Joey/Denny/Emma

So I Own a Collector's Item

2012-01-08T19:31:00.033-07:00

In the early 80s I was a big fan of Fran Lebowitz, the author of Metropolitan Life and Social Studies. I think my sister Julie introduced me to her books. "Spectacularly funny. Astringent, quietly misanthropic, and yet wise...Lebowitz writes with a spare and lucid pen." (That's part of a review on the back of Metropolitan Life. Whenever I hear the word "astringent," I think of Fran Lebowitz.)

I probably read Metropolitan Life 20 times and used to have the first paragraph of "My Day: An Introduction of Sorts" memorized: "12:35 p.m.--The phone rings. I am not amused. This is not my favorite way to wake up. My favorite way to wake up is to have a certain French movie star whisper to me softly at two-thirty in the afternoon that if I want to get to Sweden in time to pick up my Nobel Prize for Literature I had better ring for breakfast. This occurs rather less often than one might wish."

Lots of Fran Lebowitz lines are stuck in my head:

"I look around my apartment (a feat readily accomplished by simply glancing up)..."

"I get up feeling curiously unrefreshed.."

"To me the outdoors is what you must pass through in order to get from your apartment into a taxicab."

"Breakfast cereals that come in the same colors as polyester leisure suits make oversleeping a virtue."

"Always a godmother...never a god."

"Adolescence is the last stage in your life when you will be happy to hear that the phone is for you."

"Generally speaking, it is inhumane to detain a fleeting insight."

You get the idea.

In 1984 I was living in Portland, working as a word processor for consulting engineers. I think I made $1500 a month, which for back then wasn't too bad, considering rent was $235 and I probably spent 30 bucks a week on food. I splurged on all kinds of things that year -- flew to Houston to visit Julie, bought gobs of Christmas presents for relatives. I also bought season tickets to a lecture series featuring various eggheads and writers, most of whom I hadn't heard of, but one of whom was Fran Lebowitz! The ticket price included a post-lecture reception at the Portland Art Museum where you could have a fancy refreshment and shake hands with the speaker. I was atwitter. So I heard her speak, she was very funny, and I ate some scrumptious little raspberry cheesecakes afterwards. And I did meet Fran Lebowitz, but don't remember shaking her hand. She was short and was wearing a white shirt with french cuffs. I'd brought my paperback copy of Metropolitan Life and hardback copy of Social Studies for her to sign. She was nice enough to personalize them and draw a little frowny face smoking a cigarette in each book.

So that was the end of that. A year later I went back to school and was suddenly much more fiduciarily challenged. At one point I sold about a third of my books to Powell's Bookstore (I probably got about $75). Social Studies was in that group, but I hung on to Metropolitan Life as a sentimental token of Lebowitz worship. I think about Fran Lebowitz about once a decade now (she doesn't do much; she's as famous for not writing as for writing).

So here it is 30 years after I bought her books, and almost 30 years since I sold one of them for probably a buck. Last night, I wondered if there was anything in our house that could be sold on ebay for any amount of money that might be worth the trouble of putting it out there. (Our neighbor has a full-time job selling stuff on ebay. She said she makes more money doing this than she did as a nurse. Not that I'm looking for a new job. I just had a thought.) So I started looking through my old record collection. Nine Joni Mitchell albums and a bunch of other stuff from the 70s and early 80s. Tons of these albums were already plastered all over ebay, going for a few bucks each. Nah. What else. I looked through some old sheet music. How about an old Jule Styne Songbook (Special Collector's Edition!). There were a couple on Amazon already for about 40 bucks. Maybe.

I started looking through my books, then started plugging in random titles seeing how much they were going for. Five bucks, 10 bucks. I typed in Metropolitan Life and started scrolling down and saw one offered at $250.00. Wow. Why so much? I started looking around on other sites. Another place, Allington Antiquarian Books, was selling a first edition signed copy for $435. It said "Copies of the first edition (i.e. the first printing) are rather uncommon, signed copies of any printing are more uncommon still, and signed copies of the first edition, first printing, are hen's teeth." So my humble paperback copy of Metropolitan Life might be worth something, being signed and all.

Then I went to another site, Biblio.com, and looked around. Both books were for sale for various prices. Some were priced pretty steep. I saw a copy of Social Studies for $140. As I scrolled by that one, I saw the word "Denise" out of the corner of my eye and went back and looked closer. Click to enlarge and check it out:

That's the book I sold to Powell's in 1985! Now it's at a rare book store in Long Beach, California. I want my book back!

So I bought it. For $140.00 plus shipping and handling. It should be here in a week or so. Then I'll own TWO collector's items. I figured maybe my signed set of two might be worth more together than separately.

Today Joe said, "So let me get this straight. You were trying to figure out how to make money by selling stuff on ebay and you ended up spending $140?"

(Am I crazy?) Should I keep them or sell them?

60 Years of Merry Matrimony

2011-12-29T12:14:00.006-07:00

My mom and dad (Dick and Shirley) celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary on Tuesday. Below is the two of them on December 27, 1951, celebrating wedding lunch at the Blue Bird Cafe in Logan, Utah. They were married earlier that day in the Logan Temple. My mom remembers it was a very cold and snowy day and the temple was packed with couples getting married because the Salt Lake Temple was closed.

And here they are 2 nights ago at the Skamania Lodge, on the Columbia River Gorge, celebrating anniversary dinner with my sister Julie and her husband Tom, and my nephew Ben and his wife Jax (who is expecting great-grandchild #18 in March).

Julie, I hope you don't mind I filched these photos off your Facebook. Congratulations, Mom and Dad -- You have accomplished so much in your lives together. Love, love, love you!!!

I Wish There Were Something Sweet Around Here to Eat...

2011-12-25T18:26:00.012-07:00

Oh the sugary delight of it all.

Aunt Julie gave Emma the beautiful dress below, which Emma wore to Christmas church today.

Plus, Emma wants me to post the lovely rendering she recently did of her new (rental) violin, so I am hereby posting. It is rather nice. She starts lessons soon with a wonderful teacher conveniently located across the street.

Merry Christmas!!!

'Twas the Week Before Christmas

2011-12-18T17:59:00.003-07:00

Emma and I were out making our usual yuletide rounds when we ran into Santa Claus and the missus. I didn't realize she was such a tough looking gal. It probably has to do with all them elves and reindeer games and such. I'll bet she knows her way around a nail gun.

Emma is no longer apprehensive about talking with Santa, in fact she is more tolerating than anything. In past years she wouldn't have anything to do with him, but now will pose for a photo if it means receiving a candy cane.

We haven't been out much yet for shopping, but still have a few days. I think it would help if we got out of this inversion and if it would snow a little bit. Ok then.

16 Things

2011-11-22T21:41:00.019-07:00

1. Tonight for dinner we had pork enchiladas. Yesterday for dinner we had pulled pork sandwiches and cole slaw. Sunday for dinner we had pork roast and mashed potatoes and gravy. All this because we bought four little pork roasts at Costco on Saturday. They came as a set and cost about 14 bucks. We froze two, and cooked two in the crockpot on Sunday. So we got three meals out of those cute little roasts for a little over two bucks a meal (not counting your incidental side dishes). That's good porky value!

2. Speaking of food, Joe dropped in on me at work today. We're only about 10 minutes away from each other between 9 and 2, Monday thru Thursday. He snuck up behind me in my little cubicle and put a cinnamon roll on my desk. I was startled, in a good way. The cinnamon roll was left over from a meeting he'd just been to and was made by the Church cafeteria.

3. Speaking of the Church cafeteria, I had lunch there with Joe on Friday (at the Church Office Building). I love it there. It's so old school. The men are in suits and the women are in hose and sensible shoes. An elderly man was playing show tunes on the piano. I had meatball soup, green salad with chipotle ranch dressing, and a piece of disappointing key lime pie. The daily newspaper is stuck up along the walls and people eat at the counter and read the paper and scoot their trays down the row so they can read a different page. Like this:

4. Enough with the food.

5. How about that Super Committee!

6. Emma and I have been playing Monopoly lately. I used to let her win, but she legitimately walloped me on Sunday. We started a game before church, continued after church, and then finished up the next morning before school. I fought hard to the end but knew I was in for it when she had 15 hundred-dollar bills, all four railroads, both utilities, a bunch of other properties, and all I had was 90 bucks and St. James Place. Emma gloated wildly during most of the game, kicking her legs on the floor and crowing jubilantly whenever I'd land on one of her heavily developed holdings. She started feeling sorry for me near the end, though, which was touching. She counts in Chinese when she moves her token around the board. Sigh.

7. Speaking of tokens. Sometimes in Monopoly you draw a Chance or Community Chest card that says "advance token to Boardwalk" or some other spot. When I was a kid the words "advance token" meant absolutely nothing to me. I knew it meant you had to go to Boardwalk, but "advance token" was like a foreign language. It didn't dawn on me till I started playing with Emma that it was a command to "move your little metal dealy to Boardwalk." Of course! Advance your token!

8. Emma was a mermaid for Halloween last month. Here's a picture my dad took of her:

9. Halloween was so warm and pleasant. Joe sat out on the driveway in a lawn chair and handed out candy. It was really fun to trick or treat with Emma that night. We started early and stayed out late. She got a super bucketload of candy, but she's more into the having than the eating. She's still got a lot left.

10. I made a vow to not have any Halloween candy because eating the fun-size everything always starts me on a slippery slope that doesn't end until January. So far so good. I'm compensating with pork.

11. Joe threw a Thanksgiving lunch for his office last week. He deep-fried two turkeys. Then he brought home a bunch of leftovers and we had them for dinner.

12. A few weeks ago we had 17 Siberian elms removed from the side of our house. They were ugly and also making cracks in our neighbor's driveway.

13. This is what they looked like before removal:

14. A skinny little guy with a pony tail and cigarette perched in his mouth crawled up the tall trees and dismantled them with his chainsaw. He had just the right build for the job.

15. And this is what it looked like when he was almost done.

16. I was going to call this post 22 Things for November 22, but I have run out of steam! It's tired and I'm getting late. Sayonara.

October Update

2011-10-20T21:03:00.015-06:00

It's been way too long between posts. And then the longer I wait the less inclined I am. It's like putting off homework, not that the blog feels like an assignment. Well, maybe it does a little. But the longer you put off the homework, the more insurmountable it seems.

I'm so glad I don't have to do homework anymore. Emma, on the other hand, has what seems like a lot of homework for a first grader. Stuff almost every night. Chinese characters to practice, and arithmetic, and reading and spelling. But right now she's on fall break for a couple days, so she can rest a bit. She's been working hard.

Joe's mom celebrated a big birthday on Saturday and we had lots of family in town. Cousin Mary from Arizona stayed the night with us on Friday. Emma's first sleepover. We went to Corn Belly's at Thanksgiving Point first.

Then Mary and Emma slept downstairs in the big king bed together. Super fun to have her over.

The next day we had family lunch at Aunt Boo Boo's. Gae was the guest of honor.

We had a really good meal (including 3 birthday cakes from Nothing Bundt Cakes: lemon, red velvet, and chocolate chocolate chip). Gae opened her presents, including this cool quilt that Aunt Susan made.

Here's Lou and Gae with 17 of their 24 grandkids, plus two greats.

It was a wonderful party. Happy birthday, Gae. We love you.

P.S. See our niece Marianne's lovely post about this same occasion here: http://www.theprignanos.com/

First Day, First Grade

2011-08-26T21:12:00.008-06:00

Without my glasses and with the sun in my eyes, I snapped a few pictures of Little Missy Em's first day of first grade. It was Tuesday. She didn't eat much breakfast. But I was consoled by the fact that from now on she'll have hot lunch at school (and judging from the menus, Canyons School District does a far, far better job of lunch than I ever have).

Oh, the sun it was bright as the neighborhood kids gathered at the right spot/right time.

I asked her to give me a little wave as she boarded the bus, which she did, but as you can see, she was more interested in getting on with things than in sappy good-byes.

She has two first-grade teachers, Ms. Snow and Mrs. Lee. Mrs. Lee is her Chinese teacher and just moved here from Taiwan (leaving her husband behind so she can teach 50+ Draper, Utah, kids Mandarin). She's about 4'10" and has a great big smile with dimples. I hope Mr. Lee will be okay. Emma starts her day with a couple hours of non-stop Chinese with Mrs. Lee, then has hot lunch (oh, it thrills me), then has English language arts in the afternoon with Ms. Snow, a 30-year first grade veteran teacher who has been the district literacy specialist, so she's great with teaching reading.

Emma is already speaking lots of Chinese at home. It's quite remarkable. Lots of songs and little phrases. She just pops out with stuff. ("Almost as if she's wired for it," says Joe.) I'm excited for her. A whole Mandarin universe awaits.

Recital Time

2011-08-15T19:42:00.005-06:00

Well, it's been an action-packed summer so far. School starts next week, and Emma capped off her summer activities with a gymnastic recital at the Gymcats last Saturday. Sure she has one week left of swimming lessons, but we need another post (the proper waiting time after my birthday has elapsed).

Emma has been attending Gymcats for about a year, and has made great progress. She loves to go to class each week, and can be seen practicing cartwheels and bridge kick overs at any time or any place. She was excited to show off her stuff, and did a great job.

Here she is waiting her turn on the raised beam

Here she is lining up with her classmates to go to the next station

Here we have the floor routine

Ok then

Feliz Cumpleanos to Joey

2011-07-31T22:29:00.004-06:00

August 1 is Joe's birthday. Happy birthday, dear Joey. I've been waiting to use the picture below for a year. I couldn't find it last birthday, but found it shortly after. It sat among the other icons on our computer desktop for most of a year and then mysteriously disappeared a few days ago. I found it in the recycle bin and rescued it just in time for birthday posting. Wasn't he a cute baby?

And now he's my handsome husband. Hope you have a wonderful birthday, sweetheart!

Land o' Disney

2011-07-23T21:48:00.035-06:00

Last week we drove to the Golden State to introduce Emma to the Magic Kingdom (and to her new first cousin, once removed). But first, we jump back in time for a patriotic jumper shot. Here is Emma in July 3rd regalia (Joe's folks got this frock for her). She was the red-white-and- blueiest in the whole Junior Primary.

