A Week with Grandma and Grandpa

My parents came for a week. We had a wonderful time with them. Here is a small sample of what we did. I was too busy having fun to take pictures of everything :)

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They arrived on a Saturday and Grandma Buppie opened her suitcase to find that the TSA had moved stuff around enough in her luggage that the box of quinoa she was bringing us exploded. Just for the record, it is delicious, even after being salvaged from a suitcase!


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Sunday, Grandma and Grandpa came to church with us and heard Rachel give a talk. She did really well.

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Monday we headed to San Diego. We started at the Mormon Battalion Visitor's Center. Everyone loved it. The Church recently remodeled the displays and it was a lot of fun. Grandpa Dale introduced Michael to a big gun.

Everyone had a chance to pan for gold.

Naomi LOVED pumping water.


I think my mom's and my daughter's profiles look similar in this picture. What do you think?

I should have timed the people who were panning for gold. They kept at it for a while. My dad was having as much fun as anyone, which brings to mind the expression, "Boys will be boys and so will a lot of middle aged men."

There was a tower you could climb to look out over Old Town San Diego.

Michael needed a little bit of help with the binoculars.

There he goes!

It took some effort to drag everyone away from their prospecting, but we were getting hungry.

On the way out, Gwen was fantasizing about leading a wagon train...

...and Michael found an even bigger gun!

Everyone who wanted one got a small nugget of fool's gold from the prospectors, but this was my favorite souvenir :)


After the Mormon Battalion Site, we went out to lunch, then to Mission Beach where Grandpa, Summer and Rachel rode a roller coaster and the younger kids played in the water and sand.

On the way back home, my parents treated us to Italian food at Vigilucci's, which was so close to the beach that we could see the water. It was delicious.

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Tuesday, we recuperated a bit and went to see Gwen's school play.

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Wednesday, we took off to the Raymond M. Alf Museum of Paleontology. We also stopped at the Graber Olive House and Handel's Ice Cream.

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Thursday, I let Gwen skip school and she, Michael and Kelly woke up really early (hence the lack of cheer) and put on their overalls and went fossil hunting with Grandpa!

Thursday night, we ate at a local Mexican restaurant I really like. After dinner, my mom, Summer, Rachel, Heather and I went to the Art Walk downtown.

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Friday, we went to the farmer's market and picked up lots of yummy things. For dinner that night, we ate corn on the cob, artichoke, and watermelon radishes. My mom also bought us some flowers :)

Since my dad had done stuff with all the other kids, he took just Heather on a date to see Shrek in 3D Friday afternoon.

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Saturday, Kelly was baptized. This is the dress my mother made when I was baptized. My sisters and I each wore it and five of our girls have, too.

Summer played the cello while the sisters of the two children being baptized sang. Here they are practicing before the baptism started.

When we got back to the house, my dad and I tortured everyone by taking multiple pictures before we ate. You can see my mom and dad, as well as our cousin Lorna, who was so kind to come for Kelly's big day :)

Everyone recovered from starving in front of the camera by filling up on taco salad and trifle. Yum!

After lunch, my parents hit the road for more adventures, beginning with a drive up the coast. Thanks Dad and Mom for coming!

Last Week

Friday night, I went to the temple with some of the young women in the ward. It was Heather's first time doing baptisms for the dead. I love being in the temple and it was extra nice to go with the girls.

Saturday, Michael asked me at least seven times if I had anything he could take apart. Any old radios? Broken toasters? I had to tell him no every time. Amazingly, everything is currently working.

Sunday, our home teacher asked if there was anything he could do for us. I asked if he had anything that was broken to get rid of. His office had just replaced their computers, so Michael hit pay dirt. A whole computer to dig into! I think he spent a good six hours on it, and there is still more to disassemble.

Here are some of the batteries he unearthed and two of his favorite parts. Circuit boards? I have no idea.

Kids at the Park

We went to the park for FHE this week. I played tennis with Rachel for a while. I was kind of nervous about it because I haven't played tennis since I broke my back. I was afraid that one of my favorite sports (not that I am any good, but I like to try) would make me hurt, but I was fine. Hooray!

