Dragon Lights, Dragon Lies

Dragon Lights is a Chinese-themed festival running through May 6th at the Utah State Fairpark. I saw something about it on Facebook, thought it looked pretty cool, and bought tickets for the family. Our tickets were for yesterday, Sunday, March 25th. I bought the tickets only a couple of days in advance, on a day when Weather.com showed absolutely nothing worrisome in its Sunday forecast. The plan was for us to have an early dinner at one of our favorite Utah Chinese restaurants (located about 25 minutes away) and then backtrack to the fairgrounds. It would be a fun and different way for us to spend time together as a family. I was really looking forward to it.

Sunday morning came and went. The weather was nice. Then, around the time we were to head out, it started snowing. And then it started to snow harder. And harder. While this was disappointing because it didn’t sound fun to walk around in such bad weather, we didn’t have the option of changing our plans. The tickets were date-specific, and as the Dragon Lights website reports in their FAQ section, the festival would be held come “rain, snow or shine.” Plus, even when the snow started coming down fairly fast and furious, Weather.com showed nothing in the hourly forecast about snow. Probably, it would all let up quite soon.

Melanie, the boys, and I piled into our car and headed to the freeway. As we cruised down (up? We were going north, after all) the Interstate, I felt increasingly uncomfortable with our commute. I suggested we go to a much closer Chinese restaurant, one I had been to a couple of times but that Melanie and the boys had not. Nobody had any objections, so I exited the freeway and quickly found the alternate restaurant. It was closed for the Sabbath. Damn!

I shrugged and figured I’d try again to head to Bountiful, the location of our first-choice Chinese restaurant. Meanwhile, Melanie started searching for nearby Chinese restaurants on her phone. My rekindled determination to get to Bountiful quickly fizzled when, once again, I found it very difficult to see through the snow while driving on the freeway. Melanie suggested that we eat at Sampan, a nearby Chinese restaurant Melanie and I were quite fond of back before we got married. I had no interest in driving all the way to Bountiful via city streets, so I agreed. Within a few minutes, we were safe, cozy, and relaxed, sitting at a table and looking over our menus.

Our food was great. It’s probably the best Chinese food I’ve had since moving back to Utah. I don’t know why we haven’t revisited Sampan before now. I’ve tried several other Chinese places since moving back, and only a few have seemed adequate, much less quite tasty. Perhaps because I so loved the Chinese restaurant we used to frequent while living in Tallahassee, I had zero hope of finding anything of note in Utah. Adequate was the best I had hoped for. And maybe I just assumed that Sampan would be as mediocre as anything else, after being disillusioned by my first few forays into Chinese cuisine as a recently returned Utah native. But, man, Sampan was yummy. The boys thought so, too, as did Melanie. Hanging out together at a restaurant in-and-of itself was also quite lovely. We really enjoyed our time. And, wouldn’t you know it, the snow let up quite a bit while we dined. It didn’t stop snowing completely, but it had been reduced to small flakes falling in slow motion. Nothing to worry about whatsoever.

With full bellies, we climbed back into our car and headed to the Utah State Fairpark. A minor detour was involved, thanks to a slow-moving freight train—a common occurrence in that neighborhood, as I remember from my childhood. (I grew up relatively close to the fairgrounds. A junior high field trip even involved walking there, which I thought was nuts at the time and perhaps even more nuts now.) But, despite arriving nearly 90 minutes later than I had wanted and planned to, we finally made it.

Then we saw the sign. Dragon Lights had been canceled for the evening, I can only assume due to weather. The bastards.

As I said, the festival runs through the beginning of May, and according to the posted sign, we can use our tickets for any other day. But the only reason we fought through the snow in the first place was because the Dragon Lights website had ensured us that it would not be canceled due to inclement weather. It wasn’t pee pee in my Coke, but it felt like a joke, that’s for sure.

Oh well. We still had a good time.

Goodbye to a Grandpa

Melanie’s paternal grandfather passed away last Thursday. His funeral services were held yesterday. I don’t know what to say about something like this. For me, it was literally half a lifetime ago that my last living grandparent died. I wonder how it would feel to have lived well into adulthood before losing my grandparents. Would it have made it easier? Harder? Melanie didn’t lose any grandparents before meeting me, and it’s only been in the last several years that any of them have passed. Her maternal grandfather died in March 2008, and her paternal grandmother passed away while we were in Nauvoo this summer. Melanie’s maternal grandmother is her last surviving grandparent.

Melanie’s paternal grandparents have always been extremely loving and welcoming. They treated me like family from the start. I certainly felt closer to them than I do to her other grandparents. I have been at their house numerous times, have had numerous conversations with them. They were good people. There was only one time during the grandfather’s funeral that I got choked up. It was at the graveside, when the soldier presented the folded American flag to Melanie’s dad and said, “On behalf of the President of the United States, the United States Army, and a grateful nation, please accept this flag as a symbol of our appreciation for your loved one’s honorable and faithful service.” (Melanie’s grandpa had served in the Army.) I’m not very sentimental about patriotism, and it certainly wasn’t the patriotism itself that moved me. But something about the ritual did. I think it was simply the loving and respectful gesture that it was both to Melanie’s grandpa and to her dad.

Melanie’s brother William and his wife, Michelle, made a sash that they placed on top of the casket. The sash read, “It’s a jungle out there!” Melanie asked what the meaning of it was, and William said their grandpa had always included with his goodbyes, “Be careful, it’s a jungle out there!”

Before the brief graveside services, there was a funeral at Melanie’s grandfather’s church. Melanie had been asked to give the invocation, and I the benediction. We agreed. Later, Melanie and I learned that we are officially prohibited from giving prayers at an LDS funeral due to the fact that we aren’t LDS. This is an appalling and offensive policy, as far as I’m concerned. What is the reasoning behind it? If we’re not LDS, our prayers won’t reach God? Fortunately, anybody that would’ve tried to stop Melanie and me from saying prayers was apparently unaware, either of the policy itself or of the fact that we were the ones giving the prayers—or, perhaps most likely, of the fact that we aren’t LDS. And so, Melanie and I were able to offer the prayers without opposition.

