Trek 2012

Pioneer Trek is always an amazing experience.  I've been part of two treks in the past decade so when the chance to go again came up - I jumped on it.  This time I had a little different experience - I was part of the support crew.

Rather than pulling a handcart for mile after mile, I was part of the Stake team.  I hauled gear, cooked treats, gathered garbage, filled water jugs, supplied campsites with wood, and provided general support.  I kind of missed being part of a family like I'd been in the past, but there was something pretty cool about serving the kids and leaders on this trek.



I still got to enjoy all the great moments from trek - I watched the Women's Pull, I hiked through the Cove, I participated in testimony meetings with my adopted family (we actually had a pretty cool fireside song fest as well).   It was a great experience and I am truly glad I got to go again.

PS - My biggest hope is that the next time trek rolls around Tara and I will be able to go as a "Ma and Pa".

Reunion at KOA

So it was my year to organize the Houtz family reunion.  I had it all set to go to Bear Lake and thought we were good.  Then my dad passed away.  My mom and dad had always paid the lodging at our reunions, but my mom quickly realized that wouldn't be possible anymore.  We had been trying go get them to stop anyway.  So we decided to bag Bear Lake and go camping to a place that I remember going to with my parents when I was younger that we all loved.  My mom thought it would be good to use the trailer one last time before she sold it.  She loved going camping with dad at the KOA in Nephi.  So the fun began.

After many phone calls, emails and some confusion, I was able to get a weekend that worked for almost everyone.  The only one who couldn't come was....Jared.  So I sucked it up and booked the weekend, knowing I would be setting up camp, chasing kids, and swimming at the pool, all alone with my three kids.

The weekend turned out to be really fun.  We had some fun games and activities for the kids to play.  We spent hours at the pool.  I couldn't get Kennedy and Dylan out of the pool and couldn't get Alex into the pool.  Luckily, Paul and his family adopted Alex for the weekend while I supervised kids at the pool.  He ended up playing with pellet guns and chasing squirrels and I'm sure eating all of their treats.

The kids played baseball, rode scooters, played on the playground, had a treasure hunt and relay races.  They love being around their cousins and had a fun weekend.  We squeezed in a quick party for my mom's birthday!  The adults relaxed (well, some of them who didn't have tons of kids everywhere!) and played cards at night.  I missed the card games, as I would try to get the kids to bed and then I fell asleep myself.  

I think the trip was a success.  I had a good time but was exhausted by the time we made it home.  I was glad that we didn't give up on having a family reunion.  I think my dad would have been sad if we didn't try to keep it going.  So we all made an effort to get there and we had a great time.  I hope we can continue the tradition of our reunions and keep our family close.

Baby Ellis

It isn't often that we have an addition to our extended family.  The last add on was Big D and that was over three years ago.  Well, Dylan isn't the youngest member of the Covili clan anymore.  Jason and Kristin have adopted a new little boy and his name is Ellis Morgan Covili.

Jason and Kristin have an amazing adoption story, of course I am totally biased because I think all adoption stories are miracles.  I know that Jason and Kristin are incredible people and we are so excited for them to become parents.  Ellis is a lucky little boy to have come to their home.

As you can imagine, our kids are totally thrilled to have another cousin.  Kennedy desperately wanted a girl cousin, but she seems pretty content to hold a beautiful baby boy.  Welcome to our family Ellis!

ISTE in San Diego

  For the past few years I've had the opportunity to present at a lot of different conferences.  Most have been in Utah, but occasionally I've gotten to share at venues around the country.  One of the best conferences I've attended has been ISTE.  At ISTE we've had some incredible experiences and I always come away invigorated as someone involved in education.

This year I presented with Tim and my friend Jared Fawson.  Since the Going Google book it seems that using Google as a teacher has dominated the sessions I've presented the past few months.  It was a bit nerve racking to share to 200 people from around the country, but I think it went pretty well.  I think our staff at UEN does a great job teaching teachers and this presentation was no different.

The rest of the conference I spent my time trying to learn as much as I could about the different ways in which teachers are using technology in their classrooms.  It doesn't seem like I've been away from the high school that long, but when I check the calendar it's been 9 years since I last taught teenagers.  ISTE is a great way for me to stay in touch with the changing classroom climate.

