Chris Millard's World

Sophie was a Genie.

Ellie was Amelia Earhart. Her costume was amazingly simple: the hat and goggles!

Jill was Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz. Can't see it, but she was wearing sparkley red shoes.

Reed had a wonderful costume as a train engineer, but somehow it got very wet. So, he is going as a Steeler fan. This will be very popular with many of the Haddow family!

Here is Abby carving a pumpkin. She went trick-or-treating, but maybe it is her last year. We didn't see Rachel and Clara who were at a band competition.

Here is Megan in a darling flamingo costume. She later ditched it in favor of a vampire. Go figure.

Here is the sleeping penguin, Max. Notice the cast on the right leg! Poor baby has a fracture that will take about 6 weeks to completely heal. This cast comes off in 2 weeks and a smaller version will make it easier for him to get around.

Connor was a fireman.

While we were at Dennis and Shamane's house, along came Emily and some guy.

We went to a Friday night Jazz game at Energy Solutions Arena in SLC. The Jazz played the LA Clippers (and beat them).

The highlight for me was the Mormon Tabernacle Choir singing the National Anthem. It was amazing

Friend and colleague, Diane Pugmire, got sick on Monday, went to the hospital, then passed away Wednesday morning due to complications from H1N1. Here she is teaching about the power of one.

She will be remembered as a fantastic teacher and a wonderful friend to everyone. "Can you imagine the number of lives that can be touched?" We can't count the number of lives Diane touched.

I swiped this picture from Facebook. I love it!

We are Mormons and this is what we believe. The power of the atonement will make us pure and perfect. It requires an effort on our part. Go to church, take the sacrament, submit to the Father, and feel the peace of his love. There is no mistake for which you cannot be forgiven. Turn away from the mistakes, look forward, and do better. All will be well. This is what our family believes.

ATK had a layoff today. Grandpa escaped! Wahoo! Gotta love that paycheck every two weeks, not to mention the health insurance.

It was faculty day at the bookstore and I won a prize in the drawing. It is a gift card for the bookstore so I'll go shopping! Little do they know that I am working on a literature course that uses no textbooks at all! Everything will come from the internet. I think I can do this and save a bunch of money. :) The students will love me.

I don't want buns of steel. I want buns of cinnamon.

Ruben Navarrette, Jr. of CNN, on the murder of Darrion Albert in Chicago:

This crime is outrageous and heartbreaking. Obviously, if convicted, the four teenagers deserve to spend the rest of their lives behind bars. But what is broken here can't be fixed by harsh punishment alone. We've raised a generation of predators, one that is willing to kill for a good time. Too many parents have dropped the ball, too many communities are overly permissive, and too many young people don't think about how random acts of brutality can destroy people's lives.

I don't know the answer here. What do you do with children who are willing to murder other children? What kind of evil is at work in the world? I don't know who is to blame (there's lots to go around) nor how to fix it. It is all so complicated.