Back to School

I started back to school this week. Seems like it's never going to end and whenever it does I just keep going back. I'm in my second out of three year Master of Public Policy Program at the U. It's a two to four year program, those who are ambitious or don't work full time can do it in two years while those who need more time can do it in four years. I'm rather lazy and a little busy so I'm going for three years. I tried the two year program for one semester, yea, that didn't go over so well. So this semester I have two courses; Principles of Economic Development and Policy Evaluation. Should be a fun semester, busy but not pulling my hair out, ulcer creating busy.

Football started today! As hard as the Utes tried to loose they BEAT Michigan @ Michigan!!! Undefeated!

Wednesday Tunes

M.I.A.- Paper Planes

Paullette

This is Bryten and Zack's gymnastics coach at Hunt's Gymnastics. Paul did some great comedy routines. On Bryten's first day of class she was too scared to tell him that she had to pee and she had an accident right on the mat. He is a great coach. Bryten really enjoys her class.

Pizza, a Senator and the incredible INTERNET

Initially posted on my other blog thought that it would fit in here also.

I honestly love the internet. It's truly an amazing thing. I also continue to find the story of the Pizza girl and Senate Majority Leader very interesting. One of the most interesting aspects of the story to me is how the blog post was found and how fast it spread. The post first appeared on Monday the 18th, it apeared on the Utah Bloghive Tuesday evening on this blog, KSL Nightside project picked it up Tuesday night and by Friday KSL news did the story above. All this from someone simply posting a story on a blog that she believed very few people viewed. This story has been in both big Utah papers, digg, dailykos, and is being read in Europe, Australia and just about anywhere else.

There are lessons that people should already know by now about the internet, I believe two very important lessons that should be re-learned.

The first important lesson, in our web 2.0 generation anything you say or do CAN end up on the internet. Besides the famous examples of Paris Hilton and other celeb sex tapes, politicians who believe they are talking off the mic, there are probably millions of everyday story's of people who do or say something they thought was private that ends up on the internet. We should know and especially public figures should know this lesson. Of course we should be kind to everyone and act appropriately whether or not it will end up on the internet. Our actions shouldn't be determined by if they will end up on the internet but we should keep that in mind.

The other lesson, whatever is posted on a blog, sent in an email or in a text message is in the public domain. Here's a good explanation on how the post was probably found. Even if you believe no one is reading your blog, someone is. Think that your friend will not forward or post your email or the picture you text them you always have to think that they might.

Reading the comments on the pizza girl's blog, on ksl and other blogs who have posted about his story shows that this is a common thread in Senator Curt Brambles life and his dealings with people, especially people who he feels are beneath him. I seriously doubt that this will cost him the election but lets hope that it will cost him the leader position that he so easily abuses.

One of my favorite post on the story. I also like this post

Mom blogs

**UPDATED**

I don't know what I consider my blog. I'm not sure that I have to fit into a category of blogging, I'm not sure that I do. I read a lot of blogs, most just once, a handful every so often and a couple just about every day. It really doesn't matter one way or the other what I consider my blog, it's just that sometimes I think it would be great if I had a large following, sometimes I'm glad that I don't. My writing really isn't that great to keep strangers reading, 99% of my hits are from people I know and Thank you for coming back.

I believe that I most closely resemble MOM Blogs, though I think they should be called kids blogs or people who blog about their kids and life in general blogs. There are some dad blogs out there but they are less recognized and only hopping on the mommy blog phenomenon.

One of the original and most famous mom blogs is Dooce. She is very entertaining to read, is from Utah and is a non practicing Mormon. Her blog is so popular that neither her or her husband work other then on the blog. It would be strange to have thousands of strangers reading about your personal life. It would be kinda sweet to make money off the advertising on your blog. I wouldn't mind that part at all.

I really do enjoy that family and friends can easily see what we are doing and keep in touch. Thanks for reading!

Here are a couple mom blog directory's.
Ultimate Mommy Blog list
Top 100 Mom Blogs
Top Mom Blog List

**UPDATE**
I just found this new mom blog. It's a mom blog that makes fun of mom blogs, It's pretty funny. She is going to be on KSL Aug 26th at 4 and she was in the D-news. She also makes money from her site. One day!

