Do You Haiku Too?

hai·ku [hahy-koo]
–noun, plural -ku for 2.
1. a major form of Japanese verse, written in 17 syllables divided into 3 lines of 5, 7, and 5 syllables, and employing highly evocative allusions and comparisons, often on the subject of nature or one of the seasons.
2. a poem written in this form.

The other night we went out to eat at Chili's. I confess I'm a people watcher and enjoyed watching a young couple on a date. (I'm guessing a first date by the awkward body language.) I noticed the guy had a shirt with writing on it. So, curious, as we were leaving, I walked slowly enough so that I could read it. It said:

Haikus are easy

But sometimes they don't make sense

Refrigerator

Chloe and I had a good laugh about that one. Anyways, I didn't want to forget about that funny shirt...and so I post.

I'll also take this opportunity to share some Haiku poems that my little Chloe has written. You see, she's quite the poet (I'm biased, I know). Prepare to be amazed:

Butterfly

by Chloe Childs

She flies through the sky

Oh how beautiful she is

What a sight she is

Rain

by Chloe Childs

Pitter patter rain

Falling from the sky down, down

Oh so beautiful

Mushrooms

by Chloe Childs

Growing on the ground

Spotted, striped and growing slow

Grow mushrooms, grow now

The Beach

by Chloe Childs

It is very fun

Playing in the sun all day

Collecting seashells

And while I'm at it, here's her newest poem for your reading enjoyment. This one's not a Haiku, but totally blogworthy. I think it's really cute.

My White Kitty

by Chloe Childs

My white kitty is soft and cute.

She likes it when I play the flute.

She plays all day and then I say,

"I'll love you, Kitty, always."

And then I tuck her into bed,

"Meow, I love you too!" she said.

Precious, I know. And to think...we don't even have a white kitty or a flute! I love having Chloe for my daughter! (sigh)

Star Mill

Me and Myah took my parents to the Star Mill in American Fork on Tuesday. They have tons of cool antiques. Sadly, though, they're only open on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, so I wasn't able to purchase anything. But it was still fun to look at all the treasures and take some fun pictures of Myah and some of the sights there.

Lindsey, we need to go here next time you come to visit.

I See Dead People

We recently went to see the Body Worlds exhibit that's in town right now at The Leonardo. For those who don't know, there are people who donate their bodies to be used in this travelling exhibit. The process they use to preserve the bodies is called plastination. You are literally looking at dead people. Sounds kind of gruesome, I know, but it was awesome. It was so interesting to see the inner workings of the human body. Such intricacy! While the exhibit is purely scientific in nature, on a spiritual level it reconfirmed for me what I already know - that we are products of a Divine Creator. Our bodies are amazing and each and every blood vessel, muscle, tendon, nerve, and organ was placed precisely where it is and functions as it does because that is how God intended it to be.

President Hinckley said:

"I have in my home a reasonably good sound system. I do not use it frequently, but now and again, I sit quietly in the semidarkness and listen for an hour or so to music that has endured through the centuries because of its remarkable qualities. I listened the other evening to Beethoven’s Concerto for the Violin and marveled that such a thing could come of the mind of a man. The composer, I suppose, was very much like the rest of us. I do not know how tall he was or how broad he was or how much he weighed. I assume that he got hungry, felt pain, and had most of the problems that we all have, and maybe some that we do not have. But out of the genius of that mind came a tremendous blending to create rare and magnificent masterpieces of music.
Have you ever contemplated the wonder of yourself, the eyes with which you see, the ears with which you hear, the voice with which you speak? No camera ever built can compare with the human eye. No method of communication ever devised can compare with the voice and the ear. No pump ever built will run as long or as efficiently as the human heart. What a remarkable thing each of us is.
Look at your finger. The most skillful attempt to reproduce it mechanically has brought only a crude approximation. The next time you use your finger, look at it, and sense the wonder of it. While sitting in Symphony Hall listening to a concert, I was in a position to see the fingers of the performers in the orchestra. Every one, whether playing the strings, the percussion instruments, the brass, the woodwinds—all used their fingers. One does not have to use one’s fingers to sing or whistle, but beyond that, there would be little of musical harmony without the deft action of trained fingers.
I believe the human body to be the creation of Divinity. George Gallup once observed, “I could prove God statistically. Take the human body alone—the chance that all the functions of the individual would just happen is a statistical monstrosity.” Our bodies were designed by our Eternal Father to be the tabernacle of our eternal spirits."


Here are some examples of what you see there:






Go check out this exhibit while it's here. Caution: Not for the faint of heart.

Getting To Know You

1. What time did you get up this morning? 7:00
2. Diamonds or Pearls? YES!
3. What was the last film you saw at the cinema? Kit Kittredge
4. If you were to get a tattoo? I would never get a tattoo.
5. What do you usually have for breakfast? Flax Plus with frozen blueberries on it.
6. What is your middle name? Joyce
7. What food do you dislike? mushrooms, can't even stand the thought of them
8. What is your favorite CD? Right now it's Adele but it changes often
9. What kind of car do you drive? Explorer
10. What is you favorite sandwich? Reuben
11. What characteristics do you despise? People who lie and people who are negative
12. Favorite item of clothing? Jeans
13. If you could go anywhere in the world on vacation, where would you go? Hawaii
14. Favorite brand of clothing? Don't really have one.
15. Where would you like to retire? Coronado Island off of San Diego
16. Favorite candy/candy bar? Junior Mints
17. Favorite magazine? Good Housekeeping
20. Person you expect to send this back first? Carlye
21. When is your birthday? May 24th
22. Are you a morning person or a night person? Night
23. Any Pets? When they make a pet that doesn't poop, then I'll get one.
24. Any new and exciting news you'd like to share? Not at this time.
25. What mood are you in today? TRYING to be pleasant.
26. What is your favorite flower? Easter Lily
27. What is a day on the calendar you are looking forward to and why? Halloween
28. What is your full name? You know what it is.
29. What are you listening to right now? The popping sound from the Trouble game
30. What was the last thing you ate? Some pumpkin bread
31. Last person you spoke to on the phone? Leer
32. Favorite soft drink? I don't drink alot of pop, but I can't pass up a root beer float.
33. Favorite restaurant? Costa Vida or Mimi's
34. What was your favorite childhood toy? My Cabbage Patch Doll Erica Lorraine
36. What is under your bed? The leaf for my table and a whole lot of dust
37. What did you do last night? Played games with my mom
38. What are you afraid of? Bears and aliens
39. Salty or Sweet? sweet
40. How many keys are on your key ring? 3
41. How many years at your current job? don't have one
42. Favorite day of the week? I've always liked Thursdays, don't know why
43. How many towns have you lived in? 8
44. Do you make friends easily? I try
45. How many people will you send this to? none, post it on your blog if you want to
46. Do you like finding out all this stuff about your friends? Yabetcha! I'm kind of nosey that way.

