Birthday Weekend

Jacob's birthday party was on Saturday. He turned 7 - he's the cousin right between Spencer and Tyler. As you may notice, he gave himself a haircut this week. When I asked him why he did it, he just shrugged and smiled sheepishly. It must have seemed like the thing to do at the time. Little did he know it would be broadcast to all the world on my blog.

My sister Emily and her family arrived from Utah the night before, so there was quite a group, as you can imagine. Between our three families, there were 16 kids. Who needs to invite school friends when you've got 15 of your cousins to celebrate with you?

We had water balloon fights

and swam in the pool.

Dallin liked the slip & slide best.

Then Sunday night we had a big family birthday dinner for Jacob, my brother Ben (who turned 24 Saturday), and Dave at Kristen's house. We had delicious french dip sandwiches (they got a 7 lb roast, and there was just a little bit left over!), and I was in charge of dessert - I made 2 birthday cakes and a strawberry pie (for Dave - he's not a huge cake person). I gave Dave climbing stuff. He recently got one of his climbing catalogs and circled some things he wanted, so that was helpful. Otherwise I would have no idea what to get him. Mom, dad, Grandpa Wight, Ben and my cousin Matthew all came up. It's so amazing that we had that many people there and it didn't feel the slightest bit cramped. The weather was gorgeous and kids were in and out and off playing who knows where. Their house is so perfect for big groups. We visited late into the night, and it was hard to pull ourselves away from the party. But today is Dave's long day at work, so we had to get to bed. Happy birthday, Dave!

I am not mountain biking material

Last night we went out for Dave's birthday, which is on Monday (34 years old!) He decided he wanted to go bike riding then out to dinner. So we arranged to have a babysitter come nice and early so we'd have plenty of time.

I quickly figured out that this was no relaxing bike path. I had to walk my bike up the first hill, which was very long and steep. I figured down would be easier, right? Not so. It really didn't look that steep, but it was still hard to maintain a reasonably safe speed. It was also hard to stay on the very narrow path. Sure enough, I swerved off the path, hit a rock and fell off my bike, landing in a patch of some prickly plant. I was much more cautious after that, walking whenever I didn't feel safe.

At one point we parked our bikes and hiked up a hill for an amazing view. That was my favorite part.

Dave LOVED going fast. A little too much, in fact, because right after this happy picture he flipped over his handle bars. He sprained his wrist a little and got a few scrapes, but secretly I think he enjoyed it. He's crazy about things like that and calls it a "good hurt" in the morning because it means he did something fun.

Then we drove over to the bay for dinner. There was a little bit of a wait, so we walked around the dock taking pictures. That's always fun for me.

This is one of my favorite places on earth. It wasn't even cold last night.

And since it was just the two of us, we didn't have to stress about the kids getting too close to the edge and falling in, like the people who took this picture of us were doing.

Then we watched the sunset from the huge restaurant windows. It turned out to be a lovely evening, and I'm not even that sore today.

Goofin' Off

Today was Spencer's last day of camp. After we dropped him off the little boys rode bikes and climbed in the plum tree in the front yard. Tyler told me to get the camera and take pictures of him. He kept making silly faces and asking to see them in the camera. Then he would laugh hysterically at himself.

Then we went back to the church for the end-of-camp festivities.

We had a BBQ lunch and watched the skits. They were pretty silly, as you can imagine.

Then they handed out the certificates and patches earned at camp. All us moms agreed that camp will be a hard act for us to follow. How will we keep them busy the rest of the summer?

Outing With Cousins

Today we dropped Brennan off with Kristen to take his nap, then picked up Jacob and Peter and headed over to the library. The boys all collected their first prize of the summer reading program - bugs that expand in water.
Then we played at the dragon park and enjoyed another beautiful not-too-hot day, which I could really get used to. This is totally acceptable weather, in my opinion (high of upper 80's to lower 90's). Afterwards we hung out at Kristen's house until it was time to pick up the big boys from camp. They came home with huge walking sticks, napkin holders and swords. It was a big craft day. Plus they went rock climbing on the climbing wall. Too bad it all comes to an end tomorrow.

Tot Lot

Nothing makes you appreciate your own kids more than watching other people's kids. This morning I volunteered at the cub scout day camp in the tot lot. It's where all the volunteers' children are babysat in the church while their parents help out with camp. Most of the kids were pretty easy, but some of them were particularly challenging. They cried whenever they couldn't be first or didn't win a game or maybe if someone just looked at them wrong. Incidentally all the difficult ones were boys. It makes me appreciate that my boys are really pretty mellow and happy. So I came home exhausted and totally grateful for my kids. It's good to have these experiences from time to time.

