Bros come to visit

So, this weekend I was lucky to have a couple of my brothers come in to town. I've been a lucky a few times this summer. One flew in from Chicago and the other rode a bus down from Manhattan. And yet another person (brother's girlfriend) drove for hours from southern Virginia to come for the visit.

I offered a cramped condo (storing 1.5 rooms of furniture for someone for one month), little tidbits of food, and driving without a chauffeurs license.

We never did meet up with different cousins, as it always seems to coordinate more than 2-3 people nowadays.

Craig offered never ending meals at the Silver Diner.























We took a walk at Manassas Battlefield Park, if only to experience Virgina with fewer people. Perhaps I should sign up to be a tour guide since I frequent it way too much!



















It's always great to catch up with members of the family. Plus, they forced me to open some gifts that I received over two years ago - Monopoly and Clue. Craig won Monopoly and Amber won Clue, but does it matter that I was a close second on Monopoly?

Ahhhh well. I was comforted that one night all the youngins feel asleep before me ....and I'm 11 years older than the oldest of them.

That counts as a secret happiness in my book. More later. I'm catching from four days of visitors and long hours of lost work....but I'm not complaining.

Happy Birthday to Scot!

Happy Birthday to Scot! (That would be the young person in the picture right next to the Jay Leno double and the mom that looks like she is crying)





Mr. Scot-tay is in those mid-twenties years, but I remember him when he was a little tiny man.

Cute little pic!

Yes, we disregarded child labor laws in our family.

Memory Lane - shirtless brothers?

Warning! Shirtless brothers.


A few years ago I scanned about 50 family photo albums and about 20 slide trays into the computer. All of those pictures were fairly normal. They covered the 1800s through until about they year 2000. These were the growing up years of the four girls (oldest) and the younger years of my four brothers. It was also before digital cameras.

Now, I've secured a whole slew of pictures from my parent's computers that were taken over the last 9-10 years. I've been uploading them to Picasa so we can share all our photographs.

Interesting stuff. Lots of pictures of trips, of relatives, of flowers, of house remodeling and all of my brothers taking turns posing for the camera. Yes, that's right. We always think women are spending all the time in front of the mirror, but I'm fairly sure that I have evidence that this is not so. There are hundreds of pictures of boys flexing their muscles, boys posing in the mirror sucking in their cheeks to make their cheekbones look more defined and hundreds of pictures of partial haircuts and beard growth/beard shavings. To me they are basically all one in the same. We might as well save 5-6 of the pictures and that covers them all. But, alas, each has significant meaning that only people who know will know.

Don't believe me? Proof below:









Like I said - hundreds of these throughout all of the digital folders.

I mean, how else would we know that Brett used TWO shavers to get his head ready for a swim meet?

Very important historical documentation.

Scot - entry gets recognition

Congrats to Scot who now has his student center design plastered on a website that has over 350,000 architect type people on it from around the world.

http://aboutthebox.blogspot.com/2008/09/honorable-mention-of-sorts.html

Facebook Funnies

Some people leave their Facebook feed fairly open for all of us to follow. I think I have quite a bit of my security settings enabled and so I rarely have anything feeding into the main feed. Let me know if I'm just not aware.

Anyway, it's sometimes fun to look at pictures people have posted. Some are beautiful wedding pictures, some are funny and some are from back in the day.

I was looking through a few of Craig's today and I found the comments even more entertaining than the pictures. It is a rainy day and so perhaps anything amuses me, but thought I'd copy/paste a couple of them into my blog for at least family entertainment value.

Photo One: Craig and Scot in Michigan

Scot wroteat 10:58am on January 1st, 2007
who is that pimp in the fur coat?

Craig wroteat 2:17pm on January 2nd, 2007
I think Scot is flashing gang signs

Scot wroteat 12:14pm
sweet reindeer coat... i think only we, being bread for the mafia from an early age, could pull this off

Photo 2: Craig and Scot at a Michigan beach.

Scot wroteat 10:59am on January 1st, 2007
again, this raw sexiness is overpowering!

Kiley wroteat 10:20pm on January 1st, 2007
Again with the no shirt thing.

