Color Run 2019

Every year my friend Jennifer does a color run in our neighborhood. We did the run over the weekend, and it was a blast.

Scotty hates the color run, so this year, he wore protective gear.

He did the whole course with plastic wrap around his bottom half. At the end, he had sweat dripping out of the sleeves of his raincoat. When he felt safe, he took off the wrap and threw it away. He came away with red feet, and a small purple smear on his forehead. I asked him if it was worth it, and he said ABSOLUTELY YES. 

Watching the sweat drip from his sleeve

Yeah, the color run is messy, but it's only once a year!

Most of the time when we do the color run, we invite our nieces and nephews. This year we had a sleepover with ten kids on Friday night, and then we took them all to do the run. 

Check out my nephew's hair!

It's the eighth wonder of the world!

Daisy's hair looked pretty cool after the run:

She and Zoe are still rocking some residual color in their hair, and everyone has a spot or two in their ears and elbow creases. It just makes the next week's worth of baths all the more rewarding!

How to Attend a Donny & Marie Concert in 10 Simple Steps

Step 1: Buy tickets

Justify the expense by worrying that Donny could die before you get another chance to see him. When you look at it that way, it's not hard to throw down some dollars.

(Long live Donny, but still... he's not getting any younger).

Step 2: Convince your bestie to drive in from Boise

(It won't be hard)

Step 3: Wait for your friend to pick you up

Step 4: Make your neighbor take a picture of you together

It helps if one of your other besties gives you a Donny Osmond sign for your birthday.

Step 5: Drive to the concert venue

Step 6: Buy Donny & Marie flip flops

Step 7: Cheer, sing, clap, and woohoo.

Step 8: Convince an older gentleman in a beret to take a picture of you

(His name is Curtis)

Step 9: Laugh because Curtis takes his photographer gig very seriously but still manages to take at least three pictures of his finger

Step 10: Drive home singing "Soldier of Love."

Hamilton

On Friday night, one of our dreams came true! We were able to see Hamilton.

In two hours and 45 minutes, we felt every emotion our mortal tabernacles are capable of experiencing. We were transported to a different place - a place I don't even have the words to describe.

We emerged from the theater changed.

Lin is a genius. Whatever goes on inside his mind that creates, that thinks deeply about things and makes them come out in words, is beautiful. Every word of his work was pondered and deliberate. In fact, a quote from The Book Thief comes to mind that I'm sure Lin-Manuel Miranda can relate to, "I have hated the words, and I have loved them, and I hope I have made them right."

He made them right.

As I was sitting in the theater, I kept thinking about how much I wanted to write down all of my thoughts. Over and over I thought, "I want to remember this. I want to write down what I thought about at this moment, at this scene, at this lyric."

I knew the only way to capture it was to write like I was running out of time...

I didn't write it in time. So much of it has already left me.

But here are a few remaining things I can write about Hamilton:

I loved Aaron Burr. The actor and the character (it took me a few minutes to accept each of the actors in their roles, as I'm used to the original cast, but they all won me over). Before seeing the play live, I always thought we were supposed to dislike Aaron Burr, but now that I've seen the play unfold, I no longer believe that. I think we are supposed to imagine ourselves in his shoes and acknowledge our own capacity to be jealous, hesitant, or vengeful. We are all one reaction away from Aaron Burr. We are all one reaction away from being a villain in history - from being "the damn fool that shot him." The way Aaron Burr is written reminds me a lot of Hugo's Javert. He is a character who draws sympathy.

And then there's Eliza. Prior to Friday night, I didn't know how powerful Eliza is in the play. I know the story. I know the songs. "Quiet Uptown makes me sob like a baby." But I never realized until the play was drawing to a close that Eliza is everything.

