One Fourth of July down, one to go (7/7/08)

So in a week's time my companion will be heading home and I will be spending P-day in a temporary threesome with Elder H. and Elder M. [pronunciation]. Elder H. and I were in the MTC together. He has a tendency for threesomes. Last transfer he killed off his companion and therefore was in a threesome here, and in the MTC his companion had to take the bus with a Spanish elder (who has since gone home),[1] so he was in a threesome with me and my companion. Elder B. will leave immediately after church to go to Spokane and fly out the next day. I will get my new companion on Tuesday. Everyone has been telling me I would train, but we had interviews on Thursday and I didn't get that vibe from President C., which is a good thing. He told me not to worry about taking over the area, but I am worried. I know it will be fine, though. It's just hard with Elder B. having been here since November, and him being such a good missionary. Every door's been knocked on, everyone on the ward list's been contacted, all the potential and former investigators have been met--I'm not sure what I'll do.

I found something interesting in the scriptures this week. In Zechariah 11:13 is a prophecy on the Savior. In the beginning of Matthew 27 that prophecy is fulfilled. However, in verse nine it says it is fulfilling the prophecy of Jeremy, not Zechariah. This means one of two things. Either someone goofed up at some point with who prophesied, or else Jeremiah prophesied the same thing but we don't have it recorded today. I find the latter to be more likely, as the JST still mentions Jeremy, and though I haven't read Zechariah yet, Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel all had many similar prophecies to each other. Either way, it is an indication of the incomplete nature of the Bible. I don't know how so many people accept it as the complete, infallible "Word."

The Fourth of July was OK. It was P-day. The other elders played basketball for a while (I am completely incapable of anything involving a ball, so I don't even try), and then we had dinner in the mansion of the bishop of the other ward (we spent the day with two other elders), then went to a park to meet some recent converts but they weren't there. We watched a few fireworks from our house after we had come home and changed. Being out in the night air dressed like that felt really good. I won't be able to do it again, though, until 2010.

So I'm kind of all over the place today. This week on exchanges we stopped by a part-member family whose records weren't here (they might be now) and they fed us dinner.[2] I do think one day the husband may be baptized, but not for a long while.

And my randomness has run out for now.

Love,

Elder Melville

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[1] When I was in the MTC, we saw an elder who looked like he was forty. It turned out he was going to our mission as well, but he was speaking Spanish instead of English. He was a 23-year-old convert from Mexico. After I had been in the field for approximately four months, I went on an exchange with a Spanish elder, and we visited a member where the Spanish elders lived. The member talked about this Elder G., who had already returned home, and she said he had lots of problems. He had returned home early because of back problems. “Back problems” was often an excuse for other (sometimes bigger) problems.

[2] This is one of the memorable moments of my mission. We had tracted into a man one day who said his wife’s family were all Mormon, and he said we could come back for dinner sometime. A few weeks later, on July 2, I was on exchanges in my area, and I didn’t know exactly what to do. We had our dinner break, but neither of us felt like eating dinner. I decided to go back to the house where we were, and the wife answered and let us in. She happened to be making spaghetti for dinner, and she invited us to stay. It was a tender mercy that we hadn’t eaten dinner! It was a great visit, and a few months later she came to church with her son, I think. This is what my journal says about the incident: “We came home for dinner, but Sister K.’s relatives were upstairs, so we got water and went downstairs. I was looking at the potentials sheets, enjoying the cool and resting, so I didn’t eat dinner. . . . Then we saw Dan and Shawna, a PMF we tracted into, and they fed us dinner. She doesn’t want her records here. We’ll probably ask the members at the end of the street to work casually with them.” Shawna’s records did move into the ward.

July 6

I'm going to remember what I can about two days after Independence Day, July 6.

2014. After writing my blog for the day, I went to a ward prayer at the lawn of Regency Apartments. I stayed a long time talking with people. There was a nineteen-year-old girl who was a little awkward who asked why I majored in English language if I didn't talk much. One guy was wearing a flag tie similar to one I own, but I wasn't wearing it because the Fourth of July was over.

2013. We got up early in the morning in California to leave with my three nephews and my sister-in-law. We stopped at a rest area in the Sierras to eat breakfast. My parents had bought large Costco muffins but I didn't eat them. I had a throat problem, which meant I had to drink a lot, which meant I had to stop a lot. We stopped at a rest stop that I remembered from the previous Christmas Eve, and later we stopped at a really gross rest area, and Preston even said, "That bathroom was gross, huh Uncle Mark." The boys were good on the trip, but later on, Preston was teasing Nathaniel, making him scream. I looked back at Nathaniel and told him not to scream and he made an adorable face in response. My mom asked Preston not to make him scream. At one point I had facetiously said I stunk because I hadn't showered; Franklin said, "Uncle Mark's stinky," and Nathaniel said I was "inky." At one rest area near the Utah/Nevada border, I read a sign near a trail that said there were snakes and scorpions, and I wanted to see a scorpion. Nathaniel needed to stop near Tooele. As we were getting close, Sue called my mom and asked where we were. We had just barely arrived at our house when Sue and her family showed up--we were still unloading the car. Chancey came and was eating some of our grapes and giving them to Nathan; Jesse said to him, "Why are you eating their food?" Ya-ping shared the nectarines she had bought in California with Lisa and others.

2012. Apparently I took a French test. Some of my "horse" friends invited us to a surprise party for Scott Boyce, who was going to be our roommate in the fall. I was debating whether I wanted to go, since he scared me. My roommate Bryton and I did go over. Someone picked up Scott from his job at Red Robin because he didn't have a car and had to bike home. After he got there, someone asked if he knew what was happening; he said it did seem a little suspicious.

2011. I would have gone to my history and archaeology classes, but I don't specifically remember them.

2009. We had to go up to a meeting in Moscow, Idaho, to meet our new mission president. The Palmers introduced themselves to us and then let us ask them questions. My former, evil companion Elder LaPratt asked him, "If you could meet one resurrected person [outside of the Godhead], who would it be?" President responded, "I've always had great admiration for the Prophet Joseph Smith." Elder LaPratt always tried to make the mission president think he was a good missionary (and a good person), even though he wasn't. This is my journal entry for the day:
"The first thing President Palmer said to me was, 'Are you happy?' which is just what President Clark always said. That was an enjoyable meeting. I'm just sad about my lack of mission I have left. Then we helped Brother Presnell, visited A.P. Jones, had dinner with the Bartschis, and tried to figure out stuff for the baptism at FHE. I'm stressed with everything we have to do now."

2008. I don't specifically remember this day, but this is my journal:
"Today Leslie brought her kids to church, indicating her commitment. We had a really good lesson with her. She said she was feeling the Spirit and she accepted the Plan of Salvation in its entirety. But Elder Bramall didn't transition to me, and I can't interject. It's sad to think about how I know I never will be a good missionary, no matter what I do. I won't be a bad one, I just can't be a good one.
"I also tipped my bike over. It was really embarrassing. I have a scraped knee and a sore thigh."

2006. Surprisingly, I wrote in my journal this day:
"Yesterday I got my AP test results. I only got 2s, in Biology and U. S. history. I expected to pass the history. I feel like an idiotic loser. Things have been crazy around here. Everyone's here, and so is Ya-ping's sister Shu-hua. Preston and Allie are so cute, but today they have been ornery. Preston's hair is hideously ugly, but they won't cut it."

Patriotic treats

If you read this blog, you undoubtedly know that I only eat candy and desserts that are seasonal. Seasonal treats abound at other times of the year, but for the Fourth of July, they are a little more rare. You never know what to expect from one year to the next; and even if a particular seasonal candy is made from year to year, you never know what stores will carry them. They're very inconsistent.

Therefore, I'm going to remember the patriotic desserts I've had in my life. Here is some basic information about this list:
1) This only includes things that I have personally eaten. I saw some patriotic candy corn the other day, but I haven't had them, so they're not on the list.
2) Some things on the list aren't strictly dessert, so I could eat them at any time (e.g. pretzels), but they are still fun to include.
3) The list refers mainly to pre-packaged goods. I'm excluding most bakery items (like sugar cookies) because there are always seasonal bakery items. (I think of the Killers lyric: "Red, white, and blue upon a birthday cake, my brother he was born on the Fourth of July.")

Many of these treats predate my seasonal eating rules, but I still remember them. (For those of you who are wondering, my eating habits got started in 2003, but they have evolved significantly since then, generally getting stricter.)

My favorite priority is unique flavors, followed by unique shapes and/or colors. Individually wrapped candies with seasonal wrappers count, but they're my least favorite kind of seasonal things.

Patriotic popsicles. Red, white, and blue popsicles are the one thing I can count on from year to year. They are made by multiple brands, and they aren't always marketed for the Fourth of July, so they're always around. I can eat any popsicles during June, July, and August, but these ones are funner. One noteworthy variation is Dairy Queen's Starkiss, which is shaped like a star and is striped.

Keebler rainbow cookies. Keebler's M&M cookies weren't originally made with M&Ms but with their own brand of chocolates. They had ones with red, white, and blue candies in the late 90s. I had them in 2012--they were marketed for the Olympics but I used them for the Fourth of July. This year, they use real M&Ms and are available at Target, and there are both regular and chocolate varieties.

Summer Oreo O's. Back in the late 1990s, there was a cereal called Oreo O's that had brown rings with white spots on it. One year, probably 1999, they changed the white spots to be red, white, and blue. This is the only time I have ever known of a patriotic cereal. Oreo O's no longer exist, so of course the summer variation does not.


Sno-Balls. You know the Hostess Sno-Balls, the chocolate cake covered with marshmallow and coconut? They usually come in two-packs, but in 2001 or thereabouts a Hostess store carried a three-pack with a red one, a white one, and a blue one. That's the only time I've ever known of them doing so. Before Hostess went out of business, they would change the colors (such as orange at Halloween and lavender at Easter), but I haven't seen them do it as much since they were resurrected.

After 9/11/2001, patriotic things became much more popular, and there was an abundance of patriotic things. In fact, I think some of the things that are still around today may have got their start then.

