Terminal

In "The Terminal," Tom Hanks plays a character who flies to the USA from some tiny East European country that has a coup while he is in the air. The country, and therefore his passport, is no longer recognized by the United States. He cannot enter the United States, nor can he board a plane to go back home. He is stuck at the airport, not being able to come or go. I can now empathize with him, at least a bit. This morning, I took my sister Kelsey and her friend Tessa to the airport to start their monthlong backpack-across-Europe adventure. Thinking that a walk around the airport would be more helpful to Miriam than just driving straight home, we went in with her while she checked her luggage. Miriam LOVED the moving sidewalks and we went back and forth on them while Kelsey took care of everything. Then we bid her farewell as she walked through the passenger-only gate. As we walked back towards the car, we stopped at the pre-pay for parking machine. I love using this machine because the first half hour of parking is free, and turning the parking stub in here rather than driving out to the pay area makes me feel like I get a few extra minutes to stay within the free time. But I could not find my parking stub. It was in no pocket, no purse, no nothing. Hmmm. It must still be in the car. So much for saving the few minutes by using the inside machine. We walked out to the car but, you guessed it, still no stub. Now, I consider myself to be an organized person who usually knows where things are. A place for everything and everything in its place. But perhaps not. I decided that with a little girl who was already pushing naptime, I'd just pay the fee and go home. So I drove out of the parking lot and to the pay area, where the lady who helped me said it is $45 for a lost ticket. I'm all for just paying the fee when it's my fault, but GOODNESS GRACIOUS $45 seemed a bit steep for my less-than-a-half-hour stay at Salt Lake International. She told me I could go back and look for it. So I tried to. I drove around and around and around but couldn't figure out how to get back to the airport. I couldn't find the parking garage. No matter how much I drove, I couldn't get anywhere but parking lots. Once you're in, they don't let you out. It was at this time also that I remembered that although I keep a ziploc of pretzels in the car for hard times, I had just yesterday taken it inside to refill and had not put it back. I also had just cleaned out the car, so there weren't even any old stale ones on the floor. Apparantly Miriam realized this too. She was not happy, to say the least. I called my other sister Erin for moral support and thankfully she was in a position to offer it. We finally parked in the Economy Lot (row 15C, to be precise), and walked to the shuttle. The shuttle was a hit. We sat by a little boy just older than Miriam and she was back on track. After a scenic trip through the Economy Lot, we finally arrived at the Delta terminal. Whew! We climbed off the shuttle and made our way back to the alcove we had played in so happily that morning. No stub. We looked up and down the moving sidewalks. No stub. We asked all of the travelers if they had seen a stub. No stub. I asked the guy sitting at the table giving travelers bags for their 3 oz liquid containers if there had been a stub turned in. No stub. He suggested to talk to one of the parking attendants. When I told him they wanted to charge me $45, he declared it ridiculous and went to go find an extra parking stub that he could validate with his employee card. At this point in time, Miriam discovered that the windows above the moving sidewalk had sills wide enough to walk on. Oh the joy! We spend the next 15 minutes walking up and down the window sills. Since she didn't walk as fast as the moving sidewalk, I walked backwards. As long as we're hanging, I might as well get a workout in. While we were doing this, I saw Heather Jacobs, a girl I had gone to high school with and hadn't seen since high school. She and her 2 year old daughter were headed back to their home in Arizona. We had a nice chat, but she hadn't seen any extra stubs. The friendly worker came back busted. He said he had tried to get an extra parking pass, but to get the machine to work, you have to have an actual car there. He said he'd tried a few things but eventually somebody told him it wouldn't work. I hope he doesn't get fired for it, because he ended up not being able to help us and if he's gonna get fired over doing something kind but possibly a bit shady, it would be nice if he could have actually helped somebody. Us. But to no avail. By this time I felt that I had been in that landing area for hours. I knew the travelers and the workers, yet I could go nowhere. We had no tickets to fly out of the airport. We had no parking stub to drive out of the airport. We were stuck. So stuck that $45 to be able to go home was looking better and better. There was still the glimmer of hope that that dang stub was stuck in some corner of the car. So we trucked down to the Economy Lot shuttle stop and Miriam explored the wooden waiting benches. We all filed onto the shuttle, welcomed by an extremely friendly shuttle driver. He gave so many tips and hints that I felt we were on a tour of the airport parking areas. Which would have been nice an hour before when I was navigating the parking lots. We finally made it to Shuttle Stop 7 and worked our way to row 15C. I decided to go through the car one last time as Miriam realized that she had to get back into her carseat. No stub in the jockey box, no stub in the consule. Miriam started to cry as I buckled her in. No stub under the car seat, no stub in the purse. This little girl is tired and not happy about our big adventure. I unzipped a pocket in my purse I had never seen before and still no stub, but glory hallelujah, there was a bag of fruit snacks! Miriam couldn't have been happier. Even if it would have been the stub. I resigned myself to our fate and drove to the pay area. I decided to look for another parking attendant, hoping to get one that could speak clearer English. The only other worker was a lady wearing a headcovering from India or a similar country. I took a deep breath and took a chance. I told her that I'd searched for the stub both in the terminal and in the car and it was nowhere to be found. Throughout this entire exchange, I was giving Miriam fruit snacks one at a time and hoping that we wouldn't run out. The lady said that a lost ticket was a $25 charge. Apparantly, the price dropped between the hours of 9 and 10:30. Lucky, lucky me! I gave her $25, along with my drivers licence information and telephone number, and felt like I'd gotten a steal of a deal. I gave the last fruit snack to Miriam as the parking arm gloriously arose. I was one of the Children of Israel walking through the Red Sea. I was Shadrach, Meshach, or Abednego walking out of the fire unscathed. I was a monarch butterfly breaking free of the confining cocoon. Free at last, free at last! As I left, the lady told me that if I found the stub I could bring it and the receipt back and for a refund. So if anybody is at the airport and sees a loose parking stub floating around, take note. There could be a reward for any information leading to the recovery of a stub that may be worth up to $22.50, depending on how long our big airport adventure actually ended up taking!

