before they were rock stars

Before Lacy and Brandon brought us Rock Band, they introduced us to Dance Dance Revolution.  Check out how serious they are!  (and sorry about the bad video quality... it was the OLDEN days.)

doc's surprise

We've been working all week moving furniture around and cleaning out clutter in my parents' basement, getting ready for Doc's birthday (which isn't for three more weeks, but this is when we had the time...).  K-ma got him a new TV that will eventually hang on the wall, but for tonight we just had movie night with the newly arranged room, and the TV on a makeshift table.  I think Doc was really surprised!

We watched "Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark."  Classic.

Here's the corner where the old giant tube TV used to be.  Some of these kids are part of our family, some aren't.  Everyone had a great time-- wish more of the family could have been there!

golfing girls

Just testing the video-loading process.  This is a gem from the summer of 2004; Emma was 5 and a half, Lily was not quite 2.  Enjoy!

things that make me smile

Lots of things make me smile, obviously, like my children and good jokes.  But this is a post about tiny simple things that absolutely always bring a smile to my face, just by looking at them.

Number one is my yellow kitchen aid mixer.  I used to have a red one, but it didn't really go in my new kitchen, and my mom wanted it, so voila, a sunny new yellow one.  It makes me smile because of its color, and the shiny metal bowl, and the thought of butter and sugar creaming together inside it.

Number two is fresh peonies.  These aren't in season very long, but when they are, they are the most beautiful blossoms with a fragrance that can't be duplicated, even by Bath & Body Works, and the cut ones last 9 days in a vase.  You can't ask for more in a flower.

Number three is any kind of fruit, all one kind, piled high in a bowl or basket.  I don't have any in my house right now, so I stole this picture from my sister Lacy's blog. 

Number four is a cupboard full of newly laundered towels, folded correctly (if you've ever lived with me you know there is a right and wrong way to fold towels...) in some of my favorite colors.  I always buy a lot of towels because I put out fresh ones all the time.

And finally, number five is a whole bunch of tiny notebooks, in entertaining patterns.  These are from Galison and are almost too cute to write in.  But I do, anyway.

solstice

Today is the summer solstice, the longest day of the year.  We did some calculating last night and figured out that there are approximately seven more hours of daylight today than there were exactly six months ago, which is pretty amazing.

It's also my half-birthday, which I used to celebrate every year when I was younger.  On December 21, 2007, my actual birthday, I took this picture of a tree in my backyard.  

It was about midnight and it had been snowing for twenty hours.  I thought it was beautiful.  

Today I took this picture of the same tree. 

I love the seasons here-- it's one of my favorite things about the place I grew up.  Happy Solstice!

welcome!

Although this is my third official post, the first two were sort of test runs, so consider this the inauguration of the new blog. I hope this can enable to me to post videos and pictures of my kids, update you all on the developments in our lives, and help me keep in touch with friends old and new. Please comment so we can know you were here!

employed

Today in the mail I received my first earned income in almost 9 years. Amazing, I know! It was a check from the city of Murray, where I've been doing an architectural history project for the past few months. Here's a little more about what I do in this part of my life:

My bachelor's degree is in Architectural History and Preservation. Yawn for most people, but not for me-- I loved school and really enjoy studying buildings as historical documents. They can tell us so much about the culture of the time they were built: their values, their standards, their lifestyles. I find it pretty fascinating.

The unfortunate things about this profession are 1)you really have to know someone to get into it-- there are no historic preservation jobs posted on Monster.com or craig's list; and 2)many of the available jobs are for non-profit organizations which translates to volunteer or very low-paying work. Consequently, when I got out of school I ended up taking a lot of detours and never really working in my field, much to my sadness.

When I returned to Salt Lake City 18 months ago, I contacted some of my friends from school, and they've hooked me up with some consulting work, and voila! The contract I have right now is a survey of about 50 square blocks in Murray where there are a lot of subdivisions constructed in the 1950s and 1960s. Believe it or not, these buildings are being considered historic right now, as they are over fifty or almost fifty years old. Basically, I document each house (1100 in total) by taking a picture of it, entering a few pieces of information about it into a database, and noting it on a map. When the documentation is done, I'll give the city an analysis of my findings and recommendations for actions to be taken, such as further studies, protecting some of the prime examples or changing zoning ordinances to slow development and commercialization.

I like the work, but it can get a little tedious, mostly because the nature of these subdivisions is that they were built all the same, so the houses get monotonous. But, unlike work I've done in the past, I have had the opportunity to talk to some of the original owners (you don't really get that with a Victorian house built in 1899).

In the future I hope to receive other contracts with city or county governments, as well as some private consulting jobs with homeowners, contractors, or architects. It's nice because it's usually pretty flexible as far as scheduling and I can do a lot of it from my home office, so it works out pretty well.

The picture above is of one of my first preservation projects when I was in college, a study of my parents' house built in 1929.