Highlights

As I've mentioned before, I'm quite the to-do list-a-holic. I'm addicted to it. On that to-to list I often jot down the things I want to blog about, and since we have been floating from home to home (while Troy continues slogging through the whole bathroom thing) the list has gotten longer and longer. Now I'm having a brief stop-in at home (every few days we just HAVE to come home to see Troy and get refreshed before heading out on the road again,) so I thought I'd try to quickly post a few of the highlights from the past month.

Highlight #1:
Stomper finished up Summer School

Stomper had such a good time doing his little summer school - I have to give major kudos to the teachers at Bennion for putting on a really fun program for these kids. Every day was packed with great art projects, science experiments, special guests, field trips and the like. I think my favorite art project of the year was the day they laid out huge sheets of paper on the sidewalk outside, and let the kids literally step in the paint and run all over the paper. Stomper ended up covered head to toe in multiple colors. It was great. Here's a picture of his class on their field trip to Red Butte Garden:



Highlight #2:
The 24th of July

Seems so long ago. I guess that's because it was. There were two days of celebration for us - thanks to the Mayfields, we discovered that the city of Bountiful holds quite the party the day before. We went up there to join our friends for a parade, a BBQ, and fireworks. The parade was kind of hot and long, but the kids loved it. Here's a video of Bitty showing off her moves as the floats went by:



My favorite part of that day had to be the fireworks. My kids have never seen the up-high-in-the-sky kind. It had been a long fun day, with both kids basically disappearing with their friends and interacting with them much more than with myself for the day. However, as it became evening and we drove up to sit on the lawn of Misty's sister, it was dark and late, and we were just sitting down on the grass. The first big boom happened, and of course Bitty burst into tears and Stomper even panicked a little. I gathered them in my arms and we snuggled up, and within a few minutes all three of us were captivated. They were right over our head, and the show was a long and good one. So beautiful. I just love those moments when you suddenly get to be reminded of just who is a part of your own wonderful family. After the whole loud exciting day, it was just wonderful to sit there and experience my kids' first big fireworks show with them, all snuggled up.

They zonked on the way home, which was good, because the next day was another big one - Troy's big brother Rick put together a Preslar family gathering at the folks' house, with dutch-oven cooking as the main attraction, possibly second only to the spectacle of all the little boys running across the yard and jumping into the blow-up pool we brought:




Highlight #3:
Campout in Oma and Apa's Backyard

I'm not sure how this got started - it was probably my fault. Somehow, with Adam and Whitley being in town, we decided that having a sleepover in my parents' back yard would be a good idea. This, of course, was the night before a camping trip for me. It was a little crazy, but we did set up a tent in the back yard. I'm not sure how much sleep anyone got, of course, but it was fun. My sister and her three girls, me and my two kids plus Adam slept outside. Smith was also slated to sleep out with us, but he kind of wandered back in with Whitley around midnight. A little crazy, a lot of bug bites, and very little sleep. Sounds like fun, right?

Highlight #4:
Mom-n-Kids Trip to Bear Lake

I guess I'll say that next year, either the dads are coming too, or the kids aren't invited. What that means is that we do hope there will be a next year. Four of us; Emily, April, TL and I, went up to the KOA campground in Bear Lake. This is a historic campground in our family because when Troy was 14, he and his best buddy Mike Tuckfield got dropped off there to live for about a month. They had a job picking raspberries every day, but spent their free time biking around the lake, jumping in every time they got hot, and getting incredibly tan. Can you imagine doing that these days? Just dropping off your kid at a campground for a month? Me neither.

Anyway, we had a great time, although it was also rather exhausting. We did find the KOA cabins to be great - clean, cute, good amenities. I'd totally do it again. Except the kids either have to get older or stay home. Or we need more help. I think the low point of the trip was probably the tin foil dinners....need I say more? Probably not. Those things never really work out. Especially when you have ten hungry crying kids on your hands. That explains why we ate s'mores before we ate dinner. A great memory from the trip: being sound asleep in the front of the cabin in a bed with my kids, when suddenly I opened my eyes because the light had been turned on. Also, there was a strange man sticking his head through the door, looking shocked and horrified, and mumbling something about, "I'm so sorry! I guess I'll go find my own cabin now..." Remind me to lock the door next time. Potentially scary, but he and his family turned out to be very nice neighbors. Almost as nice as the sweet lady who loaned me her swimming suit when she overheard me say to TL, "Oh my gosh! I forgot my swimming suit!" Of course, she eventually needed it back, which is why I ended up in the pool the next day wearing some strange turquoise swim trunks and a lavender t-shirt plastered with flowers and the phrase, "Property of Camp Cutie." It was the best I could do at the local KOA market. A keepsake, for sure, though you'll never catch me in it again.

Sorry, can't help but post another slide show here - there are too many great pictures.

If you actually made it to the end of this very long post, then ...well, sorry about that. But you can't know how happy I am to be able to cross off FOUR things off my to-blog list! Yay!

Too Many Potato Chips

I think I'm addicted to self-gratification. If any of you have ever eaten a meal with me, you may have already picked up on this fact, seeing as how, no matter who you are, I can eat faster than you. I have many memories of guests in our home sitting down to dinner, getting all ready to take their first bite of food and looking up in surprise when the entire Romney clan were slurping up their final bites already. Fast. Pretty much, I'm a gobbler, and sadly, the habit is not limited to food alone. I am also an incurable book gobbler. Every time I'm really looking forward to a book, I promise myself that this time, for sure, I will read it slowly and enjoy it. Savor it. So I pick it up, start the first chapter, and then it's already too late. At each chapter ending I promise myself, just one more! I can stop any time I want, just one more chapter! (Please don't ever let me get my hands on anything alcoholic, by the way.) It's just like going through a bag of potato chips.  One is never enough.

