Saturday, January 29, 2011

WORD/PHOTO OF THE WEEK #3


"SPICY"
by Michael Draper


The word for next week, January 30th to February 5th, is "STUFF".





Thursday, January 20, 2011

KID WISDOM presented by Tutoring Toy


Kids can say the craziest 'things and stuff' sometimes but they can also have an incredible amount of wisdom. I am really kind of liking the way Kelly here thinks... Imagine how fast you could get out the door in the mornings! No more standing in the closet for fifteen minutes trying to decide what to wear
. You could just jump up, brush your teeth and be on your way. It is even easier if you have a haircut like mine that is still growing out from Halloween!

However, the rumpled clothes might not go over very well at work. As you walk down the hall to your office you might hear people whispering, "He always looks like he sleeps in his clothes...". Well, maybe you do but you are always on time!


Tuesday, January 18, 2011

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

It was soooooo cold!!
What is New Years with out a big kiss?!

With our good friends, Brent and Suzanne. We have been celebrating New Years with them for twenty four years. We alternate every other year-- our house, their house, etc. There are always so many 'things and stuff' that have become traditions over the years. There is always more food than any one can eat. We figure it is the last day of the year and all the resolutions start next year, so we eat until we are sick. This year Brent did big slabs of ribs on the grill! It was so good! We always have a puzzle out to work on and play games as we build up to the big moment! Ringing in the new year!

Sami's midnight kiss!!! It was all in her mind!

THE BURNING OF THE NEW YEAR TREE

TRADITIONS!

Sometimes 'things and stuff' are all about traditions and I want to share a crazy tradition that we indulge in on New Years Eve every year.

Twenty something years ago we were living in a little apartment in Orem just across the fence from the Timp Drive-in. I was still in school. Deni and Erin were small. Suzie and I were taking down Christmas and I was hauling the dead tree out to the dumpster. Yes, this was in the olden days before everyone had artificial trees. Our tree was tall and skinny and dry as a bone. As I was taking the tree out the door I said in passing, "this thing is a fire hazard!" The next thing I knew, Suzie was right behind me with a box of matches because she wanted to see how fast a Christmas tree would go up in flames. She can be kind of a pyro-maniac at times so Scott comes by it naturally! Any way, lets say that it went up so fast that it almost took off our eye brows! I looked at Suzie to say something about how crazy that was but I stopped.... She had a crazed look on her face that said "that was so cool" and I was a little worried. She said, "wouldn't that be cool to do on New Years eve? Kind of like burning the old year and having a great new year rise from the ashes like a Phoenix!". OK, I added the Phoenix thing but the rest was pretty close to the conversation. "Yeah" I said;"that would be cool" and a tradition was born!

We did this the first year with our friends, Brent and Suzanne, who happened to live in the same complex that we did and we have been doing it every year since. The first year was just a small tree, but over the years it has grown into quite the production! Now it is wired with fireworks and it is the centerpiece of our New Years celebration! We alternate houses each year and this year was their turn.

This is Tyson. He just got home from his mission so this was his first New Year in two years so the match box was passed to him to do the honors! It is kind of a right of passage...




Since none of us have a live tree anymore it is always a trick finding a tree to burn. There have been some great adventures.... We have gone dumpster diving at the park, picked up trees off the side of the road, bummed a dead tree off of the neighbors. One year Brent found a really great tree so he stopped and threw it in the back of his truck. He was so excited to show it off when he got home! He got out of the truck and went around to get the tree out... but it was gone! It had blown out somewhere along the highway on the way home! OOPS!

Holidays are a time for friends, family and traditions! All the 'things and stuff' that make life worth living!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Monday, January 17, 2011

WORD/PHOTO OF THE WEEK #2

COLD
by Michael Draper


COLD
by Deni Draper Page


Deni took this picture at Mountain Dell Golf Course on Saturday where they were trying to set a new record in the Guinness Book of Records for the most snowmen built in one hour.
They built over one thousand snowmen in an hour and set a new record.


The word for this week, January 15th to the 21st, is "SPICY".

Saturday, January 15, 2011

POST-MODERN GINGERBREAD?

"It is a post-modern gingerbread house".

Seriously! It is interesting how certain 'things and stuff' stick in your brain. Remember the Audi commercial this year about excess? One family has their own Santa, another has live reindeer. Finally there is a man sitting on a sofa in a very contemporary living room seriously saying, "It is a post-modern gingerbread house". Actually, this one is 'Falling Water' designed by Frank Lloyd Wright in 1935 so it is more Prairie style than Post Modern, but it made me smile anyway.

This house is in the window at "The Tutoring Toy" in Foothill Village and I walk by this store every day on my way to the bank. I always have to stop and check out their displays because they always have something fun going on. If you are in the neighborhood you should check them out. They are a Playmobile dealer and really have some great toys.


Thursday, January 13, 2011

Monday, January 10, 2011

WORD/PHOTO OF THE WEEK #1

NEW

This is my photo interpretation of our word of the week. Can there be any 'things and stuff' newer than new money? Crisp and clean and in numerical sequence. You can even see the red glue along the top edges of each bill that bound the money into pads.


The word for this week, January 9th through January 15th, is 'COLD'.


Wednesday, January 5, 2011

WORD/PHOTO OF THE WEEK.......

So, Deni and I decided we needed more 'things and stuff' to do in our spare time (seriously!!) so we are going to do a WORD/PHOTO of the week. Each week we will select a new word and then take a picture that represents our personal interpretation of the word. Should be interesting don't you think? I will post the word each Sunday and then post our pictures later in the week. If any one wants to contribute their interpretation, please do! The more the merrier, right?

The word for this week, January 2nd through the 8th is:
NEW.