Zoo babies!

The Hogle Zoo has a bundle of new animal babies! Amelia wasted no time introducing herself to the giraffe (who sat quietly in a patch of sun), an elephant (who is not yet big enough to handle the crowds, but we'll meet him soon enough), a snow leopard (who was fluffy and curious), and three darling Amur tigers (who rolled on their backs and batted at leaves, but always stayed close to mom). Amelia would talk to the babies through the fencing and whisper, "Nice to meet you." She even tried to shove her toy tiger through the netting for the snow leopard.

'[He's] gone and [he's] never coming back. I loved [him], too, you know...'

I have been watching a lot of John Hughes movies in the last few days. (Which is really no different than most days.) But with his sudden passing, it's a now a bittersweet experience when Jake Ryan appears, leaning on his red Porsche outside the church to Samantha's surprise or when John Bender announces that he's 'thinking about trying out for a scholarship' or when we realize that 'Blaine's a major appliance, not a name' and Duckie dances to Otis Redding, oh, when Duckie dances... or when we witness the precise moment that 'neomaxiezoondweebie' enters the English vernacular or when "Woman's Work" plays in the waiting room while a nervous to-be dad waits or when Mr. Mom shouts to Vern that he "was never in aisle nine'. I'll stop there. Needless to say, I'm sad that such a talented writer and director is gone. But so grateful for the huge chunk of my youth, vocabulary, and humor that is directly tied to his work.

Thanks, Ramona, for keeping my priorities in check. ("You better put up a memorial about John Hughes on your site... he's just as important as MJ...")

Swimming, swimming in the swimming pool...

What a treat it is when our dear friends Felicity, Gracey, and Beckham come to Utah for a visit. Today we had lunch and headed over to the pool for some serious splashing. What a fun pool Provo has! We miss you guys already (and it's only been two hours since we saw you last).