The Swedish Fish

Ladies Lunch

The new Natural History Museum at the University of Utah is fabulous. We learned the crap out of natural history while we were there.

Where's Ike

The summer Ladies Lunch was the second annual at The Oaks. The girls weren't on the best behavior because we ended up going later in the afternoon. Lesson learned.
Despite some whining we had a nice time, especially when it came time for dessert and everyone got their own ice cream in a silver dish.

We invited Ike but he said that he'd rather stay home and eat pickles and Doritos for lunch.

Brandon and I got to go see Spiderman and Wonder Woman in the theater. I don't remember which one this was, but it sure was fun to spend some time together. Both of those movies were much needed distractions.

Malan's Peak

Probably the only time that the kids weren't fighting with each other is when they all banded together around Oma's iPad. I think they were watching Ever After High. I still haven't seen that show but somehow they all have songs and lines memorized from it so it must have happened somehow.

And speaking of fighting. Ike and Gray are the best of frenemies. They love love love each other and also beat the crap out of each other. They are like a couple of puppies fighting for their place while at the same time really appreciating each other.

We went to Brandon's high school reunion. For a couple of weeks before the date he spent all of the time that he wasn't applying for jobs catching up with old friends on Facebook. It was pretty neat to see how the Layton High class of '97 has turned into a bunch of kind and lovely adults. I didn't know them as high schoolers but they were classy and supportive. The high school reunion has kind of taken on mythic proportions due to movies and media. There are even diets that are specifically meant to prepare you to show up looking hot and successful. But once we got there it just seemed that everyone was really hoping the best for each other.

We had a chance to tour the school which the kids pretty much thought of as a huge obstacle course.

People ask me all the time if the girls play with Ike like he is a doll. The answer is yes.

Splash Pad!

One thing that I didn't take pictures of was all the time we spent with our siblings. We went out to lunch with Becky and Caleb, which did produce this gem.

I didn't catch the lovely night we had at Eric and Debbie's when she made Cuban food, or the night at the park where the kids all played and the adults got to catch up, or the Sunday dinners, or watching fireworks in my parent's backyard, or the rave. One thing that was hard about leaving Eugene is that we have so many great friends there and I was grieving that loss. Every time we got together with our brothers and sisters it filled that gap.

We also had some really good eating. I love to cook but whenever I go home I remember how good it feels to walk in to a meal prepared by a loving mom.

We got all these early birds up to hike Malan's Peak. The last time we did this hike Ike was only 2 months old. I thought that it was just hard because I was postpartum. Now I have no excuse. It is just a tough hike. I was sure proud of these little beans. They kept good attitudes and made it, not only to the peak but down into the basin. We were rewarded with a surprise encounter with a rattlesnake and also a bunch of treats that Brandon had packed. Whenever morale started to get low he would pull out a power pellet (what someone less fun might call a donut hole) and cheer everyone up. We all came home tired and rewarded ourselves with a movie night. Descendants 2.

Pioneer Day

I can't help but love Pioneer Day. It just makes me happy. I love the parade. I love hanging out with my family. I love Utah. I love home.

Marci and Emily...a long legacy of parade watching

Okay, here we go again with weird photos that I have to include because most of my favorite moments of this summer were off script when nothing really was happening. Instead of fighting parade traffic I sent all the kids with Brandon and Jill, Mom and I went to this store called Treasure Hunt. It is an outlet in the truest sense of the word and has all kinds of seconds and castoffs that are sold for basically nothing. Jill and I realized that this couch will never be sold because you can't sit on it without sliding off.

We ended up buying a suitcase for each of the grandkids. They were originally from Pottery Barn but were sold for $6. The catch: They were marked with names that do not belong to our children. So a warm welcome goes out to our new bags who are named Addison, Rose, Kennedy and Lincoln.

Why is it so important for me to blog about this?
It was so enjoyable. I never get to shop with my mom and sister. It was early on Pioneer Day and the holiday was still ahead of us. We had a day coming that was full of games, and good food, and we had just found the bargain of the century. This is what makes life awesome.

Dad was running to the store and Jill mentioned the new Twinkie ice cream and he came home with 3, also one Cupcake flavored. This is another reason that it is so fun living with my parents. My dad's grocery store runs are as random as they are delicious. You could send him for a jalepeno and a can of olives and he will get what you want and also come home with 7 different kinds of ice cream bars. He is the guy at the store getting all the stuff that you want but that you would never buy. It ROCKS!! I love how it is always a surprise.

My mom doesn't want water wasted so after they swim the kids have to take the water to the dry spots on the grass. Of course, they don't complain at all.

We had hamburgers and spaghetti salad and tons of ice cream and then went to the drive in. Yep, there is still a drive in theater in Riverdale and, just like Classic Waterslide I pray that it will survive. We saw the newest Despicable Me, which wasn't great, but who cares when you are watching it outside under a blanket of stars?

The part I loved best about the drive in was while we were waiting for it to get dark. We played a brain teaser game and everybody was sitting together playing. It's the simple things, folks.

We figured that in the true spirit of honoring Grandpa Howard we should go check out some yard sales. Jill, Jared, Mom and I went out one Saturday morning. The photo isn't at all compelling but we had such a good time I just want to remember. We went all over searching out treasures and came home with much more than we needed. We laughed at some of the funny things we saw and enjoyed the community camaraderie that brings strangers together. I came home with an Indian cookbook, a set of Bocci balls and a new purse. Mom got a beautiful water jug and Jill worked with the girls to get the new Lego Hobbit game ready to play.

We also checked out the Ogden Farmer's Market for Farm Day. I never really feel like a city person until it is farm day.