Girl Trip, Day 1

Sarah and I got to take a little Girl Trip this year, and we had a blast! On the first day, we started out by going to Thanksgiving Point. We saw the Art Shop, where they do blown and stained glass. It was so beautiful. I would have loved to let both of us do a flower, but it was $25 to make one flower. Maybe we'll do that another time. Sarah is really into art, so I know she would enjoy that. Then we toured the shops there. We saw some very fancy stuff, and some very fancy prices. They had some nice things, but I am just not into that style of decorating. My favorite place was the little children's boutique by the candy counter. They had some really cute baby gifts and toys.

Then we headed to West Valley to check into our hotel. I used Yahoo Maps, and this time it got me right where I wanted to go. However, I didn't do my homework thoroughly enough when I booked the hotel.

First of all, it smelled bad. That was the worst. The elevator and the staircase both smelled like cigarette smoke. Not cool. Then we didn't get a free breakfast. They had a little kitchenette in the room with a fridge, a range, and a microwave. I guess that would be cool if we were staying a week or so, but since we weren't, we had to get breakfast somewhere else. And then, they didn't have a pool. That was a real bummer, since we had worked hard to find Sarah a new suit before our trip. And the cable only had a handful of channels, all of them talking about Michael Jackson. The bed was hard and the pillows were soft. At least it was clean, which is about all I can say.

But hey, we were planning on doing a lot more than hanging around our room! After a trip to buy the stuff for breakfast, we went to Cracker Barrel. Sarah HATES their food, but we were just going to buy candy sticks. I got a pecan roll, which lasted mere minutes! And then it was time to find a place for dinner.

We had decided before we left on Chinese food, and the Kowloon Cafe was right by our hotel. We got egg rolls (which Sarah loved), ham fried rice (which I loved), orange chicken, and sweet and sour chicken (which we both loved). We had just enough time to read our fortunes before we had to leave for our show.


We were going to the Hale Center Theater to see Hello Dolly! As you can see, the theater there is LOTS fancier than the one in Orem. I snapped this picture before dinner to make sure I got pictures before it got dark.





Here's a closeup of the stained glass window.



The theater was very fancy inside too. Our seats were pretty good. But the play - wow, was it well done! The costumes were great, the set was very nice, the choreography was amazing, but the singing - just incredible! I was so impressed with sound of even the singers in the chorus. It was really, really good.

The story is about Dolly Levi, a matchmaker who has been called in to help a rich man find a wife. She decides to marry him herself, but first she has to match up his daughter and his clerks. There were some really fun roles in this, and everyone seemed to be having a great time.

My only (minor) complaint is that we missed The Importance of Being Earnest, which they did earlier this season, and The Scarlet Pimpernel, which is the next play. We did catch a glimpse of them rehearsing one of the numbers. I would love to go back and see another production there.

After the play, we went back to our hotel, ate junk food, and watched Evan Almighty. Even with the hard bed, I fell right asleep, with the songs from the play running through my head.

Ellen's Happy Birthday!

Ellen and Mommy, age 1

Happy Birthday to my Ellen! She turned 17 this week. We started off the celebrations by a trip to Friday's for some yummy dinner.

Ellen and Xander

This was a fun year because her Uncle Mike and Aunt Vicky, Randy's siblings, got to join in on the fun. My sister and her son Xander are there for most of our family fun, and now my parentsare too. But we don't get to see Vicky very much, so that was fun.

Ellen and Sarah

It was a good thing that we are so much fun, because the service was pretty lame! Mike and Vicky got lost, so we were waiting for them. Will wasn't feeling great at first, his head still hurt. But after he ate something he was feeling better. Xander kept us entertained with his repertoire of knock-knock jokes. The waitress checked on us every 15 minutes or so, made a sort of half-hearted effort to get us what we wanted, then left. At least the food was good.

Time for presents!

We came back to our house to open presents and have cake. Ellen got some nice stuff - a Green Day shirt from her sister, a CD from her brother, a storybook from us. The present I was most excited to get her was a ring. She loves rings, but because Ellen has big hands, she can never find a ring in the store. So I really wanted to get her a ring, and I found this one online.

It's a Celtic knot, made of sterling silver and a blue sapphire.

Then we got Ellen another present she was really excited for.

A stereo for her iPod!

And this is her cake. The recipe and directions are here. It's inspired by tie dye, but it kind of looks like fireworks too. It turned out really well. We didn't have enough candles, but that's okay.

