Brent and Rita's Blog

Kenna's (and my) Science Fair Project

2012-02-10T01:16:00.001-07:00

Yesterday was the Science Fair for Kenna's school. For a couple of reasons, I had high hopes that her project would do well. The first reason was that Todd did very well when he was that age, going on to win first place at the district fair. The second reason was that I was the one that thought of her experiment and am very proud of myself for thinking of it...probably a bit too proud.

As you know, I have a degree in Physics. It's something that I enjoy, but it won't surprise you to learn that I don't get to use it much. On the rare occasion I get to apply my skills, I really get into it. So when I first learned about the science fair, I started thinking pretty hard of the perfect experiment.

Originally, I had wanted to measure the speed of light. I thought that would be about the coolest experiment that I could pull off. I even thought of a way to measure it using a laser pointer, a mirror, and a spinning bicycle tire. But after a few calculations, I realized that either the mirror would have to be a couple of miles away from the laser pointer or else the bicycle tire would have to be spinning a few hundred miles per hour. I decided to settle on something a bit less ambitious: measuring the speed of sound.

Before formally proposing to Kenna that she use my idea for her project, I decided to do a proof-of-concept experiment to make sure it was even possible to measure the speed of sound using household items. So one night after the kids went to bed, I got my Physics on.

My initial tests went very well. I won't bore you with the details, but I was able to measure the speed of sound using only my laptop computer. Okay, it was so cool that I have to bore you with the details. First I installed a free software application called Audacity that allows recording and editing audio. Then I created a sound file that would play a loud click on just the right audio channel. My laptop has stereo speakers and also stereo microphones. These features allowed me to start recording, play the audio file out of just one speaker, then visually examine the recordings of both the left and right audio channels. Because the microphones are about two inches apart, the right microphone picks up the sound slightly before the left microphone. The time difference is only 1/6700 of a second, but the standard recording takes a sample every 1/44100 of a second. So, the difference is about six or seven samples in length. Using a bit of algebra and arithmetic I was able to measure a speed of about 700mph, which is within 7% of the expected value. Not too shabby.

Measuring the speed of sound using Audacity

The next day I excitedly proposed to Kenna that she use my idea for her project. She certainly didn't get as excited as I was, but she did agree. We knew the final experiment would need to be more scientific that just a single measurement of the speed of sound. After some thought, we came up with the idea to measure the speed through different materials.

Kenna got the idea approved by her teacher and then started doing all the necessary research. You already know that Kenna is great at doing any kind of project. The science fair project was right up her alley. She was in charge of creating the report and the display board. She also came up with a list of materials she wanted to measure the speed of sound through. I was in charge of performing the actual experiment.

My initial measurement had gone so well that I assumed other measurements would be simple. Boy, was I wrong. I was ultimately able to devise a simple way to measure sound through other materials, but it sure took me a lot of time to get there. I spent hours and hours over the Christmas break trying to measure the speed of sound through water. I tried what felt like a million different methods, but finally had to scrap that idea. My final solution required two microphones that I bought for $5 each at Walmart. I connected them with a y-adapter and plugged them into the microphone jack of my computer. I then placed them both on the floor and hit the floor with a hammer. The microphones picked up the sound as it traveled through the flooring. We repeated the experiment for wood, tile, and cement flooring.

I learned from Todd's science fair successes that the key to doing well is the ability to clearly explain the scientific concepts involved. So I made sure Kenna understood the nature of sound waves and why they travel at different speeds through different materials. Of course, my efforts were unnecessary because she did such a good job with her research. She also made a great looking display. I went to the awards night fully expecting her to be a winner.

There were about 80 entries in the school fair. They chose 25 First Place winners and then they narrowed it down to seven Best in Show projects that would go on to the district fair. When they announced the First Place winners, they had them all come up on stage. We were not surprised at all when Kenna was selected. Then they started announcing the Best in Show winners. There was excitement and anticipation, but not any suspense as they announced the winners. They made it to the last two names and I still had full confidence the entire time.They finally announced her name second-to-last. She had a big smile on her face when they gave her her ribbon.

The district fair is February 22. I'm sure she'll do very well.

Eric and Lisa's Reception

2012-01-29T20:59:00.001-07:00

Friday we went to the wedding reception for Eric and Lisa. I think that everyone that follows this blog already knows that Eric is the widower of my late sister Sheri. I also think almost everyone knew that he was getting married. But, what you might not all know is that the wedding was this past week and that his new wife is named Lisa. She lives in Farmington and teaches at Davis High School.

She and Eric seem like a good fit to me. I still don't know her very well, but her personality seems similar to his: quiet, conservative, goodhearted, and genuinely nice. Like Eric, she lost her spouse not many years ago and has been a single parent ever since.

We all got together before the reception for family pictures. Most of Eric and Lisa's families were there. I hadn't met any of Lisa's family and hadn't seen some of Eric's family in years, so the event was a great way to establish or renew many relationships. Having my siblings there made it entertaining. I really wish my parents could have been there, but they were delayed on their way back from Fiji and couldn't make it.

I can't explain how friendly to us the families of Lisa and her late husband were. These are people that we aren't going to see very often, so a close relationship isn't exactly mandatory. But, we seemed to make an instant connection to them. They gave me every reason to think that all families involved will get along very well.

One special part of the reception was a display of photographs of Eric and also some of Lisa with their respective late spouses, along with their children. One set of pictures had the caption "Because someone we love is heaven, there's a little bit of heaven in our home." The saying was originally written in reference to Eric's loss, but I thought how the sentiment applies to Lisa also, and doubly so to the new home that they will have.

The reception was a special occasion and I hope that we are all able to get together again in the future. I couldn't be happier for Eric and Lisa and look forward to seeing them often since they will be living just up the road in Farmington.

19th Anniversary Celebration

2012-01-17T22:24:00.000-07:00

On Sunday, Rita and I completed 19 years of marriage. That's right: 19 years! It's hard to believe it was that long ago that we tied the knot. I must have been like 8 years old.

I was in charge of planning some sort of celebration. It was particularly challenging this year for a couple of reasons. First of all, we didn't want to spend much money. Yes, we are trying to be disciplined with our money, but more importantly this year is an off year. We will spend the big bucks for our 20th anniversary. The second difficulty is that we have both temporarily sworn off of junk food. (I will probably explain more about our new diet in a future post, but basically our whole family is trying to not eat junk food except on specific occasions during the first 100 days of 2012.) Going out to dinner or a treat has been a common date activity since we first met, but without eating junk food our options would be limited to basically a sandwich from Subway--not exactly the most romantic restaurant. I knew I'd have to use my imagination just a bit.

The fun started on Saturday. The first activity I planned was for the two of us to go to a discount movie. We went and saw Tower Heist at the Kaysville theater. Neither of us knew much about the movie, other than it got a decent score on Rotten Tomatoes. We were pleasantly surprised. It has some funny parts, and the plot is pretty good for a comedy. I wouldn't recommend it for young children, but it's definitely worth seeing.

On Sunday we exchanged gifts with each other. Rita got me a trunk-mounted bike rack for my car, which I will use a lot this summer. I got her a set of Conair Xtreme Instant Heat Hot Rollers. These are not exactly the most romantic gifts we've ever gotten each other, but I think we got all the romantic gifts we could think of back during anniversaries 1 through 10. I guess you could say that the romance has dwindled a bit, but did I really want some cologne?

On Monday, we decided to include the kids in our celebration. We all went to the Ogden Ice Sheet and participated in the Layton City Family Skate Night. The skating was only a dollar! We have varying skill levels at the sport. Rita is a good skater, coming from Canada and all. I am just good enough to make it fun. Todd is decent, and Kenna and Alec had never been. Everyone sure had fun.

After some early hesitations everyone was cruising around the rink pretty well.

It was a fun celebration for me. But, it wasn't as fun as what I was celebrating...19 wonderful years of being married to Rita!

New Year's Resolutions

2012-01-12T21:49:00.001-07:00

When it comes to New Year's resolutions, I (Brent) normally set one or two, if any. Also, I normally forget about them some time around January 2nd or 3rd. This year I have several goals and resolution and I'm committed to working on them throughout the year. Some of them are pretty aggressive, so I've got my work cut out for me. Here is the list:

Qualify for the Boston Marathon. This isn't a new goal. I've had it since August of 2010. The qualifying times are more strict this year, so I realize it's a bit of a long shot. It is going to take a ton of work and a lot of luck to even come close. I'm excited that my brother Steve has the same goal. He and I are both signed up to run the Utah Valley Marathon. Wouldn't it be fun if we both qualified together?
Create and follow a set of value statements. This might be one of the cheesiest goals I've ever set. It seems too much like one of those hokey company mission statements. But, this won't be imposed from above like it is in a company. These will be personal to me and I can customize them to my beliefs and needs. I actually got the idea during Elders' Quorom instruction on New Year's Day. The lesson explained how George Albert Smith had written what he called his "personal creed." The statements were so specific, profound and well-written that I thought it'd be a good idea to try to come up with something similar for myself. Unlike a company mission statement, I won't show my value statements on a PowerPoint slide at a company meeting or anything like that. I'll read them from time-to-time as a reminder of my own personal creed.
Keep a daily tracker. If you're forgetful and unorganized like I am, you need this. My tracker is just a sheet of paper that lists all the items I should do each day. It's got things like weighing myself, feeding my fish, flossing, and getting to bed on time. You'd think I would have mastered that level of simple organization back when I was a teenager, but I still struggle with it.
Read 12 books. I like to read. Or, at least I wish I liked to read. I don't do it nearly as much as I think I should. I only read two books in all of 2011, so I'll need to put in a lot more time than I have been.
Post to my blog 26 times in the year. I blogged a lot more last year than I ever have and enjoyed it. I did it every day for a month, so every other week shouldn't be too hard. The difficulty will be remembering. The posts will be spaced far enough apart that I could easily forget.
Be more patient with my kids. Of the times I've lost my temper in the last five years, about 99% of them have been directed at my children. It's so obvious that yelling and screaming is counter-productive, but in the heat of the moment it seems so logical. I'm committed to not letting myself get to that point this year.
Pay off our home equity loan. Last year was a difficult year financially for Rita and me. This year promises to be much better. If things continue to go well and we are disciplined, we can pay back the money we've borrowed recently. I have a lofty goal to never borrow money again. I'm not sure that is a possibility, but paying this off would go a long way to making it a reality.
Earn a promotion at work. I'm not ambitious at work and have no desire to be a manager, but seeing multiple coworker friends receive multiple advancements has spurred me to try a bit of self-promotion. I'm trying to toot my own horn more often and be more assertive. At my last performance review I announced my intention to complete the steps necessary for advancement on the technical track, so now I'm officially bucking for a promotion.

What are some of your resolutions and goals for the new year? Please post a comment if you have one or two that you are willing to share.

Wind Storm of '11

2011-12-01T11:59:00.000-07:00

This morning was perhaps the worst wind storm I've ever been a part of. We had heard the weather forecast yesterday saying that winds were likely, but we had no idea it would be this bad. We could hear the wind howling during the night, then the power went out. The kids had to get ready for school in the dark. When we left the house we could see the ongoing damage. There was a tree across the street to the East that had been uprooted. Then while I was getting in the car I heard a crack and looked across the street to the North and saw that there was a tree that had been broken in half. The thickest park of the trunk had been snapped like a twig.

On the news we heard that there were wind gusts up to 100 mph and the freeway and many schools had been closed. They didn't say that our kids' schools were closed, so I went ahead and took them. There were trees and other debris all over the place. There was a power line down on the way to Kenna's school that we had to go around. When we got to Alec's school, the power was out and they were sending everyone home. As we were driving away we saw a huge tree across the street that had fallen down.

It was hard for us to get back home. I tried to avoid the main intersection in Kaysville because the stop lights were out and the traffic was backed up. But, I couldn't go around because three different roads that I tried were closed because of downed power lines. I had to avoid about 10 different large trees that had fallen into the road.

When I got home I noticed that the neighbors both South and West of us had lost parts of their fences. I had Todd put our plastic lawn chairs in the garage last night, but I didn't think to put away the heavy metal patio furniture. It had blown across the lawn.

I made a video attempting to show how bad the wind was, but you can barely see the trees that fell and the audio didn't work. But, it's all I've got.

The news story about the storm is here.

Book Review: The Hunger Games

2011-11-30T23:46:00.001-07:00

Kenna and I just finished reading The Hunger Games. We read it together and liked it a lot. This is the review that I posted on Goodreads:

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Before reading The Hunger Games, I thought it was yet another simple-minded book for early teens. It had been highly recommended to me by more than one friend, but I was skeptical that I'd like it. As a general rule, I don't like works of fiction so I'm very selective when it comes to novels. I decided not to read it.

In the meantime, my wife purchased the book after a friend of hers recommended it. Curious to know if it was a book I would enjoy, I encouraged my 15-year-old son to read it. He declined. Finally, I talked my 11-year-old daughter into reading it. To help get her started, I agreed to read the first chapter to her. Well, it didn't even take that long for me to get pulled in by the story.

My earlier fears were unfounded. The book isn't simple-minded at all, and it's not just for early teens. It has a sophisticated plot and an extensive vocabulary. Yes, the main character is a 16-year-old girl, but the book is an action-packed, blood-and-guts, exciting cliff-hanger. Pretty soon I was not only reading the book to my daughter, but reading it by myself after she was in bed.
The book is at times unnecessarily gory, and it does seem to suffer from plot manipulation. However, the fact that it was able to keep both me and my daughter so interested is no small feat. I've already ordered the sequel (Catching Fire). My daughter and I can't wait to read it.
View all my reviews

Africa Heartwood Project

2011-11-29T10:37:00.000-07:00

We have recently become involved in a local charity called Africa Heartwood Project. We learned about it from Todd's djembe teacher, Andy Jones, who is the founder and director. They help the needy in Africa in several ways. These are the projects we have been involved in:

They buy drums from local artisans in five West African countries and sell them on their web site Djembe Direct. The drums are hand made and very nice. That is where we got our two drums. If you've seen them then you know how nice they are.
They help pay for the installation of hand pump bore holes in rural villages in Ghana. These provide clean water to villages that would otherwise get their drinking water from streams that might be far away, polluted or dry at certain times of the year. We have contributed a small amount of money to a couple of the projects.
They fund the Refugee Orphan Home at Buduburam Refugee Camp in Ghana, Africa. There are over 40 children there that are refugees from Liberia. They are trying to help these children return to Liberia but have been unsuccessful so far. We have donated several items to the orphanage. Almost all of the items have been household items that we no longer use. After we donated a set of items, the orphans sent us a letter:

If you click on the image above, you may be able to read the letter. This is what it says:

Dear Sponsors,

We greet you in the name of our lord Jesus Christ amen. We want to tell you thanks for your kind support and love you people have shown us, we also want to let you know that we recieved ever things your have sent us which are listed below.

1. hats
2. mobile phone
3. mous
4. 10 ear piece
5. 1 digital phito viewer
6. with some drugs
7. mp3 player 3

Yours and only orphan:

They then all signed the letter.

The letter made me smile. It was a bit comical: No, we didn't send them any drugs! But at the same time it seemed so innocent and so sincere. We had given them what was basically junk to us and it was clearly something that they appreciated.

We have supported a variety of different charities, but this is perhaps the one that has been the most tangible. With some charities, the only interaction we have is a form letter. With Africa Heartwood Project we feel much closer. We've been able to talk to Andy about the projects. (He travels to Africa frequently.) We've also seen the videos that they've posted on their web site. And the letter from the orphans was special because it was directly from the people we have helped.

One fun aspect about Africa Heartwood Project is the fundraisers. They are most often drum circles or performances. If you get a chance, I recommend attending one. The next one is tonight, November 29. (Sorry for the late notice.) We are planning on attending. There is information about tonight's fundraiser, as well as other upcoming events, on their website here.

Giving to a charity is almost always rewarding, no matter what the organization or cause. But, we've found helping the Africa Heartwood Project to be a unique experience that has helped us be thankful for what we have and to appreciate the value in selfless giving. We hope to continue to support their cause.

My New Phone

2011-11-28T23:15:00.001-07:00

I got a new phone today. What is my phone of choice?? I'm a hi-tech guy. Surely I got the latest, greatest iPhone. No. I work for a company that sells software for Android. Then surely I got the a fully-loaded Droid phone. Nope.

What I actually got is an LG Rumor Touch. The name makes it sound like it's similar to an iPod Touch. The fact that it has a touch screen is about the only similarity. This is not a hi-tech phone. It is better than my previous phone--an LG Rumor--but not by a lot. And, I don't have a data plan of any kind. No web browsing. No email. No picture mail. No FaceTime. No GPS. Just phone calls and texts. The lady at the Sprint kiosk in the mall was palpably disappointed with me.

I've been surprised by the social pressure to get a smart phone. I'm not just talking about the Sprint lady. My coworkers think I'm the crazy old guy in the office that thinks the internet is a passing fad. Almost everyone I know has a smart phone and loves it. They use them all the time. They get all the latest apps. It makes me feel like the old guy that stops at the end of the freeway on-ramp because the traffic is coming too fast for him to merge.

Am I living in the dark ages? Am I starting to show my age? Will my next phone be a Jitterbug? That might be a partial explanation. After all, I run Windows XP on my computer at home...and I actually like it. I also find my computer programming skills becoming more and more dated. My language of choice is C++. Some of my coworkers think I may as well just be programming in Fortran on punch cards. I have to admit that as I get older I am slower to adopt new technologies.

But like I said, this is only a partial explanation. There are a lot of technologies that I adopt quickly. I bought an Android tablet over a year ago before Android was even cool. I've had a Blu-Ray player for years. No, I don't think my aversion to getting a smart phone is just because I'm old. It's because I'm cheap. I just can't bring myself to pay for the data plan. The aforementioned lady at the Sprint kiosk told me it was only $10 more. Right. When she crunched the numbers it came out to more like $50 a month on top of what I'm currently paying. And Sprint's plan is cheap compared to most.

If you know how cheap I am then you know that $50 a month is about $49 more than I would like to pay. I'm way too frugal to pay that much. The phone itself cost me precisely $0 because of my credits I've earned. Maybe when I'm willing to buy breakfast cereal that comes in a box or soda that isn't labeled "Sam's Choice" then we can talk about a $50 data plan. I'm almost never far from a computer, so really all a smart phone would do for me is let me web browse while I'm in my car. That's a pricey luxury. Oh, and it's illegal.

What do you think? Am I the old lady that has a million dollars in the bank but still lives off dog food? Am I an old dinosaur? Please post a comment. I'm sure one of my kids can show me how to read it.

Layton Lights

2011-11-27T23:44:00.001-07:00

We have a family tradition to visit the holiday lights in Layton. This year it was extra fun because we were able to do it with Rita's parents and with Rita's sister and her family.

The light display is pretty extensive, considering Layton isn't the biggest city around. There are a lot of lights, and they seem to add more each year. I think we enjoy the Layton display almost as much as we do the one at Temple Square. This may seem a bit odd because of how much they differ in quality. The lights on Temple Square are religious, classy, and beautiful. The Layton lights are gaudy, cheesy, and completely disjointed. They are devoid of anything religious or anything having to do with Christmas.

I'm starting to sound a bit like a Christmas lights elitist. But don't get me wrong. I still think they are a lot of fun. They might not give you a feeling of reverence like the Temple Square lights do, but they are very popular, and rightfully so. You can see them all from your car--which is very nice if you're in a hurry--and you can also walk on the path that winds among the trees and other displays. Also, they are free. We have been to more than one lights display that costs money and isn't as good as the Layton lights.

Perhaps the best part about these lights is that our kids love them. While I might find a tree that has been meticulously covered in thousands of uniformly-colored lights to be beautiful, my children have entirely different tastes. They enjoy what I find to be trashy: flashing, multiple colors, animated animals, etc. One particular aspect they like about the Layton lights is that they are memorable. While I wouldn't ever say "I remember that tree on Temple Square from last year," a big part of the Layton display is remembering the frog catching the dragonfly or the ape breaking open the coconut.

If you go to only one light display this holiday season, go to Temple Square. But if you go to two light displays, I recommend you also go to Layton. It will be a memorable experience.

Here are some pictures of the event:

Our family.

Rita's sister Stephanie's family.

The kids being crazy around Rita's parents.

Procrastination

2011-11-26T21:19:00.000-07:00

Do you suffer from procrastination? I sure do. I often hear people express their displeasure with their own procrastination. It seems to be a universal problem. I recently read a great article that explains why it is so common. It also explains that we don't procrastinate because of laziness or because of poor time management. Instead, we do it because we give in to our impulses and we also fail to "think about thinking." The article goes on to explain what that means. (It is part of a web site that is dedicated to exploring self delusion. It's called You Are Not So Smart and I highly recommend it.)

An interesting thing I have noticed is that the people I hear expressing the most guilt about procrastination often are people that I consider very hard workers. In other words, the people that I think procrastinate the least are the very ones that think they do it the most. Why is that?

It could be that a result of recognizing your procrastination is that it makes you do it less. If you think you procrastinate you will be less likely to do it. That is probably only a partial reason. Surely there must be more to it than that.

Another possible reason could be that these people are more ambitious. They try to do a lot, which leads them to do more, but also procrastinate more because of the simple fact that they have more things to procrastinate. People like me that are lacking in ambition don't procrastinate as much because we don't really have any tasks to procrastinate. I'm not procrastinating that yard work...I just don't think it needs to be done.