Okay, so we drove to California. We left last Sunday afternoon (after 2/3 of the block, which made us feel devout but also like we were getting away with something) and stayed overnight in St. George. Then drove, drove, drove to California. The roads get worse the minute you go from Nevada to California. Also, Barstow is not an attractive city.

Monday evening we visited my niece Julia, her husband Chris, and their fabulous firstborn, Claire Julia. They live in Fullerton, a mere hop-and-skip from our Super 8 motel. They live close enough to Disneyland that they hear the fireworks go off every night at 9:30. My sister Julie was also there, visiting from Washington and attending to the needs of her baby bunny and bunny's baby. We ate Chinese take-out and admired the living daylights out of little Claire. She is indeed a cutie-patootie. So much fun to visit!!

The next morning it was off to the H.P.o.E. In a stroke of familial kismet, Joe's brother Mike and family had planned (without previous consultation) to be at D'Land the same two days we were there. They live outside Phoenix and this was their 6th visit in less than a year (they have an annual pass, the luckies). So maybe not so coincidental after all, since they visit ALL THE TIME.

Anyway, it was so stinking much fun to tag around with them. Uncle Mike is an absolute whizbang of a Disneyland guide. He knows where to go, how to get there, how to FastPass through the long lines, and he wastes no time in accomplishing his objectives. We scampered, scampered, scampered to keep up with him. We met them at the parking lot shuttle on Day 1 and got to the park before the gates opened. It was so snoozy we were the only ones in front of the big sign.

Things got hopping pretty fast, though. Em was a tad shy with her cousins at first, but after we all went on Star Tours together she loosened up and stuck with them for the next two days. Below you see Abbie, Sarah, Emma, Elizabeth, Max and Mary.

Mary was her special pal and they spent a lot of time together:

On our first day we did Star Tours, Space Mountain (made me want to hurl), Splash Mountain (loved!), Indiana Jones, Winnie the Pooh, Haunted Mansion, rode in the canoes (and got absolutely drenched on account of Emma's nonstandard paddle technique). Then we went over to California Adventure for various attractions. By this time it was hot and I was tired (but Uncle Mike was not). Joe took Emma and Mary on the gigantic ferris wheel. Ferris wheels give me the frights. I'm glad I didn't go; Joe said it was really scary (and he ain't the scareable kind). They were in one of the cages that rocked waaay back and forth, kinda sideways. I found a tiny patch of shade on the boardwalk and ate a Mickey Mouse ice cream bar while they swung around with their eyes closed.

Here's a couple of pix of the group on Splash Mountain:

Mike talked Joe and me into going on the Tower of Terror with them. You're in this elevator car that suddenly drops 130 feet. I was sincerely anxious as I waited for this ride to get going, but it wasn't quite as bad as I thought (helps to keep eyes closed 100 percent of the time).

We also did this fun animation class where an instructor taught everyone, in incremental steps, how to draw a Donald Duck face. (But I think it would be hard to be a cartoon instructor teaching 50 groups a day how to draw Donald Duck...)

We went off-site for pizza dinner, but then Joe and I took Emma back to watch the fireworks. Oh my, what a spectacular extravaganza, complete with Tinkerbell and Dumbo flying around in midair. There were absolute hordes and masses of people watching. The lines for the parking lot shuttles leaving the park were as long as lines for the rides. Emma was thrashed. She fell asleep immediately in the shuttle.

But she rebounded after sleeping hard for a few hours. Here she is, rebounding, the next morning (you must click to enlarge):

On Day 2 we did Splash Mountain a few more times (see soggy cousins below). Apparently it broke down after we'd ridden it about four times in a row. We walked by a few minutes later and saw people standing around on top of the mountain, looking bereft. We rode the Thunder Mountain Railroad a couple times, too (really fun!).

My vote for best snack at Disneyland: The Dole pineapple whip float, a yummy blend of pineapple juice and pineapple soft-serve ice cream, topped with an umbrella and a cherry. Most refreshing.

Aunt Suzette and I took Emma and Mary to Fantasyland to do the spinning teacups and It's a Small World, etc. Then the cousins had to leave to drive back to Arizona. Oh! It was so much fun to do Disneyland with them. Thanks, you guys!!

On Thursday, we slept in a little bit and then went to Newport Beach for a few hours. Em splashed in the surf and dragged big hunks of seaweed around (she got a big kick out of that), and we had corn dogs and lemonade from Jane's Corn Dog Shop.

Friday, we headed back to St. George and had dinner with Aunt Susan and Uncle Jack, and Saturday (today), we drove home. Fun, fun trip. See big smile below:

And if my mention of "Small World" didn't get the tune going in your head, maybe this will help!

Adios.

St. George is Georgous

2011-06-12T21:28:00.018-06:00

We went to St. George for a few days (and Las Vegas for half a day), and it was a blast to get away.

But first -- thanks, Joey, for the anniversary post. (He's such a doll face.) I dug out two faves from the wedding album:

The Portland temple is huge! And poor Moroni didn't quite make the cut.

So we left for St. George this past Thursday. Joe made us hearty breakfast to start the day. He is an expert at the hearty breakfast. Eggs, bacon, hash browns, english muffins. Plus the centerpiece below. The prospect of 7 work-free days stretching out ahead of him propelled him to fugues of fruit-carving exuberance.

Aunt Boo Boo let us stay at her pretty new house in St. George. We swam a lot and went on various outings. On Friday we went to Snow Canyon. It's very close by and absolutely stunning. Lots of kid-/aging-parent-friendly trails.

Not very comfy reclining on pointy rocks, but Em indulged us (because it makes a great picture...).

This little slot canyon (called Jenny's Canyon) was so cool!

And on the walk out we saw the following tortoise.

On Friday afternoon, we drove to Las Vegas to meet up with Emma's big brother Louie. Went to dinner, then he drove us to the new bridge at Hoover Dam. We walked halfway across -- Really spectacular, but made me queasy.

Louie showed us a few bright lights. On Fremont Street Emma looked around, agog, and said, "Is this a block party?"

Then we headed back to St. George, realizing that our night owl days are far, far behind us.

On Saturday, we went to the Dinosaur Discovery museum and then got Chicago dogs downtown. When we were eating at the hot dog place, a woman came up to us and told us she'd been a flight attendant on our flight from LA to Salt Lake when we brought Emma home from China in 2006. She remembered talking to us on that flight. Isn't that something?

Drove back to Draper on Sunday morning in time to get to sacrament meeting at 1:00, where Joe was sustained as the new ward executive secretary. He'll do a wonderful job. And he's got 3 more days off to recover from vacation. Hopefully that's enough to inspire him to further fruit sculpting.

Oh, and I must mention that Emma graduated (with distinction) from kindergarten last Tuesday. Not with a ceremony or nothin', but she brought home her diploma, report card, about 5 pounds worth of papers and art projects from the last year, plus a Distinguished Dragon medal she earned for knowing all kinds of kindergarteny stuff. I was sitting out in the front yard as she and her pal Jace strolled home from the bus on their last sunny kindergarten day and I must say I felt a pang. Bless her little heart.

So that's what's going on as of just now.

I'm a Lucky Duck!

2011-06-09T00:00:00.003-06:00

It was fifteen years ago today Denny and I were married. It has been a great 15 years that have flown by. We have covered a lot of ground, and had many wonderful experiences. She is my sweetie, and I am fortunate to have found her (kudos to Angie), and she's cool to boot!

Emma adores her mama. We look forward to many more years together. Things is good. I love you estimada esposa. Quack. Ok then.

Bottle-nosed Dolphin

2011-05-18T20:43:00.002-06:00

Emma came home with an assignment last month to make a costume of any Arctic sea creature and wear it to school today for their program. The number one rule was that it had to be made out of things lying around the house.

Lucky for Em, her mother is very creative. The animal (mammal?) chosen by Emma was the "Bottle-nosed Dolphin." No mere penguins for my little girl. How many of you happen to have the makings of a bottle-nosed dolphin outfit laying about the homestead? Apparently, we did.

If you look closely near the back on the right side, you will see Emma, fins and all, singing away. Nice photography Mama! Ok then.

The Big Wedding, Etc.

2011-04-30T21:58:00.008-06:00

I loved the pomp 'n' splendor of the Royal Wedding. Joe and I watched it live in the middle of the night (although he wasn't awake on purpose -- but since he was sleepless he sat up with me and made running commentary, a la Mystery Science Theatre 3000).

I loved the magnificent spectacle of it all. Who was in charge of this thing? I want to shake her hand. Every molecular detail of it was so excruciatingly just-so. Here are things I loved:

1. The clean streets and Union Jacks waving between spring-green trees.

2. Shiny cars.

3. Westminster Abbey. It's ONE THOUSAND years old. I read a wedding commentary that was complaining about the puny attempts at floral arrangements inside the church, but can you imagine even making a dent with flowers? They put live trees inside instead, which I thought were beautiful.

4. Kate's wispy thin veil.

5. And wispy thin waist. Good grief, did this girl starve herself? It did make for a lovely silhouette, but Kate, sweetheart, have a chocolate doughnut now. The pressure's off. (Actually, maybe it's not...poor thing.)

6. The boy sopranos in the choir with their ruffly collars and little spectacles and peachy complexions.

7. And the orchestra -- behind which pillar, post or vestibule was it squirreled away? Oh, it sounded wonderful. Wouldn't you love playing second violin in that group?

8. Seeing Elton John in the congregation singing the opening hymn (to the tune of "Guide Us O Thou Great Jehovah.")

9. The priest who gave the introduction in his round English tones, talking about bringing up children in the "fear and nurture of God" ("fia and nuhchuh")

10. William having a wee spot of trouble getting the ring on Kate's finger.

11. The fact that there was no wedding kiss inside the church (apparently deemed inappropriate) and no cheesey, "May I present to you...for the first time...the Duke and Duchess of CAMBRIDGE" (catcalls/whoops).

12. William's fast and goofy handwaves in the carriage.

13. Footmen!!

I didn't anticipate caring so much for the darn wedding, but it was just so cool to watch! Even the reruns are mesmerizing.

On the domestic front -- Emma snapped a pretty good photo of the new birds a few days ago

(l to r: Violet, Twinkle Toes -- and I know Violet isn't violet, but that is her name nonetheless)

And big news in the dental arena -- Emma's first tooth loss (this happened a couple weeks ago). We didn't even know she had a loose one till we went to the dentist recently and he discovered it. Emma was thrilled to have a loose tooth and wiggled it incessantly. A couple Sundays ago, after I went to a choir practice, she told Joe she wanted her tooth OUT, so he cleaned up the pliars and pulled it out and Em apparently made nary a squawk. Tooth fairy brought her a tootsie pop and two bucks.

Sayonara.

Easter Festivities

2011-04-24T20:13:00.009-06:00

Easter this year was action packed, or at least as action packed as a day with three hours of church can get. I feel sorry for all of the primary teachers on Easter in a too-small room filled with sugar dazed kids, trying to get a gospel message across. The halls were filled with kids bouncing off of each other in a pastel frenzie.

Right after the meeting, Kat and Andy picked us up (in the new Katmobile) to go to Boo's for an Easter extravaganza, complete with ham, rolls, two kinds of salads, cheesy potatoes, clam dip and pig candy (my contributions), with cake and ice cream for dessert.

There was an egg hunt after dinner, watched over closely by a panel of judges, to see that no rules were violated (hardly any were).

Here is a photo of the participants. Thanks to Boo and the Alex Bunny for a great hunt.

I don't think Em stayed still all afternoon. Not even long enough to eat. She was playing with anybody and everybody she could.

Since we missed the annual Aunt Barbie Spring Lollapalooza and Eggstravaganza this year, it was good to see kids on the search for all things plastic/sweet. Happy Easter! Okay then.

Birthday Girl

2011-04-17T21:06:00.018-06:00

Emma just concluded a big bang-up of a birthday week. Started a week ago Saturday when we purchased two birthday parakeets. Emma's been pining for a pet ever since Roscoe the fish expired a couple months ago. So we got two 'keets, a greenish-yellow one (named Violet) and a sky blue one (Twinkle Toes). They're set up in a cage on top of a TV tray in the corner of the computer room and seem to be making themselves to home. They chirp and squawk and peck at their birdseed, and so forth.

Tuesday was Emma's 6th birthday, a regular school day, but she did get to wear the birthday crown at school and they sang 'Happy birthday to you (cha-cha-cha)..." and she passed out packets of fruit Gushers to her pals. Grandma & Grandpa Hiatt joined us for lunch after school and we had Harmon's fried chicken, raspberry lemonade, and chocolate ladybug birthday cake.

Saturday we had a great big ol' party at a place called "Bouncin' Off the Walls" in Sandy. We invited her whole school class plus a few extra (we even had a couple of complete strangers at the beginning; that little girl in the pink headband below, for example...have no idea who she is, but she took off after awhile). The proceedings began with counsel and advice from the proprietor...

....then they filed into the sanctum

and bounced off the walls and slid down the big slide...

The kids seemed to have a good time. Here are Logan and Kaitlin (a couple of Emma's good friends from our previous ward):

and John from her class...

and Marissa from class...

Kaitlin again (my golly, look at those big brown eyes and dimples).

Good friends Nadia and Hanah who live up the street.

Courtney, who lives around the corner.

Anya and Anna, whose parents are our friends from way back (they're cousins).

Little Missy Em...

It was so fun and easy. They had a hostess who kept track of the kids in the bouncy room, so I just sat on a bench and watched and talked to my friend Jen, and then we went into the party room and had Costco cake and Emma opened her veritable plethora of birthday presents (I mean veritable. plethora...made me a little queasy...).

And thus concludes birthday number 6 for our little dumpling. May she live long and prosper.

Various Tidbits

2011-02-20T21:34:00.025-07:00

- The new year just keeps charging along. I never even posted anything about Christmas. But now it's too late, I think. It's already past New Year's and Groundhog's Day, so we'll just keep moving...nothing to see here.