Anyway, that's our big celebration. I sometimes think about when Ellen was just a tiny baby. I just can't believe how much she has changed. She is really her own person now. There's still a little of that tiny baby girl in her, but she is almost an adult. She's still my sweetheart, and I'm still proud of her!

Why I didn't get anything at Target today

What a day!

I was shopping at Target with my Sarah when my cell phone rings. I answer (which I don't always do) and it's the swimming pool. My son has hit his head on the slide. The paramedics are there. Would I like to come to see him?

So I left the cart in the aisle and start running for the door, yelling over my shoulder to my daughter that Will has been hurt at the pool. We make it to the car and my phone starts ringing again. This time it's Randy, who has heard what's up and wants details. I don't have any.

We are almost to the pool when the phone rings again. I hand it to my daughter and it's Ellen on the phone, wanting to know what's up. I still don't know, so I hang up.

We get to the parking lot and I see an ambulance and fire engine. I parked in front and start running again. I asked the girl at the front "Where are the paramedics?" "Huh?" she says. The girl in the ticket booth says, "They're by the slide." So I start running again, Sarah keeping up.

I get to the slide and there's Will, on a body board with his head strapped in. Immediately, one of the paramedics says, "Are you the mom? Come, let me talk to you."

He tells me that Will hit his head on the slide. He didn't pass out and there's no bleeding. His pupils are fine, his vitals are fine. He says he thinks he will be fine, but if I want, they will transport him to the hospital, or I can drive him in myself.

Then I go to talk to Will. His head hurts a lot, and he's cold, but he feels okay otherwise. I decide to to drive him in to the hospital myself.

The paramedics call the hospital. I sign some release from them, and a release from the pool (I can't see how it's their fault! And they got him help as soon as they could.). Then I pulled the van around and we went to hospital. I called my daughter to tell her what was going on and asked her to call her dad. Poor Santa Patterson shows up just as we're leaving. It was her suggestion that the boys go to the pool, but I don't see how it's her fault either! Things just happen.

When we get there, we had to wait longer than I think you should for a head injury, but probably not as long as it felt. We got him back and examined. The doctor checked him out and then said he thought Will would be fine, with a serious headache, but nothing worse. He said we could go home and come back if things worsened, or we could stay and get a CAT scan. By now, Will is looking better, just headachy. I decide to take him home.

We get home to find my husband home already and both him and my daughter worried, but W. is fine. He's had some ibuprofen and an ice pack and he's watching a movie now.

I'm really happy that things turned out well, but wow, what a horrible phone call! I'm also glad that they did a good job of getting him the help he needed so quickly.

But now I'm a little shaky! What a day!

Will's back home!

,Will came home from camp today. I am always homesick for my kids when they are gone, so i really missed him. Randy gave him a blessing before he left, and of course we were praying for him all the time he was gone. When Will came back, he said that he could tell we were praying for him. He went on a couple of hikes where he was really struggling, but he could feel our prayers helping him out.

I'm glad he went. He came home tired and dirty and hungry, but it sounds like he had a great time. I'm even more glad that it's over and he's back home, safe and sound, without even a mosquito bite!

Scrambled eggs, anyone?

Monday I went to Wal-mart with Will to get all his stuff for the Priesthood camp. We got him some snacks and then I picked up some eggs and milk.

Will forgot to tell me that he put the sack with the eggs on it on the back seat.

We took the rest of the groceries in. Then we sent him off to camp yesterday.

The next day.

Last night, I decided to make scrambled eggs for dinner. I looked in the fridge. "Where are those eggs I just bought?" Sarah said, "I don't know. I used the last eggs to make a cake."

Yep. I found them in the car.

Home Improvement

We have a couple of summer projects we've been working on around the house. One of them is insulation. For years now we have wondered why the kids' bedrooms are so dang hot in the summer. I was about ready to get a new air conditioner this year. But Randy wanted to check into the insulation.

So last week we had someone come out and take a look. The installer climbed up into the attic and poked around. He told me that we have just about enough insulation right down the middle of the house - over the hall. But out towards the edges - the bedrooms - there's very little. That's why it gets so hot there. (Which makes me mad when I think how much energy has been wasted over the 13 years we've been in this house!)

Then he told us about the rebate programs we qualified for. We can get a rebate from both Questar Gas and Rocky Mountain Power to help cover the cost of new insulation. With that, plus an incentive from the federal government, we'll actually wind up making about $25 out of the deal! How cool is that! (No pun intended.)

So we've got a date set up next week to have more insulation installed. I am so excited! I can't wait to see how much cooler the house will be this summer. And we should save some money on our bills too. Very nice. I just wish we had done this sooner!

More books? Are you kidding?

Yes, more about books. Sorry about that! But I have to write about what I know!

As you might have read, I was doing a reading challenge called the 999 challenge. You read 9 books each in 9 different categories in 2009. Catchy, right? I am a very fast reader and I finished the challenge in April. So I started all over, with a new set of books and categories, and I am halfway done with the new set.

So now I need another challenge. This time I have decided to read all the books I actually have in the house that I haven't read. This doesn't count any of Randy's computer books, because I'm not planning on reading them ever. But I have about 20 - 40 books around here that I haven't ever read.

Just in case you're interested, here's the partial list:

The Burning Bridge, Ranger's Apprentice book 2
Waxwork by Peter Lovesey
The Albatross by Charlotte Armstrong
Murder Has Its Points
Inspector French and the Cheyne Mystery
Crossing to Safety by Wallace Stegner
The Dragon's Village
All for the Love of a Lady
Slaves of Spiegel by Daniel Pinkwater
Magic Lost, Trouble Found
Murder by Decree
Gregor and the Marks of Secret
The Last Battle (Narnia #7)
George's Marvelous Medicine
Lionboy, the Truth
Fear Nothing by Dean Koontz
Idylls of the King
Life on the Mississippi
Caravan to Vaccares
Moby Dick
The Once and Future King
The Giant Rat of Sumatra
The Science of Star Wars
Glastonbury Reader
Lireal
Abhorsen
Warbreaker
Advance of the English Novel

Why so many unread books? Sometimes it's because it's part of a series and I don't remember everything that happened before this book, so I want to go back and reread the previous ones in the series first. But I have other stuff to read, so I put it off, and then forget even more. Then some of these books I have started but never finished them. If I start a book and really hate it, I will get rid of the book. But if I start it and then just get bored, I'll put it aside and give in another chance later. I have started Moby Dick three times now, and still haven't gotten them out to sea! That one may never get finished. And then sometimes when I think a book will be great, I save it for later to cheer me up when I want a really good book. I've been doing better about that one, and remind myself that I can always find another really good book, so I should just read what I have.

I know I am kind of obsessed with reading. We have books in every single room of the house. Most of them are mine, and I have read most of them at least once. We still go to the library, usually both libraries, about once a week. I don't always finish my library books, but I can never manage to leave without a dozen books at least. Even when I have a bunch to read at home! The only time I slow down is around Christmas, when I want to get the library books out of the living room so there is room for the tree. Then I'm stuck rereading what I already have.

I am doing better too at reading good books. I've decided to read more critically, and if something isn't worth remembering later, I won't read it. If it has questionable content, I will stop reading it. And even if everyone else I know loved a book (um, Twilight anyone?) that I know I will not enjoy, I will not read it. I think doing the reading challenges the past couple of years has allowed me to try some new authors and look for better books to read.

Enough of me talking about books. I could talk about my fabulous kids all the time, but they get embarrassed. So you're stuck hearing about books!

Rainy day reading

All this rain has been good for the farmers, I'm sure, and it's been good weather to stay in and read! So here's a list of some things I've been reading.

1. The Book of Lies by James Moloney. A new boy arrives at the orphanage, but he can't remember anything about his past. All he knows is that his name is Marcel. Marcel quickly makes friends with an odd girl named Bea. Upstairs from their rooms is a strange wizard with a terrible beast. When Marcel and Bea steal a mysterious book, they learn that everything Marcel has been told about himself is a lie. They try to figure out how to use the book to discover the truth, but it will be a long more complicated - and more dangerous - than they expected.

I don't want to give too much away, but I did really enjoy this book. Marcel and his new friends are fun characters and the plot was suitably entertaining. The end sort of sets up a sequel, so some of the loose ends may be tied up there. Clean and recommended for kids or young teens.

2. Lady Windermere's Fan by Oscar Wilde. This play wasn't what I expected. I think I was expecting something like The Importance of Being Earnest, which is such a light and fluffy bit of fun. This one wasn't like that. There were still some very funny lines, like the familiar "I can resist everything except temptation," but the subject was more serious and the funny lines were just thrown in around the action.

Lady Windermere has only been married 2 years. She and her husband married as a love match. But now gossip has linked her husband with an older woman. Lady Windermere can't forgive or listen to her husband's attempt to explain that it's not really like that. A tangle of complicated situations that can't ever be explained follow, with mixed results. I might enjoy it more if I saw it onstage. As it is, it was fun reading, but nothing more.

3. Still Life by Louise Penny. Inspector Gamache of the Surete de Quebec arrives in a small town to investigate the death of a well-liked old lady. She has been found shot with an arrow. Was it accident or murder? There don't seem to be many suspects, but as he digs a little deeper, he uncovers lots of secrets in the little town.

I haven't read much in Canadian mysteries, so I was happy to hear about this one. I enjoyed the look at the little town, at Quebec life, at the language, and at the police force. Gamache is saddled with a rookie who just can't seem to learn from her mistakes. I found that little dynamic pretty funny. And I loved the characters.

This one was really well done. I thought I knew where the story was heading, but I was wrong. I just found out that there are 2 more in the series, and I am looking forward to reading them as well. A little language in this one, but I would still recommend it.

And my least favorite:

4. The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy. Two children witness a horrible act of violence and are never the same. This was a very depressing read and I wish I had never picked it up. Not recommended at all and my worst book of the year.

If you want to see more of my book reviews, you can check out these two sites where I post sometimes, Homespun Light and the 999 challenge. And I can't wait for book club later this month! I love being able to talk with friends about what I am reading.

Girl Trip!

Sarah and I are going on a Girl Trip this month and we can't wait! I did this one year with Ellen. We drove to Cedar City, attended the Shakespeare Festival, stayed in a motel, checked out a bunch of pioneer stuff on the way down, visited the chocolate store in Cedar City (very imporant), pigged out at Lefty's Hideout, got caught in a terrible rainstorm on the way home, and visited Cove Fort. It was so much fun.

This year it's Sarah's turn. We've picked out our hotel in West Valley, chosen the play we want to see, and just need to find a nearby bakery or chocolate shop! Sarah's thinking Chinese for dinner, which sounds yummy to me, and we may visit a bookstore or art gallery too. I can't wait! I'll post pictures of the fun.

I love it that my girls are old enough to do stuff like this with me. We always try to have our Girl Night when the guys go to the Father-Son campout, sometimes eating out, sometimes watching girly movies (not that kind, like Legally Blonde and Princess Diaries), and eating junk food. But to be able to take a trip with Sarah is going to be a lot of fun.

What are you doing this summer?

In my effort to keep my kids busy this summer (and keep me from going nuts!) we are looking for fun things to do. Here's my list:

1. Summer Reading Program. This year, both Provo and Orem libraries have some fun activities planned for the summer, and none of them cost a cent. Always worth checking out!

2. Art Museum. Both BYU's museum and the one in Springville are free of charge, with donations being welcome. Very nice, fun exhibits, and cultural as well!

3. Wii. Yeah, it's kind of a copout, but the girls are upstairs right now entertaining themselves (if not me) with SuperSmash Brawl.

4. Park/Canyon. Also free, plus a little exercise. Even if you don't want to take a picnic, it's a nice drive and there are so many fun places to hike. But don't forget the sunscreen and the bug spray. Mosquitos are brutal this year.

5. Grandma's house! Haven't tried this one this year, but it's coming, I'm sure.

6. Macey's for 50 cent ice cream cones.

7. Dinosaur Museum. The one at Thanksgiving Point is pricey, but if you plan to go twice in a year, the family membership is a good value. The one at BYU is free!

8. Pioneer Museums. There are bunches nearby, one in Provo, one in American Fork, one in Lindon, just about every town has one.

9. Arts and Crafts. It seems like no matter how old my kids are, when I pull out that box of 64 crayons, everyone wants to color. Same with Play-Dough.

10. Cooking. This has been a really fun activity in the past. Now my kids are pretty competent around the kitchen, especially with a little supervision, but they can all make their own lunch, use the microwave, and clean up after themselves. All right, we're working on the last one.

11. Chores. Hey, I can dream, right?

Parts of the Body

Will got a new puzzle book, and we've been reading the puzzles together. Here's one we've worked on.

There are 10 parts of the body with only three letters. Most people can name 7. How many can you get?

Just to clarify, this is not a trick question. There really are 10 in the list, and none of them are Latin names or anything like that. Think you got it? I'll put the answer in the comments.