Wish it was fall...

This is my favorite time of year. I love the fall, and always have. Nothing beats the feel of the first brisk breeze of the season after a long menacing summer, the changing leaves and colors, and the overall change of pace. It seems that life changes and transforms along with the season. At least that has been the way it has been with me. Fall has always been the season of change for me. There’s always some new phase that I am moving into, sometimes willingly, sometimes not.

Some of my favorite memories are associated with fall. In high school all my favorite bands would tour through Utah during the fall, so I would always find someway to hitch a ride from St. George up to Salt Lake and go with my friend Ben to see bands that we were into. Also, all my favorite shows that I played with in my own bands took place in the fall. With both my high school band, the Late Shakers, and my undergrad band, the Upstarts, it was our shows in the fall that were always the best and the most fun.

Still yet, all of my favorite albums are associated with the fall. Either they album came out then, or I just happened to just it then. My three all time favorite fall albums are 1) the Slackers "the Question", 2) Hepcat "Out of nowhere" and 3) the Toasters "Hard Band for dead." (Which is impressive for the Toasters to make it into the top three, because they certainly aren't in my top 3 as far as favorite bands goes. But hey, in the fall of my 9th grade year man, that was my favorite album.)

However, I must say, it’s just not the same out here in California. It doesn’t get colder, it doesn’t rain and thunder, leaves don’t change colors—the whole fall feel is missing man. It’s just one more reason to make it back to Utah as soon as we can.

This is a page of leaves that I collected back when I was on my mission in Cleveland Ohio from 2000 to 2002. The falls out there were amazing. The colors of the leaves are way brighter than leaves in Utah and there's way more of them. They are maple trees. But Utah tends to make up for it by the amazing mountain-sides that become painted with fall colors. Wow, this is sounding like I am writing a 8th grade English paper on "why I like fall." HA! At the risk of sounding any more sentimental than I already have, I will leave it right here.

"A Wife and Two Kids": Eden Turns Two-Weeks Old

Well, Eden is now 2-weeks old, so it’s about time that I show her off. She’s a precious little creature, she is! It’s still kind of hard to believe that I am the father of two children now. Growing up you see all of those movies that have the famous line, usually uttered by some down on his luck schmo that is pleading with his boss not to fire him, or some desperate guy pleading for his life, “please Johnny, I gotta wife and two kids at home!!” I remember thinking how old a guy must have to be in order to have a wife and two kids. I figured the age had to be about 40. Well, here I am at 28. Not too bad. Still, I don’t feel overly old. Kids have the tendency to make you feel younger, at times, because they can remind you how to have fun.

Eden is a great new addition to the family. She has brought a peaceful spirit into our home, which is helpful because it acts as a counterweight to Auri’s boundless spirit. Another advantage of newborns is that it tends to make wives more content. They can’t seem to get enough of the cuteness and the innocence. And I must admit, husbands can’t either. Happy two-weeks Eden.