- But one thing about Martin Luther King weekend. We have now made it a tradition (well, for two years in a row) to drive up to the outlets at Park City to buy clothes for Emma at 70% off. Golly, what fun. Take for example the ensemble below: I think jumper and turtleneck together were $8.99 or something (and just now on the calculator I tried to figure out what $8.99 is 30% of...or 70% less than...and I have absolutely no idea how to figure it out. That's embarrassing. My niece Amy, who's a math teacher, would know. Amy?) Anyway, we got Em enough duds to see her through the next couple of cold months.

- Speaking of cold, one super freezing morning a few weeks ago we saw this fat fowl perched on a branch outside the bedroom window. Its tummy was exceedingly puffed up and it sat stock still for the longest time. Maybe it was trying to fluff itself up to stay warm. I'm sure this is a very common kind of bird, but I don't know what it is. My brother-in-law Tom would know. He's a birdwatcher. (Tom?)

- We were pleased as PUNCH a couple weeks okay to find out that Emma has been admitted to the Chinese immersion program at Draper Elementary starting this fall when she enters first grade. The program will go from grades 1 to 6. Half of Emma's school day will be taught in English (reading, writing, spelling), and the second half will be taught completely in Mandarin by a native speaker (math, science, and social studies). This goes for 6 years! There also are plans in the works for the local middle/high schools to offer courses in Mandarin so these kids can keep up their language skills once they're out of elementary. I'm just so excited for her. She and I have also been taking a Mandarin class at the school two mornings a week and it's been a blast. It's a fascinating, and hard, language.

You know, it's funny. When we went to China to bring Emma home, our guide taught us a few Chinese phrases. One of them was "bu yao" (boo yow), which means "Don't want." She told us that if we were out sightseeing and somebody tried to sell us something we didn't want, that we could say "bu yao" and keep walking. So then we meet adorable 18-month-old Emma for the first time. We bring her back to our hotel room and I bend down to give her a little hug and Missy Em pushes me away and says "Bu yao!" There I was knowing a total of about five Chinese phrases and she pops out with one of 'em! (and I didn't blame her a speck for feeling that way, either). Emma's native language skills diminished rapidly when we got home. She babbled a lot in Chinese the first few weeks -- not in full sentences (as far as I could tell), but in little phrases and sounds. She'd say the sound "dwaaay...dwaaay" a lot, and I later learned that the the word "dui" in Mandarin (pronounced "dway") is a colloquial way of saying "yes" or "yeah." After a few weeks she pretty much just stopped talking. We'd watch "Signing Time" DVDs every day and she started picking up some signs...and then saying little phrases like "Uh-oh!" But it was still several months before she could even say her name (she could say "Em" and "ma" but couldn't quite get them together). Meanwhile, she was still pushing me away with regularity (little sweetie).

So fast forward four years. We started taking Mandarin last September. Emma was shy in class. For the first few weeks she'd sit on my lap with her arms around my neck. Struck me as ironic that my little girl, who at first knew only Chinese ("Bu yao!") and eschewed my affections, was now melded to my lap and trying to relearn her mother tongue.

- Emma recently started receiving an allowance. She gets a dollar a week in exchange for doing a household chore a day. She gets paid on Saturday. She's been collecting her dollars and keeping them in a little box and putting tithing dimes in a little jar on her shelf. Yesterday she decided she wanted to spend some of her allowance money. She put all of her folding money in a smart little purse (with straps) and when we were at the Home Depot she purchased some Trident watermelon gum all by herself. She put her gum and two bucks up on the counter and got 68 cents in change. She got a huge kick out of it. She leaned over and whispered "I'm like a little grown-up!"

- Lately whenever Emma stumbles, or drops something, or falls down, she'll get right back up and cheerfully announce "I meant to do that!"

- She's very competitive and wants to make everything a contest or a race.

- A week ago Saturday I was mopping the kitchen floor (which I do, periodically) and in my vigor I knocked the clock off the wall with the mop handle. It crashed down on my head. Hard! I think I even saw little birdies and butterflies for a second. And it's not really that heavy of a clock. Just a normal one, as you can see:

Anyway, I was clocked by the clock and bleeding from a head wound! (And the poor clock was now six minutes fast.) It didn't really hurt that bad after the initial whomp, but Joe took me to the Lone Peak ER anyway (a very nice facility) and they put two staples in my head. Joe was conscientious enough to capture it on camera, too. Having your head stapled feels exactly like you think it will, despite the "numbing solution" they apply beforehand. Plus, it sounds just like you think it will. Just like a Swingline Cub punching through the left-hand corner of your term paper.

On our way out, they told me to have the staples taken out in 8 days. They said it could be done at home and gave us a staple remover for the job:

Joe took them them out this evening. Having staples removed from your head with a staple remover also feels exactly like you think it will.

But enough with the head wounds.

A couple of weeks ago we went for a walk along the Jordan River Parkway. It was on one of the first days of non-frigid temperatures, but still a little colder than we'd bargained for. Nice to get out in the fresh air, however. Emma rode her trike along the trail.

And here's what the mountains looked like that day. Nature: Ain't it majestic?

And those are all the tidbits for now.

Rib Photos, 5th Edition

2011-02-06T21:58:00.011-07:00

We now resume our regularly scheduled programming. It's time for the annual Super Bowl Rib Eating Picture. So here's Emma in 2011 (at Uncle Matt and Aunt Erin's), followed by similar poses in 2010, 2009, 2008, and 2007, when she was a mere 22 months old. Oh, time. It truly doth fly on wings of lightning (we cannot call it back...)

I was going to write a longer blog entry, which I feel is owed to our rapidly disappearing readership, but I got sidetracked reading old posts.

But I will change the blog background so it doesn't say "Noel" anymore.

Adios.

12 Days of Pictures-Day 12

2010-12-15T21:07:00.003-07:00

Emma, in Christmas finery, December 2006 (she'd been home about a month).

12 Days of Pictures-Day 11

2010-12-14T20:38:00.003-07:00

We made our annual pilgrimage to see the lights on Temple Square last night, along with thousands of other families for FHE. This is a photo in front of the tree in the Joseph Smith Memorial Building lobby.

12 Days of Pictures-Day 10

2010-12-13T20:29:00.004-07:00

12 Days of Pictures-Day 9

2010-12-12T15:00:00.000-07:00

This is an old favorite from Italy in 2001

12 Days of Pictures-Day 8

2010-12-11T13:23:00.005-07:00

Christmas Tree 2010. We had a fake tree for several years (which I liked mostly because you can bend the branches around at all sorts of strange angles to meet your ornament-placing needs), but we lost more and more lights every year so we decided to get the genuine article this time. Smells good and fits well in the back corner of the living room. Isn't it funny that we put actual trees in our houses and then string lights on them and hang stuff on the branches?

12 Days of Pictures-Day 7

2010-12-10T18:27:00.004-07:00

Here's a nice Spring-like photo for the Winter doldrums. Denny is here with her sisters Barbralicious and Julie-boolie. Ok then.

12 Days of Pictures-Day 6

2010-12-09T14:59:00.002-07:00

Emma and I in some airport on one of the legs of our trip home from China.

12 Days of Pictures-Day 5

2010-12-08T19:26:00.003-07:00

Here's a photo of our front yard on December 27, 2003, after one of the biggest snowstorms in Utah's history. You can see the broken branches in our yard and across the street in Liberty Park. The day before (Boxing Day!), after more than a foot of snow had fallen, Joe and I decided to hike up to Smith's on 9th and 9th to get some milk to make hot chocolate. We strapped on our snow boots, etc., and trudged up to the store and bought a gallon of milk. On the way back, Joe helped two or three vehicles get unstuck from the snow (it was a baaaad day for driving). We probably spent two hours total out in the snow, trudging and digging. The last car that got unstuck accidentally backed up over our gallon of milk. Kersplash. We were almost home by then and decided not to hike back for more. So no hot chocolate. But it was lots of fun all the same.

12 Days of Pictures-Day 4

2010-12-07T18:35:00.004-07:00

This is one that I like. October 14, 2004 at a train station somewhere between London and Edinburgh. It was a great trip filled with many new adventures. My dad has always been a train freak, and loved studying the maps and train schedules. Ok then.

12 Days of Pictures-Day 3

2010-12-06T16:08:00.005-07:00

Hmmm....looking through the photo archives for something out of the ordinary. How about March 2005. I accompanied Joe on a work trip to Nashville and we took a side trip to Memphis to visit Graceland. So here's me in Elvis' pristine shrine of a living room.

12 Days of Pictures-Day 2

2010-12-05T17:41:00.007-07:00

As part of our Thanksgiving festivities in Phoenix this year, we went for a hike to a tower that overlooked a couple of valleys. At this same time there were single-digit temperatures back home. Thanks to Uncle Mike and family for the fun hike and the following week of screamin' muscles! Ok then.

12 Days of Pictures-Day 1

2010-12-04T15:30:00.005-07:00

Our friends over at The Spring Garden are doing 12 Days of Pictures. I like the idea and told Genevieve I was stealing it. So here's our first picture -- Emma in the pool on our recent Thanksgiving trip to Phoenix. It wasn't perfect swimming weather, but it sure beat the temps in Salt Lake that weekend (so we heard), and Emma was undaunted.

Popping with Parental Pleasure over our Pretty Principal's Pride Pupil

2010-11-19T17:31:00.002-07:00

So Emma won a major award today! She was nominated by her kindergarten teacher to win a Principal's Pride prize at school (in the category of "Caring"), along with about a dozen other kids from grades K-3. You can view the ceremony below. Do excuse the bragging, but we're awfully proud of our little girl.

Our GymCat Goes to a Wedding

2010-10-23T20:14:00.016-06:00

Joe reports: A couple of weeks ago Em and I were cruisin' the back roads headed for the Mav at the Point of the Mountain. I glanced to my right and saw a building with the word "Gymcats" on the side, so we did a little wandering around and found ourselves in the lobby asking permission to look around.

It was a large gym with about 100 kids of all ages jumping, vaulting, stretching, tumbling, and balancing in various classes. Emma was quite impressed. We have wanted to get her into a class to channel her energies and help her concentration, so we went back and had her admitted to a class the next week.

She loves it! It helps that she is a natural (according to her coach, Michelle). She is the most limber person on the floor, as attested to by the following:

Denny reports: Check out the photo below...same group as in the previous post, Joe's parents and siblings decked out in finery for niece Marianne's wedding to handsome Eddie. (Marianne is Robyn and Jeff's daughter.) The proceedings took place last Saturday (oh it was a pretty day for a wedding).

And here is the freshly minted couple in their nuptial splendor:

And Emma looks pretty fetching herself. I love that her dress matches Marianne's perfectly (wasn't planned that way, but looks like they should be in a magazine).

Emma sitting under the Keebler Elf trees by the temple.

And I love these shots of Em and her cousin Josh at the wedding lunch, a five and a seven year old looking like a slightly bored middle-aged couple.

It was a wonderful day. Congratulations to Marianne and Eddie!

Happy Birthday Grandma!

2010-10-16T05:23:00.002-06:00

Yesterday was my mom's birthday, and we had a bash for her at Boo's house. All of Emma's aunts and uncles from my side were there, and we actually got a picture with everybody looking at the camera at the same time (a birthday miracle!). Happy birthday to my mom, who raised seven kids and has 24 grandkids (Emma Claire being the youngest and named after her). We love you mom! Ok then.

Wir lieben Oktoberfest

2010-09-27T21:00:00.037-06:00

Hasn't the weather been heartrendingly gorgeous the last little while? September is my favorite month (it's so mild, colorful, nostalgic, hazy), but it whizzes by in a nanosecond. Sometimes you have to stop and grab it. On Saturday morning we thought it would be fun to drive up to Snowbird -- quaff some early autumn mountain air and take Emma for a tram ride. Seize September! When we got to the parking lot we saw 50 trillion cars. Oh yeah....Oktoberfest. Oktoberfest!! Well whoop-de-doodley-do, this ought to be fun. And it was -- SO MUCH FUN!

First...behold the stunning vistas.

I mean..really. This is just jaw-droppingly magnificent, worldclass outdoorsiness. And it's only about a half hour away.

So we rode the tram up to the tippy top of whatever mountain it goes to. I'm usually averse to dangling high up in the air in a conveyance. But this tram seems sturdier than most. Plus, I couldn't recall ever hearing about a Snowbird tram plunging accidentally to the ground (and my abject condolences to all those involved if it has), so I rode it (twice!) virtually qualm-free.

I think the last time I rode the Snowbird tram was in 1995, with Joe. We'd been dating about a month. We rode it to the top then thought it might be "fun" to hike down. It took about four hours as I recall...four hours of pleasant chit-chat and increasingly barking dogs. We could hardly move the next day. That's us, 15 years ago this month.

I told Joe (on the second ride up on Saturday) that little did we know in 1995 that in 2010 we'd be riding the tram with our 5-year-old daughter....

After we rode the tram, we went to the big white tent where the Polkatonics were playing and Yo-Yo Man was yo-yo-ing. We stood in line for food. (Mostly Joe stood in line. Emma and I watched a bunch of kids play musical chairs up near the stage, supervised by a no-nonsense fellow in green lederhosen. Emma declined to participate, perhaps freaked out by lederhosen guy.) The food was stick-to-your ribs German fare: Brats (mmmm, with spicy horseradishy mustard), sauerkraut, German potato salad, red cabbage, potato pancakes with sour cream or applesauce, or both. Washed down with Sprite.

After lunch Emma stood in line for a half hour to do bungy trampoline. You had to be at least 30 pounds. I think Emma weighed in at about 38, with clothes.

The nice lady told her that her bungy number was "40" (they round up on the weight) and to be SURE to remember it so she could tell the other nice lady in charge of hooking her up. Don't forget! Your bungy number is 40! So Emma stood and waited and I looked over at her every once in awhile and could see her whispering "Forty....forty....forty" to herself.

Here she is fretting about forgetting "forty."

But then it was her turn and she got strapped in and was on her way.

She even tried a few flips.

