I'm converted.

Posted by Jordan

I just took Jaicee to see Ryan Shupe and the Rubberband. I loved their music before, but now I feel as though I have reached a new level of enlightenment. This band is incredible. Their concert in the humble Kent Concert Hall on the USU campus was perhaps the best concert I have ever experienced!

Now, I'll be the first to admit that I'm not the most experienced concertgoer. I have, however, seen a few bands. Some of them were pretty big names. But this was the best show of them all.

Now, you have to understand which criteria I am using to pass such a judgment: First of all, this was not a huge venue. It did not have fog machines and a laser show. There was not, in fact, a lights show at all. There were not pyrotechnics. Nobody was lifted off the stage to fly over the audience by invisible cables. There was not an irrigation system above the stage that created indoor rain... in brief, it was not a Las Vegas show. And if a Las Vegas "show" is your idea of a good concert, then this might have disappointed you. (But I still think they would have won you over.) There was nothing about this concert that could not have been performed in your own living room... well, okay, it would have to be larger than a living room. But if they could fit the whole band and the drum set somehow between your sofa and entertainment center, they still could have pulled off the most incredible show you've ever seen.

Thing is, these guys have personality and stage presence like I've never seen. They were hilarious, they were animated, they got the crowd going, they pulled you in, they got you singing and dancing and screaming for more. And, if their humor, energy, and stage antics were not enough, these guys are hands down the most musically talented individuals I have seen perform. MASTERS of anything strummed, plucked, or pounded upon, I tell you! Many times tonight their insanely smoking-hot, string-busting solos caused me to involuntarily erupt in to giggles like a child that is being tickled against his will. They also pulled some novelty stunts with their instruments that blew my mind. If you get the chance to talk to me sometime, I'll tell you about it.

Better yet, go to their concert. The next one you can find.

I have heard tales of a few famous groups whose music is, in fact, created by the producer and not by the band. Oh, sure, in the studio the band members may actually play their instruments and/or sing into the microphone, but then the recording is filtered, trimmed, layered, highlighted, and whatever else they do to it to make it more a product of technology than anything else. But on stage, these groups stink. They can't actually reproduce live the same sound that they constructed on the album. If they do, it's because they are singing to a prerecorded backup track.

Then there are bands that put out albums only to satiate their fans between concerts, because something is better than nothing, even though their live performance cannot possibly be captured by a studio recording. Ryan Shupe and the Rubberband is one of the latter.

The only reason these guys are not one of the most popular bands in mainstream America right now, as we speak, is simply because they are not mainstream. Sorry you Top-40 fans. They have a fiddle, mandolin, and banjo in the band. But make you no mistake: although they may have bluegrass instrumentation, they can rock your socks off. (Right after they sing an ode to corn dogs.)

They mentioned at the concert tonight that they are doing a Christmas concert at UVU in Orem on December 6. I'm calling my secretary first thing in the morning to have her call off my meetings and clear my schedule...

Farewell TJ...

Tomorrow we send out Elder Knutson V (that's the Roman numeral five, not the letter v) to the mission field. He spoke in Sacrament Meeting this last Sunday. After hearing his mother and sisters sing like angels, he stood with teary eyes and a shaky voice and said:

"In case I don't get the chance to do so later, I would like to thank everybody for coming today. I've been looking across the congregation. I've grown up here. This is my ward, and I love everyone. And every person here has helped me to become who I am today.
...You should feel ashamed of yourselves."

Classic TJ. We love you, and we're gonna miss you.

Frightmares at Lagoon!

Posted by Jordan

I FINALLY FOUND HIM!!!
I've been looking for this guy since I was five years old! And who'd have thought I would spot him at long last... standing in line behind Jaicee at Lagoon!

You know, it's funny: once you find him, you feel simultaneously fulfilled and disappointed. I mean, my twenty-one year search is finally over! But NOW what am I supposed to do with the rest of my life?!! It's the same feeling I have when I finally make it out of the corn maze...

That wooden rollercoaster is an oldie but a goodie.