As willing and honored as I was to give the benediction, there was some mild anxiety associated with doing so. Public speaking wasn’t my concern, it’s that Melanie and I now pray differently from most LDS people, and most LDS people aren’t very comfortable with anything out of the LDS norm. Not that our prayers are radically different, unless you’re LDS and find any non-LDS prayers radical. But Melanie and I usually don’t address God as “Father” in public prayers. I frequently do in my own prayers, but I avoid it publicly in order to be more inclusive, realizing that some people don’t resonate with identifying God in such masculine terms. (Melanie and I knew some people at the funeral would not be LDS, and while I didn’t know what their particular views of God would be, I thought sensitivity and erring on the side of neutrality was a good thing.) Melanie and I also use the terms “you” and “your” rather than the LDS-preferred terms “thee” and “thy.” I don’t think “thee” and “thy” are bad, per se, but as I’ve gone through my own faith journey, such language gradually felt less and less comfortable and/or natural to me and thus fell out of use in my own personal life. I was going to avoid the issue by phrasing things in careful ways, like saying “we’re grateful for” rather than “we thank thee/you for.” But before I had time to realize it, the first three words to come out of my mouth after addressing God were “we thank you.” I hope such a trivial thing would not stand in the way of someone worshipping and appreciating the actual message within the prayer, but unfortunately, I’d say it’s incredibly likely the language I used was rattling at least a few people. Anyway, I wanted the content and not just the language of my prayer to be as accessible to as many people as possible, so I simply prayed that this would be an opportunity in which we could be reminded of the unifying power of love and that we wouldn’t let differences obscure love in our lives. I prayed that we wouldn’t squander our time and relationships on anything less than love. I have no idea if such a prayer could, would, or did resonate with most of the people in the audience, what with my having called God “God” and saying “you” and all. But here’s hoping. I can say it was a sincere prayer on my part.

By the way, this was the first time any of my children have attended a viewing or funeral of any kind. Before the viewing (immediately before the funeral), my boys were quite interested in seeing their great-grandfather. I think the idea fascinated them. They didn’t react much once they did see him, so I’m not sure what they thought about it. They didn’t go from being hyper to being quiet, so as to suggest that they were disturbed. They just didn’t seem all that interested after a few seconds. They didn’t comment much on it, so I’m really not sure how profound an experience it was for them.

A Stressful Start to September

I am worn out today. Some good things happened, but there was also a lot of stress. Here’s how my day unfolded.

In the morning, I had to convince Creegan he was going to preschool. He’s never been as defiant about it as he was today. In fact, in my opinion, he’s never quite qualified for the label “defiant” before, even when he has seemed less than enthusiastic about going to preschool. The problem is, he stayed home yesterday with an incessant cough. This particular preschool takes illness very seriously due to the medical conditions of some of its students, so we kept Beegy far away. Today, he tried to tell me he was still coughing, but it was always in the form of demonstrating it to me, not something I overheard him doing naturally. Anyway, Creegan’s dragging feet made this morning move slowly, and I thought we’d be late to his school. But we got there much more quickly than I expected and were basically arriving in perfect timing. But that was some mild stress to start the day.

While Creegan was in school, I went and parked in a nearby shopping center and read various things I had brought with me—books on theology, the owners’ manual for my new (but used) Honda Accord, etc. I redid the car radio presets to my satisfaction and let the music play while I read. I was pleased that the time passed as easily as it did. I had my car window down, and I was enjoying the day. After a while, it started to feel rather hot with the sun blaring on me. I didn’t want to waste gas, so I didn’t want to run the car, but I thought it’d be nice to find some shade. So I went to start the car and move it somewhere a bit cooler. I turned the key and … nothing. “Are you kidding me?!?!” I yelled. I couldn’t believe it. Less than a week of having the car and I was already having a problem! But I immediately knew what the problem was, and I knew it was my fault. I had (unintentionally) been listening to the radio (for nearly 90 minutes) with the key turned further in the ignition than is necessary. I had turned it past the first stop (auxiliary mode?) that makes listening to the radio possible and was in what I believe is called the “on” position without having turned over the engine. So, I was sucking battery juice like a 2nd grader sucking down Capri Sun. I couldn’t believe my stupidity. I turned off the car and waited several minutes, trying to keep my calm. I then tried the car again. Nothing. At this stage, I become almost panicky, realizing that Creegan needs to be picked up in the relatively near future and I have no way to contact his school. I start calling my parents, who live close by. I make multiple calls to both my dad’s and my mom’s cell phones. No answer. Which is normal for them. They rarely answer. But being used to them not answering is not helpful. If anything, it makes it all the more irksome. I call my sister Khrystine, because I know my dad was going to pick her up sometime this morning. She answers, fortunately. I tell her my situation. She hasn’t yet been picked up by my dad, who is on his way to get her—and hence quickly going in the opposite direction of me. But there’s nothing more I can do.

Thankfully, my mom then calls me back. As well as I can in my flustered frustration, I tell her the scenario and ask if she can take me to get Creegan. Thankfully, she can. Thankfully, she lives only a couple of blocks away from where I’m stranded. Thankfully, Creegan is also incredibly close by. Thankfully, she picks me up and we get to Creegan’s school in what is once again perfect timing. At this point, I calm down quite a bit. Getting Creegan was my #1 concern, and the task is now complete. Breathe. Mom takes us back to the shopping center. I run into a store to pee (because I really needed to at this point), and by the time I come out, my dad and Khrystine are already waiting at my dead car. Seconds later, my brother, who had been contacted by my dad, pulls up to jumpstart the car. Because I’m aware of what happened, I am 99% sure a jumpstart should remedy the situation, and it does. The engine turns over. All is well. But shee-it. Stress, stress, stress!

With almost enough of us on scene to consider it a family reunion, my dad treats us all to lunch. We head out west to a diner called Virg’s that, I now know, is notorious for serving monstrous portions of food. I get the small version of a breakfast burrito stuffed with hash browns, eggs, ham, and smothered in melted cheese and chile verde. I supplement it with a single pancake on the side. It’s a bona fide feast. Tantalized by a photo in the menu, Creegan orders a comically long corn dog (and a side of tater tots). The restaurant has Diet Mountain Dew on tap, which brings joy to my heart, except it ends up tasting terrible and has something wrong with it and can’t be fixed. So, I have to settle for Diet Pepsi. The next hour or so is relatively peaceful.