M&Ms. When I was a kid, I always wanted them to make red, white, and blue M&Ms, but it wasn't a reality until fall 2001. Since then, they have come back sporadically. I know I've had them in 2006, 2007, 2013, and 2015, but this year they're only available at Target, whereas they've been available elsewhere in the past. They come in both milk chocolate and peanut varieties.

Marshmallow Peeps. They made star-shaped Peeps after 9/11. I can't remember whether they were plain or vanilla flavored, but they were white with blue and red specks. They came back for a few Fourth of Julys, but they quit making them because they didn't sell well. In recent years, they've made vanilla-flavored traditional Peep (chick) shapes with the red and blue specks. I don't quite get it. I mean, chicks are still an Easter candy, and what makes them think chick-shaped candy will sell better at the Fourth of July than star-shaped candy?

E.L. Fudge cookies. In 2002 or 2003, there were patriotic E.L. Fudge cookies. These were truly unique--most patriotic candies simply change the colors, but these changed the shape instead. The elves were holding flags or patriotic signs.

Vanilla ice cream. In 2003, my mom bought vanilla ice cream that was colored red, white, and blue--like Neapolitan except it was one flavor. That's the only time I've known of patriotic ice cream.

Goldfish. Goldfish crackers are made red, white, and blue. I first had them in 2004, and I've had them every year since 2013.

American taffy. The Sweet's brand makes peppermint-flavored white taffy with patriotic wrappers. I know we had some in 2007. They used to come in boxes and bags. This year I saw them in bulk, and I got one in my 5k goodie bag this year.

Animal cookies. You know those pink and white, kind of waxy animal-shaped cookies? They used to make patriotic ones. In 2007, I had ones where the frosting had different colors, so there were white, red, and blue cookies. In 2010 and 2011, they were only white, but they had red and blue nonpareil sprinkles. I haven't seen them since then.

Little Debbie brownies. On my mission, in 2009, I saw various Little Debbie treats with a patriotic theme, and I got brownies. I haven't seen them since then.

Tootsie Rolls. These aren't my favorite, since once you take off the flag wrapper, they're the same brown candy, but they're fairly reliable from year to year. Shopko usually sells them, although I didn't see them this year, but I did get one in the goodie bag I got from my North Salt Lake 5k this year.

Tootsie Dots. In 2010 and 2011, I saw patriotic Dots. There were two kinds of Dots, and each Dot had two colors, a red and white one and a blue and white one. The white parts were vanilla, the red ones were cherry, and the blue ones were blueberry. I'm sad that they don't make them anymore, because they were some of my favorite candies. (The red and white ones are still made for Valentine's Day and Christmas, but the blue and white ones aren't otherwise around.)

Tootsie Roll Pops. One of my favorite patriotic candies, usually available at Shopko, are Tootsie Roll Pops. The red ones are cherry, the white ones are strawberry vanilla, and the blue ones are blue raspberry. I like these since the white and blue ones aren't available at other times. I think I've had them every year since 2010.

Blo-Pops. I've seen these in 2011 or 2012, but this is the first year I've had them. The red ones are cherry, the blue ones are raspberry, and the white are strawberry lemonade (which are really good). I'm not a big fan of gum-filled suckers, but I like them since patriotic candies are rare.

All-American Oreos. I've only seen these in 2012, and I don't know whether they were for the Fourth of July or the Olympics. They were the golden variety, and the creme was blue and red. They were plain flavors. They weren't the greatest, but I'm always sad to see Fourth of July desserts go.

Star-shaped Marshmallows. In 2012, I was really excited to see star-shaped marshmallows, and they were red (really pink), white, and blue.  Then I saw bigger ones. I've seen both sizes since then, but I usually get the big ones, since they're better for roasting, which is what you usually do during summer. However, I have occasionally used them on rare cold June days, since they allow me to have hot chocolate.

Pretzels. In 2013, I found pretzels that were shaped as flags, Liberty Bells, and stars. I haven't seen them since then.

Pop-Tarts. I first had patriotic Pop-Tarts in 2013. At that time, the pastry was red, the frosting was white, the berry filling was red, and the sugar sprinkles were red, white, and blue. I didn't see them in time in 2014, but in 2015 they're very different. The pastry is regular color, the frosting is blue with white star-shaped sprinkles, and the berry filling is still red. I think they've improved the flavor. (I'm not big on berry Pop-Tarts.)

Planters trail mix. In 2013 and 2014, I had patriotic Planters trail mix, made with peanuts, raisins, dried cranberries, red chocolate-covered peanuts, and blue and white chocolate pieces.

Patriotic Twizzlers. Walmart is the only store I've known to sell these patriotic Pull-and-Peel Twizzlers. Each strand is a different flavor; the white ones are lemonade, and the others are different berries. I've had them in 2014 and 2015.

Summer Ice Pop Tic-Tacs. Last year, there were red, white, and blue Tic-Tacs based on patriotic popsicles. The red ones were cherry, the white were lime, and the blue were berry. I haven't seen them this year. I have a feeling they may be the rarest of rare candies, so I'm lucky I got some last year.

Patriotic mints. At my 5k this week, I got a goodie bag with various mints. There was a dinner mint with a flag wrapper and some patriotic peppermint lozenge things. There was also a red, white, and blue striped candy stick, but it was some kind of fruit flavor and wasn't very good.

Caramel Cob. Caramel Cobs are basically large caramel popcorn balls shaped like a corncob. They put seasonal sprinkles on them. I had a Halloween one in 2012, and I saw patriotic ones in 2013, but I didn't have one until this year.

I always like seeing what will come out every year.

June 30, 2008-2014

June 30 is my mom's birthday, and a few years ago I made a post about the times when I saw her on her birthday, but I didn't include other years. This post will include all other memories I have of June 30--not just because of her birthday but as part of Fourth of July week.

2014. In the morning I was in my apartment doing work at my desk. I had a Facebook tab open, and I was shocked when my news feed showed that my old roommate Cameron had commented on a Buzzfeed article using the most unnecessarily profane language. I decided that during my lunch break, I would run my rent check over to Aspen Ridge Management, so I did so, and while running I was disturbed that the Cameron I knew apparently was not the real Cameron. Running the check and then taking a shower took me a bit longer than I had expected. Our apartment was getting painted, so I also had to pack up a lot of my stuff, which I would be taking home that night. I loaded up my car, and then that evening I headed up to a ward activity at a park in American Fork. I was wearing light blue shorts and a Fourth of July shirt. I wasn't sure if I was in the right place, but I saw my roommate Jordan playing tennis in a bright green/yellow shirt, so I knew that's where we were. I had lots of watermelon and a cheeseburger made with spicy cheese. Brother Clasby (who was about my age) complimented my shorts and said he had green ones. I was looking along the fence to see if there were any goatheads for me to pick, and I declined playing many of the sports. I remember talking to someone about what I did for work. At some point, they were saying that they thought San Francisco had originally been founded by Mormons. I thought they were confusing it with Las Vegas, but I didn't say anything because I didn't know. (It turns out they were somewhat, but not completely, right.) Then I left, and I walked by a Michaela Miller, but I didn't say hi. I drove home.

2013. We loaded up our cars to leave the cabins where we'd been staying in Kings Canyon National Park. Preston and Franklin wanted to ride with me and my parents. Nathaniel (who then was still called "Baby") initially wanted to go with us but then changed his mind and went with his parents. Preston was in the middle row with me and Franklin was in the back. Before we left the park, we drove to a place with a short hike. My dad and brother and I went further, going to a massive tree stump where early California folks held dances. I took my mom's camera but took blurry pictures. At some point that day, the boys wanted chips, and Franklin got really mad when I said he couldn't have Doritos because they would make him throw up. At one point, Preston and I were amused at Franklin's sleeping position.

My parents didn't believe in keeping the Sabbath holy on vacation, so we stopped at a fast-food place for lunch. It was discovered that Franklin had peed his pants; his mom asked him if he was asleep, and he admitted that he had been awake--he was apparently too shy to tell us. Ya-ping took the carseat out to dry in the sun. At another point we stopped at a gas station and my mom let the boys get candy. Preston wanted candy corn; my mom was skeptical that he would like it, but he really wanted it. He had fun sticking one candy corn into another. The boys used their travel DVD player to watch Batman cartoons and The Incredibles, which they were watching when we arrived at their house. Ya-ping made my mom a fancy pink cake for her birthday, but since it wasn't patriotic I couldn't eat it. I was sitting at their table doing something when a girl was dropped off by her grandma; she made some comments about her grandma being a little nitpicky, but she was essentially being raised by her grandma. David asked her how old she was and she said 15; she looked older than that. I pulled out my flashdrive and used it to post an essay for my blog that week. It took a long time on my dad's little pink laptop (the girl was using David's desktop computer). The boys wanted to watch a movie, and David recommended Spirited Away, which the teenage girl liked. The boys had an obsession with nipples, and one character was a vegetable-esque being, and Franklin said, "Nipples!" My mom said, "I think they're supposed to be roots on that guy," but she didn't realize that the character did have nipples in addition to the root structures. When the movie was over, David told them it was time to go to bed, and Franklin started crying, "But I didn't like that movie!" as though he was entitled to watch another movie because he didn't like that one.

2012. In the morning I went and took a Book of Mormon test; then I went to the electronic piano classroom and played some hymns, I think the patriotic hymns. When I was coming home, I found a goathead plant growing in the sidewalk near my house, so I plucked it up. I went in my apartment and showed it to my roommate Cameron. Then I took a small plate and a knife and began cutting its green seeds. I dusted our laundry room and found a hotel "key"--the card you use to get in the room. I considered returning it, but I realized I had no idea where it came from, as it could be from anywhere in the country. I started fasting, and my friend Kat knocked on the door. She had a cupcake with blue frosting and an American flag-wrapped Tootsie Roll on it. She said, "I saw this and I thought of you." I thanked her but told her I was fasting, but I would save it, so I put it on top of the fridge. She was leaving that night, so that was the last time I saw her until that December.

