Good-bye Summer

Halfway through my freshman year I got a job in the BYU catering kitchens. I have never made it a secret that this was not my favorite job. But, last Friday was finally my last day! YAY!!

To celebrate this momentous occasion and to give a proper sendoff to the summer, we decided to roast marshmallows up the canyon. And while we were at it, we thought we may as well roast my work shoes too.

So Saturday night we found ourselves up Provo Canyon at South Fork, at the same fire pit that I had come to with some friends at the end of last summer. Jared and Will got the fire going quickly:

Meghan and I married some manly men

And then we had some s'mores, Meghan and I each tried our first roasted starburst, and we even tried reese's peanut butter cups on s'mores. Good, but not my favorite. Will, on the other hand, loved them.

The Provo River, just beyond our chosen fire pit

Will's Jacket protecting the tunes from intermittent rain

Roasted Watermelon: not recommended. Tasted like warm water (go figure).

As we were finishing up the eating portion of the evening, a man in a black jacket with a flashlight strolled up to our fire and just stood there. Finally he said hello (by which time Meghan had planned an escape route via the Provo River in case he turned out to be a murderer) and that fire restrictions were still in place and that he was going to have to ask us to leave, and and by the way we weren't even using a real fire pit. Whoops.

We began to gather our stuff, and I threw my shoes on the fire anyway. Even if it was only for a brief moment, those shoes had to burn! For those who don't know burning rubber reeks! I knew that. And it was still horrible. We returned to the car with half burned shoes and an air of illegality. As we pulled out of the parking lot, we noticed two very large signs stating that no fires were allowed at this time. Again, whoops.

Too much excitement--it's time for school and Fall.

Assessing the damage back at home

Theme Song: Boys of Summer, Don Henley (or the Ataris)

Words

What to do on a slow weekday night:

Work together to use up all the Bananagram tiles, adding one at a time.

Alternatively:

Go head to head and very nearly tie. (I could tell you who won, but it's not important...)

Theme Song: Words, The Monkees

Cheap Seats

My sophomore year of high school my English teacher read us a poem that the student body president of a few years before had written for the school literary journal. I don't remember most of the poem, but two lines have really stuck with me through the years:

"I don't know why it is that we scream the loudest from the cheap seats,
But I want to love like that."

Being in the third tier of a basketball stadium is more exciting than the video stream from court side. It doesn't matter how simply you love someone or something, as long as it's with all your hearts.

Regina Spektor's new album title, What We Saw from the Cheap Seats, immediately caught my eye and reminded me of the poem. Then I started listening and heard her beautiful piano music, lovely voice, and even some French lyrics. I was sold. Could not stop talking about it.

Yellowcard also recently came out with a new album, Southern Air, that Will has been listening to. Yesterday Will came home from work, saying he had a surprise. On the kitchen table was a copy of Southern Air:

I picked it up with a smile--it's a good album. As I lifted it from the table, there was something beneath:

Guess what CD I'll be listening to for the next few weeks. What a wonderful husband. We like our view and our love in the cheap seats. Ne me quitte pas, mon chère. Ne me quitte pas.

Theme Song:  Don't Leave Me, Regina Spektor

The Women's Games

I looooove the Olympics. Love them. It's just upsetting that they're only every two years (Summer and Winter are both the best.) These Olympics were particularly excellent:

• The Games took place in the greatest city in the world!
• U.S.A. rocked the Medal Count--104 (46 gold, 29 silver, 29 bronze). China was next with 88 (38, 27, 23). Essentially, we smoked the competition.
• I reconnected with my heroes: Serena Williams--that girl was on fire! And she's the best female tennis player without being a stick. Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh--greatest beach volleyball players ever!!!!!!!!! And Kerri had two kids between Beijing and London!
• And found some new ones: Oscar Pistorius--he's kinda fast for some dude with no legs. Sanya Richards-Ross--learning from and improving on Beijing results, and her parents crack me up.

Not everything was fantastic. Ralph Lauren totally blew it with U.S.A.'s opening ceremony uniforms. Why must they always wear such stupid hats? Every year!

But, back to more stellar things:

• U.S.A. women's soccer. Amazing.
• Usain Bolt is hilarious
• Guatemala and Grenada got their first medals ever. And I watched it happen! (Guatemala got Silver in men's race walking--very hard to watch with a straight face. but it's a medal. And Grenada got Gold in men's 400m race)
• Michael Phelps. 22 medals. 
• U.S.A. gymnastics, men's basketball, women's baskteball...
• the music of the Opening and Closing ceremonies. Literally in Heaven.
• Nike's ad campaign:

 

 

But I think my favorite thing was how the women dominated! More U.S.A. medals came from women than the men: swimming, fencing, boxing, gymnastics, beach volleyball, indoor volleyball, soccer, tennis, track and field, water polo... The women of other countries were also fantastic. Every country at the Olympics this year was represented by at least one woman. Even Saudi Arabia! Two women that really touched me were Jessica Ennis of Great Britain winning the women's heptathlon by leaps and bounds and Kristyna Kolocova, a Czech beach volleyball player who is only 5' 7" and yet beat a Brazilian team to make it to the quarterfinals, where the Czechs lost to an American team. 5' 7" and playing volleyball. Love it. Girl Power!

 This video is just awesome.

And this video makes me cry every time. No joke.

Theme Song: This One's For the Girls, Martina McBride

Alternative Theme Song: Olympic Fanfare and Theme, John Williams

Obtaining Joy, One Heart Attack at a Time

A while back I made these:

via here

They were amazing. Cinnabon amazing. Will's an authority on the subject and he confirmed it. And I just so happen to have enough ingredients to make another batch in the near future. You should probably come by our apartment and eat some. Yummmmmmmmmmm.

These too:

via here

Not perfected yet, but we'll get there.

Theme Song: Sunshine, Lollipops and Rainbows, Lesly Gore

A Mile in His Shoes

"Before you criticize someone, you should walk a mile in their shoes. That way, when you criticize them, you are a mile away from them, and you have their shoes."
             --Frieda Norris

Will has been wearing the same pair of shoes for seven years. They have survived four years of university and a two year mission. He wears them every day. Every. Day. The outsides don't look too bad, considering what they've been through; he takes good care of them. The insides, on the other hand, were something of a disaster.

Yes. These are the actual soles of his shoes.

 He finally decided the time had come to make a change. When I heard this I thought: yay, shoe shopping. Instead he was thinking new sole inserts.

 

So, with duct tape, superglue, and a little help from Dr. Scholl's, his shoes are good to go--he hopes for years to come. I have made no secret of the fact that I think these shoes need to go (I even made him buy a new pair of trainers for engagement pictures that he only wore that one time), and while the insides may now be slightly improved, that just makes it easier for me to walk a mile away in them, pass judgement, and then hurriedly get rid of them. 

Theme Song: New Shoes, Paolo Nutini