Ode to Matt...

I don't usually wish my friends a Happy Birthday on my blog, but I am making an exception just this once. My friend Matt had a birthday yesterday and declared that he is "officially old". In discussing this with him, he told me that I still look the same, but that he already looks 40!

I promised him that he does not look 40. I told him he looks great, probably even better than he did in High School. I also mentioned that I have an old picture of him to prove it and that I would post it on my blog as a tribute to him.*

I don't think he believed I still had a picture of him from High School. I had all but forgotten it until recently, and I had to do a lot of digging around to find it. But here he is:

Here is Matt now.**

So in honor of Matt's 32nd birthday, I would like to ask all of you reading this blog (yes, all five of you) to tell me if you think Matt looks 4o. Please respond with a 'yes' or a 'no'. And any other comment to help boost his ego is appreciated as well (more so by him, than by me). If you'd like to protect your identity, anonymous comments are allowed.

Happy Birthday Matt!! All I can say now is I hope you don't have an old picture of me...


*For the record, Matt did ask me not to post this picture on my blog but I let him know that nobody really reads my blog anyway. And though I am sharing the picture, I promise to never share what he wrote on the back of it. ;)

**I would just like to apologize to Matt (if he reads this) for stealing a picture of him off Facebook. I promise to never do it again under any circumstances (unless I have his permission, of course). I just needed something to use as a comparison and I thought this was a really good picture.

Obama's Acceptance Speech...

I've already talked too much politics today so I don't want to say much more. I just wanted to mention that I finished listening to Obama's Presidential Acceptance speech from last night and I have three words: I am concerned.

I watch Obama speak, and I listen to him speak and he comes across as a great motivational and inspirational speaker. I look at him and say to myself "Dang, he'd make a great President by the way he looks and talks". But what I hear coming out of his mouth is what concerns me. Here are a few things he said in his speech that made me go 'huh?'. My comments are in red:

"For over two decades [McCain] subscribed to that old discredited republican philosophy, 'give more and more to those with the most and hope that prosperity trickles down to everyone else'. In Washington we call this the ownership society, but what it really means is that you're on your own...pull yourself up by your own bootstraps - even if you don't have boots - you're on your own!" There is also another philosophy in America called 'take what you can get'. I don't see anything wrong with pulling yourself up by your boot straps and making something of yourself. I wish more people would work for what they get and not expect the governement to take care of them. I am tired of the government giving "free" hand-outs. And if those that "have the most" are prosperous, it's not because the government gave them anything. It's because they worked for it.

"In the face of that young student who sleeps just three hours before working the night shift, I think about my mom who raised my sister and me on her own while she worked and earned her degree. Who once turned to food stamps but was still able to send us to the best schools in the country with the help of student loans and scholarships" First off, kudos to Obama's mother for working, going to school and taking care of two children. That's not easy. But I still don't understand this. Obama and his sister went to the BEST schools in the country on student loans while they were on food stamps? This might sound inspirational, but to me it is simply wrong. If you can't afford the best school in the country, go for 2nd best and pay for your own food.

"You know, John McCain likes to say that he'll follow Bin Laden to the gates of Hell, but he won't even follow him to the cave where he lives!" Okay, I would like to see if Obama will follow Bin Laden to the cave where he lives. Highly unlikely. He wants to pull everyone out of Iraq and Afghanistan. He wants to run the other way. He is implying that McCain is a coward, but at least he's not running from the threat. Now who's the coward? (PS...I'm not saying that I necessarily agree with the war...just making a point).

I don't remember the quote on this one, but I have heard Obama say more than once that he is pro-choice but not necessarily pro-abortion. (What?). And he believes that we need to make sure there are fewer unwanted pregnancies in this country. He has said it more than once. But he has never said how he plans to accomplish that.

"This too, is the promise of America. The promise of a democracy where we can find the strength and grace to bridge divides and unite in a common effort." Wow! This makes me believe that he does want to make a difference! Only one problem I see with this sentence though. America is not a democracy. We are a republic. I would feel better about voting the man in office if he actually knew the difference.

Overall it was an interesting speech, but it has left me with a few concerns. I'll wait and see what John McCain has to say and go from there.

Back to the Elections...

Governor who? That's the question I asked myself when I found out John McCain picked Alaskan Governor Sarah Palin for the VP slot. I have absolutely no idea who this person is. My first thought was "Did he pick her because she's a woman?" What else is there about her that would give him good reason to select such an inexperienced and fairly unknown person?

