The Houseguest :)

A few weeks ago, my brother Bryan stayed with us. His housing contract ended in Logan, and complications with his Visa set him back a month from getting to Brasil. It was really fun to have him here, these are somethings we did together:

Bryan is my puzzle buddy! He took a road trip to Vegas with his friends, so this puzzle was especially appropriate. He came with us to several friend functions, and was definitely a baby magnet. Here is Bryan with beautiful, 1/2 Chilean, baby Azaleia!!! (Bryan rocked at the minute to win it games at this party...)

We went up AF canyon one night after work, Bry was great to take pictures of us! (I left out the pictures he caught of when Scott and I chased through the house, battling over Farr's mint chip ice cream :) ) His hands also make great antlers.

Did I mention Bryan bought us mint chip ice cream? Delish! He helped with dinner and the dishes practically every night! And several times he even had dinner on the table when we got home from work! (...complete with background music...) One night, we waxed our noses together. I put the wax on his moustache a little to get his whiskers, and he didn't even complain.

We went to the MOA one day... I am very impressed that all the men in my life love art exhibitions so much! This same day, we also went to the park for a picnic, played with the aerobie, and just sort of kicked around P-town.

Now, Bryan is in Brasil, where he feels very... tall :)

Love you Bryan, thanks for the great visit!

Laser Tag

Last night we played Laser tag with some Jerusalem friends. I was so great to see everyone again and even do something together instead of just stand around and chat (not that I don’t like doing that…) Thanks to Richelle and Bryan for bringing coupons!!! Mid-game, Dad returned my phone call. With my vest on and laser gun in hand, I answered the phone whispering to my dad “Can’t talk now, I’m after the enemy!” He was like, “Well I’m between meetings now and I can’t talk later… what’s going on…?” I should call him back and explain myself. Anyway, after the shin dig was over, I was just so glad to go home with my very best friend of ALL!

Happy Father's Day Dad!

I was thinking about doing a new post for my dad today, but decided to make some addendums to something I posted a few years ago. It's hard to sum up all that is my dad, but hopefully this gives the idea:

I love my Dad. If you know me well, then you know that my relationship with him is, well, awesome :) My dad loves me SO much and I love him SO much back! Although it doesn't do justice, here is my best attempt to put into words the lessons and the life I've learned from him:

He was my very first date when I turned 16 :)

My dad is the one who slides down waterfalls with me in Samoa. My dad is the one who gives me perspective when I feel like the world is ending. My dad is the one who gets up early to read scriptures as a family. My Dad is the one who celebrates my victories! My dad is the one who works HARD to give me opportunities in life.

(Big credit to mom for being ready and willing with the camera the moment my BYU acceptance letter came!)

My dad is the one who verbally tells us kids that he loves us. He is the one who tucked me in and kissed me even though I was already asleep. My dad is the one who helps my friends feel comfortable and welcome. My dad is the one who does what he asks others to do. My dad is the one who takes me on outings like the tulip festival where we can enjoy nature together.

My dad is the one who encourages me to set written goals and be intentional about traditions. My dad is the one who taught me to manage money and recognize the difference between needs and wants. My dad is the one who showcases his flexibility and strength at tactful moments which make for an incredible family history :) My dad is the one who sacrifices his personal space when I am needy. My dad is the one who hangs up on multi-million dollar phone calls to help me with a math problem. (not sure I'm proud of that one...)

My dad is the one who does headstands with the grandkids. He'll even race them around the block. My dad is the one who writes me into his busy schedule; because he wants to. My dad is the one who is sensitive to others' needs and selflessly fulfills them. My dad is the one who emails me mid-week, just for fun. He cares for my spiritual, as well as my physical needs. My dad is the one who flips pancakes in the morning and pulls weeds before a bike ride. My dad is the one who spanked me to "help me remember" to make good choices.

My dad is the one who leads so dutifully and honorably. He is the one who listens and learns, and humbly invites those around him to rise up. My dad is also the one who wears his gold toe socks until the holes become so large his foot fits through them... My dad is the one who throws a baseball with me and helps me earn merit badges even though I'm a girl. He even wears silly noses with the fam.

My dad is the one who keeps his word. My dad is the one who uses the run and jump method to wake me up for seminary! My dad is the one who looks for opportunities to play doctor :)

My dad is the one who appreciates the arts and exposes me to quality entertainment. My dad is the one who doesn't kill me when I eat Saltine's and Ritz crackers on his side of the bed :) My dad is the one who seeks adventure and goes with the flow when mom and I plan a new crazy scheme. My dad is the one who is respected by Young Men and makes sure the youth know of his love for them. My dad is the one who finds the humor in slipping on a floor sprayed with WD40!

My dad is the one who danced with me on my wedding day. He was the strong one when I was having separation issues... My dad is the one who loves nature. He really loves it!

