Mmmm.

I took the ice cream quiz I saw on Tammy's blog and I am.......... MINT CHOCOLATE CHIP! Here's the results:

Mint chocolate chip ice cream wakes up people's taste buds, and you do the same thing when you walk into a room. The chocolatey bits represent your sweet, flirtatious side, and the minty flavor represents your high energy level. You are smart, witty, and you make a great first impression. Your friends value your advice, because you tend to see things from a fresh new perspective.

I would not have described myself this way, and I don't know what "tasty bits of flirtiness" means, but I do love Mint Chocolate Chip!

This one's for Mom...

When we were in California, Mom & I went on our own little quilt shop hop. I was looking for a little red, white, & blue project but I didn't find anything I loved. Mom gave me the pattern for this "Sparkler" quilt and I finished it just before the 4th of July and I keep forgetting to post a pic! I really like how it turned out and I really over bought the fabric for it so I might be making some more! I didn't realize how small it would be (I have a hard time reading all the directions before I start a project) but I made it a square, instead of a rectangle, and then put the paper pieced section on point so it stretched it out a little bigger.

This is Ryan & Justin saying hi to Grandma. Justin can't put down his new DS. He is so excited to have the latest & greatest thing like the other boys have. Thanks to both grandmas for the birthday money he used to buy it!

Check out Tyler's Blog

Tyler has a new post and he is afraid no one will ever know because he hasn't posted in a long, long time and he thinks everyone has forgotten about him and won't be checking his blog. So just check it. And leave him some feedback so he will leave me alone. Tyler's Blog. Thanks.

Worlds of FUN!

Last week, before Cody left, we went to Worlds of Fun in KC. After having such a great day at Magic Mountain, we really expected to have another perfect theme park day. We got there about 11am and it was already HOT. There weren't very many people there, so the lines were short. That was good. But it was HOT. We kept buying ice cream and lemonade to cool off and the boys rode the water rides trying to get wet. But it was HOT. Then some of the biggest fastest rides were closed! And did I say it was HOT? The temp was almost up to 100 degrees! So after only 4.5 hours, we called it a day. (I think the Tyler and Cody would have stayed longer, but Ryan, Justin, & I were done!) We stopped at an A&W for hamburgers and root beer - none of the boys knew A&W is a burger restaurant, not just a root beer! I think they liked it - they keep asking if we can go again. I feel bad that we picked such a HOT day to go, but we were all much happier when we got home and showered and ate more ice cream. Did I say it was HOT?!

Photo Shoot

We went to a native grasses and plants nature trail today and I tried to take some pictures of my boys. They are growing up so fast! I've been reading tons of photography books and magazines trying to improve my picture taking skills, but not one has given good suggestions for getting 3 hot and tired boys to model for you! I'd like to Photoshop a few of these and I think they'll turn out good enough to frame. But aren't my boys handsome?

My Favorite Things

Like, Oprah, I want to tell everyone about the wonderful products I've discovered. They are not life changing, just life bettering. Unlike Oprah, I won't be giving them away just because you are reading about them on my blog!


My first favorite came from Melanie and Paige: Bonder! It's a rubberized basecoat for under your nail polish. It keeps your polish on forever! On my toes, it never chips off and I have had to take off the polish after more than 3 weeks because my nails are growing out, but the color still looks good! Amazing. On fingers, it doesn't last as long, but still a lot longer than without! ($4.00 at CVS)




My second favorite came from Mom and Tammy: Ped Egg! It's an egg shaped cheese grater type tool for your feet! My heels have always been so dry and scratchy and they crack & hurt but now I use my Ped Egg on all those little pokey chunks of dry skin on my heels. After a little lotion, my feel are soft for weeks! And it catches all the dead skin you scrape off, so it's not falling on the floor or the furniture. It's gross, but it's also incredible how much it grates off! I am going to use it for the rest of my life! ($10.00 at Bed, Bath & Beyond)


My third favorite came from Dad: Garmin nuvi GPS! This handy little gadget is sooo smart! Todd & I took it to Vancouver and we didn't ever get lost! Dad sent his with me on our long drive home from CA and Tyler used it to navigate. I love the touch screen and the way it guides turn by turn. We had to give Dad's back to him last week and I miss it! I didn't think I'd use it since I know my way around town, but I actually used it quite a few times! We took it to KC several times and it was a lifesaver - I always get lost there. I am looking for a deal on one and maybe I'll get a Christmas-in-July present :).

I sound like a infomercial testimonial, don't I! So what other good things have you discovered?

