Home Sweet Home

"Going home" meant something different when I was a kid. "Going home" meant leaving my cousins (who were my life blood) or leaving Grandma Hatch's house--where there were fun neighbors and other cousins to play with, midnight runs to Dairy Queen, parks and water fights, and a fruit stand (where we bought lots of cheap candy) about a quarter mile away--or just leaving a friend's house in order to do chores. I remember "going home" many a Sunday after having taken a family drive up to the rich neighborhoods by the temple to ooh and ahh at all of the big houses. It was like a tradition that upon returning to our own house, someone would comment, "Ooooohhhh, look at THAT house!... and we would think ourselves so funny.

But going home is different now. Despite how wonderful a trip is, I love to come home--my own bed, my own drawers, my own little flowers, my own ward, my own schedule. It's funny how the smell of my house, along with the texture and color of the carpet and tile, becomes new again, and I find myself looking at everything like I've never seen it before. Weird.

And this trip really was a wonderful one. I'm really grateful for having been able to go away for so long (although I wish Brian could have been with me for longer.)
Laura's wedding was fabulous. She looked beautiful and she and her husband seemed very happy. The reception was especially good becuase it was in my parents' backyard, the weather was perfect, there was lots of good food, and John, Laura, and their friend Sfen (sp?) gave us a super cool concert afterward.
And we went to Disneyland with the Lacouture side of the family, and that was a blast as well. My sister and brother-in-law are Disney experts and therefore know every secret to having the best experience at Disneyland. Camp was tall enough for every ride but two, and I think we were able to get him on every one of those. I'm not sure which ride was his favorite, because everytime I ask him, he says something different. Jane loved everything she experienced as well--except for the Captain Hook character who accompanied us at breakfast one of the mornings we were there. And Danin was happiest whereever there was water for her to play in. My favorite rides were Splash Mountain, Pirates, Flying over California, and the Tower of Terror.
And I got to spend a few days at Sarah's house. I'm so grateful to have a sibling with kids. As I've said before, I love being with Sarah. I feel totally comfortable with her, our kids have a ball together, and I learn something every time I'm with her. (More on that later.)
Kat ran the marathon up in Logan last Saturday and I got to be there to cheer her on. Man, what a high. She has the most beautiful legs, so it is only fitting that she is such a good runner. (Or maybe she has beautiful legs because she is such a good runner....) But anyway... she did great and loved the experience and now my mom is talking about all of us girls doing one together next year. I would love to do one again, and doing one with my sisters and mom would be the coolest, so we'll see what happens. You can do it, mom! Even if you really do run a twenty minute mile. All you need are some good tunes, and I've seen what a little crazy music can do for you.
And all of the rest of our time was spent playing with our Lacouture cousins or at my mom and dad's house with Charley, Kat, and Seth (and Audge for a few days). Good times. Good times.
I'll post a few more details of the trip later.

Oh, and I can't forget to mention my new van. Love it.

Toenails

What is your best physical attribute?

It's hard for me to say which feature of my body is the most perfect (are you laughing?); but if I had to pinpoint just ONE, I would definitely say my ears.

All I can really say is that my toenails are NOT contenders. The thing is, I was raised by a toenail picker and unfortunately, monkey saw and monkey did. So I have picked my toenails my whole life. I know it's gross, but I just can't help it. I have very few memories of ever having pretty toenails. In fact, I have two. One was a time in high school or maybe right afterward. I had somehow managed to grow my toenails out and had actually painted them. The only reason I remember this is because I was so excited when Meg noticed them and commented on how good they looked. The second memory is of the day that Camp was born. I remember that I had grown out and painted my fingernails and toenails just so that something would look good after having given birth. Brian even helped me paint them the day before since I could no longer reach them. Talk about service. And they looked good--they were really toenails to be proud of. But other than that, my toenails have always been nasty. A few times over the years (like in the picture above)I have painted onto my toes in order to make my toenails look longer, but for the most part, I have never really cared too much about it. I mean, they're TOEnails, right? And nobody has ever really given me any trouble about it until a few days ago. Leave it to Rachel Terry(not to be confused with my sister-in-law) to finally make known to me that my toenails are unacceptable. She is so funny. So despite the fact that it is totally lame to care about what other people think of my toenails(or of anything else, for that matter), I am going to master myself and stop picking my toenails. And who knows, maybe someday I'll be a girl with perfect ears and perfect toenails.

P.S. For those of you who are interested, our stay here in Vegas has been really good so far. Brian flew back home three days after we got here and I have really missed him. He'll be coming back on Sunday, and I can't wait. I'll post pics from this trip later on.