some july outings

Here are some photos from a little road trip I took with my sister to Zions and Kolob a couple of weeks ago. Not recommended in July, but it was beautiful none the less. One of the highlights was wading into the water at the end of the River Walk in my new Keenes. Aaaaahhhhhhhhhh. I love those shoes! The Taylor Creek trail at Kolob was beautiful and there was actually water in the creek! We also hit a couple of Shakespearean Festival plays.

The last two are little Lucy and Henry on a trip to the zoo. Lucy felt the need to get into the mood in her tiger suit before we left. Luckily we were able to leave it at home. Future oceanographer Henry, of course, had to ride the dolphin on the carousel. They're so cute!

kindred spirit

I wore this t-shirt out and about running errands the other day. The title of it is, "When Dinosaurs Ruled the World". I think it's hilarious. Waiting in line at the grocery store an about 8 yr old kid in front of me turned and said,"Hey, I like your shirt.". I looked and noticed that he was wearing a shirt with a dinosaur on it too. "Like yours too.", I said. He then proceeded to show me the big plastic articulated dinosaur he was holding and his little brother showed me his shirt too. Awesome. I have similar experiences when I wear my Grover from Sesame Street t-shirt. Little kids look up at you and give you the biggest grins you ever saw. Highly recommended.

most excellent

(First of all let me just say that I have no idea why the copy is all underlined here. I can't seem to find what to click to fix it:)) I started watching the HBO series John Adams the other night. Awesome! I read the book last year and, from what I remember, this has stayed very close if not completely true to David McCullugh's words and vision. Paul Giamati is brilliant as is David Morse as General Washington. Highly recommend! Although remember that it is HBO and you will probably want to fast forward through some parts.

Also for the 4th of July we had the not so anual anymore Bennett Theodore Peterson Family Reunion. That's my grandpa on my dad's side. He died in about 1957. He was the father of 15 children next to the last of whom was my dad Bennett Pulley Peterson. Needless to say, this used to be a huge affair that in its heyday lasted for 3 days with 100s of attendees. There were picnics and carnival games, a skit night, and fireside. These were some of the funnest times of my childhood. Being with my aunts on my dad's side were the most treasured of times. These ladies were (and are—a couple are still with us) hilarious, beautiful, warm, loving and I loved them with all my heart. Jane, Dorothy, Jeanette, Ann and Pricilla were the favorites, but also loved were Emma, Mary, Eva, and Ruth. While my mother was the main example of womanhood in my life and I loved her dearly, these women were different from her in ways that I marvelled at. They were hilarious, always quick to laugh, have fun, and show their love. They always looked beautiful and were the first women I knew who wore perfume! An example of what I love about them was one year when Aunt Pricilla (aka Auntie Griselda) while in her late sixties or early seventies came down the slide at the park wearing sparkly, springy antannae on her head and proceeded to wear them for the rest of the day.

The highlight of the reunion these days is the 100 ft waterslide that we set up for the kids on the hill behind the bowery of cousin Dar's wardhouse. It is awesome and I'm proud to say I was the only adult to take a couple of trips down it. That was for you Aunt Pricilla. Hope you were watching.

name that creepy monster

I always wondered who the poor schmucks were who had to dress up in these costumes and where the closet was that stored them. I always thought Sigmund was the sea monster. Johnnie Whitaker was Sigmund?! I think my whole sense of reality has just skewed. I never actually got to watch HR Pufnstuf because in my market it was on Sunday mornings AFTER dad came home from priesthood meeting. WHILE he was at priesthood meeting Batman was on. We'd have to be sure to listen for his car pullling into the garage and turn it off and pretend we were asleep. He'd walk in and feel the top of the tv to see if it was warm. Busted!!

what?

I just read an article that described Michelle Obama as "independent" because she picks out her own clothes. This gave my ego a boost to know that I've actually been "independent" since I was about 7 and it also puts my mind at ease to know that a potential White House habitant possesses such a skill. Whew. Thanks media!

multi-tasking

So last night I went to Barnes and Noble to look for a book for my dad for Father's Day. As I was perusing the American History section I was privy to one side of a phone conversation being had by a man seated around the corner in fiction. It went something like this.
"I'm just sayin' when I needed you, you weren't there and now I have nothing."
Flip
Flip
"I'm just a man of honor. That's my code."
Flip
Flip
"All I needed from you was rent for one month and now I have nothing."
Flip
Flip
The flips are the turning pages of the comic book he was reading WHILE having this conversation. (I had to glance around the corner.) If I would have made myself more conspicuous I could have made out the words of the woman he was having this conversation with as she was speaking rather loudly on the phone. The book I wanted wasn't in the section, but I continued to peruse hoping to be there for some resolution to this man's predicament or the comic book, whichever came first. Unfortunately, the conversation never advanced beyond this loop of words and I retreated to the children's section. Judging by the pitch and tone of the woman's voice on the other end of the phone, maybe I would prefer to be reading a comic book while talking to her too.

some new stuff

Here's the stuff I've done for the Gina Bachauer Jr. and Young Artists Piano Competitions. A couple of ads, posters, banners, program cover, web banners and t-shirt.