Remembering the Past

I've never really been to into Memorial Day. Mostly, I just think of it as a nice day off from work. A chance to get outside and have some grilled meat. It's probably because my parents are both still alive and I don't have too many graves that need a visit. Today I had a different experience of remembering the past.

I had been out all afternoon with Jason, Big Al, and Coleton geocaching and when I came home this note was stuck in the door:

Talk about a blast from the past. Since Dave left for medical school about 8 years ago I've seen or talked to him a handful of times. You can imagine what a surprise it was to read that he was back in Utah and living in Happy Valley. Regardless of the time lapse, it was good to learn he was still alive and kicking. I called him later in the afternoon and it turned out to be a good way to recall some fun memories.

All Aboard

About two weeks ago Kennedy started begging for something; to our surprise it wasn't a treat. It seems the marketing department at KBYU has reached their target audience (3 year olds) with a commercial they ran during Curious George. So, Dede came to us with a request, to ride on Thomas the Train. Apparently, he was visiting from the island of Sodor and would only be in Heber for the week. Knowing that Kennedy loves riding trains, and that Alex was free (sorry, but it factored into the decision) we headed up to Wasatch County to ride with Thomas.

Today was a pretty rainy day and it looked for a while that it would be a wet ride. As we headed up the canyon though Mother Nature cooperated and it was cleared off. Liam and Evan joined us on the trip and the crew enjoyed the chilly ride down the track. I think the real highlight of the day was the Thomas tattoos and the balloon animals. The only down point was that Sir Toppham Hatt left at 5:30 and we didn't get a chance to meet him.

In the end it was a fun, quick trip to the Island of Sodor and the kids had a great time. I don't know that I'd go again, but it was worth a one trip ticket.

Weekend with the Girls

St. George has always had a special place in my heart. When I was younger my family would always go to St. George for little mini vacations. We loved playing at the pool for hours, going for walks, hikes and going for drives. We never had an agenda and it was always relaxing.

I guess that's why I was pretty excited when the girls in our family wanted to do a quick trip down south. Our trip was originally planned for March, then April and of course, it ended up working out that we could all go last weekend, the hottest weekend of the year.

So the 10 of us headed out to St. George on Friday. I was with the late traveling group and so we made it just in time for a late dinner, while the early travelers spent most of the day at the pool.

We arrived at our condo and it was actually really nice, except that it was supposed to sleep 6 to 8 people and, well, it barely slept 6. I wish I would have taken a picture of all of us smashed on the floor of the condo, trying to get some sleep. It was classic Houtz sleeping quarters. It seems that we always try to get as many people as we can in a room so we can save a little dough. It didn't matter, since we spent most of the night hanging out and talking.

Saturday was the only full day we had in St. George and since it was supposed to be over 100 degrees, we spent the entire day at the pool. I was a little nervous about being outside all day in the heat, but it was awesome. We spent most of the day in the pool, floating around on air mattresses and chatting. We ate treats, drank Pepsi and I was able to get some good reading in during the few minutes I actually was not in the water. We even spent an hour exercising with a cute lady that wanted us to do water aerobics with her. Sounds boring but when you are chasing around 2 kids all day, it was very nice to relax and not do anything for a few hours.


After a day in the sun, we hit the outlet malls for a few minutes of shopping before a late dinner at the Pizza Factory. Dinner was yummy and then we headed back to the condo for more girl time. That translates to chocolate, Pepsi, a game of Apples to Apples and of course, lots of talking.


After sleeping in on Sunday, we ate breakfast and then just as quickly as it started, our little girls weekend out was over. We packed up and headed home. I was sad that it was so short, but it was nice to get away for a couple of days and recharge the batteries. I owe Jared and his family a big thanks for watching the kids all weekend. They did such a good job that Kennedy didn't miss me much at all. When we woke up on Monday morning, the first thing she said was, "where are nana and papa?"

Mr. Mom

It's not often that I choose to use the title of Mr. Mom. Tara does so much for our family that I sometimes feel like a hindrance to the routine, rather than helping. This weekend I got a chance to step it up and play a central role with the kids. Tara went on a Girls Weekend Out with the Houtz Women so I was became Mr. Mom. I'll be honest, the idea of being alone with the kids for an entire weekend seems very daunting to me. Everything from what foods to eat, to what jammies to wear really are issues that don't appear on my radar screen on a daily basis (I can hear all the moms out there groan). Still, I was excited for the opportunity to spend some quality time with Dede and Alex.

Friday stated out with a bang, literally. Kennedy and I were wrestling in the basement and we had an accident, a minor one, still. Dede tried to jump on me while I was laying on the ground. I wasn't paying particular attention to where we were in the room, but as soon as she cleared my body I knew she was in trouble. I heard a thud and realized she went face first in the bricks surrounding the fireplace. When face meets brick, tears and scrapes are a quick result. Good news is that no serious harm was done, bad news was that Kennedy immediately wanted her Mommy. It took a while to calm her down, and then we were ready for some more adventures.

Before I give the impression that I spent the entire weekend by myself, my family really jumped in and bailed me out. My parents stayed both nights so I could get up and leave early (work and church don't give time off for a Mr. Mom weekend). All in all I was actually gone for the better part of Saturday and Sunday (again, I can hear all the moms out there groan). Still, I made up for my time away by giving every minute I was home to the kids. I wrestled, played horsey, pushed the swings, wiped noses or bums, and read stories. It was a lot of work, but tons of fun. The kids loved spending so much time together and I loved having them run to me instead of looking for Tara (this changed the minute she came home).

I need to say that I appreciate Tara more than ever. A lot of the time I think that I work long hours, but I forget that moms are always on call - 24/7. I'm glad that Tara could get a weekend away, and even if I couldn't do it all by myself, it was awesome to reconnect with the kids - they're great!!!

Diary of a Jazz Fan

So, the series is tied at 2-2. The Jazz have been in every game, but only managed to win the games in the Energy Solutions Arena. You'd think with our team winning the last two games, there'd be plenty of room for optimism. Truth is I think the Jazz could win the series, but I have a lot of questions about the last 3 games. Here they are in no particular order:

• Will Carlos Boozer show up in 2 of the next 3 games?


• Can the Jazz hold the Lakers below 100 pts. or 50% from the field?


• Who is going to stop Kobe during crunch time?


• Will anyone give Deron Williams any help during the 4th quarter?


• Should Kyle Korver play as much in the 2nd half, when he's a liability on D?


• Can the Jazz win in L.A.?

It's been a fun series and the weekend's games were incredible, but I still believe that the only way the Jazz can win is to step up and play some D. After that, someone has to score besides D - Will in the second half. Other than that - How bout' this Jazz?