Indiana Jones is a geocacher, not an archeologist.

Yesterday on my way home from an appointment, I was listening to NPR, as I often do (yeah, that makes me officially a grown-up, but that's for another post) and they did a story on Indiana Jones. They basically asked the question- what did he do for the field of archeology, and how does he compare to real archeologists? You probably already know the answers. He gives kids out there an inaccurate perception of what archeology is all about. It's not really about chasing adventures and finding hidden treasures, and more about examining tree rings for hours on end and digging into garbage. So, some college students hope to find that excitement in archeology, only to find something very different. Some leave the major, others stick around. Of course, most archeologists are not wearing fedoras and carrying bullwhips, either...but chasing adventures and finding hidden treasures... Huh... Sounds more like geocaching to me. Oh, and the bullwhip? Mine is a GPS. From now on, you can call me Dr. Jones. Especially if you're a little asian boy named Short Round.

Reconnaissance? Special Forces? Count me in.

Certain mothers would make fantastic reconnaissance agents. You know, those guys that sneak in to the enemy's headquarters and save people, or gather secret information. Yeah, that's totally me. I practice sneaking skills every.....single......night. Every night when I put Alex to bed, how do you think I get out of the room? You guessed it. I sneak out. Without a single noise. I mean, my knees don't even crack. I have become quite proficient at it. In pitch black. Sometimes I even do a little roll on the ground or do an army crawl, or add some other heart pounding element. I bet there's quite a few mothers out there who do the same thing. Put us together, and we'll have Osama in no time. Right about now you might be thinking, "Gee, Virginia, you're a behaviorist, is that the best you can do? Can't you use your behaviorist skills to make it so you can walk out w/o a hitch?" Yes. But this is way more exciting. And those of you who know me know I love adventure. My little nighttime adventure. See? Motherhood can be really exciting if you do it right.

P.S. Family: does this remind you if anyone else? Hint: Starts with the letter D and rhymes with cave. Ninja.

I love to kill...

wasps, that is. Wasps are my enemy. Every spring, I declare war on the wasps trying to build in the crevices around my house. I gear up with, at least 5 cans of wasp killer (you know, the kind that sprays like 20 ft.) Then I become obsessed. I start shooting those things left and right. When I kill them, I often leave the dead ones out so the living ones will see them and get scared. (By now, you should be whistling that song to yourself from The Good, Bad, and The Ugly. You know, that song that goes on whenever there's about to be a shootout) I picture the wasps looking at the dead carcasses of the other ones, then telling each other, "I don't think we should build around here- there's trouble in these here parts". And when I kill them, I don't feel bad at all. When I say I hate wasps, I mean it. I think that's why I haven't been able to watch Bee Movie (yeah, I know, it's bees, but I don't like that part of the family either). I was looking at pictures of wasps on wikipedia, trying to get some information that might give me an edge against my enemies, and my hair was standing on end, I had to shudder several times. I had to stand by someone wearing yellow and black today. I refused to turn my back to them.

Looky. If that's not evil, I don't know what is.

I had no idea.

After Alex's checkup I drove him around to help relax him after his shot. I decided to drive on 9th East, partly to reminisce on old times and easy days...and then I saw it. Saw it and felt it both at the same time. My first Utah home- reduced to nothing but bare bones. What the ....(heck)?! And all the other towers? Gone. U-Hall is the last to go. I checked online. They've been tearing them down now for months, maybe years. One by one. Thank God (no, I'm not taking his name in vain here) I drove by just in time to get a few more shots ( I always carry my camera- for moments like this). BYU hasn't disclosed exactly what they're gonna do with that land yet. Maybe more housing. Boy, I'm officially part of eras gone by. I always imaged driving my kids by and pointing out mine and Heidi's room (608) and telling lots and lots of funny stories. The last one I'd tell would be the story of the Big Bird and Gummy Jets. Ahh, boys and girls, I shall tell you that one another time ;-)

1993 <- 2008
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Conference Weekend

I love conference weekend. As soon as its over, I can't wait for the next one. Usually, it's because I get spiritually recharged. Well, not this time. Each session, I would pull out my journal, hoping that "this time, I'll get to jot some notes" No, no, no. Not one jot or one tittle. Alex was too much of a handful. That being said, I still definitely loved it. Here's a confession- half the reason I love it so much is that I get a vacation from church. There, I've said it. No need to dress up, no calling to do, no missed naps, no missed meals- just listening to the good word of God in my pjs, a warm blanket, and a full tummy. That's as good as it gets, kids.

Words can't express...

I have been so saddened by the murder of that little girl in Salt Lake- Hser Nay Moo. For some reason, it has really touched me. I remember when I saw the Amber Alert on the news on Monday night. I remember thinking, "Aww, they'll find her soon". She reminded me of my niece, Gabriela, and I instantly felt in love with that sweet face. The next night, I saw the breaking news. She had been beaten to death. How can we tolerate this? I read so many comments on KSL's boards from people who were also saddened and outraged. I keep asking myself, how does something like this happen? What leads to this? How can we prevent this? Of course, I wanted to hold Alex extra tight all day. Today, I squeezed him like a thousand times and covered him with kisses. I must confess, I have a tendency to always keep my eye out for suspicious behavior. Honestly. Whenever I am anywhere, even when I walk the few yards to my mailbox, I look around and try to remember anything that is unusual. Who's outside,etc. I do this always, so that if anything goes wrong, and I could be a potential witness to anything, that hopefully I could assist somehow. So that maybe something horrible could be prevented. I hope others would do that also. 'Cause, I mean, who knows if something were to happen to you or a loved one, how important it would be if someone could contribute the slightest piece of information that could lead to a safe resolution to a scary situation. Please pray for her family.