VALLEY OF GOBLINS

A little weekend trip that was JUST RIGHT! We left Friday at 5, set up our tents in the darkish rainy WIND (a funner challenge than it sounds), slept in Southern Utah warmth, played around with the Goblins in the morning, hiked the slot canyons in the afternoon and stopped by "Cafe Diablo" in Torrey for rattlesnake cakes on the way home - pulling into Provo again at 10:30pm. Not bad at all. I heart the Bakers!
We LOVE Eli!

Super fun gigantic PLAYGROUND.

We found 'Bunk-Beds' in the rock!

Then hiking in Little Wild Horse Canyon of the San Rafael Swell:

Maya did GREAT!

Slot canyons are cooool.

We hiked until we hit a giant watering hole.

Thank you to Bakers for letting Maya & I meet the Goblins! One more "Utah Never-Seen" crossed off our list!

MEMORIAL DAY

We knew we were camping & Ben knew he wanted to camp on the other side of the lake but we didn't know anything else. We couldn't find any good info on how to camp on the other side of the lake, so by the time we packed up the car, we didn't really know where to go.

"Why not camp in the Canyon of the Fork of America?"

"Ok."

Then Jon drove us back home after a few blocks just so I could get the camera. Thanks, Jon.

"Welcome to the canyon where the campgrounds are full."

"No matter. We'll just find this nice spot close to the parking lot and the bathroom with the most amazing view."

Tin Foil Dinner Time!

Ben's

Olivia's

Get in the Tent Time!

"Good Morning, Most Amazing View!"

"Good Morning Gertie!"

(Time-out for Tallia & Gertie to be models in the wind)

Ben's Fishing Time!

Then we drove home with a potty break at Timpanogos Caves.

awesome.

JUNE #1

AAAAAH! Provo Summer '09 is so hoppin' there isn't even TIME to blog about it. But today I'm making an attempt at some catch-up. It's lunch break time & I've already finished the Crunchy PB on giant celery, super-ripe cantaloupe & a turkey bagel sandwich with cream cheese AND muenster and my new favorite Asian Toasted Sesame sauce.

Might as well blog.

not sure which of my sisters snuck this on a recent sunday

NOCHE DE HOGAR

I LOVE PROVO SUMMER AGAIN:
BECAUSE OF OUTSIDE EVENINGS WITH FAMILY
special no thanks to the mosquitos for my first bite of the year!

it reminded me of summers past:
kicking around a soccer ball; playing tag (or 'touched-ya-last' as we call it);
teasing; getting yelled at for not helping; water sprays and sprinklers...
ben is even in some of those memories. except now he doesn't have to leave. i really thought about this as we drove away. i remembered the melancholy i'd have when ben had to leave a wonderful family moment. the night would end and ben had to go home. now ben is my home! my family was still wonderful of course, but ben was gone.

ben's not gone anymore. neither is my family. all is well.

MY DOWNTOWN DAILY WALK

So, as mentioned above/below... I basically live across the street from work. I walk home almost every day for lunch. I pass each lots of big downtown buildings: The County Courthouse, The State Offices Building (is there a more official title for it, Papá?), Provo Tabernacle, The State Health Building--which houses a tiny Utah County "Visitors Center".

Last week was National Tourism & Travel Week (?) or something?

They were giving out free popcorn to celebrate. I also got to ask them about their new little Promo piece. A few years ago they did a "Utah County Passport" and I LOVED it. Not only was it designed well, (by Stephen Hales Creative, I think?) but it was so full of the BEST of my homeland. :) I hope you read that outloud in a cheesy formal voice... This little passport became QUITE dear to me while away from Provo and the USA. I loved to carry around the little booklet to remind other missionaries of our home, or to show the Dominicanos my home. Well, they've decided to switch a lot of it to online/web promo stuff now, but I got their latest little 'map', and I enjoyed it with my popcorn in my bedroom on my lunch break.

And that's why I like working across the street.