Enjoy this video:

To the family: THANKS FOR A FUN WEEKEND!!! I have a few more pictures. I'll get them to you as soon as I can.

They grow up fast...

Posted by Jordan

As a parent, I reserve the right to tell embarrassing stories about my children and post embarrassing pictures on my blog. I think it's what parents do. Heaven knows my parents delighted in embarrassing me every chance they got, and I'm sure that if there were such things as blogs when I was a child, they would have posted those nude pictures of me wearing dad's boots up to my bare thighs when I was two years old.

So Naivie should consider herself lucky. No nudity today. Just some cute pictures that show how much she loves to observe and imitate everything her mommy does. (We have to be careful now... who knows what she might pick up from us and choose to reenact in front of our friends, family, bishop, foreign dignitaries, or alien ambassadors. How inopportune!!)

So one evening about two months ago, I was doing something in the office, and Jaicee comes in quivering and red-faced, lips pursed and white. "Jordan, you go deal with your daughter; If I have to do it, I'm afraid I will kill her." Reluctantly, I took a deep breath, forced myself out of my chair, and groaned in anticipation of what I might find when I walked into her bedroom.

When I stepped through the door, Naivie looked up at me from where she was sitting on her bed, and in the most innocent little voice (which language can only be understood by intonation, for she had yet to learn any words) she reached toward me and offered up her mother's makeup, which she had liberally applied to her lips, eyes, cheeks, and bedsheets. My daddy's heart just melted. How could any father be mad at this precious child?! To my wife's dismay, the next sounds she heard were not the sounds of reprimand or beating, but my camera shutter. It was just too cute:

(It's almost too bad that the makeup was skin-toned blush instead of some bright red or blue that would be more visible.)
Then, this morning, she struck again, almost causing me to choke in surprise and laughter. I was working on something on my computer, when I heard her come in behind me. I leaned way back in my chair with a great stretch until I could see Naivie behind me, upside down... wearing Jaicee's bra. I almost fell out of the chair.

Jaicee was in the shower, and apparently Naivie had gone into the bedroom, found it lying there, and decided to show me that she could be like mommy!

If she were not so innocent and precious and young, this might be very disconcerting. Thank goodness we still have years to go before makeup and bras become a real concern. In the meantime, we're learning fast the effects of our example on our children--for good or for bad. Perhaps we should start bringing her into the bathroom with us and see if she can learn the whole potty thing...

I guess summer is over...

Posted by Jordan

Our garden was dealt the death blow a few days ago. I knew it would happen eventually, but I never envisioned it being so gruesome and dramatic. Of course, here in Cache Valley we had to go from beautiful golden fall temperatures in the high sixties to a subarctic blizzard overnight. I came out into my back yard in the morning; the snow and ice had my lawn subdued in a crunchy choke hold. As I tiptoed around the corner of the house, I barely caught the lump that rose suddenly in my throat. The parasitic frost was feasting on the limp carcasses of my beautiful plants! The poor tomato plants were hanging, draped over their wire supports, limp, shriveled, and blackened. Some green tomatoes that never even got a fair chance now dangled at the end of stringy vines like a corpse hangs at the end of a noose. I ran inside, buried my face in my pillow, and wept like a child.

This was our first garden. Up until this point, our circumstances have never been conducive to having one. But this year was finally our time! For the first time, it seemed, we had no plans to move at the end of the summer. We had a yard. And we had lots of tree buckets that I scavenged from the landscapers when we moved in last August.




(Just like in USU housing, we're not allowed to dig a garden bed, so we had to be creative.)

By the way, one of the things we learned about gardening this year is that no matter how badly you want an aesthetically pleasing bucket arrangement, you can't plant this close together. I had to move everything later.)

.

Just like the primary song teaches:

.

"The prophet said

to plant a garden,

so that's what we'll do.

For God has given

rich brown soil

and rain and sunshine too.

And if we plant

the seeds just right

and tend them carefully,

before we know,

good things will grow

to feed our family."

