Is It Naptime Yet

The third weekend in July I took off with some friends to go to Pine Valley. It would be four women and one baby. It was the original three from last year, Sam, Julie, and me, then my friend Anna came along with us three crazy Mormon moms. It’s funny because Sam and Anna are two of my closest friends yet they’ve never met over the 5 years I’ve known both of them. (I’ve known Anna for 9 years and she is the only person I’m not related to that has known me longer than Jon has and keeps in regular touch with me.) I kinda felt like it was the in-laws meeting the boyfriend, you know two people you love and you want to get along with one another, but not sure if they will, though neither were my parents or boyfriend. It turns out Sam and Anna probably have more in common than I do with either of them and both said they loved meeting the other! Phew, what a burden lifted. I was so worried they’d both be extremely jealous of the relationship I have with the other one and hate each other and see only the negative, because they are so much alike. Really, they are, it’s kinda funny, I’ve just never seen it for some reason.

Between the four women and a baby, two women were pregnant. Anna is due on September 1st, and Julie sometime next year. Matilda, Sam’s 18 month old, was the baby, though she is really a toddler. We left Friday afternoon in Sam’s brand spanking new, but used, Camry.

As we traveled up to Pine Valley we made a dinner stop in St George. After driving around for a short while we decided upon Marv’s Diner. It was delicious and I highly recommend the shakes. Just know that a small is really big since the piled it up almost as high as the cup itself. After Marv’s we piled back in the car to head to Smith’s. We needed chocolate for the smores then chips and lime for the guacamole. I had forgotten these key ingredients for my part of the dinner and snack providing.

After we left Marv’s Sam thought the car was driving a little funny. Right as we were turning into our parking spot at Smith’s the battery light went on and the power steering went out. Now we were four women, and a baby, trapped at Smith’s, in St. George, 2 hours away from home!

I called AAA to come look at the car for battery service, but it seemed like it would take over an hour by their estimate and we weren’t sure if they would send someone who would be able to tow the car if needed, so Sam also called her road side assistance with her insurance. I was just about to call to cancel the AAA guy, but then I got the call they were there. It turned out to be one tow guy for the two call ins, which I was so grateful for. We decided to have the car towed under my name to where we would stay, in case Sam needed one more tow to a mechanic.

So here were are four women, and a baby, trapped at Smith’s, in St. George, 2 hours away from home, but fortunately it was one block away from a home Sam’s in-laws have in St. George, the Grandma’s house that Gary now owns. So three women, and a baby, had only a block to walk, while Sam rode in the tow truck with the driver. It was so wonderful that I had been slightly ill prepared, otherwise we may have been farther from the house.

We did not have the keys to the house, but Gary has a tenant in a small guest house out back. We were able to get into the house and share our story of woe. Four women, and a baby, trapped in a hot house with only a swamp cooler, in St. George, 45 minutes away from the cool Pine Valley, with a car that had something wrong with it. The renter just happened to have a son who was a mechanic and the son looked at the car for us that night. The problem was easily found, a nearly broken and badly shredded belt to something in the car. (I’m not sure if I ever found out what the belt did.) Sam was very sad that her car, which she bought two weeks prior and supposedly had a 21 point inspection, had been so unreliable for us.

We made the most of it and stayed up late and talked and ate. We decided Anna should be called Annapedia, three out of the four women like all natural deodorant, two of which make their own, and Julie can hold a conversation in he sleep. It was decided the next day that Anna and Sam love me and my Laceyisms, or how I often misquote phrases or metaphors. (It’s not trick of all trades, but jack of all trades.) Someone has to love me for who I am and not make fun of me all the time.

After saying up far too late, I think we called it at night at 2 am, we woke up at 8 am and for some 7 am, but that person had a child with her who didn’t know that it was not nice to wake her mom up after only 5 hours sleep. We ate breakfast and headed to the farmers market down the street. The mechanic didn’t fix our car till later that afternoon, so we stayed close to home in our ventures. The farmers market was wonderful and I think we all bought something. They also had some interesting shops in the shopping square and we looked around as we tried to get out of the heat. It was over 100 degrees and humid. St. George is not cooler than Vegas, contrary to what some might think. We ate lunch at the house and enjoyed a wonderful movie, talked and then went out once the car was fixed.

