and caring parents and grandparents and they have an awesome yard for an Easter egg hunt!
I had to throw this picture of Kennedy and Dax on the blog. These two played in the orchard and had the best time. I caught this picture while Kennedy and Dax were chatting about people "tooting", one of Kennedy's favorite subjects right now.
Sunday was a very nice day, with spending some spiritual time at church and trying to explain to Kennedy the real meaning of Easter. I don't think she understood, but she sure understands that the Easter bunny brings treats.
After church, we spent the afternoon at Evan and Alicia's house for some delicious dinner, then we headed back to our house for another Easter egg hunt. More candy, more ruined clothes, more laundry. Love this holiday!
3/22/08
A More Perfect Union
"We the people, in order to form a more perfect union."
Earlier this week, Barack Obama delivered an monumental speech about race in America. I had heard about the speech the day before it was given, so I eagerly anticipated hearing the Senator's thoughts about this important topic. Tuesday morning, I scanned CNN's website and found the transcript of the speech. Even though it was seven pages long, I couldn't put it down. Barack Obama touched upon the spoken and unspoken divide that exists within our country and he made each of us look ourselves squarely in the mirror to examine our own feelings about race.
Much of controversy prompting the speech centered on the former pastor from the senator's church. On YouTube, you can find Rev. Wright delivering a passionate, and divisive sermon about the state of country. His comments were mean, angry, and should not be tolerated. Obama addressed the issue head-on and denounced the hateful comments spoken by his friend. Still, he didn't simply throw his friend under the bus as a Hate Monger or a bigot, rather he asked each of to examine our prejudices when it comes to race and to discuss the stereotypes that affect our country so deeply.
Here's a great segment of the speech that truly echoes thoughts I've heard expressed or felt by others:
The fact that so many people are surprised to hear that anger in some of Reverend Wright's sermons simply reminds us of the old truism that the most segregated hour in American life occurs on Sunday morning. That anger is not always productive; indeed, all too often it distracts attention from solving real problems; it keeps us from squarely facing our own complicity in our condition, and prevents the African-American community from forging the alliances it needs to bring about real change. But the anger is real; it is powerful; and to simply wish it away, to condemn it without understanding its roots, only serves to widen the chasm of misunderstanding that exists between the races.
In fact, a similar anger exists within segments of the white community. Most working- and middle-class white Americans don't feel that they have been particularly privileged by their race. Their experience is the immigrant experience - as far as they're concerned, no one's handed them anything, they've built it from scratch. They've worked hard all their lives, many times only to see their jobs shipped overseas or their pension dumped after a lifetime of labor. They are anxious about their futures, and feel their dreams slipping away; in an era of stagnant wages and global competition, opportunity comes to be seen as a zero sum game, in which your dreams come at my expense. So when they are told to bus their children to a school across town; when they hear that an African American is getting an advantage in landing a good job or a spot in a good college because of an injustice that they themselves never committed; when they're told that their fears about crime in urban neighborhoods are somehow prejudiced, resentment builds over time.
Like the anger within the black community, these resentments aren't always expressed in polite company. But they have helped shape the political landscape for at least a generation. Anger over welfare and affirmative action helped forge the Reagan Coalition. Politicians routinely exploited fears of crime for their own electoral ends. Talk show hosts and conservative commentators built entire careers unmasking bogus claims of racism while dismissing legitimate discussions of racial injustice and inequality as mere political correctness or reverse racism.
Just as black anger often proved counterproductive, so have these white resentments distracted attention from the real culprits of the middle class squeeze - a corporate culture rife with inside dealing, questionable accounting practices, and short-term greed; a Washington dominated by lobbyists and special interests; economic policies that favor the few over the many. And yet, to wish away the resentments of white Americans, to label them as misguided or even racist, without recognizing they are grounded in legitimate concerns - this too widens the racial divide, and blocks the path to understanding.
Whether it is the outward anger of African Americans at past injustices or the quiet slights felt by many Caucasians, everyone has their own opinions of race in our country. I know the speech has caused me to reflect upon my ideas and the way in which I perceive race in my life. Barack Obama may not win any votes because of this speech, but he opened a discussion long over due in our country. We need to put to rest old prejudices and bring our country together in a new union, a more perfect union.
To watch or read the speech click here.
Earlier this week, Barack Obama delivered an monumental speech about race in America. I had heard about the speech the day before it was given, so I eagerly anticipated hearing the Senator's thoughts about this important topic. Tuesday morning, I scanned CNN's website and found the transcript of the speech. Even though it was seven pages long, I couldn't put it down. Barack Obama touched upon the spoken and unspoken divide that exists within our country and he made each of us look ourselves squarely in the mirror to examine our own feelings about race.Much of controversy prompting the speech centered on the former pastor from the senator's church. On YouTube, you can find Rev. Wright delivering a passionate, and divisive sermon about the state of country. His comments were mean, angry, and should not be tolerated. Obama addressed the issue head-on and denounced the hateful comments spoken by his friend. Still, he didn't simply throw his friend under the bus as a Hate Monger or a bigot, rather he asked each of to examine our prejudices when it comes to race and to discuss the stereotypes that affect our country so deeply.
