Hughes Family: October 2014

Okay! Made it through October. Didn’t know if I would. Way to go me.

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We celebrated Chloe’s 3rd birthday! She is such a great addition to our family. As much as I love to see our kids grow up, those feelings are coupled with a profound sense of sadness and loss. I have known no greater joy than parenthood and I will always be “Dad” but my children will not always be my “babies.” Happy Birthday!

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Furniture shopping usually makes me feel sick. I strongly dislike walking around looking at things that might go well with other things. “Hey, this buffalo hide might draw colors from the stainless steel cactus and the human bone table to make them work together.” We have done more shopping in the last month than I can recall doing the previous year. Do you like this chair with circles? Fancy. Table? Rug? Ugh (we did not buy that chair).

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Once in awhile I must appease the gods of parenthood and interact with my children. What better place to do this than Nickel City? (yeah… maybe Disneyland). The children quickly became smitten by the ticket bug and exchanged many nickles for the chance to take on fate. Happily I was able to persuade them to play a few “real” games with me.

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If you haven’t been to The Museum of Natural Curiosity yet (at Thanksgiving Point) you’re missing out!

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The kids always have a blast at Cornbelly’s. Fran and I met up for dinner, but I wasn’t feeling well enough to hit the main events this year.

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We finally got to the keys to our new place! We had a few cabinet related issues that necessitated work even after it was “done.”  This is what our house looked like a couple days after closing. No sweat.

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Moving in! The guys at 7 Brothers Moving were excellent to work with. And after nearly a decade of love, feeding and education one of our kids can do useful things!

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We wasted no time in starting the landscaping (no time). A bit of dirt here, some curbing there, a few sprinklers, some fence posts, more dirt, a trampoline pit and maybe some grass if we hurry. Winter Shminter.

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Halloween 2014! Fran and the more agreeable kids dressed up like the characters from Guardians of the Galaxy. The older ones were committed to doing their own thing. Admittedly Claire made a cute vampire. I have no idea what Michael was- some kind of shadow guy in gym clothes (“I’m a morph, I told you!” “Okay, sure.”)

 

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Eating some Halloween breakfast (wearing costumes to school is a thing now- I don’t remember doing it when I was a kid). And then the long awaited Sabin Halloween Party! Each year the decorations get more elaborate, the costumes get weirder and the fun gets pushed past the maximum allowable limit.

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Here’s a couple of October parting shots. Mike got his Arrow of Light award!  Claire was asked to go to a recording studio to sing a French song for a Christmas album. Gabe has become an excellent RC car racer- he’s now working on becoming an excellent RC car mechanic. Chloe and I went shopping and she insisted on carrying the basket until it was literally too heavy for her to lift (cute, but inefficient). Awesome kids? Check.

Captain, I see November dead ahead! Should I drop the anchor?
There’s no point. It will just come to us.
Can we outrun it?
No… we’ll have to batten down the hatches and sail full speed ahead. Heaven help us.

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Movies Watched in 2013

I have dedicated this page to movies that I have watched in 2013 (these have to be fairly current movies from this year or last year to make the list). Older years will show up as blog posts (there is a link section at the bottom of this page).  Newest movies are at the the top. My goal this year is 50 movies half in theaters. 

Results for 2013: 62 Movies, 35 in a theater. That’s it for this year, so it’s time to publish this list as a post and move onto 2014!

Frozen 7.5/10 – Unexpectedly entertaining. You have to love the snowman, Olaf- what a great character!
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The Secret Life of Water Mitty 8.5/10 – What a cool movie! Really enjoyed this one. It was refreshing in a way that most movies aren’t. I think we should all take a look inside ourselves – there’s potential to be more than we are.
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The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug 8/10 – Some of the action was a little over the top (like jumping the shark silly), but on the whole the movie was an excellent synthesis of action and storytelling.
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Smurfs 2 6.5/10 – Sentimental, simplistic but heartfelt enough.