Spencer comes home SO excited every day about all the amazing things he does at camp - BB guns, archery, bottle rockets, leather crafts, swimming, and science experiments. I've been trying to think of fun things for the little boys to do while he's gone so they don't feel like they're missing out on all the fun. We've made pinwheels, played at a friend's house, made paper airplanes, invited a friend over to play and made chocolate chip cookies. And the weather has cooled down drastically, so that helps us all be happy.

72 Hr Kit

I am amazed by the increased frequency and severity of natural disasters recently- fires, earthquakes, tornadoes, hurricanes, flooding, etc. Our church leaders have been warning us to be prepared for quite some time now (certainly my whole life), so really it shouldn't come as any surprise. But it's good to be reminded from time to time and update our supplies. Here's a list someone gave us when we first put our 72 hr kits together, right before Y2K. Remember that? Of course it turned out to be nothing, but at least it helped us get our act together.

• sweat suit
• socks (2-3 pairs)
• underwear
• poncho
• drop cloth
• nylon rope
• gloves
• wash cloth
• towel
• mess kit with eating utensils
• whistle
• water purification tablets
• first aid kit (band-aids, 4x4 pads, alcohol pads, hand sanitizer, wrap dressing)
• fire-starting kit (lint, kindling, water proof matches, lighter, steel wool, candle)
• miniature shovel
• knife
• water (3-16 oz bottles per person)
• food (we do canned meat, beef jerky, canned fruit and protein bars)
• toiletries (toothbrush/paste, deodorant, shampoo, soap, comb, wipes)
• flashlight/batteries (we have one of those wind-up ones too)

So if you don't have yours together, I hope this encourages you to work on it. We put mine and Dave's stuff and all the supplies in big water-proof buckets, and the kids' clothes, toiletries, food and water in small backpacks. You can put it all into backpacks if you want, since that would be easier to carry. Then once you have it done, you just need to rotate the food and update the clothes for the kids every year or two. Probably 4 years is too long.

Growing up so fast

Last night for family home evening we talked about emergency preparedness. We do this every once in awhile - review where to meet in case of a fire, remind them about dialing 911 and what our phone # is, and update our 72 hour kits. It felt like it had probably been a year or two since we'd done that, so we opened them up to see what needed to be changed. Well it turns out all the food and water expired in 2006 or 2007. Then we saw that there were only 2 kids' worth of clothes. Could it be that we haven't updated them in 4 years, which was 2 kids ago?? I'm amazed at how fast time goes. I pulled out the little 4T clothes that used to be for Spencer, now for Dallin, and the 2T clothes and diapers for Tyler - now for Brennan. It does NOT seem like that long ago. Kristen often talks about how our kids grow up so fast and no matter how many more kids we have, we'll never get to enjoy that child at that age again, and we start to miss them. It's so true! Dallin at almost 4 is SO different than Spencer at 4. And I do miss him at that age. Today he started cub scout day camp. How did that happen so fast?

Piano

"For my soul delighteth in the song of the heart; yea, the song of the righteous is a prayer unto me, and it shall be answered with a blessing upon their heads." D&C 25:12

One of the best presents Dave ever gave me was our piano. He said he wanted to hear music in our home. I took piano lessons when I was growing up, and I can play a little - I always play for family home evening. Now I'm teaching Spencer and Tyler to play, and I just love hearing them practice. Spencer is on the third piano book, and he is playing actual songs with chords and everything. He loves playing and sometimes doesn't want to stop when the timer goes off. Tyler has a harder time getting into it. It was difficult for him to sit for 30 minutes, so I reduced his time to 15 minutes/day. The problem is that he hates to get the notes wrong. So he plays REALLY slow and then freaks out if he plays the wrong note. But I have definitely seen improvement, and he is even starting to speed up a tiny bit.

Hot!

Well it's officially summer, and it sure feels like it. It got up to 107 yesterday (114 down in SLO! Are you guys surviving down there!?) We went to the water park yesterday, and the water felt so good. I wasn't the slightest bit cold when I got out of the water. The AC in the van just stopped working, and even at 5:30 it was so hot in there we were dying. We picked up pizza on the way home and I crashed on the couch after dinner. The heat wears me out. Dave is helping at a service project this morning doing yardwork. I hope no one collapses there.