Happy May 14th

Today I am lamenting that I could just not remember at the right times of the day to call the birthday peeps on their birthdays: so here's a shout-out to some awesome blossoms: (the first of which bloomed just 6/7 weeks after me):

Kristen Kate Siguenza Hogan was born on 12 May 1985. We were bosom buddies from the beginning. Oh, how I cried when she moved out of the country. But oh, the memories of our road trip to Guatemala to see her. I love my memories with her. Even the memories I have forgotten that somehow involve me getting her into trouble? I still think she might be making that up. Not to mention countless nights sleeping in bed together. And talking til I started saying weird things in the middle of my story. She would laugh up a storm. I still love memories we make together. I still love her laugh. She won't let me sleep in her same bed anymore, but I think I'll forgive her. I love you Kristen!

The second awesome blossom bloomed on Friday-the-13th of May (1935?). But Grandpa Robert Malcom Ord has brought no such bad luck. But all the good. I love his hugs and kisses and meals with him at Wendy's. (When I was little, it used to be McDonald's. We could get anything we wanted! A child's prayer.) I also love Grandpa's laugh--I mean when he laughs so hard that his eyes shrink and water. I loved seeing this as he watched our reactions to an odd old postcard he included with a batch of photos for our family. It was a silly little 60's cartoon I think--50's? - an image of kids playing with pigs and a mother chasing after them with a broom (?) we finally looked up at him for an explanation after we couldn't figure it out and he was just dying with tears of laughter! Precious. Precious Grandpa moment I will savor forever.

Today a friend wished me a "Happy May 14th". It wasn't bad at all.

It was warmer today than yesterday.

Ben got home from work and then had to leave again to the 'new work's building' to help install insulation. He is still gone and it is late. :(

I played a scrimmage soccer game with my own intramural co-ed team because the other team didn't show up. My mini-team lost, but I enjoyed the exercise.

I drove with the windows down up to Oak Lane to deliver something and then back down Center Street to my house and then across the tracks to my family's home. I smelled the memories of Provo Summers past in those 3 neighborhoods and I am so excited to be here.

I went home to use some of Papa's salsa in making some of his signature chilmol as part of my assignment for the Nu Skin activity tomorrow. It's some quarterly meeting that also turns to an activity. Last quarter was a pinewood derby I guess. This time it's an Iron Chef competition. We feast tomorrow. What a hard job.

Speaking of paid internship, I know it's socially unacceptable to publicize financial stuff, but can I just share my excitement about payday today? In one week, I earned more than what I did in one month last semester. Oh, the quaint sense of security I feel today. :)

Mom gave me a belated 'souvenir' while I was home. For Spring break, they ventured to an SLC hotel to vacation with the kids. They got to spend some good time at Barnes & Noble (a favorite Juarez family pasttime), where she found a gift for me. I loved it. Perhaps one of the gifts I've been most excited for in a while. It was one of my favorite childhood books, A Bargain For Frances. Oh, how I love it. I love the whole Frances series, but this one might be my favorite. (It's between this one and Bread & Jam for Frances). If you have not read these, or even if you have, everyone should read this. Or come to my house & I'll read it to you. I love reading outloud.

Good night.

ASHTON IS AMAZINGLY AWESOMELY NINE

ASHTON MALCOM JUAREZ
This is the last known photo of Ashton when he was still 8.
It is a blurry snapshot - but kind of captures a classic Ashton expression!

Today he is nine!

I am so glad Ashton was born.
In fact, his birth was an answer to prayer.
After 3 little sisters I remember saying "it's just been so long since I've had a baby brother!"
He has been an excellent brother to have in our family.
He AMAZES me.
He speaks Spanish, he's got skating skills (see here), he spins without getting dizzy, he knows more about WWII fighter jets and planes than any kid I know, he has an excellent singing voice and an incredible memorizing brain.
(Perhaps soon I can post his 3-year-old reciting of
The Polar Express--one of my favorite Ashton classics).

But for now, I will charm you with his birthday gift to me--
a book he illustrated and bound himself!

These are just a few detail shots:

I LOVE YOU ASHTON!

I HEART PROVO

Well now the (blog title) name rings true. I heart Provo over NYC. For this summer. (Well, I kind of felt Provo over NYC, even though I wanted NYC over Provo, but now I'm happy with PROVO. Sorry, NYC...)

