Tell You [a] Little Story

Our Kenyan friends performed at BYU today in the hot sun. They were awesome. After the show and our goodbyes, my kids and I stopped by the Museum of Art for a light late lunch in the Cafe. We got our tray and took it to the cashier, only to realize that the heavy bag on my shoulder was my camera case, and not my purse. No money whatsoever. Neither the student cashier nor I knew how to proceed. I promised her I would bring back the money; she seemed doubtful and insisted she needed it in the next 20 minutes before they closed. So, after she begged me not to cause "any conflict" by which she meant, "do not stiff me out of this $10.30 because my supervisor will be mad at me if I don't balance out the register", I took the food, made the boys promise to sit tight and eat (read: do not chase each other around the Museum of Art), and I took Norah and the expensive camera (read: the things I didn't want to get taken by a stranger {read: my boys will need therapy wh...

Daniel, age 10, and Randu, age 11, from Mombasa, Kenya are staying with us for two nights. They are here with an African Children's Choir and have left their families for three months to tour the UK and America. We were delighted to share with them their first day in America. -----> BREAKFAST: waffle no butter or syrup, scrambled eggs, hot chocolate, pork and beans, and hot dog bun {they really wanted white bread, so that is what we gave them} -----> ENTERTAINMENT: Elliot and Aaron's neighborhood choir rehearsal, Elliot and Aaron's neighborhood play performance, riding bikes in the street, Prince Caspian at "the cinema" {for Randu only. Daniel was too frightened by it so he and Norah and I dabbled in Speedracer on the next screen over, pretended we had money for the video games, and walked to Shopko where we had a great time getting to know each other}, Wii bowling, ice cream at the Creamery, and being adoringly attacked by Norah -----> CHALLENGES: there...

Wicked. New York City in June. We had pretty good seats for what we paid. It was a lot of fun, but I wonder if the actors were having an off night. Something was missing. Still, really really good. Sound of Music. Tuacahn near St. George. Beautiful venue, the best of plays. I loved it, although the Captain was somewhat disappointing. I wanted to sing, "Goodbye!" at the appropriate times, and regret that I didn't just do it. Les Miserables. Tuacahn, following night. I knew all the music and enjoyed my first Les Mis experience. Storyline was tedious, though. The previous night's disappointing Captain Von Trapp was a phenomenal Jean Valjean. Did he just not practice for the other show? High School Musical. Taucahn. St. George Take Two. This was performed by high schoolers, and was fun but for a crotchety usher who kicked my mom out. Choreography was decent, but could have been much better. Am I turning into a theater snob? Fiddler on the Roof. Utah Shakespearean Festival...

Living in Provo, Utah as a homeowner in an established neighborhood is so very different than living in Provo as a student. We moved to a neighborhood where certain families are Provo institutions, having lived in the same house for generations and having had 14 kids per generation that all settled nearby. Every longtime Provo resident knows every other longtime Provo resident. Mostly, the longtime homes won't ever go on the market because one of the children or grandchildren will snatch it up first. But if a sort-of-longterm Provo resident tries to sell you their house, he will take you out on the front porch to tell you who your potential neighbors are, because isn't that what you really want to know, anyway? This town is an intricate network and a true community in every sense of the word. For the most part, that's good. I think. We're trying to finagle our way into the Provo inner circles. It might take a year. Or fifty.

Place: Cardston, Alberta Population: the motel desk clerk thinks maybe 1000 people Restaurant that came highly recommended from same motel clerk: Grotto's ("It's Mexican," she told me, "and I've been there five different times and had five different things and they're all good.") So we set out for Grotto's expecting: Mexican food, no matter that we are across the OTHER border What the Grotto's sign said: Pizza, Chicken, Burgers, Steak We asked someone on the street: "Is there a Mexican restaurant nearby?" thinking that of course we came to the wrong Grotto's His reply: "Right here. It's the closest to Mexican we got in this town, honey." We ate at: Grotto's We got: a Guatamalan Filipino burger and pizza joint with pirated movies on a big screen tv My kids chose to watch: Over the Hedge We ate: Guatamalan food, Filipino food, and Canadian pizza What we did not eat: Mexican food We paid: essentially one US dollar...

We're leaving today for leg 2 of our family vacation. It's Canada, this week. I am feeling vaguely like I caught the bug that brought down Steve yesterday and made for a miserable return trip from leg 1 of our family vacation. St. George, this past weekend. Long road trip, close quarters, nausea, sickness. Heaven help us.

Today Norah vomited prolifically at church. BUT , it didn't happen in the chapel, nor was it on the old man sitting next to us whose daughter told us he doesn't like to sit by children. Whew. Today, Steve got stung by a wasp that lives with its entire colony in our swamp cooler. BUT , he hasn't gone into anaphylaxis yet, which makes me think he's not allergic. Today, we have a colony of wasps in our swamp cooler. BUT , our A/C works. Today, I went to find a document on the computer and discovered that our document folder has been annihilated, somehow. BUT , now I get to do thoughtful researching and talk preparing, rather than borrow from a lesson I've previously given. Today, the kids spent most of the morning crying because they lost the privilege to play Lego Star Wars when they chose not to clean up their messes in time. BUT , now their brains won't rot. For today only. There are always things to be grateful for, no?