My Own Personal Brownie

So you know what a Brownie is right?  It's a little male fairy that lives in the homes of humans and helps them with chores and fixing things.  They do all of this at night while the humans sleep and like to be rewarded with little bits of food.  It is also rumored that if you leave them proper ingredients they will make you lovely treats in the middle of the night. Yummmm!

ANYway-I really do have my own personal Brownie!  He doesn't live here but he does visit a few times a year and really makes my life a lot easier.  I wake up and the garbage is out, the dishwasher is empty, the laundry is folded and ready to be put away.  Everything stays more tidy when he's here and all kinds of little things around the house mysteriously get fixed.  He even does magical things like cleaning out my garage and organizing my junk room!  Really-it's pure heaven!  

So why don't I invite this fabulous helper to move in as a permanent part of the family? Well...he has more demanding work to be done in California where he lives with my mom!

Thanks Dad!

September 11th, 2001

I remember when I was a kid hearing my parents talk about where they were when JFK was shot.  For our generation the question is about where you were on 9/11/01, when the twin towers went down.

Lowell and I were out for a walk early in the morning with Piper and Julia up in the canyon.  I remember we were making bets about what day Utah would have it's first snow. On the way home we heard about the first plane on the radio and I remember thinking it was no accident and that this day would go down in history.  By the time we got home the second plane had hit and we sat in front of the TV for several hours watching the footage over and over again and listening to the commentary and speculation as to what was going on.  We waited to find out what was happening with the other planes and hoped that no one we knew was in NYC or on a plane.  It was an odd few days after that. Everyone was a little edgy and in shock.  I remember the feeling I'd always had of our country being invincible slipping away and wondering what would happen.  To all of those that lost family and friends that day I send my condolences and hope for a better future.  

So...where were you when you heard??

Old School Travel

This is our 'other' car.  The one Lowell drives back and forth to work and that we haul stuff around in.  This last year Lowell drove our leg of the school carpool in this fabulous car too.  It has a rumble seat in the back so we can get 6 kids in there.  Traveling in this car is such a blast to the past for me, my parents drove this and other Volvo models all of my growing up years. Ours has over 199,000 miles on it, no air, manual windows, seat belts that you have to adjust by hand etc.....

Our Toyota has been in the shop for about a week and we have been driving the wagon around with all the kids and gear in 90+ degree weather.  It's been so nostalgic to see the kids doing all the things I did as a kid growing up:  rolling the window down with their foot, locking the door with the little thing that pops up by hitting it with your elbow, whining about how hot it is and how they are stuck to the 'pleather' seats.  Ahhh...good times!  

I'm reminded that at one time this was a new car and someone must have thought it was a luxurious vehicle.  It reminds me of how spoiled we are!  Pioneer wagon trains?  Hand carts? Forget it, just take a ride in our volvo and get in touch with your roots. 

My mom is here! I'm so happy!

Rebecca Gail: 1971-1998

This is my cousin Becky, my daughter Piper (Rebecca Piper) is named after her and is a daily reminder of my cousin and her special place in my heart. Becky died in 1998 after a handful of miracles and a battle with cancer. I come from a pretty small family, I only have 5 cousins on both sides of the family so she and I were very close. We grew up in the same town with all of our extended family around and I always thought of her as more of a sister than a cousin. We were just 4 months apart in age and her death was a test of my faith and a time to look my own mortality in the eye. She left a huge hole in my heart and a cache of memories in my mind.

She was married and has a son named Thomas (he is one of her miracles)! He is now 12 (I think or can it possibly be 13??) He's great at baseball, hip hop and acting, among other things. Every time I see him I'm surprised by how confident and comfortable he seems compared to how I felt at that age. Today is the anniversary of her death-we miss her and think of her often! We love you Bec!

President Hinckley 1910-2008

Farewell to our Prophet Gordon B Hinckley.  I think my Julia said it best: "Oh no!  I have a broken heart and it won't get back together!"  That was her reaction to the news last night.  Very sweet.

We know he's happy to be back together with his darling wife and to get some rest after 97 years on this earth.  He deserves it!