Of course, I am thankful for all the typical things: family, friends, food, the gospel, America, etc. Here's what I am thankful for besides those things:
- roommates who understand that my love languages are food and good parking spots
- boys who have 8-packs
- the Park City outlets
- that the one time I ran into an ex, he didn't know about it
- .....and he looked bad anyways
- 4-hour naps on Sunday - these are so essential to my happiness
- my sisters and their blogs
- the Draper temple
It is beautiful inside, seriously beautiful.
- that one time my mom dropped Crisco on Nicole's foot
- that other time when Nicole said, all nurturingly, "Jacob. When I was your age, I had e-coli." And Jacob replied, "What? Whose poop did you eat?"
- that time when Julie was squinting at the menu at Disney World and this employee came along and kindly handed her a menu in Spanish
- all the times when we have started singing at the table, quietly, and then Nicole has joined in, a little louder, so the rest of us have stopped singing, and my dad has looked up from his meal and gotten upset at Nicole
- the mental image I have in my head of Nicole in seminary
- Antoine Dodson....I know this was like 2 years ago but I still want to thank that guy for the hours of entertainment he has provided me with
- that I know how to make frittatas, lemon glaze, meatballs, parmesan broccoli, paper snowflakes, Hootenanny pancakes, and a plethora of other things
- that my roommates can make even more things
- that I don't have a unibrow
- Cassidy Jane Carbaby
- that one time when my dad started singing about a lemon tree at the dinner table
- that one of my students came in on Friday and gave me a piece of paper with a note that said: "Miss Connor you are the best teacher thanks for being my teacher see you after school!" and had a purple jolly rancher taped to it
- Owen Wilson
I don't know what it is, but I love him. And I am indeed thankful for him.
So my cute famiglia is in Maryland, Dorothying it up with Sandy as I type. I've gotten emails from Amazon, Wells Fargo, and School's Out about it. And of course, there have been the countless Facebook statuses regarding the Frankenstorm. Apparently it's a big deal? (Please read that in a Despicable Me voice.)
People have been really sympathetic and concerned about it. They keep asking if my family got evacuated, if we still have power, if we're okay, etc. It's nice to know that so many people are concerned, but where I come from, rain is a good thing.
Rain means lightning, rain boots, and sitting with the lights off and staring out the window with my siblings. Rain means bright green grass, a happy garden, puddles and vapor rising from the ground. Rain means a slightly paranoid dad backing up all his computers and
running around with a flashlight, just in case the power goes out. Really bad rain means no school and an excuse to sleep in. When it rains, we party.
In the old house, two houses down from the new house, we had a big window in the kitchen, with a sliding glass door and a railing so no one could fall out. There was a big thunderstorm, and even though it was past bedtime, there were three little girls sitting by that window. We each had on one of Dad's big t-shirts, and we sat with our knees tucked up in our shirts, looking out at the storm.
This isn't a picture from that storm, but this would be what we looked like.
We watched the swings on our swing-set sway back and forth, knocking into each other in the wind. Our turtle kiddie pool filled up with water, and we wondered if the giant tree would fall on us, but it never did.
I'm sure I wouldn't be writing this blog post if the tree had fallen on us. I'd be writing one called "Dear Sandy, I hate you and every other storm like you." Instead, I'm writing one called "Storm's a'Brewin'."
Enjoy Sandy, Murrlanders! And Virginians and Jersites and errbody else. I hope you like Easy Mac, good book, Blind Man Bluff kinda days as much as I do. May your laundry finish before the power goes out, and may your greatest trial continue to be the fear that you may not be able to access Facebook for a stint :)
Sarah, Julie, and I love having sister sleepovers whenever I'm home. Usually this means all of us crowding into Julie's queen-sized bed, fighting over the body pillow, whispering and elbowing each other until we finally fall asleep in odd positions that are entirely different than the ones we wake up in.
But last night, "sister sleepover" meant something entirely different. And now, for our tutorial:
How to have a Successful Sister Sleepover without getting the Usual Bruises
1. Have your brother go on a scout camp-out. When he gets home, have him air out his tent in the living room.
2. Get really excited when you see said tent in the living room.
3. Make s'mores! If you can't find any plain chocolate, special dark chocolate nuggets with almonds from your dad's secret stash in his office will do just as well. You just have to cut out the almonds.