Then Emma and Baba decided to ride the Peruvian chair lift, but that particular high-up conveyance is beyond my abilities to enjoy. Call me a fraidy cat. (Emma certainly did..."Fraidy cat! Fraidy cat!") So I sat blissfully in the sun on a bench for half an hour and watched Oktoberfesters go by.

And Baba took a picture of the view from the top:

It was a really really fun day. I want to go to Oktoberfest every year now.

Stuff We Did in August

2010-09-03T21:18:00.023-06:00

Ok, this was in September, but still part of summer fun. Here is Emma in the water at the upper Provo River below the falls.

We went camping a couple weekends ago, somewhere round about Payson. A little campground called Maple Bench that we've been to a few times.

This time we discovered a little lake nearby. Maybe it was just a big pond. Whatever it was, we walked all the way around it (and it didn't take long).

On another day Em and I went to the Hogle Zoo with her good pal Cannon and his mom Michelle. Oh, it was a pretty day to be at the zoo. We went to the bird show, saw the baby elephant rolling around in the mud, saw a great big gorilla really up close (it looked like a person in a gorilla suit).

One early evening we drove up to the flight park close by our house and Joe snapped some good photos of the paragliders. There were plenty of them out that night. (Click to enlarge these photos...they're really cool.)

Emma enjoyed scampering on the grass (watch out for landing gliders, young missy).

And the great big August event...Emma started kindergarten. Would have taken the official first-day-of-school picture in the out-of-doors, but it was raining cats and dogs.

But then it cleared up by the time we headed over to the bus stop.

Thar she blows...

And there she goes...

So far so good with kindergarten. Em has 1 week under her belt and is an old hand at it now.

And to wrap things up...Joe's been taking photos of the Draper temple lately. So we'll end with a gloomy shot...
...and a glorious shot.

That's all for now....

Some Summer Randomness

2010-08-17T19:58:00.003-06:00

The rocket's red glare (as observed from the corner of 7th East and 17th South)

Some observations from this summer. I thought I should list a few before summer is over:

As I had another birthday, I took a rapid inventory of what is and is not working any longer. I have a hand that won't fully heal from a tumble I took last summer. It works for most things, but I can't put full pressure on it to help me stand up (I never realized how many times I was down). I have scars from various surgeries, most of which have faded somewhat (no more afternoons in the backyard in a Speedo, eh?). My brother pulled a bad tooth out of my noggin, thankfully it was in the back (upper driver's-side). The hairless region on my head is not getting any smaller (still not ready for the comb-over thank goodness). My eyesight is almost beyond my ability to squint-to-see. I have had more moles, warts and growths cut, frozen, or sanded off than Carter has little pills. All in all, I could be doing worse.

Without bees, you aren't going to get too much production out of your garden (the leaves look pretty though).

On BYU TV they were playing Man's Search for Happiness. If you have the TV muted, it comes up as Man's Search for Hipness.

If it rains most of June, your summer seems over before it starts.

The bar for holding off Christmas gets lower every year. I was in the Costco last week and they had Christmas ribbons for sale (I don't care if it was the ribbon reinforced with wire).

Speaking of Costco, Emma enjoys spending time in the cold rooms with the vegetables and eggs to cool off.

The Bees play in the prettiest ball park in the country. Even if you don't like baseball (gasp!) you have to admit that the reverse sunset on the Wasatch mountains is a great show.

If you don't spend some time on your back in the grass looking up at the clouds once in a while, you are missing out on a wonderful opportunity.

Try this for a summer rush-- eat a "brown topper" and then cannonball it with a lime rickey from the Arctic Circle. That's summer livin'. Ok then.

Agony and Ecstasy at the Mall

2010-08-04T13:18:00.011-06:00

Emma and I went on an outing to South Towne Mall yesterday (and please pronounce that "Towny").

Here's the agony part: THE HELLO KITTY STORE IS GONE! It's vanished. This is a shallow and materialistic tragedy. We used to go to Hello Kitty (Sanrio, I guess it was really called) whenever Emma earned 20 good behavior stickers. She'd pick out a trinket or a pack of overpriced Hello Kitty gum, or once a pen with 10 different colors (very good behavior), and once a necklace with Hello Kitty herself dangling on a pendant (superb behavior).

An AT&T center is in its place, with a big map of the U.S. on the wall showing all the places where AT&T coverage is available. We kept walking back and forth down the concourse, past the big AT&T map, while I muttered, "It's around here somewhere. Gee, it used to just pop right up out of nowhere." Finally, I consulted a mall map. "Sanrio, L17." I orientated myself to the "You Are Here" icon, headed back down the track to L17 and there was that darn AT&T map blazing from the wall again. And then the awful reality struck me. I confirmed the bad news with an employee in a nearby kiosk. "Did that store used to be....Hello Kitty?" (morose nod.)

Oh, so sad! No more explosive plethora of expensive pink merchandise with Hello Kitty's inscrutable feline face staring blankly from every surface. No more H.K. pens and pencils, stickers and stamps, spangle pouches, drawstring bag sets and plush characters. Sayonara to the keyrings, wallets and purses, laptop bags and Iphone charms (Emma could have had one when she was 14 if she'd kept minding her p's and q's).

Goodbye, Hello Kitty.

But our spirits perked up (mine did, at least -- in a shallow and materialistic way) when we visited The Children's Place and discovered they had good-looking back-to-school jeans on sale for $10.00 a pair (regular $16.50). Tried a few on and they fit, oh miracle of miracles (hard to get a good fit with the jeans for Em). So we bought 4 pair, plus a cute little outfit also on sale, plus a new backpack she spied (she needs one to replace her loathsome Dora pack). Then I found out if I opened a charge account I could get 23% off the entire purchase, so open a charge account I did, and got a few more items since I was saving so much.

Emma picked up a little T-shirt she liked off a table and we tried it on in the dressing room. I didn't check the size. It was a little tight, and rather short -- probably needed a size or two bigger. I looked at the tag and it said 6-9 months. No wonder.

After the splurge we got a peach smoothie and rode the little train and discovered that on-sale school clothes almost completely soothe the hurt of no more Hello Kitty store.

Here's a picture of our haul:

It's Joey's Birthday, August 1!!

2010-08-01T07:34:00.004-06:00

The birthday boy, above, amongst his sisters (Robyn, Carolee, Laurie, Susan)

Send a greeting Joey's way today!

23 Random Things

2010-07-23T11:17:00.006-06:00

Because it's the 23rd of July.

1. Tomorrow is the 24th of July. For 10 years we lived on the Days of '47 parade route and hosted friends, family, the friends of family and the family of friends on our front lawn to watch the parade. Random passersby would ask to use our bathroom. One guy asked if he could plug in his battery recharger in our house (sure, fine). Joe would make breakfast for the visitors. One year we had a bunch of Joe's cousins (a branch of the Barrus family) attend. There was a whole slew of young Barrus kids running around. One kid ran through our living room and I said, "Are you a Barrus?" And he looked at me funny and said "What's a Barrus?" (clearly not one). Although I have fond memories of our on-the-parade-route years, I don't care if I never see the Days of '47 parade again.

2. I'm recovering from a fat lip brought on by a billiard ball becoming airborne and socking me (hard) in the kisser. Em and I were playing with the pool table downstairs. I was crouched down, face at table level, and we were zooming balls around into the pockets. You can guess where this is going.... Anyway, I looked really, really strange for a couple days. I didn't know upper lips could get that big without a collagen injection gone terribly, terribly awry.

3. Emma finished Level 2 swimming lessons at the Draper Pool yesterday. She got a certificate of completion and a banana Laffy Taffy. She loved her teacher Brandon and cried real tears on the way home (for love of Brandon).

4. I enjoy going swimming with Emma at the Draper pool on a hot afternoon and never thought I'd go so swimming so much as a grown-up. It's a happening scene up there...hordes of humanity...the rock music blaring...hot pretzels with cheese sauce and cherry Icees. So summery.

5. Yesterday I was editing a document for work and I did a global search and replace for the abbreviations BA (Bachelor of Arts) and MA (Master of Arts). I wanted them to have periods (B.A. and M.A.). So then all through the document it said things like "This program presents B.A.sic information about occupational therapy," or "The M.A.in purpose of this class...." Or someone's name turned out to be "M.A.ry Jane Taylor." Made me giggle. I thought the search-and-replace would be case sensitive (but apparently not).

6. I miss the old word processing spell check feature (maybe it's still there somewhere) that suggested alternate words for names the computer didn't recognize. That was always good for some yuks. Once I accidentally selected the word "Jailer" for the name "Jerilyn" and a letter got sent down to the Academic Affairs office addressed to Jailer McIntyre, Ph.D. (but I think we retrieved it in time).

7. I have discovered, while reading books to Emma, that I really dislike the word "exclaimed." And it's everywhere in kids' books. I don't like it because a) nobody in real life ever says it and b) it's really hard to say.

8. I've also learned that the Berenstain Bears books are ever so preachy.

9. Sometimes when I'm really sleepy (like midday, need-a-nap-but-can't-take-one sleepy) and I'm reading to Emma I can actually fall asleep and dream a tiny bit mid-sentence and then pop back awake and finish the sentence. But sometimes Emma yells "Mom!" if I wait too long.

10. I wish I were peppier and full of more zip.

11. Makes me want to drink caffeinated beverages all day long, but I suppose that's a slippery slope.

12. Why is it that Emma can absolutely love and adore a particular food item one day (asparagus, corn on the cob, quesadillas), but then when I take special pains to make the same food item a day or two later, she eschews it? (Or rather, she WON'T chew it..)

13. I went to a mini-class on how to save money on your grocery bill a while back and the woman teaching it suggested we subscribe to more than one newspaper so we can get more coupons, so now we get the weekend Tribune AND the weekend Deseret News (instead of just the Trib). But I find I'm not using the coupons because they're usually for things I don't generally buy. I did learn about a good Website called grocerysmarts.com, however, where you can find out all the things that are on sale during a given week at the stores near you. Plug in the code g84cjb where it asks for your Utah passport number.

14. I also learned that if you register your Fresh Values card on the smithsfoodanddrug.com page that you can select coupons online in advance of your shopping trip and the reduction will be taken off automatically at the register. Nice feature!

15. Anyway, we have oodles of weekend newspapers lying around now.

16. With respect for all Deseret News lovers, there's something about it that bugs me. The typeface...the layout...I dunno. The look of it somehow annoys me.

17. Tomorrow, the 24th of July, is my friend Mariann's birthday and also our little friend Kaitlin's birthday (she'll be 4). Happy birthday, friends.

18. Many people I know were born on the 9th of July. My niece Angie, my friend Jennifer, our neighbor Tim, my friend Kerrin's mom. Who else out there is July 9th?

19. I don't really believe in astrology, but whenever I read the descriptions of a Cancer personality, I think to myself, "Yes, yes, that's me." But maybe if I read Aries or Capricorn I'd be thinking the same thing. Anybody out there believe in astrology?

20. Joey's birthday's coming up on August 1. He's a Leo the Lion.

21. Sometimes I like telling people it's my birthday (well, when it's really my birthday). I mean, why not? You always get a nice sincere "Happy Birthday!" out of it. It's not like bragging. Everyone has a birthday; why not get well wishes? Once on my birthday I went to get a haircut from a woman someone had recommended. It was my first time there. The whole time I kept wanting to tell her it was my birthday, but thought "Nah...that's kinda goofy." And then at the end of the haircut, she said, "Well, I'm off to have lunch with my friend. It's my birthday today!" Whaddya know!

22. We're having taco salad for dinner tonight. This is what I put in my taco salad: Iceberg lettuce, hamburger seasoned with McCormick mild taco seasoning, kidney beans, chopped cucumber, shredded cheddar, sliced black olives, Fritos. Top it with Catalina dressing, or the dressing of your choice.

23. Have a great holiday weekend!

Happy Birthday Denny!

2010-07-16T13:59:00.002-06:00

That's right, it's time to celebrate. Be sure to congratulate her early and often. She's a sweetie!

How Many Fun Things Can a Girl Do at a Party?

2010-07-12T22:14:00.013-06:00

Well, if you go to Laurel and Jay's house for dinner (in Bluffdale, where they live on an ACRE and have the most amazing backyard known to manKIND), and a bunch of other friends come over too, turns out you can do a ton of fun things.

You can drive around in a pink battery-powered princess car with Xanthe.

You can jump on the tramp.

And jump off the tramp.

And meander through the English garden.

You can slide.
And swing.

And assist Anya in swinging (accompanied by Xanthe, Emily, and Maylin)

You can eagerly anticipate your turn to whack the pinata...

...and then whack the pinata.

And then blow bubbles (part of the pinata loot) whilst dangling your feet in the stream.

And I didn't even mention the food....(there was this raspberry cream cheesy jello salad with a pretzel crust that was refreshingly sweet and crunchy all at the same time. I kept slicing out one more little square...just to even out the edges. And there was this yummy layered salad with peas in it and a lot of mayo and lettuce. That was good. And brownies with frosting. And other things too numerous to mention. I'm such a sucker for food. Emma, she can take it or leave it. She'd rather drive the Princess car with Xanthe. )

What a perfect summer evening of fun. Thank you, Hill Family!!

A Bunch of Pictures from the Last Month

2010-07-03T22:26:00.022-06:00

We've been negligent bloggers. To make amends, here are a bunch of photos from the last four weeks.

To start, we have Emma, in hat and goofy glasses, at the beginning of the Newcastle School spring program. It was a "Silly Songs" program. But Emma wasn't feeling very silly that day, if I remember right, thus the pensive expression. ("Pensive?" "Nah, just thinking.")

Emma now knows the words to classics like "On Top of Spaghetti," "Yakkety Yak" ("Take out the papers and the trash...or you won't get no spending cash"), "Octopus' Garden," and "Do Your Ears Hang Low." (And let me tell you, the both of us have been singing "Do Your Ears Hang Low" a LOT in the last two months. We have singing contests while we drive around. Who can sing it the fastest, loudest, slowest, softest, goofiest. For a while Em would sing, "Do your ears hang low do they waddle to and fro," and I didn't tell her it was "wobble" because I thought "waddle" was cuter. But then she learned it the right way, darn it.)

