Just a Quick Recap

So for those of you who actually take time to come to my page, an average of 32 seconds, I thought I would give you a quick recap of the last couple weeks. Please to enjoy!















I am a huge Cardinals fan, meaning that over the past 15 years I have been a sadistic freak who loves inflicting pain on himself. This year, they started out with two wins and no losses. I was on a high. The last two weeks however, the Cards have fallen back into form and lost on turnovers. 3 interceptions, 5 fumbles...a team has a hard time coming back from that. So, my euphoria is being slowly extinguished, but I'll stick with my team. Get the Bills next week...Go Cards!












The chess team participated in the Ash Fork tournament two weeks ago. We went in as 6th and finished as 5th. It was a decent tournament as we played a jv player on board 4 and had to move up two others spots. We also forfeited a board automatically as we only had four players attend.

I'm excited! I think the team can do really well this year. I also beat Jack Burden once and drew him twice. This is my hero on the chess board and I feel like I'm getting close to scraping out a game every once in a while.















Of course, I am still teaching! I feel like I'm getting close to losing it as more and more piles onto my list to do. I start a class today where I get to teach people how to use a Smart Board. It will be fun, but it cuts into the time that I already feel is gone.

For all of those who are stressed, excited, and happy...keep going. We'll make it!!!

Clowns Have Nothing on Carnies!

As you may have read, in Amy's blog, we attended the Navajo County fair on Friday and Saturday. Ah the fair...filled with wonderful food, amazing rides that go "whoosh", and....oh yeah, SCARY CARNIE FOLK!!! It doesn't matter where you turn, there one is. Tattooed, pierced, glaring, daring to cheat you out of your money, and willing to cut you for a nickle...yes Carnie people are scary.

I have nothing against tatts and piercings, unless you are a Carnie person. Seriously, go watch them sometime. They don't look at you like a customer, they look at you like prey. Their eyes grow wild as you approach with excitement. Their mouth turns up at the corner, knowing that a sucker is born every minute. All they have to do is tear you away from the friends, and then the persuasion begins. They call your "name" out, "Heyya Beautiful, win a prize...everyone's a winner". "Look at those arms! Come on over Stud and show your lovely wife how strong you are". "Four Eyes are good for something! Get your tooshie over here nerd and show us how well you can shoot." Once they have you, its over!

You know what else hunts like that....Hyenas!!! Laughing, tricky hyenas who can actually make "human" noises to draw away their prey....how wonderful. Carnies are comparable to flesh eating Hyenas....makes you feel all warm and fuzzy inside.





















This year they found a new way to make me miserable! I blame getting sick on the nachos. I was loving the rodeo! Sitting with Amy, watching hot, sweaty cowb......mustangs buck off their riders and then watching the riders run for their lives. It was awesome. Then the nachos hit and I couldn't get home fast enough! The rest of the story shouldn't be published on a blog...so I'll leave it there.


















In short, I had fun at the fair with Amy. We walked, we talked, we laughed.....we ignored the scary, nacho poisoning, hyena Carnies that could whoop clowns in a scare contest, and we will do it again next year because it is just that much fun spending two nights out with my amada!

Awesome Weekend!!!

I just had a great weekend...of course that was three days ago. The Chess Team, which I have coached for the past four years, went to Tuba City for our first tournament. In a year that I thought I would barely be able to field a team, I had 9 newbies show up for practice. In this game I was able to take 6 people. Four of my returning team from last year and two newbies. In a field of 6 Varsity teams, we took 3rd. We lost four more games than second place and only lost to the two top ranked teams in the region. Much better than I expected. Our first board, Jacob, took 5th place overall! He only lost to the top ranked player in the region, who incidently took first in this tournament. Not a bad outing. One of my newbies took 5th in JV. He only lost to the players who took first and second in the tournament and earned a varsity spot in the next tournament. Another part of the weekend that rocked came in Fantasy Football. I know, chess and football don't really mix, but I'm that sporty nerd that loves both. Amy and I are both playing this year and we both did really well in the first game. I beat my opponent by 10 points for a record of 1-0-0. Amy lost by 4 points, for a record of 0-1-0. I feel bad because I gave her bad advice that would have allowed her to win. One of the team's websites had bad information on it and they played the second string running back. :( Overall....great weekend. The chess team has a good chance of making state for the third year in a row. Jacob and maybe Riley have an awesome chance of going to state individuals. It should be an exciting year.