Hindsight is 20/20

After dinner last night, I asked the kids to please take the butter into the house before it melted (we usually eat out on the deck, and yesterday was pretty toasty). I wanted to do a couple things in the garden before I cleared the table and headed inside to do dishes. I finished what I needed to do in the garden and smiled as I walked onto the deck, noticing that Izzy and Dylan had cleared the entire table for me. Then I walked into the kitchen and found that they had rinsed the dishes, as well. I was also surprised to find the leftover pasta salad in a storage container in the fridge. And I didn't even have to ask! Honestly, if I had known how nice it was to have help with something that simple, I would have done it a lot more as a kid.

I bet you wish I could have learned that lesson about twenty years ago, right, mom?

Neighborhood Play

Last night, we had the chance to see the kids perform The Three Billy Goats Gruff. Our darling neighbor Annie had the fabulous idea to put it all together. She wrote a hilarious script and practiced with the kids every night. Everyone did a great job. All of the kids had their lines memorized and delivered them perfectly. The costumes were great. It was so much fun to watch, and it was easy to see that the kids enjoyed every minute of it. We were so proud of them, and I think each one of them walked away from this project a little more self-confident. It was evident on each of their faces. Annie is one of those people that you just know is going to do great things...I can't wait to say "I knew her when..."

The cast:



Three ugly trolls:



Three darling goats:

Recycle

We got one of those cute little gazebo things a couple seasons ago. You know, the square ones that have the fabric cover that you can buy at home improvement stores? Well, an unexpected snow storm hit and weighed the poor little thing down until it was drooping to the top of my head. I thought the best way to solve the problem was to take a broom and hit the snow off from the bottom, thus saving the day. It seemed brilliant, and I was quite proud of myself. That is, until I poked the broom right through the fabric. I'd give a thousand bucks to be able to see the look on my face...I was truly shocked. Luke was sweet and laughed when I called to tell him. He said he wanted to build something permanent, anyway. So, he did end up building the permanent cover, and it's fabulous.
Long story short, Luke saved the metal frame from the gazebo. It's just been sitting in the basement waiting for him to think of a great way to use it. And he did! Kelly gave us some hops, and we planted some morning glory in our planter box. If all goes well, both will grow up the divider and give us some shade. What a smart boy I married.

Flowers

Twice this week, I was surprised with flowers. How great is that? Dr. Bliss and Dr. Howarth sent me a beautiful hydrangea as a thank you for working at their office,


and my mom made me a darling set of dishtowels for my kitchen. I love them!


It's amazing how something as simple as flowers makes me feel so spoiled!

Ragnar

This weekend was Luke's 3rd time doing the Ragnar relay, and as always, he had a blast. Everyone on their team did a great job...what a bunch of rock stars!
After the relay was over, we were able to kick back with Liz, Anton, Lilly, and Claire to enjoy the gorgeous weekend. It was absolutely perfect. Plus, I found out that Lilly is a fellow Diet Coke lover. Smart girl!

Chalk Festival

We went to see the chalk art downtown today, and these were a couple of our favorites:


Nice underwear, right?


I love orange, so this was at the top of my list.


What is up with Albert's tongue?

The artists won't be finished until tomorrow, but it was really neat to see the pictures in progress. It was nice and shady, clean, and very interesting. Plus it was free, and you can't beat that!

I know, I know...

You're sick of seeing "almost done" pictures, right? We wish we were finished, too...it's just that this particular project has turned out to be a REALLY HEAVY puzzle. My muscles are so very sore. I almost started to cry when I checked my blind spot today.

Extra Gear

After Luke's game the other night, he couldn't find Dylan anywhere...

Getting Closer...

Luke has been digging dirt and rocks for days! It's not a great photo, but you can see the circle if you look closely. I thought I'd do a little digging one afternoon while he was at work. I was planning on getting a bunch done and really impressing him. After about an hour, it looked exactly the same. The only thing that had changed was that I had three blisters and was ready to pass out! He thanked me for my efforts, which was sweet, but I think I'm pretty useless until we start to set the stone. He has everything level, so after all the dirt piles get moved, he can start bringing in sand. It's coming along!

