Impressive

Clark went to the dentist today for the first time in seven years.

He has not one cavity in his mouth. Good job, Clark!

The dentist did mention that his plaque was pretty "tenacious." The dentist used that high pitched, electric scraper-thingy (Jeff, what's the device?) for almost 45 minutes straight. Yes, I guess seven years of build up will lead to "tenacious" plaque.

BJ & the Summer Decompression II Festival

It's always a good thing to support local music. Especially if your spouse is a musician in a local band.

Me likey.

BJ rockin' out: Kris, Tyler, Clark, Randy and SP.

Tyler's theatrical antics. Guess you had to be there.

Clark with his official pass for the festival.

Here are a couple of videos. I apologize for the shakiness. My arms get super tired from holding the camera still.

(Disclaimer: So's YOUR FACE is PG-13/R rated for those of you who don't want to subject yourself to puerile language. But I'm sure you've heard worse walking around a college campus--unless you went to BYU. Young Man's Game does not contain foul language to my knowledge...)

Headlining the festival was Royal Bliss. They're kind of a big deal...if you're from Utah. But seriously they are on a major label and have songs you would probably recognize.

ADDICTED

Nothing tastes as good as Fig Newtons lately. I've gone through four packages in the last week... yikes, that's a little scary to admit. I really need to break free of this addiction. Why can't my addiction be to edamame or green beans or broccoli?

Weekend #2 of September

We went to the Avenues Street Fair. It was more of a big deal than I thought. Huh. Bought some flowers for my hair that make me feel oh so rockabilly. And I like it.

Throngs of people.

Adding more flowers to my hair clip collection.

Clark's band played at Club Vegas. And rocked it. BJ is so much fun to watch. They play again this weekend at the Summer Decompression 2 festival. I can hardly wait. An all day outdoor music festival? Life doesn't get much better than that. Unless the other bands suck. Then we may have to leave early.

I just adore Clark's drumming facial expressions. Priceless.

Got my hair did. I think it turned out quite nice. Now I am ready for fall. And thank you, Mom, for the pajamas. I will actually wear them. Oh look, we have proof in this picture that I have already worn them.

Gretchen's new nook. Isn't she precious?

Just like old people...

I just bought 2.78 pounds of prunes at Winco.

I think this means we're aging. Or we're just really concerned about regular, smooth bowel movements.

Or both.

(Our blood type craves these shriveled suckers. So I guess we could always use that excuse.)

Random notes you really shouldn't bother reading

• Clark and I feel like such lame Americans for not barbecuing on the socially appointed bbq days of the year: Memorial Day and Labor Day. Dang it. We didn't entirely miss our bbq window of opportunity (we used our mini Weber twice this summer) but now the coolness of fall is settling in and Clark may not want to tend to the grill for an hour outside when it is 30 degrees. I can't blame him.
• I am totally looking forward to getting my hair did this Saturday. Man, blonde hair on a natural brunette requires a lot of maintenance! I told Clark I may have to become a brunette in early 2011. I thought I could hold out and stay blonde until my hair grew way long, but it is too much work and too expensive. In the mean time I am going to slowly incorporate dark brown back into my hair palate. Take these photos of Kat von D for example:

So imagine this coloring a bit differently. Where her black hair is, my blonde is. Where her blonde streaks are, I want to have brown streaks. Not sure which photo I want to work with yet but I hope it turns out.

• Just watched The Blindside last night. What an amazing story. And the fact that Michael Oher played for Ole Miss is totally awesome, too. I guess I'm still a Rebel at heart. Looks like I missed watching him play at the Vaught-Hemingway stadium by about a year. Nonetheless, transferring to ASU was still the right decision. But SEC football...nothing beats SEC football.
• Clark's band BJ has two shows coming up. This Saturday at Club Vegas and next Saturday at the Ogden Ampitheater. Can't wait!
• Contacted a couple of my previous instructors from ASU asking if they could provide reference letters on my behalf for grad school. Whew. I think that might have been the hardest part of the whole application; the thing I was dreading most.
• Junking out feels good. Just went through my closet and drawers and made progress. Or did I just make room for new items?
• I've got to admit, I am readily looking forward to fall. I am excited to be in a place where leaves actually change colors!

I think that's all for now. Maybe I'm just bored because Clark is taking a 10:30 pm nap and I can't watch our next netflix flick without him. Have a good week, ya'll.

Loooong drive and a trip to Pasco

Despite a heated dispute between myself and a member of my immediate family(clue: not Clark, my Dad, or Sister), trembling, shaking, crying and breaking a necklace against a wall...I would say my trip home was pretty dang good. It's hard to see my nieces and nephews grow up through pictures; each time I see them they look so different! Little kids are so much fun and I'm thankful that at the end of the day I don't have to bathe, change, feed and tuck one in! Raising kids truly is a full time job. It is something that I aspire to do but am not equipped to do just yet...

So here is the proof that I made the 9.5 drive there and back. Katie called me "picture happy." But I was just doing my job. I told her she had a personal amateur photographer for four days. It was hard to sort out the nearly 500 pictures I took but here are a few:

I arrived in Pasco the night before my beautiful friend Courtney had to fly back to her hubby and new teaching job in Spain.

That is one extra large swing set. Katie and the kids playin'.

Katie and Teya swinging.

Graceful Chase.

Cole woke up from a nap and got a treat. What a cutie.

Admiring the fish.

Tough as nails.

Second day on the bike, what a natural.

Beautiful sky the night my Dad went up flying solo.

Mom finding goods at a yard sale. Me? Well, Mom kindly bought me a huge container of Dove hair conditioner for a buck. Good score, me thinks.

The county fair is smaller than I last remember...

Taking a break from the "bunny barn" and walking.

Admiring.

The "bunny barn!"

What Cole ate the day of the fair: a couple of baby carrots, part of an elephant ear, fig newtons, cotton candy (as evidenced by the big glob hanging from his mouth) and a DQ ice cream cone. I had to make fun of Katie for his "healthy" diet.

Sweet Taya.

A fist will work just as good as a pacifier.

Mommy and baby girl.

So sweet.

Teya and Grandma.

Nice camera showdown. Dad wins?

Chase's first day of kindergarten!

Cole has the cutest running form.

Rolls and cute socks.

Ty reading to the boys. Is that a book or a motorcycle magazine?

Dad repairing the ultralight after we "crash landed" in a random alfalfa field. No worries, no one died and Dad was completely composed under pressure.

Sisters :)

So glad I had the opportunity to come visit! It was a long drive there and an even longer drive back, but it was worth it!