Boys and their toys

This is a photo of my three boys on Eli's third birthday in November. We gave him the Hot Wheels set and Trevor caught this precious face on camera. It's so cute I had to share.

Do you ever have one of those days?

I'm sure we've all been there. You spend all day working. Getting stuff done. You've been busy. Then suddenly the day's over and you survey your day and wonder what you accomplished. What did you do all day? Well, it seems like that's my life. I work and work and never get anything done.

Okay, I guess I should be fair. I do get some things done. But my to-do list never shrinks. There's still a thousand things on it. And what's a thousand minus 3? Still a lot.

But hey, at least now I can check "update blog" off my list...

Fall in Utah

Okay, I know it's been a while since I've posted. Life has gotten busier since school started--can that be possible? I can't remember when my house was REALLY clean, and the holidays are coming. Have mercy.

But I thought I'd post pics of my kids enjoying a beautiful fall day. Trevor loves to take fall photos and I love 'em, too. The trees in front of our house have the most beautiful red leaves at this time of year. After these photos were taken Trevor raked up the leaves and threw them away. Simon was so disappointed that he took our wagon and loaded it up with other people's leaves and brought them back to our house. Oh the joys of little boys.

The Summer That Wouldn't End

We got an automated phone call last week from our kids' school. They're going to be attending a brand new public school being built locally, and we had been told (in a previous automated phone call) by the principal that the school would be finished in time to start with all the other public schools on August 25th. But last week's call had no such good news. The woman's voice on the phone dropped the bomb: for the safety of our children the start of school will be postponed and won't start until September 5. I was aghast and angry. I wanted to reach through the phone and throttle the principal. How could they get our hopes up like that then dash them to pieces like a baseball through a window? If we had been expecting to start late all along it wouldn't be such a shocker. But to convey this depressing revelation with only a week to go 'til Sanity is crueler than cruel. I was in a funk. My neighbor told me she cried. Two weeks seemed like an eternity. I tried to look at the positives and could really only come up with one: I could continue to run outdoors for two more weeks without having to rise at an unearthly hour to put in some time on the treadmill. But the thought didn't ameliorate me.

Now we're in the countdown with a week and a half to go. I'm trying to fill it with trips, activities, time passers, anything. And I'm realizing that almost 4 months away from school has been damaging to my kids' learning. Maybe I should fill it with some homeschooling...

Things you don't say to your wife

I saw this on another blog this morning and found it too hilarious not to share...

My Family

This is a photo of my family, including my parents and my five brothers and sisters with their spouses and children. There are 16 grandchildren and one on the way (go Anna!). It was taken during our family reunion at Bear Lake in June, which was fabulous! I loved being able to be together with all my sibs and their kids and my kids loved being with their cousins. It had been a long time since we'd seen some of them!

This trip was a luxury and I thank Alisa and Ed for unselfishly donating time from two condos so we could all sleep comfortably. I also have to thank Elaine and Brian for hauling their boat all the way from California (even with today's gas prices!) so we could all go wakeboarding or go in the tube. Thanks to for Brandon and Anna for bringing the MegaStation; it was awesome, too. And thanks to everyone for days of cooking and cleaning for an army, not to mention all the planning and preparation that went into it beforehand.

My family and I couldn't have asked for a better way to spend time with family and enjoy a vacation.

Breaking News

Boy, age 6, Eats Zucchini and Asks for More

It was reported yesterday that the boy, Simon, liked the way the green vegetable was cooked. His parents, Trevor and Julie, put some on his dinner plate as they always do, expecting it to be rejected outright. But, they say, he actually tried it then asked for a second serving of "the round things."

"It's a miracle!, his mother exclaimed. "He especially liked it dipped in ranch dressing," she added, citing an Ellie Krieger recipe for Zucchini Parmesan Crisps as the beloved preparation. The recipe, found on the food network website, is said to be easy and tasty. The rice and black bean pilaf recipe shown on the same episode of "Healthy Appetite with Ellie Krieger," and served with the zucchini, was not as enthusiastically received, although Julie proclaims it "delicious."