The Lone Ranger 7/10 – Actually a lot of fun to watch. I’m not clear on how $200+ million was sunk into this movie.

Thor: The Dark World 8/10 – I think Thor is a great action franchise. I can’t help but wonder, as the world is about to end, “Where are the other Avengers?”
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Planes 7/10 – This movie was blasted by critics but I thought it was really cute. Basically “Turbo” with planes.

Catching Fire 8/10 – A worthy sequel. Some movies like Harry Potter seemed diminished by following the books too closely (especially in the early movies) but the Hunger Games excels.
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Ender’s Game 7.5/10 – Well, the book was better, but this was a good try!
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Turbo 7/10 – This movie is a about something dear to my heart- speed. In a way it’s almost too happy of a movie- nothing bad ever really happens and the good guys win and win and win. It’s a feel good show- you won’t walk away feeling anything but upbeat.

Monsters University 7.5/10 – This is a cute prequel and a worthy addition to the Pixar film library. Nothing too surprising here, except was a douche Sully was.

Bad Grandpa 6.5/10 – I would have watched this movie even without it’s attempts to connect the hidden camera moments together with a “plot.” When it hit it was hard and funny, but when it missed it was hard to watch.
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Escape Plan 7.5/10 – Finally, my two favorite action stars in one movie. I think Escape Plan is a great vehicle to show off these two action heroes of yesteryear.
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Gravity 9/10 – Visually breathtaking. The plot isn’t amazing, but the way things unfold is incredible to watch. This is something you should see in IMAX 3D.
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Rush 8/10 – “Men love women, but men love cars even more.” I’m a sucker for cars and this movie didn’t disappoint me. Based on the real life rivalry between James Hunt and Nicky Lauder – although embellished to make them seem more like enemies than friends – Rush chronicles their 1970’s Formula One races.
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Prisoners 8.5/10 – Wow! This movie really worked for me. At almost three hours long I kept glancing at my phone hoping there was still a long way to go. Loved the plot, excellent acting. Not perfect by any means, but this is a great thriller.
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Riddick 7/10 – This is sort of a rehash of Pitch Black. No real surprises here, but it’s a fun action flick.
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Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters 6.8/10 – The kids were dying to go see this. It’s good, but it lacks something I can’t put my finger on. Maybe I have a hard time suspending my disbelief for things like this.
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Paranoia 5.9/10 – Nothing special run of the mill sub-par thriller.  I was hoping there would be more tension in the movie. Or at least something to do with paranoia.
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Red 2, 7/10 – Loved the temp and comedy in this movie. I think, overall, the red series is a solid geriatric action series.
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Elysium, 7.5/10 – Overall I think this is some good science fiction.
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The Wolverine, 7.2/10  – Sort of a hot mess. Jackman looks great, but the story just didn’t do it for me. Frankly I’m surprised there aren’t more people trying to steal Wolverine’s eternal youth.
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Argo 8.5/10  – I liked this movie a lot. The storytelling was excellent and the tension was nice and thick. I realize they took some liberties, but they make an excellent movie.

Mud, 6/10  – I guess this movie received a lot of critical acclaim. I thought the themes of “complicated love” were okay, but the movie felt long and often boring.

Bullet to the Head, 6/10  – Not very inspired. Stallone as the “good bad buy” works okay, but it feels tired.

The Conjuring, 7/10 – This wasn’t as scary as I was hoping. I liked the pacing and there were a couple great moments, but overall it wasn’t anything special.
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The Incredible Burt Wonderstone, 6.5/10 – This had some really funny moments, but overall the stupidity of the movie hurts a bit.

