Jazz win home opener

Most people who know me well know that I'm a big fan of the NBA in general and the Utah Jazz in particular. What most people don't know is that I only watch a handful of NBA games every year. We've only had cable TV once our marriage, and that was last year in Washington DC. I was able to watch a few regular season games and then the playoffs, but that was it.

This year we have Dish Network, having signed up for the "big spender" $20 a month plan so we could get BYU TV and Fox News. By flipping through the channels, I discovered that they unlock NBA League Pass the first week or so of the season to try to sucker you into buying the whole thing. As a result, I was able to watch the Jazz squeak past Denver on Wedndesday night.

It was a close game, and interesting because I found myself thinking things I never have thought before. The first one was, "Gosh, Memo Okur almost looks chiseled." I had read that he was in good shape this year, but one look at him and it's obvious.

The next unexpected thought was, "Wow, Boozer actually tried to play defense on that possession."

The last one was, "Nice haircut, Kyle Korver. You look like you just got off a mission."

There were lots of non-surprises as well, however. For example, C.J. Miles getting sent to the bench after throwing away the ball and committing a silly frustration foul. Morris Almond camping out on the pine. The Jazz trying to give away the game in the fourth quarter.

All in all it was fun to watch, and it led me down another unexpected train of thought: "I need to buy League Pass." Here's how the conversation with Rebecca went:

"Rebecca, in tough economic times like these, it's very important to stay on a budget, right?"

"I'd agree to that," she said.

"And we should try to get the best value for each dollar, right?"

"Yeah," she said, eyeing me suspiciously.

"Good. That's why we should get NBA league pass. It would actually cost less than getting a better Dish package for the next year, and you don't get many Jazz games on ESPN anyway, it's $20 off right now, and think of all the quality family time I would have watching games with the kids, and it could be my Christmas present and President Monson likes the Jazz, too."

"I'm going to bed now," she said.

More photos from Corpus Christi:

"Big shish! Swim fast!"

The USS Lexington, the "Blue Ghost"

Sights (and smells) of Corpus Christi

This was a big week for the Loertscher clan. I took the whole week off work and we went down to Corpus Christi for a couple of days. The kids just love the ocean, so we found a beach close to where we were staying as soon as we got settled in. The beach consisted mostly of broken sea shells, so the kids found lots of treasures to bring home. Even though we were still in the bay, there was a stiff breeze and the surf was pretty choppy. But, since we are farther south than Tuscon, it was still about 85 degrees and very pleasant.

The next day we drove out to the Padre Island National Seashore, and found a mostly desereted beach. We parked the macrovan and a few minutes later we were in the water. Even though it was only about 10:30 am, the water was amazingly warm. Hard to remember that it's mid-October when it's so nice outside. The kids had a blast playing in the water and sand.

After the beach we went downtown and visited the USS Lexington, a WWII aircraft carrier tht was retired from the Navy in 1990. It was pretty cool. We went all the way down to the engine room, where the sailors worked for hours at a time in 120 degree temperatures. The ship was essentially lie a small floating city, with everything from a post office to a dental clinic crammed below the decks. The close quarters and wide array of interesting smells made me glad to be in the Air Force.

For our last day, we went to the Texas State Aquarium, where the kids got to touch some small stingrays (which they thought was cool) and got splashed by dolphins in the mini-Sea World show (which they thought wasn't so cool). The underwater dolphin view was a big hit, especially with John, who got right up to the glass and kept saying, "Big shish! Big shish!"

We then drove home to San Antonio, so I could get ready for a scout campout for our ward's two-scout troop. But that's another story...

The reason behind the (pre)season

The time has come for all NBA junkies to rejoice. That's right, the league's preseason games are finally underway.
My wife Rebecca, who tolerates my obsession with the the Utah Jazz, doesn't appreciate how significant the NBA preseason is. After all the games don't really count, and why bother watching if nobody's really trying to win the game. Since I have to explain it every year, I'll just write it all down and I will refer her to my blog archives every October.
One of the best reasons to pay attention to the preseason is to celebrate the end of the long, long summer sports drought. Some people might argue that there are lots of great summer sports, and I must concede that there are activities that meet the technical definition of the word, which as far as I can tell is "a pastime which, at its most organized levels, provides businesses with people to pay lots of money in exchange for endorsing their products."
Under this definition, summer "sports" include things like major league baseball, the WNBA, golf, cycling, and that last bastion of pure amatuer athletics, the Olympics. But for some reason, these have never managed to capture my attention.
I never played baseball growing up, and the lack of major league teams anywhere near Bone, Idaho made it hard for me to get excited about it. And while I enjoy riding bikes and hacking up the links as much as the next guy, neither of these activities makes for good TV viewing.
The WNBA isn't very satisfying either, mostly because it reminds you of what you really want, but just falls short. If someone ever invented a fat-free, sugar-free donut, eating it would be like watching a WNBA game.
So, the NBA preaseason is your first chance to get what you want. Diehard fans have nothing to lose. If your favorite team wins, you can fantasize about them going to the finals and winning it all. And if they lose, you just shrug your shoulders and tell yourself it doesn't count.

Latest installment

Here's a bulk e-mail Rebecca sent out recently. As usual, it's full of her wonderful sense of humor.

Hello everyone! It's great to talk to you! Steve left town this morning on a business trip, so now I CAN SAY WHATEVER I WANT. Ha ha! We have enjoyed hearing from some of you recently and I thought I'd send out a little note.

You have all probably heard, we made it safely to Texas. What a fun trip we had. I was surprised at the beauty of the southern states--Louisiana, Mississippi, etc. What a beautiful country we have!

