This Song Came On...

And it's a new favorite!! Thank you Dave Matthews!

Want to pack your bags something small
Take what you need and we disappear
Without a trace we'll be gone
Moon and the stars will follow the car
And then when we get to the ocean
Gonna take a boat to the end of the world
All the way to the end of the world
Oh, and when the kids are old enough we're gonna teach them to fly

You and me together
We can do anything baby
You and me together
You and me together
We can do anything baby
You and me together

You and I are not tied to the ground
Not falling but rising like rolling around
Eyes closed above the rooftops
With eyes closed we're gonna spin through the stars
Our arms wide as the sky we're gonna ride the blue
All the way to the end of the world
When the kids are old enough we're gonna teach them to fly

You and me together
We can do anything baby
You and me together
You and me together
We can do anything baby
You and me together

Elephants

Remind me to bring 12 billion cough drops to the concert tonight.

Remind me also that food is allowed in the venue, but an open flame is not. I guess I'll have to light a torch to my creme brulee before I get to the concert.

Disney

I'm excited to spend a nice summer evening at Deer Valley to see this

Not only do I get to hang out with this guy (which I love to do), but I also get to spend the night with the mother of these boys (aka my sister), and (probably the one that excites me the most) the dashing soon-to-be kindergarten-er on the left!

I kidnapped Andrew and Ben a few days ago for a day in SLC with Aunt Lindsey. I busted out my Disney soundtracks and mixes for the drive (yes. I listen to cd's... not all ipod), and I couldn't believe how many songs Andrew knew! He knew the songs, what movie they came from... all the words! This kid knows his Disney! So I'm excited for him to have his special night out with his mom at the concert. We'll see how long he makes it... that's a long concert to sit through!

By the way... I have gotten a wedding announcement every day for the last three days (all high school friends, which isn't the norm), and I know of one river buddy whose invite is on the way! What is in the water Utah's drinking? So many weddings!

"Oh look! I took it too far!"

I really didn't think I was on my death bed! So don't criticize me for having this idea of death... appreciation for life... and now the after-life on the brain. It's just coincidental and timely that all of these things happened to reach my vicinity all within the same couple of days!

First, I came across this lovely poem today which got me thinking about the things I love in this life and the things which will be essentially part of who I am now and forever. There are certain things that are just fundamentally Lindsey. I am reminded of these things when I go to the ranch. I like to make lists that reground me, and those lists consist of the things that are essentially me. When I feel myself slipping one way or another, I bring out this list and figure out which of these things I am missing. Writing. Not what I write on my blog, but what I write to myself when I'm my most honest Lindsey.

Writing in the Afterlife

I imagined the atmosphere would be clear,
shot with pristine light,
not this sulfurous haze,
the air ionized as before a thunderstorm.

Many have pictured a river here,
but no one mentioned all the boats,
their benches crowded with naked passengers,
each bent over a writing tablet.

I knew I would not always be a child
with a model train and a model tunnel,
and I knew I would not live forever,
jumping all day through the hoop of myself.

I had heard about the journey to the other side
and the clink of the final coin
in the leather purse of the man holding the oar,
but how could anyone have guessed

that as soon as we arrived
we would be asked to describe this place
and to include as much detail as possible--
not just the water, he insists,

rather the oily, fathomless, rat-happy water,
not simply the shackles, but the rusty,
iron, ankle-shredding shackles--
and that our next assignment would be

to jot down, off the tops of our heads,
our thoughts and feelings about being dead,
not really an assignment,
the man rotating the oar keeps telling us--

think of it more as an exercise, he groans,
think of writing as a process,
a never-ending, infernal process,
and now the boats have become jammed together,

bow against stern, stern locked to bow,
and not a thing is moving, only our diligent pens.

