IKEA!

Today I was introduced to a wonderful place: IKEA! IKEA came to Utah while I was away in Mississippi, and I have been wanting to check it out ever since I returned home from school. It is Lindy's favorite store, so Lindy, Mom, Camden, Riley, Sid and I took a trip up there today. It is a shopper's paradise. IKEA can make all of your home furnishing dreams come true. It was even more wonderful than I had imagined. I think that everyone needs an IKEA close by. Thank heavens for the Swedes! Sweden seems to be one of the world's most innovative countries--they're always a step ahead of everyone else. Many wonderful things have originated in Sweden including IKEA, Saab, and Volvo. The amazing computer software called Skype, which allows people to make phone calls on the Internet, instant message, and talk with each other online, was created by Swedish entrepreneurs. I love Sweden and I love IKEA. The girls especially loved browsing through the Kids' IKEA section. They even have great food at IKEA! We had some delicious Swedish meatballs for lunch.

Speaking of other countries, it has been a lot of fun to watch the Olympics lately. I love the Olympics. While it is not quite as fun to watch them on TV as it is to see the athletes compete in real life, as we found out during the 2002 Winter Olympics in SLC, it is still neat to watch all of the events. There are several Utah connections to the Olympics this year--especially in volleyball. Two of the players on the U.S. men's volleyball team are BYU grads, and the head coach of the team also used to play and coach at BYU. (It was his in-laws who were attacked in Beijing the other day, and his father-in-law was killed. That was such a tragic thing! I hope that his mother-in-law will recover all right.) One player on the U.S. women's v-ball team is from Utah: Logan Tom. Another member of the U.S. women's team, though she is not on the Olympic roster this year, is former Timpanogos High School v-ball queen Kristin Richards.

During my high school years at Mountain View, I played volleyball against Kristin and her sister Lauren. At 6'1" and 150 pounds, Kristin looked like a giant to me. My 5'3" 100 pound frame did not quite compare. We always got creamed by Timpanogos when we played them. I distinctly remember one match when I attempted to dig one of Kristin's spikes. I got the ball up, but in the process I totally got the wind knocked out of me! I guess that's my volleyball claim to fame: I had the wind knocked out of me by a member of the U.S. volleyball team. :-)