Memories

Zach and I will be celebrating our 10th anniversary this August. Around our anniversary, I always enjoy reminiscing about our friendship, courtship and wedding. So I thought I would just share some of my fondest memories. This time I will share about how we met and started dating.
When I was in 11th grade, Zach was just getting back from his stay at Bible school in England. The very first time I noticed him, he was showing our Bible study group his pictures from his recent trip to Israel. Then, he sort of came and went for a while. While he was gone I became good friends with Zach's best friend. I was also trying to learn how to play bass guitar. Someone mentioned that this guy named Zach was selling his bass amp, and gave me his phone number. I called and some lady with a southern accent answered the phone (which stands out in Hawaii), and took the message that I wanted to buy his amp. A few days later, we met formally when I bought his amp for $100.00. Not long after, Zach and our mutual friend (who was living at his house) were hanging out together every day. After a short time of this, I realised that I liked him. So, I started praying about him, diligently. He was pretty much all I thought about. After about a month, pretty much everyone who knew me, knew that I liked Zach. Except Zach. We still did everything together as friends. We even started a small band. It was silly but fun. Meanwhile Zach was planning on going away to California for college the next spring. I didn't know what I was going to do. I thought about writing him a letter, letting him know how I felt. Not that it would do any good, but at least I would get my feelings off my chest. I would constantly be asking my girlfriends if they thought he liked me. Of course they would all say, "Yeah, he totally does!" That year for Halloween we decided to dress up as our "glam" rock band. Zach came by the school at lunch time (by surprise) to go shopping to find costumes. I was sitting in the cafeteria and 6 hysterical girls came running in telling me Zach was here and looking for ME. I could hardly contain my excitement. Shortly after Halloween, I came to the realisation that he was obviously not interested in me. It never occurred to me that perhaps he didn't know I liked him. I was sure he knew. I became convinced that he just wanted to be friends. So, I officially gave up. I told myself I was over it and was going to move on. Well, maybe a day or two after that, Zach was getting ready to go to his college classes in the morning. His dad pulled him aside and told him something like, "You know Zach, I think that girl Sophie has a crush on you." The next day after our High School Bible Study meeting, he pulled me aside and asked if it was true. I very calmly (though I was shaking like a leaf, and my heart was beating like a hammer) told him that it was true. Shortly thereafter, we were officially "dating." Needless to say, he postponed going to school that Spring. The rest, as they say, is history.

Pictures of Vegas

This is THE Hotel


New York New York

Not sure what "religious nightlife" is

Apparently there are dieties of

adult beverages, her title is

"tequila goddess"

View from our hotel window

at sunset

Fountain show at the Bellagio

Billboard right before you enter the strip

Outside of our hotel "Treasure Island"

Inside atrium at the Bellagio

each piece is a handblown glass flower

Eiffel Tower

Inside the Venetian they have a sky that changes

with the outside sky

Gondolators gondolating

There is redemption in Vegas

This giant clown was a little scary



You may have noticed that all the daytime pictures were taken from a car window. It was too hot to walk around outside, except at night. Even at night it was still HOT but slightly less unbearable.

What Happens in Vegas..........Goes on my Blog (part 2)

So we are back from Las Vegas and it is good to be home. We had a good time. It was very nice to be able to spend time with some old friends. But in reflecting on the whole Vegas experience, I have come to the conclusion that you could sum up the city in two words: excess and extreme. Every thing is done to the extreme and in excess. The heat is extreme and excessive. The buildings are extreme and excessive. The prices of everything are extreme and excessive. They charge you for things that would be free anywhere else you go. They even charge you for air! Well, you can pay for air if you want, every hotel that we saw has an oxygen bar, where you essentially pay money to breathe. The food portions are extreme and excessive. The noise is extreme and excessive. There is constant noise EVERYEHERE, music is blasted at all hours in every space. The waste and consumption are extreme and excessive. The debauchery is extreme and excessive.
What also struck me is the psychology behind everything. Like the placement and layout of casinos. Every aspect of a hotel and casino is calculated to make the maximum amount of money possible. Casinos are like giant mazes because they want you to get lost inside. They figure you will give up trying to find the exit and you will decide to spend money instead.
We really did not do any gambling, it is just not our kind of thing. But we did have fun. We saw some excellent shows. We saw Cirque de Soliel, the show was called Mystere. It was so amazing and creative. The things that they do are pretty unbelievable.

We also saw the Blue Man Group. It was nothing like we expected. All I have ever seen of them is there PVC instrumentation and some drumming. But it was more a comedy show with bits of that mixed in. It was very impressive, eccentric, and entertaining.

So all in all we had a good time. I will post some pictures in a separate entry.

What happens in Vegas......Goes on my blog (part 1)

So we made it here to Las Vegas. The plane ride was uneventful, which by today's standards is pretty spectacular. We got to the airport here and I was surprised by the number of slot machines. I knew there were slot machines in the airport; I have seen enough movies to know that. However, it was if they had 10,000 extra slot machines they didn't know what to do with so, they built an airport around them. The other thing you notice as you walk through the airport is the constant "dingalinaling" sound from said slot machines. It seems if you had to listen to that all day every day, it would surely cause some sort of long term psychological damage. There are also a lot of large billboards around (even in the airport) that I'm glad I don't have to explain to Calvin. I had known it was going to be hot here, but I was surprised by what 110 degrees really feels like. One of our best friends and his wife live out here in Vegas. He explained that it is a lot like being in an oven. I've never been in an oven, but I would agree that this is probably what it would be like. I've always heard people say that it is a "dry heat", so it's not that bad. While I agree it would be worse if there were any type of humidity, 110 is still 110! So, there you have a glimpse of the first day Vegas. I will update more and post some pictures (I already took abouy 95) when we get home.

