what makes the irish heart beat...

i still remember the day i found out van morrison isn't black.

pretty much all my memories of him consist of riding in the car in the middle of the night through southern utah to get to las vegas or orderville.  i was never good at sleeping in cars, or anywhere besides my own bed for that matter,  so i'd usually be the only other person awake besides my mom.  she would listen to either van morrison or gladys knight and i would look out the car window at the moon and star scattered night sky.  i remember in the bush off to the side of the road i'd look for the beady reflections of deer eyes, and dead rodents in the median.  mmm, those were the simpler days.

i think i just always assumed he was black because the majority of my mom's favorite singers are, plus add to that his rich tone, amazing improv skills, gorgeous interpretation of this, my favorite jazz song,...

i don't remember how exactly it came up...but i think the conversation went something like this...
"i love van morrison's voice.  i just find it kind of ironic and funny that a black guy is singing irish jigs."
"kelli, van morrison is white."
"what?!?"

i mean, i guess it's cool. i don't really have anything against white guys...

peace+love

on the road again...

1. My dream vacation would be hawaii. or china to see all the amazing natural arches. did you know 4 of the worlds biggest arches are in china? {6 are in utah. i love this state} .

2. The best trip I've ever taken was baaaa, that's a toss up. carribbean cruise was pretty darn amazing because i'm addicted to the water. but europe. oh europe...i had some pretty darn incredible experiences. .

3. The most important items to take on a road trip are music and gummy watermelons .

4. The next trip I'm looking forward to is Phoenix, AZ on thursday with my bestie, alicia! .

5. If I had to pick one CD to listen to for a long road trip it would be josh ritter. or cat stevens. best roadtrip music for the west, definitely. .

6. The biggest disaster I've ever encountered while traveling was my mom would say when i was 3 driving from illinois to utah. apparently i was puking and diarreah-ing the entire way. but i'd say when some friends and i were driving up to logan for a football game we saw a pick-up truck that had rolled into the ditch in the middle of the freeway and caught on fire. we watched a guy pull the driver out. .

7. My favorite traveling memory is driving to southern utah a million times when i was little to visit my grandparents. i used to have a hard time sleeping anywhere but my bed. so everyone else would be asleep as my mom was driving through the desert or zion and she'd listen to van morrisson or gladys knight. i'd just lean my head out the window and stare at the stars that you just can't see in the city.

.peace+love

bottoms up

as the saying goes "a picture is worth a thousand words" and i've been feeling kind of nostalgic lately, so here goes (but i'll try to keep it under a thousand words)
in this photo are (from left to right) me, my cousin josie russell, cousin sydney vowels, and my lil sis kerri ann...it was taken on the front lawn of my grandpa gene's house in orderville, utah one summer at a family reunion...i love that house...i probably didn't at that age (i think i was 10 or 11) but now i have come to appreciate it in all it's rural glory...my dad grew up in that house with his 4 siblings, his mom and dad...it is a three bedroom house...oh, and there is one bathroom (unless there is one in my grandma-great's bedroom i never knew about...i was never allowed in there)...the laundry room is just an inlet in the hallway where the washer and dryer are, a tiny kitchen, and a living/family room...there is a basement with shelves of board games, a pool table, dust, and mice...the backyard had a big deck, a swing set, and lots of trees...i have SO many memories of summer roadtrips to southern utah to visit my grandparents...i remember driving through zion's canyon late at night while everyone else was asleep...i don't sleep well in the car, and i because i get car sickness i always got a window seat, so i remember leaning with my head mashed against the window staring at the million stars you can't see in north salt lake, listening to van morrisson or gladys knight (my mom's music of choice while she drives on long roadtrips)...i remember sleeping on the pull-out couch with scott and kerri, and grandma-great coming out more than once to tell us to be quiet...i remember grandma-great making us eat every last scrap on our plate and drink the remaining milk in our cereal...i remember walking with kerri to the "candy store" (the store my grandpa used to run) to get bubble-gum cigarettes and candy necklaces...i remember hiking up the mountain behind valley high school to see where students painted their grad year...i remember watching "scruffy" with kerri and playing with the plastic guns and soldiers, and grandma-great threatening multiple times to paddle us if we didn't behave-which she never actually did...i remember how much i LOVED grandpa gene's homemade beef jerky (most likely because he likes lots of pepper too)...and how much i loved his recliner...it is the most comfortable thing in that house, and it was a priviledge to sit in it when you could...i remember grandma-great's candy drawer from which she'd let us take a bunch of treats for the drive home...i miss that house and i miss my grandparents...i'm so grateful my grandma-great taught me how to appreciate all i have, the musical talent she passed to me, and my grandpa's constant kindness (and the elf ears he gave me), and even though there were times on those roadtrips we wanted to kill eachother (mostly kerri and i-that's what you get for being so close in age) i am so grateful for the memories i have made with my family so far...

peace+love