My dad is the one who has mastered the art of photobombing :) My dad is the one who knows how to make a compromise so everyone is happy! My Dad is the one who loves to sing with his brothers. My dad teaches me principles so that I am empowered to make my own decisions.

My dad was the photography assistant on my bridal photo shoot. Wow, what a memory :)

My dad is the one who shows that he values education by promoting school events and helping me with homework no matter the cost. My dad is the one who listens to my heart when my words don't convey how I feel. My dad is the one who loves my mom!!!

That just happened.

I just did an entire load of laundry, not realizing until it was all dried and done that I'd forgotten to put SOAP in the load. Seriously Stef???

Just in Time Accounting:

A way to decrease costs, and increase efficiency. Scott has really latched onto this idea in terms of our (Read: MY) purchases. If we are at the store and say, the croutons are on sale, my impulse is to buy about 3 boxes. Scott says that this is unnecessary and it is spending more money than is needed and is taking up space we don't have. He then gives me a pitch about embracing "Just in time" purchasing. (Maybe he forgets that Accounting and Economics were my all-time WORST classes in college...)

From my perspective, I know that we will eat all 3 bags of croutons in the relatively near future. At 1/3 a bag each night in our salad, we go through croutons pretty darn fast. So I save myself from going down the crouton isle every shopping trip, debating which flavor to pick again, and from paying full price the next week when they're not on sale anymore! Right?

This "Just in time" accounting principle has been used in other situations as well. Primarily my crafting hobby when I see something I "know I will for sure use" sometime down the road. Or when I find a great game like Catch Phrase at a garage sale, and buy it even though we already have that game. This way, when our raucous game of Catch Phrase breaks that little machine (that by the way, gets whomped and thrown and pounded...) I will have another on hand :) (For $2 instead of $20 at Target).

Disclaimer: Please nobody call the show Hoarders and turn me in... I promise I have a plan for everything "extra" that I buy :)

Is Scott right? Should I stop buying things I don't immediately need? Where is the line? How do you know when to buy, or not to buy?

Colorado Funnies- Better late than never.

For those of you non-Facebookers, here are a few pics from our weekend away over Memorial Day. But to spice it up for people who have already seen the pics, I've included some funnies from the weekend.

On our 7am hike to delicate arch, we passed another couple heading back to the parking lot. The girl didn't make direct eye contact with me, but kept looking over, seemingly intrigued. The closer I looked, I realized it was my friend Heather from New Zealand. She looked a bit older, but her behavior matched exactly what I would anticipate from my friend. So once we got close enough, I greeted her with a hug and energetically said, "How are you? It's been so long!" Then proceeded to introduce, "This is my husband Scott, and Scott, this is Heather, we went to New Zealand together!" Then it happened. She came back with, "Except I'm not... I don't even know you."

Wow.

That was funny. I tried to say as little as possible after that, knowing that anything I said would probably work against me. We went our separate ways, and it's hard for Scott to believe me when I now say, "Oh hey, I know her!" (The funniest part is, once we actually got to the arch, I did run into an old friend who Scott had never met!)

After hiking in Arches, we headed south to Mesa Verde to see the ancient indian cliff dwellings. Luckily for Scott, we got tickets for the last tour of the day.

We arrived in Silverton, Colorado Saturday night about 11pm. The entire town (all of maybe 200 people) was either asleep, or at the Tavern. Being below freezing, we'd decided not to camp. But, we couldn't find any motel open. So we found some smokers outside a pretty shabby looking one (read: A motel in our price range) who said that "Oh, Randy, he's over at the Tavern." So Scott ran down the street, inside, and started yelling for Randy. Some lady at the bar said, "Oh Andy? He's over there!" We proceeded to get a room from him, for a pretty darn good price. So we're sending all our Silverton referrals his way:

The Prospector in is where it's at everybody!

The man who passed the sacrament at church in Silverton, Colorado wore his full Sheriff uniform. Gold star and all. LOVED it :)

The million $$$ Highway was BEA-UTIFUL!!!

We picked up some Del Taco for one of our drives. Scott, creative as he is, linked 3 straws together and drank as much as he wanted with both hands on the wheel. Impressive. And funny enough to make the "Funnies" section if you ask me.

We took a 2-3 hour detour to see Black Canyon- 3rd behind The Grand Canyon and Yosemite. It was pretty nice. But it was $15 and I wouldn't do it again, in case you were wondering. But we had a great picnic there and saw some very steep cliffs.

And then it happened. We drove right back to Glenwood Springs. :) We LOVE Glenwood Springs, Colorado. LOVE it. Scott can't get enough of the hot springs, and I just love the small town feel.

It was pretty funny watching Scott do water yoga with all the old ladies in the hot spring :)

What a FANTASTIC WEEKEND AWAY! Good thing we had the audio version of "The Help" to keep us busy on the 20 hours of driving!!!