And now I get a Provo summer with a 'big-city internship feel': at the tallest building in Downtown P-Town: Nu Skin Enterprises, Inc.

I'm loving it. I flash my ID card in front of the elevator so it will let me up. I flash my ID card at local business and they give me a discount. The team took us out to lunch for Cinco-de-Mayo, and Camille from Zellerbach is apparently taking us to California Pizza Kitchen for lunch today.

When my lunch isn't bought for me, I walk across the street to... MY HOUSE, and heat up some leftovers and brush my teeth right there.

In just three days, I've worked on special typesetting and edits for standard labels, and designed a draft for the Freedom Festival back cover ad.

I love the Freedom Festival.
I love Provo.
I love summers in Provo.
Thanks, Nu Skin.

BORN IN THE 50'S, NOW 50!

Happy 50th to

Donna CHERIE Ord Juárez
A perfect subject for my 2nd tribute, don't you think?

Maybe it was her Cinco-de-Mayo birth
that gave her such lively flare & kick.
I've grown up with it being normal to hear the words constantly,
"I love your mom!"
-- from my friends, to neighbors, to family, to strangers.

People LOVE her.

I became aware of this as a young girl when my hobby was to read through her high school yearbooks. I read half-page-long signings all similarly expressing sincere gratitude for my Mom and the positive effect she had on them with her shining personality. Even her teenage peers took notice of her unique and contagious happiness.

It wasn't until MY teenage years that I realized those long, sincere yearbook letters were NOT the standard. ;) At least not for me. It became more apparent that
my mom was something special.

It wasn't until my college years that I was able to really enjoy that special-ness. And not only her special-ness, but a special-ness in our connection. I'd like to think that at that point we became supports to each other. We were often on the same page/wavelenght about MANY different subjects. We weren't living together, so phone calls became much more frequent. OFTEN, I'd run into a decision, call her for advice, and she'd say "Well what do you want to do and I'll talk you out of the other choice."

To this day, it is that way. I think we understand each other almost completely.
Just last month, I called her in tears
just to hear her talk it out, say "I'm sorry" and "it's ok".
The next morning I got to give the comfort
when she called me in tears.

I KNOW I'm blessed to have her as a mother. She is stupendous.

(Because who else has a mom that loves video games more than you do?):

MR. POTTS

My Ben plants pots. --Er, he plants plants in the planting pots. He just goes to the nursery on Saturday and comes back and opens the big soil bags with his new fancy knife and then we have pretty planter pots.

Some with herbs.

Some with flowers and foliage.

Some with struggling banana trees.

Some with old Clivia that aren't used to being outside.

WHO I AM

Since my first time blogging, four years ago, I have yet to have it together to write a birthday tribute post. I think April 27 is a good place to start:
(prepare for gushy-ness)

I am who I am because of Benjamin Clark Knudsen.
I began telling him that SEVEN years ago. I could list the things I did (and still do) because of him. From the way I dressed, to the way I spoke, to the way I thought--he influenced so much of it. From the beginning I wanted to be the very best Olivia I could be because of him.
I still want to do that for him.
Ben creates.
(Above, he created his name in the January snow at Utah Lake).
He creates BEAUTY. Just see for yourself:
I enjoyed Ben's creating abilities in the beginning too. But I have been exponentially impressed. Aside from breath-taking flower arrangements, Ben especially blew me away this past semester in our letterpress class. I loved when he sat by me in the design studio to learn the workings of Adobe Illustrator and created works that awed myself AND the rest of the graphic design classmates. They, and the teacher, all insisted he switch majors. If I can ever get those scanned, I will prove to you his incredible creative abilities.

Ben creates more:
Did you just smile? It's because that's what Ben does. (Even just when stretching his long body, as above, he gives a true smile that CREATES my smile.) He creates happiness. He is charming and humorous and entertaining and in-touch and understanding and sensitive---and he's so subtle about all of it that you hardly even realize he's so talented.

But when you realize it, he's created love.
That's why we love you, Ben.
That's why I love you!

