Great Ropes

So I haven't written about a major thing going on in our lives. Richard has been doing this thing called Great Life (which I affectionately call "The Cult"). It's been a topic of tension for a while. I'm not big on the whole "finding yourself, be happy, hug everybody" stuff that costs a lot of money. But Rich has pretty much always done what he wants, so he's been gone for weeknights and weekends for about 2 months now. It's been tough on the family and really tough on me. But as of next weekend, he'll be done and I'm so glad. But I will say (despite a few bumps along the way) I have noticed a difference in him. He's been much more helpful around the house (which is a HUGE thing to me), he's been sweeter to me and he spends a lot more time on the phone and on Facebook. That last one is not really a good thing, but he's made a ton of good friends and seems genuinely happy- happier than he was, which was pretty happy anyway. He talks about how he's not as passive as he was and he's learning to be a better communicator.
Anyway, today was "guest day". We hiked up the mountains in Bountiful (right above some of the BIGGEST houses I have ever seen) and did what they call the ropes course. We divided into groups and did these obstacles with each other. Most of them were blindfolded! So, as if crossing a log 10 feet off the ground wasn't scary enough, we did it blindfolded!! I should point out that we were wearing harnesses, but still! There was another one where we had to cross a rope from one tree to another holding onto a rope for half of it, then a foot or two with no rope until you can grab onto the next rope. There were a few others and the point is to learn about each other and learn to work together and whatever else you can take from it.... if you're one of those deep people. I am not, but it was fun and there were a few times where I had to trust Rich and that was pretty tough when I was blindfolded and not sure if he knew what he was doing. But apparently he did, because we made it. It was a lot of fun and even though I really didn't want to go, I'm glad I did.
I'm not saying I would recommend you write a check and pretty much abandon your family for two months but I will admit that I'm not as bitterly against it as I was. I could totally see all the friendships that were made and the encouragement that was given by everyone as some of them overcame things that were very much outside their comfort zone. It was pretty awesome- don't tell Rich. :)

An art show, pizza and a bucked-tooth boy...

We went to an art show last night in SLC to support my sister-in-law's boyfriend. It was pretty cool, there was another artist there that had some really cool paintings. She did a lot of women figures that morphed into trees and a lot of butterflies and fish. My kids had fun looking at all the different pieces but got bored after a while and started, well you know, being kids. It wasn't terrible until Zachary decided to turn off the lights in the front and this guy came storming back demanding to know who was playing with the lights. It was so embarrassing. So we finally left and went back to Jennifer and Clarence's house (Rich's sister and her boyfriend) and had the best pizza I've had in a long time- it was so good! I can't remember the name of the place- I'll have to find out. It was yummy. Anyway they don't have kids but they have this great big bin full of random toys for the kids and they love to go through it and pull everything out. Zachary found some bunny teeth or something and these nerd glasses. He looked so funny! I was exhausted so I was giggly and this had me on the floor for a few minutes. I only had my cell phone but I had to get a picture. Now it's on my phone wallpaper. It cracks me up every time I see it.