I Retreat

It's only fitting that I started and ended this month on the road. This time I'm a bit closer to home - Logan vs. San Antonio, but it's still a hotel bed and fast food. The up side is this should be my last trip without the family for a while.

A few months ago I mentioned how I was elected to the UCET (Utah Coalition of Educational Technology) board. We're up at our planning retreat and it's been a lot of fun to connect with tech folks from around the state. We have a really good conference and these couple of days are the groundwork for March's big weekend. The best part of being with techie's is our ability to create kooky multimedia. Take a look at our big show below.

34-24-56?

Normally when you read of measurements like 34 and 24 you begin to think of the hourglass figure that made Barbie famous. Unfortunately, Alex's measurements are 34 inches and 24 pounds. Not that Alex wants to have a runway model's dimensions, but he sure is a flyweight. While Dede keeps a firm grasp on the 95th percentile, Alex is hanging out at the 56th. We'll get him on some HGH and see what happens!

Busted

For the past few months we've had a problem with drug deals taking place in our safe little neighborhood. Well, today the neighbors finally got back at the bad guys. A few of the locals had been watching the deals pretty closely yesterday and they took action. I guess someone knows the county sheriff and they got him involved in a bust this afternoon. About 7 police cars descended upon a deal and took all the drugs and the dealers into custody. I don't know if this will be the end of the trouble, but it was nice to hear that the good guys took back our little oasis, even if it was only for a day.

PS - Someone told me that Google Maps got a potential deal in their Street View last year. I pulled the pic, but can't be too sure about the nature of this interaction. You tell me, is this a deal going down?

Teacher Humor

I don't like to pass along the many emails I receive, but this one was too good to pass up. For all you teachers out there (my favorites were #3 & #8):

These are actual comments made on students' report cards by teachers in the New York City public school system.

1. Since my last report, your child has reached rock bottom and has started t o dig.

2. I would not allow this student to breed.

3. Your child has delusions of adequacy.

4. Your son is depriving a village somewhere of an idiot.

5. Your son sets low personal standards and then consistently fails to achieve them.

6. The student has a "full six-pack" but lacks the plastic thing to hold it all together .

7. This child has been working with glue too much.

8. When your daughter's IQ reaches 50, she should sell.

9. The gates are down, the lights are flashing, but the train isn't coming.

10. If this student were any more stupid, he'd have to be watered twice a week.

11. It's impossible to believe the sperm that created this child beat out 1,000,000 others.

12. The wheel is turning but the hamster is definitely dead.

Movie Review: The Dark Knight

Every summer a movie comes out that breaks all the records and gets all the hype. Half the time it's some crazy action adventure movie with a cast of overrated stars who really can't act and a plot that is too far fetched to be believed. This year it's The Dark Knight's turn to be the "it" movie.

I will admit I really wanted to see the movie. I loved Batman Returns and think that this new rendition of the caped crusader has the character spot on. He isn't the savior of Gotham, just a guy who does what needs to be done to help people in trouble.

I found this film wildly entertaining. Even though it's 2 and 1/2 hours long you feel as though you can't catch your breath for most of the action. I thought the acting was good, a bit wordy with too much dialogue, but everyone did a good job. I even thought that Heath Ledger lived up to the hype as the Joker. He made Jack Nicholson look like a joke with his dark portrayal of the psychopathic killer.

In the end I kept asking myself the question: is anyone in this movie a good guy? There really isn't any sense of closure as every character has flaws and no one ever seems to win the day. The Dark Knight is just that - DARK. Like a horrific traffic accident, you're disgusted and yet, you can't look away. Perhaps that's the way Gotham really is, a place of unbelievable promise, with too many falling into the traps that potential brings.

"You either die the hero, or you live longer enough to see yourself become the villain."

My Little Guy

My baby boy is growing up. Yesterday, Alex turned 2 and we tried to make it a special day for him. His birthday included a trip to Wheeler Farm, Noodles and Co. for dinner, and cake and ice cream at home with the family.


The kids loved Wheeler Farm, the adults, not so much. It was hot, stinky and we felt like we were part of the movie, Ratatouille for a few minutes. Anyway, a few of the highlights of the farm for the kids included a tractor ride, watching a cow being milked and splashing people standing too close to it as it took a...well, you know; feeding and chasing the ducks and geese, mooing at the cows, and getting bit by the chickens.




