Our Story: Part 3

Our first Date

This is a fun story to tell! It was the begining of November, which at my high school, meant the Sadie Hawkin's dance. It was girl's choice, but there were a bunch of other rules you had to follow. Boys couldn't just be asked to the dance, they had to be "tagged." And if they were successfully tagged, they couldn't say no, unless they had already been tagged. No one could be tagged on school property, during school hours, or during other school sponsered activities. The girl who wanted to do the asking also had to be the one to do the actual tagging.

Although some like to make it a little more difficult, most guys aren't that difficult to tag. The previous year, I had called up a guy's house and told his dad that I wanted to tag his son. I asked if I could come over after drama (he was in drama too) and tag him at the house. His dad helped me by sending him into the office where I was hiding behind the door. That was pretty easy. Aaron decided before hand that anyone who wanted to tag him was going to have to work for it, and I got no such help from anyone in his household!

So, I had bought my ticket/tag, and worked out a plan with my friend Tess. Neither of us had driver's licenses, so we begged her mom to help us on the appointed night. I'm not sure where my mom was, but she wasn't available. Even if she were, I don't know if she would have done it. Actually, I'm amazed that Tess's mom did! Anyway, the plan was to drive over to Aaron's house after rehersals and wait inside. Sound familiar? I figured it worked once, why not try again? Well, it probably would have, but Aaron's foster dad decided he was on Aaron's side, not mine. After telling Tess and I we could wait in the living room, he went outside. When Aaron came home, he let Aaron know there were a couple of girls sitting inside waiting to tag him. Aaron took off running after his ride, and Tess's mom came running up to the house to tell us what had happened. And just to make things a little more fun, she also told us that there was someone else who seemed to be showing interest in what Aaron was doing...

Okay, sorry to do this to you, but I've got to get going! More coming soon!

Why?

Why do I have curly grey hairs? I know why they are grey, but why are the curly?

Did you see them?

They stick out way more than the straight ones.

What a Konfusing language

This morning William asked me what the word "cow" starts with. He knows the sounds that the letters make, so I asked him what he thought cow starts with and repeated the word back to him, emphasizing the first sound. A little while later, he told me that "cow" starts with a "C" and a "K." Hmmm... I tried to explain to him that they both make the same sound, but that "cow" only starts with "C."

I don't think he believed me.

Okay, this is pretty far overdue, but I finally got Leonora's birthday pictures from the camera to the computer. Here's a video from her party.

Plants

I got some plants the other day. When we moved here from Seattle, I had to leave all my plants behind. I actually had a bit of a collection. Probably not as many as some, but for someone who moved around a bit and lived in little appartments, I think I had a few! I had this big pot for my porch that had an assortment of spring bulbs and some pansies. It seems like I planted other things in there a couple times, but they were short lived. One year I had a bunch of morning glories and sweet peas. I've always been into viney things. At the time we moved, we were living on the ground floor and I planted a bunch of nasturtiums (not at all sure if that's spelled right, but oh, well.) I had a couple in hanging pots, but the ones that did really well were right in the dirt around our back porch. They trailed all over the place. I wish I had pictures on my computer. I thought they were rather beautiful!
Since moving, and abandoning all my plants (indoor and out), I haven't really restarted my collection. My mom gave me a pot with some pansies last year. I think I'm not used to haveing to water as much as you need to around here! After Renee's birth/death, I was given a couple of plants: a "Mum" and a nice indoor flowering plant that I can't remember the name. Both died while Leonora was in the hospital. So, I'm starting over again. I got some house plants. It's just too hot to try starting something outside right now. So I got two hanging plants and three other smaller plants that I'm hoping will grow quickly! It makes me happy to have plants in my house again!
My new plants.

Long post- what my kids are up to

So I realized I've been kind of a slacker with posting about my kids. I have some pictures from Leonora's birthday party that I haven't posted-unfortunately, they will have to wait a little longer. Aaron borrowed my camera for work and hasn't returned it. Probably should have uploaded those pics a while ago, but like I said, I've been kind of a slacker. But I thought maybe I should give you all a little update anyway.
William's been excelling at being 4. I think he's trying to get as much mischief in before his 5th birthday as he possibly can. Last Sunday, Aaron ended up bringing him home from church because he was out running in the hallway when he was supposed to be in primary. I was in nursury and didn't find out until after church. This week he must have done better-at least he wasn't out in the hallway when he wasn't supposed to be. This brings me to one of his favorite things to do-run. I cannot stop this kid from running! He spends half the day running laps up and down the hallway in our appartment. I wish we had a yard to send him out to. Of course, his other favorite thing is still Superman. He talked to his grandpa on the phone yesterday. He told him happy Father's Day, and then spent 20 minutes talking about how Superman can fly, he's strong, he has super-eyes and ears, etc. Funny boy.
Leonora has been potty training. Some days she does really well, others not so well. We are almost out of all pull-up and diapers, but I think I'm going to have to get more for bedtime anyway. When she's awake, she's pretty good, but, so far, a dry night is pretty rare. She also had her 2 year old check up last week. She has gained back all the weight she lost in the hospital and more! She's right at 50% for her height but about 75% for weight. The doctor said we don't have to worry about making her finish everything on her plate. The thing is, it always seems to me like she's hardly eating anything! I hope she's just saving up for her next growth spurt. Oh, and she still has a big head-in the 85th %. She got 4 shots- 2 in each leg-and spent the rest of the day and some of the next crying about her "owies." Poor girl!
Well, I'm sure there are other things I could write about, but those are the "big" things going on right now! Oh-I just remembered-Leonora is also having major issues going to sleep when she should, but that could make for a really long post. I'll have to complain about that later. :)

A Drive Through Zion

This is a paper I recently found in a box of random stuff from my past. I wrote it my freshman year of college for my English 1010 class. I was thinking about it this week when I was driving near Zion on the way to a family gathering.

A Drive Through Zion

September 3, 1999

The red, cinder-paved road reflects the heat of the summer sun, as it winds its way up the majestic canyon. The bright double yellow lines that the road wears discourage speeding up to pass the cars ahead of you. Pullouts along the road are filled-as usual-with visitors and tourists who have come to see the towering pink cliffs of Steamboat Mesa, the royal, Great White Throne, or the bright orange and "blood" stained Great Arch.


At the base of the Great Arch, a wide switchback begins the climb-halfway up the mountainside-to the tunnel. The road continues to twist and turn, up the hillside, into the small pine-scented juniper bushes and the occasional wide-leafed tree, whose leaves laugh in the breeze. As you round the last switchback-still creeping upard-you're met with an un-moving line of cars, waiting for their turn to enter the low, narrow tunnel. Near the place you stop, there is a trickle of water that seeps from the smooth red sandstone, bringing relief from the dry desert to the mosses and wild flowers. Soon the bus, motor home, or other large vehicle passes through the tunnel, and the line of cars moves forward when signaled by the ranger who is on duty.
Inside the tunnel, there is shelter from the blazing sun. The air is cool and dark. Often, car horns can be heard echoing and re-echoing off the walls of the tunnel-along with the occasional holler from a would-be-yodeler. Up ahead there is a splash of light from one of the windows that peak out of the vertical face of the cliff. They make beautiful frames for the picturesque view of the canyon walls. Cement borders block the pullouts by the windows now. Stopping is prohibited, but you can slow down to see the painted, sun-lit world outside.

On the other side of the tunnel, the air is noticeably cooler, and the breeze coming through the rolled down window is fresh and relaxing. The scene here has changed from solid vertical cliffs to the almost liquid, rolling hills. The orange sandstone seems to flow down the hills like waves that have been frozen in time. To the right, is a small, sandy-bottomed canyon formed by flash floods. After a rain storm, a rivulet of water can be seen trickling through the white sand. Further to the right are more flowing hills. Dark reddish-brown stains show where the water has been. Often the hills are cheked with cracks. Sometimes plants will grow in the cracks; their gnarled roots spread across the sandstone. None of the cracks are so neatly patterned as those in the white walls of Checkerboard Mesa. The even squares rise above its surroundings-standing proudly-like the white king of a chess set.
As you near the exit of Zion, the red rocks become more hidden by the always green juniper bushes. A dark brown sign, suspended from a rock pillar, proclames, "Leaving Zion National Park" in clean, white, capitol letters.

Teacher's notes:
Kara, you have an excellent foundation of writing. Your skill level is what entering College Freshmen should be. Perhaps now you can work on refining your style. For example, you can concentrate on improving verbs, etc
"A"

I have to say that I'd do this a little differently now than I did then. I don't think I'd use "you" for one thing. As I was re-typing it, I was really tempted to add to and change it, but I tried to leave it as it was originally writen. It was fun to find and read again, and I hope you enjoyed it! Sorry if it was a little long!

Note: None of the pictures are mine. Unfortunately, I don't have digital copies of any Zion pictures, and the ones I have didn't fit with the essay. So, these are all pulled from various internet sites.

China

When I was younger-say early to mid teens-I saw this china creamer sitting on my grandmothers countertop. It was white with this delicate swirl of pink, peach and yellow flowers around the top. I liked it. I told my grandma. "Take it," She said. I was a bit surprised by this offering. It wasn't something I'd seen her do previously. She had a tendancy to hang on to things. I think it was after she married my step grandpa that she started being more generous. I once told him I liked one of the many bolo ties he used to wear. He took it off and handed it to me. I have never figured out what I was supposed to do with it. Maybe I should have told him it looked good on him! I digress... So I took home this cute little creamer. It was a few years before I realized there was a set of dinner plates, cups and saucers, desert bowls, and salt and pepper shakers that went with it. When my grandmother died, my mom was nice enough to get the set with me in mind. It all sat in my mom's cupboards, occasionally getting used, until recently. It technically became mine when I got married, but I wasn't able to take it with me when I moved to Seattle. It has been in my possesion for quite a few months now, but I don't get much opportunity to show it off in person. So, here are a couple pictures that I stole off ebay! :)

Movie Review

My Neighbor Totoro

When I've talked about this movie and other's by the same Japanese studio, I've sometimes gotten the response, "Oh, I didn't know you liked anime." This response has always been a bit puzzling to me. I don't consider myself a fan of anime. My first exposure to this style of animation did nothing for me. I was extremely uninterested. I never cared to see anymore of it after that. (Sorry, Natalie!) Even though I've enjoyed most of the films I've seen from this particular studio, I still don't like "anime." What I do like is a good story and beautiful art in any genre.
My Neighbor Totoro is a magical story. When I was much younger, my brother and I walked to school. But we didn't just walk. We had adventures to school! One of my personal favorites was when we rode triceratop dinosaurs to school. It always took us forever to get there. We lived about a mile from the school, left about an hour before school started, and rarely made it with any time to spare. This movie reminds me of those imaginative years of my childhood. Anything was possible. Any shadey corner was a secret place. Magic was everywhere. The same is true for the two sisters in the movie. When they move to a new house, there are all kinds of possibilities. The shadey path becomes a tunnel of trees, and the idea that their house might be haunted is not frightening, but exciting! This story to me epitomizes the immagination and excitement of childhood. Anything is possible.
The art is beautiful as well. It is set in the Japanese countryside. Everything is green and beautiful. I find it difficult to describe what makes it different from mosst animated movies... I think what makes it different might be how easy it is to watch. It's almost like the trees and bushes are quiet characters in the movie. They are important-not just background. I have now typed and deleted a few different descriptions. Perhaps, you will just have to watch it yourself to see what I mean!

Here's a clip: