Weekend at Bear Lake

In September we were invited by our friends the Craigs to spend a weekend at their home on Bear Lake. They invited our friends the Waters. We also met up with our friends the Noyes. Between the boating, four-wheeling, eating and socializing, there was no shortage of fun.

We spent a couple of hours on the lake. Todd, Kenna and I rode the inner tube and Alec took a short turn steering the boat.

 

We also spent a lot of time on the four-wheelers. I didn't let Alec drive, but I did let him act like he was driving while I took his picture.

The scenery was gorgeous. The Fall colors were so bright they seemed fake.

We had so much fun, we didn't feel like going back home. Thanks, Craigs, Waters and Noyes, for making it such a memorable weekend!

Launch Party

Today was the release of the video game Call of Duty: Black Ops II. Todd pre-ordered his copy several weeks ago and has been counting down the days ever since. A release day of today means he could pick it up last night at midnight. The local Game Stop had a launch party and invited him to attend.

The "party" mostly consisted of waiting in line, but they did give out free goodies and the excitement of everyone in line made it feel a bit like a party. I estimate that there were 300 people in line, about 295 of which were young males.

The event had a Black Friday feel to it, but it was much more organized. Everyone had an assigned number so there wasn't any reason to run around the store or cut in line like you might see on Black Friday. I took a video of the event, but you can't see much in the outdoor shots since it was night.

Todd stayed up nearly all night playing the game. He managed to make it to school on-time this morning, believe it or not.

It's a bad day, not a bad life.

I sooo need to internalize this concept. Should I repeat this phrase 50 times each day, tattoo it on my hand, or perhaps sharpie it backward on my forhead so I can read it in the mirror when I'm wiping away tear-streaked mascara smudges? My goodness. I am the Chicken Little of Emotionland.

More frustrating than the inability to maintain perspective amidst trials is the awareness that my challenges are small compared to others' struggles and insignificant when measured against my many blessings. At any rate, I kind of hate today. I hope tomorrow will be better.

Dry Ice Demonstrations

Kenna has been begging me to buy some dry ice so that she can replicate a few demonstrations she saw on the Internet. Today was her lucky day because I bought a block of it at the local grocery store.

The first project was to make "smoke" rings out of dry ice vapor.

If you want to replicate this, make sure that the hole in the cup is circular. On the first attempt we cut a rectangle and it didn't work very well.

The next project was a dry ice bomb. This project has a very real element of danger. Do you know my friend Gavon Barkdull? He had his wrist broken in two places when a dry ice bomb went off in his hand.

The last project was to make vapor-filled bubbles. Kenna was an expert at making the bubbles very large.

These are all easy projects, although adult supervision is mandatory. We only used about a dollar worth of dry ice. The other materials are all household items. Pretty cool, huh?

Outdoor Fun

It snowed almost non-stop Friday night. On Saturday we had a beautiful, snow-covered day. The kids and I had fun outdoors throwing snowballs and generally goofing around. Here are a couple of videos showing our antics.

Goat-o-Rama

Last year a good friend and neighbor of ours asked Todd and Kenna if they wanted to participate in the 4-H Program and raise goats. It was hard (and STINKY) work but they did it and liked it. They showed and sold their goats at the Davis County Fair and had a great experience. Even though Alec was too young to officially participate, the same wonderful woman allowed him to show one of her other goats in the Pee Wee division. So fun.

Todd and Y-guy 2011

Kenna with Coffee and Cream 2011

Alec and Jupiter 2011

This year, Todd opted out but Kenna participated and enjoyed herself again. Alec also showed a goat in the Pee Wee division again. One day Alec told me he was excited to turn eight. I asked if it was because he could be baptized at that age. He answered, "Uh, nope. It's so I can be in 4-H."

Kenna and Man 2012

Alec and Man 2012

Alec Plays Hoops

Alec started his first season of youth basketball. He's having a lot of fun.

I have been Todd's coach for the past eight years, and volunteered to be Alec's coach this year. But, the city had enough people volunteer to coach and I wasn't needed. Instead, he is coached by the same person that coached his baseball team this past summer. There are ten kids on the basketball team, eight of which were also on the baseball team. The boys get along great.

