Calvin and Hobbes

I love Calvin and Hobbes. I remember doing things like this when I was a kid although I wasn't as eloquent as Calvin in explaining the reasons behind my actions.
I would like to say thank you to Bill Watterson for creating this amazing comic strip and providing me with one of my favorite mantras of all time...

Is My ADD Showing?

I teach school. Well, I don't actually teach school. I am actually a glorified baby-sitter for a bunch of unmotivated, (yet wonderful, don't get me wrong) 8th and 9th graders in a study hall class. Most of my day is spent online checking and rechecking emails, looking up recipes for desserts, and occasionally helping the students when they acknowledge that I'm alive and need help with an assignment. It's a good thing AFJH gave me this computer, or I would probably make my kids do jumping jacks with me or something physical and/or stimulating on my behalf, negating the whole purpose of Guided Study. Today, though, I rediscovered the fabulous Apple program, Photo Booth. Here is a sampling of my work.
















I can now entertain myself for hours without being too much of a distraction to my students! (As long as they don't look toward the back of the classroom and see Ms. Smith making weird faces at her computer).

Summer Wrap-Up

I guess it would be good to blog about the rest of summer since all I've written was about MMT (Massive Moab Trip) back in June. So here's the story...
July~What a great month! Me, Car, Kate, Ky and Collin drove down to Mesa to visit my mom's brother's families while my mom, dad and Candice went to Olympic Trials in Omaha, Nebraska during the first week. Candice qualified for OT's last summer at Nationals in Indianapolis (I got to be her coach out there!) in the 200 backstroke and was able to compete for HAST (her club). While we were down in Mesa, we finally got to meet Mackenzie Worthen who is John and Shammah's little girl. She is precious, but definitely has her own agenda. I love her! We also were able to spend time with our cousins and awesome aunts and uncles having BBQ's, shopping, going to see Hancock and other fun activities. My favorite day was when Candice swam her event and all 16 of us were crowded around my little 15-inch computer screen watching her take second in her heat. We were all screaming our lungs out, but trying to listen to the commentary. It was hilarious! We were so proud of her, she swam her heart out.
July was also crazy busy! I started teaching swimming lessons every morning and supervising the pool at night. Needless to say, 50 hour work weeks during summer vacation are NOT fun, but I was grateful for the much-needed cash. We celebrated Kate and Candice's birthdays with the typical Smith family parties (they're legendary) and also shot off some sweet fireworks for the 24th of July. Pioneer Day for all the non-Utah folk.
August~WAS AWESOME! Carly's 22nd birthday was on the 3rd, so we had a little family shindig for her. I think as we get older the birthday parties kind of diminish in coolness, but I think she still had a good day. Monday, the 4th was very cool. As some of you know, our family is very into James Taylor and he came in concert that day. We, the sibs, bought our parents a couple very good tickets for their anniversary and then Car surprised me with cheaper tickets to the show as well. I was stoked! (and also felt bad about not getting her something better for her birthday!). The man is a genius. I was so excited to hear JT play live especially after listening to his music my entire life. I cried when he played Fire and Rain, its by far my favorite song of all time. (Hence the name of my blog). Thank you, Car. You made my whole life!
Later that week, I took a group down to Moab for 'mini-Moab'. We hit up Ken's lake for starters, and then the heavens opened and it rained the entire night! It actually turned out to be really good for us, though. We went to Zax Pizza for dinner (delicious) and then walked around main street in the rain and checked out all the shops. That was fun for me because I always go for the nature part of Moab, so seeing the commercial portion was pretty sweet. Some of the boys bought some wicked awesome shirts, too. Ha. We drove into the canyon to our campsite later on that night just to find a flash flood had washed out the road, so we turned around and camped at the mouth of the canyon near an abandoned building we lovingly called "Chateau 'dif". Creepy, creepy.
In the morning we grabbed breakfast from McDonald's, then hiked Delicate Arch. I love it there. Its fun to go see landmarks that Utah's known for. We took tons of pictures, then peaced out to Left Hand for cliff jumping. It was fun to go with a bunch of people who have never cliff-jumped before. They were really apprehensive at first, but once they finally went for the first time, we couldn't get them to stop. A couple of the kids actually started doing flips off the cliffs. Scared me to death, but they were fine. After Left Hand, we hit the long road back to American Fork. I hate leaving Moab. Its by far my favorite place in Utah.
Along with all the fun adventures of August, came the CRAPPY one. We decided to hike Mount Timpanogos at night a couple weeks ago, and it totally sucked. I usually love hiking and have hiked Timp a million times, but never at night and never after running my highest-logged mileage ever. It was FREEZING all night and I totally hurt myself in the first mile of our 18-mile journey. But being the determined/stubborn person that I am, I completed the hike and then couldn't walk for three days after. Stupid. And to top it all off, when the sun finally came up, there were clouds blocking the view! That's the whole point of hiking at night, to watch the sunrise! Ugh, whatever. My group of friends that came all conceded to never do that again. Timpanogos is much too pretty to hike in the dark, so I'll go during the day from now on thank you very much.
All in all, its been a pretty good summer filled with adventures, sleeping in, shopping trips, lots of swimming, and good times with family and friends. Now it's back to school, but I guess school and cold weather are necessary for us to appreciate all the goodness that comes with summer.

