The Time in my Life for BIG Hair, Pegged Pants, Suntans at-any-Cost, and Blue Eye Make Up

The 1980's.

I gave Matt this 80's puzzle for Christmas, and we've just finally completed it.

Both my husband and I are "Children of the 80's" AND very nostalgic.
But, that decade...man, it was pretty great!
Looking at all the different parts of puzzle was a trip down Memory Lane.
We were like,  Oh, ya....remember....

• ...that one scene in Top Gun that is FOREVER ingrained in your mind whenever you hear the song, "Take My Breath Away"......and was totally uncomfortable for Matt to watch with his parents when he saw the movie for the first time!
• ...how we could NEVER solve the Rubik's cube, so I just disassembled all the pieces and put it back together with all 6 colors/sides done up right!
• ...The Facts of Life was the best show on television, and I wanted to be "Jo" when all the other girls my age dreamed more about being "Blair."
• ...that Different Strokes, The Dukes of Hazard, The Love Boat, and The Cosby Show were pretty darn good shows, too! :)
• ...how you could record movies that came on T.V. onto a video tape, and then watch it again and again later - which I DID with the movie, Grease, whenever a new friend came over to my house.  (Note: only later in my adult years did I get a "real" copy of the movie, and.....it was quite different [read: shocking and not-so-innocent] than my recorded edited-for-T.V. version that I watched all those years!)
• ...I was sitting in my High School cafeteria having lunch my Sophomore year when a boy came in and told me that the Challenger Space Shuttle had exploded!  He tried to tell a joke, "Do you know what NASA means?"  Me: "National Aeronautics and Space Administration."  (jk, I didn't answer that - I wasn't that bright in Science!)  Him: "Need Another Seven Astronauts."  Is that weird that I remember the punch line after all these years?  I think I was so appalled by the tasteless joke, that it stuck in my brain.  Oh, high school aged boys -- they're just so sensitive, aren't they?  ;)
• ...I just wanted a stereo for Christmas, nothing else - and I got one; and it practically took up one whole wall of my bedroom!
• ...it was SOOO fun to play Pacman/Ms. Pacman at Pinocchio's Pizza [or insert any other place that had arcade games] when we went for mutual.
• ...Ronald Reagan was all the rage: my family was soooo EXTREMELY pro-Reagan.  We were THAT family who had the "Reagan/Bush '84" bumper stickers on all our cars....AND our toy wagons, Big Wheels, and dog house!!!
  

{In fact, my older brother did an internship in The White House, and he pulled some strings.....

and I received this graduation card in the mail from the President, himself!}

• ...Bruce Springstein, Michael J. Fox, Michael Jackson, Patrick Swayzee (and Dirty Dancing!), Jane Fonda, Tom Cruise, Cindi Lauper (her part in We Are the World, "Whoa-whoa-waah-let-us-realize."), Molly Ringwald (Sixteen Candles/The Breakfast Club/Pretty in Pink), Mr. T, and more!

And for your further flashback enjoyment, here are some of MY "best shots" (Get it?...as in Pat Benatar's, "Hit me with your best shot") :) from that Excellent Era. (Get it?....as in Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure?) 

 (1st day of 9th grade for me, on the left) 

 (a cordless phone for Christmas for my own room - on a humongous clock radio base!)  ;)

 (how's that for an I'm-so-annoyed-you're-taking-my-picture-again,-dad look?)  ;)

 {Hi [li'l bro] Mikey!}

 (Lip Synching to Tears for Fears', "Shout" for my sister's school class, I'm on the left.)

AND look what I'm wearing on my feet; Chuck Taylor Converse high tops! 

What are my children talking about when they say my era was so OUT of it?!!?

 (getting ready for Senior Ball, my Sophomore year)

 (I think my "crush" was probably in that crowd of kids somewhere, and my mom was trying to

catch a photo of me talking with him after our choir concert.)  ;)

 (The "Nerd" Dance - ya it was BIG thing we did.) 

Also, notice the big phone (with a coil cord) that sat (and had to stay) on the kitchen desk  -

and the awesome wall paper in the background!)  ;)

 (my [19 yr. old!] sister's wedding breakfast, I'm in the red/white dress)

 (my 17th birthday)

 (a group of my friends waiting in my room - and freakin' out - to go on a group dance date, I'm the one standing)

 (Yes! It was a REAL thing; tied bows around our collar!)

 (graduation from BHS, 3rd over)

 (my brother's wedding)

(gotta show a car from the era, too!)

OK, so maybe these were more like MY not-so-best shots.....but Welcome to the 80's!!!

It's Like I was 17 Again!

Unfortunately, we've been having sub-freezing temps around here lately, which has caused our garage door keypad to not open our door.

Fortunately, I tried it Saturday afternoon when I went our for a walk, and IT WORKED!

Unfortunately, when I returned an hour later, the keypad was NOT working again.

Fortunately, we have three other doors that I can get in our home with.

Unfortunately, when I tried all of them, they were ALL locked at the moment.

Fortunately, I have a LOUD knock/pound to alert those inside to open the door for me.

Unfortunately, no one answered the door.

Fortunately, I had my cell phone with me and I called the home phone.

Unfortunately, no one answered.

Fortunately, I knew this didn't necessarily mean anything negative (no one answers the phone when it rings!)

