Nana's New Knee

For years my mom has struggled with her knees.  She's known for a while that she would end up doing a total knee replacement at some point in her life.  For the past couple of years, stairs have killed her and it's tougher and tougher to get around.  So, when she told us she was ready for the surgery our family was excited for my mom.

We were fortunate that my work schedule had me teaching in St. George this week.  I could complete my trainings and still have time to be there for the surgery.  She went under the knife earlier this morning and after a couple of hours it was over.  She slept much of the afternoon and by evening - they had her strapped up to machine that would keep her knee moving.  It's unbelievable how quickly the hospital gets people moving.

Surgery is never easy, but my mom is committed to the process - especially the rehab that will follow.  I know she can do it.  She's a tough lady who can accomplish anything she put her mind to.  Good job Mom - we'll have a race in a couple of months!

Hanging at the Jazz Game

One of the perks with Alex being in the Jr. Jazz this year is the free tickets to a real Jazz game. I remember when I was a kid this was the highlight of the season. The chance to watch a real game was to good to be true. I was a bit surprised when I mentioned the tickets to Alex a couple weeks ago and he didn't seem that interested. His response - "Can I play with your phone if we go?"- wasn't really the same level of enthusiasm as I'd hoped.

I kept talking up the chance to go together to the game and, by the day it arrived, Alex was finally on board. It didn't hurt that we planned to ride TRAX with some friends from our neighborhood. Once we got to the arena, it was time for our climb. As you can imagine free tickets to the Jr. Jazz aren't close. I think we were a couple rows down from the top - still it didn't matter. We were together and that was enough for me.

Alex was fairly interested in the game for a while. The Jazz were winning and that kept things positive. I will say that Alex was a little more interested in the treats I promised him than he was on the court. In the end the free tickets cost me $5 for TRAX, $5 for an oversized pretzel, and $5 for some nachos. It didn't matter to me though. I was just happy to spend some time with my son. To me, the night was priceless....

1 year

It's been a year since my dad passed away.  We decided to get together as a family on the one year anniversary to remember my dad and his amazing life.  We met at the cemetery where my dad is buried and spent a few minutes remembering him.  One thing about this year...it was freezing!  My dad's funeral was actually a pretty nice day for January and there wasn't much snow on the ground.

We had a moment of silence and then my sister and my mom said a few words.  We sang the song that the grandkids sang for him at the funeral.  We all wrote a personal memory of my dad and tied it to a balloon, then let them go at the same time. 

A Houtz get together always includes some kind of food, so we headed to Alan and Sherrie's house for dinner and treats.  It was nice way to spend some time with my family to remember my dad. 

It has been an interesting year, adjusting to life without my dad.  My mom has been amazing, even though it has been hard on her.  We all miss him so much.  I think of dad every time I work in my yard, or plant my garden, or open a bottle of canned salsa, dill pickles, or work with any tool.  I had so many good memories with my dad and I really do miss him.  I know he is in a better place but it is still hard to not have him with us.  I love you, dad. 

38

I'm not sure if it's just me but 38 doesn't really inspire any emotions.

I do enjoy that I'm older than most of the professional athletes I watch on tv.

I like to think that I'm still younger than most of the power brokers that make the world go round.

I know that I'll never make the Top 30 Under 30 list and my time is dwindling on making a list for Under 40.

Still, I am really comfortable with where I'm at in life right now.  I like being 38 - it seems to fit.

It's even better when people give me presents.

Dede and Ear Piercing

Kennedy's wanted to get her ears pierced for the past couple of years.  I guess everyone feels the need to poke a hole in their body at some point.  Tara and I made her promise that she would wait until after her baptism. We wanted her to be our little girl for a few days more.

Baptism on Sunday - check.

Guess what Dede wanted to do first thing after school on Monday. Yep - off to the mall they went.

Kennedy actually did pretty well. The whole thing happened so fast she wasn't quite sure what to think. Before you knew it, our little girl turned into a tween right before our eyes.