The couple of hours I spend at home in the afternoon are pleasant but brief. I then head to Back to School Night for Eddie and Peter. Per Melanie’s request, I show up early to help her out in her classroom before the official festivities begin. She takes Eddie and Peter out to dinner first and shows up 20 minutes later than when we were supposed to meet. It’s chaos for the first little while, with kids demanding something from a vending machine that supposedly exists but we cannot find without Melanie’s help. The initial stuff for Back to School Night is starting and we’re still having to placate the kids by pumping what seems like hundreds of nickels into a vending machine in order to get enough to buy a pack of Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups. Then we rush to the auditorium, where of course there are no seats left. The people up front speak into a microphone that does absolutely no good for someone like me in the back, what with the unbelievable noise going on all around me. From what I can tell, 50% of the audience isn’t even trying to be quiet while the speech is going on. I understand literally almost nothing of what is said. Meanwhile, Peter and Creegan keep circling around me, taunting each other and making my body feel like some sort of toy in the process. I want to scream. I eventually give up on whatever is being said in the auditorium and head to Eddie’s classroom. The nice thing about leaving the auditorium early is that nobody is at the classroom other than the teacher. It’s easy-breezy. Even when get to Peter’s classroom next, no other parents are roaming around just yet. We wrap up pretty quickly. The day is done, and I couldn’t be happier.

That is my September so far.

The Latter Days of Being LDS

I’m in the final few days of being LDS. Sort of. Technically, I’ll remain LDS until I either get excommunicated or I have my name removed from the records of the LDS Church (which I have no immediate plans to do). But, by noon on Sunday, I’ll be an official member of Community of Christ. And in many LDS minds, I suppose that means I’m ipso facto no longer a member of the LDS Church, official LDS Church record to the contrary notwithstanding. Whatever. I think the LDS Church is pretty loosey-goosey with their membership accounting, including as many people as they can so as to boost their numbers. Since I assume they’ll continue to count me so long as they consider it advantageous to do so, I’ll continue to do the same. I have no moral qualms with that. As I’ve noted previously, I’m not joining Community of Christ because I want to leave the LDS Church. It’s just that leaving the LDS Church—regardless of how official or formalized my departure becomes in the long run—is incidental to my heeding God’s call in my life today.

Last Sunday (the 12th) was a busy day for us. We started with our normal church services in the morning, then had to rush across the valley to attend the baby blessing of my nephew James’ four-month-old daughter, Coraline. It’s been years since I’ve seen James. He’s noticeably older, and it’s kind of strange. But he was really sweet about seeing me, which touched me. Coraline is incredibly cute, even more so in person than she is in her many Facebook photos. I was happy to attend the blessing, and was grateful we made it on time. When we arrived, I ran in first while Melanie helped Beegy change his shirt. Melanie was only a minute behind me, but she walked in at the same moment Coraline was being led to the front of the chapel, followed by the multitude of men who would participate in her blessing. (I didn’t participate because I hadn’t been invited to, but I would’ve participated both happily and without hesitation had I been asked. It’s worth noting that my lack of participation had nothing to do with Community of Christ.) We barely made it, in other words. After the baby blessing, the relevant priesthood holders blessed and passed the sacrament (i.e. communion). I partook without any hesitation. I recognize the validity of the ordinance and saw no reason not to partake. I appreciated the quiet that attends the LDS sacrament. At Community of Christ, they usually play music during communion, which I’m not accustomed to. I find it more difficult to get into a prayerful, contemplative state. So, that was a perk to being back in an LDS worship service. Following the sacrament, it was open mic for the bearing of testimonies. It’s been a few months since I’ve been at an LDS testimony meeting, and it’s funny how the further removed you get, the more things stand out to you. There were nice things said, of course, but testimony meetings are always a bit of a mixed bag. More than ever, the dogmatism that underlies much of what is said was absolutely deafening (metaphorically speaking). I suppose it’s not unlike growing up and discovering only by exposure to other families that your own family has some bizarre quirks and habits and ways of thinking that you never knew were so darn bizarre. Mormons sound increasingly nutty to me and out of harmony with their own theology and scriptures. I don’t know how to say that in a way that doesn’t make me seem incredibly arrogant, but it’s an honest observation. I don’t think you have to be nuts to be Mormon, mind you. As I’ve noted previously, I retain the nuanced theological beliefs I held as a Mormon, beliefs I developed from studying and thinking about Mormon scripture and teachings. (I wonder how long I’ll feel it necessary to include such caveats and disclaimers whenever I discuss the LDS Church.)

After the LDS worship service ended, Melanie and I had only a short time before we had to be back at Community of Christ for “Pizza with the Prophet.” I think that’s just the local name that was given to the event, which consisted of watching a live webcast of Community of Christ President Stephen M. Veazey followed (in our local congregation, at least) by pizza. I enjoyed the webcast. There were some beautiful messages in it. With perhaps a couple of very minor exceptions, this was my first real exposure to the President of Community of Christ. I don’t have much more to say about it other than that I liked what was shared. There is a very different mentality toward church leaders in Community of Christ than in the LDS Church. I can imagine LDS friends and family asking if I felt a witness that President Veazey is a prophet of God, wanting to compare their church president to mine. If I were asked that by an LDS person, I wouldn’t even be comfortable with the question. It’s too loaded with LDS assumptions and biases. Community of Christ does consider Stephen Veazey a “prophet-president,” but they have different expectations of how the whole prophet thing is supposed to work. They emphasize being a “prophetic people” as a whole, with the church collectively deciphering the will of God. Stephen Veazey has a special role in that, a special obligation to seek for and present counsel to the church that is then considered and either accepted or rejected. This is much more in line with what I see in the Doctrine and Covenants and is how I’ve personally regarded the church president’s role in the LDS Church for a very long time. But despite its matching the process outlined in canonized scripture, incredibly few LDS people see the role of the church president in this manner. So, keeping in mind that I’m working from a different set of assumptions, I am content to say that I recognized divine truths in Stephen Veazey’s message. Those who are interested can decide for themselves by watching this portion of the webcast (which I do recommend):



Last night, I had the privilege of meeting with a very good friend at a coffee shop. I consider him a good friend although I’ve only been in his physical presence a few times since first getting to know him back in late 2012 or early 2013. He participates in some of the same Facebook groups that I do, and I consider him a kindred spirit. The things he says match my own experiences and thoughts so closely, I usually feel as though I could have written his comments myself. He has said the same thing of me … which basically proves my point. He is LDS, and he wanted to hear a bit about my spiritual journey and of how it has led me into Community of Christ. I shared with him some of the more significant aspects of that journey, including some that I have kept mostly to myself, and he marveled at the elements common to both my story and his own most profound spiritual experiences. He’s a good man—an earnest seeker with tenacious faith and an inquisitive mind, the very recipe that has led many people to find themselves at odd with the LDS mainstream despite loving Mormonism and having a resilient testimony of its value and truth. I have a great fondness for this man. He plans to be at the baptism, and I’m grateful for that.

