An Island Greeting

Of course I can't pass up the chance to share something 311-y with you! Nick Hexum does the most fabulous version of Mele Kalikimaka ever, so I thought I'd spread some joy and share. I normally do not like this song at all and get visions of cousin Eddie from Christmas Vacation in his Speedo on the diving board holding his can of beer when I hear it, but this takes me to paradise!

Enjoy Nick's dreamy voice. Dibs.

 

 Ahh....

In ex-Chelsea's Day-O

Our family trio has been up some other things this December, so here is my snappy list of updates:

- We finally decided to brave the crowds downtown at City Creek, and it was b-e-a-utiful! It's so nice and so well put together. Totally fancy schmancy. I plan to go back so I can actually go in several stores for some shopping instead of just sight-seeing. I also loved that this is the first year Macy's brought back the traditional candy window displays that ZCMI used to do.

- Jake finished his semester with flying colors. He got a perfect score on one of his finals and passed the rest of his classes, despite even missing the deadline for one of his finals (which I about slaughtered him for because it means being kicked out of nursing school) until I found out his teacher was kind enough to cut him a break and take it. Phew! Stayed married after all. 

- Gage got straight A's on his report card (clearly we know who he gets the brains from) and can't wait for Christmas break. He must have been so excited for break that he decided to take it a week early because he ended up with a nasty cold and was out for four days last week. Poor little lamb! And thank heavens I didn't catch it. 

- I was deeply saddened at the end of October to discover I had not been a random "winner" chosen for the Mormon Tabernacle Choir Christmas concert tickets I tried signing up for this year. I've only been once before and it was easily one of the most unique and special choir concerts I've been to. So, where there's a will, there's a way...or if you have a dad who knows how to meddle his way into things, that helps too. So yes, we were able to get in. Ha! This year was spectacular because this years' guests were Tom Brokaw and Alfie Boe...my whole reason for wanting to attend.

If you are asking yourself who the heck this Alfie guy is, his big role was playing Jean Valjean in the huge 25th anniversary production of Les Miserables in London, which I have watched multiple times on TV and have cried to multiple times. Should I mention a Jonas brother is also in it? Needless to say, the MoTab Christmas concert was another such event where it was sobfest for me...especially when Alfie unexpectedly sang his most amazing tear-jerking song from Les Miserables! So join me in being a mess and watch the video below of Alfie's said song. Grab a tissue.

- This year, instead of taking Gage shopping to buy presents for me or Jake or other family members, we decided to give him ye olde lesson on giving to others by having him pick a name from his school's Sub For Santa tree. I was hoping he'd pick a young boy whose name would be listed (to make it more personal) and would have a list of fun toy ideas, but the tree had been picked over quite a bit. He ended up with an unknown older boy whose only request was adult size snow boots. We took him shopping to my beloved Kohl's and boots we bought. He wrapped them up and turned it into school the next day. Hopefully our lesson stuck and he'll remember it? Hopefully the person in need likes them because they weren't cheap!

- As I mentioned previously, I got to attend two ugly sweat parties this year. The one we had at work last week was fantastic, and not just because we had 5 different conference rooms of pot luck food to feast on. No, it was because this photo session went down...

- Gage also decided he wanted to give Christmas goodies to his classmates, so we had him pick out some cute reindeer cards from the store and bought yummy Jolly Rancher candy canes to tape on the envelopes. He loves giving presents and making things for other people. He even started drawing a Christmas picture in each card until we told him he wouldn't have time to do 30 of them! Oh, and side note: I've already started arranging marriages for Gage after looking at his class picture and seeing how adorable some of the girls in his class are.

- And last but not least, while tuning into Blake Shelton's Christmas special on TV one evening, a cat commercial came on and showed a cat just like my used-to-be kitty!!! I probably shouldn't disclose that I instantly got choked up and teary eyed, but there you have it. I did. And I obviously paused the TV to take a picture so I could send it to everyone in my family to show them Chelsea was on TV. Thus, I bring you to this post's title...during Christmas, our family loved whenever "Angels We Have Heard on High" would be sung in church or heard on the radio because the "in excelsis Deo" part sounded like Chelsea's Day-O and we would giggle thinking of kitty. So, tribute to her! Oh, and I've been soooo pet hungry! Might just happen soon.

Decking Our Halls

It's time to do another December post, so how about I show off my Christmas crafts and give a few updates...

First up, here we have the Jones Family Christmas Tree for 2012. After hassling with real trees over the past few years and all the crap that comes with them (sticky sap, nettles getting in every flipping nook and cranny, watering the dang thing like a pet, spiders in the cussing branches!), I decided it was time to give in and buy an artificial one. No discussion needed. Jake was not the happiest camper and pretty much thinks I'm destroying the Christmas spirit, taking it a step further to make sure to point out every tree lot we drive by now to show me all those trees left out in the cold that don't have a home this year. Yes, his guilt trips work and make me feel bad for the trees that don't get to be loved and decorated! I try to remind myself that I'm actually saving a tree because the more artificial ones that are bought means less of the real ones being cut down...right? Supply and demand, people. Anyway, I love our new 7.5 ft beauty! The branches look real and the set up was easy breezy. Hallelujah! 

