look what I found

Loooook: Documented proof that I actually DID particpate in the mandatory slip-n-sliding against my will on the celebrated day of my birth. Don't let the big fat cheeser on my face fool you. I hated e v e r y m i n u t e of it. And not because I'm some kind of fun-hating killjoy either. I'm the first to stand up and defend the coolness of a slip 'n' slide. But because I am a cold-hating, anti-cold, body-heat-loving kind of girl who doesn't like to be cold. And this was the first day of June, in the shade as the sun was setting, and I don't know if any of you remember an entire straight month of rain... It was not warm on June 1st. So I don't want any of you haters suggesting that I'm being a big baby. It's my party and I'll cry if I want to.

Stole this slip 'n' slide pic right off my sister-in-law Venessa's blog, by the way. She snapped this shot on her camera, but I thought this along with all her birthday pics were lost forever locked inside her camera at the bottom of the Snake River in Burley, Idaho. And it was!

So sad.


But they went back up there ten days later and snorkeled for it, and Eureka! Nate found it! The camera strap was wrapped around a reed or something. And this is a testimonial to the Olympus Waterproof Camera, my friends.

{{The Olympus Stylus 850 SW - there are hot deals to be had on eBay right now, I highly recommend it.}}

That thing was at the bottom of a murky muddy river for TEN DAYS and it still works perfectly, no pictures lost, no battery damage! I found this most amazing camera at Best Buy several years ago, and I've had a blast with it ever since. And I've convinced many family members that it is worth purchasing: Nate & Venessa got a cool orange one, Chance & Emily got the blue one, Nate & Angie (the Nate from the Buttars side) have the original sleek silver one. And Rhett and I just got a new blue one to boot since I "lost" ours in Park City. (I didn't lose it. I left it on the nightstand in our hotel room, but it was never "turned in" by the housekeepers. I called many times and finally gave up.)

So my bro Nate just ordered an official Olympus floater-thing to hold the camera up. Which brings me to the worst part of the whole story:

They had a keychain floater thing attached to thier camera just in case! They tried to be prepared!

But it was not enough to keep it afloat. The camera was too heavy. So now we know that it takes 2 floater keychain things OR the official Olympus-made floater. And I love saying the word floater. It just sounds gross every time.