Another article I read talks about "good procrastination" and "bad procrastination." You only have a limited amount of time, but an unlimited number of things that you wish you could do. You will inevitably have to procrastinate something. The key is to procrastinate the right things. The article does a good job of helping you not feel guilty about procrastination, as long as it's the good kind. It also explains the cause of bad procrastination and gives some strategies to help you avoid it.

I am no expert on avoiding procrastination, but I do have a few strategies that I try. Better organization helps, but it needs to be more than just making a to-do list. If I don't look at it again it's pretty much worthless. I find that I need to check the list at least twice a day and schedule my time accordingly. But that is no cure-all. I still need to muster the will power to actually do the items on the list. Also, the list needs to be realistic. A wish-list of anything I ever wanted to do doesn't help, and may actually make me more likely to procrastinate because the items are overly ambitious.

Another anti-procrastination strategy I use is to employ little tricks to help me start on a task. For example, I break it down into smaller tasks and then do the easiest one. This helps me avoid feeling overwhelmed. Once I'm finished with the little task, I get a feeling of accomplishment and have momentum to keep going.

Which tasks are you most likely to procrastinate? What strategies do you use to avoid putting things off? I'd love to hear your comments.

Black Friday

2011-11-25T15:44:00.000-07:00

Black Friday and I are not a good fit. The only thing I hate worse than shopping is Christmas shopping, which is fighting crowds to shop for someone else. The thought of shopping on the busiest shopping day of the year has always seemed like torture, which is why I had never been shopping on the day after Thanksgiving...until today. Well, it was actually late last night. My shopping started at 8:45 in the evening and lasted until 1:30 this morning.

I had heard the stories of the crazy shoppers camping out until the store doors open and then scrambling to get the hot items. It didn't seem like something I ever wanted to witness. The motivation to finally join the ranks of Black Friday loonies came when Todd found an advertisement for a very low-priced XBox bundle at Walmart. He had said he wanted an XBox for Christmas, and we had decided that if we could find a good enough deal then we would get one. The deal he found was about $100 less than what I had been expecting to pay, so it seemed like it would be worth waiting in line and then withstanding a bit of pushing and shoving for a chance to get such a great deal. Plus, it seemed like it would be interesting to observe some of the crazy shoppers. I even toyed with the idea of bringing a video camera to document the experience.

Todd and I went to Walmart at 8:45 last night. I didn't have any idea what to expect, but I assumed a lot of waiting outdoors would be involved. We prepared for the worst. We brought heavy coats, soda, the Nintendo DS, and even a football. When we arrived, I couldn't believe how many cars were there. The parking lot for the Layton Walmart is *huge*, and it was full. People were having to park across the street. We found what looked like the last parking spot in front of Bajio and then walked to the store.

We thought the doors didn't open until 10:00, so I was a bit surprised to find that the store was already open. We were able to walk right in. However, no one was able to buy anything yet--the registers were closed. People were filling their shopping carts and then getting in the huge lines at the check-out. The place was a mad house. The special-priced items were on pallets throughout the store, so people were wandering around trying to find what they were looking for. Movies were in the dairy aisle, TVs were by the pharmacy, and the Wiis were in Produce. Every aisle was congested with pallets, wandering shoppers, or people waiting in line. And there were sooo many people. I couldn't believe it. It was like a bad dream.

Depending on the item you were looking for, you might or might not be able to put it in your cart. You could take a normal item, but the hot items were wrapped in cellophane Depending on the item, you either had to huddle around the pallet until the appointed time--each item had a different time it was available--or you took a ticket and got in line. Just like the lines at the check-out, these lines weren't moving yet.

After wandering around for a while we found the XBox line. It weaved its way through Apparel. After a bit more searching we found the location where the line was forming--the location where they hand out the tickets. Luckily, they still had a few tickets left. We had arrived early enough to get what we came for! It appeared to me to be the hottest item in the store, so we felt pretty lucky.

We were instructed by the lady handing out tickets that if we got out of line we'd lose our ticket, so I left Todd to wait for his XBox and I went to do more shopping. There were a few other items that were on sale that I thought would be nice to get. I knew I could only get in one other line, so I tried to find some of the things that you didn't have to wait in line for. However, they were going fast. The movies had been picked over to the point that I hadn't even heard of any of the ones that were left; the desktop computer I was interested in had been taken; and all of the Wii games were gone. Oh well. We already got what we came for.

I remembered that my sister Andrea was interested in getting a Wii, so I went and got in line for that. In the meantime, Todd was the victim of a bit of "Black Friday Rage." He had been sitting on the ground while he waited in line. He was playing with the DS with his back to some of the shelves. An old woman came up and said "Excuse me." He looked at her, but then concluded she was talking to the person next to him in line and went back to his game. She was evidently displeased with his non-compliance and gave him a little whack in the head with her purse! Shocked, Todd didn't say anything at all and moved out of her way. Crazy.

They were scheduled to start handing out a lot of the items--including both the XBoxes and the Wiis--at 10:00, so I still had a bit of a wait. When the time arrived, people throughout the store started cheering. At first I thought it was a bit bizarre to get excited about being able to buy an electronic item, but then I realized that they were cheering that they finally got to start moving through the line. I'll bet some of those people had been there a really long time.

I got the Wii, then headed over to meet Todd as he got his XBox. Then we got in line for the check-out. When we got in the line we were by the bread. I don't know if you know the layout of the Layton Walmart, but the bread is about as far away from the registers as you can get. This wouldn't have been so bad, but the line was barely moving at all. We ended up being in that line for over an hour and a half. Ugh. We were in line with our friends the Wilkos. That made the time pass more quickly. We also drank our sodas and Todd played the DS. (No, we didn't throw the football.) But, it was still painful.

When I finally got to check out, I lightheartedly told the lady at the register that I hoped they paid her extra for working that day. Her response was "Nope!" That was it. She kept on working without even looking at me.

After we finished at Walmart we still had more shopping to do. We went to Target to join Rita and her sister Stephanie who were already in line. The line was outdoors, so we put the football to use after all. Compared to Target, Walmart was a ghost town. The line for Target was almost all the way around the building. Think about that for a minute. That's a quarter-mile long line. At midnight. For a chance to...buy some stuff.

When they opened the doors it was a stampede. People were running to get it. They were hopping the barricades they had set up in the parking lot. Inside the store it was just as bad. People were scurrying around the store looking for things. They had blocked off the checkout area to cut down on traffic, but that just confused people because they didn't know how to get to the other side of the store. A worker was yelling so that people knew they had to go around. Things were flying off the shelves.

Rita went directly to Electronics and got in line to get an iPod Touch. They weren't out on the shelves like all the other items, which I think confused people. Rita had asked a worker, so she knew to go straight to the line and got a pretty good place. Meanwhile, Todd and I roamed around looking for other items. We got a $10 HDMI cable, a $30 camera, and some board games. Or, I should say Todd did. I don't know that I was the one that found any of things we were looking for.

We had to wait in line for an hour to get the Touch. Luckily we were able to also pay for all of our items at the Electronics register. The thought of waiting in line again would have been too much. At this point, we were exhausted and went home.

It was an interesting experience full of dichotomies. On the one hand it was totally painful, but on the other hand we got the items we were looking for at a good price. It was fascinating so see all the people and all the mayhem, but not fun at all to be part of it. It's great that our society is wealthy enough to afford high-tech electronic devices, but sad that our materialistic nature will make us do some crazy things. Of the crazy things we do in our society, one of the craziest has to be Black Friday.

What I'm Thankful For: Part 3 - Things about Myself

2011-11-24T23:47:00.000-07:00

This is the last in a series of blog posts dedicated to giving thanks. The first post included things I'm thankful for in our society and the world. The second post included things close to me such as family and friends. This final post will include things about myself.

Let me warn you now that a lot of the things in this post could be considered bragging. It's not like I need to publicly thank myself for having good characteristics. However, I think sharing this list can serve two purposes. First, it will give you a heartfelt glimpse at what I value. Second, it will hopefully give you an example of a good "daily affirmation." I am a big proponent of a healthy self image and think that everyone should try to recognize their own good qualities.

Things I'm Thankful For about Myself

My health. There is a saying: "As long as you have your health you have everything." I don't fully agree with that sentiment, but you have to admit that there are very few things in life that matter as much as your health does. I try not to take my health for granted. I'm thankful that I'm able-bodied, active, and rarely sick.
My intelligence. I'm thankful that I have a job that allows me to use my intellect. It's a good thing, because I'm not good with my hands and I'm a bit lacking in people skills. It's true that I hated school, but I love learning and using the things I learn.
My knowledge. I'm thankful for the things I've learned. I have a college degree. I enjoy the benefits of living in the Information Age and the immeasurable knowledge that is just a mouse click away. I'm also thankful for my knowledge of the Gospel.
My analytical nature. If I had to describe my personality in one word, I think I would choose "analytical." I like to analyze everything. I realize this doesn't make me the life of the party in social situations, and it also causes me to be indecisive. But at the same time it keeps me out of trouble and helps me understand technical things. It's a part of me that I've learned to embrace.
The wise decisions I've made. I've made many decisions that I'd be embarrassed to share, but I've also made some decisions that I'm proud of. I've never done drugs. I have been financially responsible. I decided to marry Rita and chose to be a father. My career decisions have had good results. I have made my share of small mistakes, but as far as major life decisions are concerned I think I've made the right choice every time.

I recognize I have personality flaws, but I have learned to accept myself. I'm thankful for my unique personality traits, both good and bad. In summary, I'm thankful for who I am.

What I'm Thankful For: Part 2 - Things Close to Me

2011-11-23T21:14:00.000-07:00

This is the second in a series of a blog posts dedicated to giving thanks. The first post included things I'm thankful for in our society and the world. This second post will include things close to me such as family and friends. The final post will include things about myself.

Things I am Thankful for that are Close to Me

My parents. Does anyone really appreciate their parents like they should? Sure, you love them more than anything else in the world. But, it's not until you've grown up and moved out that you start to understand their wisdom and their sacrifice. I think my parents are just about perfect. They are successful in their careers, dedicated to the Church, educated, cultured, world travelers, musical, giving, wise, humble. I could on and on. I share the most hobbies with my father and love to discuss so may ideas with him. However, I've recently come to the conclusion that my personality is a lot like my mother's--quiet, frugal, careful, intellectual.
My siblings. My siblings have made me who I am almost as much as my parents have. Almost every memory I have of my childhood involves my siblings. After Sheri's death I realized that I don't take advantage of the great blessing it is to have good siblings. I get along well with all of them, but we aren't as close as I feel we should be. Rita speaks to each of her siblings in Canada several times a week. I speak to some of mine fewer times than that a year. This blog is, in part, a conscious effort on my part to be closer to my family by sharing with them at least a glimpse into my life.
Rita. There is no way I can explain in this post how great Rita has been for me--I'd need a series of posts just to scratch the surface. She is easily the thing I'm most thankful for. She helps me in countless ways and inspires me to be better. I often take her for granted and sometimes treat her like my child-care colleague instead of my eternal companion. I admire her and find it greatly rewarding whenever I'm able to help her. She is the epitome of selflessness. Everyone loves Rita.
My kids. I know that people always think their own kids are great, but I really do think that by any objective assessment I have great kids. Todd is full of a million hidden talents and is never intimidated or shy. Kenna will take on any project and see it through to completion, and she makes everything funner when she is around. Alec is a great "celebrator" in that he gets happy at even small things, and also can never stay sad or mad for more than about 30 seconds. They get along well with each other and love me unconditionally.
My extended family. I know a lot of people that have cousins they hate, aunts and uncles they don't get along with, or in-laws they can't be in the same room with. So, I appreciate the great relationship I have with my extended family, especially my in-laws. Rita's parents have been in Salt Lake on a mission for the the last year and a half. It has been a joy having them so close. We also recently spent a few days with Rita's sisters and it was so much fun.
My ward and neighborhood. Service in the Church has been very rewarding to me precisely because of the great people in our ward. I have been fortunate to work with just about the best people I can imagine. The best friendships that Rita and I have outside of our own families are with our current or former neighbors.
My job. I couldn't think of a better job if I tried. I get to work on some really cool projects with some very fun people. My job duties utilize my esoteric skills perfectly. I have a very flexible schedule and can work from home whenever I need to. It's a bit flattering when I get the occasional call from a recruiter, but they haven't ever offered a position that's better than the one I have now.

It feels like I'm cutting this post ridiculously short--there are so many other people and things I'm thankful for--but I think I've covered the most important areas: Family and friends. When it's all said and done, your relationship with the people close to you is the most important thing of all.

What I'm Thankful For: Part 1 - Society and the World

2011-11-22T22:59:00.002-07:00

It's Thanksgiving time, so I think it's appropriate to make a series of a blog posts dedicated to giving thanks. I've decided to make multiple posts, because a single post just wouldn't be enough. I'm going to organize my list of things I'm thankful for into degrees of proximity: The first post will include things I'm thankful for in our society and the world, the second post will include things close to me such as family and friends, and the final post will include things about myself.

Things I am Thankful for in Society and the World

Earth. Of the estimated billion-billion stars, there is only one that we know about that has a planet that can support life. To say that Earth is special is a huge understatement. Whoever made this planet really knew what He was doing.
Life. If you've studied biology, biochemistry, or genetics then you know that the complexity of life is mind-boggling...and I think science is still only just scratching the surface of that complexity. Can you imagine if life didn't exist? The entire universe would be so uninteresting and lacking in purpose.
Civilization. Relatively speaking, civilization has only existed for a short time, and still doesn't exist in some places. Thomas Hobbes described life before civilization as "nasty, brutish, and short." Human nature is to group into warring tribes. It took eons for a culture to develop where people trusted those outside their extended family.
Modern Society. When we think about "modern" we normally thing about advances in medicine or technology. But, the term modern society refers to much more important advances, specifically the acceptance of reason and of human rights. These are things we mostly take for granted today, but they are luxuries that very few people in history have enjoyed. If you aren't a slave, own property, can vote, don't belong to a caste and are allowed to go to school then you are one of an elite few.
Peace. The importance of this can't be stressed enough. To me, war is something you learn about in History or hear about on TV. But, it's real, it's common, and it's horrible. Luckily, it's almost completely foreign to me.
Freedom. I often focus too much on our lack of freedom. But, I acknowledge that when it comes to amount of freedom, we've got about as much as anyone has ever had. That fact that we know our freedoms are secure is, in part, what enables us to do so much of what we do. People are much less likely to take a new job, buy a house, or start a business if they don't feel secure.
Wealth. Despite all the recent talk about high unemployment, we still live in the wealthiest society in the history of the world. The fact that we have unemployment is actually a sign of our extreme wealth. Centuries ago there wasn't any unemployment because there wasn't any employment. You spent every day of your life gathering or growing food, and if things went bad you starved to death. We are so accustomed to wealth, that if society's wealth doesn't grow fast enough we call it a recession. The average American adult has an hour a day more free time than just a generation ago...and we have so many more cool things to do with that free time.

Well, these are some pretty generic, impersonal things to be thankful for. But, they are still some pretty good things. I promise my next posts will be much more personal.

Web Sites I Use

2011-11-21T22:50:00.015-07:00

I'm on the computer most of my waking hours. Most of the time I'm doing uninteresting things for my job--writing code, responding to emails, reading bug reports. But, in my free time I do things that are a lot more interesting. Well, they are interesting to me, at least. Hopefully they are interesting to you too, because I'm about to tell you about them. These are the web sites I use the most in my spare time:

Yahoo! For years this was the site I used the most. It's better than ever, but I find myself using it less than before. There are just so many other sites that have come along that do the same things. Currently, I use Yahoo! for email, news, and to save bookmarks, notes, and other personal information.

meebo This web site is an instant messenger client that works with all the major systems--Google Talk, Yahoo! Messenger, Windows Live Messenger, Facebook, etc. I have family, friends and coworkers on all the systems, so I have accounts on all of them. I like that I can log into all the systems at once, and I really like that it's browser-based. I don't have to install any applications at all.

Calorie Count I track my weight every day on this site. I also tracked everything I ate from April until October. I'm not counting calories at the moment, so I'm not using the full potential of the site. But, I still sign in every morning to log my weight. I'll probably start logging what I eat some time in January or February.

Ikariam This is an MMO (Massively Multi-player Online game) that I play. It's a very slow-paced game, which is the main reason I have chosen to play it. In the game you build things. Each thing you build can take from five minutes to five days and you can only build one thing at a time. So, you only play it for a minute or two at a time and then you have to wait and come back later. It keeps me from wasting hours at a time on the game. I am currently ranked 14th on the server that I play on, which has over 1,000 active players.

Blogger I have only started using this site regularly this month. Before that I neither read nor posted to blogs very often. It's been surprisingly hard to make a post every day, but surprisingly fun to read a lot of blogs. This week I found out that several people have been regular readers of my posts without me knowing about it. I was a bit flattered, but mostly relieved that my posts haven't been read by just four or five people.

Google It goes without saying that I use Google. It's been claimed that Google is the most successful company ever. That may be an overstatement, but you've got to admit that they are extremely successful and deservedly so. You just can't describe how much easier they've made the Internet to use. Currently, my favorite feature on Google is the "hangout" on Google+. My coworkers and I share documents on Google Apps and then use the hangout feature to collaborate over video chat. It's made it so that we're nearly as productive when we work from home as we are when we're in the office. The main difference is we don't waste any time commuting. I also use the site a lot to share calendar information with Rita.

Wikipedia I have saved the best for last. The usefulness of Wikipedia can't be overstated. The kids use it for school. I use it for work. It satisfies my curiosity numerous times each day. Rita and I use it to resolve arguments all the time. It's the largest repository of knowledge in the history of the world and it gets updated almost instantly...and it's FREE! However, the thing that makes Wikipedia so great isn't its usefulness--it's how it came into existence. The entire thing exists because of human generosity. Most of the stereotypical great human accomplishments--from the pyramids to the lunar landing--were all government programs mandated from above. In contrast, Wikipedia has involved more people, more knowledge, and more ingenuity, and it's done it all from the ground up. Everyone involved has freely participated in the project with the altruistic goal of sharing their knowledge with the world. In my opinion, Wikipedia is the culmination of all social and technical achievement of the human race. I'm sure humankind will come up with something better, but for now it is the greatest accomplishment of all time.

I'm curious to know what your most commonly used sites are. (Come, on. I know you're on Pintrist at least an hour a day.) Please post a comment and let me know which sites you find yourself using the most.

BYU Footbal Game

2011-11-20T22:25:00.001-07:00

Last night I took Todd and Alec to the BYU vs New Mexico State football game. I almost decided against going, but I'm glad I opted to go because the event ended up being surprisingly fun.

There were several reasons why I didn't think the game would be worth going to. The first reason was that beating New Mexico State wouldn't exactly be a memorable win. While the Aggies are having a better season than usual, for them "usual" is pretty bad. They haven't been to a bowl game in over 50 years. The other reason I was hesitant to go to the game is that it started at 8:15 in the evening. That meant that we wouldn't get home until after 1:00 a.m. Also, the forecast early in the week was calling for snow and rain during the game.

The thing that ultimately made me decide to go to the game is that Alec has never been to a football game. My parents offered us three tickets, so it would work out well for me to take both boys. This was the last home game of the season, so it was the last chance I'd have this year to take Alec.

When you get Alec excited for something, it is fun to watch. He loves to count down the days until a big event. For the football game, he started with six days to go. Each morning he told me how many days were left, and he usually followed it up by mentioning how excited he was.

To make the event a bit more special, I told Todd and Alec I would take them out to eat before the game. I said they could go to any place they wanted. I was hoping they'd choose IHOP. They chose Taco Bell. Oh, well.

The weather ended up being better than I'd feared. It was cold--lower thirties--but there wasn't any risk of precipitation and no wind at all. We ended up not using extra blankets we had taken. Todd wore shorts and never put on the coat that he took. Crazy kid.

At the game, I could tell Alec was impressed by everything. He was impressed by the size of the stadium, the lights, all the fans, the vendors selling concession, etc. He was just eating up. He started mimicking everything I did. He clapped, cheered, or fist pumped whenever I did. At one point I stood up to stretch my legs during a timeout. He stood up too. After a minute he asked "Dad, why are we standing up?" Todd played the role of big brother quite well. He explained the rules to Alec, and made sure to high-five him whenever there was a good play.

The game wasn't much of a competition. The final score was 42-7. The fans started leaving in droves during the third quarter. The boys wanted to stay to the end and I have an illogical goal to never leave early, so we were among the few fans in the seats when the time expired.

I thought for sure the boys would fall asleep in the car on the way home, but they listened to music and played the Nintendo DS the whole way. They both thanked me multiple times for taking them to the game. They are a couple of great kids and I'm glad I took them to the game.

Prison Performance

2011-11-19T15:43:00.000-07:00

Rita's parents, Curtiss and Janice, are on an LDS mission and serve in the Church Office Building with a man that is assigned to work with one of the wards at the Utah State Prison. He is in charge of an entertainment night that the ward holds once a month. When the man heard Curtiss recite cowboy poetry, he asked Curtiss to perform for the inmates in the ward. Because the performance was going to be nearly two hours long, Curtiss asked Rita and Janice to sing and also asked Todd and me to play djembe.