Craig wroteat 2:18pm on January 2nd, 2007
Scot looks to funny to NOT post this one

Alma wroteat 9:37pm on January 6th, 2007
Craig, you have a belly button on your back. That is how powerful you are and why you were born so big. You had the benefit of two umbilical cords!Oh your left arm is also bending backwards.

Photo 3: Boys in Indiana - Craig, Scot and Brett

Craig wroteat 2:21pm on January 2nd, 2007
I am asking Brett "What the ...... is Scot doing?"

Rachelle wroteat 2:37pm on January 2nd, 2007
The real question is, "How can I get any of these men, including the jail-bait one???"

Alma wroteat 9:42pm on January 12th, 2007
Is that one on the right Pee Wee Herman?

Renaye wroteat 10:42am on January 10th, 2008
Don't know....but the one in the middle is definitely GEORGE MCFLY!!!!!!!!!

Rugby Movie - Forever Strong

I really enjoy rugby. I don't fully understand it, but all of my brothers play, make it the final four championships every year and give me a chance to fly out to Palo Alto to see the play offs and a few relatives. This is the first year in a while where no brother will be playing. But, when Brett comes off his mission, I'm sure he will be back on the playing field and I'll have another trip to look forward to.

A new movie will be coming out in September - Forever Strong. It's based upon a true story about the Highland rugby team (Utah high school) , but that's about all I know. Oh, wait, that's not all I know.

My brother Craig is in the movie playing rugby. He, along with a lot of other All-American rugby players from BYU and University of Utah in 2006, are real rugby players in the movie. The town they filmed in is outside of Toelle, Utah. The town is smaller than Toelle - so it might not actually be a town. I know, I was there. At least for one day. Believe it or not, I had to sleep in my rental car at a truck stop the night before because Salt Lake City had so many conventions that week. All hotels were booked in every direction. After driving around Toelle type towns (late at night- spooky feeling) and finding no hotels (not even Bates hotels), I finally realized I'd have to do the Hawaii vacation trick. That would be putting t-shirts over all the windows and trying to squeeze my six foot frame into the backseat of the smallest size rental car. Those kind of experiences are only good for journal entries at later dates. Anyway...off topic at hand.I sat next to this dummy in the stands and pretended to cheer. We weren't allowed to make any noise while we cheered. Silent cheer. I guess I had nothing else to do while I sat and waited for my brother to finish playing in some rugby scenes.

The players received free food for their efforts...and some exercise and bruises. Some of the volunteers that sat in the bleachers won free iPODs. I'm not sure how free that is after you've had to sit in the sun for 8 hours, but it was amazing to see the characters that came out of the woodwork to participate and await the chance to possibly win an iPOD and receive an over baked hot dog.

The main characters didn't know how to play rugby when they started shooting the film. Craig said they were told to be a little gentle when the main characters were running with the ball or being mauled. I would say tackle, but not sure if that is a rugby term.

Anyway, it should be a good movie. If anything, you will get to hear and see the rugby players doing a hauka (hakka?) dance at some point which is always interesting.

Other links:

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aMsVEyesEeM


• http://www.rugbymovie.com/


• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forever_Strong


• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brigham_Young_University_Rugby_Team


• http://www.byurugby.com/

Becca House - more

For some reason these pictures didn't get into my prior post.

Scot's architect signature at the bottom of the rendering.

Title of the Rendering

The Japanese inspired garden outside of the master bedroom.

Becca House - the original

As stated in earlier posts, I was awaiting to receive "Becca House" in the mail for some time and it finally arrived. Scot has been working on this rendition for quite a while and it continues to improve through each iteration.

I thought I'd share a few pictures here. It is inspired from the prairie style architecture of Frank Lloyd Wright's earlier career.

Overall rendering

Scot attempted to describe "Becca House" in Japanese to fit in with the Asian inspired grounds and architectural design.

Front view of the home.

Main floor plan. Spacious with a massive fireplace in the center. There will be a stained glass window in the upper end of the fireplace so light flows through the entry way into the living room. Stain glass window will be squares and circle shapes, no floral designs.

