The ALS Ice Bucket Challenge

I have to say I don't think I've ever seen anything like this before.

A few weeks ago I first heard about Pete Frates and the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge.  I was watching ESPN and they did a profile on this former Boston College baseball player who was trying to raise awareness on ALS, the disease he contracted a while earlier.  If you haven't seen the original story, it's a must watch.

I was overwhelmed by the power of one man.  Still, it seemed like Pete's challenge would be like so many others.  A heart warming story that came and went with the news cycle.

But it didn't go away.

For whatever reason the challenge has truly gone viral.  Athletes, politicians, actors all jumped on board.

Then it spread.

Moms, Dads, teachers, and even kids all wanted to jump into the act.

Well, long story short.- even my family has gotten into the act.  Last night Kennedy did the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge.  Take a look:

Dede may not fully understand the destructiveness of ALS, but I'm still proud of her for taking the challenge.  I know Tara and I will support the cause of fighting ALS, even if we don't dump buckets of water over our heads.  We both saw how this disease affects families with the death of Tara's Uncle Sterling last year.  Sterling was an amazing man and it was so hard to see him lose his battle with ALS.  The ALS Ice Bucket Challenge is a powerful movement and I'm glad we've become part of it.

Photo of the Day

What are they learning about in Primary?

Baptism Photo Shoot

Final preparations for Alex's baptism continued over the weekend.  His new suit arrived and it was time for a photo shoot.  Only one problem - we don't have a photographer.  Not to worry.  Give me a willing model, some good light, and a few selected areas in our yard.

Alex turns 8!

Alex has been so excited for his birthday.  He has been planning and getting ready for this day for months.  He loves opening presents and loves having parties!  So, of course we had several!  We started with a family party on the Sunday before his birthday.  We had a "How to Train a Dragon" cake, a barbecue and of course presents.  He got spoiled with lots of fun presents from the family, including lots of Legos! 

The next day was his actual birthday. Alex wanted to spend some time with his cousins, so we invited them to go to the splash pad by our house. Later that night, we went to dinner and Alex opened his presents from us. More presents!

That next weekend, Alex had his friend party. He wanted to swim, so we went to our neighbors pool with lots of boys and a few girls and had a fun swim party. After swimming, we came back to our house for cupcakes and ice cream, presents and of course a pinata.

Alex, I am so proud of you! I can't believe you are 8 years old. You are such a good kid, with a sweet personality who cares for everyone around you. I love you!

Hiking through the Wild Flowers

We spent the week down in New Harmony.  While I was teaching all week at the Rural Schools Conference in Cedar City Tara and the kids took advantage of the down time to do all kinds of fun stuff - riding the 4 wheeler, swimming at the rec center, project time at the library. It was non stop adventure.

On Saturday we packed up all the kids and headed to the hills. It was the annual Wild Flower Festival up near Cedar Breaks and we wanted to get out of the heat. It was awesome! The kids loved getting out and seeing all the amazing colors as we hiked around Alpine Pond. Take a look:

Hotlanta

The summer marked my first trip to the South. I was able to go to Atlanta for the ISTE conference and it was an amazing trip to a different part of the country. Some of the cool things I was able to see while down in Atlanta:

1. The CNN building. This place is awesome! I am a huge news junkie and CNN has always been one of my favorite stations. It was incredible to see some of the different things that they do from international news to Headline News and more.
   
   
   
2. The World of Coke. I really didn't want to go to the World of Coke, thinking it would be just a touist trap but this place was amazing! They had tons of interactive exhibits and really got you excited about  Coke (one of my least favorite drinks).  My favorite part of the tour was to taste Coke drinks from around the world - everyone's favorite has to be the Beverly from Italy!
   
   
   
3. Turner Field. As everyone knows I am a huge baseball junkie and the chance to go to a Braves game was tops on my list. The game wasn't very exciting, until after we left.   The Braves won the game 4-3.  I guess we were the good luck charm for Atlanta, as the Braves scored all of their runs after we left the game during the eighth inning. Oh well, it was still fun to see another professional baseball game.
   
