Been fun!

Well since my last post, we'd done so many fun things!!

On Wednesday, Aunt Lacee and cousins, and Grandma Becky met us at the Copper Mine for a little tour. We saw the HUGE tires on the trucks and watched the trucks carry rocks and dump them...it was great! We stopped at Copperton Park for lunch and play - AWESOME park! Full of shade, fun playground, shade, tennis court, a few people, and...shade!! We were on our way to the Herriman Beach and/or Splash Pad (depending on crowds) when the kids fell asleep. We still stopped to see if we wanted to return another day (YES!!), but let the kids sleep while we chatted.

It was so fun to spend the day with my family! Thanks for the great day!

On Saturday, we met Uncle Brian and his family at the base of Timpanogas Cave for a morning of hiking. Luke had Dad's hand, Lucy was strapped in the backpack (thanks, Julia) and we were off. After just over an hour, we found ourselves at the entrance to the cave...we made it...no mishaps, either! We saw "bacon", "curly fries", "the Heart of Timpanogas", and "ice cream" before heading back down to the canyon floor where we picnicked in the shade. What a great way to start a weekend. Although, Rich and I decided we wouldn't be doing that again until Luke was old enough to walk and listen without either of us freaking out because of the 100-ft drop on our left. We also realized that neither of us do well with heights and children...other than that, we did good.

After a nap and some quiet time, we geared up for the annual 24th of July "Cul-de-sac of Fire". Grilling began around 6:00, eating commenced shortly after. We had burgers, hot dogs, chips n salsa, pasta salad, watermelon, chips, rice krispie treats and peach cobbler. What a great feast! While the grill was cooling, the dads and the kids set off parachutes fireworks and had a blast chasing the parachutes all over the neighbors yards. At dusk, we set off a few fountains and called it a night. We love spending quality time, eating quality food, with quality people! Thanks friends and family for being so....quality!

Sunday was business as usual: wrestling Luke and Lucy during Sacrament meeting; walking the hall doing little tasks during Sunday School; passing Lucy to a friend during RS; after church, home for lunch and a....
No nap. We headed to Grandma Madsen's to spend time with Uncle Brian, Aunt Anna and cousins before dinner with the rest of the family. It was fun to play a game and banter and eat and banter and eat and banter and eat before dinner.

Dinner was great! And we celebrated (a little late) my nephew, Jake's 13th Birthday! What a great kid he is!!

Here are some...memories...to add, too: Luke managed to poop in his underwear, pee on Grandma's carpet, have an absolute meltdown, fall asleep in the office chair, and still have a great time!! Lucy slept through most of the excitement and ate. Rich napped on the couch and in the chair. I...talked and ate and talked and ate and talked and ate. It was great!

Today we're off to swim with cousins and have another great day before reality hits again tomorrow and we're back to our everyday stuff.

July is a good month!

So this month, Rich and I decided that we were going to only spend money on gas and groceries, unless I had the cash in hand for something else (i.e. movies, lunch, etc). So far, so good. Mostly it's me anyway who spends on fun, useful, but unnecessary, items.

So....I found a way around it...I had the cash for a few bottles of gift soap, but I didn't want to go to the mall, and they're not on sale right now, anyway. I was asking my mom for ideas for new babies (I usually give a yummy smelling hand soap 'cuz new babies=lots of diapers=lots of hand washing) because I was out of soaps and couldn't go buy more. I could crochet something, but it's 100 degrees outside, who wants a sweater or hat?! Anyway...I bought soaps from my mom, at sale price, with cash I had for such occasions!

I know this seems totally menial (?), but it's HUGE for me...I found a way to get what I needed WithOut spending senseless money. ah. What a relief. One trip to Target for yummy soap would have meant a few Useful, although unnecessary items more at the Bearden house.

It's been good practice...I think I'll do it again in August - with one exception - TCP summer clearance at the PC outlets!! Stock up time :)

Monday, Monday, nah nah....

Here we are again. It's the beginning of another week. I'm not sure how I feel about this. As I type, I'm torn between absolute sarcasm for another week of the same old thing and hints of melancholy for another week gone and I didn't accomplish much. I survived a morning at church without Rich (work. ugh.) - only because I have great friends who taught Luke in Nursery and entertained Lucy in Relief Society. I tried to enjoy Sunday School (good lesson, good teacher, good discussion) but Lucy wasn't having it - tired baby with no place to rest. It is a HUGE bummer that she won't sleep in her carseat anymore. Needless to say, she and I spent the end of Sunday School and the majority of Relief Society in the hall. She was SO tired, but wouldn't relax and go to sleep - so we wandered the halls and gathered the rolls, and talked to fellow hall-wanderers. Not the most inspiring Sunday, but I DO appreciate Rich even more! He usually takes Luke to Nursery and keeps Lucy during RS/Priesthood, so I can distribute rolls, get RS ready and gather rolls in the end. Oh my. Somehow it all got done, but I was a little neurotic during the whole thing.

Well. On to a new day with new things to look forward to. Today we get to go to a swim party with friends and do laundry (can you guess which one I get to do and which one the kids get to do?). This week we get to go visit Grandma Becky and Grandma Irene (my grandma). I get to play piano and sing (well, I won't be singing) songs at her assisted living center. I'm excited! We also get to go to the dentist and get our teeth cleaned - I am SO looking forward to this (crazy, I know).

Ah. I'm feeling better already...No more melancholy. A lot less sarcasm. Feelings of good karma and positive energy are beginning to form - that must mean I'm ready to begin a new week of fun with my kids and friends. Maybe I'll even accomplish something along the way:)!!

Curious George Makes Muffins

I woke up unusually early this morning. While pondering what we should eat for breakfast, Luke watched Curious George on TV. It was just ending when I asked Luke what he' d like for breakfast. Imagine what he said. "Mom, can I make muffins like George? I want muffins like George!" He didn't demand, he was just excited...! Normally I'd push that request aside with something like, "We don't have muffins. You can have toast and eggs or cereal." But this morning, I decided to go with it. I have 4 cases of muffin mix in my food storage, why not put it to good use?!

We put on our aprons. Luke wanted a chef's hat. I told him I didn't have one, to which he replied, "Can I wear my snow hat for a chef's hat?" Of Course!!

So, aprons on, "chef's hat" on, muffin mix available. We were ready. Luke helped me pour in the ingredients (thanks to Jiffy brand there were only 3) and we mixed, poured and baked.

I haven't seen him so excited to eat breakfast since Rich cooked sausage last week (sausage is always cause for excitement to Luke). I guess I'll have to start paying more attention to my little guy!!

What a great way to start the day...