Thanksgiving Week 2014

The last week has been a very enjoyable one, with much to be thankful for. Here’s a rundown of how I’ve spent my time.

On the evening of Sunday the 23rd, Melanie and I attended an interfaith service at Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church in Salt Lake City. It was an hour-long service where representatives from several religious denominations—Catholic, Hindu, Jewish, LDS, Muslim, and Baptist—shared their thoughts on gratitude, tolerance, and respect. There were also some musical numbers from an Evangelical choir. Given the limited time, the messages shared were incredibly brief, and yet I found myself uplifted. I left the service feeling very calm and peaceful. Spiritual, you might say. It was refreshing.

On Tuesday afternoon, I had my six-week post-surgery follow-up. Things are going great. The very tippy-tips of my fingers still feel a little bit numb, but it’s mild enough that I don’t really care that much. The doctor said it can take up to several months for absolutely everything to clear up, so he remains (as do I) optimistic that this can completely resolve itself. I expressed concern that the palms of both hands continue to feel quite tender if I put much weight or pressure on them. He said that can also take several months to go away after a surgery. Bottom line: the evidence suggests that everything is proceeding as it should and that I am well on my way to feeling nifty spiffy. Hallelujah. I’m no longer expected to see a doctor about this unless complications arise, which is unlikely. At this point, it’s pretty much behind me. It’s a rather beautiful thing.

Melanie and the boys had a very short week, with schools being in session only on Monday and Tuesday. We celebrated by going to see Big Hero 6 in the late afternoon on Tuesday. I think I’ve said it before, but I really love that several movie theaters in Utah have reserved seating. We really struggle to get places on time, so having specific reserved seats eliminates a lot of stress for me. I don’t handle being late very well. Sure enough, the previews had already started by the time we got inside the theater, but it didn’t matter. We had a row of five excellent seats waiting for us. I thought the movie was more enjoyable than not, but nothing truly wonderful. But that hardly mattered. It was great to be out with the fam.

When it comes to Thanksgiving, this was our first Thanksgiving since 2005 to have a large group of family with which to share in the festivities. We have so much family, in fact, that our Thanksgiving was split into two days. On Thanksgiving proper, we celebrated with Melanie’s side of the family. Melanie made our favorite stuffing recipe, which contains sausage, apples, and walnuts among other things. She also made a couple of pecan pies to accompany her mom’s cheesecakes. It was a delicious feast. As surprising as it may be to hear, my very favorite dish was a spinach salad provided by Kaya (Melanie’s brother Kaleb’s girlfriend). It featured crumbled gorgonzola, craisins, and candied pecans and was topped with some sort of oil/vinaigrette-type dressing. It was one of those dishes where you literally have to react with each and every bite. I mean it. Not just your first bite. Not every few bites. Every. Damn. Bite. I had to roll my eyes or shake my head in disbelief, if not moan aloud every time it hit my tongue. No joke. No exaggeration. It was divine.

On Friday, my side of the family got together at an all-you-can-eat buffet restaurant called Chuck-A-Rama. My kids love these kinds of restaurants. They love being in charge of what they get, and being able to go back again and again to get something new after eating two bites of whatever they last filled their plates with. (They’re not quite that bad about it, but you get the idea.) We were at the restaurant early enough in the day that they weren’t yet serving things like ham, turkey, and roast, but I ate several pieces of chicken and lots of mashed potatoes and gravy, among other things. I enjoyed chatting with my family enough that I went to my parents’ place in the early evening to hang out some more. And what did we chat about? The answer is so unsurprising that it’s almost embarrassing to say it. Religion. (What else?) My mom always seems to enjoy our conversations, even though half of the time, she tells me she’s worried I’m going to apostatize. I get a kick out of that. I think the only thing I’m apostatizing from are fairy tales, the foolish traditions of men, and unchecked assumptions. Apostasy of that kind is not such a bad thing. The truths I am coming to embrace in my life now are much more refined and thought out, and I feel like I now embrace certain tenets of my faith because I know from experience that they are good and true. I’m not just taking somebody else’s word for it. That seems to me a very good thing.

My sister Karen (AKA Krush) snapped some photos on her cell phone of our Friday Thanksgiving celebrations. In true solipsistic fashion, I’m going to share only those that feature me, my wife, and/or my children. Here goes:

Back at my parents' pad.  Eddie, Peter, and Creegan sit with Krush and their cousin Caius.

Saturday was enjoyable. We took it easy in the morning hours, then headed out in the late afternoon to Donner Park, just east of downtown Salt Lake City. It’s the park at which Melanie and I got engaged nearly a decade ago. We have always planned on taking our kids there, but this was the first time we actually did so. Edison was so sweet about it. He said a few times that it was neat to be at the park “where it all began.” The park has changed since I proposed to Melanie, but the same picnic table on which she sat amidst rose petals and listened to me strum my guitar and sing a proposal song I had written is still there. Our camera battery was dying, but we got a few pics before it went kaput. Here is my bride and our three children, who are more wonderful than I ever could have imagined, sitting on that very same picnic table where I proposed to Melanie in July 2005:

For good measure, here is a photo of me with the boys on the same table. The lighting isn’t terrific, but we make up for it in charm.

And one other photo we managed to get at the park, though not having anything to do with the picnic table:

While at the park, it was rather windy, which in turn made it rather chilly. I was thinking to myself that anyone who goes outside in the winter months in Utah deserves to go to a restaurant and enjoy a good, warm meal afterward. That should just be standard practice, I was thinking. I didn’t admit my salacious thoughts out loud, but it wasn’t long before Melanie sidled up to me and said she had something she wanted to discuss. I knew exactly where that conversation was going. Fortunately, Melanie has a good head on her shoulders and came up with an idea that is actually feasible for us in our rather frugal condition. She recommended Café Rio, where kids can eat free and where we had a punch card entitling us to a free meal. In other words, we could eat there pretty much for free. Brilliant woman, that Melanie. Her suggestion was all the convincing I needed. We drove downtown, had an enjoyable meal, and then moseyed back through town to Melanie’s parents’ (AKA “home,” for a limited time only). We searched for Christmas lights during our return drive. We headed into the Sugar House area, to “Christmas Street,” which had a few good lights but isn’t yet all decked out, what with it being so early in the holiday season. I then drove us past my paternal grandmother’s house, showing my kids where my dad grew up and telling them I myself had spent many days in that house before my grandmother died when I was 8 years old. I even told them about the mentally disabled man who lived with his parents next door, who as an adult carried around a baby doll and liked to pretend to mow the lawn, repeating the words “cut lawn, cut lawn” as he walked back and forth across the grass with whatever he used as his mower. I told them how he once confronted my dad (or was it to my uncle?) and demanded, “Cut lawn, dumb shit!” The kids laughed aplenty. It was good, clean, family fun.

