Masonic Temple

The Salt Lake Masonic Temple has an open house about once a year. The Temple will be open to the public again October 25th from 9 am to 12 pm. The Masonic Temple is at 650 East South Temple.

Thanks Advanced Windows!

I don't know if I should really thank Advanced Windows or not. They did set us up with some sweet windows and a free night at the Little America but they also took a truck load of money. We are very happy with our windows and glad that we got them, it was a year ago and we just used our free night. Advanced did a great job of installing them. Now if they would just come and wash them! We spent a great night with only one kid, the one that doesn't move or ask us for things, just cries when he's hungry, which only requires T to do something. We were able to sleep in and not woken up by someone yelling at us for milk. We even had gift certificates to Red Robin! Can't complain about a cheap date!


Not the best picks but I they work. Most of the old windows were the originals, sometimes it felt as though we had left the window open!

Times are getting busier! I know what you're thinking! "But Brad, how could your life get any busier?" School is kicking my butt!! So if I'm slacking off on the blogging, that is why. T will have to step her bloggin' game up a notch and pick up the slack. I do have Wednesday Tunes for years! I could do everyday tune day. So if nothing else come back every Wednesday to see what might be my only updates.

We had a great busy weekend. Saturday after we got home from our stay, I stayed home and read while watching Jonas and T went to get the other kids then straight to the circus. They loved the circus, Cody loved the elephants, they went up to see them before the show started and he thought they were great. The poor boy feel asleep right before the elephants came out to do their tricks, they couldn't' get him to wake up for anything. Right after the circus, T brought the kids home only to take them right over to Haeli's so we could go to my friend, Amy's baby shower. By the time we got home from that it was late and the kids were sleeping. Sunday right after church we headed to Ts moms for buzz's b-day dinner, where cash money and I finally got caught up on some much needed ZZZZ's. Right after some delicious peach cobbler we headed back home for P-pods birthday! I thought that weekends were suppose to be a nice, relaxfull time to recoup from the week? I need a weekend to recoup from the weekend.


Sorry about the play by play commentary of our weekend, it was just so crazy and I feel I have been running around for the last two or three weeks. Cody gave a play by play commentary of the sacrament at church, loud enough for everyone to hear. If Cody can do it then I can!

Wednesday Tunes

Audioslave - Doesn't Remind Me

Audioslave - Doesn't Remind Me
Uploaded by NedDorsey

Harvest!

I'm loving the late August-September period, all the yummy yummy veggies! We have so many cherry tomatoes it's wonderful. It's hard to keep up with them, seems like I'm hardly home 'cept on the weekends and now it gets dark earlier (BOO!) Forget to pick the zucs until they weigh 20lbs. and then it's hard to do much with them. We have been making zuc bread, yummy!

Here's a recipe we've been using for our zucs, it actually calls for squash but we don't have any of those


1 medium yellow squash (about 8 oz.), quartered, sliced
1 small red pepper, cut into strips
1/3 cup KRAFT Balsamic Vinaigrette Dressing, divided
1/4 cup KRAFT Real Mayo Mayonnaise
2-1/4 cups cavatappi pasta or other small pasta, cooked, drained and cooled
3/4 cup small fresh basil leaves, divided
1/4 tsp. each: salt and black pepper



PREHEAT oven to 400°F. Toss squash and red peppers with 2 Tbsp. of the dressing. Spread onto baking sheet.

BAKE 20 to 25 min. or until crisp-tender; cool.

MIX mayo and remaining dressing in large bowl. Add pasta, roasted vegetables, 1/2 cup of the basil and the seasonings; mix lightly. Serve immediately. Or, cover and refrigerate until ready to serve. Top with the remaining basil just before serving.


I get it all from my garden with some help from my bro-n-laws garden. I make my own balsamic vinaigrette dressing, which is much better then the junk in the stores. I don't know what Im going to eat this winter after being soo spoiled!

Balsamic vinaigrette

1/3 cup Balsamic Vinegar
2/3 cup Olive Oil
some salt some pepper
some garlic

Mix together

BOO!