I trust you know what book I have consumed in one gulp this time. Of course, it's the new Stephenie Meyer book, "Breaking Dawn." But it's just so much worse than you think. Now, before I confess everything, you must understand that I have spent days and days away from home, unable to attend to my regular duties. (But let's be honest, I would have totally neglected them anyway.) So, I was staying at The Becky's house last week.  It was Thursday night, and I was all set to go to a midnight party with my friend Misty the following night for the book release.  I realized that I wasn't feeling very excited, and decided to pick up Twilight, the first in the series, to get back in the spirit of things.  Let the bingeing begin.  I couldn't help myself - I got totally caught up all over again in the whole story and ended up re-reading all three books, and then went straight into the fourth, finishing quite early this morning, and am still riding the high from the immense literary caloric intake.  

You know, it can't be healthy to do this.  I could tell that immediately when yesterday, as my children were climbing the walls with boredom, I took them for an outing to Farm Country at Thanksgiving Point.  It was "2 Dollar Tuesday," and so the entirety of both the valley to the north and the valley to the south had emptied simultaneously into Thanksgiving Point.  Too many people, not worth the savings, just so you know.  Anyway, there I was, lugging around my stupid shoulder bag because I had to bring the book with me in case I found a moment of reading time.  I didn't.  But in the meantime, I kept looking around at all the moms just like myself and thinking, "Look at all these weak and hideous mortals!"  Yeah, perhaps it's time to pull my nose out and get a life.  Maybe that's the good part of snarfing down these books so fast - it's over so soon, so I am not absent from reason, sanity or reality for too long. Any more than usual, that is. At least I'm not getting fatter from this kind of over-consumption.  Though I suppose sitting on the couch all day isn't helping much.

Bathroom Update

Well, Bitty pretty much hit the nail on the head. She took a look at our "bathroom" (the term is loosely applied) and said to Troy, "You're a good Tearer-Aparter!" Boy, Howdy. And thanks go also to Jim Schnepel and Steve Burnett, because they're pretty good Tearer-Aparters too. Now they can try their hands at being "Putter-Togetherers."

So, I find myself back at home, despite the lack of a toilet. I had planned on just completely moving out for at least a week, but it turns out that that can get tricky. Yesterday's adventures, though largely pleasurable, also included such antics as my cell phone leaping out of my pocket and straight into my sister's toilet, (how's that for terrible timing?) and a rather nasty injury for Stomper. On top of his flare-up of cat allergies, he was playing around last night (past everyone's bedtime, of course) and he jumped from the floor onto a bed, and as far as I can tell from his description, he pretty much landed on the top of his head. It was pretty freaky, but at this point we're pretty sure it's just a muscle injury. The poor kid was in so much pain, crying out just from moving his head. We decided to sleep at home last night so that we could be near Troy and Stomper could be in his own bed. He didn't sleep well, but after a call to the Doc this morning and some extra ibuprophen, followed by a two-hour nap, he's doing a lot better. He's still pretty stiff, but is recovering. Yikes.

You know, all this mess and trouble is pretty much totally overwhelming, but this morning as Troy and I were doing some dishes together, peeking in at our darling sleeping boy, and Bitty was happily playing and really being so sweet and charming, we had a moment of just meeting each others' eyes. I said, "THEY are why we're doing the bathroom." And then we both had to cry a little because we love our kids so much, and each other.

So, for today, Troy is working around us a little, and we're appreciating the use of Troy's parent's camping potty, now located in our garage, a.k.a. the outhouse. Aren't you loving all these details? Okay, here are some pix. A little 'before' bathroom, with a pre-injured Stomper doing some of the heavy duty work, followed by the aftermath of three men armed with pickaxes and sledgehammers. You may notice how there is a lack of foundation under the walls. Poor Troy. This dumb house...we love it, we hate it.



Goodbye, you ugly disgusting bathroom!






Well, wish us luck. We need it.

Homeless

I meant to blog before I got kicked out of the house. I really did. After all, there was so much going on! I think we had three full days of Pioneer Day celebration. Well, maybe just two. But they were eventful. And delightful. And firework-full. I have lots of pictures to share. However, I do not have access to those pictures at the moment because I'm homeless.

My dear tireless husband...well, let's not say tireless because I think he's exhausted. But he keeps working anyway. Anyway, he's been forced to start another project. This does not mean in any way that the other large project going on at our house is finished yet - our attic is still in the works. But, as those of you who have ever had to use the "facilities" at our house know, our bathroom needs a little attention. Okay, lots and lots of attention. So, I moved out. I took the kids and a huge duffel bag and am now making life crazy at my sister's house, and thank heavens for her. Also on our itinerary this week are trips to my parents', Bear Lake, and The Becky's. If the bathroom takes long enough, we may have to repeat the cycle or perhaps visit Peter in California. We'll just see.

