Top Ten--July 2009

10) Once I decided to go shopping. Though that is a rarity, indeed, that is not the end of the story. I drove to Bed, Bath and Beyond in Orem. I parked, got out of the car and followed a gaggle of people into the store. I looked up and wondered when BB&B had gotten aquariums and fish. I looked around and thought they had really broadened their horizons when I saw puppy chow and chew bones. I looked at the people around me and realized several had dogs. Hmmmmmmm. I turned around and went back out of the store and looked up at the sign. Ah, yes. Pet Smart. The store right next door to BB&B. My world again made sense and I proceeded to BB&B, checking the sign very carefully as I went in. Lessons learned: don’t follow the crowd (significant lesson there, but another day, another blog post), BB&B does NOT carry aquariums, however cool they may be, and most importantly: paying attention is highly overrated. Had I paid attention, I wouldn’t have been able to tell this story.

9) I knew Isaac’s songwriting capabilities were on the upswing when I heard this in the car:
Missed me, missed me, now you gotta kiss me.
Missed me, missed me, now you gotta shoot Kye.
Bam ba-bam bam bam ba-bam ba-bam BAM!
Missed me, missed me, now you gotta BE DEAD!

8) Fast food free July: we decided to give it a go. (We, meaning the kids and me.) Zach point blank refused. Let’s be honest, the kids really had no choice in the matter. Though we went on several park outings and I think everyone got a little sick of sandwiches for every single picnic, WE DID IT, with the one exception of eating Arby’s for dinner during our 17 hour drive to SD. We brought food for the other meals. Yay for us. Pat pat.

7)K: Who’s the thirstiest person in the world?
M: Uh . . . you?
K: I’m so thirsty, I’m even thirstier than myself.

6) I’m (legally) blind. I’ve known this for a long time, and had it reconfirmed at a recent eye exam with my brand spanking new prescription of -12.0. (My eyesight is so bad that I qualify for neither LASIK or PRK—my corneas wouldn’t survive it.) So maybe it shouldn’t surprise me that what I can’t see can hurt me, but I just never expect it somehow. My latest was (post-contact removal) mistaking toner for my eye-makeup remover . . . but only AFTER I applied it liberally to my left eye. Youch! I was worried I had permanently blinded myself for awhile there, but fortunately the horrendous burning stopped and I CAN SEE!

5)4th of July celebration, Day 1: We took the kids to the Ellis Island Immigration Display at the Scera Park in Orem and reviewed with them the 10 Points of Liberty. I thought it was fantastic, though it’s always startling to realize just how far off the path we are from the Founders’ vision. I have much more to say on the matter but I’ll refrain. You’re welcome.

4) 4th of July celebration, Day 2: annual breakfast (yummmmm!) at my sister’s, cooling off in the Payson pool, family bbq and craft and watching fireworks from the new Alumni building at BYU. (I’ll just pretend Zach didn’t get a ragingly awful 24 hour flu bug toward the end there and might never be able to eat hot dogs and hamburgers again.)

3) Lucy’s annual lament: after each and every trip to see family, she is the one who pines most over missing her cousins and grandmas and grandpas. Her solution? “Mom, I want to live in AZ during the winter, and in UT during the spring and fall and live in SD every summer. So can we . . . please?????”

2) Adam gives the stink eye to everyone. If you look at Adam and he doesn’t feel like he is sufficiently acquainted with you, he will beam you a stinky look. Virtually everyone earned it this summer: grandmas and grandpas, aunts and uncles (even the ones that live near us), cousins, and even me (though really just the one time—and I think it was because I look enough like my sister Katie that it got confusing for him for a minute.) Still, enough already!

1) Trip to SD: green fields, blue skies, fluffy clouds, the Enchanted Forest, ATV rides, the "sunflower" field (though we know perfectly well they are really black eyed susans), the playset, trampolines, the 2 person bike, sweet corn, small towns, Laura Ingalls Wilder pageants, the noisy house, family, Bohnanza, a bazillion cousins running around, friendship bracelets, animals, runs into town, Gma T and Gpa R, the frigid pool water, haircuts, talking, and riding with Zach on the ATV on back country roads with the most amazing sunset ever. We'll see you again next year.