The Newcastle School is really a great preschool and Emma had a wonderful year there. Lots of art, lots of music, just enough academic stuff, great teachers and staff. Em's teacher, Miss Jeri, was delightful. She adored Emma and the feeling was myooochal.

Oh, how we'll miss Miss Jeri.

Had a lot of rainy days in early June. It was kind of a drag, but the lawns were so lush and green. Now they're getting crusty and dry. Emma went for a walk between the raindrops one soggy Saturday.

Went to the Wasatch International Adoptions annual picnic last week. Saw lots of old friends from all parts of the valley. Most of them we only see once a year now.

Sumi and Emma

Lily Mae

Lindsay

Brianne

"Salud!"

And this weekend Emma's Arizona cousins came to visit. Yippee...we hardly ever get to see these guys. Here are Aunt Suzette, Uncle Mike, and cousin Mary.

Emma and Sarah at the Kaysville Parade

Mary and Em (Mary is the cousin closest in age to Emma; they're only 9 months apart)

Elizabeth

During the parade, Cousin Josh got to ride in a truck with his Kaysville All Stars baseball team. He was such an enthusiastic candy thrower! (He's the one holding the candy bag)

Joe took this great shot of some of the kids on the team. They're all 7 and 8 years old. We went to one of their games last night and they were amazingly good (especially Josh).

Okay...so we're caught up a little bit. Hope you all are having a loverly Farth o' July.

Ruby's Blessing Day

2010-06-06T17:00:00.011-06:00

Today we attended the blessing of Jason and Allison's daughter, Ruby. It was a wonderful experience. Afterwards we all went to Grandma Boo's for a brunch. There was much fruit, egg stuff, cookies and pastries. A wonderful spread, I must say. Below is the detail on a duck cookie. Quack.

And here's the whole cookie spread, followed by the fruit conglomeration.

Here we have grandma with the star of the festivities

Outside relaxing we have D enjoying the splendid weather. A triumph!

Later, back at the ol' ranchero, Em wanted to give an update on the grow boxes. Most things are faring well, especially when you consider that everything was snowed on after they were planted. There were a few brass-monkey mornings there where it could have gone either way.

There have been two casualties. The lemon cukes went south due to poor placement. They were replaced after modifications were made to the box. There was also a modification done to help out the tomatillo. It was screaming for more dirt.
It is going to get a little crowded in there before all is said and done. It should not affect the outcome, if past experience is any indication.

The carrots have just begun to sprout, so there is not much to report. Perhaps on the next update. Ok then.

Little Missy Green Thumbs

2010-05-16T19:28:00.008-06:00

Emma has had a couple of busy weeks in the yard. We wanted a couple of grow boxes to plant some tomatoes and other salsa ingredients, but needed to clear the space first. That was also the reason for the new gate in the fence.

Here is the finished product to date. Don't look real close at the boxes. I don't know what it is, but what looks like straight boards in the dim warehouse lighting at Home Depot, turns into boards that are smiling bigger than Telly Savalas at the end of The Dirty Dozen in the broad daylight. Not much to do at that point other than split the difference, screw it together, and hope it holds.

Box #1 with cherry tomatoes and some regular-size hybrids.

We put some tomatillos, peppers, and Lemon Cucumbers in this one.

Outside of the grow boxes, we put in a carrot patch. We are hoping to see some green tops within three weeks. Watch out for wascally wabbits.

Here we have Emma demonstrating the ever-popular jumping jack on our Spring-green grass. We will give the occasional photo update through the coming weeks (unless of course everything tanks). Ok then.

A Time To Celebrate!

2010-05-10T20:44:00.006-06:00

We had a great experience last Friday, as Andy received his Masters degree in accounting from the University of Utah. We all went up the the Hunstman Center for the festivities. Emma was on her best behavior (the best she could muster under the solemn circumstances), and we sat busting with pride through the proceedings. It has been a big buildup this past year, and then - poof! - it's a done deal. We are so proud of him, and Kat for her support and encouragement. It was definitely a team effort for them. Way to go!

Emma and I had some time to kill waiting for everybody to arrive. I believe she was involved in many group shots of various graduates. Through the years people are going to be asking, "who is that little girl in your photo?"

Em loves the attention she gets from her big brother

A group shot. Thanks to Brenda for her photographic acumen.

The beaming couple.

Ok then.

Some Thoughts About Food Items

2010-04-27T20:21:00.011-06:00

1. Tillamook Brand Marionberry Pie ice cream is sheer ambrosia. Julie served me some when I visited her recently. I had a big dish, and then another biggish dish a while later, and before bedtime the next evening I finished off the carton ("You don't mind, do you?" I said between slobbery spoonfuls). It's vanilla ice cream rippled with marionberry, which is nice and tart, PLUS chunks of pie crust, which add a salty, cookie-dough-like effect. Oh my, but it's tasty. I mourned when I left Julie's home. I was going to miss her, and I was going to miss Tillamook Brand Marionberry Pie ice cream, for I understood it was sold only in the Pacific Northwest. But WinCo Foods has recently debuted in these parts (WinCo as in Washington-Idaho-Nevada-California-Oregon) and darned if there isn't a panorama of Tillamook ice creams in the frozen food section. Marionberry Pie ice cream has been in our freezer ever since. I highly, highly, recommend it. This is also my niece Julia's favorite ice cream.

2. Today Emma and I had a discussion about repentance. I told her that all of us make mistakes, even grown-ups make mistakes, etc. Mommy makes mistakes all the time, for example. "Like the time you put ketchup on your hot dog instead of mustard?" she said solemnly. You see, Joe has carefully trained this child. She knows that nobody, I mean nobody, puts ketchup on a hot dog.

And if you don't believe me, take it from Clint Eastwood.

3. Speaking of ketchup, I admit to using it inappropriately in the past. When Joe and I were dating he was aghast to learn that I often ate frozen burritos with ketchup for dinner. But I grew up putting ketchup on Mexican food. There was no such thing as salsa in La Grande, Oregon, in the 60s. Mom fried up the tortilla shells in oil, we crammed them with hamburger, lettuce, and cheddar cheese and doused them with Heinz ketchup. And they were good, especially with cold milk. It wasn't until 1982 that I first encountered salsa. There's an entry in my journal that year after I had dinner at someone's house where they served chips with a "good, tomatoey kind of sauce."

4. I also remember my friend Genia telling me (circa 1974) about a really good new kind of chip-- "Nocko" Cheese Doritos.

5. And my first memory of ranch dressing is vivid. Frances Cooper brought us a quart jar of homemade ranch dressing (1970?) and we were...smitten. There really was a Hidden Valley Ranch, by the way. The internet says: "In 1954, Steve and Gayle Henson opened a dude ranch near Santa Barbara, California, and named it "Hidden Valley Ranch". As a side business, they sold to guests a special dressing that Steve had developed in Alaska. The dressing was popular, and they began selling bottles that guests could take home, and later opened a factory to sell packets of ranch seasoning that had to be mixed with mayonnaise and buttermilk (packets that are still available to this day). In 1972 the brand was bought by Clorox for $8 million."

So maybe it was 1972 when Frances Cooper brought over the quart jar. And having "Clorox" included in a description of ranch dressing is unsavory.

So enough food talk; on to the Emma pictures. But please do share your own random food-related bits of trivia. I think they're innaresting.

Emma pictures: We went for a walk along the Jordan River Parkway last night. Emma scampered. There she is in mid-scamper below.

And is it just me....or is she not just about the loveliest little girl in the entire known universe?

Some Time Off

2010-04-25T20:18:00.007-06:00

While Denny was in Vancouver for a couple of days, I took some time off to be with Em. As long as I was off for that, I decided to take the rest of the week off to boot. Emma was with me for a good part of it, sharing trips to the Home Depot (4), Costco (2), and the dump. Three trips to the dump were made, with stuff that had accumulated this past year. Is it just me, or is there nothing to compare with the feeling of driving away from the dump? It is like you are getting away with something. Of course, a trip to the dump isn't complete without a stop at the closest Maverik convenience store.

Overall, the weather was great, and offered a chance to make some changes in the back yard, and prepare for the growing season. We went last year without home-grown tomatoes, the first year in many. Anyway, we shoveled and raked to clear a spot for a couple of grow boxes, and put a gate in the fence where none had previously existed. We even whacked a couple of trees that served no purpose other than to irritate us.

Here are a few photos of some other stuff we did:

If you ever need help relaxing, take lessons from a five-year old.

We went on a little hike on a trail a few minutes from our house, and rested to take in the view.

The view of the Salt Lake Valley looking to the north.

The Draper Temple nestled in the southeast corner of the valley.

(click to enlarge -- it looks cool)

It was a great week, and much was accomplished. I will give tomato updates as the Summer progresses. Ok then.

Missy Em Has a Birthday, And I Visit My Sister

2010-04-14T21:39:00.034-06:00

Emma turned 5 on Monday, and she was happy about it.

She enjoyed lunch with Grandma and Grandpa H after school

and dinner with the other Grandma and Grandpa H, Aunt Boo Boo, and cousins Alex, Jason and Madsen later in the evening.

Last weekend, I flew to Portland to visit my sister Julie and her husband, Tom, who live across the river in Vancouver, Washington. Oh my, was it fun. We packed many activities into two days. We visited the venerable Lloyd Center (I believe it's America's oldest shopping mall...and there's an ice skating rink in the middle.)

We lunched at Saint Honore's Bakery in quaint Northwest Portland.

Take a gander at the pastries. We split a raspberry delice (2nd row from the top, far left). It was delice-ious.

Then we drove around neighborhoods where I used to live years ago in my single days. Spring is in its full glory in the Pacific Northwest.

We meandered up to Washington Park, then up to the Japanese Gardens.

On Friday evening we attended a concert by the Portland Mormon Choir and Orchestra. They performed John Rutter's Requiem, which is one of my favorite pieces of music and has been going through my head incessantly for about 10 days now. Oh, it was beautiful.

It was so much fun to spend time with Julie and Tom. And their iguana, Max.

(Feet included for scale)

The next morning we visited Saturday Market in downtown Portland, featuring an abundance of arts, crafts, hippies, and ethnic food. And a really good marimba band.

Speaking of arts and crafts, Julie is an excellent jewelry maker. Below are some of the bracelets she's made.

Such a fun, fun trip. Thanks, Julie and Tom. And happy, happy birthday, Emma Dear.

Happy Easter!

2010-04-05T19:49:00.005-06:00

Here is proof that four-year-olds can fly.

Em is playing in Aunt Barbie's backyard during the annual "eggs" stravaganza.

Here we have Madsen and Emma chillaxin' on the fish steps.

We had a great Easter full of food, family, Peeps, chocolate bunny ears, and conference. By the time Sunday night rolled around, Em was bouncing around like the Tazmanian Devil on a sugar high. It was all we could do to get some real food in her. Grandma and Grampa H. (the other Grandma and Grampa H.) came over for dinner, and a fine time was had by all.

Emma finally wound down enough to climb into bed around 8:00 PM. The last thing she said three minutes before falling to sleep was "I can't sleep!" A fine Easter indeed. Ok then.

Peanut Butter and Jelly!

2010-03-26T22:35:00.002-06:00

Howdy Pardner

Today was the grand finale at Newcastle School of "Western Days." I was able to go and help out for the morning and had a great time. We even made "hot rocks," which is what cowboys and cowgirls ate while on the trail while herdin' doggies. They used to heat up flat rocks in a fire and cook biscuits on top. Due to the strict, wimpy Salt Lake County fire marshal codes, we were unable to duplicate that process exactly, and used an oven. The biscuits turned out great, and were consumed with the aid of butter, strawberry jam, and a two ounce paper cup of milk.

Pre hot rocks anticipation

I mentioned to Miss Jeri about how much we enjoyed the Peanut Butter and Jelly song when Emma sings it at home, so she was kind enough to put her cowpokes through their paces, so that we can share it with you all:

Shoot, there was even some singin' by the campfire,

Flag Salutin'

........and doggie bustin'

Eeeee Haaaa!

Ok then.

We're All Irish on St. Patrick's Day

2010-03-17T19:10:00.001-06:00

You Look Beautiful, Dahling

2010-03-11T06:33:00.014-07:00

ere are some recent fashion favorites from Emma's closet.

The beautiful dress below was a Christmas gift from Aunt Julie. Tres elegante!

This sporty ensemble was a gift from Aunt Boo Boo

Another Aunt Boo Boo outfit (we love aunts....)

And the ever-stylish armless look (with pearls).

You're a fashion icon, Em.

Most Expensive Movie of All Time

2010-03-06T21:55:00.010-07:00

So at 2:30 this afternoon I had this idea -- Let's go to a movie! (Joey and I). I wanted to see "Avatar" in 3-D. I called Bristine, our sometimes babysitter (we don't get out much), and yippee, she was free on short notice. We decided to go to the Megaplex at Thanksgiving Point, 10 minutes away, and Joe suggested I get advance tickets online. I got on Fandango, where it asked for the city where the theatre was. Hmm...Thanksgiving Point is where....Lehi? Typed in Lehi and it came up with a Megaplex, among other things, so I purchased 2 tickets to the tune of 19 bucks (including a $2.00 "convenience fee" -- insert Dana Carvey's Church Lady saying "how conveeeeenient" here). When I printed out the confirmation for our 6:30 show, I noticed the theatre had an American Fork address. Huh. Is Thanksgiving Point in American Fork? Must be.

A few minutes before Bristine came over, I had a nagging feeling. I asked Joe, "So...is Thanksgiving Point in American Fork?" No, he didn't believe it was. "Because that's the address on our ticket confirmation." Well, no matter! We'll just....drive to American Fork. We tried putting the address in the GPS as we were pulling out of the driveway (718 West 180 North) but it scoffed at our amusing Utah ways ("Put in Regular Street Name...None of This West and North Silliness.") We finally gave up on GPS and figured we could find it. Just drive to American Fork and find the coordinates, which we did, with 15 minutes to spare.

