Back in the Summer of '79

I turn 29 tomorrow. That means I can see 30 when I stand up. When old ladies on t.v. lie about their age, they always say they're 29. I guess that's because 29 sounds young to them. It sounds young to me, too. It just doesn't feel young. As I go about life it's becoming increasingly clear to me that I am no longer a young person.

I remember the first time I ever felt old. I was taking a group of 16 year old girls from our church to an activity somewhere. One of them found a cassette tape of The Wonder Years soundtrack melting in my back window. She picked it up, pointed to the picture on the front cover and said, "Hey, Jenny! See this guy? He's Ben Savage's brother." I found myself wondering when Fred Savage suddenly became a footnote in the grand career of Ben Savage.

It's been downhill ever since then. Every time I hear a song I listened to as a kid played on the oldies station, I feel it. When kids I used to babysit send me a wedding invitation or birth announcement, I feel it. When I tell a young whipper snapper that we didn't even HAVE the Internet when I was in school, I feel it. Every time I pay $4.15 a gallon at the pump and think back to "the good old days" when gas was just $o.80 a gallon, I feel it. Each time a child says, "Whooah!" when I tell them how old I am, I feel it.

They say you're as young as you feel. And I feel old.

For a Good Time Call Dr. Horrible

I just watched something that I found kooky and fun and thought I'd pass it along. It's called "Dr. Horrible's Sing Along Blog" and it's a web video musical starring Neil Patrick Harris as Dr. Horrible, Nathan Fillion as his archnemesis Captain Hammer, and Felicia Day as his laundromat love interest Penny. You can see the entire 42 minute musical on www.hulu.com. Here's a small taste of it:

A Festivus for the Rest of Us

On July 24, 1847 the Mormon Pioneers entered the Salt Lake Valley and President Brigham Young declared "This is the place." To commemorate this historic event, every July 24th, Utahns take off work to watch parades, make scones, and eat taffy.

Yesterday we met Jeff's grandparents and his aunts at the "Days of '47 Parade" in downtown Salt Lake City. Horses and beauty queens were in great abundance. Where I come from, parades are strictly for Homecoming and consist of four floats and five convertables. It was fun to watch a parade that lasted longer than five minutes. (Much, much longer.)

After the parade we went to Jeff's Aunt Penny's house for a backyard barbeque (complete with a hot tub, waterslide, and kiddie pool). The best part was that Jeff had the day off so we could all enjoy it together.

I'm grateful for my pioneer ancestors and the sacrifices they made (and not just because it means Jeff gets the day off). So, raise your glasses of homemade root beer high. To the pioneers!

So, do any of you live in States that celebrate State holidays?

Aunt Lisa's Great Big Backyard Bubbles
7 cups cold water
1 cup Joy dish detergent (she says this works best)
plastic fly swatters

Combine water and joy. Cut a few squares out of the fly swatters. Poor bubble mixture into shallow bowls (she uses pie tins). Dip fly swatters into mixture and watch the bubbles fly.

Where Accessories Go To Die

Yesterday I put Chloe's hair in a ponytail for the first time. It was adorable.

After lunch she came up to me and said, "Mommy, my ponytail's in my nose." Since she usually speaks in code, I figured this was a euphemism for something else. Nope. No code. She had a ponytail holder in her nose. She insisted that I get it out using nothing but magic. I tried taking it out with tweezers when she was sleeping, but it was too far in. When she woke up, she said her nose was fine, but that her mouth hurt. I think it had moved to her throat because she kept making noises like a cat with a hairball. In the end, I'm pretty sure she swallowed it.

Last night I went to one of those "Come to my house and buy things" parties and found this:

HA! Try stickin' that up your nose, missy!

Eye of the Tiger

Harrison started t-ball this week. (We're hoping he can try every sport by the time he's six and get it all out of his system now.) Monday was his first game with the Tigers and we were surprised to find out that every kid in his class at church is on his team. Bonus!

(Above: Cameron, Harrison, and Scottie debate whether they want a pitcher or a belly-itcher.)

He did a good job of hitting the ball and running to first base. But once he got to first and the next batter hit the ball, Harrison ran in the general direction of the playground.

T-ball is a lot slower-paced than soccer and Harrison got bored with it pretty quickly. I think he'll learn a little bit more about team work this way.

Mommy's Little Boy

To round out our perfectly blogtastic week, my little brother Rob got married on Thursday. If you know Rob, then you know what a unique individual he is. We always knew that the woman who married him would have to be a very special human being. When Claire came along and fell in love with Rob we all realized (as my dad put it at their wedding luncheon) we had "seriously underestimated this boy." She is delightful in every way and I'm so happy for them both. Here they are entering the world as a couple.


I had such a great time on my wedding day. The whole day was filled with magic and roses and shooting stars and I figured that's how it was for everyone. It wasn't until I saw this picture of my nephews that I considered that maybe it wasn't magical for everyone.

The great lesson I learned on Thursday was that no matter what the cost, it is always worth it to get a babysitter on a wedding day. Here are some of my choicest pics.



I did manage to snap a couple of photos of the kids dressed up and not sad.


I didn't get many good pictures, but Nicole and Makenzie both have lovely tributes on their blogs, so check them out!

Go, Birthday Boy, Go!

My little boy turned five on Tuesday!
(Here he is with his first tooth.)

Why does five seem so much older than four? Maybe it's because now he's starting school and before I know it he'll be graduating from high school and leaving me. Now I'm going to cry.

As someone with a summer birthday, I always worried that his birthdays would be dull because everyone would be out of town. Harrison was born close to July 4th so we are usually surrounded by family. I'm pretty sure he thinks his birthday is the event of the century because his parties are always huge. This year my whole family was in town for my brother Rob's wedding. We invited them to Harrison's last soccer game and everyone came to cheer him on.
(Above: My nephew, Noah, shows his team spirit with a leg tattoo.)

Harrison scored five goals! (One was for the other team.) After the game we had cake and ice cream and played on the playground.
(Above L-R: Katy, Makenzie and Gabriel, Nicole, Allyn and Noah, Jennie, Melissa and Chloe.)
That night he had a sleepover with his cousin, Adam. My sister had given him a Superhero kit, so the kids played superheroes all night.

(Above: Bumblebee Girl, Rocket Boy, and Super Harrison.)

Beach Party 2008

On June 27th, the kids and I flew to North Carolina for Jeff's family's annual beach trip. We started the week going to the temple with Jeff's brother, Brian, in preparation for his mission to Provo, Utah. The beach was delightful, as always, and it was great to be together again. We spent our days on the beach and our nights playing Rock Band and eating ice cream. I also got to see my sister, Katy, and her lovely family. When we got home, Jeff had a big surprise for us. Too bad for you that you have to endure my ridiculously long slideshow in order to find out what the surprise was.