Centathlon

The Golden Girls

T believes that I watch Misty and Kerri because they wear bikini's, dive in the sand and are attractive. Well, that's part of it. I first started watching them in the 2004 Olympics when they swept their way to gold. Watched them here and there between Olympics, Saturday's and Sundays when they play beach volleyball on TV.

They are by far the best sand volleyball players to ever play the sport. They are the Lance Armstrong, Micheal Jordan, and Tiger Woods of beach volleyball. They have won 108 straight matches. They have won 19th consecutive title. They are the only beach volleyball team to win two straight gold medals. The only women in the sport with over 100 career wins within a group of very few men with the same achievement. I couldn't find the exact number but their overall record is something like 480 wins 18 losses.

They are simply amazing and they just happen to play in bikinis. I am going to watch the US men volleyball team play for the Gold tonight.

Just goofing around!!!

When Brad and I were shopping for our Mac Book I noticed that the teenagers would come in and take pictures of themselves in the Apple Store. I never realized what they were doing until we actually got one. B and I were playing with our photo booth today and both laughing hysterically. I thought that I would share some of the funny pics.

Here is Bryten, Zack, Kiara & Kayli. The kids love to take their funny pictures!!

And of course so do the teenagers!! Nice one Lynzi!!

Wednesday Tunes

The Hush Sound - Lions Roar

This is how I feel at times....

14th ARTICLE OF FAITH

We believe in meetings, all that have been scheduled, all that are now scheduled, and we believe that there will yet be many great and important meetings scheduled. We have endured many meetings and hope to be able to endure all meetings. Indeed, we may say that if there is a meeting or anything that resembles a meeting or anything that we may possibly turn into a meeting, we seek after these things.


There needs to be a sentence added about how our wives endure the kids while we are at the many meetings.

Second First Day of Pre-School

This is B's second year of pre-school. No, she didn't get held back a year. Last year her school was two days a week for three hours a day. This year she goes four days a week for three hours a day. They are slowly working up to the full day of school. Next year for kindergarten she will go five days for four hours (I think, but I really don't know, I just know they go longer next year). She loves school and gets pretty excited to go. Cody gets left behind and he's bummed out about it every day. As b is leaving cody says "I want to go, I'm coming too" then we have to tell him "no buddy, next year". While b is at school cody will occasionally ask "where's bryten?".

After her first day I asked her what they did, one of the responses was, "learning how to make friends". After one week she is still learning. Her cousin Kaylie and another girl from the ward are in her class, we are encouraging her to make new friends also.

Most of her class is Spanish speaking, hopefully she picks some up. I talked to her one day after school about kids speaking different languages, and that lots of people speak different languages and how cool it would be if she could speak more then one language. I barely get by with my English, I really need to learn another language. After I told her how cool she would be if she learned to speak another language, she then told me "you would be cool if you grew your hair long and stuck it straight up".

I'm paying for her to go to school?

Twitter?

Here is a great video that describes what twitter is.

Here is a much better explanation of twitter then I can post.

I love twitter and getting tweets! Its fun to see what people are doing at various times of the day. For anyone who has a myspace or facebook profile, twitter is the "update status". I have my facebook and twitter synced, so if your on facebook and wonder why or how I am always updating my status it's because I update my tweets on my cell phone or online and that updates my facebook status. So no, I don't get on a computer while I'm at a bbq to update my facebook status "chill'n @ a bbq" I send a text from my cellular and it updates it.

You don't have to get any updates on your cell if you don't want to and you can choose which friends you want to get cell updates from who you're following. I get a couple of friend updates on my phone and some news updates. I'm currently following 16 people online most of whom I don't know but find their tweets interesting. I only know a quarter of the people I follow and receive cell updates on them.

This guy used twitter to inform his friends that he was taken into Egyptian custody. Which helped him get out months earlier then it would have taken.

Wednesday Tunes

Rihanna - Don't Stop the Music



Laying in bed in zombie sleep one Saturday morning, Rihanna was playing this song live for a news station. B, who I didn't even know was in our bed watching the news starts singing along and then says, "mom, do we have this song? I love this song." If you could have heard her say this in her cute little four year old voice you would have melted. The funniest part of this story is we didn't even know she was in our bed and then she just starts singing along.