Retrieved our pre-paid tickets at the kiosk. Splendid. A sign above the kiosk told us to pick up our 3-D glasses at the ticket booth. When we asked for our 3-D glasses at the ticket booth, the young lady behind the window said, "Avatar's in 2-D. We used to show it in 3-D. But now it's just in 2-D."

Well who wants to see "Avatar" in lowly 2-D? We wanted the mind-blowing, fully caffeinated 3-D experience, $19 be hanged.

It was 20 minutes after six. Maybe Thanksgiving Point had a 6:30 show, too. We called Andy, who was at his computer, to find the number for Thanksgiving Point (801-768-2700). The nice man at Thanksgiving Point told me that yes, there is a 6:30 show and, yes, it's in glorious 3-D and the theatre is only half full. Great...we'll be right there! Save us two chairs!

Pulled in to the lot at 6:32, but what with previews and all, we knew we'd be fine. Joe parked the car and I approached another kiosk to purchase a fresh set of tickets. Ouch...3-D tickets were more expensive. 13 dollars per. But in for a penny, in for....(19 + 13 +13 = 45)...$45! I needed to press a button on the screen for number of tickets desired...so I pressed once for me....and once for Joe, and the kiosk spat out three tickets plus a receipt for $36.00. Oh, guess I only needed to press the one time for, uh, one extra person. (But why $36 and not $39? Maybe we got the group discount?)

Drat. This movie was getting awfully spendy. But whatcha gonna do...go home now in protest? I met Joe outside, hung my head in chagrin, and explained how we were going to be eating pork and beans and toast for dinner every night next week. He was understanding, bless him.

We were only 5 minutes late now and I could hear preview sounds coming through the open theatre door. The movie was actually being shown in the big IMAX theatre where they show the dinosaur flicks. People were streaming in the door....we just streamed right in along with them. No living soul asked to see our tickets (and we had plenty of them).

So, we paid $54 tonight (not counting Bristine's well-earned remuneration) to see a movie that we could've just...walked right in to (not that we WOULD have). And to add insult to injury, Joe left the box of Raisinets (previously purchased at Harmon's, to save money) on the kitchen counter at home.

But it was a cool flick.

And Dad, we were the only ones who stayed after to watch the credits.

The key grip was Richard Mall.

The Celebration Continues.......

2010-02-26T21:15:00.012-07:00

Denny and Emma were invited to a CNY celebration with some friends in Davis County, and all of the kids were lined up (as near as possible) on a big couch for a photo op. Em loves that lens! They sure had a good time.

The following Saturday the three of us ventured out on the Trax to a city sponsored CNY event at the downtown library. Since it is located right off of a station, we decided to go rail. There is always the potential of a good blog story when you mingle with fellow Trax trekkers.

To get to the library, we had to make one quick train change by Gallivan Plaza, so we took advantage and slipped into a place Denny and I frequented when we lived downtown a few years ago. It is called Lamb's Grill and has been around for over 100 years. Good old fashioned service and food, and it feels homey just to walk inside. Emma was hungry and actually ate some food prior to entering "toddler mode."
It's nice to go out once in a while to a nice place as Em gets a little older. She seemed to enjoy herself. But once the camera came out, she had to take a few shots of her own. The most notable
is the one above, when she slipped under the table for a self portrait. The waitress came over and mentioned she noticed some flashes coming from underneath the linen-covered table. At least she was quiet, and wasn't running all over the place. All in all, it was a great experience.
We caught the next train for the library and picked our way through the diverse gathering of humanity that hangs out at a public library. Is it me, or has public access to the internet in libraries drawn creepier dudes out of the shallow end of the gene pool?

Anywho, they had some fun things for kids to do, like make paper dragons, and Chinese character drawing as shown above. I believe he is writing "Bullwinkle is a dope," but I could be wrong. We hung out for a while until the party died down.

Here is Em waiting for the train back, showing off her handy work.

It was a fun afternoon. Whenever Emma gets on a train, somebody always offers her something. This day it was Milk Duds. I thought the only time anybody bought Milk Duds was Halloween. Crazy. OK then.

Leap into the Year of the Tiger

2010-02-14T22:02:00.013-07:00

Tell me...are you sensitive, given to deep thinking, capable of great love? Bold and adventurous? Bestowed with initiative and charm? Perhaps you're extremely short-tempered or come into conflict with older people or those in authority (like Woody Allen in Annie Hall when he tears up his traffic ticket in front of a policeman and says, "I have a terrific problem with authority.") If so...according to the obscure website from which I gleaned this information...you may have been born in the YEAR OF THE TIGER! Were you born in 1926, 1938, 1950, 1962, 1974, 1986, 1998, or 2010? (If you say 2010, I'll be impressed.) Am I starting to sound like a placemat at a Chinese diner? If you were born in one of those auspicious years, indeed you ARE a TIGER!

It's Chinese New Year today. Xin Nian Yu Kuai! Last year was the year of the Ox. Next year's the Rabbit. Emma's a rooster, I'm a boar, and Joe's a sheep. Apparently some animals get along better than others. Happily, boars and sheeps mesh well. According to another obscure website, boars and sheep have "a good comprehension of each other. Will relate very well in marriage or partnership. A compatible match." A better match than, for example, the boar and the snake, which yield "deep animosities and lasting conflicts." Whew. Safely matched.

We dined tonight at the home of our dear old friends Kris and Michelle. I'd been pining lately to see them...it's been some time. I was also lamenting (a couple days ago) that I had nothing especially festive planned for the New Year. Then Kris invited us over for CHINESE NEW YEAR and two laments were solved! It was so much fun. K&M have a Chinese student living with them and he and another Chinese friend made delicious native dishes for us, including tender potsticker dumplings that were oh so very scrumptious. Below is a picture of ShiZhang (also known as "Poem," which is what Shi means in Mandarin) and LiQin (also known as Lizzie). Poem is getting his master's in parks, recreation and tourism at the U, and Lizzy is working on her doctorate in biomedical informatics. They were so fun to talk to and took an interest in Emma.

Emma wore her finery to church today to celebrate New Year's/Valentine's.

And last Sunday Emma celebrated her 4th Super Bowl rib fest at Uncle Matt and Aunt Erin's. Here's the new rundown of rib-eating photos, from 2007 to 2010. Last week's fest was the first year Emma hasn't been in a booster seat...so even though her 2010 head is at the 2009 level against the chair, that's a sans-booster level. If you follow...

Hope your new year is tigerrific!

Juror Number 18 You are Dismissed

2010-02-02T21:57:00.006-07:00

Blind Justice Lady

I had the civil duty/opportunity to be on jury duty this week. You talk about your interesting experience. There were fifty of us that made up the jury pool (yes, it was the shallow end of the pool). We all showed up early on a Monday morning ready to face the new week, and all of the challenges ahead!

The first thing we did was wait. For about 1/2 hour. We were then shown a VHS tape on the joy of being a juror. I'm not saying the film was old, but the building they filmed it in was torn down in the late 80's. The only thing that would have been better would have been if they had interviewed Judge Ritter (perhaps a little too inside).

After the film, we were given a break. Then we came back to some snacks. Water, Peach Mango juice, and some of those Quaker Oats chewy granola bars. See the basket being passed around below:
Sorry about the fuzzy image, but I sensed that I would have polluted the whole pool if anybody got a whiff that they were going to be blogged about, complete with pictures.

Turns out that I was juror 18, and that after all of the preliminary legal culling, one of 25 contestants. The need was for four jurors, so I felt my odds were pretty good to get out by noon. The case before us was about some old scruffy looking guy in a new shirt who had been pulled over for DUI, but apparently wasn't behind the wheel when the cops approached. Must have been some shenanigans going on between the time they lit him up and had the window rolled down. Although he looked to be no stranger to a bottle, we were advised that looks have no bearing on the case.

All twenty five of us were questioned on our views of driving impaired, if we ourselves had ever been pulled over for DUI (some had), or had any relatives affected by a drunk driver (many had). There were many questions about each juror's relationships with law enforcement personnel and various officers of the court. I think that after mentioning a son who is a policeman, a father and sister who are attorneys, and my wife's uncle who is a judge on the 10th Circuit Court in Denver, that I may have overplayed my hand.

Some time during the four hour process, in between the questions, two nice ladies showed up with little brown envelopes with $18.50 in cash for each of us. Number 17 and I discussed the possibility of taking our reward and buying the defendant a drink and talking about the case.

Based on all of the questions asked and the respective responses, four jurors were chosen, none of which were numbers 17, 18, or number 19 who spent the whole morning drinking Mt Dew and eating Planters treats. I heartily recommend the experience to anybody, if for no other reason than to compare yourselves to a random eclectic gathering of concerned citizens. OK then.

Every Picture Tells a Story Don't It?

2010-01-26T21:47:00.010-07:00

Thanks to Rod Stewart for today's title, as well as a grammar lesson to boot. I have taken a few pictures with the trusty camera phone, and don't do much with the pictures, other that the occasional phone wall paper. Come to find out that once you put them on a larger screen, they turn out pretty good for such a small lens. Anywho, here are a few shots about town, most with my favoite subject who is not camera (phone) shy in the least.

We went out to breakfast after Christmas with Grandma and Grandpa H to a fancy French bakery/restaurant. This cup of hot chocolate remembers me to the opening scene of "So I Married an Axe Murderer." Emma was pleased with the presentation, I must say.

Here we have the result of another of our frequent visits to Chick-fil-a while Mom was at work. As mentioned in a previous post, Wednesday night is kids night, and they have some sort of entertainment to keep the kids from burning the place to the ground. This night was "snowman-on-on-your-face night. Why can't C-Fil-a come up with a sandwich with some pizzazz? Their sandwiches need more goop and crunch, I think.

Here we have M lording over the best decked-out trunk in the parking lot for trunk or treat. Mama's decorating efforts were not lost on young or the old alike, as manifested by the countless oohs and aahs. An aside: I can't help it, but I am reminded here of another classic movie moment. Whenever I see a bright light in a trunk, methinks of the end of Charlie Varick (the last of the independents) with Walter Matthau. A classic. Back to the subject at hand. As I remember, it was pretty cold that night. Everybody had to bring in their brass monkeys.

I would like to say that this last photo needs no explanation, but I can't. It does. I am a frequent Trax commuter, and the photo ops abound almost every day. There are enough stories to do a whole post, and perhaps that will happen one day. I have seen this dude a few times in my travels. He seems proud of his "Rube Goldberg" contraption, and it gets some stares and giggles, but there it is. He has to keep one hand on the brake to keep the bike from rolling into the stairwell. I think if that happened, his airbag would deploy. OK then.

January Potpourri for 400, Alex

2010-01-20T10:35:00.011-07:00

Guess it's time we updated. So following are a few recent photos. The one below was taken at Jungle Jim's a few weeks ago when we met up with pals over the Christmas break. My friend Jen took it...I think it's an awfully cute expression.

Sometimes I get out my old beat-up Armstrong flute that I've had since '71 (7th grade year, Farrer Jr. High School). Emma gets a kick out of "playing it." But darned if she's not able to get some pretty good toots out if lately. Her embouchure's not bad! So I told her she could have it, the flute's all hers. She was thrilled and cleared out a special place on the floor next to her chest of drawers for it. Then we found a french bread basket to put it in. A perfect fit.

She's completed some attractive art projects lately. The one below is called "Parade Float."

And this is one she did at school that I love.

We recently had to get a drywall repair done on our basement ceiling. The nice guy who came to do the job (Al) was very proficient.

But turns out he played the piano, too. So while drywall stuff was drying, he sat down and knocked out a few tunes.

It's just something you don't run into every day: He's a drywall repairman AND an entertainer. Thanks, Al!

Sledding Fun

2009-12-26T17:23:00.007-07:00

Here's Emma getting ready for the ride down. Denny is at the bottom waiting. The first video is a view from the top, and the second one is a different run with a bottom view. Everybody was commenting about how far and fast she goes. I credit a low center of gravity and friction ratio. She raced a little boy named Jackson and beat him every time. Jackson decided he would have more fun in Emma's sled, and they flew down the hill together. It was cold, but sunny and fun. OK then.

A Little Christmas Tree Music

2009-12-19T16:57:00.006-07:00

Yes, we are moving forward with adding the occasional video to the blog.

Emma had her Christmas program last week, and this is one of the tunes sung by her class. The program went swimmingly, and Emma was the best one on her row. Turn up the sound and enjoy! Ok then.

It's the Holiday Season

2009-12-13T21:11:00.010-07:00

And to prove it, two poses with Santa. The one below was taken at South Towne Mall. We paid a visit to the Hello Kitty store recently (a sacred pilgrimage) and ran into Santa Claus on the way out. Emma had never had her picture taken with him. I try to ignore Santa mostly, but also don't like being completely unsporting, so we shelled out some bucks for a first-time photo. For what we paid I think he should have worn a hat. But he was awfully nice and clasped Emma's hands so sincerely. She was quite taken by him. She asked me if he was the real Santa and I said "Uhhhhh...no. There are lots of people who pretend to be Santas in different stores." (What was I gonna say? Yes?) Anyway, how could he be the real Santa without a hat.

Plus, when she goes to the ward Christmas party a week later and meets THIS Santa (appropriately attired in full regulation regalia), would she not perceive the difference and realize that one of them is a fake?

So here are 11 things I like about Christmastime, and 4 things I don't:

Pros

1. The Carpenters' Christmas album

2. Collecting Christmas cards and taping them to the wall. I even put up the ugly ones we get from the car dealership and Smedley Financial Services. Also the one we got from Governor Gary Herbert with a picture of him, the missus, and a bunch of grandkids. I think we got it because Joe was a caucus chairman earlier this year. I opened it up, saw the picture and thought, "Who ARE these people?" Anyway, I put it up on the wall. Makes it look like we're personal friends.

3. Little bits of light around the house: Christmas tree...Grandmother's nativity scene with a lightbulb over the manger....Christmas village atop the entertainment center.... I like turning Christmas tree lights on early in the morning when it's still dark and the lights look all furry and blurry.

