The 43

YEAR: 2013 AGE: Turned 43 on Nov. 6 LOCATION: SLC, Ramona Avenue CUBS' RECORD: 66-96 SONGS I LIKED: "Some Nights" by Fun.; "King and Lionheart" by Of Monsters and Men; "Safe and Sound" by Capital Cities; "Blurred Lines" by Robin Thicke; "Get Lucky" by Daft Punk; "Royals" by Lorde TV SHOWS I WATCHED: "Arrested Development"; "How I Met Your Mother" MOVIES I SAW: "Oz the Great and Powerful"; "42"; "The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug" CONCERTS I EXPERIENCED: Michael Franti; Old Crow Medicine Show I've written about vacations over the past week, but I feel I must write about a 2013 trip when we took the boys to the most magical place on Earth. Disneyland? No, and we already had taken the boys there in 2010. Our destination for this vacation was a few hours north ... Vegas, baby! Salt Lake City schools used to schedule a five-day fall break (which included two ...

YEAR: 2012 AGE: Turned 42 on Nov. 6 LOCATION: SLC, Ramona Avenue CUBS' RECORD: 61-101 SONGS I LIKED: "Good Time" by Owl City and Carly Rae Jepsen; "Ho Hey" by the Lumineers; "Little Talks" by Of Monsters and Men; "Tongue Tied" by Grouplove; " TV SHOWS I WATCHED: "New Girl"; "Parks and Recreation" MOVIES I SAW: "The Avengers"; "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey" CONCERT I EXPERIENCED: Maroon 5 VIDEO GAME I PLAYED: Skylanders Reminiscing about Halloween could have been a topic for any year after the boys were born -- and perhaps even a few from my own childhood. I'm picking 2012 because it was perhaps one of the last when I took both boys trick-or-treating. Michael would go with his friends within a couple years, and even Ben last year went on his own, despite what made trick-or-treating with Dad so great. I got them so much candy. We never wandered too far from our house, but I always h...

YEAR: 2011 AGE: Turned 41 on Nov. 6 LOCATION: SLC, Ramona Ave. CUBS' RECORD: 71-91 SONGS I LIKED: "Rolling in the Deep" by Adele; "Lonely Boy" by the Black Keys; "Walk" by Foo Fighters; "Saints of Los Angeles" by Motley Crue; "1983" by Neon Trees MOVIES I SAW: "Kung Fu Panda 2"; "Cars 2"; "Tron: Legacy" TV SHOWS I WATCHED: "Modern Family"; "Off the Map"; "Terra Nova"; "The League" CONCERTS I EXPERIENCED: Michael Franti; Psychedelic Furs; Earth, Wind & Fire In my last post , I described my bewilderment at how fast time has seemingly been the last decade, starting in 2010. Today's installment doesn't cover the fleeting nature of time, but rather, how one segment of time can exemplify the concept of awesome. That sounds like a bloated statement, but I don't know how else to explain 2011 . Every year as a parent has been great. Although perso...

YEAR: 2010 AGE: Turned 40 on Nov. 6 LOCATION: SLC, Ramona Avenue CUBS' RECORD: 75-87 SONGS I LIKED: "Howlin' for You" by the Black Keys; "Month of May" by Arcade Fire; "Little Lion Man" by Mumford and Sons; "(If You're Wondering If I Want You To) I Want You To" by Weezer MOVIES I SAW: "How to Train Your Dragon"; "Toy Story 3"; "Despicable Me" TV SHOWS I WATCHED: "Friday Night Lights"; "Wipeout"; "30 Rock"; "Damages" CONCERTS I EXPERIENCED: Michael Franti; Possessed by Paul James VIDEO GAMES I PLAYED: Lego Star Wars; Guitar Hero World Tour; Mario Kart Wii This year, as more people used Zoom to work from home, "Zoom" became a verb in the vernacular. Generation Z is increasingly being referred to as "zoomers." And of course, "Zoom" was a classic kids' show in the 1970s, shoes and socks optional. In 2010, "zoom" to...

YEAR: 2009 AGE: Turned 39 on Nov. 6 LOCATION: SLC, Ramona Avenue CUBS' RECORD: 83-78 SONGS I LIKED: "I Gotta Feeling" by Black Eyed Peas; "Sometime Around Midnight" by The Airborne Toxic Event MOVIES I SAW: "The Blind Side"; "Up"; "Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs" TV SHOWS I WATCHED: "The Mentalist"; "Big Bang Theory"; "The Biggest Loser"; "Flash Forward" VIDEO GAMES I PLAYED: Final Fantasy Tactics 2; Mario vs. Donkey Kong I ran cross country and track in high school. I wasn't that good at running, but it was a good sport -- it kept me in shape and combined a bit of solitude (and music when I ran on my own) with exercise. Over they years, I've tried to maintain a regular running routine like I did in high school. I last a few weeks or a few months and fall off the wagon.  Early in 2009, I did something bold -- I committed to run a leg (actually, three legs) of the Wasatch Back...

YEAR: 2008 AGE: Turned 38 on Nov. 6 LOCATION: SLC, Ramona Avenue CUBS' RECORD: 97-64 SONGS I LIKED: "Vida La Vida" by Coldplay; "Fidelity" by Regina Spektor; "I Won't Go Home Without You" by Maroon 5; "Don't Stop the Music" by Rihanna MOVIES I SAW: "Kung Fu Panda"; "WALL-E" TV SHOWS I WATCHED: "Eleventh Hour"; "Supernanny"; "Don't Forget the Lyrics" MUSIC VIDEOS I ENJOYED: "Long Road to Ruin" by Foo Fighters; " Love Song" by Sara Bareilles VIDEO GAMES I PLAYED: New Super Mario Brothers; Advance Wars: Dual Strike The first sports team I ever played for was coached by my father. I'm happy and proud to say, the first sports team Michael played for, in 2008, was coached by me. In the spring of 2008, we signed Michael up for t-ball. This was a basic rec league, with a short season, played indoors at the University of Utah's football facility. We...

YEAR: 2007 AGE: Turned 37 on Nov. 6 LOCATION: SLC, Ramona Avenue JAZZ'S RECORD: 51-31 SONGS I LIKED: "Makes Me Wonder" by Maroon 5; "Paralyzer" by Finger Eleven; "Chasing Cars" by Snow Patrol TV SHOWS I WATCHED: "How I Met Your Mother";  "Law and Order"; "Kitchen Nightmares" VIDEO GAMES I PLAYED: Mario Kart DS; Brain Age When Michael was born, and then Ben, I was working nights. With Lori working days, we didn't need to find daycare. Five mornings and afternoons a week, the boys and I hung out and had fun. Sure, they watched some TV, but not a crazy amount. I would have gone stir crazy if we were in the house all day, every day, and I believed that being a great dad meant, among other things, that every day should include a little adventure. For our little adventures, I was always prepared. The Eddie Bauer diaper bag we had, though unisexed, was clearly designed with a dad in mind. It was mostly blue with som...