35th Anniversary

I spent the last week in DC for work. I have pictures and will post about it later when I get some time. It was alright, would have been a lot better if I hadn't spent a day sick as a dog in bed. Being sick is never fun but it is even worse by yourself far from home. I zombie walked around the mall on Friday, making it to most everything I wanted to see except the Jefferson Memorial. I spent too much time in the Library of Congress and consequently missed my plane home. I arrived at the airport to check in at 6pm for my 6:30 flight, up until that moment I wasn't going to accept the fact that I missed my plane. When the kiosk told me that I couldn't check in and the lady at the counter told me I was screwed, I just wanted to cry. The next flight out was at 6:30 the next morning, meaning that I had to get a hotel room, on my dime and I wasn't going to be able to sleep in my own bed that I had longed for (still a little sick). I think that I developed an ulcer or two from the whole experience.

Luckily for my marriage I made it home ok with enough time for a nap before T's ten year high school reunion. The Tooele High School class of 1998 reunion was held at Deseret Peak and we all almost died. Everyone was standing by the swimming pool when lightning struck right next to the pool, the lightning and thunder were simultaneous. I've never heard thunder that loud. The only child we had with us was Jonas and he did not like the thunder at all. He screamed his head off after that thunder and another close, loud thunder. T had a great time with all her friends while I hung out with the spouses. I had a good time also, it was fun to watch T with her high school friends.

My parents have been married 35 years today. Thats a long time to be with someone. T and I have been together, including before marriage for 8 years. That seems like a long time, I cannot even fathom 35 years. I haven't even been around for that long. My parents were high school sweethearts and my mom waited while my dad went on his mission. We spent the evening looking at their wedding pictures and old home movies of their wedding and my sisters fought over what they get when my mom dies. Yeah, my mom was right there and here they are arguing over who gets the china, jewelry and dolls when she kicks the bucket.

We had a great dinner. I made garlic-basil butter to put on our corn on the cob. It is amazingly delicious. I process a handful of fresh basil, a stem of fresh oregano, some salt and some lemon juice and a clove or two of garlic. Add a cub of butter and mix. It is amazingly good on corn and fried with zucchini. My grape and cherry tomatoes are off the hook and I'm loving it!

Wednesday Tunes

Flobots - Handlebars

"The song is about the idea that we have so much incredible potential as human beings to be destructive or to be creative. And it's tragic to me that the appetite for military innovation is endless, but when it comes to taking on a project like ending world hunger, it's seen as outlandish. It's not treated with the same seriousness," Flobots MC Jonny 5 (a.k.a. Jamie Laurie) said.

The City

Another family reunion is in the history books. The Jones family reunion, T's moms side was this last weekend in the usual spot, The City of Rocks. The first year we camped out in the middle of the desert, no shade, no rocks to climb, nothing but dirt and sage brush. The past two years we have gone to a different group site by the Sisters, it's great. They have picnic tables set up in a huge rock crevice, provides shade from about 5pm to noon, the best thing is that it keeps the kids in a corner. The corner contains part of the rock that slopes up fifteen feet or so at about a 20 to 30% grade, good and bad. Good, it keeps the kids entertained while also allowing them to learn how to scale rocks. Bad, you have to really watch the little ones and sometimes they get in little fights and the whole time I was just waiting for one of them to come crashing down.



The group site is not right in with the main part of the City, there are not as many rocks for the kids to climb on but there is also no one else around. The kids can be loud and crazy and we don't have to worry about them bugging anyone but us and they had a BLAST. Of course any time they can play outside with their cousins all day in the dirt and climbing rocks they are going to have fun. B was a little nervous to climb the larger and steeper rocks but after a while she gained some confidence and was getting mad at me for trying to help. She had a great weekend and was super cute all weekend. I wish she was always like that and stopped her whiny, sassy moods.



I'm pretty sure that cody didn't get enough sleep, that and he started the weekend off on a bad bump. T's grandpa is a rancher just outside of the City in Almo. We stopped there before heading up to the City to see if Maryann and buzz were there. They were so we hung out for a bit. The kids were chasing around when cody tripped and landed head first on the side table. Picking him up I thought for sure there was going to be a broken nose or a bleeding gash, luckily he ended up with a huge egg on his forehead with a nice little line. His hair covers it up so I don't really have a picture of it. If that would have been me, now in my old age, a fall like that ends my day if not my whole weekend. I would need hand fulls of drugs and lots of sleep. Not ten minutes later he was back chasing around.