World War Z, 7/10 – Not half bad. I liked the aggressiveness of the Z Zombies and there was some good atmosphere and action.
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Pacific Rim, 8.5/10 – This was just plain old awesome. This is the stuff I watched as a kid brought to life. In some ways it’s almost mindless (and there are some exceptionally large plot problems), but it give you the kind of rush you expect from a blockbuster. Visually breath taking.
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Despicable Me 2, 7/10 – This was a fun movie. In a way it’s sad to see Gru get so domesticated but I guess it appeals to a lot of people out there. Love conquers all.
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The Call, 5.7/10 – A little over the top. And it’s just too hard to swallow all the stuff that’s going on (or not going on). A miss for me.

The Purge, 6/10 – This started out so good. What a great premise. But the movie slowly degenerated into an almost comical slash fest by the end. Some part of this movie had me slapping my forehead (spoiler alert: seriously, who gives their kids security override codes during the Purge?), rolling my eyes and dry heaving. I’m sure the movie was trying to make a political statement, but it got lost on me.
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Warm Bodies, 6.9/10 – Unexpectedly enjoyable! Expectations were pretty low. Some funny moments, some okay action and an interesting plot. (Spoiler Alert!) But love? Love is the cure for the Zombie virus? Hmm.

Jack the Giant Slayer, 7/10 – This tanked in theaters, but I don’t really see why. It’s exciting enough and parts of the movie are captivating. Maybe people just have trouble accepting that a beanstalk can take you to a non-existent world between earth and space.

Oz: The Great and Powerful, 7/10 – Visually I found this movie striking, but at the same time a little off-putting. I like the story of how the wizard came to Oz and the elements incorporated from the previous film (films if you want to acknowledge “Return to Oz”).

Identity Thief, 6.7/10 – It’s got it’s moments (you have to like Melissa McCarthy), but this is not great comedy.

Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters, 6.5/10 – So over the top it’s surreal. Not great as far as action movies go, but there’s enough to keep you interested. Not a fairy tale for kids though.

Snitch, 6.9/10 – The Rock always does it for me. He’s been a bad ass commando, a warrior king, the tooth fairy and now he’s a caring father and truck driver.

Now You See Me, 7.5/10 – It’s got an almost Sixth Sense sort of reveal near the end. It’s clever and very fun to watch, but it doesn’t feel quite right.
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Escape From Planet Earth, 6/10 – Somehow Escape managed to lack any of the Pixar & Dreamworks charm. I’m not sure if it was the cast, the idea or execution. A lot of the humor missed the mark for me. Our kids thought it was okay.

Parker, 6/10 – I like the mindless Jason Stathem action movies. This one seemed especially mindless. 

After Earth, 7/10 – I don’t really understand why the critics hated this one so much. I confess that I don’t understand what the movie’s title has to do with anything, but I thought the film, overall, was enjoyable. Maybe people like to bash on M. Night. Maybe people are being just a little to hard on Jaden or expecting too much from Will. I’m not sure- but I thought the pacing and the visuals were good. The story, while light and predictable, worked for me too.

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Fast and Furious 6, 7/10 – There’s a lot of things to like about this movie- great action, a fun villain and, of course, Vin and the Rock.  A lot of it is too over the top for my taste and that makes the movie hard to take seriously. And maybe that’s the point.
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Star Trek: Into Darkness, 7.5/10 – Many of the elements of the second Star Trek movie have been incorporated into this almost-remake. But it’s a fun backwards alternate reality version with some good hits and a few misses. An appealing action flick nevertheless.
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I’ve sort of fallen behind with my mini-reviews. But come on, did anyone really read them anyway? I don’t think so.

Iron Man 3, 8/10 –
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Oblivion, 7.5/10 –
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Django, 7/10 –

Olympus Has Fallen, 6.5/10 –
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The Host 6.5/10, –
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Jurassic Park (3D), 7/10 –
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GI Joe: Retaliation (3D), 7/10 –
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Life of Pi, 8/10 – With its stunning visuals and moving store line Pi stands out from most other movies. In some instances I found myself totally captivated. This is a movie not to miss and Ang Lee probably deserves his Oscar.

