Wisdom from the Muppets

This morning I was wrapping presents and Cameron was making gingerbread cookies and we were watching "Muppet Christmas Carol" and I realized how amazing their songs are. Here are a few of my favorites:


"As freedom comes from giving love
So, prison comes with hate" -Marley and Marley


"Bless us all, who gather here
The loving family I hold dear
No place on earth, compares with home
And every path will bring me back from where i roam
Bless us all, that as we live
We always comfort and forgive
We have so much, that we can share
With those in need we see around us everywhere

Let us always love each other
Lead us to the light
Let us hear the voice of reason, singing in the night
Let us run from anger and catch us when we fall
Teach us in our dreams and please, yes please
Bless us one and all" -Tiny Tim


Merry Christmas to all and God Bless us, every one!

6 Month Anniversary

Our 6 month anniversary was last Monday but with the GRE coming up, Cameron was really busy so we decided to turn the GRE into a celebration. Friday night we went to Salt Lake and stayed at the City Center Marriott that opened on State earlier this year. It was super super nice and we were able to sleep in a little longer before Cameron had to go and take his test.
While Cameron took his test, I went with our friend Sarah, whose husband was also taking the GRE and we went and explored all these little antique shops in downtown Salt Lake. They had some amazing furniture and jewelry and some super old bibles. It was really neat.
Then we picked up the guys and we all went to a celebration lunch at Jason's Deli. It was fun to hang out with them and gave Cameron and Richard a chance to exclaim over and over and over again how glad they were to be done. Cameron feels like it went really well and it is nice not to have him so stressed.
That afternoon we went to a cooking store and picked up fondant for Cameron's mom and then to the aquarium.
From the outside the aquarium looks like an old Kmart building but it was really cool. I think in another 10 years it will be incredible. Here are some of our favorite things that we saw.
Jellyfish - Yes, the red things ARE jellyfish!


Giant Lobster - Cameron's hand is there to give you a reference

Crazy looking Fish

Coral reefs

Shrimp

Sting rays that you could pet, Cameron had this one by the tail

Waxy Monkey Leaf Frogs from the Amazon

And much much more. After the aquarium we went to Ikea! Cameron was skeptical at first but after a while he admitted that it was a pretty cool store. We bought a plant and a pot for the plant. When we got home we realized that the plant needed to be in the living room but there was no spot for it in the living room and an hour and a half later all of the furniture in the downstairs of our house was rearranged and there was room for the 18" plant.
It was really a wonderful day.

I Declare War!!

So, with my wise and cunning ways I have declared a very sneaky war on the hated cheetos t-shirt that Cameron has been wearing since he was 12. He loves it so I can't just throw it away but the other day I realized that if I am wearing it then it is in use or dirty so HE can't wear it. Now I just wear it whenever I'm hanging out in the house or cleaning the house - just often enough for it to be dirty the majority of the time. Down with the orange Cheetos shirt!! (Yes, he is aware that I am doing this)