Everyone warned us about the heat and humidity in Texas. They also warned us about fire ants. The heat and humidity haven't been too bad--it never got above 100 all summer. Plus we have a beautiful pool three blocks away. And so far the only family member adversely affected by the fire ants has been Baby John, who discovered that eating several pieces of watermelon while standing on a fire ant nest isn't such a wise plan. What surprised us (well, the kids and I anyway) was the COCKROACHES. Everything IS bigger in Texas!

We didn't know where we were going to live when we got here, but three days later they offered us a house on base. We love it. It was built in the 30s. We have about 2500 square feet, four bedrooms (three very large), and three baths. Our dining room is huge. We also have wood floors throughout the house. Our neighbors are very nice, the streets are quiet, and we are less than a mile from our groceries, gas, health clinic, and Steve's job. The good news is he comes home earlier and leaves later! The bad news is, he comes home for lunch almost every day....and while we love to see him of course, he doesn't care much for our lunches. Here is an example:

Steve: Hi, I'm home for lunch!
Me: (holding a screaming toddler and telling the 3rd grader to finish her math): Great! Today we have a choice of macaroni and cheese with the kids, or a chef salad with mom!
Steve: Um...did we get any mail?
Me: (after telling the 4-year-old to stop pounding on the piano): Just ads. It's in the hall. What would you like to eat?
Steve: Uh....I think I'll just make a peanut butter sandwich.

Now, on to more news. Steve's new job was a little difficult at first, because no one has every done it before. But after a few weeks, he figured it out, and now he's really enjoying it. He will get to travel a lot with this job, visiting different Air Force bases within in a 8 hour drive and checking up on their Environmental programs. This week he is in Montgomery, Alabama, doing an Environmental Review and watching cable in the evening. I will expect a full report on the the damage caused by hurricane Ivan and the McCain-Palin campaign upon his return. He will also be gone most of next week, doing a driving tour of north Texas and Oklahoma.

The kids are all doing well. Lauren recently got her fourth cavity filled. She thinks getting cavities filled is "fun." Looks like I shouldn't have taken her out for a milkshake afterwards to make her brave. Bad parenting technique--learn from my mistakes. Amy and Lauren got their hair cut short again yesterday, they were trying to grow it out, but mommy got tired of girls sneaking into the van with rat's nest in the back of their hair. They will have to wait until they are older for long hair, but it looks really cute. David is enjoying scouts and loved his first scout camp this year. Carolyn is growing up so fast, she is 5'3" (she and David look like twins). Baby John has made it all the way through ONE sacrament meeting in the last month so he's doing well. He is finally learning to talk and that has cut down on the screaming fits. His favorite phrase? "No, that's John's!" He also no longer screams bloody murder when we strap him into a shopping cart in a store--a delightful part of his personality the last 12 months. Now, there's progress! All three big kids started piano up again this week. Our new teacher is a member of our stake, is a mother of seven, and homeschools! I am excited and I hope the kids will make real progress.

At church, we are really enjoying our new ward. The ward is really small and seemed glad to see us. David is one of five young men. The Primary has about 35 kids, and they are all nice and super reverent--all except Bryan, the intrepid sunbeam. Steve is serving as scout master, which makes him wish he had bought a new, shiny Toyota Tundra, instead of the Camry he recently acquired; and I am serving in the Primary presidency.

Here's our big news! If you haven't heard, we have a surprise coming next April! For the uniniated of newsletters from our family, that means we're having another baby. We hope and pray all will go well. We had another miscarriage this last June. The good news this time is that I feel really terrible! That's also the bad news. I have discovered that wood floors look about the same (after 24 hours) whether you mop them every week or every four weeks. We're not sure how we will all survive the next month or two, but survive we must. Whew!

One more thing--yes, we are still homeschooling! I had another moment of indecision when we discovered the schools on base are not only small but some of the best in the area. But we continue to press on. And honestly, it really is fun. If only I didn't have to do laundry... This year I have five "schooling," as Bryan is reading now and was ready for kindergarten work. So I am managing three levels of history, literature, geography, language arts and science, five levels of math, and various extras--singing, art projects, second language, typing, piano practice. But the kids are great, they seem to love their school work and do it without complaint. And the older kids have really grown up, they take care of a lot of things by themselves. I just have to check it. I just wish I had trained them better how to clean the house before I started feeling so terrible...

Hopefully we'll send another installment soon!

Love to all
The Loertschers
67 Outer Octagon
Universal City, TX 78148
(210) 688-4766

Puncutationally challenged

I'm seeing the need to proofread this a little better. Two apostrophe blunders in a row. Ouch. Good thing no one will probably ever read this thing.

Howdy from Texas!

This photo was taken in Maryland, where we lived for a year while I was studying Environmental Law at George Washington University. This summer we moved to San Antonio, TX, where I am practicing environmental law for the Air Force.

We like San Antonio so far. The summer heat wasn't as bad as we thought it would be, and we spent lots of time at the base pool. The kids seem to like it quite a bit here.


I think our six-kid family gets fewer stares than we got in Maryland, but we still get a few raised eyebrows.

Jumping on the blog-wagon

For several years my wife and I created newsletters that we would periodically send to family and friends. After a while (and a few more kids), the LPD became our annual holiday newsletter. Early in the LPD's history, I would carefully write a few stories using the traditional inverted pyramid writing style I learned in high school and college newspaper classes. As time went on and my career kept me busier and busier, I became less involved in the LPD.

When I was deployed to Afghanistan in summer 2006, I sent e-mails to family and friends to let them know something of what I was experiencing. I really enjoyed it, but when I got home, I quickly got out of the habit.

It's time to give this another try. I've been looking for an outlet to express some ideas, post some family stuff, and pontificate on the Utah Jazz' next NBA campaign. Let's see how long this lasts.