A Recipe

It seems like with all of the new diet "low-fat", low-cal" foods hitting the market these days, not to mention the increase in exercise happening all around that some people are not getting their daily nutritional value of both fats and sugars. Over the summer I tried really hard to be conscious of maintaining and even exceeding my daily values in these areas. I have been successful to the tune of 13 pounds. Impressive, I know. All it took was being a little more careful about how much green food I ate and trying harder to fit in those foods containing whole cubes of butter.

It's not hard. Here's a recipe to get you started:

1/2 cup butter

1 yellow cake mix

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup oats (so you can justify the rest)

Mix in your lime green kitchenaid until crumbly - as if you were going to use it for the topping of a peach or apple crisp. Next, being sure to scrape down the sides as you go, use a spoon to scoop all the crumbs carefully into your face. Repeat until bowl is empty.

More Epic Summer: FLORIDA

Erik & Brittany

We went to church only to find out it was stake conference and just getting over. Still counts?

Ells Bells and Ms. P

We pretty much had to sleep this way to fit us all in condo, but that's what family is all about, right?

Arrgghh. We took our kids on a pirate ship. Mason got to "mop the boat". Dreams do come true.

Look at his stomach. He's five. Ridiculous.

So late June, We drove down to the panhandle for some sand (via Atlanta). We stayed in a condo with Brittany (Jaymee's sister) and Grandma Jinky. Shane (jaym's bro) and his family came down for a couple days, too. It was a great place. We spent the entire week swimming at the beach and then going back to swim at the hotel. The sand is like powdered sugar. White and soft. They have Sonic AND Krispy Kreme donuts there. What's not to like? We ate much crab. We did much boogie boarding and got stung by many jelly fishes. Tiny ones. They floated like bubbles but stung like a bee. A hive of bees. But the sting didn't last and we decided it was worth it. Same time next year?

Luke Pettit's 5k & Relay for Life

For his Eagle Project, Luke Petitt put on a 5K to benefit Shriner's hospital. It was HUGE. I can't believe how organized, planned and executed it was. Good job, Petitts! We were all going to run but my stroller was awful and Mason and Preslie gave up after the first mile. Jaym and the girls finished it, though. Preslie really ran almost a mile! She kept looking at me and saying,"I'n still running! I'n still running, Mom!" Those are little legs to run so far on.

Camryn fell down part way through and lost her running mojo. Brock Cima was running with them but had to move on when Camryn's complaints became such nonsense as, "my tears are making my face hot! waaa!" What? We'll add that one to our collection of stress-induced weirdspeak with the other gems like,"I can't hear you if your hand is over my mouth!!" and "You tell me to take a bath because you don't want me to take a bath!" But she finished and I'm proud of her for sticking it out.



The next weekend Jaymeson's work sponsored a Relay For Life. He went as a cancer doc and I went as a survivor. I walked the track with my "caregiver" Camryn. It was a little emotional. I don't like being forced to think about that stuff. I'd rather just move on and forget it, you know? But it's a good cause and ended up being a fun night.

Tea Party

I went to a TEA party in the spring and was so glad I did. I looked around and saw thousands of people just like me. Nobody was screaming or obscene. It was families and grandparents. People brought their kids and their dogs. I felt safe there. I felt like I wasn't alone. I have felt somewhat alone in my views because the media makes you feel like everyone else in the country feels the same way they do. It's not true. I saw thousands of others who yell at their tvs just like I do.

I don't know how things are going to go down, but I want be able to feel like I stood up for what I believed and fought the good fight.

Mason graduated

Mason went to a semester of gymnastics (we're trying to channel not squash his desire to climb everything). At his graduation, he performed such feats as walking, crouching and walk-crouching. Thank you, Little Gym. The best part of the night, however, came when Mason got to stand on a podium and receive a medal for his hard work and dedication. They hadn't even finished putting it on him when he leapt off the podium and ran to give it to Preslie. "Here you go, Babe! It's a medal I got for you." He loves her so much.

When she was born, I was afraid to have him brought to the hospital. He's got so much energy that I thought he'd try and climb my IV pole or jump out the window. Instead he put a hand on her little head and stared at her the entire time he was there. He didn't make a move or a sound. It was love at first sight and it has remained that way. You can't give anything to Mason without him giving her half. He calls her "Babe". "You want me to get you some fruit snacks, Babe? Wanna paint the mirror with fingernail polish, Babe?" 

