Roughing It

Over the weekend I went to a boy scout training. I know, me involved with scouts. I was the guy who got his Eagle on the day I turned 18. Still, here were the instructions I received. Bring your tent, sleeping gear, and a scout uniform (show of hands, how many of you have a scout uniform that fits?) and meet us up in Morgan for an overnight scout training. Now, the mere mention that I need to have my scout uniform brought shivers to my spine. This was going to be one "gung ho" group of scouters that would send me over the edge. I put on a happy face and headed up to Morgan with the other members of the Stake YM Presidency (did I mention that my post Bishopric calling is as 2nd Counselor in Stake Young Mens?).

I assumed we'd be staying on someone's vacant lot and having a lot of fun eating over a campfire and urinating in the woods. Not so. As we turned onto the property I noticed the "cabin" and my jaw dropped. Let's just say this cabin was set on 5000 acres and the primary lodge had to be 6000 sqaure feet. So much for roughing it.

As we unpacked our bags, Floyd (the owner of the "cabin") took us out the garage and loaded us to his atv's. All 4 of them. Wow! We headed off on a two hour ride down through the fall colors and across most of the property. It was amazing. One of the best things about this retreat was the chance to get to know the guys I'm working with. I've only known the rest of the presidency in a superficial manner, but now, I can say, that I've gotten to become friends with each of them.

We roughed our way through the rest of the training and headed home Saturday afternoon, ready to help our scouts and to do our duty....

Photo of the Day

Alex really is my little helper!

Balls - Tee and Soft

I wrote a couple days ago about the kids signing up for tee ball. Tara and I weren't really sure how both would react to playing sports. This was Alex's first time to play, and Kennedy doesn't have the greatest track record for playing organized sports.

Well, the first week was about like you could imagine. Alex cried almost the entire game. He wouldn't put on his glove, he wouldn't take the field, and he certainly wouldn't go out to hit. Stage fright had consumed our little guy. Kennedy was willing to hit the ball, even if she acted like she didn't want to. In the field she would play with the dirt as much as she played with her teammates. Still, she wasn't crying so that seemed like a victory.

Last week though things seemed to change. Alex was getting more comfortable - thanks in large part to Coach Edmund (he really is a great guy). Alex really started to like hitting and he learned that he's good at it. The kid can really rip it! Kennedy is having a lot more fun as well. It never hurts when one of your best friends is on the team.

So it looks as though the tee ball experiment is going to work out after all (especially if parents keep bringing treats).

In other sports news Tara and I have been playing a little ball ourselves. For the first time in our married lived we're playing co-ed recreational softball. About a month ago Tara's niece put together a team and asked if we wanted to play. We both love softball so it was an easy sell (except for the fact that we're playing in Pleasant Grove).

Now our team is made up of most family members, so we're not all that competitive. In fact we had to be moved down a league because we kept getting beaten so badly. Let's just say we are well acquainted with the fifteen run rule. Needless to say it's been a lot of fun.

That leads us into last night's game. Tara and I have been up and down with our hitting the entire league. We both hit the ball pretty hard, but it's been mostly a bunch of singles. You can imagine how surprised I was last night when my second hit kept going, and going, and going, and out? I can't believe it, but I actually hit a home run. Now I'm not saying that I didn't think I could hit a home run, but I certainly didn't think I would hit a home run. It was awesome and something that made the earlier butt kickings worth it.

We still have another couple of weeks in our little softball league and I'm glad to say it's been a good experience. I'm not going to declare my eligibility for next year's baseball draft, but it's nice to know I can occasionally get lucky with a good hit....

First Day of School

Kennedy started preschool with Miss Fidge and Miss Alyson last week. She has been waiting all summer to go back to school. Let's hope she has that attitude the next 12 years!

Kennedy has been having so much fun at preschool. She loves to learn and likes to please her teachers.

Kennedy's preschool is a co-op, so we have the opportunity to go in and help a few times this year. I went in on Monday and had so much fun helping the kids and teachers. It was great to see how the classroom runs. I wish my house was that organized and why is it that Miss Fidge can ring a bell and the kids immediately clean up their messes and sit quietly in their chairs? How I wish that would work at our house!


I'm sad that Kennedy is growing up so fast, but I am proud of my little girl!

Bear Lake 09

So we made it to Bear Lake this year over Labor Day weekend. We weren't sure if we were going to make it this year, since we have already had one family trip, but we made it! It ended up just being a Houtz sisters trip. We missed our brothers and their families, but still managed to have a good time without them.

