Monthly seems to be about the pace I can handle for updating the world on our family.

Christmas is the most exciting time of year. With this being Ashley's first go round with the unwrapping frenzy, Amber and I started feeling the familiar build up of anticipation that was common during our childhood years. Only now, we dwelled on the thought of watching Ashley discover the Holiday, rather than worry about which packages had our names on them.

Three of the four December weekends were spent in the happy confines of the Utah Valley (known as the Provo area to most of the world). The excessive driving has meshed into a blur of taillights and overpasses, with only warm memories of moments spent with family and friends left to enjoy in our minds.

As a new father my thoughts repeatedly touched on the carpenter Joseph this season. Something struck me while watching a short film depicting the story of the Savior's birth. I had seen this actual rendition several times. But this time, after Joseph was rejected by the inn keeper, and just before he turns back to his very pregnant wife, he paused to express a look of utter frustration. He wanted nothing more than to provide comfort to his wife and unborn child. Yet, he seemed to be failing miserably. The fatherly role of doing everything possible to comfort a wife who was large with child was something I could relate to this year.

We stopped by the Perego's - home of my sister Jenna - while traveling down to the Bagby's the day before Christmas Eve. We caught the Perego's at a bad time as they were all sleeping with the exception of Ugo, who was freshly home after spending several weeks in his native Italy. After chatting with him other family members began wake up one-by-one.

Christmas Eve issued the return of The Nativity Reenactment, brought to you by the Bagby's and Friends. Ashley and Amber tag-teamed as the star while I played the vital role of the videographer. Such an eventful performance had to be captured in full motion and sound. You can purchase your copy at our store for the low price of $19.95 (plus S&H).

The big day dawned with nary a stir through the Bagby Place. After showers and bit of breakfast my girls and I decided to slide on over to my sister Julia's place on the west side of town. We arrived there just in time for the assembling of the Christmas gifts.

For me, that meant getting beaten at Spider Chess by a seven year-old. And then celebrating victory by trying out their new sleds in the backyard. We finished our visit with a hardy breakfast and then returned to a still silent Bagby house.

At the stroke of 2 p.m. - after all the siblings arrived from their homes - the unwrapping commenced. Our video camera was glued to Ashley as she tugged and pulled on the paper and bows. The colorful toys underneath the packaging also captured her attention - much to the relief of her parents.

We travelled south one last time for the year the following weekend. We used this jaunt to celebrate the first birthday of Ashley's boyfriend - Sam Billman - born on New Years Eve.

The calendar year switched over just following a game of Settlers of Catan, and just before falling asleep.

With the Christmas season upon us and the new year approaching it is a time to reflect on the events that have happened in my life and share them. Well, at least the events that have happened since the last post.

Black Friday was eventful, and with the addition of Black Monday for Internet sellers my wallet is much lighter than before. But neither event compared to the momentous occasion that occurred the following weekend - my first business trip.

It was one of those moments as I walked into the Salt Lake airport in a suit, dragging a suitcase and display case behind me that I realized I had grown up. Well, actually the thought originally sprang into my mind during lunch a few hours earlier. While connecting with an old english professor over some Gyros, we were discussing our current life situations and he was lamenting about the his recent 30th birthday. I decided that feeling old is relative.

I spent the first couple days of December in Phoenix at conference for the Council of State Governments. Our web application, www.utahclicks.org, was being recognized as one of the top innovations for state government in 2006. There were eight other innovations winners receiving recognition at the conference, our project represented the western region of the United States.

My job was to set up a booth and try to sell our system to other states. Our goal is to get another sale or two so that we can have enough capital to roll out of the university and operate as a private company. Only time will tell if that will be successful, but our presence at the conference in Phoenix was a great place to find leads.

I met lots of interesting people and found a few solid leads. Ironically, the table right next to mine in the exhibit area was an innovations winner from Illinois. Their innovation was drudging Peoria Lake (yes, the same mass of murky water 15 minutes from my house) and taking the sediment to brown areas in Chicago and using it for top soil.