Things I Love #2: Audiobooks

I love to read. I always have. When I walk into a library or a bookstore, I see hours and hours of adventure and discovery and understanding. I just imagine how wonderful curling up with one of those books would be. One of my favorite commercials right now is the one on PBS where the kids are all waiting at a train station and the destination board pops up places like "The Shire," "Narnia," and "Hogwarts," then the kid who climbs on the train gets his ticket stamped "Oz." While the the kid sits down in his seat, the train fades away and instead the kid is sitting in a gorgeous window seat reading a book. I get goosebumps every time. During the summers growing up, going to the library was one of my favorite after-chore activities. It just felt magical going into that building and coming out with hours and hours of entertainment. I used to limit myself to one novel a day because if I read more than that then I would run out of books before the next library day. Even now, as much as hiking is Brent's "Perfect Day," mine would be sitting on the couch in a clean house feeling caught up on my things with a great book that I haven't read yet. Wow. Once I grew up and didn't have as much time to sit down and read, I discovered books on CD. I used to have these in my car all the time going back and forth from Boise and when my work was taking me all across the valley. I sometimes would sit in the car in a parking lot trying to finish a chapter before I went in to get my groceries. But these days I don't drive much. If I do, I'm chatting with Miriam. And when she lays down for a nap, there are a lot of things I want to get done that I can't do with a book in my hands. Which is why I am so incredibly enraptured with books on CD on my ipod. Once Miriam is down, I pop in my earbuds and am instantly in another world. I listened to the entire series of Harry Potter (which is an amazing story that still brings tears to my eyes) as I washed Miriam's bottles a hundred times a day when she was tiny. I listened to Sheri Dew's wisdom as I cleaned the tub and the toilets. I listened to "The Poisonwood Bible" by Barbara Kingsolver and watched a family travel to Africa and was astounded how it affected the mother and four daughters so incredibly differently. I listened how Pi Patel survived a shipwreck and lived on a lifeboat with a Bengal tiger named Richard Parker in "Life of Pi" by Yan Martel while I swept and mopped the floors. I love it. Perhaps too much. As much as I used to crave cuddling down with a book, I now can't wait to push the earbuds in and hit play. I do find times where I have listened too much in a day and haven't had time to think and plan. So I try to keep it under control so it doesn't take over my life. But it is something I love. There are readers that are incredible (like Jim Dale, who reads the Harry Potter books), and some that are surprising (Kirby Heyborne of cheesy Mormon movie fame reads some of Orson Scott Card's Alvin Maker series), and some that make me love the characters all the more (the reader of Life of Pi portrays Pi as absolutely adorable). There are also readers who are just average and make me wish I would have read the book myself and not have their voices tied together with the story. Oh well. But I love love love my books on ipod. Happy listening!

