Important Announcement

Last night I attended a dance recital. As the director of the studio opened the show, she asked all the gentlemen wearing cowboy hats to please remove their hats as a courtesy to those seated behind them. Number of cowboy hats I observed in the Roy High School auditorium: zero. I'm really glad we got that taken care of.

However, I have to say how impressed I was with the recital overall. The costumes were really cute and modest, the music and dance routines were age-appropriate, and the whole show was just good clean fun. That's rare. And much appreciated!

Sisters

When I walked into the Lion House on Saturday, I was instantly recognized as "Tricia's sister." Anyone else see a family resemblance?

Weekend Fun

Bryce was trying to be patient with me. Bless his heart. He doesn't like to sit still but Aunt Traci was insisting on taking a photo before he took off on his bike. Poor kid.

And Tyler. Notice the new Lightning McQueen tee shirt and the sunglasses from his kids meal. Also notice his confident stride. He OWNED that Arctic Circle playground.

Remember When It Rained: A Tribute to My Car

Last week, my odometer passed the 150,000 mile mark. Allow me to be sentimental for just a moment. My Civic is the first car I ever really loved. We’ve been through a lot together. Here are some memorable moments.

· Graduate school. Thirty-four credits worth of weekend trips from Salt Lake to Boise. Thirty-four credits worth of Jolly Ranchers, Wheat Thins, Crystal Light and Fruit Gushers.

· Listening to “Remember When It Rained” by Josh Groban while driving through the carwash. I am proud to say my sister and I have done this many times.

· Six weeks worth of daily trips to the Huntsman Cancer Institute for my Mom’s radiation treatments. Also, a trip back from visiting my Grandparents in American Falls, where Mom reminded me that she may have a brain tumor, but she was still very much aware of just how fast I was going. I wasn’t fooling anyone. I never did with Mom around!

· Stranded at Sweetzer Pass during a blizzard. No cell phone service, just me and a bunch of truckers. Three anxiety-filled hours eating goldfish crackers and being grateful that I had a coat if I ended up sleeping in my car overnight at Mile Marker 256.

· The day I got a flat tire within 24 hours of attending a Relief Society Enrichment meeting where we learned how to change a flat tire. I carefully followed Brother Hammond’s step-by-step instructions: Use your cell phone to call someone. (The guys at work still give me a hard time that I called my Dad instead of making one of them come out to the parking lot to take the tire off for me. But my Dad brought me chocolate because he knew I’d be upset. He took the tire off AND went to the tire store AND paid for the patched tire AND put the tire back on. It’s doubtful that I would get such personalized service from a co-worker.)

· The Maverick in Wendell where I learned NEVER to wash the windows at a gas station in a farm town until you have first checked the water to make sure the squeegee isn’t sitting in a bucket of horse manure. Or, better yet, never wash your windows at a gas station in a farm town.

Cowboy Up

I have a new favorite expression. Cowboy up. I find myself working this into conversation every 30 seconds or so. I challenge you to do the same! It's always appropriate... Don't like something? Tough. Cowboy up.