Those Grade School Popular Girls were WRONG About Me!!

22% Geek

Hey, look! I'm actually not very geeky at all! Pete, I need you to take this quiz. I kept thinking of you with the questions they were asking. Not that I think you're a geek. But it kept asking, like, if I had ever corrected a salesperson who had the jargon on a computer gadget wrong. And I was like, I'll bet Pete has done that...

Thank goodness each question had an option of: "I have no idea." I had to select that option quite a bit!!

Tag from Greg and Gloria

It may seem like I've done this tag before, but I checked, and I haven't! Some parts are similar to others, and other parts I can't find that I did. And it's short, so no griping!


1.) Four Places that I go to over and over: Sadie's preschool, Sadie's speech therapy, work, and my mom's house.
2.) Four People who e-mail me: Greg, Gloria, Laurie, and Pooh.
3.) Four of my favorite Places to Eat: Macaroni Grill, Cafe Rio, Rubio's, and Panera. Sigh; none of those are in I.F. I miss my restaurants. At least it helps us save money, because nothing ever sounds good! So we eat at home a LOT.
4.) Four Places I would rather be right now: Hawaii, Paris, England, and Spain. I would just love to take a vacation.
5.) Four People I think will do this tag: Um, Suz? And nobody else, probably.
6.) Four favorite OLD TV Shows: Brady Bunch, Arrested Development, Seinfeld, Friends

Breed 'Em Young University

So... after Thriller, we spent a chilly night in Gramps' trailer (we were all too cold, but none of us wanted to turn on the heat and make the others uncomfortable), and then we left early in the morning to drive to Provo and go to the BYU game. It was sooo pretty leaving St. George, so I took a picture of the scenery:

Yeah, I know - my photography skills are AMAZING. :)

I don't know where I first heard that phrase, "Breed 'Em Young University," but it seems to be true for most people. It wasn't true for me! I graduated without even having a boyfriend - gasp!! Anyone that knows me knows that I didn't really enjoy my time at BYU - I was just really lonely. There are 50,000 students there, yet I have never felt lonelier in my life. And boys wouldn't date me there. I felt like it was because I wasn't a supermodel. It felt like church was a fashion show. Just not a culture I felt very comfortable with. So I hurried and finished my degree and got OUTTA there.

When I lived in Salt Lake, people would find out that BYU was my alma mater, and they would be like, ooooh, BYU sucks! Like, trying to taunt me or something, and I was like, um, you can tease me all you want, because I have no strong, happy feelings about BYU. I don't have any residual school spirit for that place. :)

However, that said, I love going to football games, so when Dad asked me if I wanted to stop in Provo and go to the game, I was... well, game. And I have good memories of going down to Provo to football games with my parents when I was growing up. And I was more than happy to extend my time away from my kids!! Hee-hee!

Here are Mom and I:

I'm not sure why she's flashing a peace sign. But I guess any time is a good time to wish for peace, right? Maybe it's a V for Victory. And I know you love my little outfit. When I tried to put my contacts in that morning, my eyes were like, "NO." So I had to be glasses girl. And it was sooo bright and sunny, so when Dad offered me his hat, I gladly wore it. And I was having a really, really awful breakout that day. I popped, like, four pimples that morning, and during halftime, I went to the bathroom and had to re-pop them, because they had filled with pus. Lovely. So I was looking like a winner, but since when is that a new experience? I always look like a winner. :) And, P.S. I went to the doctor a few days later and asked to get a prescription for benzoyl peroxide face wash. I had had enough. And my face is much happier now.

Here is pops, a little less annoyed this time:

Um, so I know nothing about football. I've had several men try to teach me about it, and I just don't get it. And I don't really care that much. The reason I love to watch football is because of the excitement of the crowd. And just being outside. So Dad was attempting to teach me about downs and stuff, and I was like, "Ohhhh, I get it now!" (But I really didn't. I just felt bad that he was trying so hard and I still didn't understand it.) This guy was sitting in front of us with his wife, and he was probably my parents' age, and he kept turning around and looking at me incredulously. He just couldn't believe I didn't understand football. So then he started mocking me during the whole game. Every time something good happened, he would turn around and say, "Now, that was good." And every time something bad happened, he would turn around and say, "Now, that was bad." It was funny. He got a kick out of me, I think.

My favorite parts of the game remain the same as they were when I was a kid:
1. I love when each of the four parts of the stadium takes turns yelling, "B....Y.....U.... COUGARS! B....Y.....U.... COUGARS!!"
2. I love the wave. It's my favorite thing about football. I think it looks so cool and is so stinkin' fun.
3. I love to sing the BYU fight song. Even though I have to look at the board to read the words.
4. I think it is hilarious when perfect strangers give each other high fives when good things happen during the game. It's so funny.