2011. I know I would have gone to my history class in the morning, but I don't specifically remember it.

2010. I think I had gone into the library to study for my Dinosaurs! class when I logged onto Facebook and shared this story, which I still find quite funny. (Most of my Facebook posts from 2010 make me cringe, but I like this one.)
"I thought my milk expired on July 10. Then I discovered it was actually June 27. What confused me was that there was a name on the milk (who knows why), and the name was JULIO, which looks very much like JUL 10."

2009. I think we got in late because we were teaching Nick Montez; hence I didn't write in my journal.

2008. I think I was on exchanges with Elder Major in East Wenatchee, and I think when a member picked us up to go to his house for dinner, Elder Major asked him whether ribbon or string floss was better, since the member was a dentist. They sent us home with some sort of Reese's dessert. Then I think we were tracting 11th Street. Elder Major wanted to talk to someone who was in his yard, but I knew that Elder Bramall (my companion) had already tracted that side and therefore likely talked to him already. The guy wasn't too happy to talk to us. We knocked on one door and this lady very happily said, "Would you join us for dinner?" We had already eaten, so she invited us to have chocolate cake, and Elder Major accepted. When people are that friendly, they are either (1) members or (2) trying to set you up for a bash. I looked around their house nervously trying to get clues. I saw a "House Rules" with Bible verses, which I have seen in Mormon houses, but that was all I saw. It turned out they were evangelicals wanting to bash, telling us what we believe about pregnancy and eternity and things. (Just because a past leader said some uncomfortable thing in the past doesn't mean that it's our doctrine or what we believe.) We left without any chocolate cake. I think when someone slammed the door on us, Elder Major laughed, but I wasn't as charitable. This is my rather melodramatic journal entry for the day:
"I hate exchanges. And I hate people who are wolves in sheep's clothing who want to bash. And I hate people who slam the door on you. And I hate biking in hot weather. And I hate losing my pant clip. And I hate realizing Elder Bramall is like Elder Chun because that means he hates me. Therefore, I wasn't too fond of today."

July 1-5, 2014

Memorial Day weekend has me thinking about patriotic holidays--specifically the Fourth of July, so I'm going to remember what I can about the Fourth of July last year.

July 1. I got up early and called my boss, and he told me he wanted me to create his Wikipedia page. He wanted me to look at other Mormon historians and pattern the page after theirs. I'd never done any Wikipedia work before, so I spent the day learning how to do it and writing his bio. That night I pulled down my bicycle and pumped up the tires, and I went biking. I biked near Lofty Lane in North Salt Lake and passed a family lighting fireworks. This is part of my journal entry for the day (parts of it have things I shouldn't put on the internet):
"I got up earlier than usual today because I needed to call Reid. He wants me to create his Wikipedia page, so I've been trying to do that.
"During my lunch break, I went to Winegar's. After work, I did some light organizing, then played some Nintendo.
"I almost went running, but then I decided to go biking instead. It was fun to be on a bike again. I had to get on the sidewalk to avoid some fireworks. Then I lifted weights, and then I watched Bewitched."

July 2. This might have been the day when I told my dad that a lot of the work I had been doing on Wikipedia had been lost. He said "Oh no" like it was a horrible thing, but I wasn't that worried about it. I was wearing my blue-and-white-striped socks with red stars when I went biking again that night. I went up to Gary Way via Centennial and went on David Way. I wasn't gone very long. My dad seemed disappointed I went for such a short time and said he wouldn't have closed the garage if he knew how soon I would come back. Late that night, my mom came home with my sister-in-law Ya-ping, my niece Allie, my three nephews, and Ya-ping's niece.


July 3. I was working from home, as usual. When I was working on the Wikipedia page, I got this funny Captcha image, so I put it on Facebook:

My aunt, Sue, was going to the zoo, so she invited my nephews to go to it. Preston and Franklin didn't want to go, but Nathaniel did, so my mom took him there. When she came home, she said that it was funny to see him shy when he met up with Peter. I reminded her that he was shy at first when we met them that summer but quickly warmed up. Later Peter came back with him, and it had taken him a very long time to get to our house because he got extremely turned around. As soon as he got to our house, Preston and Franklin became very noisy, so I had to go work in my room. Then Sue and Nicole and the babies Nathan "Wallace" and John "Bruce" came over to go up to the fireworks with us. At one point, I went downstairs and my mom and Susanne told me Nathaniel had been talking about his other moms. Susanne said, "How many was it he had? [Some number in the thousands]?" and Nathaniel chimed in, "And wifty," which we all found quite funny. We walked up to the fireworks, and I brought my patriotic Goldfish with us. Ya-ping made the boys take jackets, even though it was the middle of the summer, which I thought was ridiculous. We passed the Anderson house, and Sue stayed behind and talked with them. Preston was getting way ahead, even though he didn't know where we were going. At the top of the hill just as we enter the golf course, Franklin was bawling, and I think it was because Preston had hit him with his jacket and the zipper hit him in the face. I think Franklin's crying was excessive, but I told Preston he needed to be careful, and he gave some excuse I didn't entirely buy. After we had secured a spot on the grass, Nathaniel needed to go to the bathroom, so I took him. There were long lines, and he kept asking why it was taking so long. We had an interesting conversation, which went something like this:
"Why is the sun in half?"
"That's not the sun, that's the moon."
"Where did the sun go?"
"It went down already."
"Is the sun made out of fire?"
"Kind of." (Keep in mind that I was talking to a four-year-old.)
"Is it made out of lava?"
"Nope."
"Preston said it was made out of lava, but he was lying. Is the moon made out of fire?"
"No, the moon is made out of rocks."
"Why did they make it like that?"
"Because a really long time ago, in space, there were lots of pieces that stuck together and became rocks, and then lots of rocks stuck together and made the moon. And the earth."
"That happened a really long time ago?"
Allie met her friend Katy and played with her. We were missing "Wallace," so we assumed he had gone with Allie. A little later, Peter suddenly got up and ran over to catch Wallace, who was wandering on his own in a large group of people. When Allie came back to us, we said, "Did you know that Nathan followed you?" She said yeah, it apparently not having occurred to her that she should have made sure he was still with her, so we told her to be more careful. Susanne distributed glow sticks to us, and Nicole gave some Goldfish to John. We could hear distant music playing. One song was Pharrell's "Happy," and Preston said, "Why is the 'Happy' song from Despicable Me 2 so popular?" When Katy Perry's "Firework" was playing, we knew the fireworks would start soon. During the fireworks, Nathaniel got a little scared, saying, "They're getting woser [closer]!" He cuddled up to Sue for protection. Then when they were over, we walked home. I carried John in his stroller down the rocky hill.

July 4. That morning, Preston went outside and got stung by a wasp. He came inside and said he was stung; he looked at the sting and said he still had the stinger in him because he could see a little black dot. Ya-ping looked at it and also saw the dot, but I looked at it, and I said I thought it was just where some blood had filled in where he had been poked and then dried. Franklin said, surprised, "You know about science?!" I made a Facebook status that day that said, "I love America! But I don't feel that I have a right to say I'm proud to be American, because I didn't do anything to be American." Sue was at our house again and said she thought it was funny. I think she also complimented my flag socks. I invited the boys to watch a Fourth-of-July-themed movie, Rudolph and Frosty's Christmas in July, but initially only Preston wanted to. He asked me when it was made; I said 1980, and he said, "It's pretty good for its age." Later, the other boys came in. When the bearded villain Winterbolt flew in on his sleigh, and Rudolph said, "It's a sleigh all right, but it's not Santa," Nathaniel said, "It is Santa Claus!" I had to explain it just looked like him. At some point that day, our AC broke. My mom and Ya-ping had gone shopping, and I stayed with the boys. Franklin saw a Monopoly game in our closet, and he wanted to play it, but I said it would be hard and complicated, but we could try it. Well, both Preston and Franklin were distracted by watching cartoons, so I basically had to do everything, which was annoying and stressful. Franklin wanted to buy every property he could, but Preston didn't. At one point Franklin said, "I like this game. You said it was hard and complicated," and I thought it was weird he said that, since I was the one doing everything in the game. Mom and the girls came home with hot dogs and a watermelon. Ya-ping cut the watermelon the weirdest way I have ever seen. She put the Monopoly game away, which I had left out in case the boys wanted to continue playing, but she put it away hastily, and I had to go back and organize all the money again. That evening, she was on the patio talking to David, and I was lighting the fire pit to roast the last patriotic marshmallows with the boys. When I started the fire, it flared up, and Ya-ping gasped--then I heard her saying my nickname in Chinese on the phone, presumably telling David why she gasped. We had s'mores, but some of the boys just wanted marshmallows. That night we went to Susanne's house to light fireworks. The first ones were parachutes, and the boys were arguing over who got them, since some exploded or disappeared. Sue said she would take them and later that evening there would be a number-guessing game to see who got them. My mom said she was just going to tell them it didn't matter, but Sue's idea was to make them forget about it. (It worked.) Susanne's neighbors had huge fireworks. I shared my red, white, and blue Tic-Tacs with the boys and everyone else, and when I was waving my sparkler, I pretended I was conducting music. Then we went home and I got on my computer, listening to a few of my Fourth of July songs before bed. Here's my journal entry for the day:
"An OK Fourth. I stayed home most of the day. When the girls went shopping, I stayed home with the boys. Preston watched Rudolph and Frosty's Christmas in July with me. He asked how old it was, then said, 'It's pretty good for its age.' Then Franklin wanted to play Monopoly, which kind of stressed me out. Then I had to grill on the barbecue, because Pops was trying to fix the broken AC. Then we went to Nan's and lit little fireworks while her neighbors did big ones."

July 5. My family was going to a wedding for my first cousin once removed, and we stopped at Susanne's house beforehand. I, on the other hand, was going back to Provo. I found that my clip-on sunglasses had the plastic coating melt so that they had a permanent smudge on them. I got back to my apartment, which was a mess because it had just been painted. I decided to try out Spotify, so I downloaded the program and listened to some odds and ends. I think I was discovering how useful a tool it would be to find holiday music, and I listened to Ed Sheeran's "Sing."

New York, 2001

In keeping with the theme of the last few weeks, here's the last New York trip my family took.