So far, it's been a delightful weekend, involving about the fourth past-11 bedtime for the kids. Last night we went to see The Muppet Movie at a special screening at the park. Margaret and I sang along to all the songs while Bitty did some dancing, squirming and exploring. This evening we kept not going to bed when we should because we were in the back yard enjoying the beautiful breezy evening, the happy happy kids, and the hammock. Can you blame us for not turning in early?

So, I will try at some point to post pix from the 24th festivities. I will post pix from poor Troy's latest project. And in the mean time, come on over and bring a shovel. Troy could use some help.

Can't Stand Losing a Message in a Bottle to Roxanne

Let me begin by making one comment.

Nice guns, Sting. Whoa.

And now, let us flash back approximately 23 years to the Johnson residence in SLC, Utah, one of my first babysitting jobs ever. I was twelve or so. Get this. They had no t.v. Ahhhhh! What was a twelve year old kid to do? The kids were all in bed and I had at least two hours before the parents came home. So, I put on a tape and made up dances to it. Yes, I confess that I was rolling around on the Johnson's living room floor at 9:00 at night, doing some very interesting choreography to the sweet strains of Sting's voice. Hey, I was twelve. And that is where it all began.

I guess I had to tell that story, because that is how deeply the music of the Police is burned in my brain, how much it is a part of the workings of my system. I have listened to them for 2/3rds of my lifetime. So, a few months back, when I was at the Stringham residence one morning, and Shawn started buying tickets for the show, I had to have him get me a pair. I ended up going with that gang, (Stringham, Jardine, Stewart-x-2, Burt, Marsh...) and bringing along my dear friend T.L:



I've never been to Usana Amphitheater before, and I found it to be a great place to watch a show, and a rotten place from which to depart. (Although I did enjoy Charisse's horrible date story while we were waiting to get out of the parking lot...) Anyway,the show started with a little rockin' opener from Elvis Costello, including a cameo duet with Sting:



And then came The Police. Happy days. They look pretty good! Well, Andy Summers is kind of on the froggy-side of looking good, but he sure can play. Stewart Copeland looks better, in a cute cool-grandpa kind of way, and he definitely gets to join the league of drummers who make funny faces. Not that I blame them - drumming looks like some serious effort you know? And Eddie, I don't think you're a funny-face-making-drummer, just so you know. And then there was Sting. Did I mention the guns? Well, anyway, he looked ....uh....just fine.

You know, I love concerts. I don't go much anymore, but I sure did a lot in high school and college, and I was thinking about why I love them so much, especially outside on beautiful summer nights. I love it when the sun goes down and the lights on the stage blare up so you can't really see anything around you but the stage. It makes it kind of personal, like it's just you and the band, and they're singing right to you. You can bounce around a dance any way you want because no one's looking at you, or if they are, who cares. You can sing your guts out along with them because the music's so loud that no one can hear you. I love that I didn't have to listen to any Police before the concert for a lyric review. It's in my bones, baby. I love that there are 15,000 (?) other people there feeling the same excitement and thrill that you are, hearing music they've loved for most of their lives. It was awesome and I wish I could go again tonight.

And on a closing note, I would like to say that my husband also has some very nice guns and I wouldn't even consider trading him in for Sting. Next time Troy puts on a skin-tight black t-shirt, I will have the camera ready.

Oh Just Forget It!

You know how, after starting a blog, you start to look at life as a series of blog entries? Some things are big events we want to record, some things are funny stories, some things are just random observations or the capture of one magical moment. Well, I've had about 12 of each of those things in the past week, and I kept meaning to get to the computer and blog about them, but...well...choose your excuse:

1.) Life has been so hectic that I simply couldn't cram another moment in at the computer.

2.) Actually nothing that exciting has been going on.

3.) I just didn't feel like it.

4.) I was trapped under something heavy. (Name that movie...)

Is it possible that at least three of the four replies are all a little true? And at this point, which events/comments/memories do I actually record?

Should it be the day we spent swimming in the back yard with both my sister-in-law (+ kids) and my dear friend TL (+ kids)?

Should it be the two days we spent frantically preparing for the sudden departure of our bedroom furniture - it's old, dark, very heavy, and wouldn't fit in our attic. So when we found a taker, willing to come and pick it up, we were willing to get rid of it several months before we needed to. This led to two trips to IKEA in two days plus several hours of new-drawers assembly plus rearranging most of the house...then the people coming to pick it up didn't show for three more days. Oh well. At least it's done and our bedroom looks 20 times better - I almost don't want to give it up to the kids now when the attic is done.

Or how about getting new insulation in the attic for free? Or having a great jewelry party at my house with awesome stuff? Or how about just now remembering that I totally spaced a Brighton Girls Camp Staff reunion play date at the park yesterday? (I believe I did the same with a dentist appointment a few days before...) Or how about the fact that I got to watch a video tape of the original pre-Broadway production of The Drowsy Chaperone at a party last week? Or how about a lovely evening I spent with the women in my church, eating salads on the back lawn of a woman I've known for 10 years but feel like I just barely got to know? How about the impromptu dinner I threw for my family because my next-door-neighbor gave me a bag full of fresh mushrooms from the farmers market? (It really was the most divine meal - I sauted the 'shrooms with leeks and shallots, thyme right from the garden, and added a little white wine and veggie broth, reduced it down, ladled it over fresh homemade pasta and grated a little parmesan on top...are you kidding me!!! It was awesome!)