Unfortunately, when I called Kyle's cell phone, he said he wasn't inside our home - he was at a friend's house.  It didn't look like I was getting inside any time soon.

Fortunately, I had my coat and gloves.

Unfortunately, I did not have a face mask, hat, thermals or boots on, and the CHILL got through.

Fortunately, I had one chance left - I called Matt.

Unfortunately, he was in Salt Lake City shopping for a table.

Fortunately, he was almost done.

Unfortunately, he did not have our car with him, nor our keys, because he had borrowed his parent's truck to pick up above mentioned table, so he'd have to make an extra stop on his way home to get them.

Fortunately, we did have some neighbors who looked like they were home, if I froze or got desperate, or was desperately frozen, that I could go to and beg for shelter and warmth to wait it out in.

Unfortunately, I did not want to trouble them with my pathetic situation.

Fortunately, I HAD just returned from my walk to the library, and I had a bag full of six new books!  And we have a rocking chair on our porch!  So, I took a seat, opened up a book, and started reading!

And eventually Matt came home and let me into our [warm] home! 

The End.

Total time spent locked outside = approximately 30 minutes.
(But, with temperatures hovering around the high teens, it felt like MUCH longer!)  ;)


*This being locked out hasn't happened to me FOR YEARS - in my teens and college years, it was a regular occurrence, though, so this was quite the trip down Memory Lane!  haha.

Vocabulary 401

Back in 9th grade, I did something that made a lasting impression on my English teacher.  (Wow!  Who knew that was even possible, being the younger sibling of "Mr. Genius," who'd already gone through that same school and completely amazed all the teachers?!?)  Every time I, or someone in my family, have run into her since then, she always mentions this memory she has of me.

This is what I did - and I totally thought it was the perfectly NATURAL thing to do in the situation, so I've never been able to figure out what the big deal was - when I was reading a novel, and I came across a word that I did not know the meaning of, I looked it up in the dictionary, and wrote the word & definition down in my notebook.  (I filled quite a few pages of that notebook!)  
That's it.  So, now you know a "secret" to making your mark with your teacher!  haha.

So, I still read novels these days (I'll have to do another book review on my blog soon), but usually I understand all the words.  It may have something to do with the fact that, admittedly, I prefer what I label, "easy reads."  ;)

Until.....I recently read a book by a different publisher/genre than I most frequently read......and in the first couple of pages, I found myself back in 9th grade!  I didn't know the definitions of all the words, even the context of the sentence didn't help me understand the word's meaning!  They really were "advanced" words, in my defense. ;)  So, I jotted the words down on a post-it note and got out my handy-dandy dictionary again. 
These days, I don't know where that old vocab notebook is, but now I can just document them on this blog!

So, I present to you a vocabulary lesson from the novel, Breathing Lessons by Anne Tyler (which happened to be a book I rated 4 STARS!) 


SURREPTITIOUSLY - obtained, done, made, etc. by stealth; secret or unauthorized
 
SLATTERNLY - slovenly and untidy
 
QUERULOUS - full of complaints; complaining
 
BESOTTED - to muddle or stupefy

ABSCONDED - to depart in a sudden and secret manner, especially to avoid capture and legal prosecution

TOREADOR - a bullfighter

LOTHARIOS - a man who obsessively seduces and deceives women, in reference to
the young seducer in Nicholas Rowe's 1703 play, The Fair Penitent 
 
IMPERVIOUS - incapable of being influenced, persuaded, or affected; impenetrable

MAWKISHLY - characterized by sickly sentimentality; weakly emotional

OBSEQUIOUS - compliant, obedient; dutiful; respectful

ABDICATED - to renounce or relinquish a throne, right, power, claim, responsibility, or the like, especially in a formal manner

IMPERIOUS - domineering in a haughty manner; dictatorial; overbearing

APPURTENANCES - something subordinate to another, more important thing

DIRIGIBLES - designed for or capable of being directed, controlled, or steered


How did y'all fare?  Were you besotted by these vocabulary words?

Am I the only one who didn't know all of these words?  I am???  Are you sure you didn't surreptitiously use your dictionary to get all the answers?!?

I've got a favorite from the list: obsequious.  I want obsequious children!!!  ;)

This Weekend:

YES!  I am actually going to write a post that is not about Elder Brenchley!  ;)

THIS WEEKEND:
*Matt & I were in charge of our ward Christmas party this year.

It was on Friday night, the 12th.

But, I worked on getting it ready all day Friday.

And Thursday.

And Wednesday.

And the whole month before.

We had an awesome committee, though, who contributed a TON!

{Thanks Christensen's, Derrick's, Evans', Floyd's, Becky & Gina}

Some of the HIGHLIGHTS:

  ~"Neighborhood Trivia" was projected up on a movie screen up front as people arrived.

First, the "clue" would come up on the screen for people to read, and then a while later, the answer (person's name) would go up on the screen.
(THINK: movie theater before the movie starts.)

It was a great "mixer" to get people talking to start the party!
The ones from our family were:

This woman had a leg hair growing contest with a guy – and WON!

This person drove 140 m.p.h. in a blue Mustang GT – and lived to tell about it.

This [non-native Japanese] married couple both know how to speak Japanese. 