Dinner came after the farm and then we headed home to open presents and have some basketball cake made just for Alex by his nana.


His nana also brought some balloons for the party and of course, Jared, with his irrational fear of loud noises and popping, soon had all the kids convinced that they needed to be set free. Within minutes the balloons were going bye bye and Alex loved waving to them. This was the highlight of the party for him as he kept looking up all night to wave bye to the balloons.


Anyway, Alex opened his presents from everyone and got spoiled. He got lots of trucks, baseball stuff, clothes and a big wheel.


On a little different note, I just wanted to write a little about my baby boy Alex, who is not much of a baby anymore. He is quickly leaving the baby stage behind and turning into a little boy, and a cute one at that! The past two years have been so fun and amazing. Alex has always been such an easygoing guy with a sweet and mischievous personality. He has an incredible smile and likes to flirt with the girls. Alex also loves older men. He adores both of his grandpas and most any man that looks like a grandpa.

Alex also loves his sister and his mommy and daddy. He has recently become quite the daddy's boy and follows Jared around constantly. If his daddy is doing it, Alex wants to be there.

Alex loves balls and bats. He always wants to play ball and will follow me around with his ball and bat until I go outside with him to play. In fact, right now, he is rolling a golf ball around the house and keeps coming over to show it to me.

It has been amazing to watch this little guy grow and develop the past year. He gets cuter every day and has such a sweet and kind personality. Don't get me wrong, he can throw a tantrum with the best of them, but for the most part, he is an easygoing, fun little guy.

I love you little Alex. I'm so thankful that you are a part of my life. Thank you for making life fun and exciting and keeping us all on our toes! Happy birthday!

KFC vs. the Goose

Kennedy loves animals, birds, and fish. However, something about this goose yesterday certainly ruffled her feathers. It's a shouting match between KFC and the Goose and I don't think Dede won. Still, what a priceless shot....

For your Second Birthday

Alex,

Your second birthday is upon us and I keep wondering where the time has gone. You've gone from Baby Alex to Alex Dude in such a short time that it's tough to keep up. This past year you've had a lot of firsts: from walking to running, mumbling to speaking, watching to understanding and it's been exciting to see you grow and develop.

It really isn't a surprise to us that walking came before speaking for you Alex - you've always been a man on the go and I think we're just along for the ride. You definitely want to be part of the action, whether it's copying your big sister playing or following me whenever I have a tool in hand - you truly are our "shadow" and it's wonderful to see you get involved.

I love your special way of teasing each member of our family. When you can drive your sister crazy without saying anything more than "huh?" or "uh-uh". How you ask me about mom even when you know she's right around the corner. Watching the smile come across your face when you know you're in something you shouldn't be. Hearing your infectious laugh which melts my heart and brings tears to my eyes.

Happy Birthday little buddy. I love you more than you'll ever know. I can't wait to see what you come up with this year!

Love,

Daddy

Policing Usana

Tara and I are pretty boring people, ok we're very boring people. Most of the time a night out on the town includes a GPS unit and some fast food. Last night we broke the bank and the mold. About two months ago Annie mentioned that she had two extra tickets to a concert this summer. I wasn't really interested until she told me that this was for The Police. Now, I have to admit I was nine when The Police broke up, but I grew up listening to their music. The chance to see the reunion show was something I couldn't pass up.

Usana is an interesting venue for a show. Located in BFE - Kearns, it takes a while to get through traffic, dirt roads, and people, but once you're there it's a fun outdoor spot to watch a concert. Of course, shirts are optional, tattoos seem mandatory, and dancing is questionable. Still, I was there to watch the concert not the crowds - although you couldn't help watching the show behind you when the drunk guys start break dancing on your blanket. A bit too close for comfort...

Then there was the concert. The Police are now in their 50's and I think their age was reflected in their song choices and stage show. Gone was the raucous stage antics and several of the songs had a mellow "adult contemporary" feel to them. Not saying the songs weren't good, but they were different. The song list had most of their greatest hits, which made it nice to sing along with the boys. About the only song I wanted to hear and didn't was Synchronicity II - it was a "humiliating kick in the crotch" (sorry I had to include that line). Take a peek at my bootleg concert footage..




So, for one night Tara and I shook off our Thirty Something doldrums and did something spontaneous - even if it did take 3 months of planning, two babysitters, and a credit check before we pulled it all off...