Some new favorite things I discovered during the game:
1. There is this dude who is.... a running back? His last name is Fooey. Or maybe Fui. I don't know how it's spelled. He's polynesian, I think. And whenever he does something great, or if people want to get him stoked, the whole stadium yells, "Fooooooeeeeeeyyyyyy!!" It actually sounds like everyone is booing, so I wonder if he thinks that people are booing him. So that was fun.
2. The announcer guy does this thing where he goes, "That's another Cougar...." And the audience answers by saying, "First down!" And making this tomahawk-like hand gesture. That was fun.
3. The Polynesian players (and there are a lot of them) do this Mauri dance before each game, apparently. And I love Mauri dances. I think they are funny and cool. And I think it's a good way to pump people up.

Something so interesting - BYU is a Mormon school, right? And most of the fans are, well, Mormons. So I figured the guy behind me is a Mormon. Yet he kept taking the Lord's name in vain during the whole game! If something bad happened, he whipped out the G word. I couldn't believe it! It was very ironic to me.

My cousin, Kallie, and her family had tickets next to us, but they didn't show up within the first three quarters, so we figured they weren't coming, but then they showed up with only one quarter to go:

I was excited, because Kallie is a kick in the pants. So we chattered for the final quarter. Her husband's name is Winn, her oldest is Caleb, and her youngest is Carter. They were heading to a Halloween party after the game, which is why Caleb is dressed as the green Power Ranger. If I was her, I wouldn't have hauled my kids to a game with only one quarter left, but I was really glad she did. Winn is in Construction Management, and guess what? He just got laid off. This economy bites the big one. I've been praying for them, as well as myself, during this difficult time. I hope Winn can find a good job soon.

So anyways, hooray for the Cougars. I had a good time.

Thriller!! Thriller Night!

Hmmm, there aren't many pictures of Odyssey Dance Theatre out there, which is a shame, because they are spectacular. This picture kind of shows what their opening number is about:

Let me back up. My family discovered the Tuacahn Theater in St. George several years ago, and we keep going back for more. They put on the best plays there - very professional - and it's nestled in a canyon, open-air style. I saw Seven Brides for Seven Brothers there, and instead of an avalanche, they had a flood. They have this stage where you can pour thousands of gallons of water on it, and it all drains at the front of the stage. And when Adam Pontepy is riding a horse, it's a real live horse. I also saw Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat there, and at the part where Joseph gives his brothers food after revealing himself to them and forgiving them, this huge Pez dispenser appeared on stage, dispensing big bundles of wheat. It was hilarious.

I had heard of the Odyssey Dance Theatre when I lived in Salt Lake, and I always saw posters for their annual performance of Thriller, but I couldn't ever afford to go. Mom saw that they were going to perform at the Tuacahn, so she hastened to get tickets, and she invited me and Nat. Nat couldn't go, but I gladly went. We just assumed that the Tuacahn paid Odyssey really well to go down there and perform, but we later learned that the dance company splits into two. One group performs in Salt Lake, and the other performs at the Tuacahn. So we could have just driven to Salt Lake and seen it! Oh well. You live and learn.

You have to walk quite a ways to get into the theater, and we paused in front of a building that had a creepy skeleton projected onto its side. I'm trying to do the Thriller dance, with my one arm:

Then, as we got closer, there were all of these costumed zombies, following people around. It was hilarious! We asked this one to take a picture with us, and since zombies don't talk, he just rolled his eyes and then posed with us:

We were entering the theater seating area, and I was looking down at something, and when I looked up, a zombie dude was right in my face! I totally screamed!! It was funny.

Here's Dad. I had asked the ladies in front of us to take our picture, and it wouldn't take, so I tried out a quick picture of Dad, and you can see that he was just a teeny bit annoyed:

Hahaha! So the lady was finally able to snap a picture of the three of us:

And no, I didn't go to Stanford. People ask me that whenever I wear that sweatshirt. I just got it at a layover in San Francisco a couple of years ago, because I was cold. :)

Okay, so now to the performance. They opened with Thriller, and it was amazing. My mouth dropped open - that's how good these dancers are. And I love that song. It makes me want to boogie. Ah, the heady days before Michael Jackson went weird. There was one dancer in particular - a guy - and he was really, really tall and muscular, and his dancing was incredible to watch. He was really flexible and had a gorgeous point on his foot, yet he was masculine at the same time, and could do, like, five-duple pirouettes. And his jumping hang time was amazing. I really love to watch male dancers, because they are so powerful.

