Sadness

Today, my favorite and most faithful pair of light blue flip-flops died. I feel like holding a memorial.

The Perfect Summer Day

Today after the normal housework, kids' jobs, and projects, I decided to take a little time off and go out with the kids. Jeremy had a gift certificate from JCW's, so he treated us all to one of their monster ice cream cones, and then we went to a great little park in AF to play. It was a beautiful day...sunny, but not too hot...so we could hang out for a while. We played on the swings and the playset, the kids rolled down the sledding hill and climbed a tree, and we even got in a game of frisbee! (My only regret is that I didn't have a camera with me!) Toward the end, the kids said, "Now THIS is what a summer day should be like!" Yup.

Recent Pix

Okay--a final entry tonight. I have just a few recent random family pictures I love that I thought I'd include (since I seem to be using this blog as a scrapbook/journal, now!) Here goes:

The Next Dennis Brain?

Jen has become interested in the French horn. One day several weeks ago, Jessie picked up a mouthpiece and, almost instantly, figured out how to produce sound. Jennifer followed suit, and she's practiced almost every day since on Mike's horn!

Jonathan's Latest Cooking Adventures

Jonathan, as you can tell, has been having a grand ol' time in the kitchen lately. Here, I'll share a few of his recent triumphs:

This is an amazing 2-layer chocolate cake with fudge frosting:



This is a version of a recipe I got from Jenny in college! It's a strawberry and cream cheese delicacy!


(Jennifer helped with this next one...) We had German Pancakes with molded confectioner's sugar!




Ah, yes, and a detail of Jeremy's birthday cake:

Jer's Birthday

Jer had a wonderful birthday. Here are some highlights:


Jonathan created a breakfast fit for a king. Move over, IHOP! He made pancakes with cherry pie filling, fresh strawberries, whipped cream, bacon, and apple juice.


For lunch, Jer requested Chuck E. Cheese, where he and the other kids played for a couple of hours! Dinner consisted of Pokemon mac & cheese and grilled hot dogs.

For dessert, Jonathan made an AMAZING 6-layer Pokemon cake.

The day was also filled with phone calls, visits, and fun presents. He had such a fun day, but so much of the credit goes to his big bro Jonathan. He really went out of his way to make the day special. Jeremy said, "Jonathan was the champion of my birthday 'cause he gave me an awesome bubble blower and a SWEET Transformers kite!"

Jer finished the day in a comfy new bed (we finally finished his room!). I think he went to sleep happy!

Jer's Looth Teeth

While we were in St. George, Jer lost one of his front teeth...just in time for his 7th birthday! It happened on Sunday, during lunch at Care's house. Jer had just brought his plate to me. He said, "Hey, Mom, I've finished my hot dog...oh, look, it's my tooth!" His tooth was just lying there on his paper plate.

Three days later he turned 7.

The next day, he lotht ANOTHER one!!!

Jer was in the backyard playing with a whirly-gig. He launched it, and upon its return to the ground, it knocked out his other front tooth!

Here's what he wrote to the tooth fairy:

"Dear tooth fere

I Lost a tooth

But I can't give it

to you Because I

Lost it in the

grass Look in my

Mouth 6/18/09"