Today was the Primary Program. We have been practicing for weeks! By "we" I mean T has been working with b on her line and the songs. We had a cd of all the songs they sang in the program, we have been listening to it in the car and singing the songs around the house for the last two months or so. This morning, when we got to church b went up on the stage, cody just about came unglued! He wanted to go up with his sister and kept trying to sneak up there all during church. He spent most of the time with his grandparents and aunt marcee on the other side of the chapel, we could still hear him. B said her line nice and perfect, loud and clear, all by herself, "I will follow the Prophet". Cody who was sitting with marcee then says, "oh, bryten is going to follow the Prophet!" Cody listens pretty good when it's not his parents telling him to do or not to do something. As the kids were singing "Im going to the Temple" he told us "they're going to the temple, we're not going to the temple, they're going to the temple" and he would repeate some of the words in other songs, "JOY!" It was a good program, it went a little long but the best part was when one of the boys got up on the tallest stand, so he was about two feet above the mic said his line really loud and as he was getting down he turned back to the mic and shouted "BOO!"

Body World @ The Leonardo

Going on right now at The Leonardo is a crazy cool looking exhibit, Body World. I don't know if it's "art" as some people call it. I think of it more as science, showing what the body looks like doing different activities without any skin. This is a huge exhibit and it's amazing that Salt Lake City was able to get it.

Part of my job for the last year or so has been working with SLC on providing a grant for the old library to retrofit it. It's a "historical" building, using the term historical only in that it is old, I suppose some people enjoy the architecture. The historical part makes it really difficult to retrofit, because retrofitting usually requires new walls, beams and other forms of demolition/construction to make sure the building is still standing after an earthquake. Being a historical building makes all of this difficult and requires collaboration with all sorts of people. Any way, long story longer, they told us about body world some time ago and made us take blood oaths not to tell anyone. They are pretty excited about the exhibit and SLC is very lucky to get something like this.

Body World is open until December or January so you have plenty of time to visit. People who I have talked to it who have been to the exhibit say that it is a must see. I don't know when we will go, maybe some time in the next month or so, I will let you know what I think about it.

Things Bryten Learns at School

"Hey is for horsies!! And if you want to be a horse then you've gotta have hay!!"

Wednesday Tunes

Red Hot Chili Peppers - Snow

An American Songbook

I have some tickets to "An American Songbook" with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and the Utah Symphony. The tickets are for Saturday, Sept. 20, 7:30pm but you have to be in your seat by 7pm. They are balcony seats. I also know someone who has tickets for Friday night.



Let me know if you would like some tickets.

Regional Stake Conference

We had our Stake Conference this past weekend. It was a regional conference that involved 72 stakes. President Monson spoke along with Elder Ballard and Elder Hinckley. I attended the Saturday Leadership training, I was late so I only heard Elder Ballard and Pres. Monson talk. I almost didn't go, who wants to spend two hours of their Saturday morning in a church meeting? I'm glad that I went, it was both inspirational and motivational. So if you were downtown Saturday morning and saw loads of men dressed up, you now know why. On Sunday we decided that the kids would not sit very still for two hours of watching them talk on a big screen in our chapel so we decided to go late and catch Pres. Monson. It's hard to pay attention with kids, I think between the two of us we probably heard the whole talk. It was better once Cody fell asleep.

President Monson shared this with us,

I slept and dreamt that life was joy.
I awoke and found that life was duty.
I acted and beheld duty was joy.

- Rabindranath Tagore

Jonas

We had Jonas's blessing this past week. If you didn't get an invitation, it's because we didn't send any out so don't feel bad. We spent our spare hours last weekend cleaning the house and getting ready to have everyone over. Our house was the cleanest it's been for some time. Then everyone came over and it's a mess again. With kids the house is a mess before you finish cleaning, they just go right behind undoing everything we do. It's a never ending vicious cycle.

Jonas was good all day. He took a nap in the middle of his party but he was awake and happy for all his guest.

Thanks to everyone who did come!

Wednesday Tunes

Utah Man


I am a Utah man, sir and I live across the green.
Our gang it is the jolliest that you have ever seen.
Our coeds are the fairest and each one's a shining star.
Our yell, you hear it ringing through the mountains near and far.

