Tuesday, September 28, 2010

LOL

A couple weeks ago, Scott and I got to participate in the Legacy of Lowell Bennion Service Day for the third time together. Here is the video from this year's service day.



My mom is involved in putting on the event, so we've enjoyed helping out each year we've been together. We don't actually celebrate wedding anniversaries anymore; we celebrate our years of Legacy of Lowell. I celebrate because it's the only time of the year and can get Scott to wear U of U red....



Someone took pictures of us this year in red U of U shirts... but I don't know who has them or how to get them.

I'm so proud of my mom for all she does. She is so busy, and is involved in so many things throughout our community and beyond. She is on the board for the Bennion Center, she just started on a nursing board (I'm not sure which one exactly), she travels to India and Africa to do humanitarian medical work, she organizes the clinical work for high school nursing students, she plays golf and tennis with her friends, and she makes plenty of time to spend time with her kids, send care packages, and entertain her grandkids. Thanks for letting us be part of another Legacy of Lowell, Mom!

Friday, September 24, 2010

Which one is your favorite?

I am so getting in the mood for fall. The store is decorated with the most fantastic Halloween doo dads, and I'm loving every day of work. I love the energy that fall brings. Even though our options are more limited than summer, new seasons bring all new feelings. I love the variety. I used to study both these poems each time the first day of fall rolled around. I like to look back and review them. Which one is your favorite? I'm a bigger fan of the Keats. I even memorized it when I lived in England. Now days I can only get about halfway through the first stanza.

To Autumn
by William Blake

O Autumn, laden with fruit, and stained
With the blood of the grape, pass not, but sit
Beneath my shady roof; there thou mayst rest,
And tune thy jolly voice to my fresh pipe,
And all the daughters of the year shall dance!
Sing now the lusty song of fruits and flowers.

"The narrow bud opens her beauties to
The sun, and love runs in her thrilling veins;
Blossoms hang round the brows of Morning, and
Flourish down the bright cheek of modest Eve,
Till clust'ring Summer breaks forth into singing,
And feather'd clouds strew flowers round her head.

"The spirits of the air live on the smells
Of fruit; and Joy, with pinions light, roves round
The gardens, or sits singing in the trees."
Thus sang the jolly Autumn as he sat;
Then rose, girded himself, and o'er the bleak
Hills fled from our sight; but left his golden load.



To Autumn
by John Keats

Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness,
Close bosom-friend of the maturing sun;
Conspiring with him how to load and bless
With fruit the vines that round the thatch-eves run;
To bend with apples the moss'd cottage-trees,
And fill all fruit with ripeness to the core;
To swell the gourd, and plump the hazel shells
With a sweet kernel; to set budding more,
And still more, later flowers for the bees,
Until they think warm days will never cease,
For summer has o'er-brimm'd their clammy cells.

Who hath not seen thee oft amid thy store?
Sometimes whoever seeks abroad may find
Thee sitting careless on a granary floor,
Thy hair soft-lifted by the winnowing wind;
Or on a half-reap'd furrow sound asleep,
Drowsed with the fume of poppies, while thy hook
Spares the next swath and all its twined flowers:
And sometimes like a gleaner thou dost keep
Steady thy laden head across a brook;
Or by a cider-press, with patient look,
Thou watchest the last oozings, hours by hours.

Where are the songs of Spring? Ay, where are they?
Think not of them, thou hast thy music too,--
While barred clouds bloom the soft-dying day,
And touch the stubble-plains with rosy hue;
Then in a wailful choir the small gnats mourn
Among the river sallows, borne aloft
Or sinking as the light wind lives or dies;
And full-grown lambs loud bleat from hilly bourn;
Hedge-crickets sing; and now with treble soft
The redbreast whistles from a garden-croft,
And gathering swallows twitter in the skies.

V.W.

"Men and Women are different. What needs to be made equal is the value placed on those differences."