My mom and I flew into Albany and rented a car, although I don't really remember the particulars.We would have driven up to Pulaski, where my grandparents were already at "the Pond," getting ready to sell the house after Grandma King's death. One night, my mom and I went to the local grocery store. We got cherry Twizzlers and one or two Pez dispensers. I think I got a Snoopy and a Peppermint Patty, but I don't know if I got them at the same time. The store also had cereal themed after the Atlantis Disney movie in theaters at that time.

One day, my grandparents, my mom, and I painted the metal of the dock. We had to get in the water to paint it, and so afterwards we went swimming in the pond. Suddenly my mom shrieked because something in the water had bit her.

Susanne called us; she had been in Mexico. She asked me if I still collected chess sets, because she had bought one for me. She had also gotten really sick from eating flan. After she came, I remember she said she would never eat it again, but my great-aunt Mary Lou said it was sooo good. (I don't like it.)

I had brought some Fourth of July magnets, so I asked Grandma if I could put them on the fridge. She said I could.

One day, my mom and grandparents went to the Palmyra Temple. I went to Hill Cumorah instead. I hiked it a couple of times (with a Pez dispenser in my pocket; I think I was wearing my plaid shorts that had a little world patch covering up a hole burned by an ash), including the back way. There had been a youth conference there; when I walked into the visitor's center, the missionaries thought I was part of that group. I explained I was from North Salt Lake. A sister missionary asked if I knew where Holladay was; I said no. I got a one-on-one tour in the visitor's center.

We went to church one Sunday. One of the speakers said something about "four c's: cake, candy, cookies, and ice cream." I went to the one youth Sunday School class, in which the teacher had brought her little daughter. The toddler had a red drink that she tried to give to the class; one girl took it and pretended to drink it, while a boy did a terrible job of pretending. The teacher said that the drink was made out of wheat. Then I went to Priesthood; one of the guys in that class repeated the "four c's" comment.  There was a poster with the Boy Scout Law on it; they had added "hungry and aggressive" at the end. My grandparents were frequent enough visitors that the ward knew them; thus, when one girl asked me who I was visiting, I said, "the Ebberts," but I don't think she knew who that was. After church, Grandpa was talking about the family that had fourteen kids. During priesthood, they had talked about fasting and said that you don't need to fast if you are pregnant or nursing; the patriarch of that family said that his wife hadn't fasted for fourteen years. (Maybe it was longer than that.) I had noticed that the teenage boys in that family needed haircuts.

At some point, Susanne joined us. One day, we visited some historical place; I think it was about the Revolutionary War. I was wearing my red USA shirt, and the tour guide wanted me to represent a Redcoat (unless the historic site wasn't about the Revolutionary War). I got a penny whistle and a feather pen and empty inkwell from their gift shop. I think this might have been the same day we went to some Pfaltzgraff (which sounded like "false craft" to me) and Oneida stores. At one store, they sold dishes with slight defects. I saw a Halloween night light that I thought was cool. At the other store, they sold all sorts of silverware and some other odds and ends. I found a little snowglobe of bears celebrating New Year's. Elsewhere in the store, they had little teapots representing months. For November, there was both a turkey and a Pilgrim hat. I liked the hat one better; apparently, it had been replaced with the turkey. I couldn't decide between the snowglobe and the Pilgrim hat teapot, but I ended up getting the teapot.

Then, at some point, the Thompsons came. I think they had flown into New Jersey and rented a van, which had automatic doors, something we were not accustomed to. At one point, I remember Jesse saying he didn't like Baha Men, that being one of Chancey's CDs (during the era of "Who Let the Dogs Out?"). Another day, we were riding in their van for some reason, and my mom put in my mix tape from the year before. It had a lot of smooth jazz from a Peanuts CD that I did not like, so I was trying to express my disdain for it, but my mom and sister told me to stop.

On the Fourth of July, there was a family reunion. I took a dish out of the fridge, trying to find something. My great aunt Mary Lou told me I needed to hold the dish upright. Later, we went to see a river with a waterfall. I was wearing my white t-shirt with a flag design. There was a sign on a tree telling people not to cliff jump, because the writers had a friend who had done so and died. The sign was a bit of a memorial to him, and among other things it had a picture of a pack of cigarettes. I said that if he smoked, he was going to die anyway. We took a little hike down to the bottom of the waterfalls, and on our way, my aunt Sue said she had found a weeping wall, "but it's not as big as the one at Zions." The "weeping wall" she found was just a little tiny spring, hardly anything like Zion's Weeping Rock.  Sue's family was going to go see some fireworks. I was a little hesitant about going with them, because of my then-uncle Wayne's habitual tendency toward orneriness. I went anyway, and as we pulled up to the fairgrounds, I saw the sign saying "Oswego County Fair" and I asked if that meant it was the county fair of Oswego or the fair of Oswego County. My cousin Jesse didn't understand what I was talking about. Once the fireworks started, I remember my cousins Jesse and Joey and I having a conversation about how unimpressive these fireworks were. There was a stationary firework on the ground that was an American flag, but that was the only cool one. Jesse said that he had seen flowers (as in the home firework--"ground blooms") do more amazing things. My aunt reproved us for our negativity. As we left, I remember a conversation about carnival workers. When we got back to "the Pond," my mom and the others there said that someone had been setting off illegal Pennsylvanian fireworks that they were able to watch. I remember then that I regretted going, because the fireworks were so unimpressive and I could have stayed at the house and watched the fireworks reflected on the water.

The next day, we were to have leftover chicken for lunch. The adults told us we could have lunch, and they would have more later. I had a very OCD/obese habit at that time where I would eat my first helping, then I would get seconds that were 2/3 the size of the first helping, then I would get thirds that were 1/3 the size of the first. Thus, I had three pieces of chicken, then two, then one. All of us boys ate a lot. Joey was eating with his mouth open, thus making annoying smacking noises, so I told him not to do that. Then I wanted to illustrate how annoying he was by doing the same thing. Then he said, "Marky's a hypocrite." I was so mad that I went and ate outside. When the adults went to eat, they were shocked that the chicken was all gone, and I felt bad for having eaten six pieces. (In my defense, they were small pieces, so only a couple of pieces was not sufficient for a meal, because I don't think they had offered us anything else.)

At one point, Joey found a non-electric lawnmower. He found it fascinating, so he began messing around with it. Sue was proud of him for mowing the lawn, so she took my mom's camcorder to record it, but my mom told her that she needed to tell him he couldn't make random lines in the lawn.

My mom's cousins and their families came up from Tennessee. Chancey was kind of flirtatious with some of the girls; Sue remarked that she noticed he had put on his best shirt, a button-up over a BYU t-shirt (the style of the day being to have a button-up shirt unbuttoned over another shirt). At one point, I took a wet fishing net and sprinkled it above my second cousin Ryan, saying I was getting payback from 1995. He said he didn't remember doing that, but someone else said he could see him doing that. My mom's cousins Rob and Sandy had recently adopted a little boy.

One night, we were all asleep when we heard a girl next door yelling quite loudly, "You're such a liar, I hope you die!" Sue said, "What's going on? Joey?"

We went to Niagara Falls one day. This might have been the morning Chancey came with us in our rental car; he was asked if he was OK with listening to Kenny Rogers and John Denver, and he said he was because his family didn't like listening to country music. I said that I had heard Conway Twitty on commercials and didn't like him. I was offered a granola bar, but I didn't want to eat it because I had brushed my teeth in the last half hour, but I might have eaten it anyway. At Niagara Falls, we went and saw the falls from the back. I remember Joey was singing "Yankee Doodle Dandee." We took a ride on the Maid of the Mist, which was pretty fun.

Another day--maybe that day--we went to the Hill Cumorah for the Palmyra Pageant. We met Grandma and Grandpa there; Grandpa had made his signature chicken and brought it for our dinner. I was kind of embarrassed to be eating it in front of all those strangers. I saw some people with programs, but we didn't have one, so I went up to a booth and said, "Is this where we get the programs?" and she kind of rudely said no. I remember watching all the different actors and identifying them; Joseph Smith was easy. There was a four-year-old girl sitting behind us, who said lots of funny things. When Joseph Smith was sitting on the ground getting the plates out, she said, "Who died?"

When we went to church, Jesse and Chancey were in our Sunday School class, and at the beginning we were supposed to say something about us. I said that Jesse and Chancey were my cousins, and the teacher said she wouldn't have known that. When we went home that day, we looked at the Sunday comics. The Thompsons thought that day's 9 Chickweed Lane was really dumb. I remember Peter saying he would like to have every comics page and every sports page from every newspaper. Other comic strips that I read on that trip referenced Gilligan's Island (before I had ever seen it) and The Beverly Hillbillies, and another had a dad telling his kids that fireworks were illegal, a concept that was foreign to me.    

Quin was six, and he became friends with a five-year-old kid visiting the Van Auken family. They did lots of things together, and he even ended up in the Thompson family picture taken in front of the K on the house. Here is our own very unflattering picture, with the visiting kid's head in front.

The little "King" decoration in front was burned, along with a lot of other stuff, in a bonfire. It was said--I can't remember if it was my mom or my grandparents--that they wanted it burned so that my then-uncle Wayne wouldn't keep it and turn it into a Thompson sign.

One time, I remember remarking that the smoke of the fire was like that of Jeannie on I Dream of Jeannie, and Chancey said I was obsessed.

Sue liked to look for bullfrogs to catch. She also would row the rowboat while standing up, so my mom would call her a gondolier. I loved rowing the boat, but I did it sitting down.

There was a Dunkin' Donuts in the area, and I remember Jesse saying that if he were a police officer, he would turn on his siren to get there. Wayne told him that was illegal. I remember being fascinated by all the abandoned houses in the neighborhood. One of them had holiday lights on it; I was trying to tell whether they were red or orange.

