Birthday breadstick

Tuesday Carrie and Ruth came to visit.  Ruth and Joy are visiting from Alaska, and they brought Ruth’s twins, Ben and Zack, with them.  Darius is working for Alaska Airlines now, so they get flight benefits.  Very nice.   It was so much fun to see the little boys again but alas, they have forgotten me since last time when they were very very small.  I tried to hold Ben but he then cried and had to hide his face in his momma’s lap.  But they were very cute playing around the house. 

   

Melinda made mini pizzas and breadsticks and we sang happy birthday to Saffy.  Can you believe she’s already 4?  Saffy was very happy with the pink balloons that Ruth and Carrie brought. 

After dinner we all went to Game Night Games in Sugarhouse.  It’s a great little shop that has lots of cool board games and card games.  Then we went next door to the Tea Grotto to get a couple of refills.  They have some great herbal teas.  My favorite is the red bush chocolate mint tea and the red bush gingerbread tea.  They are both so delicious, and sweet enough that they don’t need any extra sugar.  I think I’ll go brew a pot right now.

The Police and Elvis Costello

Last night I went with Melinda, Miles, and my sister Carrie to the USANA Amphitheater for a rock show. It was The Police and Elvis Costello. Awesome!

We've took the kids to see Taj Mahal at Red Butte Gardens a couple of years ago, but this is Miles' first "rock concert." We subsidized his ticket, but he earned part of it by mowing lawns and weeding and other various tasks.

I really wanted to see The Police last year for their reunion tour, but they didn't come to Utah so I thought I had missed my chance. So when I heard they were coming this year I snatched up tickets as soon as they went on sale. Much to my surprise Elvis Costello was their opening act. I love Costello; I would have paid the whole price just to see him. Score!


He put on a great show, even without the elaborate lighting and set. He epitomizes the working class rock n' roller, even though his songs lean toward the cerebral and away from the all too common bombastic rock themes of parties, girls and drugs.

Between sets Miles and I ran into Melinda's cousin Jeremy and his wife Natalie. It was funny because the last big rock show we went to (Weezer in 2001) we saw them there as well.


The Wasatch mountains framed the stage, and we could see all the lights in the valley below. It was a beautiful summer night with a nice breeze.

The Police hit the stage at dusk and they were in fine form. It's amazing how much sound and energy they put out, being a trio. The audio was pristine and they rocked! They had an amazingly clear big screen that was great (especially for us clear out in the lawn section.) Their light show was spectacular as well.


Stuart Copeland has this incredible drum setup complete with a gong, a myriad of cymbals, marimbas, etc. He stood up and played just about everything for "Wrapped Around Your Finger." Amazing.


Andy Summers guitar playing was unsurpassed. No one else sounds like him. And what else can I say, Sting was Sting. They put on a great show.

Every time I go to a show it reminds me how much I love to hear live music, and how recordings, as great as they are, never quite capture the real thing.

It was a fun show, with people of all ages. Young kids, people our age, folks in their 50's and 60's. We even saw a few families there with their small children. Miles really had a good time and it was really fun to take him. I think I may have found a new concert buddy.

Baby it's cold outside

It has been so cold this week. My office at work is cold, my bedroom is cold; it seems I just can't get away from the cold. This is about the time last year when we went to Disneyland and enjoyed the warm weather of southern California. Too bad we can't go this year.

We've been having high drama at work. My employee has been in a relationship with someone in another department at work and it has gone sour. Unfortunately they haven't been very mature about it and their problems have been bleeding into work life way too much.

We've been planning to take a "vacation at home" to get away from the stress of work life, but I think we may have to modify those plans. Maybe we can break it up by taking some time off and having a couple of long weekends at least.

James was visiting today from BYU Idaho. He has to get a couple of crowns on his teeth on Monday. Clair, Carrie, Bobby, and Joy came to visit. We made fish tacos and then played Bananagrams and Settlers of Catan afterwards.

We originally had planned to go night skiing, but it was just way too cold. Here's hoping that next week is warmer than this one.

Muchos tamales ricos

Tonight was our second annual Christmas tamale part with some of our homeschooling family friends.

Earlier, Wendy had 4 ski tickets for Park City that had to be used up, so James, Carrie, Bobby, and Clair went. We watched Clair's little girl, Makenna, so he could go. I didn't feel up to skiing and a big party all in the same day. So instead I cleaned up around the house a little, helped the kids with their homework, played with Saffron and Makenna, and then a took a nice long nap.

Makenna was very cute, and a cinch to babysit. She just wandered around and played with all the toys and read books. Here's a picture of James reading to her.