See what I mean? Too much. So, I'm skipping it all. I will include one photo of my niece eating chocolate licorice because it is cute:



And now I am wiping my hands clean of the whole mess. It's kind of like getting behind on a magazine you like to read. They just start to pile up until there is no possible way you can read them all. Sometimes you just have to heap them in the recycle bin and start fresh. I'll try, from now on, not to get bogged down in my way-too-exciting, let's-not-miss-a-single-moment life.

The Day of Independence

I guess when you do the same thing for the third year in a row, it's officially a tradition. Yesterday we made our third annual trek to The Becky's house for swimming and other back yard shenanigans, (whoa, I can't believe it - I spelled that word correctly on the first try!) as well as grilled burgers for dinner and then fireworks on the back cement pad. The fireworks get set off about 2 1/2 hours before the sun actually sets. We like it better that way. Here are my favorite pix from the day. (Becky, I did not include the one of you with your finger up your nose. I like you too much to do that to you, but I do hope that at some point in our friendship you'll allow me to take one picture of you with you neither fishing for boogers nor doing a ground hog face. I've said my piece.)









The last is my favorite. My camera's battery was dying, so it was having trouble focusing, etc., and I found that to be a very happy accident.

And as for my favorite moment of the day? That had to be when, at the very near-to-fireworks hour of 7:00, there were a few splattering rain drops. The kids nearly burst with disappointment, fearing that our extravaganza would be canceled. However, after a few minutes Stomper, along with Becky's 8 year old son, came racing in the house with exciting news. They joyfully announced that they had said a prayer that the rain would go away, and then it did! Okay! Yay!

Our other tradition that is quickly taking shape is that of finishing the evening on our own front lawn, enjoying some rarely-spent time with our next door neighbors, the McGreggors, who have a 10-year-old son whom Stomper adores. Usually we're just getting home when they're starting to set off the armload of fireworks they have purchased. This year the dad, Malcom, just told us that they only got a few, so we thought we'd pitch in. We bought one measly little 7 dollar package with about 8 fireworks in it, 3 of which we set off the night before due to uncontainable excitement on the part of my kids. I felt a little sheepish handing over our small little collection, until I discovered that what Malcom meant by "only got a few" was two entire shopping bags full, not to mention some left overs from last year. Those, (plus our 5, don't forget!) meant that we were watching cascading sparks, breathing in toxic fumes and listening to the pops and screams until after 10:00. I loved Bitty. At The Becky's house, she was not able to handle the noise, and so we watched the display from the family room windows. By the time we got home, she had mustered up a little courage and wanted to watch from the lawn, albeit from a safe distance. Every time she was starting to get scared she'd furiously clap her hands and shout things like, "I love that!" "I'm happy!" "That was great!" just to reassure herself. She also spent a lot of time with her arms wrapped around my neck and saying, "I just love you, Momma Kitty!" Stomper, of course, was in heaven; his eyes glazed over in pyrotechnic delight. We've got to keep the matches away from that kid.

And with that, the kids were asleep by 11:15 and up at 10 this morning. Can't wait for the 24th!

Your Adventure Awaits

At least, that's what they tell you when they call your name at the Mayan. "Troy, party of 10, your adventure awaits!" I wonder how I'd do at a job where I'd have to play pretend with other adults. Like at Disneyland or something. Anyway, we at last made it to the Mayan restaurant with the Mayfields, and you know what? It was pretty fun!

When I grew up, in Boulder Colorado, there was a restaurant in Denver called Casa Bonita. I wonder if it's still there. I remember dying to go there, knowing that it had a real waterfall inside with divers and stuff. I do remember that we actually did go, maybe only once, and most of my memories are very foggy and vague. Something about sitting in a dim atmosphere, something about pirate-y tunnels we could run through, something about sitting among leafy branches, and of course something about seeing people dive off the waterfalls. I guess what I remember most is that on my plate was a pile of somewhat foamy peas. Not so good. And frankly, the cuisine at the Mayan hasn't gotten especially rave reviews either. I, however, chose wisely, and ordered the fish tacos. If you ever go, that's what you should get.

We had a grand time (as grand as you can have while keeping track of six rampaging children in a restaurant) and really enjoyed watching Mr. Tuckfield diving. He really is pretty much the most awesome diver there, and he had to be at least 10 years older than the other two divers. Here he is, doing a side flip from a rock right in front of us (forgive the peek at his very un-Mayan speedo):


You'll notice his one bandaged toe, which was broken, and still, he could dive!

Another novelty of the evening was being taken on a "backstage" tour - basically there's a rather muggy locker room behind the waterfall with ladders for getting out of the water or climbing up to higher leap-points. But we did meet the other stars of the show, one of whom looked pretty familiar. See if you can figure out where I've seen her before (and I don't mean Misty):



I'm sure, as no one has actually memorized all my entries, that you have no idea. However, she showed up in my entry about going to the zoo's grand opening of the carousel - she was the lion, jumping around on stilts, having glued whiskers into her nostrils. Well, I learned this evening, that no glue was involved. Just a very convenient nose piercing. You may notice the beads that are strung from ear to ear, making a brief detour through her nose. She's very nice. She's the fire girl, not a diver.

Well, enough said. Any evening with the Mayfields is a good evening. Through a little Tuckfield in, and we're all set, right!