The Great Outdoors

While I've always enjoyed camping and hiking, it is definately not my favorite thing to do. I have never instigated a camping trip. Part of it is water... I like to be clean, or to at least be close enough to running water to know that I can be clean when I decide to be. I also hate mosquitoes and other flying bugs and the insane itching they leave behind. How I ever got Brent, to whom the ideal day is waking up in the mountains and never seeing another person, to marry me is a mystery. Maybe he didn't believe me that I didn't like it. Maybe he just couldn't fathom that I could possibly be telling the truth. However it happened, the best thing about being married to a man who loves the outdoors is that he knows where the short and easy yet still beautiful hikes are. We can leave the house at 4, drive up the canyon, have a great hike, and be back by 6. I love it. Really and honestly I do. I love how it's so much cooler, the sound of the river, the way the sun comes through the trees. And water tastes so great with the background of a pine smell. Yesterday we went on our first hike of the season. We went up Big Cottonwood Canyon to Mill B South. I certainly wasn't the one naming the trails. But despite the unfortunate name, it was gorgeous. Miriam did great in her pack, pointing to everything. About halfway, I asked to rest for a bit. Brent took the pack off and got Miriam out, but she wasn't ready for a rest. She immediately started hiking up the trail, and did a darn good job of it too. She loved how much mud and dirt and how many rocks and sticks there were. Her favorite part was coming across patches of snow. Her dad showed her how to scrape the top before putting it in her mouth to get the dirtiest parts off. She became a pro snow scraper. We did not finish the hike, but we decided that Miriam wouldn't have thought the pinnacle top was any better than the snow piles we already found. So we headed back down. The game then became getting dad's hat off his head on onto hers. She was really good at it. All in all it was a great time in the mountains and I'm glad to be in hiking season.

Basketball at its (Almost) Finest

After three and a half quarters of dismal basketball last night, the Jazz somehow turned things around and absolutely sparkled. They were down by 13 points at the quarter, 19 at the half, and 16 going into the fourth quarter. But the last four minutes of the game they played some fantastically glorious basketball. Really, it was the kind of basketball that made me glad to be a sports fan. Plays fell into place like magic, shots started falling like rain (five 3-pointers in the last 2:30), and Kobe Bryant, normally suave and unruffled, was flustered and frustrated. It was inspired ball. It was miraculous. It was the kind of play that makes me proud to be a Jazz fan. With a missed free throw by the Lakers, the Jazz were down only three points with 13 seconds left to play. Both Mehmet Okur and Deron Williams got good threes off, but neither sank. And the season was over. But here is why I feel so good about the game: they played like champs! At least in the waning minutes. If you don't make the Playoffs, it is considered a "rebuilding" year. Of the teams that do make the Playoffs, every team but one ends the season in a loss. If we had to lose, what a way to go out! Like absolute masters of the game! Deron Williams showed the world that he indeed is an All-Star, despite having been overlooked for the All-Star roster this year. Carlos Boozer had time to shake the "Playoff Blues" that had wrenched him all post season. C.J. Miles and Ronnie Price showed that they indeed belong in the NBA. The team as a whole crinked the Lakers' swagger, at least for a little bit. The Jazz indeed succeeded in their Playoff run. Plus, the Jazz are the youngest team in the NBA which bodes well for next year. And without sports, there would be no next year.