No Anti-Dentite Here

We have one anti-dentite in the family. Well, they are not so much against dentists as people, just what they do to you. I was a little afraid that Calvin would inherit or pick up on this trait. But my fears were relieved when I took him to the dentist this week. He had to get his first x-rays, and he did a great job of that. Although he said that the lead apron (it had a big smiley face on it) should really have an angry face instead. He very much enjoyed getting to hold and operate the spit sucker outer (I have no idea of the technical term for that instrument). The only problem came when they put the fluoride tray in, he remembered from last time that he did not like it, so I am sure much of it was psychological. So he took about 15 minutes trying to decide which flavor to choose, because he didn't want any of them. Finally I told him I would choose for him, so he very quickly said "grape." The second the hygienist put the tray in , he started to gag. Anyone who knows Calvin knows that his gag reflex has a hair trigger, he throws up ALL the time. She took it out and painted the fluoride on instead, I was proud of him for not throwing up. Something about the little toothbrushes they give you at the dentist made him incredibly excited to brush his teeth. He brushed all the way home. I kept trying to get him to feel how clean his teeth were and enjoy that feeling. Hopefully, in the future he will remember that, and perhaps enjoy getting his teeth cleaned and look forward to going to the dentist. After the appointment, I had to go to Wal-Mart to do some grocery shopping. I told Calvin he could pick out a new DVD because he did so well at the dentist. It took him all of 5 seconds to see that he wanted the second Pirates of the Caribbean movie. He carried it the whole time in the store. Every person he saw, he stopped and showed them his new DVD. He would tell them all about his trip to the dentist and seeing pictures of his teeth. If he had not stopped to talk to people, it would have taken 30 minutes less to get done with our shopping.

So I know that Calvin is okay with the dentist. Now, it is Corban I am worried about, as he has a general mistrust of anyone outside of his immediate family. He really dislikes the doctor, even though he has never had any bad experiences. All the doctor has to do is glance at him from across the room and Corban is clinging to me for his life, howling in fear. It is not a pleasant experience. Maybe we can wait awhile before I have to take Corban dentist. Or, maybe Daddy can take him!

Quotable Calvin

I know it has been awhile since my last post. It has been a very busy few weeks. First, there was soccer camp for Calvin. It was really fun. They may not have learned a whole lot about soccer, but they had a good time. It was 2 hours a day for 4 days. His group was age 3-5, so as you can imagine most of the time was spent on water, potty, and snack breaks with a few soccer skills learned in between. Then we had our church youth (high school) camp which Zach and I were in charge of. It was a lot fun and I think the kids had a good time. Needless to say, I came home very tired anf not wanting to cook again for a long time! Now, we leave again in a few days. Zach and I are off to Las Vegas in celebration of our 10th wedding anniversary (which is not actually till Aug.1 but this is the time we could get). So, I know the title said quotable Calvin, but I just wanted to fill you in on things.
Without further ado:

One morning while sitting at the breakfast table Calvin said, "Girls are good at shopping and cooking breakfast". What I think he meant was, "Girls are good at so many things, there are too many to name, but I appreciate it most when Mom takes me shopping and cooks me breakfast". I will give him the benefit of the doubt.

On our way to soccer camp we had the following discussion:
Calvin: Hey Mom, I just saw a turtle up in a tree.
Me: Probably not Calvin, I don't think a turtle could climb up in a tree.
Calvin: Yeah they can, they just do it slower.
Me: No, I really don't think they can climb.
Calvin: Well, then I just saw a turtle that wind blew him up in a tree. Would the turtle get a splinter in his shell?
Me: No, turtles shells are hard.
Calvin: How do you get splinters?
Me: Little pieces of wood break off and stick under your skin.
Calvin: And in your fingernails.
Me: No your fingernails are hard, wood wouldn't stick in them.
Calvin: But if you just cut them, they would be soft and you would get a splinter.

We were in the car with some friends, Calvin and his friend Matt were sitting next to each other when Matt called to his mom that Calvin had hit him. I asked Calvin if he hit his friend and Calvin said, "but it didn't hurt". I explained that it is never okay to hit, especially your friends, so Calvin said, "yeah, but I did it slowly." And that makes it better?

Before Zach and I left for the camp-out at Craig's Creek Calvin had a warning for me, he said: "Mom, you should be careful at Craig's Creek, that place is magic, it changed me into scared."

When Calvin was getting dressed a few mornings ago he told me he had a very sad dream the last night, I asked him to tell me what happened and this is what he said: "I had a dream that I was playing at the BAC (our gym) and I had a magic wand. I accidentally changed all the kids I was playing with into lava pots (I am not exactly sure what that is but I assume a vessel filled with lava) and I kept wishing and I could change them back, because I wasn't very good at it."
I agreed it was sad, but I said that the good news was, that it was just a dream and he said: "Yeah, but the better news was, that in my dream you came to get me and you had a magic wand too, and you changed us all back."
I am still not sure if this really was something he had dreamt, but it sounded like it could have been. I am sure it must have been sad to him at the time. But it was also kind of funny!