Boston

I fly out early tomorrow morning for Boston. Going to a health care conference until Thursday. I have never been to Boston so I am looking forward to checking things out. Don't know how much time I will have between meetings to see the sites, but a good friend from my high school days, Steve Rima, lives in Boston and we have plans to meet up and catch up on old times. I'm looking forward to that too. Hopefully before I get back, Sean will have his mission call too.

Mission Papers are IN

Sean met with his Stake President down at BYU this morning and his mission papers were submitted electronically to SLC. Isn't modern technology wonderful! Now its just a matter of waiting for his call. I'm one proud Dad today!

BYU beats Utah

Sean went to the BYU game tonight and said it was a close game the entire time. Sounds like he had a good time and BYU is having a very good year.

Sean also had his Bishop's interview yesterday for his mission. All went well and he meets with the Stake President on Sunday. He probably will get his call around March 5th. I will be in Boston that day, ugh!

Eclipse of the Moon

Ooooooooooh, aaaaaaaaaah, Did you see it tonight? We had a lunar eclipse tonight. And luckily here in Northwest Wyoming the skies were clear and the view was spectacular. Lots of things were happening in space tonight, besides the eclipse, it appears the US Military was successful in launching a missile to shoot down a wayward satellite. I'm sure that makes a few foreign leaders nervous about our capabilities....

Bighorn Sheep

Page and I took a little drive alone. We left our home in the Big Horn Basin and headed up towards Yellowstone National Park. The east entrance is still closed for winter, but it is a beautiful drive to the gates. We saw a herd of bighorn sheep grazing, trying to find some grass in the snow. They sure are beautiful. It was sure fun to be alone with my honey on the open road and just have time to talk. I love living in this part of the country.

We survived our talks today

Page and I spoke in church today. You know you are going to have to speak when you first move in. You want to do well, but something in the back of your head tells you that if you bomb, maybe they will never ask you again. But, alas, you know they are going to despite how bad you do, unless you are preaching false doctrine all the time.... hey that's an idea....

Anyway, our topic was "The Family: A Proclamation to the World". Page got to also speak about us. There were no youth speakers today, so we had the whole program. About 45 minutes! Luckily, Page did a great job covering over 24 years of family history that she shared with the congregation. Once she was finished, I only had about 20 minutes to cover. That was plenty of time to tell a few funny family stories of my own and cover the topic at hand. It was good to get it over. Maybe we will have a lot of new "move ins" and we won't have to speak for awhile.

We do really like our new ward. People are really friendly and seem to be glad we are here.

Happy Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine's Day everyone! Especially to my very own beautiful Valentine, Page. Page your "two lips" are sweeter than these tulips could ever be! I love you !!!

