I'm a cheesecake?

Hmm...guess so. Took the dessert quiz...and I'm a cheesecake. Rich, sweet, and simply perfect. I'm not boring, just the best.

I wish!

Happy Birthday...

...to Mom!!! Hope your day is perfect. Love, Sara and Steve and Christopher

Swinging

Pretty sure I haven't posted these yet! He's truly excited and giggling when he's swinging. Makes me smile. Big. (Mom, remind me to send you a photo of my little project with these photos!)

Torrential Downpour

...is what we're experiencing. Needless to say, we didn't go to Morning Out at Sugarbush Park today. We did, however, venture out to the library. Bad idea. We made it there and back, but we had to spend some extra time in the car while waiting for some of the rain to die down. And it was extremely difficult to see the lines on the road!

Today I am thankful for my new red shoes, a large stack of library books, my wonderful son who takes naps most days, my husband who lets me have some time to myself and watches Christopher, the rain that waters my tomato plant and geraniums, my own dryer for our soaking clothes, generous members of the Ann Arbor University Ward, the postman who brings me wonderful packages from other crafty friends containing tons of paper goodies, and e-mail that allows me to keep in touch with my friends who have moved to various corners of the earth.

Breakfast Visit

Grey squirrel, grey squirrel
Swish your bushy tail!
Grey squirrel, grey squirrel
Swish your bushy tail!
Wrinkle up your funny nose
Hold a nut between your toes
Grey squirrel, grey squirrel
Swish your bushy tail!

*This morning as we came down the stairs after breakfast and opened the blinds to the patio, we noticed our friendly neighborhood squirrel was sitting patiently in the back. He ambled over to check out the patio and this time wandered up the little stairs and even onto the ledge. Christopher said "hello" and for a couple minutes they stared at each other. And then Mr. Squirrel left. Thanks to Steve for grabbing the camera!

*The little squirrel song is something Garrett learned in pre-school and shared with the family. And now everytime I see a squirrel I think of this song and Garrett "swishing" his "bushy tail".

Monday

First trip out on the town with Christopher alone. After yesterday's drama, this was brave. Post office, CVS to pick up photos, library to pick up some more West Wing. Pretty easy. But he's back to screaming again. And I mean SCREAMING.

Yesterday we made it to church on time and through the first talk in sacrament meeting. He started fussing so I took him into the hall (at least one child per family had chosen the very same moment to errupt in howls or fits) to give the speaker some respect. Two minutes later he belched and smiled. Phew. He felt better. And then came the torrent. Of barely-digested formula. Ugh. All down my front. Again. For the third or fourth Sunday in a row. (He never does this during the week.) So, I went home and changed. (Our apartment is only 1 minute from church.) He screamed for the rest of the meeting and we ended up taking him home. He fell asleep as soon as we got in the car, naturally.

And, now, he's at it again. Yesterday it was the teething and his stomach. Today, I have no idea! He was so happy all morning and even took a nap. This afternoon he played just fine and ate normally. And there's nothing left to do other than let him scream until he falls asleep. Too bad Dad isn't here. Christopher definitely likes him better than he likes me when he's upset.

Wish us luck!

Happy Birthday...

...to me.

Funny Sort of Day

*Photo: what Christopher does when he loses a sock.

Today is Monday. Not necessarily a great day...but not the usual Monday either. I didn't sleep too well last night...I actually haven't been able to sleep well in about 3 weeks. Still can't figure that out...but I'm surviving. Steve left a little later today than usual...that was such a blessing! He even did the dishes before he left and gave me time to have a shower. And Christopher is finally napping.

The weather is perfect...only 77 degrees! It's still really dry (for Michigan) and we haven't seen fireflies all week because there hasn't been any rain. Sad. They were so much fun to watch as they flitted around the yard and blinked at us. The baby bunny has left as well. However, there are still plenty of groundhogs.

Today I get to do laundry in my own basement...for the second time! I'm still thrilled about the washer and dryer. It's been a great blessing not to have to scrounge up enough quarters to do a couple loads in Northwood IV. And I can do laundry during naptime...instead of scheduling it around naptime. Fabulous!