Let's see. There was one performance based on The Grudge, which I've never seen, so I was a bit confused about the concept there. There was a number based on the Salem Witch Trials, which was very cool. There was one about vampires, one with Chucky, one with Jason (the guy in the hockey mask and navy blue coveralls), one based on a girl at home, alone, being taunted by telephone calls by a murderer, one involving a mummy, one with Frankenstein and his bride, one where dancers are getting picked off by a sadistic gunman as they dance.... It was good times. Ooh, and a really neat one where a man is visiting his wife's grave, and she appears in ghost form, and she's on these hanging things, so they did this really pretty pas de deux with her floating in the air the whole time.

Some parts were really gorey - like, in the vampire one, they somehow had, like, ketchup packets that they inserted into their mouths, and like six of them attack one girl, and they fling their heads up, and this ketchup comes spurting from their mouths, but it's supposed to be, like, blood. That part made me go, yipe. And the one where the murderer is calling the girl disturbed me, because then he breaks into her room, and you see her fighting for her life. A little too realistic and scary.

The biggest beef I had with the performance as a whole was all the noise the dancers were making. During the parts where people were being attacked, they're yelling: "Oh my gosh! No! Don't! Help me, somebody!!" First rule of dancing - dancing is an art form using the body, not the voice. You can convey terror in your body and your face. That's what dance is all about. It was weird to hear all the chatter.

But besides those two things, it was wonderful, wonderful, wonderful. Very skillful dancers. And it was so great to get away and enjoy myself. Thanks, Mom and Dad!! I think if it wasn't for them, I would never do anything fun!! :)

Questions with Obvious Answers

Sadie asks questions without really thinking, sometimes. Dylan was at school one afternoon, and I took Sadie and Micah to the store.

The whole time we were at the store, Sadie kept asking where Dylan was: "Wheh Di-din?"

I kept saying, "He's at school, Sadie."

"Oh. He at stooh?"

"Yep, he's at school."

"Wheh Mitah?"

"Um, right here, in the cart, Sadie."

"Ohhhh. He in duh tot?"

"Yep, he's in the cart."

When we pulled into our driveway, Sadie says, "Wheh Di-din?"

"Dylan is at school, Sadie."

"Ohhhh. He at stooh?"

"Yep. He's at school."

"Wheh Daddy?"

"He's at work."

"Ohhhh. He's at wutt?"

"Yep, he's at work."

We walk in the door. Sadie: "DI-DIN!! Wheh ah you??"

"Sadie, Dylan is at school."

"Ohhhh. Di-din at stooh?"

"Yes, Sadie. Dylan is at school."

"Oh. Wheh Daddy?"

"Daddy is at work, Sadie. At WORK."

"Ohhh. Daddy's at woot?"

"Yes, Sadie."

"Wheh Mitah?"

"HE'S RIGHT HERE, SADIE."

"Ohhh. Hi, Mitah!"

And so on and so forth. She cracks me up. But I keep talking with her, because I figure that, the more she talks, the better she will talk. Eventually. Hopefully.

An update on Ben's job situation - his company had a meeting today, and his boss said that laying them off was not an option. He is going to fight hard to keep them employed. He applied for a line of credit, so that Ben and the other guys can continue to get paid for the next few months. The owner of that hotel is going to try to get funding to finish the hotel, therefore to finish paying the architects for their work. He can't sue the bad attorneys for now, because they're threatening bankruptcy, and if they file for bankruptcy, the owner will be screwed. As soon as the owner finishes this hotel, with different funding, he will be free to sue the pants off the bad attorneys. So we'll see what happens. I'll update you as soon as I know anything else.

Pray for Us.

Well, yesterday we found out that the company Ben works for may go under. It's a long story, and I don't understand some of it, but from what I can tell, they haven't had a lot of work. The economy is crappy, so people aren't building as much. But they did have this really big job, designing a hotel somewhere at Teton Reserve. Here are the renderings Ben designed for the hotel. I think the first picture is of the back side, and the second is of the front side:

I think Ben is incredibly talented.

The company Ben works for put in about two months of overtime on this hotel; this job was keeping them afloat. Some lawyers involved with the owner of this future hotel had made an escrow account through which they were going to pay the architects, and Ben's boss just found out that the lawyers drained this account (which is against the law, obviously), and put the money into a different project with which they were involved. I'm assuming that Ben's company and probably the owner are going to sue the crap out of these lawyers, but in the meantime, nobody can get paid for all the work they've done. Ben was supposed to get a Christmas bonus, but obviously that has gone down the drain. Today, Ben's boss and coworkers are going to get together and brainstorm on how to save the company, but the outlook is kind of grim.

In the meantime, Ben is going to start applying all over the place -- wherever he can get a stinkin' job. It will be tough, in this economy. No other architects in I.F. are hiring right now, so we may end up moving, if Ben's company goes under and he is lucky enough to get a job somewhere else. And I think I may start working on getting my certification in Idaho, just in case I need to pick up the slack. Though I don't know if there are any teaching jobs available right now. I kind of doubt it!

