Retreat to Cedar

I was back in Cedar City this week for the annual UCET retreat. I have always looked forward to this event. I really enjoy serving on the UCET board and the retreat is a chance to join forces with some of my friends and plan out the upcoming conference.

For the past three years I've been able to soak things up and learn from my colleagues, but I'm the new president of UCET so that meant I was in charge of the retreat. I can't even tell you how much more work is required when you're in charge. I even had to help decide what type of table coverings we used for the dinner. And you all know how much I care about that....

I had two major goals with this year's retreat. One was to create some social activities for the board that helped create a sense of community and a break from the planning meetings. The second was to focus more on the organization and less on the conference. The retreat is one of the few times each year where we can discuss big picture items that seem to get lost when you get into conference planning. I don't know how successful we were at accomplishing the organizational goals, but I know we were successful in strengthen the community within our board.

The first activity was a return hike to Kanarraville Falls. I know I sound like a broken record, but this is an amazing hike and I love introducing it to new people. Take a guess about the second group activitiy? Can you really go the Cedar City without seeing a play at the Shakespearean Festival? I didn't think so either. We went to Romeo and Juliet in the outdoor Adams Theater. What a great venue and a fantastic play! Sometimes I miss learning for great literature like I did when I was an English teacher.

Spoiler Alert - Two things bugged me about the play. I joked before going to the play that a modern twist, based upon horror movies, was to have Romeo pop up as though he weren't quite dead yet. Guess what - that's exactly what they did! Don't dumb down classics to entice new audiences.

The second thing I disliked was the play's focus. It seemed to be more about Lord and Lady Capulet. I know the feud was something that both sets of parents started, but this play is about Romeo and Juliet, not their parents. The very last scene of the play ended with Lady Capulet "full-on" slapping her husband across the fact. Certainly not in the original script, and a distracting feature if you ask me.

Overall, I thought the retreat went well. The members of board were very positive in their feedback and I am very excited for our upcoming year.

BTW - My favorite moment of the trip is when I entered my hotel room and encountered this....

Is this a flashback to the past or what? This looks just like the tv we had when I was a kid in the 70's.

Pyros in Utah

Things have certainly changed in Utah this summer.  Since the ban on arial fireworks was lifted by the Legislature earlier this year the skies have lit up each night in July.  It has been wild.  Every night there's a new neighbor blowing stuff up and enjoying the new firework freedom.  We were no different.

For the past few years we have spent little money on fountain fireworks.  They are fine, but nothing major to qualify spending big bucks.  After watching a few neighborhood shows with the new arials it was time to get in the game and have our own show. Alex and I were partners in pyro, as this kid can't get enough of the new fireworks.

The firework of choice this year was the Solar Spawn.  This cake firework shoots off 28 individual arials in a 2 minute period.  It was fun for everyone - even though it was twenty five bucks a minute.  Take a look:

Alex's Big Day

Alex turned 5 last week and he sure had a fun day to celebrate it.  Just a little history about Alex's birthday:  He has been talking about it for months.

When asked who he is inviting to his party, he says "everyone I know and everyone I don't know."

When asked why, "because I want lots of presents," he answers

At least he is honest.  He was a little upset when we only invited 8 kids to his party and two of them were Kennedy and Dylan.  But we decided at the last minute to do a family party also.  So that helped a little.

Alex's big day started off with swim lessons and a trip to his favorite place to eat, McDonalds, of course.  After a quick lunch, we headed home to get ready for Alex's first friend birthday party.  He was so excited!  We had a tool theme, so we planned a couple of simple tool games and then borrowed my brother's blowup water slide for more entertainment.

          Here's Dylan playing the dress up tool relay game!

I could tell right off that patience was not going to be a strong suit with Alex.  After he played the first game, he wandered off and was eyeing his presents while his friends finished the game without him.  We hurried through, so he could get to what he really wanted....presents!  He was not disappointed.  His friends gave him sports equipment, Star Wars stuff, toy guns, dinosaurs and more.  He was pretty happy as you can tell.

After ice cream and cupcakes, the kids were off to the water slide.  Alex didn't spend much time there.  He just wanted to play with his new toys.  It wasn't long, though before he kept asking me when his next party was, so he could open more presents.  One track mind, that kid.  You will notice there are no pics of Alex on the water slide.

After his friend party was over, the family started showing up.  We had a big BBQ and enjoyed the evening together.  Once again, it was all Alex could do to wait to open his presents.  And once again, he was spoiled by everyone.  He got lots of toys, tools, and fun stuff.

Alex's cake was a cute tool cake that my sister and I made.  It was simple, but that is my motto right now.  "Keep it simple".  So we did.  And it was cute anyway!

Happy birthday to my sweet Alex.  You have always been my cuddly, loving, sweet, nice boy.  I want you to know how much I love you and how proud I am of you and the sweet kid that you are.  I love you so much and hope you always want to cuddle and give kisses and hugs to your mom and dad.  Happy birthday, big boy!

Swim Lessons

We started swim lessons a month ago with a new teacher for Alex and Kennedy.  Kennedy is my little fish who swims pretty well so I just wanted her to practice and get better.   Alex is not so much of a fish and when we went swimming a few weeks ago, he spent 5 percent of the time trying to get warm from the few seconds he got in the water and 95 percent of the time bugging me for money for treats.  The kid just doesn't enjoy water.  So I really needed him to learn to feel more comfortable in water and actually get in once in awhile.

Our new teacher Lori did not fail us.  She was a amazing with Alex and really pushed him to get in and actually enjoy the water.  She was a no nonsense teacher who didn't let him get away with not trying, yet made it fun and enjoyable for him.  By the end of two sessions, Alex was jumping off the diving board!  Yay for him!