The Hot and Cold of It All

Well, it's happened. School's back and I'm again back in my dungeon-like classroom at American Fork Junior High. Don't get me wrong, I love my job. I love teaching and spending time with my students, but why oh why can't I have a classroom with a window and possibly better temperature control? It's FREEZING in here and there's nothing I can do about it. So I'm stuck wearing my thickest winter coat in the middle of August. Fabulous.

121 Random Facts About Me! (You're welcom Zach)

I was invited by my friend Zach to write down 121 facts about Kendall. I only have about 80, I might add more, but for now enjoy what I've got! It honestly has been pretty fun to reminisce about my life and all the things that make me, ME! Here ya go!
1) I was named after a sister missionary who was tall with long, blond hair.
2) I have always played the narrator in my school plays.
3) I threw up spaghetti when I was 5 years old and have hated it ever since then.
4) I'm a sucker for red roses and actually was asked to a dance in high school the day of with a long stem red rose and said yes. (Worst date ever).
5) My favorite smell of all time is chlorine and wet cement.
6) I'm the oldest of 6 kids. All of our names start with a K or a C. Kendall, Carly, Katelyn, Candice, Kyle, Collin.
7) I had both of my parents as teachers in high school. My mom taught my orchestra class and my dad was my seminary teacher in 11th grade.
8) My Book of Mormon hero is Teancum. I'm considering the cliche of giving his name as a middle name to one of my sons.
9) I put BBQ sauce on pretty much anything savory. My favorite way to eat it is with eggs. YUM!
10) I cry at every graduation I go to.
11) I'm the only member of my family that's a die-hard University of Utah fan. The past two BYU/Utah football games have completely SUCKED!
12) I play violin, piano, and sing. I've been able to perform all over the country with each one.
13) My favorite movie of all time is Remember the Titans. I can quote the whole thing and do frequently.
14) I LOVE jumping off things. When I moved out of my 3rd story apartment in Provo, I threw my lovesac off my balcony and jumped off. Good times.
15) I will jump out of a plane before I'm 30.
16) I've never been out of the continental United States. Not something I'm proud of, just a fact.
17) I love performing vocally, but freak out when I play the violin in front of an audience.
18) During my college swimming career, I never missed a practice.
19) Everyday I try to find something that I'm naturally amazing at.
20) My favorite color is red, but most of my clothing and stuff is blue.
21) I'm a know-it-all and am pretty good at carrying on conversations about things I know absolutely nothing about.
22) During my senior year of high school, I was on the Senior Student Council and the really nice benches in front of American Fork High School were my project.
23) My three front teeth are fake due to an accident at a swim practice in 9th grade.
24) I make the best cinnamon rolls on the planet, ask any college swimmer in the state of Utah.
25) As a young child, I thought the Count from Sesame Street lived in my closet and the Wicked Queen from Snow White lived in my grandma's basement.
26) I lived at Bear Lake when I was 8 years old and could beat anybody up the climbing wall.
27) I jumped off the diving board at Kino Pool and swam unsupervised when I was only 2 years old because my uncle (who was supposed to be watching me) knocked himself out trying to impress a lifeguard.
28) When I'm older, I don't want to live anywhere that there are seasons. I want to have 85 degree summers all year round.
29) My 8th grade History Project about the Mormon Pioneers went to State.
30) I tied to win the 50 freestyle at State my Junior year and make sure I took the 1st place medal so the other girl wouldn't have it.
31) Carly and I steal a Christmas present every Christmas Eve and open them. One time we grabbed Kate's presents on accident...
32) The basement in my over 100 year old house in Salt Lake looks like the one in the movie Signs
33) I have about 40 pairs of shoes, but wear the same pair of flip flops every day.
34) My choir teacher in high school was actually one of my favorite teachers despite the fact that I still call her the Rhino to this day.