Scones for Cody

Cody has been such a great kid during his visit with us. He never bothers me and he hardly ever asks for any thing. I worry that he won't tell me if he really needs something because he's afraid I'll say no. (I say no more than his mom.) But a few days ago, he asked if I would make scones before he goes home. Of course! Todd said the batch I made Sunday was probably the best ones I've ever made. Most of them had huge air pockets and the boys carefully poked holes in them and filled them with butter, powdered sugar and syrup. Cody perfected the technique. We are still eating the leftovers. Mmmmm.
Scones:
4 c. very warm water
3-4 Tb. yeast
4 Tb. sugar
3 Tb. oil
1 Tb. salt
about 10-11 c. flour

Mix water, yeast, & sugar; let stand 5 minutes. Add remaining ingredients. Knead. Let rise for 30 minutes. Heat oil. Roll out 1/2 the dough and cut into squares or triangles and then fry until crispy and golden and done on the inside. Top with butter, cinnamon sugar, powdered sugar, maple syrup, blueberry syrup, strawberries and whipped cream, honey, peanut butter..... everything is good!

Remember Drive-Ins?

I remember going to the 101 Drive-In with my Mom and Dad to see movies like E.T. and Mary Poppins, but my kids did not even know what a drive-in was! We found one in K.C. and since we're trying to keep busy while Cody is here, we took the boys on Friday night to see Journey to the Center of the Earth. They thought is was cool that we would be bringing our own treats. I made a huge batch of "real popped in oil in a pot on the stove" popcorn and Tyler made his puppy chow treats. Ryan picked out boxes of movie candies. So we were set. The show didn't start until 10:55, and when we got there, all four boys were actually shocked that we would really be DRIVING IN and then watching the movie IN THE VAN! I don't know how many times I told them about it, but they didn't get it. The movie was OK. The goodies were great. The boys liked it. Todd was tired. I felt like a little girl again! We are going to have to do that again!

July Slide Show

Paul & Kimberly and their kids and Grandpa & Grandma Averett came to Kansas for the Fourth of July celebrations and we had a really great time. Cody is also here so we are getting spoiled with all the family time. This slide show is just some of the high lights of their visit. We also went swimming, saw Wall-E, bowled, ate, played Wii, tried to fly kites, ate some more, and just hung out here at home. The kids all played well together and it was neat to see them all taking care of each other. Now we can't wait for our next family visit!

Summer Vacation!!! (The long story...long.)

As you know, we live far, far away from any family so we rarely get to see new baby cousins, older cousins, funny uncles and happy aunts, and of course, the Grandmas & Grandpas we love! Fortunately, we love to take road trips and visit family! So right after school let out for the summer, we packed up our van and drove straight thru to Ojai, CA - that's 26 hours of driving!! Even though we had planned to stop for the night, the boys were happy and I was just starting to wake up, so Todd & I took turns and made it in record time. We were just too excited to get there!

We stayed with my Mom and Dad for a few days, then Todd & I left the kids with them to have their own little adventure and we went to Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada! It's a really nice city and there was lots to see. We really enjoyed the Capilano Suspension Bridge and the ferry to Vancouver Island where we went to Butchart Gardens and the Royal Canadian Museum. We also went up in a skyscraper with a lookout tower on top - it was a beautiful 360 degree view! We drove through Stanley Park and walked through several small neighborhoods. We spent a lot of our time just relaxing and shopping.

We got back to California just in time to go to church with Amy's family. It was baby Micah's blessing day. It was great to be there for that. He has a ton of people who love him! We also met Ben's baby Sara - I still can't think of what to say about her - she is sooo dang cute!! And she's the chubbiest baby ever - so fun to hold!

So every one from my family was together there for a few days and I loved it!! Emily mentioned that even if we manage to get all of us together once a year, we only have about 50 years until we start dying and that's just not enough times together! I agree! We do have good times together and they just don't seem to happen often enough!

While we were all there, we had an early retirement party for Dad. He gave his 2 months nothice to his boss and Mom's making plans so it's practically official. Tammy and Amy organized a skit about Big Foot and all of the 5 kids & spouses had parts. Mom and Dad and the grandkids were the audience. We were all pretty silly but except for scaring the kids with a real Big Foot running through the yard, it was a hit. Dad said it was the best party he's ever had. (He's easy to please.) So congrats on retiring, Dad! Now don't get too stressed about RVing!

We had planned our trip to be home with Todd for Father's Day, but Todd had work to do in China so the boys and I stayed in California for another week. It was sad to not be with Todd, but we did enjoy celebrating with my dad! Amy's family came to Mom's house for dinner and banana splits and we just enjoyed the day.

The next day, with the van all loaded up again, we drove to the Utah Averetts'. Kimberly took me to 2 stores where I bought half a ton of food storage stuff. The boys had a great time with Uncle Paul, Grandpa Averett and their cousins at Boondock's, a terrific play place if you are 13 and younger. (Thanks to Grandpa & Paul for the fun day!) Since we wanted to get back home before Todd returned from China, we left Utah on Wednesday and drove all the way to Topeka. It's too long of a drive for one person, but I did it! It never felt so good to be home!

So since we've been back, we've unpacked everything and put away our mountain of food storage things. The boys have played computer & Wii games for hours and hours. I've been fighting off a cold with naps home cooked food and naps. Todd came back from his trip jetlagged so he's taking naps too! I wanted to get pictures up to go with my travelogue, but I'm just not there yet. Now we'll enjoy the month and half of summer we have left before school starts. And start planning our next adventure!