Zero Dark Thirty, 8/10 – In terms of acting, cinematography and storytelling this movie rocks.
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Here Comes the Boom, 5.5/10 – Formulaic to the point of irrelevance. Sort of a comic knock-off of Warrior. I like Kevin James but this is not his best.

Les Miserables, 7.5/10 – This was a very moving production. It’s clear that not all the actor’s are good singers, but the performance is emotionally driven so I can appreciate what they did here (can singers act?).
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Ice Age: Continental Drift, 6/10 – I have to confess that I’m not a huge fan of this series to begin with- prehistoric animals having social problems just isn’t that appealing to me. It’s entertaining enough to watch, I suppose, but it’s not great.

Last Stand, 7/10 – Arnold is really showing his age. In some ways the title of this movie is ironic. The action is good (over the top, of course), loved the Corvette vs. Camaro showdown but the overall experience was lacking. I saw this in a D-Box seat- never doing that again.

Hotel Transylvania, 6.8/10 – A cute effort, but nothing too special here.

Lincoln, 8/10 – Well acted, beautifully shot. I don’t care much for historical movies, but this was profoundly gripping.
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Premium Rush, 6.5/10 – After I watched this movie I had a dream that I was Lance Armstrong. The premise of the movie is okay, but everything about it is kind of so-so.

 ParaNorman, 6.8/10 – The stuff they are doing with stop motion these days is pretty impressive. Visually ParaNorman is cool (the odd looking people don’t quite wok for me though), the story is good and it’s fun to watch. I think this movie is supposed to be funny too, but not a lot of it hit home with me. Not quite a Halloween movie, not quite horror and not quite right, but a good effort.

 Looper, 8/10 – Time travel is always a messy movie subject. Having your future self sent back to your present self for extermination is extra messy, but Looper pulls is off with a fair amount of finesse. There’s nothing spectacular in terms of special effects, but the ending is both moving and shocking. An excellent effort.


2010 Movies
2011 Movies
2012 Movies

Hughes Family: October 16, 2013 – October 31, 2013

October is pretty much all about one thing… Halloween. And I guess that’s okay if you like Halloween, but it’s not one of my favorite holidays. Too much candy, crazy costumes, piles of pumpkins and enough Halloween themed events to make your head spin (which would be very appropriate, given the holiday). Ah well! I’m a party pooper… what can say?

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Fall is underway and winter is visible on the horizon. Leaves change, leaves fall, children are at play. Leaves gone, cold comes, inside the children stay.

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Chloe dressed herself up as a zombie quite a few times this month. Here are a couple of highlights from her newest game. Meanwhile, at the other end of the spectrum, Mike received his Bear award.

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Cornbelly’s! The kids love their annual visit to this backwards celebration of corn stalks and hay. There’s always plenty to do- slides, mazes, paintball, wagon rides…

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hot chocolate, caramel popcorn, the corn box (like a sand box, but with corn!) and so much more. The adults usually hit Cornbelly’s as well but I was sick this go around. Next year!

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The Sabins held their annual Halloween party- it keeps getting bigger and better each year (eventually they will have to move to accommodate this party). In addition to the usual outrageous decorations and exciting activities our generous steam punk dressed  hosts provided a Waffle Love truck and Rachel took family pictures of the attendees! Our little one was very grumpy and this year we retired early, but come 2014 we will be back with an unholy vengeance.

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This year the kids decided to buy some fancy higher end pumpkins. The ghost pumpkins were really cool, but this green one (Mike’s) turned out to have skin that was about two inches thick. It was so difficult for me to carve that I ended up not even doing my own pumpkin.

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I think all the kids had fun going out trick or treating. This was the first year that Chloe really understood what was going on (although she didn’t really notice when all her candy disappeared). Mike and Claire ate everything you see here, while Gabe opted to trade out his candy for cash (“I don’t want to get sick” he wisely said).

