Summer...where did you go?

Oh goodness, it's already September.  I can't believe it.  How the time flies.  I feel like summer was just too darn hot this year and I found myself just waiting for it to be over.  That jury duty really threw me for a loop.  It just kind of took the wind out of my sails for summer fun.   I wish I would have had this idea to get me out of it:

Liz Lemon is my hero!  But, it wasn't all lost on me. We did hit up the pool a few times and softball two times a week made for fun times.  Business Time on Monday nights and Suga'hoods on Wednesdays.  Monday night's league was just okay.  Business Time was fun again, with some new faces this summer.  However, the league wasn't very much fun to play in and the other teams turned out to be real d-bags.  Wednesday night's league was much better team-wise.  All the teams were pretty fun to play and we got a few wins.  Rob and I were the league leading hitters for the men and women respectively.  So that was fun.  The best part of the Wednesday night league was walk-up songs!  Mallory put it together and it has been really fun to bring the tunes to the games.  I think most of the league teams actually like it...even if they act like they don't.  It makes for a fun environment, especially when we play an eighth-grade girl song for one of the guys.  For example, we love to play a Justin Beiber song (Baby anyone?) for a guy going up to the plate.  It is good times in the dugout for sure and we usually have a fun little dance party.  Darby came to a game and just played DJ for us the entire game...it was MAGIC!

But the fun with Suga'hoods didn't end with summer league.  We are playing fall ball and I am happy to say we are in first place after three games.  It's been very fun thus far and I will be anxiously waiting for summer ball to start up again after winter.  But in the meantime, I have some things to look forward to: a Brighton coupon book with my name on it!  I'm excited to get ready to hit the slopes again this winter and hone my mad skills; football season (GO AGGIES!!); Thanksgiving!; and of course the Cowles Family Caribbean Christmas Cruise!

So long summer...I'll see you in a few months, after the white stuff is melted!

The Rural Juror

My dad and I have interesting luck.  We are the only members of our family to ever be summoned for jury duty.  Mama Sue, Melissa, Erin, nor Darby have ever been summoned.  What a rip off!  Well, since I have been home from my mission, I have been given the questionnaire five to six times, but never summoned.  I knew my luck was running out.  I was summoned along with 99 other people and had a one in 10 chance of being chosen.  10% chance and guess who was picked for the jury?  This girl!  I was summoned for almost the entire month of June for a civil case.  Let's just say, jury duty is NOT like the movies, and in my opinion is four weeks of my life that I cannot get back.  Don't get me wrong; I think doing our civic duty is important, but four weeks!?  That's a bit much.  At least we were not sequestered.  That would have been awful!  I can only imagine what the jurors on the O.J. Simpson trial and the Sandusky/Penn State case feel like.  The Simpson case took forever!  11 months!  No thanks!

The case in and of itself was interesting and I learned a lot about the legal system and Methadone treatment.  Litigators are a quarky bunch and frankly, can be quite nasty to each other in the court room.  But then they'll turn around and be so cordial to each other.  It's so weird.  However, it is SO boring to have to sit in that jury box all day and listen.  There is no interaction, no asking questions, and no comments.  I felt like Ferris Bueller's Day Off when Ben Stein is teaching and all the kids' eyes are glazed over.  I've realized I never want to be on the witness stand.  It was interesting when we finally were able to deliberate to hear others' thoughts and opinions.  How we ever came to a conclusion is beyond me.  Lots of compromise I guess.  There were eight of us and we had to have six in agreeance to get the verdict.  We had to listen to about six hours of closing arguments and then we deliberated for about six hours (four the first day and two the next morning).  But the verdict was not necessarily guilty or not guilty.  We had to place fault on one or both parties.  Not an easy task when a settlement is involved.

I'm glad I'm off the hook for two years.  I'm untouchable!

Welcome to the 21st Century!

Well, the Cowles sisters have finally come into the now. We have exchanged our slider and flip phones for smart phones. It's kind of a big deal for us. We are not used to having so much available at our fingertips. But we are catching on quite nicely.

