In Which We Celebrate 40 Years

I went to Comic Con over the weekend.  It was pretty epic and I have lots of pictures to show you, but not yet.  First I must tell you something else.  

Thursday night (the first day of the Con), Kaleb was doing the dishes.  Somehow he had not noticed that there was a glass cup in the drain and turned on the garbage disposal.  I wasn't home yet, so Kurtis told me all about it after he picked me up. And I remember thinking, "I can't have any fun, can I?  Bad things seem to happen when I try to have fun."  This is only partly true.  It depends on the kind of fun that I try to have, it seems.  But I digress... 

But you can imagine the consequences of such a mistake.  Kurtis tried to get all of the pieces of glass out - he got most of them, but his hand was too big to fit in the hole.  So I did my best to finish the job.

The garbage disposal seized up and we have been without one for a week.  But Friday, before leaving for day two of the Con, I called my dad.  He said he didn't think he could come down to help me fix it until the 20th, but it turns out they could come help me this morning.  I am so grateful for that.  Seriously.  Kurtis had put the square bucket I use to keep my cleaning supplies in the sink and was making the kids dump the water out in the toilet when they were done doing the dishes.  I hated it.  Mostly because he also wouldn't let the kids put the dirty dishes in the bucket.  They had to go on the counter next to the sink, and that made it hard to find a place to cook dinner.  It was a whole thing.  I'm just glad it's over. ;)

When my parents came over this morning, they got right to work, and we discovered there is a reset button on my garbage disposal (I couldn't find it, but it's on the bottom).  We tried that first.  It didn't work.  So we used his tool that came with his garbage disposal and he got the blade to spin again.  And now it works!  We could hear a little piece of glass still spinning around in there, so I put my hand in it to find it.  My hand got cut, but I didn't pull anything out.  It's funny to me that I cut it today, but not at all when I was pulling bigger pieces out.  We knew it was still in there and then we could hear it while we used one of my garbage disposal cleaning things to test out the mechanism.  It sounded like it had fallen into the compactor and my dad felt that it was small enough that it would go through the pipe soon.

Before they left, I had to give them their anniversary present!  On September 5, 1974, my parents were married in the Salt Lake Temple.  They have now been married for 40 years!  My siblings and I think that is pretty cool.  So at the beginning of the year, I asked what we should do for them and we had a few ideas, but they didn't feel right.  Then the year went on and I forgot about it for awhile.  Then in July (I think), I went on Pinterest and went looking.  Someone posted that their kids had written 40 things they had learned from their parents over the years and I thought that sounded perfect.  So I finally emailed my siblings on the Sunday before their anniversary.  They all thought that was a great idea.  I said that because my parents had 8 children, if we all did it, we would only have to come up with 5 each.  Only one sibling declined to participate, so a few of us came up with a couple extras.

I almost forgot to give it to them while they were here, but then I saw it on the counter (I forgot to take a picture of it!), I was like oh! I must give you your present!

They loved it!  They sat down and read it together.  I took a few pictures of them reading it (because I left my video camera downstairs.  I meant to get it before they came, but they forgot to text me when they were on their way here).  Michele, the first thing you wrote, made mom break down in tears. It was awesome.  Some made her laugh and some made her cry, but they loved them all.  Thank you for participating in this.  It means a lot to them and mom said she would keep it in a special place.  Here is a great quote from Mom: "These are happy things! Why are they making me cry so much?"  I said, "So many feels!"  I don't think she got it, but that's okay.  ;)

 After I gave it to them, my mom requested a box of tissues while she read it.

 I know that's a lot of pictures, but I couldn't decide which ones were best.

I thought they were all wonderful.

After they left, I was so excited that I had a garbage disposal again, that I had to try it out.  It sounded like the glass piece that was in the bottom had somehow come back up, so I fished around, and found it.  Now it works perfectly and does not sound like something is stuck in it.  Hooray!

Such a tiny piece of glass creating so much havoc!

In Which We Love the Open Road

Sacrament Meeting Art #41: September 7, 2014.

This is a picture my sister took while she and her family were on a road trip to Utah.  I'm pretty sure this is in Colorado, but I need to check.  Hang on...

Well, she doesn't say specifically, but it is.  I know Colorado.  I've been there before. ;)  So if it isn't, comment and let us know, Sista!

But anyway, I read her blog, loved the photo and said, that's going to be my next Sacrament Meeting Art piece.  I cropped it a little though.  It had to be done to fit the page I was coloring on.  I use half a sheet of 8 1/2 x 11" paper.

