This is the Place Heritage Park

Pin It While Trent and I were in Utah last week we went to - This Is The Place Heritage Park.
It was so much fun. I haven't been there since Trent was just a baby, and, of course, he doesn't remember it so I really wanted to take him there.

There is so much more there now than there was just a few years ago - a really fun, interactive village.

Sidenote: It is located on Sunnyside drive in SLC right across the street from the Hogle Zoo and WAYYYYYY too close to U of U territory for Trent and I! We passed through campus and shot at the Utah signs with our "finger guns" as we drove along - Ha Ha!!!

What a goofball!

We loved looking at all the old homes. It was fun to have the people dressed up.
When we stopped at the barbershop he told us he had went to school and could cut hair or perhaps pull a tooth if we liked. We no likey!

I adored seeing all the wash on the line - although I am glad for my dryer.

Trent especially loved the animals. We spent alot of time with them.

There was an indian village where we explored different indian dwellings and he made an arrowhead necklace.

The hospital was fascinating with it's old fashioned tools like a hack saw - Ouch!
Also, it's rows of beds with quilts.

We stopped into the schoolhouse where Trent wrote his name on a slate and then with other children they stood and recited multiplication facts.

When the teacher discovered that Trent had forgotten his homework he had to sit in the front of the class with a Dunce cap on.

He said he would never forget it again!

A prospector named Digger allowed Trent to pan for gold on his land. Trent found quite a few nuggets which he was required to turn over to Digger, but Digger was a fair man and let Trent take home a few as pay for his work.

I love being able to spend one on one time with Trent and not being in a rush so he can enjoy some of the things he wants to do. It was a good day!

I know I promised never to do this again, Cherie...and this will be the last time...really; this time I REALLY mean it...

Media of the Week - The Beating of My Heart

Pin It There comes a time in each and every one of our lives when we find ourselves eating our words.

For me, that day is today.

I’m sure you remember – a year or two ago – when I talked about chick flicks. Heck, I even went on to write a post about them over at Four Perspectives, talking about…let me see, how did I put it? Well, I think I told some of my friends that I’d rather gargle shards of broken glass - or something along those lines.

Well, today is the day I find myself taking back everything I ever said about chick flicks. You see, today is the day I was at the theatre and saw the trailer for The Beating of My Heart.

I have tried several times to put into words how I felt watching this at the theatre today, but to be honest…words just can’t do it justice. I nearly broke into tears at time code :38 when one of my favorite songs in the world came on, too.

With this I share with you today’s Media of the Week…a bit more serious than some of the past. I hope it touches you as much as it touched me.



Oh, and just so you know...I posted today over at Four Perspectives.

P.S. You probably realize that the poster and movie title both are fakes, btw. But I can't wait to see this movie...

Wordless Wednesday

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Vacation - Days 1-3 in a Nutshell

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The plane ride over was terribly long, but it was well worth it in the end. Since I only have a few minutes of time with wireless connection here, I thought I'd just give a few highlights of the trip thus far:

Day 1: Lunch at Mitchell's - it was fabulous.

We journeyed to the village outskirts, and I snapped a few photos:

My room for the first few nights:

The view:

More village days 2-3:

Lunch at the edge of the ocean at restaurants amid cobbled streets:

The castle tour:

Now, you're probably wondering...just how and why in the world did I decide to go to England. Well, I didn't. I'm not in England. I just found these images from various sites via the information superhighway. 

England is where I'd love to be.

It's always been my dream to visit.

I probably never will, though.

At the current moment, I'm in my Hyundai Santa Fe driving to Southern Utah, but don't worry, I won't experience anything like this:

I'll be checking in from time to time - I promise, Dad.

BTW, I am posting over at Four Perspectives today.

Messages from the Future

Pin It I was sitting in the kitchen, getting ready to enjoy a quiet dinner, when I heard a strange sound coming from the living room. Thinking of gremlins, prowlers, and other things that go bump in the night, I went to investigate and was surprised to find my printer whirring as it woke itself up from sleep mode. Something was going on; something strange was happening.

But I hadn’t printed anything.

And yet, as I stood there, a document was emerging from the printing tray.

I cautiously leaned over and took the sheet of paper from the out-tray, feeling the heat soak into my fingers as I gazed at the letterhead - which was oddly addressed to me.

What the heck?

Well, one should always listen to their future self, right? After all, they probably know exactly what they’re talking about.