Here's a great segment of the speech that truly echoes thoughts I've heard expressed or felt by others:
The fact that so many people are surprised to hear that anger in some of Reverend Wright's sermons simply reminds us of the old truism that the most segregated hour in American life occurs on Sunday morning. That anger is not always productive; indeed, all too often it distracts attention from solving real problems; it keeps us from squarely facing our own complicity in our condition, and prevents the African-American community from forging the alliances it needs to bring about real change. But the anger is real; it is powerful; and to simply wish it away, to condemn it without understanding its roots, only serves to widen the chasm of misunderstanding that exists between the races.
In fact, a similar anger exists within segments of the white community. Most working- and middle-class white Americans don't feel that they have been particularly privileged by their race. Their experience is the immigrant experience - as far as they're concerned, no one's handed them anything, they've built it from scratch. They've worked hard all their lives, many times only to see their jobs shipped overseas or their pension dumped after a lifetime of labor. They are anxious about their futures, and feel their dreams slipping away; in an era of stagnant wages and global competition, opportunity comes to be seen as a zero sum game, in which your dreams come at my expense. So when they are told to bus their children to a school across town; when they hear that an African American is getting an advantage in landing a good job or a spot in a good college because of an injustice that they themselves never committed; when they're told that their fears about crime in urban neighborhoods are somehow prejudiced, resentment builds over time.
Like the anger within the black community, these resentments aren't always expressed in polite company. But they have helped shape the political landscape for at least a generation. Anger over welfare and affirmative action helped forge the Reagan Coalition. Politicians routinely exploited fears of crime for their own electoral ends. Talk show hosts and conservative commentators built entire careers unmasking bogus claims of racism while dismissing legitimate discussions of racial injustice and inequality as mere political correctness or reverse racism.
Just as black anger often proved counterproductive, so have these white resentments distracted attention from the real culprits of the middle class squeeze - a corporate culture rife with inside dealing, questionable accounting practices, and short-term greed; a Washington dominated by lobbyists and special interests; economic policies that favor the few over the many. And yet, to wish away the resentments of white Americans, to label them as misguided or even racist, without recognizing they are grounded in legitimate concerns - this too widens the racial divide, and blocks the path to understanding.
Whether it is the outward anger of African Americans at past injustices or the quiet slights felt by many Caucasians, everyone has their own opinions of race in our country. I know the speech has caused me to reflect upon my ideas and the way in which I perceive race in my life. Barack Obama may not win any votes because of this speech, but he opened a discussion long over due in our country. We need to put to rest old prejudices and bring our country together in a new union, a more perfect union.
To watch or read the speech click here.
3/21/08
Mad at Work
Ok, so I'm not really mad. Rather, I'm enjoying the madness while sitting at my desk. CBSsportsline has a live feed from all the games today and I have it running in the background from my computer. Here's a great example of recognizing your target audience. Just in case the boss walks by, you're only a click away from safety.
Upon clicking the "Boss Button" your Internet browser immediately trasforms into an excel spreadsheet containing all kinds of useful data. The boss is satisfied and so are you. Too classic - if only there was a tool to help me pick my brackets better.....
Upon clicking the "Boss Button" your Internet browser immediately trasforms into an excel spreadsheet containing all kinds of useful data. The boss is satisfied and so are you. Too classic - if only there was a tool to help me pick my brackets better.....
3/20/08
Sneak Attack
It's 2 in the morning and you're up with your child trying to calm him back to sleep. Without warning you see a shadow cross in front of your house and see the door knob turn to the right. Sound like a bad ADT commercial, wrong. This was Tara's reality early Monday morning.
Alex was crying and so Tara got out of bed and went in to help him back down to sleep. As she walked down the hallway to the kitchen, she saw someone walk up to our door and the person attempted to come into our house. Of course she screamed, yelling for me to get up and stop the would be intruder. Unfortunately, I was out - too asleep to hear her calling my name.
Tara ran up to the door and held the lock, preventing the person from opening the door. After a few futile attempts at entry the intruder walked away from the door and Tara rushed to find two things: the phone (to call the police) and a knife (in case the person tried again to get in).
While on the phone with emergency Tara again yelled my name and this time I popped out of bed.
"What's going on?"
"Someone's outside trying to break into the house. I'm on the phone with the police."
