Diary of a Utah Fan

Football season officially started this afternoon in the state of Utah. Each season begins with every team feeling like they have a chance and by the end of the first Saturday, half the teams are out of the hunt. Today Utah had the opportunity to play their first game at Michigan, the Big House. There were 100 thousand screaming Wolverines, all cheering against our Utes - but it didn't matter. Utah came away with a 25-23 win, even though there's nothing really to brag about.

The games started great with the Utes forcing a 3 and out. Problem is, the punt was fumbled on the 24 yard line. Still, two plays later Utah picked off an errant pass - only to see it taken back due to pass interference. Within a minute or so, the score was 7-0 for the Wolverines. No matter though, the Utes offense was clicking in the first half. Johnson threw over the middle time and time again and by the intermission it was 22-10 for the Utes.

The second half was another matter altogether. Nothing worked well for the offense. I think the Utes gained less than 60 yards for the half. If it wasn't for the terrible play by Michigan the Utes would be 0-1 for sure. Still, in spite of themselves the Utes got the "W" and now it's on to week 2. Let's just hope that this was a opening game test and the Utes passed - even if it was with a C-.

He Gets It

Last night I was very excited to watch history as Barack Obama accepted the Democratic nomination for President of the United States. This is something that many people never thought they'd see in their lifetimes, but there it was. It's no secret that I really like Senator Obama and feel that he should be the next president. Last night reinforced that judgment even further.

Obama addressed all the points on which he's been criticized: Lack of experience, no foreign policy background, too young, tax and spend liberal, and others. I can't say whether or not the speech turned people to the Illinois Senator, but they can't claim that they don't know who he is and what he stands for. As he ticked off a list of reason to avoid McCain and the Republicans, Obama claimed, "I get it". And he does, Obama may be slanted by the opposition as an elitist who is out of touch with Americans, but that couldn't be further from the truth.

This will be a close election come November, but Barack Obama's nomination has changed the game in our country. I truly believe that America is moving closer to it's promise of equality for all people. Citizens from around the country can see themselves reflected in the ideals of Senator Obama, now let's just hope we have a chance to celebrate on November 4th.

Kennedyisms

I need to do a better job of writing down some of the great things that Kennedy says and does. Here are some of the most recent:

"Don't bother me with those details, mom."

"You are distracting me, mom."

The other day I was hopping out of the shower and of course Kennedy came barging in the bathroom.

"Mom, will I grow boobs like yours when I grow up?"

"Yes, Kennedy, you will."

"Mom, will I grow a big bum like yours when I grow up?"

"I sure hope not."

There's nothing like the honesty of a 3 year old to make you feel great about yourself!

Yellowstone Part II

Saturday started out great. The kids slept til 8:30, which was an hour and a half later than Friday. My dad, Jason, and I went out early and found several geocaches around West Yellowstone. We just couldn't let a new state come and go without finding some of the local hides. Everyone was ready for a fun day at the park.

We started out with everyone's version of Yellowstone - Old Faithful. I'll say the the geyser has it's ups and downs, this time it was kind of a downer. As we were waiting for Old Faithful to erupt a park ranger warned us not to get sucked into taking pictures and video of the pre-eruption. So when the geyser started to blow I held off snapping any shots. After a minute I took one shot and I'm glad I did - it was all over 10 seconds later. There weren't any 130 foot sprays, this time Old Faithful barely made it to 70 or so. Still, Kennedy and Alex couldn't look away from the mighty geyser.



We finished up at Old Faithful around 5 pm and there was a decision to make - finish driving the lower loop or drive to Jackson, Wyoming to celebrate Liam's birthday. I argued on the side of the lower loop - the kids could see more animals and we could celebrate in West Yellowstone. My sister wanted the group to go Jackson - a mere 5 hour round trip. Needless to say we went to Jackson. After getting to our stop around 7:30 we ate pizza, gave presents, and turned around for the 3 hour return trip to Montana. I'd like to say that I enjoyed the drive, but I didn't. I wanted to have family unity, so I kept my mouth shut (more or less) - but I will never do that again.

Our trip was over as we drove back to Salt Lake through Idaho. I have always said that I didn't want to have a DVD player in the car, the drive home made me change my mind. I've never had a worse drive with our kids. Kennedy was tired and grumpy, yet she refused to sleep (until we got off at our exit in Holladay). Alex was bored and frustrated at being in his car seat for hour upon hour. Tara and I were both at our breaking points and took turns driving so we could avoid the war zone in the back seat. Let's just say the trip didn't end as we'd hoped, but it was still worth it - kind of....

Yellowstone Part I

For the past few years our family has gone camping during the month of August. While we love our trip up to West Fork of Black's Fork, we regretted the fact that everyone didn't come with us to the mountains. A couple of months ago we decided to take the entire family on a trip to Yellowstone. We set the dates, found a condo, and headed north to Montana.

It was a pretty uneventful first day as we drove the 5 hours through Northern Utah and Idaho to arrive in West Yellowstone, Montana. About the only interesting stop along the way was in Pocatello. I've never been to this city before and I'm not sure I want to go back. The city is arranged with the downtown area located quite a way from the freeway, so you are forced to drive through neighborhoods to find places to eat. Even worse, once you're ready to leave you drive around on one way streets until you finally make your way back to I-15.

Yesterday we woke up and headed into the park. For Day 1 we decided to drive the northern loop of the park. The kids absolutely loved seeing all of the hot pots and mud pots as we walked around the pathways. Kennedy wasn't too sure about the geysers, but she really liked the colors and the bubbles. I don't know that I've ever seen her run like this before!

The other big event of Day 1 in Yellowstone were the Upper and Lower Falls. These are really amazing and it was fun to take the kids to the lookouts to watch the water course off the rocks. I think everyone couldn't believe how much water is in the rivers of Yellowstone. Kennedy and Alex have only been around Utah water, which is mostly lakes and swimming pools, so this was a huge difference.

As we were driving back to the condo, we realized just how wild Yellowstone really is. Tara spotted a bison hanging out on the side of the road so we hurried to grab some video. I know it's nothing great, but Dede had the line of the day - "Why is that buffalo peeing?" Ah - Yellowstone.....