"All the leaves are red,
And the sky is blue..."

Okay, so that doesn't flow as well as California Dreaming, but that's okay. I just got back from an 8 day vacation in Joplin, Missour-ah, visiting Scott's family. "ACK," you're probably thinking. Actually, I had a great, relaxing time there. Unfortunately, Scott and I both caught a cold, so our trip back to LA wasn't much fun. :-/ All in all, it was a nice vacation. In fact, I made a list of what I experienced and learned from my trip:

• I love Scott's family.
  
• Calico cats are mean.
  
• Normal sleep patterns return when one is removed from stressful situations.
  
• Happiness is a warm bunny.
  
• Playing games with poor-sports isn't much fun.
  
• Ethnic diversity is hard to find in Joplin.
  
• It's fun to watch high-school soccer games.
  
• Yelling at the top of your lungs at high-school soccer games makes you hoarse. :-)
  
• Racism is alive and kicking. According to someone in the stands at a high-school soccer game, "Them Wetbacks sure can run and jump." ::GRUMBLE:: That guy stopped making those comments after I looked at him very sharply. It's not a good idea to piss off a Puerto Rican.
  
• I didn't really like the movie "Serendipity." It's another boy-with-girlfriend meets girl-with-boyfriend and they're instantly in love. ::Spoiler warning:: Years later, boy-with-fiancee tries to find girl-with-fiance, and they both consequently leave their intendeds at the altar. Bleah. Couldn't they figure out they didn't want to get married before they screwed people over? Well, I've been there before, on both sides, so I can't really be too judgemental.
  
• Speaking of judgemental, it's easy to judge and criticize others, when the focus should be on ourselves. Why focus on a speck of sawdust in someone else's eye when there's a LOG in your own? ::OUCH::
  
• Fall is beautiful outside of California.
  
  
  
• Bonfires are cool, except when you have 25mph winds.
  
• I LOVE KIDS!! Well, that's nothing new, actually.
  
• I miss thunder storms, and the sound of pouring rain outside your window.
  
• Taking a ride on a tractor is fun. :-D
  
  
  
• Scott is one of the sweetest people I know. He sat with his Grandma, who has Alzheimer's and can't really talk, and just talked to her and held her hand and it was the sweetest thing I've seen in a VERY long time.
  
• Scott's Grandpa ALWAYS smiles.
  
• Families that are very affectionate to their kids tend to have kids that are very affectionate towards them. I hope my kids are like Scott's family.
  
• Acceptance and forgiveness are some of the most important things on the planet. Nothing is more destructive than criticism and holding grudges. Everyone would benefit from some grace in their lives.
  
• I believe in God.
  
• No one is perfect, not even good, Christian Mid-Westerners.
  
• Flying SUCKS when you have a cold.
  
• Los Angeles is crowded, ugly, smoggy, flaky, filled with people obsessed with self-image, phony, and brown, but it's still home.
  

Well, I'm sure I could go on, but this cold has me wanting to lay down a lot, so I'll end this here.