4. Pose excitedly while preparing these s'mores.
5. Pre-heat the oven to 400* while cutting the almonds out of the chocolates. When you are ready to put the s'mores in the oven, turn it from "Bake" to "Broil."
6. If your s'mores look like the picture above, then they are perfect. Top them with another graham cracker.
- waking up, going outside, picking raspberries and blackberries, and eating them with your cereal.
- breaking world records in all Track and Field events after 2 hours of playing Kinect Sports with your sister.
- tackling your siblings in a concerted effort to get stronger.
- becoming addicted to the Big Bang Theory, simply because there is so much time around here.
- eating all the caramel in the world. Literally. ALL THE CARAMEL.
- saying, "Julie! / Joseph! / Jacob! / Sarah! How come.....you're so cute?" every time I see one of those cute people.
- becoming a pro at shooting a basketball backwards.
- narrowly avoiding vicious scams by people who don't live charmed lives like stupid Patricia J. Hall.
- listening to this song on a loop:
- following up every family prayer with 12 push-ups and 21 crunches (or however old you are).
- trying to tackle your brother only to bang your head on the wall.
- wondering, "but why is the jam gone?"
- laughing hysterically because Pluto isn't technically a planet.
- blasting this song every time it is on the radio and singing along with Baby Sister:
- going to Rita's whenever I feel like it, because it is just like 5 minutes away instead of 2000 miles away like it is when I'm in Utah....
- having friends over who cover your brother's eyes when an inappropriate part comes on in the movie you're watching.
- having brothers who cover your friend's eyes when an inappropriate part comes on in the movie you're watching.
- phrases like "Screw you, Tower of Babel!" coming up in scripture study.
- spending a morning watching Steve Irwin videos on YouTube with Baby Sister.
- stacking up significant fines on your library card and feeling really embarrassed about that since they just waived $18.40 in fines from the last time you checked something out (February of 2011).
- lunching with the Padre.
- hacking into my grandma's Facebook. getting nice posts on Facebook clearly written by my grandma who loves me.
As many of you may remember from May, I have a brother who is a man. And this man is getting ready to go on his first date in a matter of days.
To prepare him, I asked several of my friends (all of whom are awesome daters, obviously) for advice. For any of my readers who are seeking dating advice, I have recorded the advices below. Enjoy :)
"Open the car door for your date. Tell her she looks nice. Treat her like a lady. Don't worry about having to be smooth. Be yourself, and if she doesn't like you for who you are then she isn't someone to ask out again. You should have no problem because from what I hear you are a stud. If the conversation is hard to keep then don't worry about forcing it, it should be easy to talk with her. If it isn't, move on and ask a new girl out because she wasn't for you. Good luck with everything and don't worry about kissing a girl right away." ~the infamous Steve Johnson
"A good date movie is anything she wants to see, but the key is pretending like you're really excited." ~Zac Efron
"My main piece of advice when dating would be to date smart, by just having a good time by learning through experiences, and don't get too attached, just participate in wholesome dating :)" ~Brad
"Kissing is like drinking salt water. The more you drink, you more you want. And always google funny pickup lines before a date." ~Winnie
"Just follow your heart. That's what I always do." ~Napoleon Dynamite.
"Keep it short....no longer than 2 hours....and simple, don't overplan! Dinner and a small activity. Maybe not even dinner, just a dessert. Open all doors. Be a good listener. Ask her questions about herself, family, future plans, hobbies, etc." ~Nicool
"Just be nice to your lady, and treat her with respect, and she will do the same to you." ~J Biebs
"Be super-needy. Call and text every 2-4 hours. Act super self-conscious and continuously apologize. Just for starters." ~Thank you, Jared Yarn....
And finally, Usher had this to say:
"You've got to love all your fans without falling in love with them. I can't say I've never dated a fan, but it's not a good idea....understand that you are a fantasy to them and you should be mindful of that." ~Usher
Once upon a time, some fellas who call themselves the Gym Class Heroes made up a beautiful song called "The Fighter." They invited a guy named Ryan Tedder to sing with them. They inspired at least 3,190,981 people.