We were a little nervous about Bear Lake this year because the weather forecast wasn't looking so good. So after packing clothes for warm weather, cold weather and swimming gear, off we went. We headed to Bear Lake on Friday. We spent the afternoon at the beach, just hanging out and watching the kids play in the sand and the water. Kennedy was definitely interested in the water more than most of the kids. She is a little fish.


Saturday was also spent mostly at the beach. The weather cooperated and was perfect. It wasn't too hot or too cold. The kids enjoyed making a scary alligator in the sand with Jess and Mckel and eating cheese and crackers with Aunt Charlene. The cheese is always a little better with some sand in it, right?



We also spent quite a bit of time at the pool. Kennedy decided the pool was warmer than the lake and wanted to hang out there. Alex, who loves warm water, also decided that he liked the pool better. Mostly the hot tub. He just wanted to hang out with his feet dangling in the very hot water the entire time.

We ended Saturday with some fun races with the little kids and the big kids got to play a little softball.

We spent Sunday attending the local church in town, playing grass games and a fun game of mini golf. I'm not as good as I thought I was and pretty much lost to everyone!

We also spent a lot of time at the playground that the kids loved. We had to chase Alex several times as he was sneaking off, trying to get to the playground.

Monday started out great. We started out with playing a little softball again. We figured that since most of the people that were there were on our softball team, we could use the practice. By the time we finished our game, the clouds started rolling in. We were determined to make it to the beach, so the swim suits went on and off we went. The wind picked up and the clouds stuck around and it was downright chilly. Dylan was not happy at all about the weather. Just as we were about to pack it in, the cloud cover moved and it warmed up enough to keep us at the beach for a little while longer. We stayed as long as we could, but eventually had to pack up and head home. Here's Dylan enjoying the cool weather on the beach. Alex made do with a jacket and kept on playing in the sand.




We had such a fun time at Bear Lake. We loved playing with all the cousins and spending time together. It's a great family tradition that I hope we can keep going for years to come.

On the Right Team

A couple weeks ago we signed Alex and Kennedy up to play tee ball. The crazy thing is that despite the 18 month age gap, the kids will play in the same league - on the same team. We'll see how that goes.

We showed up for team assignments earlier tonight and my anxiety all went away when we saw our hats and jerseys...



At least we know they'll look good, now how'll they play, well...

Triple Play

Since the arrival of the iPhone one of the coolest features I've tried is video camera. It really takes clear video and the audio is surprisingly loud. Over the weekend we played around and made some short home movies: Dylan eating pears, Kennedy's first week of preschool, and Alex loves his vacuum. Take a look:


Big D loves Pears


Kennedy loves Preschool


Alex loves his Vacuum

Opting Out

Next week President Obama is scheduled to address the students of the nation. This is not uncommon in the history of the country. Reagan and Bush Sr. both gave similar speeches in 88' and 91'. From what I understand this scheduled spech is supposed to be a rallying cry for education, a chance to inspire students to aim high and dream big. So why are so many parents in Utah acting so small. Districts across the state are being bomarded with parental requests to allow students to "opt out" from hearing the President's message. Why? What are people so worried about? Is the President going to brainwash the next generation to spend liberally, raise taxes, and advocate health care reform? Come on people!

Just because a Democrat is in office shouldn't mean that Utahns have to opt out of participating civically for the next 4 (or 8) years. I haven't agreed with much that came from the White House over the past decade, but I still respected the office of the Preident. The President should have the right to talk to the students of the nation. President Obama doesn't want to brainwash your kids, mostly he wants to challenge and inspire them. I guess people around here aren't interested in that kind of message. Perhaps I'm the one who should "opt out" - of the narrow-minded Utah political landcape.

Photos of the Day: Self Portraits

A couple of days ago it seems that everyone took a turn with our little camera.

First, it was Tara's turn.


Next, Kennedy wanted to take a shot of herself.


Not to be outdone, Alex found the camera and took, well this:

We certainly have a family of shutterbugs!

Not So Secret Crush

I've had a crush for quite a while. I've tried to keep it to myself, but this week I couldn't resist anymore and I gave into temptation. I went out for a few hours and came back with a guilty conscience, that and an iPhone. For the past three years I've drooled with anticipation over the coolest phone on the market, now I finally have one.

I could go on and on about all the cool little features. You know things like the voice controls, the 3GS speed, the video camera with focus, the App Store. Sorry I got carried away there for a moment. Suffice it to say I'm quite enamored with my new communication device. Dare I say, I'm in love and I don't care who knows it!