One of the most beneficial things I did prior to seeing Hamilton was read Hamilton: The Revolution (I tried to read Chernow last year, but it was while I was in my last two semesters of school, and I couldn't afford the time). I loved going into it with Lin's annotations in mind and knowing a lot about his creative process. I also found it imperative for my own experience to know all the characters and be familiar with the song lyrics. I, personally, would have missed a lot of the story without prior research. There are some things that you are supposed to either just know or infer from a brief song lyric. The fast-paced music and characters on stage who dress very similar to one another make it easy for pertinent details to slip right past.

I can't say that I recommend Hamilton to everyone. I would never say you need to go see it.* If you and I were to stand at a cliff's edge and look out over a beautiful landscape, our eyes might not be drawn to the same things. Maybe you will notice the water, and I will be captivated by the flowers, and you will be frustrated with me because I'm not getting what you want me to get from the water, and I won't understand why you're not more interested in the flowers.

I will only say that if you do get the chance to see Hamilton, I hope it touches you! It was meat to!

Baby's First Concert

Earlier this month we went to see Brad Paisley in concert. The tickets were really reasonably priced, so when I bought them, I got four, thinking we could either take some friends or take Nicky and Daisy. We decided to take Nicky and Daisy to have their first concert experience.

First, let's address how that went. I knew going into it that Nicky would love it and Daisy would hate it. I knew that I would have to take Daisy to pee at least four times during the concert. I knew she would be bored and that she would think it was too loud. I knew that both kids would get really tired - overall Nicky would be okay but Daisy wouldn't.

A few days before the concert, I started panicking - knowing that taking Daisy was a bad idea. We had already told her that we were taking her, so just to make sure she wasn't disappointed, I talked to her and told her the ups and downs of going to a concert, and I let her decide if she wanted to go. She decided to go, and everything went pretty much as we expected with her. She wasn't bad per se, but the concert was just too long, too loud, and too late for her. I took her potty in between every set, and I told her early on that there is a strict "No Potty During Paisley" rule. She actually did as well as could be expected from Daisy, and I think she enjoyed a lot of the concert. The problem with Daisy is that if 9 things go well and 1 thing goes wrong, she hates the world. So even though she spent most of the concert looking through binoculars with intrigue and having a good time, all she remembers is that she felt bored for 2% of the concert and that she got tired at the end, so if you ask her, she will say she hated it.

That's the Daisy way.

Nicky, on the other hand, loved it. He wasn't big on the opening sets (neither was I), but he liked Brad Paisley. He definitely got tired as the night went on, but he enjoyed the music, the special effects, and the opportunity to be really loud (we have issues with keeping Nicky quiet at home, so he was really happy about being encouraged to yell and cheer).

As far as wholesome family entertainment goes, we failed a bit. We've been to Brad Paisley concerts in the past, and we always thought it would be fine to take our kids. Now that we've actually done it, I'm not sure it was a great parenting choice. I think the other concerts we went to, though, were more mild. This one had a lot of bikini-clad women on the big screen, and there are a couple of new songs by Brad Paisley that I didn't know and am not impressed with. And of course, there's the drinking factor. I don't know if I was just more sensitive to it because my kids were there, but it seemed like there was a lot more talk of beer than there has been in past concerts. On the good side, it opened the door for a lot of discussions.

This concert wasn't as magical as the ones I've been to before. But sometimes that's just a result of trying to relive an experience. Brad's set list also wasn't what I hoped for. Unfortunately, some of my favorite Brad Paisley songs didn't make the concert. I get it, though, he has so many albums, he can't possibly sing everything I want to hear.

That's a good problem for a country artist to have. 