I also took the copy of Toy Story 3 over to my neighbor – with whom I share a wireless network. Funny though, he wasn’t at all surprised that I was bringing it over. I can only assume that I must have faxed him from the future as well…

Man, but I’m considerate.

April Fool's Day - The Prank (A Bit of a Repost)

Pin It It was 4:30 in the morning one year ago tomorrow that I woke up with a fiendishly clever idea. This idea was so brilliant that I couldn’t help but begin work and keep going until school was nearly ready to begin at 8:20. I wanted it to be awesome.

You see, one year ago tomorrow it was April Fool’s Day, and I had decided that I wanted to play a little prank on my class. I had never played a practical joke on my whole class before (at least that I can remember) and I thought that I’d do one this particular year.

Why? Just because.

So, I did a little research.

Classroom 18 - The Prank

Pin It It was 4:30 in the morning two months ago that I woke up with a fiendishly clever idea. This idea was so brilliant that I couldn’t help but begin work and keep going nearly until school was nearly ready to begin at 8:20. I wanted it to be awesome.

It was April Fool’s Day two months ago, and I decided to play a little prank on my class. You see, I’ve never played a practical joke on my whole class before (at least that I can remember) and I thought that I’d do one this year.

Why? Just because.

I did a little research.

It seems that back in 1976 an astronomer, Patrick Alfred Moore, pulled a prank on BBC radio listeners. He stated that as Pluto passed behind Jupiter, it would cause decreased gravity temporarily on Earth.

Hundreds of people were completely faked out. It was brilliant.

I decided to recreate the hoax—after all—I’m all about keeping things green and recycling whenever possible. Also, this idea was much too good to NOT use.

I copied the HTML code from the Wikipedia as well as the NBC website. I put this code into Dreamweaver (my webpage creation software) and began to rewrite portions of the sites…after all I wanted it to look real.

I changed the dates, added information, and made the Wikipedia site not state anywhere in it that this was a hoax which happened in 1976, but rater a late-breaking story which had been on the 11 o’clock news the night before; therefore, many of the students may not yet had heard of it. Since these sites were not ‘live’ but rather clever imitations, I had to use only my computer.

I had these webpages already pulled up on the Promethean as the kids came in that morning and it went from there.

I could tell you all about the experience, explaining it brilliantly, but I think it would be better to show you what truly happened.

Just know that you are coming in about 5 minutes into the actual joke. I thought it a bit too long to keep the portion of ‘the setup’ about website accuracy, having multiple sources to check and recheck information, and the explanation about time zones.

I love it.

And yes, the parents all signed consent forms for this to be posted online; when it comes to embarrassing their offspring, it seems that parents are just awesome like that.

If I Were A Woman

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If that title didn’t catch your attention, I don’t know what will. In fact, already in my mind’s eye I can see my dad catching his breath as the title of the post shows up in his reader, and his heart skips a beat.

No dad, it’s nothing like that.

For the past several years I’ve had this idea. It’s a perfectly, awfully wonderful idea, too. You see, back in 1983 master storyteller, Roald Dahl, published a delightfully horrible book, The Witches. It’s a story that starts out giving a warning to children about witches and how they are indeed real.

Dahl goes on to give a set of helps so that children can recognize these witches who walk among us. Of the things he says to look for, he lets the reader know that witches are completely bald, and must therefore wear wigs to hide this fact. He lets us know that witches have to scratch their heads continually because these wigs are so itchy. He tells the reader that witches have no toes, and therefore will often wear shoes without points to them, or will be forced to cram their feet into pointy shoes that are quite uncomfortable. He mentions that witches have long, curved fingernails and they hide this fact by wearing gloves. And lastly, he tells us that witches will often crinkle their noses when around children because children smell like dogs’ droppings to them.

Brilliant says I.

The story goes on with the following:

For all you know, a witch might be living next door to you right now. Or she might be the woman with the bright eyes who sat opposite you on the bus this morning. She might be the lady with the dazzling smile who offered you a sweet from a white paper bag in the street before lunch. She might even — and this will make you jump — she might even be your lovely schoolteacher who is reading these words to you at this very moment. Look at that teacher. Perhaps she is smiling at the absurdity of such a suggestion. Don't let that put you off. It could be part of her cleverness. I am not, of course, telling you for one second that your teacher actually is a witch. All I am saying is that she might be one. It is most unlikely. But — and here comes the big "but" — it is not impossible.