Bringin' Home the Bacon

Well, not bacon exactly, but you know what I mean. Troy's coworker, Steve, has a wife, Mary, who has a family, the Morgans, who have a farm in Layton. On this farm there is a trout pond, kept stocked with fish. We were told there was an open invitation to take Stomper fishing up there, so on Saturday morning Troy took him up. I wish I had been there. There's something so delightful about watching the expression on your child's face when they are doing something they're proud of. I guess some of the fish in this pond have been around for quite some time because they were pretty massive. This guy was one of the smaller fish in there, and it was huge! Maybe 18 inches or so.

So, you know that I love cooking. I have to admit, though, that when my child handed me a huge old dead fish I was a little put off. Too much of my food comes neatly packaged from the grocery store. They try hard to make our food pretty, I think, and this fish was lacking in that department. Thank heavens for the internet because all you have to do is type in "grilled trout" and you get a thousand ideas for what to do. What we did was mix together herbs (picked from this year's garden...joy!) and olive oil and garlic, rub that all over the inside of the fish, and grill it whole for a while. It made for such a tasty dinner, with a little broccoli and some really great lemony garlicky creamy saucy stuff on the side. Well, on the side, on top, and basically slathered all over.

Anyway, it was a pleasure to see Stomper so excited about his catch and to enjoy it together as a family that same day. The kids actually ate it. Look out, Morgans, we're coming back! This time we want a BIG fish...

The New 'Do

It was Stomper's idea. Really it was. I guess the idea came from a show he really enjoys called The Avatar - the hero is a bald kid named Aang:



Stomper has been begging and begging me to shave his head. He didn't just want short hair, he wanted to be bald. BALD bald, like a ping pong ball. I told him we'd do the best we could and we used the clippers with no attachments on them. I wasn't willing to go after his head with my razor, but he seemed pretty content with the buzz. Now he's wondering how I'm going to attach a blue arrow to his head. Huh. I haven't figured that one out yet. What's funny is how much I love that bald little head of his. I can't stop rubbing it, which drives him a little crazy. I'm also loving his brown little face, now framed in by his pasty white pate, except for one little brown spot on the back of his head where his cowlick is - I guess the sunshine could get through there. Anyway, he's suddenly shy about it and doesn't like people to talk about it, but I love his little head so much I might keep him shaved clean all summer!

Guess Who's Autograph I Got!

Well. I don't even know where to begin. I guess it started a couple of years ago when I and my friend Amie were visiting teaching a woman in our ward by the name of Michelle Van De Graaff. We were sitting and chatting with their family, who were all excited because Rick, Michelle's husband, has a sister who's husband wrote a play and it was going to Broadway. It's called The Drowsy Chaperone - heard of it? It was new in 2006 and won 5 Tonys. Rick's brother-in-law played the narrator and everything. (Bob Martin - he's the frumpy looking guy two people to the right of the stripy gal in the center of the picture. Keep your ear out for him - he's working on about three more shows right now!) I remember all three of the Van De Graaff kids trying to act out pretty much the whole show for us on their front porch, and Amie and I, though charmed, didn't really get it. Well, this week The Drowsy Chaperone is here in Salt Lake, so Troy and I bought tickets and planned to go see the show with our friends the Grundvigs. Unfortunately, Troy found out just a couple of weeks ago that he had to go on a business trip to Portland, of course over the 25th. We were both really disappointed that he couldn't join us, but luckily TL got her sister, here from Seattle, to attend instead.

Adam, TL, Julie and I met up at Macaroni Grill, where we enjoyed some pretty awesome Italian food - the winner for me was Adam's dish; a sweet and tender tarragon pasta with lobster and shrimp. (Sorry for the unnecessary information - but I will always remember that pasta.) We then strolled over to the Capitol Theater just in time to get to our seats in the mezzanine and glance at our programs. It was at this point that I just about started jumping up and down and screaming. I looked at the program and saw that playing The Man in the Chair (basically the narrator) was Jonathan Crombie. I'll know if you are a true fan if I have to tell you no more. However, if that name doesn't ring a bell I'll just say two more words. Gilbert Blythe. THE Gilbert Blythe. Now, if you were 10 - 15 years old about 25 years ago (I was) you probably did what I did and watched Anne of Green Gables on PBS. I, cuddled under a blanket on the couch, which had been scooted up close to the t.v., watched it with my mom, as it was on over three evenings. And you may have, like myself, fallen irrevocably in love with Gil. And there he was, on stage! I, having instantly reverted to a 10 year old, almost jumped off the balcony. Of course I'm kidding. What I almost did, during the applause, was scream out something like "YAY GILBERT!!!!" I only wish I had.



The show itself was one of the most hilarious, clever, and entertaining shows I have ever had the pleasure to enjoy. If you ever get the chance, I highly recommend seeing it.

Well, after the show, I felt just elated. Something about seeing a really wonderful production just fills me with joy and sort of sad longing that we only get to live one life. I'd never trade my life that I have, but a life on stage would have been grand. Too bad I can't sing. Maybe in some alternate universe I can. We chatted with our friends, the Van De Graaffs, in the lobby for quite a while, and I'm telling you, I was dragging my feet as we left I was hoping so much to see the cast make their exits. Alas, they didn't. We strolled back to the car and pulled out of the lot, chatting about where to get a little tasty treat. We drove by the theater, and saw the Van De Graaffs out front...talking...to...Gilbert. PULL OVER!! TL did a screaming U-turn across 2nd South and I leaped out of the car. Michelle had already very graciously told Mr. Crombie that he had a rather middle aged fan who tried to climb out of the balcony to get to him, and she had gotten an autograph for me. I hope she didn't mind too much that I also got my own autograph.