This person played on an ALL-GIRL baseball team (with pink uniforms) in a BOYS’ league.

This person has a purple belt in Karate.

This person cracked his head open doing a flip off the couch. 

This 6 YR. OLD likes to eat tomatoes, green peppers, avocado, cauliflower, & green salad! 

This missionary has now picked up the “Southern” patterns of speech. 

(Can you guess them all?!?)
~A "Green Screen" Photo Op

(THINK: weatherman on the news)

People literally just posed in front of a green screen......THEN......

it turned into THIS:

~Dinner with food from Mo' Bettah Steaks

I broke tradition and did away with the chili & soup (not my favorite) they'd done in the past!  I'm such a rebel!  But, that's one of the perks of being in charge!  

PLUS, this menu had the "gluten free" crowd in mind.

~Entertainment/Musical Program

{The Primary sang, "Stars Were Gleaming"}

Katelyn is 3rd from the left (fuchsia pants, turquoise vest).  Brookelle is 5th from the right (pink camo pants, navy shirt).

We also have this TREMENDOUSLY talented Sister Missionary serving in our area - she plays the ukelele, she sings, she plays the piano, she does it all together!
(Too bad [for us] she is returning home this week.)

She performed, "A Hallelujah Christmas."  Have you seen/heard this song?!!?

I've been watching/listening to it on YouTube ever since the party!
 

 You won't be able to get it out of your mind, I tell ya!

*On Saturday, we spent the whole day in bed recovering from the ward party.

HA!

NOT!

I WISH!

But, we had the Fowers Christmas party at our home that night.

We barely got all the dishes & small appliances from the night before washed up & returned, then started cleaning up our house before the people started to come!

{Scenes from the evening}

One of the highlights from the evening was when my Aunt Louise shared experiences

from her mission to Australia back in the late 60's and her news reporting career at KSL television.

(She started at age 22 and was the 1st and ONLY woman reporter at that time in the Salt Lake area!  She was just the 2nd woman in the nation to do it, and the ONLY woman on the air at that particular time.)

Many of the youngest generation did not know any of this family history, so it was great to have her share it!

She brought a few clips of her news stories she reported on from the past, too.  They were fun to watch!

She is also a talented musician, and we always gather around the piano and sing a Christmas song that she wrote, "Waiting for the Child."

She's written other songs, too.  You can see one of her pieces on YouTube here:

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gsWIvnQHEa8

and here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9cZm8Ny0CoI

(That's my cousin singing the song!)

*On Sunday, we finally rested & recuperated all day.

(HA! again.....In my dreams)

Our darling niece, Megan, recently returned from her mission to Madrid, Spain on 12/9....

 YES!  I cried at the sight of the reunion between missionary & parents - THIS one AND strangers I don't even know!

 {COUSINS!}

Megan had her "Homecoming" (reported on her mission at church) on Sunday - at 9:00 in the morning!!

We got to attend that and hear her testimony (in Spanish - don't know what she said!) and her contagious enthusiasm for the Gospel!

We went to my brother's house afterwards for food and visiting and stayed well into the afternoon.

*We had Tithing Settlement with the Bishop later Sunday evening.

GOOD THING we discovered those missing checks so everything really could be "settled." ;)

*I realized I have 9 days to get ALL the Christmas stuff done, now!

THE LIST for this week started rolling through my mind at extraordinary speeds!

If You Know Who the Pink Ladies and T-Birds Are.......

.......you're a girl/boy after my own heart!

I happened to check in at The Pioneer Woman's blog tonight for the first time since Summer started -- have I mentioned before that Summer really kicks my butt?!?  ;)  HERE and HERE and HERE for just a few reminders. Especially THIS ONE as I was getting a missionary ready to go?  And we went on back to back to back vacations/trips.  (unpack, wash, pay bills, pack, repeat!)

ANYWAY, so, although I love her blog, I've been a little preoccupied!  BUT ON THE DAY that I return to it, to my great delight, she is doing a movie quiz, which she does periodically, but today's was on the movie, GREASE!

Oh, I got giddy!  I could hardly start it fast enough!

You can check it out here:
 The GREASE quiz

I am pleased to announce that I DID NOT even use Google to help me with any of the questions (my 1st time ever on her movie quizzes).....AND......I was done lickity split (also, my 1st time ever!).....AND I scored a 100% on my own!

You see, when I was in my teens, "Grease" happened to be on T.V. one night, and my family recorded it on our VCR!!  We tried to remember to pause it for the commercials, but some still got recorded on the video tape, as well.  So, when we watched it in the future, we had to fast forward through those. But, I loved it!  (the movie, NOT the fast forwarding!)

In fact, I looked for ANY excuse to watch it.  WHENEVER any friend came over, I'd be like, "Hey, do ya wanna watch a movie?!!?"
And they were like, "Sure."
And I was like, "Cool."
And then I proceeded to get the GREASE video tape out and watch it myself AGAIN play it for them, and introduced them to the greatest movie ever!

In fact, when I threw a Surprise 40th birthday party for Matt, we had Karaoke there.  NORMALLY, I wouldn't do that, but they had, "Summer Nights" - so what d'ya know?  We ended up singing it together!

