Dragon's Breath

It might be the fact that I've been listening to Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Book 7) or that it really does catch your breath on fire. I call this drink Dragon's Breath. This drink, created by my wonderfully loving nurse of a mother, is the remedy for any sinus stuffiness and sore throats anywhere.

This is the magic potion that will kill anything living inside of you

It was horribly disgusting, as always, but it relieved me... or so I thought. later, after being drained of energy (not sure why, I didn't do anything today) I started coughing. :( oh no!

So I am going to try to take it easy the next couple of days. Unfortunately, I have to work tomorrow. Hopefully I can get through the day, and not have to leave early.

Pray for me.

The Grandest of Them All!

Today, as we left Kanab for our 6 hour drive home, we took a nice little democratic vote, and decided to go and visit the Grand Canyon! Jake, being the only one who hasn't been there, didn't want to go, but everyone else did. (Once we got there, and went to the lookout point, he didn't want to leave)

Here are a few pictures of the lovely occasion.

Grand Canyon - North Rim

Me, Jake, and Archie at the overlook point

(I didn't get the memo about wearing a blue shirt)

Archie, Me, and Jake up at the top of the hike

I even found a Butterfly on the front of the truck when we stopped for ice cream outside of the canyon.

(It was stuck... and when I mean stuck, I mean splattered=stuck. Too bad, it was such a beauty)

Oh, I almost forgot. We actually got lost while at the Grand Canyon. We were walking around in circles at the visitor's center and the lodge, just trying to find bathrooms and ice cream. (We only found one. No ice cream :( sad day)

Other than the lovely detour, we had an uneventful trip, which is usually a good thing. We made it home safe and sound. We also listened to more Harry Potter 7. Such an awesome story!

When we arrived at our door at 10:30 PM, it was still 105 outside, as well as inside our house. It took about 20 minutes to cool it down, but I'm good now.

I have decided that I love Kanab, and hopefully I can have a summer home there someday. With only an hour's drive to Powell, and the wonderful country/cowboy feeling of the town, who wouldn't want to call it home?

97 Years Young

Each time we come to visit my grandparents in Kanab, we try to go and see my great grandmother who stays in an assisted living home. (An "old-folks home") She is actually not sick, or too dependent, it's just that she is dependent, and my grandparents are almost to the point of being dependent themselves. We joke that Grandma Black is going to outlive us all. She is 97, and her husband passed away 8 years ago. That must be hard, to miss your spouse, and want to reunite, but don't want to upset your posterity and be depressed and want to die. She's a trooper, that's for sure.

Today, we decided to go and pay a visit to her, and the other lovely young women who live with her in the home. My brothers and I took turns playing songs for them on the piano. They loved it. After each song, they would all clap, and say things like, oh, "isn't he wonderful?" I have recently learned an arrangement of God Speed The Right, by Aaron Waite. I wasn't planning on playing it at first, I just wanted to play some slower songs, like a few Bach songs I know, and The Luckiest, to keep it simple for them. (I didn't want to rock out Sweet Child of Mine.) While I was playing, I was inspired to play that song. (God Speed The Right, not Guns and Roses) I still don't know the whole thing, but I have down the first part. I also didn't have my music with me, so it was just off memory. As I played, the wonderful sound filled the room. Right when I finished, everyone's faces were lit up, and they were full of excitement. One of the ladies, who was sitting closest to the piano (Whom hadn't said a single word previous), smiled and said, almost like a little child that knows the answer to a question, "That's God Speed the Right." And then she said, "thank you."

We visited for a while longer, and then as we were saying goodbye to Grandma, and getting ready to leave back to my grandparents' house, the lady touched my arm, motioned for me to lean down to her, and she said, "You played wonderfully. Thank you for the music. I used to play the piano." I looked at her face, and she was full of light and peace. 

The camera used to take pictures was my grandparents', and I'm not sure where it is located right now. I'll be sure to either get the pictures up tomorrow (Monday, before we leave back home), or I'll have my grandpa email them to me.

3 = 4

Here in Kanab, Utah, whenever Independence Day falls on a Sunday, it is celebrated on Saturday.
So first, we went to the parade, on main street. Here are a few pictures.
Oh, I almost forgot. We met a lovely brother and sister from Chicago who were travelling through Kanab for the day. She was moving to Las Vegas, and he was on the Police force back in Chicago, just coming to help his sister move. He gave myself, and my two brothers, CPD hats. (as seen on my head below)

I got hosed down by the firetruck.

I usually don't opt in for that part of the parade, but it was warm hot outside.

We also saw our friend, the manicop, who is a famous dummy who sits in a parked police car to slow down traffic. This time, he was driving through the parade. The officer in the passenger seat is one brave man. (My brothers were baffled at how the dummy was driving)

We also went to the public pool, which was pretty fun. There was a lazy river, which after glorious hours of my brothers begging me to come in with them and ride in the river, I decided to be a good older brother, and I joined them. It wasn't too bad. Maybe I'll buy one for myself.

Then, we went to the park for a barbecue and to watch the fireworks. While we waited for the fireworks, we had some live "entertainment". Unfortunately, we were only entertained by the second act, which only lasted about 15 minutes (The whole show was 3 hours).

We had good seats though. :) A little too good.