Summer chores

I have a love/hate relationship with summer chores. On one hand it feels good to teach my kids to work, and sometimes they actually do a pretty good job. But really it is a lot more work for me. Tyler mopped the kitchen floor this morning, but first I had to do the dishes and get the water ready, then re-sweep the floor because he missed half the dirt. And he missed half the floor with the mop, so I ended up doing that too. Meanwhile Brennan kept trying to put stuff in the dirty water, so I had to try to keep him away. I guess if nothing else it will motivate me to clean nice and early. They have to do their chores and practice piano and do some school work before they can play the computer or watch videos, although sometimes I relax that video rule a little bit, especially for Dallin. And if Dallin is watching T.V., the other boys end up watching it too, even if it isn't something they like. But I feel like overall we are having productive mornings so we can play in the afternoon. Yesterday we went to a magic show at the library. Today we are going to the water park when Dave gets home. I need a nap just thinking about it.

Garden Update

Look at these huge sunflowers Dallin planted in his Sunbeams class. As you can see, the leaves have been eaten by bugs. The bug guy sprayed all over the backyard when he was here, so I'm hoping that killed the pesky garden bugs too.

Note to self: Put tomatoes in their cages before they are huge and growing in all directions. This morning I tied the ones along the edge to the fence (which is there to keep Brennan out). But there were a couple tomato plants on the inside, so I had to force them into their cages. I was breaking branches right and left. Now they look all sad and wilted. And it was already getting dang hot outside, so that didn't help my sweaty frustration. I hope they can forgive me and bounce back from the ordeal.

The corn is doing pretty well so far. In the past my corn has gotten really big and then dried up halfway through the summer. I have since learned that corn needs to be planted in at least 2 rows for cross-pollination. I'm guessing that was my problem because I've always done 1 long row. This year I tried planting multiple rows, so we'll see how it goes. If nothing else they'll make great autumnal decorations for the front door.

Holy cow, my cantaloupe is taking over the garden. I grew cantaloupe plants a couple years ago, and it did okay. We got a few sweet cantaloupes out of it, but nothing like this. I think it's because they get more water in this section of the garden and they have plenty of room to spread out. I just hope they don't crowd out the corn and squash.

Books

I come from a long line of readers. My family has been known to stay up all night (literally) to finish a good book. But I never seem to get into books the way everyone else does. When I was younger my mom always helped me find books she thought I would like, which I did, but it would sometimes take me weeks and weeks to finish them. It's not that I don't enjoy reading. Books are great. But while I am reading, I get antsy sitting too long and start thinking of all the things I need to be doing. The times in my life that I read the most is when I am nursing a baby or riding in the car, since I can't do anything else anyway. Dave and I got Zorro on CD from the library for a recent car trip. This morning, 4 weeks later, I finally finished listening to it. But it worked out really well for me because I just listened to it in my bathroom while getting ready each day or while folding laundry and hanging things in my closet. I'm all about multitasking.

My boys LOVE books. Today we went to the library to sign up for the summer reading program. When we came home they read all afternoon. Tonight Dave & I went to another PA dinner, and afterwards we went to Barnes and Noble, since we were right there. I bought the boys fun activity books for summer. They'll be so excited tomorrow.

Bugs

We are all sitting around waiting for the bug guy to come. We've always had lots of spiders, but recently we found 2 black widows in our garage. One was crawling into a wet suit. Good thing Dave was home so I could go get him to kill it. The kids are afraid to go into the garage by themselves because they are sure the black widows will get them. We also have some kind of wasp nests above the front door that have grown in number over the past 3 years. We haven't had any ant infestations recently, but it's always a possibility. You know how it is - you go to bed and everything looks fine. Then you wake up and whole colonies have set up shop on your kitchen counter and you're amazed at the progress they've made in such a short amount of time. Speaking of bugs, Dallin was stung by a bee yesterday while I was on the phone with the bug guy. He was playing in the sprinkler and apparently tried to hit the bee into the water. Well the bee didn't like that at all, so it stung him on the wrist. You can tell your kids about the dangers of bees, but sometimes they just don't get it until they're stung.