All bugs must be smashed!!!


To keep the kids entertained I was throwing this huge frisbee or as b says "fris i bee", into the wind and it would blow back and the kids would chase it down. Some of the kids wanted to throw it themselves while others gave it back to me to throw. Cody and Luke were the two smallest ones out there and rarely got to the frisbee first. Luke is pretty smart and figured out that the frisbee landed behind me a lot of the time and started standing back there and was able to snatch it up couple of times. Cody would get real upset ever time he didn't get it. After a while everyone would get to the frisbee hold on and fight over it, B would just laugh while holding on as everyone got mad. Cody was finally the victor of one of these frisbee tug-a-wars, he then tucked the frisbee under his arm and proceeded to walk down the road. It looked like, "I have my frisbee and I'm going home!" Everyone started to chase him and he ran for it until he did this sweet barrel roll and lost the frisbee. It was truly one of the funniest things I have seen. I was sure the world had come to an end with his sad little cry. We were done playing frisbee.



Some genius rancher in Almo turned his hot spring mud hole into a hot tub and swimming pool. Grandpa Jones tells stories about sitting naked in the hot springs, they had alternating nights for the men and women. I'm not against nakedness and I do think that we are a little too uptight, bodies are bodies, it is what it is, but I am glad that the hot springs is now mandatory swim suits. This is a great place to take the dirty stinky kids and their stinky sweaty dad for a bath!! The hot tub was way to hot but it did help my lower back problems that I had all weekend up until I sat in the hot water.

August Already?

Time goes by way to fast! B starts school in two weeks, I go back in three. Summer is almost over!! The good news is that I've been eating my grape tomatoes and they are sooo good. I think I'll have to run an extension cord out to my garden (to run my laptop) either that or sit out there with my book I've been trying to get though all summer. (Don't worry, I will blog about it when I finish, if I finish it). Now if I can get my other tomatoes to turn.

You know the picture of the plant, in this case a bell pepper plant they have on the little tag when you buy the baby plant in the store? We'll my bell peppers are not bell peppers. They looked like bell peppers on the tag, we'll thats not what is growing in my garden. It's a pepper just not a bell pepper. Hopefully they are just as tasty.

Cody has a new word, "damn it!" I would like to blame T for this but I say it almost as much as she does. Actually I probably say it more but she is around the kids more then I am so that changes the score. T's dad told us cody said it when he fell down at the park and he said it a couple times over the week end, one of them right after I said it. I don't think we any good at this parenting thing, because when he said it, T and I just looked at each other and laughed. I can hear him saying it now in nursery after falling down or hitting his head.

Cody is also never "poopy". Whenever we ask him if he needs his diaper changed or if he is poopy, he tells us, "I not poppy" and grabs his bum. Luke, his cousin on the other hand will always claim that he is poopy, "me poopy" with a huge grin on his face whether he his poopy or not.

Being Sunday I'm going to try something new with something about the church/gospel/what be it on Sunday. In a meeting sometime in the last week or two, I loss track of all the meetings I go to, one of the Stake Pres. was telling us a story about the farmer who owns the land North of the Stake Ball park. This farmer had owned his farm since before the stake had ball diamonds. Most of that area was owned by the church and used for farming, ask anyone raised in Rose Park before the '70's and they'll tell you all about the hog farms. Anyway this farmer got his water from a ditch that goes through the ball park to his farm. If he wants his water to get to his farm he has to make sure to keep that ditch open and free from any obstructions, weeds, trees, rocks and whatever else. We'll that farmer died over the winter and the new farmer hasn't learned this, leading to the ball park getting flooded just about ever time water goes into the ditch. The moral was that we need to keep our "ditch" open so that the water can make it to the crops. You could use this on different levels, in this instance he was encourage us to attend the temple on a regular basis, do our genealogy, it's not just for the high priests to do (even though they are the ones with all the time on their hands) and to take our family names to the temple. The church is coming out with a new family history software that is more user friendly and anything you can do at the church's computer you can now do at home.

I enjoyed the talk but it got me thinking. If you listen to conference, general or stake, you hear a lot of farming stories and how they relate to our personal life's and how we should be living the gospel. I enjoy these talks very much but what are the new leaders going to use for analogy's?