Brush with Greatness

We are an American Idol family, and our favorite episodes each season is when it's down to 3 contestants, and said contestants go to their respective home towns. When David Archuleta made it to Hollywood, I pictured what it would be like to have American Idol come to Murray. When he made it to the top 12, Brent imagined what Mayor Dan Snarr would say and do and wear. Each passing week, we got more and more excited about the visit to Murray. So when it actually happened, we were there. We took Trax to the Murray station and walked to the high school's football stadium. The excitement was rip-rollin' and hum-dingin'. It was all we had dreamed of and more. If you missed the episode last night, you missed seeing Brent, Miriam, and I amongst the throngs of adoring fans cheering wildly for Little David, as he is affectionately known. Here is a picture of (L-R) Salt Lake County Mayor Peter Coroon, David Archuleta, Miriam, and Brent. The Mayor and David are about 50 yards away, but it still counts as Miriam with a major celebrity. Two, in fact. Miriam doesn't seem thrilled, which makes me wonder if deep down she's a David Cook fan.

Fifteen Month Checkup

Miriam hit the 15 month mark a few weeks ago and she had her checkup today. She weighs 23.2 pounds (50th percentile), and is 32 inches tall (90th percentile). Her head size stayed the same and is now at the 25th percentile, so we may be raising a pinhead. But she's a cute pinhead! She is an amazing little girl. Here are just a few of her major accomplishments:

1. She can crawl, walk, and run, depending on where she wants to go and what she wants to do there.

2. She can go up and down stairs all by herself.

3. She can go down a slide all by herself.

4. She knows her animals: she moos when she sees a cow, pants when she sees a dog, quacks when she sees a duck...

4. She knows her body parts. Some of them at least. She knows ears, hair, head, eyes, tongue, and usually nose. Once you ask her tongue, though, she has a hard time getting back on track.

5. She knows how to calm down and ask for something politely, using please.

6. She goes to bed at 7 and usually sleeps til 7 or later.

7. She takes 1-2 naps a day, and knows how to ask to go to bed. (Its usually just hanging on the side of the crib... still, it's an appropriate request!)

8. She eats pasta, cheese, green beans, black beans, carrots, corn, broccoli, hot dogs, pizza, pretzels, and goldfish.

9. She prefers water in her sippy cup and milk in her bottle.

10. She knows how to put things "in," and can put her toys and books away.

She is an amazing girl and I am thrilled to be her mom.

Mother's Day Centennial

In 1907 there was a push to create an official day to honor mothers. Then in 1908 the first "Mother's Day" services that continued annually until the present day were held. It took another six years for it to be made a national holiday by Congress, but we are now enjoying the Centennial of that first Mother's Day celebration. When I was in Boise last, my sister-in-law Penny saw a tab in the paper requesting stories of "When I Knew I Had Become My Mother." She showed it to everybody, hoping somebody would bite. I did. What can I say? I'm a sucker for sentimentality, especially when it comes to professing my love for my mom in a public setting. (I trust you all know me well enough to know that that prior statement was facetious, but yet there's an insecure part of me that is going to keep this disclaimer in here.) Anyway, I sent in a little ditty about my mom and it ran in the paper this morning! Not only that, but we got a full color picture on the cover of the Life section in the Idaho Statesman. Now how is that for famous? You can read the whole article here, although the picture isn't online. Either way, here is my portion:

SPECIAL DAY
When I was little, my mother loved birthdays. She didn't throw extravagant parties, but she made sure it was always a special day for me. She always told the story of the day I was born and showered me with loving attention. I loved it but figured that it was just what mom liked to do.
It wasn't until my own daughter had a birthday that I realized the magnitude a child's birthday has. As I told my daughter the story of the day she was born, I remembered how I felt when I first held this tiny person who would change my life. As I tried to tell her of the overwhelming love I have for her, I realized that my mom had tried to tell me the same thing.

