Hey, Soul Sister

This is a bit overdue, but in celebration of birthday month, I wanted to give a shout-out to my sisters.  Rachael's birthday was July 14, and Sarah's birthday was July 28th.  I love July, but it can be a little crazy with all the fêtes.  Even so, here are some things I love about Sarah:

1.  Sarah is so girly, but she won't wear pink.  I don't get it, but that's just her.
2.  She's not afraid to share her opinion, but she manages to do it tactfully.  I envy that.
3.  She has fabulous hair, and she's willing to work hard to get it.
4.  Sarah is an amazing listener.  She has a Master's in Social Work (okay, one book report away from the MSW, but close enough!) and she always has others' best interests at heart.
5.  Sarah is the favorite auntie.  All the kiddos love her, and she's a fantastic babysitter.
6.  She kept pestering me to listen to the fantastic Train song "Hey, Soul Sister."  The first time I heard it, I totally fell in love with it.  And it will always remind me of her.
7.  Sarah is the most dedicated journal writer I have ever met.  She is always having to purchase new ones.  Uh, I'm still working on the one I purchased before I got married (our 5 year anniversary is next week).
8.  For a long time, Sarah thought the phrase was, "Happy as a Clown."  Love it.
9.  She almost always has four pair of sunglasses on her dashboard.  Girlfriend loves her accessories!
10.  Sarah is smart, beautiful, photogenic, outgoing and just all-around fabulous. 

 Happy Birthday, Sarah.  You are amazing.

Then there's Rachael, a.k.a. Mach.  I'm not entirely sure where the nickname "Mach" came from, but it certainly has stuck.  Good thing she doesn't mind it (just like I don't mind Mary Chewy . . . it's almost automatic).

Here are some things I love about Rachael.

1.  Mach is very organized.  She really appreciates when there is a plan.  And it makes her happy when everyone else is aware of and complicit with that plan.  But she's not a control-freak.

2.  Even though she has had a lot of internet problems at home and droids at work who won't let her access blogger, Rachael has planned and written several blog entries.  She's got them all saved somewhere, just waiting for her to have a free minute.
3.  Mach really shines at Christmas.  She has well over a hundred people she sends Christmas cards to every year, plus she does gifts for people at work and in the neighborhood and in her ward and at Bunco...sometimes I can't believe the effort she puts into it.  Every year, I stand in awe.
4.  Rachael does incredible birthday parties for her girls.  I actually didn't bring my camera to Lily's 3rd birthday (shocking, I know!  I didn't know what to do with myself!), but Sarah got some great shots.  For example :

Yes, she made the fabulous Little Mermaid cake by herself. Rock on.
6.  Rachael is the care-taker of the family.  She is also the peace-keeper and everybody's best friend.  She would do anything for anybody, and she often does.
7.  Mach is an awesome mother.  She makes sure her girls are happy and learning and active and properly disciplined. ;o)
8.  She is pretty low-maintenance.  Of the sisters, she and I are together on this one.  We are on one level of the beauty routine, while Bex and Sarah are on a totally different plane.  Neither is better than the other, it's just the amount of time and effort put into it; Mach and I just can't be bothered to do anything requiring more than 20 minutes.
9.  Mach is a calming influence.  She doesn't let things get to her (or, at least she doesn't show it).  I can be an emotional wreck, and when I talk to her (any time of the day or night), she can make things better.  She's not a miracle worker, but she has a good, level head on her shoulders.  I need that.
10.  Mach is a confidante in every sense of the word.  She is an incredible secret-keeper (and yes, I'm still a little bitter about the pregnancy secrets) and a very dear friend.  I don't know what I would do without her.

I love you, ladies.  You are the best.

*I haven't forgotten about you, Bex.  Your turn is coming, but it's not your birthday yet. ;o)

Reunited, And It Feels So Good

It has been a while. I need to catch up, though I need to go to bed more. Here are a few highlights from the reunion @ Bryce Canyon.

This is a typical Benji face, when he gets excited about something. I took this at Sunrise Point.

Not the greatest picture of Dave & Lex, but Noah's pout is just too funny.

I don't remember exactly what Dad was saying, but I thought it was funny.

I like this little picture. Benji might have my face, but he has Allen's body. Like father, like son.

Cute Sarah. I loved that setting--nice choice, babe.

