On my mind...

(Totally just copied this idea from Natalie :)

* Zach has been in St. George for  6 days with a client's national convention.  With the exception of when he drove his Shelby across the country, this is the longest he has been gone from home.  Simon and Emmy have been taking turns in my bed.  I love sleeping with my kids.  It is waaaayyy better than sleeping alone in a big bed.  Even though I enjoy a bit more personal time when he is gone, we are all ready for Zach and his fun-loving spirit to come home!  I'm pretty sure he is, too.

* One of the things I have been doing with all my newfound free time is getting caught up on my family DVDs which is so great.  We watch them a lot.  I was 2 years behind.  With my poor memory, I totally rely on these DVDs to help keep those family memories clear.  I usually give a copy to my mom, mother-in-law and step-mom.  I have no idea if they want them or watch them (actually I know my mom does), but it's a good insurance policy if my copies ever get ruined or lost.

* I have my running partner back!  Tiffany is back in running commission after a long recovery from uterine cancer / hysterectomy.  We went on a relatively small run yesterday and it was the perfect weather for it.  I remember why I love running and why running with a friend is so much better.  They keep you going long after you would've quit if you were on your own.  I think I am ready to sign up for another half, but the question is which one?

* I played in a tennis tournament this week with my friend Cathy.  We won our first match 6-1, 7-6.  My mom and kids came to watch me which I always love.  I am usually the only one with an audience but I don't care.  However, we lost today's match 6-7, 4-6.  It was a close match and we played girls that we knew from our spring league at the Sports Mall.  It's fun to play people you know in those circumstances.  My goal now is to play singles in a tournament just to see if I can hold my own.

* Connor quit his job at Lone Star Steakhouse and is now working at Salt City Consignment and Auction House with his Uncle Aaron.  He is getting a lot more hours and they are usually during the day which is helping turn around his nocturnal habit.  He has school two days a week and usually works 3-4 days as well.

* Simon asked me the other day if we can still get drinks when we die.  When I told him I didn't know and that I would have to wait until I died to find out, he instructed me to ask the Holy Ghost to let him know when I found out.  Love that kid!  That one is almost as precious as when he compared resurrection to "respawning" from Halo.

* Emmy is at her second viewing right now of a scary movie called "Insidious 2".  I don't know where she got her liking for horror movies and mystery shows/books.  Not me - I'm all about the drama and romance.  She also loves the TV show "Sherlock" and has watched the entire season twice.

* We are moving forward with plans for a family cruise in January.  That one big trip before Connor embarks on his mission!  We've been saying that for the last few family vacations but I think this is really the one.  I need to get passports for the kids this week.

* Zach got in a relatively minor accident in the yellow Lotus recently.  It was his fault but no one was hurt.  Unfortunately, what seemed like minor damage just to the fiberglass shell actually was major damage to the door hinge which is connected to the frame.

That is where the insurance company draws the line when determining whether to repair or total the car.  They went with total the car.  Big bummer, but I guess that's what insurance is for.  Now Zach is on the lookout for another Lotus but I suspect he will go with something different.  It has been a fun car to use in parades, ride with the top off in good weather, drive at the race track and embarrass Emmy by picking her up in it at school.

* I got together with my mom and sisters last week for what I am choosing to call "Farley Female Fun day".  (I'm not in love with that name so let me know if you can think of something better.  Tiffany does this regularly with her mom/sisters but they just call it Grandma Day.)  Hopefully it is the first of many to come.  We all have kids in school during at least part of the day now so this is going to become a much more regular thing.  We hung out at Erin's for a while, went to the cutest furniture shop called 4 Chairs in Lindon to give Erin and Misty some decorating ideas, and then had lunch at the most girly story/deli - Dear Lizzie.  When it was time to pick up Erin's youngest daughter Kate from preschool, the four of us stood outside with our arms held out as the kids came out to see who Kate would run to.  She chose her Aunt Misty. This week we are making salsa which I am so excited about.  We have plans to play tennis, do genealogy and go to daytime movies.

* Speaking of living the stay-at-home-mom dream, I think I'm going to spoil it by getting a job.  I actually put together a resume last week and starting looking into part-time jobs.  I have such specific and limited time requirements in mind (two days a week from 10-2) that I probably will never find a job that fits that description which is fine by me.  It will have to be the perfect job and fall into my lap for me to take it.

Salt Lake Comic Con 2013

You don't know what Comic Con is?  I was a part of that club once upon a time but I am married to a movie/toy lover which fits right into the Comic Con demographic.  Here's a good description - "Originally showcasing comic books, science fiction/fantasy and film/television, and related popular arts, the convention now includes a larger range of pop culture elements, such as horror, animation, anime, manga, toys, collectible card games, video games, webcomics, and fantasy novels".  That about sums it up.  In other words, it's a big nerd convention and the nerds will be the first ones to proudly call it that.  

Zach has been excited to take the whole family since he first heard that Salt Lake was holding it's very first convention.  He and I made Simon his Halloween costume early so that he could wear it there.  He is a "spartan" from the popular video game Halo.  A LOT of work went into that costume, we didn't just buy it.  

As soon as we entered the Salt Palace, people were going crazy over his costume.  Kids and adults right and left were asking to have their picture taken with him.  At one point, Simon whispered to me "I feel famous!"

Connor wanted to wear Zach's storm trooper outfit which doesn't fit Zach anymore.  Even though there were a few other storm troopers there, he was asked for photo ops a lot as well. 

Emmy found out after posting this picture on Instagram that Captain America is actually one of her friend's dad.  Small world considering 50,000 people attended!

We ran into my nephews, Grant and Jake, unexpectedly there and had a nice little reunion.  I haven't seen them for a long time.  