The trip isn't all business though.  Having a weekend in San Diego we were determined to have a lot of fun.  Jared and I joined several of our friends at the Padres game - I know not the Red Sox, but baseball is still fun regardless of who's playing.  Our little posse also tried to go out to eat at serveral of the local restaurants - I think our favorite was an Italian joint named Fillippe's.  We had a total blast with some great friends.

I guess I can't let the blog post end with a note about my accommodations for the conference.  Jared was able to get his school to cover his flight to San Diego, but they weren't able to spring for a hotel room for just one school employee.  That left me and my buddy a chance to become roommates for the weekend.  But we weren't just roommates.  The Horton Grand Hotel is so old that the rooms are barely big enough for one bed.  That's right!  Jared and I were the best of friends that weekend.  I'm glad he was able to come, even if it meant there was more that one Brokeback joke at my expense.  Truth be told, I'd do it again if it helped Jared attend the conference.  Besides - I wish I knew how to quit you!

Text of the Year

I've been trying to get season tickets to the Utes for the past few years, but up to this point I have been shut out.  Whether it was long lines, cash flow problems, conference realignment, or just bad luck I couldn't seem to get things to go my way.  That leads us to today when I had this texting exchange with my friend Eric.

Have you had any luck getting tickets yet?

Nope, any suggestions?

Let me call up there and see what I can do.

A few minutes later.

Who's your buddy?  Who's your pal?  Give me a call.

I immediately called Eric to learn that he used his connections to score me a pair of season tickets to split with my friend Sam. 

Unreal.

It only took three years, but I have season tickets to the Utes.  It only took 3 years - and one important phone call - Thanks Eric!

Father's Day 2012

Father's Day was met this year as a bittersweet time for our family. This marks the first one without Tara's dad Lynn and I know he was on her mind quite a bit. It may sound funny, but I still think of Father's Day as being about my dad and Tara's dad, so the thought of one of them not being here was very sad.

For the kids however, Father's Day is all about me. They really are great kids and they wanted to make today special. We celebrated with some of my favorite food, enchiladas, and the presents. Tara was very nice and got me some new work shoes. She knows how much I need them. I think my favorite part of the gifts wasn't the present itself, but the wrapping job. The kids all helped to decorate the boxes and they were classic!

 

Today was a great day to be Dad!

Photo of the Day

 

 Here comes trouble!

The Soccer Player

Alex decided to try soccer this year.  I always give him a choice of what sport he wants to play and he usually picks baseball.  This spring, he decided to give soccer a try.

Alex actually didn't do too bad playing soccer.  It was his first time playing and a few of the kids on his team were more aggressive than the other kids.  This seems to mean that they control the ball most of the time.  Alex got in the action a little, but seemed content to let the other kids take over.  He enjoyed playing and had fun with his friends, but when I asked him if he wanted to do soccer again, he said, "can I play baseball next season?"  Later, he said "and can I do tumbling again, too?"  We might have a baseball playing gymnast on our hands!

Moderate Home Makeover

Not to be confused with the popular show on ABC, we had our own little home makeover recently.  Painting the house has been on my "Honey Do" list for the past three years or so, but I never really had the time to commit to such a project.  Once I finally finished working on the book I knew my excuses were coming to an end.  The problem is I still didn't really want to paint the house.

Still, I figure my time had come and I prepared to get started on the project.  Tara came and said we should bid out the job and see how much it would cost to turn things over to a professional.  As lazy as I am, I'm even cheaper and knew the bids would come in around $3000 or so.   I decided to let Tara do the leg work and find a few bids on the job.

First Bid - $3500
Second Bid - $2500
Third Bid - $2300

I could tell we were moving closer and closer to painting the house ourselves when I checked out KSL.com for a final bid.  It was a one man operation and we thought we'd try one last time.

Fourth Bid - $1150

What?!  I had already priced out the paint and supplies and they came to around $600.  I couldn't believe my eyes.  We decided to roll the dice and took the cheapest bid.  A week later and our home was transformed.....