35) My favorite hymn is Abide With Me, Tis Eventide because it was played at my grandpa's funeral. It reminds me of him every time I hear it.
36) I've almost been engaged twice. I broke up with both of them before it ever became official.
37) In 2004, I ran for Miss American Fork. I won the Platform issue by doing mine on Water Safety and just to drive the point home, I wore my my workout suit to every rehearsal.
38) Every practice I coach, I want to be in the water with my swimmers doing their workout.
39) During 9th grade I didn't eat any sweets.
40) When I was younger I told everybody that I was allergic to raisins, but loved grapes.
41) In all my dreams, I can fly at will.
42) My favorite church calling every was teaching Gospel Doctrine and my least favorite was Primary Pianist.
43) Over Christmas break 3 years ago, I was in the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean in the same week.
44) Moab, Utah is my favorite summertime hangout.
45) I SUCK at skiing, even though I've lived in Utah almost my entire life.
46) I've moved 20 times in the last 24 years.
47) You can always tell whether I like you or not. If I don't, you'll know. I think fake people suck.
48) I truly believe that fat people are harder to kidnap.
49) I never use real recipes when I bake. Most of the time it works out.
50) I'm a Food Network junkie. I think Ina Garten is a genius and Tyler Florence is hot.
51) I laugh at everything! I can't keep a straight face, especially if it's Carly that's trying to make me laugh.
52) I love getting dressed up and looking good, but I've lived the majority of my life with wet hair, no make-up wearing a t-shirt, shorts and flip flops.
53) I love new babies and little kids.
54) One of the dumbest things I've ever done was ride down a hill on a rusty old bike with no seat and no brakes onto a jump that launches you into a pond in Alpine. I survived.
55) I race against nice cars on the freeway in my little Hyundai Accent because it makes me feel good when I beat them.
56) I want to win American Idol and sing professionally for the rest of my life.
57) I was captain of the 1st women's swim team from the University of Utah to win the Mountain West Conference in 2006.
58) When I was little, my dad would tell us stories about two red-breasted robins named Choo-choo and Froobie and I still call all robins by those names.
59) My eye prescription hasn't changed in 10 years.
60) I can kneeboard, wake-anything and surf, but cannot water ski.
61) I can parallel park better than any guy I know.
62) My sophomore year at the U, I got to help host Swim-With-The-Stars and have pictures with Michael Phelps, Ian Crocker, and Lenny Krazelberg.
63) In elementary school I called all my female teachers "mom" at least once.
64) Girls camp was the only time of the year that I didn't take a shower. I was known as Pigpen.
65) The show, Are You Afraid of the Dark gave me nightmares every time I watched it and probably still would.
66) I read about 30-40 novels a year, 7 of which are the Harry Potter series.
67) I am NOT a touchy-feely person at all. I typically have my own couch or chair, even when I'm with my boyfriend.
68) I completely agree with Zach when he said that people over 10 that wear Crocs look like dumb-a's.
69) My hair is naturally blonde and I'm very fair-skinned, but tan like an indian and don't burn.
70) My mom is my hero. She's the coolest lady I know.
71) My favorite patriotic song is Ray Charles version of America the Beautiful.
72) Out of all the people I'm friends with, my favorite group to hang out with is my brothers and sisters.
73) One of my biggest criteria for my future husband is that he'll go on walks with me.
74) I've played in an orchestra pretty much every year since I was eight. The U's Symphony Orchestra was the best.
75) My first kiss was with Cody Pitt in Tooele, Utah. We kissed on top of his dad's broken down jeep when I was 10.
76) I watched the Swiss Family Robinson when I was 3 and still think that living in a giant tree house would be freakin' SWEET!
77) In 6th grade I started a school newspaper called the Greenwood Gazette. As far as I know it's still in operation today.
78) I can impersonate the evil stepmother (Fiona) in A Cinderella Story perfectly.
79) Superman is my favorite superhero because he can do pretty much everything.
80) I love to workout out really hard. I push myself to the limit almost every time.

