Is one of us a dog in this scenario?

I have been experiencing a really strange phenomenon. As you may know, I have quite a long commute to work in the morning. I like to stay updated on traffic reports- not that it helps me get home faster but at least I can mentally gear up for what's ahead. Luckily there is KSL with its "Traffic and weather on the nines" to keep me informed, theoretically.

For the past several months, maybe longer, when I switch to KSL to hear the traffic, my brain turns off and I come back to reality just as they are finishing the report. I could blame the fact that they always commercial first and I tune those out and just stay in la-la land too long, but I think it goes beyond that. Sometimes, I sit there determined not to space out, I hear the car soundtrack they play to start the report and think, "OK I'm listening". Then, next thing I know my brain went elsewhere for 20 seconds and I missed it. It's so bizarre that it makes me laugh... and curse.

I think I have figured out why this happens. I am victim of a Pavlovian effect. When I started getting up early for the commute I would set my alarm radio to KSL. I had the rule that as soon as I heard the traffic and weather in the morning I would have to get up. One morning, in my half-slumbered state, I missed the report which, of course, meant that I had to stay in bed another 10 minutes until the next update. This soon became more and more common. I believe I have now been conditioned to tune out the traffic and weather report, even when I'm not in bed.

I have been trying to deprogram myself. On the way home yesterday, I only tuned out the Southbound traffic out of SLC (which is what I needed and broadcast first), but came in to hear I-80. Maybe one day- just in time for my long commute to stop as we are moving in a month- I will be able to get the full report. Curse those drooling dogs!


p.s. bonus points to anyone who knows the movie reference in the post title.

Young Women's Waterski Party

Here are a few snippets from the YW waterski party last night. I posted photos on facebook and vids here. (takes forever to upload here, but I can't figure out how to post a video of FB) I randomly chose three videos of all the ones I took. I don't have anything to view them with me at the moment so we'll see what comes up. Looks like first is Misty getting up on the wakeboard. It was really choppy water which made it hard! Next, another good Misty video, as she gets thrown from the Molecule. She is riding with Sam and Gabby (I think). I should have got later video of Gabby and Sam. Sam was flying everywhere but wouldn't fall off and Gabby was laughing so hard I don't know how she could hang on! Our final video is Kate and Chloe on the Molecule.

Father's Day

I thought I'd post a quick photo from Father's Day. We made Rick a crown, as you can see Rick looks quite regal. The boys gave him biking shorts and hair clippers. We had a nice dinner and a rousing game of Spoons. (None of them had heard of the game before!!?) Was it just my family, or does everyone spell Donkey - one letter for each round you lose- and then have to go on the porch and yell "hew-haw hew-haw I'm a slow donkey". Both Zane and Isaac ended up on the porch, unfortunately, no neighbors were around!




Rick really is an incredible father. He has put his kids above everything else in his life. They have seen some hard times together and all ended up happy and healthy. I so admire him!

House Hunting

With closing the sale of my condo next week, we are now in full house-hunting mode. It started out exciting. We knew the perfect house was out there waiting for us to move in. Finding it was an adventure.

We've now spent countless hours looking on-line and have walked through several homes. In truth, we are just getting started, but I'm already exhausted. The feeling of adventure did not last long. It is a buyers market with a plethora of homes to choose from- which seems to the problem. It's overwhelming. We probably could be happy with a number of the homes we've looked at- really we might be happy in any of them. But how do we choose when we haven't seen EVERYTHING to know if what we're getting is really the best out there for us.

It reminds me dating. Not getting married until I was 40, I feel like I saw and experienced a lot in the dating world. It seemed many people did not want to settle down with one person because then it closed the door on all the other possibilities.

"This girl is amazing, but I really prefer a brunette."

"This guy seems fabulous, but he drives a loser car."

"This house is great, but I'd really like a bigger master bath."

In truth, I knew it when the right guy finally did come along, so I assume I'll know when we find the right house for us. All those "being too picky" excuses fell away when I knew I'd found my guy. Let's hope it's the same with a home for our family.

After weeding through the craziness of dating, it only took me 40 years to settle on the guy for me. I sure hope I don't have to look for another 40 years to feel comfortable committing to a house!

M-I-C-K-E-Y M-O-U-S-E (or how dad sings it M-O-N-K-E-Y V-O-M-I-T -very appropriate for our Thursday itinerary)

We spent last week in Florida. After all the crazy life changes in the last few months, not to mention a bout with shingles, it was high time to decompress. We played hard and didn't get much down time , but it was definitely an effective escape.

Sunday - Kennedy Space Center
We had planned on going to church Sunday, but the Space Shuttle Launch was moved up a day so in order to see it on the pad we had to get there Sunday. If you've never been here, I highly recommend it. It probably isn't something we would do again, but definitely worth doing once.


I seem to have taken more pictures at the Space Center than anywhere else. I guess it was just the first day of the trip and I was shutter happy (shuttle happy- haha).


Shuttle ready for launch


We all especially enjoyed stop 2 on the tour where you see Ground Control for the first moon rocket and they recreate the launch.


I wish I could have taken a picture of how huge this was. Amazing!


Isaac, Astronaut guy, Zane


We walked through this life-sized replica of the shuttle




Monday- Disney Quest
This is another thing I don't think many people do on a FL vacation. Darren's family introduced me to it a few years ago and I knew Zane and Isaac would love it. It's located on Main Street Disney and is five stories of video games. They have everything from Frogger to high-tech virtual reality games. You pay an entrance fee (we found discount tickets for $30) and then have free reign of the place all day.

A definite favorite was the Pirates of the Caribbean game. You put on 3D glasses and go on a bow of a ship that is surrounded by a screen. One person is captain and steers the ship while the rest of you shoot cannons at ships and get their gold.

You can also design your own rollercoaster then ride it in a simulator. It was a fun (and loud) day. We took a break to walk out to the parking lot and see the Space Shuttle shoot through the sky.


All four of us did this ride. You get on a raft and paddle down rapids avoiding dinosaurs. It's a work out. It even sprays you with water.


Our favorite game- Pirates!


VR sword fighting game.


Tuesday- Disney World
This was the perfect time of year to go. We planned it to be after Spring Break and before anyone was out of school for summer. As a result, we hardly waited in any lines. Most were 5-10 minutes, one or two rides were a little longer, some we just walked right on to.

We started at Hollywood (MGM) and spent a half day mostly riding the Tower of Terror and Rockin' Roller Coaster over and over. Then had lunch in the car while driving to the Magic Kingdom for the afternoon. We had a little rain in the evening, but mostly a perfect day. A half day at each park was perfect.


Aw, such a happy little family at the happiest place on earth.


Isaac was chosen to participate in a street show. He won the acting contest and was awarded a movie contract from the producer.


Outside of the Star Tours ride

Wednesday - Universal Studios
If you like a good roller coaster, this place is for you. Another day of short lines and fun rides. Our favorite was riding in the front row of the Dueling Dragon's coaster. You're suspended instead of sitting in a car so in the front row there is nothing in front of you, not even a track. It was a blast. The Hulk coaster was one of my favorites, but I don't remember it being so shaky. Perhaps I was getting a little coaster-overload by this time. Another favorite ride is Spiderman. You sit in a car with 3D glasses and feel like you're in a comic strip. Spidey lands on your car, you feel heat of flames, etc. Somehow, I got convinced to ride one of the water rides (I hate being wet). We tried to plan where to have me sit to get the least wet, of course, I ended up soaked! By the end of the day, I was in amusement parked overload. I let the boys reride a few favorites without me on the way out of the park.


Mummy ride


Zane


You stood in here and pushed a button. Mist would fill the area and cool you off.


Thursday- SCUBA
(my dad took some photos this day both above and below water- I'll have to post them later)

I was hoping this would be the highlight of the trip. All my boys certified in December and we have been looking forward to a real dive (meaning not Blue Lake or the Crater) for months. We decided to do it right and drive down to Fort Lauderdale where the diving was good (about 3 hrs away). We had heard about clear water, nice reefs/wrecks and 100 ft visibility. Unfortunately, that was not our experience. It was a windy day which really got the ocean churning.

The boat rode high in the water and we felt every wave. By the time we got to the first dive site (a wreck about 15 minutes away) half of the boat was sea sick. They explained how we were to exit the boat. Put on your gear, walk to the bow and when the boat dipped down with a wave, step off. It was pretty daunting as the waves were quite large. Isaac was done at this point and told Rick he had a stomach ache- I think more from nerves than motion. Rick decided to stay on the boat with him.

Dad, Zane and I all went down to the wreck. Visibility was maybe 30 feet. The wreck wasn't that interesting and I just felt stressed trying to keep track of Zane who was having a hard time staying down and coordinating with my dad where to explore. We were down 30 minutes or so then came up. I usually don't do well on the surface and with it being so choppy and the boat so high out of the water, by the time I got back on the boat the combo of nerves and motion sickness overcame me. I joined most of the rest of the passengers leaning over the rail.

Dive 2 was a drift dive on a reef. I was done for the day, as was Rick and Isaac. My dad was going to dive with another guy whose wife was too sick to go down again too. But then Zane pulled through. I'm so proud of him. It was a less-than-ideal first dive, something that would probably scare a lot of first divers away from diving ever again, yet he psyched himself to do the second dive. He made himself throw-up to settle his stomach, geared-up and jumped in. Then he had gear issues. His regulator started free-flowing air so after about 15 minutes he was almost out. He handled it perfectly, keeping track of his air pressure and signalling to my dad when he was low. He and my dad surfaced and hailed the boat. By the time the boat got there he was sharing air with my dad. Zane is tough. We bought him a well deserved t-shirt from the dive shop. They did say the second dive had much more to see and the reef and fish were beautiful.


Friday- shopping and home
We had a 5:00 pm flight so we spent the morning finding souvineers and checking out the Outlet Mall. We had a direct flight home which was great. It was especially nice to come home and have the weekend to do laundry and relax before jumping into life again on Monday.


Overall, the trip was great. My parents and family got to know each other better and we have lots of good memories of fun adventures.