Next up, here is my wreath I completed for our front door. Wreaths are so expensive, and I couldn't find anything I completely liked. So, I decided to call upon my Martha crafting powers and create my own. I started off with a simple $15 wreath from Hobby Lobby that was just greenery and pine cones. I then added Christmas ornament balls to match my Christmas tree (the ornaments were extra ones leftovers from my tree), red and pearl berry sprigs with glitter, and brushed on fake snow to the pine cones to make them considerably more visible. I love the end result!


My next project was something for our outside flower box sitting on our front walkway. Remember seeing my post about it in the spring? Well, it's all bare and naked now and needs something in it for winter! For fall it was filled with pumpkins. So, hello Christmas signs! These turned out adorable, I must say. I saw a blog post on them and knew they'd be perfect. Once again, they match my Christmas colors I use on my tree, and I got to use the fake snow stuff again. It...is...the...best. It is comparable to whipped marshmallow. And funny thing about the blue candy candy stripe, it is painter's tape. I had planned to tape it off and color red over it, leaving it white underneath for a true candy cane stake, but once I got the tape on, I liked the color so much that I left it. Brilliant! 

I kept going on the crafting craze and added a reindeer friend for my wooden Santa, and a plain red and white box sign to help fill in the top of our entertainment center that I decorate. Just add in a full hand-painted mini Nativity set for Jake's parents (not pictured), and that wraps up my holiday crafts. Whew!

Don We Now Our Gay Apparel

Ugly Christmas sweater parties have been popping up over the last few years, and I have only had the privilege to attend just one...and it was only because I was the one to arrange it. So, you can imagine my excitement this year when I found out Jake's work Christmas party is ugly sweater themed AND my work party. Time to strut my stuff! If you could have only seen some of the Christmas sweater gems my nana used to wear. One in particular that stands out in my memory was an ivory over-sized knit sweater with sequin Christmas light bulbs all over in an assortment of colors...we're talking like 4-inch big a** bulbs, and I'd bet you a Klondike bar that it had shoulder pads. A true beauty. 

Unfortunately, as I was rampaging for it through mother's collection of closets she's taken over since being an empty-nester, I was deeply saddened to hear that my mom had gotten rid of nana's fugly sweaters shortly after her passing. Even all the sweaters I used to wear as a child are no-more: no more moose sweater, iron-on kittens in Santa hats, homemade button-up Christmas vest, and even my red velvet Santa vest and skirt from singing group days couldn't be found. If only we could've predicted this fab coming back in style, then all those precious items wouldn't have been given to DI. I am left only with a red sweatshirt my mom used to wear that has a plaid Scottie dog on it, which really, is pretty cute...I just wish I had a turtleneck and leggings to go with it. Regardless, I am excited just to finally be a part of ugly sweater parties and hope they are everything I dream of.

Here's to looking merry and bright, and wishing Jake and I could look this awesome!...minus the freaky baby goat.

 

Prepare To Be Amazed

During my travels the other night, I came across the most spectacular house of lights. It was so bright that it caught my eye from the street, and upon a drive-by investigation to check things out, I was completely blown away! Here's a simple home in simple Lehi turned into a Christmas Light Extravaganza, complete with their own radio station that loops a variety of Christmas music, all timed and choreographed to hundreds of twinkling lights...no, thousands...maybe millions. Ok, maybe not millions. But you get the point! It was so amazing that I dragged hubby, kiddo, and brother to the house later that night to show off my prize, then text a video to my mom and dad, and even announced the location to my Utah Twitter friends. Ha! Now the only audience missing is my blog, so why not post it! Done.

Carol of The Bells - Trans-Siberian Orchestra

Jingle Bells - The Chipmunks

PS...We have at least 3 more trips planned to see this house again with different people we've been recruiting. 

Thanks-birthday

Updates! I'm behind on my posts. How have I not posted anything yet in November?! Shame on me. Before this month ends (tomorrow), I'm fitting in a post or two. 

Post, begin...

Hubby Jake celebrated his birthday November 13th. He chose Rodizio Grill for his schmancy dinner outing, and I sure didn't complain...until afterwards when I was overly stuffed full of various meats, salads and delicious Brazilian limeade to the point where I thought my stomach was going to burst. Mmm, hungry now typing this. I love you top sirloin! It was a simple birthday celebration on a Tuesday evening, ending with presents and cake afterwards. Birthday highlights include: Jake liking 2 of the 5 shirts I bought (that's a big win for me); feeling awkward explaining to Gage that the Steve Martin Twitter book I gave Jake is a funny "adult book" so he couldn't be filled in on what we were laughing about; discovering that Nothing Bundt Cakes is a fabulous bakery and the marble cake with cream cheese frosting I bought for Jake was the most amazing cake ever and now I'm plotting one for my birthday; also discovering that the birthday candles I bought that advertised as having colored flames were full of BS, as clearly seen in the photo below. 