The performance was last night, and I feel like it was a real success. We had a couple of snags come up, but we were able to overcome them for the most part. The first issue was that we learned that Todd wouldn't be allowed in the prison because he's too young. You have to be 18 to enter the building. That meant that I would have to perform alone. My djembe abilities are limited to playing a small part in a larger ensemble, so the thought of me playing solo seemed like a bad idea. The other snag was that Rita came down with a cold that left her very hoarse. It didn't seem like she was going to be able to sing. As we drove to the prison, Rita and I were both anxious that our respective performances would be abysmal.

Entering the prison was about how you would imagine it to be: Huge razor-wire fences, motorized gates, speaking to security through an intercom, etc. There were about 40 inmates that were there for the performance, which was held in a room that reminded me a lot of a junior high school gym.

The event was a bit surreal. On the one hand it was just like any other church social in that someone conducted, the bishopric was in attendance, and the event started with a prayer. But on the other hand, all the inmates were wearing white jumpsuits and there was a guard by the door watching the whole thing.

Rita's father went first. If you've ever heard him perform cowboy poetry, you know that everyone really enjoyed it. It seemed to take the inmates just a minute to warm up to what I imagine was for them a totally unfamiliar form of entertainment. But, after a few minutes they were laughing and applauding at the jokes and poems.

After about 20 minutes of poetry, Rita and her mother sang. They performed Cherry Pink and Apple Blossom White, which is a song that Janice and her sister used to perform at wedding receptions. They also sang two holiday songs. Rita was worried about her voice, but once she started singing it seemed to me to be just as lovely as ever. It was a bit quiet, but they just moved closer to the microphone and the problem was solved.

Curtiss performed for another spell and then I was up. I was a little nervous and I told them that my "entertainment" would be more like an instructional demonstration than a performance. Despite my self-consciousness, it was obvious that the inmates were genuinely interested. They asked great questions and a few even volunteered to try out some of the rhythms I taught. Rita was able to fill in a few details about the rhythms and culture and we passed the drums around for the inmates to look at. It actually turned out to be a rewarding experience and re-ignited my desire to learn to play the djembe better.

Curtiss finished off with a few more jokes and poems and then they ended with a prayer. Afterward several of the inmates came up and shook our hands, thanking us for the entertainment. They weren't the most culturally refined crowd, but they were just as kind and sincere as any group you'll ever meet. I came away with the distinct feeling that every person--even an inmate--has a great potential to do good. The whole experience was an opportunity for me to broaden my perspective just a bit. I hope to have other similar opportunities in the future.

2011 School Pictures

2011-11-18T23:06:00.000-07:00

All three of our kids had their school pictures taken this year. I might be a bit biased, but I think they are some good-looking kids!

If you would like a copy of these pictures, just let me know. We have several extra copies of the wallet-sized pictures, and a handful of other sizes. Also, I have a soft copy that I can email.

Todd 9th Grade

Kenna 6th Grade

Alec 1st Grade

Goats!

2011-11-17T23:08:00.000-07:00

This year Todd and Kenna participated in the 4-H Junior Livestock program. The program provides youth with the opportunity to purchase a young livestock animal, raise it, enter it in various competitions associated with the county fair, then sell it at auction. The program teaches animal care skills, of course, and also teaches simple economics as the youth are required to purchase the animal at the beginning of the program and pay for feed and other expenses associated with its care. When the animal is sold at auction, the youth get to keep the money. If everything goes well, the youth will make a small profit. Local businesses and individuals often act as sponsors in order to assure that the venture is successful.

Todd and Kenna learned about the program from a woman in the ward who is the head of a local 4-H group. There were about six youth in the group, all from our ward. The woman owns several goats, so all the youth raised goats as part of the program. The animals were all Boer goats, which is a breed of meat goat (as opposed to a dairy goat). They kept their goats at the farm of another woman in the ward, who's barn is within walking distance of our house.

Raising the goats was surprisingly involved. In addition to feeding, vaccinating, and castrating them, Todd and Kenna also had to check on them each day and even train them. The training was in preparation for the competitions at the end of the season, and consisted of familiarizing the goats with human interactions like being led on a leash. The kids took the goats on numerous walks around the neighborhood.

The competitions at the end of the season were held as part of the Davis County Fair. This was a huge commitment. The competitions were spread across multiple days, with the auction on the final day. The goats had to be housed and cared for at the fairgrounds for the whole time. The kids participated in three competitions: Showmanship, Market, and Obstacle Course.

The Showmanship competition judged each child's ability to show a livestock animal to a judge. They were judged on their knowledge of the animal and how well they handled it. Todd placed 6th and Kenna placed 7th.

The Market competition judged each goat's ability to be sold for meat. The judges looked specifically for large, healthy animals. Todd and Kenna's goats were a bit young for this competition.

The Obstacle Course tested each goat's ability to be led on a leash over several obstacles. This was the competition that Todd and Kenna had prepared for the most and they did well. They both received ribbons in this competition, but I forget where they placed.

They also entered some of the other competitions at the fair. Kenna entered two crafts that she had made. One took first place and went on to compete at the state fair. Both Todd and Kenna made scrapbooks of their goats and entered them in the "Project" category. Todd took first for his age.

The auction at the end of the fair is a bit of an oddity. Each animal is bid on by generous businesses and individuals who like to sponsor 4-H. The winning bidder normally sells the animal back to the fair for the price of the meat, recouping part of what they spent. The youth get to keep the full amount bid on the goat. The problem is that there normally are more animals for sale than there are sponsors. At the same time, the parents of the youth want their children to have a successful experience. So, the parents in the 4-H group bid on each others' animals with the agreement that they will pay each other back. It's a bit strange, and I don't fully understand it, but it results in the kids having a good experience and the parents supporting the kids' participation via a tax-deductible donation to the 4-H.

I think Todd and Kenna really learned a lot from the program. It was definitely a big commitment, but I think they felt like the hard work was worth it. I'm not sure if they'll participate in the program next year, but I hope that they do.

We are grateful that Todd and Kenna were able to participate in the program thanks to the generosity of many neighbors and members of our family. Thank you so much for your support!

Canadian Thanksgiving

2011-11-16T23:30:00.002-07:00

As you probably know, Thanksgiving is celebrated in Canada on a different day than in the U.S. Since it's one of my favorite holidays, I try to celebrate on both occasions. This year I hoped to celebrate the Canadian version with Rita and her parents, but it didn't work out. They all had other commitments.

That left me alone for the evening, but I decided to press forward with my celebration plans anyway. There was a big problem, though: I don't cook, which is kind of a requirement for having a traditional Thanksgiving meal. I tried my best to prepare something that resembled a Thanksgiving feast, but the results were a bit comical.

Since I don't know how to cook a turkey, I grilled a steak instead. Hey, it's meat.
I couldn't in a million years make stuffing from scratch, but I lucked out and found a box of Stove-Top in the pantry. You prepare it by adding water and heating it in the microwave. Even I could handle that. This was the part of the meal that best matched a true Thanksgiving.
I've never made mashed potatoes, so I just heated a potato in the microwave.
I don't know how to make gravy and didn't have a mix. I couldn't think of a good substitute for gravy so I just diced a tomato and put it on my potato. Not really the same thing as gravy.
I boiled some corn on the cob. As long as I can just add water I'm a pretty good cook.
In place of dinner rolls I toasted some French bread.
A pumpkin pie would have been a traditional dessert, but I couldn't think of a good substitute for that. Instead, I made a substitute for strawberry pie a la mode: Two strawberry toaster waffles with ice cream on top.

It didn't really compare to a good home-cooked Thanksgiving dinner, but it was enough to make me think of Thanksgiving and to also think of all the wonderful reasons I have to give thanks.

About My Diet

2011-11-15T23:21:00.003-07:00

Introduction

As you probably know, I devoted a lot of effort this year trying to qualify for the Boston Marathon. You probably also know that I was unsuccessful, but I will save those details for another post. In this post I would like to explain the diet and weight loss associated with my training.

Motivation

While running a marathon, any extra fat that you carry around just slows you down. A good rule of thumb is that each extra pound slows you down by a minute over the course of a 26.2 mile race. Sure, you need a certain amount of fat. But, during a run your body doesn't use much of that spare tire. For starters, you already have a lot of energy stored in your muscles and liver in the form of glycogen. Depending on your level of fitness, your body might use glycogen rather than burning fat. And even if you burned 100% fat, you'd use less than a pound of the stuff during a full marathon. So if you've got just 10 pounds of fat on your skinny frame--which is about 5% body fat for a typical adult male--at least 90% of that fat is just slowing you down during a run.

My Goal

With this in mind, I knew I would need to lose significant weight this year if I wanted to get my best possible marathon time. After measuring my percent body fat, I calculated that my lowest safe, healthy weight would be 155. I had already lost 35 pounds over the last two years. I had worked hard at my diet and exercise and thought I was pretty slender at 175 pounds. But to reach my "race weight" I would need to lose another 20 pounds! Was I not already scrawny enough?!?

My Results

After tinkering with my diet for a few months, I finally settled on a diet that worked well for me. It certainly didn't work well enough that I never felt hungry. In fact, I was hungry almost all the time. But, it did work well enough that I was able to reach my weight loss goal. I was able to reach a weight of 155 pounds and maintain it from April to October. Importantly, I was able to still have enough energy to complete my daily training runs. I also feel like it was a very safe, healthy diet. I was very careful to always get enough protein and other important nutrients. I consider it a great accomplishment that I was able to be about 30 pounds lighter than what I consider slender and still do weekly 20-mile training runs without running out of energy.

While developing my diet, I learned a few tricks that helped. Some of them certainly only worked for me, or were only necessary because of how thin I was trying to get, but some of them I think would help almost anyone who is trying to lose weight. Let me first explain my diet and then I will explain the parts of it that I think would be useful to other people.

Details of My Diet

Needless to say, I needed a very precise diet. After all, you can't get ridiculously skinny by just switching to skim milk, and you can't keep up a rigorous marathon training schedule if you try starving yourself. You have to be both disciplined and meticulous. However, I admit that at times I took it to the extreme. I will explain later which aspects of my diet were essential and which were overkill. For now, here is what I did:

Count every calorie. At first this was a huge pain. I didn't know how many calories were in each food, and I didn't know how much of each food I had eaten. (How big is a serving of Cheerios??) But, after a while it became easier. I bought a food scale so I could measure things. I filled bags with food and wrote on each bag how many calories were in it. I learned things like how many grams were in a banana from my local grocery store. I used caloriecount.com to help me keep track. This was key because when you record the food that you eat it not only counts calories but also counts other nutrients automatically. In the process of making sure I was getting the right number of calories, I was also able to make sure I got enough protein, fiber, calcium, and potassium. By the end of my diet I was so precise that I was practically neurotic. I found myself doing things like calculating how many grams of grapes I should eat to hit my target to the calorie.
Follow the diet 100%. I didn't give myself any wiggle room. If it were ever an option to waver from the diet just a bit, it was just a matter of time until I gave in to my cravings and wavered a lot. So, even if I was below my goal weight I didn't allow myself to indulge in a bit of junk food. It would just make me crave more. Instead, I increased me calorie allowance a bit and still continued to eat the same low-calorie foods.
Eat only whole foods. A whole food is one that hasn't been processed at all. So, the only things I ate were fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grains, and fresh meat. No added sugar. No salt. No seasonings. Nothing. If you can't grow it, you can't eat it. For most people, this eliminates everything in the pantry, everything in the freezer, and almost everything in the fridge. Just the vegetable crisper is left. I spent a lot of time in the produce section of the grocery store. I made a lot of my own recipes. I ate a lot of fruits and vegetables that I rarely, if ever, had eaten. I used the grill a lot more than before, and the microwave a lot less. But without even trying, I ate plenty of fiber, plenty of potassium, plenty of vitamins, never too much sodium, and never too much fat. Whole foods are way healthier than processed food.

Again, let me clarify that I don't think this is a diet for everyone. This is an extreme diet. It's not easy to follow. It requires eating flavorless food. It's labor intensive. It's inconsistent with social customs. But, it is what worked best for me.

Suggestions for Others

Here are a few thoughts I've had while dieting that I think will be useful for other people. I haven't really talked to anyone else that's followed these ideas, so I can't guarantee they are useful at all.

It's hardest to follow a diet 90% of the time. It's easier to follow it 100% of the time. (Following it 0% of the time is the easiest, of course.) This is non-intuitive, but never wavering from your diet is easier than occasionally wavering. The reason is that if you occasionally waver then you will be increasingly likely to waver often. Don't ever think "if I eat this then I'll make up for it later." Don't let "if" enter your brain. Decide what your diet will be and then stick to it. Don't make an exception because your friends invited you to lunch. (I have declined a lot of lunch invitations these past few months.) If you like to go to lunch with your fiends, then define the rules of your diet such that you are allowed to go to lunch with them. But, stick to the diet 100%. There can be no "if".
Set rules that make you think about what you are eating. If you allow yourself to grab any old food and stick it in your mouth then you set yourself up for failure. You need to have rules that makes you stop and think about every food you buy and everything you eat. Ideally, the rules are nutritionally sound (e.g. set a rule to not eat saturated fat) but they don't have to be; they can be completely arbitrary. For example, you could set a rule to only eat foods whose names start with certain letters. You won't automatically be eating foods that are more healthy. However, you also won't be able to cook, order at a restaurant, or shop for groceries without stopping to think what the first letter of the food is. And while you are thinking about that, you will probably think about whether or not the food is healthy and whether or not you really need to eat it.
Lower your standards. Face it: You will suffer. If losing weight were easy, everyone would do it. If you are dieting, odds are you have a natural tendency to gain weight. In order to lose weight, you will have to go against your body's natural tendency. In other words, you will be hungry. In fact, you will probably be hungry most of the time. Also, you will need to eat foods you don't like. High calorie food tastes better. Until modern science discovers some new medical technology, you will have to deprive yourself. There is a simple reason why so many people fail to lose weight and keep it off: It's hard.

You can follow these suggestions without taking it to the extreme like I did. For example, counting every calorie was helpful for my particular weight loss goals, but you may find it to be way too much work. I didn't eat any salt, but the rules of your diet could certainly allow it. I don't recommend setting extreme rules like I did, but I do recommend following your own rules to the extreme.

Whatever you do, don't give up. I find that rather than lack of willpower that causes you to not stick to your diet, it's self-destructive behavior. You sabotage yourself because of stress, self-doubt and discouragement, not because you really like donuts. Remember that your friends and family want you to succeed. You want you to succeed. You deserve it.

Let me know what you think. Have you found these concepts to be true? I'd love to read your comments.

My Current Diet

For those that are curious, I have intentionally regained the weight that I lost this year. I'm back at 175 pounds which is what I consider a very healthy weight. My current diet is to eat only whole foods for six days a week. On the other day I eat whatever I feel like. I don't count calories any of the days. It's a healthy, low-calorie diet, and I find it to be easy. I am rarely hungry because I can eat as much as I like. However, most of the time I still have to stop and think about what I eat. I am able to postpone any cravings I might have for junk food because I know I can eat whatever I want later in the week. My plan is to stay on this diet for a few months until it gets closer to marathon season in the Spring. Then I'll be back on my crazy diet again.

Royal Bliss Concert

2011-11-14T13:41:00.000-07:00

Royal Bliss is a rock band from Salt Lake City that Todd and I like. They aren't very well known, but they do have a few songs that they play on the radio; they have a national recording contract and have toured throughout most of the country. They had been in concert in Salt Lake numerous times and I had always wanted to go see them. However, the shows were always at bars or nightclubs. The atmosphere wouldn't be the best and Todd wouldn't be allowed to go because you have to be 21.

Our chance to see them in concert came this past June when they put on a show in South Ogden. Not only was it close to our house, but it was an all-ages show. To top it all off, the show was FREE!

Todd and I were excited for the concert and we made preparations for a fun event. We knew that we would probably be able to talk to some of the members of the band, so the first thing we did was go on their website and learn the names of all the members. We also familiarized ourselves with some of their lesser-known songs that aren't played on the radio. The last thing we did was make preparations for our pre-concert tailgate party.

Todd enjoys a hot dog before the concert

The concert was held at Friendship Park in South Ogden, which is just ten miles from our house. We arrived at the park well before the concert and started our tailgate party. I grilled hot dogs on the camp grill while we played Royal Bliss's latest CD from the car stereo.

Brent and Todd wait for the concert to start

Once it got closer to the start of the concert we staked out a spot on the grass in front of the stage. We brought a blanket to sit on, but they ended up giving us chairs. Not only did that make it a bit more comfortable, but it also made it so we could see over the people in front of us without having to stand up.

The concert was fantastic. We knew almost all of the songs and sang along to some of them. The crowd was pretty small, but they were enthusiastic. They all cheered and sang, and some of them danced.

After the concert we got to speak to some of the band members and shake their hands. Todd brought his Royal Bliss CD--along with a marker--for the band members to sign. The intent was to get an autograph from all of them, but we ended up only getting one from the lead singer. The other guys didn't really stop and talk to people. However, we did shake their hands. I hope they were flattered that we knew their names. That I could tell, no one other than us even tried to speak to them.

Autographed Royal Bliss CD

For Todd's birthday, I framed the autographed CD. I included the cover of their album and hung it on his wall. It turned out nice, I think.

All I Want for Christmas...

2011-11-13T13:54:00.000-07:00

For most kids, losing a tooth is an important sign of growing up. For Alec, that is definitely the case. When many of his friends started losing teeth he started to get impatient, asking us when he was going to lose his first tooth. Well, he doesn't have to be patient any more because this week he lost not one, but two teeth.

In anticipation of the tooth fairy coming to visit, Alec had the following conversation with Rita:

Alec: Mom, a boy in my class says that his mom is the tooth fairy.
Rita: He thinks his mom is going to come to our house?!?
Alec: Yeah. Crazy, huh?

For whatever reason, it sometimes takes the tooth fairy a day or two to ~~remember~~ travel to our house. But, I'm glad to say that for both teeth she was able to put money under Alec's pillow the very night he placed his tooth there. I guess we she learned her lesson after doing such a bad job when Kenna was losing her teeth.

Recent Events

2011-11-12T11:25:00.002-07:00

On Thursday, Rita and the kids went to the Reflections award night. Kenna won honorable mention for her painting she entered. The assigned theme was diversity. She painted a colorful landscape and put a poem on it that she had written. They gave her a gift certificate to Menchies, which is perhaps her favorite place to eat.

Friday, I went to Austin Lawyer's wedding reception. Afterward, I went to Russ's house and watched the BYU vs USU basketball game. I got home in time for our family to have a small 11-11-11-11-11-11 celebration. (That's 11:11:11 p.m. on November 11, 2011.) We sipped sparkling apple cider from plastic champagne glasses.

Today (Saturday) I got up and did my weekly long run. Today's version was 12 miles in the wind and rain. Then I had an Elders Quorum activity featuring burgers, brats, and football.

We then went to a very fun surprise birthday party for Marshall (and Missy, too, as far as I could tell). The party was in Alpine at Marshall's parents' home. There were about 30 people there. We ate birthday cake, but the candles were actually on a large, delicious pumpkin pie.

I didn't know very many people at the party. But everyone was very friendly. I had brief conversations with at least four different people that I didn't know previously. Most of the conversations started with something along the lines of "you must be Missy's brother." I also spoke to Marshall's mother Sidney, mostly about her recent trip to Dubai and Delhi. I joined in a bit with the conversation between Marshall's father David and Todd and Rita. They mostly talked about Todd's drumming interests. After the party, Todd and I watched the BYU vs Idaho football game.

I know this makes me sound old, but I hope tomorrow I can just relax.

Utah Symphony

2011-11-11T23:38:00.000-07:00

As you know, Kenna is learning to play the bass in the school orchestra. Because of this, I thought it would be fun to take her to see the Utah Symphony. Each year around Halloween they have what they call their Spooky Symphonies. Members of the symphony dress up in costume and have a performance. Members of the audience are also encouraged to wear costumes. Kenna and I thought this would be a fun event to participate in, although we didn't dress up.

The concert was at Abravanel Hall, which is a fancy building with an even fancier sculpture in the lobby. We arrived early so that we could see all the costumes ahead of time. Some of them were impressive. There was a competition with prizes and everything, so people dedicated a lot of thought and effort on their costumes. Some of the winners included a family dressed as all the characters from the movie Despicable Me and a boy dressed as an All Terrain Scout Transport from the Star Wars movies.

The performance featured selections from well-known symphonies and film scores such as “Star Wars” and “E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial” by John Williams, “The Rite of Spring” by Igor Stravinsky and “Night on Bald Mountain” by Modest Mussorgsky.

We weren't allowed to take pictures of the performance itself, but we did take a picture of one of the bass players getting ready. Notice that the audience members are in full costume and so is the musician.

The performance was a lot of fun. The music was great and the musicians are incredibly talented. They make it look so easy that you forget how many years or even decades it takes to learn to play an instrument.

I know Kenna liked the show, but I'm not sure if she liked it as much as I did. I definitely want to go to some of their other performances. I don't see myself taking up an interest in classical music anytime soon, but it is fun to occasionally listen to something other than Z-Rock.

Influential Books

2011-11-10T23:46:00.002-07:00

I don't read a lot of books. However, I like to think of myself as someone that enjoys books and I wish I read a lot of books. Maybe if I blog about books that will be good enough.

Below is a list of the books that have influenced me the most. (I have decided not to include scriptures in the list.) This isn't a list of my favorite books. These are books that have changed me the most. They aren't in any particular order.

Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus
by John Gray

Before I read this book I knew that men and women were different, but I didn't realize just how different they are, nor could I pinpoint the differences. The author describes our differences so well. At times he describes men and women so well that it starts to get spooky--like he's been spying on you and your spouse or something.

After reading the book, you are able to more easily recognize the cause behind disagreements you may have with your spouse. This alone is a powerful tool, but he goes beyond that and gives advice that you wouldn't have thought of on your own.

Genome
by Matt Ridley

This book blew my mind. I had no idea that our genes control so much of our lives. I don't know that this book has influenced my behavior, but it sure has influenced the way I think about myself and others. It's actually very sobering. We all like to think that we have absolute free will and that we control all of our actions, but our genes have a lot more to do with what type of person we are than we recognize. This isn't to take away from the beauty of our unique personalities. It just means that we didn't choose every aspect of our personalities.

The book may not convince you as much as it convinced me--and, in fact, I'm not convinced of a couple of points it makes--but there is just so much interesting material in the book that you should read it even if you don't agree with its conclusions.

Guns, Germs, and Steel
by Jared Diamond

At 500 pages, this is the second longest book I've ever read, and easily my longest that I didn't have to read for school. Also, it's about geography and world history--Not a good formula for an exciting book. However, almost every page has fascinating information. I think I could have read the book twice as fast if I hadn't stopped so often to think about how cool the latest fact was.

The gist of the book is that civilization developed at different speeds and in different ways in various parts of the world mostly because of geography. Let me give you one example: Think of a domesticated animal that is particularly useful. Now think about where that animal comes from. Odds are you thought of an animal that comes from Eurasia and not from Africa, Australia or the Americas. That is the case if you thought of a cow, horse, sheep, pig, donkey, or even a dog. There aren't many domesticated animals from those other places. (The book explains why that is.) If you wanted to start a primitive civilization and you couldn't use any of the animals I listed above, you'd be at a huge disadvantage.

Maybe you don't think that's a cool concept, but I sure do, and the book explains tons of other concepts that are just as cool. Besides just explaining cool things, it is an influential book because it makes you stop and think about different societies and about how civilization came about. It really is a great book.

Healing Our World in an Age of Aggression
by Mary J. Ruwart

This actually isn't a very good book and I don't really recommend it. Again, this is a list of influential books, not favorite books. This book has been very influential to me because it was the first book I ever read about libertarianism--back before I even knew what libertarianism was--and by the end of the book I was "converted." Before I read the book I leaned politically conservative but didn't really have a political persuasion. After reading the book I decided I was a libertarian and have read more books and articles on the topic than perhaps all other topics combined.

It's not a bad book. It's a quick read and very easy to understand. But, there are several more interesting, more convincing libertarian books than this one. If I were to recommend just one, it would be Economics in One Lesson by Henry Hazlitt.

The Five People You Meet in Heaven
by Mitch Albom

Part of me hopes that you have stopped reading this post by now, because I'm really embarrassed by my reaction to this book. Let's just say that I was "influenced" by this book. Let's not say whether there was or wasn't tissue involved.

[I distinctly remember writing a review for this book, but can't find it. If any of you know where I posted it, I'd appreciate you letting me know in a comment or an email.]

I have a more complete list of books that I've read, along with reviews and ratings, on Goodreads. You can view my profile here: http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/1317038-brent

Do you have a book that influenced you? I'd love to hear about it in the comments.

A Conversation with You, the Esteemed Blog Reader

2011-11-09T21:42:00.002-07:00

You: Hey, Brent. What's with all the blogging?
Me: It's just NaBloPoMo.
You: Is that your attempt to sound gangsta?
Me: Ha, ha. No, it's a portmanteau for National Blog Posting Month. I'm "celebrating" it in the traditional fashion by posting to my blog every day during November.
You: Are you sure that's this month? I thought November was National Diabetes Awareness Month.
Me: Well, yes. It's that, too...as well as National Stamp Collecting Month and National Peanut Butter Lover's Month.
You: Will you be celebrating those, also?
Me: I don't think either of those are worth celebrating.
You: Well, your blog is nothing to celebrate, either.
Me: Touche.
You: What gave you the idea to participate in NaBloPoMo?
Me: I heard about it from my sister Andrea. She is participating, too. Be sure to check her blog regularly because she has some great posts.
You: What are you trying to accomplish with all this blogging?
Me: Originally, my goal with the blog was to report on all the things we've been doing lately. But as I look back at my posts so far, it seems a bit dry. So, I'm going to try to also add some posts that are more creative or insightful.
You: Well, this post is pretty good. After all, it's got me in it.
Me: I thought you'd like that.

Trip to Great Basin National Park

2011-11-08T22:06:00.008-07:00

My parents planned a trip to Great Basin National Park and St. George and invited me to come along. That seemed like an opportunity I couldn't pass up. They also invited Kenna, who was off-track.

Kenna and I drove to my parents' house in Orem on the night of Sunday, October 16. We spent the night there and then the four of us got up early Monday and crammed into my parents' sedan. It was a tight fit.

We drove to Baker, Nevada, which is about an hour and 45 minutes west of Delta, Utah. We stopped in Baker for a bit, then headed into the park, which is just five miles from Baker.

Because the Great Basin covers most of the Intermountain West, you'd think that Great Basin National Park would be huge. But, it's actually fairly small. Other than some back-country trails, it basically consists of just a single scenic drive. While it offers some spectacular views, it isn't significantly better than several drives in our own Wasatch Mountains. I think it was able to reach national park status by virtue of Lehman Caves, which are located near the beginning of the drive.

Our first order of business was to get tickets to one of the cave tours. They were already nearly sold out, despite the fact that we arrived early on a weekday in the off-season. Evidently it's a more popular destination than I had thought.

Our tour didn't start until the afternoon, so we drove the length of the scenic drive first. It ascends to over 10,000 feet, with several great overlooks. The leaves of the aspen trees were all beautiful Fall colors. When set against the green pine trees, they made for some great photo opportunities.

The road ends at a picnic area where we had lunch. I brought my camping grill along and we ate grilled chicken on one of the picnic tables. We returned in time for our cave tour.

Lehman Caves are very similar, in my opinion, to Timpanogos Cave, only longer. Neither has enormous rooms like, say, Carlsbad Cavern. But, they both offer unique and intricate formations. Perhaps the best formations in Lehman Caves are the "cave bacon" and the Music Room. The tour was quite long, and thoroughly enjoyable.

After the cave tour we left the park and drove to St. George. We spent Monday and Tuesday nights there hiking, jogging, swimming, watching documentaries, playing on the computer, and just relaxing. We returned home on Wednesday.

It was a short, but fun trip. I'm glad my parents invited us and that we were able to go.

"All Your Base"

2011-11-07T20:18:00.006-07:00

Kenna has taken a renewed interest in music lately. She joined the school choir and the ward choir. She has a beautiful voice and is a good learner, so she has done well. But, what she really enjoys is the school orchestra. She got an interest in orchestra after a school field trip to Abravanel Hall to see the Utah Symphony. The instrument that caught her attention was the bass--also called the string bass, upright bass, or double bass.

When she asked us at the beginning of the school year if she could take orchestra, I of course thought it would be a great idea. But, I was picturing her playing the flute, piccolo, or maybe the violin. I had no idea she would choose the bass, perhaps the largest instrument around, not counting a piano. I knew a bass was large, but when we went to look at some I was shocked to see that they are about as tall as I am...and thick.

I tried to persuade Kenna to downgrade her choice a bit. "How about the cello?" I asked. "It's basically the same instrument, but not so big." She wouldn't budge. She liked the bass and that was that.

We found out you can get what is called a "quarter size" bass. It's the same instrument but more her size. We ordered one from a local music seller and waited anxiously for it to come. When it arrived, I decided to surprise Kenna a bit so I told her it wouldn't come until the next week. Rita and I secretly went to pick up the instrument. We brought it back home and you should have seen the look on Kenna's face when we brought it inside! She was so surprised and so happy.

We're happy for Kenna's decision to play the bass because it is a gorgeous instrument, both visually and musically. It's not easy to play, but she works hard and has a good instructor. We hope she sticks with the hobby for a long time.

Todd is driving!

2011-11-06T10:15:00.003-07:00

Todd got his learner permit a couple weeks ago and boy, do I feel old! I mentioned to a coworker that my son got his permit and he said "I didn't think you were old enough to have a kid that age." My response was "Neither did I!"

Following tradition, Todd's initial driving instructions were given by me in the church parking lot starting a few weeks before his birthday. Once he turned 15, Rita took him to the Driver License office to take the written test. He failed the test on his first attempt. He didn't have time to try again that day, so he returned home and did some more studying from the manual.

A few days later Rita took him back to try again. This time he failed by just one question. They had gone early enough that he was able to try again. On his third try he missed it by one question again! When he took his test up to the desk, the man there must have had sympathy for Todd because he gave him a quick oral test to see if he was ready. Todd answered the man's questions correctly and was able to receive his license.

He doesn't get his full license for another year--for now he can only drive with Rita or me--but it's still a big step for him. It's funny how eager he is now to go with us when we have to run errands!

A Day at the Lake

2011-11-05T18:51:00.004-06:00

Our bishop loves to boat and, being a super nice guy, he had invited us multiple times over the Summer to go boating with him. Every time we tried to go, the weather turned windy or rainy and the trip was canceled. By Fall we were thinking it wasn't going to happen. But finally we were able to on the last Saturday in September.

There were seven of us that went: The Bishop, his daughter, his nephew, me (Brent), Todd, Kenna, and Alec. We hauled the boat up to Pineview in the early afternoon and had almost the whole lake to ourselves.

I don't know that my kids have ever been boating, and it's been years since I went. The Bishop and his family are great skiers, so compared to them we looked pretty shabby. Todd went first with the intention of learning to get up on the wakeboard. He did pretty good, but couldn't quite stay up long enough to count. After a few tries we could see he was getting tired and waterlogged, so we had him use the kneeboard for a while.

I was next. I'd never used a wakeboard before, but I can ski so it can't be too hard to learn, right? Well, it wasn't too hard but it was definitely harder than I thought. I got up after a few tries, but I had two fantastic wipe-outs. They were bad enough that my neck was sore the next day from the impact.

Kenna was next. She got up on the kneeboard first try and made us all look bad. She made it look so much fun. Alec was last and had a fun time. He took a couple spills, but did great for his age.

It was such a fun day. I think it was the last warm day of the year, so it was great that we were able to go.

South Salt Lake Chess Tournament

2011-11-05T18:44:00.004-06:00

Just a quick follow-up from yesterday's post: Alec went 3-2 in today's South Salt Lake City Chess Tournament. He took third in his grade and got a good-looking trophy to put on his wall next to the one from last week.

Ogden Chess Tournament

2011-11-04T12:49:00.005-06:00

With my encouragement, the kids have taken an increased interest in chess lately. Todd has been a good player for years now and has played in a few tournaments. Kenna and Alec have learned to play and are pretty good, considering their young ages.

I proposed they play in the first tournament of this school year: the Ogden Scholastic Open. Kenna likes chess, but wasn't interested in doing it competitively. Todd was a bit hesitant because he hasn't played much in the three years since his last tournament, but finally agreed. And Alec, always up for anything, thought it'd be very fun. In fact, he started counting down the days until the tournament.

The tournament was this past Saturday (October 5) at Ogden High School. It started at 8:00 a.m. and lasted most of the day. I knew Alec would be matched against older kids, but it didn't occur to me until we saw the first-round pairings that Todd would be also. For this tournament, the 9th graders were grouped in with the high school students. So, both Todd and Alec played *all* of their matches against older kids.

Todd's first-round game was a rough one. He was matched up against a 12th grader who would eventually go on to win the tournament. He had a few other difficult match-ups and ended up finishing the tournament 1-4. This was only slightly disappointing considering the age of his competition and the fact that it's the first tournament of the year after taking a few years off. I hope he didn't get discouraged because he's got plenty of time to practice before the bigger tournaments later in the year.

Alec's first two rounds were both against 3rd-graders, and neither game was close. Both opponents showed that a couple more years of maturity and experience at that age can make a huge difference. I started to fear that I'd entered Alec in a tournament too soon and that he'd have a bad experience. However, his third- and fourth-round games were against a fellow 1st-grader and a 2nd-grader. Alec won the third round easily, then pulled out a long, hard-fought fourth round victory.

Alec's fifth and final game was epic. There was a bit of pressure on the line because we knew ahead of time that a victory would guarantee him a trophy. He was matched against a well-coached third-grader that examined the board with each move, taking chess notation. It seemed to me that Alec was over-matched, but he captured his opponent's queen quite early in the game. As Alec started to leverage his advantage by capturing his opponent's pawns, I started to think that victory would be assured. However, Alec made a bad move and lost his queen, leaving the match basically even again. At this point there was a bit of a race as each boy tried to be the first one to get a pawn to the final row and convert it to a queen. Alec won the race and was briefly ahead, but failed to stop the other boy's pawn before it also became a queen.

By this point the match had been going for over 45 minutes and the tournament had been going for over six hours. This is a very long time for a six-year-old to stay focused and I could see that it was getting harder for Alec to be patient. He was starting to hurry his moves without considering all options first. But, to make matters worse, the worst thing possible happened: They put a clock on the game.

For those that are unfamiliar with chess tournaments, I should explain how clocks are used. For most games, the players are allowed to take as long as they like for their move. However, this can result in games taking a really long time. So during each round, as the shorter games finish, they put clocks on the games that are taking too long. They give each player a certain amount of time--say, ten minutes each--to finish the game. If you use more than your allotted time you lose. This can change the dynamic of a game considerably. The one-on-one nature of a chess match makes it higher-pressure than you might think. Add to that the fact that you are being timed--and have most likely attracted spectators--and the pressure and distraction can be huge.

You've probably guessed where I'm going with this: Alec fell to the distraction of the clock and started watching his and his opponents time more than he was watching the chess board. His older, more experience, opponent wasn't as distracted and capitalized on a few of Alec's careless moves and eventually won. Todd and I were disappointed that Alec lost because he was ahead so late in the game, but Alec, being his happy-go-lucky self, wasn't down in the least.

Alec finished the tournament in a tie for first in his grade--both he and another boy had two wins. I was anxious as we waited for the awards to be announced, wondering which boy had more tie-break points and would be given the 1st-place trophy. When they said the other boy's name for 2nd place I knew Alec had taken first! He was so proud of himself when they called him up to get his trophy.

I'm proud of how the kids played. I was never much of an athlete when I was young, so I mostly live vicariously through them in chess rather than sports. They have another small tournament tomorrow--I'll be sure to post results--then a few months off until the bigger tournaments, including the state tournaments in March.

Djammin' on the Djembe

2011-11-03T15:22:00.003-06:00

When Todd asked earlier this year if we would pay for him to take djembe lessons, I suspected it'd be a hobby that kept his interest for only a short time. It appears my suspicions were unfounded.

For those that might not know, a djembe is a hand drum from West Africa. The name comes from the Mali phrase "to gather in peace". Todd took an initial interest in the drum after learning about it on the Internet. His formal request for lessons came after I suggested he get a hobby that didn't involve a game controller or a computer mouse. I reluctantly agreed to pay for lessons if he could find an instructor and also show that his interest wasn't just a passing fancy. After a bit of searching he was able to find an instructor in Salt Lake. He showed me that he really was interested by asking me every day for a couple of weeks if I'd sign him up.

So, I signed him up for lessons...and it's been a great experience the whole time. Todd has learned surprisingly fast. He has natural ability at playing the djembe, but more importantly, since he's interested in it he devotes the time and attention required to be good at it. He has already had multiple performances and plays regularly for the African Dance classes at the Rose Wagner Performing Arts Center. In the picture below, he is helping teach a drum class to kids.

Todd doesn't have any djembe performances scheduled right now, but we'll try to let people know when the next one comes up. We're proud of Todd for choosing such a fun hobby and working so hard at it. We look forward to him continuing to improve his ability to djam on the djembe.

Arizona Trip

2011-11-02T13:29:00.003-06:00

Last month Rita and I had a unique opportunity to go on a short trip to Arizona with two of her sisters and their husbands. There were six of us: Rita and Brent; Stephanie and Wayne; and Pam and Shawn. We all stayed in a vacation home in Gilbert, which is in the Phoenix area.

The home was provided to us free of charge by Shawn's boss who owns part of it as a time-share. The house is in a gated community near a private lake and features a private pool, hot tub, and outdoor dining area. It's the house with the star on it in the picture below.

Rita and I drove to Gilbert from St. George, where we had been for the St. George marathon. Our kids stayed in St. George with my parents, who were kind enough to offer to entertain them while we went on our retreat.

We spent Saturday through Wednesday swimming, barbecuing, shopping, and dining in the beautiful Arizona weather. It was fun to relax and spend time with Rita's sisters and brothers-in-law. The highlight of the trip was attending an NFL game featuring the Arizona Cardinals and the New York Giants. (The tickets were also provided free, which was a great perk.) Attending an NFL game was on my "bucket list", so it was not only entertaining but also a life accomplishment.

Taylor Swift Concert with Kenna

2011-11-01T16:47:00.003-06:00

If you've seen the posters on the walls in Kenna's room then you'll know that she is a huge fan of Taylor Swift. For her birthday this year I bought tickets for her and me (Brent) to go to Taylor's concert at Energy Solution Arena.

Kenna's birthday was way back in May and the concert was in September. I think she counted down the days until the concert for the whole four months! I knew that tickets to the show were a hot commodity--the concert sold out in less than an hour--so as the date grew closer I looked on-line to see how much they were selling for. The typical re-sell price was about $100 a seat. I told Kenna that if she sold her ticket she could keep the money, but she didn't even think twice about it...She wanted to go to the concert!

Kenna really knows how to plan. She had all the details of the concert worked out ahead of time. She ordered a Taylor Swift t-shirt to wear. She bought some glow sticks at the dollar store. She thought to bring a camera and other items. (I'm not sure how she knew what to bring to a concert--I certainly didn't know.) She also planned for us to take the Frontrunner train to the concert and get something to eat ahead of time, but unfortunately my work schedule didn't allow us enough time for that.

I have been to the Energy Solutions Arena for plenty of basketball games, but I have to say I can't think of a basketball game that was as loud as the concert. The fans were intense. When they all cheered it was impressive. There was a period as the show was getting started that they maintained a deafening scream for about ten minutes.

Taylor Swift doesn't sing the kind of music that a lot of middle-aged men listen to--I would guess that fewer than 10% of the people at the concert were male, and most of them were younger than I was--but, I enjoyed myself nonetheless. The music was high-quality, the pyrotechnics and acrobatics were entertaining, and being with Kenna was a blast. She sang almost every word to every song and just soaked up every aspect of the event. Like I always say: Everything is funner with Kenna!

Mysteries Solved

2011-08-09T05:38:00.002-06:00

Mystery #1--
Alec had a friend over to play last week. When the mom arrived to pick him up, I insisted that the friend stay AND that she leave the little brother who worships Alec. (Incidentally, Alec is *everyone's* BEST friend. A lot of kids want to marry him.) Anyway, they played and loved their fun time.

Five minutes after they left, Kenna discovered her ailing fish was no longer in its tank. Alec then decided it was time to say that the younger brother had taken the fish out of its tank but that he put it right back...Well, he didn't put it right back...Or he went back and got it again when Alec wasn't there and now it was missing.

I called the mom, "Hi, it's Rita. Thanks for letting your cute boys come for a play date. Bye. Oh yeah, your kid might have a dead fish in his pocket." Or something similar to that.

Sunday while doing the laundry, (yes, I'm a bad mormon...a bad mormon with clean laundry) I found what I identified as a dried up, CLEAN, fish head. Yay, no stink in Kenna's room and the sick fish is now swimming in the big aquarium in the sky.

Mystery #2--
For a while now, my truck has been smelling like goat **** or something nasty. I've left windows open, checked garbages, vacuumed, sprayed Febreeze, you name it. Actually, it wasn't actually me who checked the garbages. I had Todd empty garbages in fulfillment of an earned extra job won by fighting/competing with a sibling NINE years his junior.

Well, he missed a spot. Last night I discovered reminders of our bug collection/clean up activity that we and the Carter kids (our spunky cousins) participated in a few weeks ago on the Jordan Parkway. Congratulations again Andy, on finding the biggest snail. I found him once more. Escargot anyone?

Happy Birthday, Kenna!

2011-05-09T09:59:00.004-06:00

My cute girly girl turns 11 tomorrow. There are so many things that I love about Kenna and this year I found a fun way to capture her at this time of her life.

I recently came across a website belonging to a super talented girl who likes to doodle. She has a lot of darling freebies that I've used for various things (Primary, T-ball, party invitations, etc.) but she also does drawings for hire. I sent Nikki a couple of pictures of Kenna along with a short list of her traits, hobbies, and interests and voila!! She even drew the cute hoodie Kenna was wearing in one of the pics!

This darling collage and the black and white version cost me a mere $7. I'm going to get it printed and put it in a cute frame tonight. Can't wait to unveil it tomorrow. Check out Nikki's blog. I can highly recommend the cuteness :)

It's been a while...

2011-03-24T10:41:00.002-06:00

It is a good day for an update because the guy at the gas station rolled down his window and yelled to me, "I just want you to know that I think you are very beautiful." Awwww. And he wasn't even over 60!