Erin and Dallin and Darby have gone from these:

To this:

So, we're now connected...we've come a long way!

Church Ball Barn Burners

If you’ve been a member of the LDS church for your entire life or are even a new convert, you know about Church Ball – "The brawl that begins with prayer", unless you've been living in a cave. Think of jungle ball and that should give you a pretty good indication of what this “game” looks like. The only difference is that we have to offer a prayer before playing. Probably because if we didn’t someone would likely die or become injured very badly – broken nose, rolled ankle, concussion, etc.

Our Young Single Adult Stake sponsors a men’s and women’s league each year from January to March. Being the dummy that I am, I sign up each year to play...well not this year, Darby did that for me when I was visiting another ward’s Relief Society and then told me when I got home. I wasn’t too happy. I was hoping I would be able to retire in peace. I mean, I’m sure I hold all the University 5th Stake records for missed shots, turnovers, and any other negative statistic one could think of (but the best worst game goes to Jerrica Hall, that is a blog post in and of itself). I'm only good for rebounding. Also, I might have the record for hottest head in the league even though I have toned that down tremendously in the last year or two. Basketball definitely brings out my temper.
The day after the first game, my G-chat status was “Church Ball Retirement”. I was serious. I was done. I didn’t want to play anymore. A gal that had also played the night before noticed my status and started a chat with me.

Tamra: You're not allowed to retire =D, just so you know :)
me: well, since I can't move my legs and my back is killing me...I'm definitely thinking about it :)
Tamra: hahaha :) welcome to the club =D
you'll be okay in two weeks ;)
me: I've been president of that club for like 5 years. I made the mistake of playing racquet ball during lunch today... My muscles are spent! How are you feeling today? Bball's rough!
Tamra: Life is good :), I was super sore last night but I was surprisingly okay this morning
we'll see how I feel tomorrow
sometimes my soreness is delayed :)
it’s like my body forgets...and then BAM! (oh yeah, I’m supposed to feel sore, lol)
me: ha ha ha. I feel old today :)
I need to get into more lifetime activities... like golf, or tennis, or walking
Tamra: walking is always a good idea :)
me: ha ha ha ha
I just think after about 25, basketball is not really the best form of exercise
Tamra: I still love playing :)

After reading this, I continually ask myself why I subject my body to church basketball. I still stand by the over 25 statement. Basketball is a young person sport. Not that I think I’m old, but my body just doesn’t do what it did in high school. That’s how people get hurt – trying to play as hard as a 16 year old. Not a good idea. Basketball has been interesting this year. I miss playing with the girls in my old ward. We played them this week and it was a barn burner. The final score was 27-26. It came down to the final seconds. We’ve had a few games like that this season. Our problem is not skill, but height. Basically, we don’t have any. I’m 5’3.25”. Most of the other girls are a little taller than me. Our tall girl, Megan, wasn’t at the game. You do the math.

I think I’ll retire the basketball kicks after this season. My body is just protesting.

A little skiing at Brighton

This year I decided I wanted to ski more. I have all the gear (Erin calls me a gearhead, which I admit I am) and a car with new tires and four-wheel drive. So what was holding me back? Nothing, absolutely nothing. I was set. Back in October, I saw a deal that would get me to the slopes - a coupon book. I bought a five-day coupon book to Brighton and it was the best $250 I spent all year in 2011. I persuaded my friend Val to get one too and we have had lovely outings on the mountain honing our skills - boarding for Val, skiing for me.

The snow had fallen and I made my first ever solo ski day. A beautiful Friday afternoon to relax and have a good time. It was a little strange to go up by myself, but so worth it. Fridays can be so boring sitting at my desk watching the minutes pass by so slowly. That Friday was a great way to start President's Day weekend.

President's Day is usually a day of skiing for the Cowles gals and this year, we headed up for some fun in the snow. It was a gorgeous day on the slopes. A little crowded but still a good time. Hey, a crowded day on the slopes is always better than a good day at work :) Val and my other friend Maggie joined us and I think it was a rather successful day.

