Friday's Fabulous Find

I know I have been seriously slacking in all things blog related. I have not posted Friday finds, I have not told you funny stories, and I have not told you what I have been up to lately or what I have been thinking about. I promise that I have has many things that have crossed my mind with the thought attached "I should blog about that". I just haven't gotten around to it and I have no excuse for it either. So please forgive me and I promise to try to do better in the coming days and weeks.

A few weeks ago I had one of my favorite Friday Finds. For those of you who, like me, are a kid at heart you will love it as well. The place that I found is called

Where: 1400 Foothill Drive Salt Lake City, UT
When: Monday - Friday 10am - 7pm, Saturday 10am - 6pm   
Phone: (801) 581-1060
Website: http://www.tutoringtoy.com/
Description: Toy store for all ages 

When I walked into this store I feel in love immediately. And the more I looked around the more I found to love. This store is full of toys. But not just your regular toys. These are the toys you normally don't find in your regular store like Target or Walmart. These are the toys that spark imagination and growth. These are learning toys that are made for fun. Some of these toys include fun erasers, Lego men (yes, you can buy just the guys to replace all the ones you have lost), science kits, spa kits, unique puzzles, dress up for kids, books galore, the plastic fruits, hardware and building sets, play animals, musical toys, and so much more. It is a store full of toys specially to spark the imagination. They are toys that you fall in love with and just happen to learn something as you play with them. 

As an adult walking through this store I had smile on my face. Not only was I in a toy store (which gives you reason to smile on its own) but I was seeing my favorites toys that I grew up with and new ones to love. I remember playing with the plastic fruit. Me and my sister would "cut" them up and put them back together for hours. We played with our brothers hammers and screwdrivers as well. We would build and create and most of all imagine whenever we played. I will forever be grateful for the people who create toys that inspire kids. Who create toys that teach and help kids grow as they play. So if you are a lover of toys or have someone to give toys too then you should visit this store. You too will fall in love.

Lake Powell in September

The Exclusive Tribe. Camping. Setting up camp in the dark. The Hunger Games. The RelaxAsian Station. Roasting Marshmallows. Flaming marshmallows. Smores with caramel. Caramelized starbursts. Dancing around the camp fire to Enemies Still White Horse. Glow sticks. The Rough Guide. The boat. Lounge chairs. Fishing. "Are you the Indian tribe?" Laughing. Hike to bathrooms. Stars. Glitter tattoos. Indian nicknames. Flight training with Candy. Orange Bucket. Sun block. Drunk neighbors. Red sand. Great food. Devotionals by Jac. El musica. Psychiatrist. Random movie quotes. Sunrise walks. Sunset photo shoots. Old embarrassing stories we now laugh at. New embarrassing stories. Forever Friends. Daily goals. Goal of one day: to make a bracelet. Reading. Scarfin some Yog. Drawing at sunrise. Wildlife: crows, jack rabbits, fish, snake, toads, scorpions, and spiders. Dog chasing the jack rabbit. Tanning. Welcome, Welcome, Welcome... Too much bread. Naps. Neighbor kids obsessed with us. Club Exclusive. Making memories. More Laughing. Family. And most of all...FUN!! 

 

Lake Powell in August

Heaven on Earth. Friends for life. Starry nights. Full moon. Songs played on the guitar. Singing along to said songs. Boating. Dragonfly. The feel of the wind as you boat. Falling asleep to the sound of waves crashing against the shore. Sudden rainstorms. The Shinning Trail. Broken Generator. Hiking in swim suits and flip flops. Reading.  Narrows and slick rock. Fridges that stop working. Red rock mountains. Cliff jumping. Early morning ski runs. Waking up to the sunrise. Sleeping under the stars. Mice crawling around. Mouse traps with peanut butter. Grilled food. Tubing. Holding on for life while tubing. Taking "showers" in the lake. Boat excursions. Bagels and Orange Juice. Wake boarding. Exploring old canyons. Sand Hill. Calls to fix all broken things. Defiance House. Natural Dam. "Short" hikes equaling over two hours in the sun with one water bottle for five people. Tadpoles and toads. Scrapes and bruises. Homemade Cherry Lime Rickie's (made by Ken). Swimming up a narrow canyon. Swimming through twigs and sticks. Twigs in swimsuit. Lizards. Taking pictures. House Boat. Royal Sunrise. Group Pictures. Being the "kids". The junk food counter. Laughing. Engine trouble. More calls to fix broken things. Zombie conversations. Life vests. More reading. Waking up to sore muscles. Finding Nemo. Learning new things about people you've known your whole life. Sleeping. Life long jokes. Sun block. Laying out. Sweating so much it drips. Jumps in the lake where you instantly cool off. Floating in the lake. Aloe and lotion. Advil. Flying kites behind the boat. Swimming in the dark. Learning to speak Whale. Wearing nothing but swimsuits and sweats. The sun. The lake. The sand. The people. The laughter. The fun.  

All of this is Lake Powell in August.

 

Happy Birthday to ME!

"Happy birthday to me! Happy birthday to me! Happy birthday dear MEEEEEE! Happy birthday to me!" No, my birthday is not today. But is was a couple of weeks ago. July 29th to be exact. And to me, birthdays are something that should be celebrated. Yes, I know that they happen every year and that they aren't exactly an oddity or anything. But still, they are worth being celebrated. For you see, when celebrating a birthday you are celebrating that fact that someone is alive. The fact that someone has been living a life and still has a life to live. And the fact that not only do you know this person, but you have gotten to be a part of this life that they are living. So you see, to me birthdays are worth celebrating because it isn't just a day for gifts, cake, or ice cream, but it is a day for friends and celebrating that fact that you get to live your life with them. So when someone you love has a birthday coming up don't just pass it off. Take the time to let them you love them and that you are glad that they are alive and that you are lucky enough to be a part of their life. Take the time to really celebrate.

Now, with this said, some of you may be wondering what I did for my birthday. No worries, I celebrated. I celebrated a lot with a lot of very good friends and family. The first celebration happened the week before my birthday on the 23. A bunch of my friends and I gathered together at the Rood residence for a BBQ, swim, and movie night. We have had these types of nights often and if you have heard about them before then you know that they are AWESOME! First of all, you have the people. A group of friends who know each other so well that we can sit around a kitchen table for hours laughing our heads off. Plus, none of us are afraid to be exactly who we are. Which tends to mean that we all act like little kids and make sarcastic jokes and comments when ever we are together. Second, you have a pool with a slide, diving board, and lots of pool toys. You give all of this to the said people above and you know we are entertained. Third, you have great food. Ben rocks at cooking burgers and the girls make great salads and have gotten very creative with making non-chocolate desserts for me. Fourth, you have a funny movie in a theater with a soda machine. Then you throw in some funny moments, great weather, great gifts (that included a library check-out binder, cake decorating supplies, fun nail polish, picture frames, and gift cards) and lots of laughs and you can imagine how great the afternoon and night was. In one word, it was Fabulous!

The next celebration happened on my birthday, Friday July 29. This night I got together with two very special and amazing girls. Girls who I have become great friends with over the last year and love to death. We got together and went to China Star for dinner because my favorite food just happens to be Chinese. While we were there eating great sweat &sour chicken, rice, ragoons, and more they gave me my birthday gifts. Two things which show how well they know me because I loved them instantly and made giddy noises in the restaurant upon opening them. Taryn gave me the soundtrack to the show Midnight in Paris. (If some of you remember this show is one of my fabulous finds which I loved). Now the thing about this gift is, you can't just buy the soundtrack. It is not available in the US. Therefor Taryn went through the music list for the show, found all of the songs, and put them together herself. Awesome! The second gift that I was giddy over would be the movie North and South which Jessica gave me. She was the one who first introduced me to this show and I fell in love with it. I am so happy to now own my own copy. After dinner we went to see the play Seven Brides for Seven Brothers. It was funny and the music was great. We all enjoyed it and plan to go back to see other shows in the coming year. From there we went back to the apartment where they proceed to sing me happy birthday over pumpkin cupcakes. Delicious. And then watched Physc. It was a great night.

The next celebration happened the next night. Saturday, in case you didn't follow. I got together with two other great girls that I have know for years and who are also fabulous. Their names would be Kendra and Maggie. We went to Pepperbelies for dinner. which is this great Mexican restaurant in Kaysville. You should go there sometime if you have not. After some great food and conversation I was given some very god fried Ice Cream for dessert. Delicious! From there we went back to Kendra's house and watched Anne of Green Gables. (this was also a fabulous find. One that I had started watching and needed to finish which Maggie was nice enough to bring) A show that I love and now need to own for myself. We also had birthday cake and yes I did blow out more candles and yes they did sing to me as well. And to top it off Kendra gave me some great new books to take on my trip. It was great!

And now, I get to continue celebrating with a family birthday dinner this coming Sunday. One that I am sure will be great and full of fun and laughter. So trust me, birthdays are worth celebrating. And they are worth celebrating with all the people that you love. You should try it.

Baseball

Baseball. An all-American sport. A spot that I have not only grown up with all my life, but have loved all my life as well. As far back as I can remember baseball has always been a part of my family. I remember going to games when I was little to watch my mom play. She used to play on her work team and we would go to her games every week. I remember sitting on the grass and just loving the sounds and the actions of the game. Especially the night games when everything thing seemed so much better under the stadium lighting.

From early on as kids we were taught how to throw a baseball and how to catch one. From there we then learned how to hit one as well. Then, as soon as we were old enough, we were put on to teams and began to learn the rules and strategies of the game. And even from early on, I knew that I loved it. I loved hitting the ball and then racing the outfielders to get to the base before they got the ball there. I loved that feeling you would get when you crossed the home plate and knew that you were safe. And most of all I loved being a part of a team that was playing the game I loved so much.

From tee-ball I went on to coach pitch and then machine pitch. Each time summer would come around my mom would take us kids and sign us up to play. And even thought he teams changed each year, and you played with a whole new group of kids, we always had fun and we always loved it. I remember years of being the only girl on the team and years where I got to play with my sister. I remember learning how to slide into home plate and how to hit a pop fly. I remember learning the baseball cheers that never seemed to change no matter how many years would pass. But most of all I remember that sound the ball and bat would make when they connected and you just knew it was a great hit. That sound that still makes me smile when I hear it today. CRACK

After machine pitch I didn't play on teams anymore. I had gotten to the point where you either had to play competitively on a comp team or try out for the school teams. I really didn't want to do either so I stopped playing on teams. I did not however stop loving the game. I still loved it and I still played it with my family and friends and most of all I still went to plenty of games. For you see, I had brothers that played the game as well and even though my sister I no longer played on teams, they did. This meant that every spring and summer I had plenty of baseball games to attend. They would play every week and the games were always at night which, in my opinion, made it that much more fun to go. And even though I was just watching I still got to hear that sound of the bat hitting the ball, I still got to cheer the same baseball cheers and I still got to watch the game under the lights.

As we all got older my brothers stopped playing as well. Some of them played through Jr. High and some through High School. But, nevertheless, they all stopped playing on teams at some point as well. This is when I started going to other games. Comp games, miner league games and major league games.  All of witch still hold the same thrills and love for me. The first miner league game I went to was the Bee's of course. Living in Utah that is the only professional baseball team to go and see locally. I went to my first major league f\game when I was in DC on my high school choir trip. We went to the DC Nationals vs. the Atlanta Braves. It was the first year that the Nationals were a major league team again. And to make the experience even better our choir got to sing the National Anthem at the beginning of the game down on the field. It was an experience that I will never forget. Being on that field and singing that song was just plane awesome. Then to top if off the Nationals won.

Over the years I have been to more Bee's games and another Major league game. A game in which the Atlanta Braves played again. This time against the LA Angles. I have also been to some of my cousin's comp team games. all which I have loved being at and being a part of. I got to enjoy one of these games this last Friday, July 21. Some friends of mine and I had wanted to go to a game and finally got together to do so. We sat on the first row balcony seats just left of home plate. They were great seats and even though we lost, it was a great night. One filled with friends, laughter, ball park food, baseball cheers and songs, stadium lights, and that favorite sounds of CRACK as the bat hit the ball throughout the night. It was a night of baseball and all that I loved about it. A night that will have to be repeated again.