obituary for howard ernest betts

Howard Ernest Betts, 92, of Phoenix, Arizona, passed away on April 27, 2007. He was born in Guthrie Center, Iowa to Burl and Eunice Betts. He moved to Arizona in 1955 from Colorado. He was the owner of Betts Construction. Howard is survived by his wife Irene Betts; sons David Betts and Paul (Brenda) Betts of Phoenix; sister Gladys Teter, Coon Rapids, IA; 8 grandchildren and 4 great grandchildren. Funeral services will be at 9:00 am on Friday, May 4, 2007 at Palmcroft Baptist Church, 15825 North 35th Ave. Arrangements by Hansen Mortuary.

sickness becomes us?

Alright, so we all hate being sick, especially when that sickness gives vomiting and diarrhea. Aidan was sick on Tuesday and had the symptoms mentioned above. Amy got the same sickness (probably a 24 hour flu) on Wednesday. She was so sick, she was unable to keep any water down, so we took her to the maternity admitting area at Thunderbird Hospital because she was having major contractions and was in need of an IV. By midnight we were able to take her home. I had to practice with the choir that evening, so Mike (Amy's dad) came and relieved me of duty for an hour or two so I could go sing. There was to be another practice on Thursday night. So we try to sleep, and then I woke up with the aforementioned symptoms. I must have thrown up 8 or so times during the time I should have been teaching. Good thing I can take a sick day. I then tried to sleep the rest of the day. I woke up around 6:30pm when Amy called me to remind me I had practice at the church again, which I knew I had but there was no way I was in shape to make it or, even if I did make it, that I would be any good to anyone. Wednesday night and Thursday we had family in town, too, so I had to miss those get-togethers, as well. Friday came and we had a funeral for Howard Betts, my step-grandfather, husband to my grandma Irene (previously Van Liew) Betts. Amy's parents were going to join us, but they had gotten the same flu that Aidan, Amy, and I had earlier, so they were home with the same symptoms. Today is now Saturday, the day after the funeral, and we came to find out this morning that my mom (still in town for the funeral, supposed to fly out about now) had the same sickness. She's not been having a good time with it, either, so my dad called to change their flights to tomorrow. Let's just hope he doesn't get sick tomorrow and have to fly home like that. Does that sound like a fun week? I think the little bug that got us sick had a grand ol' time.

suns 4 - lakers 1

The Suns move on to round 2! The Spurs already won earlier the same evening and knew we'd be coming, but they didn't know when. Game one is Sunday, May 6th, at 12:30pm AZ time on ABC. The Lakers couldn't handle the desire the Suns came out with. It was a good Suns-style game. Bryant scored 34 points, Odom scored 33, but their combined strength was not enough to hold off the entire Suns team. Stat had 27 point and 16 boards; the Matrix had 26 points and 10 boards; Nash had 17 points and 10 dimes; and Barbosa had 18 points, himself. It was a well-rounded Suns team that defeated this one-star Lakers team. Any time the Suns get 30+ points in a quarter it is a good sign, when they get it twice in a row, that's a sign of another W to come. The Lakers let the Suns dominate the first half with 32 points both quarters. The Suns held off a Lakers 33 point 3rd quarter push, and won the game 119 - 110 in regulation. The Suns move on, as mentioned above, to the second round, the Western Conference Semi-Finals, to take on the San Antonio Spurs, who also won their series 4 games to 1 over the Denver Nuggets. One side note, but an important note just the same, the Golden State Warriors, the 8th seed in the Western Conference who barely made the playoffs, has knocked off the number 1 seed Dallas Mavericks in the first round! Way to go Warriors! The Warriors will either take on the Houston Rockets or the Utah Jazz in their second round series. Dirk the Jerk is out of it! Go MV3 Steve! GO SUNS!

monkey cousins

Any resemblance above and below?
We thought so, too!

another victory

I was brown this time, which I normally stay away from, but I had just lost as blue twice in a row to the same color, green. They were two different people on two different tables, but I lost to them just the same. I just went with brown this time because I didn't want to wait for teal to open up as an option. Brown paid off for me. The question is: what can brown do for you?

student quote

"Do Irish people speak Leprechaun-ish?"

~K.R. (Period 7)

back in the saddle

I've not played kdice very much over the last few weeks, with deaths in the family and being really busy, so it was nice to be able to use my prep hour to play a game. I find the activity to be relaxing and challenging at the same time. Strategy and chance all rolled into one: it's nice for leisure. I did win, and below is the ending board.

suns 3 - lakers 1

The Suns could have swept if they held off the Lakers in the last game, but we are still up 3 - 1. 33 points in the first quarter, and 30+ is always a good sign for the Suns. The Suns won each quarter but the fourth, and that they lost by only one point, 29 - 28. The Suns win 113 - 100. We even won the offensive rebounding today! 5 Suns had double figures scoring (Marion, Nash, Stat, Jones, and Barbosa). Stat was huge: 27 points and 21 rebounds, 4 of those offensive. Nash set an NBA playoff assist record with 15 assists in the first half. He almost tied the record for the most assists in a playoff game overall, with 23 assists, just one shy of the 24 assist record that Magic Johnson and John Stockton are tied for. Marion had a "quiet" game with 22 points and 11 rebounds, 5 of which were offensive. The Suns played a solid, intense game, and they took it away from the Lakers, crushing their hopes for moving on in the playoffs. The Suns come back to Phx to win the series on Wednesday night at 7:30pm AZ time.

Just look at that intensity on Nash's face!