And then, a nice little family in Maryland ruined it. They were standing around, eating ice cream one night after one (baby) sister had been particularly flatulent, and one of them started playing this song. Except, they sang it like this:
"Until the referee rings the bell Until both your butt cheeks start to swell Until the crowd goes home What we gonna do ya'll?
Give em smell, turn their heads Gonna live life til we're dead. Give me scars, give me pain Then they'll say of me, say of me, say of me There goes the farter, (oooh-oooh-oooh!) There goes the farter(oooh-oooh-oooh!) Here comes the farter(oooh-oooh-oooh!) That's what they'll say of me, say of me, say of me, This one's a farter."
And that's not even all. This irreverent family made up a dance to go along with it. And then one of them blogged about it.
Oh, that was me. Sorry this is the second post in a row that deals with farting. I'll try to be more mature.
I know I blogged barely 4 seconds ago, but I don't have a job right now, so I'm going to blog again. Just so you know how things go around here, the following conversation just happened.
I was in the kitchen, eating breakfast with Dad. Jacob was in the hallway getting ready for his wilderness survival solo camp-out that he's going on tonight. Mom was helping him. Sarah was wandering around being pretty. Jacob lit a safety match to test one out.
Dad: Oh Jacob! Man!
Jacob: It's just a match, Dad.
Dad: My gosh. I mean, did you light that thing and then fart? And then wave it around?
Jacob: No....
Dad: Uh-huh, sure you didn't.
Sarah came in the kitchen.
Sarah: Oh man, what is that smell?
*For the record, I thought it smelled like fire, nothing abnormal for a match, but apparently everyone else thought it was super-stinky.*
Me: Dad farted.
Sarah: Ohhhh, Dad!
She walked away, looking disgusted.
Dad: Sarah, that's not true, now, Heather's lying.
Sarah: Yeah right, Dad.
Dad: Jacob came in here and lit a match and that is what the stink is, not me! I didn't fart!
But of course, Sarah was gone, so Dad turned to me.
Dad: Now Heather, you lied about that. You lied just now! I didn't fart.
I just laughed and continued eating my waffle. In the other room, we heard Sarah talking to Jacob.
Sarah: Jacob, did you light a match just now?
Jacob: No, that was Dad's fart.
Dad: Hey, now that's two of you who are lying! Now I didn't fart! And you guys know that!
But we all remembered that one time long ago yesterday when Dad said to me: "You know what's nice about having an office with a screen door?" He stepped outside and stretched his arms wide. "You can always step outside and feel the breeze." And then, he let out the hugest fart ever. "You can even make your own breeze!" he continued enthusiastically.
I was upstairs before he came back inside.
So even after I admitted to Sarah that actually we had lied and Jacob really did light a match, we all still wondered if the stink from the match was actually a stink from the match mixed with a stink from something (or someone) else.
Everyone celebrates Flag Day in their own way. Here's how one frozen yogurt shop, Top It Fro Yo, chose to celebrate:
Here's how we chose to celebrate in my family. I invited everyone in for dinner. This is what the table was set like:
Not everyone had a good attitude about it.
Julie asked if we were in the Great Depression. Dad thought it was hilarious. He took pictures of the table setting and had everyone smile and hold up their food. Here's the conversation that followed:
Dad: Everyone smile! *Camera click*
Julie: I hope you captured my disgruntled expression.
Heather: Stop making fun of my meal! It'll all be worth it when you try the tea I made.
Julie: We're seriously having tea and crackers?? I thought that was a joke!
Heather: It's a really cool tea. It's mint vanilla. I saw it on Pinterest. It just took a little longer to make than I thought it would so I didn't have time to make scones.
Dad: I think this is great! My college daughter's got me on a diet!
Mom: Let's pray.
We prayed. I stood to pour the tea, at the same time teaching some etiquette things. Julie angrily chomped away at her crackers.
When I got to Mom, she said:
Mom: Wait! Is this British tea?
Heather: Yes. It is a special kind of....
Mom: Then I can't drink it!
