Great Weekend Adventures

We had a great weekend.

June 9th was my Grandma's 75th birthday as well as my Grandparents' 57th wedding anniversary.  Which was also the anniversary of mine and Remy's first "date that wasn't a date" 6 years ago.  Where does the time go?

To celebrate my Grandma's big day we had a big family dinner at The Roof.  It was great, our family from North Carolina flew in for the event.  It's always fun to see them.  We had pictures first and then ate yummy food.  Then we went back to their condo and hung out on the roof.  I played a round of hand and foot with 2 of my cousins and my uncle.  And then we all just chilled.  It was seriously really fun.

Yesterday after church Remy suggested we have people over for a BBQ.  It was supposed to be family dinner at my parent's house anyway so we thought we'd have everyone over to our place instead.  Heather and Jared had a few cousins that stayed over at their house and needed to be brought back to Salt Lake anyway so Doug and Jenny (the NC crew) came over too.  It was a BLAST.  And everyone was so nice to pitch in at the last minute to help bring stuff.  Six of us got in the pool after dinner and swam for a good 2 hours I think.  I was exhausted after.  I haven't played like that in a pool for so long!  My arms are seriously sore from all the games we played.  I slept like a log. 

Really. 

Lucky for me I've learned to sleep through Remy's alarm in the morning, but lately since it gets light sooner I wake up at some point while he's getting ready.  And at the very least if nothing else has woken me up,  him turning the bedroom light OFF on his way out wakes me up.

I don't get it.

This morning I really didn't hear a single thing.  Like I said, a log.

Remy did kiss me on his way out and THAT woke me up.  However it caused me much confusion. 

I do that sometimes.  I wake up really confused.  It hasn't happened for a while, but it did today.

I couldn't figure out why he was dressed and why it was light in the room.  And how was it possible that he was already ready for work?  And why was I in the middle of the bed with my hands behind my head?  That was weird all in itself.  Why wasn't I given some indication that morning had come before now?  What day of the week is it?  Am I late for work?  Wait, how did it get to be morning already again?

Remy said it best when he said it looked like the world was playing some sort of cruel trick on me and I wasn't very happy about it.  It's true.  It was cruel.  And sort of funny.

You Could Be on Broadway...but -

Funny story.  At least to me and Remy.  It's an old one, but I wanted to make sure I got it written down before I forgot all about it.  And it's one of those stories where I can remember weird details.  The kind of memory where you can totally relive the WHOLE thing in your head over and over.

So this past Christmas Remy and I were shopping for gifts at the mall.  We walked into Christopher & Banks because we saw something we thought his mom would like.  Anyhow we were in the back of the store and some song was playing (the exact being on of those details that I CANNOT remember for some reason) and I was doing my typical thing where I sing along and make up actions to the words. Well I was being overly dramatic this time around and I remember my actions being really big and awesome and I think I hit some big finishing move when Remy says -in all seriousness, "You could be on Broadway.  Except you can't sing."

It took both of us a second to realize what he just said.  And then we just busted up laughing!  The first part was meant to be a sort of compliment.  And the second more offensive part he said so matter of factly and didn't realize what he said, it was just funny!  Now he's LUCKY I thought it was so funny because I'm one of those people is well aware at my singing INability, so I wasn't offended.  And he realizes he was lucky.  Because if I was one of those people who THOUGHT I was a good singer, I would have totally been offended and it would have been to the dog house for him.

This might be one of those "you just had to be there" stories, but oh man.  We had a good laugh.  And we still do.  In fact we just brought it up the other day which is why I had it on my mind and just had to share!

Kids Say the Darndest Things

So I just had to quickly share something before I forgot.  Today at work I had to run to the Park Building to drop some stuff off.  For those of you who are unfamiliar with the Park Building, it's a big old (completed in 1914) building at the University of Utah where the President and other Administration have their offices.  Anyhow I was walking out of the front doors and a school group was coming up the stairs.  The kids were probably, I don't know 8? 9?  Something like that. 

Click on the pic for the source

See that little dude on the left of the main doors?  That's John Park, for whom the building is named after.  Well as a two little girls approached the doors and Mr. Park, one turns to the other and says, "Is that the Principal?"

SO CUTE!  I thought that was a logical assumption on her part.  Oh man it made me laugh!

Okay, see ya!

So I just have to tell you this funny story real quick. Tonight Remy and I went on a date to the place we first had dinner together. It's this little Chinese restaurant called the Dragon Diner on the corner of the 13th e. and 3900 s. if you're ever interested...