Okay, I thought of some more...I think I can finish this post now...
81) When I was 12 I bought a pizza with my friend, Chelan in all pennies. I think it was like 10 bucks or something. The pizza guy was pissed.
82) I LOVE Diet Coke, but I went cold turkey 2 months ago and haven't had a sip since.
83) I've taught swimming lessons every summer since I was 11.
84) Nikki Xanthos and I have a hidden meaning for Ding Dongs and we laugh our butts off every time one of us says it.
85) I think Beto's is DISGUSTING!!! I went in there once with a group of friends, and no lie, it smelled like a port-a-potty and I'm pretty sure the food isn't far off.
86) My fashion fetish is jackets. I love them and own way too many to count.
87) I'm still searching for the perfect pair of running shoes.
88) I rode my bike through the McDonald's drive-thru when I was 10 and ordered an ice cream cone. They let me through.
89) I have a reoccuring dream that I forgot about one of my classes at the U and failed it and the school is trying to take my degree away.
90) I am very nostalgic. I'm a total dork like that. I have so much crap that I should just throw away.
91) When I was little, I cried every time we got rid of a car because I thought it had feelings.
92) I love to hike by myself. I know its not smart, but I love being able to go exploring and think alone!
93) I love being the center of attention and rarely get embarrassed.
94) My favorite childhood memory is with my aunt Fran. She was a nurse and would get in late while we lived with my grandparents. I was sick one night and she stayed up with me eating thunder pops and watching Roger's and Hammersteins, Cinderella.
95) Facebook is a major addiction.
96) My cars name is Sugar. I've named all my cars since high school: Cavalier, Subie, Lu (Little Ugly) and Sug. I only refer to her by her name. People think she's my dog or something.
97) I've seen the Lion King, Into the Woods, and Beauty and the Beast on Broadway.
98) When I was little, my sisters and I would compete to see who could sing the most like Ariel/Belle/Aurora/etc. and would get in HUGE fights about it.
99) Carly and I would sit in the back seat of the van growing up and smack each other's legs until one of us cried. It usually went on for about an hour.
100) I loved (and still love) to see my parents talk to each other. I feel lucky that they are together and love each other so much.
101) My great grandma wouldn't call me Kendall because she thought it was a boy's name. She called me "little Marie" for years.
102) I fell of Bridal Veil Falls when I was 7. I don't remember a thing about it.
103) I've always had a soft spot for animals and cry when I see them abused. I can't watch Animal Planet because of it.
104) My favorite stroke is Butterfly and I'm still pretty good at it even though I've been retired for almost 3 years.
105) I'm a sucker for B&W Historical/Movie/Old posters. I want to have a theatre room in my future house (how's that for dreaming?) and decorate it with such.
106) I loved quoting movies. I do it ALL the time. People often have no idea what I'm talking about. :)
107) I have a token from each boy that I've ever dated.
108) I've worn a Livestrong bracelet for 5 years and will for as long as I can get them.
109) Shaving my legs sucks. I hate it and rarely do so.
110) I think I could handle living in the 1800's or something. Most of the time I think I could live with out technology or running water. (but then there's that stupid Facebook addiction).
111) My wedding colors will be scarlet red, black and cream. I want it to be a black tie event.
112) I'm a pretty good amateur photographer. I'm saving up to buy a Nikon D80. I drool all over the place when I get to play with one at BestBuy.
113) I love hats, but I'm really picky when it comes to how they fit. I think right now I have two that I actually wear.
114) Football pants are sexy always regardless of what man is wearing them. Shoulder pads are pretty hot, too.
115) I'm a member of the Restaurant Explorers. We try a new ethnic place once a month. I think it's AWESOME!
116) I use the word awesome way too much. (See above)
117) I always want to have a red comforter on my bed. I feel like I'm being true to the University of Utah when its there.
118) I really did like living in Provo last summer. Promise.
119) Silver Lake Flatts is one of the most beautiful places in the world.
120) I haven't paid to get into the AFFC in 15 years. Is that dishonest or could it be that I've worked there on and off for almost that long? Sick.
121) The view from my bedroom window is amazing. Mt. Timpanogos is so beautiful. I've hiked it almost every summer that I've lived in American Fork.