Wednesday, September 22, 2010

Give a Little Whistle

Scott and I have both been extremely busy the last few weeks with work, our callings at church, and school for Scott. We're getting used to getting up at 5:30 every morning. Our days are jamb-packed with work and school for Scott, work, errands, scheduling, housework, and budgeting for me. We're making the adjustments and loving our crazy life right now. With both of us waking up so early and getting home so late, we usually don't see each other until at least 9 at night. Blah! But we've been taking advantage of every second we get to be together and have been having even more fun together because the time we have is so rare. We use every chance we get to spend time together.

Except for something about tonight. Scott got off at 4! Can you believe it!? And he didn't even come home and work on homework! He went for a run in the rain and to get a new tube for his bike tire. I got home around 5, which is unusual for me as well! You'd think we'd take this time to be together, right? Ha ha.. nope. We had to figure out YM/YW changes because of the rain (we were both scheduled to do hikes). We sat at the kitchen table across from each other, trying to email our kids with the new information. And of course.... Scotty's phone came.

So we had to drive out to the 39th West to go pick it up. (We did go get tacos tonight before YM/YW, and they were DELICIOUS! We brushed up on our Spanish for the rest of the night. Did I mention that I always have a blast with Scotty? Even getting tacos was so much fun.)

I think Scott likes this phone more than I've ever seen him like anything that's not a person or a river. Proof: it is 11:04pm. We are not sleeping though we will wake up at 5:30am as always. And Scott has not done an ounce of homework. He's having a lot of fun, and I'm glad we got him a cool "grown-up phone."

So now we are sitting on our bed while he gets acquainted with his new best bud. I have come up with a number of things to keep myself busy while he entertains himself. I've read from my new book. I've studied floral designs on various blogs and websites. I've played bubble breaker on my cell phone. I've folded all our laundry. I've changed our sheets. I'll never run out of ways to entertain myself. Tonight I decided to learn to whistle.

I've never been able to whistle. Since I was a kid, I wished I could. I have no idea what the problem was. It's not like whistling is that weird water drop thing that people can do by flicking their hollowed-out mouths. It's not like that creepy finger-jiggle-clicky-thing that only guys seem to be able to do. It's whistling. Where was the hang-up on whistling?

When I was in 5th grade, I was Jiminy Cricket in the school play (as one of the two shortest kids in school, it would make sense that I was be casted to play an insect in a top hat). I love the role. I had so much fun, and I was a good little singer who loved to perform. I was so humiliated though when I learned that I couldn't whistle. How are you supposed to sing "Give a Little Whistle" to an auditorium full of people when I couldn't even whistle?

I'll tell you. You get Pinnochio to whistle into his mike, and you mouth the shape with your lips. It's a cop-out, but it's believable.

Tonight, my friends (or friend. or internet stalker. or whoever it is reading this. maybe it is just myself reading this over again at some point in the future. ok.... let's face it. i'll be reading over it as soon as i publish it. why didn't i capitalize any of the letters in this parenthetical section?) I have TRIUMPHED over the world of the whistle. I stumbled upon it. I guess I'm growing up. I can whistle.

I made a victorious and overjoyed video to prove it. Then I accidentally deleted it. So I recorded this down-trodden moment. Then another try: the sound didn't work. Then another try: the sound didn't work again. Then the tester movie: the sound worked! So we gave it another go, and it worked. I had decreased in excitement, but increased in skill... so it was a fair trade-off. I was determined to catch this on film.



Are you proud of me, Mom? James McKean (my counterpart Pinnochio)? All the parents on the PTA painting our set? Here I am... over ten years later. I got it down.

And did everyone take special note of the fantastic expressions exhibited by my loving and supportive husband who looked away from his new cell phone to celebrate my joy? It's priceless.

Wednesday, September 15, 2010

I'm happy to have inherited...