Still way below the charts

Brennan had 2 doctors appointments this morning. First he saw the pediatrician for his 18 month check-up. He is 31.5" tall (25th percentile) and weighs 18.7 lbs (way below the charts but following his own curve). No wonder all his pants fall down. It's interesting to hear different doctors' opinions. I told him about the scary incident when he ate a friend's peanut butter egg last Easter and developed severe hives that we could only get to clear up with a high dose of oral steroid and that we wondered if we should use the epipen and go to the E.R. He said he's never had a patient need to use an epipen and that it sounded good to use the oral steroid if needed. He also said Brennan's lungs sounded good and that he just has some upper airway congestion (he has a cold right now). But when I saw the allergist one hour later, she thought his lungs sounded terrible and that he needs to be on his nebulizer treatments all the time, even when he's healthy. She also said we should have given Brennan the epipen and gone to the E.R. after the peanut butter egg and that we shouldn't mess around with the oral steroid because it takes too long. She ordered a blood test to measure the IgE levels for all his allergies. I've been wanting to do this so we can monitor his levels to see if they go down. She said we might be able to start introducing certain foods back into his diet, which is really exciting. I especially want him to grow out of his wheat allergy. That complicates my life the most.

After the appointments we went to the zoo, which is right next to his allergist's office. Today is the first official day of summer vacation, and the boys were excited to go. It's a tiny zoo, but it's just the right size for little people. By the time we get to the end, they're ready to leave anyway. Brennan roared at all the animals and Spencer acted like our tour guide. Then we ate a picnic lunch and played at the park.

Father's Day

Dave is such an awesome dad. He woke up at 6:00 this morning, reminding the tooth fairy to put money under Spencer's pillow. Shwew! That was a close one. We had a relaxing morning eating coffee cake, calling Dave's dad, and giving Dave cards and presents. I gave him the Clue DVD game, which he's wanted ever since we played it last Christmas.

I was in charge of sharing time in primary today, and it went great. First I read a couple of picture books, "My Dad" and "Knuffle Bunny," which were a big hit. Then I had the kids color candy bar wrappers and tape them around chocolate bars. Talk about simple and cute - my favorite combination.

Father's Day cards don't usually work out so well for my dad. They show dads sitting in their recliners watching T.V., drinking beer, playing golf or using tools. It's hard to find cards of dads reading scriptures, teaching in the prisons or writing notes on a tile. We're so glad he's well again so we could spend the evening with him tonight. We had Mexican Rice, his favorite. For dessert I made chocolate cake with cherries and Dave's favorite white icing. Then we called Ellen and Jason in India using Skype. We'll have to get one of those webcams. That was way cool. We could see them sitting on their Indian couch while we all huddled around my parents' computer in the sunroom. The video stopped working after a little while, probably due to the high volume of Father's Day callers, but at least we could still hear them. Then to top it all off the boys got to sit on my grandpa's lap and sing "Accentuate the Positive."

Amazing what tools can do

Sometimes Dallin accidently takes naps, which is a pain because then he can't go to sleep when it's bedtime. The good thing is that he is super sweet at night, and we have some of our best one-on-one visits. Here is one of our recent late-night conversations:

Dallin - Mommy, your tummy is all squishy.
Me - Yeah. Did you know you used to be in there?
Dallin - Yep, when I was a baby, right?
Me - That's right. You were in there for 9 months.
Dallin - First daddy made me, and then he put me in there, right?
Me - Uh . . . yeah. How did daddy make you, Dallin?
Dallin - (pauses to think about it) You know, with his tools and stuff.

So if you're trying to decide what to buy your man for father's day tomorrow, you might want to get him tools. Apparently they can make all kinds of things.

Tagged

I've been tagged by my friend Laura. I guess the rules are: no cleaning, clearing, wiping, changing, etc. But that's not really my style. I'm all about motivation, so instead I used this as an opportunity to get some cleaning done. Sorry, Laura.1. Sink. I probably spend more time right here than anywhere in my house, except my bed of course. I love watching the kids play in the backyard while I'm cooking and doing dishes.

2. What are the kids doing? Spencer and Tyler are enjoying their last day at school. Dallin and Brennan are playing with Tyler's holiday house from Play Mobil that we gave him for Christmas. It is such a fun toy. My kids always like to play Santa - they do it year round, in fact.

Mostly Brennan just likes to put stuff down the chimney.

3. The Laundry Room. Still clean!

4. Toilet. I'm not sure why they listed this one, but oh well. I wish they would have said bathtub, because that really needs to be cleaned.

5. Closet. This is my side of the walk-in closet. Dave has 3 times more clothes than I do, not because he shops more but because he doesn't throw anything away. On the other hand I get rid of everything. We recently cleaned out our closet and filled up 3 big bags of clothes for Goodwill. I love to get rid of stuff.