2017 Highlights

January

• I turned 33
• I had jury summons
• We became addicted to puzzles - especially Thomas Kincaid Disney ones
• Scotty got released from Cub Scouts and put in Elders' Quorum

February

• Scotty went to Disneyland with his man friends (I hosted a cereal party for the wives & children left behind)
• I started using online grocery services, and my life is forever changed
• A gallon of milk spilled in the back of our van
• Nicky learned to snow ski

March

• I taught my practicum workshops (one of the final steps of earning my degree)
• The kids and I went to Saint George and Las Vegas for spring break 
• I went to my grandparents' hometown (Milford) for the first time since I was seven

April

• Eva turned two
• I started my internship for school
• Daisy got stitches (wrist)
• Nicky took third place in the Pinewood Derby
• Scotty took a few trips to Moab for work
• We went on a quick overnighter to Crystal Hot Springs, Logan, Golden Spike, and the Spiral Jetty
• I met Durga  (a friend from Australia that I met through blogging) in person while she was visiting the States

May

• Scotty got a new job
• We celebrated our 14th wedding anniversary
• I was released from Cub Scouts
• Zoe had her first dance performance on the stage (Daisy also performed)
• Eva got stitches (forehead)
• We took a little two-night trip to Midway
• Nicky had his jump rope and choir performances
• We taught Nicky how to use the grill

June

• We took our first two-night camping trip with four kids
• Zoe said her first prayer, got her first real haircut, and learned to ride a bike without training wheels
• I beta tested some workshops for my internship
• Nicky went to day camp for Scouts

July

• Scotty turned 36
• I finished my internship
• Shannon moved to Idaho
• We took a family trip to Star Valley, Yellowstone, and Rexburg
• I graduated
• Scotty traveled to Memphis to do inventory on the temple
• The milk that spilled in the van in February started to stink again

August

• A small project (patching some holes in the wall) turned into remodeling an entire floor of our house
• Eva got her first haircut
• Daisy chopped off her hair and donated it
• We had more problems with the stinky milk in the van, so we ripped out the carpet for the third time and power washed it
• Nicky earned his Webelos rank in Scouts

September

• Daisy turned 8
• We went to Disneyland
• Scotty started the Church's Self-Reliance program
• Scotty and I spoke in sacrament meeting together for the first time

October

• I chopped up my wedding dress and made a baptism dress for Daisy
• Daisy was baptized
• Daisy had a tube removed from her ear canal after it had been stuck there for five years
• Scotty traveled to Memphis to close down the temple for renovation

November

• Zoe turned 5
• Scotty traveled to Paraguay to close down the temple for reonvation
• Scotty worked on the installation for the Jordan River Temple (this is our temple district, so it's pretty cool for him to be involved. The temple has been closed for two years, and we are very excited that it will be opening again in 2018)
• I spoke at a conference for LDS women
• I took Nicky to Music and the Spoken Word for the first time
• I went to Time Out for Women in Salt Lake
• I went through my Donny Osmond obsession
• Scotty got released from Elders' Quorum and put in Young Men

December

• Scotty took a new position at work
• Nicky was awarded his Arrow of Light for Cub Scouts
• We finished installing our new floor
• I spoke to my first youth group
• I finally watched the last two seasons of The Office. They sucked as much as I always thought they would
• Nicky turned 11
• Scotty and I were asked to be on the committee for the Pioneer Day parade float for the coming year

My Grinchy Side

I've always had a desire to dress up in costume and play a character. There's something intriguing to me about covering up my identity and acting like a fool.

The closest I've come is on Halloween, but my identity has always been known, and everyone else is dressed up acting like a fool, too, so it's not really the same.

A few weeks ago, a friend of mine was telling me about her family Christmas party. She usually does a fun theme, and this year she was doing "Breakfast with the Grinch." She mentioned that she wished The Grinch could come to visit. I happened to know where she could rent a Grinch costume, so I gave her the info, and, long story short, I ended up being The Grinch!

I wouldn't consider myself an "outgoing" person. For the most part, I think I'm pretty reserved and self-conscious. I have to be really comfortable before I get interesting. 

I wasn't sure how I'd do walking into a house of 50+ people in a costume and parading around in front of all of them in character. I considered a few ways to back out, but then I decided, I want to do this! I can be The Grinch! 

