Post Dates...

So clearly, my last couple of posts were a little lame. We had someone break into a neighbor's house (while they were out of town) in the middle of the day last week, and it put me in paranoid mode knowing that we were leaving town. We found someone to house sit, but I whipped out a few dated posts so that it wasn't blatantly obvious we were all out of town. Lame, I know...but it made me feel better.

On that note, I thought everyone knew that you should never stop your mail or your paper! There are people who might be drug addicts and prowl empty houses who deliver your paper and sort your mail. I don't remember where I heard this, but it makes sense to me that you don't want 5-10 unknown people passing your stop-mail request around!

Anyway, we were in Colorado Springs, CO for eight days with my entire in-law family, and it was a great time. I'm transferring all the pictures now...

I Love to See the Temple...

The ward primary class took a trip to see the "Seattle Temple" (really located in Bellevue) grounds. It was a nice time for the kids to walk around and admire the beautiful gardens and feel the spirit of the temple. On the way there, we stopped at a gas station for Alice to go to the bathroom, and Ruby told the lady working the counter, "We are going to the temple to learn about Jesus." So innocent, for the lady who worked there, SO RANDOM!

Happy Fourth of July, Everyone!

Someday when it isn't so nice to be outdoors, I'll post pictures of our celebration.

Ruby's recital...

I didn't give a full post about the dance recital because I didn't have all the pictures from the night...so here's a few more. It was fun for Ruby to know that her Oma and Opa were coming to the recital, but in all honesty she was the most flattered that Jordan was coming. She pretty much put him on celebrity status, telling Chris, "Dad, don't talk to Jordan unless he talks to you, k?" She told everyone all day long that her uncle Jordan was coming to see her in her recital. I've really never seen her quite like that. It was sweet.

We let her choose the restaurant, and of course she chose Ruby Tuesdays. I wish I had time to worry about a video clip, but for now...I don't.

Weekend at Oma and Opa's...

The weekend of my choir reunion, we stayed at my mom and dad's house. It was really great weather, and Oma bought a slip 'n' slide. Ruby caught a snake with Opa.

We went to dinner at P.F. Changs with my extended family, because Jim and Peggy were here visiting Jimmy and Shannon. The next day, we all went to a beach in Edmonds and sat in the sun while some of the men went scuba diving. Notice we took Ruby's snake to the beach. I guess it isn't used to the heat, because she was holding it for awhile, and she thought that a stick was stuck in its mouth. I took a look, and it was his tongue stuck! I was mortified! I poured some ice water in a little pail and kept him in the shade, and his tongue went back in his mouth. We let him go find his family that night.

Unfortunately for me, my allergies RAGE when I'm at my parents' house! It is so bad, I don't know if I want to visit again this summer. What to do?!

All that said, it was a really busy weekend in addition to being the same weekend as the reunion. I was happy to see my family, I love being with them!

Favorite smoothie...

My favorite smoothie is "Strawberries Wild" from Jamba Juice. I am a mentos girl, not a spree girl, and this is the perfectly mild, creamy mix for me.

I got my VITA-MIX a few weeks ago, and I've been enjoying many a smoothie since then.

Of course, I took it to McCall with me and Lynz and I discovered that apple juice, frozen strawberries and a banana make a perfect "Strawberries Wild". Sorry, can't tell you the exact mix, I just throw it in and like it the way it turns out. A good rule of thumb is to put the apple juice in and then dump in the berries until the berry and juice levels are the same. Then add one banana, and in 20 seconds (if you have a vitamix) you are in smoothie bliss.

Okay, I found a more official recipe online for you recipe followers.

Del Sonics reunion...

The reunion I have been planning was a great success. People said they had more fun and looked more forward to it than their regular high school class reunions. I had a great time, though many of the girls who sang in my section didn't make it. There were after parties and I hear "after the after parties"...the night went on and on for some. It was really natural with few exceptions to catch up with everyone and I was amazed at some of the talent that has grown over the past thirteen years. There are some really professional musicians THAT I KNOW! One guy lives in L.A., so of course I had to ask him if he knew LC. When he didn't get what I was asking, I said, "you don't speak MTV?" (he, he, I'm a geek) and realized what I was asking adn said he's actually friends with some of the people from the show. I guess our conversation was interrupted, because SOMEHOW, I never got to find out more information on that topic! Anyway, what a fun, successful night! I took my own pictures, but don't have time to get them off my camera right now, so here are some that were emailed to me by someone who has the lens I want!

Hair in training...

I've attempted this at least five times, with no success. I want my hair to be that hair that doesn't have to be washed everyday. When I go to the salon, they complain about how over-washed my hair is. They promise me that if I stop washing my hair every day, grease will stop building up an inch per minute on my scalp. If I wash my hair at 5PM, I will wake up with greasy hair the following morning. I can't STAND it!

So "they" say that if I stop the washing, my scalp will stop the greasing. This means that every other day, I have to face the world a greasy mess. I never see any change in the grease production, and my little experiment goes by the way side.

Yesterday at the salon was no different. Same lecture and same promise. Armani, my stylist pointed out that every single person there washes only once a week, so it should be possible for me to do the same. She suggested some new, more gradual steps that I tried today. I rinsed my hair with water, no soap.