HaPpY BiRthDaY!!!

 

Side note: Jake did blow at all the candles out in one blow. What a champ! Additional side note: Clearly Jake is not turning 12 as the number of candles imply, so regardless of blowing out all candles, his wish might be voided...which might be good since he probably wished for me to smother him less. Not happening!

The other excitement November brings is obviously Thanksgiving. This year was definitely out of the ordinary since we were not able to spend it with my parents, who of course we rely on to do all the cooking. No, they decided to have a huge family party with my cousins out in Colorado at my Aunt and Uncle's new South Western adobe-style, half-million dollar mansion they just bought. Did I mention it's a half-million dollar mansion? Ahh! Why did we not go, you ask? Because dear sweet Jacob was assigned to work at the hospital on Thanksgiving!...only to find out at 5 a.m. ON Thanksgiving that he no longer needed to go in. Good hell. So, instead of rushing to pack our bags Home Alone movie style and venture on the 8-hour drive to Colorado, we stuck with our plans and prepared a wonderful meal for the two of us...no, wait, make that three of us because we were nice and invited my brother to join us, having pity on him for also missing out on the Colorado festivities. 

Our Thanksgiving consisted of the Macy's Day parade (I get emotional when they show Santa at the end...wow, pathetic), delicious feast complete with mac n' cheese, watching 21 Jump Street, and deciding to venture out into the madness of Black Friday shopping ending up a new 40" Samsung HDTV for our bedroom, a DVD player, new vacuum and power drill. Well worth our hour and a half wait outside in the cold with other crazy people. It ended up being a nice holiday, and I was thankful to have a wonderful hubby to spend it with. Now bring on Christmas and MY birthday.

* Happy Halloween *

I give special kudos to my Bloody Mary pumpkin...used a red candle. Maybe Frankie should've had a green one?

 Pretty much my favorite holiday!!...or at least second fave. Hip-hip, hooray! My Halloween will consist of scary movies (I've saved up my DVR full of them...thank you AMC Fear Fest!), making butter pecan cupcakes, picking up Cafe Rio for the hubs and I, and passing out candy for the first time in my own home. I am one happy camper. To add to my happiness, I also got to do my much-anticipated pumpkin carvings this year. Oh, what joy! Last year we were in the middle of moving into our house so unfortunately my beloved Halloween got skipped...minimal decor, no pumpkins, such a drag! I made up for it this time around with decorations up since middle of September and even spent $20 on a profesh pumpkin carving kit, compliments of my pumpkin pattern site I've used for the last 6 years, ZombiePumpkins.com...see it, share it, love it, thank me later. 

Zombie from The Walking Dead (Google bicycle girl...dare you). Been following the show faithfully for 3 seasons. OBSESSED!

Have a happiest of Halloweens, and enjoy my 2012 pumpkin carvings above and a super creepy song below that's been playing on the radio that will make you feel uncomfortable for laughing. Slightly disturbing, yet hilarious. If you don't laugh, I'm not sure we can be friends.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZYFnY_1JO8U


 **UPDATE: Here is a picture of Gage in his creepy grim reaper costume and the coolest, spookiest house we took him trick-or-treating too. We've been waiting a year to go to this house since discovering it last year by our home.  

Oh, and I couldn't help but share my Halloween craft from this year. Absolutely LOVE how he turned out!!

K...the end.

A Jedi Birthday

On Sunday the 14th, Gage turned 9 years old!! His last year in single digits before moving on to a tween. Where does time go?! It doesn't seem that long ago that I was giving him a Curious George monkey for his 5th birthday while he was in footy pajamas...the days when he would still cry when he lost to Disney Bingo...the days when he hollered for Jake from the bathroom to announce that his poop was "creamy"...Sigh...

Anywhoo, memories aside...he's growing up now! To celebrate, we gave him the choice of going to Frightmares at Lagoon or having a birthday party at home with school and primary friends, thinking he'd totally go for rides, haunted houses and Churros. Right?! Wrong...he surprised Jake and I both by choosing to have a friends party instead. So late Monday night, I was scrambling to throw together a birthday party that would take place 5 days later. Luckily, I had a sweet Star Wars birthday party idea pinned on Pinterest, so a Stars Wars birthday party he got! I had successfully executed a Superhero birthday for him for his 6th birthday, so using a similar style, we planned a Jedi training where the goal of the party was to find Gage's missing birthday cake.

