IMPORTANT!! MUTE THE SOUND ON THE MUSIC PLAYER AT THE BOTTOM OF THE BLOG PAGE BEFORE YOU PLAY THE DANCE VIDEO

CHENIEL'S DANCE CLASS SHAKES IT UP

SOME UTAH SNAPSHOTS

COOL BIRTHDAY FUN IN THE HOT SUMMERTIME

Cheniel emailed the above photos of Kayden and Lexxi at Lexxi's 6 year birthday bash, so I put them in a slideshow. They are cooling down in the back yard during one of the recent 100 degree (nearly) days in Salt Lake. There is a certain and substantial contentment in watching the sweet innocence of youth as it plays out during times such as these. I am swiftly and surely transported back to the golden days of the not so distant yesteryear when Tyler, Casey and Cheniel were the same age(s). Now as I watch them growing, sharing, making and building memories with their own children . . . . I realize anew how proud of them I have become. They are wonderfully attentive, loving and encouraging parents. They adore their children. They teach their children. And something else just as significant and critical . . . . they 'listen' to their children. I am grateful. I am inspired by them. I am moved by their love, their compassion and their capacity for ensuring that their kids' lives will be filled with wonderful times and memories of family . . together. Their children are bright, inquisitive, eager to learn and filled with imagination. They are tender-hearted and trusting. They care for and look out for each other. You need only watch Nick as he spends time with Lily and Andrew. He is extremely loving and protective of his brother and sister. Sometimes Kayden and Lexxi will say things that make so much sense, I wonder if they are really that intuitive and sharp or if I'm simply that stupid. As I think about it, I realize that despite (in spite of) being my offspring, my children have become and continue to be fairly normal, happy, giving and loving people. Cool.

NITRO-FUELED WILDCAT?

First, a little background to explain and underscore this posting... For some time now, the standing (running?) joke around here has been that Lynne and I continue to survive in a mixed marriage. Say what? How can that be? Please allow me to explain. The fact is that while I am a BYU Cougar Club member and an ardent supporter of all things that are contained within the sphere of BYU athletics, I am also a fairly avid Louisville Cardinals fan. You need to understand that to make such an open admission of Cardinals loyalty in certain areas of the Bluegrass State is somewhat akin to espousing devotion to the Utah Utes while living in the BYU Blue regions of Provo/Orem, Utah County or anywhere else in Happy Valley, Utah.

In other words, it is tantamount to blasphemy, rankles the noses and hides of the 'decent' folk and brings to the surface simmering emotions that can make the legendary "Hatfields and McCoys" feud appear tame by comparison. While I describe myself as an avid Cardinals fan, Lynne is a rabid Kentucky Wildcats fan. Actually, rabid may not be a sufficiently strong adjective to describe her feelings of devotion to her ''Cats". Her blood, like the majority of native and transplanted Kentuckians runs blue... bluegrass blue... Wildcat blue. Her Kentucky Wildcat roots run deep. She was on the staff of former Kentucky Governor Brereton Jones at the Capitol and Governor's Mansion in Frankfort. She is a member of the Honorable Order of Kentucky Colonels (. . . yes, there really is such a noble and esteemed organization) and she is a native Kentuckian. . . true blue, through and through.

Many of you - particularly those of you from Utah, Idaho, etc. - are familiar with the strife that arises within families because some family members' loyalties lie with the Utes while others in the family live and die with the Cougars....the "Holy War"... right? Well, take that strife and multiply it about ten-fold and you'll begin to have an appreciation of what it can be like to have Cardinal-Cat loyalties in the same family. Some maintain that families split apart by Civil War alliances didn't know this level of . . uh . . . enthusiasm.

Anyway, Lynne and I do just fine with this uneasy, sometimes unsettling situation. I have even been known to cheer for Kentucky and she for Louisville when they aren't playing each other. . . you know the drill.

Last year for my birthday/father's day, Lynne bought me a personalized license plate for my Mitsubishi that says, 'HUTCHS'. It's pretty cool and I get a lot of comments on it. When we bought the Dodge Nitro for Lynne last year, I seriously wanted to get her a personalized plate. All of the real good Kentucky Wildcat tags have been LONG gone. She was ready to settle on LYNNE or LHUTCH or KYWOMN or KYWMAN (Kentucky Woman, get it?) because WLDCAT, WLDKAT, KYCAT, KYCATS, CATS, CATZ, KATS, KATZ, etc., were unavailable.