I got the costume the night before the party, and I figured I should give it a test run. My kids were at my mom's house, and I needed to go pick them up, so I called my mom and told her to have the kids come to the window. Scotty dropped me off at the corner in the costume, and I tip-toed around my mom's yard for a minute, then stole a Christmas decoration and ran up the street where Scotty was parked in the van. I got in, threw the costume off, and we approached my mom's house to pick up the kids as if nothing had happened. 

The kids were excited to tell me that they'd just seen The Grinch, and that he'd stolen something out of Grandma's yard! 

"Did you see him? Did you see him?"

No, we did not see him, but we found Grandma's Christmas decoration in the road and brought it back.

Nicky kept watching out the window and going outside to look up the road for The Grinch. Zoe kept saying, "Grinch scare me! Grinch scare me!"

When we loaded everyone in the van with The Grinch costume, the gig was up. 

Ha ha ha! It was Mom!

That evening, I staged a Grinch sighting for some of our neighbors. I filled the Grinch's Christmas sack with garbage and handed all the kids egg cartons, soup cans, and empty toilet paper rolls. It was a blast!

Saturday morning was my big moment. I planned to do a "silent" Grinch, which worked out well because no one would have been able to hear my muffled voice through the mask. I took my cues from Mickey Mouse at Disneyland - the best of the best - who is silent. 

I ended up having so much fun. Everyone reacted a little different to The Grinch. The adults were mostly uninterested, as adults tend to be. There were little kids who were terrified of me, of course, but then there were a few kids who adored me. Adored!!!

One little boy kept coming to see me over and over. He had his own Grinch mask, and he even brought a little stuffed dog with a reindeer hat on. It wasn't the Max, but it was his own version of Max, which made it even better. 

 

My biggest fan was a little girl who followed me around and gave me hugs. She was the first to greet me when I came through the door, and she was the last to see me off.  She was such a sweetheart.

I spent most of the time posing for pictures with families and interacting with the children. Then I passed out Grinch pills to everyone.

By the time I left, I was drenched in sweat and really excited to take the mask off and breathe real air, but I had so much fun. I can now check this off my bucket list!

The Terrible Thing I Did

A year ago, something terrible happened. I've never mentioned it here on the blog because I've needed some time to cope. 

A year ago today, my sister-in-law, Chelsea got married.

Oh! But that's not the terrible thing.

The terrible thing, which a year later, I'm finally ready to talk about, is that I destroyed the wedding cake.

Yes.

Me.

I did this:

I took on the responsibility to pick up the cake and transport it to the wedding reception. In hindsight, there are so many things I should have done differently, first and foremost, I would now ask the baker to assemble the cake on location.

I did everything I could to get the cake there in one piece, but it didn't happen.

I am a bona fide cake wrecker!

Fortunately, Chelsea is pretty laid back. She thought it was hilarious. They threw some flowers on it, tried to fake a few photos with a friend hiding behind the cake holding it up, and served the cake in piles on plates.

If there is anyone's cake I can get away with destroying, it's Chelsea's. Thank heaven for that!

But was still very shaken by the experience. To this day, my heart rate climbs when I drive on Cake Wreck Road (the route I took to the reception whereon the devastation occurred).

Dearest Chelsea, I'm sorry that I wrecked your wedding cake. I know you forgive me, and I'm very thankful for that. I'm also very thankful that you're a licensed social worker and capable of providing therapy to help me cope with the emotions that come with ruining someone's wedding cake.

Happy Anniversary, beautiful people!

Fifteen on the Fourteenth

Today marks a momentous occasion in my life.

Yes, it is Valentine's Day - and a happy one to you. May you find joy in the people and things that you love, be it a spouse, your children, your best friends, or simply donuts.

(I happen to love all of those things very much).

(Mmmm.... donuts...)

But the momentous occasion is only slightly Valentine-esque.

Today, Scotty and I have been together for half my life. It just happens that our relationship began on Valentine's Day, but it could have just as easily been an ordinary Friday (or Sunday - because 15 years ago February 14 was on a Sunday).