Brent is down to a skin and bones 157 lbs. Grossing me out and freaking me out since he is inching nearer and nearer to my weight which collision will cause a similar reaction to George Costanza imagining his mother in the dating world...

George: You're not out there! You can't be, because *I* am out there. And if I see *you* out there, there's not enough voltage in this world to electroshock me back into coherence!

Anyway, he is dieting and training like crazy in an attempt to qualify for the 2012 Boston Marathon. He's got to run it in 3:20:59. Pray to the running gods that he makes it. His first attempt will be in Salt Lake on April 16th.

Todd has started taking djembe lessons...in downtown Salt Lake...in a building that has bars on the windows...from a hippy. Yep. That's what kind of indulgent mom I am. At least I'm not paying $35/hour for the lessons. Oh wait, yes I am. He loves it and he's actually super good at it. It's loud and crazy but why should that be different from any other part of my life?

Kenna is basking in the warmth of St. George and generosity of her Aunt Stephanie. She's off track until the second week of April. She's still crocheting and sewing and has now picked up embroidery. Soooo crafty. Sooooo messy but I love her anyway. Lots of boys at school like her. She is shy about it but it's cute. She had the "talk" at school last week. I did my best to not be an embarrassing mom but I think those terms are inseparable once a child is over 10.

Today is Alec's "fake birthday" at school since he is a summer baby. He loves kindergarten but he's definitely a different student than Todd and Kenna were at his age. He giggles through most of his homework (no idea why) and has miserable handwriting. He's coming along in reading and is better at math than most 3rd graders ;) Maybe not but he is awesome! I'll be coaching his T-ball team again this year. Can't wait.

I am in a GIANT running slump. I have no motivation to get up and go even though I know how great I feel when I'm finished. I need a magic spark. Work is good but I am aching for summer break. I still love teaching Primary. Four-year-olds are the bomb, even when there's 10 of them. I spoke at another ward's Enrichment a couple of weeks ago for a lady I work with. The topic?
.
.
.
Wait for it...
.
.
.
Emotional Health.

Bwahahahahahaha. Oh, the irony.

Season's Greetings

2010-12-23T20:24:00.003-07:00

In case we didn't have your address this year, here's a Christmas card for you. I didn't get around to writing a 2010 family summary but if I had it would have said something like...

Todd is 14. He's only "ours" for a few more short years. Does he know how to cook, do his own laundry, and clean a bathroom yet? Nope but we're working on it. He is hilarious and smart. His English teacher calls him "Walking Jeopardy". Todd is everyone's favorite young man in the ward and grown-up cousin in the family. We love him.
Kenna is 10. She is THE best little and big sister to her crazy brothers. She's probably making a crafty project right now and recently picked up sport stacking as a hobby. Her room is usually a mess but her goals are creative and brilliant. Kenna is the most well-rounded girl we know--a friend to all, smarter than her parents, and more beautiful every day. We love her.
Alec is 5. He loves Kindergarten and play dates with his best friends. He works up quite a sweat when playing Wii games; partly from the action but mostly from celebrating--with donkey kicks and leg sweeps--or ruing--with grouchy yelling and foot stomps--his performance. Affectionate as he is silly, Alec always makes us smile. We love him.
Brent is 40 and looks/acts 20. Brent weighs 169.7 lbs as of this morning. (That's so skinny for a 6'3" guy!!) He's a running maniac with the lofty goal to qualify for the Boston Marathon this year. He enjoys working at Control4 programming home/hotel automation systems and regularly reminds his co-workers through example that it's okay to be nerdy AND have a personality.
Rita is 40 and looks/feels 50. She runs a few times a week with the best partners in town and wants to do a sub 2hr. 1/2 marathon this year. We'll see. She loves her part time job as a School Psychologist and her favorite student at work is Alec who attends her assigned school! Rita's most constant but alluding goal is to find peace and balance in her life. Maybe some day.

We feel overwhelmed by the love of family and friends and blessed to have all that we need. We wish you the happiest Christmas and joy in 2011!

Boys' Road Trip

2010-12-19T22:07:00.004-07:00

Todd and I (Brent) drove to Albuquerque with my father and my brother Russ to watch BYU play in the New Mexico Bowl. It was my third trip to New Mexico in two years. The first trip was a weekend fishing trip with my brother Steve. The second trip was a week-long vacation with Kenna and my parents. This trip was the shortest of the three.

We drove down Friday night, stayed in a hotel, then went to the game Saturday. Our seats for the game were right on the 50 yard line, six rows up. It made for a unique view of the game. We could see the action really well and even hear the players yelling and colliding.
After the Cougars' 52-24 win, we went down onto the field and took pictures with several of the players.
Other activities on the trip included eating out, watching a movie, and going for a morning run along the banks of the Rio Grande. After the game, we drove home. We got home Sunday morning and went to church. I think it'll be a couple of days until I've recovered from the trip, but it was well worth it.

I'm thankful...

2010-12-07T14:14:00.006-07:00

* that my parents live so close now that they can come to dinner once-in-a-while.
* that my kids enjoy their cousins more than any friend they could have.
* for a spouse with electric knife-wielding skills.
* for two beautiful sisters-in-law that helped make dinner.
* that the honeydew melon turkey was a big hit.
* for nieces & nephews so darling that it is hard not to constantly squish them with kisses.
* that no one was bothered by cold mashed potatoes, too-hot turkey, & stove top stuffing.

I am thankful for THANKSGIVING DAY!!

(I'm also thankful that Andrea won't mind that I snagged these photo collages from her blog...hopefully.)

Fancy Mac

2010-11-22T20:29:00.008-07:00

I used to be a pretty decent chef but unpracticed skills get rusty, you know. You may wonder why my culinary abilities are so sorely under-used. After all, I have an appreciative husband with a healthy appetite and three growing children who require sustenance. It's a pearls-before-swine kind of thing. My kids do not, do not, DO NOT like normal, good food. Chicken nuggets, cheese quesadillas, ramen noodles, Little Caesar's pizza and corn dogs near the top of their dinner request lists. Sad and gross, but true. Brent values quantity over quality in his dining (and spouse!!) selections so great effort would be wasted on his dulled tastebuds. Besides, he arrives home from work well after real people dinner time and if I wait around, I snack on as many calories as dinner costs me. Not good.

So, I don't cook very often. On occasion, however, I dust off my homey food prep skills and try, try again. Tonight's selection seemed to have promise--Four Cheese Pasta. It's just an upgraded Kraft Mac-n-Cheese, right? Wrong. Todd took an obligatory half bite and euphemized, "I don't hate it." Kenna claimed she liked it before I added the breadcrumbs. Alec's forkful evoked a gag and flappy dance that made me suspect an underlying seizure disorder had been triggered. Brent inhaled a bowl and rushed out the door to burn it off during a 5 mile run. Defeated at the table, I dished myself a sad second helping. Don't be discouraged and dissuaded from your homemaking duties by my experience though, your family will love it!

Four Cheese Pasta
Ingredients

1 (16 ounce) package pasta
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup shredded Muenster cheese
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
1/2 cup shredded Monterey Jack or Colby Jack cheese
1 1/2 cups milk or half-and-half
8 ounces cubed processed cheese food
2 eggs, beaten
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/4 c plain or seasoned breadcrumbs

Directions

Boil pasta in a large pot and cook according to package directions until al dente; drain well and return to cooking pot.
Add butter to drained pasta; stir until mostly melted.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
Add the milk or half and half, 1 1/2 cups of cheese mixture, cubed processed cheese food, and eggs to pasta; mix together and season with salt and pepper.
Transfer to a lightly greased deep 2 1/2 quart casserole dish. Sprinkle with the remaining 1/2 cup of cheese mixture and then with breadcrumbs.
Bake in preheated oven for 30 minutes or until hot and bubbling around the edges; serve.

Fourteen

2010-11-16T17:16:00.003-07:00

Poor Todd is getting sick of sharing his birthday with the St. George Marathon but that's how we commemorated yet another year of this cool kid's life.

Honestly, Todd and I have had a rough year. Boundless, maternal love is sometimes reflected as magnified frustration when kids don't conform to the lofty imaginings of a first-time momma. Todd is blazing the way to help me be a more flexible parent. It's been a tough job for him but he's certainly shown to be up to the challenge. Turns out Todd has his own personality, spirit, BRAIN and doesn't feel overly compelled to make his red-haired mum too comfortable in her role as steward and nurturer.

Todd's birthday was October 1st. He is FOURTEEN and...

FUNNY. Fast with a joke and not very shy, Todd garnishes all sorts of attention for his wit and humor. Substitute teachers have not shown to be appreciative.
FARCE-intolerant. Todd has his own ideas about what merits his time and energy. Once again, substitute teachers have not been impressed.
FACTUAL when he recounts exactly what I said he could or couldn't do. Yep. Todd doesn't really go with the whole "spirit of the law" thing. I am forced to cover all my bases with him.
FANATIC in his love of BYU sports.
FANTASTIC with kids. He's an awesome big brother, cousin, neighbor, friend to the littles of the world.
FASHION-monogomous. He likes sporty, comfy tees and shorts and that's about it. It kills him that his personal style is harshed by the strict school dress code (uniforms!).
FAR-OUT. Like I said. He's a cool kid. I love him a lot more than substitute teachers do.

$5, a mini snickers bar and my work keys

2010-11-11T09:14:00.002-07:00

These are the things that I found this morning while choosing a jacket to go with my outfit. (My work keys have been AWOL for about a month so I was extra happy to find them!)

Spooooooky Fun

2010-11-08T13:56:00.004-07:00

Let it be documented that I participated in the carving of pumpkins this year. I so try to pawn off this messy, smelly tradition to my more fun, even-keeled partner each year but once a decade or so the guilt is overwhelming and I dive in to help. We had fun using carving templates this year. Ever innovative Kenna out-clevered all of us by choosing a white pumpkin and combining two stencils to make her scary boo-toothed grinner. I carved Dracula for Alec and Todd fashioned a Y to show his true blue spirit. Brent sculpted his company logo and took it to work to get a few brownie points.

Costumes were fun this year too. Todd dressed as a scientist bedecked in my old Food Chemistry (fun class...except for the Chemistry) lab coat and Brent's safety goggles. Alec wavered among shark, Batman, astronaut, fox, Darth Vader, and other characters. He settled on shark for the church Trunk-or-Treat and Brent's work party but fifteen minutes before he left to go trick-or-treating, he requested to be a fox. I was thinking how lame his inside-out sweats, paper ears, and dishtowel tail looked when he gave me a giant hug and most sincere thank you for making the costume. He is the best. Kenna's two-year-old desire to be a jellyfish came true when we found these instructions on the Family Fun magazine website.

(Not pictured: ME dressed as a party pooper.)

What to do.

2010-11-02T12:56:00.004-06:00

This school year, two friends and I have scheduled play dates for our three Kindergarten boys on Tuesday afternoons and we take turns hosting the fun. I'm surprised by how well the boys get along and at how much Alec looks forward to this time with friends. It makes him happy...even happier than he normally is which is pretty darn happy!

On my non-host weeks, I dream of quiet, uncomplicated alone time but usually end up over-scheduled and busied with something. Today is my dream day, though. I'm here. At home. Alone. And suddenly, I'm paralyzed with the coincidence of a bad mood and too many choices that fall into the nebulous and intersecting categories of want-to, need-to, and should-do...

Get and keep this house clean. I've tried chore charts, index card systems, begging, bribing, threatening, rewarding, going it alone. This place is impermeable to my efforts and desires for lemon-scented order. I can't even hire a cleaning lady. Things are too bad.
De-junk. Although this would help my desperate need of house-straightening, this is a separate issue. I have been married nearly 18 years and have have three growing kids. It's past time to prune and purge our lives of the acquired and long accumulating accouterments, accessories, apparatuses and attachments that are weighing us down. I bought three books recently that now bulk our bookshelf to aid me in this vein. Oh, the irony.
Write reports. For almost 2 weeks I have toted work tasks home and back again teasing myself that I will have the uninterrupted time and thought to put in here what I can't seem to accomplish there. Nope. Not today either.
Sing like the kids on Glee. Sometimes I wish I had the music in me. I think an entire afternoon at the piano belting out show tunes might lift a blue and undecided mood.
Get along with my teenager. Maybe I could make a Sonic strawberry shake run to the Jr. High and surprise Todd. Would he less resent my homework and chore nagging? Better make it a hot fudge shake for me. I can't yell with my mouth full.
Blog about Hawaii. Though the tan has faded, I took the trip. I have the pictures. I just can't blog about it. What is wrong with me? Who doesn't enjoy a tropical island getaway? ME!! Our family had a rough time on our "vacation" across the ocean. I'm still grieving and I want my shining recollection to be free of embittered unfulfilled expectations.
Go running. The weather is perfect right now for a good, long trot but this is low, low, low on my wish list of time-spenders. I know my mood brightens when I'm consistent with exercise but I just can't make myself do it today or the last three weeks. :*( I'm in a burned-out funk.
Make jean quilts. I have been seriously stockpiling old jeans over the last several years with a plan to sew quilts for friends and family Christmas gifts. My trait strength of seeing a project through completion is a weakness when it comes to getting started. The daunting denim edifice taunts and overwhelms me. Not today.
Go or at least plan Christmas shopping. Every year some anxiety holds me back from enjoying what should be a peaceful, happy season. I worry about searching and ordering presents too late, overspending because I started buying too early, choosing an equal amount of gifts for the kids, picking dumb or wrong gifts, forgetting someone who should have been on my list, being "out-thoughtfulled" by someone who buys for me, shipping presents too late or too early, etc. I can't face whatever will put me over the edge this year.
Read. I'm halfway through a book titled, "Boys Adrift" which describes why today's young males are unmotivated and low-achieving. Yeah. That'll boost my spirits. "Dear Rita, two of your three children are doomed. You and society have failed them. Particulates from the plastic container holding the milk you pour on their cereal is partly to blame. Good luck with that."
Cry. I need a something that might induce a good, cathartic tear fest. Too bad I don't have a dvr'ed episode of Biggest Loser. That can usually get me going.
Accept mediocrity. As might have been predicted, I have squandered my time and creativity digging the entrance to and escape from pity party a little deeper. "Pain is the result of unmet expectations." Number one on my want-to/need-to/should-do list needs to be lose the list.

A Limerick of Grand Proportions

2010-10-10T20:12:00.002-06:00

I decided to be a Grand Slammer,
My foot struck like a hammer.
Overweight and undertrained,
Enthusiasm mostly feigned,
A 40-year-old Grand Slammer.

Marathon one in Ogden was rough,
I was lacking the right mental stuff,
When it was done,
I didn’t want a rerun.
One 5:38 was enough!

Utah Valley was wet and wild,
But through the rain I smiled.
Ran a 4:54 PR,
Thought, “I need a celebratory cigar!”
Under SUCCESS, this one is filed.

Park City came and went,
With anger I did vent.
Stranded, you see,
Across the sea,
I missed the whole event.

Top of Utah was going great,
‘Til mile 20’s locked iron gate.
No more downhill,
And lacking the will,
Another sad 5:38.

St. George was last and long,
“Too hot!!” was everyone’s song.
How could 5:23
Produce such glee?
Because the accomplishment is lifelong!

The long and short of this story,
To a fit, skinny runner sounds gory.
But I got it done,
Even had some fun!
And five shiny medals are my glory.

Canada in July

2010-09-25T16:29:00.014-06:00

Spending time in Canada at my parents' house is a tradition and a must to keep our summer fun levels soaring. Here is a summary of this year's week-long adventure.

Travel Games.
Brent wasn't able to take an entire week off but he drove up for the last weekend of our stay. I charged forward super-woman style with 4 kids (my 3 + Davion) securely buckled in and ready to roll. It can be challenging to keep children entertained during long car travel but for a single driver, it can be equally difficult to keep oneself alertly engaged in at the task at hand. My creative and thrill-seeking sides combusted to invent the following travel games.

1. Estimate how many miles beyond ZERO on the 'distance-to-empty' gauge this old Sequoia will go.
2. Decide which children will remain in the car and which you will piggy back to the next exit if you actually do run out of gas. Incidentally, this 'game' also works as a disciplinary technique if you verbalize your decision flow-chart during any trivial arguments the kids get into with each other.
3. Guess which small Idaho town will have an open gas station in the middle of the night.
4. Try to stave off dangerous fatigued driving by trying to nap in the Dairy Queen parking lot with 4 kids who just now woke up.
5. Pick the clean spot on the windshield where the next giant moth will splatter.
6. Count the wildlife. (I saw 4 rabbits, 1 skunk, 3 deer, 25+ unidentifiable roadkill lumps.)
7. Dodge the wildlife. (I almost hit *&^% cow, %$#^ rabbits, *&(% deer, and 1 already smashed skunk.)
8. Hit the wildlife. (Good thing I have an SUV!! 1 rabbit and 1bird which didn't break the grill.)
9. Convince the International Border Patrol that your twitching eye is due to being the sole adult in the vehicle on a very long trip and not a "tell" that you are seeking to smuggle contraband into small southern Alberta towns.

After a round of each of these exciting travel games, we arrived safely and started the fun part of our vacation.

Sunday, July 11, 2010
I attended church in Waterton Park 4 hours after we reached my parents' house while the kiddos slept. My parents spoke as they would soon be leaving on an LDS mission.

Monday, July 12th and Tuesday, July 13th
We chilled. Part of the fun of going home is doing nothing...NOTHING. The kids especially love to explore around the farm and play outside. We ran into town a couple of times for slurpees and yummy Canadian treats. We canoed on the pond. We rode the ATVs. We chatted and laughed on the patio. We napped. It was glorious.

Wednesday, July 15th
In another show of bravery and possible psychosis, I loaded up the kids and drove a few hours north to enjoy Kids' Day at the Calgary Stampede. My brother and sister-in-law with their awesome 3 red-heads were in on the fun too. The kids loved the rides, face-painting, diving show, animals, trick riders and very expensive food.

Thursday, July 16th
We used my parents' imminent mission departure as an excuse to get some family pictures since we pretty much have to consider this a possible relations-severing event. These collages are shots that we took with our camera during the official shoot. Best news?? Everyone was still talking to each other after the ordeal was over.
Friday, July 17th and Saturday, July 18th
We very much enjoyed attending the Pilling Reunion with my dad's siblings and their families. I really love those guys. There was a blow up obstacle course that Todd and several of the cousins bested me on, a candy throwing robot, a little poetry, and a lot of love. I love family reunions!

I got to sneak in lunch with a couple of friends after the reunion. It is a treat to spend time with friends from home. Conversation is never dull and sprinkled with funny, sad, and happy memories as well as updates of our new "grown-up" lives. Are we really 40?!

Saturday, July 18th
My niece, Sara, celebrated her 8th birthday while we were visiting. It was so fun to throw an awesome all-cousin party and to see her baptized in the creek...YEP, the creek. My family's dear friends had a grandson baptized at the same time. It was such a beautiful evening.

Sunday, July 19th
My parents gave another round of church talks at their home ward in Leavitt. I was surprised by an invitation to also participate in the program. After church, many friends and family members met for dinner at my parents' place to wish them well. It was a lovely treat to see so many people who are special to us.

Our trip back to Layton was happily less eventful than the trip north. We got back the day before Kenna started grade 5 and just in time to dive into some condo renovations.

Things that matter.

2010-09-14T20:27:00.003-06:00

My sweet friend Karleen died last week after losing a second battle with cancer. Her lovely obituary gives you a tiny glimpse at the strong, positive, talented woman she was.

Another friend underwent a double mastectomy and massive reconstructive surgery on Monday while her husband and two young daughters waited for some good news. No cancer cells were found in her lymph nodes. Hopefully that news is her ticket to a completely cancer-free life.

Brent's little sister Sheri passed away a year ago. We just celebrated baby Ava's first birthday and remembered Sheri's ultimate sacrifice and gift to us.

In case (like me) you have been a bit unfocused lately, anytime is a good time to re-prioritize your time and energy. I'm trying to be a more patient, contemplative, grateful version of myself this week.

Of Friends and Freckles

2010-08-25T22:30:00.008-06:00

Meet Amy. I love this girl. She and I have an unexplainable and deep connection. Who knows? Maybe it's the freckles.

I met Amy my freshman year at BYU when my former boyfriend from home brought her to my apartment to meet me. Odd, right?! Even though I was quite sure (and still believe) that the introduction's message was "Look, I found a taller, cuter, nicer redhead than you," I couldn't help but like her. Amy was funny, a little sarcastic and real. I ran into Amy a few times on campus over the next few BYU years and she was always smiling and friendly. When that boyfriend and other guys our age began returning from having served LDS missions, I was elated to hear that Amy was engaged to a different friend from my hometown!

Fast forward 23 years and see the above picture. This was taken outside of a wonderful Provo restaurant, La Dolce Vita, in July after Amy and I shared lunch. We have never lived in the same place and though most of our communication over the years has been via email, we talk and behave like close, close friends...almost like sisters, I dare say. Our lives, likes and abilities, fears and insecurities converge in strange coincidental and unexpected ways. For example, we both had caboose babies at our husbands' suggestions, gave the boys the same middle names, and cannot imagine our lives without our little guys, Alec Scott and Jacob Scott! Crazy huh?

I am grateful for Amy in my life. She "gets" me like a lot of people don't and it's a lovely blessing have a safe, soft place to be myself...and it's not just the freckles talking.

Summer so far--Part 3.

