Happy Halloween!

Last year we went to the pumpkin patch - but we never carved our pumpkins. So this year - we decided to give it a go! So, the night before Halloween, and on my mom's birthday, we carved our pumpkins.

This is Oliver's pumpkin on our porch...

This is mine...

And this is the Halloween sunrise out our back door! Gorgeous!

We hope to see you tonight with your tick-o-treaters! Have a safe and happy Halloween!

Bar Stool Economics

Bar Stool Economics by David R. Kamerschen, Ph.D.Suppose that every day, ten men go out for beer and the bill for all ten comes to $100. If they paid their bill the way we pay our taxes, it would go something like this:

The first four men (the poorest) would pay nothing.

The fifth would pay $1.

The sixth would pay $3.

The seventh would pay $7.

The eighth would pay $12.

The ninth would pay $18.

The tenth man (the richest) would pay $59.

So, that’s what they decided to do. The ten men drank in the bar every day and seemed quite happy with the arrangement, until one day, the owner threw them a curve. ‘Since you are all such good customers, he said, ‘I’m going to reduce the cost of your daily beer by $20. Drinks for the ten now cost just $80.

The group still wanted to pay their bill the way we pay our taxes so the first four men were unaffected. They would still drink for free. But what about the other six men - the paying customers? How could they divide the $20 windfall so that everyone would get his ‘fair share?’ They realized that $20 divided by six is $3.33. But if they subtracted that from everybody’s share, then the fifth man and the sixth man would each end up being paid to drink his beer. So, the bar owner suggested that it would be fair to reduce each man’s bill by roughly the same amount, and he proceeded to work out the amounts each should pay.

And so:

The fifth man, like the first four, now paid nothing (100% savings).

The sixth now paid $2 instead of $3 (33%savings).

The seventh now pay $5 instead of $7 (28%savings).

The eighth now paid $9 instead of $12 (25% savings).

The ninth now paid $14 instead of $18 (22% savings).

The tenth now paid $49 instead of $59 (16% savings).

Each of the six was better off than before. And the first four continued to drink for free. But once outside the restaurant, the men began to compare their savings.

‘I only got a dollar out of the $20,’declared the sixth man. He pointed to the tenth man,’ but he got $10!’

‘Yeah, that’s right,’ exclaimed the fifth man. ‘I only saved a dollar, too. It’s unfair that he got ten times more than I!’

‘That’s true!!’ shouted the seventh man. ‘Why should he get $10 back when I got only two? The wealthy get all the breaks!’

‘Wait a minute,’ yelled the first four men in unison. ‘We didn’t get anything at all. The system exploits the poor!’

The nine men surrounded the tenth and beat him up.

The next night the tenth man didn’t show up for drinks, so the nine sat down and had beers without him. But when it came time to pay the bill, they discovered something important. They didn’t have enough money between all of them for even half of the bill!

And that, boys and girls, journalists and college professors, is how our tax system works. The people who pay the highest taxes get the most benefit from a tax reduction. Tax them too much, attack them for being wealthy, and they just may not show up anymore. In fact, they might start drinking overseas where the atmosphere is somewhat friendlier.

For those who understand, no explanation is needed.

For those who do not understand, no explanation is possible.

Thank you Dr. Thought the folks so excited about a Democratic government might enjoy this piece. Pay special attention to the last paragraph.

Tragic - Going Private

It's official - after some sad things that have happened on our blog lately we have decided to go private. If you would like access to view our blog then send me an email or comment on this post and I will send you an invite.

hs1121 (at) gmail (dot) com

Part One of House Project Complete

We have had several really productive weeks doing house projects. Here is Oliver staining our garden box in our backyard. It has weathered to the perfect color and we want to preserve it before winter hits.
Then - these are the long awaited pictures of our downstairs house painting that has been happening for several weeks.

And, now we are moving to our upstairs... Here is our bedroom just waiting for a good coat of paint.

Pumpkin Patch

Oliver and I went with some friends from work to the pumpkin patch this weekend. We had a blast! This is us on the tractor getting ready to go and find the perfect pumpkin...
This is Oliver getting ready for some serious hunting. We had to go up and down every row and find the best ones.

Oh, what fun it was.

Then, with all the options in a wheelbarrow, we had to pick only four! No, we don't have kids yet, Oliver just loves pumpkins - and I love to barter with sales people so we got a great deal!

And this is our little friend Maggie who went with us (and her parents). She didn't love being in the wheelbarrow but she loved picking her pumpkin and playing in the dirt.

Draper Temple Public Open House

The new Draper Utah Temple will be open for public tours from January 15 to March 14, 2009. All are welcome to attend including children. Tours are FREE, but a reservation is required. Please review the information below:

Reservations: Reservations will be taken beginning December 1, 2008, at 10:00 a.m., at which time you may reserve online (10-ticket limit), call 801-576-4240 in the Salt Lake area, or call toll free 1-866-537-8457.

Dates: Thursday, January 15–Saturday, March 14, 2009 (closed Sundays)Hours:Sunday, Closed; Monday, 8:00 a.m.–6:00 p.m.; Tuesday–Saturday, 8:00 a.m.–8:00 p.m.; additional times may be made available depending on demand.

Cost: The open house is FREE, but a reservation is required.

Parking: Parking attendants will direct you to an available parking space when you arrive.

Dress: Church dress is encouraged.

What to Expect: Tours begin in the meetinghouse adjacent to the temple where you will be organized into a tour group and view a short video presentation on the purpose of temples, followed by a guided tour of the temple's interior. At the conclusion of the tour, refreshments will be served in the meetinghouse where representatives will be available for questions.

Free Date Night

I don't know about the rest of you, but Oliver and I can hardly contain our excitement about the snow building up on the mountains. WE LOVE TO SKI and just can't wait! (Well, we only get to ski one day this season unless we get free passes because we are trying to save for our month long vacation. So sad!)

We are going to this event this Friday night and wondering if anyone else is interested in a FREE date night. For all those interested in skiing and snowboarding there is going to be a free to attend rail jam (think man made ski slope with jumps and rails) Friday, October 17th 1185 N 1200 W in Orem at 8:00 PM. This is a state of the art facility and will be a fun event to watch.

We've never been - we don't know what it is exactly - but we love free and we love new stuff. Let us know if you want to come and catch dinner beforehand or just meet us there! It's kind of late but we don't care if you have kids and want to bring them - just let us know!

Ignored...

So last night Oliver and I were having a conversation and he completely ignored a comment I made and moved right on... Then he said a few moments later, "I think this is the first time since we have been married that I ignored you".

We laughed pretty hard at the irony because I don't think I would agree that this is the first time I have been ignored :) But it was nice to be acknowledged nonetheless. I wonder if getting ignored gets more frequent the longer you have been married - thoughts?

Inappropriate

I have had quite a bit of time to blog lately and I have been checking out all the cute things that are on people's blogs. One of my friends has a tracker on her blog which shows how long they have been married (cute). I also have friends that have a baby tracker which show when their baby should be born (cute). I have a friend whose blog has a track which shows how long until she ties the knot (cute). Then, there is a blog, which shows a conception tracker. It shows where she is at in her cycle so that they can try to get pregnant (NOT CUTE!). I personally think that is way to much information to be posting on the Internet for all to see - please leave that kind of information for your bathroom mirror or your bedside table!