Sean's H.S. Band Teacher is retiring

Paul Gates, who has been teaching band at Park High School for 20 years, will retire at the end of this school year.The lure of big trout brought music teacher Paul Gates to Park High School. Now, after 20 years of helping students swim through musical scores, he is retiring in May to do what brought him here ... fly fish.In the summer of 1988, Gates, now 52, and his wife, Pat Gates, were vacationing in the Livingston area fly fishing. At the time, both played in the Kansas City Symphony, but they always thought Livingston would be a great place to live, maybe after they retired.It just so happened that the Livingston School District was looking for two music teachers and, coincidentally, Gates had a copy of his resume with him.“I thought, ‘Why in the world would these people want the jobs?’ because they were way overqualified,’” said vocal music teacher Nancy Curtis, who was on the hiring committee.Curtis later found out why: The Gateses really like to to fish.Since then, the Gates and Curtis have built one of the best music programs in the state.To many of his students, Paul Gates has become more than just their music teacher.“We’ve known him half our lives,” said Park High Junior Ethan Perry as a group of students gathered to discuss Gates’ influence, Friday. “He’s kind of like a father and definitely a friend.”“After high school, he’s one guy I would be proud to stop to talk to,” said senior Dustin Schwarz.Unlike other teachers, Gates instructs band students beginning in the fifth grade all the way through their senior year at Park High.Curtis said Gates has very high standards and always goes about influencing young musicians in a positive way.“He treats us with respect,” Schwarz said. “Not like little kids.”“Although he acts like a little kid,” senior Chad Becker laughed.Indeed, laughter can often be heard coming from Gates’ students during band practice.“We have so much fun, but we also play serious,” Becker said.Most of the students agreed that, after having played with other bands around the state, they are definitely one of the best.On Thursday, Gates led his second period class through renditions of “Frankenstein” and “Crazy Train” for pep band.“I’m looking for a bigger sound,” Gates told his musical protégés.They played “Frankenstein,” but something didn’t sound quite right to Gates. He waved his baton and stopped the music.“I’m in slow motion,” Gates said. “I’m like a bird trying to fly.”He gave a few more words of instruction, and they started again.This time they played through the trouble spot and Gates nodded with approval.Gates often uses analogies to teach music.One of them is that learning a piece of music is like polishing a rock: When you start, it’s rough and raw, and you shape it into something beautiful.It’s no surprise that another of Gates’ passions is lapidary — finding and shaping rocks, like agates, into jewelry.“He’s so talented, he can explain things five different ways,” said senior Erika Blough.His students say that while he’s great with a large group of musicians, he also gives superb one-on-one advice and really gets to know his students.Gates composes and sings an individualized happy birthday song for each of his students and has given many of them nicknames.“He’s a great teacher, but his strength is his compassion for our group of kids,” said Park Vice Principal Bob Stevenson. “He’s great at making those personal connections. He’s going to be tough to replace.”Gates, however, is self-effacing and said it’s hard to measure success when it comes to music.But plaques in the band room give perspective on his success. The year Gates arrived at Park High, only one student was selected for the all-state band. That number swelled every year, topping 14 in 2005 — a number unheard of in Class A, Curtis said.What might be even more unique is the relationship Gates has with the choir and athletic programs at the high school.In many schools, band and choir compete for students, and often the directors don’t get along. But at Park High, the programs support each other, and Curtis and Gates encourage students to be in both choir and band.What’s more, 70 percent of Gates’ students are in athletics.With students, teachers, school administration and parents heaping accolades on Gates, one thing is sure: Next year’s band teacher is going to have huge shoes to fill.

Lacey's Freedom

Lacey just got herself a new car. Well it is a used car, but new to her. It is a Chevy Cobalt. The thing has leather seats with seat warmers. Feels nice on a cold winter morning on the way to work when your bum is nice and toasty! Of course, she is so excited she can't see straight. She saved a lot of money and put it down on the car. She has also been doing very well at work and loves it, so it seems she will be there for awhile and can make the payments.

I am really proud of her at work. I hear a lot of good things about her from other people. She is really good with people and this is a really good job for her in admissions. We get to eat lunch together every Monday and Friday, which is a nice treat for me.

Romney's Next Steps

Mitt suspended his campaign today. He realized he could not win enough delegates and felt for the good of the party and our ability to keep Hillary or Obama out of the White House, we had to stop our fighting and unite. I agree, but I still haven't reconciled my differences with McCain. I want to see him make a move to the right. How do I pull the lever for a man on the wrong side on a lot of important issues? However, the war on terror is so vital for our nation's safety. Can the Democrats deliver on the fight against terrorism? I trust McCain on security issues more than the Democrats...... I wonder if I would feel better if he picked Romney as his VP? Like that is going to happen!

So, do I sit on my hands? Pull an Ann Coulter and vote for a Democrat (thought makes me sick!)? Do I vote for a third party candidate as a protest vote? But aren't all these actions actually a vote for the Democrats which makes me sick? I am very conflicted at the moment and not happy that the country was blind to the brilliance of Mitt Romney.

I agree with this comment that I read on Michelle Malkin's blog tonight:

"Mitt has nothing to be ashamed about. A year ago, he was 3% in the polls. Now, he is the leader of the conservative political class and the overwhelming favorite in 2012. Mitt is now free to keep his name out there anyway he wants. He can go on speaking tours, write books, raise money for candidates and himself, keep his website open for blogging and stuff, and lead a Heritage Foundation type of group. He’s going to have a blast. I can’t wait to find out what he will do as he lays the groundwork for 2012."

GO MITT!

Chinese New Year

Happy New Year!

It is the year of the Rat. First animal sign in the 12 year cycle. So it will be a year of new beginnings. The Chinese are also predicting it will be a time of turmoil and natural disasters. On the bright side, the rat is a symbol of flowering love (what?) so romance might be in the air for you.

