5 Years

Friday, June 26th, was our fifth anniversary. Dan was a sweetie and took half the day off of work so that we could go on a date. My aunt and cousins from Sugar Land graciously agreed to watch Sam for 4 hours so that we could go out. We hadn't seen a movie in ages, so we headed to the theater to watch UP. And not just regular style, but in 3D. It was a really cute movie. I liked it so much! Dan liked it, too. We collectively rate it 9.5. Two thumbs up.

The movie theater was right next to a mall and lots of restaurants. After the movie we went to the mall and I got a new shirt because of my budgeting skills. (I'll talk about that later for those who are interested.) Then we went to P.F. Chang's for dinner because Dan had never been. It was nice except for the 16-month old baby at the table right next to us who thought screaming his head off for no reason was adorable. Hello! We took our baby to a sitter to AVOID being around babies. Oh, well. They left about halfway through our meal so it wasn't too bad. My aunt claims that Sam did well while we were gone. I hope he really did!

It was so nice to go out with Dan alone and it was a great anniversary.

Today Houston set a new all-time June record of 104 degrees. 104 DEGREES! Killa!Sam instictively squints when I pull out the camera now. He doesn't like the flash, I guess. Did you see what he's reading? "Secrets of the Baby Whisperer." He's just trying to figure out what makes the baby girls tick.

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button = 2 hours and 43 minutes of my life wasted, never to return. Definitely the lousiest movie we've seen since Twilight, and we've seen some lousy ones--Last Chance Harvey, Valkyrie, and Paul Blart Mall Cop, for example. I can't imagine how anyone would enjoy Benjamin Button's story without first having some sort of perverse obsession with the sexual escapades of a young man in a really old man's body, but, apparently, there are a sufficient number of such persons submitting reviews on Yahoo movies to earn the movie an A- from Yahoo users. We both gave it a 1 out of 10 without reservations.

In other news, I want to wish my dad a happy father's day. Here's to a great dad!

Dad, I hope you had a good day, though you probably won't read this message, if ever, until a month from now.

And in yet more news, Sam showed off his first dance moves this weekend, other than the random shaking of the hands that is as much dancing as the random "Da!" is taken for his saying "Dad!" (You'd like to think it was dancing, and you'd like to think it was "Dad," but let's be honest, he doesn't know what he's doing.) This time, we are positive that Sam was getting jiggy with it, and the song that he chose to dignify as dance-worthy, if you're interested in knowing, was Gwen Stefani's "Ain't No Holla Back Girl." Sam's awesome.

Did you know that there is not one single 7-11 in Houston? Man, on these super hot days, nothing sounds as good as a wild cherry slurpee. Icees don't cut the mustard. The good news is, I'm headed to VA in a few weeks. Not only that, but I'll be there ON 7-11 so you KNOW I'm going to get myself a free slurpee. One for me, and one in honor of Dan. And maybe one for Sam, too. We'll see.

Did you also know that Houston doesn't show Jeopardy? I guess that's good so that I don't watch as much TV, but still. Houston is the fourth largest city in the US and no Jeopardy? It's just un-American. Oh, I miss Alex Trebek in my life.

A Tribute

For my ninth birthday, while we were camping in San Simeon, California, I got my very first camera: the Kodak Jazz. At least, that's what I remember it being called, but I couldn't find any pictures of it online anywhere. It was flat and hot blue and totally awesome. Maybe it was the Kodak Star? Anyway, I loved that camera. Over the next few years, I took some fabulous pictures. I was looking at some of them this week and scanned a few of my favorites - either because I just think they're fun or they're sentimental.

Camping - San Simeon

Camping - San Simeon

Kirk jumping over a canal with a huge drop-off on the other side. He did it while Mom wasn't looking. Per usual, he probably could have died, but didn't.

Grandpa Cheney's 72nd b-day! I love him.

Candice will probably kill me for this, but I think she looks cute!

I don't know why Kirk is lifting his shirt. Kirk? Care to explain?

Grandpa O'Brien's grave. I wish I knew him better.

Old Faithful.

Ryan.

I still haven't decided what to do about getting my hair cut, but in the meantime, I'd like to share a few people I consider my hair icons... Maybe with enough time, money, patience, and my own personal hair dresser, I could eventually achieve the gorgeous tresses of the likes of:

Blake Lively

Evangeline Lily

Carrie Underwood

But let's be honest. In Houston, my hair looks more like:

Sebastian Bach
Weird Al

or Robert Plant

Dan said out of those three, it's most like Robert Plant's. *sigh* I guess I just need to get over it.

Is a $90 haircut worth it if you only get it cut twice a year? I NEED a haircut and the only good recommendation I've gotten from anyone is a place that costs $84 (plus tip). I can't imagine spending that much, but I haven't gotten a cut since November and it was from a beauty school in Utah ($8 total). No one ever cuts my hair well and this place has straight 5-star reviews from Citysearch. But $90? Yikes. Thoughts?

I find it ironic that Sam's BYU onesie (what with the BYU Honor Code and all...)

is his most revealing.