...this picture from my wonderful friend Marianne. We were reunited minutes before this picture after that long and strange time where we were both supposed to be on missions in western states, but I mysteriously never made it out there. Marianne told me she had written me a letter or two in the MTC, and always wondered which Sister Petersen received them. I love love LOVE Marianne (I am quite fond of her, can you tell?). She is one of the most amazing examples in my life. She has been my Quickwater partner in crime for years, and a good friend throughout high school and college. I'm so lucky to have developed a friendship at a young age at the ranch, and to see what it has become since. I hope to develop half the sincerity and charity that I see in this girl.

Marianne finished her mentor duties... greeting the parents, organizing her girls, and saying goodbye... when she came to find me. Of course I was in the kitchen doing dishes. I feel so at home in that kitchen. I enjoy doing dishes there.

Here we are in the beautiful and nostalgic Quickwater kitchen. She had been a mentor at the girls' ranch while I was teaching classes and cooking at the boys ranch. I went over to the girls' ranch to see the final program and say goodbye to all the girls I know and love. Marianne was there, and we laughed and wandered around the ranch like the good old days. We found our tiles in the kitchen wall (I have more than 10); we made up chores to do; and we just had a blast being together again. Scott wasn't able to meet her.... yet.... but he will! I am completely confident that my friendship with Marianne will last forever because its foundation is based on real meshing of hearts.

Look how gorgeous she is! Oh the memories I have with this girl!!!

Thoughts on Life



Being true to my character means believing this is the case. It is the case. It is this simple. We were up until 1 am discussing it.

Monday, September 13, 2010

Should the next one be...

This or This?

Or something else?
Following Friday's Flu...

We had an eventful Saturday. I woke up and went to work at 8 (my stomach was still pretty uneasy. I was in the clear as far as being sick, but I was pretty sore and pretty exhausted). Things were really busy at work, and I worked until 1 when I had to take off for an afternoon at The Lion King. I loved watching the Lion King, it was so much fun; I love the costumes and stage performance. We had incredible seats, and I loved watching both the little boys watch the play, and it was really fun sitting next to my cousins Emma and Lizzy as they saw the show for the first time. Thank you Grandma and Grandpa for the tickets! It was so fun for the whole family to go together!

I went back to work after the play, and it ended up being a long evening of getting everything back to normal. I wasn't feeling too great, and I felt drained all of Sunday. I think I'm just now starting to get my energy up to what it should be. We've been babysitting Emma and Christian this weekend. We're starting to get the hang of these late night high school dances. We were able to sleep right through this one! I didn't even hear Christian come in.

Today I had the happy task to clean my house after being sick for the day and then staying at the Earls again tonight. They get home Tuesday morning. It's been fun to hang with Emma and Christian. We built forts and did nails... we had a blast!

An attempt, whether good or bad.

I finally finished "Eat, Pray, Love" last night.

I'm undecided. Not that it entirely matters whether or not I think well of the attempt.

Except it does matter. I'm the reader, after all.

So, that being the case, I guess I must form an opinion of sorts.

I read it. But it's not something I would be proud to have written.

But then, I've never written a book. So I would maybe be a little proud to have written it.

But if I were a writer, one who has a book or two floating around out there, I would not be proud to have written it.

Yes. It's very self-indulgent.

Yes. I was warned from page one, by the author herself, that self-indulgent would be the case.

And some people don't have any problems with being self-indulgent, especially while "healing."

But it bugs me. Well, it bugged me. I got over it as soon as I closed the book.

I always finish a book.

Then I vent to Scott about it a bit like it's his fault, "How could someone go to Italy without stepping foot inside a church or museum?"

I don't care how good the pizza is.

Then I try to think of the redeeming qualities so I don't seem to think it devoid of any originality or merit, "Well, I guess she wasn't thinking conventionally, like a tourist."

And then I put it in the shelf where it is most aesthetically pleasing, knowing full-well that I won't be reading it again.

But I will see the movie.

I love Julia Roberts too much to not see the movie.