I have to be honest. I hate this election. I really don't want to vote for either candidate. Because I absolutely hated McCain at the beginning of this fiasco, I seriously considered voting for Obama. I have listened closely to him over the past few months. But the more I listen the more I realize that what he says concerns me. I have several good friends and co-workers who are voting for him. That's fine. I'm just not sure that I can do it. To me, he is just a speech. He may be able to talk the talk, but I have little faith that he can walk the walk. He hasn't done anything to show me that he is the right person for this job.

In a previous post I mentioned that I made my decision against voting for Obama because of an article about him being pro-gay. That is only one of the reasons I don't think I can vote for him. It's not that I don't like gay people (heck, I work with five of them and they are all wonderful people). It's just that I don't support gay marriage or gay families. But there are other reasons I can't support him either. And there are also reasons I can't (or don't want to) support McCain.

But if I don't vote for Obama then McCain is my only other choice. That frightens me. Sure he is well experienced in some areas, but I still don't agree with him on a lot of issues. And he's so old, I am afraid he will croak before his 4 years are up. I was hoping he'd pick a good, solid VP because then maybe that would help sway me a little more. Now he has picked someone I have never even heard of, and who I'm not sure is experienced enough to step into the role of President if the need should arise.

This is going to be a very hard election for me. I have to choose one, and I was pretty sure I had made my choice. But now I think I will have to do some research on Biden and Palin.* The choice may come down to the better of the two VP's.

If anyone has insight into this election they'd like to share, please do!

*oh, my co-worker is currently reading me Sarah Palin's qualifications and according to him, there are none! And he also just told me a wonderfully heart warming story of Joe Biden and how he lost his wife and young daughter in a car accident years ago. Sounds like he's trying to help convince me of who to vote for. ;) But I will still do my own research.

Venting Session...

1) If the speed limit is 35mph, you are expected to drive 35mph. If it's 65mph, you are expected to drive 65mph. Do you understand? I really don't care about excuses. If you don't have a valid reason for going below the speed limit (exceptions are road construction, accidents and rush hour) then speed up! If you are going below the speed limit without an exception, I will ride your bumper and I won't feel bad about it.

2) If you are ever invited to speak at the Democratic National Convention (or Republican...I don't really care which), then please don't have a botox session 30 minutes before you speak. You'll look like a complete freak standing up there speaking through a crack in your lips and not being able to move your face. I don't care how passionately you feel about women's rights, it's not attractive and nobody in America is going to take you seriously.

3) If you insist on taking mass transit then it is your duty to 1) shower before boarding the train in the morning and 2) re-apply deoderant before you board the train at night. I don't care where you live. Trains are often crowded and nobody needs to suffer through their ride home because you smell like a decomposing animal.

The Freedom Factor...

I borrowed this book from my mom last weekend and on Friday night, having nothing better to do, I decided to start reading it. I read and I read. Pretty soon, I realized that I couldn't put the book down. I eventually did go to bed, but the minute I woke up Saturday morning I picked it back up. Aside from a brief jaunt to the grocery store and checking out a few Olympic updates on TV, I read all day. I finished it around 8:00pm.

I had never heard of this book, but the premise of the book intrigued me when I saw it at my mom's. It's about a young politician who works as a senior aide to a US Senator. The two of them draft a proposal for a new ammendment to the US constitution that would basically take away the entire checks and balances system. The ammendment is passed in both the House and the Senate and now just needs to be ratified by 3/4 of the States.

The story takes a turn when Nathaniel Gorham, an original founding father of the Constitution, appears to Bryce Sherwood (the young aide to the US Senator). He tries to explain what this new ammendment will do to the Constitution he and so many others literally gave their lives for. Young Sherwood refuses to change his position on the issue and therefore, he is transported to another time where the Constiution of the United States of America was never ratified.

The story really opened my eyes to the importance of the Constitution and just how blessed we really are in America to have the freedoms we have. I take so much for granted. This book helped me to better understand how much the founding fathers really gave for the cause of freedom and liberty. They were murdered, their homes were burned to the ground, they had to go into hiding and live in caves while their families were taken from them. All because they believed in what they were doing and because they believed in the United States of America.

I am so blessed to live in this great country, a land where so many fought and died to give me a better way of life. I don't take enough time to appreciate what they did for me, and what they gave me. The Constitution is probably the greatest document to have ever been written and this country will fall apart if it is ever changed.

A Centathlon!