Secret Sadness - no Becca house

Although I'm typically sharing secret happiness notes, I do have a secret sadness right now.

The original copy of Becca House has not arrived in the mail.

This is very grievous indeed. I know that Scot insured it, but I think right now it would be better to have the drawing than the $500.

Let's hope it arrives tomorrow.

Becca House

My brother Scot has been into architecture for years. Although he is a construction management major at BYU, he is in a job that allows him to design/re-design different places on campus. One project involved a few simple steps where another requires that he re-designs an entire floor at the Missionary Training Center. I guess if you have done this since your early teens, you should be fairly qualified by the time you are 23-24 years old.

He even has a new blog about architecture and his design insights/ideas. He's an amazing writer and so the blogs should be an interesting resource to follow.

• http://aboutthebox.blogspot.com/ (architecture)


• http://theascotmanners.blogspot.com/ (his personal blog)

Over the past couple of years I've been able to give Scot my ideas for a home and he has begun the process of translating those requirements into a beautiful product called the "Becca House." It is inspired by the Frank Lloyd Wright prairie style homes and Japanese gardens. Soon he will place it into a software that allows us to view it and make changes in 3D.

My Dad keeps joking that I will have to purchase some land in the north part of North Dakota so I can afford it. I might just have to, but right now I'm not worried about that because it's been fun to go through the design process.

It's important to note that I'm not trying to be an architect. That's Scot's area. My area is knowing the main requirements and sharing them with him in a way that he can translate it into a reality. It's often a better reality than I had envisioned, but in a way that meets my needs. I'll be the expert in what I want and he can be the expert in implementing it.

Now, if I could only figure out how to get this concept working well at work.

Friendship

My weekend was amazing! I traveled out to Idaho for Ann's wedding, but along the way I was able to catch up with good friends that I've made over the last 20 years! I can't believe I'm using that number now!

These are the weekends where I go home with a deep sense of gratitude for the people that I claim as friends. Some I hadn't talked to in over 10 years, but we were able to pick right back up from where we left off. Each has experienced their own set of hardships, joys, sorrows and lessons as life moves forward. It's comforting, in a way, to know that we are all in this together and each get our own specially tailored growing experiences. Sometimes I get the feeling that we all think the lives of others are perfect, but our own has something more to be desired. Not so. It seems like we all get dibs on difficult experiences.

I am grateful that the Internet has brought many of us back together in different ways and hopefully these renewed friendships will continue to grow as we support each other virtually.

Without further adieu, meet my Utah/Idaho friends:

• Pam, me, and Ann - I got to drive with Pam (OK, she lives in L.A. not Utah) both to and from Idaho. We had some great conversations about life, technology, men, marriage, life, technology... We've had these conversations in DC before as friends and on a few fun vacations in different parts of the world. Ann, our friend that got married, was also part of the DC experience at one time as a roommate in Arlington and in graduate school at GMU. She had a beautiful wedding and I'm so happy that I was able to witness the event of the lovebirds.


• Shirley - one of my first roommates from Pentagon City lives out in Utah now. We spent a few hours talking and going out to eat some Mediterranean food. It reminded both of us of the eclectic DC food. Shirley was the original Pride and Prejudice fan that is delighted that I have given the movie a chance (finally) and love it.
  (can't find picture, but will insert)


• Laurel - we met at Ricks College a long time ago! Laurel and I were avid members of the "Nerd Herd" and would make runs to Brolums grocery store for Twizzlers licorice. In the last 15-16 years I've periodically opened up my mail to find a bag of licorice reminding me of those good times. Laurel is always the first person to laugh at my jokes and was a great friend through those difficult times as a resident assistant.
  

• Raschel and Melynda (Melynder) - These sisters were my roommates toward the end of the BYU experience. We had some good times worrying about boys, taking walks, having long talks, and just enjoying each others company. Melynda worked through the night as a nurse and she would get home around when I woke up and so we had great conversations around 6 in the morning. Both Raschel and Melynda were always positive and fun to be around and I was reminded of that in the few minutes we had together.