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Fran gets pretty festive for Halloween. Nail decorations and special spooky treats abound-pumpkin shakes, ghost toast, swamp smoothies, seaweed octopus soup and dry ice beaker brew (I wish I could cram more pictures in here, but there’s only so much room).

It’s funny to me that the month of November isn’t overshadowed by Thanksgiving. I guess it’s just not that cool of a holiday (it’s certainly got nothing on Christmas). I leave you with the text of this wonderful internet meme that I’ve seen a lot lately: Black Friday – Because only in American do we wait in line and trample other for sale items one day after giving thanks for what we already have.

Hughes Family: October 29th 2012 – November 4th, 2012

Yeesh… I have fallen behind this past week. Too much going on. Maybe I should write a post about that. Yes, take some time to write up a nice post about how little time I have because so much is going on.

I am a big fan of Chinese food. I don’t think fried  shrimp qualifies as Chinese food but I love them nonetheless. If you’re ever looking for some good buffet shrimp check out Asian Buffet in American Fork. You have to hit up the dinner (more expensive than lunch) but it’s well worth the cost. And their main courses are good  too. Anyway, that was my point- we went to dinner and I ate a lot of shrimp. That was a good day.

Halloween rolled around and Fran took the kids out while I manned the door. Well, to be more specific the kids took off and Fran spent an hour looking for them. The crowds didn’t seem as thick this year. I would guesstimate we had between 150-200 trick or treaters (last year I think we had about 300). I always find it awkward when parents yell stuff at me from the side walk. I usually have no idea who it is or what they are saying. So if it’s you then stop it.  
I had some fluid build up in my ears this week and I was experiencing pronounced ringing which was aggravated by loud sounds (especially voices). At one point during the night I heard a lot of murmuring outside before the bell rang. When I opened the door about twenty kids screamed “TRICK OR TREAT!” and I felt like someone kicked me in my ear drums. I tried to smile and as I handed out candy to my tiny costumed attackers.

The kids all had a fabulous time (how can you not have fun on Halloween?). They came back with their pumpkins filled to the brim. Michael typically sorts out his candy in preparation to trade, sell or eat.

Gabe tends to dig in right away and eat until he gets sick. Claire is usually pretty good about rationing, although this year Fran made a discovery in her bed. This will probably seem totally anti-Halloween, but we always offer to buy the candy from our kids. The amount of treats they end up with on Halloween is staggering (school parties have them on a sugar high long before they even go Trick or Treating). Only Gabe took us up on our offer this year. We pay well, so don’t feel too bad for the kids.

We like to play games, but it can be hard with Gabe and Chloe. The other night the two youngest went to bed early and so we played a few rounds of Jenga. For some reason that night I felt particularly impressed that we had made little people who could now play games with us. I don’t want our kids to grow up too fast, but it will be nice when all six of us can settle into a game together.

I hope one day my kids read these posts and go “They had fried shrimp?”

Hughes Family: October 26th 2012 – October 28th 2012

This past week we had an outdoor pack meeting for Scouts. Mike had fulfilled all the requirements to get his Wolf and we were all going to attend.  Fran offered to provide the hot chocolate, but after mixing the one can we had bought she realized that it wasn’t going to be enough. We were already a bit late and there was no time to get more. Fran suggested we mix Ovaltine with hot water and condensed milk. It was actually really good.
Once we got on our way it was apparent we were in for a “treat”. Snow was falling.

And as it fell, the snow began to blow. And it blew harder and harder until they called off the award presentation portion of the meeting. Everyone stuck around and drank hot chocolate (we had made just enough). It was cold!

A few days later we all got ready to hit the Sabin’s Halloween party. Mike and Gabe were Ninjas, Claire was Cleopatra, Fran dressed as a leaf, Chloe was a lady bug (Fran and Chloe were a pair) and I dressed as a rapper…. or something. I don’t even know if people realized I dressed up.