Friday, September 10, 2010

It's still Friday?

It's been a long long day of the stomach flu.

I am so grateful to have Scotty home. It made all the difference. He's writing reviews downstairs while I fold the laundry upstairs. But we holler at each other every half hour or so to make sure we're both alive.

But this quote has never been more true today than any other day. It makes all the difference to have Scott home with me. It makes me feel so much better.



Today we celebrate one year and eight months of marriage. What a way to celebrate, eh?

Fluke.

Bleh. This morning I feel bleh. I've been sick since about 3 am, and I can't stray too far from my bed and my bathroom. Anyone want to be me for the weekend? I promise I have a really great and busy weekend planned...

Thursday, September 9, 2010

Crisp and Cool

I'm loving the rain! It was a perfect morning to make banana oatmeal muffins, and it will be a perfect evening for tomato basil soup! I love the fall! I hope it's here to stay (don't tell Scotty I said that)!

Wednesday, September 8, 2010

Boxes...



...of peaches make me happy! I don't know who we think we are buying this many. But they are delicious! And we've already gone from three big serving bowls to two big serving bowls since Monday. Not bad!

We got the idea on Saturday when we were out for a morning run. Our neighbor has a pear tree, and we started picking some good-looking pears when I had the thought, "Today is Saturday!!! Farmers' Market!!!!" And I took off faster than I think Scott has ever seen me run.

We took the dirt bike, and minutes later we're downtown at the market. It is HUGE. I love it! Half of it is food, and half of it is art. There's a huge range of musicians and performers every couple feet. It's chaotic and fun, and the samples are DELICIOUS. It is one of my favorite things in life, the Farmers' Market. Any Farmers' Market. But the one is Salt Lake is especially fun. I didn't take any pictures because I was too busy being in love with everything that entered my mouth or caught my eye.



We walked away with some delicious tomato pesto, Mediterranean-seasoned cheese curds, peaches (to snack on), raspberries, blackberries, strawberries, and amazing honey butter. I was/am a happy HAPPY girl.

So we went through all the fruit... pretty much that afternoon. And so we needed to get some peaches to satisfy Scott's summer-long craving.

I'm so excited to finally have gotten involved with a local co-op. It really will make sense financially, and I'm excited about the locally-grown produce. I'm also excited because I never know what will come in my basket, so it'll be a challenge to come up with fun ways to cook new things! I get my first order on Saturday morning!

I worked all the rest of Saturday (11-8) whilst Scotty did his homework. It was a great Saturday, though. Running/garage sales, Farmers' Market, homework, the lovely store where I get to hang out every day, and then an evening at the park on our bicycles.

Sunday we had a nice time at home together, with a delicious dinner (that I'm surprised I pulled-off), and about ten minutes of a movie... which is about all we can handle. My favorite part of the day was our hike up to Engagement Hill (where we got engaged, you see). It was a gorgeous afternoon, and the yellow grass was blowing wildly as the wind got more and more aggressive. We had brought a blanket so we could read at the top, but we ended up turning it into a parachute and it took us flying! We'd hold it up against the wind and let go of it, then chase it. We'd hold it up above us and then leap off a ridge, and it would legitimately hold us for a while. I felt like the littlest of kids when every small thing can become an entertaining adventure. We had a blast. I laughed. I ran. I fell. I'm in love with Scott and grateful for all these good times (no matter how small and simple).

Monday was a weird Labor Day for us. Last year we were hiking King's Peak. This year Scott had to go to work (bleh) while I scrubbed floors and folded laundry. It was a good catch-up day. And I even found time in the morning to go for a nice mountain run and take a long bath (during which I fell asleep. I was dreaming I jumped from a foot stool, and I jolted awake, heard a splash, and got really really confused). We had a great time together when Scott came home early. We ended up going down to hang with Adam, Bekah, Matt, and Loral. Snow cones (even better than Bob's Brainfreeze is this place down in Orem), WinCo, and a delicious BBQ with homemade guacamole made it an awesome night with some of our closest friends. Scott and I feel so grateful for good friends and love seeing them as often as we do. I can honestly say that I wish we were all next-door neighbors. I think we'd have a blast!

