Podcasts

I love podcasts. I have a few long-time favorites. I highly recommend "EconTalk", a great podcast, even for those who don't know a lot about economics. My other favorite is "Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me," a quiz show on NPR about the week's news. Recent additions include "This American Life" and "The Naked Scientists" (Tasha's suggestion). What podcasts do you listen to? Any suggestions for me?

P.S. Has anyone else noticed that there are an abundance of guys named Ira on NPR?

Why Kirsten Needs a Blog

Tonight I joined my family for FHE. Clara (3) was in charge of the lesson. She said that when Heavenly Father appeared to Joseph Smith he had "eyes, ears, arms, legs, and a watch." After she finished, she said, "now can we have cookies?" We told her that we had to say the prayer first. My dad asked Isaac (5) to say the prayer and he said, "Please bless Clara that she will learn that it is more important to say the prayer than to eat cookies."

Kirsten, your kids are hilarious. Start a blog, please.

Happy Memorial Day

Today we went to the Springville City Cemetery to visit my grandpa's grave for Memorial Day. My five-year-old nephew Isaac is quite the character. Here are a few exchanges from today.

Isaac: What's a grave?

Kirsten: That's where they bury people's bodies when they die.

Isaac: Why do they bury them?

Kirsten: So they don't stink.

Isaac: So that means I could bury you or throw you in the river when you die?

Isaac: Why does this grave have a temple on it?

Me: Because they got married in the temple.

Isaac: This one doesn't have a temple on it, does that mean they didn't get married in the temple?

Isaac: How old was this guy when he died?

Me: He was the same age as Grandpa is now, 66.

Isaac: Hey Grandpa! This guy was YOUR age when he died!

Isaac: HEY! This guy's name is DVD!

Grandma: No, that says Dad.

Isaac: Hey guys, this guy's name is D-A-D!

In the mean time, little Clara was singing, "My mom and dad not die. My mom and dad not die..."

One of the best trips to the cemetery ever.

Odes to the birthday boy and girl

Today is the birthday of two of the best people that I know, my brother James and my good friend Tasha.

This is my brother James.

I am very grateful to have such a great brother. Maybe because he's the middle child, James has always been the peaceful one in our family. He is very thoughtful and considerate of other people's feelings. He is very loyal and true to his family and his beliefs. I have always been able to look to his example. He is a fabulous husband to Jenny and father to Adam. Beyond that, he is a hard worker. I am so proud of his work in his Master's program at the U of Minnesota (even though I miss him and I wish he lived closer).

This is my dear friend Tasha.

We met our sophomore year of high school in Mr. Rasmussen's chemistry class. We got to know each other over time, and by our senior year we were great friends. We have had numerous adventures together, including living together our sophomore year of college. Now she has a little family, and she still takes the time and effort to spend time with me. One adjective that I might use to describe Tasha is "true." She is a very loyal friend. She is a fabulous listener, and very willing to help when a friend is in need. She is so committed to living the gospel of Jesus Christ.

I am so lucky to have such wonderful family and friends. Happy birthday James and Tash.

May 20, 1969

That was the day that the country of Spain was dedicated by Elder Marion G. Romney for preaching the gospel–forty years ago today. I'm very grateful that I have been a part of the work with those wonderful people in that amazing country.

The Chronicles of Narnia

Growing up I thought I hated fantasy and science fiction. (Although I had an inexplicable obsession with all books by Roald Dahl—very fantastical indeed.) I loved reading historical fiction, biographies, or just plain fiction, so long as it didn’t have any fantastical elements. I went to great lengths to avoid anything else. However, over the past year or so, I have been repenting of this irrational evasion– watching Star Wars and Lord of the Rings (okay, I started it but fell asleep, but not because it wasn’t good). Part of this repentance has included reading The Chronicles of Narnia. I am finding out that I really like fantasy (and maybe even some science fiction) after all!

Over the past week or so, I have been devouring the The Chronicles of Narnia series. A couple months ago, I picked up a copy The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, which I loved. This week I was at my parents’ house and saw the rest of the series. I couldn't help myself, and now I'm addicted. What fabulous books. Those stories are thick with symbolism that I might have missed reading them as a child. I think that every adult should read the Chronicles of Narnia regardless of whether or not you read them as a child. You will not be disappointed. They're definitely on my list of books to read aloud to my kids someday- and yes, that list really does exist.

Side note: I have had this rap stuck in my head all week, and I really didn’t know where it came from. Upon further in investigation, I found out that “The Chro-ni-(what)-cles of Nar-ni-a” comes from an SNL sketch that I had never seen before. I have no idea where I got it from. Ah the power of pop culture.

Happy Birthday, Mini-me!

Today is my niece Anna's 5th birthday! I can't believe that she's already five. It feels like just yesterday we were here:

Little did I know then that my beautiful niece would grow up to be my little clone. I've been told that if you want to know what I was like when I was little, just watch Anna. I must have been very cute. She is so excitable. I love being with her because she makes you feel like you're the greatest person ever. Here we are on Christmas Eve making cookies for Santa. I work hard to earn the title of favorite aunt, especially now that I have to compete with Jessica ;).

Isn't she so cute? Happy birthday Anna Jane! I love you!

Only at BYU

SemCo ReU

One of the best parts of my senior year of high school was serving on the Seminary Council, which we affectionately called SemCo. Even though it sounds normal to me, Doug got a really big kick out of the weird sounding name, so when I started planning a reunion, Doug would call it the SemCo ReU. We had the reunion at the end of February, and it was so fun to see everyone again, now with their families. It's fun to see where everyone is at in their lives after 7 years (yes SEVEN). Here is the picture of the crew that was there:

Create

We watched this clip in Relief Society today. This is from one of my favorite talks that I have ever heard. I used to think that I wasn't very creative because I'm not really artistic, but this talk helped me to understand creativity in a different way. In what ways do you show your creativity? What do you create?