Secret

Myah: (Excited) Mom! Mom! Let me put a secret in your ear!

Me: (Bending down) Okay, okay. What?

Myah: I love you!

Leaf Me Alone

Scudderia Furcata

We've seen several of these leaf bugs in the yard recently. I guess they are commonly known as Katydids. Nice expression, Learnus.

Cascade Springs

Saturday, we spent the day in American Fork Canyon. Learl loves to spend time in the mountains and this was a perfect day to go. We picnicked, hiked, saw lots of beautiful scenery, and had a great time just being together. Some of the leaves are already starting to change colors. I guess fall is upon us.

Kennecott Copper Mine

My parents and the girls in front of a really big tire...

that goes on a really big dump truck.





This is blogworthy...right? We took my parents up to the copper mine on Friday. It was pretty interesting. Did you know you can see the mine from space? Next time you're in space, look out your window and see if you can see it.

Remembering

September 11, 2001, was one of those days in history where everyone remembers where they were and what they were doing when the attacks happened. I remember I had just gone jogging, came back to my apartment and turned on the news (just like every other day) and was absolutely horrified at what I was seeing. I watched the first tower fall and was talking on the phone to Leer when the second tower fell. I have never felt so shocked and helpless. I just sat there and sobbed. Those images are forever ingrained in my memory. I think maybe the next day was even worse though when I woke up and realized it wasn't some horrible nightmare. Plus, that's when the media started playing all the recorded messages that the victims had left for their families and loved ones. I didn't personally know anyone, even remotely, who died that day, but I sure felt an overwhelming sadness for all those who were directly affected by the attack. I still feel sad for them. That is why I go to the Healing Fields every year. Myah and I took my parents over there this year to look at all the flags. Each flag represents either someone who was killed on 9/11 or a soldier that has been killed fighting in The War on Terror. There are thousands of flags. I think Myah said it best. When we turned the corner and she saw all the flags, she said, "Mom, there's too many flags". I wish there were no flags to go look at but as long as there are, I will go and walk around with a lump in my throat, trying to hold back the tears. I don't want the soldiers who have died for America, or those who were killed on 9/11 to be forgotten. I will never forget.

American Girl Place

This was so fun! If you have a little girl, this is a must-see, must-do!
We had a wonderful time.

Frivolities included:
A fancy four course lunch with dolls
A personal shopper
Finding just the right doll
Matching outfits for the dolls and girls
Photo shoot with the dolls
Picture on the cover of their own magazine


Look how cute the cafe is! So girly!

Pure enjoyment

They even bring plates and cups for the dolls.

My girls with their girls.

Myah chose Kit Kittredge.

Chloe chose Felicity Merriman.

Thanks Aunt Amy for the fabulous day!

Santa Monica Pier

(Quick apology for the bad picture quality, not sure what happened.) Here we are at the Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. on the Santa Monica Pier. Remember, this is where Forrest Gump turned around after running across the country. My sister, Amy from Los Angeles, met us for dinner with her boys Lucky and Tanyon. It was great to see them. After dinner, we enjoyed a walk on the pier and a ride on the Ferris Wheel (no pic).


Chloe even got to wear Forrest's shoes. Run Chloe! Run!

Lucky, Amy, Tanyon, Chloe, Myah, Leer, Me.

Cousins - Tanyon, Chloe, Lucky, Myah

La Brea Tar Pits

I thought a little education might be good for us on our vacation. Actually, my girls really love this kind of thing. La Brea Tar Pits are naturally occurring pools of tar. Scientists have found bones of ancient animals and people preserved in the tar pits. It was pretty interesting to see the all the bones they've discovered there like, Sloths, Saber-Tooth Cats and Mastodons. Apparently what happened is an animal such as a Mastodon would get stuck in the tar and become an easy target to prey upon. However, whatever animal thought it would be a good idea to feast on the Mastodon would also get stuck, then they became the prey and so on and so forth. They've discovered almost entire food chains through this process.


A Mastodon skeleton.

These are hundreds of wolf skulls that have been recovered from the tar pits.

Examining the laboratory where they clean all the bones.

An actual tar pit. Those aren't real Mastodons (of course) but if they were they would be stuck.

Laguna Beach

The Beach
a Haiku Poem
by Chloe Childs

It is very fun
Playing in the sun all day
Collecting seashells











Dear Chloe,

I've noticed something happens to you when we go to the beach. You are somehow transformed before my very eyes. It's as though the ocean washes away all your worries. You become carefree. It brings me true joy...bliss even, to watch you play there. The beach has given me some of my favorite and most special memories of you.

Love,
Mom