2010-08-25T21:39:00.011-06:00

Cowabunga, Dudes!
At the beginning of July we (including Davion) went with the Paxman kids to a new waterpark in South Salt Lake--Cowabunga. The little kids had a great time. The big kids complained about too few thrill-inducing slides. My take? Since the tickets were 1/2 price, I only over-paid by 1/4. It was crowded with a lot of fake body parts and lacked much grass and shade. We'll take our $$$ to Seven Peaks next year.

Burrup Family Reunion
Some people hate them but I LOVE family reunions! We had good times at Brent's mom's family get-together where we played kickball, ran relay races, hunted for candy (check out the pic of Brent's sugar bling) and enjoyed a talent show. Todd represented our family in the ability showcase with his latest entertainment skill. He asked for topics and music genres from the crowd and adlibbed songs accordingly improv style. He was hilarious and awesome! I do NOT know where that kid gets his gall or confidence but he sure is cute.

Kenna and 5th grade
It is just wrong that a blog post about summer need contain a return-to-school announcement. I am not a fan of the year 'round school track system but alas, our boundary elementary school follows that schedule and so must we. Kenna started 5th grade 18 short days after she finished 4th! She was her happy, easy-going self about her brief summer. It sounds so trite to say that I can't believe how old she is getting but I really can't. She is a chubby, smiley, fluffy-haired 2-year-old in my mind.

My man turns 40 and completes another SPUDMAN
It's true. Brent is a hefty 3 months and 2 days younger than I. No wonder I've got all the grey hair and wrinkles.

Brent and his dad competed in the Spudman Triathalon in Burley, Idaho on the day of Brent's birthday. I slept the night at my sister's house in Pocatello and drove to Burley early on race day to get some pictures of these fine athletes/crazy people. I sat near the announcer at the end of the race and asked him to mention that it was Brent's birthday. As Brent ran in the last hundred yards, the announcer advertised, "Brent, someone told me that you're an old man today. It's his birthday, everyone!! He's 40 years old today." Cute.

Afterward, we drove back to Pocatello and celebrated with cake and cousins. We went to "Inception" that night and really enjoyed it. I commemorated Brent's milestone birthday with less pomp than he did mine, because he is a low-key kind of guy (probably a survival technique gained from living with the crazy for so long) but I adore him a cyclopean carnival's worth. Happy birthay, old man.

Summer so far--Part 2.

2010-07-23T21:38:00.005-06:00

Layton City 5K
Todd, Kenna and I ran the Layton City 5K on July 3rd this year. Todd did great and set a PR (I think). I had reports from other acquaintances on the course that he stopped to walk and visit when he saw people he knew. Cute. Kenna and I stayed together. She was the picture of self-discipline and endurance as she chose when to walk and when to run. We cut up the hem of her adult size S shirt so that it wouldn't trip her. Our friends from the neighborhood ran with us too making it especially great.

Movie Premier
My sister Stephanie has friend who has capitalized on the Twilight frenzy by throwing somewhat elaborate parties for each of the movie debuts allowing girls and women of all ages an arena for their wishing-to-be-Bella hearts. Oh to be faced with deciding loyalty to Edward or Jacob. Awwwww. Because Stephanie's friend has a discerning eye for all things crafty and clever, she has enlisted Steph's help for each of these big to-dos. As payment, she allowed Stephanie to invite her less twitterpaited, somewhat sarcastic, mostly mocking but secretly interested sister to come along for the fun. The movie was great. Seeing Stephanie in action was better.

The Condo
You may recall that my parents are soon embarking on an LDS mission. After they received their call, I was charged with the task of finding them a place to rent for the 18 months they would be 20 minutes down the road from me. I looked at a lot of places. I called on even more and nothing seemed to fit or work out. Depleted and discouraged on my way home from another failed attempt to secure housing for my mom and dad, I called Brent and suggested that we should just buy a condo. He agreed. Next Wednesday, the rest will be history after we close on our first investment property. We're nervous about our landlord abilities but especially excited to have our first tenants be my terrific parents!

Who is this handsome guy?

2010-07-23T21:04:00.002-06:00

This cool dude is my nephew Davion. I love him. I hope he doesn't mind if I introduce him to you.

Davion was born exactly a week after Todd. He was my first and favorite nephew right from the start! Davion and his mom, Sue, lived very close to us until Davion was three years old. Suzanne attended beauty school while I was in graduate school and we depended on each other for child care and sanity. This sanity thing didn't always work out but the child care did. The boys absolutely adored each other and were even mistaken as twins frequently!

Sue got re-married shortly after Davion turned three. They moved to Mexico to be with her husband who would attend medical school there. I cried and cried and cried. I was sad to see Sue leave but I was devastated to let go of Davion. It still makes me misty to remember my intense longing that he not go.

Davion was able to visit over the years and I often wondered and worried that the magic bond between he and Todd would be gone or at least noticeably weaker. It has never happened. For years their interests were nearly identical despite the miles between them but even now that some of their hobbies have diverged, they behave as two halves of each other. I am grateful that Todd has such a deep connection to such a wonderful kid.

Davion is very smart. He reads a lot and understands much of learning and life. He seems like a reserved, quiet guy but lets show his wit and dry humor often. I love to hear his infrequent but genuine and contagious laugh. He is pleasant and polite and just plain wonderful.

This summer Davion came to visit with his mom and brothers. Sue and the younger boys stayed for three weeks and Davion was here for nearly seven weeks. He was at our home for about 95% of that time and we loved every minute of it. He even made his third trek to Canada with us. He is a part of us and I love him. Davion returned home to Louisiana on Thursday and I've been a little weepy ever since. This post was supposed to help me cathart but mostly I just feel lonely for him. Love you, kiddo.

Give this kid a present and see what happens.

2010-07-23T20:54:00.005-06:00

I know I already posted about Alec's 5th birthday but I couldn't resist sharing these pictures of him opening a couple of his gifts. They so perfectly illustrate his enthusiasm for life. I love this kid!

Summer so far--Part 1.

2010-07-22T22:14:00.007-06:00

It hasn't been quite a month since my last post but I feel like we've lived an entire lifetime since then. Every summer I look forward to my job-free days but I seem to be much busier than during the school year in my attempts to savor my "vacation". Here are some of the big and little things that have been filling our days for the last three weeks.

Todd Plays Baseball
Todd played baseball for the Giants of Layton City this year. The season was nettled with rain-outs and subsequent make-up games so we were all happy to see the end of it. It's been difficult for Todd to continue in sports as the competition increases with age. Most of the "in it for fun" kids have chosen other activities by now so lots of the players left are very skilled. Even the parent volunteer coaches are set on winning and substitute their players accordingly. Todd likes to win too, of course, but he doesn't commit the time and practice (and didn't get much in the athletic biological propensity department) that other kids do so he sits on the bench more than he would like. It's a hard lesson for him.

Alec Swims
Alec took swimming lessons again at the Clearfield Aquatic Center. Although they weren't in the same class, it was fun that cousins Skylar and Trevor were there at the same time. Like Todd and Kenna, Alec is timid in the water but I've seen evidence that he learned a lot in his short stint because he loves to practice and show off the skills he was worked on in class. My kudos and respect went to his teacher. She handled the seven very active students with patience and calm. Not to brag but rather to illustrate what she was managing, Alec was by far the most obedient and attentive...YIKES! There is a special place in swimming lesson heaven for those who school the 4-year-olds.

Kenna Stays in School
I know a lot of people like the year 'round school schedule but I am not one. Kenna has been a good sport about going to bed early and getting to school on time but it's it's hard to send her when the rest of us are on party time. I also wonder at the benefit of sending her at all during the last several weeks. I'm all for a little fun near the end of the year but it seems to me the the year 'round schedule promotes a longer "coasting" period. The end of Kenna's fourth grade was filled with programs, school Olympics, Field Day (not pictured) and a field trip to the This is the Place Monument/Pioneer Park. On a positive note, I was glad to participate in each of these fun events since I was off.

Stay tuned...lots more updates to come!

Wasatch Back Ragnar Relay

2010-06-25T14:52:00.007-06:00

Brent and I ran Ragnar with my cousin's team in 2007 and passed on opportunities to run in 2008 and 2009. When my friend and her hubby asked us this year, I couldn't say no. They were desperate (as you probably guessed) and I not only agreed, but volunteered my speedy husband, his co-worker, and another running friend for the project as well.

Three years ago I was runner 7 and despite the ease of assigned legs, I suffered from 90+degree heat, caffeine withdrawal headaches and backseat-of-the-poorly-driven-van nausea. Not this year! Being teamed with friends and handsome spouse and a cooler full of Diet Dr. Pepper made this time's experience much more fun.

We left for Logan at 2:30 a.m. on the fumes of 3 hours of sleep to make the not-so-vital safety training session and our 1^st runner started at 5:15. I was runner 2 with legs 2, 14, and 26. I ran my hardest and longest leg first with the following splits:

1-10:02

2-10:24

3-10:01

4-10:22

5-11:18 You see that benign looking little bump at 4.3 miles, yeah…it was a little bigger in-person.

6-10:26

7 (.8 miles)-7:07

Total: 1:09 = 10:15 pace

My second leg was only 3 miles and it was HOT outside by then. I enjoyed getting sprayed by the fun kids along the route who were a little too happy to help cool me off. My splits:

1-9:40

2-9:35

3-10:20

Total: 29:49 = 9:52 pace

I ran my last leg was in pitch darkness cursing someone’s great idea to strew glow sticks along the route. From the beginning of this 3.3 miles I felt the effects of sleep-deprivation and over-use of my IT Band and whatever tendon it attaches to that wraps to the foot arch. (Kind of felt like I’d run two times in the last 12 hours and a marathon the week before…Hmmm. Strange.) Splits:

1-9:53

2-10:54

3-10:03

4 (.3 miles)-2:28

Total: 33:18 = 10:09 pace

In summary, I loved a lot of things about my Ragnar experience this time around:

* Being runner 2 rocked. My legs were pretty easy but the best part was being finished so early. I was able to enjoy the rest of the race. I am more suited to being a cheerleader than an athlete…although my physical proportions don’t hint at either of those capacities.

* As we were in the same van, I was able to enjoy Brenty's sparkling personality and since I’m already immune to his body odor, he was one less person I could smell in such cramped quarters.

* We saw a friend and his team a couple of times on the course. I embarrassed myself by accusing, yes, accusing his look-alike brother of being him. The poor guy may never recover. Funny.

* I had an unspoken (and lame to speedy runners) goal to go under a 10 minute pace on each of my legs and while I accomplished that on only one of my three legs, I felt okay about my performance.

* I was able to sleep when I had opportunity. This helped my body and mind a lot.

* My $2 shower in Heber City was priceless. And, I ran into a teacher that I knew when I taught there a million years ago. So fun.

Things I didn’t love about Ragnar this year:

* Even though our kids are older and pretty low maintenance, I couldn’t relax completely wondering and worrying about child care issues.

* The finish line was a crowded, chaotic joke. Van 2 had a miserable time finding parking in time to meet at the finish since leg 36 was short-ironic especially since they, without notice, increased leg 35 by 1.5 miles.

* In general, I really think there were just too, too many teams and people. I don’t know what the solution is…increase the fee from ridiculous to astronomical? disallow charity teams? refuse entry to old, slow, red-haired women? I don’t know but it seems like Ragnar is an example of less would be more.

This relay is tough but so much fun. I am crossing my fingers that my father-in-law will get the itch to head a Zimmerman Family Team soon!

Happy Father's Day, Brent.

2010-06-23T11:58:00.001-06:00

You are one sick dad!

Dad Life from Church on the Move on Vimeo.

Herding Cats aka Coaching T-ball

2010-06-14T21:16:00.001-06:00

My little guy looooves to play ball--football, soccer, basketball, tennis, baseball, anyball. Although Alec is a year younger than the city's Parks and Rec. Dept. states he needs to be in order to register for T-ball, I thought they might look the other way if I volunteered to coach him and 14 other kitties, I mean, kids. They did gratefully and graciously handing over a team roster, 15 Phillies uniforms and hats, a T-ball post, 6 rubber t-balls and some nervous sounding well wishes.

I was thinking of suing the city for any or all of the following conditions--vocal cord recuperation therapy, high five-triggered palm blisters, chronic lower back pain from lifting post-toddlers to the correct batting stance, perma bruise on my forehead from the "d'oh" after nearly every fielding play, laugh lines from the hilarity that is 5-year-olds trying to play a team sport, etc.
but I decided to take the offered settlement...

Totally worth it!

26.2 miles of random thoughts.

2010-06-14T14:28:00.002-06:00

Brent, my father-in-law, Scott, and I ran the Utah Valley Marathon on Saturday. (Read Brent's report here and my father-in-law's report here.) It started in Wallsburg and finished in south Provo. 26.2 miles makes for a long day and lots of thinking when you're slow and running alone. Here are my mile splits with a mere smattering at what was "running" through my mind while I was running and running and running...

1-9:59- I was a good 12 minutes crossing the start line after the official start gun..It may have been a bad idea to wait so long for a PoP (port-o-potty) visit. I feel like the only one out here. Seriously. What if I were to come in absolutely LAST? Yikes.
2-10:20- So this is Wallsburg. When I taught Home Ec. in Heber City, many of my students were from Wallsburg including Shane and Shantal—the hellion siblings who one-uped each other daily with their discipline-prompting antics. Those two names got crossed off the “what should we name our kids?” list fast!
3-11:03- That volunteer lumped me in with “crazy marathoners.” Huh. I am a marathoner. THAT is crazy!
4-13:13- A PoP stop this early? It’s gonna be a loooong race.
5-10:26- Lucky me. A soggy hug and words of encouragement from AlisaK! She is darling and as cold, wet and tired as I am. Volunteers rock. How cute is it that her husband is here? It’s not his gig but he supports her in her psychosis, I mean, hobby.
6-11:03- Not often that Utah weather includes the phrase “torrential rain.” Good thing I’m not one of the pretty girls who do their hair and makeup before a race. I’d have hairspray stung eyes and mascara striped cheeks by now.
7-12:12- Hey! It’s Bennett’s Mom in a lovely black running outfit. Oh wait, that is a garbage bag. Well, she makes it look good.
8-13:46- TIME: 1:32:00 Aww, Brent’s favorite number. I hope he’s doing well. I bet he didn’t walk this hill!
9-10:17- I. AM. COLD. So glad it’s not 100 degrees though.
10-11:49- “Soy un perdedor. I’m a loser baby so why don’t you kill me?” I heart you Puck and Finn…loving my GLEE music.
11-12:10- Blistermania commence. I hate wet feet.
12-11:38- Yay, I see my father-in-law! He asked me what my race plan was this morning. I answered him the same way as I answered BeMo when she asked my strategy. “Uuhhhmm.” + nervous giggle. I still don’t have a plan.
13-9:49- Would it be flirting to tell that guy that he has beautiful calves? Probably. WAIT! How did he get such yummy calves if I am passing him? That’s not fair.
14-12:45- Appropriate. “Highway to Hell” on the mp3 player in time for another hill.
15-11:56- Absolutely beautiful, green canyon mountains. What a blessing to run here.
16-10:43- My feet hurt. Bye-bye toenails.
17-10:11- Yay tailwind!! Maybe my clothes will dry out before the finish line.
18-10:32- Could I possibly go under 5 hours, smash my Ogden time and PR? Math…do math. Dangit. I can’t add or subtract but I guess I can keep running.
19-10:33- Why does 8 miles left sound more daunting than 10 miles left? Weird.
20-10:24- If I cinch up the knee strap and down some ibuprofen maybe I can mask the ITB hurt.
21-10:08- Oh-oh. The runner who nearly plowed into a construction barrel is asking if she can run with me because I’m what? “Running so fast!” The poor delusional thing. Say yes, Rita. Don’t ask her to help you with the pace math though.
22-11:18- Wow. I really think I can do this thing in less than 5 hours; especially with the distraction of chatty barrel lady. Don’t think about it. Just run.
23-11:11- University Avenue. I loved going to school here. BYU is the best.
24-11:14- The Canadian rock group LOVERBOY was really underrated. Lovin’ every minute of it…dun dun dun dun…Lovin’ every minute of it.
25-11:04- Mmmmm La Dolce Vita Gnocchi. Wish I’d had that for my carbo load.
26-11:13- Really?! A hill during mile 26 of a marathon? Look down, one foot in front of the other. Look down, look down…crack, tar, weed, rock. Ahhh. There we go…top of the hill. Ouch going down feels WORSE!
.38- 3:54 (10:09 pace)-26.2 is a marathon and long enough but my GPS is showing a further distance. LET. THIS. END!! There’s Brent!! Now where’s the *^&% FINISH LINE?!

I can actually say that I am super proud of this race. I ran the 2nd half of the course faster than the first half and and my mile splits without hills or the one (that is an accomplishment of itself!) PoP stop were fairly even.
I finished in 4:54 which is a 10 minute PR and my first sub 5hr marathon time. Yay me!

Happy Birthday, Alec!

2010-06-10T10:20:00.017-06:00

Alec Scott was born on June 13, 2005 at McKay Dee Hospital in Ogden, UT. I was induced two days prior to his due date and Alec still weighed in at a whopping 9lbs 3oz and was 21 inches long. (No one will ever make a case for Diet Dr. Pepper consumption correlating to low birth rate, right?!) The nurses and doctors watched Alec closely in the hospital. Because he was so big, they worried that he would lose weight too quickly or become dehydrated or something (I was on too much pain medication to really understand) but it turned out that he was just a really BIG baby.

When he started to get some hair, it was very fine and extra poofy. Todd and Kenna loved this about him. When they set up computer game accounts for him, his username is usually CrazyhairASZ. Alec didn't really crawl but scooted on his rear end faster than most kids walk!

Alec our sport-sporty kid. He loves to run and play any kind of ball game. One day at church when he could only scoot, he used a pencil as a hockey stick to hit a sponge ball across the floor. Hit, scoot, hit, scoot...he was quite the spectacle.

Alec's happy, easy-going disposition revealed itself early and remains constant. He has a great sense of humor, understands teasing and jokes and doesn't hold back a good old belly laugh when the occasion is right. His happy, silly personality is truly contagious.

Alec is great with numbers right now. A few days ago he told me that 99+99=198 because, "The 100 just wastes one two times." (I don't know what he meant by that but he understood it!) Last week at baseball, "Todd's team is 9 and the other team is 5 so Todd's team is winning by 4 points. Right, Mom?" And last night he counted 100 handfuls of legos while cleaning up his room. (Yep. It was that messy!)

Alec's most endearing quality to his old mommy is his tolerance of squishing! Alec is a very affectionate little guy and will frequently ask if I want to snuggle him while we watch a show together. Who could pass that up?

Happy birthday, big Alec. I love you.

Do you love this show?

2010-06-09T10:09:00.007-06:00

I know, I know. It's buggy to have a playlist that starts automatically when you check in. Sorry. I hope your speakers weren't turned up too loud. My sister-in-law got Brent and me hooked on GLEE. I can't recommend it to all of you because of it's PG-13-ish content but if you're a little rebellious (like me), you might LOVE it. Even if you don't enjoy the story line and humor, you cannot pass up the music. ENJOY.

Don't you wonder?

2010-06-01T22:56:00.005-06:00

Have you wondered about dying? I mean, we know everyone will die, but have you thought about passing before you "plan" to die? I've had that fleeting and panicking thought during a particularly sad, dark spell or even innocently as I drifted off to sleep. It sends my heart racing and begging for more; more time, more happiness, more life. Phrases meant to be inspirational--"Live each day as though it were your last,"--sound trite and tainted with naivety. Even the most comfort-intentioned sentence--"Families are forever,"--is heard and experienced so differently once you have to truly employ your faith to understand an incomprehensible situation.

Brent's little sister, Sheri, told nurses that she was in so much pain she felt like she would die. I don't think she meant it. She couldn't have believed that. None of us believe that we will leave this earth without the many evidences of old age; as though somehow enough wrinkles and grey hair will ease our departure. So, as with many topics since her death, I think differently about leaving my family, friends and earthly home prematurely. A visit to Sheri's gravesite on Memorial Day brought to mind a few more things that I have learned from Sheri's willingness to lead by example...

1. Motherhood brings joy. Sheri loved her little daughters deeply. Sheri and Eric were married for years before they decided to have children. I never heard Sheri regret this decision or wish their before-kids days back. She complained very little and giggled very much while she was a mom.

2. Little things DO count. A few times since Sheri's death, I have sung songs--just for fun--with Abbey and some of her cousins. Each time, Abbey reminds me that her mommy died. I believe that the Primary or fun song that we sing evokes a memory of Sheri because Sheri sung and spent special time with Abbey.

3. Working parents can be fully engaged with their children. Even with a part-time schedule, I find it energy-taxing to work and parent. Sheri and Eric worked their schedules to ensure maximum time with Abbey even if it meant less time for them to be together. Sheri even used commute time to-and-from the sitter's house to play with and teach Abbey.

4. Your children will remember you. Abbey is little, only three. Ava is not yet one and was never physically introduced to Sheri but I know that they know Sheri and feel her. I see small evidences--Abbey reading 'Goodnight, Gorilla' to Ava, silly Elmo voices, tender talking--of Sheri's lasting mark on her daughters' hearts.

5. Your attitude and small actions will define you. Sheri wasn't here long enough. She wasn't. When her too-short life was condensed to memories, Sheri's laugh, kindness, tender heart, humor, sacrifices, example and leadership were mentioned repeatedly by those of us blessed enough to know and love her. She made big and small differences to many.