I really, really, love Dwight. He always has the best ideas.



Oh, and I absolutely love the little graphics in the circle that coincide with each sport.

Finer Things Club: China

Yesterday we had our 2nd meeting of the Finer Things Club. In honor of the Beijing Olympics as well as in honor of our co-worker (and founding member) whose last day of work is today, we decided to experience the finer things of China. It was awesome!

We had some delicious Chinese cuisine (rice, orange chicken, spring rolls and fortune cookies*) and enjoyed the props that Amy and I brought.



Here I am trying on the teeny-tiny Chinese outfit that obviously didn't fit me:

Because I wanted to know what it was really supposed to look like, I had Amy try on the teeny-tiny chinese outfit. The really sad thing is that she wore this outfit when she was 15 and it still fits her!



*Our delicious chinese cuisine wasn't quite authentic. They don't eat orange chicken in China, though they do eat lemon chicken in abundance. Fortune cookies are also a western creation and you won't find them in China. All things learned at our meeting.

Pleasant Dreams...

I was sitting in my office at work today when my co-worker walked in. "Hey Camille" he said, "I just thought you'd like to know that I had a dream about you last night and you were fat".

"What?"

"You were fat. I don't know why. There were a bunch of us from work and you were there and I looked at you and noticed that you were fat."

{I begin to laugh hysterically to hide the shock on my face}

"Why are you telling me this?"

"I thought you'd like to know"

"You thought I'd like to know that you think I'm fat?"

"No. I thought you'd like to know about my dream."

"Oh. Are you a visionary person?"

"No"

"Psychic?"

"No"

"So you have no way of telling me whether or not I'm really going to get fat?"

"No. It was just a dream"

Oh right. Just a dream. And such a pleasant one at that.

Well, I'm not going to wait and find out if his dream becomes my reality. I'm off to go work out.

16 and Over...

Since I've been watching the Olympics the last few days, I have become overly intrigued with the controversy surrounding the Chinese women gymnasts. The rule in gymnastics (and apparently this is a fairly new rule) is that gymnasts must be 16 years of age or older. The problem everyone in the world (other than China) seem to be having is that the Chinese women do not look sixteen. Chinese officials insist their gymnasts are 16. The FIG says their passports state they are 16 and passports are considered official documents. The IOC doesn't seems to think there is a problem either.*

I have been reading some news articles about this for a couple days now, and I have found it very interesting that the "experts" who have been interviewed have all basically come to the same three conclusions as to why they don't believe the Chinese "women" are 16:

1 - By the time a girl reaches age 16, her body has already started changing. They develop hips, gain weight, grow breasts, etc. None of those growth changes seem to have taken place in any of the girls on the Chinese team (growing breasts may not be a valid argument because some girls don't grow them. Trust me, I know).

2 - One of the girls is 4'6" tall and weighs only 68 pounds. If that is a 16 year old girl, she should be a very sick one. (My 7 year old nephew is 4'2" tall and probably weighs 60 pounds).

3 - Younger girls can spin a lot faster because they don't have hips to slow them down. Because of this, younger girls perform on the balance beam and uneven bars the best. Funny how the Chinese women happen to be the strongest in those two events!

I don't know. I look at these girls and think there is absolutely no way they could be sixteen. But I also know that the Chinese are generally a smaller build and so it's very possible that they just look younger than they are. All I do know is that this needs to be investigated because if these girls really aren't 16 and they get away with cheating now, then this will always be a problem.

*Can someone please tell me why Chinese athletes even need passports since the Olympics are in their own country? And the other thing I don't understand is how do they put their birthdate on the passport without a valid birth certificate. And if they used birth certificates to apply for passports, then why can't they just whip those out and prove their real age? Does China issue birth certificates?

The Atari...

As mentioned in previous blogs, I am not a very skilled competitor when playing video games. I just recently learned how to play the Wii and that would be the only time I have played a video game in about 15 years (I am not exaggerating). So the first day I went to my parent's to say hello to my brother and his family, he was in the basement playing Nintendo (the original nintendo) with his three sons. I sat and watched in amazement at how easy it was for my brother to pick up on all the old tricks of Super Mario Brothers. I had all but forgotten most of them. He challenged me to a game and I graciously declined. I was not about to be humiliated.