We all ate a picnic dinner and then Summer and Rachel disappeared to sit in the car for the last 15 minutes of the trip while the younger kids played on the playground. Of course, I didn't start taking pictures until then, so I apologize for the lack of teenagers.

I don't know what Michael was looking at, but it must have been interesting...

This was a good climbing tree.

Earlier that day, while she was at school, Gwen cracked her tooth in half. I was prepared to make the two hour round trip to their dentist to have it checked out, but Stan was more pragmatic. He looked at it, said, "That tooth just needs to come out," and promised Gwen $5 if she pulled it out before the end of the evening. That is ten times what the tooth fairy usually brings to our house, so she went right to work and it was out before bedtime.

Finally Heather, in another tree, up near the top!

Happy Birthday Kelly!

Happy Birthday Kelly!

Kelly is eight!

We are excited for her to be baptized in a couple weeks.

Instead of a cake, she wanted apple dumplings, so that is what her candles are stuck in.

We love her and feel so blessed to have her in our family :)

Balancing Acts

The bunnies other ear flopped down. Now she looks more even.

Michael is also good at balancing, even when he is asleep. Last Saturday, I found him in the rocking chair instead of his bed.

Funny Bunny and Yummy Cake

Here's the cake Rachel decorated for the Standard's Night we attended at church on Tuesday.

It is a "wedding cake".

Also in the news, one of Madeline's ears has lopped down, but the other one hasn't...yet?

Saturday

We went to the beach - yay! My three bathing beauties did not inherit my fear of seaweed. Underneath all that vegetation, they are all wearing new swimsuits. The funny thing was, because they were cut differently and because Gwen's was a "slim", my 10 year old ended up with a size 12 and Heather, my 12 year old, is wearing a size 10.

Nothing says May like new swimsuits, right? Summer and Rachel also have new ones, but I was lazy and didn't take many pictures. I'll post some another time. If you are shopping for a modest swimsuit, they found some cute ones at Lime Ricki.

After the beach, we rushed everyone through the bath and shower and were late to Summer and Rachel's piano recital. Saturday was a rotten day for digital memories because, besides not taking many beach pictures, I didn't get any good videos of Summer playing the piano. Here is Rachel, though, playing my favorite of her two pieces , "Linus and Lucy".

After we got home, Naomi had fun standing in front of the air conditioner!

A Mother's Day Post

My family spoiled me rotten yesterday. I got a nap, Stan gave me a Godiva gift card (mmmmm...), Summer cut me some flowers and made a chocolate layer cake from scratch with seven minute frosting. She decorated it with shaved chocolate and fresh berries. It tasted as good as it looked. The rest of the kids gave me cards with expressions of love I will treasure and there were even a few "help with a chore" coupons thrown in.

It really is amazing that they treat me so well, considering my behavior. Rachel pointed out last night during FHE that I have the awful habit of embarrassing her and Summer, and I admit it's true.

I think I learned this behavior from my dad, or did I inherit it from him? Nurture or nature? Anyway, the more I like someone, the more I enjoy teasing them.

Summer and Rachel have these two friends, who happen to be boys. S & R like these two young men a lot, but just for the record, they don't LIKE them.

Anyway, they are very likable young men. They are kind and respectful and are gentlemen. I like them, which is where the problem lies. I also really like S & R. I see them together and I just can't help myself!

Here is a list of the teasing I have let slip out of my undisciplined lips provided by the daughters (I don't remember 2/3 of these, but they do - vividly) -

One time, I saw the four of them chatting in the halls at church and one of my daughters was twirling her hair. One of the boys was fiddling with his tie. I walked up and said, "Don't you all look nervous!"

Another time, another daughter was sitting by one of the boys, who started kicking her legs. She kicked him back and it looked like footsy to me, so I told her,"Stop flirting."

A couple of different times, I was ready to leave and so I let my daughters know by saying, "It's time to go, maybe some cute boys will escort you out," and, "Are you ready to go or are you too busy talking to cute boys?"