Needless to say, we are stressed out and worried. I get sad when I think of moving away from my mom and my sister. I worry about not being able to sell our house, if we have to move. I get sad about leaving our house, because I love it so much. I question if Heavenly Father is punishing me for having sworn at my kids too much. :) Or for falling asleep while I pray to Him at night. I know that's not how He works, but I can't help but wonder.

Yet, at the same time, I know that He has always taken care of us. He has taken us to where we need to be. Things always end up working out. If we keep paying tithing, praying, reading scriptures, etc., we'll have His spirit with us to comfort us and direct us. It will help us get through this and lead us to where we need to go. And I know that this trial is something that will make us better people. Every trial makes us better. And there are ALWAYS trials, in everyone's life. Everyone is dealing with something, always. That's something it took me a long time to figure out - everyone has trials, all the time. That's the way life is. If it's not job problems or money problems, people have marital problems, or problems with their kids. Or problems with their health. I recognize that things could be so much worse. Ben and I have been through many, many hard things in our marriage, and we've weathered them together. So I think we can get through this. As long as I have him and our kids, I'm okay with whatever else happens.

And who's to say that things won't get better after this? Who knows? Maybe Ben's company will focus more on other aspects of their business and really succeed. Or maybe Ben will get a job where he actually gets paid enough for us to survive! :) You never know. Or maybe we'll move to a place where we will meet people who will affect us for the better, and us, them. (Though may I reiterate that I am NOT interested in moving. But you gotta do what you gotta do.)

Thank goodness Dylan just changed his mind about what he wants from Santa. He did want an $88 Ultimate Bumblebee Transformer, but now he has decided that he wants a $10 Robo Z toy. Phew! That will help. Sadie hasn't decided what she wants yet, but when I take her out looking, I'm going to steer her towards the cheaper toys. :)

Why do things like this always happen at Christmastime??

If you could pray for us, we'd really appreciate it.

Hangin' Out With Gramps

This is my cute Grandpa. He's a sunbird, wintering in St. George and summering here in Idaho Falls. He has a teeny-weeny little trailer in a trailer park with a bunch of other sunbirds, and he loves it down there. In fact, I think he went down a little bit early this year, because he couldn't wait to play with his friends and go to all the free concerts. Grandpa LOVES music. He probably goes to a concert every single night.



Mom and Dad took me down to St. George in early October to see Thriller, performed by the Odyssey Dance Theater, at the Tuacahn Theater, and oh my gosh. It was incredible to just be... me. Without having to take care of kids and change poopy diapers and get barfed on and entertain restless kidlets. I just sat in the car and read and slept and talked with my parents, without any interruption. It was wonderful!!! Ben is an absolute doll to have watched them for an entire weekend while I was away. What a babe. And I'm going to dedicate an entire post to Thriller, because it was freakin' awesome.



Since Gramps lives in St. George, he graciously offered to let us sleep in his little trailer overnight. We arrived a few hours before the performance, so we decided to take Gramps out to eat. He loves this little Mexican food place, so we went there. When he walked in, he yelled to the workers, "COMO ESTAS??" He is hard of hearing, so he kind of yells a lot. It made me laugh so hard.



Grandpa is always pulling my leg. He's one of those kinds of guys that says everything in the same way, so you can't tell if he's joking or serious. And I'm just a teeny bit gullible. So he kept saying stuff that seeemed like it could be real, and I'd go, "Really??" And then he would tease me for being gullible.



The man loves to cook. He's in charge of baking homemade rolls once a week at his neighborhood potluck. He always makes me try his newest concoction when I go to his house. This time it was lemon marmalade. It was sooo good. It reminded me of lemon meringue pie.



One thing in his fridge that I would not touch with a ten foot pole was an enormous jar of PICKLED PIG'S FEET. I'm not kidding. He eats those all the time. I really should have taken a picture of it - it's so gross. I kind of barfed in my mouth a little when I saw it. I gave him such a hard time - "You eat PICKLED PIG'S FEET???" I remember in 9th grade seminary, when our teacher used pickled pig's feet in his lesson - it was some kind of dare, and a couple of kids actually ate them. Gross. Gramps used to be a butcher, though, and he likes weird parts of animals. I know he really likes liver. I can't remember what else. And he says that they ate pickled pig's feet when they were growing up during the Depression - it was cheaper. He says that you get used to eating certain things.



Gramps bought some little futons especially for our visit, so that we would have a nice place to sleep. They aren't like normal futons - a mattress thingey on a wood frame. They are like a leather couch that you click and lay down. He had a turquoise one like that at his cabin, and when my family went to his cabin, my sisters and I always fought over who got the turquoise futon. It was the coveted sleeping spot!



Anyways, here are pics of Dad and Mom at Gramps' little place: