Defeated

I hate piano.
I hate school.
I hate recess.
I hate home.
I don't want to play.
Why don't my friends want to play?
I won't eat that.
I changed my mind.
I do it!
I can't do it!
I don't want to listen!
I don't want to talk!
I don't want to do anything!

Me neither guys...
Kids 0: Mom -3

2018.09.24 Day #15 The Boys

Last weekend Brett and Calvin went on a Father Son's Campout. Brett told me that Calvin would pick up sticks and whack pretend adversaries. The missionaries there told him that picking up sticks and whacking adversaries is a pretty common activity for all the little boys they see.

2018.09.20 Day #14 Driving Face

Yesterday, I was driving out of my mom's neighborhood to take Calvin on a mommy/son date. While I was heading out I noticed someone driving in the opposite direction into the neighborhood. I could tell the person inside was a girl and she had the biggest smile on her face! I thought... Wow! She is just doing her driving and has the best attitude about it! For the next couple of minutes I thought, you know who that reminds me of... Mikayla. My oldest niece has a seriously infectious smile and zest for living life in a happy way. I rarely see her "down"...

Anywho this person driving with a big smile on her face made me think of Mikayla and her optimistic attitude and made me wonder what my face looks like when I'm driving. Do I have a giant grin? Am I telling the kids to knock it off? Am I air drumming like my Dad? Do I just look bored?

What's my driving face going to be like today?

***Turns out the girl driving was Mikayla, but I honestly didn't know it at the time!

2018.09.19 Day#13 - Insomnia, Insomnia

Title: 4:28 AM

Insomnia, insomnia my dear old friend.
Here we are together.
To be frank I'd rather we parted ways.
But I think our bond is forever.

Insomnia, insomnia we meet again.
During those hours where all is dark.
I wish I could say it was good to see you.
But I'm so tired I can't think of anything that rhymes with dark...

2018.09.12 Day #12 Hair Dos and Hair Don'ts

So I've never had any large attachment to my hair, which means that I have no idea what hairstyle(s) look good on me. I've had a lot of different styles, and today on a whim I decided to do an impulse-perm... kind of like impulse shopping at the store. One was available for free, so I did it.

Here are some photos of the hair evolution through the decades... any thoughts on what looks best are welcomed!

High school - long hair - perm

Senior Pic - Pretty sure this was my first of many big hair chop-off.s 

I kind of bounce between long and this A-line bob a lot...

Of course, the one I cannot find is one that I'd be tempted to try again... I apparently lost all picture proof of it... The inspiration was Meg Ryan in You've Got Mail... Something like, but not quite as cute as this:

I suddenly turned into Meg Ryan! Yes!!!

First short haired perm - I loved it!

2008 - Somewhere in the middle of being engaged for a looooong time.

2011 First significantly short haircut with baby Lindy

2015 Most Recent big chop-off... Before...

After

Same as previous but more "funky"

2016 Most "Boyish" haircut just before Jane

2018 Just now!

2018.09.11 Day #11 - September 11th

I know there are more eloquent people than myself who have written about their memories of 9/11, but it occurred to me that I may not have written much about what I remember and what I experienced for my posterity to read. In efforts to "never forget" and to "bring to remembrance" this tragedy for my kids and grandkids someday, I'll make my short record.

I remember coming in from marching band at Lone Peak High School (we practiced early in the morning). I was putting my mellophone away and getting ready for whatever first period was... more band I think), and someone told me something about airplanes crashing. I remember at the time thinking, "Oh, that's sad..." But I didn't understand at all what was going on. Unfortunately, our band director didn't understand either and had us continue rehearsing while the rest of the school was watching the news.

I don't remember what we did in most of the other classes, but I do remember going to Latin which was only offered at American Fork High School down the street and Ms. Shelley had us watching the news the entire period. I remember that she was frantic because she had friends or family in Washington D.C. and she was trying to contact them, but couldn't get through. I remember all of us having unbelieving faces and just shock. I don't remember anyone crying, but I honestly think we didn't really internalize it yet.

This is what our TV screens looked like at school all day.

I get confused about the timeline of what I witnessed on live television versus what I saw later as rebroadcasts, but I think we may have seen the towers tumble down during that Latin class. And still, it didn't really sink in for me that so many people had just died.

I remember we were hiking Timpanogos Cave for our Young Women's activity that afternoon. I remember my parents were gone for some reason, so I didn't really have adults to talk to until after the activity. I remember thinking it seemed so odd to not see or hear anything in the air. When my parents got home I remember being in our bathroom just sitting looking in the 3-way mirror they have (I don't know why I was doing that... just taking "reflection" a little too literally, I guess). And when they came home, that's when I burst into tears. I was certain that World War III was going to begin. I didn't have any family members in the military, but I still had an irrational thought that my family would be directly affected by this terrorist attack. It worked... I was afraid.

While watching the aftermath though, I remember being so proud of those who helped, those who sacrificed, and those who would go on to serve their country. I remember feeling like this horrible event, really did draw our nation together. I don't feel like that unity has lasted as long as I thought it would. We seem more divided now than we were before 9/11.

And that is why I think it's important to remember and to never forget. Terror drives us apart. Peace, tolerance, service to others, and empathy... that will bring us together - "One nation, under God."

2018.09.10 Day #10 - I can't remember...

I had a thing I was going to write about today...

I thought to myself...

"You should write that down.

That's a good one!"

But I didn't...

So...

...

2018.09.09 Day #9 - Smells

I've been doing some canning projects, which if you follow this rambling bramble of words you may know. And as always, I'm reminded of some of my favorite, and not so favorite smells...

Cooked peaches - that's a good one! I'm reminded of all the times I helped my mom peel peaches. She would man the stove and I would pull up the sink of cold water.

Cooking tomatoes - used to hate it! Now it's not so bad... I don't know why this one is so much different from peaches. Same memories of cooking and peeling, but boy oh boy, I hated the smell of tomato sauce on the stove for hours. So gross! As I've made some this year though, I've gotten more and more used to it, and it doesn't even disgust me anymore... weird.

Grass, gasoline, and sweat - My favorite, though I'm sure the ratio of the 3 ingredients is important. My dad's a little perfectionistic about his lawn mowing and he does it frequently! Again, it's one of my favorite memories growing up - Dad coming in smelling like grass, gas, and sweat. I used to mow with him at both of my grandma's houses growing up, and now that smell reminds me of them as well. I still love that smell - Brett should bottle it...

What will my kid's favorite smells be? I'm not sure... I actually have a worry that ours will be that neighbor's house that smells funky most of the time. I kind of have a phobia about that.

2018.09.08 Day #8 - The Year of Hikes!

I made a goal that I would hike to the top of Timpanogos this year. In an effort to get prepped a bit, to spend time with my awesome family, and to see some new things in the great outdoors, I set up some other hikes for over the year. Here's the lineup!

#1. Moonshine Arch - Near Vernal

#2 Timpanogos Cave - Always a fun favorite!

#3 Battle Creek Falls

#4 The Neighborhood Exercise Path... Yeah... wasn't really a hike, but you know...

#5 Stewart Falls

#6 Horsetail Falls

#7 Backpacking to Island Lake for our 10th Anniversary

#8 Bald Mountain

#9 Silver Lake

#10 Timpanogos Peak! Completed TODAY!!!

I don't know if I'm done for the year (probably not since we just bought another backpacking backpack)... but I made it to my goal! And I frankly didn't realize how many hikes we did until I started listing them like this!

I'm grateful to my family for making it more fun and possible! Couldn't have done it without you!