Can you already see the brilliantly, brilliant idea which had formed in my head?

Of course you have. For you also my friend, are nefarious.

Could I just tell you that if I were a female schoolteacher that I’d start the school year off wearing gloves every day? Could I share with you that I’d scratch my head all the time, and try to look like I were being secretive about it? Might I share that I would act like I were around a skunk when standing next to one of my students? Could I let you know that I would wear the most ugly shoes I could possibly find?

Oh, the deviousness of me.

Then, after the first week of school, I’d start read-aloud time; The Witches would be the very first book I would read to them. When I reached the part about the possibility of their teacher being a witch, but how it is most unlikely, I’d laugh—something akin to the Wicked Witch of the West. I’d tell them that it was absolutely absurd—the idea of therereally being anything such as witches. Then I’d scratch my head with my gloved fingers and crinkle my nose.

I’d love to teach second grade just for this.

I know; I’m a terrible person.

Image garnered from geeksofdoom.com

Talk about Coolness

Pin It I had no idea that technology had reached this level of awesomeness. I mean, I’m not surprised at just how many advances we’ve been able to make as a species over the years, but I felt that this was something worthy of notice. After all - being a photographer, I am always interested in just about anything that is photography, and the invention of a camera which works through the medium of a computer?

Too, too awesome.

I really wanted to add the codes for the whole system into blogger, but it was far too advanced and the post was a jumbled mess. To alleviate this problem I added the necessary code to my school website. It worked there because I use a much better web creation software than blogger utilizes.

So, if you wanted to try out the beta version of this online camera, you can do so HERE.

I am excited for the day when the bugs are worked out of the beta version, and is available on a much more grand scale than right now…

Enjoy.

Vandalized

Pin It I was standing in my classroom after school had ended. The call came from the office saying that something had happened to my car.

My heart constricted in my chest, and I found myself gripping the phone rather tightly.

“Vandalism?” I asked incredulously.

My principal immediately began to clarify. “It’s nothing bad. In fact, it’s something good. You need to get outside before it’s ruined though.”

Good vandalism? Ruined? How odd, I’d never heard of that before.

I hung up the phone, grabbed my camera, and headed out. So just what was it that met my wandering eyes?








I guess somebody thought that I was down due to my post last night. I wasn’t—really. It was a post about something…good. About not giving in, and moving to fresh waters. It was about newness & hope. It was about others’ needs, and not being willing to give up on them…no matter how terrible the waves, and how many times I’m buffeted by the winds of change.

Refusing defeat.

It was while writing last night that I decided to listen to music I’d not heard in a long time…it was this which led my questing mouse to The Weepies. As I was listening to their music, “The World Spins Madly On” came over the speakers. At once I found myself lost amidst the chords and harmonies. I was thinking what a wonderful song this was, and how I wanted to just share it with my blogging friends. I didn’t think of the ramifications of the song along with the poem, until I started to get a few emails and postings about life becoming better.

To whomever it was (and I have my suspicions) who ‘vandalized’ my car today—thank you. The gesture was duly noted—as well as appreciated. Just remember, good things always come baack to us. Dear friend, I thank you—whoever you are.

I especially enjoyed the Dr. Pepper. Just the doctor everyone needs, no matter what kind of day they’re having.

The ultimate gift

Pin It I was having dinner with some friends last night, when the topic of photography came up. As the conversation progressed, I bought up the calendar I’d made for my family on the Christmas of 2004.

I remember that Christmas was approaching, and I wanted to give my family something they could use all year long….but what could it be? As I thought about what gift I would like to give, I decided that a calendar would be great. However, instead of merely buying a calendar, I decided to create one.

After some careful thought, I decided that each month would be an advertisement for something. To be honest, I had no idea what any of these items would be at the outset. However, after some time and careful thought, I set out with my ‘brother,’ Jesse, to see what could be created.

On a side note, not too many people really realize the scope of this calendar and just how long it took to create. That is, until you know a little bit about my family. Those who understand that statement I just made realize that this project was a huge undertaking.

Now, for your viewing pleasure (should you decide to stay and take a gander) I present some of my favorite images from the calendar made some four years ago.

P.S. As I look back on these images I realize that if I were to redo it all again today, they would be much better. However, with time comes experience, and with experience comes mastery.

Enjoy these for what they’re worth…