The Air Up There

the F-22

We drove up to Ogden one Saturday to enjoy the air show at the Hill Air Force Base. It was quite amazing to say the least! I felt very proud of the accomplishments of the Air Force. The technology we have now is truly spectacular. Kevin is particularly interested in aerospace, so he was like a kid at a candy store while we were there! We were on our feet all day, so it was a little tiring. But it was well worth it!

Watching The Thunderbirds perform was the best part! They flew so close together and did quite amazing tricks.

This video shows 2 planes flying next to each other with one flying upside down.

This video shows the moment when the two planes that were flying directly towards each other turned at the last second and were belly to belly.

Just in case you doubted my hair color...

Two stories for you:

Chunga's

I had heard good things about this Mexican restaurant in Provo and, keeping in mind that my husband loves Mexican food, decided that we should try it one day. I look up the address and it's on Freedom Boulevard, not too far from where we live. I didn't write the address down (mistake!). We drive up and down Freedom Boulevard for a good 10 minutes trying to find it. We decided to come home and get their phone number to make sure the address was right. Sure enough it was. We attempt again to find it and voila. It is TWO DOORS DOWN from the Spin Zone. Sound familiar? The Spin Zone is where I do the laundry every week.*



Where are my keys? In the locked car? Oops.

This has happened twice in the past year, the most recent occurrence on Friday during my lunch break. I was sneakily trying to get everything arranged for Kevin's birthday and had stopped to get gas. So, I filled up the tank just to turn around and realize that I didn't have the keys and the doors were locked! Kevin had to come and unlock the door for me in the middle of the day. And he did not seem upset in the slightest by coming to my rescue. (In my defense, both of the keys-getting-locked-in-the-car incidents happened while I was on the phone with Kevin.)


*Except for the last 2 weeks. Kevin has been the one at the Spin Zone. Crazy connection to my stories: he was at the Spin Zone when I needed him to come unlock the car for me.

An Answered Prayer

On Memorial Day, we went canoeing with Kevin's sister's family. Kevin and I were in a canoe with Anna and Taylor, and Rick and Amy took Ryan and Dallin. The ride downriver was leisurely and fun. The ride upriver was a bit more difficult. Our canoe wasn't very stable and it was very difficult to steer. We had a number of close calls where we nearly tipped over, but managed to be okay. Then we got a bit tangled in a tree and lost our balance and out we went into a very cold river. I lost my flip flops and ruined my phone. I was a bit frustrated at these girls that were running on the trail next to the river. When I got to the shore with Anna, I asked them if they had a cell phone and they just kept running and called back, "No! Sorry!" I was hidden behind some thick trees, so they couldn't see my disheveled appearance and missing shoes and little girl sobbing, but whatever.

Kevin was able to yank the canoe back to the bank, but I couldn't see him because the trees were so thick. Anna and I started walking down the trail, and we saw Taylor coming towards us. My feet were burning up on the hot pavement and the bugs were eating us alive. It was miserable! I wish I would've had a camera to capture the expressions on the kids' faces when we told them they had to get back in the canoe since it was the only way home. They did not want to get back in at all. We decided to say a prayer that we could make it back safely. The bugs still bit me, I was still cold, and my shoes didn't magically reappear, but we made it back to the dock safe and sound. I don't think I'll be canoeing again any time soon!

*Thanks to John for the picture. See the canoe of people all messed up in the trees way back there? That was us.

Just call me Monica Seles

After longingly passing the tennis courts many times, Kevin and I finally learned how to play tennis! Thanks to our country club* friends Aubrey and Bryce, we played on a drizzly Saturday morning. I really enjoyed it and look forward to playing again. Aubrey and Bryce were great coaches, and Aubrey even climbed a fence after I whacked the ball over it. We took a few pictures and after looking at them, do you even doubt that Aubrey and I are friends? It might've been better for us to have been in a picture together...

*We actually played for free at the high school. But we did learn important lingo like love and deuce. AND how to keep score, of course.

My house is out of control, but I don't care because...