A LOT TO TAKE

I've had a lot to take in lately. A lot has happened, and a lot is still happening, and this leaves me with ZERO time for recording (and blogging) all of it. That's kind of why I posted those 100 things finally. {I started that list in SEPTEMBER '08, and have slowly added until now. I was going to post it on some monumental occasion, but instead it was posted as a place-holder.} I'm sorry, but it's a lot for YOU to take. So read it in bits, and then by the time I'm above ground again (i.e. with time to record/blog well & stay up-to-date), you won't feel like you've missed much since there was so much to read before. (right?)

Oh, I'm also sorry for the GIGANTIC text on my 100 things. Some Blogworld Glitch messed it all up and even though I selected the smallest option available, it is still ginormous... Oh well. It makes it seem longer, which means you can read it over a longer period of time. (?)


H A S T A L U E G O

100 THINGS

1. I hate wasting things. Food, paper, cardboard, ribbon & wrapping, jars, sometimes wrappers: all hard for me to throw away.
   
   
2. I can't remember the last time I got bored. Really.
   
   
3. I am the oldest and I am bossy, (sorry, I stole that one Ashley).


4. I rarely wear make-up.


5. When I do put on make-up, I usually do it while driving.


6. I'm very good at steering with my knees.


7. I've moved like 14 times, but the last the first 11 times were before the age of 5.
   


8. I lived in London for a few months.


9. I lived in the Dominican Republic for a long time.


10. When watching internet videos, I have to wait for it to buffer. I can't stand watching little videos in stalling bits.


11. In 1991, I lost a tooth & my dad took me to the BYU Bookstore to buy a journal. I have avidly kept a journal all through high school; my parents had to tell me to stop writing. I still love it but rarely get to it.


12. I really like fruit. I delight in strawberries, peaches, blueberries, mango--all in their season.


13. When I got back from my mission, the first 'new' things I remember noticing (even when landing to the US Airports) were Vitamin Water, and the new bottle/packaging of Dasani water.


14. I am studying Graphic Design, (yes, with intitial caps) and I love it.


15. I am a typography snob.


16. I like my watches to be cool-looking, wearable in the shower, and wearable to bed.


17. All my current watches are from Ben, the watch expert, so they are high-class, antique, and not wearable in the shower or to bed.


18. I got a 2 on the AP Art test in high school. (Didn't pass.)


19. I didn't take art until senior year.


20. Since I was little, my father always encouraged drawing. He bought us all sketchbooks to take to church along with our scriptures.


21. I don't cook. Not because I don't like cooking; I just never make it a priority. I never make the time, so I end up not doing it.


22. I want to be a good cook. (But obviously not enough, since I don't want it enough to make it a priority?)


23. I've only ever had two real jobs: an admissions secretary at BYU Law School, and a student designer for BYU Department of Visual Arts.


24. I hardly ever use a computer that isn't a Mac.


25. I love wrapping gifts and packages. I consider it a hobby & a talent.


26. Pre-mission, I only wore Tevas. Post-mission, I only wear Chacos.


27. I don't mind my cereal soggy.


28. When my mom was pregnant with me, her middle-of-the-night craving was Rice Chex. Now among my favorite cereals.


29. I call Chapstick "lipchap" because I thought it was cool when a Canadian girl in the freshman dorms said it. I can't even remember her name. :(


30. When I first fell for Ben, I had no idea he nor his family was 'artsy'.


31. I like things tidy.


32. I like my beverages with plenty of ice. It's a Dominican rub-off I'll gladly admit.


33. I tear & fold my toilet paper neatly on the perforated line. I get it from my father.


34. I have a strong, deep will/desire/motto to never
    lie. I used to cheat on tests until one day in high school, I connected that it was lying. It's sad that it took so long, but I haven't ever cheated since that epiphany.


35. I don't own a curling-iron, straight-iron or a blow-dryer.


36. I often pop my knuckles & my neck & my back. Ben & I often pop each other's thumbs.


37. I also didn't pass the AP Spanish test. I blame this on the lunchladies that were making a racket during the recording section.