Alec likes to shoot hoops in the back yard with Todd and me, and also plays basketball at school during recess. So, he already knows how to dribble and shoot. The coach has helped him learn to play defense. Today was the second game of the season. Here is a video of him scoring the first basket of the game:

 

We were in charge of giving treats to the boys after the game. I decided to give the boys something special. I gave them Capri Sun juice and Pringles chips. I put them in special Avenger's gift bags along with some Iron Man, Captain America, and Hulk temporary tattoos.

Tonight the whole team is going to the Jazz game in Salt Lake. Alec is very excited.

Kenna's Grades

Kenna just finished her first term in junior high and we're extra proud of how well she's doing.
She was not looking forward to a new school and new classes, but she has worked hard and adapted quickly to the new routine. These are her grades for her first term.

 Be sure to congratulate Kenna the next time you see her.

Pumpkin Carving

We carve pumpkins for Halloween almost every year. This year, Kenna and Alec each carved one. We had two 40-pound pumpkins, so they had plenty of real estate to carve whatever they wanted. They both chose to carve something from their favorite computer game, Minecraft. Kenna's pumpkin featured the Minecraft logo, along with several "creepers."

Alec's pumpkin featured a large "ender dragon."

We saved the seeds from the pumpkins and roasted them in the oven, which is also something we do almost every year. They are not only a good-tasting snack, but the fact that it's a tradition makes them special. It's not just the candy that makes Halloween my favorite holiday. Well, maybe it is.

Brigham City Temple Open House

 In August Kenna, Alec, and I toured the Brigham City Temple before it was dedicated. Todd and Brent weren't able to join us because Todd was drumming in a video shoot for Alex Boye but he went the next day with the Young Men and Young Women in our ward. Kenna got a double viewing. (And yes, they let her in with her tattooed arm/hand. What is up with that habit?!) We don't have a picture of them but Stephanie, Wayne and their four crazy kids drove down from Pocatello to make it whole event a million times more fun.

As expected, it is a beautiful building. The artwork was interesting to me as many of the paintings depicted a local pastoral theme with peach orchards and foothill farms. I especially loved hoisting Alec to look into the mirrors the sealing room's opposing wall mirrors with Kenna and me. I love the thought of being with these kids (and the missing one) forever.

Um, no thank you.

I was grumbling recently (surprise!!) about the quality and condition of our pots and pans when Brent unwittingly announced that maybe that would be a good thing to get me for Christmas. I told him that I didn't really want pots and pans for Christmas and that he probably shouldn't suggest getting them for his next wife either.

A wise man once told me that the best way to get gifts that you want is to do some good advertising so in case you need some better ideas, smarter Brenty, here are some winners:

Dragonfly-Themed Jewelry

  

Glee Christmas Album Volume 2

 

Fabulous Sewing Machine

Book Full of Sewing Projects to Sew 

on the Aforementioned Fabulous Sewing Machine

Boys' Night at the Ballpark

During the Summer, both Todd and Alec asked multiple times if I would take them to a Bees game. I thought it was a good idea, but didn't know a good day to go. I procrastinated the Summer away until Fall came. With only three days left in the season I finally made time in my schedule to take them. I'm glad I did because we had so much fun.

The day of the game it rained on-and-off almost the entire day. I assumed the game would be rained out, but when I checked their web site it said the game was still scheduled to be played. We drove to Salt Lake, found a good parking spot, and walked to the ballpark. We bought tickets and went inside. Just as we got to our seats it started to rain. It started as a sprinkle but then turned into a cloudburst. About half the seats in the park are covered and half are not. Our seats were just under the canopy, so everyone in the rows in front of us got up and moved to the upper rows to stay dry. This meant that we basically had front-row seats, but there wasn't anything to watch. I assumed they would cancel the game at this point, but they kept announcing that the game was only delayed, not canceled, even as the downpour continued. We waited patiently.

We had chosen to attend that particular game because they were going to have fireworks. What we didn't know was that it was also fan appreciation night. That meant that they had a lot of goodies to throw to the crowd. The rain delay meant that they were throwing things to the fans for an extra long time. The delay ended up being three hours. They were throwing candy and other things to the crowd most of that time. Todd and Alec were in heaven. The best part was when Alec caught a baseball hat and Todd had the idea to get it signed by the mascot.