Here's the exclusive details on the party of the year....

Darth Vader and Yoda invitations.

Inside the cards read:

"Inviting all Jedis!

An evil emperor has stolen 

Gage's birthday cake!

Your Jedi skills are needed to track 

it down and save the Galactic Empire. 

Lunch and a Jedi training will be provided 

to sharpen your skills. Please joins us, 

and may the force be with you..." 

(Ehh...had I not had 15 minutes to throw the invites together I would have realized that "Jedis" is probably not correct since I think "Jedi" is already the plural form, and then I also would have maybe realized that the Galactic Empire is actually part of the dark side and that the Galactic Republic is the society that the Jedi fight for. Whatever. Don't be a nerd and call me out on it.)

Moving on...

I hung blue and silver foil stars from the ceiling for decor, and then the party of course needed light sabers since every worthy Jedi has one. Most Star Wars parties that I've looked up online have used actual light saber toys that are about $20 a piece, or homemade light sabers made out of pool noodles by cutting them in half and duck-taping the ends...I think they look retarded, and I'm not rich enough for the other option. Instead, my brilliant mind decided to buy foam swords from the craft store and then tweaked them into light sabers by cutting off the pirate handles, painting the remaining handle base black, duck-taping the handles to make them silver and then adding random blue masking tape squares and lines for buttons and what not. I think they turned out pretty fantastic...even if they aren't round! The kids didn't complain. 

Next up was the lunch menu I planned out. This might be my fave part of the whole party...ok, it was. Sure I could've just had boxes of pizza for the ravenous children, but how unoriginal is that? I snazzed it up a bit and labeled everything using the Star Wars font found online...

As you can see, menu items included:

Han-Burgers  (mini sliders)

Palpatine's Pizza  (bagel pizza bites)

Yoda Soda  (Sprite and green sherbet)

Obi-Wan Kabob-ies  (strawberries, pineapple, grapes)

Wookie Cookies  (frosted oatmeal cookies)

Chewbacca Chips  (barbeque chips)

Princess Lays  (regular chips)

UHH-DORABLE!!!

The party started off with lunch once all the hopeful Jedis arrived, followed by games, which Jake was in charge of because I was too stressed out doing the above mentioned things already. We didn't have time to plan an elaborate scavenger hunt like I would have liked, so instead Jake kind of winged it and planned games such as Fighter Jet making (paper airplanes), a Pop-Rocks eating contest (seeing who could keep the whole packet in their mouth the longest with no peeps), and Asteroid Dodgeball which was the fave of the party. We used balled chunks of tin foil for the asteroids and had the boys play dodgeball in our emptied-out basement, encouraging them to use their light sabers for blocking. They loved it!! Then, to tie in everything to finding the birthday cake, the winners of each game above were handed a clue to help discover the secret location of the cake...which was hidden in Jake's car trunk. At the end of all the games, the boys came together to read their clues and figure it out.

 

Eventually the cake was found and the boys acted as if they really did just save the planet, waving their light sabers and announcing to everyone that they passed that they had found the birthday cake. Victory!..and then of course, there's always that one kid who claims he knew where it was the whole time. Liar, liar pants on fire.

After cake and ice cream (Beaver Tracks ice cream!), Gage opened his buttload of presents, and that was it...successful birthday party completed! That meant time for a group pic of everyone with their light sabers before all the kids went home. It was a great, fun-filled day...and I needed a nap after.

Oh, and for the record, Gage LOOOOOVES my Shutterfly book we gave him saying it's his most favorite treasured present that he'll keep forever and ever, which really was a tough competition among all the assortments of Nerf guns he got. I'm beaming with pride! Hooray!! 

* HaPpY BiRthDaY Gage! *

R.I.P. Gage the Kid

Last Friday, Gage finally got to go to his cousin Aidan's birthday party he had anxiously been waiting for all week...a zombie themed birthday party! Oh yes. A party full of young, wonderful children dressed as dead corpses with rotting flesh. Bless their little souls. To prepare Gage for the big event, I of course had been looking into zombie makeup tutorials. I'm not sure which one I was more excited about: Gage going to a zombie party, or me getting to do his makeup. After a well-spent $4 on Halloween makeup at Walmart, this was the fabulous freakish fiend I created...behold, creeper Gage! And liquid latex? My new best friend. It created some nasty looking scabs. Bravo.

 Look how gaunt his face looks in this! Sick. Awesome.

