A few weeks ago, when Gerrit and Afton were anticipating the start of school the next day, Ethan danced around the house, laughing gleefully, since they had to go to school and he didn’t. Gerrit and Afton were much more gracious Friday morning, though, when they said goodbye to him as Shannon and I drove him up to Rexburg to start his college career at BYU-Idaho.
Hawaii without (really noticing) Garbage Cans
Normally, a few weeks further into summer, Shannon and I would be saying, “We really ought to do some kind of family vacation!” Then we’d try to figure out what and where and when, which is always the hard part for us. So in an uncharacteristic bit of pre-planning, we had the basics figured out clear back in January, and the trip completed a week into the summer break.
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ComicCon, successful bank robbery techniques, and a phenomenon known only as Studio C
After roughly 2 hours of planning and preparation on my part, and probably more on my dad Eric’s, we went to ComicCon last Saturday. For those of you who don’t know, Comic Con is a convention, originally based on comic collecting, but has expanded to cover most of Geek, and a large portion of pop culture. And we were there, right in the thick of it.
Cruisin’ Firsts
For our family vacation this year, we decided to go on a cruise. A large part of the appeal was a reduced planning effort compared to our previous epic road trips. No decisions about how far we’d go on a particular day, where we’d sleep, how long we’d stay somewhere, etc. It also gave our family a chance to experience several “firsts”.
The Mormon Shakespeare
A thousand miles is a long trip in the back of a car for a teenage boy — especially in the days before smartphones, portable movie players and the repeal of universal 55 MPH speed limits. So on this trip to grandma and grandpa’s house years ago, my step-dad Dean gave me a book by some guy named Orson Scott Card.
Afton’s Baptism
It was Afton’s baptism and confirmation yesterday. Although Afton has a friend in the ward who was born the same day as her, his family decided to wait until next month for his baptism, so the service was just for Afton. Since it was just us and it was Thanksgiving weekend, arranging for the program was a little bit of a challenge. Fortunately, Afton’s piano teacher, Sister Poulsen, was able to play for us, which relieved one major stress. It was also the first baptismal service in our ward since getting a new primary presidency and a new bishopric, but things went very smoothly.
Getting a Job
I haven’t really looked for a job in over 20 years. Folio Corporation hired me before graduating from BYU, and I continued there through acquisitions and name changes until being invited by the same person who hired me at Folio to join him at Logitech. After five years there, I hit the job market a couple of months ago.
Road Trip 2012
Memphis, Nauvoo, Mt. Rushmore and points in between. See the highlights of two weeks in just eight great minutes!
Karate Kicks Butt
Is it weird that for Mother’s Day I considered asking for a butt cushion? We have a chiropractor in our ward and I’ve seen his family bring a silicone pad to church that makes the cold, hard, metal chairs more ergonomically correct. I for one, never thought I’d covet one of those. I’d never be an old person dragging my own fold up seat cushions to church or stadium sporting events, but then Gerrit discovered karate.
Shannon’s Fa La La La Folly
If Eric asks me what I want for Christmas, my standard answers are a pony and a diamond tiara. Now, I really do have a few heart’s desires, but in my adult brain I’ve rationalized cost, practicality, and maybe I haven’t really been that good of a little girl. If I don’t specifically ask for them, I won’t feel embarrassed for sharing my secret needs.
Afton is six and knows if you have a heart’s desire you have tell your mom, dad, school teacher and Santa. She doesn’t think about cost per wear, financial priorities, or considerations of space and practicality. If you asked Afton what she wanted for Christmas this year, she would tell you that her heart’s desire was a car to play in… with doors.