We took James with us to the tamale party. We got an assembly line going; someone to spread the masa on the corn husk, someone to put the filling in, and someone to tie them up. We had lots of yummy fillings too:

• Spicy pork
• Chicken with red mole
• Chicken with green mole
• Chicken with sun-dried tomatoes
• Southwest beans
• Cherry with chocolate chips
• Pumpkin pecan
• Cinnamon raisin

That's not to mention the tortilla soup, or the 4 different kind of salsas we had with chips. It was quite the fiesta of flavors! Tamales are a lot of work, so doing it together as a big group is ideal.

The kids had lots of fun, too. They ran around like creatures from "Where The Wild Things Are" for a while and then they played Lego Star Wars for a while. We were there quite late, so they kids were ready to sleep when we got home, exhausted from so much fun.

Couple of the hour

Yesterday we had had a wedding and a baby shower for Ruth and Darius. The rest of our family was finally able to meet Darius, and they weren't disappointed. We're so glad that Ruth found such a fine gentleman that takes good care of her. They are such a kind and loving pair. I absolutely can't wait for their baby; he or she is going to be über cute. I mean just look the parents!

Mom and Connie got this fabulous wedding cake that was very elegant (and tasty, too.) Darius cooked up some jambalaya and their was plenty of cornbread.

Clair made a great MC for the night. We did a quick round of Mafia and we were totally bamboozled by the chosen mafia; we had no clue. Speaking of cute babies, Makenna was completely adorable laughing loudly every time we did. Everyone is anxiously awaiting for this years rendition of the "Thanksgiving Song."

Mom hosted the ever-popular Newlywed Game where we found out that Clair has lots of holey socks, Bobby is the only guy Carrie ever gave her real phone number to, Darius likes to ride horses, and I have a diaper in the glove compartment.


My lovely wife Melinda had a good time (probably laughing at me for taking so many pictures.) I used her mom's cool new digital camera and her dad's big flash attachment. Only problem is it makes me want to get a new camera.

Michel brought 3 of her girls and Joy brought Olive, her dog. Olive is my little canine friend. My little hairy, loose-skinned, drooling buddy. We all talked about how we met our significant other. Michel didn't let me forget about the time she made Brent a chessecake to impress him and I pulled the instant mix box out of the trash. Whoa, I was such rude little punk then!


Carrie and Bobby were very gracious to host the party at their house. They have these super high-tech light switches which people kept leaning into and turning out all the lights. I would hazard a guess that their was some smooching going on during those dark episodes.

I got to meet Bobby's mom and dad; Bob and DJ (I don't know if I spelled that right?) Their first "meeting" was pretty funny - Bob and his friends drove up to DJ and her friends and honked at them and drove away. Then DJ met him later and said, "Hey that was you!"

We had a great time. It was cool to have everyone together (though we did miss James who is in China.) Ruth is going to make a great mom and we're so happy to have Darius as a part of our family. Because so many of us are far apart now, it's extra special when we do get together.

Off to China for James

Friday night I had some of my siblings over at my place. We were having a little get-together for my brother James. He's the baby of the family. He's actually 14 years younger than I am, but only 13 years older than my oldest daughter. We're always glad to have him visit; he's great with the kids and really pleasant to be around. He's been going to school in Anchorage so we don't get to see him too often. He's taking a little break from school right now to teach English in China. It should be a really good experience for him. He'll get to visit Hong Kong for a few days before he gets to the mainland. He'll have room and board at the school and they will teach him a little Mandarin. He plans on having time to visit the Great Wall, the Forbidden City, and the Terracotta Warriors. It should be very educational and a good experience for him.

It was fun to have my siblings over. I haven't seen Joy for a little while. Her hair has grown out longer and it looks good on her. Also, she brought over her new dog, Olive. She is an adorable young bulldog. She was so much fun to play with, and Ian loved walking around the yard with her. I think it made Melinda kind of nervous though. She wanted me to take a shower to wash off all of the "dog germs" after Olive kissed me. Just imagine Lucy from "A Charlie Brown Christmas" right after Snoopy kissed her, and that would be Melinda. But Olive was just so cute and so fun! She has this loose skin that's so fun to rub, and she is just so solidly built that she's fun to squeeze!

Connie made it over after her Harry Potter book group at Barnes and Noble. She's been really busy at getting book events going over there, and she does a really good job at it.

Clair came over earlier with little Makenna. It seems like school has been keeping him very busy. But you can tell he loves his little baby. He makes a great dad.

Carrie shared tragic pet stories with us. I didn't realize that when little Peaches (the dog) died that James didn't know about until a week later when he asked mom, "Where is Peaches? I have been looking for him all week and I can't find him."

Michel was over with most of her kids. She is starting to teach school this fall so she has been busy getting her classroom ready. The cousins had fun playing together and James enjoyed seeing his nieces and nephews before he had to go.

On Saturday I took James out to do a few errands and then Carrie picked him up in the afternoon so they could hang out and then she was going to drop him off in the airport.

Saturday I also swept up dog hair off the kitchen floor. Still, it would be fun to have a dog to play around with. Melinda is going to be really nervous when she reads this.