***What I didn't know THEN, was that the movie I repeatedly watched in my youth had been edited for T.V., and years later, I was given the real movie as a gift, and I watched it again, and I was like, "WHAT?!?"  OH MY!  I don't remember THIS!  Did they change it?  Because none of these naughty/improper/crude/irreverent parts/lines used to be in it!  Apparently, they had done a thorough editing job!

And because I had so much exposure to it, I can quote many, many of it's lines.

Sandy: Danny?
Danny: That's my name, don't wear it out.
Sandy: What's the matter with you?
Danny: What's the matter with me, baby, what's the matter with you?
Sandy: What happened to the Danny Zuko I met at the beach?
Danny: Well I do not know. Maybe there's two of us. Why don't you take out a missing person's ad? Or try the yellow pages, I don't know.
Sandy: You're a fake and a phony and I wish I never laid eyes on you!
As she throws down her cheerleader pom-poms and runs away to cry!  (I may or may not have acted out this scene a time or two - "just for fun.") 

BUT, even though, Danny was a "bad boy" and a jerk, and Sandy did start to date a "nice", athletic, (but kinda boring) boy, in the movie, I was still pulling for Sandy & Danny!  WHY?!?  'Cuz in REAL LIFE I don't want my own daughters - or my young women - to go after those types of boys.  It sucks ya in, I tell ya.  This movie had POWER over me!  ;)  haha.
Also, I could ramble off these:

“Men are rats, listen to me, they’re fleas on rats, worse than that, they’re amoebas on fleas on rats. I mean, they’re too low for even the dogs to bite. The only man a girl can depend on is her daddy.” – Frenchy

“She looks too pure to be pink!” -Rizzo

Marty: Do you think these glasses make me look smarter?
Rizzo: No, you can still see your face.

“Tell me about it, stud.” -Sandy

It was a fun quiz! Any other Grease lovers out there?  If you're a serious Grease fan (like ME!), I bet you could score a 100%, too!  (let me know your score!)

In the end, when Sandy changes for Danny (becomes an "edgy girl"), and Danny changes for Sandy (a letterman sweater-wearing, clean-cut guy), I KNOW I should've been disgusted that she gave up who she was for a guy (because my mom always fed me that message about the movie!), but I actually thought Sandy looked GREAT/HOT with her curled & teased hair, black leather outfit, & her RED SHOES (Let's be honest, I was probably 90% swayed by the RED SHOES!) and I was happy with the ending!!!  Even though, AGAIN, in real life, I don't want my own daughters or young women lowering their standards because of a boy!
 

But, again, the movie gets to ya - right to your heart!

I'll always have a great fondness for GREASE.
{But, for the edited version a little more than the real one!}

Our Glover Lane Home

After we first moved to our new home [almost] two years ago, I used drive in & out of our neighborhood via the route that would take me by my old home - our "Glover Lane Home" as we call it.

But, not so much anymore.

Because I kinda get sad about what's become of it.

It was purchased by a couple who had no intention of ever making it "their home."  They were only interested in buying an "investment."  Although, they did live in it for a short time to justify the type of loan they got on it, it's mostly been inhabited by renters.

I find myself being protective of our "Glover Lane Home" and I notice the details of things that are "wrecking" it - like they sprayed some yellow foam stuff in all the driveway cracks, and it's oozing out and looks.....SO not good!  But, hey! that same driveway is full of snazzy, new cars; a red truck, a Cadillac, & black sports/luxury cars.  (I'm afraid that's where their regard [& money] goes.)  I cringe when I see all the things that the various renters are letting slide.  Overgrown plants, weeds, dead grass - not that we are champion gardeners by any means - SCREAM out to me, We don't love this house.  And that's sad to me because we did (in fact,  I love it! are the exact words I exclaimed the moment our Realtor let us in to look at it all those years ago) - and I want it to continue to be loved!  Sure, we ultimately outgrew it, and there were things [functionally] that were a nuisance, it didn't meet our needs anymore, that's why we built & moved, but I'm talking more about the HOME we loved.  The HOME which holds our history, memories, & hearts.  How could it not?  We lived there for 11 1/2 years!

My friend & I sometimes walk by it on our morning walks, which we did this week, and like always, I check it out - any signs of love, attention, concern?  I wonder if she notices that she kinda "loses" me in our conversation at that moment we pass it?  It's weird....I KNOW, in my brain, it's my old home, but it's almost like it doesn't even seem like it.  It's changed.  It doesn't look as bright to me anymore.  It's more somber & drab.  (Although, to others not emotionally attached, it may still look the same?)  Our kids have wondered aloud, if we ever drive by, what it looks like on the inside, now.  Kyle, especially, wants to devise a way that he could walk through it again.  The curious part of me also wonders and wants to take a look, but the other part of me doesn't - I might want to keep everything in my mind just the way I remember it!

 {last photo as we drove away in 2012}

The day we moved all our stuff out, we were racing against a deadline and we didn't have a ton of time to get all sentimental and pay tribute to every room & such...AND we were sweating so much, I don't think there was any liquid left in my body to cry.

BUT, I still thought:

How could I let that thing go?  

How can I let go of where all my daughters learned to walk?

They each learned to grab hold of the cabinet knobs & drawer pulls and "play" (read: empty everything out of) with the measuring cups, pots, water bottles, Tupperware containers that were inside.

How could I walk away from that kitchen where I prepared ten thousand meals, my children at my side (read: under my feet)?