Today, Melanie and I returned to Community of Christ. Originally, I had planned to attend LDS services while Melanie attended Community of Christ. But, as you can imagine, that didn’t appeal much to me when it came right down to it. And so, we all went with Melanie. I’m so glad we did. I really enjoyed it today. There were only six adults in the Sunday School class, including the teacher. We talked about God’s love, and I was inspired. The people that go to Community of Christ are so sincere and loving, it’s hard not to be won over. When it came time for the worship service, it focused on Advent, with this being the first day of the Advent season. Advent isn’t something traditionally celebrated in LDS circles, so it was cool to learn a bit more about it. Melanie and I even volunteered to participate in the program and each read something from the pulpit about Advent. During part of the worship service, they played worshipful Christmas songs and let those who wanted to help decorate the chapel do so. All three of my kids enthusiastically made their way to the Christmas tree in the corner and helped to don it now in gay apparel. It was really lovely. I feel blessed by the time I’ve spent with Community of Christ and look forward to visiting them again. I keep thinking it will be a while before I go back, but something always brings me back sooner than I expect.

That is all, but I will mention as a final note that in something like eight hours, a post I have written will go live on the Exploring Sainthood blog. You should check it out.

Cousins

A week ago today, two of my nephews (from Melanie’s side of the family) flew into town to stay with their grandparents—and hence with us. Eddie, Peter, and Creegan have been having lots of fun with their cousins. Kyle and Jeremy are 9 and 7, which works out quite well with Eddie being 8 and Peter being 6. At 3, Beegy is nevertheless keeping up with them and their shenanigans quite well.

Aside from playing Minecraft and jumping on the trampoline, which seem to be the two major at-home activities, there has been a lot of other fun over the last week. July 24th is Pioneer Day in Utah, celebrating the arrival of the Mormon pioneers back in 1847. It’s basically a repeat of July 4th, but with a greater emphasis on Jell-O. Banks and the state government close down, there is a local parade, and fireworks rule the night. Melanie’s parents took us all to an all-you-eat-buffet, which the kids find extremely exciting. This buffet even had cotton candy, which was a big hit with the kiddos. After that, we came home, hung out for a little while, and then did our own fireworks at the end of the driveway. ‘Twas very fun.

A holiday wouldn't be a holiday without someone in their underwear.  Thanks, Beegy!

Cousins!

Beegy, excited as hell about Pioneer Day.

The next big to-do was going to Hogle Zoo on Saturday morning. It was hot, and Melanie and I both got headaches, but aside from that, it was great. Melanie’s parents bought an annual pass that allows you to take several kids and a couple of guests with you at a time, so we’ll probably make use of it again when it’s a bit cooler. As it was, we only saw about half the zoo, if even. We pooped out by noon-ish, after making sure to ride the carousel and the train. The kids were more excited about that than the animals. In fact, they don’t get very excited about the animals. The strange thing is, I know if I let them watch a YouTube video of a monkey fumbling around in a cereal box, they’d want to watch it over and over again for an hour. When we see the same thing in person at the zoo, they can’t move on quickly enough. Sheesh.

Eddie was super excited to ride the praying mantis on the carousel, mostly because he knows those are my least favorite bug and give me the creeps.

I'm actually quite pleased with how the carousel photos turned out, because I was taking them from somewhat of a distance and zooming in all the way.

Peter studies the map.  (My kids get more excited about complimentary maps at theme parks, zoos, etc. than they do about the place itself.)

On Monday, we went and saw Rio 2 at the nearby dollar theater. And, crazy enough, this dollar theater actually costs only $1 per ticket! On Mondays, they have a “family special” where groups of three or more can get $1 tickets. (I think $1.50 might be the normal price.) The previous Monday, we saw The Amazing Spider-Man 2, but that was before our cousins arrived. So, this time around, it was a bigger family affair. I slept for varying lengths of time at varying intervals throughout the movie, so maybe my judgment isn’t quite fair, but I thought the movie was rather mediocre. But I think the boys had fun.

As for today, we went to a place called Jump Around Utah, which is a warehouse full of bounce houses. It’s basically like Zoinks, which we used to frequent in Tallahassee, only there aren’t any arcade games. The kids quite enjoyed it. We even got them to try out a hurricane simulator, which is like an enclosed tube you can stand in that blows nearly 80mph winds at you. I’ve included a video of this after some photos.

Creegan took this photo.

And that’s that. Kyle and Jeremy will be sticking around until next Wednesday, so we’ve got a good week left with them. I’m not really sure what’s on the horizon, plan-wise. There’s a carnival at our church on Friday night, but I’ll be spending Thursday, Friday, and Saturday at the Sunstone Symposium at the University of Utah. (It’s basically a conference for Mormon intellectualism.) I’m also happy to report that I have a doctor’s appointment for Monday, which will put me at about six weeks of having a numb right hand. I don’t know what hoops I’ll have to jump through before we can get me in for surgery, but here’s hoping it will come soon.

Bad News, Good News, Bad News, Good News, Good News, Good News, Good News

Yesterday’s post admittedly favored a pessimistic outlook on life. I thought I should try to balance things out a bit. Here goes.

BAD NEWS! Life has been so busy lately that I’ve literally gone a few months now without playing piano at all. This was such a source of joy to me, and it’s falling by the wayside! No!

GOOD NEWS! The stench in my school office from a dead rodent has, after two weeks, been remedied! Yes!

BAD NEWS! Peter puked in the night on Saturday night. Messy!

GOOD NEWS! I’ve had lots of positive family time lately. Last week, Eddie’s school had “Donuts with Dad Day” (or something like that). I took him to school in the morning, where they had free glazed donuts from Krispy Kreme. I was then able to go in his classroom with him and watch the morning school news. Eddie was really excited to show me his classroom. It was fun. Then, on Saturday night, Eddie’s school had a bunch of activities for families, including showing the movie Despicable Me 2. It was supposed to take place outside, but rainy weather messed that up. Still, we had a good time. And finally, on Sunday afternoon, Melanie and I took the boys to a park. These are simple things, but they are often what make life seem worthwhile.