Billy Collins

And though not exactly related (but it is related because this is my mind... welcome!), I got thinking about how Merideth would always reassure me when I'd come in for weekly lessons that my diligence with the violin was an eternal diligence, not just earthly. "We read in the scriptures that trumpets will sound and horns will usher in the second coming of Christ as we are resurrected and raised up into immortality and eternal life. Let me ask you something: have you ever heard someone play the trumpet in a sacrament meeting? Or a horn? NO! You haven't! And there's a reason for that. No one wants to hear the harsh and imposing sound of a horn interrupt their spiritual Sunday experience! It certainly wouldn't be heaven for me if it were filled with the sound of a thousand trumpets! You better believe there'll be violins to play in heaven. And you'll be playing one of them!"

Also, I found myself reading a little story at my parents' house about all the dogs that die that go to dog heaven and have children to play with and big clouds to sleep on. What a nice little book, don't you think?

I may have exaggerated

I am still here today, aren't I?

I left this afternoon, anticipating a rather unpleasant and complicated trip to Walmart for some storage bins and closet organizers (its time to organize that darn closet). Why must there be six aisles of options!!! Show me a difference people! But I was so happy when I had the thought to give my fabulous friend Laura a call, and I happened to reach her in the middle of Brinley's nap. Lucky lucky me! I found myself talking to Laura all about something I haven't really said to myself yet, and it felt so good to know that despite living in different states and playing hit and miss when either one of us comes to town, the friendship is still strong and talking to her still gives me comfort. Walmart is probably my least favorite place on this earth, and Laura distracted me from the whole experience... actually turned it into a good one.

I came home to make a terribly intricate dinner of watermelon and corn on the cob (we weren't really in the overachieving mood at our house tonight). I paid our rent, wrote a thank you note, worked on finances and insurance stuff that has piled up while I was away. I'm contemplating taking a bubble bath to help my sinuses clear up, Scott brought me a hot chocolate from work, and I'm thinking about how simply good my life is. Nothing big brought me to this realization; I haven't had a truly transformational day, but the simplicity of a day like today made me realize that even mundane days have their highlights (like a phone call with a friend and a surprise hot chocolate), and that I am lucky. Even a day this uneventful leaves me feeling grateful. It helps me realize how little it takes to turn a bad day into a good one.

Life is good, don't you think? Maybe I'm having this new appreciation for life after being so near to death as recently as yesterday. I almost died, you know!

On a day when there's too much to do!

Today I feel like I'm on my death bed. This is it! This is the end! Goodbye to all my blogging friends.



I wish Scott were here in his suit and top hat to nurse me back to health.

How could I forget our memorable trips to the Emporium for some delicious huckleberry shakes??? Half the reason to go to Victor!!

YeHaW!

Without going into too much overload... here's the picture recap of some of the ranch activities. I was about to type "highlights" but I think the highlights are an entirely different blog post... one with more reflection... requiring more time to think.

Our first day there, Scotty and I set up a climbing route on a giant Aspen tree for my rock climbing class. Daniel and I taught the class and practiced basic climbing skills on the tree the first day, and then took the kids up Darby canyon the second day. I loved having the experience to climb in Darby Canyon. It was a fun climb, and it was awesome to get the boys excited about climbing. I cleaned the route at the end of the day, climbing with a ridiculously swollen sprained ankle... I sprained it on the first day, and then I refused to acknowledge it for the next two weeks. I didn't miss a beat at the ranch... climbing... hiking... working... but I'm wondering if I did the right thing ignoring it because it's still swollen two weeks later!




Tin foil dinners in the fire pit. This is one of my favorite pictures of Sue and Dick, the Ma and Pa of this ranch!

Here are pictures of the three bunk houses Scott so skillfully took. Talk about a wild bunch! Being one of two women among these little animals was in some ways out of my comfort zone, but in other ways I feel like I fit right in!




It's so great to have Scott make the ranch part of him just as it's part of me. And I love how welcoming and loving Sue and Dick are to both Scott and me. I love that Dick steals Scott away the second he gets there and takes him off to do some sort of job. I am so grateful for Sue and Dick and the beautiful experiences they have created for hundreds of families and people. This was my eleventh year visiting the ranch. I am about as lucky as they come; I have so much to be grateful for.