Super Tuesday

Wyoming is not involved in the mega primary elections today. The WY GOP already had their state conventions earlier this year and went with Romney. Of course, I was happy about that since I am a Romney supporter and even drove over 3 hours to go hear him speak. He has been so close many times to turn things around and take the lead, but has come up pretty short in key states such as Iowa, New Hampshire and Florida. That is why I am so excited about his reported lead in California, but again, he had a lead in Florida too before all the endorsements and dirty tricks the weekend before. McCain is pretty confident that he has things wrapped up. The conservatives are trying hard to sway the electorate to switch to Romney. Huckabee is proving to be a thorn in the side of the Romney campaign draining precious votes away and allowing McCain to surge. I have always felt Huckabee has known he can't win, but thinks if he helps McCain he will have a role in his administration, so he is willing to attack Romney and spoil his chances. You have to wonder how much Romney's religion is playing in this election cycle. Sure he is gathering lots of LDS votes, but I suspect losing a few evangelicals along the way too. Both groups make up a large part of the conservative wing of the party, which I think is allowing McCain really to surge.

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So I would love to hear from you. If you are a McCain supporter... why? Is it his policies? His ability to heal this country? His lifestory as a prisoner of war? what is it about him? What am I not "getting"? Also if it is McCain for the GOP, all you Romney supporters, what do you do? Hold your nose and support McCain? Do you pull an Ann Coulter and vote Hillary? Could you vote Hillary or Obama under any circumstance. (I'm assuming I'm talking to Republicans- I figure Democrats have no problem going for Hillary or Obama). Ok- here is a question for you Dems out there. Any way you vote Republican this year under any circumstance? Would you pick McCain over Hillary?

The Hinckley Challenge

Want to find a way to honor the life of President Gordon B. Hinckley? Take the Hinckley Challenge. All you do is read the Book of Mormon in 97 days. It actually started yesterday (Feb. 4th). The goal is to finish the Book of Mormon by May 10th, or in other words, in 97 days (the age of President Hinckley when he passed away!). I went on the Hinckley Challenge website and signed up. It tracks your progress and gives you a guide on how many pages you should have read each day. It also graphs your progress. I think it's a great idea and I think you should join with me in this challenge. Are you willing? Well, get started! You already are a day behind, but I know you can catch up. You can go to the website too and register if you want. Just click HERE

Happy Reading!

(thanks Candace for sharing this idea on your blog!)

The world has a new Prophet

The Church released this statment just minutes ago:

"Thomas S. Monson is the new president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, it was announced today at a news conference in the Church Office Building. President Monson, 80, succeeds President Gordon B. Hinckley, who died 27 January.
The new world leader of the Church has called to serve with him in the First Presidency, the top governing body of the 13-million-member faith, President Henry B. Eyring, 74, first counselor, and President Dieter F. Uchtdorf, 67, second counselor.
President Boyd K. Packer, 83, is the new president of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. The vacancy in the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles will be filled later. "

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I know that Thomas S. Monson is a prophet of God. He will lead the Church and carry on in the work that President Hinckley left for all of us to do. There will always be a soft spot in my heart for Gordon B. Hinckley. He truly was one of the "Noble and Great Ones" and what a blessing to have him lead the Church all these past years. But I know Thomas S. Monson will also move the work forward boldly and noblely. I know the work of the Lord will continue as we prepare for the second coming of our Lord and Savior. The Church is true, God Lives, and we are his children.

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HURRAH FOR ISRAEL !!!!

Red Friday

I heard about Red Friday, and I think it's a great idea, so I'm doing my part to pass it along. What is Red Friday you ask? Just read below:

RED FRIDAYS ----- Very soon, you will see a great many people wearing Red every Friday. The reason? Americans who support our troops used to be called the "silent majority". We are no longer silent, and are voicing our love for God, country and home in record breaking numbers. We are not organized, boisterous or over-bearing. We get no liberal media coverage on TV, to reflect our message or our opinions.

Many Americans, like you, me and all our friends, simply want to recognize that the vast majority of America supports our troops. Our idea of showing solidarity and support for our troops with dignity and respect starts this Friday -and continues each and every Friday until the troops all come home, sending a deafening message that.. Every red-blooded American who supports our men and women afar, will wear something red.

By word of mouth, press, TV -- let's make the United States on every Friday a sea of red much like a homecoming football game in the bleachers. I hope every one of us who loves this country will share this with acquaintances, co-workers, friends, and family. It will not be long before the USA is covered in RED and it will let our troops know the once "silent" majority is on their side more than ever, certainly more than the media lets on.

The first thing a soldier says when asked "What can we do to make things better for you?" is...We need your support and your prayers. Let's get the word out and lead with class and dignity, by example; and wear some thing red every Friday.