Gee. I have to admit that as fun as it was to meet him, there's something I hate about being a fan. How do I describe it? It just makes you so un-unique and like you're one unrecogniseable spec among a thousand. Of course, I probably wouldn't have felt so foolish if I didn't get so star struck. Heart pounding, hands shaking, sweating a little. Yeah, nothing very graceful about that. Especially when you try to think of something intelligent to say, so you ask, "Are you enjoying traveling around the country?" (Dumb question anyway,) and he kindly says, "Yes, especially because I get to travel with all these wonderful people." I look around me and realize that I'm standing smack in the middle of a group of like five of the actors from the show and I didn't even notice it. Nor did I have the grace to ask them for their autographs as well. I was too busy being a 10 year old. Blithering? Is that the word? I think that's it. That and IDIOT. Oh well. I'm kicking myself for not bringing my camera. At least I got his autograph, not to mention the fact that I got to see a really wonderful show. I hope I can be a season ticket holder some day.


(How much do I love that he signed the cosmetic surgery add on the back? Nice.)

I jumped back in the car, and was slightly mocked, deservedly so, for being sweaty and pathetic, and then we went out for THE best frozen yogurt I have ever had. Luna Berry, on 4th South and 7th East. Go there. Get some yogurt.

Happy Solstice to You

Yesterday, being the summer solstice, was truly a day to celebrate. Don't YOU celebrate the solstice every year? Well, we sure do! First of all, the 21st of June is the day of my first date with Troy, this year being the eleventh anniversary of that fateful event. For the record, we drove up Guardsman Pass with a Mr. Jim Schnepel and his date, about whom I remember nothing, except that she had red hair. Maybe. Anyway, it was fun, and ended sort of early in the morning of the 22nd. My parents were in Belgium at the time and knew nothing about it except that by the time they got home I suddenly had a serious boyfriend. Surprise! The other reason we always celebrate is because we have a group of friends who always celebrate. The Stringhams generously hold an annual shindig in their back yard, complete with a couple of grills, a bounce house, the guys performing in their band, and at least a thousand children. I'll get to that later.

The day started off adventurously when I went on the back porch. I looked up at my hanging baskets, which I am notorious for planting every year and subsequently neglecting so they are generally dried up little twigs by mid July. This year would be different, I promised myself, and so as I looked up at my lovely little plants I noticed that one plant was all fat and happy and the other was little more than a twig. Observe:



Upon closer inspection I found a large, green, horned and disgusting caterpillar-ish thing happily chomping away at the plant. My first thought was, Hey, it's Saturday! Aren't you hungry little caterpillars supposed to be eating through one slice of salami, one cupcake, one piece of chocolate cake, etc...you're not supposed to eat through one nice green leaf until tomorrow! Of course what I actually felt was a combination of fury at the beast and sorrow for my plant (I had actually been watering this one!) and so I thought of the best punishment I could. "Hey Stomper! Come look at this!" Yeah, I'm not sure the little thing made it through the encounter, but it surely kept my children occupied for the morning.



Following the release of a somewhat less-than-fresh looking "Catty" (as dubbed by Stomper), it was time to take a dip in the pool. You always know summer is really here when we inflate our rather large back-yard pool. I'm so proud of us. Troy and bought this pool before we even had kids, like six years ago. I can't believe it is still in one piece. The kids had so much fun. They both begged me for goggles for about three weeks, so I finally got them each a pair, and Bitty especially loves hers, no matter how uncomfortable they appear. They were like two little fishies romping around in our very own pond.

I won't pretend that the end of the day wasn't the part I was most excited for, and not just because of the big Summer Solstice party. Oh no. What I was excited for was that my sister had my kids over for a sleep-over. Yipeee!!! Troy and I don't do too many evening dates together because there are no local sitters in the 'hood that I'll let put my kids to bed. This is in part due to my own traumatic memories of being a young babysitter and being expected to know how to put a gaggle of kids, including small babies, to bed. I can't even get my own small babies to go to bed. So I pretty much ask only my mother or my sister to put my kids to bed. And since I don't actually pay them and they have lives of their own, I don't ask them to do this very often. But my kids adore going to my sister's house, and it's so refreshing just to take off with my boyfriend and not worry about getting home or anything. We decided not to hit the party early enough for dinner. Instead we grabbed dinner to an old favorite - The Pub at Trolley Square (mmmm...nachos....) Well, I got a really yummy crab cake salad and Troy let me pick at his nachos. (Tangent - does anyone else miss the Nachos Mañana at Crompton's up Emigration Canyon?) We then arrived fashionably late to the party, and were able to enjoy some tunes from the band:


From left to right: John, James, Shawn and Zach
Trivia question: which of the four people pictured here did Rachel not go out with at least once? (There's a prize for the winner!)

Luckily for all those guys as well as me, this is who I ended up with:



Yes, Troy and I really loved hanging out, chatting with wonderful friends, and not keeping one ear tuned toward the mass of screaming children to detect the cries/crimes of one of our own. We just sat there and enjoyed ourselves. So much so, we didn't head home until after midnight. We had plans to go catch a late show or maybe even set up the projector in our back yard and watch a movie that way, but it turned out to be too much fun to be one of the last few and faithful along with James Jardine, Jared Madsen and of course the Stringhams. You know, every time I think of how blessed I am in my life with my perfect-match husband and piles and piles of beloved friends whom I truly adore, I want to shout for joy. I love my life.