Here's the original picture:

In Which We Visit A Rock Pile

Sacrament Meeting Art #40:  August 17, 24, & 31, 2014.

It's finally time for Sacrament Meeting Art again!  I finished it!  It only took me three Sundays.

This is based on a picture my brother took while on a hike in Oregon.  He lives there.  I love it when he puts pictures of his adventures on facebook.  I got to see him today, though, so I promptly gave this one to him.  I asked if it was formed in nature or if humans had done this.  He told me it was made by humans.  He said he watched them put it together and then topple it over before they left.  It looks bigger than it is.  He told me it was probably a foot and a half high.  But it makes for one really cool picture.

Here's the original picture I used to go off of:

Gorgeous!

I hope you have a great week!

In Which We Do Something We've Never Done Before (A Few Things Actually)

The kids started school today.  It's a really good thing because their nit-picking at each other was beginning to get to me.  It can cause me great anxiety.  Last night, a cold descended upon me like a mist slowly enveloping the woods in a Twilight movie.  So I was not surprised when I woke up this morning with a sore throat and runny nose.  After the kids left, I went back to bed.  Then at noon, I realized Riley and Kaleb have early out and I should probably get dressed.  I really wish I had just stayed in bed today.  Being sick is no fun, and I had a headache all day long.

A few weeks ago, Kurtis found a recipe for a chocolate souffle.  And tonight he wanted to make them for Family Home Evening.  So we did. I took some Advil and put my big girl panties on.  I told Kurtis I would preheat the oven and watch, but I ended up doing more than that.  Pain killers are pretty nice.

I've never made a souffle before and this recipe was actually pretty easy.  Maybe it was because all I really did was stir the chocolate and cream.  We worked together.  Well, Kurtis and I did as the kids kept leaving the room and Kurtis would yell at them that if they didn't stay in the kitchen they wouldn't get any souffle.  Hee hee.  What fun.

But guess what!  They turned out and they tasted pretty good.  Jones family for the win!

Aaaand now it's picture time!

 He's got the Jr. High thing down.  Well, he really didn't at the end of last year and paid for it this summer, so hopefully he's learned his lesson and will do something about it.

His last year of elementary.  Whaaaaaat?

 Soon he will be my lone child in the see of elementary school kids.  Le sigh.

 My babies are growing up, you guys!

 Here they are baking.  Almost ready to come out of the oven.

 Riley called me "Souffle Girl" (it's a Doctor Who reference).

 We almost forgot the powdered sugar!

Here's mine.  We dipped our cookies in them.  It was delicious!

I Instagrammed Riley's because his looked like Oogie Boogie from Nightmare Before Christmas.

Pretty epic.

In Which There Are SO Many Feels

I have a couple friends in a play that is going on right now.  You may have heard of it. It's called August: Osage County. Friday night, I dragged Kurtis to see it with me. And by dragged him, I mean I asked if he wanted to see a play about a dysfunctional family with me, and make a date of it. He thought that sounded awesome. So it wasn't like I put a gun to his head.
Anyway. This is not a happy play you guys. I know Julia Roberts starred in the movie recently, but I haven't seen it. I didn't know what I was getting myself into. I had a feeling, so I wasn't completely unprepared mentally, but I was not prepared.
At the beginning, you meet the father (his name is Beverly  of the family. He seems like a really nice guy, too.  But then, a few weeks after hiring a maid to take care of his wife who had mouth cancer and is addicted to pain pills, he disappears. After five days, Ivy (the middle child) calls Barbara (her older sister). Early the morning after the oldest daughter arrives, the sheriff arrives to tell them they found him. Drown in the lake. Soon the whole family arrives and begins to unravel.
The acting in this play is amazing. The script is so good. I really did like this play, but it is heavy. I felt as if a weight had been placed on my shoulders. As though this family said, "Here, carry this burden for me for a little while. I can't do it anymore." And then they all gave you their individual burdens. Sometimes when you bare a burden that isn't actually yours, it feels heavier than all the others in your backpack.
Lots of people will go see this play and it will not affect them like this.  Kurtis liked the play.  He didn't walk away from it feeling like melting into a puddle on the floor, but I did. I'm laying in bed emailing this to myself on my kindle to publish later, in tears. Kurtis told me he would be like the uncle in the play - trying to calm everybody down. I know. He totally would and that's why I love him. I told him I would be in the corner crying and rocking back and forth covering my ears during the fighting. Maybe humming a tune of some sort to down it out. We both agreed that even our families aren't that dysfunctional.
Now, I'm not saying plays like this shouldn't be written or done.  Not at all.  I'm just describing how it made me feel.  Also, I really like that there are finally theatre companies in Utah that will do the hard to watch things, or things that would make you uncomfortable.  Around here, the plays that are fluffy happy family-friendly ones tend to win out.  Those are great for when you want to take your kids out and do something as a family, but sometimes I don't want to take my kids out.  More often, I will take my kids to see a movie at the dollar theater than take them to a play that's $20 a seat.  It's ridiculous to think that a family could even afford something like that.  That would be $100 for a family of five, so no thank you. Also, they tend to do the same shows over and over because they are "safe".  I've still never seen Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor-ed Dream Coat, but I'm sure I won't have to wait long for the opportunity to come around again.  And I don't necessarily want to watch shows that are for children either.  Sometimes I do.  But not always.
So it's awesome that I could get to see such amazing actors doing an amazing piece of work.  The direction was phenomenal, the actors were just brilliant, and I am still thinking about the characters and the story two days later.  So if you have the chance, I would go see it.  Performances are selling out.  You can buy your tickets here.  There are only three shows left.  Oh, I also need to say that this play would be rated R if it were a movie because of language.  But I only say that because I know some people care about that.

