1996 - jackson hole and glass doors

this particular memory is probably one of my mom's all-time favorites. {by the way, every time i mention memories, i feel like i'm in the pensieve in harry potter or something...i digress...} when it happened, it made us both cry tears of laughter. it still does. 

i know it might surprise some people, but behind this serious, solemn-faced, studious rule keeper is kind of a childish nut. i love nothing more than crazy dance parties in my front room {or the front seat of the car} with leah, goofy pictures {i know, surprising, right!?} and just being plain crazy. when i'm in public, i tend to find quieter ways to let my crazy side shine, but i still find ways. 

so, our family's annual trip to jackson hole, wyoming was no exception. my mom had remarried earlier in the year and we quickly learned that every memorial day weekend, my new step family goes to jackson hole. rain or shine...or snow. that's what the hauleys do. so, as a newly blended family, we joined the tradition. 

as we made the drive a few hours north, we stopped at a gas station in soda springs, idaho to fill up the car, use the restroom and buy a snack. as i exited the car and walked toward the double glass doors of the convenience store, i decided to try out one of my favorite tricks. my mom had already entered teh store and i was just ahead of kelli, my sister, and meghan, my step-sister. i neared the door and, instead of reaching for the handle to pull the door open and let myself inside, i put my right foot slightly in front of me and kicked the base of the door HARD. as in the ringing and subsequent echo of the glass reverberating in the door frame resonaded throughout the entire front of the convenience store. 

at the same time my foot his the glass, i pretended my head slammed straight into the upper, clear glass portion of the door and reached my hand up, with a groan, to tend to my new {fake} wound. 

it was awesome. 

this wasn't my first time fake running into something {my friends and i loved to do this at the mall}, so it actually looked pretty realistic.

the very best part of this whole deal was my mom's reaction. she knew me well enough to know the crash wasn't real and that i wasn't hurt. so, as the convenience store employee gasped in horror and hesitated as to whether or not she would come to my aid, my mom laughed. she laughed hard. out loud. 

she laughed so hard that she had to turn away from me and walk away into an aisle filled with candy and small bags of chips. as the poor employee asked if i needed assistance, i assured her, accompanied by more fake groans, that i didn't, and then i headed back toward the bathrooms. 

i have to admit, it was a proud moment. definitely a success. 

but we can't go back to that soda springs gas station without laughing our guts out. my mom and richard, now empty nesters, still go to jackson every year. and, every year, i get a phone call from my mom - chuckling on the other side - as she sits in the car looking at that glass door. 

the things i'll do for a laugh. 

also in 1996:

 {park city, utah}

 {at the mtc in provo sending off scott. we were a sad bunch.}

{kelli, scott and i as we said goodbye before he boarded the plane for the italy catania mission}