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Ava is taking some liberties with her parents at only 2 1/2- years-old. Illustration:

“Hey Bud, can I have some of that?”

Grace: Ava, say “hell”… say “hell”…

[Ava not understanding]

Grace: That’s how you say “hello” in Spanish.

This is Grace staring in another funny message.

Grace Playing a Joke

I got this message at work. They make my day.

Grace’s Funny Message

Folks: this is a family site, please ignore Joe Biden and don’t look up the term FML. Let me paraphrase it: “My job is about to suck.”

Can we still do the fundraiser?

The picture says it all. If only every trip was like this one.

We drive past Peter’s Canyon Regional Park on the way to church. There is a hill in Peter’s Canyon called Big Red, which is a big bear, especially on a bike. Grace has been begging me to hike Big Red. So we went yesterday.

For our 1/2 hour hike, we packed a camelback with granola bars, pretzels (prentzels if you are Grace), and dehydrated fruit and tackled the hill.

And a video: Grace and Marlan on Hike

I was getting Ava cleaned off after dinner the other night. She gives cookie monster a run for his money with the amount of mess she makes when she eats. Well, after getting a small scoop of rice on her plate, she proceeded to let them go swimming in her drink of water, making a rice mess everywhere.

As I lifted her out of her chair, I noticed that there was rice all over her pants. I said, “Hold on rice crotch,” under my breath as I went for the cleaning rag to avoid rice floor. She heard me and repeated “rich crotch” to Sally and me while laughing hysterically at herself for the next couple of minutes.

It’s kind of jarring hearing a two year old say the word “crotch,” but super funny at the same time.

My sister sent me a link to the Susan Boyle’s “I Have a Dream” performance on Britain’s Got Talent.

I am really happy for her. It would be interesting to know the backstory because people just don’t learn to sing like that in the shower.

BUT… as I watched it, I couldn’t help being bothered, and I couldn’t put my finger on it. Not bothered with Ms. Boyle or her performance. But bothered with the whole tenor of the show and the media attention she is now getting. It wasn’t until this morning that I identified what is bothering me has everything to do with this question:

Why is Susan Boyle such a sensation?

Her performance was good, and she is very talented. But it wasn’t a perfect performance and lacked in some subtle ways (emotional range, consistent vocal quality, and flat delivery in some parts). Don’t get me wrong, I thought is was great overall, especially considering the nerves she must have been feeling and the fact is was an audition.

When you cut through everything else, however, the reason she is a sensation has everything to do with the way she looks.

I’ll bet there were more than a handful of people who auditioned for Britain’s Got Talent that were every bit as good talent-wise as Ms. Boyle. The reason they are not a sensation today is because they look “normal.” There is an unspoken assumption that a weird, less-attractive person cannot have talent.

When we see somebody who is less attractive, admits she has never been kissed, and is quirky personality-wise, we assume she is untalented. Case in point, observe the judges reaction during the performance. They were stupefied. The non-Simon male judge admitted he thought she was going to suck. He said he had never been so surprised. Why would he be surprised that a person who is trying out for Britain’s Got Talent would actually be talented? Because the judge had already decided she wouldn’t be any good based solely on what she looked like and her quirky personality.

The Savior said: “Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment” (John 7:4). Moreover, the Savior further explained the principle when He said: “[S]ee that ye do not judge wrongfully; for with that same judgment which ye judge ye shall also be judged.” (Moroni 7:18). See also “Judge Not” and Judging.

Why should we judge a person’s worth be based solely on what the person looks like? To be fair, at least the BGT judges allowed Ms. Boyle to perform. (The cynic in me doubts the altruism, however. The producers know that the embarrassment factor draws viewers like bees to honey.)

I find this all this post performance attention incredibly condescending. She is a sensation because she is a quirky, less attractive woman (who lives with cats) that just happens to be incredibly talented. Again, the assumption being who would have ever guessed that a quirky, less attractive woman (who lives with cats) could be talented?