{August 2000}

From this point forward, we have been an item for most of my life.

How cool is that?

(Scotty won't reach that point for another two years - ah, the perks of being younger).

We have had a very happy life together, Scotty and me. I say type that with complete honesty - not with any embellishment to make us look good online. Marriage has been relatively easy for us (it's the parenting thing that has knocked us off our feet time and again). I give full credit to Scotty. He is an amazing husband, and he puts up with a lot from me.

{March 2003} 

We balance each other well and have just enough similarities to make things work. To celebrate our fifteenth anniversary,* here are 15 ways Scotty and I are different, and 15 ways we are the same:**

The Differences

1. Scotty is street smart, I am book smart.

2. Scotty loves playing in water, I get in a pool and I'm like, "What now?"

3. I love to read, Scotty prefers to be read to.

4. Scotty can fall asleep anytime, anywhere; I have to decide to fall asleep.

5. Scotty wants the car window rolled down, I want it up.

6. Scotty can do (a lot) more push-ups, but I can plank (a lot) longer.

7. I wanted four kids, Scotty wanted two.

8. Scotty loves Swedish Fish and Circus Peanuts, I am tempted by neither.

9. I like ketchup on my hashbrowns, Scotty finds this repulsive.

10. Scotty loves to study maps and topography and commits it all to memory, I look at a map and think about butterflies.

11. I am the uptight and anxious one while Scotty is laid back.

12. Scotty is the peacemaker, I'm the one who wants to fight.

13. I like Maroon 5 and Lady Antebellum, he likes Gwen Stefani and Karmin.

14. My thirst is quenched by water, Scotty drinks water then complains that he's still thirsty.

15. If you give me a candy bar, I'll eat it right away. If you give Scotty a candy bar, he'll save it for later (so I eat that one, too).

The Similarities

1. We both love chocolate and peanut butter.

2. We are both prone to people watching - sometimes we spend our date nights staring at other people.

3. We love taking our kids to Disneyland (and we have a dream that someday we will be able to sponsor a Disneyland trip for another family).

4. We enjoy road trips and get along well for hours in the car.

5. We love strategy board games.

6. We don't care much for pasta, especially alfredo.

7. We love Brad Paisley - don't mock us!

8. We are both committed to living debt-free.

9. We're both punctual.

10. We both have problems with portion control.

11. We both come from blended families.

12. We grew up in the same neighborhood and went to the same schools.

13. We both enjoy driving stick-shifts.

14. We both have blue-eyes and used-to-be-blond hair.

15. We're both happy we found each other.

 

{November 2012}

*Just to clarify, this is an anniversary of our relationship, not our marriage. I don't need anyone thinking that I got married when I was 15, but if you're curious, we will celebrate our 11th wedding anniversary in a couple of months. So yeah, I was 19. A whopping 4 years older than 15!

**I totally ripped this post idea off of Cyndi.

On the Eve of My 30th Birthday

I made it back to the blogging world with a few hours to spare before my birthday. I know you thought I'd return as a super mature (and ultra wise) 30 year old, because that is what I promised, but you're going to have to deal with my 29 year-old-ness for one more day.

Hang in there.

So, 30.

I have no qualms over entering this new decade of life. I'm ready for it. My only hang-up is that I feel like something slightly momentous should happen around my birthday - because of the whole new decade thing. Like, I should be 30 pounds lighter or have a dance party or take a red-eye to Anaheim and spend the day in Disneyland.

The only slightly momentous thing that is on the schedule is that Scotty and I have a babysitter, and we're going to go see two movies back to back.

Two movies.

In a row.

It's going to be WILD...

If we can actually stay awake...

I also feel like my 30th should be marked by a momentous blog post - should I not be saying something totally awesome right now?

Then again, I'm not officially 30, so I can't expect the awesomeness to flow just yet. While I'm waiting for it, please enjoy the last moments of my twenties with this token of immaturity: