Friday Funny

Nostalgia

I went out with two friends last night after our YW activity. My friends are 10 years younger and had a different growing up experience in pop-culture than me. I was a teen in the 80's when they were just kids!! We were discussing different trends and fashions and I brought up the shampoo called "Gee Your Hair Smells Terriffic."

Do you remember that?

My friends didn't.

I tried to describe the goofy ads, but that is something you have to see to get the whole effect. So today, I tried to find one and had no luck. Too bad. That would have been fun to see.

Instead, I found these. Enjoy the walk down memory lane:


(As a teen, I LOVED these ads with David Naughton. He was soooo cute!!)

June or January?

Today is June 11.

It's snowing and 36 degrees.

They are having a sweltering heat wave on the East Coast, walking around in shorts, t-shirts and flip flops. Air conditioners are running over time.

I have to get out the winter coats and I turned the gas fireplace on. We'll be staying indoors today.

I think I'm ready to move to NYC. I'm tired of winter.

Got It?

First Kiss

A friend of Aly's recently came over to visit and delightedly confided to me, "I had my first kiss!!" She was so excited. (Wild horses will never get me to reveal the true identity of this girl!!)

As she told me the particulars (who, where, etc.) it took me back many many years to my own first kiss. Fortunately for all of us here today, I won't divulge the gory details of that moment because they were truly horrible. (Calvin was not my first kiss.)

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I mean it... HORRIBLE!!!

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In fact, I try not to talk about that period of my life, except under certain conditions. I had a lot of embarrassing moments that year -- I wrecked my parent's car while driving the boy I liked around; I had a man expose himself through the living room window of a house where I was babysitting; and this kissing thing...

However, talking to my young friend made me think about other people -- what was your first kiss like? Was it horrible like mine? Was it the coolest thing ever -- like my friend? Was it scary? I think we all have "First Kiss" stories and they are all different.

For those of us growing up watching shows like Brady Bunch, we envisioned our first kiss to be soft, romantic and oh so .... safe. You remember Marsha's first kiss don't you? It was Desi Arnaz, Jr.!

"I'll never wash this cheek again!" she declared as she walked through her house in a daze.

(Don't forget Bobby's first kiss!! He thought he caught the mumps from Mary Ingalls! I guess that's not exactly safe is it?)

Several years later, the kisses weren't so safe as we watched Cory and Topanga swab each other's tonsils week after week after week....

A few years after that all bets were off as our daughters watched "stars" like Brittany Spears and Lindsay Lohan (among others) make out with anyone of any gender. (Notice the change of verb: "to kiss" is now "make out")

Ahhh.... the loss of innocence! At least here, in my little safe corner of the world, there are still some Marsha Brady moments available!!

Our Trip with Pictures

We're back from our week in Oregon!! We had a great time. It was so nice to go back and visit. It really felt like home.

After we left the Portland area, we drove over to Newport (on the coast) where we used to live. We were sad that we only had about 24 hours to be there (okay, LESS!!), but we fit in as many activities as we could. There was a ward activity for the graduating seniors the night we were there, so we were excited to go and catch up with old friends.

When we left Newport, Calvin decided that he wanted to save money and drive all the way home... a fourteen hour drive IN ONE DAY!!! On the way, I kept pointing out cheap motels (like Motel 6), saying, "That's only $50 a night!" but he was determined to sleep in his own bed. We rolled into town at 3:30 a.m. and stumbled into bed at 3:45. It was good to sleep in my own bed.

Here are a few pictures I took on our trip:

Multnomah Falls in the Columbia River Gorge

Aly & Adam at the zoo in Portland

Aly & her cousin Keara.

Aly & Adam with the reflection of the Portland Temple in the pool

Aly loves Oregon!!

We stopped for a family photo along the road to the coast.

We had to watch the sea lions in the Bay. Adam loved it!!

The Yaquina (Ya - KWIN- uh) Bay Bridge in Newport.

Calvin (I Love this photo!!)

Calvin & Adam follow the outgoing tide.

This is as far out as Aly would go.

My favorite lighthouse ... EVER!! The Yaquina Head Lighthouse.

The olbigatory photo that proves that I was on the trip. It was very cold with gale force winds. Who cares? I was on the coast!!!

(For even more photos... 170 to be exact... click here. Of course, you won't know most of the people in them, so you might not want to!!)

Sloshy Greetings

Finally! A minute to log on and say hello!

We are here in bright, sunny, Portland Oregon!

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Well, I wouldn't go straight to bright....

And I wouldn't go straight to sunny.....

But we are in Portland.

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The weather has been less than stellar, but we didn't expect anything else. After all, this is the Pacific Northwest. It doesn't get beautifully green and lush all by itself!

We lived here for 6 years right after Aly was born, so we are somewhat prepared for the weather. Actually, it almost feels like home. If it was bright and sunny I'd think that we made a wrong turn in Boise and driven to Southern CA or something. No, this is the way it's supposed to be.

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We've had a nice trip so far. All but two members of Calvin's family have been here... 37 people in all!!! That's a lot of people!! I'm not sure the city will still be standing when we leave, but if it is, it's not our fault. We did our best to leave our mark.

For us personally, it has been fun driving around, re-visiting our old haunts and trying to remember how to get to different places. I am happy to know that I can still drive in big-city traffic. I got used to driving in small-town Idaho and I thought I'd have a melt down on the freeway system here. At first I did... it was white knuckle driving all the way to Calvin's sister's house, but after that first day, it all came back to me. I have been driving by "feel". I don't remember specific streets or their names, but I feel which way I need to turn and which direction I need to go to get certain places. I have had a BLAST!!

We took the kids to the zoo... which was horribly disappointing. There were no big cats (including Meerkats) or crocodiles, the giraffe was put away, the rhino and hippo were asleep, and the elephant was banging on the doors to be put back inside. The orangutang was hiding in a burlap sack and the elk were sleeping in the tall grass. Oh yeah, and I paid $20 for lunch -- 4 hotdogs and 3 bottles of water!!! I could complain, but I won't. It was a fun day spent with the kids and the sun came out and warmed us while we were there.

We came because one of Calvin's sisters has two sons graduating from high school. It's a great reason to get together and celebrate. Both boys also earned their Eagle Scout ranking, and it was great to be there to watch them receive that award. They have grown up to be fine young men (and very cute!!) and we're very proud of them and their choices in their life!!

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We decided -- very last minute -- to go to Newport on the coast tomorrow. We had planned on going further north (Seaside), but we decided to visit friends in this beautiful coastal town where we once lived. (Laura, if you read this before I call you, consider this your warning!! WE'RE COMING!!)

We are looking forward to showing Adam the joys of coastal living: watching the sea lions at the Bay Front, going tide-pooling at low tide, wading in the freezing cold Pacific Ocean. Maybe he and Calvin can even have a big bowl full of Mo's Clam Chowder!! (Me? I don't go near the stuff!!!)

Aly is looking forward to seeing her friends. She is planning on going to mutual with them tomorrow night. I think she wouldn't mind if we just left her there.... forever.

We love Oregon and we love visiting. If push came to shove, and I had to move, this would be the first place I'd choose to move to.

(I forgot camera cables, so I'll post some pics when we get home!)

(Be prepared!! I have taken over 220!!!)