So we pull in to the parking lot and go to get out of the car. Well sometimes I forget to let him open my door for me so I'll open the door and then close it and make him come open it anyway. :) So that's what happened tonight....only he didn't realize I wasn't following him. I sat there, he walked toward the restaurant, even locked the car doors. I just kept sitting there. It felt like it took him forever to figure out I was missing! But it was pretty funny. And in his defense, he did hear me open and close the door so he thought I got out. He finally noticed because he was holding his hand out for me to hold and I never grabbed it. Anyhow, it was funny. Thank you, goodnight!

Drama at the Front Door!

I hate bugs. No, I mean I HATE them. As in despise. Or even better, loathe. They are just nasty. I might even say useless, but I'm trying to give the benefit of the doubt to the food chain. Don't worry, there's a point to this.

Backstory: We have had this disgusting praying mantis living on this star I have on our front door for the last I-don't-even-know-how-long. Remy will move it and it just comes back. Gross. So last night I get home from watching Jersey Shore with my homies I've actually only seen 3 episodes all the way through so all the over-tanned nasty looking girls still all look the same to me and I have no idea what's really going on, but I like my friends, and it really is pretty entertaining... and Remy was out with his peeps. So I walk up to to the front door and there is one of those giant mosquito eating things I don't even know if they really do eat mosquitos or not, but you know what I'm talking about, you know, the ones that look like GIANT mosquitos that have HUMONGUS legs? Yeah, well that was flying all around the door. Great. I'm trapped. If I open the door then it will fly in, but I can't just stand out here all night willing it to go away. Oh GREAT, there's the nasty mantis too! YIKES. I can't handle TWO bugs!

So I do what any grossed out woman would do in my situation...call the husband. But he hadn't even left his friends' yet. Great. Now what? Well the giant bug had stopped moving near the bottom of the door so I figured I could pick up the door mat and throw it at him. Well, he moved to the top of the door once I took a step towards him. So I thought I'd at least put the key in the door and have it ready so if he moved I could make a quick getaway. So that's what I do. And guess what, the nasty bug flew away! Quick! I said to myself, now's my only chance!

So I hurry and open the door and go to slam it to of course prevent the giant bug from flying in -when my freaking cat who had heard me gingling the keys at the front door and was waiting for me to open the door so he could bolt out decides to make a run for it. So the door squooshes him right in his middle which knocks the metal star off the door which knocks the praying mantis into my house!! AAAHH! So now I have an even bigger dilema. The mantis is right by the door and I could easily use the mat to flick him outside, except for that I can't open the door because what if the big scary bug is out there and flies right in? I have no way of knowing! Oh the humanity! So I turn off the porch light hoping he'll go away. But then gross myself out of thinking of flicking the mantis and then I still don't want to take the chance of the giant bug being out there. So I do the next best thing...I thought. I introduced him to the cats.

Don't judge me.

It wouldn't have been bad, but I forgot they like to play with moving things. So I'm hiding in my room and go out to check on what's going on and there they are, batting around this mantis in the middle of my livingroom. Nice. So I barricade myself in the bedroom and warn Remy what events have transpired and wait for him to save me from the evil mantis and crossing my fingers it wouldn't get away and hide somewhere in the house and blend in with the carpet. Lucky for me I was saved! (can't say the same for the mantis though...sorry ol' boy. I once thought your kind was cool, but that's before I new better.

On another note:

Here are a few pics of our trip to Yellowstone over Labor Day weekend....and yes, the picture of the blizzard...that really happened.

Scared of a Ghost

So this is another story about my Sunbeams. It's pretty short and sweet and writing it probably won't do it justice because you have to hear their little voices to appreciate just how cute this was. But I'll do my best.

I sadly do not remember many of the details surrounding this story. I want to say this happened on the day of our Easter lesson, but at the same time it doesn't seem to necessarily fit there. I would like to throw in a blurb about the Easter lesson so I never forget....as I talked about Jesus' death and how he was resurrected, those kids sat so quietly and intently and they had these wide eyes and they took in every word I said. I have never, ever seen them listen like they did that day. I can still picture their little faces and they asked so many questions...I don't want to forget that day.

So back to the Ghost story. It was a dark and stormy night. The wind was howling through the trees and thunder rumbled in the distance...okay not really. It was probably before noon on a cheeful spring day at church which doesn't seem like the proper set up for a ghost story, but that's all I got. For one reason or another we were talking about the Holy Ghost; who he is and what he does for us. We use the term "Holy Ghost" all the time in church, but as with lots of other terms in life we don't always think about the literal meaning of what we're saying and how people who are not familiar with the word may misinterpret it.