One Massive Update

Hold on to your hats ladies and gentlemen. The Pace family brings you an October update.
The second was Cameron's 25th birthday. We had many days of partying and good times to welcome him to the 2nd quarter century of life. His bestest present (and not just because it was from me) was Wii Sports Resort which includes swordfighting, wakeboarding, archery, basketball, cycling, airplane dogfighting and much more.Hours of fun have since been spent trying to push each other off the swordfighting platform. We also went to Tucanos with lots of family and friends and ate until our stomachs bulged.
This month we went on a fun Family Home Evening Outing to the Bean Muesum and I had many fond recollections of reptile shows and chasing leaping lizards. Did you know that a Dik is like a little miniature deer/gazelle? Who would have thunk.Halloween came in full force this year with a week of celebrations. On Monday night we went to Cameron's cousins' house to carve pumpkins and frost sugar cookies with their family. Here is our creation "Silly Cameron" named by Lizzie (age 5). I think it bears a remarkable resemblance to normal Cameron.Tuesday night we went to the Halloween High-Jinks concert by the Utah Symphony. It was a delightful evening and while I still think the group dressed as Willy Wonka and the Umpa-Loompas should have won the costume contest, the swine flu fairies were pretty good.
Cameron and I went as cowboy and indian mostly because I couldn't think of anything else I would be able to convince him to dress up as.Well, the rest of the week was fairly normal. I had a work Halloween party on Friday and stole all the cowboy gear from Cameron. Sadly, I forgot to get pictures, but I must say that I look pretty good in chaps. Halloween day I worked and we were doing face painting. The kids that were getting their faces painted wanted to paint my face. I told them I was going to be an indian and this is what happened. . . I think it all went downhill once the white unibrow, handlebar mustache and goatee came into play. But we still had fun. We ate more candy than is ever needful, watched Hocus Pocus and caused a wild ruckus that would have put the wild things to shame. Cameron, meanwhile, went with his family to a haunted house and ate a lot of pizza. All in all, an eventful holiday.Now it's back to the studying and work. The GRE is one week away and today just happens to be our 6 MONTH ANNIVERSARY!! Wow, we are so old :) I think we'll go eat sushi to celebrate.
That that's all folks!

Around the World and Back again in . . . a week!

Day 1(Labor Day): Switzerland, Scotland, and South Africa
We began our travels by heading over to Swiss Days in Midway. Along with the Swiss, there was an international sheepdog competition and festival. We watched as dogs from around the world herded sheep through gates and across hillsides and finally separated the collared sheep from the un-collared sheep. A man from Scotland won the competition with South Africa coming in second and third. The US, Norway, Switzerland, and Canada were sadly bumped out of the final standings. I know you are VERY jealous but just wait, there is more. Other highlights of the day included petting a skunk, kissing a baby camel, and watching duck herding. All in all, an eventful day.
Day 2 (Friday): Kentucky and Tennessee
On this day Cameron and I took a very quiet trip to war-time south. We watched the silent film "The General" based on a confederate train engineer who must enlist to win his sweetheart but is forbidden because he will do more good as a train engineer. Made in the 1930's, we were quickly cheering for the resilient confederates and hissing at those evil mustached men of the North. Cameron has repeatedly reenacted several scenes and I have decided he would have made a fine Southern gentleman.
Day 3 (Saturday): Paris and England
Once again we were thrust into war, but this time a much louder and sonorous war. The French revolution unfolded before our eyes in Hale Center Theatre's "The Scarlet Pimpernal." We watched and I ALMOST cried out of feeling for the lonely Margaritte. Cameron laughed all the way through the men's dance during "The Creation of Man" song when they did a marvelous job acting like gay Nincompoops. Luckily, we only witnessed one public guillotine-ing.
Day 4 (Sunday): Japan
And finally we ended our trip by traveling to Japan. On Sunday evening we made sushi from scratch and had a lot of fun doing it. Not to mention, we now have lunch for the rest of the week.
More adventures to come.

The New Addition to Our Family

I would like to introduce you to the newsest member of our family, Mi-Wii!

We did it! We finally got the Wii and Cameron already killed me in duck hunting but I returned the favor in Cow Racing. Watch out - hours of fun ahead.

Happy 4th of July!!

I decided since I needed to work on the 4th of July, Cameron needed to come with me. We restocked pool towels (we used about 900 towels at the resort that day), filled up water jugs, and got everything ready for our big party all afternoon. In the afternoon we had relay races at the pool,

hat making,

face painting,

a watermelon eating contest,

a hula hoop contest and a whole lot more. There were a ton of people and even though our entire staff was working, I was glad that Cameron was there to help out. My favorite part of the day is when these two little girls came to me holding three pipecleaners and asked for princess crowns that look like fireworks. I has trying to help four other people so I pointed to Cameron and told them to ask him because he's really good at making princess crowns. Here was the result:

That evening we went to a BBQ with some couples in the ward. They had made amateur rockets and we went to the park to launch them off. Then Cameron and I went and watched the fireworks from the field behind the stadium.

It was a very festive and very tiring 4th of July!

