Today, El Guapo Is . . .

. . . 33 years old! (wink)

So . . . today marks another birthday for me.

It's funny how these things - birthdays - keep happening to me year after year, whether or not I'm ready for them.

I’ve already been somewhat overwhelmed by the many birthday wishes and greetings received from family and friends, both far and near, via personal visits, text messages, phone calls, Facebook, and the like. I really am blessed to know and associate with so many good people.

In addition, Mother Nature is giving me a nice gift today: The weather is finally starting to turn into the kind of autumn weather I'm used to seeing in October. It's my favorite season of the year, and I'm so glad it's finally here.

Last Sunday, the family threw a fun, combined party for Biz, Kira, and me, which included another epic game of "Pass the Parcel." I finished third – my highest finish in quite some time - and, yes, I'm proud of that fact.

As one of my birthday presents, Mike, Jana, Biz, and Jeff chipped in and bought me a ticket to Friday night’s BYU vs. USU football game up at Romney Stadium in Logan. The Cougars have been having an uncharacteristically terrible year, and their effort in this game was no improvement; they fell behind 24-3 by halftime and eventually lost, 31-16, to the Aggies. It was USU’s first win over BYU in 17 years (I was, in fact, also in attendance at the last one, a 58-56 Aggie win in Logan in 1993.) Still, it was a fun boys' night out with Dad; Mike; Dallin; Ben; Steve; Jeff; Jeff’s brother, Dave; and Dave’s two sons.

Adding a nice touch to an already enjoyable weekend, many great talks have been given by the General Authorities and officers of the Church over the past two days. General conference, as it always is, has been fantastic.

Can life get any better? I submit to you that it cannot.

Baby, It's Cold Outside

Yes, it's quite cold out there. In fact, my brain and my fingers are currently frozen to the point that I can't think of what to type beyond the phrase "It's Cold Outside."

Weather wise, it's still technically the autumn. But as I write this, the temperature is 21 degrees, with a predicted low of 9 degrees tonight.


Thank you, Al Gore, for warning us about this.

Cold Dogs and Warm Hearts

For last night's family home evening activity, a handful of members of my ward and I braved very cold temperatures and ventured up into Mueller Park Canyon in east Bountiful to build a bonfire, cook s'mores and hot dogs, and drink hot chocolate.

In spite of the unseasonably cold temperature, which dropped somewhere into the mid-20s, we nevertheless managed to have a great time together. When you're surrounded by good people, just about anything can be enjoyable at almost any temperature.

At this point, my aforementioned tooth had not yet been fixed - I finally made it to the dentist this morning - so biting into the frozen chocolate of s'mores last night was no simple task.

Not surprisingly, it appeared that we were the only ones up in the canyon on a night like Monday night. In addition to cooking s'mores and hot dogs, the Bishop gave a spiritual thought, and we sang Primary songs.

We are, indeed, a "peculiar people," and I wouldn't have it any other way.

Good times were had by all.