The Sabin’s party was delightful, as always. Spooky decorations, crazy costumes, festive food, a Halloween pinata, and tons of crafts and games for the kids! Fran and Chloe won the “Most Creative” award this year and scored a sweet Halloween movie.  Many thank to the Sabins for their exceptional parties.

Here are a few quick pictures of some of the outrageous Halloween decor. You’ll get to see a lot more on Rachel’s blog once she puts up her party post.

And then it was time to carve pumpkins! The cool thing about these pumpkins is that they were all grown in Fran’s garden! And some of the kids even did their own carving this year, which was nice.

From left to right: Gabe, Cam, Claire, Chloe, Fran and Mike. These are the pumpkins in the light…

…and in the dark. How positively terrifying!

Next week is Halloween and the kids are already hard at work building a candy immunity. Will they survive? Stay tuned!

2011: A Brief History of My Time

Well, here we are in April… So much has already happened this year that it almost feels silly to look back at 2011. Well, heck. It is silly. So the best thing I can think to do is just bury this post under another post. And come on- who really cares what I did in 2011? Still if your’e reading this (I expect my family to, but anyone else who has ventured in here gets my “You So Crazy Brave” salute) you need to know that I did write most of this last year. I just never got around to finishing it. So with much regret and embarrassment here are some 2011 highlights and… uh… stuff:

Family

I’d say that 2011 was  a banner year for the Hughes family. All the kids are doing well, Fran is doing great, I’m feeling good. Work and home life have stabilized and, for the most part, life is running smoothly.

Fran is my rock (a soft sexy rock). She runs our household with enthusiasm, unparallelled organization and a somewhat manic passion. She’s still working at BHQ part time as well (she likes it- don’t let her tell you otherwise). I don’t like to gush but I feel very blessed to have Fran as my wife. Last year we added a fourth child to the brood (yeah “added” – like buying another plant). Chole is like an angel. She wakes up smiling, she bubbles all day and her smile melts any heart. Gabe has become a moody, picky, life of the party four year old socialite. Claire is a mess-prone, sweet-natured, selfless six year old and she’s a ravenous reader. Michael is a manipulative, scheming, logic-loving  eight year old with an irrepressible passion to win. I know every Dad thinks it, but I have the best kids in the world (they do seem to be slightly skewed toward the evil side though… in a twisted way it almost makes me proud).

Work

Growth at BHQ has just been incredible. I’m floored by how well things have gone, how much progress we’ve made and how far we’ve come. I really feel like we’re hitting our stride now and our momentum is going to take us further than we ever dreamed.

I believe we owe a large portion of our success to the BHQ team. We have incredible people who are dedicated,  responsible, innovative and who have exceptional attitudes and directed focus. I wish I knew them all better- it’s gotten to the point where I simply don’t have the deeper one-on-one relationships I used to have with all of my employees. But I am grateful to all of them. Go Team!

In late 2011 we acquired the unit next to us giving us some much needed space for products and supplies.

We changed the upstairs layout to accommodate more people (Mr. Ping Pong table was replaced with additional desks). We added a sound stage as where we film videos for our YouTube channel (KnifeHQ).

The storefront is a thing of beauty. In store customer traffic increased a good deal in 2011. We have really high hopes for 2012 (read: we want our store to break even!).

The packing & customer service centers continue to grow as does the warehouse. They said we’d never fill it. They said we were crazy. Now they say “Can we work for you?”

Personal

On a personal level things are good. Sometimes I feel like there’s too much going on, but on the whole I think things are pretty balanced. I have fallen off the health bandwagon a bit, but I’m sure I’ll muster up the strength to climb back on. Having a new baby has made exercise very challenging. I can’t pinpoint exactly why, but I assume it’s because child rearing occupies an additional portion of my wife’s time and, in turn, my time.

At this point I really only have two hobbies  left. Blogging and my car (UtahCorvette.com). I could actually see myself as a full-time blogger one day. Cam’s blogging service. And speaking of cars… it’s almost time to go car shopping!