This is a good one of Mach & Family. Lily and Tess look so much alike anymore. . . it's hard to believe that they are 15 months apart. If I hadn't seen them from their respective birthdays up to now, I would think they were twins. I have a feeling they will be getting that a lot (i.e., for the rest of their lives).

This is most of the group; there were some meltdowns from Gen 4, so I don't think we got everyone at the same time, but I'll try to photoshop everyone into a group pic eventually. Until then . . .

My family rocks.

My TV Set Just Keeps It All From Being Clear

We have been watching "America's Got Talent." It's kind-of fun, and much more varied than a bunch of twenty-somethings doing hyped-up karaoke. There's a lot of variety and randomness. Where else can you see 50-year-old cheerleaders, climbing-wall dancers, and magic acts and singer-songwriters at the same time? And tomorrow (on the results show), Train is performing!!! I love those guys!!

Here's one of the coolest acts thus far:



These guys didn't make it past the last round, but they are seriously awesome. Airpocalypse, baby!



Yes, we were watching t.v. instead of being social. Some friends from our ward invited us over for a get-together and we didn't go. We are both really tired (and yet we are up watching re-runs of The Office . . . dang t.v.!), and I figure that we will be very social for the rest of the week with the family reunion and such.

I can't think of anything more interesting to say at the moment. Must sleep--lots to do tomorrow before the big drive on Thursday. I'm getting excited!

What I Got, I Remember That

We have been rescheduled!  I'm so excited. I was seriously depressed when I found out that Bono had broken his back and the concert was not to be.

I love this little video. It warms the cockles of my heart.

U2.com > Sign In > News > 'We're Coming Back...'

The Salt Lake City concert has been rescheduled for May 24, 2011.  Yes, it's a wait.  But I already have my ticket, and it's something to countdown for.  They are carrying on with their European tour this fall as planned.  I'm a little disappointed that SLC will not be the starting point for the tour, but I'm just glad Bono is feeling well enough to tour at all.  And we'll probably get a new album out of it, since they have had some time to write new music.  Yay!

I have a couple more random tidbits for you, since I haven't written for a little while.

Benji is getting so big.  I can tell that he's learning (very slowly, but surely) to listen and obey.  He knows when we ask him to do (or not do) something.  He'll usually blatantly disobey, at least he's listening.  It used to take a while to convince him to fold his arms to pray, but now he'll do it right after we sing.  It's so cute to see him fold his arms.  I just love it.

Here's my favorite picture from Independence Day weekend.

I'm pretty proud of it.  It makes me feel like I actually do have some talent for photography.  It's more the camera than the photographer, but it still takes both.

He has also been so cute when I wake him up in the mornings.  Such big smiles!  He always seems so happy to see me, and since Allen switched back to the crazy a.m. shift (1am-10am) and I'm taking him to the babysitter in the mornings again.  He's usually napping when I come home from work.  This is him today. 

Another tidbit: I think I'm getting scammed, but I'm not sure what to do about it.  To get a little extra $$, I decided to sell my old camera on KSL.  I have only gotten one bite, but it is from someone in Nigeria.  Uh, yeah.  They have sent me about 20 e-mails in the last couple of days, saying that I have been paid, but the money is being held by some third party until I send them the tracking number of the package, proving I have sent the package.  There are too many inconsistencies and formatting issues in the e-mails, and they say the whole thing is through PayPal, but my actual PayPal account shows no pending transactions, etc.   When I write all of this down, it seems pretty obvious that it's not for real.  I'm tempted to send a package with a picture of the camera so that they "release the funds," then I won't be out much and they will get off my back.  I sent an e-mail telling them I doubted the validity of the "transaction," that I wouldn't be sending anything until I saw something in my PayPal account (more than just an e-mail) and they keep telling me that money has been paid.  I'm not sure how much attention I should pay to it; I'm getting a little annoyed with the whole thing.  Grr.  At least I'm realizing it now, instead of after I sent $300 to Romania for a laptop.  Yeah, that was four years ago, and I'm still waiting for that to show up.  Yep, I'm pretty naive, but I guess I'm becoming less trusting.  That's probably not a good thing, but that's where I'm at.

Feels Like Independence Day

I should write more about last weekend, but I need to sleep.  So here are some pictures to whet your appetite.

These were taken during our 'photo shoot' at a rest stop near Bear Lake while we were waiting for the rest to show up.

This picture is very picniked, but it's very festive, n'est-ce pas? Good times.

More to come.