My children built a gazillion forts and we had hundreds of Family Home Evenings in our living room.

There was the "time out" corner over on the staircase landing, that fit our time out bench perfectly, we used A LOT! 

There were the stairs where a the children slid down laughing gleefully in sleeping bags or pillow cases.....and where brothers would chase/run from each other making the loudest pounding noise as they barreled down - which then, unfortunately, sometimes ended in a crashing sound as frames were knocked off the wall at the bottom.

We finished the basement, painted every room, remodeled one big bathroom into two separate bathrooms, and replaced all the flooring except for one room in that house while we were there!

There were big dormer window seats where the kids liked to sit upon & hang out.  Kyle split his head open on one of the windowsills.  The boys learned to shoot a basketball pretty darn well in that hoop we once had attached to the house (before the incident), then was replaced with a driveway basketball hoop.

We had 11 Christmases there.  59 Birthdays.  Brought home 3 new babies.  3 Baptisms.  4 Priesthood Ordinations.

    {Miss B's 1st Birthday - May 2009}

That home is where we built our family.

Back in Layton & North Salt Lake & Brigham City where we lived for six years before we moved here is where we were seedlings.  We had just the two boys.  We rented from apartment to apartment, and lived in a "starter home" too far north in Davis County for our liking.  We weren't ready to settle.

But when we got to the "Glover Lane" one, we put down our roots.

And it's filled to the very brim with memories that have made our lives rich and beautiful. 

There will always be a special spot in our hearts for that great home of ours we grew together in.

It's where we became "US."

There's a lot to say about a home and how it molds a family.

I'm so grateful that one that took care of us for so long.

{And, yes!  we love our new home with all our hearts, too.  (In case you were starting to doubt.)  The memories have already started heaping up in this thing.  Our next chapter is going to be amazing, as well.}

So, that's why I feel melancholy when I see the house these days - it appears they don't appreciate it the way I do.  I feel like the renters will just keep moving in & out, then eventually move on and forget about it.  I hope that someday it will be sold to a family who will be able to own it and live in it and love it again.
It just dawned on me that my feelings for our "Glover Lane" home might stem from one of my favorite childhood books, The Little House by Virginia Lee Burton.

This house went through a period of being loved, then neglected, then loved again.  The ending always made me so happy when the great-great-granddaughter of the man who built the house found it and bought it.  Once again it was lived in and well taken care of.

Maybe that can happen to our "Glover Lane Home" too!  :)

[Mis]Adventures in Fireworks

As a disclaimer, let me set the background:
I grew up going to a BIG fireworks show every year to celebrate the 4th of July.  'BIG' as in Professional. Spectacular.  Awe-inspiring.  Impressive.  "Whoa!" exclamations inducing.  Large-scale display of fireworks.
That's the way it is when your uncle owns a fireworks company!  (As in he makes the fireworks himself, dons the fireproof suit and sets off the fireworks for the show himself, some years with the help of my aunt, in a football stadium at the USU campus!)

So, with THAT to compare to, I have always thought the store bought "fireworks" (If you can even call them that) were on the boring side.  BUT, these days, what used to be illegal is now for sale to the public, so the quality of "at-home" fireworks is improving -- slightly.

So, this year, it was announced that a 4th of July shindig was going to be held on the 3rd in our cul-de-sac for the entire neighborhood.  It was scheduled on the same night as the above mentioned fireworks tradition, but we opted to stay home and join in our local party this year.  We all brought food to eat and contributed about 10 bucks towards fireworks that someone purchased in our behalf.

We ate first, and were sitting around visiting until dark so we could start the fireworks......
at least that was how I THOUGHT it goes....
UNLESS the toddler-age crowd (who have an early bedtime?) is quite numerous amongst the group...
and then they start them at 8:20 p.m. when it is still light outside. 

Huh?!?   I've never experienced THAT.

This is how it went.

You'd hear the noise/boom.
You'd look up, following the fire ball up with your eyes.
You'd only see blue sky, and lose sight of the fire ball.
Then you'd see the ash &/or cardboard packaging debris fall back down to the ground.
No lights.
No colors.
No "flowers of fire" (that's how the Japanese word for "firework" [hanabi] translates into English, cool visual, huh?!?)
Repeat.  Repeat.  Repeat.
Until all $200 worth of fireworks were all gone.
(Not the wisest use of money if you'd ask me -- but no one did!  haha)

