took a walk

on my lunch break today i took a walk for about 30 minutes in a nearby field. i've had a knot in my shoulder for the last couple of days that would not go away. thankfully this little jaunt through the weeds did me a world of good. kelly and i have been walking every couple of days through the neighborhood in the evenings. there's something very therapeutic about walking...

Real are MLS champions!

They've done it! Salt Lake Real have won the MLS Cup. It doesn't seem very real. Growing up in Utah you almost expect that your team is going to fall flat in the end. Way to go Real!

On the home front we had a hard time getting the game. We all went to the McBrides for dinner and to "borrow" their satellite. Kanon and I left to get Kanon to a ward youth fireside. The weather was so crummy that I called Kelly and told her she'd better bring everyone else home too. Thankfully they all made it home safely.

We don't get any kind of TV here at home, much less ESPN, so we huddled around the Mac and listened to the internet stream of Kall700 Sports. When the final shot was placed in the net Kanon, Kelly, Joseph and I erupted into shouts and celebration.

a little under the weather

Grace posted a mild fever today and Kelly's not feeling 100%. Nothing too major yet - hopefully it won't turn into anything ugly. I worked on homework with Adam tonight...spelling and math. Adam had fun playing football with the neighbor kids tonight. Kanon went to scouts. Ian, Joseph and I played a couple of games of pool.

roast and potatoes

we had a great dinner tonight. Kelly made roast, potatoes and fixins. our good friend Kelly Stowe came over for dinner and family home evening. it was fun to catch up. we only moved out three months ago, but it seems like a long time with everything that has happened in the old neighborhood. we miss our friends there.

spoke in church

I spoke in church today on trusting in the Lord. Adam read a scripture in primary. Kelly taught the lesson in our primary class. This evening we went to my parent's place for dinner. Matt and Liz and Lily were there. It was the first time to be back there since we moved into our home. It was great to see everyone. Looks like Matt may have a job on the hook. Surprised to hear Dad talk about retirement since I thought he would work forever. :)

On the way home from grandma and grandpa's house I told a "Star Wars story" at the kids request. This one ended up being about the lady who wanted to buy lipstick. It was bizarre, but I had a few of them laughing pretty hard. [source material]

Kanon's first trip to the temple

Kanon, Kelly and I went to the temple tonight. we drove to the new Oquirrh Mountain temple with Matt, Mary and Abigail McBride. It was the first time for both Kanon and Abby to go. It was a snowy night and the traffic on the way was lousy and put us about a half an hour behind. But maybe that is why we had the baptistry pretty much to ourselves. Steve and Darcy were already there and dressed when we arrived.

Earlier today I worked on the garage. Ian and Adam helped me at different times to pull nails and screws out of boards that I had collected in a pile from the kitchen remodel. There is still quite a bit to be done, but at least we made some progress.

Yesterday I went to Freedom Elementary to meet Joseph for "Dad's and Donuts". We sat and read Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban together for about 30 minutes. It was a pleasant time. In the evening we had the Walkers, Glassets and Gooches over for dinner and conversation.

pack meeting tonight

so my first pack meeting as cub master was tonight. not that I did anything. I just stood their looking good in my uniform with a stupid grin on my face. really. I have an assistant and he did it all. all the talking that is. the rest of the den leaders are super seasoned - it's actually quite an amazing group.



in other news, Ian told me that he did not cry today when he left for school. he tells me this now every day when I get home from work because last week we had a talk about how school isn't bad so why should he be sad. since then he seems to have been going a little easier, though he said he got in an argument with another kid day before yesterday.

had a headache all day today, my neck is out of whack.

over past Suncrest

I drove over the mountain tonight past Suncrest from Draper to Lehi. I had just stopped by Kelly's uncle Mark's house to pick up some hand-me-down clothes. It was a bit of a challenge for my '94 Subaru, but I made it over the summit and down the other side. (I've got to replace the clutch sometime soon.)

Kanon went to his first combined activity for mutual tonight. He really seems to enjoy young men activities and had a fun time tonight going to Hutchings Museum.

fruit basket

Grace slept through the night! It was a banner...night. Thanks to grandma McBride for the sleeper pajamas, I think that might have been the trick. I feel bad if Grace has been cold the last few weeks.

Played the classic FHE game fruit basket tonight. We play it often, usually with a different theme each time. Picking out what you are going to be is half the fun. Tonight it was a Thanksgiving theme..."the whole cornucopia tipped over".

walked to church

We had stake conference this morning. I bugged Kanon about his hair which I think he keeps too messy... it looks like he doesn't do anything with it a lot of the time which is too bad because he has really cool hair that you could do just about anything with. Kanon was not pleased when I took a brush to it. Seems like I spent a lot of the day making various kids feel bad. It was all unintended, but I get a little tired of the whining and woe is me attitude. We had a nice afternoon visit from our new home teachers the Kriddles. In the evening we visited Steve and Darcy. Matt was there with Hannah, Ben, and Abbie. Mary stayed home with Simone who is feeling a little under the weather.

Scout camp in Spanish Fork Canyon

I tagged along with Kanon's scout troop for an over-nighter to Diamond Fork and then hiking to the hot springs at Three Forks Loop. We had a good time though it was cold and Kanon said he couldn't feel his feet all night long. The springs were a bit crowded but everyone had a great time. When we got home I realized that I had lost my wallet. I drove back to the trail head and thankfully found it lying right by were we had parked the van. We skipped the adult session of stake conference since I got back so late. Kelly cooked home made pizza and we watch part of the Transformers movie as a family.

bonus: photos from halloween

Halloween 2009

round table

I went to round table tonight because as of last Sunday I am the cub master of our cub scout pack. The organizers provided some good information.

Kelly called me earlier today to tell me that Grace was having a good time today trying on some new clothes. She got into the clean laundry and put Ian's underwear on her head. Here is a photo for posterity...

Kelly's brother Jake found out that he passed the Texas bar exam. We're very happy for him and he seems very relieved to have it out of the way.

spaghetti tonight

On Wednesdays I don't call Romania in the mornings so I slept in a bit with Kelly. We were up late last night balancing the checkbook. It was a wreck. Tonight its time to budget. When I got home from work Kelly was gone to a school meeting at Freedom Elementary so I cooked spaghetti while Grace played in the sink and did a lot of screaming. She's here now trying to get at the keyboard. Adam got 11 out of 10 on his spelling test today with the bonus word he spelled. Kanon got a 96% on his math test.