Comic Con Recap

We've been going to various cons for the past few years, but this year was especially eventful. James entered almost every contest, and while we didn't win the $50 in gift certificates, he DID win a two-night stay at a downtown hotel. The room was nicer than I expected, and the bed was really comfy. The hotel wasn't super close to the convention center, but it made us feel like we were on vacation. And they gave us a bunch of Japanese candy for some reason. Yum!

James also won a photo op with Manu Bennett, who played Slade/Deadshot on the TV show Arrow as well as Azog the Defiler in the Hobbit movies (voice and motion capture).

I'm never one for dressing up, but I love watching James and Atticus have fun. Here are some of my favorite pictures:

Atticus got to meet the original red Ranger and the second yellow Ranger (not pictured--they didn't come in costume)

When they opened the Ranger panel to audience questions, I looked at James and said, "These are the nerdiest nerds I've EVER seen." But then when one of them thanked the Red Ranger (Austin St. John) for his work with the Autism Foundation, it clicked that all of these people were likely on that spectrum. It made perfect sense, and we felt bad for mocking them. We later stopped by Austin's booth so Atticus could ask him how it felt to be a Power Ranger ("It was totally amazing") and get a high five. He was kind to talk to us and give Atticus full attention.

Group costumes are the most fun.

A meet-up of amateur Star Wars cosplayers. Atticus is in the front row, and James is the only Wookiee. We left before the Star Trek cosplayers came for a stand-off photo shoot. That Wookiee mask gets hot...

The big-ticket event this year was the panel with the actors who play Captain America and Falcon. There was rumor that Agent Carter would also show up. To avoid a stampede for seats, the organizers gave out tickets on a lottery system. It made a lot of people mad that they didn't give preference to people who bought VIP tickets, but it worked out well for us. We scored three tickets and got a good seat toward the front. James took this pic off of the jumbo screen (we didn't get this close).

This was my favorite event this year. Chris Evans (Captain America) wasn't as comfortable on stage as Anthony Mackie (Falcon), but they both seemed really genuine and happy to be there. Hayley Atwell (Agent Carter) didn't get to say anything, but she got a big cheer when she appeared on stage. She wasn't scheduled to do a panel for some reason.

Another favorite part was my friend Cindy's art booth. She does amazing papercuts. We'd already bought a print of the Utah-shaped one (quote from the end of Raising Arizona, which ends, "I don't know, maybe it was Utah"). I also bought a print of the Yoda to the left of Utah, which reads, "Luminous beings are we, not this crude matter." I loved the quote but didn't recognize it--

it's from The Empire Strikes Back. I would have loved to buy everything she had, but we have only so much wall space.

Other things I don't have pictures for:

• Falcon and the commentator had an impromptu push-up contest on stage, so when Atticus saw the commentator on the convention floor, he dropped to the ground and started doing one-armed push-ups to challenge him. The guy was gracious enough to take the challenge and do a few himself.
• We took a break on Saturday and had lunch at a nicer place down the block. It was fun to sit in a restaurant patio with Luke Skywalker and a half-wookiee (James took off the top half of the costume).
• I stayed late to see John Barrowman, who played Captain Jack Harkness on Doctor Who/Torchwood. He's an amazing performer, but I was disappointed by how crude he was. I felt even worse when I realized I'd missed the general women's meeting to be there. It was kind of a bummer to end the weekend that way.

Overall, the experience was a lot of fun. The great thing about Comic Con is how nice people are. Even at the most crowded times and places, I never saw anyone rude or mean. You can talk to strangers and ask to take pictures with them, and it's all good. You stand in a long line and make friends with the people around you. I wasn't all that excited about going again this year, but I'm really glad we did. 

Vacation Highlights

Cape Blanco Beach

We just got back from our first family vacation to the Redwoods and Cape Blanco. I was going to dump a lot of photos, but then I figured I'd just hit the highlights and focus on my favorite memories.

I was a little concerned about it being just the three of us. Would we get tired of each other? Would Atticus get too stir crazy in the car? Would we get tired of nature and regret staying out of the city? And I'm happy to report that the answer to all three is a resounding NO. Sure, we each had our grumpy moments, but notwithstanding it was a lovely trip.

Cheese Beaver

There was a LOT of driving, but we packed plenty of snacks and listened to Harry Potter audiobooks. I wasn't sure how long they'd keep Atticus's attention, but he was really interested. And he stayed in a good mood, playing with his toys and listening. In contrast, the day we let him watch videos on the iPad was his worst day. He was so grumpy when we had to pause the videos, and he stayed grumpy for a while afterward. Lesson learned: iPad is a last resort. We didn't use it at all on the way home.