Easy Pizza Dough

One of our favorite things to eat is homemade pizza. With the recipe I use, we can each make our pizza the way we want it. Luke likes lots of garlic, tomatoes, fresh basil and mozzarella with a little drizzle of olive oil. I like pesto and cheese. Izzy goes for straight up cheese, and Dylan leans toward the traditional pepperoni. None of us like sauce, and we all like our crust thin and crunchy. Yum!


I especially love this recipe because the crusts are frozen individually and bake in less than 10 minutes. Great for a quick dinner on a busy summer day!

Whole Wheat Pizza Dough
(makes 2 large, 4 medium, or 8 small crusts)

1 1/2 C warm water
2 packets active dry yeast
1/4 C olive oil
2 T sugar
2 tsp. coarse salt
2 C all-purpose flour
2 C whole-wheat flour

1. Place water in a large bowl; sprinkle with yeast. Let stand until foamy, about 5 minutes.
2. Whisk in sugar, salt, and oil. Stir in flours with a wooden spoon (or use your hook attachment if you've got a mixer) until a sticky dough forms. Transfer to a lightly oiled bowl and let it rise for about an hour or until the dough doubles in size.
3. Turn dough onto a floured surface and divide into the number of crusts you are making.
4. Roll out crusts (I make 8 6-inch crusts).
5. Freeze them, then stack them. This is important! If you stack them before freezing them, it's really hard to get them apart. Put parchment or wax paper in between each crust, and transfer to a freezer-safe bag for up to 3 months.
6. Top with whatever you'd like and bake from frozen at about 400 degrees for 8-12 minutes.

I'm always looking for new ideas, so let me know what your favorite toppings are. Maybe I'll get brave and try something different for a change :)

Saturday Mornings

For the past two years, all of my Saturday mornings have been spent working. A few weeks ago, Luke and I decided that my time would be better spent at home with the kids. It was really great to see how excited Izzy and Dylan were last night when I told them I'd be home in the morning. And that we were going to spend the entire day together. There are some things money just can't buy.

So, after a lazy morning, we got dressed and headed to Home Depot to do the monthly kid's craft. It's free, the projects are always darling, and Izzy and Dylan LOVE it. They look forward to it all month!

Field Trips

I had the chance to go on a field trip with each of the kids. Izzy and I hiked to Ensign Peak. It was a great short hike-perfect for a Sunday afternoon. We're going to do it again with Luke and Dylan before it gets too hot. What a great view!




Dylan and I went to the Tracy Aviary. It was a beautiful day, and such a nice facility. It was very clean, and we saw so many different birds. These were our favorites:



It makes me so happy to know Izzy and Dylan enjoy it when I tag along on their field trips. I know it won't last forever, so I'll take it while I can get it!

Carnival Day

One more day of school left to go. We're looking forward to warm summer nights in the backyard, camping, and most of all...sleeping in!

Weekend Fun

If I had to describe our weekend in a nutshell, it would be tons of sightseeing, Bob Dylan, and Ticket To Ride. We had a blast sitting around the fire in the evening, but even more fun when we moved into Jake and Em's trailer each night to listen to good music, eat snacks, and play our new favorite game. Ticket To Ride might even top our game list, moving Settler's Of Catan to second place. I didn't think that was possible. Luke and I are addicted!

The sightseeing kept us busy during the day. We saw pictographs and petroglyphs...



Found dinosaur tracks (yes, they are real!) that Dylan measured so he could tell us what kind of dinosaur he thought might have made them...



And played in the goblins.



Isn't it great when some of our favorite people end up being related to us? We are already planning our next camping trip, and getting so excited for our cruise to Alaska. Thanks for a fun weekend, Jake and Emily!

Medieval Day

The kindergarten kids had medieval day last week. It's a really fun tradition, and the kids look forward to it. They all dress up as kings, knights, princesses, etc. A falconer comes and does a bird demonstration (my favorite). There is also a medieval feast, as well as fencing, meeting a real knight, and craft projects. I thought Dylan would jump on the opportunity to dress up as a knight, but he opted to be a dragon. Because knights need pets. Here is a cute picture of Ashton and Dylan waiting in line during the stick horse races. I love that you can just see Dylan's nose.