BFF's and World Peace

"Mrs. Shimp," our resident class bully / tattletale says earnestly.

(As usual. Recess is over, so it's time for his daily tattle.)

"G was butting me," he complains. "And he stepped on my foot, and pushed me."

"That's a real shame," I say, "because you know what? I know G. And he's a really good guy, I actually really like him. And I know you, and you're also a really good guy, and I really like you, too. So it's too bad that you had to argue.....I mean, couldn't you have thought of something better you two could have done?"

I've got some suggestions ready: stay away from each other, let it go if he butts you, maybe calmly explain that he hurt your feelings when he did that.

T immediately responds with his own suggestion: "Maybe, we could just be best friends instead!"

And suddenly it's resolved, and they are best friends instead.

Our tenth Airbnb guest was a PhD student. She was on sabbatical in the United States, studying chemistry with a BYU professor. I chatted with her while I was making dinner, and accidentally cut my finger with the knife. She brought me a band-aid and told me to please be careful, and then we laughed about how her mom had called, and yelled at her about the fast food she had been eating.

"She's really nice," I told one of my friends.

"Yeah, well," they replied, "She didn't bomb your house, so that is nice."

Which I thought was not nice. Because our guest was a Muslim girl from Iran, but she was also a teacher, and a traveler, and a potential best friend, and you wouldn't know that if you only focused on a few things about her.

She told us all about her life in Iran. Her students loved her, because she was a very relaxed teacher. She always had to cover her face, but she liked how she didn't have to here. They have all four seasons in Iran. She didn't much like traveling and never expected to go anywhere as far as Utah again in her life. If I wasn't there, she seemed uncomfortable having conversations with Stephen and instead would just say a quick hello and then retreat to her room. She didn't like spicy foods. Alcohol is not allowed in Iran, but unlike America where everyone raged against the machine and started up speakeasies until it was re-allowed, no one seems to care in Iran. Dating is also very different - she said there is no touching, and you would never be alone with each other.

And talking with her, and sharing my home with her, just made me wish that ee'rbody in the world had the same viewpoint as T, and would take a step back and maybe, just be best friends instead. We're all people, after all, and we aren't all that different. We all feel feelings, and we all shiz out of our buttholes, and we all like Instagram better than Facebook.

And we can all be best friends.

Thank You, Pilgrims

I am thankful for Thanksgiving. It is such an American holiday when you think about it! A whole day devoted to the things we in this nation love most: food and family, with a little bit of football and a few celebrities sprinkled in the mix.

And THEN, the day after Thanksgiving, we have a day that is all about spending money, which is also pretty American.

Today was my first Thanksgiving with Stephen's family. It was wonderful! We spent the night at their house last night, so Brandon had to sleep on the couch. I'm lucky he loves Stephen so much, so he never complains we take over his bed and kick him out. And it happens at least once a week....

The day started with this AMAZING French toast casserole that Diane made for breakfast. (Actually it started with Logan running in, smacking Stephen, and yelling hysterically that we were going to miss the snow and we'd better get up right now and take him sledding, but we don't need to talk about that.) There was also homemade buttermilk syrup! So that ushered in the food heaven that was today very nicely. 

Luckily Thankfully, we live in Utah. So we did not miss the snow. It may have been 57* in Lehi, but there were 32 inches of snow waiting patiently for us up in the mountains of Little Cottonwood Canyon. 

You might not be able to tell in this picture, but the snow was so deep it was hard to walk in. It was up to our knees and sometimes even deeper!

It was so fun getting all bundled up and playing in the snow, especially since once we were done playing, we could leave all that lovely snow behind. I think we have a new Thanksgiving tradition now!

Thanksgiving dinner was more like Thanksgiving lunch, which I actually like. I was in charge of the sweet potatoes and the banana cream pie and the kid's craft.

Here's how the sweet potatoes turned out:

I forgot to get a picture before we started eating, but they were amazing!

Here's how the banana cream pie turned out:

Also amazing. 

Here's how the kid's craft turned out:

Yeah it was not a hit with the kids. But Stephen was nice enough to wear the pilgrim hat I made!

And I guess now is a good time to add that I did Black Friday online this year, instead of going out, and I am almost done with my Christmas shopping! So, holler for that, and I hope your Thanksgiving was as fantastic as mine :)