Kennedy of course excelled in the water and was learning 5 or 6 different strokes and mastering a couple of them.  She also tried to learn to dive off the diving board and did a pretty good job!  She only belly flopped a couple of times.  I was really impressed with Lori and her daughter and hope we can get in to them next year!

The test came the next week when we went swimming.   Alex jumped right in and was practicing all of his moves he learned.  He was diving off the side and swimming to me and doing awesome!  He still has a lot to learn, but I feel much better about him being in the water now than I did at the beginning of the summer.

For Your Birthday

Alex,


It's your birthday again and I wanted to take a minute to let you know how special you are.  Over the past year I've seen you grow up so much.  It seems like you've gone from a little boy to our big guy overnight, and yet, you still have a wonderful innocence about you that is intoxicating.

When you were born your mom and I were worried about your development.  You came into the world with a few challenges to overcome, but I am amazed how quickly you are learning and adapting.  Pre-school showed us that you could not only survive the classroom, but you were able to thrive with your early school career.  I am so proud of you for your willingness to listen and learn from your teachers and friends at school.  You are a great student and I know you can accomplish anything you set your mind to with your studies.


Sometimes a middle child can get lost in the shuffle at home.  With siblings like Kennedy and Dylan it can seem that attention is directed everywhere but towards you at times.  I hope you know how much we appreciate your soft and gentle nature.  You are willing to pitch in and help at home.  You love to be involved and share your time with us.  Having an open heart and willing hands will take you far in life - I hope you always keep these characteristics.


I love you son.  Our lives changed so much for the better once you joined our family.  You are an amazing boy and I enjoy our time together more than you'll ever know.  Your laugh, your smile, and your heart have touched my life and I want you to know much you mean to me.  I am so happy to be your father.  Happy Birthday Alex.


Daddy

Kanarraville Falls in Photos

After teaching all day at the Rural Schools conference in Cedar City a group of us headed to the hills to take a look at Kanarraville Falls. LIke always, it didn't disappoint. Take a look!

Neighborhood Campout

Tara and I love our neighborhood.  Over the past ten years we've had some great families move in and we couldn't be happier with all the wonderful people we've grown to love.  We have developed some fun traditions around here and we hope they continue for years to come.

Each summer several of the families in our area get together for an overnighter.  It usually is a campout, but this year we stayed in a cabin.  We did have a fire and rode a bunch of 4 wheelers so it may count as a bit of a campout, right?

Stolen from Lauretta's Blog

Friday night we had a lot of fun spinning tales around the fire.  A special log was added to the mix and it created a blue flame that mesmerized the kids and adults alike.  After some tall tales, Bree and I got the group involved with a couple party games.  I hope everyone had a good time and no one was to upset with a little wet surprise.

Stolen from Lauretta's Blog

The kids had a great time overall.  How can things go wrong when you've got a cabin full of kids all wanting to play?  Big D was the only one who had a rough go.  I think he must have been eating a bit too many treats as he started puking early Saturday morning.  The illness was over quickly and he was back at the festivities by noon.  We were glad to have Dylan back to full strength.

As part of our trip we headed over to the Smith Moorehouse Reservoir for a little lake fun.  The water was a bit cold for any serious swimming, but we found plenty to do from the shore.  Kennedy and Alex learned how to fish thanks to Ryan and Judi.  They couldn't get enough of casting into the water.  I guess we're going to have to buy some poles before too long.

While the kids we trolling for fish, a few of the dads headed across the lake for a "little adventure".  Rob mentioned that we needed to be initiated in the flying idiots club so I paddled with him, Sam, and Russell across the water to find a rope swing high in the trees.

Rob set the bar as he climbed up the hill and flew out over the lake dropped into the water below.  Sam went next and then it was up to me.  How could I chicken out after the boys had already joined the club?  As I prepped for flight the last advice Rob gave was "let go of the rope."  Once I was in the air and I realized how high I was off the ground his advice rang true.  I didn't want to let go, but I did and fell down - about 25 to 30 feet into the freezing water.  Holy Cow!  That was as cold as I've ever been!

After a full afternoon of fun with our friends we cleaned up at the lake and began our journey home.  What a wonderful trip.  Thanks to the Balls for sharing the family cabin with us and thanks to all our terrific neighbors for including us in the fun.

NFL Lockout

Like many of you I hope the lockout ends and there isn't a loss of real games, but it has provided us with some classic material. Check out this remake from Field of Dreams.

Photos of the Day

While driving through Springville earlier today I came across this classic billboard. Got to love me some Hank Hill!

Jared, the Builder?

Two months ago Tara and I bought the kids a new playset.  Our old swingset has worked great, but we could tell that Kennedy had outgrown it.  To use the swings she would shorten the chains by looping them over the top bar.  So, when Toys R Us had their spring sale on the large wood playsets, our fate was sealed.

The problem is that the playsets are complicated to assemble and I knew it would take more time than I could invest.  The boxes sat on our back porch ever since.  Every week I would hear about it as the kids inquired as to when I would finally build the new playset.  I put it off cause I knew I wouldn't have time until the first draft of my book was turned into the publisher.  Since I shipped the draft off a week ago, there were no more excuses and the holiday weekend became a perfect time for a new project.

I am not a handyman.  I am comfortable using tools, but I am prone to making mistakes and not following the directions very well.  The result embodies the adage - "There's never time to do it right, but there's always time to do it over."  I can't tell you how many times I had to take out the bolt and reassemble part of the tower.  Either the boards were on backwards or I stripped one of the screws.  Eventually, everything came together and the project was finished.  It only took four days, two people, and a few deposits in the Swear Jar.

The results speak for themselves as our 4th of July BBQ was the perfect opportunity for the crew to break in the new playset.