So we did! And we didn't just plant vegetables, either. We planted some strawberries herbs, and flowers as well. Now, as you can see, our garden certainly wouldn't win any awards, but it being our first attempt, and having invested time, sweat, and money (a few tears, but no blood, thank goodness) into our little project, we took a lot of pride and satisfaction in it!


Another side note: Our excitement over the new little strawberry buds in the spring was crushed by some vermin that came and ate every single one of our little strawberries just about two days before we planned to pick them. Stinking vermin!!! I was so mad, I called everyone I thought might endure my rant and let them know how much I despised whatever it was that came and enjoyed my little strawberries before I could. Whatever ate them (could have been a skunk or a bird) it left just this one little mutant runt strawberry, that we harvested with care, cut delicately in half, and savored between the two of us.

We had some other trials through the summer, like a violent wind that snapped off our corn stalks. They grew to well over eight feet tall before they broke. We got only one good ear of Indian corn with deep red and blue-grey kernels, which is currently adorning our kitchen table. But despite the corn and strawberries, we enjoyed a few cucumbers, lots of tomatoes, zucchini, summer squash, bell peppers, and fresh cilantro and dill. And we learned a lot along the way:

1. We learned that vegetables grown in your own garden taste so much better than the ones you buy at the store. Maybe it is just psychological-- the satisfaction of being self-sufficient in some small measure. Maybe they really do taste better.

2. We learned a deeper appreciation for God's creations, his power, and our own inadequacy to do anything on our own. At the beginning of the summer, I put some seeds in some dirt. At the end of the summer, I had eight-foot corn stalks. I certainly did not make them grow, nor could I if I had wanted. We sometimes get caught up in what "we" accomplish, when in fact it is God that gives life and makes it all happen. Finally, It is so amazing that such a tiny thing like a seed has the ability within itself to become a mature plant and produce more of itself. You would never look at the corn stalk and believe that it came from the little kernel! Likewise, it is amazing to me that we, the seeds of deity, have the potential to eventually become like our Father in Heaven.

3. We also learned that if you are going to leave on a week-long vacation, you can't expect your neighbor to take care of your garden the same way that you would, so don't be surprised to come home and find your dry, wilting plants propped up with rocks. (We appreciate their effort.)

4. We learned that after all is said and done, our garden was probably not too much cheaper than just buying the vegetables at the store. But oh, it was worth it! The satisfaction of helping something grow, the feeling of self-reliance, and the peace that comes from knowing that you're doing your best to follow the prophet's counsel!

For a couple of years now, Jaicee and I have talked about someday having a few acres of land. We want pigs and chickens, a small orchard, a huge garden, and an enormous pumpkin patch. (I love pumpkins!) Our first experience with a garden this summer only fueled my desire to someday have land to cultivate and plant, and a garden to work in all year. I loved going out every morning to examine my plants, prune them, pull weeds, and watch their progress. It only took me a few minutes each morning for my tiny little bucket garden, and I always wished there was more to do! I would have spent all day working in my garden if I could.

Crazy as it sounds to those who knew me before my mission, (or maybe not so crazy if you knew Grandpa Knutson), there is a little bit of farmer in me. Jaicee and I agree, we would always be discontented somewhere deep inside to live in suburbia with no space, no fields, no gardens or orchards, no pigs, no chickens, no self-reliance, no room to breathe or stretch, nowhere to dig, nowhere to build, nowhere for the kids to run and play. We were both spoiled to grow up with open space around us and streets without traffic. We want the same for our children, but they are growing up fast.

But I wonder sometimes whether having land is something that will ever be available to me at all! Or anyone of my generation for that matter! Well... probably not if I want to live close to civilization. My father-in-law tells me that land is cheap in Naf, Idaho. :P Yes, there are many obstacles (primarily financial) to having our dream lifestyle. But it is my goal; I guess we'll see. In the meantime, we're excited to plant another back-yard bucket garden next spring.

Fall pictures!

Fun fall pictures of the girls! Jordan took these with his Nikon D40X.

[Note from Jordan: I'm just a first year hobbyist with my camera, so go easy on me. Any photography tips are welcome!]

.

.

.