At the party, as if all the children ghouls weren't frightful enough, there was the zombie buffet table to feast on that featured delicatessens such as birthday cupcakes topped with mini severed body parts, dry ice in the punch bowl that eventually resembled a bloody brain, chocolate pudding with Oreo pieces that looked like dirt itself accompanied by gummy worms to complete your compost dessert, and a giant green Jello bowl with floating apple and pineapple chunks, all of which these fabulous foods were displayed on a blood-stained table cloth. Yummy. To add to the creep factor, the lights were dimmed, picture frames in the house were tilted and had spider webs draped over them and eerie pipe-organ music played in the background sending chills up my spine. Seriously, some creepy tunage...not a norm kid's Halloween CD with Monster Mash and Purple People Eater. How...awesome...is...this...party?! Answer: so awesome that one of the little girls in attendance was terrified of everything (especially the life-size zombie cut out taped on the front door) and shut herself in a back room for the entire party to watch a movie. Poor thing. 

 

Here we have a pic of a few zombie party-goers...the rest were scattered around the house and would not follow my "gather around for a picture" directions. Grumble. But, if I may say so, Gage was by far the most legit. Thank you Walmart makeup! And Gage says, "Arghhhhuhhhh!"

P.S. Speaking of zombies...yippy skippy that The Walking Dead started on Sunday!! I've been longing for it.

Book of Awesomeness

I did it!!! I finally created my very first photo book! I joined Shutterfly some time ago but have never sat down to complete a book yet. Who has time for that?! Just the old-fashioned scrapbooking used to take me hoooours to complete a page or two due to my extreme pickiness (or profesh artistry, which I prefer). But, thanks to a coupon that came my way a few weeks ago, I was motivated to sit my booty down to test out my computer craftiness. Alas, a masterpiece was born. And who is the masterpiece for? Well, sure there's a billion pics of Jake and I that I would love to compile in a mushy love book entitled "Meant to Be Forever and Ever" with swans and hearts decorated on it, but that will have to be another day. THIS book is for Gage. He has a birthday coming up and we all know Christmas is on it's way, so I knew it would be a great gift for either occasion...I'm thinking perhaps birthday, otherwise heaven forbid he get Star Wars Legos for Christmas AND this book because we all know what would get tossed to the side. My hours upon hours of hard work (and don't forget those Coke shots at 2 am) would get passed up for a one-inch plastic Chewbacca. Galactic tragedy, I do forsee. (Read in Yoda voice.)

So now, let's take a looksy inside my spunky and funky photo book, entitled The Adventures of Gage Jones. Hooray!! And for the full effect, be sure to click on "full screen" for maximum awesomeness.

 

 

Click here to view this photo book larger

Turn your favorite photos into a photo book at Shutterfly.com.

Autummmn

Once again, fall is in the air! Yippee! I just love it. Normally I beg for summer to stay longer, but I feel satisfied about this years'. It came on time (unlike last year where spring blossoms were barely on the bare trees by the time my wedding rolled around in May!), so I felt summer had a good, long run at being hot and sunny and just fabulous. Now move on over, August! Let that crisp, cool September air blow in and bring out those beautiful fall colors and scents of spiced pumpkin and apple. Mmm...ahh. And oh, how I've missed my sweat pants! The nights are finally cool enough where I can curl up on my couch in sweats. The simple joys in life. Just need a cat in my lap.  

Today was the perfect day for a Sunday drive up American Fork canyon to see the autumn colors. Fall isn't quite in full bloom so trees of red and orange are still scattered among lots of green. Absolutely beautiful! It got me so excited for the change of season that I set out my fall decor once back at home and am even debating whipping out my Halloween stuff already too...I'll try to wait a few more days. Better believe it that Hocus Pocus will most likely be watched later this week...and then at least 5 more times before Halloween. Ooh, how I adore that movie! 

Welcome fall!

Day of Remembrance

I can't believe it's been 11 years since the terrorist attacks that happened on September 11, 2001. I can vividly remember the day and can recall quite a bit, even for only being a young 15-year-old sophomore in high school during the time. I have shared "my story" with a few friends and family members when the subject has been brought up, so in lieu of today, I would like share my experience publicly on here since it will always have a profound impact on my life that such a huge, tragic, historical event happened during my lifetime.

I had just finished my PE class--my first class of the day. I had gotten dressed and ready for the rest of my classes and was standing around in the hallway outside the locker room waiting for the bell to ring to dismiss class. Meanwhile, my friend Derek came to chat with me (I can still remember his backpack being on him and he was gripping both shoulder straps by his chest while talking). He had told me if I heard what happened and proceeded to tell me that an airplane had hit the World Trade Center tower in New York City. Now, let me be honest here...I can't say I even knew what the World Trade Center towers were, despite having seen them in Home Alone 2. All I knew was New York City had extremely tall skyscrapers, so Derek must have been talking about one of those. I also didn't think he meant a commercial airline. No, I pictured a single pilot in his own private plane flying into some tall building in New York. My response back to Derek (while walking to my next class by this time) was that the pilot must have been an idiot..."He couldn't see the tall building right in front of him?" I chalked it up to stupidity since those stories always made the news.