The week began again... there was a break-in at my store, and I was able to identify the guy. So that was a bit of excitement. Scott and I are truly loving life. Scott is loving school. It's so great to see how his whole demeanor has brightened since classes began. He loves learning, and I think he's especially grateful for the welcome chance to stimulate his mind more during the week. I think work can be quite draining. For my part, I just try and keep our house as calming as I can and be up for anything at the drop of a dime. Scott and I have a wonderful life, and we're so grateful for it. I'm seeing more and more every day how good I've got it because of the man I chose to marry. I am a lucky girl, and a very happy one!

For the record...

For the record, I don't know how long the cheesy little caricatures at the top of the blog are gonna last. I'll give them at least tonight... but that's only because I've got to make dinner and then pick up the kids for Young Women's for one of my final times.

Yeah... come to think of it, say goodbye cause I bet they'll be gone tomorrow.

Tuesday, September 7, 2010

The Finale. Finally.

So this was the "before picture" for our kayaking excursion. This is why I love hanging out with Scott all the time. We do such fun things, even when there's usually a good reason not to do them. For example, we had spent the night sleeping in a park in the back of our car with the rain pelting the roof and window. It wasn't the best of nights' sleep, nor the worst of nights' sleep.

The rain didn't stop. And neither did we. Of course we're going to kayak in the rain. When you're married to Scott, kayak you will... even in the rain.


And I'm glad. Cause we had a blast! It was the highlight of the trip for me, and it was such a fabulous memory.

This is the gear we were able to pack with us on the plane.... thermals... chacos... and our waterproof shells. I was toasty warm the whole time, and we were able to stay pretty dry at first.



I love this guy! The day was perfect for kayaking, even with the rain! The rain kept the wind away and the water quiet. There were times when I felt like we were the only two people in the ocean.



Scotty was searching for critters. I met so many fun ocean friends on this trip! We saw seals (including a baby) within about a foot of us, resting on a dock. We saw tiny jellyfish in the water surrounding us. I couldn't believe how many jellyfish I found once I started looking for them. And my personal favorite was the starfish! I have NEVER actually seen a live jellyfish up close. I've NEVER actually touched one! Scotty, being the studly fella that he is, made sure that I had the best first encounter with the creatures ever.

"See Lindsey! Don't you want to hold the squishy thing? It probably won't pee on you."


"Hmm... it is squishy, and also scratchy. Do you think I could hide this one in my life jacket and take it home with me on the plane once it had dried out? No? The Canadians do not love that very much? Hmm..."

"What if I eat it instead? Oh dear. It is too big for my mouth."
"Here are some purple sluggish friends."

"I will name every one of them Ursula because they remind me of the purple sea witch on the mermaid movie. Is there any way this thing could reach out its tentacle and smack me?"
The "after picture"... sopping wet and LOVING life! I was having a hard time grasping the concept that our trip was about to end! I'm so glad we kayaked in the rain. It was one poetic moment after poetic moment that just felt as close to perfection as I think I've ever gotten. I loved it, and I loved having Scott to share it with me! Thanks for the wonderful trip, babe! (Too bad he never reads this thing!)

Deep Cove

Deep Cove ranks among the coolest places on this earth. We loved it! It was like our love affair with Ashland, Oregon two years ago. We just came across Deep Cove by accident, and ended up turning it into the grand finale of the trip.

It's not only a gorgeous view, but it's hidden and quaint. So close to Vancouver, it is filled with friendly locals and no tourists. I think we were the only ones. We had nice chats with a few of our new Deep Cove friends, and we sat on a bench, overlooking the gorgeous ocean, contemplating and scheming how we plan to seal the deal, secure some real estate, and set up camp in Deep Cove.

