For Michelle

My friend Michelle recently asked me to share 6 interesting things about myself. So here it goes ...

My memory is my super power. I have always had an uncanny ability to quote back what people say to me. For example, the other day Nate was talking about our cat and how she is really interested in trees but has never climbed one, and I said that I thought she had climbed a tree. Nate disagreed. Then I said, “I thought that you told me about an eventful evening when Zephyr ran down the hill and then climbed a tree.” Nate replied, “oh yeah, how did you remember that when you weren’t even there?”

And speaking of super powers, I decided ten years ago that if I could have one real super power I would like to be able to travel anywhere in the blink of an eye. Think how many places I could go and how much time and money I would save! It would be best if my super power worked in a way that allowed me to take someone with me.

I am addicted to books on tape, and, luckily, we have an awesome public library system which keeps my needs supplied nicely. I actually look forward to my 45 minute commute to school because while I’m driving I’m also doing what I like best – reading. Thanks to Nate for giving me an IPod. I don’t think he had any idea how much it would be used.

I love the Disney show Even Stevens. I got really into this TV show when I was in college and they were still making new episodes. I had a roommate who liked Even Stevens too and that helped me to embrace my love of the show. I started recording all the episodes. I got all my roommates (and Nate too – even before we got married) converted to Even Stevens. Then this past year Even Stevens was on WGN, so I rerecorded them on DVD and now I own every single episode. The really weird thing about Even Stevens is this: Even Stevens is about a family named Stevens that lives in Sacramento, and I ended up marrying a Stephens from Sacramento. Coincidence?

I am a big nerd, and I find nerdy things really amusing. For example, when we were in college, my roommate, Nicole, and I decided to celebrate Copernicus’ birthday. We made a sign that said “Happy Birthday Copernicus! Hoorah for the heliocentric model!” And we included a drawing of the solar system and hung it on our front door. We, of course, thought this was hilarious, but it was actually kind of sad how many people didn’t think it was funny because they didn’t know who Copernicus was.

I own a 1986 Volkswagen Golf with unknown mileage. (The odometer was broken when I got it.) The car has personality and is a really trooper. Despite its old age it still runs like a dream – it’s kind of like the Energizer Bunny. We think the Golf wants to be immortal.

Honestly, I think this pretty much sums me up.

The Dallas Zoo

Nate and I went to the Dallas Zoo with Jen, Savannah, and Will. Our favorite part was the children's zoo. That's where Savannah showed us one of her favorite games.


She was pretty intense about it.


Nate and I loved the bird exhibit. We got to feed all of the beautiful birds pictured below. Some of the birds ate worms and some ate seeds. Some of them were rather pushy about being feed.



This bird is a Golden-breasted Starling from Africa. He's a much more colorful than the North American variety. Unfortunately, I don't remember the names of any of the other birds, but I'm pretty sure they came from exotic locations like the South Pacific and Australia.

Before we left the zoo Savannah had to take a ride on the Carousel. She chose to ride the Triceratops even though we didn't see any dinosaurs at the zoo.

More Fun with Aaron and Brooke

Before we headed off to see the Church sites and the wonders of Illinois, Nate and I took Aaron and Brooke on a whirlwind tour of Kansas City. It truly was a whirlwind because we had only one day in which to see as much of the city as we possibly could and show it off so that Brooke and Aaron will come back again to visit.

First we took them to Hallmark to see Nate's office. But we didn't make it to the Visitor's Center before it closed - so that is just one more guest who has not seen the Visitor's Center! I think the only person that ever got there was Val (and I only have Nate and Val's word for it because I was at school.)


Then we toured the Crown Center. We ate lunch there. We stopped at Union Station and looked at the bullet holes near the front doors.


We hiked up to the World War I monument and museum. One of my favorite sites in town.


We rode the elevator up to the top of the monument and gazed at the city below. It was awesome. They had the steam on so we were occasionally showered with a cool mist.



Then we went to the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art. I gave everyone a lecture on Abstract Expressionism in the new Bloch building. And Nate and I took the opportunity to get a photo with one of the Shuttlecocks.



Then we took Aaron and Brooke to the T-Rex, which is probably the craziest restaurant I've ever been to. We sat underneath this giant squid.


To cap off the day we went to Dave and Buster's where Aaron earned TONS of tickets playing the trivia game. We bought a Chief's football for Aaron and Brooke to take home with them as a souvenir! It was a busy day. My favorite Fall Break so far!

Vampires

This past month my ward's book club read Stephenie Meyer's Twilight.


And we are crazy about the three (soon to be four) book series! Silly as it might sound, these books about Bella, a clumsy ordinary girl, and Edward, a vampire who doesn't want to be a killer, are extremely compelling. I think it must be the perfect combination of danger and romance.

The night of the book club Karen, Shannon, and Kim all showed up in Edward Cullen t-shirts. We all had a good laugh. They told us that they were going to wear the t-shirts to the Trunk or Treat that Saturday and invited the rest of us to do the same.