   
4. Foodie. I would say my favorite meal was going to be Gladys Knight's Chicken and Waffle House. I absolutely love chicken and waffles. This southern delicacy was one of my favorite parts of the trip.
   
   
   

Overall I'd say my trip to Atlanta was very successful. One thing I'll also say is I'm never going back to Atlanta in June! The temperature was constantly over 90° and humidity was over 90%. I looked like I just stepped out of the shower throughout most of the trip. If I go to Atlanta again, it'll have to be during the winter.  Still cool city, cool people, cool time in Hotlanta!

Camping-Just the Girls!

So my friends and I have a somewhat new tradition that I hope continues for awhile.  Last summer we went camping for a night, no hubbies, just the girls and all the kids.  We had so much fun that we decided to do it again this year.  And I hope it continues for a long time...

All of us had a good time.  We went for a fun hike, had a snowball fight, ate lots of treats, rode lots of scooters, built lots of forts and enjoyed some quiet time around the fire.  

Here are a few pics of our night away.

Father's Day 2014

Today was a good day!

I was able to enjoy a nice breakfast.  The kids and Tara served a delicious assortment of my favorite morning treats.  Then it was time for presents - as you can see from the pic it was quite the haul.

Thanks for making my day so special!  It's great to be a dad!

Big Graduate!

Dylan graduated from preschool.  I was pretty worried he might not make it, but he pulled through in the end!  All of my kids have been in preschool with Miss Fidge and she is amazing!  I love the graduation program that they put on.  They prepare all year long for the program and it is so fun!  They sing tons of fun songs and they each have their own speaking part that they memorize.  It really is so amazing.

Good job on making it through preschool, Dylan! Now, on to Kindergarten!

Easter 2014: The Weekend in Photos

Dylan's 5th Birthday

Dylan's birthday is always around President's Day.  We almost named him Lincoln.  We usually spend President's Day with Jared's parents in New Harmony.  Which means Dylan usually celebrates his birthday in New Harmony.  This year was no different.  We celebrated Dylan's birthday with a fun Sunday dinner and an awesome bad piggy and angry bird cake.

But as always, there can never be just one party! We also celebrated his actual birthday at home with dinner and a trip to the "Lego Movie" with the family. Dylan ended the day with opening his presents, and immediately ignoring his toys and playing his new Wii game. The kid is addicted!

I really am in shock that my baby is 5. I can't believe how fast he is growing up. He is such a fun kid with a fun personality.   I love him so much! Happy 5th Birthday, Dylan!

Legends of Roundball

Every season we encourage the kids to try some new sports.  Get outside of their comfort zones and experience different things.  Over the winter we've had a ton of fun with Kennedy and Alex both playing basketball.  Sure, we've shot around in the driveway over the years, but the kids have recently wanted to play in organized games.  It was time for more Junior Jazz basketball!

Alex played basketball last year and it was a struggle at times.  The younger boys don't really have any structure to the games and it pretty much rewards the kids who are most aggressive.  Aggressive is not a word I'd use to describe Alex.  He is much more interested in being part of a team, rather than taking over.  I was hoping things would be different this year.  Well, not so much.

Alex was able to score a few times this year, but he was still on a team where the most aggressive kids took all the shots.  He still had fun, but I'm hoping that he'll get on a team that teaches the boys how to play - I know, sounds like I'm volunteering to coach....


My biggest surprise this season was Kennedy.  She's never expressed much of an interest in playing basketball, but she decided to try it with one of her friends from school.  At first it was a bit of a struggle, but by the time the season ended Dede girl was really starting to have fun!  She took advantage of her height and was able to rebound/defend like a pro!

One of our best moments came over the weekend when Kennedy was able to score two baskets in a row!  This was a girl who could barely shoot last year and now she was making it happen.  She may take the scoring title away from Kevin Durrant, but Dede was having fun and making buckets!  What a big deal for our amazing little girl.

Jr. Jazz basketball - You Gotta Love It!