Epic Summer

I wasn't going to be one of those people. You know - the ones who have abandoned their blogs to write one liners about their life via facebook or twitter. I said to myself,"Self, sentences like 'Man, I have a lot of laundry!' does not a life-record make!" but then, here it's been two months without a drop of blog. Sorry, Self. I'll do better. Thank you. You're welcome.

I'm going to try and catch up. Enjoy!

In May, Mason and his fiancè Taylor had their birthday parties together and invited Babaloo! to come. He's our favorite. He's so funny. He's figured out the perfect amount of potty humor to keep 5 year-olds laughing non-stop.

Why didn't sombody in my family figure this out? Leaf blower + paint roller + toilet paper! Sweet. Thanks, Babaloo.

2009 Summer Bored List

We finished our Bored List a while ago but I'm of course only now posting it/printing it out for the kids. These are our summer goals. All of the kids contributed and now each one has a copy to check off. Their's are cuter than this. If we accomplish the entire list we get to go out for a fun night after school starts up again. Some are easy. Some are hard. Some are free and some aren't. Some are completely ridiculous. I don't judge. It's their list. The good news is that when my kids say,"I'm bored!" I know where they can look for ideas: (I'll BOLD the ones we've already checked off)

Bored List
1. go swimming in three different bodies of water 2. read Harry Potter 3. read scriptures 6 nights a week 4. learn a new boardgame with the Youngs 5. Blow bubbles 6. ride bikes 25 times around the circle 7. kids cook dinner 8. watch Spongebob 9. be quiet for an hour 10. dig a hole for trampoline 11. play Club Penguin 12. breakfast for dinner 13. talk to a boy on the phone 14. make mom’s bed 15. eat krispy kreme donuts 16. play on the DS 17. jump on the trampoline 18. go to SONIC 19. Play Wii 20. ride bikes to Gators 21. go night swimming 22. listen to iPod under a tree 23. don’t lie for a whole day 24. don’t tattle for a whole day 25. talk in whispers for one day 26. dance party in the basement 27. go to Six Flags 28. go fishing with real worms 29. See Harry Potter 30. make blackberry pie 31. get alfalfa pellets for the deer 32. ask mom if you can help 33. play with the cats 34. sleep in a tent 35. go to Lagoon 36. make tshirts 37. draw with chalk on the driveway 38. write an email 39. write a letter to jaik 40.learn about an animal 41. do a book report for the library 42. catch fireflies 43. watch Anne of Green Gables 44. blow up a balloon 45. play spy with brady 46. cook smores in the firepit 47. pronounce “Jerusalem” as “Juice-slam!” 48. have mason teach us a mobap song 49. write a love letter 50. don’t kiss anyone besides family for the WHOLE SUMMER 51. go to the dentist 52. sing a song 53. walk to church 54. look for shapes in the clouds 55. babysit for one hour 56. write a story 57. learn the lyrics to a Kina Grannis song 58. teach mason to tie his shoes 59. potty-train preslie 60. stay in jammies all day 61. build a fort 62. sleep in until 9 63. lick the mirror 64. make a video and put it on youtube 65. wash the car 66. win a prize 67. run a 5k 68. go to the cabin 69. play grandpa’s game 70. kiss a dog 71. buy something on ebay 72. paint/color a picture 73. mismatch clothes day 74. climb the rockwall at the Y 75. take a picture 76. get your top score on bejeweled 77. make a play 78. run around the house five times 79. go ice blocking 80. slip-n-slide 81. get a tan 82. whiten our teeth with crest whitestrips 83. a private date with mom and dad 84. do some service 85. sing karaoke 86. learn to say,”hi” in four different languages 87. don’t kill dad 88. cure some cancer 89. invite a different family to BBQ and swim 90. Hawaiian clothes day 91. make a list of 50 things you’re grateful for 92. learn a new trick on the diving board 93. laugh until it hurts 94. say tree something random heart sometime 95. play hide and seek 96. stay up past midnight 97. go to a beach 98. collect something 99. make a baby laugh 100. watch fireworks