We were quite surprised when Kennedy told us she wanted to play soccer again. Dede's been down this road before and she didn't really like it the first time. We spent more time trying to convince her to play than she actually spent time on the field. So, what changed her attitude? A new intensity in her life? A desire for more physical activity? A love for all things Real? Nope - her friend Ava wanted to play. Simple as that.
Indoor soccer has been a little more fun for Dede, but I don't think she's the next Mia Hamm. Kennedy still would rather stand around and chat with her friends than mix it up in a soccer scrum. Still, we're glad she gave it a try and happy to see her play a sport.
A couple years ago I ran for president of an organization that I'm involved with locally. It seemed like a good idea at the time, but when you run for president - at some point you actually have to serve as president. This was my year to fulfill my obligations, so it was time to "put up or shut up."
UCET has been growing every year I've been involved. It really is a great conference and word of mouth keeps us on an upward trend. I wanted to make sure that we wouldn't see a drop off on my watch. We marketed to principals, school districts, even a few legislators to get new people to join with us. Everything was moving forward, and it appeared like a record attendance was going to occur.
Then Mother Nature reared her ugly face. It hasn't really snowed all winter and the night before our conference it snowed about 7 inches. Can you believe it?! It certainly slowed us down, but it didn't halt our progress. In spite of the weather the crowds still came and we had a turnout of approximately 1250.
As president, I was in charge of the opening session and the two keynote speakers. I wanted to shake things up a bit and have something more than a traditional presidential address. A few months ago I enlisted Katie from the Canyons District to help us with a flash mob to kick off the conference. I gave her two suggestions - let's do something like the intro to an awards show and it should follow the Go For the Gold theme. I said I was willing to do anything she had in my mind - little did I know she would take me up on the offer.
Katie created a theme song to the conference and enlisted about 30 people to be part of the flash mob. She scripted a movie where the members of the UCET board would engage in a "tech olympics" while singing the chorus of the song. I was asked to sing along while wearing a track suit and headband. At the end of the flash mob I would enter the auditorium while carrying an olympic torch (ipad with the lighter app). Wow - this was something we'd never seen before and I know it will go down as my legacy for the organization. Take a look...
The other major part of my duties was to arrange for keynote speakers - the first was a no-brainer. Rushton Hurley may not be a household name to most of you, but I knew he was a perfect open to our conference. Rushton is a teacher and technology-innovator from the Bay area. I first heard him speak a couple years ago and I wanted him to come to UCET. His presentation was perfect and put us on the right track for our day of technology classes.
Our closing keynote was a bit of a stretch. I wanted Rulon Gardner as part of our conference. I know many people out there can't forgive him for quitting The Biggest Loser. Big deal! I could care less about his being on a reality TV show. Rulon Gardner is a two-time Olympic medalist and he had the biggest upset in recent memory in the gold medal match from 2000. I knew he would be great and he didn't disappoint. He encouraged teachers to reach out to their students and help them go for the gold.
Another great moment for me at the conference was getting my sister Alicia to be part of the event. I know she isn't a technologist or a teacher, but her workshop on helping women with their self-image and wardrobe is something I wanted at the conference. Alicia spoke to a full room of teachers, all women, and one proud brother. It was fun to have her participate and we really enjoyed spending the afternoon together at the conference.
The two days of the conference were long and busy, but before I knew it, UCET was over. All the hard work was done. My term as president was complete. I can't say how everyone felt about UCET 2012, but it was one I'll never forget. The board went above and beyond in sharing their time and energy. The presenters were incredible. Everyone contributed to making the conference a huge success and it really did achieve the Gold.
I am not a person who tries to win promotions on the radio. Truth is, I don't really listen to the radio and when I do I prefer sports talk radio (I know stupid Dos Equis reference, sorry). The other day a colleague won some tickets to Stars on Ice and asked if I wanted some of the tickets. I replied, "Why don't you try to win tickets to something cool - something like the Monster Jam truck show this weekend."
The next day at work Mindy came in and declared, " Guess what I won last night - 4 tickets to Monster Jam." I couldn't believe it, but she told me that X96 was giving them away through their Facebook page. I immediately entered and the rest is history - tickets in hand we were going to Monster Jam.
I've never attended a monster truck rally before, so I wasn't really sure what to expect. I just knew that my boys would LOVE it. Big trucks, fast turns, loud music = happy boys. A friend suggested taking some ear plugs along. Best suggestion ever. I couldn't believe how loud it was in the arena. Once they fire up the engines, you can't hear a thing!
For two hours we enjoyed some car smashing action. The truck of the night was the Grave Digger - a 30 year veteran of the circuit. It was impressive to watch these big rigs trample everything in path. When they propel themselves off the jumps and go airborne it was a sight to behold.
Overall our family gave the night some mixed reviews: Alex loved it, Dylan ignored it, and Kennedy survived it. My favorite line while going home came from Alex - "Dad, when are we going to get one of those monster trucks?"
We decided to mix things up a bit for Family Home Evening this week and took a road trip downtown. We've been to Temple Square before to see the Christmas lights, but it's a total mad house and hard to explain the significance of the Temple to the kids. We wanted to go and let the kids walk through the Visitors Center, learn about the history of the building, and see the Christus.
We had a great time! The kids held in there as we went from building to building and saw all the various exhibits. It was pretty cool to take the kids to the upper deck of the Visitors Center and see the giant statue of the Savior. Dylan kept wanting to go up and talk to Him, so we told Big D that you just have to look at the statue - not touch it.
After we left the Temple grounds we headed across the street to the Joseph Smith Memorial Building. Of course the kids wanted to ride the elevator to the very top and look out across the valley. It was a great view, as you can look east or west at our beautiful city. I'm glad we headed downtown to see the amazing sites our Church has to offer. What a fun Family Home Evening!
We were quite surprised when Kennedy told us she wanted to play soccer again. Dede's been down this road before and she didn't really like it the first time. We spent more time trying to convince her to play than she actually spent time on the field. So, what changed her attitude? A new intensity in her life? A desire for more physical activity? A love for all things Real? Nope - her friend Ava wanted to play. Simple as that. 