Darby and Erin at the top of Majestic ready to rock and roll!

Val making her way over to buckle up and ride down the mountain.

The snow thus far has been alright. Nothing like last year! We got dumped on from November to March in 2010-2011. I only made it up to the mountain once last year and it was a disappointing day for me; mostly because I was not in any type of skiing shape and my first run was a BLUE. I am a GREEN kind of gal. I stick to those and have a good time. That's my style, that's how I roll. I know I'll never be Lyndsay Vonn, and I'm okay with that. I just want to enjoy my time outside. Luckily for me, Val and I have been skiing/boarding for about the same amount of time, so we can stick together. I would daresay, she is better than I am.

Dallin and Valerie happy to be on the lift on such a fabulous mountain day!

We just wanted a sandwich

Thursday, it finally came. I had big plans that I was waiting for all week: dinner with Sarah! We had it all planned out. We were going to the 9th and 9th Deli and would chat until she had to go to YW's basketball. I waited anxiously on the porch of the Deli, safeguarded from the rain. Sarah was parking and then we would go inside....or so we thought. After embracing, we tried the door. LOCKED! What the...? We then saw the sign on the door: "Hours: 11am - 5:05pm"

First of all, who closes a deli shop at 5:05pm? Random. Well, we were disappointed and retreated to Great Harvest with our tails between our legs. I was still craving the Reuben sandwich that I was hoping to eat last night. We walked down to Great Harvest and perused the sandwich menu. Sarah had picked up some bread. Right before we order our sandwiches, I notice another sign: "Sandwiches served until 3:30pm". What the....? Why is it so hard to get a sandwich around this town? I guess I should pay more attention to signs. So, Sarah purchased her bread and we headed back to our cars, again tails between our legs, defeated and deflated.

We decided to head over closer to downtown and decided on Cafe Rio; we were pretty sure it would be open. SUCCESS! We had a lovely dinner and as always, a great time catching up. So, we didn't get sandwiches, but salad and enchiladas. A fair trade.

Ding dong! Oh hi sisters...

"Are you here for dinner?"
"Yes. Is that okay?"
"Yes, yes, come on in. Have a seat. Let me call Erin and see what the plan is."
"You're not Erin?"
"No."

This is how the conversation went last Wednesday when I encountered four sister missionaries on my porch ready for dinner at five o'clock. Erin had volunteered to feed the sisters and then forgot about it. Luckily, I left work early so I was home when they arrived. I called Erin and she stopped at Cafe Rio to feed the famished sisters (being a missionary is hard work you know).

I played hostess for almost an hour as I watched the sisters nervously checking their watches as their stomachs growled. As a missionary, one is always checking her watch...it's almost like a nervous twitch. It made me miss my days as a missionary in Argentina. It reminded me of waiting in members' homes for almost an hour before we would eat lunch together. Argentines are really never in a big hurry to do much, except get their maté on. We had a nice chat of all things mission and how crazy some of the people you teach or contact are.

Well, Erin finally made it home with four pork burritos from Cafe Rio and I handed off hostess duties to her so I could rush up to the Institute to play basketball...oh did I mention church ball has started up? Yikes! No injuries have been sustained...thus far.

Haylie gets her nails did!

Our Haylie bug is eight! I remember holding her the for the first time in the hospital. Now she's a bit bigger but I can still pick her up...for now :) We celebrated a little early on Saturday with a lunch at Applebees. Haylie was anxiously awaiting her ice cream and happy birthday song. When the Applebees people finally came around the corner clapping and cheering, she knew it was time. Haylie, Mikaela and Grumpy Jim celebrating the ice cream.

After lunch, Aunt Ewee had a special treat for Haylie. Her first ever manicure! Nail gal Cassie took good care of Haylie and made her nails pretty snazzy with a flower on the middle finger (Haylie chose that finger...we're not sure why).

All done! I think Haylie is on her way to many more manis and pedis...just like her Nana Sue :)




Happy birthday Haylie! I sure do love you!