6. My Favorite Room. I have to choose my bedroom because I love my canopy bed, desert camel wall color, and red curtains. The picture hanging above our bed is a Renoir print just like the one my parents had in their room when I was growing up. I do want a new comforter though. We've had this one for 9 years and I'm tired of it.

7. Fridge. I love my Trio, especially when it's working. It turns out it needed a new fan. Apparently leaving the door open doesn't just waste electricity. The humidity can ice up the fan and burn it out.

8. My Favorite Shoes. Actually I hate shoes. I don't like to shop for them or wear them. I would go barefoot all the time if I could. But if I have to wear something, I choose my new flip flops from Bass. They're comfy and cute.

9. Self-Portrait. I used the timer for this one. Dallin was cracking up watching me.

10. Dream Vacation. Warm exotic beaches where the natives speak English.

I'm tagging Megan (because I think she'll do it) and Ellen (because I'm dying to see pictures of India!)

Good-bye, Kindergarten

Today was Tyler's Kindergarten promotion. I'm sad to see the year come to an end, and I can't believe how fast it came. He had such a fun year. Every day when I picked him up from school I would ask how his day was. And he always replied, "Great!" or "Perfect!" and would tell me all about it. He was even excited to do his homework!
This is Tyler's wonderful teacher, Mrs. Kuhn. She loved her job and she loved each of the children in her class. Unfortunately she is retiring after this year. She got pretty teary as she handed out the certificates today and commented that she had the best job in the world.

Grilled Potato Skins

4-6 Yukon Gold potatoes (I tried russet & didn't like them as much)
2 Tbsp butter/margarine, melted (we use vegan so Brennan can eat 'em)
garlic salt to taste
garlic powder to taste
salt and pepper to taste

Cut potatoes into quarters lengthwise. Cut away half of the potato from the skins and discard (or save for another meal). Place potato skins on microwave-safe plate and microwave on high for 8-10 minutes or until tender, turning over halfway. Brush with melted butter/margarine, garlic salt and garlic powder. Cook skin-side up on preheated grilled over medium heat for 2-3 minutes, or until lightly browned. Turn over and cook 2 more minutes. Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste.

My kids LOVE these. They think they are french fries and dip them in ketchup. The recipe I got from allrecipes.com said to top with shredded cheddar cheese, cover and cook until cheese is melted, then sprinkle with crumbled cooked bacon and green onions and serve with sour cream. I haven't tried all that yet, but it does sound good. Also, instead of the garlic salt and garlic pepper, it calls for 2 tsp fresh minced rosemary, but Dave isn't a fan of rosemary, so I use the garlic instead.

Tomato Cucumber Salad With Mint

1/3 cup red wine vinegar
1 Tbsp sugar
1 tsp salt
2 large cucumbers, peeled, quartered and sliced
3 large tomatoes, diced
1/3 cup fresh mint, chopped
salt and pepper to taste

In a large bowl combine vinegar, sugar and salt. Mix in cucumbers and marinate in fridge 1 hour, stirring occasionally. Gently mix in tomatoes. Season with salt and pepper.

This is such a wonderful fresh summer salad. It's a great way to use up an abundance of garden tomatoes. I usually cut the recipe in half for my family.

BBQ and Plum Sauce

I should invite people over for dinner more often - perhaps once a week. It's the best motivator for me to clean my house, including those things I never seem to get to, like windows and cluttered counters. Last night we invited a super nice family over for a BBQ. They have 3 kids and just moved here from Arizona. The youngest is a boy Dallin's age, which I'm so glad about because there aren't any other boys his age at church. We made BBQ chicken, grilled potato skins, corn on the cob and tomato cucumber salad (recipes to follow). Spencer, always the gracious host, made plum sauce with their other 2 kids (ages 9 and 7), who were totally excited to cook. We have a plum tree out front with a ton of tiny sour plums. A few weeks ago he cut up some plums and added a ton of sugar. But I told him it would probably be better to cook it over the stove to release the juices, and he has wanted to do that ever since. So last night as the adults were sitting around visiting after dinner, we noticed that the kids were all standing around the stove mixing plum pieces and sugar in a sauce pan. It was actually quite good - it tasted a lot like jam. And no one got burned, so that's good.