There ya go. I'm so proud of myself for finishing! I love reading other peoples facts, so if you're interested (and can make the time) I TAG YOU! I want to hear what makes you, YOU!

HAPPY MOOB!!!

This past weekend was MMT 2008 (Massive Moab Trip), the third annual exodus to the magical land of Moab, Utah with about 200 people mainly from the Provo/Salt Lake area. If you haven't heard about this trip, you are definitely missing out on one of the greatest friend/memory-making experiences of your life and should come partake of MMT goodness next year. MMT sets you up with 200 insta-friends that would be more than happy to share their summer with you. It's so AWESOME! So here's a little break down of the trip...

Carly (sister), Abbie (might-as-well-be-sister) and myself headed down to Moab late Thursday evening along with the Justin/Kendall/Mike caravan. We made it to Happy Moob around midnight and started into the canyon to find our campsite which was about 9 miles in. After about 12 miles and some serious off-roading in an Altima with two sketchy axels, we rendezvoused with other MMTers and camped off the road because our scheduled campsite was taken over by aliens/monsters/hostile enemy campers or something like that. Needless to say, we got ZERO sleep, even though I totally insisted about 400 times that we sleep in the car for some peace and quiet. Forget it. We totally froze and were so uncomfortable, but don't worry...a true Moabite never backs down. My little group of girls left before the rest of the crowd to peace out to McDonalds to grab a bite, wash faces, and change into our suits for a day on the Colorado river. The river trip was most excellent! Juh brought a Jolley Roger (Skull and Crossbones) flag, and Dain dubbed our raft the 'Yellow Banana' and we took over just about every other raft out there thanks to our fearless captain/river guide the Dreaded D-Train (aka Derek). It was a crazy good time and we all felt like the $50 price tag was well worth it.

After we Pirates decided to retire, we hit the local swimming pool for a quick dip and a shower (YEA!) which was definitely worth the three bucks we had to pay. Then we swung over to Zax pizza before heading up to delicate arch. We beat every one else up there and really got to enjoy the beauty of Arches without having to deal with a bunch of people. That place is SO gorgeous! I love Moab, it's the greatest place in Utah!

We decided to get some sleep Friday night by crashing in the last available room in the entire city with 8 people. I have never slept so good in my life! I laid down on the bed and was completely out until 8 o'clock the next morning.

That day we hit Sand hill, swam Ken's (yeah, it was named after me) Lake, and then hiked up to Left Hand for some serious cliff-jumping. Left Hand is probably my favorite place in Moab. Last year's MMT spawned some daredevil tendencies and now I LOVE jumping off stuff. So hitting Left Hand again was a nice was to connect to my inner Evil Kinevil. I tried a couple jumps that I didn't try last year and loved them. Maybe next year I'll have the guts to do a backflip or something crazy.

Well, MMT 2008 wrapped up with a stellar BBQ provided by the brethren (Austin, Jake, Paul, John, Juh, etc.) which included Austin's grilling bounty (40 lbs of steak and 20 lbs of chicken) and topped off with banana's foster. YUM! Delicious food, good friends, sweet hikes, and jumping off cliffs; what else is there?!

All in all, this was definitely one of the best trips I've ever been on. I'd like to thank Carly and Abbie (my ladies!) for coming down this year and letting me gush about how awesome Moab truly is. I think they felt the fire!

24 or something...

This past Saturday I turned 24 years old. I wasn't really caring about turning another year older; I feel great, look relatively good in a tight pair of jeans, and am still playing like I'm 17, but then my friend Rick decided to oh-so-subtly let me know that I am entering my mid-twenties. Ugh! For all that read this and are older and wiser than myself, you're probably thinking that I'm being retarded, but think about it?! I'm in my MID-TWENTIES! When I was younger I thought that once you reached the age of 21 it was over for you, and now I'm 24! Crap. Oh well, right? So besides me freaking out over a stupid number, I actually had an awesome day! Worked out in the morning, went wake-boarding on our 1986 Seville aptly named JAWS (who's definitely been running like a 22 year old boat lately) and then had a BBQ with family and friends where we played a mean game of beach volleyball (have you ever watched a bunch of swimmers play land sports? Oh, you're in for a treat!). It was a fun, fabulous day! Now, I'd better go take out my hearing aids and dentures for my mid-morning nap.