However, the other day I did a search on personalized plates and found that WLDCAT was now available because the previous owner didn't renew it in 2006. I got it for her. She is freaking out! It will be here in 2-3 weeks.

So she will now have a Nitro that says WLDCAT on the license plate. A 'Nitro fueled Wildcat".. get it? She's ecstatic and high as a kite. As for me? I'm somewhat more reserved because, you see, from time to time I drive her Nitro. . . the same Nitro that will soon be sporting a Kentucky Wildcat plate. Oh the humanity, the shame..... keeps me hunble.

ONWARD TO FORT DRUM FOR CASEY

At the end of June, Lynne flew to St. Louis and then drove to Ft. Leonard Wood Missouri to attend Casey's graduation from Army Basic Training. We flew Casey's girlfriend Jen out with Lynne and then the three of them flew back to Louisville three days later. Lynne was on pins and needles anticipating the trip and the happy reunion. Casey was able to spend a couple of weeks in Kentucky where he shuttled back and forth between our house in Elizabethtown; Mike and Amber's in Louisville; Aunt Shirley's, Alice's and his dad's home all in Frankfort as well as Jen's home. Two weeks ago he left for Fort Drum In New York state. He will be there until sometime in November or December, after which he faces the prospect of deployment to either Afghanistan or Iraq. Not certain of the time frame. Oh yeah, he will also do a stint at Jump School for Army Airborne.

A QUICK TOUR OF THE 'VILLE (Louisville, that is)

The weather has been absolutely gorgeous for the past couple of weeks. Relatively low relative humidity... get it? . . .relatively relative?. . yeah, it was a stretch. For awhile we were getting heavy rain and tornado watch/warnings a couple of times each week. But lately it's been fantastic. Great weather for fishing, driving around the countryside and/or taking pictures.

Although we live in Elizabethtown, which is a short 35-40 minutes from Louisville, I thought I'd post some pictures to give you a better idea of what metro Louisville looks like. It really is a beautiful city which offers nearly everything you can imagine in the way of entertainment, sights and accomodations.

One thing that is obviously lacking however, is the commanding majesty and beauty of the Wasatch Mountains (or any other mountains for that matter) gracing and dominating the foreground or background of these panoramas. Needless to say, we miss them terribly. There is a unique beauty here in Kentucky. It is very different from what we are accustomed to 'out' West.. it is much, much greener here. There are miles and miles of hills and streams, carpeted and bordered by sprawling hardwood forests.

In Louisville, there are also several outstanding museums, galleries and sporting venues. The Muhammad Ali Center is a great visit. So is Slugger Field, home of the Louisville Bats which is the Triple-A farm team for the Cincinnati Reds. The Louisville Slugger Factory and Museum is also in the downtown area. Opera, symphony, musicals, off-Broadway plays and even a Hardrock Cafe at Fourth Street Live.

Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom is always high on the list of places to visit and of course, don't forget Churchill Downs, home of the Kentucky Derby and the annual "Run for the Roses" the first Saturday of May.

Come and visit us sometime.

SMILES FROM UTAH . . .VIA DISNEYLAND

Well, once again I see that the time is far spent for adding something (anything!) to the blog. For some time we have wanted to add some pictures of Tyler & Kim, Cheniel & Jeremy, Casey & Jordan and the grandkids from Utah. Several of you have asked repeatedly, in fact. Of course, you are aware of the fact that you can visit Ty and Kim's blog by clicking from ours, thus having an opportunity to look at some of their pictures of the kids.

However, Kim was kind enough to make a series of CD/DVDs for me that include not only pictures of the grandkids, but - get this - old VHS movies of Tyler, Casey and Cheniel! Awesome! Bicycles at Christmas; Tyler's Junior Jazz basketball games; Cheniel's pageants; Casey's singing and break-dancing performances; trips to Lagoon; trips to Yellowstone and Island Park; Casey practicing for his auditions and several hours of Christmas sleigh-rides and everything else. I am so thankful to Kim for taking the time and considerable effort to put together these photos and video memories as a combination Birthday/Father's Day gift for me. It is incredible.

This is such a wonderfully considerate and thoughtful project. In the near future, I hope to post some clips from these old videos on the blog. Yee Haww! Fun and embarassment for all. We love it. . . thanks again to Kim, our resident 'Martha Stewart Diva' in training.

SOME OF GREG'S FAV CHINA PICS