4/9/17 Rough Stake Conference

This graph describes about how my day felt. We had some rough technical issues. Heidi reassures me that they were not as bad as I feel they were. Still, we did not succeed at being invisible as was my goal. We worked so hard testing and fixing any known issues and still we had new ones today. Gratefully we had a solid team so we were able to handle the challenges as quickly as we did. Another plus of the issues is that we are now seriously considering better options. Even General Conference had some glitches when we watched at our house. The technology just isn't as stable as older tech like microwave or satellite. Anyhow, it was a bit of a rollercoaster but I have faith that Heavenly Father has a plan.
Something fun that happened this weekend was that we figured out how to use the Sony DVMC DA1 to record our VHS and DVDs so we can back them up. It's not perfect. Sometimes the recording will stop part way through. Still, it is the best we've had since the G5 went down. With little ones who can get into DVDs and scratch them up and VHS players that can eat tapes it's good to have a backup.

4/8/17 Stake Conference

Today I pretty much lived at the Stake Center. Heidi dropped me off around 7:15 am and we got home between 8:30 and 8:45 pm. I got to be involved with a solid team. First we set up and tested. Then in the afternoon and evening we had the Priesthood Leadership and Adult sessions of Conference. Largely things went well though we still have bandwidth issues at times. So far we don't know of any way to prevent buffering issues happening periodically in the feed. I feel prompted that things are going to be ok tomorrow.
While I was at the stake center Heidi and the kids mowed Grammie and Grandpa Mangum's yard. David and Rebecca did it actually. Heidi patched holes in the walls left by previous renters. David and Rebecca helped with this task as well.
At conference we were counseled to be kind, attend the temple, not take ourselves too seriously and to keep doing the little things like reading scriptures with the kids. Even when it seems like they aren't listening they are.
Roger Hallsted took the above picture. Putting up words with the hymns is our new trick we're trying for conference this time.

4/7/17 A Battle and a Party

Today was an exciting day for Rebecca at school. It was the last Battle of the Books event.

Instead of being in the library this one was held with the whole rest of the 5th and 5th graders watching.

Also in attendance were Gram, Papa and Becca B.
Rebecca and her team played well, only missing 2 questions. In the end though it was not enough. One of the other teams got a perfect score. They will go on to the district competition. We are proud of Rebecca for her dedication and reading so many books beyond her normal school work.

After that we prepped for a party for Sarah and TJ. Sarah had prepped to play several games at the park. We launched water bottle rockets and played the other games. Then we let the kids swim until it was time for dessert.

Heidi borrowed a Pikachoo cake pan from
the library and made this great rice krispy dessert. You should've heard the kids say "woah!" when they saw it. Overall it was a very successful outing.

4/6/17 Conference Prep and Round Table

This morning Heidi helped out at Humanitarian. I tested our equipment to see how well it handled keyed in lyrics for hymns. The answer is not great but possibly usable. I'd like a second opinion. Perhaps we'll get one on Saturday.

This evening at dinner time Peter was apparently tired of being indoors. He kept crying off and on so I took him outside. As is his usual he immediately cheered up once taken outdoors. He and I ended up down by the grassy field. After a while it was time for Heidi to go to Roundtable. She came and said goodbye. We made a video call back to the house and invited the other kids to join me at the park. They came running. Above is Rebecca who wanted to play catch.

Here is TJ in the foreground with Joseph running in the background. Perhaps too small to see is Peter at the edge of the grass. David and Sarah came too but I didn't get a good shot of them. When it got too dark for the park we went home. We tested out a little device called an AppleTV. I think it might be a good tool to help Gram organize her video collection. Time will tell.

4/5/17 Girl's Camp Kickoff

This morning I did a 2 credit CPE class about wearable computers in accounting. The short answer is that while there are some cool new gadgets they don't, yet, do a lot of accounting tasks. That will likely change.
This afternoon I met with Michael about a new task for one of our clients. Then I helped kids with homework.
This evening I helped Brian Jensen with the mic and projector setup for the Girl's Camp Kickoff meeting. As always the women and girls had elaborate plans and decorations. They had a cute skit about ASK U the fictional university they'd be having at camp. The theme is teaching about personal revelation. What an important skill for anyone to learn.

4/4/17 Here We Go Again

This morning it was my turn to go to the temple. I got to do initiatory for six people. Many are ancestors we did Baptisms for last week with Jon and family. It felt good to be helping move the work along.

When I checked in with Heidi she had set an appointment to see houses with Diane. One family was keeping bunnies in the yard.

The Hallsteds kindly watched Joseph and Peter so we could be a little more focused.

We ended up liking one place well enough that we took Gram and Papa and the kids to go see it. The realtor for the seller says there is an offer already on the table but hinted that we might still win the day if we offered closer to the asking price. Heavenly Father has a lesson for us somewhere in all of this. I'm not sure what it is but I hope I'm learning it. We will see what happens.

4/3/17 Honor Band Concert

This evening Heather invited us to see Bradley perform with the Mesa Honor Band. He is really doing well with his trumpet playing abilities. We filled a row with many children. Most were well behaved.

After a couple of loud comments about how dark it was Peter was taken to the hall. Heidi took a turn first. During my turn Peter entertained me by talking about how the partially closed circular air vents looked "sad". I couldn't understand why some looked happy and some were sad. Peter was confident about it though. He also gave me a running commentary about colors, numbers and shapes that he saw. It was thoroughly enjoyable. I even got to hear the concert through the house speakers. Bradley's Band sounded great and we are glad we got to come and listen to him play.