Holy Colee!

Today I am grateful for stop lights. For the last 2 evenings I have ended up taking routes home that have had stop light malfunctions. I grew up in a town with 1 stoplight, and it was probably not all that necessary. I honestly thought a 4 way stop would have been more than sufficient. Driving down State street for 20 blocks at 5 PM with no stop lights has opened my eyes.

Institute last night was fairly entertaining. The focus was on how our differences can be used to make a more whole life picture. Talking about the way that people perceive and react to things can provide much laughter - it's easy to laugh after the fact and when it's not your misperception.

After we sat and chatted with Barry to hear about his Hawaiian vacation. I am, of course, completely jealous.

Please insert fantastic things about Chris from other entries here :)

See - how can you NOT smile around this guy?

So, yesterday I was feeling a little sorry for myself because my friends all plotted to go to a movie tonight, and forgot to call me. But today I found out that one of my favorite people in forever is coming in from out of town for 1 night only - tonight. Hanging out with him is way better than some movie... even Superman.

Last night we had ward prayer at our house. Mostly it was an excuse for me to make home made rootbeer and play with dry ice. It was fun :) As I am only a moderate ward prayer attendee, I will have to take their word on the suggestion that we had a higher than normal attendance. All I really know is that I will have rootbeer in my fridge for a week ;) If you're thirsty......

Last night Chris and I went to the Utah Art's Festival. I had a rather enjoyable evening. I love to look at and listen to things that people create and then call Art. I love watching people, and last night was full of people to watch. A much wider array of people than I see in the normal scope of my day. The people were probably more interesting than the art. It was actually quite a different experience than I was expecting. Chris was not as entertained as I was, but he humored me and I appreciated it.

Today is a pretty typical Saturday. We are cleaning the house and trying to make it presentable... Sometimes that is a bigger struggle than others.

I have decided it is time to show you the boys :)

Troy



First we will talk about Troy. Age before beauty ;)
Troy has a fantastic laugh.
He looks hot in orange.
He’s an engineer, no matter what he tells you.
He is one of the funniest people I have ever met- and that takes a lot, I know some pretty funny people.
He is a fantastic story teller, and if he ever gets his documentary done – we’ll comment on his film making skills ;)


Chris
Not pictured
Chris has a short attention span. Which means you should be prepared for anything, and to do fun random things to keep him occupied (ie, living room volleyball, making cookies, learning to play bocce)
At the same time he is patient and deliberate. When he does something it is done thoroughly and well. Watch him play pool sometime, you’ll see what I mean.
He looks hot in blue.
He is a hard worker.
He is ALWAYS smiling.
He gives a fantastic hug :)


Matt



Matt has to listen to me a lot.
He is always willing to give advice – but never unprovoked.
He is an excellent guinea pig and gets rid of my leftovers.
He looks hot in black.
He tells the most random jokes - but he gets mine too :)
He is a very musically talented.
He works hard on what is important to him.


Barry



We’ve already chatted about Barry, but that’s ok :)
Barry is awesome enough for 2 entries.
He has enough patience to tutor. That’s admirable in my book.
He looks hot in red :)
He uses big words just to see if people are listening – ok, maybe that’s my own interpretation of things.
He gets the rules to my odd card games.

There is nothing like going to a party for someone you don't know...tonight we went to a birthday party for one of Bethany's highschool friends. Don't get me wrong it was a lovely, very short time. After that we went to institute. This summer is a seminar on relationships. We spent the evening laying the scriptural foundation for what the rest of the semester will be like. It's going to be a good couple of months. Hopefully the fact that I am only going to be working in town for like 7 days the month of July won't keep me away as much as it feels like it is going to.

I have no will power when it comes to Bath and Body Works' semi annual sale. I took my yardsale earnings and went to town. I will smell pretty for a very very long time. My new favorite smell is Aquatanica.

Last night my for FHE we went to the church history museum to see the international art competition exhibit. It was rather interesting. There was art from many countries and cultures. It is amazing to me to see how creative and talented others are. If you get a minute you should go. It will be there until September. The next one is in 3 years.