Friendly Week

Most of my best friends no longer live in Utah. Work and school has taken them all over the country, but Utah is still the home base. So, when someone comes back into town it's great to revive old friendships and have some fun. This week Chappo and Michelle were in town and we got together a few times to settle some old scores and create a few new ones.

Monday, Chappo was a bachelor while his family went down South so he and I headed over to Southwood courts and played some tennis. Now, neither of us was ever any good, but that doesn't stop us from wanting to compete. I will say that since everyone moved away I never play tennis anymore. With the arrival of children my last tennis partner, Tara, and I never can work it out to play (Can you really get a babysitter to go play tennis for a couple of hours?). Needless to say, the action was pretty slow and the night was cut short when Chappo rolled an ankle. Maybe it's better that we ended when we did - things were getting ugly!

Wednesday night we got an old friend out of retirement - Dave Brockbank. I can't even remember the last time we got together, but I know I didn't even have kids yet. The Brockbanks and Chapmans came over to Casa Covili for a backyard BBQ. It was filled with burgers, balls, and a few boo-hoo's. It's always fun to see everyone and find out what they're up to with their families. Dave now has four kids and lives in Cedar Hills. Even though he's back in Utah, Happy Valley can sometimes feel like a world away so we don't get together very often. Still, time doesn't change anything - when old friends get together it seems like minutes and not years have passed. It was a great night...

Friday I had my last boys party with Chappo. He came over around 10pm and we had another monopoly night. I know it sounds boring, but it's become a tradition and we like it - so there. This time the monopoly took a back seat to Rock Band. Ian brought his new purchase over and we rocked the night away. Good thing we don't have any video footage - if the tennis was scary it was nothing compared to the site of me on vocals....

I am very lucky to have such good friends in my life. No matter how frequent, or in frequent, our visits are it's always good to have close friends. Thanks for a great week guys.

San Diego Trip

Last week I ventured out with my sisters and mom on a girls only trip to San Diego. My mom has always wanted to see the San Diego temple and she wanted to go with her girls, so off we went.


We stayed in Coronado across the street from the Hotel del Coronado. Our little hotel wasn't quite as nice as the "del", but we loved it! We spent the mornings walking on the beach and eating yummy bagels for brunch and relaxing in the awesome weather on the coast. There's just something about walking on the beach with the ocean breeze blowing in your face that you just can't beat.


Our first day in Coronado was spent hanging out at the "del", pretending like we actually were staying there, walking the beach, browsing the Coronado shops on Orange Avenue and eating dinner at "Miguels", an excellent mexican restaurant next to our hotel. This place has always been a favorite of ours since Charlene and Corey lived there and it was just as good as I remember.

We decided to spend a couple of hours on the beach on Thursday, after our morning walk and bagel, of course. We donned our swimming suits and spent the afternoon laying on the beach and playing in the waves. It didn't hurt that a few Navy Seals came jogging by. I snapped a couple of pictures, but they don't do the cute men justice.


After the beach, we got ready for an evening in San Diego. We caught the Coronado Ferry and headed to Seaport Village for some sightseeing and shopping.



We ran out of time to do much, but we did catch a bike ride with a nice guy, trying to earn a couple of bucks and we hit some shops at the village.


The ferry ride back was the last of the night, so the captain took us on a scenic route back to Coronado. It was a beautiful ride back and I loved looking at the city lights, sparkling on the water in the bay.


We ended the night with great halibut and shrimp at Brigantine's, a seafood restaurant next to Miguels. We didn't have to travel far from our hotel to find great food.

Friday brought us to our day that my mom had been looking forward to for a long time; spending the day in the temple with her daughters. Of course the day started with a walk on the beach and a bagel breakfast, but instead of beach bumming or being tourists, we headed to the San Diego temple. This temple is absolutely amazing. We enjoyed our time in the temple and loved being there together as sisters and with my mom. We also got a little mini tour of the temple by a couple of ladies working there. It was fun to hear some of the history of the temple and the stories they told.




After the temple, we changed clothes and headed to La Jolla Cove. After asking directions, several times, we finally made it to the cove. We saw seals, surfers, had a fun chat with a cute Irish couple, and saw a great sunset.




Even though we were starving (or I was the only one who would admit it!), we made a night of it in La Jolla. We ended the night with pizza, salad and breadsticks at a cute restaurant on Coronado Landing. And to top it off, we got a little firework show while we ate.


