Heat Wave...

Boy was it hot today. So hot I sat on the side walk with a friend with our feet in the sprinklers. It felt so good. It rained the humid rain today. It smells different than other rains -don't you think? But it didn't really cool down it just felt like someone opened a glass shower door spilling out all the steam and stuffy stuff. Yep.

Flash back with me to the summer of 2000. I was big and pregnant with my first born. We lived in a town where they too didn't believe in air conditioning. I don't know why? Sisters, my Mom and Aunt Ardis came to visit me. They both live in hot places and were used to nice refreshing cool homes. Keep in mind they are in their early sixties.

So as I remember it... my Aunt and my Mom are siting half down the cushion fanning themselves silly, cheeks red, sweating. Clearly uncomfortable. I just remember laughing at them. They looked miserable. A perfect picture of how I was feeling being pregnant on a hot summer day. To this day when I think of that memory I laugh to myself.

What do you do to keep cool on hot days? Do you do any crazy things like this to keep cool?
-One of my non-blogger friends puts ice in bandanna. Ties in around her head with the ice on the back of her neck and the tie behind the bangs. I caught her one day with it.
-My mom puts ice in a bandanna and wears it like a necklace.
-Sometimes I run through the sprinklers enough to get a little wet, then go back in side to finish doing whatever I'm doing.

Learning curve

Tonight my learning curve was jam.

That's right. Jam. J.A.M.

I made jam tonight.

I cranked out a batch of cooked raspberry jam and a batch of raspberry jelly.

(A very first for me)

And...it might be a flop. I'll have to wait for morning to see if they sealed, I mixed up some instructions so I had to wing a portion of it. Not good. So we'll wait for morning. I think I may have made syrup rather than jam. But we'll see.

There is one thing I learned about tonight though. I love my Mom! If she had been here with me it would have all worked out great. The great wisdom, expertise, and knowledge,

years and years of practice.

A recipe of success.

I've done a lot of canning with her. I've helped jam before. I don't think I've ever see her do what I did tonight which was... look at the instructions, talk to myself, talk to the jam, call my mom, cousin, neighbor, talk to the jam again, chant "come on...set up" or "please work" and then repeat about 50 million times.

Best of all though, tonight's little "learning curve" brought me back home to my mom. I wanted to turn around and see her there, I really miss her. I am chopping at the bit to spend a week at her house and play. She has so many wonderful talents.

I love you Mom! Your the Best!

Scout Day Camp

I entered a world on Tuesday I didn't even knew existed. Owen entered a world on Tuesday he never wanted to leave. Scout Day Camp. Four days. Six hours each day. Owen had a blast singing den cheers, acting skits, archery, BB guns, science, craft, wood skills, scout skills, field games. Enough to put a 8 year old fast asleep each night. And every night he would come home with the dirtiest hands. YUCK.
I had no idea they had things like this for kids his age. Boy am I thankful for them now. What a sense of accomplishment, comraderie, developing social skills and being able to be a boy, not the oldest of five with such responsibilities, but just a boy, in boy atmosphere. And thanks to this he is almost done with his wolf! Holly-lu-jah.

Archery...That's a pure blissful smile on his face.
Lunch time. There were 9 other tables just as busy as this one.

I got to go the first day and help out as staff. So I didn't get to walk with him and his Den to each event. I helped at one event. It was fun to watch them all interact with one another. I will give a shout out to Tabatha who was there all day every day helping these boys. Took precious vacation time to be there. Wow. She picked Owen up and dropped him off most days.

Thank You!

I nominate her for BEST Den Mom!

This was my event Catapult bowling. Scared me to death when they told me what I would be in charge of...catapult with 9 dens of 15 boys each. Help! But, It was so much fun.

Here is Owen, TJ and Ryan doing the three rules:

1-salute, show respect

2-link, always have a buddy

3-drink water.

100th Post! Science Center & Fountain

100th Post!

(I remember when Dawn W. posted about it being her 100th posting and thinking Holly Moley, I'll never get there. And here I am. Doesn't the first picture capture a celebration feeling. Like the fountain is blaring were playing in the water relaxing...all because its the 100th post. I couldn't have planned it better.)