4. Christmas newsletters. The more details the better.

5. Watching midnight mass (from Rome) late Christmas Eve while wrapping presents.

6. Hanging the wreath on the door. Although our wreath is a little too big for our current front door so I took the glass out of the screen door so the wreath wouldn't get smashed by the main door and now we have a screen door, with nothing in it, tastefully framing our too-big wreath.

7. Chocolate covered cherries. We always got them on Christmas morning, along with bottles of Heinz 57, A-1, and...Worcestershire sauce, I think...in our stockings. Don't know how that tradition got started. Joe always remembers to put a bottle of Heinz 57 in my stocking.

8. Anything sung by Andy Williams.

9. Little spurts of gleeful anticipation that overtake me from time to time. Although I've noticed that the spurts are more plentiful in October-November and kind of taper off the closer we actually get to Christmas.

10. New pajamas on Christmas Eve.

11. Gentle Baby Jesus lullabies.

Cons

1. "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree," "Jingle Bell Rock," or any other kind of "rock-y" Christmas song.

2. Also "The Little Drummer Boy." That's one snoozer of a tune. I used to not like "Do You Hear What I Hear," either, which seems to be of the same ilk. But then Joe and I went to a Utah Symphony Christmas concert once and they had these fabulous Broadway-ish singers (a guy and a gal) who sang a "Do You Hear What I Hear" duet, with full orchestral back-up, and it made my neck hair stand on end it was so good, so I've liked it ever since.

3. Joe doesn't like people asking, "Are you ready for Christmas?" (Although I admit to asking this sometimes. It's safe, like the weather. And sometimes I'm curious to know if someone really is ready for Christmas.)

4. Candy canes. Blech.

Sorry to end on a downer, with the cons and all. Christmas!! Ain't it wunnerful!!

May your race to the finish line be glorious.

Let's Have a Pow Wow

2009-11-16T12:05:00.004-07:00

It was Native American week at school.

Boo

2009-10-31T21:35:00.004-06:00

It’s 8:53 Halloween night. Haven’t had a trick-or-treater for the last 30 minutes. Maybe we won’t get any tall sullen teenagers who show up at 9:00 (not in costume, holding out a pillow case) after all.

We seriously overestimated on the candy. The next person who shows up can have 100 pieces and we’ll still have extra. What to do..what to do…seems a waste to throw it away, but the thought of eating fun-size what-nots for the next three weeks is very depressing.

Emma was a fairy princess, that is, a princess with wings. The wings kept flopping, as a unit, to one side, so it was tricky to get a completely unfurled effect, but the tiara stayed put and the lavender gown was lovely, despite the green long-sleeved shirt underneath (worn for both warmth and modesty). This year she totally “got” Halloween (was mildly amused last year and pert-near apathetic the year before). But Em’s been doing the countdown for a couple weeks, and the last few days have been filled with activities. Trunk-or-treat at church on Thursday (I had never participated in a trunk-or-treat in any way, shape, or form before in my life) and Halloween party at school yesterday.

Emma learned the following song at school (sung to the tune of “Greasy Grimy Gopher Guts”)

“Her face is green and her hair is kind of purplish
Her hair is an awful mess
Ooo, what a creepy dress
The wart on her nose is just what she likes, I guess
‘Cause she’s a Halloween witch – hey hey!”

I am pleased no end that she’s learning these outstanding songs at school! What great words. I had no idea this gem existed until Emma started singing it for me a couple weeks ago.

So tomorrow Daylight Savings ends. I wonder if Emma will wake up at 6:00-ish instead of 7:00-ish. And I wonder what we’ll do with that extra hour on a Sunday morning… I think Sundays are rather tricky to fill up sometimes. Church takes a hunk of time, sure. And then sometimes you have a family dinner or some such in the late afternoon. But the hours between, say, noon and five when you have the 9:00 block? I find them a challenge to fill with meaningful Sabbath-worthy activity, quite frankly.

Here is Emma at school

There needed to be a little wing adjusment

A well adjusted wing

The fairy princess and a pirate friend

Adios.

Sandy San Diego

2009-10-10T20:24:00.019-06:00

Okay, just a few more San Diego pictures. Emma still pines for sunny southern California and prays often to return to San Diego and Legoland. Glad to know it all made a good impression.

I warned her before the trip that we were going to bury her in the sand and she seemed fine with the idea. In reality she wasn't happy about it, and one millisecond after this photo was taken she busted loose from the sand trap. But it had to be done, you know? Gotta be buried in the sand at the beach.

Couple more surf-frolicking photos.

On the way to Legoland we stopped for a few minutes at the San Diego temple, which springs out suddenly off the freeway as you're driving and takes you by surprise. It's so fairy tale-ish looking.

Emma got her face painted at Legoland. The whole face was twenty bucks; we sprung for half a face.
She zoomed down the big slide a few times.

And she and Baba took a couple rides on the roller coaster. I'm too chicken and queasy to go.

We'll move on to more mundane activities next post.

A Haiku For You

2009-09-24T20:25:00.024-06:00

Denny called my work
Emma hasn't seen the beach
Southwest fly us there

So there we was. We have just returned from four action-packed days in San Diego. Turns out that Emma is a great traveler (much like Gozer I assume). The following will be a "pictorial" of our adventures, along with the appropriate comments where needed.

This was Emma's first reaction to the beach

There is so much sand!

Thursday was dedicated to Legoland. We
were there to open the place up. Turns
out there are 40 million Legos on display.

Here we see a couple on safari.

Emma peering out of Lego Lion

We went to Old Town San Diego one night for
dinner and a little Mariachi music.

We tried a couple of different beaches.

We thought it best to hit this one
when the tide was out.

"Wish they all could be California girls..."

She couldn't believe all you had
to do was pick up the phone, and
a nice lady would bring us some
ice cream with whipped cream
and cherries (plenty of 'em).

Emma was so tired she fell asleep before
take off, and didn't wake up until landing.

It was great to get away, and wonderful to get back. Four days was just about right. Falling asleep one night, Emma reflected, "I'm going to miss this city." Ok then.

August Appears to Be Over

2009-09-01T20:22:00.013-06:00

Just like that. Summer, she's gone. Joe and I used to shop at the Smith's on 9th and 9th and there was a checker there who announced one day, in early September, that "summer's back has been broken." Meaning, I guess, that the really hot days were gone. It sounded kind of gruesome. But Joe and I have used that phrase ever since ("Do you think summer's back has been broken yet?" "I don't know...may have a few more hot ones.")

But you know, it was a pretty mild summer. June was rainy. And did it ever even get over a hunnert in July and August?

So last I checked in, it was Joe's birthday.

The above was taken at Litza's Pizza. I like Litza's. It's very family friendly. You can sit in the way back with a rowdy youngster and not disturb anybody. And we order a child's spaghetti for Emma and she generally gobbles it all up.

A week or so later we went on the ward campout. It's the first time our ward has had a campout so we were happy to get in on the ground floor (inasmuch as we still feel like interlopers much of the time). It was in Scofield, which I'd never heard of. It's past Provo, somewhat farther than we anticipated. It was pretty chilly, but very pleasant anyway. Oh, the smell of fresh, woodsy air. It's a tonic! We chatted with many ward members and felt like we accomplished about six months' worth of getting-to-know-ya in less than 24 hours. How very time efficient. Emma liked staying up late and roasting marshmallows around the communal campfire ("Hoooowwwwl"). She was asleep the second we turned out the lantern in the tent. She woke up the next morning, in the shivery cold uncomfortable camping morning, and moaned, "I want to be home." But once you get up and get some hot chocolate in you, you're glad to be in the mountains again.

Then I got Emma going on some swimming lessons, provided by one Valerie at Dimple Dell Rec Center. Oh my absolute heck, what a jewel this Valerie is! Emma can swim! After three lessons, she could swim. It's been thrilling to observe. I'm keeping her at it, inasmuch as Valerie says Emma catches on very quickly to things. Maybe she can be on swim team! I was a total fraidy cat in the water and probably didn't learn how to swim till I was 7 or 8. Kindly Mr. Carter at the Cove Swimming Pool had to take me under his wing personally and horse whisper me into the deep end. So having a 4-year-old who seems to have a knack for it is kind of a treat. Plus it's such a good total body endeavor for her, which I think she needs.

Em started school on the 17th, Monday Wednesday Friday mornings. She is under the tutelage of Miss Jeri and is learning classic childhood songs ("Good morning to you! Good morning to you! We're all in our places with sunshiny faces!"...I didn't know anyone sang that anymore.) She has also learned "Tommy Thumb is up, Tommy Thumb is down. Tommy Thumb is dancing all around the town. Dancing on my shoulders, dancing on my head, dancing on my knees, then tuck him into bed (kiss kiss)" I told Joe it's worth the admission price just to hear her sing that song.

I like to hear Emma sing. I like how she often misunderstands lyrics ("Blah blah black sheep, henny penny wolf," for example). In "I Love to See the Temple," she used to sing "For the temple is the house of God, a perfect Salt Lake beauty!" I think she now knows the real words, which makes me sad. Although she still does sing, "It is my secret duty!" at the end, which I'm not about to correct.

This past weekend, all of Joe's siblings were in town, which happens less than once in a blue moon, so everybody got together for picture takin'. Nice looking crowd, don't you think?

Well...at the rate I'm going, I should have another post about October 1, so hope you enjoy the mild September days.

Happy happy birthday, Joey Dear

2009-08-01T07:25:00.003-06:00

August 1 means Joey's BD! Wish him a happy one!

The Big Birthday Weekend

2009-07-22T22:29:00.033-06:00

So Mom turned 80 and I turned 50 (on the same day) and that means roughly 130 combined people years. Yikes. Er, I mean congratulations to us!

The occasion called for a cake (see above) and another cake (see below).

The top cake is the incomparable Costco cake. The cake you take to work the next day because you and yours ate only 25% of it the night before (because everybody has "just a sliver, dear"). The lower cake is from Nothing Bundt Cakes in Sandy, Utah (apparently they only make bundt cakes). This one was from my estimado esposo. The cake part had chocolate chips in it. The flower part had little stickers that said "50" (yeah, rub it in. The frosting's so good I forgive you).

But the big exciting element of the weekend was my sister Julie and her whole family (sans missionary Russell) visiting from Vancouver WA/Seattle/Fullerton CA. And they all stayed with us and we slept on beds/couches/barcoloungers/air mattresses and had great big Joey-produced breakfasts and dinners.

On Saturday we went to southern Utah and the Julie side of the family took a 3-1/2- hour ride through Bryce Canyon, riding mules and horses with names like "Lucky Strike." We met up for dinner in Tropic, Utah (population ~475; my brother-in-law Dennis' grandmother had the first known bathtub in Tropic).

Emma, Uncle Tom, Me, Aunt Julie, a border collie named Max, Jax, Ben, Julia, Chris

Joe, Emma and I camped in nearby Kodachrome Basin (see following 7 photos; it is such pretty country. And Emma is so ding dang cute.)

(She owns the rock)

On Sunday night we had big beautiful birthday bash at Barbie's. I regret we did not get a group shot of all 25 souls present, but so many of them were scampering youngsters it would have proved difficult. But here are the more sedentary types:

Tom-Julie, Joey-Denny, Dennis-Barbie, Mommy-Daddy

Barbie/Julie/Denny sang "You've got us feelin' sentimental, Shirley" (to the tune of "Sentimental Journey") to Mom. And Barbie/Julie/Angie sang "Oh Denny Bug" (aka "Danny Boy") to me. My favorite verse was:

"Oh Denny Bug
The pipes, the pipes were calling
When Emma nearly pulled you off the bench
You never missed a beat as you were falling
And your poor neck 'twas pulled and she did wrench."

(Referring, of course, to the "organ incident").

It was a fine party.

Speaking of organs. On Monday, we went to the organ recital on Temple Square and heard our favorite organist, Richard Elliott, play, among other things, "Danny Boy." As well as a kickin' arrangement of "Ride of the Valkyries." And Ben kept Emma completely entranced with the coloring app on his I-Phone during the whole recital. We love you, Ben and Jax.

It was a great weekend. 50 ain't bad so far.

Emma's Mommy Turns 50!

2009-07-16T21:34:00.003-06:00

It was a big day today. We celebrated Denny's 50th! Emma sang the three birthday songs she knows, and we capped it off with dinner, cake and ice cream. 50 never looked so good. Happy Birthday Sweetie!

A Few Summer Thoughts

2009-07-11T19:14:00.012-06:00

The other night I had a deja vu moment. So there I was. Watching Perry Mason and eating watermelon, while the sliding door was open and the wind blowing the curtains around. This was a distinct memory from the house on Tartan back when Perry Mason was just starting into reruns. Fine summer night memories, I must say. Channel 11 now plays Perry every week night at 10:30 PM. It is kinda late for me, so I have to record it and see who the guilty party is at another time.

A couple of reflections on the old show, from an older point of view. Lt. Tragg was quite a snappy dresser, with the hats and all. He also is prone to some funny, wry comments which have stood up through time. I still enjoy the end of the show when Perry puts the pinball into play, and the accusations bounce around the courtroom until the guilty party ends up on "tilt." There are so many episodes that I can't remember who dunnit from one show to the next.

On to other things. Kat and Andy came over for some holiday hijinks and food on the 4th. A fine time was had by all, with Andy sporting a new facial look. As you can see, alot of time was put into this look; there are varied opinions of those close to him. I haven't seen him since, so I don't know if the look has been updated or not.

And here's another one. Some Wednesdays Denny goes in to work evenings, so Emma and I are left to forage for roots and berries. A couple of times we have ended up at Chick-fil-a's "Wednesday Kids Eat Free" night of bedlam and no-holds barred wrastlin'. What an experience. It's like a kid's cage duel without the cage. The last time there, we stood in line for about 45 minutes to get Emma's face painted. Turned out good, but made a mess of her pillow later that night (I guess I should have cleaned it up first, eh?).

Then last night we were invited over to a friend's house for a great bbq and mix-'em-up. A wonderful time was had by all. Denny may post more about it later, but I thought I would put up a photo from the occasion.

All in all, a fine summer in deed. The Giants are in the lead for the NL wild-card, and have a great pitching staff. OK then.

