Home Sweet Home

Although it really is a long drive from Phoenix to Cedar, I'm glad I'm still young and stupid enough to attempt it in a weekend. I went home October 18-20 and had a really wonderful time with Mom and Dad. For a chill weekend, it was suprisingly action-packed!

Well, ok, the drive itself was boring and long as usual. But I popped out of bed in the morning to go meet Dad at the Balloon Festival. He said they were taking off from Centennial Park between 8:00 and 9:00, so of course I rolled out of the driveway at about 8:58. I saw balloons straight west of the house, but Dad had said Centennial Park, so I went there first. I buzzed right by though, because all the balloons were where I'd originally seen them--north of the airport. Clearly Dad had the location wrong, but I went out there to try to find him. He never picked up on his cell, but I hung out there for a while. Then I realized they were deflating the balloons--that was where they'd landed after taking off from the park! No wonder they were so spread out.....Anyway, I headed straight back to the park to go find Dad. Of course, coming from the wrong direction, I ended up going the long way around because apparently I can't find my way around my own home town. When did they put that creek in? I found him immediately, and he ushered me behind the ropes for the VIP tour. He introduced me to some friends and showed me some of the planes, and then we sat and watched some of the stunt fliers. It was really fun!

My next stop was Evans Hairstyling for a much-needed haircut. I deliberately try to wait until I'm in Cedar for all my hair care needs--where else can you get a competent haircut for under $5? It's pretty short now--I like to cut it short for winter in Phoenix. I know that seems counter-intuitive, but in the summer you want it long so you can pull it back and off your neck. In the winter it's cool enough that you can stand to wear it down and in your face a little more.

So after I got my new 'do, Mom and I made taco salads with garden-fresh tomatoes. It's been so long since I've had them that I'd forgotten how amazing a really ripe, juicy tomato tastes. I was in heaven! Living in a condo, I don't exactly have much opportunity to grow my own produce, but I'm motivated now to do that topsy-turvy thing they advertise on TV for growing tomatoes upside down.

After that, Mom took me to go see the Complete Works of Shakespeare, Abridged at the University. Mom got us box seats (so swank!) but there were two other people already in the box when we got there who took up a lot of room, so we switched to the balcony. The play itself was fantastic, with a small cameo by Fred at the very beginning. There were a lot of hometown references, and I'm still enough of a native that I got most of them. The performers interacted with the audience quite a bit, so it was very different from your usual theater experience. But it was very funny, and it was definitely a treat to see it with Mom.

We had steak for dinner, and then I roped them into watching a Bollywood movie with me. Such is the folly of indulgent parents! It was actually a really cute film, but Dad and I were taking turns zonking on the leather loveseat downstairs. I was really beat by that time, and I crashed as soon as the movie was over. Fortunately, their church isn't until 1:00, so I got to sleep in Sunday morning.

I only went to Sacrament meeting because I couldn't wait until 4:00 to get on the road back to Phoenix. But I did decide to go through St. George and see Grandma and Aunt Lois for a little while. Mom loaded me up with baskets and bags for all three of us, and the apples she sent were really good! Who knew after all those years of ultra-annoying lawn mowing and neverending watering that the orchard would actually produce decent fruit? I spent a little over an hour catching up, then I had to skedaddle back home. Thanks to everyone for such a wonderful visit!

Fabulous Fourth

Thanks everyone for a great 4th of July weekend! What a blast! It was so nice to be together as a family. I'm so glad we all like each other and will voluntarily travel to be together for holidays and special occasions like this. I really am glad to be part of this particular family.

A special shoutout to Mom for getting up early to get us such good seats for the parade!

I was so amazed at how well the kids played together. I swear all I have from the whole weekend are pictures of the kids hugging each other!

Well, that or dispensing their own brand of "love". Honestly, I don't know how Chase managed to breathe underneath all that cousinly affection!

Thanks, Aunt Lois, for arranging paintball for us! I liked it the first time, but now I think I'm hooked. I'd love to do it again next time we're in St. George. Unless next time is in the dead of summer, in which case I might take a pass until it cools off a little bit. I managed to send myself this photo when I was messing around on Duane's phone (I think he's holding the rest hostage), and I would like you all to know that the perfectly circular welt on my knee is STILL THERE! That kid NAILED me in the first round! But don't worry, when I tell the story of how I kakked two out of three brothers in the second-to-last round, I'm practically a living legend!

The rest are just miscellaneous pictures from the rest of the weekend. I hope you enjoy them!