Once it finally started, the game was pretty exciting. There were two home runs and 16 total runs. The Bees got down by six runs and then came back to tie it. They ended up losing in the ninth.

The fireworks after the show were great. They were just as good as any 4th of July fireworks.

Todd and Alec thanked me about 20 times each for taking them. It was a very memorable event for all of us.

Dear youth programs of the church,

Thank you for a peaceful Wednesday night.

True TV Confessions

We recently downgraded our Dish Network subscription in order to minimize our 'junk' TV watching and to counteract significant backlash from our kids, we signed up for Netflix. The kids have been mostly happy and accepting of the change and I think they spend less time watching TV and make better choices when they do watch. I, on the other hand, no longer have access to HGTV (Home and Garden TV) and have replaced it with the following absolutely terrible TV choices.

Ally McBeal is a comedy-drama series that tracks an eccentric, single, lawyer who works in a law firm with other crazy people including her ex-boyfriend and his wife. I watched this show a few times when it was on the air and remembered it as odd but funny so I thought it might be fun to try out. WRONG. How on earth do they try to sell the female lead as someone bright enough to graduate from Harvard Law School but dumb enough to believe in unicorns and soul mates? Ally and her equally successful but more trampy roommate frequently boo-hoo about their vain attempts to find Mr. Right. Another giant turn off is how many times the show creators can recycle and revamp the same unbelievable and almost always sex-related lawsuits the cast of lawyers get mixed up in. Yes, it's a lame show but somehow I find myself on episode 19 of season 2. In fact, if I finish this post in time, I'll probably partake in the next installment.

The Glades is a crime drama about a bad boy detective that seems to be able to solve every gruesome murder in Florida. He and his best buddy, the rule-abiding but reluctantly compromising forensic pathologist, cut open alligators, take advantage of the nerdy intern, and drive the police chief nuts week after week with a re-hashed version of the last mystery they miraculously solved. The beginning of each episode features some falsely happy scene in which some innocents find the disgusting remains of the body that will serve to open the next murder case. The tough guy detective, Jim, falls in love with a woman who appears to be a single mom but whose husband is actually in jail. The want-but-can't have relationship tension is oh, so cheesy, but, somehow kept me hooked long enough to finish off the first two seasons in record time and hope the third doesn't take too much longer to post to Netflix.

Do not watch this show. Do not. Do not. Do not The Walking Dead is about the zombie apocalypse. Yes. I have a Master's Degree, a squeamish stomach, a healthy value on human life, and am hooked on a show about brain-eaters. Ridiculous.There is so much nasty carnage in this show that I watch many scenes out the corner of one squinted eye. The constant fight for survival against the "walkers" (zombies) provides much fodder for character development because it brings out the worst in everyone. Many of the characters are unlikeable but still strangely compelling. The writers are not afraid to get rid of main characters to further the chaotic and tragic plot twists. Bottom line. This show is about alive people trying to stay alive by killing people who are already dead. Despite the last two semi-redeeming sentences, do not waste your time or brain cells (get it?) on this show...I'll do it for you.

Mid-Year's Resolutions

I recently updated you on my New Year's Resolutions, but what I didn't tell you about are my Mid-Year's Resolutions. They are resolutions that I didn't have at the beginning of the year but picked them up later in the year.

The first resolution was to not play video games. I didn't attach a time-frame for this; I simply resolved to not play for "a while." I wanted to see if I could live without them. I was pretty strict with what was allowed. No XBox, Wii, or PC games. Not even Sodoku on an iPhone was allowed.

This resolution lasted six months and then I gave it up. I probably could have gone longer, but I think once I proved to myself I could live without video games there wasn't any motivation left. I now play a couple of Facebook games and also Civilization with some guys I know.

The other Mid-Year's Resolution was to not be late to church for a year. That's right, me on-time to church for 52 weeks in a row. A safer bet would have been to enter the lottery. I was very strict with this goal, too. I didn't live by my "church starts when the opening prayer begins and being in the foyer counts" rule. I was to be considered late if I wasn't in the chapel by 9:01 a.m. whether the meeting had started or not.

Not surprisingly, I didn't get this goal. I was two minutes late for church last week. However, I made it 41 weeks in a row. That's about 40 weeks better that my previous best.

Another resolution is to post on this blog every day in November, but you already know about this resolution. Today is day six. So far so good.