I love you, Sheri. Miss you too.

Bye-bye JellyBean Junction

2010-05-31T20:23:00.003-06:00

For the past two years, Alec has loved being a student at JellyBean Junction Preschool. We attended the "graduation" program last week. Here are some of the cute pictures from our fun night.
1. With Teacher Sara, the most patient, happy person on the earth.
2. Giving us a wink and the thumbs up.
3. Playing his part as Papa Bear in one of the skits.
4. Licking off his Baby Bumble Bee in one of the songs.
5. With Teacher Grandma, a great classroom helper.

Recent Alec quotes.

2010-05-28T21:22:00.005-06:00

"Wow, Mom. How did you know that? Is it because you're 40 now?"

Cousin Skylar: "Is your T-ball a real game tonight or just a practice?"
Alec: "I'm not sure because I haven't checked my schedule...and I really can't read yet."

"How many more Sponge Bob's until we get to Grandma's house?" (Sadly he gauges time by how many episodes of this urban media disaster he could fit in.)

"Only 16 more days until my birthday! Ooooh, I can't wait until it's only 15 more days!!"

Alec: "I know why today is a just-you-and-me day, Mom."
Me (thinking he realizes I don't work on Tuesdays): "Oh yeah? Why's that?"
Alec (holding up two fingers): "Because Tuesday is like TWOs-day."

"Pleeee, Mom...That's how you say please, Mom in Spanish."

When he couldn't understand what his younger cousin Trevor said, "Uh, I think he's speaking Spanish."

Eating is such an inconvenience...

2010-05-24T18:17:00.010-06:00

...to my kids.

What is the deal with that? When I call them to dinner, reactions mirror those you might expect of an interrupted golfer studying a to-be winning putt.

At the other extreme, is me. I want to eat all the time. Food is a handkerchief for my tears, a damper on my temper, a filler of my free time, my nearly constant companion. Sadly, my body's genetic propensity is not compatible with this love of all things starchy and chocolaty so I run in order to balance the scale (pun intended) of my eating and health/self-esteem. Yeah, I run but let's be honest, there aren't enough miles of road in North America to compensate for my caloric addiction. What's a girl to do?? Willpower, willpower, wherefore art thou willpower? (crickets chirping)

Weight Watchers it is...again. :( Wish me luck...or willpower...Yeah, wish me willpower.

One down, three to go.

2010-05-23T19:35:00.016-06:00

To commemorate turning 40 this year, I decided to run the Utah Grand Slam--4 Utah marathons: Ogden Marathon - May 15th, Utah Valley Marathon - June 12th, Park City Marathon - August 21st, St. George Marathon - October 2nd. And, I talked Brent into doing it with me! This ambitious goal set by my young, motivated, naive 39-year-old self wasn't my best idea to date but with shoes purchased, race registrations paid, and a few (too few) training miles run, I'm in.
Last Saturday, Brent and I ran the first of our 4 slammin' races--the Ogden Marathon.

Brent's complete report can be found here. He ran this race like pro and threw that sub-4hr. marathon monkey off his back! 3:54:09!! Amazing. (Incidentally, two of Brent's friends freelance for Zazoosh, the official photographers for the race, and happened to get both of our best pictures!)

My performance was much less stellar at a slow 5:38:52 but considering my recent running ambivalence and accompanying lack of training, I was just happy to stay upright and keep all my toenails.

Ken Ben turns Ten.

2010-05-13T08:52:00.004-06:00

On May 10, 2000, Kenna Marleen joined our family. She is the great girl filling in our kid sandwich between two pieces of crazy bread brothers.

Kenna turned 10 on the 10th so here are 10 things I love about Kenna:
10. She is smart but also conscientious and hard-working.
9. Kenna loves to learn. She recently went on a trip to New Mexico with Brent and completed many requirements to earn three Jr. Ranger badges. When she got home, she wrote a trip report about the places she visited.
8. Kenna is a friend to many. When I visit her classroom, she seems like a people magnet.
7. Kenna is tender. She inherited a soft heart from her momma. (Why do I cherish it in here and devalue it in myself?!)
6. Kenna has a quick wit. She is fast to make funny connections and observations.
5. Kenna is forbearing. She is able to set aside immediate wants for another's (usually a crazy brother!) benefit.
4. Kenna is creative. Sometimes this means messy but she loves crafting, drawing, writing, imagining etc.
3. Kenna is a great companion. She's always up for a jaunt to Target or a TV show snuggle. I just love having her around.
2. Kenna's smile and laugh are beautiful and contagious.
1. Kenna is my daughter--my only one. Of my infinite dreams for her, I hope most that she will understand how completely I love her.

Happy Birthday, Kenny Benny!

SURPRISE!!

2010-05-04T12:33:00.024-06:00

Did you know that Brent and my sister threw me a surprise birthday party?? Sure you did because apparently, I was the only person who did not know what was afoot.

The Background:
My cute, YOUNGER sister Stephanie asked me some time ago whom I would invite to a party if I were stupid enough to commemorate my upcoming black birthday. I explained that I had considered organizing a fun milestone celebration but decided to opt for a quiet, contemplative, calm day with the family. That was the first and last discussion of a birthday party. I planned, against Dylan Thomas' advice, to go gently into that good night.

The Deception:
In the several weeks preceding the big and dreaded day, small things happened that made me slightly suspicious. I asked Brent more than once if he and/or Stephanie were planning something. Brent struggles to keep even Christmas gift surprises from me so when he denied involvement in a conspiracy to publicly enshrine my old age, I believed him.

The Oblivion:
In the spirit of planting my own garden and decorating my own soul instead of waiting for someone to bring me flowers, I made week-long plans for my birthday. I bought myself my favorite perfume and some sandals online, scheduled a weekend run and massage and accepted dinner invitations from friends who knew my anxiety was reaching an epic level. Brent gave me an unexpected and great present and asked if Wednesday (the day before my birthday) would work for us to go to dinner. I told him that I needed to go out earlier than he normally arrives home because Stephanie was coming into town to spend the night at our house. He was very accommodating.

The Sting:
Dinner was nice and simple. We went to Noodles and Company--not fancy but I heart complex carbohydrates and I had a birthday coupon :) After we finished eating, Brent uncharacteristically suggested that we stop by Target "...for some, uh...candy, yeah, candy. I want to buy some candy." Part way through the vital treats run, Stephanie texted that we could pick her up from the hotel where her friend's family was staying. You know, the friend who that Stephanie was able to travel with because the friend was coincidentally driving to Layton that day to see family who just happened to be staying there. (Yep. I'm a little gullible.) We arrived at the hotel and started in. "WHAT is up? You look waaaay too pleased with yourself," I remarked. Brent smirked slyly and quoted Lloyd Christmas, "Why don't you eat up and I'll tell ya!" The rest goes just about how you would imagine. I walked into a "Stephanied" room full of decorations, food, family, friends, neighbors, co-workers, etc. I got momentarily verklempt and then partied the night away.

The experience was absolutely surreal. I am choked up just writing about the sight of so many gathered who have charmed my life. Even more touching than the overwhelming scene was the tribute book that some friends compiled with kind thoughts from those who attended the party and many who couldn't. I truly am a blessed (albeit, old) woman.

A letter to my younger self...

2010-04-29T21:52:00.003-06:00

Dear 20-year-old Rita,

Turning 40 is going to panic you but try not to fall apart. Here’s a little advice from your older, wiser self to help you through the next several years.

You are just figuring out that your parents aren’t perfect. Take it easy on them. They raised six children. (That’s double the amount that you’ll be brave enough to parent!) And, they didn’t kill any of them! They are great people. After you have your own babies, you’ll feel blessed every day to be their daughter and hope that your children feel as loved as you do.

Try to stand out in a class at BYU once-in-a-while. You’re going to need some letters of recommendation for graduate school in a few years. You will be surprised that you enjoy working outside the home and the wrestle between work and family will be a long one. You will strike a balance and feel blessed for it.

Be nice to the nerds that ask you on dates. You’re going to get tired of watching all your friends date and get married so be happy that anyone asks you out! You really are a magnet for geeks but guess what…you’ll end up marrying one and he is great. He’s cute and clever and will think you’re the same.

Embrace your emotionality. It’s actually a strength, not a weakness. Using your compassion and warmth to understand and help other people will bring you happiness and a sense of purpose. You will count as a gift even brief encounters with other of God’s children. Continue to develop your sincere interest in people who cross your path and you will learn and love much.

You will be a runner! Quit laughing. Seriously, your chubby, non-athletic body will take you down the road for many miles. You’ll learn to love hating it and even run some marathons. Oh, and you’ll still be chubby and non- athletic. Sorry.

Your future kids are funny, smart and beautiful. You will love each of them in completely different ways but more deeply than you can imagine. As discouraged as you get as a mom, know that they love you too. Savor the small moments that you recognize and believe this. You have scores of hopes and desires for your kids but some will go unrealized when you learn to choose your battles. Work to let go of what you want and focus on showing that you love them no matter what. (Spoiler alert—that universal parent’s wish…that you will have kids just like you…It’s gonna happen. Brace yourself.)

You will accomplish a lot of things that you do not feel capable of right now. Work to acknowledge your capacity to achieve but don’t misinterpret your skills as invincibility. Figure out the difference between humility and weakness. Ask for help when you need it and don’t feel bad when you do. I am sorry to tell you that your tiring struggle with insecurity will persist. Oh that you could absorb the genuine appreciation and love that others heap on you. Sadly, they will not convince you of your worth. Please find a way to figure this out.

Take some deep breaths. You’re going to make it.

Love,

40-year-old YOU

P.S. Don’t forget to wear sunscreen. Your skin will never tan and your multitudes of freckles do not coalesce into one.

Even Alec gets it.

2010-04-28T17:43:00.001-06:00

ALEC: "Only one more day until your birthday!"
ME: "Yep. Good remembering."
ALEC: "And then you won't be my mom anymore."
ME: "What? Yes I will. Why did you say that?"
ALEC: "Because then you're going to be an old grandma."

Thanks for the bowling ball, Homer.

2010-04-27T20:09:00.004-06:00

Do you remember the episode of the Simpsons where Homer runs to the mall to purchase a last-minute birthday gift for Marge? Being panicked and distracted and HOMER, he ends up buying a bowling ball drilled for his fingers and engraved with his name.

This is my Homer gif t from Brent:
This gift differs from the bowling ball for Marge in that #1 it was not last minute, it was actually three days early and #2 I love it almost as much as Brent does! Woohoo. Thanks, Honey.

We run.

2010-04-19T20:37:00.014-06:00

RUN

Function: verb

Meaning to go at a pace faster than a walk

Synonyms dash, gallop, jog, scamper, sprint, trip, trot

Near Antonyms amble, lumber, plod, saunter, shamble, shuffle, stroll; crawl, creep, poke; plod, trudge; hobble, limp

Brent ran the Salt Lake City FULL Marathon on Saturday. He finished in 4:12:29 and set a PR (personal record)!! Yay Brenty-Boo!! You can read his complete race report here.

I did "go at a pace faster than a walk" (plus some other near antonyms) the Salt Lake 1/2 Marathon and finished in 2:29:45 and set a PNSGBNMW (personal not so good but not my worst) time. Yay me!!

Brent's super supportive parents were at the finish line to cheer us both. They are great.

Next up...30K (18.6 miles!!) this Saturday in training for the Ogden Full Marathon just around the corner. YIKES!

Growing up...or old...or both.

2010-04-13T20:42:00.006-06:00

So maybe you remember that I'M TURNING 40?!! Oh good. Just makin' sure.

As per a responsible adult, I recently went in for my "yearly" girl doctor checkup. "Yearly" in quotes because the first question the doctor asked was, "I have your last appointment date as nearly five years ago. Have you been seen somewhere else?" Uh, NO. Okay, I guess I should have put "responsible" in quotes instead.

The exam itself was uncomfortable as its several predecessors had forecast. Expected. Unexpected was the ensuing, lengthy discussion covering many topics that did much to heighten my already soaring anxiety...
birth control (we can't dethrone Alec as the youngest, favorite child now can we?),
weight control (can't I pleeasse just run a little and then eat a lot of whatever I want?) ,
sleep (lack thereof),
stress (abundance thereof),
nutritional supplements (for my rapidly draining body stash) and
recommended tests (you know, for the aging population).

As advised, I walked my disintegrating body down to the scheduling desk to arrange for some of the recommended tests. The cute little +or- 23 year-old receptionist asked me a few personal questions about my anatomy in preparation for my upcoming appointment...Skip the rest of this post if you tend to squirm when I get a little too honest...

YOUNG receptionist: "Will this be your first mammogram?"
Me: "Yes. Lucky me."
YOUNG receptionist: Courtesy laugh. "Our technician will be here in about 15 minutes. Would you'd like to do it today."
Me: "Uh. No. No way. I am NOT emotionally prepared for that today."
YOUNG receptionist: Doubting laugh. "She'll be right back. Are you sure?"
Me: "Nope. Really. I have yet to come to grips with my age and I need to before I do this. I'm turning 40." Exaggerated shudder.
YOUNG receptionist: Whatever laugh. "Oh. Okay. We'll just schedule an appointment for later. Okay. Are there any problems with your breasts?"
Me: "Yeah. Too small...and saggy."
YOUNG receptionist: Stunned laugh. "Okay. Last question...Do you have implants?"
Me: "Uh. No...too small...saggy, remember? HEY!! Maybe for my 40th birthday!"

Eventually I scheduled the mammogram and had the NON-pleasure of that experience today. Not nearly as bad as expected...Hopefully like turning 40.

Super Spring Break in St. George

2010-04-12T16:29:00.004-06:00

We had a great week-long spring break in St. George full of running, swimming, Snow Canyon, Silver Reef, Zion's Park, miniature golfing, movie-viewing, batting cages, eating, and enjoying the beautiful weather and general lack of snow! Our best idea was to take the Wilkos along with us. Our kids enjoyed each other and everyone was on their best behavior...even Brent ;)

What I was thinking at mile 7.

2010-04-04T10:41:00.011-06:00

Yesterday I ran a half marathon. (That's 13.1 miles for those of you lucky enough not to be stuck in mental and physical vortex that is a running hobby.) Near mile 7, Chasing Pavements by Adele began to play on my MP3 player. Over and over I heard Adele ask herself, "Should I give up? Or should I just keep chasing pavements? Even if it leads nowhere..." Fatigue, a headwind and roads full of frozen slush definitely begged the same question but the lyrics about unrequited affection also mirrored the latest analysis of my love-hate relationship with running. As Adele admitted to pouring emotional energy into something that is not panning out, I wondered the same thing. Why on earth do I run?

I really do love to run. It gives me some personal time and helps me feel strong and confident. Lately, however, my heart (and other body parts) haven't been into it. When my running partner moved in December and then was stricken with a stress fracture, I realized how dependent on someone else I have become even to reach my own goals. In an attempt to ward off an impending birthday crisis, last year I determined to run 4 Utah marathons in 2010. Evidently, setting the goal didn't work and neither did forking out all the money for race registrations. Self-sabotage has taken over and I have let a serious lapse in training add to my spiraling self-concept. What is wrong with me?!

Anyway, to answer Adele's and my own question, yes, I am going to keep chasing pavements even though it doesn't seem to be leading anywhere. I am trying to recommit to my original goal to train well and enjoy this year of running. Bring on the marathons...
May-Ogden
June-Utah Valley
August-Park City
October-St. George.

Confidence in his dad.

2010-03-31T23:04:00.005-06:00

ALEC: "Mom, aren't I doing such a good job of setting up my chess pieces?"
ME: "Yes, Sweetie. Awesome."
ALEC: "Yeah. I think I'm going to set up Dad's pieces too."
ME: "That would be nice because Dad is busy trying to get Todd to do his jobs and that is a hard project because Todd is a little bit grouchy."
ALEC: "I don't think it will be hard for Dad."
ME: "Really?"
ALEC: "Yeah because Dad is so good at using his mean voices."

Countdown

2010-03-28T20:59:00.007-06:00

For one more month...

I'm fast approaching 40 and really freaking out,
Not yet the girl I want to be, my sanity's in doubt.

At a glance, I have it all--great job, husband and kids,
But the looming big 4-0 has my stress level off the grid.

I guess I had a picture, a hope for what might be,
When I left behind my 30s and marched toward 40.

Where is my mark of wisdom? My temperance and calm?
I'm more unsettled than a teen preparing for the prom.

I want to feel mature and poised, strong and self-assured,
At what age can I expect insecurity to be cured?

They Hoped to be Called on a Mission

2010-03-27T17:45:00.006-06:00

They hoped to be called on a mission,
They prayed and readied for the work,
They wanted to go somewhere special,
Where they could learn & serve & never would they shirk.

The call said, Go to Salt Lake City,
Please help to build the kingdom strong,
Prepare for lessons and for blessings,
Knowing well that you are right where you belong.

My mom and dad (aren't they are good looking couple?!) are going on an LDS mission. They will serve in the church office building as Construction Finance Specialists for 18 months beginning August 2nd. We couldn't be more thrilled for them to start this next adventure together and what a bonus that they will be so close to us!! I feel a lot of Temple Square trips coming on. Love you, Mom and Dad.

Remembering Sheri

2010-03-22T19:49:00.007-06:00

Brent's little sister Sheri was 15 when Brent and I got married. She attended BYU Hawaii and served an LDS mission. Shortly after she married Eric, they moved to Lolo, Montana. Because our earthly acquaintance was relatively short, "remembering" Sheri feels more like recalling the feeling of her presence and loving her through the stories of Brent's family.

Sheri would have been 34 years old on Sunday. She passed away last August while giving birth to her second child. Yesterday we gathered to remember the blessing of her in our lives and to celebrate the selfless gift of her two daughters.

We started at the cemetery where we left notes, flowers and pictures at Sheri's grave site. We tied some messages to helium-filled balloons and the kids released them. We ate dinner and birthday cake at Brent's parents' home and finished by watching home videos of Sheri as a young girl.
Sheri's death causes me to think often of the things I know and believe. It is hard to reconcile how faith changes when it is tested in reality. Now the things that I know feel so small compared to those I don't and I think that was probably the same for Sheri.

Sheri knew that Eric was the right guy for her...that he was cute, funny, kind and good. She didn’t know what an incredible parent he would be with or without her.

Sheri knew that she wanted to be a mother. Even when it was hard and tiring, she was grateful for the experience. She didn’t know that her time as a mom would be so short.

Sheri knew that having children would require hard work and sacrifice. She didn’t know that she would have to literally forfeit her life for her daughters.

I know that our families can be together again after this life. I don’t know why learning and really understanding the importance of this comforting knowledge can hurt so much sometimes.

I love you, Sheri.

O Canada. Go Canada!

2010-03-09T10:07:00.023-07:00

My particular mix of anxiety and pessimism is not a good combo for sports viewing. I really want my teams to win but doubt they will. I balance this dysfunction with enough sports apathy, however, that I don't get too excited by a win or too upset by a loss. It is especially buggy when avid fans of opposing teams feel the need to rub in their victories. I smile and feign more disappointment than I feel and hope that my forbearance will bring their silence. Really? Who has enough mental and emotional space in their brain and heart to have more than 3-1/2 minutes of post-game life affected by something you have exactly zero control over? I prefer to spend my energies berating myself for skipping a run or cussing my dirty house not on choosing the wrong group of athletes to support.

Knowing that friends and acquaintances would ask about the Olympics being held in Canada, I watched a lot of the coverage so that I could participate in 17 days worth of small talk. Doubt and distress ignited when the cauldron didn't at the opening ceremonies. My apprehension grew as U.S. commentators dwelt on poor Canadian performances of the Olympic past. I suffered many a cardiac arrhythmia and near suffocation from holding my breath that the motherland would pull through. I hated, hated, hated that the U.S. men's hockey team beat Canada in the first round of tournament play. A friend at work made sure I knew his feelings on the topic and I didn't have to feign dissatisfaction this time. My mental status sustaining apathy had evaporated. Over the next several days, I was buoyed by other great Canadian performances but couldn't erase the burning hope that Team Canada would spank the U.S. in the final hockey game. I checked the internet throughout the game knowing I couldn't watch without risking my heart's health. Finally, with 43 seconds left in the last period, I turned on the TV and cheered confidently for 19 seconds...until the U.S. tied the game. Hopes dashed I debated staying tuned for the overtime period but decided to see my team through. When we scored, I reservedly cheered until Todd informed and assured me (three times) that it was a sudden death overtime. A swell of relief filled the part of me that normal sports fans cram with rejoicing. I wasn't nearly as happy as I was freed from the angst of wishing for something you can't control. Blech. I hate sports.

My mild in-your-face celebration was wearing a Canada shirt to work on Monday and painting my fingernails like this.

(Hmmm. Maybe this is a Gang Canada sign. Yikes.)

On a related note, the women's team did great and caused me no worries at all. :)

St. George 1/2 and 5K.

2010-03-08T14:39:00.022-07:00

This motley crew loves St. George and loves running in St. George even more!

On January 23rd we all ran the St. George 1/2 Marathon or 5K. Left-to-right is me, Brent, Eric (Brent's brother-in-law), Scott (Brent's dad), Andrea (Brent's sister) and Nate (Andrea's husband, Brent's brother-in-law.)