And I dearly hope that when my daughter has a daughter of her own that she will know how much I always loved her.
Paige Moore, Midvale, Utah

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!

The best thing in the world

is a gutter full of water.

We have real words!

Miriam has understood communication for a while now. She knows sign for "all done," "more," "water," and "please," and uses them correctly. She can follow verbal statements. She has specific sounds for dogs, cats, cows, jumping, and thank you. But over the past few weeks, there have been definate words develop. The things that are important enough to Miriam to label them with precise words are the following: Zeke (one of our cats), cheese, and shoes. Yes, shoes. She has always had a fascination with her feet, so a budding love of shoes really is no surprise. Plus, as the workers in shoe stores where Miriam really gets excited, she's a girl! Her Aunt Erin, a shoe lover first and speech pathologist second, is prouder than anybody over both the word development and the word choice.

Some updates...

Friday's Sesame Street episode was the one featuring Ben Stiller singing "These Are the People in Your Neighborhood" with Telly. Instead of the milk man, it was the cable guy as the second person in the neighborhood. My bad. Still, it was an impressive and quite enjoyable sketch.

We DID finally get my car's hood open. It took a home teacher, two missionaries, and Brent's dad's inch-based socket wrench before we found out that the bolts we needed to undo were metric based. After that, it merely took one neighbor only about a half hour before it gloriously popped up. We promptly jumped it and took it to the auto body shop where they fixed the hood latch. I think, at least. I haven't popped it yet because if it still doesn't work, I'll have to do something else with it and I'm not up for that right now.

The Jazz finally beat the Rockets in the first round. Game 6 was last night and they won resoundingly. Whew! They will go on to face the Los Angeles Lakers in the second round, whose first game is in LA tomorrow afternoon. It starts about the same time Sunday School does, so we're going to record it and watch it later.

I spent some time tonight improving the Midvale Arts site. I learned how to upload images and post them, and how to change the "favicon," the little colored thingamajig on the tab top and the address bar. It's really the little things that make a difference.

I think that brings you up to date on my thoughts... Aren't you so lucky?!?

We Also Sing!

For the past two years, I have sung with a choir called "We Also Sing!" It is comprised of 364 women from Logan to Ephraim. That's a ton of women, both literally and figuratively, but we perform our concerts in the Tabernacle and that's how many choir seats there are, so that's how many women we have. I know it's cheesy, but I love singing in this choir. Merrilee Webb is the conductor and she is absolutely amazing. For those who saw, she conducted the YW choir for the General YW broadcast this year. I know that those girls had an amazing experience. I love how Merrilee instills emotion and excitement to her choirs. They sing with happiness on their faces and I know it is also in their hearts. I also love how she weaves life lessons throughout the rehearsals. I leave rehearsals wanting to be a better person. I have tried to do this with my private piano students also. Yes, it's a women's choir, yes, it's sometimes cheesy, yes, it's sometimes a pain to drag yourself to rehearsal on Sunday nights, but I feel it is so worth it. I would like to extend an invitation to any women who would like to join so that you can experience the joy! This is honestly a choir that you will look forward to rehearsing with. Plus you'd be able to be with ME! And 363 of my closest friends, of course. Rehearsals start in late August on Thursday nights for six weeks, then switch to Sunday nights for the next five. There are two concerts in the Salt Lake Tabernacle on Saturday, November 5th. You can read more about it by clicking here to read the choir blog. (Are you impressed with my link-embedding skills? I just learned how to do it and am quite proud of myself.) And if you want to talk to me about it (the choir or the link-embedding), just call or email me. This is a picture of me climbing the stairs up to the tabernacle choir loft for last year's concert. Can't you see how much fun I'm having?!