My Spring/Summer in 60 Seconds for Super Speedy Readers

Due to incessant demands for me to post on my blog (no, of course I'm not exaggerating) I'm back once again. I'm sure many of you thought I was taking a summer hiatus from thinking. To the contrary, my thoughts have remained very active. Here's the proof:

New Addition: Cinco de Mayo was a joyous occasion for the Hollingshead family. My younger brother Zach got married to Liliana Sonntag in the Bountiful Temple. Contrary to popular belief that all older, single sisters feel jealousy/bitterness/sadness at the marriage of a younger sibling, I was genuinely happy for my brother. And Lili is great. :-)

New Addition II: Later in May, our family was once again blessed. This time in the form of little Zaycia who was adopted by my sister and brother-in-law. They were even there for the delivery. She is gorgeous, just like my other neice and two nephews. It puts a lot of pressure on the rest of us to have cute kids.

MJ: I have to admit that I was "affected" by the death of Michael Jackson. My first memory of him was at a neighbor's house watching him perform during the Superbowl halftime in '93. Later that day my sister Heather, my cousin Nathan and I walked home singing Heal the World at the top of our lungs. A couple of years later as an early teen (after I had gotten over New Kids on the Block) I became a fan of his music, listening to my sister's HIStory album over and over again. Since his death I have discovered some other great songs.

Harry Potter 6: Loved it. Unfortunately I couldn't remember anything from books 5, 6, or 7, so I re-read them. Fortunately, they were even better the second time around.

Lagoon: The day was HOT, so getting dumped on during Rattlesnake Rapids turned out to be a good thing despite my hair-gone-wrong problem. Wicked was, well, to use a modern phrase I think is stupid, wicked. We even rode it three times. I hadn't been there since Senior Sluff 2001. Good times!

Downer: It seems I can't run anymore without my knees hurting. Either my body is experiencing the effects of aging or I've got a torn meniscus. (Great word. Just thought I'd throw it in.) Either way, it ain't good news.

Milestones: August 17th marked four years home from my mission in Brazil. Yikes. August also meant only one year left to pay on my car. Yay! In addition, I have now had the same cell phone for three years. Yes, it's true folks. I just can't turn it in. And really, why should I?

Good Reads: I recently read Defender of the Faith: the B.H. Roberts Story and The Revised and Enhanced History of Joseph Smith by His Mother. I got some great insights into the early church period and also felt deep gratitude for those who stood firm by the Prophet Joseph's side during it all.

Of course there were many other doings and going-ons and thoughts and feelings during the summer, but I'll leave it at that.