Saturday was our last day in Coronado and we didn't want it to end. We slept in and then headed out to Silver Strand Beach, which is the beach near Charlene's old house. We gathered sea shells for the kids, saw lots of dolphins playing in the waves and even ran into Charlene's brother-in-law while we were there. What are the odds of that!?


After the beach, we had lunch, spent a couple of hours at the cute stores in Coronado and headed to the Hotel del Coronado for some ice cream and one last look at the ocean. We bought some of the famous chocolates from the shop at the del, said our goodbyes and hopped in the car to head to Vegas for the night. We didn't get there until about midnight and they had given our room away, but no worries, they set us up in the suite for the night. We couldn't complain about that!


The next morning we headed out and picked up the kids in New Harmony and the dream trip was over. Don't get me wrong, I love my kids, but this is the way to travel. We really had a near perfect trip. It was relaxing, spiritual, fun, and just an all around great trip. Thanks mom, for letting us be a part of your San Diego trip.

I've got a case of the Mondays

For the past few weeks my work schedule has been really wierd. From flying to far away places to driving work vehicles across the state, I haven't ridden the bus for about a month. Earlier it all caught up with me.

I'm teaching every day for work this week, so I need to catch the early bus. Generally it arrives at my stop about 7:00 am. I got out early and made it to the stop at 6:53, plenty of time for the bus. Well, a few minutes passed, then a few more, and finally, at 7:05 I called UTA to find out what was going on.

"I'm at the corner of 5600 S. and 1300 E. waiting for the 213. Shouldn't it have come by at 7?"

"Sorry, but we just changed the schedule - you should have seen the notice on the bus for the past three weeks."

"So, what time did the bus come by?"

"6:51"

"And when does the next bus arrive?"

"7:21"

Great, so I missed the bus by 2 minutes and I would have to wait another 15 for the next one. Let's just say - another perfect example of the "Mondays".

Where's Mommy?

Normally when Tara's gone for any extended period of time the only thing I hear is "Where's Mommy?" It doesn't matter if it's a short trip to the store, or an overnighter with her family - Tara is always missed when she's away. On this particular trip though the maternal requests have been few and far between. My only guess as to the reason is we're not at home. That's right, put the kids in a foreign environment and everything seems to make sense - even the fact that mom's not here doesn't seem to phase anyone.

Now I know the kids both miss Tara, trust me, I know how much I miss her this week, but it's actually worked out well to be down at my parent's while Tara's been playing. The kids have plenty of people to dote on them, I can't even begin to tell you how many treats they've eaten this week. There's tons to do down here - playing in the sand box, riding the four wheeler, watching the hummingbirds (remember the kids are 2 and 3), and heading off on little adventures.

Take tonight for example, we packed up the car and took the Alex and Kennedy down to St. George to play in the town square. They've actually built a fun little canal area for the kids to play in and there are some neat fountains (think Gateway) for everyone to enjoy. Kennedy was a little fish, diving in head first to the stream. Alex was a bit more reserved, but he eventually found a good time splashing water on himself from the fountains. I know it's nothing much, but tonight was a welcome treat for a family who keeps wondering "where's mommy?"

Separate Ways

For the past three weeks I've been the one taking off and leaving Tara alone with the kids. This time, it's her turn. Tara headed off to San Diego this week for some fun in the sun with her sisters and mom. They've been planning the trip for months and I'm glad they're taking advantage of a girls week out.

This means I've got the kids for the week. I'd love to say that I took the week off and planned tons of meaningful activities to bond with Dede and Alex. Unfortunately, I've still got to work so I had to enlist some help. Rather than force my parents to come up from New Harmony, I've gone South. This week I'm presenting at the Rural Schools Conference in Cedar City, so the kids get to spend some good Nana and Papa time each day while I teach, but each night we've had some fun together.

Yesterday my mom and I took Kennedy to the movies. She's been talking about WALL E for the past few months, so I couldn't wait to take her. Now, I've had some bad experiences with Dede at the movies. For some reason she can't stay focused while we're at the theater. Popcorn, potty, sleep, and talking all seem to draw her away from the screen. Still, I was willing to give her another chance. She did pretty well. The movie was about 2 hours long and she lasted for 3/4 of the film before going into boredom mode. We got her through the film and I'm glad - I really wanted to see the end. I thought it was great!


