Millie and Fiona

So... SUPRISE!!! Lesley and I adopted twin kittens from the Humane Society this week. They were born in mid-June and were abandoned before they were 1 week old. We just COULD NOT separate them- it's a twin thing. They are each other's best friends and they cuddle and play hide and seek. They are not comfortable unless they can see each other. It's like me and Les but in cat form :)

They are gray tabby cats, but Millie is more b&w and Fiona is sepia. They both have white paws, it is like they are wearing gloves and socks.

We NEVER thought this would happen, but we love them already. We keep joking that we got them to lure our nieces and nephews over (they have come over every day since we got them = success!!)

Here are some photos:

Fiona sleeping like a baby in Lesley's arms

Valie and Fiona, Aaron and Millie, and Ashley (patiently waiting her turn)

Fiona and Millie

Fiona on the left and Millie on the right

Aaron LOVES Millie

So can you tell them a part? LOL

The Kimball Art Center and Meeting Miss America 1953

I have never been to the Kimball Art Center in Park City, well until 2 days ago.  My mom had read this article in the news paper about an exhibition of the official wardrobe of Miss America 1953, Neva Langley Fickling.  As usual, she showed me the article and we instantly made a plan to go see it.  Luckily, I only had to work a 1/2 day on Friday so Les and mom came and picked me up from the gallery and we headed up the canyon to Main Street.  

The show was under a little construction for a big event the next day with chairs everywhere.  The gallery was fairly empty, but near the end of our visit, in came Neva Langley Fickling herself!!! She is a southern belle and I had no idea she would even come to Utah to see the show.  I went up and talked with her and Lesley asked her to sign our gallery guide.  She is still very beautiful and very polite.  

I have always loved pagents since I was a little girl; in Jr. High, my best friend Irene would come over and we'd make Velveta Shells and Cheese and Jell-o Chocolate pudding and watch the Miss America or Miss USA or Miss Teen USA.  We would practice the crying and the waving and alway, ALWAYS re-inact the calling of the runner-ups and the winner.  We cheesed it up and got extremely hyper.  It was what we lived for :)  

Seeing those gorgeous gowns up close was thrilling.  The pink dress was one of her favorites and looks very contemporary even by today's standards.  Interesting fact, one of the pagent sponsers was  Everglaze Cotton so most, if not all of her official wardrobe was made out of polished sheen cotton- can you imagine fancy gowns made out of cotton?  It was incredible to see the craftsmanship that went into those designs.  Neva told us it was great because with all of her traveling, she never had to have the dresses pressed.  

 Neva wore this white gown when she was crowned Miss America 1953.  The skirt is made out of layers of tule and the top is elegantly beaded.  She wore sleeves to keep to her demure southern roots and to stand out to the judges.  

This was my second favorite gown. It was a simple sweetheart neckline, strapless, white gown that her mother made.  She won her first pagent in this gown.  It was one of her favorites and wore it often; you can see wear in the torn tule.  

So we basically got to fulfill some childhood fantasies and support local art all at the same time. I loved it. I loved the Kimball Art Center. The show only runs until September 13, 2009.  If you are interested in historical fashion and clothing construction, I highly recommend you attend- plus it's free!  Also at the Kimball Art Center is a small multi-media show by Meredith Prevot.  She is married to Lesley's favorite French teacher at BYU and so there was a nice connection there.  Her art is a little cotton-candy (sweet but not a lot of substance) but I really liked her aesthetic.  She had little prints for sale so we bought one and I'm going to frame it at work some time.

All in All- it was a great way to spend a Friday afternoon!! 

Thanks to my mom and her love of clothes :) 

Ashley is a Great Photographer

My Fav Photos from Las Vegas Family Reunion 2009

My Three Lovelies!!! Ashley, Valerie, and Lauren

Dave and his boys

Poolside!!


Look at happy Grandpa :)

My Three Boys!!! Evan, Jack, and Aaron

Lauren + Jack + Evan = Two Very Lucky Aunties

Picture and Video; Pre-Vegas Trip in California

So right after work on Friday, Les, Mom, and myself all hopped in the car and drove to St George.  Then we got up in the morning and made to Palmdale by 1 pm.  Of course my camera came right out and started taking videos and photos!!  The Powell's had family photos scheduled for that evening so we helped them get ready.  The picture is of me and Jack- it's a precious shot of him since he had a hard time holding still looking at the camera; I guess Aunties have the magic touch :)

In the video- look for Jack's angry "duck" face at the very, very end.  He was not happy with me taking pictures of his baby sis.  It is priceless!!

New Job

I have a new job!!!! YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It is a dream job for me- I'll be a manager of an art gallery here in Salt Lake.  

It's the Repartee Gallery in Fort Union located inside Deseret Book (next door to the LDS Distribution Center).  I start July 27th and the first week is just learning how to frame. 

The gallery specializes in religious LDS art done by local LDS artists.  The two main hitters are Liz Lemon Swindle and James Christensen.

Liz Lemon Swindle, She Shall Bring Forth a Son

James Christensen, A Place of Her Own

The gallery also does a lot of custom framing; the company actually started as a framing shop down in Utah County 31 years ago.  Now there are galleries in Downtown SLC, Bountiful, Orem, and Fort Union.  

I am so excited!!! (and extremely nervous- I have big shoes to fill).  

  

4th of July

We started our day by going to a pancake breakfast and bike parade.  Ashley rode her bike so fast!!!!  She had dreams of attaching Eby to her bike and she would pull her faster than any other kid in the parade.  The kids think of it more as a race and not as a nice parade :)

Then Haley and Steve let Lesley and I tag a long to Murray Pool to go swimming.  It was such a fun activity- a perfect way to celebrate the 4th of July.

That night, we all went at watched fireworks in Holladay.  This is my favorite 4th of July tradition!!  I love waiting for the sun to set with my brothers and sisters and nieces and nephew.  It was really funny b/c we were all on our phones facebooking each other while sitting next to each other!!!  Aaron was watching Phineus and Ferb on Steve's phone, Valie taught Lesley a game on her iPhone, and Ashley was tackling me.  Awesome fun!!! Then the show went on for nearly 40 minutes.  The finale was amazing and so worth the hour plus wait.  

I hope you all had a great 4th of July as well.  I LOVE this holiday and the chance to celebrate the birth of our great nation by spending time with our friends and family and blowing stuff up.

I am done

Is it bad that I am SO beyond sick of hearing about Michael Jackson?  

It has been almost 2 weeks strait of non-stop coverage and now today, the entire episode of GMA is dedicated to him- I want to barf up my yogurt.  

No disrespect but I feel all this coverage is disrespect to his privacy and his family's needs at this time.

I need to vent

I am SO upset by the 5-4 ruling of the Supreme Court in favor of the firefighters in Connecticut.  It should have been a 9-0 ruling!!!  At least they got Sotomayor's decision reversed.

For those of you who do not know what I am talking about, apparently fire fighters were denied their promotions because none of their minority peers passed the promotion exam.  So because all that passed the exam were white, no one got the promotion even though they rightfully deserved it.  THIS IS DISCRIMINATION!!!!!!* 

If indeed we are "post-racial" then why should the color of these fire fighter's skin interfere with their exam scores?!!  It is not their fault they worked hard and passed the standard exam and that they happen to be white males.  This is reverse discrimination and I feel that the court ruling shouldn't have been so close; it is uncomfortably close.  

I thought our country was moving beyond Affirmative Action (a late 20th century frame of mind) and heading to Dr. King's ideal of a man being judged not by the color of his skin, but by the content of his character.  I believe there is no better example than this case to prove that still, in 2009, skin color continues to be a huge factor.  

As a white woman, I want to be evaluated as a person, not as a category, and my hope is that I am not alone in that desire.  

*I hope my opinion has not offended any of my readers- I am very interested in creating a dialogue of opinions if you feel differently. 

The Pool

GiGi brought the pool for the boys and they LOVED it.  Right when they woke up, Evan was begging to go in the pool, usually nude.  This video is probably the first and only time he was in a swim shirt and trunks.  It was a great distraction from their mommy being gone (they honestly could have cared less about that!) and from the changes in the house with the new baby.  I think Andrea did a great job in preparing her boys for the baby that Lauren's arrival fit in seamlessly.  I hope Jack and Evan continue their awesome progress in becoming big brothers.     

PS: I have been trying for hours (!!!!!) to get this video to load but blogger is yucky.  Sorry

Jack Highlights

1). When he put on the speedo GiGi bought for Evan who is a nudest in the water. We convinced Evan it was an Optimus Prime swimsuit since he is now obsessed with Transformers and Megatron and Bumblebee but Jack was the one to actually wear it.  Evan is getting a tan bum. I love this photo because Jack is SO fair and burly all I can think about is Pale Force with Jim Gaffigan and Conan O'Brien.  I love my Jackers!!! 

2). When he "helped" put together the new dresser for Lauren.  He is such a good boy!!

3). And when he discovered Lauren.  It was the funniest thing; he was completely oblivious to the fact that his mommy got a big belly, then was gone for several hours and staying in the hospital, until we went to visit Andrea her second day in the hospital.  She was nursing Lauren and all of a sudden, Jack pointed to her and said "baby".  His life will never be the same :)

All I CAN SAY IS THAT LAUREN IS A LUCKY GIRL TO HAVE 2 GREAT BIG BROTHERS

*there is a fourth one, but I can't post the picture out of respect for Lesley.  Jack decided to have a cuddle morning with his Auntie Lesley in their pj's.  It was so sweet to see him so loving and napping with his auntie on the couch.  Plus his hair is so soft we all just love to stroke it!!