38. In an end-of-year assembly of senior year in high school, friends and I rigged it or me to spin the 'Wheel-of-Torture' where my fate was cutting off my long braids. I donated them to Locks of Love. I have since cut off another 15-inch-long braid and it is still sitting in the medicine cabinet. :( I kind of want to sell it.
    


39. I really really really like Press N' Seal. It's amazing! Magic.


40. I love festivals, fairs and the like. I always am up for the State Fair, the Farmers' Market, Utah Arts Festival, Greek Fest, Festival LatinoAmericano... I didn't make it to many this year. :(


41. I really like my name. All of my names.


42. My middle name is Cherie, after my mom's middle name.


43. I used to have a few warts on my hand as a child. I got rid of them once I could stay consistent with a Guatemalan/Mayan cure my Grandma taught me of dabbing morning saliva on it. Sounds gross, I know. But it worked! No painful freezing/burning process!


44. I really like sour candies and tart drinks & desserts.


45. I don't like olives but I wish I did so I could live up to my nickname, Olive.


46. I grew up drinking a hot barley drink called Pero, and I love it.


47. During every General Conference, I make Bingos for all my siblings.


48. I hate walking barefoot at home on hard surfaces (non-carpet). I keep a pair of house-flip-flops. Another Dominican-ism. Sometimes I still shower with them.


49. I thoroughly wash my dishes. Very thoroughly. Ben pointed this out soon after marriage.


50. From the time I was in Kindergarten, dishwashing was my chore. Nine years later, when we moved into a home with a dishwasher, I was relieved from my duty. I never learned to load a dishwasher, and I still trust my own dishwashing more.


51. I love jewelry. A lot.


52. I love foreign films. I used to come up and see them at the Kimball Tower when I was in high school. I like documentaries and independent films too.


53. I love hiking. Provo has such a great deal of hikes surrounding. I want to do more.


54. I'm a very slow reader.


55. I sang "Look at This Stuff"... with red-sprayed hair & a mermaid outfit and won the talent show when I was in 2nd grade.


56. I performed at Lamanite Week in a Bolivian dance on my 9th birthday. I performed in BYU Lu'au in the Samoan section, near my 21st birthday.


57. I'm half Guatemalteca. I've been to Guatemala twice: once at the age of 3, once at 8.


58. I designed a logo for the Freedom Festival Baby Contest when I was a freshman in high school.


59. I sang in the High School choir. I love singing in choirs.


60. I danced for a local multicultural dance group called ROC from 2004-2005. We toured twice: to Indian Reservations in Arizona and New Mexico; & to Las Vegas, LA, Riverside, & Laie, Hawaii. LOVED it.


61. Usually if I try to take a nap, I lay there thinking about everything I could be doing instead.


62. Utah Lake, as mucky as it is, holds a dear place in my heart: Jumping off the bridge in our clothes was a favorite high school summer pasttime. Shooting firecracker/bottle rockets off the dike across the ice was a favorite New Year's memory, and the back road was where Ben & I said our final 'goodbye' before I entered the MTC. (Sunrise)


63. I love my wedding ring and I love getting compliments on it, though I must admit I sometimes feel embarrassed when people talk about how big it is. I worry that 'big' isn't really 'me'. But I don't feel embarrassed about the design. It is very me and I really love it! (Thank you Richard Beech)


64. I've never been East of Texas: except Miami for a night on my way home from the DR, and the airports in Miami, Chicago & NYC.


65. That actually is not true now- I just got back from NYC!
    


66. One of the first bonding processes for Ben & I was his instruction in longboarding & longboard-making. He allowed Jenna & I to use his father's wood shop. (Thanks, Kurt!) Jenna made a tetris board, and I made an avocado.


67. I really like avocado. I like how they look, I like the color, and I will eat them alone, or with anything else. I think it makes almost any meal BETTER. I've even tried it in a strawberry smoothie... (not my favorite).


68. I don't like to wear socks to bed.


69. I've never liked boots. My parents had to do lots of sweet-talking to convince me to cover my feet well in the winter.


