Hold Tight Little Roots

Arbor Day was at the end of April. An organization sent my first graders each an oak tree sapling. By sapling they meant a stick in some dirt with a paper around it promising that it was a tree. I'm sure that most of my students threw them away (or their parents did because they don't want an oak tree dominating their yards). But we happened to be buying a house that week and I couldn't bear to throw mine away; I wanted to plant it in our dirt of a yard. So I kept it in a cup of water and there it has sat for nearly a month.

Now it has four little leaves and some awesome looking roots growing out of the planter. It amazes me that the little stick really is a baby tree. I haven't had the guts to plant it yet because we have high-level winds in Riverton. We have also been laying a sprinkler system and spreading top-soil (which the dump truck put exactly where my tree is going to live - it would have been tragic).

The time has come to plant my baby tree. I think it's awesome to have a tree the same age as our house. But now the consequences are weighing on my mind a bit (mostly because Jon is making me very aware of them). Do we want to rake leaves from a huge tree every year? Will the roots take over the yard? Will our neighbors be mad about that? Will it fall and kill us all in our sleep? :)

Okay, I'm being a little overdramatic. But I seriously have to decide if a tree is really for me. Since I don't have a pet or a child, I think I could handle it. Besides, it will be 10 years or so before it has enough leaves to be consequential in the fall. And 20 years until it will be big enough to fall and crush us. And, it's the least I can do to help produce more oxygen!

Memorial Day

I don't really appreciate Memorial Day to its fullest because I've never had someone close to me who served in a war and passed away. For that reason, it seems more like a reason to party to me than to mourn the death of a loved one. We had a fun Memorial Day. On Sunday, my awesome family had us over to dinner. We also went to the cemetery to visit the graves of my brother, great-grandparents, and cousin. It was a nice time to be with loved ones and remember funny moments. Candace, my sister, also makes a killer feast. She slaved away all day so we could have a delicious dinner. She rocks!

On Monday Jon and I worked hard to get our house clean. I also dragged him to Tai Pan to get some things to decorate the house. I had no idea it takes so much energy and focus to decorate. I bought what I thought was way MORE than I'd need, and it turns out that I still have bare places on shelves in my house. Oh well, I don't care. I'm not going back until I absolutely have to. I decided that I'm not a natural decorator (my mom and sister Heather hogged all those genes) and it's just plain too hard.

Then we had some friends over for a barbeque (inside because of the torrential rain). Brenda, Eric, Caity and Bob, and Gavin and Jessica all brought yummy food and drinks and we just hung out and played games. It's so fun to have friends in our lives. Thanks to all of you for driving out to no-mans land and being so much fun. It was definitely a Memorial Day to remember.

27 years young

This post is a continuation of the one below it... I just had so many realizations that I couldn't put them all in one post!

So I went to a rock concert last night with my kid sister Katie and her friend Macey. They're 15. I'm 27. That's not normal. But I had an absolute blast. I was by far the oldest person there, except for the creepy guy in the back wearing a hawaiian shirt who probably still goes to the singles' ward somewhere in Provo even though his hair is graying. Ew. Some girls in front of us guessed I was 21... not too bad for an old lady!

Something keeps drawing me back to the sweaty, absurdly loud concert scene. I have always loved concerts. I think I have had a thing for musicians (judging by my past dating experiences) and it's just fun to go crazy with a bunch of people you'll (hopefully) never see again. Tally Hall (the headliner) is a group of boys just out of their teens that wear dress shirts and coordinating ties. Their shows include everything from xylophones and megaphones to flying bananas and white-boy rap. They're very fun and silly. For that reason they appeal greatly to the high school/college scene and will probably never stray far from that.

Because of that, I did feel a little out of place. I showed my age and even wore earplugs for part of the show (I'm ashamed to say) and hoped no one would notice. The responsible adult part of me kicked in and I worried that the speakers would affect my hearing down the road. (Who does that at a concert?!?!) I couldn't help but think that most people my age are home with their kids or sleeping (like my husband).

But until I have kids and am forced to stay at home, I will keep going to concerts with my Katie. Good musicians are passionate about their music and love what they do. I love being able to enjoy someone else's passion for what they do - be it art, dance, music, food, etc. It reminds me of my own hobbies and talents and inspires me to be better. Even if there are flying bananas and sweaty people all around me!

Big Girl Victory

There are very few times it actually pays to be bigger than the average teenager. Last night was one of those rare occasions and I was laughing my head off the whole time. My twin sister separated by 12 years, Katie, took me to a Tally Hall concert (above). We discovered them last year when they opened for Guster (my favorite!) and Katie Bug found true love. I decided last year that I loved going to concerts with her because she is so much fun. I also knew a few things going into the concert -
1. It was in Provo so I would be surrounded by Zoobies.
2. Tally's following is high school/college - so I would easily be the oldest fan.
3. The concert was at Velour, a relatively small club, so there would be some "spot defending" going on. :) BRING IT.

