the morning bull pen

My job allows me to do some pretty amazing things. But this might take the cake: spending 20 minutes in a room with just you and a few other people, plus Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood.

Don't get me wrong -- I love Christmas music. But hearing it before Thanksgiving seems wrong.

My eighth-grade son, Jackson, came home from school the other day wanting me to take the U.S. Citizenship Test.

Garth Brooks admitted to lip-syncing his performance at Wednesday night's CMA Awards show -- but the guy had just performed five sold-out shows in the Tacoma Dome within three days.

The big kahuna -- the award everyone aspires to obtain -- is the entertainer of the year award. Garth Brooks won last year, and he's my pick to win it again this year.

Next time you have to nag your kids to do stuff and you've had it up to your eyeballs with them not listening, keep this in mind ... kids who are nagged are more successful.

My 11-year-old Shaylee LOVES one of the Founding Fathers, Alexander Hamilton. So naturally, that's who she wanted to be for Halloween.

My kids are fully aware that I steal Reese's Peanut Butter Cups or plain M&M's out their stash of Halloween candy. So it's not really stealing.

Growing up, Halloween meant a homemade costume sewn by my mom. Back then it wasn't so easy to just go to the store to pick out your costume.

Listen up, guys. This is not a compliment: "You're smarter than you look."

Naches Valley Middle School is giving up on holding dances because kids don't seem to enjoy them. Is this the wave of the future?

Craigslist "missed connections" ad raises an awkward question: Is it romantic or repugnant to have a crush on a non-blood relative?