Our first stop was the Deseret Industries in St. George, where again, no one left empty handed. Then we windowed shopped at Urban something, a more hip and modern thrift shop basically. It was really cool and reminded me how uninspired I am when it comes to decorating my house, and how cheap I am when it comes to decorating my house.

We ran more errands then Anna and I made dinner and later we left to return to the one degree hotter than St. George, Las Vegas.

It was a fun weekend, despite all the craziness of the car and not very cool house. Sam and I felt bad for the two pregnant ladies and how they both had to be even hotter than us.

I can’t wait till next years Mom’s getaway, and hopefully we make it to Pine Valley, but if not, I hope the Lord watches over us again.

So I’m now, and have been for over a week, a mom to two school aged children. I think it’s nuts that all my children are now old enough to attend school. Strange.

For Eden’s birthday we went swimming at the Zurflueh’s. This year Lilah had her turn for the big party, so it was Eden’s turn for a small, immediate, as in only our family, family party. Eden did want her Auntie Carolyn there though, and since she wanted to go swimming and we’d be using her boss’ pool, it only seemed natural to have the family party with Carolyn.

The Zurflueh’s were in town this year, so we were pleasantly surprised with a decorated back yard when we got there Saturday. Jenny and her daughter Irelynn had taken it upon themselves to make the birthday party very special for Eden and bought Happy Birthday signs, and princess Pez dispensers. It was so sweet, and I almost felt bad that it wasn’t my whole family coming, and just our little group of 5. Irelynn made a special chocolate sheet cake for Eden. It was her grandmother’s recipe and the cake is only made on birthdays. Irelynn was so excited to do this, so I left the flower cake I had made for Eden inside to be used on Eden’s real birthday with our family at Family Home Evening, since it just happened to fall on the same day this year.

The girls went swimming with Carolyn, Jon, and Kai while I waited for the pizza to show up. Kai is the Zerflueh’s youngest and he’s 8 years old. He was rough housing a lot with Carolyn, and then me once I was in the pool. It was fun playing rough with a boy, we were keeping him out of the spa and playing around, but I sure am happy to be the parent to two calm girls, calm for the most part anyways.
We enjoyed pizza for lunch and some fruit and then lots of swimming. The girls had just finished two weeks of swimming lessons the day before, so they were all over that pool. Lilah is pretty confident and can be on her own, with just a watchful eye to make sure all is well. Eden can swim rather far and was even trying to take breaths and looked under water without goggles. It was wonderful to see how much they learned in two weeks.

Our family gathering for Family Home Evening was on Eden’s real birthday so I brought cake and cupcakes for the family to enjoy. We made a small special flower shaped cake out of a baking kit we won at the family reunion. We all sang Happy Birthday to her that evening after the lesson.

It’s really funny that Eden is now five. I see her getting older and behaving a little more like Lilah, and not such a little, little girl. Lilah and I have the rule, you spank me I spank you, and now Eden uses that rule too. Not only for spanking, but for tickling too. Lets just say I love being the tickler and not the ticklee. She too is testing her independence!

Eden’s learned so much in this last year and is really changing. One thing is reading. Eden began learning to read in September last year and now is an excellent reader. She constantly surprises me with how much she knows, because she doesn’t like to read to me, though she’s getting better about it. Eden is very giving and if you asked her to share, she will often say yes. She loves to cuddle and even though she hasn’t been taking naps for a while, will still come and cuddle with me at times throughout the day. She won’t in the morning though, because she knows I’m just trying to get her to go to sleep longer so I can sleep more too. You can tell if Eden needs cuddles because she stands next to you playing with her hair and tickling you with it. Eden’s very imaginative. She can play with almost anything. Today she started playing with the spoons as she was putting the dishes away.

I’m very happy to be Eden’s mom and love having her as my daughter. I really would like her to stay little. (Really, I’d like both girls to stay little.) So if anyone finds a way to make that happen, please let me know. 😉

For my girls road trip to Utah I treated myself to a new CD to occupy my time. I love Kelly Clarkson, so I bought her new one, All I Ever Wanted.

I love it and Eden is now, “Are you listening to your new CD.” It’s more a statement than a question and she rolls her eyes and sighs a little whenever she says it and hears me playing it.

One song reminds me of Jon and me and it resonates with our relationship when Jon first left the church. It starts off a little strange, and there is one line I don’t like that you hear over and over again, (You’re the best I got.) but overall I really love it and love to jam out to it while I’m washing dishes.

There is no official music video for it, but I’ve linked one that has the words as you listen to it.

I love you Babe.

This year the girls and I went to a family reunion for my mother’s side all by ourselves. I planned on going, then I planned on not going, then decided in the end to go. Jon was unable to get time off of work, which was one reason I did not want to go, I get sleepy on long trips and did not want to make it alone.

The first day, Thursday, we were driving about 6 hours to Lehi. My parents were staying there and visiting with my Aunt and Uncle, so the drive wasn’t too bad. I did have to stop after driving the gorge and then once more in Ceder City to take some short naps. I think the caffeine in the excedrine kicked in after that and I made it just fine the rest of the way to my Aunt’s house and then to the hotel later that night.

On Friday we headed up to Brigham Cit,y Utah, where the reunion would be taking place. Before we went too far North we stopped in Salt Lake and visited Temple Square and the Conference Center. It was a humid day, so it was a little uncomfortable, but not unbearable. We had fun walking around and the girls loved the fountains. We took the tour for the Conference Center so we could see the roof. Lilah saw people on the roof and had to go up there. They both really enjoyed themselves.

After the Conference Center tour we got back on the road and drove through some of the houses and past the capitol building in Salt Lake. This was really because I wasn’t sure how to get back to I-15. We eventually found the interstate, and got on the road to Brigham City, with a short stop north in Logan to visit Jon’s niece Shauntae and her family. We got there much later than anticipated, since my stop in Salt Lake was spontaneous. Shauntae let me take a short nap while she took something to her husband at work, then later we went to a little Zoo/ animal sanctuary with just her and my girls. The girls had lots of fun and we loved talking and spending time together. We then ate at IHOP, shopped at Down East Basics and lastly visited Utah State University, where she is currently attending, to see a part of the campus. It was lots of fun and the girls and I got back to the hotel a little late, but well worth it.

Friday was the day of the family reunion. I saw some cousins I hadn’t seen in 12 or so years, and spent time chatting with different family members. The girls painted bird houses and I let Lilah be in charge of taking pictures. We had a family raffle where some family members donated items to be raffled off. Then you had to buy tickets to win items. My cousin Ruth, who was in charge this year, and is just a few years younger than my mom, brought a few odd items for the raffle. She had looked in her food storage and decided to bring men’s deodorant. Some she put in bags with a couple candy bars and others were just on the table to be taken later. It was rather silly. My Uncle Bill and my dad both won a lot, but they also bought a lot of tickets. The girls each got some tickets from my dad and won and choose some bags with toys and candy.

After the reunion I took the girls back to the hotel to swim in the pool. They had been dying to go swimming in one of the hotel pools, so we spent some time there. It was only 3 feet deep in the shallow end, so they both were able to walk around and enjoy themselves. We then headed over to my cousin Ruth’s house to join my parents and them for dinner. My cousin Sherrilyn was there with her daughter Emerylyn, who is 20 months, so the girls had fun playing with her. When Sherrilyn later left to visit her in-laws the girls had fun playing upstairs while I hung out with other cousins.

Sunday we brought Sherrilyn and Emerylyn home with us. They had gone up as a family before the Fourth of July, but Chad had to come home early for class, since I had space without Jon, I volunteered to take Sherrilyn and Emery home. I also thought it would be nice to have someone to drive with for the 8 hours it would take to get home. I see them each month at FHE,but it was nice to chat more my Sherrilyn and let the girls play with Emery.

We got home by 6 pm on Sunday, and it was so nice to be back in Vegas, especially since the girls had swimming lessons on Monday, something that is wonderful in this hot Las Vegas heat.

Really I’m not, I just do what you have to do to get things done, perfectly.

It’s funny the things you face in life sometimes. Earlier tonight I was hand-feeding my printer little papers to print out baby shower invites for a shower I’m giving. They’re only 7 x 5 inches, and will be 3 1/2 x 5 inches when finished. My printer was being very finicky and I had to push them all the way back with a pencil, because the paper tray pusher thing is not centered on the paper and thus the paper goes in crooked when I was just using that to push it back and so I figured out it’s just easier to use a pencil and carefully push it back in the center of the paper. Then I gently tap the paper on each side to make sure it’s in straight. Then I hit print, and repeated it 16 times.

Yeah, I’m not a perfectionist, I just do what you have to do to get things done, perfectly.

Really, this comes down to wanting invitations that were not written in my own hand-writing, and not having scrap-booking stuff to make oh so cute and personalized invites, so I went and saw invitations I could print and thought, “These are the ones I need, because no one wants to see my janky hand-writing on an invitation.” I didn’t even want to write the addresses on the envelopes, so I took the time and figured out how to print them on there.

I just want to note, if I was a true perfectionist, I’d go buy new transparent paper and print new info on them to put in the announcements, since I realized the ink stayed wet f.o.r.e.v.e.r. and half the invitations became slightly smeared. I ended up blotting the invites, that is correct, I blotted them to help them from smearing more, at least I hope it helped.

(Anna, don’t worry about the invites, I was just mostly annoyed at them and sorry for any smears, I tried to give you the nicest one to have for yourself. )

Wednesday I had no internet so I cleaned.

I planned on cleaning anyways. I really needed to clean my bathrooms, which had been painfully neglected in the last three or four months while sewing and rehearsing for the play, but having no internet really helped me to stay focused on the task I needed to do. I cleaned the girls bathroom first, then mine, then my shower, then the floors got mopped. They had both been cleaned in all the places they could be cleaned. I even organized under my sink and threw out a trash bag full of make-up and other stuff I was storing for a later date, but really never going to use again, or shouldn’t use again. Now my bathrooms are in harmony and I won’t feel completely mortified if someone had to use one of them.

After cleaning the two neglected bathrooms I took a shower and prepared dinner. I waited for Jon to come home, mostly because I love him, partially because he could get the internet working on his laptop. Our computer had been turned off since noon, or when our air conditioner decided to start blowing room temperature air, something it’s done twice this month already, the second time being just Sunday. (A different air guy came and fixed it yesterday, at least I hope it fixes the problem, I guess time will tell.)

Once the cool air started blowing again after having the air off for over an hour, I would normally have turned on my computer to use the internet, but something is going on with the monitor. The brightness is messed up, but not only that, it’s brighter each time you turn it on. So the first time I was at 50 for brightness, and I had to turn it down to 30, to make it manageable to read. Then the second time I turned it on I had to turn it down to 20. So I’m avoiding turning it on unless completely necessary, or until we get a new monitor, which hopefully will be this weekend. Hint, Hint honey. 🙂

I realized I have a slight addiction to the internet, or really what’s on it. It takes up a lot of time, and I get easily distracted. Chats take longer than expected, I’m not complaining, but I know they take up a lot of time when I should be doing other things some days. I get lost in blogs or social networks, or I even look for things to take up my time so I don’t have to do cleaning or do what I’m suppose be doing.

It was a blessing to not have the internet so I could stay focused, but it stinks that I want it so much.

Each of us have our distractions, for Lilah it’s Mario Cart that takes up her time. We got it for her birthday and since then, she is always wanting to play when she wakes up or after breakfast, but she knows she has to wait till after lunch. Since we were in the play, she actually didn’t get to play it till a day or two after her brithday, but then she got to play it a lot, for the times were were home. Earlier this week I would just let her play, usually after lunch till later in the day, but other days, and from now on, I’m limiting it to just an hour a day. Since I made this rule Wednesday. I just set the timer and then she’s able to finish the games she’s playing after it goes off, so it’s really over an hour a day, then it’s off with Mario, unless someone else wants to play. Since an hour of play was so short Lilah actually asked if she could save up her days and play for a long time. I said yes, but only up to two hours a day. She actually didn’t ask at all to play today, the off day, so she’ll have two hours tomorrow to play. Yesterday when I had her turn off Mario Cart she found The Friend to read, something she hasn’t done in a while, so I think I’ll stick to my rule so she finds other things to do.

Eden waste time mostly by playing. As in she plays instead of cleaning something up or getting dressed or even coloring. The funny thing is she will play with nearly anything. The crayons become their own little people, her sandwich becomes something if she’s tired of eating, the clothes do something exciting, or really the chair she’s suppose to use while folding her clothes. Then with toys it’s pretty obvious that she’s going to waste time by playing when she’s suppose to be putting them away. I sometimes have to keep a close eye on her, since she’s so easily distracted, but sometimes it’s me who’s so easily…..

So what distracts you or keeps you off task?

While I participated in the play Jon was wonderful and supportive of me and my craziness. There were times he had to remind me that when I volunteer myself, I volunteer our whole family, and I tried hard to keep a balance, but towards opening night and crunch time I greatly neglected our home and him.

Jon took the two weeks off for the run of the play. Mostly he did this because he needed to use leave time, but it helped me, even if it wasn’t ideal for him, to get things accomplished. For his first week he spent much of his time taking care of house and kids while I stayed up way to late working on projects and slept in too late catching up on sleep. He did take one or two hiking days for himself, but was also wonderful with helping me. After the first week was over he asked if he could start his real vacation, AKA not have to do dishes, laundry or be neglected by his wife everyday. The second week we had more time together, but much of if was spent with the girls and me sleeping in and me trying to get a little more order to the chaos that had become our home. I had sewing machines, sergers, make-up, curlers and other things I was using for the play around the house in specific areas so I wouldn’t forget them if I needed to take them or because I had no where else to put them. (AKA right in the middle of my living room.)

Our schedule was pretty crazy. Wake up around 9:30 am, hopefully have breakfast by 10:30 am. Then we’d do stuff, like put curlers in hair or dishes, Eat lunch sometime around 1. I would take a shower at 3:30pm and be occupied doing face stuff an putting curlers in till we left at 4:45pm to 5 pm. Come home from play around 10:15pm and get girls into bed by 10:45- 11 pm. Even though I had a few hours each day to do things, it seemed to get taken up with trips to the store or other miscellaneous things that seemed important.

Poor Jon is also an early bird, so he was usually up for 3 or more hours before us, and went to bed right as we got home. With sewing for weeks and staying up till 2 or 3 am, my sleep schedule changed, and so I now sleep from 2 am till 9 or 10 am. It’s not good, I’m hoping to change it back to a more acceptable schedule, even though I love watching 30 Rock on my TV via the Wii and Netflix till the wee hours of the morning.

We did see Toy Story 3 in 3D as a family one morning. We all loved it, and Eden loved it, though there was one scary part that she had to be held for. I think the suspense of the situation was just too much for her, though she was alright once the scene was over.

I also didn’t cook for two weeks because we had potluck meals each night as a cast. Last year I think I was more considerate and tried to cook things that Jon could reheat and have a couple nights, especially since he had to feed himself and Eden, but this year I was not so thoughtful. He never once complained though and I really appreciate his patience with me as I did the play and enjoyed myself immensely each night for two weeks. (More if you count rehearsals.)

It’s nice to be back to the normal housewife, and not the crazy housewife/ seamstress/ actor. I am so very thankful for Jon and his support.

I’ll try harder next year not to volunteer our whole family for so much, but I truly appreciate the support you give me in allowing me to be a part of something I consider very special and enjoy tremendously.

I love you Babe and I’m back. Just in time to take care of the ant problem we’re having. 😉

Disclaimer: Due to several things I don’t have any pictures in this post. I hope to remedy that once I remedy the situations around not being able to use my computer. Life.

Earlier this month we celebrated Lilah’s SEVENTH birthday. That’s SEVENTH in case you missed that. I really can’t believe how fast they grow.

This year was Lilah’s turn for a big party, but with the play going on, finding a weekend to give a big party was a problem, so we talked and discussed and decided a real party at Chuck E’ Cheese is what we would do this year. Real as in we pay for the special treatment and have an official party there, rather then just going there on her birthday and playing games. With the real party, Chuck E’ Cheese came out and made a visit. Lilah was sung to and danced with Chuck E’. She also got to go in the ticket blaster and won 760 tickets! (Really we both went into the ticket blaster, she thought it would be really loud inside and was nervous. She was literally shaking before it was turned on, then it wasn’t that loud and she was fine. ) We invited some family and friends and I think she had lots of fun with the attention being on her. Then the cast of kids for Cinderella sang to her before our opening night performance. It was a little low key, but we still tried to make it special for her and help enjoy her day.

Lilah is growing so much and definitely showing her independence. I’m amazed at how giving and kind Lilah can be and I know she loves her family. Sunday afternoon I was cuddling and playing with the girls in my bed and Eden asked me to tell a story. I told a very short one and then asked Eden to tell one, but she was saying she couldn’t think of anything. I then suggested we get something for her to tell a story with, since she takes nearly anything and will start thinking and making a story up with that object. Lilah really liked this idea, even as Eden seemed skeptical, so Lilah brought Eden our bin of small toys of fish and bugs so Eden could tell a story. Eden told a couple and then Lilah took a turn telling a story with the different toys. I loved being a part of this genuine and kind moment between the girls. Sometimes it’s easy to remember all the arguments and disagreements the girls have, but really Lilah is a wonderful big sister. Throughout the whole play Eden stayed by Lilah’s side while I was performing and practicing for the play. Lilah helped Eden with very little complaint and the togetherness they shared was priceless.

As Lilah grows she tests her growing independence and it can be difficult, but I try to remind myself that she’s getting older and is trying to figure who she is and I’m just here to guide her, not control her. It’s interesting to see Lilah grow and rewarding to watch and be a part of it.

She was my first baby and who made me a mother. I wish I could pause time and have more time with her in these precious years.

I love you Lilah and I am so happy to be your mother.

Well I haven’t posted in a while and I thought I’d do one final plug for the play, since I’m plugging it all the time on Facebook.

I took a few pictures of some of the cast and me last week. It’s not everyone just a few of who I could find in the halls at the time. I’ve edited them so I could put them on Facebook in hopes of generating some interest. Not sure if it worked, but I also like play make-up and hair so it was fun to post me in it. I love to play dress-up for the play. It’s so much fun.

Cinderella has gone pretty smoothly overall. It’s lots of fun each night and I’m actually remembering most of the dance steps! ( Knock on wood.) It helps to have a partner though, because when I forget I just look at them and figure it out, or follow their lead, especially since they’re the guy and the one leading. There are many times I forget because I’m so focused on counting, which is helpful unless you’re counting and thinking of the wrong step, or I get lost in something else since your mind sometimes gets bored of counting.

Some fun moments of the play or practise. One week Chuck was just throwing me around for our lift and it irritated my foot. I was getting so high in the air though. Now he’s a little more gentler, but we’re not as high. 🙁

Once Ken became my second dance partner, just a week before opening, I kept calling him Chuck, because I just could not remember two names. He was a really good sport about it and I now remember his name, most of the time.

I put one of my fake eyelashes on crooked on Saturday and it was really bothering me. Dena and Kerri started joking about not if I would fix the eyelash, but when I would. They seem to know I’m a perfectionist for some things. ( I ran out of time to fix it and just left it. I decided it wasn’t that noticeable and I didn’t want to have to re-due my make-up. )

Tonight I forgot my make-up, so some of the cast let me use theirs. I used MAC make-up for part of it and now I want some of my own. The fairy god mother also supplied me mascara, eye-liner and some fake eyelashes. She really has all you need in her magical bag.

So if you haven’t come out and seen the play, please do. It’s lots of fun and you never know what’s going to happen in live theater.

Go to www.lvfamilytheater.org to purchase tickets. We have just 5 more performances!

Me and the girls.
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Diana and me. She’s a The Bad Girl.
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Heidi and me. She’s first girl and I’m Second Girl. We joke that I’m Snow White and she’s Rose Red. (Many cast members have called me Snow White with my make-up and hair done.)

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Dena, our wicked step mother and me. She was Glinda last year.
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Ken, The Herald, and Chuck, The Clumsy man. I made the jacket and gold pants for Ken and the vest for Chuck.
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Me with Ken and Chuck. They’re my dance partners in the play, minus the Prince whom I also dance with. I dance with Chuck most of the time and then I finish the waltz with Ken.
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Kerri and me. She’s one of the choreographers and on the Seastrand Theater Committee with me.

For Memorial Day weekend we went up to Pine Valley with Sam, Britta, Matilda, and Grandpa Gary. We decide Memorial Day weekend because I’ll be traveling a lot in the month of July, Jon will be staying home sadly, and June is off limits with the play. So August would have been the soonest we could go unless we went this past weekend. We didn’t have play practise due to the holiday, so we seized the weekend and went on a trip.

(It might be noted that I almost stayed home to sew, but Jon didn’t think that would be very nice since the girls were looking forward to our weekend in Pine Valley for weeks. So instead I sewed while up there, though I also sat around and chatted with Sam a lot, but I proved her wrong that I would only sit around and talk to her, and not sew.)

We went up Saturday Morning and mostly hung out and let the girls play. We had smores Saturday night, and I totally want smores again. Jon and I perfected how to make smores over an electric stove. I roasted the marshmallows on a fork over the hot coil, he melted the chocolate by placing the graham crackers and chocolate on a metal spatula and holding it over the hot coil. It was fun and they were delicious.

Sunday we attended church in Pine Valley, kinda. We all went to Sacrament meeting, but Grandpa Gary took the girls back to the house for Sunday School, and Sam and I came home after Sunday School because we didn’t want to strand Grandpa Gary for too long with three little girls and one baby.

Jon took a long hike Sunday so I dropped him off on his hike around 9:00, before we went to church, and then I picked him up a little after 3, though he was finished at 2:30, he read to occupy his time. Gary gave him a pistol to take with him on the hike in case he saw any cougars, just to shot in the air to scare them away. He showed me this before the hike and it did not make me any more easy to let him go off by himself. He was prepared with his GPS and a map, but I didn’t want him being attacked by come some crazy cougar! Luckily, it was a well traveled trail and Jon saw no cougars. Gary often goes off the beaten path for his hikes or less known ones, and so I think he runs into cougars a lot more often.

We enjoyed a nice Sunday afternoon and Sam baked up a storm in the kitchen while I sewed. She also entertained the girls a lot by playing games with them, or supervising games, and I sewed. We had birthday cake to celebrate my birthday, which I had last week, and we watched Ponyo that evening.

Sunday afternoon Gary also brought out some little kid bikes, that were around 35 years old, and gave them to Jon and I. I wasn’t too hot on this, but they were free. The bigger bike is still a little too small for Lilah, more Eden’s size, and the small bike is more a 3 year old size, but they work. The small one has training wells and the bigger one does not, so Lilah pushes herself along and tries to find her balance. Maybe we’ll get Lilah a bike that fits her better later this year if she learns. The one problem being we won’t let the girls ride them anywhere but the backyard or a park, and it’s getting them to the park so the have a wide open space that is my dilemma and why I didn’t want the bikes…. Jon packed them in the trunk to see how long it would take me to notice them, very quickly since I put something in the trunk before we left. I hadn’t decided to take them, but he wanted them.

Monday morning we went on a hike with Britta and the girls. It was a perfect day for the hike and the girls seemed to have fun. Our destination was a creek Jon had passed by on his hike the day before. They were tired before we got to the creek, but then wanted to go farther once there. I’m not sure how far we traveled, but the girls had fun following the creek and Lilah loved to get muddy, something I wasn’t too hot about.

We left Monday afternoon to come back home, then the girls and I went to a BBQ at my parents. Andrea, Brien, and Zarina were in town so it was nice to see them briefly Monday night. Jon stayed home since he had driven the whole way and was tired of being in the car.

Hopefully we can plan another trip for the Fall to lovely Pine Valley. The blackberries should be in season then and Gary said we could come pick some, that is if he hasn’t picked them all himself and the weather stabilizes so they can grow. I must say with the triple digits finally coming, I envy Sam and the time her and her family will be able to spend in the cooler mountain air this summer.

Yay for small weekend get-a-ways!