Memory Lane

I think that this is a cute tag that is going around. I usually don't have time to do all the tags, but this one is easy!!
1. As a comment on my blog, leave one memory that you and I had together. It doesn't matter if you knew me a little or a lot, anything you remember! 2. Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you. It's actually pretty funny to see the responses. If you leave a memory about me, I'll assume you're playing the game and I'll come to your blog and leave one about you. If you don't want to play on your blog, or if you don't have a blog, I'll leave my memory of you in my comments.

Arizona

As previously stated, I am not a big fan of Phoenix. But I really could have used a big fan!! An industrial type one. But it must be said that the drive out there was very pretty. It really is amazing how much rock formations and climent are out there, in just one area!! We drove through deserts, mountains and even a forest. We literally drove through billions of years of earth’s history. You could see the stories of the past painted into the different layers of the rocks. It was fun to share that with Chad, who loves geology, and with the babies.
On a different note, my kids are weird!! They will not go to sleep on a road trip. One time we drove to California, starting out at 3 in the morning. Our hope was that Lauren would sleep most of the way. But nope, the girl stayed awake the whole 12 hours of the drive. And on this trip, both Lauren and Evan refused to give it up and just close their eyes. They would play with their toys for about 15 mins, maybe 20. They would start to laugh hysterically. Soon the laugh would morph into tears. Then silence for maybe 10 min, and the cycle would start all over again. I personally love to sleep on a road trip!! Every time I am surprised about how fast the drive is and how far we have come since I last closed my eyes. When I share that with Chad, he just looks at me quizzically. I guess for the person driving, the drive is long. We are home now. I love walking in the door of my house after being away for awhile. I love my house. I love being away, but it is always nice to come back home again.

HELP M E!!! I am trapped in Arizonia!!!!

I am a little confussed. People live here on purpose? Don't they understand that there are places that you can live that you don't bake everytime you walk out your front door? There are places that contain more color then just the color brown? I am stunned. I have never been to a place that is so void of color. Brown buildings, brown ground, even the sky has a little tint of tan in the atmosphere. I guess that that is the color of burnt earth. Phenoix does have its good points, the air conditioning works great here. I have been to philidelphia, florida, New Orlands, Missouri, kansas, Puerto Rico, San Diego, San Antonio, and of cousre Malibu. I think of myself as a generally positive person and I think that there is an amount of good in every place. But I will confess that I am hard pressed to think of one redeaming quality in this dessert wasteland. Stephanie Meyer might be a good writer, but I think that she has missed it on the loving the dessert bit. Everyone who knows me knows that I am a beach girl, so i guess tha it is no suprise. I am sitting here in my hotel room because it is to hot to move in the outside world. I am done with my rant for now, more to come later.
P.s- I have fourth of July pics, I am just way slow at getting them up.

The things I learned in Canada...

Where the Maple Leaf grows national pride and hockey scares are badges of courage, where the most common phrase is "No problem, eh?" and even bums say please and thank you, that is where I learned some life lessons. I think that I am a generally good person. I don't steal lie or cheat. (Ok, so maybe I lied-does cheating at Clue count?). The worst thing that I have ever done in my life is make fun of this kid named Denis Scoleville in the second grade. I wanted to fit in and for once I wasn't the focus of the teasing. I felt so bad that when I came home I actually threw up. I thought that it was a fitting punishment for making an other human being feel so small. But I grew up and learned and hopefully I turned out alright. And although I don't think of myself as a selfish person, I do think that I can be a litte short sided at times. This brings me to my life lessons. Chad and I went to Canada. And we fell in love. If you have never been to Vancouver, you have to make a trip out there. We went to dinner at a Chinese restaurant with some of the people we were there with. After dinner, we started off on our way back to the hotel where we passed a man holding a cardboard sign which said simply "Please Help". As good as a person as I think I am, I must admit that I just passed by without a second thought. Our friend Scott, however, stopped to ask the man how he was doing. "I've been better". The homeless man replied. Scott then dug into his shirt pocket and retrieved his cigarettes. He got down on the homeless man's level to light it for him. Then he gave him some money. But not just a dollar or two, he gave him a wad. ( I really don't know how much a wad is, but more then just a token). It was one of the most inspirational moments that I was lucky enough to witness. Scott doesn't go to church and he smokes like a chimney. And yet, I who attend at least sacrament every Sunday and has never smoked drank or anything of that sort, just passed up an other person in need. Someone who in the grand scheme of things is literally my brother. I thought of the parable of the Good Samaritan and realized that I was watching a modern day remake of that old Bible story being played out right before my eyes. How many times do we see someone who needs help? How many times do we see someone we know with red puffy eyes, and never think to ask if everything is all right? After all, it really is none of our business. But in reality we are each others business. We generally won't run into a situation where we can do things incredibly heroic. It is not everyday that we get the opportunity to save children from a burning building or to reach into the icy gulf of a river and pull out someone who is drowning. But we do get to pass people in need on the streets on a day to day basis. I bet if you asked that homeless man on the streets of Vancouver, he would agree that Scott was very heroic that day.