Drive-In Movie

As a special family night activity, we went to the drive-in. I hadn't been since I was about Kaith's age. I warned the children in advance that it was kind of a grown-up movie (Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, rated PG), but that it might be fun for them because the screen was outside. Miriam obligingly fell asleep for us on the way there (she woke just before the previews). To pass the time while waiting, Cory started us on an alphabet game. He said he's played it with the children before, but I was surprised at how good the boys were at it. For this game, the first person said something that started with the letter A, the second person said something that started with the letter B, and so on. The boys had to sing the alphabet song to figure out which letter came next. I think we got through this game all the way twice before losing interest.

As for the movie, I think we lost some of the nuances of the movie when all the children tried sitting/standing/climbing/squirming up front with us and changing the radio settings, but overall it was a lovely family outing.

We all slept while Cory watched the second feature, Transformers 2. The car needed a jump start to go, but apparently the drive-in comes equipped and trained for that. We were on the road in almost no time.

Adventures With Pizza Dough

I was stretching pizza dough Monday evening when the children came in, wanting to help. I gave each of them a crust and mat to work with wile I chopped the lunch meat to go on it (yes. lunch meat). Miriam and Trevor got out rolling pins and got to work. Miriam was excited when her dough rolled unevenly and looked like a hop-a-roo. Trevor must have gotten bored after finishing his rectangle, because next it was rolled up, then smooshed into a ball. When I looked again, he told me it was "grown up pizza." He had gotten a leftover packet of crushed red pepper from Little Caesars, opened it by himself, and smothered the bottom of the dough with it. His creativity did not end there, though. He partially flattened it again, then pressed letter cookie cutters on the top. He was very proud of his word pizza, although a little uncertain what it said.

Piano Parking

After the older children were in bed Sunday evening, I unwound by practicing hymns. I was absorbed in my own actions for a while, and was only vaguely aware of Sterling playing near me and on me. I don't usually allow the children to play with toys on the piano, but when I saw how carefully he had parked his cars on the groups of two white keys, I didn't want to interfere. When he decided he was done, he put his fingers on the keys to play a parking song.

At the River

On Saturday we went to the Stake Pioneer Activity at Cascade Park. Grandma and Grandpa W. were there, along with the uncles (Nathan at a young single adult activity), including David, excluding Andrew . . . I mean the current Elder West.

We spent most of the time down at the river. The children were enthusiastic about throwing rocks in the river. BIG ROCKS. This would have been more peaceful if it wasn't for all the vulnerable swimmers and waders filling the water. Kaith got in the water the most, doing the Alligator Walk close to shore. Trevor disappeared upstream or farther out in the river depending on this inclinations. Fortunately Grandma had brought cookies, which drew the wandering children back at the end.

The Darth Side

Kaith was acting out Star Wars, playing Darth Vader.

He came up to me with a scowl, and fiercely said,

"I turned to the dark side because I don't like it when people call me Annie."

Staged to Sell

We've been browsing houses online with interest these past few days. While looking through a newly posted cottage in Marysville, Miriam saw the girl's room and said, "That's a pretty bed." There was a long pause, then she exclaimed excitedly, "Hey! That's my bed!"

By the way, thanks to all the family and friends who have been helping and/or lending furniture to make our house on this end look close to its best.

Mac, Felix, and Ashley

This is a post about major additions to our family this year.

Mac was added in late May. With a 24" monitor that has all the hardware built-in, Mac is the perfect study buddy for all my art classes. It's a lot easier to skim the thumbnails when they're big enough to see. While his Victorian cousin is quite a show stopper, I think I prefer his quality and ease of use. Perhaps I'm growing up.

Felix was added recently as a replacement for our last vacuum, which last died about a year ago. This last vacuum had been the second-cheapest model we found, and we did not make that mistake a second time. One of the best things about Felix is that his belt can't ever break--he doesn't have one! Instead, Felix comes with a clutch. The beater bar is easy to remove for cleaning, it has multiple filters to minimize air dust, and easily detaches from its base to become a lightweight canister vacuum. The best part about Felix is his design (perhaps I'm not growing up). We opted for the cream design with a plaid body and chocolate brown accents. That, combined with his shapely body makes him what may be the most stylish vacuum on the planet.

Ashley is a new construction possibility (okay, nothing's possible until after the pre-approval). She has a spacious great room design, with vaulted ceilings over the living-dining-kitchen. There is an optional fourth bedroom, which would bring square footage over 1700 square feet. The currently available model is nearly perfect, but I'm not sure I could live with black appliances and dark gray countertops, even if they are Corian.

Cory's Graduation

After more than a decade of higher education, Cory has graduated with a B.S. in Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineering. Having taken this long, he had to go through two graduation ceremonies to feel officially matriculated. It was an exciting day. That one day left behind our degree-less past behind and opened so many doors and so much employment security we never had before. The smaller, department graduation was the most intimate and entertaining. Not only was each graduate named, but a short write-up was read. Cory is going to be a Nuclear Power School Instructor. One of his classmates is going to attend graduate school at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Another, who believes that repetition is the best way to learning, is now going to start over from the beginning, by re-attending preschool this summer. I think these were ways of making light of their inability to find employment.

Incidentally, Cory's new job is neither aeronautical nor astronautical. It's just plain nautical. I'd like to thank the Navy right now for a paid three month summer vacation.