Ready to head out for Donuts with Dad Day.

GOOD NEWS! Creegan is being potty-trained. Or, he already is, I guess. After day one, Creegan has not had any daytime accidents. He’s even been going #2 without a problem. In fact, the first time he went #2 in the toilet, he didn’t even tell anybody he was going to do it. He just left the room, and after a couple of minutes, Melanie went to check on him, only to find him attempting to wipe himself with toilet paper! Impressive!

GOOD NEWS! The disappointments of Saturday’s sessions of general conference did not extend into Sunday’s sessions, which were largely positive and centered on love and testimonies of Christ. I credit both the highs and lows of conference as stirring within me a recommitment both to making this church the best it can be by being a constant source of love within it, and to strengthening my personal relationship with God. I can only do what I can do, and I will do my part to add only good things to the mix.

GOOD NEWS! Last Thursday, Melanie and I were invited, along with several other likeminded people, into the home of an awesome and gracious woman from our church. Children played, adults commiserated, and good food was had by all. I’ve really made some wonderful connections over the last year or so, with neat and loving people both near and far, and the circle continues to grow. I am grateful for these things.

Spring Break 2014

This week is spring break. I wish it could be more relaxed than it’s going to be, but such is life. At least Sunday was a good day. A very good day, in fact. A true day of rest, which sadly and ironically is uncommon for Mormons. You may think it strange that daylight savings could have led to a good day, but it did. You see, knowing that we’d be losing an hour of sleep, coupled with the fact that Sunday morning was a special stake conference starting at the unusual time of 9 a.m., Melanie and I decided to forgo church and spend the entire day as a family. (Sacrilege, I know.) We didn’t set any alarms. We just woke up when we woke up. Melanie and the boys made oatmeal pancakes, and I whipped up some scrambled eggs for the kiddos and some bacon/tomato/spinach omelets for me and the Mrs. (Note: I’ve never before referred to Melanie as “the Mrs.” I’m pretty sure she isn’t going to like it!) It was a tasty start to the day. Next, we taught the kids how to play Racko. The kids then spent a good chunk of time playing video games while Melanie and I watched an episode each of Dexter and Saturday Night Live. I spent some time reading, as did Melanie. We then took the kids out scootering, which gave Melanie and me a chance to converse—something that also doesn’t occur nearly often enough, simply because there are too many interruptions. Our late breakfast led to a skipped lunch, and in turn to an early dinner. We had leftover pizza from a couple of days earlier. The kids watched Charlotte’s Web as we ate, and everyone was satisfied. We then did Family Home Evening, wherein I video-interviewed Creegan, Peter, and Eddie, individually and in turn. (See below!) We then had some brownies, played the card game Sleeping Queens, and put the kids to bed. It was one of the most enjoyable and genuinely relaxed days I’ve had in a long time! I’m sad it’s over!

In order to make this post more exciting, it’s been jam-packed with multimedia! First, a photo of my breakfast. Then, the video interviews with my children. By watching these videos, you’ll learn the answers to such fascinating questions as: what kind of animal is Master Oinky? How does Creegan spell his name? Can five-year-olds do multiplication, and if so, does it lead to epilepsy? All this and more, below!

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Fair Weather Fun

It’s that time of year. Temperatures have dropped … slightly. We’re still getting into the 80s here and there, but mostly we stick between mid-60s and lower 70s. Not too shabby. People are getting sick. Yay. For a few weeks now, one or more of my children have been hacking quite a bit, or dabbing at their noses, or for one brief spell, puking. Despite all of that, we’ve also been having a lot of fun. On Veteran’s Day, we went as a family to see Despicable Me 2, which we very much enjoyed. Illness kept us away from church for a couple of Sundays. On one of those Sundays, we went on a nice long drive, which I haven’t done in quite a while. That was nice and made our Sunday feel more like a day of rest than it does when we go to church, no doubt about that. Within the last couple of weeks, Peter has started taking an arts and crafts class that is just for the holiday season. He was excited about the class and said he wanted to do it, which marks one of the first times he’s pushed for something he didn’t expect Edison to be a part of. I’m glad to see Peter branching out on his own. He’s an adorable kid, inside and out.

A highlight from the last couple of weeks would have to be our trip to the North Florida Fair. We’ve gone to the fair pretty much every year here in Tallahassee, but this year was a rather different experience. Peter has been very reluctant to try things in years past. Two years ago, I wrote about the trauma Peter experienced at the fair. Since that time, he hasn’t dared go on any rides other than carousels and Ferris wheels. (This has made our numerous visits to Wild Adventures somewhat pointless for him.) But this year Peter was eager to branch out. He went on a ton of stuff, including – believe it or not – a kiddie roller coaster! And Creegan, being our most spirited child, went along with everything his brothers did, including the roller coaster! Creegan even burst into tears when he wasn’t tall enough to go on something with Peter. I loved that everyone in the family was involved with doing things, rather than having Melanie and me take turns going on things with Eddie while the rest of the family waits. That’s kind of what it’s been in years past. We’ve always had fun, but this was really awesome in comparison.

Here are two of the very few photos I got at the fair. Our camera battery was on the verge of death, which we didn’t realize until we got to the fair and started taking pictures. It died on us after a few shots. What a crapper.

We had planned to leave the fair by 8 p.m., but that didn’t happen. We didn’t really get out of there until about 9:20 p.m., which is after we cut things short and denied Eddie and Peter the opportunity to go on more rides. Creegan fell asleep almost as soon as he was put into his car seat. Meanwhile, the rest of us were quite hungry. We had splurged and eaten a red velvet funnel cake at the fair, but now we wanted dinner. Edison remembered that we had stopped at Little Caesar’s on our way home from the fair last year, so he wanted to do that again. (He’s very into tradition and knowing what to expect.) We happily agreed. Melanie and I decided we’d stop and get the kids a cheapo pizza, and she and I would order some Chinese food from a restaurant that is practically across the street from our apartment. (They have the best Chinese food we’ve discovered outside of Utah, and it might be my very favorite of anywhere at this point.) Things then got a little bit crazy. I called the Chinese restaurant; they answered and told me that they had closed about ten minutes earlier but that they would cook me a meal nonetheless. I found that incredibly generous of them. A few moments later, I pulled up to Little Caesar’s only to discover that they had closed at 9 p.m. It seems Tuesday night was not made for late meals. The boys were devastated at the thought of missing out on the cheese pizza they had been promised, and so I quickly called Pizza Hut and put in an order for takeout. The pizza would be ready in 15 minutes, but the Chinese food would be ready in about 10. I didn’t want to keep the folks at the Chinese restaurant waiting, since they were doing me a special favor. But Pizza Hut was officially behind us and we would have to backtrack to it. We decided to press forward to the Chinese restaurant, pick up the Chinese food, and then go back for the pizza. That’s what we did. It worked out quite well in the end. The pizza looked super good, better than usual. Our Chinese food was also exceptionally good that night. I think in both cases, we got piping hot fresh food because we were ordering at such a late hour (for a Tuesday night, anyway). Eddie and Peter stayed up quite late that night, but it was really fun. We enjoyed ourselves immensely.