Well, we're two days down and two more to go. So far, we've had zero injuries, zero accidents, one lost blankie, and only twenty requests for mom. Do you think we'll make it to the end of the week?

At Home

I don't really have much to say, but I wanted to post a few of my favorite pictures of my favorite people. After being gone so much over the past couple of weeks, it's nice just to spend time with Kennedy, Alex, and Tara.

Kennedy and the cupcake

Alex enjoying the shade

Tara

Happy 4th of July

The 4th of July is a great time to spend the day together as a family. BBQ's, games, and fireworks - of course - seem to dot the calendar. For us things are no different. Our holiday officially kicked off on the 3rd. Our neighborhood is developing some nice traditions, two of which are the Ball BBQ and the Cul de Sac of Fire. Since I had just flown back into town I was tired, but excited at the chance to see Tara and the kids. It was great to relax with friends and family and enjoy some of the fireworks fun.

For the past couple of years our fireworks watching experience has been fairly brief. Kennedy has burst into tears with the first screamer and so we've retreated back to the house without even smelling the burnt powder. Surprisingly, she actually seemed to enjoy herself this year. I think it had more to do with the multitude of friends watching the show with her and less to do with conquering any fireworks phobias. Alex got kind of nervous as the show kicked into high gear. He quickly calmed down was his "mimi" (binky) was in place and order was restored.

Today was actually a quiet day around our house. We worked on a few small projects in the morning and in the afternoon our paths split. Tara took the kids to the pool and I went and jack hammered concrete with Evan. I think I got the better end of the deal. Trust me, I would rather bust concrete than deal with the crowds at Murray Pool on the 4th of July.

After everyone freshened up the family came over to our house for a special 4th of July dinner - pizza and fruit. We played some games and waited for the country club fireworks to begin. Coleton fired off a few of his leftovers from last year as the opening act and then the real show began. It's nice when you can sit out on your front lawn and enjoy the show.

NECC Wrap Up

So, the conference officially ended today. This was the fourth time I've been to NECC and I keep wishing that I'll present at the conference one day. I went to several session on softwares or hardwares that I teach to see if I can learn anything new. While you pick up a trick here or there, most of what I've seen over the past few days is exactly what we're already teaching in Utah (although we're not too into Second Life). I guess that makes me feel good about what we're doing at UEN, but a bit sad that we can't move beyond what we've been doing for the past couple of years.

Still, there were a couple of high points today. I went to a session on geoRSS, which is a developing hybrid of technologies. Using GPS to mark a location for an object, mixed with creating an RSS feed to make those locations and objects subscribable. That's pretty cool. Think of what you can do with your FlickR photos and a Google map.

The other high point was the presentation I went to on cell phones. Besides recording your blog with your cell phone (Jott), another cool website was www.polleverywhere.com where you can create a live poll that updates with every vote. That would be awesome for a teacher looking to find some quick answers. Here's a look at some other websites I linked to throughout the conference.

I'm a Tourist

Today was my favorite day in San Antonio to date. The weather was actually bearable as a storm passed through and cooled the area down to a mild 92° - can you believe it? Since I could go outside, it was time to see some of the sites around town. I guess the place to start has to be the Alamo, right?

It was pretty cool to see where the Americans and Mexicans fought 140 years ago. I knew the same names as most of you: Crockett, Bowie, etc., but most of the history of the place was beyond me. We took a ten minute tour of the building and then it was time to take some pictures...

For the past two days I've been trying to convince Ross and Rob to avoid the national chain restaurants and try some of the local flair. So we went on an adventure, started by riding on the local trolleys, and ended at Mi Tierra - a local mexican restaurant (found courtesy of FoodNetwork.com). It was great! I tried a stuffed pepper with an enchilada, too much food - but a lot of fun.

We rode back into town and went back into tourist mode, ok so it was tourist mode with a geocaching twist. While we were searching for caches, we came across the Tower of the Americas - a giant Space Needle looking building from the 68' World's Fair. This thing was 750 feet tall and had an incredible glass elevator and observation deck. My favorite part of the tower was the wind. It was blowing like crazy and really cooled me down.


Day 3 down and now the conference is winding up quickly, tomorrow's the last full day and then I'll be heading home. I don't really like being a tourist, but I'm glad we saw the sites today - good stuff.....

Check out the ride on the Tower of the Americas