Our Big Graduate

Kennedy has had several milestones in her short life:  walking, talking, reading, and more.  Now we can add one more achievement to the list - Graduate.  Sure, it's her preschool graduation - but this was a pretty big deal for her.

Dede has loved attending Miss Fidge's class this year.  It has been a world of wonder.  Learning new things, singing songs, and making friends have all been a part of Kennedy's preschool class.  School is definitely an area in which Kennedy can thrive.  She has an active mind and loves doing new things.

Last week we attended her graduation.  It was a fun program - full of songs, dances, and every student had a moment to shine.  Kennedy did great!  She loves an audience and wasn't nervous about delivering her parts.



We're so proud of our little girl.  She's truly growing up before our eyes.  I know how excited she is to move on to elementary school and kindergarten next year.  Still, she was a bit sad to have her preschool class end.  She's made some fun little friends this year and Miss Fidge and Miss Allyson have made a big impact on our Dede.  Here's to our big graduate - preschool class of 2010.

Drama Queen

Since Kennedy seems to like drama and loves to have an audience, we decided to put her in a drama class this year. They do a little (or pretty long) play at the end of the year and I thought Kennedy would love it. The play was about the witches of Oz, so all year long, we've been listening to Kennedy sing Wizard of Oz and Wicked songs. Kennedy started out strong in September but by April, she was getting a little tired of her class. She pushed through to the end and was a little star in her play last week. Kennedy had three lines and did a great job saying them. Her little group also danced and sang several songs and they were really cute.






I'm not sure if Kennedy wants to do the drama thing again, but I do think she enjoyed putting on a show for the family and friends that came. Thanks to all of them, for sitting through a two hour show to hear Kennedy's three lines...you are troopers!

Photo of the Day: Living in Utah

I looked out the window and what did I see?

86

Dylan went in for his latest physical this week and it's official - we have to change his nickname.  Big D is shrinking.  Well, not really.  Dylan is still in the 86 percentile for weight, but he has certainly thinned out.  You could really tell the kid is losing some of his baby fat.  As he scoots around the house, Dylan is burning calories left and right.  Now if we could just get him to start walking!

Maybe Dylan won't lose his nickname any time soon, still let's see what you think of something new.  What about "Above Average D?"

Searching for Spanish Gold

One of our family's favorite things to do is go out and search for stuff. Usually we're looking for geocaches, but a few weeks ago my dad came up with something else to look for - GOLD. Ok, not really. There are plenty of tall tales about Spanish gold being buried throughout parts of Utah and we went out in search of one the supposed markers to the treasure.

Our treasure hunt took us down to Utah County to search in Diamond Fork Canyon. We had my dad's treasure book to guide us to the right spot and the rest was up to our divining abilities. Of course the coordinates were way off. We hiked around several sketchy paths up some pretty steep hillsides. After a few minutes I decided to check if there were any geocaches in the area on my phone. Wouldn't you know it - there was one which mentioned a strange carving in the rock. Sounds just about like we were looking for.

After we climbed up a short ledge - there it was. A giant Sun and Moon had been carved into the rock. These were huge! Certainly not done by any graffiti artist on a weekend. I can't say if the markings have anything to do with Spanish gold, but they were definitely worth a look. Who knows, maybe we'll come back again to see what lies below the Sun's shadow at noon....

Power Flex = Pain

Even though Tara and I have lost some weight recently we still feel terribly out of shape. Dieting can help you shed some pounds, but it doesn't get you feeling strong.  Then we got a membership to the local fitness center.  Now, I'm not unfamiliar to working out.  I've biked, run, and lifted off and on for several years.  My problem is that when it starts getting tough, it's easy not to push it to the next level.  With the gym membership in hand we decided to try some of the fitness classes the center offers.

The one that sounded best for us was called Power Flex.  It's a combination of cardio and strength training. I had to laugh on the first night when I saw everyone using light weights or resistance bands.  I've usually gone for high weight and low reps.  I quickly learned that I would die in this class if I tried to use high weights.  The trainer had us moving between several different exercises, each one designed to isolate a specific muscle group.  I've targeted shoulders, biceps, abs, etc. on my own but this lady was trying to kill me.

For example.  I normally do 20 push ups at a time.  So did she, but we did it 3 times in a row.  From 3 different angles.  By the time we were on the last set my arms felt like jello.  Now think of this for each of your major muscle groups.  I could barely walk out of the fitness room.  Of course, the next day I could barely walk - period.

I guess I just need to get used to the routine.  I'll admit it though  - the guys walking around working on their bench presses have nothing on the ladies (and me) doing Power Flex....

Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day Tara. We love you!

Starting Over

We planted a new tree yesterday.  After two weeks of chopping, sawing, digging, and grunting we finally got rid of the pine tree this week.  The best part of the project is starting over.  There's something rejuvenating about replanting and watching this little guy take root.  Let's just wait 30 years til it's time to cut the tree down!

80 and Counting

My dad turned 80 years old a couple of weeks ago and we celebrated with a fun party at my parent's cabin. We had a nice dinner and a slideshow of some old pictures of my dad and the family. We found some pretty fun pictures of everyone and enjoyed hearing my dad's stories about a few of the pictures. It was great to hear the ever so romantic story of how my parents met and eventually got married!


I really am amazed that my dad is 80 years old. He seems so young to me, even though he has aged a lot these past few years. He still has a perfect yard, perfect garden and even keeps the weeds looking good in his pine tree farm.

I have so many memories of my dad. He has always been so supportive of me in all that I have done. He left work early countless times to attend ball games all over Utah and came on many trips outside of Utah to follow my teams. He always encouraged me when I was down and is always so positive.

When I was little, dad used to let me hang out with him on his Saturday dump truck runs to Heber City. I loved being in that big truck and of course, eating a big yummy Granny's shake with my dad.

I love working in the yard and garden with my dad. Ask my mom-I hated helping her in the house and to this day I would much rather be in my garden or doing yardwork than cleaning my house! My dad taught me what it means to work hard to respect people.

My dad is a good, honest, loving man with a soft heart. He loves his family more than anything and we love him. Thanks dad, for all you have done for me and for my little family. You are such a great example to me and we love you more than anything.

Happy 80th birthday dad, I love you!

Diary of a Jazz Fan

THUD!

Did you just hear that sound?  It's me jumping off the Jazz bandwagon about 4 months ago.  Then the Jazz got their act together in January and February.  They moved from 7th in the West up to 3rd.  Things were looking up.

THUD!

I fell off the wagon again after the season ending loss to the Suns.  Dropping the Jazz to 5th place and opening the road in Denver for the 1st round of the playoffs.

THUD!

It got even worse after the Jazz were blown out in Game 1.  Memo ruptured his achilles and was lost for the season.  Melo had 42 points and everything pointed to an early playoff exit.  Then Game 2 happened.

The Jazz won.

On the road.

Against all odds.

Games 3 and 4 were all Jazz, as Utah came home and took control of the series.  Even after a Game 5 loss on the road, all signs pointed to a Game 6 victory and the end of the series.

Last night the Jazz did just that.  Sure the Nuggets had their moments, but Utah held on and Denver went home.

I totally misread the Jazz this year.  Are they a great team?  No.  Are they a really good team?  Yes.  We have the best point guard in the league in Deron Williams.  He completely dominated the series and made the entire league take notice that he is a player.  Carlos Boozer is a player we can't afford to lose.  Is he frustrating?  Of course.  Does he play defense?  Never.  But his offensive game is something we can't replace with Millsap.  With these two players we have a chance in any series (except for the Lakers).

Who do we play in the 2nd Round?  LA

THUD!