Wednesday with some friends we went to the Science Center and then afterwards ran through the fountain. I think the fountain is one of my favorite things to do. The water is all choreography to music. So sometimes it will shoots up real high and then all of sudden goes real low. At the end of a song it will totally stop and that's when all the little kids run up and touch the silver ball. It gives you just a little warning before it comes back to life...full force. It got me this time, real good and Savanah was in my arms.

Owen and Joshua. Warming up. I love this picture.

Luke is in the center of the picture. He was so funny to watch. He was brave enough this time to go touch the ball when the music stopped. That was a first for him.

Although he never got wet enough to need to dry out...he did anyway.

Lucy really surprised me this time around.

She did run under a few of them. And got wet.

Lucy at the Science Center. She's practicing driving.

Luke really enjoyed the water play zone. Check out his hair. He totally leaned down and stuck his head in the water. Your really not supposed to do that. I had to tell him it was rude for someone to splash another person. To keep in the water in the water zone.

I think he thought he was still two.

Jaeger testing it out.

Savanah loved the water too. This was her first time, old enough to actually enjoy it.

Boy did she have lots of fun. She kept trying to climb in.

Luke turns THREE!

Happy Birthday Luke.

I am so excited to be moving on from the terrible twos. Let me tell you I am celebrating them being over with. Luke has really taken me on a terrible two roller coaster ride. Holly Cow. I am so excited to see him grow over the next year. I love you Lukie Boy. He was so excited that it was his birthday, I mean look at this smile.

Dad was taking pictures of us all eating cake and ice cream. This is what happened when he turned the camera on himself.

Luke and Jaeger goofing off.

Owen decorated the cake for Luke. He drew him a Lighting McQueen car. Luke loved it!

Cake and ice cream. Jaeger picked out the plates for Luke. (By the time we got to the store Luke was asleep so Jaeger had to pick them out.) When I showed Luke he hugged the plates. Great job picking the right ones Jaeger.

Luke and I eating cake and ice cream.

Can I tell you how much Luke loves this game!! The neighbors up the street have this game. Zanda told me whenever he goes up to her house to play he always pulls this game out.

Happy Birthday Luke. I love your smile. Your so independent (he won't hold my hand anymore sniff-sniff) and you think your so big, Hello Mr. Three.

Your a very playful kid and I love it when we laugh together.

Weekend with the Cousins

It looks like these pictures are a little out of order. Who cares right. This is us on the drive home. Traffic was stopped still on the freeway. You can see the cars in the back window. Owen drooped a car out the side window (on accident, he says) but we didn't stop, even though we were stopped. Hard lesson to learn. Lucy cried about leaving it there. Luke is the winner for being the first one to zonk out. Owen, Brennan, & Jaeger. Playing a little Wii. The adults were outside playing a fun game of our own. I think it was called, Zoubs.

Beautiful London.
This picture has a story behind it. Owen Brennan and Jaeger found a grasshopper and wanted to cook it. But Grandpa kept telling them no and Jaselynne (the girl in pink with the long hair) was absolutely down right mad that they would even think about such a thing. And as with most boys it just put more fuel in their fire. so just as they were about to drop this grasshopper into the fire Jaselynne would convince them to stop.

Justin (Brad's older brother). He is a hard one to photograph. You want to take a photo of him. For the history books of course. But he doesn't always give you cheesy smile. So you have to take more and the more you take the angrier he gets so you just have to snap a few. Maybe by looking at this one with him chewing a rice krispy treat he'll realize its worth it for him to stop and smile and just let me take a good photo. hehehehe I'll be crossing my fingers.

Jayda, Jaselynne and Lucy. Licking the bowl. Great treats by the way Aunt Kim C.

London was making funny faces at Evalie who was trying to get in. What a funny girl.

I secretly wish she would come be my nanny.

Brennan with the Roasted grasshopper.

Brennan, London, Jaeger and Jayda

Again roasting the Grasshopper. I dared them to eat it for an ice cream. But no one would take me up on it.

Evalie, Jaselynne and Savanah

These three girls come from three different Redford gene pools. Funny when you say it like that. Evalie and Savanah are 9 months apart and played so well with each other. I think they'll be good friends in the future.