Hogle Zoo

The purpose of this photo is not to show you Samuel's dirty summer feet (I swear Eva's never get this dirty even though she wears flip flops, too). The purpose is to show his sandals that I had to pay full price for (I hate paying full price for stuff). We got all the way to the zoo (a 20 min. drive) and guess who got in the car without shoes on? Or should I say guess who didn't make sure her kid had shoes? So, we had to load back up and go the the nearest store (the only flip flops the gift shop had were men's sizes which makes me wonder how many full grown actually go to the zoo and want some souvenir animal flip flips anyway?) which happened to be a fancy shmancy shopping center and get him some. One cool thing about them is that they have this little hidden compartment in the heels to hold coins or whatever treasure he chooses. I guess you can get perks like that in your flip flops when you pay full price.

This bird is trained to take money. I need one of those... to pay for my full priced flip flops.

If You Haven't Seen This German Car Commercial... Check it Out

It has been around for a while so you may have already seen it. If you haven't, look kind of closely because the car is hard to see.

Just a little after dinner entertainment. We didn't get a photo of Samuel, but we captured the moment with my mom (totally!) and Michael. Cheap thrills...

Did I get you?

Tea Party

Asian Festival

We went to the Asian Festival at the Expo Center with my parents. It wasn't super amazing but it was fun just to look at the different booths and try a few dishes. They had some Taiko drummers that were really fun to watch. It is just good to know that this stuff exists in Utah. By the way, do you remember me talking about some of the Anime fans that were at the Japanese Festival? We totally recognized one of them at the Asian Festival. He stood out because of his Anime costume/outfit (who knows? maybe that is just how he dresses).

India Cultural Center of Utah 2008 Gala Dinner

They had a Fusion and Folk Dance performance by Bollywood Axion Dance Co of New York. The pros are from New York but the guy in front seems to be a Utah guy. It felt like we were in the middle of a Bollywood movie set. All these people that you would never guess were totally dancing!

Even though I feel like a misplaced hillbilly in my pseudo black tie dress (I couldn't decide if I loved or hated this dress. But since it is so hard to find dressy stuff that fits and covers, I just went with it) I had such a great time at this fancy schmancy even. It was so fun to taste food that was beyond the typical stewed meats and flat breads that are usually served in Indian restaurants around here. They had food from north and south India and my favorite was this appetizer called Papadi Chat. I had it once when we lived in Texas and I worked with a lot of Indian teachers at a Montessori school and never knew what it was called so I couldn't ever have it again. I love trying new stuff and there were a lot of firsts for me this night. This was my first time ever eating a bunch of Indian dishes and... silver!

Lagoon

June 6th was Karl's work Lagoon Day. Notice the WINTER COATS IN JUNE.

I have always known that Eva has a very calm dispostions but this is the TIDAL WAVE. Look how riled up all the people are around her. Maybe this is how she handles excitment. I don't know.

Excuse the poor quality cell phone photos. Samuel does show his excitement in a more conventional way. You can tell by his face which photo was taken when we were up high.

Settlers

We were just saying that we haven't done a very good job at recording this part of our lives. A photo of the kids eating together is a start, I guess. One day we will get a photo of us actually playing. Maybe it is better this way since these kids are way cuter than we are.

When I moved into this neighborhood three years ago I met a group of girls that got together weekly to play my favorite board game Settlers of Catan. It is crazy to think that we started that long ago. The group has grown and changed just like our families have. Samuel was just a baby and used to sit and eat Cheerios while we played and since then we have started there have been four new kids added to our families! It has been so much more than just playing a game. It is getting together with friends and talking about whatever issue is on our minds that day. It is our kids playing together and learning how to be a better mom from each other. It is relaxing and eating a bunch of snacks. I love this part of my life and am so grateful for it. So, Amber, Kami, and Julie, thank you for being my Settlers friends.

I think I am done mourning

Thank you so much for all your condolences. I did learn from my mistake. I learned to worry more. Just kidding. I do worry more but more proactively, I signed up for an online back up program called Carbonite. I don't really understand it but I think I will someday. A lot of people have pictures for me and I am so grateful for that. With all their help, I think I can piece together the year. I think a lot of people learned from my mistake, too. So the whole experience wasn't a complete loss.

I mourned for a while, but I think I will be okay now.