Here was our route:
Day 1: Salt Lake to Reno
Day 2: Reno to Arcata, with a stop at Subway Cave
Day 3: Redwoods
Day 4: Arcata to Cape Blanco, with stops at "Trees of Mystery" and Ocean World
Day 5: Cape Blanco
Day 6: Cape Blanco to Reno (longest car day)
Day 7: Reno to Salt Lake

This is one tree, with the center burned out. 

Thoughts on the Redwoods: Lots and lots of big trees. The camera just can't capture the size of the trees and the beauty of the groves. We did the Tall Trees Grove, which is restricted to 50 cars a day and is one of the longer, more strenuous family-friendly hikes. I was a little worried about my ankle, but I wore my serious brace and had no problems. Later we did Fern Canyon, with lots of climbing over fallen tree trunks and jumping over streams.

I loved encouraging Atticus to explore and climb (within limits, of course). In Fern Canyon he said, "I'm a complicated dude. I like doing complicated things." I know what he means. I like doing complicated things, too. It thrills my little heart to do it and see it in Atticus.

"Trees of Mystery" Paul Bunyan kitsch. Fun for the kids. The sky ride is worth the price of admission.

Cape Blanco Beach

Not surprisingly, the beach was everyone's favorite. Even though it was cloudy and chilly most of the time. Give Atticus a shovel and some sand, and he's in heaven. The beach ball kept blowing away, but Atticus liked to chase it down.

We made a really impressive drip castle with an arch tunnel below, but it finally caved in. Atticus won for tiniest arch. He was pretty proud of that.

We walked down to the monolith, which was probably about a mile. Atticus and James raced, and Atticus biffed it pretty hard when he tried to trip James so he'd lose. Serves him right.... We collected shells and driftwood in Atticus's bucket on the way, and we brought a bunch of them home. We even found a bit of driftwood in the shape of an A, for Atticus.

 If you look closely you can see James and Atticus down there.

Most of the time we were alone on the beach. An older couple came down with a camera and a dog while we were making drip castles, but they walked to the monolith and back before we were done. When we got back to our stuff another family had come down, but then we left them alone on the beach. Beaches like that invite solitude: long and rugged and untamed. I would have felt crowded with other families near us.

On the other side of the cape. I was hoping for more tide pools, but we just got seaweed.

It was a little tricky to find the balance between encouraging adventure and keeping the boy safe. Lots of rocks to climb on, but also some pretty strong waves.

He stood here watching the waves for a long time. He'd play tag with them some, but mostly he just stood and watched. I think he gets it. He's a boy after my own heart.

Final thoughts: I don't think we'll do this trip like this again. As I kept reminding Atticus, this trip was to figure out what we liked so we can come back and do those things again. Next time I'd like to combine the Redwoods and the beach in one location. A lady at the hotel told us about Trinidad, a little coastal town just north of Arcata that has nice beaches and restaurants and tide pools. Great ocean views, but still close to the Redwoods. Less driving, more doing. I'm all for it. I've already looked into renting a beach house. Anyone want to come with?

Family Reunion part 1 & 2

July was one long family reunion for us. It's hard to get everyone in the same place all at once, so a big-group love-fest just didn't happen. But we still got to spend time with everyone, even if some people didn't get to see each other. Having family in town also gave us the opportunity/motivation to do some of the things we wanted to do this summer but maybe wouldn't have done on our own.

The Barneys
We had a great time at Lagoon with my sister Lara and her family. We weren't sure how much Atticus would be able to do, but there was plenty for him. The best part was that Sarah became Atticus's "best-friend cousin." She felt bad for being mean to him on their previous visit, so she brought him a present to apologize and spend a lot of time with him. Atticus was very sad to see her go.

My niece Mary convinced me to go on the big coasters with her, earning me the title "Best Aunt Ever." I screamed the entire time and got a headache, but she didn't make me go the second (or third) time. Her brother, Sam, spent most of the day on the big rides with other cousins, so I don't have any pictures of him. Sorry, Sam!

Poulsons at Bear Lake

The Barneys spent the rest of their vacation with my sister Kristin and her family at Lake Powell while the non-skiers went to Bear Lake: my parents, my sisters Erin and Heather, my brother Mike and his kids, and us. We stayed in cabins at the KOA and loved it. We will definitely stay there next time. In addition to clean cabins, there's a pool, miniature golf, and a playground to keep the kids occupied when we weren't at the beach.

 Atticus was really excited about the bunk beds. 

He slept the first night on the top and the second night on the bottom.

My cute parents and brother Mike.

The cousins: Atticus, Henry, Ella, and Aubrey

So it's not La Jolla, but you can't drive to your spot in La Jolla

The water stays shallow for longer than you'd care to walk (I got up to my neck). 

Not too cold, just nice and refreshing.

Atticus preferred the sand.