We were going through the lesson and little Evan looks at me and says, in a spooky voice (PLEASE try to imagine a little 3 year old say this in a little shaky, scary voice) "The Holy Ghost is scaryyyy!"

It was so cute I about lost it! Then try to tell a 3 year old a ghost isn't scary...told you it was short, but it always makes me smile when I think about it. In fact I even quote him all the time! :)

Story Time

So I always wonder what to post about. I seriously think about it all the time, but I can never seem to come up with anything that great. I'm also always thinking about how I should write down some of my funny stories, but never seem to get around to doing it. Well, over the weekend I had those two thoughts at the same time and bam! A great idea was born. So lucky you, it's story time.

I'm going to start with my Sunbeam stories, they are really the best!

Today's story will be titled, Find Faith...in Candy
Note: this is probably one of my favorite sunbeam stories.

For about 2 years I taught the Sunbeams at my parent's ward -maybe it was 3, now I can't remember! For those of you who may not know, Sunbeams are ages 3-4 and they are the funniest kids ever! They are also like little sponges and they learn so much you don't even realize. It's important to remember that starting at 18 months I think, prior to being a Sunbeam the kids spend 2 hours at church in Nursery where they get to play with toys, have snacks, and a very short lesson. On January 1st if you are 3 years old, you get to move into Sunbeams where you now get to sit quietly in a chair for 2 hours. --Yeah right. It's a pretty hard switch for kids because most of them have never been in a structured class before so they've never been taught the rules of classroom life. Not to mention they are 3 years old! I don't expect them to be perfect, and they really do try.

I usually tried to have a treat for them during class, for one because they are so cute I just can't help myself. And two, it keeps them quiet and occupied for at least a few minutes. :)

One week around Christmas time back in 2007 I think, we had a lesson in Sharing Time about faith. We learned what faith was and how we use it in our lives. We got back to our own class and I started the lesson, which probably continued the theme, but I can't remember.

On this particular week I had forgotten to go to the store and get something I knew they would like. Luckily my roommate liked those mint M&M's so I took some of those not knowing the response I would get from my little rays of sunshine.

This week I was lucky and only had 3 little boys in my class (man I can't believe how different boys really are from girls!) Evan, Matthew, and Luke.

Once class got going I gave each boy a few pieces and told them that they were mint M&M's.

Evan was first. He put a few pieces in his mouth, chewed, and said "I don't like this!" But he finished what was in his mouth.

Next was Matthew. Put candy in mouth. Chew. Swallow. "I like these! I like mint M&M's!"

Finally Luke. He put them in his mouth, chewed for a second and immediately wanted to spit them out. So I got him the garbage can and that's what he did.

I apologized to them and let them know I'd get them something better next week. As class went on they each answered some questions and I wanted to reward them with their treats, but felt bad that only one kid liked them and could very well give candy to just one child. When they each answered a question I asked them if they wanted some candy anyway. Of course they all did. So I went through the same routine.

Evan: "I don't like these!"
Matthew: "These are good!"
Luke: Spit immediately into garbage can.

Matthew continued to express his like for mint M&M's, and I think Evan picked up on my pleased response, because he put the rest of his candy in his mouth, looked at me and said,

"I have faith to like mint M&M's!" Imagine this is a cute little 3 year old voice, it makes the story so much better. :)

What did I tell you about them being sponges?

Little Evan continued to munch on M&M's for the rest of the class.
Luke Finally learned his lesson and declined any more offers of candy.

Tune in tomorrow for an exciting "Ghost" story featuring my favorite cast!

Farewell to 80 Cents and Frothy Goodness

Goodbye 80 cents.

Goodbye hot chocolate.

I wanted you this morning, you know.
You popped into my head and I could not let you go.

I imagined your frothy goodness on my tounge, warming me from the inside out.

And I wanted you.

I found a dollar bill in my wallet, and I knew I could have you.

How excited I was!

A little cup of joy to brighten a cold, snowy Monday morning at work.

You were just a short walk away.

I sped down the stairs and through the door to where I knew they kept you.

I placed by dollar in the Maxwell House vending machine,

And selected you: "whipped hot chocolate" "large."

My change was dispensed,

The machine purred to life....

Swirling and twirling inside-

Dispensing hot, frothy goodness.

The smell of delicious, creamy melted chocolate filled me.

My mouth watered.

Oh how I longed for you.

I peered through the small door that separated you and me, me and you-

"NO!" I shouted.

"It can't be!" I exclaimed.

And I watched,

helplessly,

hopelessly

As your last drops trickled

D
o
w

n

Into

-not a cup-

But the dark, abyss of the drain.

Goodbye 80 cents.

Goodbye hot chocolate.

I will never forget what could have been...