This is the End

This post marks the end of NaBloPoMo 2008. I don't know that it's been one of my better months in the blog. Many will say I didn't blog about the kids enough. Others will declare that I spent too much time on the Obama victory and politics. Cougar fans will cry because they're cougar fans. Still, it's been a pretty good month for the blog.

This is my 3rd straight year participating in NaBloPoMo. At times I find it exhilarating, a chance to share thoughts and feelings that don't often make it into the blog. Other times I find myself stuck, trying to come up with anything interesting to write about. I know two things are always true at the end of November - I'm glad I blogged for a month straight and I'm glad I don't have to do it again until next year.

Thanksgiving at the Cabin

We spent Thanksgiving at the Houtz family cabin this year. Our little family is getting too big for the cabin. We had about 40 people there and it was a bit cramped.

There wasn't anything too spectacular about our day. We ate about 2 pm,and as usual, the food was delicious and the pumpkin pies were excellent. After dinner, we (well, I should say the women) did the dishes (which was not a small undertaking!), and then we hung out reading the family predictions that we do every four years. We started this tradition on Thanksgiving about 20-25 years ago and it is fun to see what we predicted and how the world has changed since then. On one of the papers that I filled out in 1988, I wrote that Saddam Hussein had taken over Kuwait and gas was really expensive-$1.39. Wouldn't that be nice?

Anyway, after hanging out and getting rid of the turkey hangover, we bundled up the kids and went for a quick golf ball hunt and walk to the tire swing. It was nice to get outside after being in the cabin most of the day. The weather was nice, just cool enough to wear a jacket.

After pie and a few games for the kids it was time to head out. We headed down to Jared's parents house in New Harmony and have enjoyed a nice weekend here. I'm sure Jared will blog about it, so I won't go into too much detail.

We hope everyone had a fun Thanksgiving!

4:43

Last Saturday I woke up early to go to the temple with the Youth. Today I woke up early to... Why did I wake up early today? I can't explain it, but I'm up. Maybe it's my body's revenge for a week of poor food choices, but I can't sleep. I've been awake for a couple of hours and there's only so much you can do before everyone else awakens.

I've been trying to catch up grading my college class this morning. I don't know why, but it's hard to grade a class that's purely online. There's an element of contact that I've missed with the students and I think they feel detached as well. When there's no human contact I find people tend to put things off and then they find themselves getting behind. Case in point, getting assignments in on time hasn't really been the students' strong suit this semester and I find myself taking longer to get materials back to them as a consequence. But, the semester is almost over so, like the students, it's time to buckle down and get everything finished.

I tried to grade all day yesterday, but life kept getting in the way. Tara, Alicia, my mom, and the kids all went to movies yesterday which left my dad and me home with Alex and Quinn. No big deal, each of the boys was taking a nap, so I should have plenty of time to work. Right? Wrong. Within minutes of the family leaving, Quinn woke up and wouldn't go back to sleep. He wasn't really bad, just in need of attention. Then, Alex woke up and he was upset. He missed his mommy and that's all we heard about for the next 5 hours. Tears, tantrums, vomiting, and whining were all part of boys day home together. By the time Tara finally did get home, Alex and I were both DONE!

So, maybe it's a good thing I'm up early today - at least no one can interrupt me until after 7am.

Turkey Bowl 2008

One of my favorite parts of Thanksgiving is the annual 4th Ward Turkey Bowl. It's a touch football game where the score isn't as important as the chance for middle aged glory. The only problem is we forget sometimes that we're middle aged. Now, I don't want to say that I'm some old guy, but the day after the game I've used more Ben Gay and taken more ibuprofen than my recommended daily allowance.

I should have know the game wasn't for me when I saw a bunch of 20 - somethings on the field and I only knew a handful of guys playing. Apparently the Ward only brought out 6 players this year, so there were 10 other guys I didn't know. As soon as I went onto the field I realized these guys were serious - rushing, plays, flags, cones - all should have signaled my departure from this Turkey Bowl.

Still, I played. My job was to rush and prevent the rush. I never touched the ball, but I got touched - a lot. Picking up a blitz, my arm got bent back and I am really feeling it today. I think my retirement is imminent as a trip to the family pharmacy accompanied my Thanksgiving dinner.

Happy Thanksgiving

Kennedy didn't wait too long to switch from one holiday into the next. For the past few days she's been grabbing the toy ads from the paper, so she can show us what she wants for Christmas. We keep telling her to put it on her list. There's only one problem - she can't really write up a list. Reading - great, writing - still 3 years old. No worries, we sat down and made a video list of all Dede's wishes. Happy Thanksgiving everyone.