Fair thee well. LOLOLOLOLOL!!!

Ben the Birthday Boy

I celebrated my birthday this week. A little bit, anyway. Despite the fun I had on my actual birthday, it doesn’t feel like I really had a birthday. It was so much more low-key than it usually is. That’s okay. The celebrating isn’t done. I plan to go out to dinner tonight with some friends, and we’re using my birthday as the excuse. I don’t even know where we’re going, but we’ll see.

On my actual birthday, the celebrations were as follows. Presents in the mid-morning, lunch at a restaurant, and then a movie date with Melanie. The same friends with whom I’m going to dinner tonight offered to babysit Eddie, Peter, and Creegan so Melanie and I could go on a birthday date. That was pretty cool of them. We went to see Gravity, which was very good. Although I didn’t walk away feeling like I personally love the movie and want to own it, it was an excellent film. It may be the best 2013 movie I’ve seen, although I haven’t seen a tremendous amount of films that were actually released during this year. We’ll see if it holds up as one of the best after a couple more months.

As for my presents, I got several. The first present I opened was a joke. I knew it was going to be a joke because my boys told me as much. They could barely contain their excitement at watching me open a gift that I was undoubtedly going to find hilarious. Perhaps this story is best told in pictures. I’ll post photos below, although I warn you that they aren’t of the greatest quality.

Holding up the first present I am to open.

This is going to be hilarious!

Punch line!

Aside from the gag gift (which was a clearance item we will legitimately pass onto someone else), I received: the latest John Mayer CD (Paradise Valley); a CD called Immortal, which features Michael Jackson music as remixed for the Cirque de Soleil show of the same name; two seasons of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia; a twin-pack of Home Alone and Home Alone 2 on DVD; three books; and a new alarm clock. The new alarm clock is especially exciting for reasons outlined here. One of the coolest things about this new alarm clock is that it automatically sets itself. You can change the time zone if needs be, but otherwise it sets itself. Isn’t that amazing? Melanie says this appears to be a standard feature on alarm clocks nowadays. Welcome to the future! Sure enough, the second I plugged in the alarm clock, it said the correct time. Pretty snazzy.

And that’s pretty much all there is to say. I’ll conclude with a few pictures. Here you go:

Two of my three books. The one on your left is a detective book whose story involves “every variety of pleasure, enticement, seduction, and delusion known to man.” The book on your right is all about improving your spirituality. Like any honest individual, I’m attracted both to sin and to salvation.

Creegan was purposely avoiding the camera, but you can see him peeking through just under Eddie’s armpit.

One more for the road.

The end.

Utah 2013: Part VII

For previous installments in this series, please see Part I, Part II, Part III, Part IV, Part V and/or Part VI.

Our trip to Utah came to an end just a few days ago.  Though there are perks to being back in one’s own home, there are things about Utah that I do and will miss.  Here in Tally, normal life has resumed; a new semester is upon us, and I taught my first class today.  The boys are doing school.  It is hot and humid.  Things could be worse, but things could be better.  Utah is a reminder of that.  And so, here it is that I present the goings-on of our final five days in the Beehive State.  Enjoy.

Tuesday, August 27^th

I spent the morning hours once again at an LDS temple.  On my way back to Melanie’s parents’, Melanie texted me with instructions to pick up Beyond Glaze doughnuts.  On our first visit to Beyond Glaze, it was just Melanie, Creegan, and I.  This time around, I brought enough coconut cream donuts home for everyone to have some.  But Melanie’s family was shy about eating them or something, because they just sat around for quite a while.  I ended up eating a second one the next day.  No complaints.

In the late afternoon, I took to the more downtown area of Salt Lake City to meet up with my friend Matt.  This is the same bloke who bought me a steak two weeks earlier.  I figured I’d take my chances on him a second time, just in case he wanted to buy me dinner again.  (Kidding!)  We met up at the Century Theatres that we used to frequent as teenagers.  The two domed, semi-dilapidated buildings of which we reminisce have long been replaced by a single, mammoth-sized modern megaplex, but the Century still seems (as Matt put it) like “our old stomping grounds.”  We watched The World’s End, which started off very strong but became more and more mediocre as it progressed.  After the movie, I followed Matt to Red Iguana 2, the second location for one of SLC’s most famous restaurants, the Red Iguana.  Red Iguana has been featured on the Food Network’s Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives, has been patronized by numerous celebrities, etc.  I’ve always preferred the rival Blue Iguana, which boasts its own impressive accolades, but I wanted to see Red Iguana’s new place and was happy to go there.  We were seated outside, which was quite pleasant until it started raining.  They moved us inside, where it was a lot harder to hear each other over the crowd.  (Red Iguana is always crowded, that’s just all there is to it.  Red Iguana 2 follows suit.)  For my dinner, I had a mole (the Mexican word for “sauce”) made from pine nuts, almonds, peanuts, sesame seeds, Mexican chocolate, and various chiles.  The mole was served atop a grilled pork loin, with warm tortillas on the side.  Fancy and tasty.  For our dinnertime conversation, Matt and I hit on all of the good stuff—religion, sex, mental illness, etc.  We didn’t talk politics.  Politics bore me, I’ll be honest.  It was a good evening.

Melanie, meanwhile, took the kids and her brother Tom to some nearby wetlands.  Kaleb and Kaya stumbled upon them and a good time was had by all.  They then went to Arctic Circle and got milkshakes.  I can’t say much about it because I wasn’t involved.  Melanie took some pictures, but I figure I’ll let her post them when and if she gets the chance.