Perfection

I'll admit that when our plans to go to the Mayan last night fell through, I was actually disappointed. Troy's life-long buddy Mike is a great diver and spends a few evenings a week diving at the Mayan restaurant. We had made plans with the Mayfields to visit, eat some dinner, watch Mike dive and even get a backstage tour of the place. We were all sad to find out that Mike wasn't actually working that night. We decided to postpone those plans and find something else to do together. I'm so very glad we did because we got the wonderful opportunity to enjoy a little slice of summer heaven.

Picture this: Sandwiches. (Yes, I know, that's heavenly all on its own.) But wait, there's more. They were Emigration Market sandwiches. (Mine was a portabello burger....) A blanket on the grass. Children frolicking. Kids and Dads tossing the football to each other. Swings. Toddlers. There were even puppies. Those didn't belong to us, but they certainly added to the picture. Let me tell you, it doesn't get much better than that.



Not great pix, but I only had my cell phone, so I used it. Duh. Remind me to bring my camera next time!

Certainly

Bitty has a new favorite word. Certainly. You know how sometimes you don't realize how much you use a word until suddenly your children are saying it all the time? For a while Stomper said "actually" a lot. I know he got that from me. Bitty uses her new word quite a bit, but today may have been one of my favorites, as she very assertively let her brother know. He was asking her to wait her turn and she replied,

"I certainly can wait, you silly boy!"

Look out world, here comes Bitty.

In Like a Lion

I know this phrase is often used in reference to the onset of Spring, but this year I'm choosing to apply it to summer. Spring was more like..."In like a psychotic hamster." At least that's how I felt about these last few somewhat bipolar months. Anyway, this week was officially our first week of summer as far as being out of school and stuff. We totally took it by storm. As I have mentioned in the past I find the heat of summer plus the schedule-less days to be rather oppressive, and my best defense is to plan a bus-load of fun and kind of grab the season by the horns. I guess I got a little over enthusiastic because this week was a wee bit over the top.

I'll give you the run down, in case you care, which you probably don't, but I want to get this down for posterity.

Monday - the start of swimming lessons, immediately followed by meeting my mom downtown at the Church Museum of History and Art (she's a docent there) for a special day of activities and crafts. Swimming went pretty well, except that Bitty's tot-class teacher is totally an old school lady, who kind of just grabs your kids (from out of your arms!) and brings them in the water with her whether they're crying or not. Bitty had been excited until another child in the class started screaming, and then of course Bitty started screaming too. It was a little upsetting at first, and I was thinking of complaining or something. But by the end of the class Bitty was in heaven (and screaming because I was getting her out of the water) and the next day the other little screamer only spent half of the class crying, so I think Linda wasn't so bad after all. It's not like she's mean - she's sweet with the kids. It's just that she doesn't try to get the kids to warm up to her at all. After the museum and picnic lunch we spent the rest of the afternoon playing with friends and getting muddy.

Tuesday was round two of swimming, then lunch at The Becky's, followed by hours of play, and then dashing off to the gym. Basically the kids were away from the house for like 10 hours.

Wednesday was a miserably cold swimming lesson, followed by a marathon zoo trip with the Grovers and Grundvigs. I don't think I've ever spent five hours straight at the zoo before but that's what we did. The kids had so much fun, and then we played on my friend Ruth's front yard for an hour or so.

Thursday we skipped swimming due to more chilly air, and instead trekked up to Ogden to the Dino park with the Mayfields, plus of course we had to play at their house for a while when we returned.

Friday my mom took the kids to the park and the library, then we had friends over for the rest of the day. Plus I was totally manly and helped Troy lug a literal truck load of dirt out of the basement. Wish I had taken a picture of that one!

Saturday we traded babysitting with the Grovers, shopped for Father's Day, cleaned out tons of boxes from the basement, then went to a BBQ at our friends' home in Woods Cross. That was also so so fun. Troy and I were both very happy to just sit still on lawn chairs, eat a yummy dinner and watch the kids frolic.

Today we kind of went to church (don't ask) and then had all the parents plus my sister and her girls over for a BBQ. I was so happy. In that group are one vegetarian, one, uh, meat-arian? and some dieters. Not a good combo to cook for so I just said forget it and we did burgers (some of the meat variety and some of the not meat variety) and hot dogs and salads and fruit and basically it was totally awesome. I haven't enjoyed a big old hamburger for such a long time! One piece of advice: No matter how much your nose is running, do not take Benadryl before guests come over. About half-way through the meal I felt like I hit a brick wall and could barely keep my eyes open. I was pretty much drooling and slurring my speech and not completing sentences. It was awesome.

So now it's Sunday night, 9:30, somehow the kids are still awake (but lying down in bed in a dark room so that shouldn't last too long) (actually it's now 10:30 and it did last a long time...) and I can finally get a little down time! Tomorrow it seems we're starting the fun at break-neck speed again as we head back to swim lessons, and are planning dinner at the Mayan, a trip to the aquarium and Stomper's summer school this week. I can hardly complain because I have too much fun stuff to do. I don't know if I can keep it up all summer, though. We do need a few lazy days in the sun, I think.

