Happy Rey/Padmé/IG-88/Logray Day

If you recognized those 4 names*, then you probably already know what day today is.

It's May the 4th! aka Star Wars Day!

Here are a couple day-appropriate memes I found:

Classic Simpsons episode.

Deep thought, although I don't understand why a raptor is saying this...

Hopefully you're doing something fun to celebrate, maybe having a party with a Jar Jar Binks piñata and cutting cake with a lightsaber. At the least, have a moment of silence for Han Solo (RIP).
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*Here are linkable explanations of the 4 names, for those of you who didn't recognize them:
Rey = Jakku scavenger, joined the Resistance in The Force Awakens (Episode 7)
Padmé = Naboo politician, married Anakin Skywalker, mother of Luke & Leia Skywalker
IG-88 = bounty hunter robot, tasked by Darth Vader to find the Millenium Falcon
Logray = chief shaman in the Ewok tribe, helped fight in the Battle of Endor

Happy Easter and Spring Equinox!

Depending on your religious (or not) persuasion, today is a day of celebrating either Jesus Christ's resurrection from the dead or the sun being directly on the equator--and thus a nearly equal length of day and night.

Either way, I hope you enjoy your celebrations!

Here's a heart-warming video of small animals:


PS Doesn't that music just make you so happy? Or is it just me? Perfectly fits the scene.

The Ides of March: A Day for Communal Stabbing

Ah, the Ides of March.

The day we commemorate the coordinated assassination of an ancient empire's ruler.

At least we can get a few giggles from his mortal group-stabbing almost 2,000 years ago, such as these courtesy of SomeECards.

A political one, since today also happens to be a Super Tuesday.

If you've never seen the Shakespeare play of "Julius Caesar", do yourself a favor and find a local production. It's about much more than just Caesar's murder.

But if you just want to watch a little theatrical stabbing, here's the scene from my friend's (all-female cast) production of the play:


One last piece of advice today: watch your back!

***Note: this is a joke post. Please do not go out and stab anyone, today or any day.

Thank You, Veterans

Thanks to the men and women of our U.S. military, past and present, for their sacrifices on our behalf.

May the families of those who have perished by blessed, and may our active duty all return home safely.

May we all strive for peace at home and abroad so fewer and maybe eventually none have to put their lives on the line.

Happy Veterans Day, all.

S.O.F.T. Unites Fireworks, Family, and Friends

A couple weekends ago, my cousin Bryce hosted an amazing night to end the Utah fireworks season.

And because any great party needs a great name, and this was the third year, his was called:

Sidewalk of Fire Three

or S.O.F.T. for short.

The family that lights things on fire together, stays together

We are patriots, so the main event had to start with an epic national anthem performance.

You're seeing it right. Those are gloves with sparklers attached to the fingers.

And then we set off a whole lotta fireworks.

Some went high in the air.
Some stayed low to the ground.
And some fell over and shot all over the neighborhood, into yards and bouncing off cars.
(The rest of these pictures are courtesy of Xan's Eye Photography. She's great, check her out)

But the spectators enjoyed the excitement of watching these bombs bursting in air and all around them.
Fearing for your life just adds to the experience, right?

After the big show, everyone was able to get involved by playing with sparklers.

Many thanks to Bryce and his housemates for a fun night and the opportunity to semi-safely act out our primal urge to blow stuff up in honor of our great country!

This Year's 4th of July Fun

As always, it was another action-packed celebration of our country's independence.

I'm not going to bore you with all the details; I'll just give short snippets and let pics do most of my talking.

Nana Bett's 4th of July Birthday
The Cravens came over to my parents' house, and we had a BBQ and birthday celebration for my grandma. Love getting together with the cousins, and it's so much fun with even more little kids around.

Ready to blow out her birthday candles

The whole gang

This is more representative of how we usually act

Stadium of Fire
In the evening, I went down to Provo with friends for the concert and fireworks. Carly Rae Jepsen was underwhelming and Kelly Clarkson was passable. Cirque du Soleil and the fireworks were the real winners of the show. Oh, and shakes at the Malt Shoppe after was a great call, too.

Skydivers brought Old Glory into the stadium

Clever and innovative tube dancing

Our enthusiastic group, ready for the action to begin

The bombs bursting in air

God Bless America, and God Bless Our Troops and Their Families

Happy 4th of July, everyone!

This day always makes me so grateful for all the blessings in my life that I didn't have to sacrifice for.
The freedoms we enjoy as citizens of the United States of America still don't come free.

Men and women serving in the military give so much, and they deserve our recognition and appreciation. And the families of those military personnel are sacrificing greatly, too.

Some don't come home, as they are called on to give the greatest sacrifice: their lives.
Tears are shed on their behalf. They will never be forgotten by those who knew them.

Thankfully, many families and friends are able to shed tears of joy for those who do return home.

That's why I loved this segment that has recently aired on ESPN a couple times:

It makes me teary-eyed every time I watch soldiers reunited with their families.

God bless this great land and those who serve to protect its freedoms.
I hope you're all able to return home safely to your families very soon!

Happy Papas Day!

And I'm not talking about Spanish potatoes.

Today has been fun to see all the pictures friends are posting of their dads on Instagram and Facebook.

Looks like we appreciate all that our dads have done for us, and that makes me happy.

My dad has been teaching my brothers and sister and I all kinds of lessons ever since we were born, and without him we certainly wouldn't be who we are today.

Supporting me since day one

Master of the grill

Thanks so much for everything, dad. Love you so much!

And Happy Father's Day to all the papas out there!

Happy Mother's Day, Mamas!

There are a lot of amazing mothers in my life.

Some are current and some are future moms, but they're all women I'm proud to know and they're such great examples to me of how to love and care for those around them.

And because they've all showed me how to be joyful and have a sense of humor, here's a treat honoring mothers by Kid President:

Again, to all the current (and future) moms, I hope you have a very happy Mother's Day!