Look to the Rainbow

A few friends and I saw Idina Menzel perform with the Utah Symphony at Deer Valley this evening.  Keith Lockhart was the conductor for the night and this was his last show as director emeritus for the Symphony. Idina sang songs from Wicked, Rent, Glee, along with some well known classics and she had the audience join her a couple of times.  She was quite the entertainer and even stopped mid-song to tell a couple of stories and then finished the song. It reminded me of when I play the piano except that I will start playing one song and then start playing a different song without completing the first. Idina offered to end the concert when the rain started but the crowd, myself included, cheered for her to continue and continue she did. Idina's voice is clear and her range, endless, and I would pay to see her again.

Oh What a Night

I put my brave face on...

And kept on swinging.

Past Meets Future

If walls could talk, what a story they would tell...

Riding horses isn't the same without grandpa B...

There's no place like home(or grandma's home)...

If I Could Turn Back Time

It is written that Galileo was watching the movement of a chandelier in a cathedral and began to research the laws of pendulum motion to determine the exact period of a pendulum. A pendulum must be kept steady for accuracy and is easily swayed by environmental forces, much like our own lives.
I find it fascinating that parts of a clock are referred to as the 'face' or the 'hands.' Clocks are our time keepers, ever reminding us that time does indeed march on. How I can be in a meeting and time seems to slow down but when I am enjoying time with family and friends, our time together is over much too soon?
This concept became more clear as I spent time with my family this past weekend. Minutes seemed to pass ever so quietly and I found myself longing to freeze every moment. I was drawn toward old photographs and family journals and at first, I concluded that I simply wanted to remember the early days and recall stories from the past. And then it hit me. I was really trying to get the history back. To be able to view a photo and be transported to that time to relive all the feelings, thoughts, and wonders stored in the print.

"We write to taste life twice, in the moment, and in retrospection."

~Anais Nin

My Leg Pits Are Sweating

Spending the weekend with my family was wonderful. Clay and his family made the drive from the Land of the Ducks and I loved watching the cousins interact with one another. My niece Noelle-belle kept saying her leg pits(back of the knee) were sweating and I will now be adding that phrase to my vocabulary. I played with the kids during the day and the spent the evening talking with the adults about life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. We also spent time at Grandpa B's art studio collecting sketches, handmade belts, and other mementos. And of course we went to Rupe's for a root beer ice cream cone which is always an adventure. 

My dad and Sy decided to humor me by wearing BYU attire. 

 The Oregon Duck fan tried to injure the BYU fan. 

 My sister-in-law decided to be my twin for church. She likes to play pranks on me and I now have a battle wound because of her. Totally worth the pain. 

 My brother-in-law didn't think I could do a push-up. I showed him. Sy needs to work on his form. 

 I love these faces. Brin had eight teeth pulled earlier in the day and she was still smiling!

Evening Stroll

The ladies in the above picture walk around the neighborhood almost every night. The walker does not always make an appearance but I'm glad it is used for extra support when needed. I smile every time I see the walkers and next time I think I will ask if I can join them.

Animal Athletes

Disclaimer: I think animals are great.

I grew up near horses, cows, cats, dogs, chickens, and every other animal found on the farm, but when the rodeo announcer called the horses 'animal athletes,' I started to laugh. Sure, the animal has to be strong and trained in the ways of rodeo, and yet, that phrase seems silly. I enjoyed the rodeo and enjoyed sitting near President Monson.

My Survival

Today I chose to spend my lunch hour with Meags, Allison, and her twins Rosie and Evie. It was the perfect way to spend the afternoon. The three of us have been friends for several years and have shared many great moments and watched and supported one another through difficult points in life. I may have also helped Allison meet her future husband Ben(feel free to return the favor anytime, Allison). For some reason, I took several pictures of the twins but not one picture with Allison. I guess I better go visit her soon.

"Friendship is unnecessary, like philosophy, like art...It has no survival value; rather it is one of those things that give value to survival."

~C.S. Lewis

God Bless America

I was given tickets to a closed to the public Mormon Tabernacle concert this morning which was the closing session for the Nation Association of Governor's. As I walked into the Conference Center, I recognized a few local and national leaders and wished I could spend time talking to them about public policy. We all stood for the National Anthem and then sat in awe as we heard several patriotic songs. It was the perfect way to spend the Sabbath morning.

