Goodbye Benny

I went fishing today. That's right, fishing. Whats that? You didn't know that I fish?? Well indeed I do! Not very often, in fact it is probably only once every 2 years or so, but I do indeed fish! Today was an especially excellent fishing day. I caught... wait for it... prepare to be amazed... 2 FISH! I am not even kidding you!!! It was amazing. The first fish was a beautiful little trout. He let me hold him which I thought was very kind. Unfortunately for this fish, his name is Benny, he caught the hook right on the roof of his mouth. Trying to get it out was no walk in the park. When we were finally able to extract the hook, he had a pretty mighty gash. I gently laid him back in the water (i'm a catch and release kind of girl) but instead of swimming away he sort of just sunk underneath a rock... Um.. Benny? Benny? BENNY!!!! Oh the horror!! The sadness! The overwhelming grief!!!!!! I massacred this poor innocent creature! Benny please, I didn't mean it! I just wanted to hold you for a second! I was only trying to teach you not to take the bait! You weren't supposed to die! I was told that we would probably have to take him home, because it looked like he wasn't going to make it. And so, I left him there under that rock where I could see his little trout tail and I fished on.

Was that heartless of me? Was it cruel of me? To have just slaughtered an innocent creature for sport, and then cast my line once again in hopes of catching another? Yes it might have been heartless and cruel, but dangit it's also really exciting and fun! And to reward me for this inhumane act, I immediately caught another!!! Now this next fish was a real beaut. I mean, wow. I had seen a few like it swimming around earlier. And I wanted to catch on sooo bad! Why? Because. It was yellow. Yes, yellow. Like the sun. Or an egg yolk. Or a fish. Like this one. SUCCESS!! This fish caught on so fast, it was like it was destiny! But I wasn't going to have another episode like Benny. So I carefully reeled him in, and let him swim around some so that he wouldn't exhaust himself and die. The moment came when I was going to lift him out of the water and get my victory photograph. Alas, it was not to be. As soon as I lifted this gorgeous ray of sun, he flipped over and unhooked himself!! He slammed back into the water and in two shakes of a lambs tail he was off! Never to be held by my sweet hands...

Because you don't believe me, I drew a picture of the moment.

Well after that extremely disappointing occurrence we decided it was best to head home. So I went to gather Benny so I could take him home for a little supper. Please imagine this next part as I try to explain. I could see Benny's tail and under side where I had left him beneath a rock. He was floating belly up. I knelt down on a rock in a very precarious position that was not stable in any way and reached out to grab him. I plunged my hand and the better part of my arm into the ice cold water and grabbed hold of his tail, and to my utter astonishment, he jerked away! Benny was alive!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! How could this be? He's been floating like this for a good fifteen minutes! I grabbed a hold of him again, determined that he must be mine and he must come with me, but again he jerked and flopped and slipped right out of my grasp, wriggling himself deeper into the water and further underneath this rock. It came to the point where I could no longer see or feel Benny. And so, with a heavy heart, I left him there. Probably to die. Please don't tell anyone that. There was nothing I could do. I tried to help him. I tried to free him. But Benny was a naughty fish. Anyways. That is my adventure for the day.

Maiden Voyage

I can hear the question ringing through your minds.

What the devil is this contraption?

No fear, it is just my most recent adventure.

Okay so here is what went down. I was, to my everlasting joy, invited to attend a certain boating party. Yes, boating party. Can my life get any more Nautical? Well, yes actually it could if I could some how find a way to actually go sailing or find a sail boat. But I digress. So I was invited to this party by a friend. He informed me that he had been building a boat of sorts out of spare pieces of who knows what out at some farm (I know, great details). Well the time had finally come to reveal this boat contraption to the world and set sail on her maiden voyage! So, naturally I was down to join in.

Friday arrived. We went to this farm place where the boat had been built and prepared to set sail on a small pond located on this guy's property. Well the boat was looking quite fantastic I must say. The picture above is the uncompleted version. Please imagine that with some fresh silver and green paint (Slytherin? Wow just made that connection.) and a pirate flag. Yeah. Pretty impressive.

Well we (there were 11 of us at this point) all piled into this boat. I know, I know, it doesn't look possible. But it was!! It was a little scary at first because we weren't exactly sure if we were going to sink or not. The water came pretty close to spilling over into the tubs a few times. I had faith though. We paddled around (with snow shovel oars) for a while and really just basked in all of the gloriousness. Until I got the most massive sliver of my life!!!!!!!!!!!!!! AH! My poor little Left Pinky. It did nothing to deserve this harsh punishment. It was just holding on, trying not to let the rest of my body fall out into this green, possible toxic, pond water. Oh how it pained me! I tried to dig it out, but it was too deep. So I relied on trusty Tyler, and his quite impressive skills with a pocket knife to dig it out. Crazy? Yes. Painful? Yes. Terrifying? Yes. Please, everyone, don't freak out. I didn't lose the pinky. Tyler masterfully dug out the sliver. He didn't cut me or anything! The pinky is recovering quite nicely.

The Maiden Voyage was quite successful I would have to say. It made for an extremely entertaining Friday night, which I shall not be forgetting anytime soon.

Boats, Melons, and the Adventure of a Lifetime

So I went to FHE last night, excellent decision, and when I got there I discovered that we were making watermelon boats! Yes, thats right, boats. Out of watermelons. And then we were going to race them down the creek!! Imagine my excitement. It was extreme. So my team, which consisted of me, Kristi, Loryn and Tom decided to fashion our boat after our current sailing obsession. Hence the creation of the SS Nautica.

