Thoughts While Watching So You Think You Can Dance

• Wow, Sasha, Mark, and Sonya all have the same haircut.
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• Also - was Mark that ripped when he was on the show?? Methinks not.
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• I have seen Joshua in person at the Gateway and he is bitsy. And Tadd is shorter than Joshua!! He must really be pocket-sized!!

I find Mark Ballas attractive. To my eternal shame.

Was it just me, or did Cat look like she did not want to hug Sasha?

Fun in the Sun

We had a fun-filled weekend in sunny St. George. We had tickets to both Grease and Little Mermaid at Tuacahn and were excited to see those plays. Dad got us a great timeshare in Washington, just outside of St. George, and Melinda got us a sweet rental car that got us down there in style.

It was hot . . . very hot! One of my favorite purchases at Tuacahn was this lovely little penguin fan that fits handily in my purse. I love penguins and I don't like to be hot, so this was the perfect thing for me.

Before the play the first day, we had to make a stop at Nielsen's on the Boulevard. Nothing is better than sitting outside enjoying a custard cone on a hot day. We frequent the 3900 South location all summer as well and I get pretty giddy when the flavor of the day happens to be raspberry . . . . although Melinda swears by the chocolate.

Of course we had to get our pictures taken here . . .

Our Pink Ladies

We liked Grease, but they dared to change it quite a bit from the movie to make it more "family friendly" - so it was a completely different show. The next night we went to see the Little Mermaid and it was our high of the trip. There were some amazing effects with the water and it made it seem like they were really swimming when they combined the water with the heelies the cast was wearing. We ooh'ed and aah'ed throughout the show and would highly recommend it. It is playing down there until October and sells out every night. It was well worth the trip!

Dad and Kristen before a temple session

One night we ate at one of Dad's favorite stops . . . Chuck-a-Rama. I was pretty pleased with myself that I made this rootbeer float. It was so yummy and refreshing . . . see how jealous Kristen is.

No trip down south is complete without a stop in Mesquite to track down an all-you-can-eat seafood buffet. There is pretty much nothing better than endless crab. . .

. . . Except if you are Kristen and don't like crab and have to wait for us to be done

We love the penny slots and like to see how far our money can go. I was the lucky one this time. My four dollar investment turned into twenty . . . not bad.

We headed over to the Virgin River for some bowling. They were having a PGA tournament and of course, we fit right in . . . after the tournament was over, that is. I have been teased a few times about how a pair of socks is in my purse at all times . . . you never know when you may need them. And they came in handy this time. Here are Kristen and Melinda with socks they got to purchase. The bowling desk clerks said that we didn't need to wear socks - but that's a scary thought - so it was money well spent. Our bowling team of June, Ned, LaDawn and Julez did pretty well.

Kristen had always wanted to play Bingo and it was right across from the bowling alley, so we were excited to check it out and see how this worked. We may have been the only ones that had to ask how to play - and, it's more complicated than you would think. After paying the entrance fee, you get several boards to play and we had our pick of colorful bingo markers from a vending machine and each got one. It's pretty serious stuff when the caller starts. It was more than just five in a row and you didn't always get to use the free space (who knew?). My tipsy table mate (not Melinda) was helping me figure out how to get the kite pattern, the crazy "T" and the small window. It was great fun! We didn't win any prize money, but we are actively looking at Bingo parlors in the Salt Lake area to make this a regular thing.

Dad got us a selection of cupcakes from 25 Main . . . a place we discovered last trip . . . and I would argue that they are way better than the Sweet Tooth Fairy or other local cupcake shops. The cakes are so moist and there is just enough frosting - not too much that it is overwhelming. They have different flavors each day and after 7:00 they are just $1. After our taste taste, we agreed that the Orange Blossom was the best and I am always a sucker for a coconut cupcake.

My low of the trip was a brutal sunburn. After spraying ourselves down with sunsdcreen, we enjoyed the pool and spent time on our floaties. But, clearly, I missed a big spot - mainly my legs. You can see a little patch where some sunscreen got on - and I was trying to figure out if it was a paw or a crown.

A few hours later, my legs were on FIRE! I was puffed up and burning - and because I love you, you also get to see my fancy leopard PJ's. Dad, Melinda and Kristen all took good care of me getting a variety of ice packs, gels, lotions and ibuprofen. Luckily, it was feeling better the next day and the color is getting better each day since.

All in all a great trip together as we enjoyed a fun weekend away.

My secret job

So for the last 11 weeks I have held two jobs...first, my regular job, and second, running the L-3 company store. I'm really just covering while a coworker is out for surgery, and I can't wait until she comes back. I get to do fun things like...

sell denim shirts (short-sleeved!)

Navigate around a stepstool every time I get something for a customer

On Wednesdays I get to bring over things people in our other building have ordered. Here's what I got to take over last week. A rolling suitcase filled with stuff, a duffel bag, and two backpacks (plus my purse). I was a sight.

I am always amazed at the things people buy. Here I am modeling one of our mock turtlenecks. Sadly, I sold three of these last month.

Here's looking forward to a return to my real job soon!

Office Space

While I wait . . . patiently . . . to hear about the Demolition Derby in Heber, Kristen's home spruce up and California trip (no pressure) . . . I'll keep going with some random topics. I work with a bunch of boys who trade commodities during the day and pretty much live in their space. It's in fact rare for them to come out of this room - and it can get pretty disgusting - They come and go much earlier than I, so one day I went in and took some pictures of these great office spaces.

Here's a sweet shot of this cubicle that amazes me. First, notice the lovely circle on display. That's part of a pipeline that the boys were given to show they are a partner in the pipeline. I think a handshake would work just fine. Now, let's get to the details of this amazing space . . .


This cubicle belongs to Chris . . . and I've been mystified by these items on his cubicle walls. Why doesn't he refrigerate the Sriracha sauce?? They stay there for months. When I asked Chris about it, he said that he notes the date on his various sauces and then keeps track of how long it takes to use them. Okay; totally makes sense?!? Also, he said that he likes to build a wall around him . . . these walls are currently four feet high and he is trying to make his space more private. I guess that boys like building forts no matter what their age is. He also hunches down with his head phones on during the day.

It's good that he stays hydrated during the day.

And, his plate is always ready to go . . . nice In Box.

The cubicle next to Chris houses the remotes . . . all organized.
Ten people are in this space and I'm grateful that I'm not one of them.

No Pride

So, tonight, I stopped by the house of one of my young women to drop something off. When I rang the doorbell, a red headed curly boy answered the door and asked, "Are you the one with a little child that loves me?" Totally confused, I said, no, I don't have a little child - and no clue how to answer the rest. By now, my young woman was at the door and she said that this visiting nephew of hers was very curious . . . and off he went out the door and over to investigate my car. He said, "Don't you have a van?" And, "why don't you have a child?" He didn't believe me that there was no child with me. I assured him that I didn't . . . so back towards the house he went. As he came back towards me he said, "I'm Elijah . . . I'm 5". I said, "My name is Julie". As he walked back into the house, he said, "that's a dumb name!". And that was that. Nice to meet you Elijah. So back home I went in my regular car with just myself . . . no kids. Kids are a hoot!

Crazy Fortune

Melinda and I were at Pei Wei this week and at the end of the meal, I opened my fortune cookie to this little gem, "A short stranger will soon enter your life with blessings to share". Now, I'm 5'9", so I've been keeping my eyes open for short strangers . . . still searching . . . but I'm all sorts of curious.

First Date Fun

I can't post this on our Young Women blog, but definitely want to document it. When a few of my Laurels asked me last week what I was doing over the weekend, I told them about the Taste of Utah Valley, and they thought it sounded like fun too. Natalie and Alaynah thought it would be the perfect time to ask a couple of boys out on a date. Alaynah wanted to ask out Jeremy, her spring prom date, and Natalie wanted to ask out Jacob - who she has been crushing on all year. Natalie is 17 and has yet to be asked on a date, so she decided to take things into her own hands. Look at this picture from our summer Youth Conference of her and her crush . . . so cute. (I swear she was excited)One problem was that none of them can drive yet. Apparently after you get your license now, you have to wait 6 months before you can drive on your own. . . that's new, but a good idea for those of us on the road. Anywhoo, they asked if they did get dates, could I drive them. How can I resist helping them out with a date?? Well, I can't . . . so we made a plan for Saturday.

The girls had gotten ready together and when I picked them up, they were absolutely giddy. They each wore something the boys liked of theirs . . . Natalie wore the boots Jacob likes and Alaynah wore some of Jeremy's favorite colors. In the car, they shared with me how Natalie had asked Jacob. She is naturally very shy and went to Alaynah's house for some support while she called. She called Jacob, asked if he wanted to come to a "food fest" with her. He asked who else was going. She said it would be with Alaynah and her friend. Jacob asked if Alaynah was there . . . and she was . . . so he wanted to talk to her. Jacob asked Alaynah the details of where they were going and when, then he asked to talk to Natalie again. Jacob went on to ask Natalie if she wanted to go to a "food fest" with him on Saturday. I pretty much fell in love with him too at that point. Love that he wanted to ask her out. On the day of the date, Natalie had gotten no sleep and was about to throw up . . . but was so excited for the day.

Pick-up of everyone took about an hour . . . oh how I love living in spread out towns . . . and then we were off. There is pretty much nothing better than listening to teenage kids talk to each other in the car. Hil.ar.i.ous! And, I was also proud of my girls who were such good conversationalists - they asked good questions and there was never a dull moment. The boys were great too. They always opened the door for the girls. If the girls even tried to get out on their own, they made them get back in so they could open the door. We split up at the food fest and after a few hours when we were all in a food coma and Alaynah had to head off to a family activity, we headed home. But, not before the boys stopped to get the girls candles at Bath and Body Works. With candles advertised at 2 for $10 - each couple got a set of candles. Cute, right? Natalie and Jacob also got these sweet matching sunglasses and frisbees, which apparently contributed to the "best day ever". The kids had a great time and again, the car ride was fantastic. I had to drop Alaynah off first to connect with her family. So, it was me and her date in the front together. Good times. I smiled watching things happen in the rear view mirror, which may have included a kiss on the cheek from Jacob to Natalie. Natalie was on cloud 9 for sure! And the fact that Jacob thanked her about five times for calling him was also a plus. When I saw her at church the next day, she was still giddy with excitement and telling the other girls all about it. Apparently they had all done a "Zoltar" type machine . . . remember the movie, Big? . . . where they got a fortune. Natalie brought hers with her and is pretty convinced that she is meant to be with Jacob forever. We'll see what happens. Love these girls and it was pretty fun to be a part of such a big day for them.