Here are 4 of the Twilight fans:


Kim's shirt says: "Edward Cullen" and on the back "Got Blood?"
My shirt says: "Vampire Girl la tua cantante"
Leiann's shirt says: "Bite Me" and on the back "I love Edward Cullen"
Karen's shirt says: "Edward Cullen not human, definitely man"

I guess you'll just have to read the books to find out what all the fuss is about.

Aaron and Brooke

Aaron and Brooke came to visit us last week. Among other things, we made the pilgrimage out to Nauvoo. We had a fabulous time. Thanks for coming, guys!

JoLee and Brooke at Adam Ondi Ahman.

Aaron and Brooke at Adam Ondi Ahman.

Aaron on the banks of the Mississippi.

Aaron and Nate at the Kansas City Airport.

Jess and Eric's Wedding

This post is all about my friend Jessica. Jessica and I have known each other for about 15 years now, ever since 6th grade when her family moved to Colorado Springs. Jess and I were in the Children's Chorale together. We were locker partners for 3 years in high school (a fact I'm sure she would want documented here).

Here we are getting ready to graduate from high school.


After graduation Jess and I went off to BYU together. We lived together our freshman year in the dorms.


We were both at BYU for 7 years working on our bachelors degrees and then masters (me) and law (Jess) degrees. In that time we were roommates for 3 years (3 seems to be our number). Below we are celebrating graduating from college.


This week Jess and I were reunited once again. On Thursday morning I flew to Atlanta so that I could be at Jessica's wedding on Friday.


I met up in Atlanta with another friend from middle school, high school, and chorale, Erika. Erika and I hung out all weekend and shared a hotel room. It was really fun to see her again.

Jess wasn't exactly on time for the wedding, but technically, I guess a bride can't be late. So while we were waiting for the festivities to begin, Erika and I sneaked into the Bride's Room to hang out with her two hilarious sisters, Andrea and Sarah, and wait for Jessica to arrive.



When Jess arrived, Andrea and I laced up the back of her dress, and it looked awesome, if I do say so myself. I was very pleased with my small contribution to the event.




And then the moment had arrived. Here's the setting before all the guests took their seats.

The adorable flower girl. The best part was that when she got to the front of the aisle she turned over her basket and dumped out the remaining petals.

The bride and groom.

Cutting the cake. Jess and Eric had a really delicious wedding cake!

Congratulations to the happy couple! I'm looking forward to the next 15 years.

Corn Maze

JoLee and I went through a corn maze today. When it's a beautiful, windy 85 degree day in Kansas City, you have to take advantage of it.

If you drive for 30-40 minutes away from civilization, you truly feel like you live in the middle of the country here. Fall really is the best time of year. Here JoLee is getting psyched for the corn maze.


The corn maze was divided into two halves: one side for KU and the other for MU. Here I am looking like a dork.

JoLee thought it would be best if she explained to me how corn grows. It's an amazing plant really. Besides being useful for labyrinths, you can eat it and make gasoline from it.

Here we are racing through the maze that takes several hours to complete. The goal is to hit all 24 check points. We only got 14 before running out of time.


Each check point had a hole punch and a map. Face it, there was no way we were going to get to all of the check points without closely following a map.

The corn maze was great, despite getting lost a few times. We were a little disappointed that there were no prizes for getting 14/24 hole punches.

The Flying W Ranch

A few months ago when Nate and I went out to Colorado, my family took us to The Flying W Ranch for my birthday. The Flying W Ranch is an actual working mountain cattle ranch located in the foothills of Colorado Springs, but the really cool thing about the Flying W is that they serve chuckwagon dinners while the Flying W Wranglers sing and tell jokes. The Ranch also has a mountain village that you can explore before you sit down to eat and be entertained. Most of the buildings are shops where you can buy cowboy gear - like this really nifty hat.

Last time I went to the Flying W, Paige, Nicole, and I had a really great time riding the tiny train, and Paige told us to ride the train for her when we went. Unfortunately that plan was foiled.

After looking around the village we sat down in the big outdoor picnic area to eat our dinner.

Then we filed into the ranch house to hand over our tickets in exchange for a chuckwagon dinner.


The great thing about the Flying W is that everyone gets the exact same dinner. Beef or chicken, baked beans, baked potato, biscuits, and applesauce. The food is served on a tin plate and the Wranglers remind you to get your cold applesauce so that you can hold onto that hot plate.

After everyone got their food, the Flying W Wranglers took the stage to sing all their cowboy songs and tell their cowboy jokes. Taggart and I were especially happy to hear "I'm my own Grandpa." When we were kids, we had that song on a Flying W Wrangler tape, and we listened to the tape so much that it eventually broke. We loved the Wranglers so much that we bought their CD and listened to it on our way back to Kansas.

Bird Update

We have five baby birds on our balcony. They hatched last week. We were not pleased with their parents' choice to build a nest in our flower pot, but we are happy to keep them safe for the next few weeks. The parents are very busy flying back and forth feeding their new chicks. They don't like the cat, but neither does our cat like them. Zephyr watches the birds for hours while making an occasional lounge for at the window. It's really a lose-lose situation for both parties.