I remember our last day there. Everyone had left except for my grandparents. We grabbed all the things we wanted from the house before leaving for the last time. I wanted a little cat statue, and my mom wanted an older Siamese cat statue. I took the little fruit magnets from the fridge. I liked the ones without leaves, but I ended up taking them all. Then we went and met my grandparents at the laundromat, where I was embarrassed to see they had folded my laundry. That night, we stayed with Mary Lou, who made us a really good chicken dinner. I was wearing my Niagara Falls socks, which were white with red heels and toes. Mary Lou said she loved my socks.

Our last day on the trip, we went to a Shaker museum in Albany. But I wasn't too interested; I mostly wanted to see the gift shop, where I got a little hurricane lamp and some candy made with rosemary. We had a late flight out. On one of the flights, my mom put one of our carry-ons up and told another passenger that it was treasures from Grandma's house. I was excited to finally beat level 9-5 on B-version Tetris. During our layover, we got some cookies from a vending machine. On another flight, a man was assigned to sit by us, but there were empty seats on the plane, so he moved. They were showing Spy Kids, but I fell asleep.

And thus ended our New York vacations.

Goathead plants

It's June, which means it's National Goathead Eradication Month! Which is something I just made up. Goathead plants are a despicable invasive species that pop bicycle tires, can draw blood from humans, and are an ingredient in cheap gas station aphrodisiacs. During the month of June, I feel it is my obligation to pull up any goathead plants I see. I have even gone on some walks to try to find some, but I haven't found any yet this year. Anyway, I'm going to remember times that I have come across them--but not times I have talked about them, because that would make this too long.

The first time I heard of them was in June 2008, in East Wenatchee, Washington, on my mission. We shared a car with the elders in the adjoining area, and we had our bikes on the bike rack when we met them. There was talk that my companion, Elder Bramall, had a "goathead" on his tire. I had never heard the term before, but one of them was pulled off the tire. I still didn't get why it was called a "goathead."

At some point, I got to examine one and see that it did look like the head of a goat. Over the course of that summer, I learned what a diabolical little plant they are.

One day, with my next companion, Elder Duncan, we were mowing a member's lawn. Near their dumpster, I found some goat heads, and I examined the plants. That was when I discovered how they work: little cute vines with sharp five-pointed stars, and the stars break up into five goatheads. I think I showed them to Elder Duncan.

The next summer, when I was in Lewiston, Idaho, I got more experience with them. On the southeast corner of the intersection of Grelle Avenue and 18th Street, there were a lot of them. Often when I would bike past, I would stop to pull them out of my tire. My last companion, Elder Tamblyn, often would do that, but at that point I had stopped caring because it was too much work. The slime in my tires did a good job of keeping my tire intact; in fact, the bike tire salesman didn't want me to get slime, saying the tubes he was selling me were good quality, but I knew I had to get it.

I had some shoes that had holes in the bottom. I discovered that I couldn't wear them in the rain, as my feet would get wet, but I thought it would be safe in dry weather. Until the day I stepped in a goathead patch.

One day, Elder Warren and I were tracting on Warner Avenue. There was a little park area, and we stopped there briefly. I was astounded at a giant patch I found there.

In fall 2009, we were teaching a girl named Barbie at the house of some members, the Larsons. Getting there required going past the intersection of Grelle and 18th. One day, Sister Larson's parents, the Hansens, came over, and they found something sharp in the carpet. They looked at it and said, "Oh, it's a little burr!" I was sure it was a goathead that we had tracked in.

During summer 2010, one morning I was walking to French class when I walked by a goathead plant. I was shocked and dismayed, because I didn't think we had them in Utah. I plucked it up and took it to class to show my classmates.

In June 2011, I was helping out at a stake service project along the Provo River Parkway. We were weeding, and I found a little goathead plant. I figured that of all the weeds we pulled, that one was more important to get rid of than any other.

When I would run along Bountiful Boulevard that fall, I would periodically see them. On September 30, 2011, my family took me to El Matador restaurant in Bountiful for my birthday. When Allie got out of the car, she was standing in a goathead patch next to the parking lot. I said, "Don't stand in those plants." She said, "Sorry," but I wasn't mad at her for standing in them; I just didn't want them to stick to her shoes. My mom told her that I hated the plants.

At my cousin Jesse's wedding in June 2012, I noticed there was one goathead vine growing in the vine at the venue. I pulled it up, but I left it there to wither and die.

On June 30 that year, I was walking home from taking a Book of Mormon test when I noticed one growing in the gap between the blocks in the sidewalk. I picked it and took it into my apartment to show my roommate Cameron. Then I think I cut up the seeds, since they were still green and penetrable.

On July 3, I was walking with Susanne and her family to the North Salt Lake fireworks. I saw some on Centennial Drive, so I briefly made an attempt at yanking them up.

On the Fourth of July, I was walking up 900 East with members of my ward to watch fireworks. I saw some, so I started pulling them up, and Michelle asked me what I was doing. I then explained how evil they were. Francisco asked if they were used for any purposes; I said they are used as an aphrodisiac, and Ellie laughed.

In July 2012, I went to the llama festival at the Hare Krishna temple. There were lots of goatheads there. I pulled one up to show my friends, but then I realized it probably wasn't good to have it near the temple, where everyone was barefoot.

In August 2012, my relatives had come over. We went to the house my sister wanted to buy, and on my way back up I pulled some that were growing along the street to show my cousins.

One evening in June 2013, I was running up 900 East, when I discovered some of them growing in a parking strip. I had to stop and pull them up. They were poking in my knees, but mostly because they were as hard as pebbles, not so much because they were sharp. I would pull a few handfuls, then run to Kiwanis park to throw them away, then go back and pick some more. Eventually, it was getting dark, so I stopped, and I took the remaining plants in my hand to throw in the fire at the ward bonfire.

One Saturday, I went on a walk to go pick the rest of them. I took a plastic bag with me so I wouldn't have to carry them in my hands. On my way, I met a pseudo-horse friend named Amberly, and I told her what I was doing. I found one little plant in a sidewalk crack on 900 East. Then I went to the patch I had found earlier, and pulled up all the goathead plants I could see. On my way back, I noticed that there were some by the shaved ice shack across from the Creamery. I stopped there and pulled some up. A toddler girl saw me so she came over and played in the rocks with me. I was pulling some from the parking strip when a woman walked by and said, "Oh, are those those pokey plants?" I kept the bag on my kitchen table until I could burn them.

The day came when there was another ward bonfire, so I went with my bag of goathead plants. Some people asked if I had brought treats. Once the fire got started, I threw them in; some people didn't know what goatheads were, but there were some people who did. Anyone who knows what they are agrees they are abominable plants.

Shortly after I had picked the plants was the day of the Church broadcast on missionary work. In walking home from that, I passed the place where I had picked the plants, and I was dismayed to see a few more growing. So I stopped and pulled them up, even though I was in Sunday clothes. Later in the summer, I was sad to see a lot more there, but it was no longer June, so I was no longer obligated to pull them up.

One day in September, I was walking home from running when I passed a lot of them on 820 N. They were huge. I pulled one vine that was at least three feet long and dragged it home. I can't remember whether I showed it to my roommate Jordan; I know I at least told him about it, and I threw it in the dumpster.

I have not yet seen any this year. But I want to so I can destroy them.

July 1

In one month from today, it will be three days before the Fourth of July, so I'm going to remember what I can about July 1.

2013. We were in California. In the morning, Ya-ping pulled weeds/grass from her garden to feed to the animals at the little farm we were going to. When we got to the farm, we saw some butterflies dancing with each other in the air. We fed some cows, and one was so eager that he took a whole bunch of grass out of the plastic bag we had. There was an awkward moment where Preston was confused about the anatomy of a sheep. Eventually we left. At one point, Preston got a little baggy of goodies (I think from the library) for having read, among which was a giant inflatable ice cream cone. I remember sitting in the car, trying to get Franklin to say "play" instead of "fay"; he actually did pretty well with my coaching. That afternoon, we went to Target. The teenage girl with us bought some $5 movies. I wanted to get red, white, and blue Goldfish crackers and patriotic Pop-Tarts. My mom wanted popsicles; she got big strawberry ones and little red, white, and blue ones. At the checkout, I wanted fruit punch mints, and Preston asked my mom if I was paying with my own money. While my mom was at Little Caesar's getting pizza, my dad and I walked the boys home. The teenage girl said she'd never had Little Caesar's before.

2012. About three in the morning, my roommate's book fell of the dresser and woke me up, and then I noticed that my roommate Bryton was not in his bed. I went out in the living room and discovered that he was still awake, preparing a lesson for priesthood, he being the elders quorum president. The next day, he gave his patriotic lesson. After breaking my fast, I ate the patriotic cupcake my friend Kat had given me the day before. I made a post on this blog about a 1995 family vacation. 

2011. I had to drive town to Southtowne mall to pick up my stuff for the Freedom Run. Then I drove home.

2010. Some of my classmates from French were having a cultural activity. In France, they often make a "Bûche de Noël" at Christmas, a cake that looks like a log, so I made a "Bûche du Quatre Juillet" with red, white, and blue sprinkles and red, white, and blue Tootsie Roll Pops. I drove to the house where it was being hosted by a married couple. They had an adorable baby, and I felt bad when I was watching her and she hit her head. The mom told me it was OK. The husband kept the Tootsie Roll Pop from his piece of cake, but other people just put them in the pan. When I got home, I put a note on the cake filling, Cool Whip mixed with pudding, saying anyone could have it.

2002. It was our last day in Iowa, visiting my cousin Tammy and her family. She let her kids watch a movie every Monday, so on this Monday morning three-year-old Adam was watching The Jungle Book. At one point, he said, "Oh no, Shere Khan is coming! My grandma thought he said, "Grandpa," so she said, "He's in the bathroom."

2001. I believe this was the Sunday in New York, where it was my second week in the Pulaski Ward, and Chancey and Jesse were with me in Sunday School. The teacher had us say something interesting, and I said that Chancey and Jesse were my cousins, and she said she wouldn't have known that otherwise.

1999. It's possible this was July 2, but I was with my parents and we drove in the Uintas. We passed our preferred campsite of Moosehorn, which was covered with snow. We went up to a lookout, where we looked down on the lake. I noticed the little boulder I had often gone to. I built a small snowman, and I made a joke that they must be called the Uintas because it sounds like "You wintah [winter]."