She stoutly turned her cup upside-down.
Heather: But - ! I worked really hard on it!
Mom: I am an American! I will not drink British tea! Sarah!!! Put that down!
Sarah: I think it's kinda good.....
Mom: No! I will not drink this! I revolt! This is a revolution!
Julie: Yeah! I don't want tea and crackers for dinner! I'm starving!
I slumped my shoulders. "Alright," I sighed, and went over to the oven. "I guess we can just have these dumb ol' things." I set a platter of Belgian waffles on the table. Everyone rejoiced.
We had a great dinner of Belgian waffles, syrup, whipped cream, strawberries, blueberries, and blackberries. We had a special guest sing the National Anthem.
We had a contest to guess how many official flag designs there have been. We had a contest to see who could design the best American flag with their waffle. We apologized for the historical inaccuracy of our little skit at the beginning of the dinner.
If anyone is interested in the recipe for the vanilla mint tea, here it is:
2 cups hot water
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
3 drops green food coloring
1 drop blue food coloring
2 drops yellow food coloring
3 mint leaves sprinkled on top of the tea as decoration
Serve with sugar and coffee creamer.
Please note: this is not a real recipe. I just threw it together for the purpose of this meal.....which was a joke. And for the record, Mom and Sarah were both supposed to revolt, but Sarah actually liked the tea so she just skipped out on her part. And Dad and Julie were totally unsuspecting and they played their parts perfectly :)
A few months ago, we found out the Madagascar 3 was going to be coming out. AH! We all love Madagascar 2. Very very much. It is hilarious. If you haven't watched it, you should. Because we enjoyed the second Madagascar so much, we thought we might feel the same way about this third movie.
So, on Saturday, Julie, Joseph, Jacob, Sarah and I dressed up like the Madagascar penguins, did a photo shoot in the front yard, and went to the movie theater. We penguin-walked into the theater, bought our tickets, found our seats, and had a great time.
Our consensus on the movie: It was great! It was funny! We liked it!
Favorite line: "I'm obviously just an emotional whoopie cushion for you to sit on!"
Favorite character: Is that even a question?? King Julien!
I like this place. I really do! And I like my friends here, and I'm having fun times and stuff. But here's another place I like:
And I'm going there! Tomorrow! I've been packing and cleaning for three days straight, also sporadically through the last two weeks. I shoved my bedding, rain boots, a box, and a set of drawers in the hall closet at Singletree. I put 2 suitcases, 4 huge boxes, half of my clothes, and another set of drawers in a friend's closet. I packed two suitcases and a backpack to bring home. And I think I am finally ready!
Everyone has been asking what I'm going to do for a month in Maryland. Here's a TO DO list:
1. Hang out with the fam.
2. Go to lunch with the cute dad.
3. Make dinners with real people food.
4. Visit all my elementary school teachers and get advice!
5. Meet Lerone. (He's so hot and I can't wait to see him in person....)
6. Go to Rita's.
7. Eat froyo with the Jew.
8. Have sister sleepovers with the Jew and the Care Bear.
9. Play basketball with the broders.
10. BEAT THEM!
11. Learn all the sports. Since I'm going to be a PE teacher and it's crunch time, guys.
12. Road trip to Tennessee with Caitlin where we will drink lemonade and meet every cowboy that even exists on the East Coast.
13. Beach??
14. Get all ready to be a teacher.
15. Attend the DC 2nd ward.
16. Go to Jared's pool.
17. Go to institute? We'll see....
18. Do a sleep deprivation study. Also miscellaneous other studies.
19. Drive to Ohio and be an EFY counselor for a week.
20. Then drive 28 hrs in 36 hrs back to Utah. Blech.
I love how Baltimore looks from the sky. It's all, Oh hey Heather, we missed you! And I'm all, Listen, I missed you too! Because as much as I love Utah, I do miss being home. Who says you can't go home?? I don't. I say I can. So peace out, Utah! See you in a month :)
Sometimes when I meet new people, they ask me where I fall in my family. Sometimes, I have them guess. And more often than I would like to admit, they guess that I am the baby.