My Dad, by Tyler

My dad is special because he goes to work and helps people.
My dad likes the computer.
My dad does not like avacado...when my baby loves it.
His favorite food is tacos.
I like it when my dad gets stuff down from the closet.
My dad likes it when I clean up.
Love,
Tyler

Garden update

I worked in the garden early this morning, before it got too hot. This year I am trying something new - putting trash bags around the plants to reduce weeds and retain moisture in the soil. Awhile ago I put it down around the tomatoes and cantaloupes, which were furthest along, and they are totally thriving. In fact the tomato plants are starting to grow little green tomatoes. So today I put it down around the corn, squash, cucumbers and peppers (which are doing a little better, by the way). One of my problems is that I procrastinate doing projects; but when I finally get around to them, I shut out the world and don't want to stop what I'm doing. Perhaps that's why I put off doing them in the first place. Dallin and Brennan were going in and out of the house - Dallin still in his jammies and Brennan just wearing a diaper (he has decided he hates clothes and even tries to get the diaper off - good thing it's summertime). At one point Dallin stuck his head out the door and said, "You better stay outside, mommy, because if you come inside you will find water mess all over the floor and you will get angry." That brought me back to reality. There was indeed water all over the floors, but I couldn't get angry. After all, I was the one neglecting my children.

Strawberry/Nutella Crepes

Wash and slice 1 pound of strawberries, sprinkle with a couple tablespoons of sugar, mix and refrigerate 1 hour. Make one batch of crepes:

1 1/2 cups flour
1 Tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 cups milk
2 Tbsp butter, melted
1/2 tsp vanilla
2 large eggs

Mix dry ingredients. Mix remaining ingredients and combine all together. Spray a small pan with Pam and pour 1/4 cup batter onto hot pan. Immediately rotate skillet until thin film covers bottom of pan. Cook until light brown. Turn and cook other side very briefly. You can make them all ahead of time and just refrigerate until you're ready.

Take one crepe at a time, spread with Nutella (yum!), heat in microwave for 10 seconds, top with mound of sugared strawberries, roll up, top with whipped cream and chocolate syrup with vanilla ice cream on the side. So simple, and yet so delicious. It makes a beautiful presentation too. I bet it would also be good with bananas.

I Need a Relaxing Monday

Ironically this picture, along with an article about the new pedestrian path, appeared in the paper today. I love how the bike and pedestrian paths are separate, so we didn't have to keep reminding Spencer not to run over people.

Brennan is sporting his new sweater from his cousin Eric, who was rather reluctant to give up his favorite jacket. It kept him nice and warm at the beach, which was 60 degrees and windy.

This is our favorite spot to park and watch the waves, which are always impressive. The beach we discovered yesterday was actually on the other side of the rock and breakers, right at the mouth of the bay, so it was much calmer and less windy - better for exploring.
............................................................................................

Everyone was a tad cranky today. It may have something to do with the fact that the boys stayed up way past their bedtime two nights in a row and were worn out yesterday, but it sure was a fun day. I always joke that I need a day to recover from Dave's day off work. Times are approximate because I'm too tired to remember:

7:00 We all wake up

7-8 Breakfast

8-9 Everyone gets ready for the day

9-11 We loads the bikes, give Nathan our pool, pack lunches, and gather helmets, snacks, water and sweatshirts

11-12 We drive to the beach and eat lunch in the van; Dallin and Brennan fall asleep

12-2 We ride bikes on the new bike path between the embarcadero and the rock, discover a new beach, eat salt water taffy, play in tide pools, and collect shells and other smelly sea life, which I have since discarded (shhh!)

2:00 Spencer & Tyler spend some of their birthday money on a puffer fish, coral, star fish, etc., at the Shell Shop

2-3 I shop at Costco with the boys, eating lots of free samples, while Dave waits in a humongous line to buy gas for just $4.37

3:30 We just miss the Belmont Stakes at mom and dad's house, which is just as well, since Big Brown lost. Dave changes into church clothes.

4:00 We drop Dave off at the church for the priesthood leadership meeting; Tyler and Dallin fall asleep on the way home

4-5 HILARY unpacks the car, removes bikes and bike rack (which I've never done before and had to figure out as I went along); boys wake up super cranky

5-6:30 I bathe the kids, shower and get ready, prepare dinner, make a batch of crepes and slice strawberries

6:30-7 Christopher comes over to watch the kids; Hilary picks up friends and drives to the stake center

7-9 We attend the adult session of stake conference

9:00 Dave and Nathan set up chairs for the Sunday morning session while Hilary and Kristen sit and chat, too tired to move

9:30 We stop by the grocery store to buy ice cream and other essentials

10:00 While eating the most delicious strawberry/Nutella crepes at home with Kristen, Nathan and Christopher, we discover that Spencer and Tyler are still awake! Thus the crankiness today.
10:45 We collapse in bed.