Sorry Friends, my internet connection has been more frustration than it was worth to keep trying after work. So here's what's been going on. We tie dyed shirts- they turned out awesome, I didn't get any pics, but I think I am going to talk my roommates into doing it again, so maybe then. Friday and Saturday I had an honest to goodness white trash yardsale. I have the sunburn and a wad of ones to prove it :) I also got news that my cute friend Nikki is having twins:) SO excited for her :)
Sunday we were invited to my aunt and uncle's home for a BBQ....mmmmm... it was way worth staying the extra day for. Plus, we got to see their new grandson. He is beautiful.
I took an alternate route home last night, trying to find a road with less construction. I thought I had a winner until I got this side of Evanston. I live in Utah. I should realize that a 3 hour drive is bound to have multiple stretches of road construction. It was a pipe dream. When I got home my roommates had invited people over to play games. It was a good way to get back into the swing of things :)

Last night I watched the movie Dreamer. I know I am a little behind the times. I really enjoyed it. I am not a big horse fan or anything, but the story was more about family than the horse. I encourage all to watch. High quality entertainment. Plus, the cast is awesome :)

Today I am adding to my list of blessings - The Bear Lake Public Library. They let me come in every day and use the internet so I can work and be productive while I take care of things at home.

So, today I finally got the lawn mowed. I know you were wondering. Doubting even. I was just stupid enough to start it at 9:00 this morning. It only took till just after noon. Then we went to the primary party at the park. I took it upon myself to make sure no one went home dry. I did a lovely job of it, too. Silly parents who sent their kids to a water activity dressed in jeans.

After the party we took Cannon back to his dad. It is quiet now. You take for granted how much noise a 7 year old can make.

It's Dingle. That's about as exciting as it gets.

Tomorrow is Friday. I’ve made it a whole week working from home. I miss having everything I need at the click of a mouse, but it’s been good to be where I can be useful. As I was hanging out clothes this evening I couldn’t help but notice the inordinate amount of little boys swim trunks. I think today is the only day my nephew hasn’t spent the day outside under the attack of a squirt gun, his friend’s dad’s hose, or Bear Lake. I don’t remember life being so wet when I was little. Now, I have pictures that tell me my memory is wrong, but a memory can be like that when you are as old and senile as me :)

Tonight I have a migraine. So if this is not making much sense, I apologize. Nothing a good night's rest won't fix :)

So today I pretended to take a day off. I actually ended up working half of it, so I am not sure if it counts or not. I got up, determined to get most of the lawn mowed before it got too hot (yes, that means I didn’t get it done yesterday as planned), however my mom’s lawn mower has a vendetta against me. I gave up after about a half hour of trying to get it started. So, I came in and packed Cannon’s lunch so he could go with his friend to the lake. Once he left I wandered downstairs to see if I could manage anything productive today. Downstairs is my old bedroom. This is the same room where I now store 10 years worth of apartment furnishings that are definitely enough to take care of an entire house and 2 kitchens. My mom has been asking me to get rid of it for at least half of those 10 years. Today, with some help from Shahna, we got thru it. There is a dumpster of junk and about 5 boxes of stuff for good will to show for it. My family wants to have a yard sale with the good will boxes instead, but I am not sure if/when that’s going to happen. Yes, you read it right, a yard sale.

I also got a phone call asking me to teach Sunday School this week. Is it weird that I wish I were going to be in town on Sunday? I am not saying I am any good at teaching, but oddly enough, I kind of like it. Ok, more the preparing than the giving, but one does tend to follow the other

Anyway – now you know.

So, yesterday I did something I haven’t done in probably 5 years. I rode a bicycle. Not a stationary bike, a real bicycle. I liked it. Rule number 1 for riding a bike in Dingle – close your mouth. Rule number 2 – don’t follow the mosquito abatement truck.

Today was a rather frustrating day. It turns out I can only get a signal for my internet card in the early morning or in the evening, but mid day is worthless. It is hard to stay connected to centers across the world when you can’t get online. I finally gave up and went to town.

I also found out that one of my favorite people at work is moving on to pursue other opportunities. I am excited for her, but selfishly sad. I do wish her the best though, she deserves it all.

Mom is well. She over did it today, but sometimes you need a little more incentive to take it easy. It is hard when you go as hard as she does all the time to be told to SIT for 3 weeks.

Tomorrow- I am mowing the lawn :) Woo hoo – 3 hours of natural light!

I am home home today. My mom had to have surgery on her foot, so I am hanging out in Dingle for a couple of weeks to help out. The surgery went well, and only took about 45 minutes. We were only at the hospital for about 5 hours. Modern medicine is a miracle and a blessing.

Oddly enough, the story my mom is choosing to tell everyone when they call to see how she is, is about me passing out in her room while they were putting in her IV. I have watched all kinds of hospital procedures and given blood multiple times, but for some reason today, it was too much. I’ve never passed out before, ever, and if I get to choose, I will never do it again.

Other than that, not a whole lot happening in Dingle. Mom has lots of projects planned for the next 2 weeks, so I guess we’ll see :)