But the story doesn't end there. Oh no. You see, we had some worthy opponents such as 'Craig' a vessel created after the manner of the Jaredite ships that were built "tight like unto a dish". Craig was fashioned with a giant spear that had the blood of a thousand slain men on its tip (Graphic! This story is rated PG). After our ships were painted and ready to sail we all set forth to the creek to meet our destinies. We lowered our boats into the water and watched in awe, horror, and excitement as they were swept away by the current. The race was on!

The sun had almost dipped below the horizon at this point. We searched frantically for the SS Nautica as it battled the ferocious waves and rocks. As we stared after her, she was suddenly submerged in a wave! She popped up a few moments later completely flipped over! NOOOOOO!!! My boat, my beautiful boat, was being eaten alive by the vicious creek! Ha! Never fear! SS Nautica was triumphant! She managed to right herself once again, her sail flowing courageously in the evening light. Onward she steamed to the victory line! Up ahead, Craig was beating its opponents down with its mighty spear. This devilish vessel was not to be messed with. Neck in neck with another ship, it suddenly thrust its spear and pushed the other boat out of the way! The SS Nautica was catching up fast, but alas, the victory line was all too soon, and the Craig passed through in first place, leaving the SS Nautica to take third.

It might sound unimpressive, but I assure you, it was indeed a grand victory. The other boats were lost to the dangers of the creek, never to cross the finish line. Only three boats made it out alive that day... And to be perfectly honest they didn't exactly make it out because we never retrieved them. So to this day, they race onwards. Battling to cross that victory line. Sails blowing in the wind. Forever.

Oh the Madness of March!

Happy Thursday! Oh how miraculous and nautical the day has been! Recently, the crew has devised a simple dress code for the days of the week. It is actually more of a guideline. Don't know what to wear today? Oh well no worries, we've got it figured out for you.

Sunday: Please shower today and actually do your hair. Dress nicely.

Monday: Ready-roll! (No shower required) *for those of us who do not believe in not showering, you may wear Argyle on Mondays*

Tuesday: Tie-Dye!

Wednesday: Whatever!

Thursday: Nautical! (Basically anything with stripes or the primary colors)

Friday: Fun!! (RULE: DO NOT WEAR BLACK. BLACK IS NOT FUN. BLACK IS DEATH)

Saturday: Solids! (Or stripes... I think I want to wear stripes)

So basically just follow this simple weekly pattern and you will never have to decide what to wear ever again. Dang our crew is helpful.

Also, I would like to let you know that after today, Mustache March is officially over. So guys (and ladies) pull out those dusty razors and shave away!! YAY!!!! I have to admit, I have fancied the many wonderful mustaches sported by my friends, acquaintanceships, and the complete strangers around Cedar City. I will miss some of them as I would a dear friend or an old teddy bear. But not really. Until next March, bon voyage.

Lorayne and I have had many an adventure this month, the most noteworthy being the fabulous Festival of Colors! What's that? You don't know what the Festival of Colors is?? Well my dear friends... Google it. Seriously, I don't want to explain! ha! But I will say this: Oh they joy! The sights, the sounds, the smells! Okay for the most part, the smells were not so great. The powder darn-right stunk. But it was tons of fun to throw at one another. I am proud to say that my hair did indeed turn pink from the experience. I am working on fixing that slight complication.

Until next time, adventure on my people. Adventure on.

V-Day

So for the first time, I am doing this instead of Staci.

Would you like to know why?

It's definitely because she is going to have a fantastic Valentines (and she doesn't even know it)! I love being in the know--being the best friend the boy comes for advice to. Totally dig it. Anywho, she is probably coming home to a surprise right now.

And so I am going to celebrate today by remembering all of the people I love and how happy they make me.

I love you all very much! And wish you the best day ever.

Hello dear friends. It is to the great and wonderful Ms. Laura Corry that I dedicate this post. Without her, twould not have come to pass!

Let me recap the past week for you all.

Sunday:

• I make a triumphant return from my birth place, West Point, to my home Cedar City. It was a wonderful evening of reunion and rejoicing.
• Lorayne's wonderful little brother got me a nerf gun. I was very excited.

Monday:

• I return to work from the lovely Christmas holiday recess. Upon my return I discovered that the kids I nanny for hit the jackpot on presents this year. Among their plunder was Lego Harry Potter, Lego Star Wars, and Lego Indiana Jones. For the Wii of course. And so begins my obsession with video games.
• Set up the nerf gun. Unleash the madness. Battle number 1.
• True Grit with Logi. Wonderful.
• Zombies

Tuesday:

• Lego Harry Potter.
• Battle 2, 3, and 4.
• Play catch at the park with my baseball mitt that I have had since I was probably 7 but never actually used...
• Zombies

Wednesday:

• Lego Harry Potter (we beat year 1! Yeah eat that Professor Quirrell!!)
• Battle 5.
• Purchase and watch Seinfeld season 1.

Thursday:

• Lego Harry Potter.
• Set up Darth Vader (cardboard cutout), 10 books, and 5 DVDs all over room for targets. Commence operation take-out. I freaking dominate with this nerf gun.
• Draw a dinosaur. Repeat drawing of the dinosaur. Once again draw the same dinosaur. (The dinosaur was for a vest that we are making for a friend. No, he is not a child. He is a grown man.)

Friday:

• Lego Harry Potter. I faced Tom Riddle today. Unfortunately I was unsuccessful (does anyone know how to defeat a basilisk in Lego form?). You win this time Voldy.
• Continue operation take-out.
• Play with dinosaur vest (the one on the left pocket won).
• Write blog.

Saturday:

• Well Saturday hasn't happened yet. But I imagine it will be filled with fun and adventure. Krispi is coming home so that is a guaranteed celebration!!

Well that's it folks. My wonderful week all summed up for ya.