I went up to the blinds in our bedroom and prepared to engage the stranger outside. I figured it was someone trying to break into our cars. If I simply yelled at them I was sure they would bolt. So I opened the blinds slightly to see the criminal and it was my MOTHER!!!!
"Tara, hang up the phone. It's my mom."
"What? What's she doing here?"
I went outside and calmly asked my mom why she was at my house at 2:15 am. She said that she had brought home a present from her trip to NY and she wanted to leave it for the kids. I guess it couldn't wait til morning...
A minute later the ordeal was over. No one was arrested, no one was stabbed. Today I can actually look back on it and laugh. Still, I can't believe we almost went toe to toe with an invader that turned out to be my mom. I guess the t-shirts were worth the scare, but this has to be the post of the year...
3/19/08
A Little Bit of Madness
Over the past couple of years Tara and I have had a friendly little contest surrounding the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament. To ensure we have a fair (and fun) time checking the winners I publish our brackets for all to see. So, here you have it - Ten Years of Glory (Jared) and Girl Power (Tara). Fill out your brackets and let's see how you measure up...
Tara
Jared
3/16/08
Guitar Hero?
Ever since we bought the wii in December our game of choice has to be Guitar Hero. I'd say that we played quite a bit over the past couple of months and while I've gotten a little better, Tara is quickly moving up the ranks to Guitar Hero stardom. This brings us last night. It appears we're not the only ones in the Ward who've become addicted to this little game. Most of the younger couples are also closet GH fans so we held the first annual Guitar Hero championships for the Cottonwood 4th Ward.The rules were simple: the contest would be set up in a March Madness style bracket with match ups chosen at random. Contestants would need to play according to skill level and the lesser player would select the song. I don't know how this happened, but I drew one the #1 seeds and was forced out of the contest in the first round. Still, I feel pretty good about things because I played the song on Hard and only lost by 4 percent. Small victory I know.
Tara, on the other hand was one of the ringers in the bracket. She cruised through the first two rounds and into the semis where she lost in a major upset. Tara had a great night and I really think she was one of the better players - in fact, she was one of the only ones to play on Hard the entire night. Even if neither of us came away with the Pop Rocks or Symphony bar (prizes for the winners) both of us had a great time and it was fun to hang out with some of the other couples in the neighborhood. I know I'll be practicing up for the next contest, and hopefully, I'll get a little better draw - someone like Bree ;)
3/11/08
Quiet Strength
A few months ago I mentioned how, as a member of the Bishopric, I hear about the ailments of most members of the Ward. One thing I've certainly learned in the 4 years I've held this calling is that people are in pain. Whether physical, due to illness; emotional, due to loss; or even psychological, due to regret - people are hurting out there.
Earlier tonight I saw two people who have so many reasons to feel down due to the hands they've been dealt. Both have cancer, both have had multiple surgeries, both have suffered extreme losses over the past year or so. And yet, neither was willing to give into despair. Our visits tonight were so inspiring and I came away with the greatest amount of respect for each of these wonderful individuals. I know that I have witnessed the hand of the Lord in each of their lives and they have shown me the incredible strength that each of us has as as we recognize our divine potential.
Earlier tonight I saw two people who have so many reasons to feel down due to the hands they've been dealt. Both have cancer, both have had multiple surgeries, both have suffered extreme losses over the past year or so. And yet, neither was willing to give into despair. Our visits tonight were so inspiring and I came away with the greatest amount of respect for each of these wonderful individuals. I know that I have witnessed the hand of the Lord in each of their lives and they have shown me the incredible strength that each of us has as as we recognize our divine potential.
3/9/08
Long Weekend
The past couple of days have really worn us out. Everything started innocently enough as we had some friends over on Friday night. We played Guitar Hero (the guys mostly played GH) and wii Sports (here's where our wives became interested) for a few hours, while the kids ran around the house. It's always fun when you can get together on the spur of the moment, without making a big production out of a Friday night.
Yesterday we headed down to Utah County for an adult's only Houtz party. The party was over before it even started as Tara's dad hurt his back and had to go to the ER for treatment. I guess Lyn had been working a little too hard yesterday and his back seized up on him. Needless to say, no one else really wanted to get together while their dad was at the hospital. We ate a quick dinner with Char, Bonnie, and Dick then headed over to the emergency room to visit Tara's dad.
The other issue from last night was my bout with an upset tummy. On the way down to Springville I started feeling sick and it kept getting worse throughout the evening. By the time we got to the hospital, I had to excuse myself to throw up in the restroom before going in to see Lyn. There's nothing worse than knowing you're going to lose it - oh wait, there is.. Knowing you're going to lose it while you're in a hospital waiting room. That was awful. We kept our visit short and I went home and straight to bed.