So, on the actual 4th of July, Matt's family got some fireworks and came to our home to set them off since they aren't banned where we live.....BUT, we insisted they wait until DARK so as not to deja vous the night before.
We started out with smaller ones, and then moved towards the bigger ones as the night went on.
What was cool was that neighboring streets were setting them off, too, so we had our pick of displays to view.
We kept telling the kids to stay back on the grass and out of the road, but listening is not always their best attribute.....!
Along comes one of the bigger-ish fireworks and when it was set off, it did not seem to shoot up very high in the sky and the fire & lights were going off too LOW in my [semi-professional] opinion.  So, my survival instinct kicked in and I yelled, "Everybody get outta there!" (maybe a little unnecessarily?) and my outburst was followed by kids [actually listening!] running out of the road and my nephew literally leaping over the neighbor's fence!  (That was pretty admirable)
Then our neighbors drove into the cul-de-sac, returning home, so we took a break until their car was parked before starting up again.
For the "grand finale" we were setting off one that boasted 16 shots!
But, when it was set off, only about 5 went off, and it was kinda an anti-climatic ending to the 4th.
We were hanging around on the front lawn chatting for a while longer, not paying much attention to Matt's brother WHO WAS NOT SATISFIED with only getting 5/16 bang for his buck and was out there pretty much trying to dissect the dysfunctional firework and re-lighting it multiple times...... 
When all of sudden, mid-conversation, we hear a series of BOOMs and look up to see Matt's bro & dad running away from the firework as explosions started lighting up the cul-de-sac (it looked like slow motion running to me.)
Again, I screamed, "Hurry!  Get away!"  (but this time, NOT unnecessarily!)
THEN, the firework started going off sideways!!!
Right in the direction of our neighbors who had just returned home and were standing in their garage, emptying the trunk, just moments before!!!!
I had flashes of nightmare involving bushes, grass, & houses catching fire cross my mind.
(I think multiple people started screaming now!)
We were all thinking, Where's the next sideways shot going?  Towards OUR home and the 27 people?
Then almost simultaneously, we all got up and starting running for cover to the side and back of the house.

It was a reenactment of The Blob movie

Who needs Phoenixville, PA, we can do it right here in Farmington, too!

That's one way to clear a crowd, I tell ya - eveyone was gone within minutes of that!

It was very unsettling.

When I had sufficiently WATERED all remaining pieces of the fireworks, I was finally able to go inside to bed.

Hopefully, I can get my fireworks "fix" next week at Farmington Festival Days....my craving has yet to be satisfied this year!

I've Got a John Denver Song Playing in my Mind

The song's been with me ever since Sunday evening when Ryan opened his mission call (which one out of the 407 possible places would it be?!!?) 

in front of....Oh, I don't know how many....

a wall-to-wall multitude of his favorite peeps - family, friends, neighbors & church leaders.
(And family who are also some of his best friends, and friends who are also neighbors, and church leaders who are also friends!) 

{with Jaden - one of his best friends}

The song that's been on my mind is "Take Me Home, Country Roads"

Do you have a guess where he got called, now?

The song introduces this place with it's very first words, "ALMOST HEAVEN".

It continues by singing about it's BLUE RIDGE MOUNTAINS and SHENANDOAH RIVER.

Any guesses now?

John Denver pays tribute to it with the lyrics, "Take me home, to the place I BELONG...."
He reminisces about it with a "teardrop in my eye." 

Doesn't it sound like a MAGNIFICENT place?
Sentimental.  Dreamy.  Impressionable. Touching.

(Oh....John Denver evokes fond memories for me, too.  I hear his songs, and all of a sudden, I'm riding in my dad's Peugeot, listening to his 8-Tracks!!  
So, Matt bought me John Denver's 4-disc set several years ago as a gift!)

 He didn’t get to choose where he'd go. It could be anywhere from Boise, Idaho (very close to us), Florida, Greece, or Japan (where Matt & I served) or many, many other places.

 We had many guesses.

**One last chance to guess!**  ;)
(Matt put the video on facebook a couple days ago, so maybe it's no surprise, now!  haha)

OK.  Drumroll, please....

Ryan has been called to serve as a missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.

He has been assigned to labor in the West Virginia Charleston Mission!!!
(He will serve for 2 years, starting August 27, 2014.)

He didn’t get to choose where he'd go. It could've been anywhere from Boise, Idaho (very close to us), Florida, Greece, or Japan (where Matt & I served) or many, many other places,  

but the second he found out where he was called, it was perfect!


We've been in celebratory mode around here ever since - it's SO VERY exciting!!

 A lifetime of waiting, and now we know!

It Still Gives Me the Chills

I just finished reading this book:

{it was on my "new year's resolutions."  Yay!  Another check.}

It totally took me back 12 years to when the abduction first happened.

I remember it vividly.

I was glued to any news story about the whole case.  We're talking I was border-line obsessed with it.  This was happening in my own state, just 20 miles away, after all!

I think it was also because kidnapping has always been one of my biggest fears.  I was so scared of being kidnapped as a child.  I remember walking home in the dark and hearing people somewhere in back of me and thinking, "Who's behind me?  Are they going to kidnap me?  I can't turn around and look because then they'll know that I know they're following me.  And if they know I saw them, they'll have to kidnap me AND kill me."
(I know, irrational, huh?!?)
As a parent, now, the first thought I have whenever I can't find one of my children is, "Oh no!  Kidnapping?"  Which is kind of absurd because the likelihood of daily kidnappings where I live is very low.

For days and weeks after the Elizabeth Smart kidnapping news broke, the kidnapper was still considered, AT LARGE.   No one knew how they had gotten away; on foot, a getaway vehicle, had they flown somewhere?  Were they still in the city?  The state?  The country?  He could still be among us!  A lot of people were frightened, it wasn't just me.

