jack freed

Jack, the cat was finally paroled from his cell in the downstairs bathroom. The first week he had his cast on, we let him roam around the house while we were there. He started to slip the cast off, so we had to take him back after a week and the Vet re-wrapped and reinforced it. He gave us strict orders to keep Jack isolated in that room and we could only take him out to hold him. After another two weeks, one night he removed the cast completely. This time, the Vet didn't put the cast back on but said we still needed to keep him cooped up for another week. At the end of that week, Jack went back for an X-ray and the doctor said he wanted him isolated for yet another week. We were so glad when that week was up and we let him out for good. Jack was/is glad, too.

grace wins at state

On Saturday, September 27, we made our way to the Utah State Old Time Fiddle contest in Richfield, Utah. Grace competed in the Junior-Junior division (ages 9-14) and was awarded the first-place trophy. As the State Junior-Junior champion she will represent Utah in the Certified Division at the National Old Time Fiddle contest in Weiser, Idaho in June. In regular competition, fiddlers play three tunes (a hoedown, a waltz, and then a tune of their choice), with a four-minute time limit. The judges sit in another room while the contestants play. The Certified contest is for entertainment. Contestants play and sing whatever they want, wear costumes, and get the audience stirred up. The judges sit in the audience and see how the crowd reacts. Awards are given for Best Entertainer, Best Costume, and Fanciest Fiddler. Grace has played in the Certified contest at Weiser three times, with her friend Alina, and has won Best Female Entertainer twice, and Fanciest Fiddler this year.

Video will be posted before too long.

kent's little buddy

After months of longing and weeks of waiting, Kent finally took delivery on his Genuine Scooter Company Buddy 125 three weeks ago. With the price of gas being what it is, it seemed a decent attempt at frugality. Working only 4.5 miles from home makes it an ideal commuter vehicle. Also, it's the first step toward something bigger, safer, and cooler. I've been averaging 93 MPG and it sure is nice to gas up once a week for $4.00.

My new Buddy. It's not a Harley, but it's a start.

the lunch-time adventures of a middle-aged nerd

It's not that far from where I work, so I thought I'd scoot on over to the local Harley-Davidson dealership to check it out. The place is huge and it's new, and it's always busy. I also needed a pair of glasses and a half helmet and wondered what they had available.

I pulled my black beauty into one of the parking stalls in the front and wandered in. This place is nice. It was built with steel and structures from the demolished Geneva Steel plant, not far away. There is plenty to look at, so I browsed about for a few minutes. While I was over by the helmet displays, one of the young, attractive sales associates asked, "What can I help you find?" When I replied that I was looking for a helmet, she asked what I was riding. "A scooter," came the weak reply. I thought later, that must have made me look like a grade-A, middle-aged nerd.

At any rate, I got a nice helmet and glasses at a decent price, fell in love with a really nice 1200 Custom Sportster, and am looking forward to a bigger bike. One day...

grace wins big in kanab

Grace competed in the Junior-Junior division at the Western Legends Roundup Fiddle Contest in Kanab, Utah in August, winning First Place. You can watch her performance (and others) at grace-dayton.com.

WARNING: This video is HUGE. Please be prepared to wait before it starts to play.

jack breaks his foot

The other night, I (Kent) was working upstairs in my office. It was hot, so I opened my window to cool the room down. I had to close the door because there was no screen in the window (I was out on the roof a couple of days before and hadn't put the screen back, yet). Awhile later, I had to leave the room for a moment and, without thinking, left the door open. When I came back, I saw a little black and white rear-end disappearing out that open window. Jack had done that before but had come back in on his own. So I called and coaxed for a couple of minutes, then went out on the roof to see if I could catch the little escapee.

When I approached him, down on the other end of the house, he darted past me and ran back down to the other end of the house and jumped on the roof of the garage. As I stepped out onto the roof of the garage, he darted straight toward the front of the garage. I thought he would slow down when he reached the edge and then jump down onto the overhang above the garage door. To my shock and surprise, he ran right off the edge and fell to the driveway, 13 feet below. He landed on his front paws, skidded a little bit, then took off like a bolt of lightning around the back of the house.

By the time I got downstairs and outside, I could hear him meowing loudly on the front porch. He ran past me and into the house, where Grace detained him. I checked his paws and around his body and he didn't react as though there was any damage. He spent the night under Grace's bed and in the morning, was obviously favoring his right paw.

I took him to the veterinarian where an X-ray showed he had broken two metacarpal bones in his paw. When I picked him up that evening, he looked really mad and he was making noises I'd never heard before – a side-effect of the sedation and pain meds. He was glad to get back home and we were relieved. He'll have the splint for the next four weeks.

UPDATE: A few days after coming home, Jack had been so active, the splint slipped down a bit on his arm. He had to go back to the Vet, get sedated, and the splint re-wrapped. He is back home and under house arrest for the next three weeks.

welcome to our family blog!

We're one of the Dayton families in Pleasant Grove, Utah. This is the place for the most up-to-date information about the goings-on in our family.

How is this different than kdayton.com? This blog is basically what kdayton.com was intended to be. This is just easier...and it looks better...and Kent never seems to find the time... So, kdayton.com will be a more static site with general information, photo albums, video links, etc., while this blog will have more current information.

Thanks for stopping by.