After a few minutes, my brother finished the game and then declared "I want to play Circus Atari". I looked at him and said "Circus Atari? Are you serious?" He said yes and instantly gathered up all the Nintendo stuff, put it away, and then pulled out our old Atari system.* I wish I had my camera with me to take a picture, but it looks just like this:




And we have pretty much all those games too! It's crazy to believe that my parent's still have the old Atari after all these years!** My brother hooked it up, put in "Circus Atari" and once again challenged me to a game. But I would still not give in. So, he challenged my mom. He creamed her in the first game so she wouldn't play another game with him after that. Therefore, he challenged me once again. This time I accepted. Final score: Nathan 1 million. Me 5.

Okay, I might be exaggerating on our final score. I can't remember the exact score, I just know that he toasted my hide. But my competitive nature would not give in so I challenged him to a game of "Knight Driver". He stunk. Big time. I laughed my evil laugh and said "Ha! Not so great anymore, are you brother?" He handed me the controller. I grabbed it, ready to show him how it's done. I stunk even worse. You might not think that possible. But trust me, it is. I sat there letting my ego escape from my overly inflated head and waited for my brother's witty retort. But my kind, loving brother didn't make fun of me. He just said "It's harder than it looks, huh?". What a nice guy. He doesn't deserve to have such a mean sister.

After that we ended up challenging each other in "Summer Olympics" and "Pac Man" before it was finally time for me to head home. He beat me in everything we played, but it was still a lot of fun. I hadn't played the Atari in 15 years and I haven't played with my brother in about that long either. It was so good to spend time with him and to embrace our inner youth.

*Atari: one of the very first home gaming systems that sold between 1972 - 1984. Was invented by Nolan Bushnell, a University of Utah graduate.

**My parent's Atari still works, though it malfunctions quite a bit. And the picture of the TV is very fuzzy. It was hilarious though to see how outdated the entire thing is but at the same time, it is still so much fun to play!

Family Reunions...

My family has had a lot of reunions this summer - especially in the last three weeks - with my sister and her family coming from Arkansas at the end of July, and now my brother's family coming from Texas last week. We had some great times together last week. I was able to get reaquainted with my nephews Tyson, Bradley and Zack and was also able to meet my niece Kaylee for the first time. She is already six months old!

She has got to be one of the happiest babies I have met in my life. She was always smiling! She didn't care who had her, she'd smile at anyone and everyone. She was a joy to be around and I hope it's not another 2 1/2 years before I see her again (like it was with Zack).

But while my family was in town, we had a huge bash on Saturday night. We did the waterslide (though some liked it more than others).

Zack

Clint

Bradley

And had a birthday party for my nephew Tyson. The kids got to eat the most delicious Alligator cake!


I love it when my family comes to town! It's not only fun to catch up with the kids, but it's fun to catch up with my siblings as well.

Our Little Miracle...

I don't know how many of you remember when my nephew Zack was born nearly 3 years ago.

He was born with some pretty serious complications and was in NICU for over a week. His parents stayed very optimistic dispite the doctors cautions that he was literally fighting for his life and the outcome could go either way. The first few days were touch and go and if it weren't for Zack's strong personality (and the prayers and fasting from so many people on his behalf), he just might not have survived it.

We did get the chance to meet Zack when he was 2 months old but because he and his family live in Texas, that was the last time I saw him. But last week his family finally came to Utah for a visit. He grew up so fast!


With him too young to remember his last trip to Utah, he wasn't sure about all the crazy people who kept trying to pick him up and play with him. He was pretty stand off-ish around most of us. But after watching him for a few days it was easy for me to understand his little personality.

He's our little miracle baby and when he gets all stubborn and unwilling to do what you ask him to, we just smile and say "He's very strong willed but we love him that much more because of it. This is the reason he survived".

He Did It!

If you didn't watch Aaron Peirsol swim his 100 meter backstroke last night, shame on you! He blew past everyone and set a new world record all the while making it look like he was taking a leisurely stroll in the pool.

Michael Phelps did a great job last night as well, and also won another gold medal. I already mentioned how I love to watch Michael swim. But Michael gets way too much attention (understandably so) and I tend to get a little turned off by that because I know there are other swimmers out there who deserve the same kind of recognition*. Aaron swam an amazing race. This was the first of three races he'll be swimming in during these Olympics. I thought he deserved to be acknowledged by the media just as much as Michael Phelps. But did that happen? Not so much. They showed Michael's 3rd gold medal ceremony (and I'm sure they'll show all his others too) and they showed nothing on Aaron Peirsol. I waited up til midnight to see it, and nothing. Then they announced they'd show it in late night coverage so I recorded it to watch it this morning...and nothing.