Oh hey, and if you were wondering why there was no Sacrament Meeting Art today and last week, it's simply because the piece I am working on isn't finished yet.  I think it will be next week though, so stay tuned!

In Which I Find Myself One Year Older

So I guess I have been busy actually living my life and not blogging about it, but I am behind again.  It happens.
After FantasyCon, came my birthday.  I turned 35.  The Sunday before, they sang to me in Primary.  The chorister told them I was 29 again.  But I corrected her and said, "Um.  Well, more like 18 again."  Because let's face it, I'm not really going to feel older than that.  Well.  Maybe when I can't move any more.  Then perhaps I will feel old.
My birthday fell on one of my workshop days, so we decided we would celebrate it on the 11th.
But in honor of my birthday, I decided we would make a birthday card for my workshop.  I like the way it turned out. One of the people who comes to club requested we also do a wedding card.  She said most of the people she knows are getting married or having  babies.  Makes sense.  She's in her twenties.  So I did one.  Here's a picture of them.

Super cute, eh?

So Friday, we celebrated my birthday by going to Costa Vida.  It's my favorite.  The kids were not excited because last time we went they ordered off the kids' menu.  They weren't impressed with their cheese quesadillas.  No surprise there.  But this time, we let them order what they wanted.  Zach got the shrimp tacos and now he always wants to go back.  Kaleb got a sweet pork burrito, but couldn't finish it.  That thing is huge and I knew he wouldn't, but it made him happy.  Kurtis got his usual chicken enchiladas and I my usual raspberry chipotle chicken salad.  Riley got a steak enchilada.  Mmmmmm. Great. Now I want to eat there.  Never blog hungry!

After dinner, we came back home and I opened my present.  Kurtis and the boys got me Friends, the complete series.  I'm already on season six!  I'm a binge watcher.

Then Kurtis and I went to see the movie The Edge of Tomorrow.  I LOVED it!  I knew I would even though Tom Cruise is in it.  It was really a great story.  I thought the ending was weird though.  It's based on a Japanese short story and they don't always have the typical happy ending.  So to me, it felt like they had Americanized the ending.  But I still liked it.  I just thought it could have ended about five minutes sooner.  Notice how I didn't spoil the ending there.  If you've seen it, you will know what I mean - you might disagree - but I didn't give anything away either.  Go see it.  It's worth it.

 My present!  I love it!

Then, a few days later, my brother Ben came by with another present! :)

It's a t-shirt he made for me with the symbol of one of the factions on a computer game I like to play.  You may have heard of it.  It's called World of Warcraft.  Or WoW for short.  So I took a picture of me in it for him to see that it does fit.  We were worried. ;)

FOR THE HORDE!

In Which There Is Electricity

Sacrament Meeting Art #39:  August 10, 2014.

The Lightning Strike.  The last few days as I've been driving home from rehearsals at night, there have been quite a few lightning storms.  I wish I could have stopped and watched them, but you know.  I have to go home at some point.  Sleep.  Kids.  Husband.  House.  Things to do.

Anyway.  This is the night sky as the lightning bolt lit it up.

Have a great week!