When I made it to my next class, Driver's Ed, the TVs in the classroom were turned on with the Breaking News reports. I immediately realized it was more serious than I pictured...still not thinking "terrorist" activity at all. That was foreign to me in my lifetime. I had gathered now that it was a commercial airline, and behind the newswoman reporting were huge clouds of smoke billowing out of the tower in the distance. My thought was something must have malfunctioned in the airplane...and a lot of people just died. A tragic accident. Suddenly, as the newswoman was reporting, I could see another airplane flying in the distance behind her and without warning, crashed into the adjacent twin tower. It was like an explosion. Burst of fire and then more clouds of black smoke. The newswoman spun around completely stunned and became unorganized because she, like everybody else, had no clue what had just happened. Did I really just see that? Another plane? (Now, in researching the time of second plane crash afterwards, I don't think what I saw was a live news feed...the crash had happened earlier. Point being though, I vividly remember watching the news broadcast and actually seeing the second plane fly into the building.) Absolutely shocking. It was immediate to me at that point that something was not right. The first plane could have been an accident but two was not.

Throughout the day, my classes continued with the news programs in the classrooms either being muted in the background or even turned off. I specifically remember in my math class that the TV was on as we entered class and then once our lecture began, the news was turned off. Knowing everything we do now about 9/11, it's hard to fathom how the news was just "background" and everybody continued their work through the day. But that is what happened because again, the idea of a terrorist attack had not really been explained yet. It seemed too extreme. Everyone knew something big was going on but had no idea what.

Once home from school, I was glued to the TV and heard about the additional crashes such as the one at the Pentagon and later watched President Bush's speech to America. It was complete chaos around the country and no one knew what to expect next. More attacks? When? Where? There was so much to report and no one could make sense of it. When the explanation of it being terrorist attacks was announced, that became the primary focus in the media in the days that followed and set everything in a scary, surreal perspective. Flights were grounded. Sports events were cancelled. I can even remember hearing theme parks such as Disneyworld and Seaworld closing and remembering how huge that was. The world stopped. 

At the time, I didn't really feel affected personally by 9/11. Being in Utah, I felt safe because little Taylorsville, Utah is not a major city such as New York, Los Angeles or Washington D.C.  The thought of an attack here was not even a possibility in my mind, though I can recall some of my friends being completely freaked out by that thought...one friend even stayed home from school for a few days. Being in Utah was a comforting thought in my mind and still is. I did not know anyone involved in 9/11, so it was hard to sense what people and families were going through that lost loved ones. I'll still never know that feeling, gratefully. What I did feel and what I could relate to was an overwhelming sense of pride in our country and wanting to know who was responsible after it had just been horrifically and unjustly attacked. Our home. It became personal to me in that sense, and in the days and weeks to follow where our Nation came together to rise up and pray for America is among some of my strongest memories I have. I have always had a strong pride in my country and to see our Nation's flag displayed everywhere--in store windows, cars, front lawns--was beyond moving. It was beautiful. I felt that we were suddenly fighting for the same cause and not so divided. We all wanted justice. Policemen, firemen and military men finally were getting the recognition and respect they deserved long before this event. Our country had been hurt with such magnitude, and we would never be the same.

Now after 11 years, it is still such a big day for me to look back on. I've enjoyed hearing other friends' experiences of where they were and what they remember since everyone has a different story to recall. It's been even more interesting to see how our country has developed since then and what huge changes have taken place as a result of 9/11. An obvious one that stands out--airport security. One change that I'm sad to see that has dwindled among people--being proud to be an American. 

I am and forever will be proud to be an American. To say I lived during such an historical event that captured the world is something rare and precious. I feel that it will always have a special place in my heart, and I hope that I am able to visit the memorial site in New York one day. September 11th will never be forgotten.  

9/11 Healing Field Memorial in Sandy, Utah. 2011.

311..

It came...I saw...they conquered!! I went to my 12th 311 concert last night. Glorious!! They played at Usana Amphitheater with special guest Soja and Slightly Stoopid as the openers (meh, I never really care to go early for opening bands though the last few songs I caught from Slightly Stoopid did sound legit). This was 311's tenth year playing at Usana, and interesting to note, they are the only band that has played at Usana ten years in a row! And yes, you can bet your bottom I've been there for every one. #Loyalty. Oh, wait...hashtags don't apply to blogs. Anywhoo, it's crazy how long 311 has been around and have been able to tour every year thanks to their dedicated fans. And luckily, doesn't sound like that's stopping any time soon! Nevermind the fact that the band members are over 40.