Brent ran the 1/2 marathon with a goal to set a personal 1/2 record by running it in under 1:56 which he did...1:52:40!! Yay Brenty-Boo!
Brent has some lofty running goals and he is well on his way to smashing them all. Brent wants to set a marathon personal record at the Salt Lake City Marathon in April by running under 4:12 and run a sub 4 hour marathon at the Ogden Marathon in May. He has be running and training a ton and he is on-track to easily meet his expectations. So glad for him.

I ran the 1/2 too but my goal was only to finish upright and under 2:25 which I did. I've had a hard time training this winter. It's not too motivating to get up hours before the sun, breath in junk trapped by the inversion, and freeze your body to the bone. Too often I run, hit the shower, and jump right back into bed where greeted by my electric blanket left on high for that purpose. I wonder how many calories you burn when you go right back to sleep after running! Not enough as evidenced by the numbers on the scale. :(

Other awesome St. George activities included a runners' luncheon and birthday celebration for Brent's dad, swimming kids and plenty of cousin hooliganism.

I love St. George and I really love the wonderful people that love it with me.

Sometimes when you do this...

2010-03-08T09:57:00.006-07:00

...you can fly.

At least, that's what Alec told me when I rounded the corner and found him in this pose.

Don't call unless...

2010-02-22T21:04:00.004-07:00

Sometimes my kids are home alone. (Yes, I'm that kind of mother.) Thanks to the constant companionship of my cell phone, they are able to call if there is a problem or question. More often than not, however a phone call from home is a report that that so-and-so is being mean or won't share the blah blah blah. About a month ago I got three such calls in succession during a work training. After the third, I firmly explained that these situations were not emergencies and that they needed work things out on their own. I did not want to be interrupted again for anything that didn't involve a lot of blood or fire.

Today my cell phone vibrated during a meeting at Todd's school. I walked out of the room grinding my teeth assuming my refereeing skills were required in some minor sibling combat. NOPE. Turns out there was an emergency. A fire. Kenna calmly explained that while she was heating some rice, she saw sparks and was now observing a small combustion inside the microwave. Her question was should she continue to watch it or try to put it out? REALLY?!! A FIRE?!! Yeah, yawn. So, should she let it burn or do something? She sounded less concerned than if the TV remote were missing. I told her to put a wet rag on the small flame which she did while I stayed on the phone. Okay, it was out. Thanks for the help. Click.

(Incidentally, the culprit was a tiny, metal hinge in the random plastic container she had chosen to heat her rice in.)

A thank you note.

2010-01-21T08:07:00.010-07:00

Dear neighbor boy,

Thank you for staying out past curfew with your boisterous skateboard-toting buddies as to capture the attention of a passing police officer. Thank you for getting in a fight at school, one serious enough to give another lawman something to do. Thank you for attending your citation hearings and for accepting your sentence with the utmost teenage dignity. In today's wavering economy, public servants are grateful for the steady work you provide.

Thank you for choosing to fulfill several of your community service hours at our house. Without your help, the Christmas tree might still be up, the fish would be concealed in algae-covered aquarium glass, and the bathroom would still show the aftermath of Tropical Storm Alec.

Thank you for letting me run in the mornings with your mom so that I understand that if good parenting could prevent kids from making dumb choices, you would be shining your halo and not my floors. Thank you for helping me find a little more patience for my own budding teen and his homework-hating, chore-avoiding, sibling-pestering ways.

Thank you for helping Todd with a science crossword puzzle. I'm not sure how his teacher felt about your suggestion to add a exclamation points to the hypothesized words that didn't fit the allotted squares, but he did complete his assignment. Thank you for the other lesson that you taught Todd and that he has since passed on to his little sister: "Kenna, it's good to learn from your own mistakes but sometimes it's good to learn from other people's mistakes!!"

New goals for 2010.

2010-01-04T20:38:00.013-07:00

First things first...Blogging hiatus explained.
The reason that I haven't blogged in such a long time is that my ongoing war with real life versus my expectations has reached a pinnacle. I've held the belief that if I tried harder, got up earlier, ran faster, gave more, etc., that things would work out the way I wanted them to. Just like the eagle eggs in Nacho Libre, these things are a LIE and I am fighting against the universe's insistence that I learn this sad, sad lesson. The practice of this philosophy hasn't given me what I want at all. I haven't blogged because I'm hoping that lack of documentation of the last few months will aid me in forgetting what a disaster I have felt like.

That explained, here's my plan for 2010:
Last year's idea to include inspiring words to live by with my resolutions was a bust. I began too many things, persevered through many, and excelled at NONE (except ounces of Diet Dr. Pepper consumed). I am starting out 2010 very discouraged. Here is a mere sampling of what is getting me down:
* I've got nearly 20 extra pounds hanging around and no desire to do what it takes to banish them.
* I find it nearly impossible to keep my cool with my teenager.
* I'm lazy at work but consistently agree to take on more when asked.
* My Christmas decorations are STILL up!
* The house is a wreck. I'm totally disorganized and haven't the will to de-junk and tackle the mess.

I have bid farewell to delusions that I might become a more temperate Gloria Steinem, a mormon Mother Teresa, a less-annoying Don Aslet, an honest Hiliary Clinton, a drawl-less Dr. Phil, a normally nostriled Jillian Michaels, a less wealthy but equally generous Oprah Winfrey, or any other noted world-changer. Even my smallest of goals for self-improvement and mastery go unmet day after day, year after year. So, spurred by a pattern of hard work not working out and an overwhelming desire to take a nap under my desk at work last week, it's time to lower the bar and do the opposite of what I've tried for too long. My new role model...

GEORGE COSTANZA.

If you drop by, you will find me draped in velvet eating a block of cheese the size of a car battery. Happy New Year!!

Halloween Pic

2009-11-05T16:14:00.002-07:00

SGM 2009

2009-10-13T13:55:00.008-06:00

How many race reports can you read that begin and end with me explaining how sorely (no pun intended!) undertrained I was to tackle the experience? Hopefully you've got it in you to read one more...

Any marathon training should include, at very least, three 18+ mile runs but hot summer weather forces ridiculously early departure times and busy schedules often interfere with the best intentions to get in a long run. These two issues are always factors in my lack of training but cannot be solely blamed. The fact is, I am L-A-Z-Y when it comes to doing long training runs. I just don't like to do them!

I ran the SLC 1/2 (April), Ogden 1/2 (May), Legacy 1/2 (May), and Top of Utah 1/2 (August) this year and a miserable 18.6 miler (except for the great company). Other than those races, my distance training wasn't more than about 10 miles on any run. Therefore, my time and performance goals settled nice and low at:
#1 Avoid injury and
#2 Enjoy my tall, handsome race partner.

Mission and low expectations accomplished!!

Brent and I spent a lovely 5 hours and 21 minutes running the marathon together sans wrecked knees, back, or even unmentionable chafing. Our time included great conversation, much laughing, a tear or two (on my part only and probably unbeknown even to Brent!), and a kiss at the finish line!

The pics are borrowed from the official event photographers at marathonfoto.com, hence the big PROOF across each of them. I prefer to think of the pics this way:
#1 PROOF that even though he could have left me in the dust, Brent stayed at my side throughout the race.
#2 PROOF that running makes me feel tough and accomplished...even if it's really slow running with lots of walking in between :D
#3 PROOF that I still like that guy I married 16.75 years ago.
#1 PROOF that I participated in my 3rd full and 3rd St. George Marathon. Woohoo!!

Pumpkin Patch Pals

2009-10-13T12:39:00.004-06:00

Yay me!! Alec's Jelly Bean Junction fieldtrip to Black Island Farms Pumpkin Patch fell on my day off and since he attends preschool in my sis-in-law's neighborhood, I don't know a lot of the other moms so I spent every minute riveted on this cute guy's idea of farm fun. He loved feeding the goats, riding the animal train, sliding down the hay bale slope, and picking out his own pumpkin on the tractor-wagon jaunt. Not pictured: PIG races and my post-marathon quads burning up as we tried to partner on the teeter-totter.

Smiley for Miley

2009-10-13T12:34:00.002-06:00

My cute neighbor/friend/running pal invited Kenna to go to the Miley Cyrus concert with her daughter and step daughter. Kenna wore a bright pink, tie-dyed "peace" tee and sported some cool hair mascara for the occasion. Although Miley was a little sick and had to take a few breaks, all the girls had a great time.

Lucky 13!

2009-10-02T09:41:00.005-06:00

On October 1st Todd officially became a TERRIFIC teenager. He is a fabulous kid and I do not anticipate a spiked increase in eye-rolling and arguing. (Although, it will be nice to finally have an explanation for said behaviors.)

13 great things about Todd:

1. Todd does great voices, accents and impressions. We watched the Secret Garden a couple of weeks ago and he has been in and out of Irish, Scottish, and English phrases and accents since. And yes, they each sound a little different.

2. Todd is great on the phone. I grinned as I listened to him chat with birthday well wishers. His animation and annunciation surprise me. (If you've met his father, you know why.)

3. Todd is affectionate in action and word. I can still get a hug and kiss from Todd at bedtime and I-love-yous are sprinkled throughout the day.

4. Todd is honest. Even if it means telling on himself, you know that you'll get the facts when his side of the story comes out.

5. Todd called *W* "doogaly" for a long time after he learned his letters. It was so cute that we called him Doogaly for a long time.

6. Todd has an opinion and readily shares it. This trait has landed me in discussions at the school office a couple of times but even given those worrisome times, I know that this quality will serve him well...He will eventually temper the DNA he got from his mum and confidently stand for what he believes.

7. Todd loves his family--immediate and extended members. I don't take this for granted. I feel blessed that he likes to be around us.

8. Todd is a "good" boy. Last week Brent and I traveled to Orem on Sunday morning for our newest nephew's blessing. Because we had to leave early, we let the kids stay home and sleep in. Todd got up on his own and went to church! He also attends his scouting and Young Men's activities regularly. I'm so happy this isn't something we argue about.

9. Todd is active. We've got a lot of pictures of him playing Guitar Hero and RockBand but he can often be found outside shooting hoops a lot too. He's run several 5K races as well.

10. Todd is true blue to BYU. How could he be otherwise??? It's fun to listen to him chew the sports' fat about stats and random trivia with Brent. This is something he does that really reminds me of how old he is.

11. Todd is learning to speak FRENCH! Brent speaks Spanish so I was a little surprised when Todd chose my BYU minor as his 2nd language. He really likes the class and is doing tres bien in there.

12. Todd is a great 'big' brother. He has his moments of being a little too rough with Alec and a lot too annoyed with Kenna but he is usually very respectful and fun with them.

13. Todd changed our family. When Todd was born, Brent and I went from being a couple without kids to being a couple with. My mom and dad got their first grandchild and Brent's parents, their first grandson. My siblings and spouses became aunts and uncles. Brent's siblings got their first nephew. These weren't simple title changes. Todd matured us and gave us something important to do and love.

I love you, Todd!
Happy teenagedom.

Alec on Ava.

2009-09-17T22:10:00.012-06:00

Today we were blessed to have Baby Ava for a long visit. I was surprised at how excited Alec was to have Ava in our home. He had asked several times when we were going to help take care of her and even petitioned aunt Andrea to allow Ava to sleep at our house last night. I imagined that the novelty might wear off when he recognized Ava sitting in his Youngest, Cutest, Most-Spoiled seat but he loved every minute of her today. He had quite a lot to say about his little cousin:

Getting a start on Transitive Relation equations:
"Trevor (2 year-old cousin) is bigger than Ava and I am bigger than Trevor...so that means I am really bigger than Ava."

After I enlisted his help to hold her pacifier in while we were driving home:
"Baby Ava cries when you drive too fast."

Randomly:
"I think it's going to be a boy baby."

After I said he could have a treat at home:
"Yeah but that baby can't eat a doughnut. The mouth is too, too little."

Gently rubbing her head:
"I don't see any hair up there."

After I teased that Ava had not answered my question:
"Yeah. Only you need teeth to talk."

Is she not so beautiful?
I love her.

Reasons to Smile.

2009-09-14T21:13:00.003-06:00

I got my braces off today and I am still smiling!

Ten More Reasons to Smile Today:
1. I got to hold and love baby Ava. She is a miracle and a blessing. Her spirit is thick and comforting. I love her.

2. Alec was super excited when he saw my braces gone. He has exercised a year of self-control when near my face. When I showed him my teeth, he squished my face and exclaimed, "Ooooh. Now I can do *chubby cheeks* so, so, so hard!"

3. Todd is starting to "get" Jr. High little by little. The last three weeks have been socially and organizationally miserable. I love him. He's trying hard.

4. Kenna has been a dream about getting up and ready for school this year. She is definitely a night person so it is a real effort for her to wake up and be cheerful. What a good girl.

5. A woman that I work with at church picked and gave us a giant box of peaches. Mmmmm peaches. I'm going to make some pies tomorrow. I may even get organized enough to take one to a nice girl I know.

6. Because of Facebook, I am back in touch with many great people from my past. The social networking thing can get out of hand so I try to be careful with my time but I am grateful to rekindle old friendships.

7. I arrived home today to lots of loud sounds in my basement. It's a good thing. We are soon to have an extra 1,000 square feet of room to stash stuff that we don't need.

8. My in-laws are back in the country. I so wish their return were under different circumstances. Their love, faith, and direction is a blessing to our family. I love them.

9. My mom and dad are planning a trip to visit us soon. I. Can't. Wait. And it not just because they are coming to watch our kids while we are in Hawaii. I actually really love them too.

10. Look at the three awesome kids surrounding my bright, straight, metal-free smile in the bottom left picture...I bet they even made YOU smile!

The sprint before the 1/2 marathon.

2009-09-13T21:53:00.009-06:00

On Saturday, August 29th I ran the Top of Utah 1/2 marathon with a couple of friends. The course was fast and beautiful. I would definitely recommend it if you fall into the category described by a guy I overheard in during the race:

"Who runs a 1/2 marathon anyway? These people are crazy."

I'll admit to being one of the nuts who seek the pleasure of the pain of running. I love it...when I don't hate it.

I used to get nervous before running a race. Difficulty sleeping and managing my stomach with TUMS were accepted as part of the routine but my days of pre-race jitters are past. I've taken care of race anxiety by preparing well the night before but mostly by embracing the reality of my performance potential! Sad but true. A little more concern about this race, however, may have actually been in order and helped me to do better...

My great running friends, Kellie and Ryan, and I decided we would leave Layton at 4:45 a.m. in order to pick up our race packets and numbers with time for calm and stretching before the run. I set two alarms and readied my race-day pile of supplies the night before. I went to bed too late and jumped out of bed when Kellie called and woke me at 5:04 a.m. I still don't know what happened with my alarms but adrenaline and my lead foot got us to Providence, UT in time to snag our numbers and a bus ride to the start.

I hate feeling rushed and racing that way is the worst. Everything was in fast forward. Trips to the port-o-potties barely occurred before the starting gun sounded. My GPS didn't have enough time to catch a satellite signal and without that, I didn't have a good way to judge pace. I also noticed that, in my sprint to the start, I had forgotten my energy gel I needed to take 2 times during the race. Sheesh.

Even though my GPS didn't load, I did have my stopwatch and remember a few of the mile marked times:
4 miles 37:35
5 miles 46:33
6 miles 54:27
7 miles 1:04:??
9 miles 1:25:??
Finish 2:12:47

I finished better than my initial PR this year at Salt Lake 1/2 marathon but slower than my eventual PR at Ogden 1/2. Not a bad time but disappointing for how good I felt starting out. If you cared enough to read this far, you'll notice that my pace dropped significantly after mile 9. Honestly, I would have been a lot happier with my final time if I hadn't experienced the wheels falling off soooooo badly. I had to beg Kellie to leave me at mile 9 as she was still running very strong . (And she finished in 2:06:16 AMAZING!) I gutted out the last four miles but walked waaaay more than I should have. Blah. I was spent. Ryan, Kellie's husband sped to a 6 minute PR and finished in 1:41:xx. Wow!

Lessons:
* Adrenaline expended by being rushed can't be spent again when you need it!
* Set three alarms the night before a race??
* Don't forget your GU. I hate the stuff but Gatorade and water only didn't give me enough energy to finish strong.
* Running is kind of hard when you're an old lady.

In Loving Memory

2009-08-31T18:11:00.003-06:00

Sheri Zimmerman Klein passed away yesterday after delivering her 2nd daughter. Sheri was due in 2 weeks but went into the hospital in a lot of pain Sunday morning. Sheri's blood pressure was very high and they gave her medication to lower it which put the baby in peril. The baby was born emergency c-section--Ava Lily Klein is 5lbs 5 oz, 17 inches, healthy and beautiful. Sheri's blood pressure plummeted and she did not recover despite all the doctors and nurses did for her. We celebrate her life and the birth of her daughter.

Ava Lily Klein

I'm out of the running.

2009-08-25T11:36:00.007-06:00

I have a lengthy list of "good mom" criteria constantly scrolling through my hormonally and emotionally ravaged parent brain. I try my best but here is picture proof that the Mother of the Year award will be going elsewhere.

My otherwise easy-going, affectionate, happy little guy is angry at me in these pictures because...
I insisted that we would eat dinner (lovingly prepared by Pizza Hut) as a family at the table instead of in front of the T.V. watching Sponge Bob.

Like (LOOOONEY) father, like (CURAAAZY) sons.

2009-08-11T21:07:00.006-06:00

Remember THIS?

Alfred Bandura must have gotten it right. His Social Learning Theory basically states that children learn and do what they observe. Todd and Alec are demonstrating this quite nicely thanks to their exemplar father. I suppose having your mother laugh her head off and think you're funny enough to grab the camera counts as the appreciable reinforcement that will certainly encourage this type of behavior. [Guilty.] Looks like we're going to have generations of pale, shirtless guitar heroes. What a legacy.

What a cute, smart 4th grader looks like.

2009-08-10T22:55:00.004-06:00

My favorite little girl got a little bigger today. Kenna's elementary school is on a track schedule so she began her year as a 4th grader today, two weeks before Todd will start Jr. High. This happy picture was taken right before some small tears of anxiety came. I hate it when I see signs of myself in my kids. I rescued her from her genetics and drove her to school, sparing her the bus ride. After I walked Kenna to her classroom, I was directed to the gym and then back to her classroom for the school's "Back to School Morning" which I had completely forgotten about. I'm sure Kenna was very proud to have a sweaty, disheveled parent dressed in her running clothes attending the informative event. Oh well, she'll be much happier to get on the bus tomorrow morning!

Small changes. Big improvements.

2009-08-10T13:48:00.014-06:00

One of the by-products of my not working during the summer is that I have the time and energy to NOTICE and work on things that have been neglected or just need refreshing around the house. Sadly Brent gets roped into a lot of these projects. He's definitely the brawn for these ideas but he's usually the brains on the job too. He has been very cheerful about his reluctance and I do so appreciate his help. I love that guy!

Here are some pics of the small things we've done lately.

Brent helped me make this cornice board last year. I finally found some drapery panels that matched the fabric and Brent got creative and hung them for me which was no small task. See, I am good at buying stuff for the project, just not doing the project.

We had to replace our kitchen light because of a bad ballast. (Did that sound like I know what I'm talking about? Because I don't.) Finding a fixture that fit Brent's budget restriction and my design desire didn't happen but we compromised on this one. The end embellishments we actually cream colored with gold specks and not my favorite. I grabbed a can of spray paint and, voila, better :)

I purchased 4 sets of these darling daisy hooks a while ago. Two are stylishly holding keys and cameras next to our garage door. One is in Kenna's room for various bags and pencil holders and this one keeps some of my bracelets and necklaces off of the dresser. Love them everywhere they are!

Swampwater. That is the name of this yellowy-lime green that I painted our front door. The name doesn't do do justice to the bright cheery color. I love it and the fresh coat of white trim improved the area as well! Brent put up the cute dragonfly knocker that I bought on clearance last year. I also spray-painted the brass knob and lock to coordinate with the dragonfly.

I actually dreamed this next idea...really. I had a dream that I put up some wrought iron shutters aside our front window. The next day I checked out two stores in town and found these. There are actually two iron pieces stacked on each side. Brent and my partly-willing, mostly-tricked/coerced brother-in-law put them up in the dark! They did a pretty good job, huh?

I should have taken before pictures for this next project explanation. This garage door started out white. B-O-R-I-N-G. I bought a gallon of yummy-sounding Opaque Cocoa paint which turned out to be the secret paintland code for the color of post food poisoning re-fried beans. My friend Mandy encouraged me to try again. I couldn't go wrong with Bittersweet, right? NOW I like it. The house numbers also look better brown instead of brass now.

I love my latest yard/garden decorations. Metal flowers and insects don't encourage weeds and don't sting :D

Here's the view from across the street. My friend Mandy also suggested shutters next to the bay window above the garage. I looked for some today but the store was out. I'm crossing my fingers that they're not gone for good!
You can't see it well but last year we gave up on the attempted flower garden turned weed patch below the front window. A stamped concrete patio now adorns the space. BEST idea ever. We love it and are saving our pennies for a similar space in the back yard.

Busy kids are happy kids.

2009-08-08T17:43:00.006-06:00

Flexible summertime schedules are great but the laid-back expectations, increased together time, and general ease of life can wreak havoc on my kids' moods and ability to 'enjoy' each other's company. We found a small solution. Todd and Kenna have been looking after vacationing neighbors' pets and homes. It has kept them busy and I've been impressed with their willingness to work together and follow through on their commitments. Great kids :D