July 2-5, 2013

I'm going to remember the days surrounding the Fourth of July last year, which I spent in California with my brother's family.

July 2. I got up and got dressed in my red shorts and blue shirt with a red "76" on it. We were going to Six Flags that day. We had a fifteen-year-old girl with a weird name with us, and I think another young women's leader and another young woman came. Once we were at Six Flags, I think we went on a couple of rides, and I followed the young women's leader and the two young women to a ride that wasn't for the kids. The leader asked me how old I was, probably because I was so awkward and quiet. I asked the teenage girl I was sitting by on the ride if she had been to Six Flags; she told me she grew up in a family that usually went to Disneyland. After the ride, my head hurt, and I didn't feel up to more rides. I met up with my family, and I ended up taking Baby (when he still let us call him that) into a play area, but I would have preferred to sit down. We saw the walruses out playing. Franklin said some R-rated things about one of the walruses, and later the walruses engaged in some adult behavior, and Preston said he thought they were married. Then we went to go to one of the shows, all while I didn't feel very well. I thought the show was too circusy and not dolphiny enough. We went to a gift shop to get things for the boys. I really wanted a walrus shirt, but they didn't have any in my size, even when I asked. My mom told the boys they could get something not at Six Flags if they wanted, which I kind of thought defeated the purpose. Baby wanted some green candy, but we tried to talk him out of it. We were leaving, but Baby didn't want to leave. So David stayed with him while the rest of us walked out to wait for the shuttle. I really did not feel well at this point; my head hurt, and I was really impatient for the shuttle to come. Baby decided he didn't want to stay after all, so they came and joined us. I got on the shuttle and had to rest my head. When we got to the parking lot, my dad accompanied me to our car so I wouldn't faint and because my mom was worried about me. I got a Gatorade and some patriotic Goldfish from the back and took them up in the seat. Then we went to lunch at Taco Bell, which Preston wasn't happy about. My mom told me I should get some sugar, and I reminded her of the time on October 13 when I had felt faint and got a pumpkin empanada at Taco Time and she had told me it wasn't good to have sugar when I felt like that, and then she told me she had been wrong on that occasion. I got a slushy drink with my food. Then we drove over to Toys R Us, where my mom was going to buy the promised toys instead of the Six Flags toys. I stayed in the car and slept, and I think it was really windy. Preston came out a little early, and he wanted to pee in a bottle, and Ya-ping reluctantly agreed. But when David came out, he rightfully reprimanded Preston for wanting to do that and told him he couldn't. They had bought a Perry the Platypus karaoke machine and some toys inspired by garbage. Then we went back to David's house, where David set up the karaoke toy for the boys to play with. They liked playing with it, but it sometimes caused some arguments between Franklin and Baby, and my mom said if they couldn't play nice we'd have to put it up. Later, I found Bewitched on, so I watched it. Preston seemed to like it, and laughed at the moving chair. Then the inferior I Dream of Jeannie came on; in this episode, Tony told Jeannie to get all the women's clothes out of the room, and in so doing she accidentally took the clothes off of the women in the room, exposing their slips. David asked if that was appropriate for his kids to be watching, and I said it was better than the movie Brave, and my mom agreed that it wasn't sexual and they were only in their slips. David tried to defend Brave as more appropriate, but it was obvious he was just trying to be right, because his argument had no substance.

July 3. I was awake, but I felt sick, so I didn't want to get up. I heard Preston saying he wanted to watch "the witch show," but they told him it wasn't on. Then I heard the boys playing the Beatles karaoke David had found. David went to work and Ya-ping and my mom went to the store. My dad was on his computer, and I could hear Baby and Franklin arguing over the karaoke machine. Remembering what my mom had said to them about playing nice, I went out and took it away from them and put it up. Ever-happy Baby was fine with that, but Franklin was mad and started hitting me. Preston was on the couch chuckling, and Franklin went over and screamed and started hitting Preston. I pulled him away and told him he needed to go to his room, and he said defiantly, "No!" I didn't enforce it, but he seemed to get better, although he still had some screaming fits during the day. Ya-ping and my mom came back, and Ya-ping set up a table for us to eat sandwiches. She had a thing that cut sandwiches into heart shapes, and Franklin refused to eat such a sandwich because he associated the heart shape with "a woman." That night, David took Franklin and Preston (maybe Baby too) in the car to go find some fireworks to watch. David talked about memories of our grandparents, memories I was too young to remember. Somehow the topic got turned to Twilight, which I have never read or seen, and I remarked how when I was in high school, I heard good things about it, but now everyone makes fun of it. Then David said that's because I'm not surrounded by teenage girls anymore. Then he said that teenage girls also like Justin Bieber (and I also said One Direction). Preston asked if Justin has so many girls in love with him, why isn't he married? David explained that he's still destroying his life. (This was before some of his more recent legal trouble.)

July 4. In the morning, we were figuring out what we wanted to do. David left with the boys to go to some park, basically without consulting us. When he returned, he said that that park's festivities weren't that good. I was so amused by the bags my nephews got that I had to take a picture with my mom's phone to load it to Facebook.

I got on my dad's little computer to do my scripture study and look at my Facebook. Sarena posted about Thurl Bailey singing to her; I "liked" her post, hoping she would know I wasn't mad at her, despite some pretty harsh words I had made relative to a comment she had made on my status a few weeks earlier. We had bought a charcoal grill for David, but we didn't really know how to use it. It took a really long time to cook, and all it did was smoke, so we ended up with smoky chicken. I was in the backyard with Baby, and he was shyly handing me the gray rocks from their backyard. At some point David was chanting "USA" because of my t-shirt. Later we went to Baby's school to play on the playground there. Franklin was better at climbing on the climbing wall than Preston was. We also brought a kite, but we didn't seem to have much success with that.

Later, we went near the bay to watch fireworks. When we got in the car, Baby was really sad about something, but we couldn't understand it. Then he started crying, which made him even harder to understand. It turned out he was sad no one was sitting by him in the backseat of the Suburban. I had to bring my water bottle with me because my throat hurt really bad. It was a very uncomfortable Fourth of July, and I was sad that I didn't get the familiar smoke smell and booming sounds of the fireworks, because they were all far away. It was kind of cool, however, to see multiple shows at once. Then we went home, and I think my mom and Ya-ping went to a store, and my mom got me some lime cucumber Gatorade, since my throat was so sore.

July 5. I think I had taken a popsicle out of the freezer, and Franklin saw me with it, and said, "Why do you get one every day?" But in fact he had eaten more sugar than I had that day. Later David saw my Gatorade and said, "Lime cucumber?" I said I loved it. At one point, Franklin saw my Gatorade and said, "I want a big Gatorade," since the ones we had brought were little ones. But I told him it was the only one there was. I think I went to Costco with my parents to get things for our drive back home. I packed up all my stuff to go home so we could leave in the morning.

Things Nathaniel says

The final installment of this series focuses on my youngest nephew, Nathaniel Qi-en "Baby" Melville. (I'm not sure if "Qi-en" is the proper spelling, since I've actually never seen it written, but I'm going to use it until someone tells me it's another spelling. It's pronounced "chee-UN.")

The first time I met Baby was in December 2010, but he was less than a year old and he was sick, so he didn't do any talking.

Then I didn't get to see him again for another year. On December 29, 2011, we brought David's family home from the airport and were sitting in our living room. I held out my arms, and we were all pleasantly surprised when Baby came running over to me and let me pick him up and put him on my lap. He started "talking" to me. Only it wasn't really talking. He just went "Wehhhh." It was really cute. He pointed to the decorative ornament lights on the fireplace that changed colors, and went, "Wehhh." Whereas Preston spoke his own language when he was a toddler and it was obvious he knew what he was saying, it seemed to me that Nathaniel was talking just for the sake of talking--he didn't actually know what he was saying. The next day we went to the natural history museum at the U. I held him, and he kept saying "Wehhh" throughout the museum. First he pointed to dinosaur skulls, so I thought he was "talking" about the dinosaurs. But then later he pointed to pictures of Utah archaeology, pictures that weren't particularly interesting, so I don't think he was really trying to say anything.

He did say more than just "wehhh." He incessantly watched a YouTube video with puppets singing an "Uh huh" song, and he would sing along with it:

(When I recorded this, my batteries died before he finished, so I barely missed him singing the whole song.)

He also picked up Allie's name, and he would say "goggy" for "doggy." He overextended "goggy" to refer to our cat, and if he saw the cat, he would say, "Uh oh, goggy!" He would sometimes say other names on demand, but he would say them without initial consonants. Lack of consonants has been Baby's trademark, even up to today.

I saw him again in June 2012. They were stopping at our house before continuing on to California. On that visit, he came up the stairs and saw my cousin Peter and said, "You inky!" Peter said, "No, you're stinky!" That was the first time I heard him say "stinky" as "inky." He would say that over and over to Peter (and the next day he even said it to me). That night he was mad at his mom for something and hissed at her. We were talking about the scars on my knee, and Baby came up and pointed to my "owie"--but I think he was actually pointing to a dry spot that's always there and not the scar from my fall. He kept asking for a haircut, since everyone else was getting haircuts.

Then in August of last year, I was able to go out and visit them. He still said "You inky" all the time. Once he said it during the sacrament at church. We all had to stifle our laughter and be glad that no one else could understand what he was saying.

It took him some time to say my name that trip. Ya-ping told me one day that she heard him saying my name in his sleep. Then a day or so later, he was saying "Uncle Mark" to Peter. Peter asked him why he was saying that to him and not to me. (I don't think he was calling Peter by my name; he was just saying it for some reason.)

When Franklin would have temper tantrums, he would say "Ge-ge not nice!" (Ge-ge is his word for Franklin--it means "older brother." It's pronounced like "guh guh.")

He also liked to pretend to be a dog and bark. Sometimes when he would play dog, I would meow. So then he took up meowing. It was adorable, but unfortunately I don't have any footage of it.