This year the weather was perfect and made for such an enjoyable evening. Previous concert weather in Utah has ranged from dying of heat in a tank top to bundled up in a sweatshirt and beanie. Ridiculous. So, thank you nice August weather! The only thing that could have made my night better was having Jake with me. Sad but true...he was unable to attend, but instead of making preparations for divorce, I gave my brother a jingle knowing he'd have an extra ticket. Sure enough, I got the golden ticket and we siblings attended together. Aww, presh. The new addition to my concert-attendance this year was my good ole pal, iPhone. My pics didn't turn out the best, even though we were on the fifth row behind the pit gang, but the three videos I recorded turned out awesome!...I think, at least. Oh, and they do get a little shaky here and there because you can't expect me to just stand still for 3 minutes during a 311 concert!

Let's take a looksy at some of the concert, shall we?...

Tim (guitar), Nick (vocals/guitar), SA (vocals), Chad (drums), Pnut (Bass

)

 

VIDEO #1:  My Stoney Baby

  

One of the evening's gems! Music album 93'...

"The songs I sing they don’t mean a thing

If you’re not there to hear it but then 

Soon is the time, you’ll be by my side"

(Compliments of a Twitter friend)

VIDEO #2:  All Remixed Up 

 

One of my all-time fave 311 songs with a twist...

"Now it's morning but last night's on my mind

There's something I need to get off my chest

And no matter what may come to shine

The dream will always be mine"

(Compliments of a Twitter friend)

Video #3:  Random

Another gem of the evening, going back to their blue album from 95'!

"Sound boy gonna rock you" 

 

Other faves that they played that I would've loved to record were Time Bomb, And A Ways To Go, Coda, Champagne, Homebrew, You Wouldn't Believe. They have so many good songs! It's hard to ever be disappointed with their setlists...they have dozens of songs to choose from and such a wide-ranging sound. It's been great to see their evolution from album to album, and I'm looking forward to many more! Love my band!!! Thanks for the years of great music and positivity.     

Until next year...

Guess Who Started 3rd Grade?

Well, the answer is not Jake. Skippy pants Gage was off to school today, bright-eyed and bushy tailed...or bushy haired. Adorable! After feasting on a nutritious breakfast of apple pancakes (compliments of Chef Jake), Gage was set and ready to go with his over-sized camo backpack, red Angry Birds folder, and cold lunch in his superhero lunch box complete with a Hostess cupcake in it. Top that off with a sweet new Tony Hawk shirt and Nikes and you've got yourself a mini stud ready to conquer the 3rd grade. Look out ladies!...and look out Miss Allen, he's a chatterbox. Ooh, school days. Sigh. So happy another school year is upon us!

Pottermore

My new love that I've been geeking over is none other than J.K. Rowling's new interactive website for Harry Potter crazed fans, Pottermore. It became public in April this year, and I immediately signed up...mostly out of curiosity. Now, let me just add that I'm not the die-hard fan that's read every Harry Potter book and know every character inside and out and can recite spells to you from charms class. No, I've only made it to book two, but the movies were incredible and have hooked me since first coming out in 2001. Fantasy and horror stories have been my favorite since I could first read...it was all about Grimm's Fairytales and Goosebumps. So for me, Harry Potter is the best of both worlds. But this site might change my appearance of being a "healthy" dose of a fan...

Pottermore takes you through each book in the Harry Potter series, chapter by chapter. The full chapters are not posted; rather, it's a way for J.K. Rowling to elaborate on characters or scenes that may appear in that particular chapter, giving the reader an inside scoop into her world and her thoughts behind her writing. For example, why did she choose Privet Drive as the name of choice for the street where Harry lives? What is Dumbledore's background story? Was Professor McGonagall ever married? What does it mean if you have unicorn hair in your wand? How many different names were considered for Hermione's character? These are all questions that Rowling has brilliantly answered and leave me hungry for more useless info! She has such a creative, impressive and (most-notably) a detailed imagination. What a great author. 

Perhaps my most favorite tidbit of Pottermore is that you get to collect things along your journey such as chocolate frog cards, Hogwarts books, ingredients for potions, and a Harry Potter fave--different flavors of Bertie Bott's Beans. These objects are hidden in each chapter's scene, making it fun to look for them. And what Hogwarts adventure would be complete without an actual sorting hat ceremony! Yes, you'll get to be sorted into your own Hogwarts house and will get to earn house points towards the House Cup. I'm proud to say I was sorted into Hufflepuff (though, ok, I admit I was devastated it wasn't Gryffindor...but, Hufflepuff does include Cedric Diggory (aka Edward Cullen, R-Patz) so, hello Puffs!). THIS is where the true fun is because the website suddenly has a purpose. You're not just a member, you actually have a "team" that you're on where you're all working for the same cause of beating out the other Houses. House points can be earned by collecting objects, winning wizards' duel challenges, and brewing potions. Oh...my...heck! Have I convinced you yet to get on the Pottermore train?! (Or broom.) You know you just got excited. Brewing potions? Yes! And it's not that easy, either...I think I've blown up 3 cauldrons. And, of course, every wizard needs a wand to brew potions! Well, fear not my young Muggles...Pottermore will also present you with your very own wand during your stop to Diagon Alley, compliments of to Mr. Ollivander. Magical! Oh, and I got to pick a cat instead of an owl.