I mean, come on! We've all seen Michael Phelps on the medal stand nine times now (counting Athens). I've only seen Aaron Peirsol on the medal stand once (and counting Athens he has now won four gold medals). I understand that Michael is the most decorated Olympian in history and I applaude him and all his hard work. He deserves each and every medal he gets. But I just wish we wouldn't get so hyped up on his success that we over look the success of others.

I like Aaron. I like him more than Michael Phelps and perhaps this is why I feel so bothered by it all. But Aaron has two more swims (one individual and one relay) and I am really hoping they show his medal ceremonies the next time he wins**.

*Oh, and a big shout out to all the other US swimmers who won medals last night as well (and didn't get much recognition): Natalie Coughlin - gold; Matt Grevers - silver; Margaret Holzer - bronze; Rebecca Soni - silver. So all within 30 minutes, the US team picked up six medals, three of which were gold.

**My hope is that Aaron will win gold in his other two events, but watch out for Ryan Lochte in the 200 meter backstroke. He and Aaron are neck-for-neck in this race and it really could go either way. But no matter who comes out on top, it will still most likely be gold and silver for the US.

Could of, Would of, Should of....

If I read one more article/comment from a so called "educated" person that says they should of done something, I think I might scream. Not because they really should've done it, but because they should've learned how to write the contraction for "should have" when they were in grade school, and probably could've and would've had they been paying attention.

My Decision is Made...

I can no longer consider voting for Barak Obama. Not after reading this*.

*if you read the article, take the time to read Obama's letter as well (there's a link to it in the article). I found it interesting that the letter comes across as being very pro-family because he believes in supporting and strengthening the American family. But as we all know, the truth is bound to come out, and it certainly does in the last paragraph of his letter. People need to start looking for the "hidden meaning" in everything he says or they will be deceived.

Beijing 2008

I LOVE the Olympics*. Always have. Always will. I don't know what it is about it that I love so much: the sport, the competition, the unity, or the athletes. I just know that I was so excited when I learned that the Olympics would be held every 2 years instead of every 4**. And I think I was even more excited for the Beijing Olympics because I have been to Beijing. It's been so fun to re-live my trip via the TV screen.

I don't follow every sport in the Olympics, because let's be honest: some are extremely boring. There is a reason some sports are broadcast in the middle of the night. But there are the few that I absolutely cannot do without. Take swimming for instance. Since the 2008 Olympics officially started on Friday night, I have recorded every single swimming event just so I don't miss a thing. I always loved to swim when I was a little girl and to this day when I watch the swimming events I still get so excited. My mom noticed this the other day and she said to me, "You still get so excited about swimming. I really should have let you pursue it more when you were younger." She just knows how much I love it.

Because I have faithfully watched Olympic swmming since I was a little girl, I have watched an aray of US swimmers make their mark on history. There has probably never been anyone better than Michael Phelps. He won 8 medals in 2004 and is up for 8 more again this year. He is absolutely amazing to watch. His strokes are so graceful that he barely disrupts the water when he swims. He is a beautiful swimmer.

But it isn't just Michael Phelps that is a good swimmer. In fact, did anyone catch the 4x100 meter relay last night? The US men's team came from behind (kudos to Jason Lezak) and beat France for the gold medal by only .08 of a second. And not only that, but they shattered the world record by 4 seconds! Even two teams that didn't medal (4th & 5th place) beat the previous world record (that surprisingly enough, was set by the US team during the prelims the day before!). It was the fastest race ever and was completely unbelievable! It was the most amazing relay I have seen in my life (and I have seen many!) I was quite literally jumping up and down and trying not to scream too loud so I wouldn't disturb my roommates. If you didn't get the chance to see it, check it out here. Even though I know the outcome, I still get excited watching it.

But anyway, there is another amazing swimmer in our mist and he first caught my eye when when I watched the Olympics in 2004. His name is Aaron Peirsol.

He is swimming in the 100 meter backstroke tonight and will be swimming in the 200 meter backstroke tomorrow. So if you have some time to spare, turn on the TV and cheer him on!

In fact, just turn on the TV and cheer on the entire US team!

*I told my nephew the other day that I heart the Olympics. He asked me what that meant and I said "it means I love them". He looked at me and said "Oh. I heart you."

**For those who are too young to remember, the Summer and Winter Olympics used to be held in the same year and therefore the Olympics were every 4 years (at the beginning of every Olympiad). It was changed in 1992 so that the summer Olympics are held in the 1st year of the Olympiad and the winter Olympics are held in the 3rd year of the Olympiad. Therefore, the games now alternate every two years. I LOVE IT!