Finally, my most recent abomination was when the four of them were chatting and I walked up with the five younger kids to gather my two oldest to leave church. One of the boys looked at Michael and said, "Your little brother is so adorable with his suspenders," (see why I like these boys) so I said , "ALL of my kids are adorable."

They knew who I was talking about.

Randomness, Heavy on Michael

I made our usual after school snack, microwave popcorn and shake made from ice and powdered milk. We usually have straws available, but we were out. Michael tipped his cup up for a drink and got an avalanche instead. Look closely, I think it went up his nose.

Maybe it is okay to keep your Nestle Crunch bars in the freezer, but don't try to defrost them in the microwave.

I found this inexplicable picture on my camera.

The other evening, Michael decided to hold onto Summer's leg and not let go. She decided that she would not let that stop her from doing what she needed to, so she dragged him around the house for a while.

I bought a trifle bowl and felt the need to break it in.

Last, but not least, just for Summer, who can't believe I would blog my bruise, here is what showed up a couple of days after I gave blood.

Makeovers

While Rachel was camping at her Level 4 Overnighter and Stan and I were on a date, Summer had fun putting makeup on her siblings.

When everyone was done getting made up (and Gwen had washed it all off), Summer sat them down and had them make funny faces.

Making Me Do the Math

I asked Michael if he wanted a corn dog for lunch before I put some in the oven.

He said, "I want a half of a quarter."

Forty five minutes later, the corn dogs are cooled off, it's time to eat and I ask everyone if they want a whole or a half of a banana.

Mr. Difficult replies, "I want three 'halfs' of a third."

Hey, haven't I seen you before?

Yesterday, I dropped the two biggest girls off for seminary and went to get gas. I filled my tank and went to stand in line for my change, when another lady stepped just in front of me. She was there for a couple of minutes while she put some money on a gas pump and bought a pack of cigarettes. I stood behind her and noticed the color of her hair.

After I got my change, I mailed some stuff at the post office, went home to feed the three youngest and the four of us took off. We dropped off Kelly to take her standardized tests for school and Michael, Mo and I went to Walmart where we bought freezer jam pectin, a cake plate with a dome on it (I've been wanting one for a while) and a Mothers" Day card. We drove back to school for Kelly, returned some books to the library and picked up a quarter yard of green lycra to alter a swimsuit with.

As I was leaving the parking lot, Summer called. "Did you know I stayed home sick?" (I had no idea.) "When are you coming home?" I told her I was on my way and why didn't she clean up after breakfast for me so that we could eat lunch as soon as I got there. Poor girl, there is no rest for the down and out around here!

I fed the oldest and three youngest and, taking advantage of my newly discovered babysitter, took off on my own to run a couple of errands before I had to pick Rachel, Heather and Gwen up. I rushed into our doctors' offices to get something from the pharmacy and ended up in line behind one lady while I waited for my turn to pay. Her shirt looked familiar. I had seen that hair somewhere. It was driving me crazy. I had to mentally go over every place I had gone and every line I had stood in when I finally realized she was the same person who was in front of me at the gas station. I was so excited when I remembered, that I blurted, "Did you buy gas at Food 4 Less this morning? I was in line behind you twice today!" She said, "Yea, I remember you now!"

After all the places I went...isn't that funny?

Yesterday and Today

This morning, Michael asked me if he could play with play dough. We were taking off in a little while and I didn't want to worry about the mess, so I told him no. I asked him if he wanted to help me make brownies instead. He got excited and asked what the brownies were for. When I told him that they were for the young women, his face fell. Poor guy. I decided to try to kill two birds with one stone and had him roll some cookie dough (the original play dough?) and smash it into sprinkles. He did a good job and had fun. I can hear him in the dining room now asking his sisters if they like the cookies he made.


Yesterday, we all went to the pet store so that Summer could pick out a bunny. Summer is hoping her bunny is a girl and named her Madeline, because she was born in March. Get it? Mad as a...

She isn't mad, though, she's adorable.

I took her outside to take pictures and she was happy to discover dandelions in the back yard (happier about it than I am).

It was so cute, it made her nose yellow when she ate it.