Royal Bliss Concert

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...

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

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

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

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

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

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"

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!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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!