(Grandma and Grandpa are now 100% deaf)

No, I did not take pictures of the fireworks. I don't believe in photographing fireworks. Photographs are for art and preserving memories. If its not art, what would you say when you are reminiscing about that night.

"Remember that burst? We all said Ooooh."

"Oh, and look at this one, I loved that one. We all went Aaaaah."

I love watching fireworks. Live. In Person. Real-Time.

I have a few more pictures, but I left my cable upstairs. I'll try to get some uploaded onto this post tomorrow.

I want to end by saying how grateful I am to have the freedom I do. We all have free agency. I am working on teaching Jake and Archie something important this trip. (It's kind of working...) It's ALWAYS our choice to be happy OR sad. Nobody else matters in that decision, however, our happiness or sadness, can affect others happiness. I learned years ago that when I'm happy, my mother is happy. And she always makes me happy, especially when she is happy. Thanks Mom, I love you. Thank you America, I love you too.

P.S. Typing my last sentence, I was reminded of this. Enjoy.

Harry Potter and Monopoly

This afternoon, I jumped in the truck with my family to go visit my grandparents in Kanab, Utah.

I was able to burn half of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows onto 8 cds, and we got through 4 of them. So far, it's pretty exciting. :)

Once I got here, I discovered treasure! My wonderful aunt, Joni Lang had recently taken a trip here to help my grandparents clean out their storage and throw away trash, and keep treasures.

Sitting on the table, right when I entered the basement, were these.

A 1946 and a 1961 version. I call dibs.

So I told my grandma that I no longer want her leather jacket from the 1950's, but I want these. I don't care how much they are worth, I'm not going to sell them. I want these for myself. These are top-notch B.A.

Other than this treasure at the end of the dark tunnel (or highway?) and listening to Harry Potter, and laughing and having a great time with my family, nothing much really happened.

Oh, we had a few great quotes... Several from Jake.

After Archie farted, in the direction of my mother, Jake says, "You could have farted on me, I wouldn't have minded." We all burst into laughter. He then said, "What? It's not nice to fart on women."

Chris Tucker and Rush Hour: The United States of James Carter

Maybe it's that the name just rolls off your tongue. Or maybe it is the definition of comedy. Whenever I hear that name, I think of this.

"DO YOU UNDERSTAND THE WORDS THAT ARE COMING OUT OF MY MOUTH!?"

A couple years ago, I was at my friend's house, and his mom thought my name was Chris. People usually mistake my name to be Nick, if they are unable to hear. She just thought it was Chris for some reason. The only reason I remember this, is that I thought it would be epic if my name was also Chris Tucker. So today, I was at QT, getting an AlecTucker, and as I'm quickly paying for my drink, a lady next to me says, "Hi Chris." I didn't hear a response, so I turned to look. She asked, "Is your name Chris?" I told her it was not, that it was Nate Tucker. (Really? Who doesn't know who I am? People usually know my name, or me... right?)

She says that she thinks that I went to school with her kids, and she tells me who they are.

This is the same lady who called me Chris 4 years ago!

It's a good thing she wasn't my mother, because she would have named me Chris Tucker.

Or I just need to avoid QT. haha, yeah right!

I went to the mall today, to buy this amazing video game.

Too bad that I bought it as a gift for Jake's birthday present, so I won't be able to play it for another week or so. :(

Have a Nice Trip...

What's the best kind of trip?

A Quick Trip!

Yeah, my heaven on earth. I have probably put the owner's kids through college.

(Or probably just Justin, the college-age guy who works there)

What I love about QuickTrip:

• Affordable, no... tasty, uh, not a food... Competitive. Yeah, that's the word. Gas is not cheap, affordable, nor tasty... but at QT, they do have competitive prices. This list isn't in a ranked order, so this isn't the number one reason why I digg QT.
• Snacks! I love snacks! Chocolates, gummys, donuts, deliciousness! I am disappointed that Gummallo's Blue Gummy Sharks are not sold here... Peach Rings are, so I'm still happy. Oh, and the donut holes that are glued together with sticky sugar goodness, and then filled with that same goodness. Oh, I have an O face every time I eat those things. *Limit one per cardiac arrest
• AlecTucker! No, not my brother. I named a drink after him. I can't give the exact measurements (which there in fact are exact measurements) but I can tell you what is in it. (FDA requires it)

• Dr. Pepper - My Liquid Gold. My Spinach. My Own Sweet Eleanor. This makes up over 50% of the drink.
• Rooster Booster - QuickTrip's very own blend of energy drink goodness. (I wouldn't recommend it on its own though.)
• Vanilla Flavor - Vanilla is one of those coworkers that you can't stand being around all day, but they get their work done, and you need them for favors now and then. Keep them close by, and they'll give you what you want. (If you thought your fight between Rooster Booster and your taste buds was bad, then stay away from it)
• Cherry Flavor In order to preserve sponsorship, we had to remove this flavor. One of the Top-Dogs didn't want that flavor associated with the drink.
• Ice - Lucky for you, the AlecTucker can be enjoyed with either crushed or cubed ice, interchangeable for each individual's taste. Go easy though, the amount of ice should never exceed the volume of the liquid. (Choosing a little or no ice is not suggested in the warm climate of Arizona.)

So there you go, I hope you don't figure out the mystery quantities, but I give you permission to try. So the next time you are at QT, try an AT, buy some snacks, and give Justin my regards.