• Karen - wow, we go further back than anyone else I met up with, except for my brother. Karen and I met freshman year, were resident assistants together the next year, came to BYU, left on our missions at the same time, came back to BYU, became roommates toward the end of college and in general shared a lot of happy and hard times. We both worried way too much about who we would marry and would talk for endless hours about lots of different topics. Despite her best efforts, I am still a walker and she can outrun most anyone I know.


• Scot (Scotty) - OK, my brother is family, but I do consider him a friend. It was great to see him and go out with some of his roommates for some big burgers. Yes, my friends, there are still some good young guys in the world. They were great to talk with even though I could be there mother...or close to it anyway. I went on campus to see where Scot worked and the cool architectural software he uses (Ribit? or Revet?) . He is implementing his architecture/construction management skills into the "Becca House." I think I will do a separate entry about that, but it's been fun to work with him on the design of my future house over the past couple of years.


• Vincent and Freda - All of my sisters and I knew Vincent at Campus Plaza at BYU. He would always come on group activities with us and ask for advice about career, marriage, career, marriage, career, marriage, etc. Freda came along a little later, but we all knew they should be together. Now they have a beautiful family and we of course had a chance to sit and chat about the same things again - career, marriage, career, marriage. (-: Wonderful friends!

• Mike, Ann and Patti - so, I finally have a picture of Patti to put up here. Patti lived in DC for a while and I'm realizing that I didn't get to know her that well now that we've had a few conversations on facebook, blogs and at the wedding reception. Here she is with Mike and Ann. Mike became a new friend too since I'd never met him. Great person and a wonderful match for Ann. I'm not sure why this picture is so little.I'm feeling like a pretty lucky person right now. I wish I could have seen everyone else, but maybe the next trip.

Memory Lane - nooks and corners

I came home from work the other day and did what I always do. I put my keys and blackberry on the bookshelf and then went around my sofa chair and put my computer bag next to my church bag and stack of "to do" papers. It's a perfect hiding spot from the front door, but very accessible to me when I'm sitting and working on my laptop or watching the tube.

This is my favorite corner for keeping what I use on a daily basis. It's also grown to include a printer, purse, scriptures and other books I read. One would think I would use my extra bedroom for this type of stuff, but the reality requires me to have everything easily accessible while I'm doing my day to day activities in the main part of the house.

Growing up, my bedroom was my "corner," but now that the entire house is mine I guess I had to create a "mini-corner" to fit the bill.

I'm realizing that special "corners" or "nooks" aren't so rare when I look through old family pictures.


This was a special corner, for many reasons, in our Michigan house. First, the cabinet is built into the wall and accessible from the living room behind it. We would often try to crawl through the cabinet into the other room. One of the benefits of growing up in a Frank Lloyd Wright inspired home.

Plus, we stored the little record player (shown) in that cabinet so you could access it from either room. But, as you can see, the record player never strayed from the corner. We took it out and played it right there. In fact, it looks like the record that is playing is the Mary Poppins record. You can barely make out the men in black dancing on the roof. All of the songs heard in that corner are completely memorized and when someone says a trigger word at family gatherings we all start singing the tune. "Cast off the shackles of yesterday..." or "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious" or "Hound dog howdy kidlets...this is huckleberry hooouuuunnnddd."

The boys found little nooks and corners everywhere. Little Scot apparently had a special corner in the garage. The horrible yellow paint with perfectly matching burnt orange carpet scraps to complement the decor. I'm sure that it wasn't that clean either even though sweeping the garage was one of the Saturday "duties."

Here's an interesting corner. When it rained, it became apparent that the deck had a slant because water would always pour down in one corner creating a puddle and a steady stream. For some reason we thought it was great that we could get our hair wet by standing in that location. Not sure why it was different than the rain pouring beyond the deck, but this special feature provided cheap entertainment for quite a few rain storms.

Another tidbit of thought that may provide little value beyond a fun memory. However, a bunch of these little trips down memory lane are starting to add up.

The Hustle - as performed by Dad

So, Mom was caught doing the Napoleon Dynamite dance, but Dad was caught doing "The Hustle."

Scot contributed his unique dance maneuvers in the background.