I just had to include this little video from the museum on Monday. One of the stations was about the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, and they tried to teach the kids a few things about music. It was pretty much totally over Stomper's head, but then at the end when they had all the kids get up and pretend to audition for the choir I was laughing like crazy. He just looked so intent, so serious. He looked a little upset even, but when it was done, he was so proud of himself. He wore his little badge for the rest of the day.



Here's a little slide show with the highlights of the week. Whew! Long entry, long week!

Mommy's Ready for a Sandbox

Need I say more?

I didn't think so. (Okay, those boys are darling, but cleanup is a rather major endeavor in cases such as these.)

In other updates, church was totally the best-of-times, worst-of-times yesterday. The first two hours were somewhat miserable, as both my children totally felt apart. Stomper spent the first half of primary under a table and the second half with me, curled up and crying. He acts so traumatized sometimes and I can't figure out what the trigger is. Bitty also spent a good chunk of the morning in tears, also for unknown reasons. I was about to throw in the towel and just go home when I guess somebody flipped a switch, because Sacrament Meeting, which we have last, was really quite enjoyable - not something I expect on a normal basis. Stomper colored pictures for the older girls he adores (both of them are pre-teenagers who pay attention to him and he's rather smitten,) including writing "To Sarah From Stomper" in very nice writing, and then passing them secretively through faithful messengers like his little sister. My heart just fills with joy to see him do this (the writing, not the note passing) because he has never shown much interest in learning his letters, coloring nicely and carefully, or fine motor skill type stuff like that. And then suddenly in like the last three weeks it has just clicked and he's drawing all sorts of great pictures instead of scribbling and doing so well with his letters. Being a mom is all about reveling in your children's lives. Something as little as him writing his "s" correctly just makes my heart sing. And Bitty got all cute and cuddly. That hour almost made up for the previous two!

After church we had been scheduled to have an afternoon at our friend's the Tuckfield's home, and it got pushed back two hours later than we had planned. This was no problem for me - the minute Troy passed the message along I crawled into a cocoon of covers and settled in for a long and snorey nap. Then I heard my daughter's approach, and as she climbed up on the bed I thought to myself, "There goes my nap!" That was the last thing I remember for 1 1/2 hours. She just curled up into the proper spooning position and we both zonked. It really was very sweet. You know what that means, though, right? I planned on having a very late-night mommy-daughter date with her, but after several hours of total bliss at our friend's house (they have lizards, beagles, big kids who like little kids and can also do flips, not to mention the trampoline - what more is there in life?) I guess we wore her out. After putting Stomper to bed she starting crying and saying, "I need to go to sleep with my brother!" She climbed in with him, and we didn't hear from her again until the next morning. Yahoo, yipeee, amen.

A Rainbow of Flavors

Too much cotton candy. Or maybe it was the snow cones. All I know is that my children have had too much sugar this week, ingested in a variety of very odd colors. I will not tell you details of how I came to realize that there had been too much food coloring in Stomper's digestive track, I'll just say I saw blue. That's all I'll say.

Our local Elementary school let out this week, and so of course there was a carnival to attend. It was pretty much in our back yard (just over the fence) and so it was an easy walk to make. I joined my friend Emily and her three boys, where we tried to keep track of all five kids for an hour or so. After our two toddlers got way too frustrating to try to corral, we decided to divide and conquer. She took the big boys and stayed at the carnival while I took the two toddlers home to my house. A good plan. Her little 2 year old and my almost-3 year old and I sat in the grass in front of our house for almost an hour playing. It was actually a pretty warm night - the rest of the day had been rainy and chilly, a weather pattern that has been dampening both our valley (yay!) and my spirits (boo!) all spring long.



Another exciting event of the week was the opening of the new carousel at the zoo. Now, if I had my way, I would have preferred that the zoo put maybe some new animals in the spot once occupied by the hippo house-o-stench, but the carousel is pretty cool. I had been planning this visit for a long time - I read that the zoo would be doing a ribbon cutting at 8:30 on a Saturday morning, and I knew that if there were ever a time to hit the zoo, it would be then. Who's going to get up and be at the zoo that early on a chilly Saturday morning? Besides me, I mean. I'm always so glad when I do stuff like this. It's great fun and worth the effort. The line was indeed short, and got even shorter as the ribbon-cutting festivities came to a close. There were people dressed up as circus animals, wearing tall stilts that they could jump around on like loons. My favorite was the monkey, but unfortunately as he was jumping around he landed in a wet spot and hit the turf pretty hard. I felt so bad for him but he was back to his regular bouncing a few minutes later. Kudos go also to the lioness, who had glued two fangs on her incisors plus had very wiry-looking whiskers actually coming out of her nostrils. Very good costume. I would maybe have set a limit at sticking things up my nose, but I guess I'm not that dedicated to my craft. We rode the ride three times in all, and didn't even go see any animals because we were just about all funned out after that. Especially because as we exited the ride the first time, we were handed two big bags of cotton candy. At least this stuff was pink.

Buried Treasure

You wouldn't think that fixing our attic would require Troy to spend quite so much time in our basement, but alas, that seems to be the case. This time it's because he's connecting ductwork to get cool air to the top of our house. This has required additional excavation, and has turned up a couple of interesting finds. I'm just waiting for the day that we find a body or something horrible like that. Truth be told, Troy did find a couple of bones, but we couldn't identify the species. He also uncovered a pair of shoes that are obviously from a previous era. They're totally falling apart, but they're sure neat to see. Now I'm waiting for Troy to uncover the legs that go with them.... bwa ha ha ha!