Our Day Out with Jake (and Christian)

On Saturday, we took our 11-year-old nephew Jake out to Nickelmania for his annual birthday outing with his favorite Fun Aunt and Uncle. As a bonus, his 9-year-old cousin and good buddy Christian joined us for the occasion.

Though we played a few of the classics (Pac-Man and whatnot), Jake was most interested in accumulating tickets to redeem for a number of tchotchkes and knickknacks. And we always do what the birthday kid wants (within reason). So, that's what we did.

As you can see from the picture, they actually shared our ticket total 50/50 and were spoiled with a lot of good stuff.

Life with Wynnie

Life with two dogs has been a bit of an adjustment from life with only one. No one has had to adjust more than big sister Leia, who sulked a bit and physically shunned JB and me for the first few days after we brought Wynnie (Eowyn) home. There's more poop to pick up in the backyard each week, too, and sometimes they will chime in and bark at the same things together.

Having two dogs is also a great deal of fun and is more than worth the trouble they can cause. Like her older sister, Wynnie has an incredibly nurturing nature. She been a great addition to our home. Even with all of the wrestling she and Leia engage in on a daily basis, during which they briefly don't like each other much, they have also become great friends.

Whenever one of us is out of the house, this is a common sight:

That's Wynnie, looking down the hallway to where the garage door opens. Dogs have this amazing ability to make you feel like the most important person in the world—the most important person in the world to them, anyway. And that's more than enough.

Plowman Family Dinner/April 2023

We met for family dinner on April 23, plus a bonus family dinner this past Sunday in Centerville that included Ben and Graham, who were out of town the previous week.

Clear as mud?

Costco-style hot dogs, chicken and rice, fresh fruit, salad, Care Bear goo, and other goodies were on the menu for the two dinners. We (by which I mean JB) provided the dessert—Sunday chocolate pie and root beer floats—both times. Seven-month-old baby Sam was, once again, one of the most popular attendees, seen here with Aunt JB:

Among the many April birthdays we celebrated for our niblings was now-three-year-old Sadie's. We gave her this toy cash register as a gift, as suggested by her mom. This shot is also the closest we got to her smiling for a picture:

We also got to meet the newest family puppy, Woody, who joined Dave's and Jessica's family over the weekend. Like our two pups, Woody is a mini golden doodle. He was incredibly mellow and gentle, matching Kuma's personality somewhat.

Return of "Return of the Jedi"

Nearly 40 years ago, early in the morning of May 25, 1983, my dad got then-seven-year-old me and my nine-year-old older brother out of school for the day—that act alone making him a hero to me forever—to line up on the streets of downtown Salt Lake City, at a theater that is no longer there, to be part of the first audience to see Return of the Jedi in Utah. And we made it in! (Back in my day, we didn't have the Internet and couldn't just buy the tickets online in advance.)

I remember being fascinated by every detail of that film: terrified by the creatures in Jabba's palace, almost covering my seven-year-old eyes at Princess Leia in her cast-iron bikini, my mind being blown by the Emperor's cruelty and by Luke's and Vader's final duel and Vader's redemption, and practically dancing in the aisles along with Han Solo and the Ewoks during the final celebration.

The next day at school, my classmates became somewhat jealous when they found out where I had really been.

Star Wars was a big part of my childhood and has remained a big part ever since then.

Everything old was new again this past Friday night when Return of the Jedi was re-released into theaters for a week for its 40th anniversary. (If you did the math, then yes, that means is that Paco is now old.) JB and I went to see it at the Megaplex along with my brother Ben and his two sons—ages 9 and 7. We had a blast reliving fun memories.

JB dressed up for the occasion:

The Force is strong in my family. My father has it, I have it, my brothers and sister have it, and now the next generation does, too.

Incidentally, Utah's last major flooding from winter snowpack also occurred 40 years ago this spring; we've seen an even-larger snowpack this past winter, leading to current flooding in various locations along the Wasatch Front. But that is a post for another day. (Stay safe out there, folks.)

Happy Star Wars Day, fellow nerds and nerdettes.

 

Five Years

On April 18, we celebrated our fifth wedding anniversary. What a wonderful ride it has been, and it only gets better with each passing day. I can't wait for the next five, and the next five, and the next ...

Incidentally, this sign was hand-crafted for us by Tony, a dear family friend who became like family to us over the years. He passed away last year, and unfortunately we were not able to attend the viewing or funeral due to a possible COVID infection among some family members. (We had to quarantine for a few days.) It remains a daily reminder in our home not only of our sealing date but also of his goodness and generosity.