70. I'm pretty good at doing little girls' hair.


71. I wish I were better at doing my own hair.


72. There are no more little girls at my house. :(


73. I don't know how to say no. I must think I can do everything, and I usually wear myself out trying to do so. I've tried to fix this, but I think it's just my lot in life: to have too much on my plate.


74. I'm okay with that. I like being busy and having responsibilities, just as long as I can have frequent breaks.
    
    
75. I really enjoyed living with roommates--like I LOVED roommate life.
    


76. I love my in-laws! I admire each of them and agree with others that they are celestial. I could not be more proud to be a Knudsen and I love to be around them and to follow their examples and to be with them... I love them.
    


77. I LOVE my family. I love the way we act with each other, I love how we criticize & covet design. I love that even though we micro-manage, it has taught us to be resourceful. We depend on each other a lot since we're often forgetful. We live/work/study within a few miles of each other and use that to our advantage for car/cell/food exchanges & needs. We pay for stuff for each other back and forth and assume it all evens out. We eat anything (well, maybe except for Carmen). We like to bum around and watch movies. I like to watch them play the interactive videogames (I can't say I really love it--yet.) We make fun of each other. We draw. We share stuff. We aren't afraid to ask questions. We're super comfortable with each other which sometimes leads to showing a lack of respect, but we repent and forgive. And sorry. This isn't a 100-things about my family. But my family is what best defines & describes me...


78. I've written and performed puppet shows.


79. I'm kind of picky about spelling, grammar and punctuation. I think I got it from my father.
    


80. I usually keep long nails. Kind of just as habit from when I was younger.


81. I left my journal in Guatemala when I was 8. When it was finally mailed back, there were bookworm holes in the cover. I LOVED learning that bookworms were real.


82. I'm not much of a bookworm. I'd like to read more books, but, like cooking, never really make the time.


83. I use my iPod for design file storage WAY more than I use it for music.


84. I own a letterpress, and hope to put it to good use. But I mostly have reserved it as a post-graduation project.


85. I text with both hands.


86. I'm a morning person who acts as a night owl too often.


87. I was part of Dixon Middle School's Student Council, Provo High's Student Government, but not a part of BYUSA.
    


88. I can do handstands and back-handsprings.


89. I feel naked if I'm not wearing earrings.


90. I distinctly remember the specific moment in my early teens of feeling full-fledged, in-depth LOVE for The Beatles. There is no doubt I'd have been one of the screaming girls if I lived 1n 1965. I have the Anthology #2 commemorative album memorized.
    


91. I was raised to believe dark chocolate is a delicacy. I still believe it.


92. I used to be really allergic to mosquito bites.


93. I like spinach pie because it, also, was a delicacy growing up.


94. I own a minimum amount of shoes. I hate wasting those too.


95. I love playing soccer - a little too much. I don't love watching soccer enough.


96. Since I got my driver's license, my family has tended to rotate through automobiles. Thus, I've been blessed to drive the following: a '90 Dodge Caravan, a '96 Dodge Caravan, an '86 Toyota Tercel (hatchback), a '96 Nissan Stanza, a '97 Ford Econoline "Disco Van", an '89 Diahatsu, a '97 Honda Civic, an '85 Honda Civic, a '96 Toyota Camry, and sometimes the Mazda pick-up and the '00 Ford Focus. Oh, and now Ben lets me drive his '03 Mazda Protogé 5. (I'm kind of guessing on years, here. I welcome corrections).
    


97. My favorite drink of all time: Odwalla's Superfood. (Not any other brand of Superfood is suitable. I'm talking the thick, motor-oil-like stuff by Odwalla.)


98. Previous career goals before I learned that graphic design was made for me: Actress, Architect, Window Display Designer. (That last one was suggested by some personality/skills test I took during freshman year of high school.
    
    
99. My favorite color was red when I was little, purple when I was a bit older, then pastels, then those 80's mixes of fucsia & teal, then I could never decide and said the rainbow was my favorite color. Until one day in high school I noticed I had a lot of green clothes and always leaned to choosing green. I can now say with confidence that green is my favorite color. But that doesn't mean I don't like anything else...
    
    
100. I love Benjamin Clark Knudsen more than anyone or anything in the whole world.