Birdhouse

For some reason, Eli got it into his head that he wanted to build a birdhouse. Blair told Eli they would make one after work one day. All day he could not stop talking about it or thinking about it. He was so excited. He drew pictures of the birdhouse that he wanted to build so that Blair would know how to build it. At one point during the day he insisted he needed to go to Dad's work to show him some changes he had made to the drawings. So after work they went to Home Depot, bought some wood, and came home and built a birdhouse. I had to document it with a few pictures. I must say, I was pretty impressed. By the way, all night I had the They Might Be Giants song, "like a little birdhouse in your soul..." running through my head.

Independence Day

We had a great weekend celebrating our country's independence. Here are a few of the highlights. We kicked off the weekend at the Oakley Rodeo. The kids loved it. Eli now wants to be a cowboy.





I think Owen makes a good cowboy too...

I ran the East Millcreek 5K with my friend Ashley and some of my fam. Incidently, I was the only member of my family that did not win a medal. Oh well, maybe next year.

Eli decorated his bike and participated in the neighborhood parade.

We had a great time up at the cabin with some of the Allen family. Eli was pumped to sleep out in the tent with his dad. We also loved the firework show in Midway.

Happy Independence Day and long live the Union!

Quote of the Day

Someone shared this quote with me this weekend. I'm not sure where it's from, but I really like it.

Legends say that hummingbirds float free of time, carrying our hopes for love, joy, and celebration. Like a hummingbird, we aspire to hover and savor each moment as it passes, embrace all that life has to offer, and to celebrate the joy of everyday. The hummingbird's delicate grace reminds us that life is rich, beauty is everywhere, every personal connection has meaning, and that laughter is life's sweetest creation.

Five Stars

This is an awesome book. I liked it better than Kite Runner. I learned a lot about Afghanistan and it's history from both Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns. A Thousand Splendid Suns focuses more on women - relationships between women, including mothers and daughters. And while a lot of the story is sad, there is also a prevailing feeling of hope.

I'm now reading Sara's Quilt, a sequel to These Is My Words (which I loved), by Nancy E. Turner.

"Magoons" a.k.a. Lagoon

We participated in a classic Utah tradition by making the trek up to Lagoon last weekend, or as Eli likes to call it, "Magoons." We took the kids last year also, but before that I think the last time I was at lagoon was ninth grade lagoon day. And I admit, it was not quite as white-trash as I remember. In fact, I was pleasantly surprised. We had a great time. I won't make fun of any of you (Angie...) for having season passes. We spent most the day in kiddie-land, but my sister and I decided for old-times we needed to go on Colossus. It did me in. I was still feeling yucky the next day. The classic lagoon moment was when I was standing in line and noticed the couple behind me had matching hot pink shirts on. His shirt said, "I'm hers," and her shirt said, "he's mine." Now that's the lagoon I remember.

Be prepared, part 2

In keeping with the prepardness theme, I went to the welfare square cannery this week. I have to tell you, I love the cannery. If you've never been, you should go. You can just show up, you don't need an appointment. So I went down with my mom and my mother-in-law (incidently, two of the most prepared, organized women I know). It's great, you just go into this huge warehouse and get the big bags of whatever you are going to can - wheat, rice, oats, etc... and bring them to your "station." Then you fill up your cans and seal them with this really cool machine (that's my favorite part). It's fun and it really doesn't take very long to get a lot done. Plus it makes you feel industrious, domestic, obedient, prepared...I'm not sure what the word is, put you feel good. And I think the cans are convenient because I keep them in my basement and just bring one up at a time to use. So that's my plug for the cannery. And by the way, I did make some wheat bread last week. My neighbor just bought a wheat grinder so we tried it out. The bread turned out good. The good news is maybe I will use that bucket of wheat I bought!

The end of the world is coming...but don't panic

So I'm reading the fifth book in a series called "The Great and Terrible" by Chris Stewart, and it's pretty intense. I guess you could say it's a book about the end of the world. The series actually starts in pre-mortal life and follows several characters from the "war in heaven" to the "last days." When my mother-in-law told me about the series, I must admit, I thought it sounded a litte hokey. But I decided to read them anyway and they are really good books. If nothing else, they make you think. It gives you kind of an interesting perspective on life. It has also made me panic a little about food storage and being prepared. So last week I bought my first bucket of wheat, I feel like a true mormon mother. I have a long way to go. This quote by Pres. Ezra Taft Benson kind of puts it in perspective - “The revelation to store food may be as essential to our temporal salvation today as boarding the ark was to the people in the days of Noah.” So lets all get on the ark and remember "if ye are prepared, ye shall not fear."