"I Know Everything About Everything"

2009-07-06T22:29:00.013-06:00

That's what Emma told me this morning when we were driving around. The other day, when we were also driving around, she looked out the window and said "That's a nimbus cloud." She said she learned about clouds on "Sid the Science Kid" on TV. Today she pointed out more clouds, then claimed to have all knowledge. "I know everything about clouds....and dirt....and tractors....and firemen...and alarms." (And here I thought she didn't know a thing about alarms.)

She's a funny person. Every morning when she wakes up she pretends to be a baby animal. I am mama whatever, she is baby whatever, and we sit and play animal games on the bed for a few minutes. She was baby mouse for a good long time, but she mixes it up now: guinea pig, hedgehog, giraffe, clam. One day she was baby chick and said she had 20 brothers and sisters. "Okay," I said, "what are their names?" I recorded the following names of Emma's chicky siblings:

1. Cute
2. Good
3. Pringles
4. Sprinkles
5. Wally
6. Lamp
7. Windows
8. Picture
9. Chicky Chick
10. Emily
11. Boxhead
12. Nose on your face
13. Nose on your knee
14. Yellow chick
15. Tetopoop
16. Totopoop
17. Eyes Poke
18. Isaac
19. Poop
20. Emma

She's in a poopy talk phase right now, but the more I tell her to not talk poopy talk the more she talks poopy talk, so now I just change the subject.

I saw Lindsay Lohan on the TV recently and muttered something about how cute she was in "The Parent Trap" but that now she's so bad. "Why is she bad?" Emma wanted to know. "Oh, she just does naughty things now." "Like what?? Like...does she yell? And close the door on her mommy and daddy? And talk poopy talk?" Yeah, probably all of those things.

Emma just finished two weeks of kiddy camp at her new preschool. Week 1: "Fun with Fruit." Week 2: "Trains and Planes." Now we have six weeks of unfettered time before school cranks up again.

She took a picture of herself the other day. She could use this as a Facebook photo. Everybody seems to have pictures of half their face these days.

Oh, here's a good one. I generally don't like to post pictures of my arse on the www, but Emma made such perfect little handprints during a baking project the other day. Kinda cute, don't you think? (and black is slimming...)

And here's what we did for FHE tonight: Homemade Play-Doh model of the Oquirrh Mountain Temple, since we're going to the open house next week. Angel Moroni I made by printing out a small black and white picture, coloring it with a gold crayon, and taping it to a toothpick. A triumph!

Our Morning at the BYU

2009-06-04T21:15:00.044-06:00

Having nothing pressing, actually nothing at all, on our calendar today, I decided to drive to Provo to visit the Brigham Young University with Emma. One nice thing about living in Draper is that we are now halfway between Provo and Salt Lake. I've a soft spot for Provo and the BYU campus and now it's only 20 miles away instead of 40. So off we went. We parked at the bottom of the steps on the south end of campus, close by where I used to live. We walked by my old apartment and I told Emma I used to live there. "Let's go in!" she said. "Nah, we don't know anybody there." "Let's go in!"

So Emma rang the doorbell and a fresh-faced student answered the door.

"Hello....I used to live here (choke)...30 years ago. May we come in?" She said sure, and so we went in and chatted for awhile. Her name was Lindsay. She was very hospitable. She took a picture of us in her kitchen.
I remember my sister Julie visiting me in this kitchen once. We sat at the table and I think I wadded up something and tried to make a basket into the garbage can but didn't make it because it was precariously overflowing. I remarked, "I live in filth and squalor." It was touching to see that in 30 years some things don't change...

(Permission to take picture of garbage cheerfully granted by Lindsay.)

I asked Lindsay what her major was, and she said, "Music. Piano." "No kidding," I said. "I was a piano major, too." "No way!" (etc.). "But I got my music degree from Portland State." "I'M from Portland," said Lindsay. "No way!" (etc.) So seeing we had several things in common we talked for awhile longer.

We walked over to the botanical gardens at the bottom of the steps.

Saw a tight little group of young ducks.

And then we walked up the 147 stairs. I climbed these stairs a year or more ago and remember my lungs feeling like they were going to explode. This time around was much better. Seemed kinda easy. Maybe it's the new hip (thanks, Dr. Mariani).

We headed for the BYU Bookstore, because I knew there would be many attractive features that would interest Emma. Here are some of the things you can find at the BYU Bookstore.

Insignia apparel for teddy bears

Flags of many nations

Candy

Kitschy religious objets d'art

Modest summerwear

(Why wear one layer in 90 degrees when you can wear three?)

Sanctioned reading material

(I realized after I took this that my nephew's book is on the far right; the blue one. Sorry I didn't center it, Tony.)

Free magazines

BYU Creamery ice cream

Emma resisted the ice cream and chose a bag of blue and pink cotton candy.

She lounged on lush BYU grass...

...and saw a Costa Rican stone ball

Then we wandered back the way we came and climbed back down the 147 steps.

Fed the ducks some cotton candy (probably a nice change from all that infernal bread).

Even saw some turtles on a log.

We loved our morning in the rarefied bubble that is the BYU campus.

We Moved

2009-05-23T21:52:00.014-06:00

To Draper, about three weeks ago. That's a pretty good excuse for not blogging recently. I was packing and cleaning and then cleaning and unpacking. But it is something to blog about, too. Stuff going on = stuff to write about but no time to write it.

We miss our friends in the former 'hood. Miss the Garden Heights Ward crowd. But the new ward seems good, too. I suppose they're all good (except when sometimes they're not). There are more children here for Emma to fraternize with (or maybe sororotize, since she's a girl). She has been making many acquaintances.

We like our new home very much, although it is more of a commute if, say for example, Joe wants to go to work in the morning. Sometimes he takes the train...catches it at A Hundredth South (dont'cha love Utah...One Hundredth South???) and listens to Dennis Miller on the I-Pod.

From our front yard we can see hang gliders off the point of the mountain in the late afternoon. The other day we drove up to where they take off and land. What a spectacle. A sea of high-sensation-seeking individuals nearly bumping into each other in mid-air.

There are more birdsounds out here, which I like. And wind in the trees, which I REALLY like. That might be my favorite sound, wind in the trees. That and train whistles, which we hear more of here, too. Reminds me of my youth in La Grande, the sound of the train. (But Paul Simon says everybody loves the sound of a train in the distance. One winter night, two houses ago, when the furnace came whooshing on, I said "I love the sound of a furnace coming on," and Joe mumbled, "Everyone loves the sound of a furnace in the distance.")

We like the neighborhood a lot so far and hope Emma will be happy growing up here. There are a few internationally adopted children in the ward (one from Nepal, one from Cuba, one from Russia). And two little Thai girls, aged 3 and 5, up the street whom Emma has played with a few times. And our next door neighbors are, get this, native Chinese. They have a 20-year-old daughter who goes to school in New York City. So ethnic diversity is, surprisingly, alive and well in Draper, Utah. That's a good thing. Plus, Draper Elementary School has a Mandarin immersion program starting in first grade (which is one of the reasons we chose this house, because it's in Draper Elementary boundaries and I really want Emma to be in this program).

Everything seems so fraught with significance when you first move in...you see somebody crossing the street out your window and think, "Am I going to know that person for the next 25 years?" When the Primary kids got up to sing on Mother's Day I told Joe, "We're going to be going to these kids' wedding receptions." "That's a lot of nested bowls," he replied.

Haven't been taking tons of photos lately. I took some the other day at an end-of-the-preschool-year assembly for Emma. They had a Crocodile Hunter type of guy come in and show a bunch of reptiles, snakes, turtles, etc. to a group of about 40 four-year-olds. It was pretty intense and halfway through Emma came and sat on my lap; she was a bit leery of the critters. He put a live scorpion in his mouth, for crying out loud. He said the way you could tell whether a scorpion was harmful or not was to put it in your mouth to see if it stung you. Har har. Then at the end he hauled out a 10-foot albino boa constrictor for everyone to pet. It was half fascinating and half creepy. And the photos didn't turn out very well, maybe all for the best.

But I do have a dandy photo from two weeks ago, when we went to Andy and Kathryn's graduation from the School of Accounting at the U. We are ULTRA proud of them. Andy graduated in December, but went through the ceremony this semester with Kat (who, by the by, was chosen as the outstanding senior in Accounting). They are smart AND photogenic.

Congratulations, AndyKat.

Happy Easter to Our Birthday Girl

2009-04-12T21:37:00.004-06:00

Easter and Emma's 4th birthday happily coincided today....She had lots of visitors and found some eggs in the yard to boot. Thanks to everybody who helped her celebrate her special day.

No, Emma does not have a growth....

2009-04-09T08:46:00.008-06:00

It's merely a giant gumball, tucked 'twixt cheek and gum, that Aunt Julie bought her at Jungle Jim's last week. We love Aunt Julie and it was so wonderful to see her.

And below is a picture of Emma and her friend Madelyn playing outside two days ago, when it was actually sunny for a change.

And that's about all I got right now...

Ack

2009-03-16T20:26:00.019-06:00

It's been like six weeks or something since we posted. I hang my head in blogger shame. I guess we've been busy, but busier people than myself with blogs manage to keep posting, so again I hang my head.

But what am I, superwoman? Enough guilt!

So here are some pix...in no particular order...and maybe I'll get with the blogging program again soon.

Emma looked cute before church today and let me take her picture.

Then I let her take MY picture.

A few weeks ago we went to a McDonald's and saw two other lovely Chinese girls playing there. Joe took a picture with his cell phone. Aren't they all pretty?

About a month ago Emma's darling friend Brianne and her mom Susan came up from Provo so we could go to a Chinese New Year party together. Brianne brought Emma a Valentine's goody bag that included barrettes, so Emma wore them to the party.

They got to do some ribbon dancing.

And we'll end with an Emma self-portrait. And yes, her toenails needed trimming.

This post has no theme. But I feel no guilt.

Welcome, Year o' the Ox

2009-02-08T19:46:00.017-07:00

We were a little tardy celebrating Chinese New Year (aka "Spring Festival," which strikes me as a tad optimistic). The actual lunar new year was January 26, but we had our fete a week or so later. Eats were from "Little World" (14th So. and State; muy delicioso).

Presents were lovingly wrapped by Grandpa.

Emma was born in the Year of the Rooster (way back in 05). According to the internet...so it's gotta be true...this is what Emma's like:

"People born in the Year of the Rooster are deep thinkers, capable, and talented. They like to be busy and are devoted beyond their capabilities and are deeply disappointed if they fail. People born in the Rooster Year are often a bit eccentric, and often have rather difficult relationship with others. They always think they are right and usually are! They frequently are loners and though they give the outward impression of being adventurous, they are timid. Rooster people's emotions like their fortunes, swing very high to very low. They can be selfish and too outspoken, but are always interesting and can be extremely brave. They are most compatible with Ox, Snake, and Dragon."

Hunh. Well, I certainly agree with two of the statements:

1. "They always think they are right"
2. "...are always interesting"

Plus, of course, she is deep, capable, talented, busy, devoted, and brave. But none of that other stuff.

In other Year of the Ox news: Emma continues to be deeply enraptured by craft projects.

And conceived of the display below, which now graces the ceiling above our bathroom counter.

Last week we spent a fun evening at Uncle Matt and Aunt Erin's for the annual Superbowl din-din (me, I never even know who's playing, but the food and company are outstanding). Emma loves to be with cousins Josh, Jonah and Sam.

And it was an occasion to take the annual Superbowl Sunday Rib Photo (third year running). So, below, we have pix from 2007, 2008, and 2009. Our little rib-eater appears to be thriving.

Happy new year to you, yours, AND the ox you rode in on.

My Daughter is a Mouse

2009-01-27T19:32:00.007-07:00

At some point a few months ago, Emma became "Baby Mouse." Maybe it was after we read "Guess How Much I Love You," a book wherein a mommy and baby mouse contend to see who loves the other more [oh wait, it's bunnies in that book; but we've got some other book with moomy/baby mice]. Maybe it was from watching "Imagination Movers," which features a character named Warehouse Mouse. Whatever the source...Emma wants to be a mouse. She lies on her back and waggles her "paws" in the air. Her preferred game is "Find Baby Mouse" (in which she hides in the same place every time, next to the piano). A typical conversation with my young rodent goes like this:

"Emma, would you like a drink?"

"Baby Mouse!" (meaning, "Kindly refer to me by my correct name").

"Baby Mouse, would you like a drink?"

"Squeak!" (she doesn't make a squeak noise, but says the actual word)

"Would you like milk or apple juice?"

"Squeak!"

"Milk?"

"Squeak!"

She also coaches me in dialogue throughout the day. "Mama, throw Baby Mouse the ball and then say, 'Good catch, Baby Mouse' Say that!" (If I had a nickel for every time she's said "Say that!".....)

When I ask her what her name is, she says, 'Emma Claire Jiayan [last name] CJ Young Mouse" (she likes to say "CJ" because of her two middle names).

We love our funny little mouse.

Cookies, Crafts and Crashes

2009-01-14T22:11:00.018-07:00

That's what Emma's been up to lately. The "cookie" part was yesterday, when she and big sister Jane undertook a baking project. January sugar cookies (who says the season is over?). Emma was fully involved and took a long bath afterward.

But the end results were pastel pretty and quite delicious. I ate roughly seven of them just today!

The "craft" part has been during the last few days. Emma's very deft with a pair of scissors and embarks on feverish, mysterious construction paper projects from time to time. Below is a mask she created with paper, twine and scotch tape. Pretty cool, and who cares if the eye holes don't line up with the actual eyes.

Nobody was injured in the "crash" part last week. She just went sliding down the mild slope in our backyard on her saucer a few times. Almost as fun as sledding at Sugarhouse Park and not nearly as hazardous (we've been a few times...and it's kind of a heartstopping experience for many reasons).

And the hike back up the hill isn't as bad as it seems.

Sorry we've been slacker bloggers lately (all five of you who care). We'll try to update again soon. In the meantime, happy January doldrums.

Happy New Year!

2009-01-01T15:29:00.002-07:00