The Captain's Big Day

Since today is a holiday in Utah (got to love those pioneers!), I didn't have to go into work or anything. It's Captain Awesome's birthday, so he and I headed out to Taste of the Valley in Provo and met up with some family there. Basically, you pay to get a ticket to walk around and eat lots of food from different local restaurants. Tasty. It was a bit too hot after about 30 minutes, but it was great fun.

The event is put on each year by the Provo/Orem Chamber of Commerce. I recognized the president of the chamber when we bumped into him because he spoke at my executive lecture series last semester. He's also the brother of someone my parents have known for years. He was very jazzed about the event, as the president should be. There was a free face painting booth at the event staffed by the BYU Art Education Department as well, and the president of the chamber of commerce had a little "Y" for BYU painted on his cheek. I explained to Captain Awesome who the president was when we bumped into him, but we didn't think too much of it afterward.

Later, as Captain Awesome and one of our other brothers, Sew-man, sat and ate some food, they discussed how funny they thought it would be to tell the BYU people that they wanted to have them paint a "U" for University of Utah on one of their cheeks. (The humor here is derived from a long-running rivalry between the two schools.) Sew-man, being the older brother, managed to convince Captain Awesome to go try. The Captain agreed, assuming that the painters would not go along with it.

They did.

He then realized that he couldn't back down, so he got a "U" symbol on his cheek.

Later, as we stood in another line, who should happen upon us but the president of the Provo/Orem Chamber of Commerce and his "Y" symbol.

He went out of his way to talk to Captain Awesome and tease him a little bit. The Captain then sheepishly explained how he ended up with his cheek art.

Classic. A beautiful moment in our day.

Then, we came back to my place to play XBox, something I often say I'll do with him but haven't had time for. We were both pretty bad at the game, but it was super fun. We watched a movie, and then I drove him back to his house so that he could get a nap before a night of crazy partying with his friends. All in all, it was a great day, and I'm glad to have Captain Awesome as my little brother!