This morning Christopher and I were invited to have lunch with a sister in our ward and her three kids. Should be fun! It's nice to live in family housing. No shortage of children or mothers!

Things I need to accomplish today: organize bathroom shelves, do laundry, clean up scrapping area (which has inconveniently consumed our kitchen table), get a video of Christopher "crawling", get some vegetables at Kroger, return books to the library and pick up books on hold, get some exercise in, plan FHE, vacuum, water the geraniums and tomato plant, take Christopher out to swing, get some serious reading done (Keys to the Kingdom: Mister Monday), take a nap!

*Note to self: DECLUTTER!!!!

Grandma, scroll down for the photos I posted while you were in the hospital!

Happy Bastille Day!!!

Tonight we're having Thai Garlic and Basil Chicken (not French, I know) and a Tarte au Citron. No fireworks...but we'll still party!!! Sometimes I really miss being a French major...

What Happens When I Make a Phone Call...

...somehow he moves swiftly and smoothly across the carpet and onto the wood floor...and then turns over the toy basket. Funny. But a bit of a pain...toys everywhere!!! And he can't even really crawl yet! Baby boys...such fun! :)

Fourth of July

Watching fireworks...Steve attempting to protect Christopher's hearing...some of those fireworks may have been a bit too loud.

My favorite photo from the 4th! Christopher watching the fireworks at the church parking lot. He loved them!!!
Apparently they have tractors in the parades in Michigan as well. Great-Grandpa Jerry, Christopher says to tell you he was too busy eating to pose in the photo...sorry!

American Legion engine at the parade...Christopher was obviously wearing the right hat. :)

Photo taken just for Aunt Katelyn! :)


Christopher watching the parade in Ypsilanti. I thought for sure he'd be a bit upset about all the police sirens at the start of the parade, but instead he was just curious. Yes, I realize the dinosaur hat doesn't match the patriotic outfit...but I didn't want his little noggin to get burned!

We had a great time at the ward pancake breakfast, the Ypsilanti parade, the Dunstan family bbq, and the fireworks at the church with all the primary kids!

I keep failing to blog about our trip to Gettysburg...I've got to get on that!

8 Random Facts

Sorry, Becca, that this took a few days!

1. I’ve been on every continent in the Northern Hemisphere.
2. I’ve been to two active volcanoes in the same year. (Mt. St. Helens and Kiluea)
3. I’ve eaten duck ovaries. (Japan 1999)
4. My favorite color was pink when I was little…then it was red…and now it’s pink. I’m fairly certain I like pink again simply because I have a baby boy.
5. I majored in Japanese for 1.5 years and graduated with a B.A. in French. I minored in MFHD. (Marriage, Family, and Human Development)
6. I taught Scottish Highland Dance for one week during the summer after my freshman year of college. The children were hysterical.
7. I have friends in the south of France that I still write/e-mail after nearly 15 years.
8. I spent the night in a barn in Switzerland. (The cows only live there in the winter…and it was July.)

I'm tagging: Rob, Sarah, Sara, Jen, Shelly, Shirley, and two other persons I haven't even thought of! (Pathetic...but I don't seem to have 8 blogging friends that haven't already done this! Maybe I'll have Steve and Christopher tell me their 8 random facts...)

How Ironic

Last week a couple member of the EQP came over to "get to know" us. They seem like great people and have expressed an interest in geocaching...at least trying it out. So, Sunday I invited one of the families to cache with us this weekend. And then we got to thinking about the last time we'd used the GPS. Hmm...the Grand Canyon in May? Have we even seen it in this apartment? Nope! We've gone through all the bags/boxes we brought out in our car...and still can't find it. So, either it fell out in some random parking lot (probable, but not terribly likely), it was stolen out of our car (after the National Parks trip and before Ann Arbor), we left it in Provo, or it's in Kent. So far, our best guess is that it's hiding from us in our basement/closet or it's in Kent and John or Michael have seen it (but they're at Philmont). HOW does a GPS get lost?!!!