We spent Friday at the beach, just enjoying the sun, sand, and water. We rented a Sea-Doo for a couple hours and got nicely fried. The whole trip was mellow and relaxing. Not too long a drive, but far enough away that you feel like you're somewhere else. Stop in Logan for lunch at the Bluebird and cheese curds, and you're only a couple hours from home.  

We had a few days to do laundry and catch our breath before the Evanses and ThAdam arrived. But I'll write that up tomorrow. 

Atticus-isms and December Recap

Yeah, I know February's almost over, but better late than never, right? December was a busy month. Atticus and I visited my sister Susan in Illinois for a week while her husband was on a business trip, and of course I forgot my camera. He had a great time with his cousins, even though he was a little sick. And he did great on the plane, except that he had to go to the bathroom 5 times on the way home. Our seatmate wasn't too excited about getting up all the time, but he was nice about it.

The fun part was getting to make "girl food" that our husbands aren't excited about, like tofu and quinoa and all those fun things. When Atticus and I got back to Salt Lake, it was after 10 p.m. by the time we were in the car. I was hungry, so I wanted to stop somewhere on the way home to eat. I asked Atticus what he wanted, and he said with enthusiasm, "bwown wice!" Mama victory! But also a failure because of course there aren't any drive-thrus with brown rice, so I said, "How about chicken nuggets?" *sigh*

Then about a week after we got back, we loaded up the car for our first road trip to visit James's family in Arizona for Christmas. I wasn't sure how Atticus would do for so long in the car, even though we were breaking up the drive by stopping in Vegas. I decided to take notes.

Friday, 10:40 a.m., driveway: "I want to stay home."

11:30 a.m., Orem: "I want to squirrel around like I'm not in my carseat!" (Blankie and pacifier calmed him down.)

11:40 a.m.: Atticus asleep.

3:15 p.m., Kanarraville: "Atticus, stop hitting yourself in the head with the dreidel."  "No, Mama, the dreidel is my friend and he keeps hitting me for something and he won't tell me what it is. Ow. Ow. Ow." (Dreidel got a time-out.)

5:01: "I feel like eating play-doh."

We finally made it to Circus Circus and settled in to our room. Atticus thought it was pretty cool. His favorite part was the lighted wardrobe: 

The next day we checked out all Las Vegas has to offer, which we concluded isn't much if you're not going to gamble, watch a show, or eat at fancy restaurants. Or shop in high-end stores. But we still had a good time. Here's Atticus on top of the "Eiffel Tower" at the Paris casino: 

Sunday we stopped at the temple before hitting the road again. The  notes resume:

Kingman rest stop: (Said rapid-fire to no one in particular as he got out of his seat) "My body's saying POOOOOP! POOOOOP! My body's selling poop to anyone who wants some. They're poop toys."

Finally we reached Nana and Grandpa's house. It was good to see the family and spend Christmas with them. Here are some of my favorite photos:

With the saguaro next to Nana's house (the red roof is theirs) 

Making our gingerbread house.

Public art in downtown Mesa

With cousins Brian and Thomas. It took us about 5 tries to get Thomas's "action shot." Atticus was really sad to leave their house. He had so much fun with them.

Heading home. This time we stopped overnight in St. George. 

The night before we left, Atticus said, "I never want to leave this place." He had it all worked out how we could move in with Nana and Grandpa. He even claimed his bedroom. He was sad to leave, but he was happy to see his own room and toys again. I was happy about the box of lemons Atticus helped me pick from Grandpa's tree. They were gorgeous and tasty. One medium box gave us 1 1/2 gallons of lemon juice, most of which is in our freezer. We've been drinking it in water, club soda, and lemonade. Yum!

It was a good month. Lots of family, lots of travel, lots of love. 

Massive Summer Update

Yeah, ok, so I'm a blogging slacker. I'm going to say I was too busy making memories to record them, but really, I'm just lazy. Oh well. Now that school is back in session, here's my report on What We Did on Our Summer Vacation.

In June I spent a week in North and South Carolina with my mom and two of my sisters, Lara and Susan. We were big fans of the chocolate lounge. So. Many. Options.

Our real purpose there was family history. My mom's mother's parents grew up on opposite sides of the North/South Carolina border. Susan is researching the North line, and I'm working on the South. We met some cousins and looked at old records and visited lots of cemeteries. This one was my favorite, the Pickens Chapel Cemetery in Pickens, SC. The church is long abandoned, and the cemetery is overgrown. I felt like a real researcher battling huge ants and running through torrential rain (not pictured--we came back later) to get a rubbing of my great-great-grandmother's headstone.

In July we visited James's family in Mesa, Arizona. It was hot, but I was surprised at how comfortable I was most of the time. Then I found out what my in-laws pay for air conditioning. Yikes! But we had a good time. We even got most of the family together for a photo by the temple:

Atticus loved playing with his cousins Tanis and Jessie. And feeding Buster, the dog. He still talks about his cousins, and every time he plays "airplane," he's flying to Nana's house.

In August we went on a hike to Albion Basin/Cecret Lake with the ward's moms' group. Atticus hung out with his best buddy Cardon. He loved climbing over the rocks and acting like a mountain goat. He ran the whole way up and the whole way down. That kid is unstoppable.

Also in August was our first ever family reunion. My dad's an only child and my mom has lost contact with her only brother, so we didn't grow up with any extended family. But there are 9 kids in my family, and I think my parents now have 20 grandkids, so it was time. We missed my brothers who were working in California, but my Texas and Illinois sisters were able to come with their families. Again Atticus had a lot of fun with cousins. Henry (in the middle) is only three months younger. He still asks about Sam, who is 11. He wants to grow "big like Sam."

We camped at Mutual Dell in AF canyon, which comes with cool amenities like a zip line and canoes. Atticus wouldn't go down the zip line with us, but we both took a turn.

Atty wasn't a huge fan of the canoes, but he had a great time getting soaked in the lake.

So there's our summer in a nutshell. Lots of travel, lots of family. Good times. In a couple weeks I'll get to tell you about our first day of preschool, and then about his first soccer game. In the words of my son, "I so excited!!"

July is family visit month, Part 1: Adam

When my visiting teacher Chalee (cute girl in picture below) found out that my brother works for the show "So You Think You Can Dance," her first question was, "Can he get us tickets??" Because she can fly free and get me a buddy pass. So I asked, and sure enough, he could. So Chalee and I hopped on a plane and spent the day in LA with my bro. (If you look close in the picture above, you can see the Hollywood sign on the hill behind us.) Oh, and the shirt Adam's wearing is left over from Adam Lambert's wardrobe on American Idol. The boy has connections. :)

We didn't need to be at the show until 5:30, so we did checked out the Chinese theater and walk of fame (avoiding the crowd at Michael Jackson's star). Adam needed to pick up his credentials for the ESPN awards at the Nokia theater, where he was going to work coordinating the seat-fillers the next day, so we got a backstage tour and got to check out the stage and dress rehearsals. Not that any of us cares about sports or ESPN, but it was still pretty cool.

When we got to the CBS studios, we met up with Adam's partner, Thaddeus, who was working (they both work for SYTYCD, but Adam had the day off). We got to meet their friends and bypass the line and metal detectors, and they took us to our seats. We weren't allowed to take pictures inside, but Chalee got a shot of the stage before they told us to turn off our cell phones. (The people around us wondered why they hadn't been confiscated like everyone else's.)

The stage and studio look a lot bigger on TV, which shouldn't be surprising but still is somehow. But that means we had great seats, even though we were toward the back of the bleachers. The bleachers don't get on camera very often, but it was a heckuva lot more comfortable than being in the "mosh pit," where you have to stand the whole time. Backstage info: the cute girls in front of the judges' table and along the edges of the stage and up on the platforms above the stage come from an agency. They probably don't get paid, but they get to be on camera. And they have to be sure they're really into the show and cheering a lot, or they get talked to about it.

Speaking of cheering, we did a lot of it. The show isn't live, and it took about three hours to tape. So before any of the "talent" came out, they took all the audience shots: clapping and cheering, clapping without cheering, cheering while people held up signs, etc. I was almost tired of cheering before the show even started. But the show didn't disappoint, and I was thrilled to be watching it in person. (I won't bore you with details of the show; if you're a fan, you watched it, and you know it was great.)

After the show Thaddeus joined us and we went out to dinner at their favorite Thai place. We were also celebrating Adam's birthday a day early. The food was great, and Thaddeus filled us in on all the backstage gossip: Mary's high-maintenance but loves Thaddeus; Nigel is friendly and low-key and gets his own food; Kupono's a diva with special food requests (Thaddeus does all the grocery shopping for the contestants); Jason and Janean are dating (no surprise after their steamy dance together). The stress level among the contestants dropped when it came down to the top 10, because if you're in the top 10, you're in the tour, which means you'll get $100K and have a steady gig for a year. So even if you get eliminated, you're set. So don't feel too bad for anyone who gets eliminated anymore.

After dinner we hung out at their apartment for a bit, but then Chalee and I had to get back to our hotel and sleep, because we had to be up at 4:30 to try to catch the 7:15 flight home. Here's a family picture of Adam, Thaddeus, and the kitties (Simon didn't want to cooperate).

So while I wouldn't call this trip relaxing, we had a great time. It was fun to see the show, but even more fun to hang out with my brother and Thaddeus again. They plan to work for the show for season 6, so maybe we'll get to do it again. :)