Lake Powell

This last weekend we took a much needed vacation and went with the Pace family to Lake Powell for the weekend. We arrived at Bullfrog around 10 pm on Thursday night and set up camp. Cameron and I had our tent. Mom and Dad Pace had a tent. Rhett and Jameson opted to sleep in the boat and Patti and Jeff and their girls stayed in their trailer. It was a fun group. We all crashed pretty quickly after getting the camp set up and the next morning we were up at the break of dawn and ready to have fun.
We got the boat unloaded into the lake and then went out and played on the tube and Cameron and Rhett did some wakeboarding and some waterskiing. We wandered over to some petroglyphs and hiked up to an old kiva and some other indian ruins. Then we wandered back to camp for some lunch and a nap.
That evening, Cameron and I took the canoe out and went around some small islands and explored the shore line. We decided that next summer we're going to do a fifty mile canoe trip. I just need to build up the arm strength so Cameron doesn't have to do all the work.
The next day was full of play and good times and everyone was tired and sunburnt when we turned in for the night.
On Sunday we got ready and went to the Ticaboo branch which is in the Loa stake. President Pace was in charge of sacrament meeting and so the entire Pace family ended up speaking for a little while. It was fun to be in a small branch again and interesting to see all the lake visitors coming in their t-shirts and shorts or whatever they could scrounge up.
All in all it was a wonderful weekend and an awesome vacation. Sometimes it's just nice not to have cell phones and tv and computers for a little while.

Mayhem at the Marriott

The last few weeks have been quite the adventure. On the 9th of this month I went to work as usual only to find out that my boss was fired and we were not to contact him at all. This left me with a whole department to run including two new interns. Well, needless to say the last two weeks have been quite stressful. There were employees to train and summer employees to interview and then hire. There were department meetings and schedules and budgeting to carry out but without any idea where my boss had left off. It was a lot of hunting and guessing and mainly pretending to know what I was doing.
So after two weeks of running around with my head cut off and much thought, I declined the position of recreation manager and opted instead to keep the recreation supervisor position. By the end of the week they should have a new manager who can worry about paying the bills and disciplining the employees and taking the blame for all that goes wrong and I will be back to my schedule writing, worry-free days of fun at the Marriott.
It has definitely been a learning experience and I am grateful for the job that the managers do.

Domesticity

Well, I have done it. This evening I finally cooked - for real!! Even as I write this there are two loaves of bread cooling on the counter in a clean kitchen. The laundry is drying, all the vegetables and cheeses are cut up and in individual containers so that sandwiches can be quickly made and the house is spotless. And I even made some fettuccine Alfredo with meatballs and salad for dinner. It's amazing how much I get done when Cameron goes down to the telescope and I'm not super stressed and exhausted from work!
I think tomorrow I'll make some pepperoni and cheese rolls. Cameron and I are always running out the door to work so we need quick easy lunch options or else we end up with a day like today where Cameron eats his research partner's leftover microwave popcorn for lunch. I'll get this house keeping thing down sooner or later. :)

Leaving the Craziness Behind

Well, this last weekend, Cameron and I decided to leave all the craziness of Provo and Park City and work and everything and get away for a little while. We headed down to Bicknell on Friday evening and had a great time visiting with the family and eating our guts out.

Cameron got to go hang out on the farm and help his brothers and shoot arrows while I went with his mom to the craft store and grocery shopping. Saturday afternoon we went on a beautiful drive with the whole family down the burr trail in Canyonlands.

This is a picture of the Burr Trail switchbacks that we drove down.

Here are some of the cool formations we passed.

And this is the awesome slot canyon he hiked in.

Later that day we watched some funny family home movies together and Cameron and I went on a hike at Sunglow campground which is across the street from their house.

We were able to rest and relax and visit with family on Sunday before heading home. It was a wonderful weekend and nice to get out of the city for a few days.

A Job Promotion?

Well, I am now, officially, the activity supervisor at Marriott MountainSide and a part of the overall management team. To be honest I am not sure how this will change much since I have been the acting supervisor for the last two months. Supposedly I will have more access to budgeting, scheduling, and have to cover as Manager on Duty from time to time. It should be a good challenge and definitely a welcome pay raise.