The thing is, I am not the baby of the family. The baby of the family has reddish hair, not blonde. She is a basketball champ. She started blogging at a much younger age than I did. And she just turned ten today.
Sarah started out cute. She had strawberry-blonde hair and big blue eyes. We loved having another baby, a baby we could dress up and dote on and adore, and she loved being that baby. She laughed all the time and somehow, despite all of us clamoring for a chance to paint her nails or feed her or dance with her, she didn't turn out spoiled.
She had these two super-cute outfits when she was about three: a fluffy little skirt and a shirt to go with it. One was pink and one was green. She loved wearing them and dancing in the living room to "Supermodel," the song from the Lizzie McGuire movie.
One time when she was a baby, she was running around the island, being chased by Joseph or Jacob and just laughing her head off. All of a sudden, she stopped running, stopped laughing, and squatted down, looking very concentrated. The broder stopped. "Sarah?" he asked. She made a little panting sound, then stood up and started running and laughing again.
I guess when you got to go, you got to go!
One day when I was in college but was home for the summer, I took all the kids to get their hairs cut. The haircut lady put this streak of blue in her hair so obviously we had to have a photo shoot right when we got home!
Two years ago, we had a family reunion in Midway. All the girls shared one bed which was SO fun. I discovered then that Sarah moves around a lot in her sleep, and she is suddenly endowed with super-strength. If she wants to move, she does, and nothing will get in her way. I don't know how, but apparently, I slept through this.
On the flight home from that trip, Sarah got hot chocolate for her beverage. As the cherry on top of a disastrous plane ride, it of course spilled all over her. Since she didn't have any other pants, we just had to strip off the ones she was wearing and wrap Mom's jacket around her. I think it makes a very stylish skirt, don't you?
Something that I love about Sarah is how funny she is. She says the funniest things sometimes! I love talking to her on the phone and hearing about her day at school, or the boys who like her, or the latest drama with her friends. When she was about 2 or 3 we would browse through the Avon catalog every time it came and pick out our favorites on each page. She talked like a teenager then, and now, I feel like I am talking to one of my friends when I talk to her.
There is no question that Sarah is the most athletic girl in our family. I think her athleticism is Heavenly Father's blessing for my dad serving in the bishopric or something, because none of the first four girls did much of anything with sports. Sarah, on the other hand, loves basketball and soccer and pretty much any other sport she tries. She is, without question, the best one on her basketball team. (Don't worry that she fowls out on a regular basis ;) and we all love watching her play!
Sarah has a huge heart. She just knows how to love people and show them. She is a good listener; when she's talking to me, I never feel like she's just waiting for her turn to talk. She is genuinely interested in others. She is honest, sensitive, and sincere, and you can tell when you talk to her.
Contrary to what you might think from this picture, Sarah likes when I do her hair. I remember when I worked at Club Libby Lu and she was so pumped when she got to come in and get a makeover. She's just being sassy in this picture.
Sassiness is not a bad thing if you do it as cutely as Sarah does it. One time, when she visited me in Florida, she met my friend Sean. I don't remember what he said, but she thought it sounded a little flirty and decided he needed to be called out on it.
Hand on hip, eyes fixed, she bobbed her head and said, "Oh, I see, you crushin' on my sister?" in a way that reminded me that a lot of her friends are these cute little black girls. Sean wasn't crushin' on her sister, but he still turned red and laughed about it for weeks afterwards.
Even though she's almost 8 years younger than Julie, and the rest of the sisters are only about 2 years apart from the next sister, Sarah fits right in with us. She easily floats from the sisters to the brothers to her own friends.
Sarah had a unique experience when she came to Disney World. Having a sister who worked there and had just tried out for Cinderella, she knew more about how the park worked than lots of other kids her age. But at the same time, she was so much fun to go around the park with. She is super-energetic and was so enthusiastic about everything.
This is when she accidentally splashed me when getting out of the pool. I think that she mostly likes being the youngest, but thinks it would be nice if she had a sibling more her age who always wanted to swim in the pool with her when her boring older sisters just want to sit on the side and dip their feet in.
One day, a girl in our ward broke up with her boyfriend. Actually, he broke up with her, and she ended up at our house for dinner that Sunday. We had a great dinner, and afterwards, she wandered out of the kitchen, unnoticed by most of us. Sarah of course noticed and followed her to the living room.
