Trunk or Treat

The annual Trunk or Treat at the ward was another great success. Hilarie was put in charge of it this year, so all the activities and food were top notch. The kids had a great time, as it was their first real chance to show off this year's costumes.

Alex was a dragon (no real surprise there), Dylan was a dinosaur (every thought he was Sully from Monster's Inc.), and Kennedy was a Dorothy (she finally made a decision on Tuesday). Tara and I also dressed up, but it was a little harder to identify what we were since we were very last minute. Still, everyone has a good time and the kids got a great haul!

Breaking Tradition

For the last couple of months Tara and I have been engaged in a debate.  Is it time to join the 21st Century or stay back in the 19th Century?

How could we make this dramatic jump?  Simple, get rid of our land line phone.  I started thinking about this earlier this year, but never really looked into the steps required.  Then I noticed my bill.  I was paying $47 a month for my land line from QWEST.  What?!  This is a phone that we don't really even use.

Why were we still paying for such an outdated phone?  To me it came down to one word - TRADITION.  Think about it.  Most of us grew up in a time before cell phones.  There wasn't any other choice than to sign up with the phone company for service.  I actually remember how excited I was when we got our first phone number after we were married.  It was a sign that we were adults, independent and free.

Little did I realize that freedom was actually captivity.  The phone company never provided us with any more services, but our bill kept creeping up.  When I finally wised up and started checking into things VOIP (voice over Internet) made total sense.

Now I can hear the cell phones crowd laughing out there right now.  Why even have a phone at home?  It came down to two issues: 1) As the kids get older and start getting calls we wanted to have a phone they could use that wasn't one of our cell phones.  2) I don't want to give out my cell number to everyone.  Sure, I use Google Voice, but it still means that everyone ends up calling my cell phone.  Having a home phone gives me a buffer from all the Ward phone calls.

Last week we finally made the break and canceled our QWEST service!  Now that is real freedom.  Since we switched to Ooma the only bill we pay is for Federal fees ($3.47 per month).  Is it perfect?  No.  But is $3.47 better than $47?  No question about it!

Wheeler Farm

Fall Break gave us a chance to enjoy the beautiful weather, so we headed to Wheeler Farm.  My friend Strawberri came and so we had quite a crew with all of our kids.

The kids all wanted to ride the ponies, so we bypassed the wagon ride and the corn maze and after a picnic and a quick walk around to see the animals, we headed to the pony ride.  The kids had a blast and we were even able to get Alex on a pony (he wouldn't ride one the last time we went).

Dylan and Cord had fun running around when we let them out of their strollers for a few minutes.  And it was only a few minutes of freedom because Dylan kept trying to run back into the barn, or the road, or anywhere that I didn't want him to go!  That kid never stops!

Do you want some YUMMY?

Dylan has finally started talking and one of his favorite phrases is "I want some".  Recently, he added "yummy" to the end of the sentence, referring to any kind of food he might enjoy.   So now he walks around saying, "I want some yummy".   How can I resist that?

Her Two Front Teeth

Kennedy lost the second of her front teeth this weekend. The little guy had been hanging on for about a week or so since his partner in crime fell out. Watching Dede lose her teeth has been very fun. She is so nervous at the prospect of missing a tooth, but she can't wait for the windfall when the Tooth Fairy pays a visit.

I always want to help move the process along, and Kennedy's been pretty willing to let me tug on a loose tooth. This time, she wanted no part of a yank job on the tiny tooth. After ten minutes of avoiding me last weekend, Dede decided she wanted to join into the family wrestling match. It took one jump into the pile and PRESTO - the tooth was out. No pain, no tears, just excitment at the impending visit from her magical tooth fairy.

Of course you know the end of the story. When Kennedy woke up she found the fairy had indeed made a visit and left her "two whole dollars". Quite a payday for our little toothless wonder.

Rio Mesa

Last weekend I headed back down to the desert outside of Moab for another round of "geek camping". Yup, it was time again for a GIS mapping project at Rio Mesa. This time we were helping the University of Utah's Biology department with a study of ant colonies. I know, you're all feeling badly since you weren't invited to come along, but those are the breaks. Truth be told, mapping ants wasn't as bad as it sounds. Since we mapped out someone's junk last time, I actually thought this was a lot more interesting.

I think the best part of the trip was all the new participants we brought along. Most of the regulars were asked to be a mentor for a new student and so there were several first timers to the ranch. They were great. I brought along Mindy from Granite District and I think she had a great time. There is something about getting out in the field and doing actual work that gets people excited about learning. Each time I go to Rio Mesa it reminds me of the need for practical experiences with students. It is so important.

My highlight beyond the project was certainly the campfire stories. There's something magical about the tales people weave around an open flame. I'm sure there were several tall tales (I may have been guilty of one or two stretches), but some really interesting discussions came out as well. Hanging out with a group of teachers is always educational, and always fun. Thanks for the good times at Rio Mesa, see you next year.

Our Exciting Project

Halloween Fun

Personalize funny videos and birthday eCards at JibJab!

Sneak Peek

Alex's preschool class has been doing tons of fun things so far this year.  They've worked on colors and shapes, learned songs and dances - Alex has loved it.  Yesterday was a new favorite, Cowboy Day.  All the kids dressed up in western gear and had a great time partner.  We thought he liked his outfit enough that it might make it as a Halloween costume.  

Things changed pretty quickly however when Alex found his dragon mask.  We will certainly have a Toothless the Dragon trick or treating this year....

Photo of the Day

Even though I like to complain about the recent heat, we have been enjoying the time outside.  Big D absolutely loves catching some air!

Numa Numa

About a year ago I showed the kids the Numa Numa video on YouTube.  If you haven't seen it, you might just be the last person on earth to watch this silly little lip sync.  Anyway, Kennedy has been hooked on the dance.  Yesterday she finally decided to make her own version of this YouTube classic.  Take a look.

Red Devil 20th

So after debating about whether I should go to Albuquerque with Jared or go to my 20th high school reunion, I decided to ditch Jared and hang with some old friends.   I have to be honest, I really wasn't sure if I wanted to go.  I'm a little chubbier, wrinklier (not sure if that's a word!) and have several more gray hairs shining through than I did at my ten year reunion.  I decided to go anyway.

For the most part, the reunion was fun.  I'm not sure why, but the reunion just started out slow.  I was sitting by some people who were pretty quiet and the conversation at the table was quite painful.  Finally, one of my better friends at the table looked across at me and said, "let's go mingle for awhile".  I think she was feeling the same way.

Most of my good friends from high school were there, so I was glad to get to see them and chat for awhile.  It was also fun trying to find out who was single, so we could set up one of my single friends.  We found a couple of options for her, but I'm not sure if anything happened.  One of the guys was someone I had a crush on in the 9th grade!  I'm not sure if he is much of a catch now, though!

The overall night was somewhat of a success, with some hits and misses along the way.  As I looked around the room, I definitely noticed a trend with who was there and who wasn't.  By far, it was the athletes (male and female), the cheerleaders, drill team and the student body officers who attended that evening.  All the videos and pictures that were presented were mostly of the same crew.  The jokes and and stories told that night were, you guessed it, about the same crew.

Anyway, let's just say that by 10 pm, I was ready to go.  The band was still playing strong and people were still mingling, but I had talked to everyone I wanted to and was feeling okay about leaving.  I was happy to be home by 10:30 pm and in bed.  Man, I really am old.