At the trail head in Coal Canyon for Taylor Mountain... one of my favorite hikes! It felt good to know I can still cart my possessions on my back up a mountain and keep up with a bunch of energetic boys.

At the top!! We had a wonderful view of the Tetons and our itty bitty campsite below. We had a great group... no complainers... and everyone made it to the top telling jokes, laughing, and high-fiving each other to the peak.


Taylor Williams and Anders Taylor... competing for who got to be the Taylor of Taylor Mountain.


Scott was experimenting with taking pictures through the polarized lenses of his sunglasses. He's so creative! I love how it changed the coloring!

I just thought that this was an incredible feat of superhuman strength.... One to share with the world o' blogs.


Bringing up the rear, le photographer.


On the way to the Heron Project: gorgeous sites to be seen every day! With all the real estate flopping, Dick told me Scott and I had the chance to get our own piece of paradise. I told him I wish I could afford a down payment on paradise. I'm so happy I can soak up paradise each summer for a couple weeks.



It's so fun to be able to share the ranch with family! Kirsten and I grew up going together. My parents spent their first summer up there last year. Johnny would make a fantastic mentor. I'm so glad Bob and Dana brought their kids (minus one) to Victor to pick up Will at the end of the session. I've got such a great family!

Will was a little embarrassed to get a picture with Dick. I'll have to send this picture to Dana, though, because I think he'll be happy to have this one.


The Heron Project: Completion Date and Time: Saturday 3:34pm: After the boys had left!
This is an awesome fort/lashing project we had going with the boys. It's so they can sleep and camp-out it Dick's nature observatory where we have a Heron's nest and other wildlife living. The boys worked hard on it, but weren't able to finish everything by the time they went home. Taylor, Max, Scott, and I finished it up once they left. It felt so good to leave a finished project, and we hope it holds up over the winter! I am convinced that in the day that I have a backyard and a kid or two, Scott and I will attempt something like this in our yard. It was so fun to learn how to make!


A good-looking guy with a good looking truck... that truck belongs in the wide open fields.

So after leaving the ranch on Saturday evening, we got some shakes, made a stop to drop some backpacking gear off at the girls ranch, and head over the hill to Wyoming for some Jackson Hole time. After a long long long long search for reasonable hotels, we ended up camping out in the back of the truck, which was just as comfy as any hotel. The next day we wandered Jackson Hole like smelly vagabonds, though. Someone at the Jackson Holt Art Festival told us we look just like locals. My favorite part was the Art Festival, but we loved walking around the shops, eating at our favorite pizza place up there, and of course getting our buns in the Bunnery for breakfast. I love all of the memories associated with Teton Valley. The National Parks with my extended family... river rafting with my family as well as my friends in college... the ranch. And I love adding all of my good times with Scott to this list. This is our second trip to Jackson in a year and a half... I feel pretty good about that!

We're not really shoppers... but we enjoyed the window displays! I did walk away with one of my most desired purchases, however. A hiking guide book of the Targhee area... and identification pamphlets so I can identify local birds, flowers, and edible plants. I'm a geek, I know! But I've already gotten good use out of it. Scott and I saw a black bird on the roof of a shop. A crow or a raven? I whipped out my identification card and recognized the distinctive call... a raven. Man, good thing I had that kind of information on hand.

Scott had a crush on the happy mannequin.
I took this picture for my nephew. Andrew, do you know what kind of dinosaur head that is? I love how it looks like he's eating the fish in the background.

Waiting for lunch at a great Mexican place where we shared fish tacos and fried ice cream before heading home!
The typical JH shot. Sort of. I've got a weird back arch thing going on.

We drove home listening to Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortensen. I'm loving it. Scott was getting sleeping about two hours into our drive, and I finished the drive that welcomed us back to Utah. I was wide awake and enthralled at the kind of experiences I was hearing described on the ipod. I'm excited to finish the book and move on to Stones into Schools.

I woke up this morning with a sore throat and congestion... Looks like my body held out just as long as it needed to! I've got a lot of catch up to do! And before we know it, we'll be heading up to Vancouver to spend some more time with the Hannays! This is shaping up to be a busy and wonderful summer!

First Thing's First

Before I attempt to synthesize my grounding and recharging experience at the ranch, allow me to introduce you (whoever you are) to our dear friend. Of course I named him once upon a time, but the name hasn't stuck in my mind. He's a snake with a forgotten name.



He lives in our bathtub/shower... which has always bothered Scott a wee bit. Each morning before showering, he would remove the nameless snake from the shower and put him on the side of the tub or hang him over the shower curtain. I would surprise him (but this happened each morning so I don't think it was a surprise for very long) by tossing the snake back into the shower at his feet.

What the world needs to know about this snake is that he was a birthday gift from my nephew Andrew. When immersed in water, he grows up to 600 times in size! Or so the box says. I was desperate to know the truth, and I loved having a little critter hanging around for a while. Scott indulged me in the snake growth study because it was an extension of my birthday... so he couldn't say no!

We set out to measure the snake via before/after pictures. Since the snake (let's call him Eddy) is our first "pet" I suggested we take family portraits. This is what I got out of Scotty:



Look at Scott trying to feign affection for this slithery friend...



Fair enough. We got a little caught-up and busy, so we never took an after shot. I figured we'd do it eventually. Here I am... back from ranching and farming for two weeks... eager to see my snake.

WHERE IS HE??? Scott?

tick tick tick...

All that stands in our way are 8 model rocket kits and sculpting clay. Funny how much I love living outside.

Life is a Bowl of Cherries

And bowls of cherries come at great cost.

(Look at what happens when I get talking... or typing. I don't stop. But it does feel good to get caught up again. This is all for the sake of journaling... so I guess you can't write too much)

The bee post reminded me (because of the similar feeling of terror) of a question I wanted to send out into the cosmic void. What is the proper cherry tree etiquette when the cherry tree is on the street-side of the sidewalk? On Sunday I pointed out to Scott that the house across the street has a gorgeous cherry tree with GORGEOUS, red cherries, ripe for the picking! So many cherries going to waste because no one had picked them!



We started out picking a few here and there in passing. A couple days later, I brought a bowl across the street with us, and we had a very sneaky cherry-snatching operation. I kept one eye on the tree, and one eye on the light in the entry room of the house. Things seemed to be going fine, and our pile of loot was looking delicious, when the worst happened. The phone inside the house started ringing! Terror-stricken, I darted across the street shrieking at Scotty to follow; I was so worried a neighbor was calling the cherry tree owner to tell him/her that thieving was afoot outside. Scott obnoxiously and casually skateboarded across the street, stopped in front of our condo, and decided that was the perfect moment to take a phone call. I was fuming with anger and panic as I peered around the wall, motioning for Scott to please come hide himself before the cherry tree owner came out and saw him. Andrew showed up right at this moment, probably thinking I was insane.

I put it behind me as soon as my heart calmed down and my sense of rebellion diminished. We hung out in the kitchen, snacking on cherries when Scott excused himself to use the restroom upstairs. A few minutes later, Andrew and I heard a stern knock at the door. No one ever knocks on our door besides visiting teachers and home teachers. Of course it was the cherry tree owner, coming to confront us! I was seriously numb with terror! "I'm a thief!" I thought. "I'm going to get caught!" I thought. "I can't deal with this!" I thought. I motioned to Andrew to answer the door, and I ran up the stairs. I figured Andrew could answer the door and tell what's-his-name-cherry-owner that he had the wrong house. Coward: Me.

I heard another knock on the door (I found out that Andrew had jumped up to hide the bowl of cherries after the first knock. So glad he was caught-up in all the excitement like I was). I listened at the top of the stairs, failing to notice that the light to the upstairs bathroom was off. Scott wasn't using the bathroom, but I was too consumed by my felony to pay attention. Andrew opened the door, and I heard Scott's voice, "Oh, man. I was going to try to scare Lindsey."

"It worked!!!" I yelled from upstairs!! Scott wasn't even in the dog house for pranking me. It was too funny, and I was being too ridiculous. I love that Scott knows when and how to take advantage of my ridiculousness.

I love that boy. We have a lot of fun around our house.

I'm bringing home a baby bumble bee... won't my mommy be so proud of me?

I have digressed.

The summer before fifth grade, my friends McCaye Badger, Becky Oblad, and I became professionals in the world of experimental bee elimination. We were fearless. There was a fire hydrant in my front yard where a colony of bees had set up camp. I feel like that bee-infested hydrant occupied the entire summer for us... or at least a month of it... or a week. We tried everything. We taped the entrances of the hydrant so the bees would have no exit strategy. When we untaped the hydrant, the bees were waiting, angry and anxious to escape their quarantine. We tried putting pieces of ham and turkey (because according to eleven-year olds, bees are drawn to lunch meat) inside water balloons to trap the bees inside and test whether or not they could sting their way out.

Fast forward to sophomore year of high school. Tyler Snelgrove's back yard. At the wise old age of fifteen, we (I remember Steve being there, Tyler, and maybe James?) decided to catch bees in a tupperware container, freeze them for several hours, tie string around them while they were frozen, hang them from the gutter, and then let them thaw out to find that they had been mysteriously roped.

I don't know why.

And I'm sorry to those of you who vehemently defend the rights of bees (my nephew Andrew being included. After seeing Seinfeld's Bee Movie, he has a very soft spot for bees and their vital roles in their families). But the bees never seemed to mind my scientific endeavors. I've never been stung by one.

BUT. This summer the tides have turned. Either I have digressed in guts or the bees are getting even... years later. Scott and I haven't put the screens on our windows yet, and I have been attacked by HUGE bees the last couple days. We're practically inviting them in with our wide open windows.

Two of them set up camp in the bathroom yesterday. One of them left, and Scott "took care of" bee #2 last night.



And today Scott got a frantic phone call from me while he was at work. A gigantic bee flew into the room, and I swear I've never been so panicked. What's my problem? I smash spiders. I set mouse traps. A bee? I used to be a BEE HUNTER! I'm usually the kind of girl who would have a little chat with the bee... give it a name... bring it a little plate of lunch meat.

I don't know what I expected Scott to do, but I guess misery loves company, and I wanted a little sympathy and advice.

After laughing at me for a few solid minutes Scott asks me very practically (I love that that he gives it the seriousness that it deserves... he goes along with all my stupid bits), "So Lindsey, what do you think you're going to do?"

"I was thinking of just giving him the bedroom. We don't need the bedroom. In fact, maybe we should just give him the house."

The bedroom now belongs to the bee upstairs. Until Scott gets home. I guess I'm one of those girls who needs her husband to kill the bees. I never knew I was so scared of bees all of a sudden. My panicked phone call to Scott took me completely by surprise. I'm kind of grossed out by myself.

But you know what. I'll win this in the end. Once the bee spends an afternoon trapped in our non- air conditioned bedroom on the top level of our apartment complex, he will be sorry he forced me out of my own room while I was in the middle of folding the laundry. Right now I'm wondering if bee's have a cooling mechanism. Do bees sweat? Do they get so overheated that they implode? Something I must know. Will google.

To put the heat into perspective, I just went to get the butter out of my cupboard to make a late lunch, and it has liquified on the plate.

Happy Canada Day!

What better way to celebrate than to go to a good old fashioned (American) rodeo tonight?

*Editor's note: I'm adding a picture to this post instead of creating an entirely new one. The girls who posted these on facebook was kind enough to crop my crotch shot out of the photo before she introduced them to the world.




Scott and I have had a busy summer so far. Lynne, Rick, Margy, and Oliver came to town for a wedding, and we had a great time having everyone all together. I'm excited because we get to see them again in just a few more weeks when we head to Vancouver for John's wedding. Scott's parents are so generous, and made sure to stock us up with a feast of Trader Joe's goods. We stayed up at my parents' house, and it was kind of fun to be living under my old roof again. It was so nice of my parents to let us all invade their home. The second I walk in their house the volume level triples, I think. By the way, I don't know if I ever noted that Scott found deep psychological meaning in our initials. I said to him one day, "L-A-H. Scott, my initials spell LAH... how appropriate! (followed by an operatic LAAAAAAAAH)" He looked at me and said, "Yeah. And to add to the irony, my initials are S-H, as in Shhhhh..." I don't think there could be a better way to sum up our relationship than our initials. The Sea Witch from The Little Mermaid summed it up pretty well:

URSULA
What I want from you is - your voice.

ARIEL
But without my voice, how can I-

URSULA
You'll have your looks, your pretty face.
And don't underestimate the importance of body language, ha!
The men up there don't like a lot of blabber
They think a girl who gossips is a bore!
Yet on land it's much prefered for ladies not to say a word
And after all dear, what is idle babble for?
Come on, they're not all that impressed with conversation
True gentlemen avoid it when they can
But they dote and swoon and fawn
On a lady who's withdrawn
It's she who holds her tongue who get's a man

With how much I talk, I'm lucky I bagged Scotty in the first place.

I've also spent a lot of time this past week with the nephews. I was with them last Thursday at the Dinosaur Museum, Saturday I stopped by to hang with Ben and Sarajane, Monday I kidnapped the kids (I was the Kinder Van for the day) and brought Andrew and Ben down to SLC to play, and Tuesday I went up and watched all three while Kirsten went to girls' camp! We've been able to swim, wash my car, watch shows, play pirates, make creepy potato head creatures, and lucky SJ got to take like twelve naps a day. These little dudes and the little dudette make my day. I'm so glad I've been able to spend so much time with them lately. I have so much fun seeing Kirsten's little family grow.



(These are Donald Duck's nephews... not mine. But there are a lot of similar qualities... destructive being the one that first comes to mind.)

On Thursday we went to the temple. We really made a night of it, and that was really fun for me. I always feel guilty and incomplete when we are rushing to make the session and I'm still catching my breath a half hour into the session. It was so nice to get there with time to spare, sit together in the temple, and really be able to express my gratitude, share thoughts and feelings with Scotty, and communicate with my Heavenly Father. I really heard him talk back when I prayed. It felt incredible, and I want to do my best to have that experience more often.

Last Saturday we made a trip to the Instacare in Bountiful (we were hanging out at John and Jana's) to take care of a weird ear infection I developed. I haven't had one since I was a kid when I used to pull the fluff off my blanket and shove it in my ears to make my ear stop hurting (then I'd fall asleep and forget about it). When my mom took me to my pediatrician, he pulled out so much cotton, he couldn't figure out how it all got there! He told me that I shouldn't use ear swabs without my mom's supervision. I didn't tell my mom until this weekend that the cotton in my ear was not from an ear swab, but my blanket. I was weird then. I'm weird now. I've got some anti-biotics, and I'm hoping the whole thing clears up before getting to the ranch because I won't let anything stand in the way of my ranch time (it only come around once a year)!



It's going to be so weird to be up at the ranch, away from Scott for so long. I'm nervous about it. I've never had a problem with being homesick. I was 12 when I first when to the ranch for two weeks and I don't think I ever felt homesick while up in the Tetons. But I'm sad to think of my hard-working husband at home while I have a transformational experience in the mountains. I owe him big time for encouraging me to go. Scott is always thinking of me and what will make me happy, and I'm ridiculously lucky to have him! I've never met someone so humble and filled with gratitude. I feel like being away from him for a week in June helped me realize how badly I want to be more like him. As I think about leaving for the ranch, I feel like I know the lesson I'm going to learn before I even learn it. But the ranch never fails to knock me over the head with many lessons I never expected. Dick never fails to enlighten me with his conversation; Sue never fails to inspire me with her example; and the landscape reminds me what this life is all about... that God abounds and is the center of everything in this life. All things testify of Christ: that He lives and that this is His work. How can anyone look at the gorgeous creation of this Earth and not wonder about its Creator?



Just getting the last minute things together. I wish I could make two weeks' worth of lunches and put them in the fridge for Scott, but I think Day 12's jam and almond butter sandwich might get soggy.