School Days

Kennedy started Kindergarten last week.  She has been so excited to be a kindergartner and had her little backpack full of pencils, tape, notebooks and other necessary school supplies weeks before she actually started.

The first day of school came and of course we had to take some fun pics.  Kennedy was especially excited about her new shoes!

After a week of school, mixed results are in.  Kennedy has been excited, sad, bored, misses Miss Fidge's class, and even shed some tears.   I'm sure Kennedy will soon adjust to this big step in growing up.  She's a smart little girl and I'm very proud of her!

Diary of a Utah Fan

Even though I wasn't able to get season tickets for the Utes this year there was no way we were missing out on the season opener against Pitt.  A nationally ranked opponent, one of the three biggest games of the year, and a chance for the top 25 were all part of last night's game.

All day long the mood on campus was festive.  You had people arriving after 3pm and the smell of BBQ was in the air.  It was awesome!  Tara. Sam, and Bree arrived on the Hill around 5:30 and it was over to Rice Eccles for the big game.


Things started pretty slowly.  Utah's offense and special teams (aka Shaky Smithson) kept turning the ball over in the first quarter and the defense kept stepping up.  Still Pitt managed to score first and they totally controlled the ball for the first 20 minutes of the game.

Then the momentum shifted.  Utah scored on a long touchdown drive and tied the score.  Their special teams made a mistake on the kickoff and we recovered the craziest fumble I've ever seen.  We took the ball and immediately scored another TD.  It was as though we couldn't be stopped by Pitt.  In fact we couldn't be stopped by the Panthers.  But we could be stopped - by ourselves.

Jordan Wynn threw an interception in the end zone, we had a punt blocked, and a bunch of penalties - all adding up to a 24-24 tie and on OT headache. A game we should have won by ten was coming down to a coin flip and anything could happen.  On the first play of OT - something happened.

A freshman CB broke on the ball and came up with a game changing INT.  We had the ball, we had control.  Asiata pounded ahead and got the ball down to the 4 yard line and the chip shot field goal was good.  Final score Utah 27- Pitt 24.

The stats will show that Utah controlled much of the game.  Even though our offense and special teams were pretty sloppy the Utes D is solid.  They held Pitt time and again and the RB (a preseason Hesiman candidate) could only gain 75 yards.  There are more positives than negatives to take away from the season opener.  Most of which is a WIN.

Photo of the Day

Seeing Dylan in his Sponge Bob bath towel always makes me smile.

Fathers and Kids Campout

I know I'm crazy right.  The day after we got home from our rain out in the Uintas the ward was having the annual Father Kids campout.  Since I felt a bit cheated over our short trip to the West Fork of Black's Fork - we were in.  At least Alex, Dede, and I were in (sorry D - maybe next year).  The campsite was up past Oakley in the Smith Morehouse part of Weber Canyon, close enough to justify another trip.

We had a great time. Alex didn't puke this year. Kennedy wasn't the only girl. In fact, the kids had tons of friends to play with. I loved it because I had a lot of "guy" time with the other dads. It really is a fun tradition and I'm glad we were able to make it.

And the best part of all - no RAIN!!!

Rained Out

I guess you could say our camping trip didn't end up the way we had planned.

We love camping in the Uintas.  The cool nights, the warm days, the wonderful views, and the remoteness of it all add up to one of our favorite places.  We had planned our annual camping trip for the past few months.  We had the raft, the tents, the food, the gear, everything was set for a great trip.

The only problem was the weather wouldn't cooperate with us.  When we first arrived the wind was blowing - hard.  Still, we managed to set up our tents and enjoyed our night around the camp fire.  We knew things would change and the winds would die down.  Sure enough, the morning saw the winds disappear.  Unfortunately, the winds were the precursor to the storm.

It started innocently enough.  A light sprinkle while the kids and I were down throwing rocks into the river.  When we came back to camp it was raining a little harder and we shifted to the tents.  It was fun.  Lots of games and a little wrestling.  Still, the rain was coming down steadily and it wasn't getting any lighter as the clouds continued to settle in.  Things were looking pretty bleak.

After several hours of waiting out the storm it got to the point where we were asking ourselves: Is it worth it?  Here we are with 5 kids and 3 adults huddled in a tent trying to stay warm.  We knew the storm couldn't last forever, but it had certainly lasted long enough.  We packed up the tent and gear and then - it stopped raining.  Of course, it stopped raining after we were done packing.  The trip was over, a little wet and way too early.  Still, I think everyone had a smile on after we got home.....

Here are a few of our favorite pics: