Thursday, April 15

Shaking it up in Logan

This morning I was getting ready for work, planning to take the natural gas vehicle then drive straight to Logan from there for an interview. 15 minutes before I leave, my dad says he is coming with me.

Normally, I would not respond, dread every moment beforehand, and just "get through" anytime my dad drives me anywhere. Because he always has an ulterior motive. This time I was glad he wanted to come. I usually enjoy long drives by myself, but I welcomed the thought of having another human along for this trip. So we arranged a time and when I was back from work and he was ready to go.

His ulterior motives were: Pepperidge Farms and visiting his old friend. My dad loves to go to Pepperidge Farms in Logan and stock up on their cookies, available in bulk. "Dad, which would you say you came to Logan for mostly: to visit Tom or get cookies from Pepperidge Farms?"
"To visit Tom."



When he said this I was kind of sad he didn't say Pepperidge Farms because that would be awesome. But then I let what he said sink. My dad is a good person.

Seriously though. My dad is the best.

Why my dad is cooler than your dad:
1. He knows everything about the surrounding areas he's lived or frequently traveled.
for example, we were driving through this random canyon and I asked him what the name of the canyon was. "Sardine Canyon." Whaaa?
2. If you want to know a phone number to any local grocery store, neighbor, relative, or other location he may have called at least once in the past, he'll tell you the number.
3. He knows everything about our ancestors and their life stories. We drove through a town near Logan where my Great-great-grandpa first settled after he came to the SL Valley. He proceeded to tell me his life story and the stories of his descendants that stayed behind in Logan. (My great-great-grandpa is the reason you are alive. He built mills in cities where your ancestors probably lived, which fed them and therefore kept them alive and therefore allowed you to exist.)
4. He sticks with people. (I am the worst at this.) He has stayed in contact with a friend he's had since his freshman year in HS. He baptized him into the church when they were 18 but he turned atheist a few years later, which would be a heck of a reason to not want to be someone's friend anymore! Ew, right? But here they are, in their 50's, still friends. That is a big heart right there.
5. He lets me listen to songs like "Bleeding Love," "So Complicated," "Big Girls Don't Cry" and "Already Gone" on the radio and pretends to like them. "Who sings this?" is usually a good sign that he can handle it. Silence means change it.
6. He has me for a daughter!



and oh my HECK we felt an earthquake while we were up there! A 5.0 magnituder hit Randolph, which was like 50 miles east of us. We were sitting down at a restaurant and we felt like the ground under our chairs was moooving. it felt like this: Ssshhakkke shake ....shaakkkkee. "Did you feel that?" I asked my dad. "That must have been an earthquake" he responded, then told me about the last time he felt an earthquake, 35 years ago in Mexico.

Oh by the way. My interview went AWESOME. The guy I interviewed with is my mom's 2nd cousin. After realizing this connection I felt totally at ease, like I was talking to my cousin. and I was. We left Logan 4 hours after my interview ended because I decided to make my dad's ulterior motives my own ulterior motives too. And it was just what I needed in my life right now, something totally unseemly. Love you dad, even though you never read my blog and that is probably good because I mostly make fun of you. (each word is a different story. Just click one. Promise you'll laugh.)

You get away with so much more as an adult

than as a kid.

For example, I was browsing the books at the book fair with a 5th grade class when the most obnoxious and troubled 5th grader began to copycat me. He holds a dear place in my heart because back in the day, I was the most obnoxious and troubled 5th grader. So I let him copycat me. And I hate when people copycat me, I get very impatient and I explode. (Ask Katherine about the first time she echoed everything I said) Knowing where he was coming from and that this was the response he was seeking, I acted the opposite. He followed me around, touching everything I did, responding to the other students as I would. Then I began messing with my hair, slapping my face, and doing things that would make him stop. He finally decided it wasn't worth it and walked away. A few minutes later, I found myself by the fun toys and pens with a variety of squishy, slinky, and feathery tops. I started to play with them and in no time the o & t 5th grader was mimicking me again. I stopped and started to walk away when a lady working at the bookstore got mad at the boy.

Compare, side by side, the same person. One is an adult, and one is 12. The adult will get away with anything short of murder. The 12 year old will not get away with anything other than cookie-cutter, calm, collected behavior.

(OK I know I am totally exaggerating here, but you get my point)

I am so glad I'm an adult. Those younger years were a hard time for me. And maybe it is just being a student that requires quiet behavior? Yeah I am glad I'm the teacher now, seeing it from their point of view. fun.

Wednesday, April 14

Do you ever just want to die?

Well that is how it was for me this morning.

Then I walked into a classroom where 7 chicks just hatched. and they were all chirping and cuddling each other, looking like a big ol fluff ball of sunshine. Of the 7, 2 were black and they are my favorite. The kids named the first chick "omelet." clever kids. (Their teacher spelled it "omlet" and it drove me NUTS!)



Don't ask about what this chick left behind that still makes me cringe every time I look at my hand.

Sunday, April 11

The next 6 posts

will be about my cruise to mexico! We drove to my cousin's house in Brea last Friday and got home late last night. So enjoy the dozens of pictures and have lots of fun reading about how much fun I had.

Cabo San Lucas

YO AMO MEXICO!


This was our favorite place. We Kayaked to a beach where we snorkeled! There was hundreds of colorful, big fish swimming right up to us. So cool.


And remember how I said in an earlier post that I wanted to open my eyes from sleeping and see that view? Well I literally opened my curtains and saw the same rock formations. soooo cool. what a coincidence.

Puerto Vallarta

A statue of whales

The ciudad

We went ziplining in the jungle! Here's us in our gear! We went down 11 ziplines 100 feet above ground and it was so freaky. See-through tree platforms ahhh!

The jungle and the truck we drove 2 hours in to get there

Mazatlan

We just got a taxi and toured the town. It was the best. My dad just spoke spanish to the driver the entire time while the 3 girls (mom, gina, me) sat in the back seat.

Mazatlan is a shrimp fishing town. Look at those massive shrimpsies!

Gina didn't love the seafood. My parents got a virus from it we think.

The cathedral

The daily towel

a monkey hanging from the curtains. Yikes.

two? elephants?

the easter bunny came by for a visit!

We don't know what this is but it looked cross-eyed.

of course the frog

The meals

escargos

ensalade

surf & turf...I ate 3 lobster tails :)

We ate. so. much.

I am taking a break from lots of types of food for a while.

Last Song

A week ago my mom, dad, sister, and I drove to Brea, California to stay the night with my cousins.

Luckily we arrived in time to catch the matinee showing of "Last Song" with Miley Cyrus.
It's everything you expect a Nicholas Sparks plot to be.