The Verdict...

Well, I got to work today and started in on my "work" when a few minutes later the fire alarm went off. Knowing I'd probably be sitting outside for quite awhile while we waited for the fire dept. to show up and do a sweep of the building, I decided to grab Breaking Dawn and haul it outside with me. I was so close to being done that I thought it would be a great opportunity to finally finish it. And it was.

So here is my verdict on the book. It was decent. Despite struggling through the first 200 pages, the story eventually began to pick up, the romance subsided (I can't stand all the gooshy romance crap) and I was able to read it with a little more enjoyment. But it wasn't like the other books in that I found myself more than willing to set this one down and do other things. I could have finished the book last night had I wanted to, but by 8:30pm I was bored of reading it so I tossed it aside and moved on to other stuff.

I think part of my problem was that the book held no surprises for me. I figured everything out before it happened. It all just seemed too predictable and because of that, I felt bored. It just didn't seem to have the same excitement that the other books had; the kind of suspense and intrigue that has one sitting on the edge of their seat or feeling the urge to flip a few pages ahead to make sure nobody died. That was the biggest disappointment for me.

I would go into more specifics of what I did and did not like, but I don't want to spoil it for anyone who hasn't read it yet. I'll just say that overall, it was a decent finish. I did think everything tied up nicely at the end. But if I had to pick a favorite book of the series, this one would not be it.

Breaking Dawn....

Stephenie Meyer's new book Breaking Dawn, which is the 4th book in the Twilight Series, is being released at midnight tonight. I can't wait to read it, but I want you all to know that you will not catch me standing in line at midnight to buy it. I am not that much of a fanatic....even though I did already buy tickets for the opening night of Twilight when it comes out December 12th.

UPDATE: My colleague at work finished reading this over the weekend so yesterday she brought it to work and let me borrow it. I took it home and spent last night reading. I'm only a couple hundred pages into it so far, but my initial reaction is that this book is a huge disappointment. The plot drove me crazy, the dialogue drove me crazy. The characters drove me crazy. Every time I turned the page I was saying to myself "this is so stupid!". I kept putting it down and picking it back up. It might take me longer to get through this book than it did the others, but I will save further judgement until I have finished reading it. If anyone else has read (or is reading) this book, let me know what you think (without telling me what happens). Maybe I am just way out in left field.

I'm In Love...

I bought Season One of "CHiPs" a few weeks ago and I could not stop watching it! I finished the season on Tuesday night and immediately after work on Wednesday went and bought Season Two. I used to watch this show as a little girl and in watching it again, I understand why. It is cheesy and a little predictable (I've now sat through about a dozen scenes where Ponch and Jon pull someone from a burning car and barely escape before the thing blows up), but I still think it is a good, clean family show. The shows from the past may be old and completely outdated, but they are so much better than most of the shows on TV today (not to mention they are about 8 minutes longer than show today, lasting nearly 50 minutes instead of the now-standard 42). Maybe I just feel that way because I grew up watching this show and it holds a lot of memories for me. Or maybe I just love watching Ponch and Jon on motorcycles. Whatever the reason, I really am in love with this show and I don't know what I will do with myself once I finish Season Two and have to wait for Seasons 3-6 to be released on DVD.

What To Do On A Thursday Night...

A friend of mine was visiting from Maryland and so last night we got together and decided to have a picnic at the park. Here is a photo of us we took eating our food. I have to say, the sizing on this picture makes the water bottle look like it could swallow us up!

Other things to do at a park on a Thursday night include having soccer practice:
Preparing for a dog show:

Walking children:

Going for a run:

Filing a police report. (We really had no idea what this was, but we were intrigued by the man in a neck brace and the cops that kept showing up. In the hour or so we were at the park, there were 4 different cops there. As a new one would show up, the other one would leave.)

Watching a play (this was just the rehearsal):

Visiting the neighboring cemetary (hi grandma and grandpa!):

Playing on the playground (even though we were slightly older than ages 5-12).

And playing a bit of softball:

By the time we left the park, the sun was starting to set. So as we were driving to our next destination, we stopped the car and took a picture of this beautiful sunset.

Then it was off to Maggie Moo's to get some ice cream. We both ordered Regulars and this is what we got. Mine is on the left and my friend's is on the right. Something just didn't seem quite fair...