When I went in there later, the Single Lady was lying on her stomach on the couch, saying something about how "I just don't understand, everything was going so well!" Sarah was nodding and "mhmm"ing sympathetically, her hands expertly karate-chopping a rhythm up and down the Single Lady's back.
Now, whenever I have a bad day, I wish that Sarah was there to give me a nice massage and "mhmm" sympathetically at my pathetic story. She's not, but the memory of that still cheers me up when I need it!
Sarah makes me feel like a million bucks every time I go home to visit. She doesn't try to hog attention; she tries to throw it all on the person who is having a special day. If I'm visiting from college, I am that person. If Nicool is having a birthday, she is that person. I literally think Sarah doesn't even think about herself when it is someone else's time to eat off of the Special plate.
This Christmas, my dad dropped a coin in the garbage disposal. Or at least, he convinced himself that he had. He tried getting it out and couldn't, having big man hands, so he got Sarah out of bed (it was probably about 6:50 in the morning) and asked for her help. She traipsed downstairs in her pink t-shirt and hand-me-down-from-the-broders tiger pajama pants, rubbing the sleep from her eyes, hopped obligingly up on a chair, and felt around for the coin.
I thought it was so cute that I had to take this picture. All I know is, if Dad asked me to do that, I can't promise that I would be so sweet about it. And that is why Sarah is cooler than me.
She loves doing sister photo shoots. Here are some gems from past sister or family photo shoots:
At Disney World, a guy walking around Animal Kingdom made up this song on the spot for Sarah. If nothing else, he at least got the name right: "Princess Sarah." Enjoy!
Love you Sarah!!! I am so proud of you and brag about you all the time. I can't think of a better way to finish off the Connor Clan. I hope you know how amazing I think you are. I love you forever!
Today is such a special day. Two days ago was also such a special day. Here's why:
18 years ago today - at least I'm pretty sure it was 18 years ago - the girl in this picture (above middle) was born. A happy family with two awesome parents and three awesome daughters became even happier. She sleepy-smiled her way right into our hearts and hasn't left there since. She was literally the cutest baby I have ever seen in my life. I hope my kids are as cute as Baby Julie was! She had sparkly eyes and was so sweet and smiley. We all wanted her to be our best friend.
Now she is way more grown up. She is beautiful! I always tell her she is the pretty one (even though all of my sisters are the pretty ones.....). She has gorgeous hair and is so cute and funny. In high school, she would sit up and help me study for tests. She is the best storyteller and we laugh so hard whenever we get to hang out together. Whether she is chumming along to the radio or we are doing each other's hair or she is screaming on the bathroom floor because she can't put her contact it, she is making me laugh.
And ah de boys want her, too. Obviously.
Two days ago was another special day.....it was the day the best Jacob in the world turned 13. Whataman!
Baby Jacob was bald and energetic. I still picture him as a little boy running nearly naked around the house, dancing to Tarzan music, his Lego sword stuck in his underwear. He had a knack for breakdancing and the collective adoration of all of his sisters, and his brother. Not to mention, the ladies.
Stitches couldn't mar his handsomeness; they only made him more rugged-looking. The boy is a stud. He is also one of the most genuinely nice people I've ever known. He is a good friend to everyone, whether they are his friends or not. I'm so impressed with the way he puts himself in others' shoes and then performs simple acts of kindness for them without being prompted.
He is also super-funny! And so smart. He never makes fun of me for not knowing things that, to him, should be common knowledge. One time, I wanted to impress a boy, so I asked Jacob what every boy knows about football. I asked him to list some famous quarterbacks for me, and asked about some specific plays that are always super-exciting. He took my questions seriously and told me his favorite quarterbacks and why everyone else likes them, too. It was extremely helpful.
I don't know how to congratulate these two enough on their good decision in coming to our family! It wouldn't be the same without them. I'm so glad Julie got switched at the hospital. I'm so glad Jacob didn't get switched at the hospital. I'm so glad they are such good friends to me. Here's to the Man and the Jew :) Peace, and blessings.