These ladies asked for a photo op and I excitedly let them know that I was this storm troopers MOTHER.  I know, I know - they probably couldn't believe I had a son big enough to wear that getup.  

A good example of the genre called Steampunk, if you don't know what that looks like.  Lots of old timey gears and stuff.  I don't quite understand it but I think they captured it perfectly.

This real life soldier thought Simon was the most adorable soldier and insisted on a picture with him.

Bilbo Baggins vs. Star Wars

This lady cracked me up as she posed for her husband pretending that Simon was arresting her.

Hello creepy eyes!

One of the most random things I saw - chainmail made out of soda pop tops.  

Tons of Dr. Who fans and paraphernalia there.  This "TARDIS" dress was a hot commodity.

Connor loved this Dr. Who.

More Dr. Who - I don't get it.

Did you know storm troopers aren't able to sit down or go up stairs very easily?  You don't see that in the movie!  So Connor had to eat standing up.

This Jack Sparrow impersonator was amazing.  He was a big hit.

I don't blame you for not knowing who this girl is dressed as.  I am SUPER DUPER impressed if you do.  (Hint - Japanese anime character from one of my kids favorite Hayao Miyazaki films)

This guy's Iron Man costume was amazing considering you could tell it was homemade and not some movie prop or professionally made thing.  If you looked closely, it was definitely homemade.

Amazing lego setups.  This was a scene from Lord of the Rings.

Shooting Gallery

Zach has become quite the gun enthusiast this year.  In the winter months when driving isn't an option, going to the gun range became his hobby of choice.  He recently took the family out to the wilderness to try out some of his new guns.  I've been saving glass bottles for a year just for this occasion.  Other than a close encounter with a baby rattler which had us all a bit rattled to say the least, the rest of the adventure was incident-free and a lot of fun.  I'm surprised how much I enjoyed it.  

Simon's first time shooting a .22 rifle.  Thanks to a good scope, he was a really good shot!  

Emmy was shocked at the kick on this gun.  She wasn't a fan.

Trying my hand with this cute little thing.  I just happened to have a leftover can of tomatoes in the car which didn't stand a chance to my marksmanship.

Emmy Snapshot

At a Young Womens activity at the Salt Lake Temple.  They wore their Sunday best, rode Trax downtown and had a lesson on the temple grounds about temples.  Even though she sometimes would rather be doing other things than going to Young Womens (she doesn't have any close friends there), she also admits to me that she is grateful for the uplifting effect it has on her life.  She was just made president of her class (14-15 years olds) and is in charge of holding presidency meetings and attending Bishops Youth Council once a month.  

One of her "selfies" that I think is stunning.  

We experimented with her hair the other day and it turned out pretty awesome.  We used to do all sorts of cool stuff when she was little but lately all she wants to do is curl it or put it up in a bun.  

Setting up her locker for 9th grade.  This is the first year she has a full sized locker so she is pretty excited.

Farley GNO

Misty organized a Farley girls night out at a painting studio in Park City called The Paint Mixer, the kind of place where everyone paints the same thing with the instructor walking you through it step-by-step.  The studio also makes its money serving wine and they really push the alcohol.  Several times the instructor told us that if you don't like your painting, just drink more and you will LOVE it!  Well, I don't drink so suffice it to say that I was never very satisfied with my painting, but it was fun pretending to know what I was doing so it was worth it!  

This is the studio's example of what we were painting

And the finished result - Tada!

My man is 40!

We've been leading up to and celebrating Zach's 40th for a while now.  Several celebrations were held for this momentous occasion, the first being attending a Rush concert which was on his top 10 list of things he wants to do by the time he turns 50.  It's one of the easiest to accomplish, too.  The concert was a lot of fun.  It brought back high school memories when Zach introduced me to Rush.  These old guys can still rock and are pretty awesome musicians.

The next request Zach had for his birthday was that I come out to the race track with him, not just to watch him from the grandstands like I've done before, but actually be in the passenger seat.  I'm glad he didn't ask me to be in the driver's seat because that would have been way out of my comfort zone.  I was pretty shaken just being the passenger.  He's driven the course many times, and feels totally comfortable and confident in his driving skills.  I, however, felt like we were about to slide off the track at every turn.  After driving in both the Lotus and the Aston, my stomach had it and wouldn't let me get in a moving vehicle for a while.   

I extended the traditional birthday door streamers down the hall.  For some reason, it felt like a Murray colored Mexican Fiesta to me.  

If you know Zach, you know he isn't much of a sweets kind of guy so a cake wouldn't have been appreciated.  So I did nothing.  Then I find him slicing himself up a plate of tomatoes from our garden and sticking a candle in it!  Now why didn't I think of that?

Our next birthday stop took us to Las Vegas for a quick weekend getaway.  We stayed at Mandalay Bay and enjoyed their amazing "beach" including wave pools, lazy rivers and real sand beaches.  The real reason Zach wanted to go to Vegas was because he wanted his birthday dinner to be at one of his favorite restaurants, Strip Steak, to get the most amazing steak - the infamous wagyu beef.  I've been hearing him describe his wagyu beef experience for over a year now and it was time to find out if it was really all that he said it was.  After tasting it, I have to agree! 

Me making fun of teenagers taking "selfies" of themselves in the bathroom mirror.  I sent this to Emmy while I was in the restroom at the restaurant.  I seem to remember her response was "You're a dork".

After dinner, we went to Max Brenner's chocolate restaurant for dessert at Caesar's Palace and loaded up on chocolate syringes.  These little beauties are the quickest way to have chocolate enter your bloodstream.  A must for any chocolate lover.  

I'm glad Zach is paving the way into the 40's for me.  I think that will make it a little easier when I turn 40 soon.  He really is an amazing man that I am lucky to be married to.  I'm so happy I've been able to celebrate the last 21 birthdays with him.