Fun fact: This day was my older sister JoAnna’s birthday.  Wasn’t it nice of me to go out with Matt to celebrate?

Wednesday, August 28^th

Wednesday was a calmer day in the morning hours.  I don’t remember at this point what I did, but it wasn’t anything exciting.  In the evening, Melanie had plans with her old high school buddies.  They went to Kneaders and hung out for multiple hours.  I took my boys to my parents’ home.  We ended up having food from Woody’s again.  Woody’s never figured into my to-do list for Utah, but I quite enjoyed them both times around.  The one bad part is that I ordered a pralines and caramel milkshake, and when they finally gave it to me, it had already gotten to the soupy stage.  For the record, Woody’s milkshakes are not supposed to be the kind that you can eat with a straw.  This was, and that was a bummer, but I took it and ate it anyway.  That’ll show them.  When I left my parents’ home a few hours later, they gave me a loaf of cinnamon bread from—coincidentally enough—Kneaders.  When Melanie later saw it sitting on her parents’ kitchen counter, she got all paranoid that her parents had visited the Kneaders she was at with her friends and might have witnessed her cussing up a storm, smoking cigarettes, and spray painting her name on the wall.  She was greatly relieved to learn they had not.

Thursday, August 29^th

Another low-key day.   In the afternoon, Melanie and I took Peter and Creegan to Chick-fil-A to play on the slides, etc.  Edison came to Utah with a list of places he wanted to visit—which was basically anything he could remember doing and liking last year.  Peter wanted to get in on the action, so he came up with his own must-visit destination, which was Chick-fil-A.  Eddie was more interested in Minecraft and so decided not to go with us.  Peter and Creegan had a good time, though.

On Thursday evening, Melanie’s parents drove Melanie’s brothers Tom and Kaleb and Kaleb’s girlfriend Kaya to the airport.  They were flying to Seattle to meet up with another of Melanie’s brothers, Brent, so they could all attend a gaming expo taking place that weekend.  Melanie and I originally thought we would take our boys somewhere fun while Melanie’s parents were playing taxicab, but having the house entirely to ourselves was so wonderfully peaceful that we decided to stay put.  It had been weeks since we’d been that calm.  We relished it.

Friday, August 30^th

Melanie and I took a final trip to the temple.  We stopped at Kneaders for breakfast, kind of as a makeup for missing out on the bakery breakfast we had intended to get as part of our super duper date.  After the temple, we went to a movie.  We saw Austenland, which was rather terrible.  We then stopped by Target so I could buy some shorts to replace an old pair with which I had recently parted ways—mainly because the shorts themselves had parted ways in the crotch when I tried to straddle a chair.  I found some cheap shorts that are quite comfy.  Hurray for the clearance rack.

In the evening, Melanie, the boys, and I met up with Melanie’s parents, her brother Mark, and Mark’s wife Trina at Liberty Park.  Liberty Park is the Central Park of Salt Lake City.  It’s very nice, and if you don’t believe me, watch the episode of last season’s The Bachelorette when Desiree goes on the hometown date with Brooks.  They hang out in Liberty Park.  Would they do that if it weren’t pretty?  Our visit to Liberty Park started off with a picnic dinner from KFC.  We then took the kids to the playground, where it quickly got dark and became very difficult to keep an eye on your children.  This is the first event I’m writing about today for which I have photos, most of which aren’t very good.  Oh well.  Here are some of the better ones:

Saturday, August 31^st

The big day.  My little sister’s wedding.  Aside from some morning-hours packing, this was how the day was spent.  I showed up to the wedding destination approximately 30 minutes early so I could be instructed on how to start and stop the music, what songs to play when, etc.  The wedding was scheduled for 2pm but didn’t really start until closer to 3pm.  Getting three boys to wait around in a somewhat stuffy building without making much commotion is kind of a joke.  It didn’t go so well.  When the wedding itself got going, Peter made a big ruckus.  Melanie took Peter and Creegan outside.  Eddie did a good job sitting quietly in his seat, despite his much whining and complaining before things started.  I wasn’t with them because I was doing the music.  Melanie missed the whole ceremony, which was very heartbreaking for us both.  She was going to jump ship before the reception because the kids were more or less being terrible.  But we stewed things over just long enough to decide to let the kids try again.  I’m glad we did, because it ended up being really good after that.  Peter was one of the most enthusiastic dancers at the reception, which was super cute.  I snapped photos aplenty, but yet again, many of them weren’t turning out all that great.  I’ll share a few here anyway.

Although the reception was scheduled to run until 7pm, I bailed somewhere around 5pm.  The kids had done well, but it was getting to be too much.  I posed for the obligatory photos and then took off.  I said goodbye to my family, the mayhem of the festivities making it a less somber farewell than it otherwise would have been.  On the way home, we bought the kids Happy Meals from McDonald’s and then Melanie and I got Crown Burgers.  (We did a lot of repeat food business on this visit to Utah, I know.)  Despite knowing we’d have to get up early the next morning, we didn’t get to bed as quickly as I had hoped.

Sunday, September 1^st

Woke up at 4:30am to get ready to fly home to Tallahassee.  For waking up so early, I didn’t feel as awful as I thought I might.  Adding to my surprise, I stayed awake for almost the entirety of both flights.  Our second flight, leaving Atlanta, was delayed about 30 minutes after we were already on the plane due to weather.  It was discouraging and a bit unsettling because you don’t really know how long you’re going to sit there.  The kids complained a bit, but soon they had all fallen asleep.  Because the second flight is so short, a brief nap takes up most of the time.  But the naps didn’t persist as well as they might have, because yes, the weather caused some rougher turbulence than we had had on the other flights.  Still, we landed safely at about 4pm Eastern Time.  We got our luggage, picked up Dinky the hippo (whom we had left behind at the Tallahassee airport on our way out of town), and met our ride.  We spent a few minutes at home and then headed to our good friends’ home.  They had offered to make us dinner that night, which made it easy on us and soothed the transition back to Florida life.  Eddie, Peter, and Creegan especially benefitted from coming home to their friends.  They were quite sad about leaving Utah.

And that’s that.  It’s over.  I’m pleased with all the fun we had in Utah, but as always, I’m also a bit disappointed at the things I didn’t do.  Some things have been on my Utah to-do list for at least a couple of years now and yet somehow I don’t get around to making them happen.  There are places I want to go, people I want to see, and yet I don’t.  This is why I need to move back there.  Will it happen?  We’ll see…