The conference could not have come at a more awkward time for our team. We were just finishing up coding on a major software update. After crunching for most of this year, our deadline landed right in the middle of the conference. I didn't mind taking my fingers off the keyboard for a few days, but it also didn't mean any kind of a rest when I got back.

Now that the update and conference are over - with our Lead Developer taking the rest of the year off - it's been nice to slow down.

Who ever came up with the idea to have holidays that force employers to give you time off should be given a gold star. This four-day weekend could not have come a better time. With the deadline of a major upgrade in our software that we're building at work looming at the beginning of December we've been spending many a day coding into the the darkness of night.

The idea of getting an extended break was a great motivation, and that break has been well used. I've kept my distance from computers for much the break, with the exception of a few rounds of Halo with my brother in-law Serge.

After another late night of coding we left Thursday morning and traveled south to the more densely populated areas of Salt Lake and Provo. We stopped off at the Perego's, the home of my sister Jenna. After a tour of their house - they moved across the street about six months ago and Amber had yet to see the new place - we discussed our strategies for attacking the Black Friday sales over some fruity juice. The juice was unlike any I had ever tasted, so I had to make mention of it here.

On to our destination at the Bagby home for a gathering of family and good traditional food. It was during that evening that Serge broke out my one video gaming weakness - Halo. I'm absolutely awful at the game, but I've played enough to feel comfortable with the controls. Serge still obliterated me. But, it was fun to do something different. A rousing game of Loaded Questions concluded the family portion of the evening. After everyone left - around 10pm - Amber and I went for a quick drive to scout out the Black Friday situation at the local stores. Every store already had a line forming, with the exception of Comp USA which was still open. Serge was nervous about the situation. He dropped off his wife and daughter and zipped back up to Comp USA to start the line at that store.

Amber and I were already back home before I knew Serge was in position as line leader. When he and I touched base we decided that I would get a few winks in before joining him at the store entrance. I was very concerned that I would sleep through my 3am alarm - it being nearly midnight now. Amber reassured me that if the alarms didn't wake me she would. The next thing I heard was my wife's voice whispering, "Scott! Scott! You were right! You slept through the alarms!"

Sleepy eyed and groggy I stumbled quietly down the stairs, opening my phone to check the time. Instead of the time I saw the message that Serge had called around 1:15am. I hit talk, half expecting him to tell me that something went wrong and that I shouldn't bother coming out to the store. Such was not the case. He was still there and actually quite grateful that I had called as he also dozed off in his car for a few hours.

It turns out that while waiting by the store entrance Serge made friends with the security guard on duty. As the guard was leaving he told my brother in-law that he would come back on duty at 4am. He also mentioned that since he had seen Serge waiting where the line might be that he would allow Serge to go wait in his car if he wanted and would allow him to reclaim in line position at 4. Serge took full advantage of this and grabbed a quick nap that last until my call woke him up at about 3:40am.

I grabbed half a pumpkin pie out of the fridge and headed out. The sight of food brought a smile to Serge's face. No one was yet in line, but cars were beginning to swarm the parking lot. We claimed the top spot and had no trouble getting our items once the doors made way for the stampede at 5am. What was worth braving the cold all night, you might ask? Both of us were there for the 250-GB external hard drives that were on sale. And I picked up at wireless router for a couple bucks.

Amber had her eye on some deals at Staples, but wasn't willing to arise early to get them. Staples opened an hour after Comp USA so I headed up State Street to save Amber a spot in line. She was able to get mostly everything she sought after as well. Not a bad turn out for another Black Friday.

During my drive back to the Bagby's my body felt pretty good considering my lack of sleep. Of course, my mind changed while I found my self on a six-foot ladder that afternoon putting up the Bagby Christmas lights. It was there that I muttered to myself "never again" would I participate in the early morning rituals of Black Friday. But, that totally depends on the deals that get offered next year.