What do you think of when you hear the words "South Carolina"? What about the word "ziploc"? Well after this little story you may think of something completely off the wall when you hear any of those words...
On Tuesday, April 1st, Collin and Sara's Grandparents took a trip out east. The company Grandpa works for took them to South Carolina for an annual business trip. I've been back east and its quite an experience; heat, humidity, lots of greenery, and nice beaches. Grandma took to collecting sea shells to bring home to the kids and even talked Grandpa into hiking down a rocky ledge to pick up one very special shell. Friday rolled around and Grandma 'n Grandpa came home to some very excited grand-kids.
"Wait 'til you guys see what I brought you!!" Grandma says, as she hands the kids a Ziploc bag filled with sea shells.
"Cool", they exclaim.
"'Bout killed myself tryin ta' get ya that one" says Grandpa pointing to the special spirally one.
The kids dumped out all the shells and counted them, sorted them, and played with them. When they were done they were good kids and put them all back into the Ziploc bag, but left them sitting on the living room floor.
The next morning Jodi and I were sitting around relaxing and watching some TV. When all of the sudden Jodi turns towards me and says, "Brandon! Did you see that?"
"What?" I ask.
"The bag..." she points to the Ziploc bag still sitting on the floor, "it moved!"
"What?"
"I swear it moved!"
"nah... the shells were probly just settling in there", I say, brushing her off like nothing.
The day goes on and that afternoon I sit down at my computer to do some freelance work (the computer is in the living room as well). Collin is layin' on the floor playing Madden 08 on his PSP. Every so often Collin hops up to show me a great replay on his game. "Dad, Dad, you gotta see this blah blah just ran 80 yards for touchdown" or " Yes! Check out this awesome catch" etc., etc. Then all of the sudden after a few minutes of gameplay i hear a small rustle from a plastic bag on the floor right next to Collin's head. Oh yes, Collin heard it too... Actually, he saw it move! He pops up off the floor faster then a startled grasshopper in the Arizona desert and he's white as a ghost, "I just... I just... there was.. I saw, I saw... something moved in the bag ... and it was black".
My eyes wide and my heart racing a little I bend over to pick up the bag. Looking it over thoroughly, I see nothing suspicious. Nothing at all. I take the bag upstairs and bring everyone around the kitchen counter to help inspect.
"I told you I saw the bag move! I told you!" Jodi shouts.
And Grandma says, "Oh there's nothing in here", as she picks up the bag and walks into the bathroom, where she proceeds to empty it into the sink. She pushes all the shells around and finds nothing. "The only shell in here that could hide anything would be this spirally one right here" She holds up the shell that Grandpa took a hike to retrieve. She flips on the hot water and waits for it to get hot. Once the water is scorching, she puts the shell under the hot water and waits. A few minutes go by... and... then complete panic and commotion come screaming out of the bathroom!
"What? Sara, what?" I ask the terrified child.
"There's something in the shell" she screeches through frightened tears. And I pick her up and hold her while she calms down...
So what was in the shell you ask? Well I'm sure many of you can guess... but this will make it much more fun. If you'd like to see a photo of what was in the shell... CLICK HERE to see what the kids have aptly named "Ziploc" from South Carolina.
I know there's a few of you that will totally dig this... My nephew, Jacob, has a birthday on April 4th and I wanted to paint a groovy painting for him... He plays PeeWee football for the Bingham Miners and he's quite good... So what better gift than a painting of him playin some ball... Here's a couple of shot of the painting process... Enjoy!
Every so often the family does a massive cleaning and sorting session, where we go through all the miscellaneous "junk" we've acquired over the past year or so and decide what can be given away to the Big Brother's, Big Sister's group , the MS folks, or whatever charity may be looking for donations at the time... and, believe it or not the kids really get into this... the thought of giving away some toys or books or whatever to someone less fortunate is actually a concept they both understand. They like the thought of doing something to make another person smile. Collin has even given away some of his most valued "treasures" in previous donations. And, as you can see Sara literally got right into the giving spirit today... (sorry, the picture's a little blurry)
Man, I don't think my imagination was quite this vivid when I was eight... and published no less!
Today has been an extra special day for the kids. It started off with building a snow-man in the fresh snow this morning. We got about 5 or 6 inches of snow last night and it was perfect for a snow-man. Then, after we came in and put some dry clothes on we went down to the nearest Macy's and picked an Angel from the Angel Tree .. We spent a few hours shopping for two little girls, one 4 and one 6. Pants, shoes, shirts and even some Barbies. And since my work, KUTV, is a sponsor of the Angel Tree program, they paid for it all. Pretty neat, to say the least. Later this evening we were instructed to take all the gifts we purchased to the drop-off point at the Zoo. Yup, that's right, the Zoo... Middle of December and we were off to the Zoo. The Hogle Zoo has, for the first time ever, put up over 2 million christmas lights throughout the park. Granted most of the animals are keeping themselves warm in their pens or dens... but it was still magical. A most wonderful way to end a wonderful day!
Today was a beautiful day. A special day. 4 years ago today a small girl joined us all in this wild, crazy and often harsh world. This game we call "Life" can be tricky and cruel sometimes. Hah! Yeah, right! Not to this little spitfire. Nope, this girl has enough spunk and heart to give "life" a serious run for it's money... Oh my Sara-Bean... You are someone special. Sure, you can be a handful at times. But, that doesn't compare to the amount of heart you possess, at just 4 years old...
... Let me give a wonderful example: Just last week, after I received the dis-heartening news of my uncle's passing, I walked into my room and sat on the side of my bed... out of the corner of my tear-filled eye, I saw your little face peek around the door... then you walked in and, without a single word, you handed me your favorite little floppy, pink baby-doll... the same baby-doll that comforts you and gives you strength when you need it... you had no idea what was going on in my head or that I had just lost a very special person in my family... and yet, somehow, you did know something. Something that was very heavy... and the moment that pink baby-doll touched my fingers, a little weight was lifted... Thank you, my little sweet-heart... Thank you so much for being my little girl... Always!
So without further ado ... The Princess Birthday Tea-Party! ... The planning for this amazing event was immense. It's a good thing Jodi knows a thing or two about Tea Parties and Princesses, cause I wouldn't have been able to pull off an party like this... Complete with food, "tea", games, dancing... Oh, and we can't forget the bestest part of the day: A visit from the one and only Princess Belle of Beauty and the Beast. (Thank You so much Aunt Kristie)
Happy Birthday Sara-Bean! I Love You My Little Princess!
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