So, what have we learned? That Pottermore is Potterific and you shall not judge my geekiness over it because you secretly want to join too, just like 3.6 million people already have. Obviously that means something must be spectacular about it! Oh, and disclaimer...the site currently only goes up to Chapter 4, Book 2 (The Chamber of Secrets,) and word around Hogwarts is that Chapter 5 and whatever else will be available come September. Now ask me if I've been on the edge of my seat with anticipation....

 I am a ferocious badger...word.

Some Updates

Before I write a new post about my current nerd obsession for the past of couple weeks (squeal!!), I figured it would be nice to update the blog world on our family's current happenings...

First, Jake landed a job at Intermountain Medical Center in Murray in their oncology department. Hubby pants has been slaving away for the past month emptying bed pans, checking vitals, being on patient suicide watch, and bringing me back all kinds of juicy gossip and horrifying stories that make me gag...and him, literally. Heavens, I thought the "butt-cheek spreader story" was bad, but he now has a new one that takes the cake. Hint: it involves diarrhea. Nuff' said. Luckily, we're hopeful Jake won't be stuck with this crap job forever...this was just getting his foot in the door at a hospital so come graduation time, he already has an employer lined up. Fingers crossed he one day gets his ER job he dreams about! And P.S...he is scrumptious in scrubs.

(Sneak attack pic last year in his UVU student scrubs. He wouldn't let me take a new one in his black scrubs with his awesome mohawk hair...or at least one without a pouty face.)

In July, Gage finished up his 4th season of baseball. This year was machine pitch, allowing the boys to play all their games on an actual baseball diamond for the first time instead of some grassy park with painted lines. The other new addition this year was being assigned an actual MLB team name instead of the kids making up one (like Gage voting for "Spongebob" the year he had a yellow T-shirt). This year's team was the Twins. The kids are still trying to grasp the concept of outfielding, so a ball being caught or thrown quickly to first is a rarity. This allows for many runs and many batters, which the kids love. Oh, and they don't keep score yet...even though a boy on Gage's team was boosting team confidence by over-excitingly telling everyone "they were winning and had about a hundred runs." Gage did great throughout the season and ended up with 2 home runs!

As for a home update, we have a walking trail by our house that we've been utilizing lately...with bicycles. I've been reunited with my old maroon bike, that I probably last rode when I was in middle school, while Jake has been using a shiny green bike that was meant for mom years ago but was never used. The tags were still on it! We snatched the bikes from the parental's home, and I couldn't wait to go on rides. Well, I was extremely naive to think I was the bike champion I was back in the days and also didn't take into consideration that the size of my rump has obviously changed considerably from that of almost 13 years ago. I was wobbly and all over the place, and I was certain that I ended up with bruises on my rear end from it practically eating the tiny 4-inch wide seat. Oh, and let's add on that my calves were dying...when we made it past the neighbor's house. Haha. Needless to say, it's been a bit of a rocky start and has been more of a serious work out than a leisurely ride like I had imagined. Let's hope I eventually make it back up to par where I can jump off sweet curbs and carry a 7-Eleven Slurpee in one hand. The glory days!

(Sorry, no pic of my rump on a bike for this one. Thank me later.)

For a fun outing a couple weeks ago, we invited my mom to go with us to Deer Valley to watch the Utah Symphony perform Disney songs. How awesome! Park City is one of my favorite spots, and we haven't been able to go there much this summer. That made this outing a bit more fun. We first stopped at El Chubasco (a local PC, must-see Mexi restaurant that is quite the rave...oh, and Gage lost his loose tooth there because I accidentally knocked it out, so he was not happy and cried) for dinner before heading off to the amphitheater. Once there, we spread out our blankets and got to enjoy classics from Little Mermaid, Aladdin, Jungle Book, Lion King, Beauty & The Beast, Mary Poppins, and a sweet suite (ha!) from Pirates of the Caribbean. I don't know why Orlando Bloom couldn't make a guest appearance. Sigh. Besides that I was freezing by the end of the performance, it was very enjoyable, and the best part was seeing little girls dressed up as Disney princesses and Tinkerbell and lovey couples wearing Disneyland hoodies and mouse ears. Sure makes me want to go to Disneyland, pronto. M-I-C-K-E-Y  M-O-U-S-EEEE! (Donald Duck)

Here's a heads up on some upcoming adventures: 311 concert next week (I think it'll be my 12th), Gage starting 3rd grade (are you kidding me?!), Jake starting his 2nd year of nursing school (kill me now with bills), a fam trip planned for Lake Powell over Labor Day (praise the Lord for a break), and me going crazy over Halloween stuff and craft projects to do...the wreath I'm working on is fab!