Happy Birthday

So another year has come and gone and I am now officially closer to 30 than to 20 (Yikes!). The day began very early, before the sun came up, since I had to be to work by 7 am. So with droopy eyes I dragged myself to the bathroom, went through my 10 minute get ready routine, and headed out the door already feeling sickly nervous about the two job interviews scheduled for that morning. I got to my car and to my amazement, found a card on the driver's seat. I had completely forgotten that Cameron has the extra set of car keys to my car.

Yes, it is cheesy but it was just what I needed that morning.
It was business as usual at work - well, except for the job interviews. I think they went fairly well. I really should not have been nervous since they were for a job promotion that I am already fulfilling. They did let me leave early since it was my birthday and I got home through flurries of snow and was so exhausted. I walked into my room to throw my bags down before starting to clean for cleaning checks and found a beautiful vase full of tulips from Mom and Dad.

I did some straightening and was just lying down to watch an episode of Psych or to sleep (whichever one ended up happening) when Jessica came over with even more beautiful flowers from her and Emily. They are just incredible and this picture really doesn't do them justice at all.

Jessica stayed and visited for a little while and ended up getting some unsolicited dating advice from me and Deborah (sorry, Jess). After she left I jumped in the shower and got a little more dressed up than my t-shirt and pajama pants and just as I finished getting ready, Cameron came over.
He brought me some new scriptures which is really wonderful because mine were completely in pieces since I have used them before and throughout and after my mission. He even had my name put on them and although it's kind of weird to see "Lisa Pace" on them, I kind of like it as well.

We went to his mission reunion for about 5 minutes (just long enough to give his mission president a wedding invitation) and then he took me to dinner at this great Italian restuarant - Otavios. It was SO good. It was a really fun atmosphere as well. We were back in a little corner and there was a man playing the accordian and singing italian opera walking around. I had a delicious primavera chicken and fettucinne with some amazing cheesy sauce on it. It was incredible.
After dinner we came back to my apartment and Cameron said we could watch whatever "girly movie" I wanted to. We watched "You've Got Mail" and then were both so exhausted we decided to call it a night. He went home to finish studying for a test and I quickly finished some cleaning before dropping into my bed.
All in all, it was a wonderful day and I realized that it was my family (including Cameron of course) that really made it wonderful. Thank you to you all :)

Our First Home

Hooray! It's a day of celebration. Last night, Cameron and I found an apartment to move into when we get married. It's a beautiful old house that has been split into a duplex not far from center street in Provo. I fell in love with it from the second we stepped in. The front door opens into a little living room with high ceilings and beautiful wood floor. Then on the side of the living room, through a little arched doorway is a small study area. It is surrounded by windows and has the same beautiful wood floor. The kitchen is just off the living room and is small but has a little dishwasher and a fridgde and lots of cabinet space. A little room off the kitchen has a washer and dryer and more storage area.
The stairs go up from the living room to the master bedroom and bathroom. The bedroom is really big and has a ceiling fan and the same beautiful wood floor. Around the corner is the master bathroom which is nothing fancy but is also big. One of my favorite things about the place is the door that goes from the bedroom out onto a little balcony on the roof. I can't wait to go sit out there on warm summer evenings.
Now I can start imagining how to decorate and where to put things and set things up. I'm so excited!

My Antonia

One of my goals for this year was to read at least eight classic books this year. I discovered that the Provo library has a large collection of books on tape. Thus, my two hours of commuting each day has become a wonderful time to reach my goals. The first book I read/listened to is my new favorite book - My Antonia.

I often found myself sitting in my car after I had arrived home just to finish listening to the chapter. The sun-baked praries of Nebraska, the struggling immigrant family, and the old farmhouse became a part of my life for a few weeks. I loved riding across the fields with Jim and Anotnia on their small pony.