I remember, in particular, just a day or two after the kidnapping, I was out walking my baby Haylee in the stroller around Farmington and on the Lagoon Trail.  I was ON ALERT and really looking into the groves of trees on either side of the trail for any glimpses of red satin pajamas (the thing she was wearing when she was taken).  Maybe they had walked up north to get out of sight of the Salt Lake City investigators?!? I thought.  My mind wandered to all the scenarios of this event and nothing else on the walk.  I even asked myself the question in my mind, "What I would do?" if I saw the girl wearing red pajamas.  I came up with the plan that we could switch clothes and then hurry back to my home to use the phone to call her parents & police.  We had to do it that way because it was also before I had a cell phone.   The clothes swap was to be used as a diversion: I thought she could put on my workout clothes (and, therefore, would be unrecognizable?) and I would put on her red pajamas, so if her captor happened upon the area, he'd spot the red pajamas, but then see ME, someone who looked NOTHING like his victim, instead, just a lady in her 30's who had brown hair (with a bad perm at the time) and he'd move on because I wasn't her!  How ridiculous that idea is if you really think about it.......AS IF a 2 month Post-Birth mom would've fit into 14 yr. old pajamas!!  :0

I remembered all of this when reading her book. 

At that time, back in 2002, I was also up A LOT during the night, nursing Haylee, and I'd think about her kidnapping some more then.  I was already thinking about it quite a bit, but probably because her kidnapping happened in the middle of the night while everyone slept, I was reminded of it again at these times.  Every noise I heard would make me wonder, "What is that?  Is someone outside my home?" and I could really freak myself out just sitting there in the dark.  In the beginning days of the crime, it seemed they didn't know anything about what really happened after she was taken from her bedroom, but there were theories.  One of the theories they were saying on the news was that her captor must've been familiar with the family's routine, staking the place out for a while, so that he could come in when no one was awake to catch him.  So, then I'd wonder if anyone was watching my home, would they know that I was awake nursing a newborn practically half the night?  And, if so, would that deter them?  So, I started turning on the front room lights, then I'd go into the baby's bedroom to feed her, so all the kidnappers out there would know that someone was up and to not come in to my home!  (A sleep-deprived mom is pretty delirious with her train of thought in the middle of the night!)  But, at the same time, it was also a VERY REAL tragedy for our state!  No one knew where the guy was or if he was on a "kidnapping spree" or if he'd moved to other cities to find more children, etc.

All these memories are still floating around in my brain!

I also recall that my in laws were traveling out of town when the kidnapping happened, but as they were flying back home, they told us they saw her picture and kidnapping fliers all over the St. Louis airport.  The news was traveling EVERYWHERE.  The TODAY SHOW was even doing segments on it for a while - all of which I tried to watch.  I was riveted!

What is also crazy to think about now is, and I was reminded about this while reading her story, that her little sister, who witnessed the crime, was 9 years old.  THAT IS KATELYN'S AGE right now.  Oh, I KNOW that would be terrible for Katelyn - she's so sensitive and empathetic to others' hurts & pain, I don't know if she could ever stop crying over it!  Also, Elizabeth's parents, at the time, were very near my same age - just slightly older - than I am right now!  THAT also made it hit closer to home for me reading the book at this time.

  Horrendous.  Petrifying.  Disturbing.  That's what it was - and is.

But, I also remember exactly where I was when the news hit that she had been found!  ALIVE even!  I was down in my basement family room at our old house.  I hardly ever have the T.V. on during the daytime, but in a rare moment, I turned it on while I was doing something one day back in March 2003.  And there, scrolling across the screen was a news ticker announcing Elizabeth Smart had been found!!!  I immediately called Matt at work and told him.  His first reaction was, "What?  That can't be true."  (He couldn't believe the "found alive" part.)  And then he looked it up on the internet while I was on the phone with him - and it was verified.  Then throughout the rest of the conversation, I heard him repeatedly exclaim, "No Way!  No Way!"  I kept the T.V. on a lot after that!  ;)


Through the years, ever since her return, if there's ever been a magazine article or any interview or the like, it STILL catches my attention.
(I think she dresses & accessorizes so stylishly, by the way!)


The whole experience & that time frame in my life has all been on my mind again this last little while as I read the book.
Interesting how some memories really stick - and other memories, like my daughter has a friend's birthday party to go to (with the invitation right on our fridge!) don't!

All it Takes is 1 Song to Bring Back 1,000 Memories

There was once a magical time, when no one knew what song they would be listening to next. We got our music from the radio.  (I still do!)  Songs are like sign posts in our memory. They point us back to particular points in our lives.  When I tune into "80's night" on the radio, within the first strain of the song, I think of, or remember, a specific time/place/person associated with that song.  And in that spirit, with a Christmas twist, I'm going to fire up FM100 this afternoon and play you the next ten songs (so to speak).  There used to be a time when this station played Christmas songs sporadically in between their regular music in December, and it was just  the 100 hours (get it?  FM100) leading up to Christmas that they played continuous Christmas songs, NOT the TWO MONTHS leading up to it.  (My pet peeve.  It's not allowed until after Thanksgiving in my home/car.)  But, I digress.  Back to my experiment: listen while I spin the Christmas hits....and I'll see what comes to mind.

1.  Angels Among Us

I first heard this song performed at a Homemaking Night I attended in my ward when I lived in North Salt Lake.  (1995-96)  A lady who lived in my same apartment complex was one of the singers, along with a bunch of kids singing with her.  I can still see them standing together on the stage.  It wasn't at Christmastime, but the message of that evening was, "THERE ARE ANGELS AMONG US" helping us, serving us, being [sometimes unknown] answers to our prayers - which is a wonderful Christmas message, too.