I'm unabashedly showing you pictures of the state of my apartment this week:

I am a bit particular about our kitchen, so I have managed to keep it tidy and orderly. And the bed still gets made daily. But other than that, our fridge was practically empty, I had three or four pairs of shoes out in the front room, the box from our new charcoal grill, papers, computers, and on and on. Kevin made dinner once this week, went to the laundromat, and made the grocery list after looking at the ads! Where and what, you ask, have I been doing?

I am employed!!!

I am the receptionist at an insurance agency! It's a great company to work for. I can tell already because we have candy dishes of chocolate in our lobby. Oh, and my coworkers are really great: my old roommate Emily works there too! I had a great week and trust me when I say that this job is a night and day difference from my last job. For one, I can see out a window. Natural light is very important. Number two, I am busy all day and the time goes by fast. And I have lots of tasks to do, so I don't get bored doing just one thing.

I am really happy that I found employment. I know some people experience unemployment stints for much longer, and I feel for them. It's not a fun thing. And if I had known how it was to work out, I probably could've been more patient. But I know that Heavenly Father answers prayers in the way He knows will be best for us. I am finally coming out of a difficult last few months, and I know that it's a blessing from the Lord.

Bonnie and Clyde

Clyde is Kevin's plant that I gave him on June 21st, 2008.

I think Clyde was lonely, so Kevin gave me Bonnie on May 10, 2009.

Clyde, meet Bonnie.

June 4th, 1913

Ninety-six years ago today, Elsie Marie Galbraith was born in a log cabin in Idaho. She was a playful child, enjoying hopscotch and jumping rope. One day while with the neighbor girl Ruby, they decided to play in the car. The car started rolling backwards down a hill and Elsie's father came running out of the barn to catch the car and stop it just before it got to the edge of a steep cliff. Ruby and Elsie were hiding on the floor of the car. After they were safe, they both got a good spanking for their mischief.

Elsie truly did walk to school in the snow: she remembers the drifts being so deep that she would walk over telephone lines. She worked hard as a teenager, thinning sugar beets with a short-handled hoe, stacking hay, and doing housework, getting paid $3-$5 per week. Being an Idaho girl, she picked potatoes in the fall alongside her mother. They were paid one or one and a half cents per basket.

Elsie raised nine children. Her husband, George Hill, passed away on her youngest daughter's second birthday. That youngest daughter is my mother, Julia. One of my favorite stories my mom tells about her that highlights her sense of humor is when she was working in a potato warehouse and she sneezed so hard that her teeth shot out of her mouth and onto the conveyor belt. Luckily she grabbed them before anyone noticed. Another funny story that hits close to home (because I make mistakes like this all the time) is the following conversation my mom and grandma had on the phone:

Grandma: The flowers are looking so beautiful in my yard. We put some commoner on them and it's working well.

Mom: Some what?

Grandma: Commoner.

Mom: Commoner? I don't know what you're talking about.

Grandma: You know, COW MANURE!

I knew my red hair didn't come from my parents.

All of the blankets that I owned until I was 16 years old had her hand in it: she loved to quilt. For my eighth birthday she came to Colorado and helped my mom surprise me with a homemade jean quilt. We went to Royal Gorge, which is a beautiful area of Colorado. This was back when it cost $4 or $5 to see the world's highest suspension bridge. Now it's $26 per person. I'm glad we took pictures because we're not going back (although I don't have one with the bridge on this visit) . . .

Grandma would come and visit us when she could. Denver is a long way from Idaho, but she made the trip many times. This picture is when she came for Christmas in 2000. (Side note: Nathan is so tiny!)

And this was one of the last times I saw her. My mom and I went to visit her in the fall of 2002. My mom and I were starving and looking for a place to eat. When we asked her opinion of what she wanted to eat, her response was: "I want a strawberry shake." So that's what we got her.

Elsie Marie Hill passed away on September 4, 2003. We miss her but are happy to have had her for so long. I wish I had more pictures, especially of her with my mom.