You may also remember my video of him and Franklin playing slides. He liked to do that, and he would say "slide" as "ide." Once he wanted me to slide down him, so he put himself in slide position and said "my ide." (I pretended to slide down him, but I actually didn't have any contact with him at all. Fortunately, that satisfied him.)

We went out again for Christmas 2012. He no longer said "You inky," but he did start counting. On Christmas Eve, I was able to talk to him on the phone before we got there. He started counting and telling me the alphabet. After we got there, we were driving in the car, and he asked for my attention so he could count. He said "seven" more like "sibben," and I think he also said "eleven" like "sibben." If I remember correctly, he would confuse seven and eleven, so once he got to eleven, he would start over again at eight.

The day after Christmas, we were preparing to go pick up my grandparents from the airport. I couldn't decide whether I was going with. But then Baby was talking to me, and I couldn't understand what he was saying. My mom told me he was saying, "Will you sit by me?" So I did go with them after all.

He also learned to say "What about me?" After Preston's confirmation after his baptism, Franklin tried to get in the confirmation chair. We told Franklin he would have to wait a few years. Baby said, "What about me?" There were other times he said this expression, as well.

One day Franklin was having a fit and saying, "I want to play the meat boy game!" So Baby matter-of-factly told us, "Ge-ge want to play the meat boy game"--but with fewer consonants.

If you asked him what his name was, he would say, "Ee-uh." "Is your name Nathaniel?" "No, Ee-uh." "Is your name Baby?" "No, Ee-uh." 

In January, I was able to talk to him on the phone. He was initially talking to my mom, and he was talking and talking. She needed to go do other things, so (at my request) she asked him if he wanted to talk to me. He said "yesh" and talked to me. He is hard to understand in person, but he's even harder to understand on the phone. I think the only thing I understood in fifteen or so minutes of talking was "Ah-bay go up" ("Airplane goes up"). For a while, I think he mentioned his "ah-bay" every time he was on the phone; just two or three months ago I heard a message he left on our answering machine that said, "I wanna show you my ah-bay," followed by a sad "they're not home."

As I mentioned earlier, Baby leaves off a lot of consonants, especially at the beginning of words. Even after going to speech classes, he still leaves them off. We were able to visit just this past month, and he still leaves them off. He kept asking for Gatorade and called it "Atorade." Except that he might not have said the t and the d (or the r).

It wasn't until this most recent visit that I realized the way Baby distinguishes his brothers. Franklin is "Ge-ge" and Preston is "Brother," even though he could call either of them by either name. He does know their real names (I asked him), but he doesn't say them most of the time.

On our visit to Kings Canyon National Park, I discovered several interesting things Baby says. We were telling him how he needed to be careful. If we would tell him he was going to fall down, he would say, "I won't!" Once I said to him "Be careful," and he said "I woe!" I thought he was saying "I won't" because he was expecting me to tell him not to fall down. However, I later figured out that "I woe" is his way of saying "I will"--he doesn't have the "ill" sound down. That makes it very confusing. If you say "I won't" naturally, you may notice that you don't really say the n and the t. You nasalize the vowel, and the t is more of a glottal stop. When you factor that in with the fact that Baby has a hard time with consonants anyway, it means that "I won't" and "I will" sound almost exactly the same when he says them.

Sometimes if he was climbing on something and we wanted to help him, he would say, "I know how to get down." He said that often; I would say it was his catch phrase for this visit. Once he said a variation on this--he picked up a piece of granite and said, "I know how to hold it!"

He says "shoes" as "hoo." He still says "stinky" as "inky," but he doesn't go around saying "You inky" all the time.

On the Fourth of July we went to go see some fireworks. We put him in his carseat in the back of the Suburban. He kept saying something, but we couldn't understand it. Then he started crying, which meant we really couldn't understand what he was saying. David eventually figured out he was upset that no one was sitting in the back by him.

When Ya-ping is reproving the boys, she will say their whole names, as in "Preston Melville." Once she said, "Baby Melville." Baby said, "I not Moevoe!" That was one of the things that helped me realize that he says "will" as "woe," since he say the "ville" in Melville as "voe."

That led me to have fun conversations with him. He understands more about his names now than he did in December. He might even say the first consonant in Qi-en now.
"Is your name Nathaniel?" (Nods)
"Is your name Qi-en?" (Nods)
"Is your name Baby?" (Nods)
"Is your name Melville?" (Shakes his head)

At our hotel near Disneyland, we went to the swimming pool. He was shivering the whole time, but when we asked if he wanted to get out, he didn't want to. Sometimes he was shivering so much that he was even harder to understand than usual. I asked him what the names of his family members were, and he was able to tell me all of them--"Wanklin," "Dabid," "A-bing." I can't remember how he said "Preston."

After the Haunted Mansion ride at Disneyland, he said, "I want to do that again!"--even though I think he was a little scared of it, but evidently less scared than Franklin. (He was, however, more scared of Pirates of the Caribbean.)

As with all the other kids, I know I will remember more things that he says after I post this.

July 2

I've already remembered July 3 and 4, so the next thing to remember is July 2.

2012. I woke up with "Merry Christmas Darling" stuck in my head for some reason, so I told my roommate Bryton about it. I put on my t-shirt that has an American flag with all the states written on it. I went to my French class, where a girl was wearing a turkey (as in bowling) t-shirt. Our professor talked about how she had a dindon t-shirt, then he looked over at mine, and once he figured it out, he said, "Les états en drapeau." I said it was "pour le quatre juillet." Then that night I went to Dairy Queen for dinner and got a red, white, and blue Starkiss popsicle. I was driving to our ward FHE at Kiwanis park when I saw my roommate Bryton walking over. I stopped and picked him up and drove us over.

2011. I was at home. We went to Smith's Marketplace to buy goodies for North Salt Lake's fireworks. We bought some patriotic brownies and patriotic animal cookies. My overly indulgent parents bought my niece Allie a container of mini Oreos, which she started eating in the car. We went to Village Inn for dinner. Then my grandparents and aunt Sue came up to go to the fireworks. It was a lot busier than I had remembered (since I hadn't been for seven years), and Sue said it had definitely gotten busier. Allie went and sat by Cindy Knuth and talked to her. We heard a distant singer singing "Firework," and I said it was appropriate for the night. After the fireworks, we walked down the gravel path to get home. Sue was saying that the city should keep it up, but my mom pointed out that it wasn't an official path. Then my parents needed to go to the airport. I wasn't comfortable driving there, so my mom drove. I had to quiet down the radio for Bruno Mars's inappropriate "Lazy Song." I needed gas, so she stopped and filled up the tank herself because they were in a hurry. After they were dropped off, I drove home. A Kelly Clarkson song came on (probably "Since U Been Gone"), so when I got home, I looked up the lyrics. I was intrigued that she had a song called "Thankful," so I wondered if it was a Thanksgiving song, but I looked at the lyrics and it wasn't. (My mom thought along the same lines just a few months later when she got me the Thankful album for my birthday, thinking it might have Thanksgiving songs.)

2010. I don't particularly remember this day, but I might have eaten some of the Cool Whip/pudding mixture I had made for a cake the day before.

2009. We went over the baptismal questions with Nick Montez, who was baptized a week later, but some of the details are a little personal, so I won't share them here. We were at the Wynns' house, but Brother Keane was there. I think he offered us breath mints, acting as though they were chewing tobacco (the container was shaped the same). This is my journal entry for the day: "So we've been getting in a little later since we've been teaching Nick Montez and getting him ready for baptism. I've also been really tired, as I am tonight."

2008. In the morning, Elder Bramall and I boarded a bus to go up to Chelan, where we were meeting the Omak elders to go on exchanges. Elder Brimhall came back with me to East Wenatchee, and on the bus I was reading Daniel in the Old Testament; Elder Brimhall later commented on that. We went out and did work. We tracted a complex where an old lady told us not to come back. We stopped at the Adamses' apartment, since Elder Brimhall needed some more water. Then we went home for dinner, but we didn't eat anything. I was too hot to care. I looked at some PIs (potential investigators) we could go see. We stopped at one who wasn't interested and had Fourth of July lights set up. We walked by a house where a mean dog was chained up; it almost got Elder Brimhall. We went to another house to check on a name, but that person had moved, but we talked to the woman there, and she said we could come back. Her name was Glenda, and Elder Brimhall said, "Oh, like The Wizard of Oz." He took down her number. Then we were walking by a house and there was a woman working in her garden. I was really bad at talking to people outside, so Elder Brimhall started talking to her. She was a member (Sister Krueger), and she invited us in, where she was canning peaches. Elder Brimhall learned that she was related to someone he had baptized when he served in Wenatchee, so he called that person up. Then I wanted to go check up on a house we had tracted into a week or so earlier. We had talked to the husband, who said his wife's family were all Mormons, and he said they might have to have us over for dinner sometime. Since they seemed friendly, I went back with Elder Brimhall. This time the wife answered. She let us in and we talked with her. She had gone inactive after a divorce, but her kids in Bremerton, WA, were still active. Her present husband (whom we had met) wasn't a member. She was making dinner and asked if we wanted some, and we declined. But then her husband came home, and they offered again, so we accepted. They gave us spaghetti with sausage. They were very kind, and after dinner they let Elder Brimhall share a spiritual thought. I thought it was miraculous that we had decided not to eat dinner, not knowing that we would get to eat it with them and thus have a good conversation. Then we went home, and Jess, who was the grandson of Sister Knighten (the woman we lived with) and whom we were preparing for baptism, was in and out. He came in and said something terrible happened, that Sister Knighten's cousin had fallen down the stairs in the other part of the duplex (where Jess's dad and uncle lived). We went over, but the man was fine. Then that night Sister Knighten came into our study area to return a chair she had borrowed. I was in the bedroom, the next room over. The door was open, and I was changing my pants. Sister Knighten left rather hastily, so I worried she had seen me with my pants off. Here is my journal entry for the day, which mostly reiterates everything I just said:
"Today I once again had the task of taking over the area. Today was sort of an anecdotal day. We rode the bus to Chelan so I could bring Elder Brimhall home here. We tried to see some potentials. We were able to drop a few, but most weren't home. We came home for dinner, but Sister Knighten's relatives were upstairs, so we got water and went downstairs. I was looking at the potentials sheets, enjoying the cool and resting, so I didn't eat dinner.