Fun Holiday Stuff

Halloween: The kids always love to go out on Halloween. I feel like our neighborhood is pretty safe and so we let the two oldest go out and about with their friends. Fran took out the littlest  two this year. I stay home, watch some TV and hand out candy (and eat some of it… a lot of it…).

Christmas is always a little stressful since I work in retail. But we always find time to get the tree ready, drink hot chocolate and make gingerbread houses. Well, this year we opted for graham cracker houses. They were easy to build, just the right size and each kid got their own house to decorate.

And I think there was a New Year’s Party in there somewhere. With a new baby I don’t remember a whole lot. I think we played ImagineIf and ate ice cream. It’s all a blur. If you were at the party (was there a party?) thank you for coming!

Home

One nice thing about staying in the same house for a long time is you can really settle in. Rooms get organized in just the right way (after much trial and error), you have time to paint accent walls, decorate and really figure out how to live in your house.

Our workout room got a much needed makeover. We rearranged the treadmill & rowing machine in a much more efficient layout. We also got a larger TV (built in wireless is an amazing feature which I’d recommend to anyone) – possibly justified since we spend so much time in this room.

Speaking of efficient layouts… We had a room in our basement that was kind of a disaster. In the center was a pool table and then there were two couches on either side of the room. Some bookcases in the corner rounded out the debacle. Stacy to the rescue again (she did our bedroom).

Sometimes it just takes a different perspective to figure out the best way to allocate space. With the pool table shifted over we were able to create a nice sitting area. We also added an electric piano for the kids to practice on.

The book shelves fit perfectly along the side wall and aren’t visible as you enter the room anymore.  Stacy painted the room with a very light grey color and hung a large world map & mirror (both from Ikea) for decoration.  We have dubbed our newly reorganized room “The Study” (where, oddly enough, Uncle Plum was murdered with a candlestick).

And there’s tons of other stuff that I simply don’t have time to blog about (robot revolution, my trip to Venus, the time the sun went nova and killed us, etc). Looking back 2011 was a pretty darn good year. No regrets. Hopefully 2012 will be even better.


Posted by Cam Hughes

A Peachy Halloween

I wrote this story years and years ago. I think it has one funny part. It made me laugh when I was younger, but it didn’t quite work for me now…

A Peachy Halloween

Halloween had almost arrived. Tim sat on the kitchen counter looking out the window. He was very sad. He would not be going trick or treating. There would be no costume for him, no candy and no games. Tim was a peach, and peaches did not go out on Halloween.

            That evening Tim heard the Preston children talking about carving the Pumpkin.

“We need to find the perfect pumpkin so we can decorate him!” one said.

“We will put him outside where everyone can see him!” said another.

“The pumpkin is one of the most important parts of Halloween” said the oldest.

            Tim looked himself over. He was orange, very round and had a very good personality. He straightened up as much as he could. “I would make a fine pumpkin,” he said to himself. But no one gave him a second thought, because he was a peach. The family soon left to find the perfect pumpkin. Tim sighed.

            “You want to be a pumpkin, kid?” said a ripe old Cantaloupe. Tim Nodded. The Cantaloupe rolled over to him and said, “You’re in luck. I just happen to have one wish left. I was going to use it to become human again, but I think this is a little more important.  Just leave everything to me.”

            Tim was a little doubtful but he thanked the Cantaloupe just the same. He soon fell asleep dreaming of little boys and girls running from house to house on their candy quests.

            “It’s gorgeous!” said the youngest.

            “It really is the perfect pumpkin!” said the next in line.

            “This pumpkin will make our Halloween perfect!” said the oldest. The Preston family had returned home. All of the children were staring at Tim. He looked down and was amazed to discover he had turned into a beautiful pumpkin!

            The next evening was Halloween. The Preston children were full of laughter and giggles, but no one was happier than Tim. He sat on the front porch with the biggest smile anyone had ever seen.