Independence Day Weekend

You know, you say "independent" enough times in a row, and it starts to sound really weird. Independent independent independent independent...

It was a busy Independence Day weekend. After working hard for four days (well, a month and four days since the Memorial Day holiday), I was looking forward to the three-day weekend. It kicked off Thursday evening with a baby shower. My cousin Jane is about 6 months along and was given permission to travel to Utah from California so that her husband's sisters could throw them the shower. It was a fancy event (the food was so good I wanted seconds of everything... but I restrained myself for once). My mom, Gram, Jordyn, Lindsey (Jane's former roommate and the person who introduced Lindsey to my brother), Jane's sister Maddy, Jake's family, and many of Jane's friends from various walks of life were there. We played some fun games (ask me about the "gum baby" game sometime), and chatted quite a bit. But, the highlight of the party was the opening of the gifts. Granted, that's usually the best part, but Jane is the undisputed funnest person to watch open gifts! She was so excited about everything! She even opened up the packages to take closer looks at everything. You could have knocked her over with a feather when she started examining Mom and Lindsey's homemade gifts -- it was pretty cute.

That night after the party, I started a project which ended up taking the entire weekend... and still hasn't been resolved. What I'd wanted to do was start scanning childhood photos onto my computer. What actually happened was that I scanned and saved one photo, then a pop-up appeared stating that the device was no longer recognized. I spent the rest of the weekend -- any time I was home, that is, and late into the nights -- trying to redownload the drivers, and software, and trying different USB connections. I've tried everything listed on the Hewlett-Packard site and now need to take it into some shop to have them take a look at it, because the only issue I haven't addressed is the scanner itself. My warranty isn't up until September, so they better pay for it. What a pain!

Friday I worked on the computer for awhile, then decided to go shopping. I wanted a new swimsuit and remembered cute ones at Old Navy from a year ago, so I went there first. Turns out their swimsuit collection was pitiful, but I tried on a bunch of cute shirts and even bought a couple (and paid with a check ;D). I stopped by Barnes & Noble for a moment, because I've decided on what I want to buy my mom for her birthday next month and I wanted to make sure it was available there. I should have bought it, but I'd just spent all that money on shirts...

I rushed home to change and then made the trek to Weber Canyon to join my ward (only getting lost twice, but a couple of people agreed the map we had wasn't very useful). The Activities Committee had put together a weekend bash up at the cabin of one of our Bishopric members. Now, when I think "cabin" I think a log cabin that has maybe three bedrooms and is really old. What I found was a ginormous newish structure with 3 stories, at least 3 bathrooms, and bunks -- with bedding -- for at least 30 people! Holy cow! I was impressed! I arrived in time to meet up with friends and stand in line for some dutch oven cooking. They even had dutch oven peach cobbler (I'm drooling just thinking about it. I had to meet someone in line just so I could tell her how much I love dutch over peach cobbler). After dinner we all gathered into the family room for a fireside taught by our Institute instructor, Shawna Stoddard, who is both insightful and hilarious. She talked about how life doesn't ever turn out the way we planned, but it is the way it has to be. She used several examples, but the one that sticks most in my mind was Israel's wife Leah. Poor Leah, knowing that she wasn't the favorite wife, even though she gave Israel six sons. And yet, she was the mother of Judah, who was the ultimate grandfather of the Savior. It's cool and yet a little frustrating to think that things that seem such a big deal to me probably aren't that bad or at least will be worth it in the end. Even if I don't know the whole picture, Heavenly Father does. After the fireside, I played a lot of badminton, which it turns out I'm rather good at. Who knew? Then it was horseshoes and hiking and s'mores before I realized I should probably head home before I was too sleepy. I drove to Weber Canyon alone, but gave several people a ride home. Always more fun when someone else is around! It was a fun activity. It continued through Saturday, but I had other plans...

My Craven cousins have a condo in Midway and invited my family to join them on Saturday. The 4th of July is our grandmother's birthday, so we celebrated with lunch and cake and hanging out together. I had wanted to take photos, but the battery in my camera died! Mean! The Cravens are great. I particularly enjoyed Kim's oldest son telling me all of the secrets of the Star Wars movies. He really knows his stuff! (I should know, since I'm no slouch with Star Wars trivia myself, but I played dumb since it would be more fun for the both of us.) We went swimming after lunch, and I discovered my bottle of sunscreen was practically empty. Nevertheless, I didn't get sunburned until afterwards, when I put on my cover-up and sat in the backyard and chatted with my brother, David, cousins Bryce, Emily, and Jesse, and uncle Martin. It felt sooo good to just sit in the sun and talk comfortably with them. Around 5pm David and I drove home. I stopped by Wal*Mart to pick up a few things, including a new printer/scanner just in case. I haven't opened it yet, though. Then I ended up just hanging out at home by myself, watching the Washington D.C. fireworks on tv, and then Return of the Jedi on Spike TV, which was doing a "Force of July" marathon. I could hear at least three different groups of fireworks near my house, and even see some from the parking lot at Kinkos, but decided not to brave the crowds.

Sunday after church, I joined my parents, Gram, Peter, and Jordyn for dinner, then watched a couple of tv shows my mom had stored on DVR. We also got to talk with my brother Aaron who is coming home next week for a week! Yay! I am so excited! Aaron also had his new girlfriend, Shonni, on speaker phone, so we kind of got to meet her. She sounds darling, and she and Aaron were adorable on the phone. He's planning to come back next month for his High School 10 Year reunion and bring Shonni with him so we can meet her in person. Her family is in Provo, so Aaron will get to meet them, too. I'm glad to hear he's so happy :) And I'm super-excited he'll be here next week!

My family is already starting to plan activities for Aaron's visit, starting with next Sunday, when we'll celebrate my dad's birthday. Adam and Lindsey will bring the twins to the party along with Lindsey's mom and Gunner. Since everyone will be there, we're planning to take a family photo. I'm keeping my fingers crossed I'll get to hold at least one of the babies at some point, but I suppose I'll have a lot of competition, in which case it's nice to have two babies! Looking forward to seeing them again... they're getting so big!

Today is my third day back at work and I'm gratified by the amount of work I've accomplished so far. Nothing like a good vacation to clear my mind and help me get back to real life. Better get back to it.