"Then we walked to see some more PIs. At one was a vicious dog that almost got Elder Brimhall, but it was tied up. The next PI had moved, but the current resident is now a PI. Then walking back[,] Sister Krueger was working in her yard [Editor's note: dangling participle], so Elder Brimhall said hi to her, both of us not knowing her. She gave us water, and then learned Elder Brimhall had met her and worked with her relatives in Wenatchee. 

"Then we saw Dan and Shawna, a PMF we tracted into, and they fed us dinner. She doesn't want her records here. We'll probably ask the members at the end of the street to work casually with them.

"Then we came home and Jess popped in and out, then came back in and told us Sister Knighten's cousin had fallen down her sons' stairs. He was fine, though. Then tonight Sister Knighten borrowed a chair, and when she came back down I wasn't wearing pants. I hope she didn't notice."

 2007. This might have been the day I wore my blue glasses to work, but I don't know.

2002. I'm not sure, but this might have been the time that my mom and I and my grandparents came home from Iowa. While we had been gone, my Fourth of July window clings had arrived in the mail, so I put them up in the windows.

Related Posts:
The Ghost of Independence Days Past
Independence Eve
A year of holiday memories

July 3-4, 2012

Since it will soon be the Fourth of July, I am going to remember what I can about last year's July 3 and July 4.

On July 3, I went to work, and I was excited that after work I would be able to head home to see North Salt Lake's fireworks. I drove home and decided to stop at Smith's to get some Fourth of July cookies. Gotye's "Somebody I Used to Know" was on the radio. Susanne texted me about treats, and I told her I was getting some right then. I got patriotic Oreos and patriotic Keebler rainbow cookies--they don't have either of those this year, sadly. I looked at the drinks and was intrigued by a cucumber/lime Gatorade, so I got it. I paid for my stuff using the Smith's gift card my mom had given me. Then I drove home. I went inside the house (which was empty, since my parents were on vacation) and I found my Andy Griffith Show DVDs to take back to Provo, in case I wanted to watch them since Andy Griffith had just died. Susanne, Matt, and Allie arrived, and we got some blankets and walked up to the Eaglewood golf course to see the fireworks. We passed the Andersons, who said hi to us. It was really busy, and the fireworks were closer to us than usual. We munched on both my cookies and the ones that Susanne had brought (those soft sugar cookies). I told them how I used to eat those cookies a lot when I worked at Walmart, and I kind of got sick of them. Matt said he used to get the big pink ones out of the vending machine all the time, so he got sick of them. Nan tried my cucumber Gatorade. I think I talked about how I was going to drive back to Provo that night, and that I had my Jan Terri CDs to listen to. Susanne said that Jan Terri was similar to someone we knew, and I talked about some of their parallels, how I wondered if Jan Terri was for real, but then I remembered this individual, and I realized that Jan Terri very likely could be for real, since the individual we know is very much for real. Nan had glowsticks for us to put on. A distant singer started singing Katy Perry's "Firework," and I said that the previous year they had played that right before they started the fireworks. Allie said that she might see a movie with that song--the new Katy Perry movie. I said I didn't think that was a good movie for a little girl. I then asked everyone who they thought was more talented, Katy Perry or Lady Gaga, because I think Gaga is much more talented. Susanne brought up the issue of "Born This Way" copying that Madonna song, and Matt said the songs weren't very similar. After the fireworks, we walked back to the house. We passed the Andersons, who said that Susanne should move into the Christensens' house behind them, but they would see their autistic son Ty with no clothes on. I was worried about our cat Jenny, since I hadn't seen her at all while I was home. I took my Gatorade and cookies in the car and put in Jan Terri's Baby Blues CD. I was still wearing my glowstick. After Jan Terri was done, I listened to the radio. It was an enjoyable drive. When I walked into my apartment, my roommate Bryton had a Hispanic friend over. I finished up my Gatorade and went to bed.

The next morning I was awakened by the sounds of the Freedom Festival. I couldn't fall asleep again, so I got up and got ready and put on my red patriotic Snoopy and Woodstock shirt. Our roommate Cameron left to go with some of our horse friends to the parade. Bryton and I walked over later, having heard where to meet those friends. As we were walking down the street, a man with no shirt and short shorts was running by, and Bryton asked, "Is that a Speedo?" I said they were just short shorts, and he said it was ugly. For some reason we were talking about the hymn "The Wintry Day, Descending to Its Close"; Bryton said the BYU Singers had a beautiful version. We walked along a side road and I was surprised at an abandoned house. We went to 960 N and University, where our friends were supposed to be, but we didn't see them (they were on the other side of the street). Bryton was more patriotic and less cynical than I, so he did a lot more clapping and saluting. He was going home to Farmington, so he wanted to leave, so I left with him. We walked near the Smith Fieldhouse and hopped over a little fence. We were impressed with the serenity and grounds behind the Fieldhouse, where we had never been before. We walked along the trail along the campus stream. For some reason I was talking about the movie Beetlejuice; I said it was a movie that I wouldn't watch anymore. Then we went back to our apartment, and I turned on my Fourth of July playlist. Somehow I got on YouTube. I found a video by these people who claimed to have patriotic alligators that really liked the song "I'm Proud to Be an American"; it was funny only because of how seriously the gator owners took it.

I saw a Brad Paisley video with Andy Griffith and I found a Fourth of July country music playlist, so I watched a Lady Antebellum video. Then I wanted to go out and find something fun to do, since I didn't want to be alone in my apartment all day. I walked around and saw Cameron and Carissa sitting underneath a tree across the street from Regency apartments. I sat by them, but they mostly ignored me (Carissa was psychoanalyzing Cameron), so I pulled out my planner and filled in the calendar in the back and doodled month images. Some other friends, including Hanna, came by and said they had gone to get Slurpees, but they didn't know where Carissa had gone. They said they were going to get in the pool and invited me. So I went home and got in my swimsuit and went back over to Regency. I hung out with Kristen and Hanna in the deep end; I held on to the edge. I told them about how I had two songs in my head, "Leanne" by Jan Terri and "Tik Tok" by Ke$ha, since I remembered the previous year when that song was playing when I crossed the finish line at the Freedom Run. Hanna talked about how I called them horses (Kristen had not yet read that blog post). We talked about how Carissa was interested in Cameron. Some more people came to the pool, and Kristen wanted to get more people to come play a toothpick game in the pool. I went to my apartment to get some toothpicks, even though I wasn't going to play. Kristen came with me and invited Alex across the hall to go to the pool as well. A bunch of people came for the toothpick game; they were a little annoyed that I had brought colored toothpicks. I didn't play because I can't swim and I can't see without my glasses. Michelle Sutterfield came over to the pool, but she didn't get in. She was wearing blue jeans, a white shirt with dogs on it, and a red bow in her hair. Another ward came to the Regency pool, so I left. Carissa came over to our apartment before Cameron had to leave for work. I offered them my cookies. I had a glass of milk while finishing off my Oreos and watching the "Independence Day" clip of the Peanuts Motion Comics Collection. I might have done some homework, but I can't remember. I was Facebook fasting that day, but I did keep checking our ward's Facebook page (looking only at that one page) to see if the ward was doing anything fun. They said they were going to have a bring-your-own-meat barbecue, but I didn't feel like buying any meat. I boiled some corn on the cob that I had grabbed from home and ate it for dinner. Then I went over to Pickup Place (the house across the street from my complex, named after the owners, the Pickups). Francisco had made some artichoke. Russell Ochoa had never heard of artichoke before, and asked what it was in Spanish. I was glad that I knew it was alcachofa, but it was Francisco who answered him. Someone told Nestor Romero that he was mean for making people work in his store on the Fourth of July. I grabbed my water bottle from my apartment, and then eventually we all left to go up to see the Stadium of Fire fireworks. We encountered a fruit tree and ate some of the fruits from it. Kara Mangum said they were cherries, but we recognized that they were small plums. We picked a bunch of them and ate them on our way I ended up walking with Michelle, Ellie, and Francisco. At one point I saw some goathead plants growing, so I stopped to try to pull them up. Michelle asked what I was doing. Then I educated them about goatheads, how evil they are. Francisco said they must serve some purpose, and I said they are used as aphrodisiacs, which Ellie found funny. There were some spraypainted letters on the ground (the kind that water people use) that said "ELI"; Michelle said they almost said "Ellie." We passed the Deseret Towers field, where a bunch of EFY kids were doing some kind of activity. We made it up to the MTC field. We sat with our ward and watched some unattended little Asian kids ride a skateboard down the sidewalk in the field. Some of us played some kind of game, but I can't remember what it was. We took ward pictures, and it just so happened that all of us in the back row were wearing red shirts. A woman came around selling cupcakes. I regretted not buying one, since it was my last opportunity to eat baked goods until Halloween. I asked Michelle whether she was wearing her dog shirt because of the dogs or because it was white; she said it was because it was white. Then we decided to move to a different spot on the fields. I remember telling Chris that his Facebook profile picture made him look like Gilligan. I think Scott Boyce talked about how much he liked the Fourth of July. I remember talking about how the Beach Boys were performing, and someone said they would have to sing "Salt Lake City." Someone who wasn't from Utah thought she meant just changing the words to "California Girls," not realizing that "Salt Lake City" was actually a song. After the fireworks were over, we walked back home. I told Michelle about the patriotic gator video. We met at Pickup Place to watch fireworks some people had brought. I stood on two posts in the parking lot. Some out-of-towners came to watch. They had a tiny baby, and I was surprised they were watching more fireworks with such a little baby. Their car was packed with stuff, not only in the car but also on top. Someone took a picture because it was so ridiculous. Then I went to my apartment and Cameron came home from work. It was after midnight, and I was sad that the Fourth of July was over. I turned off my flag neon light and went to bed in a Peanuts Fourth of July shirt.

I know I will remember more things after I post this.

Related posts:
The Ghost of Independence Days Past
Independence Eve
A Year of Holiday Memories