Music expresses that which cannot be put into words and cannot remain silent.

~Victor Hugo

What's My Name?

I like nicknames. As a child, I was known as Belle and/or Shell Bell until I went to school and then I had to learn my name is really Shelley. There's something really great and connecting when a friend or family member calls me Shell, Shae, Bob, or any of my other nicknames. In turn, I like to give people nicknames.
My friend Pelos(short for Pelosi whose first name is Nancy) met some people from my hometown and had the following conversation:

Pelos: "My friend is from B town and you have the same last name. Her parents are Rufus and Lucy. Except, that's not their real names and I can't remember their given names.
Locals: Hmmmm. I don't know how to help you figure out their names, but I'm sure we know them.
Pelos: "Wait! She has a sister who is a hair stylist in town. Her name is Pip. Uh, that's not her name and well, you know the rest."

It's Friday

I spent the day with this family.

Brayden, 17 months old, taught me all about the ipad. Obviously his dad is a computer guy.

The best part of the day was talking to friends while enjoying the pool in the backyard. This is the life.

H to the P

I admit that I was a little late in jumping on the Hogwarts Express. My elementary education friends kept talking about the books and did their best to convince me to give the books a try even though I am book snob. I started reading the books after watching the first movie and have been hooked ever since. I have attended the midnight showing for the past several movies and my friends and I decided to dress up in honor of the final movie. There were many people dressed up for the movie and I wish I had taken more pictures of the owls, Sirius Black, Mad Eye Moody, and Storm Troopers. Yes, Storm Troopers and Darth Vader made an appearance at the theater.

Approximately 1 hour into the movie, I started to hear uncontrolled sobbing and sniffling behind me and then it seemed to multiply. I looked at my friends and we all smiled and handed the girls behind us a few kleenex's. The girls proceeded to cry during the rest of the movie. I did not shed one tear.

HP, Ginny, Prof McGonagal, Luna, and Dobby

Eyes Wide Open

I often drive in silence as I go from meeting to meeting and while visiting clients throughout the valley. As I see people, I wonder what their story is. What lead them to where they are today and where are they heading? The following are just a sampling of people whose story I'd like to know.

A man changing his clothes at a bus stop.

A cello player at a local eatery. I've also seen him play downtown and I know he was recently given a new cello.

Men hoping to be picked for a work crew.

Do You Miss Me?

I received the following texts from my sister this morning.

Do you miss me now?

How about now?

Simple Fix

I was at a friend's house for dinner and her disposal was clogged. We called several guys and they either didn't answer or they didn't know how to fix the problem. I decided to call my dad and he walked us through the steps to unclog the disposal. Solving drain and disposal issues is definitely going to be added to the long list of things I can do.

I'm Still the Favorite

My sister-in-law called me a few weeks ago to tell me a story about Noella-belle. NB is obsessed with frogs and has a frog shirt that no longer fits. She turned to her mom and said, "It's okay that the shirt doesn't fit anymore, Shelley will buy me a frog shirt for my birthday." Talk about pressure. I started searching and wasn't finding anything I loved. And then genius hit. I remembered that my friend Sara makes a birthday shirt each year for her kids so I contacted her with my request. I let Sara have creative reign over the shirt and I think it's safe to say that everyone loves the finished product.

Summertime and the livin' is easy

This is me...

I'm sort of soft spoken and kind of sporadic but that really doesn't say a whole lot because sometimes I'm kind of loud and a little predictable.

You'll just have to see for yourself, I guess.

Air Dry

I may be known to leave the house with wet hair and then roll down the windows in the car in order to dry my hair. Results in The.Best.Curls.Ever.

Yee Haw

I went to the Oakley rodeo, or radio as young Matthew kept reminding us, with Meags and her family. I look forward to attending as many rodeos as possible each summer and my favorite events are bareback and bull riding. I remember going to the rodeo and horse races with my Grandpa B and I think of him each time I attend one of those events. The fireworks after the rodeo lasted for a whopping 4 minutes-incredible.