Katie was so excited to go. She knows all the words to every Tally Hall song and we were dancing and screaming and having fun just anticipating the band's opening song. Her friend Macey (word, Macey) had never been to a rock concert, so I wanted this one to be great for her. There were 3 opening acts (UGH!!) which were cruel and unusual punishment. One band, Caroline Liar, was actually entertaining. But as the time for Tally Hall to come on approached, more and more people crammed in.

Granted, the place wasn't packed. But people started sneaking in and trying to get as close as possible. Now, I couldn't really care less if I made eye contact with the band or caught some of their sweat. But my girls wanted to be early so they could do so. There's something about a musician that is SO awesome when you're a teenager. A bunch of little leeches tried to get in front of my sister and her friend Macey who had been there for 2 hours already. And no little 18 year old 100 pounder was going to stop them from doing so. So, I'm not going to lie, the mother hen instinct kicked in a bit.

Katie and I are nearly six feet tall. But Macey is, shall I say... vertically challenged? And she's super sweet and kind. (The perfect target for spot-stealers!)
One such chick saw Macey's kindness, and stealthily tried to wedge herself right in front of Macey. We would have none of that, so I told Macey to move to her right and stick her elbow out. Ruthless? I think not. She had earned that spot and I convinced her of that fact, although the whole time she kept looking at me with a guilty little face. She earned that spot and I wasn't going to let a blonde, passive-aggressive zoobie rob her of it. (Macey later told me it was probably the first mean thing she's ever done. Should I be proud of that influence?? I am because I used to be just like her. Life is easier when you're not a doormat!)

The little snot and her boyfriend proceeded to jab Macey girl in the back with appendages and call her names. OH NO YOU DIDN'T! So I traded Macey places and completely blocked the girl out with my stout frame. YEAH! She tried, and he tried, with all their might to mosh me out of place. Hmmmph. Ain't no thing. When she kept calling me names, I turned around and said something to the effect of "Were you here all night like my friends here? That's what I thought. Keep trying." So they threw a fit and kept trying to bully me for another hour, but eventually gave up and found a new crowd to pick on.

Part of me feels a little guilty for not acting "Christlike", especially in PROVO. But the look of awe on those girls' faces at being so close (and undisturbed) to their idols made it completely worth it for me. I remember being just like them and I loved having the chance to witness it in my little sis. (And I must say it was refreshing to stick it to a skinny girl for once!)

I love you Katie!

sick and wrong

I just have to say, there is something definitely crazy about our society when my grandparents are bragging to everyone within earshot because they are friends with David Archuleta's voice coach. "Who is that?" you may ask. If you do ask that seriously, I commend you for remaining untainted by the insane asylum called American Idol.

For the rest of you, I continue my story. We were staying with my parents/grandparents for a couple of weeks while we closed on our home. During this time, my grandparents regularly drifted off to bed by about 8 p.m. (on a late night). But one magical Wednesday, they were up later than WE were (with their friends no less) watching the Idol. Not only were they cheering and booing, but they were critiquing like the best of 'em. I was in the other room doing school work, but it was hilarious to hear a side of them I never thought possible.

I may not be an Idol fan, but I now appreciate the fact that it brings entertainment to all of America - even my funny grandparents.

WE ARE OFFICIALLY HOMEOWNERS!!!

OKAY. I've written and re-written this entry several times. I guess blogging takes practice and I'm a bit rusty. :)

But, after a month of not posting anything, I'm sure you're all dying to know what happened to us. :) I apologize for not being the blogger of the year, but when things get busy, something's got to go ... I guess my blog was it! We've had a tumultuous month! Let's see... where do I start? Since the beginning of March we've been looking at homes, and we finally found one in Riverton, UT. It couldn't have come at a better time, since Jon's parents decided it was time to kick us out, and staying with my parents for a couple of weeks was TONS of fun. But it's a fabulous rambler with a cute little yard. My favorite part is the walk-in closet!!! Jon's just happy to have a new lawnmower. (It's red... I think it's cute!)

Between packing and unpacking, and running to the store several times to get things we forgot we needed, we're really enjoying being new homeowners. We even planted some flowers in the front yard!


Our ward rocks, our future friends (some people call them neighbors) are pretty nice, and it's less than ten minutes to drive to school. I'm just thrilled to be in our own place that we can call home!

(and a HUGE GINORMOUS thanks to our friends who helped us move: Caity and Bob, Lynae and Tyler and Tyler's brothers, and my dear, darling family!)