Here's a little part that I especially loved. "There were no clouds, the sun was going down in a limpid, gold-washed sky. Just as the lower edge of the red disc rested on the high fields against the horizon, a great black figure suddenly appeared on the face of the sun. We sprang to our feet, straining our eyes toward it. In a moment we realized what it was. On some upland farm, a plough had been left standing in the field. The sun was sinking just behind it. Magnified across the distance by the horizontal light, it stood out against the sun, was exactly contained within the circle of the disk; the handles, the tongue, the share—black against the molten red. There it was, heroic in size, a picture writing on the sun."

The writing is so amazing that I feel like I am right there. My favoirte part of the story is when Antonia's father dies and Jim is left alone in the farmhouse. He goes down to the kitchen and imagines Antonia's father's soul sitting there behind the stove. He isn't scared but just sits there quietly so the soul can rest before starting its long journey back to Bohemia.

I loved loved loved this book!

More reviews to come.

Bridal Fair Craziness

And the wedding-ness continues! Last Saturday was a bridal fair extravaganza. Jessica, Deborah, Princess Emily, and Jen Dymock and her sister and my roommate Lindsay and I all went to the fair. I was a little hesitant because it always seemed like such a silly thing. We entered the gym and walked past all the little high school girls standing in a line in different bridal dresses and bridesmaids dresses and heard all the really cheesy big band music and thought "Oh dear." Then someone started handing out all kinds of free stuff. There were caterers with crepes and cheesecake and chocolate covered strawberries and such. There were florists with free roses. And most significantly, free hand massages and hair stylists.

It was actually very fun. Really, we have most everything planned for the wedding but it was fun and I talked to a lady that does glass blown temples and crystal sculptures and I told Cameron it might be a nice wedding gift to get me a Manti temple.

I also talked to a great florist and we talked about flowers that will last for three days and all kinds of stuff.

Blue Eyes, Cowboy Boots, and Teddy Bears

He will probably roll his eyes at me when he finds out I posted all these pictures, but Cameron was so cute when he was a little boy that I just can't help it.
This is little baby Cameron. And his second birthday, when he got his first cowboy boots.


I love how blue his eyes are in the first picture. He was a clown for Halloween but his mom had to go on an ambulance run since she is an EMT. Dad was left to do the clown's makeup and this was the result.


This picture always makes me laugh. You can't really see it but there is a baby lizard in the cup that Cameron is so carefully protecting. He won first place at the pet show for his lizard.

The second picture is him as the lead in the elementary school's Christmas Operetta. So cute.

The MountainSide Mania

Well, I suppose I should write about the fun times we've had in the last few weeks at work. Everything was going just fine, regular holiday crowds and everything, until New Year's Eve. For some reason this holiday invites large amounts of alcohol consumption which leads to brain damage and general stupidity. It all started when the employee who was over the pool that night went on a dinner break at 7 and decided he didn't want to come back. Well, because he didn't come back on one of the busiest nights of the year, the music that plays in the pool area was left on all night. This led to a very irritated guest going down to the front desk at 2 am to complain since his room was right next to the speaker for the pool. When the poor employee at the front desk couldn't figure out how to turn the music off, the guest jumped over the counter and started pushing the employee around and threatening him. This led to the guest being arrested for disorderly conduct. So, pretty much the employee that left has never come back and we were once again short-handed and everyone worked a 6-day week. So things were a little insane for a little while

Monthly employee meetings are always good for a laugh. This month was no different. We have a great pool attendent, who is also a little ditzy, named Jordan. We were talking about driving in the snow and said that if anyone fills uncomfortable driving with the conditions, it would be best to just cancel the activity. Jordan then piped in and said, "Yeah, when it's snowing a lot I put my snowboard helmet on while I drive." When we started laughing at this, she said, "What's so funny?? I think everyone should wear helmets when they drive. That way your body may be smashed and dead but your head will be okay." Hmmmmm . . .

The rest of the meeting consisted of a snowshoe hike up the mountain and then sledding down the ski slopes on our plastic saucer sleds (good thing we had the snowshoes on to use as breaks). It was a very enjoyable afternoon and the supervising has been a nice new challenge. I love that every day is completely different and full of new adventures.

116 Days