When I woke up this morning the 24 hour bug was gone and I was back on my feet. The only problem was that I was back on my feet but running an hour late due to daylight savings. I checked the clock and thought I was okay since it was only 6:30 - nope today it was 7:30 and I had already missed 1 1/2 meetings. I hurriedly dressed and was out the door within 20 minutes but I didn't hear the end of my late arrival throughout the rest of the day at church.
I don't know about most of you out there, but daylight savings is one of my pet peeves. I just don't get it. Why do we need to increase or decrease the amount of light we need during different times of the year anymore? I think daylight savings is more about tradition, and a whole lot less about efficiency. Plus, anyone with little kids will agree that sleep is thrown off for a couple of days or more every time we switch the clocks.
Enough of the weekend, I guess I'm ready to go back to work....
Yesterday we headed down to Utah County for an adult's only Houtz party. The party was over before it even started as Tara's dad hurt his back and had to go to the ER for treatment. I guess Lyn had been working a little too hard yesterday and his back seized up on him. Needless to say, no one else really wanted to get together while their dad was at the hospital. We ate a quick dinner with Char, Bonnie, and Dick then headed over to the emergency room to visit Tara's dad.
The other issue from last night was my bout with an upset tummy. On the way down to Springville I started feeling sick and it kept getting worse throughout the evening. By the time we got to the hospital, I had to excuse myself to throw up in the restroom before going in to see Lyn. There's nothing worse than knowing you're going to lose it - oh wait, there is.. Knowing you're going to lose it while you're in a hospital waiting room. That was awful. We kept our visit short and I went home and straight to bed.When I woke up this morning the 24 hour bug was gone and I was back on my feet. The only problem was that I was back on my feet but running an hour late due to daylight savings. I checked the clock and thought I was okay since it was only 6:30 - nope today it was 7:30 and I had already missed 1 1/2 meetings. I hurriedly dressed and was out the door within 20 minutes but I didn't hear the end of my late arrival throughout the rest of the day at church.
I don't know about most of you out there, but daylight savings is one of my pet peeves. I just don't get it. Why do we need to increase or decrease the amount of light we need during different times of the year anymore? I think daylight savings is more about tradition, and a whole lot less about efficiency. Plus, anyone with little kids will agree that sleep is thrown off for a couple of days or more every time we switch the clocks.Enough of the weekend, I guess I'm ready to go back to work....
3/5/08
Still Waiting
As I left the house this morning, I mentioned to Tara how I liked taking the 13th East bus because it got me to work earlier than the Highland Drive bus. Little did I know the jinx I had just put on myself.Normally, the 213 (13th East bus) arrives around 8:30 and gets me to work at 9:00. Sure, it may be 5 minutes late from time to time, but no big deal. Today I arrived at the stop about 5 minutes early. I was alone, but was shorted joined by two ladies who were headed up to the U as well. 10 minutes went by and I really didn't think anything of it. 20 minutes and now there's a problem. None of us are going to make it to work or appointments on time. It's starting to feel really cold outside and nothing seems to be happening. There's only so many times you can look down the street to see if the bus is on the way. One of the ladies called UTA to check on our bus that was now 15 minutes late.
"No problems, just running about 20 minutes late."
We all decided that we could wait another 5 minutes for the bus to arrive. 30 minutes later I gave up. It was now 9:20 and I had been at the stop for an hour. Normally, I love the bus because it gives me a chance to relax and prepare for the day. Today, I worried that the day would never come.
PS - Best story while waiting for the bus today. A woman walked by us and she had a paper stitched into the back of her jacket. It said something along the lines - Satan worshipers will be punished unless they break free of their cult (a reference to Mormonism) and accept Christ as their Lord and Savior. Then it gave the address for a Born Again church. Wow! You really have to believe in a message to make it a part of your coat. Ah, the stuff you experience while waiting for the bus!
3/4/08
Dede Talk
Earlier today Kennedy and I had a fun little Daddy/Daughter chat:
"Daddy, were you at work yesterday?"
"Yep, I was gone all day, huh."
"Ya, I missed you Daddy-O."
"I missed you too Dede-O."
"Are you going to work today?"
"Yep, I've got to get going right now."
"Oh, CRAP!"
3/1/08
Utah Coalition for Educational Technology
I've just finished two days at another great technology conference. This year the UCET conference included a couple of highlights. I participated in a panel discussion with the keynote speaker, David Pogue. I've written before about how much I enjoy his columns in the New York Times and meeting him was a thrill. I know this makes me sound like a tech geek, but that's ok - in my world Pogue is a pretty big deal.
The other highlight from UCET involved the election. No, I'm not talking about Hillary and Obama. This time I'm talking about me. I ran for an office for the second time in my life. I really like the work that UCET does for teachers across Utah, so I ran to become a board member. I didn't have to make any speeches or kiss any babies, but somehow I won a position on the board. I don't know all of my responsibilities yet, but I'll have the next two years to figure it out.
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