Chorus:
Who am I, sir, a Utah man am I:
A Utah man, sir, and will be till I die: Ki! Ki!
We're up to snuff: we never bluff.
We're game for any fuss.
No other gang of college men dare meet us in the muss.
So fill your lungs and sing it out shout it to the sky.
We'll fight for dear old crimson for.....

Chorus:

And when we prom the avenue, all lined up in a row.
And arm in arm and step in time as down the street we go.
No matter if a freshman green, or in a senior's gown,
The people all admit we are the warmest gang in town.

Chorus:

We may not live forever on this jolly good old sphere,
But while we do we'll live a life of merriment and cheer.
And when our college days are o'er and night is drawing nigh,
With parting breath we'll sing that song:

A Utah Man am I!

Mini Drill

My sista is the drill coach at Brighton High School and they put on a mini drill clinic that little b and her cousin's danced in. Bryten thought it was the greatest thing ever she was dancing at Brighton. All the girls were so excited, the two nights before, on the way to and back from practice they were so HYPER!! I think they drove T and marcee crazy, laughing and singing silly made up songs, yelling and screaming. They were all so excited to dance on a "football field".



Cody and Gaven love to watch football on tv and we tackle all the time. They were pretty involved with the game for the first ten or so minutes then they were done. That was until the bengal walked by. Cody couldn't keep his eyes of the bengal and just about feel off the bench a few times.

He kinda looks scared in the picture but when we were there he looked more like he was sizing up the bengal and was thinking, "I'm tuff and I just might take you out, don't mess with ME bengal!"

Penny Pinching Parent

I know that most of you are young parents that read my blog. I found this site and thought that I would share it with you all! The Penny Pinching Parent. I haven't really checked into to much but it looks like they find some pretty good deals. We need all the deals we can get.

I have lots of things I need to blog, just need some time and I need to start taking more pictures!

Hope you all are having a great weekend! The weather is really nice.

T's Tumbling

T started a tumbling class today. She is using a local business, Centro Unico to hold the class. If anyone is interested it is every Wednesday from 3 to 6. T's Tumbling in Rose Park is really cost friendly, so if you live close by and you have children who would like to learn basic gymnastics, it would definitely be worth your time to try it out.

Centro Unico
910 West 1000 North
Salt Lake City, Utah

At Home

You know there's not much on tv during the day. Left work early yesterday because of stomach issues that have continued today. Spent most of the morning watching the history channel, not sure why they did show on "Life After People"? Like it matters! We're not here! Most of their graphics are pretty cool, but some of them, it's like they didn't know what to do. They are showing things, bridges, cars, roads, dams and such breaking and deteriorating. They start of all cool, then they just don't know where to go from there and so they ruin the whole thing.

Summer might be over but we are still busy. This upcoming weekend is going to be crazy. Seems like we should have shared some of this weekends activities with last weekend. We didn't do much for Labor day weekend, mostly just hung out around the house. I watched our kids and Haeli's on Saturday morning, Gavin and Cody are no longer allowed to play together, or at least they shouldn't be. They destroyed our house, dumped food everywhere, went room to room causing havoc, pestered their sisters who were playing really good and leaving me alone. Finally I had to send them to Jeremy's where they continued on their destruction spree. Jeremy finally put them down for a nap where they continued there damage, they dumped baby powder and baby lotion all over the floor. I hope this is just a stage that they grow out of SOON!

As for this weekend, the big thing is we are having Jonas's blessing. Meaning that we have to super clean the house, the yard and everything else that goes along with that. I'm going to the U game Saturday night, my dad needs my help fixing his fence, the Greek Festival is this weekend along with the
Greater Avenues Street Fair and the Utah State Fair starts.

There's not a shortage of events to keep you busy this weekend.

Wednesday Tunes

Bens Fold - Rockin' the Suburbs

All alone in my white boy pain!

Photography in the Parks

Canon is sponsoring a photo contest. The pictures have to be taken of a National Park. The contest started in April, I'm a little slow in finding out about it and it ends at the end of this month. So hopefully you were planning on visiting a park in the next couple of weeks or maybe you have a picture on hand that you previously have taken. First, second and third place win some sweet digital cameras. They also have photo tips on how to take better pictures, so if you don't think you are good enough to enter check out the site to learn some tips on how to take better pictures.