2.  Frosty the Snowman

This takes me back to another magical time when all the Christmas TV specials were actually on NETWORK TV (as opposed to cable).  At the beginning of the season, the TV schedule would be printed in the newspaper and we would cut it out and hang it on our fridge, underlining the "must sees" in our opinion.  Frosty the Snowman came on every year - it was one of those underlined ones we made sure to watch.

3.  Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer

This has "Elementary School" written all over it.  I sang this during music time at school.  It's where I learned all the great "echos" such as:
"Like a light bulb"
"Like a flash light"
"Like Pinocchio"
"Like Monopoly"
"Ho Ho Ho"
"Yippee"
"Like Columbus"
How FUN it was to sing it with all my other classmates!

4.  Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree

I'm sitting in the multi-purpose room, as a 3rd Grader, at Valley View Elementary watching the 6th Grade Christmas program. (1978)  With Dr. Tak (pronounced "talk") at the piano, the [big, cool, head-honchos-of-the-school] 6th graders started singing this song.....AND THEN started "rockin' out" up on stage, too, while they acted out the song.  And I sit there thinking, They are SOOO cool!

5.  You Make it Feel Like Christmas by Neil Diamond

Honestly, I don't know if I've ever heard this song, but I HAVE heard Neil Diamond.  And whenever I hear ANY Neil Diamond song, I'm taken back to my childhood home.  My dad was a fan of Neil Diamond and we for sure played his cassette tapes (remember those?) on our family room stereo.  The most well-loved song of Neil's (we're on a first name basis!) has to be "America" which leads me to remember my first nephew.  Nick was just a tot - maybe 2 yrs. old - and we'd give him all these miniature American flags to hold in his hands, then turn on "America."  He would just stand there waving the flags enthusiastically the whole song through, with a smile on his face.  "Nick-a-roonie" is now 22 yrs. old.  My dad also gave me two tickets to a Neil Diamond concert after my mission - in hopes that I would invite a date, and get onto the next step in life, but I was too chicken to ask anyone out, so I took my brother, Mike.  Other songs I can't forget are, "Forever in Blue Jeans," "Heartlight," "Love on the Rocks," "September Morn," and "Sweet Caroline" which I saw him perform at a real baseball game this summer -- and it was AWESOME!!!

 6.  Sleigh Ride

I did hear this song when I was younger, but a more recent memory has taken over whenever I hear this song.  Ryan played percussion in the Jr. High band for three years (2008-11) and they would perform this song for their Christmas concert.  The percussion section worked extra hard adding all the special sound effects with their various instruments (glockenspeil, sleigh bells, xylophone, temple blocks, triangle, slap stick, timpani, snare drum).  Whenever I hear the "horse whinny" (courtesy of a solo trumpet player) and the "whip cracks" part of the song now, I think of Ryan's band group at FJH and I can see the view I saw from my seat in the venue of their performance.

7.  Have Yourself a Merry Christmas

For some reason, my oldest brother, David, sang this around the house.....not in a festive kind of way, but an "In-Your-Face, invasion-of-your-space" kind of way - just to bug us, and provoke us to start swinging punches at or shoving him.

8.  Bring a Torch, Jeanette Isabella

I think of the Kurt Bestor.  Back when I was pregnant with Haylee, my OB asked me if we had any Christmas traditions at one of my monthly appointments.  He shared with me that his family always went to the Kurt Bestor Christmas concert - and he raved about it.  From that moment on, I wanted to go, also.  It took several years, but one December, Matt informed me to "clear my schedule" one Saturday.  I didn't know what we were doing, but he arranged a babysitter for our kids, I got in the car and he just started driving me somewhere.  We ended up at Abravanal Hall in Salt Lake City for the Kurt Bestor Christmas concert -- it did NOT disappoint!  (Why my husband is awesome reason #148).  Kurt Bestor's percussion group were amazing!  During the concert, I remember thinking I hoped Ryan would continue on to that level, but then it turns out, he quit after Jr. High.

9.  Let it Snow

When I heard this song as a boy-crazy teenager (1982-1989), my daydreaming would kick in.  How could it not with lyrics that conjure up images of delightful fires, lights being turned down low, and being "stuck" inside with that special someone?!?  I would fantasize about whichever boy was on the top of my list at the moment and picture me in an actual future scene with him that involved "As long as you love me so" and "When we finally kiss goodnight" and "If you'll really hold me tight."  How romantic?  No?

10.  Up on the Housetop

Back in the day, as part of our family Christmas Eve traditions, we had a talent show.  One year (1978), my little sister, Michelle, and I made up a dance to perform to this song.  I dressed in a red leotard and we wore matching Christmas aprons and tights.  As part of our dance routine, we'd snap our fingers to the "click, click, click" part, and we'd "shimmy" on down to the "down through the chimney" part of the song.  We played the song on a RECORD PLAYER - yes, as in a vinyl record, on a turntable, and a stylus with a needle on it to run around the grooves.  (Any other "mature" adults know what I'm talking/writing about?)

I think I may have a photo in my archives......of us AND the record player......

 {Hey!  I want that red rocking chair in my home, now!}