We went to Chuck E. Cheese,
witnessed the baby blessing of our newest darling niece,
ate lots of good food,
made some good memories with Grandpa,
and Grandma,
and went to the Phoenix zoo.
I’m thankful for so many good things. This year I’m going to name 2,008 things that make life wonderful.
2,008. Cars - We can go anywhere we want, anytime we want!
2,007. Antibiotics: Have you had strep lately? These things are AMAZING!
2,006. Music: This universal language touches our souls. It can soothe us, inspire us and bring back sweet memories.
2,005. Red bell peppers - sweet, crunchy and delicious!
2,004. Dreyer’s Thin Mint Cookie ice cream. Move over cookies-n-cream, I have a new favorite.
2,003. Bubble Baths - What a luxury! Hot water on demand in a porcelain tub, we have it so good!
2,002. Technology: laptops, cellphones, digital cameras, internet, ipods and so many ways to store information.
2,001. Toothbrushes.
2,000. Spring - The annual reawakening we can count on.
1999. Children’s laughter.
1998. Children sleeping.
1997. Mountains with trails, or even without.
1996. Grandma’s caramel brownies.
1995. Washing Machines: After living in a country where most people wash their clothes by hand I vowed never to complain about laundry. If I have, I officially take it back.
1994. Public Libraries
1993. Good lotion
1992. The sun. We are so dependent on this fiery ball that gives life to everything. It is perfect!
1991. Games! Board games, card games, lawn games, mind games - the fun never ends!
1990. Cilantro - Yum, this could be the world's greatest plant.
1989. Kind people, especially kind and thoughtful strangers.
1988. Fingernail clippers, so simple and yet so nice.
1987. Good humor and belly laughing
1986. Modern conveniences that are not ubiquitous worldwide; ovens, refrigerators, microwaves and dishwashers. We have so much more time and freedom without making daily visits to the market and going to cut firewood. Instead we can buy in bulk, zap our food, store it, freeze it and then stack the dishes in a nice machine for later automatic cleaning.
Just kidding. I won’t actually name 2,008. (You're welcome.)
On our way home we went to the Grand Canyon. We had a grand time trying to get our kids to be quiet and settled in at the lodge and then Mason woke up at 1:00 am and started crying at maximum volume. We tried all our tricks, but he wasn't going to be quiet. Surely he woke the poor souls that were unfortunate enough to get the room next to ours. Russ took Mason out to the van and spent two hours with the engine running off and on to keep them warm. I laid in bed with my regular clothes on, coat on and shoes on my feet ready to take my shift and worried about how Russ and Mason were doing. It was a long night. Parenthood non-stop fun!
We went to breakfast the next morning with tourists from all over the world. Russians, Japanese, Indians, Europeans, and guess who everyone stared at? I mean really stared at. Us! I've lived in the little Utah County bubble for so long that I forget we are an oddity. Four children, under the age of seven, most of the other visitors didn't even have children, let alone three or more. Or maybe my zipper was down. You never know.
We then walked out to the rim of the canyon. The walk became a hike because we were walking parallel to the rim and didn't know it. (Ha ha! Those shuttle buses are for people without four kids.) We finally arrived and found a good location to take a family picture. I asked a woman if she could take our picture, she suggested that her husband do it since he is a good photographer. So a nice tall man took our picture. He carefully lined us up to make sure that no one was standing in another's shadow, and then insisted that he get one of Russ and I together because he knows that sometimes it gets to be all about the kids. He was so kind and asked us about where we were from and if we are done having kids, and he seemed so familiar.
Here we are...
I told him that and he said, "Well, I am an actor. I'm Michael Gross you might know me from Family Ties." Then it clicked and suddenly he didn't seem like an actor at all, I felt like I was meeting Steven Keating. I don't know if he was acting all those years, I think he was just being himself.
So we took a picture of him...
That evening we drove home and saw a beautiful sunset...
and we gave thanks.
6 comments:
NO WAY! Did you tell him we all miss the days of Family Ties when we could let children watch TV? That is a great story.
Looks like a great vacation. I tried to find the Grand Canyon once when I was on my way to Mesa, but I could find it. I know, I know, but I was young and didn't know where I was going. And, I loved Family Ties...
Thanks for not listing 2008 things. I would have ended up reading them all cuz I'm just crazy enough to. I love the Michael Gross story. I used to love that show. Cool that you got to meet him.
That is so awesome that Michael Gross took your picture at the Grand Canyon! What a cool story. And what I bet he liked best of all was that you didn't recognize him at first and just treated him like a nice man you met at a tourist attraction. That's what I would like about a freakishly large family whose mother has her zipper down at the biggest natural wonder in America. :-)
The photo's of the kids with their grandparents are a crack up. The first is with grandpa. Everyone wrestling and all over the place. The second is with grandma and everyone is sitting all nice and quiet facing forward. If that doesn't speak volumes I do not know what does! :D
I told Michael Gross that "Family Ties" was a great show. I've thought about buying the box set and re-living the memories. Of course I'll need to lend it out like a library to justify the cost.
Post a Comment