I could picture it now... a morning kayak ride to a nearby island. Infinitely better than any other way to start the day.


We'll take this same picture when we're eighty and living in Deep Cove.




I love how the light is shining down on Scotty's face... it was an excellent and unplanned dramatic effect to indicate heaven.


This is our favorite little balloon lady. We helped her carry her balloon gear up to her car as she told us all about the master balloon teacher that imparted to her his wisdom. "When the student is ready, the teacher appears." She is precisely the kind of wonderful character I want to write in a story.




This is our beloved Subaru. We totally lucked out on our rental car. The first thing we both said when we saw it was, "We can totally sleep in this!!"

And we did!

Ha ha ha... oh we are such vagabonds!



When we got to Deep Cove, they were having an evening outdoor concert. I loved the energy of this little community! The kids were all sliding down the hill on slabs of cardboard and stripping down to swim in the ice cold ocean.







Thank you, Deep Cove, for the wonderful memories! We can't wait to come back and see you again! Hopefully for a bit of a longer visit.

Monday, September 6, 2010

Biking Whistler

These are our game faces. For Scott, I think he woke up that morning feeling like he was about to do that which he was born to do. I think the biking in Whistler was Scott's highlight of the entire trip. (We only have before and after pictures... none on the mountain unfortunately because who has time for pictures when you could be biking?)




I felt so hardcore getting all geared up. We would ride the chair up and then take off down the trails. Scott did the first few with me, and then we split off so Scott could do the runs I wouldn't survive.



We ended this day with an evening by the pool. It was so nice to catch up on some good reading and much needed rest. It was a vacation in every sense of the word! We want to go back! Scott was in heaven. It was the best mountain biking he's ever done and he was trying to figure out all weekend how he could make a career of mountain biking Whistler.

Los Lagos

On our first day in Whistler (this is all the first day so far. Day 1 was waterfalls, Olympic Village, Peak to Peak, and Lake visits. Day 2 was biking, biking, and more biking) we went to explore a couple lakes with Vince. We went in the evening so it was a little too cold for me since I was having some lung problems while we were there. But we ended up going again on our last (third) day in Whistler before we hit to road back to Vancouver, and I loved it!

Canada is GORGEOUS. There's no place like it. It's my favorite kind of beauty.


I loved sitting on the grass by the lake and watching the people around me. So many funny kids and families. I love people watching. And I loved watching Scott and Vince race out to the furthest dock (can you see it? far right?).

Scott didn't want to burn his nose. I think. he put his shirt over his nose, and looked like a Swami.

Our last stop before heading back to Vancouver! We loved Whistler! And we're really white for the summer. Quite the bummer. And for those of you who have said that the summer has turned my hair orange. You're right. Look at that.

Peak to Peak

Scott's cousin Kyle was so so SO nice to us in Whistler. He works for the resort and set us up with a really nice hotel room (the fanciest place we've stayed since our Costa Rican honeymoon!!!), tickets to do the world famous peak to peak lift at Whistler, and day passes and full gear set up for mountain biking the whole next day. We were in HEAVEN. First, the peak to peak...

Scott's cousin Vince came with us to Whistler for the first day. It was a lazy day of sight seeing and eating a lot of gelato. I think I ate more gelato in BC than I did in Italy in 2006. It was so great to hang with Vince, and he dropped everything to be with us. He and Kyle totally made the trip for us, and we owe them big time. Scott has got such an awesome family, and I loved getting to know them a little better and making memories.



It was a smoky day to ride the peak to peak, but we could still see broad vistas, and it was such an eerie feeling to be dangling over the valley. I couldn't believe how we just entrusted our lives to a bunch of crazy Canadian architects!





Da Bears. It was so weird to be mountain biking the next know knowing that there were bears all over the trails. We would ride up the chair and notice that a mother and cubs would be smack dab in the middle of a trail I just finished.