Clearly, getting my hair wet and having to style it defeats the purpose, but if it leads me toward being able to hop in the shower, wash my body off and hop out with my hair dry...I'll try it.

Any similar experiences out there? Any more tips for achieving this luxury?

Daddy...

I feel so terrible for not posting about Father's Day yet! Isn't that like a blogger law...you have to rave about the daddy in your life for Father's Day, right? I'll rave about myself on Mother's Day, really.

We had a nice, laid back day! Chris didn't have his usual morning of meetings, and we went to only the first hour of church because my parents and my brother Jordan were arriving around 2:30PM.

We made Chris breakfast in bed that morning, and also drew him a book about all the things the girls like that Chris does with them.

It was a beautiful day, and so we enjoyed dinner outside, played bocci and visited. I think most everyone took a little snooze too.

I'm really, really grateful for the daddy in my husband. He's just so involved with their little minds, and he always enjoys anything he has to do better if they are tagging along with him. I love that the girls are so smitten with him, because at the end of a long day, I welcome their change of focus as they hang on him instead of me. If Chris is around and they get to choose who puts them to bed, who wipes their bums, who they sit next to at dinner, it will always be, "DADDY!" I admire him for being so many things that I am not...he's really tidy, punctual, hard work (I work hard at many things, but not at physical labor like him...mowing the lawn would torture me, for example), aplogizing, changing, making up and just being good at everything he puts his mind to.

Our trip to McCall...

So my girl Lyndsey is moving to Arizona to pursue a master's degree and become an Occupational Therapist. Can I just add that she will be a huge blessing to that field, she's such a natural with youngsters with special needs, and she's been a special needs educator in the schools for years now. We really haven't seen enough of each other since she got married...the last time being in McCall when she was pregnant with her little 20 month old, Max. (Max and Ruby...Ruby and Max.)

In spite of her pregnant state (35 weeks), her pending move (across the country in a couple of weeks), and the seven hour drive to McCall from where she lives in Rigby, she made time to come play with me on the beach for a week! This is what I love about her...she's like me...play first!

Who has a perfect belly like this? She does! Rarely do you hear of someone who doesn't get stretch marks!

Anyway, I never drive an hour without getting sleepy, so when at the last minute my friend Kelly couldn't make the trip with me, I decided to sleep in Pullman and see a friend who lives there. Kristin's family is so fun, and she made me a yummy meal and provided us with comfy accommodations and great late-night conversation. Thanks to she and her husband Chris for being such great fun to visit with!

We got up and continued our trek to McCall. The weather was great, Lyndsey and I have been friends long enough that we are totally at home around each other, and it was just such a great time to visit with her and see our kids interact. Max is DARLING! I love his look, he's just such a perfect little mix of all things Thomas, though since Lyndsey's husband could easily be her brother, I concede that he surely looks like the Durst side as well. He makes the cutest noises to convey what he wants...THE CUTEST...little squeeks, it can't be adequately described. He knows many signs as well, and uses them a lot too. He's just darling, and it was so fun to see Lyndsey as a mom, she's so taken with him and so patient and sweet with him.

My kids had fun rediscovering the beach and we had flawless weather to boot. Ususally, the June visits are still cool, but we were hot in the sun and loving every minute. The water was another story. I am not a wimp when it comes to cold water. I love fresh water and I don't shy away from getting in...but this was horribly cold! The first day we were there, Ruby wanted to jump off the dock and swim in. I knew I needed to go with her because she's a good swimmer, but has no experience in chopy lake water. I jumped in first and the shock was thorough. I concealed my displeasure so as not to disuade Ruby, and she jumped in too. She was as shocked as I was, and was grasping for me and trying to climb on me to get out of the water. I had some nice many pull her out, and I swam in (well, not really swam...as soon as I could touch, I raised my arms above me so they weren't in the water anymore, and walked in as fast as I could...not fast enough).

Ruby was in the water many times after that, but she stayed shallow because after another failed attempt with her the second day, I wasn't really interested in jumping off the deep end with her again.

Alice is still asking if we can "go to da beach". It amazed me how unaffected they were by the fact that they were COVERED in sand. Ruby would get out of the water and intentionally lay down in the sand to warm up. Smart idea if warmth is your first priority, but she had sand in her ears, her hair, all over her body...all the time. One of the first things she did in the sand was make a "sand angel" like she does in the snow. She did them all the time...I just can't stand being sandy! All three of them had to have a bath after each beach experience. We'd have them stand there while we sprayed all the sand into the tub. Then we'd wait for the sand to wash down the drain before we filled the tub with water. Even with this effort there would be a lot of sand in the tub when they were all done.

Thank goodness for McCall. The cabin has been in the family since my great-grandma Ruby and her husband bought it...a long time ago. It is perfect for our needs, and is just maybe 50 yards from the water. The two cabins next to the "Farmer cabin" (my mother's maiden name is Farmer) are also owned by family members, and it is such a fun thing to have a place that means so much to our family. I even have a cousin named McCall! I love the smell of McCall, the summers and winters in McCall, the card playing in McCall, the no technology in McCall, the shopping in McCall the milkshakes in McCall, the Creamies in McCall...I'll be back (soon), McCALL!