He Has More to Learn About Bribery

Davis:  "Please stop singing . . . . Please. . . . . Listen, if you stop singing, I'll let you get me some chocolate milk. . . .  Okay?  Hey?  Why are you still singing?  I said you can get me chocolate milk!"

School Days

Summer has come to a screeching halt.

I love the first day of school.

This morning Davis asked Kai if he'd play with him after school.  Kai said, "I'm sorry Davis, I'm going to school now and its a lot of hard work.  When I get home I'll be exhausted and too tired to play.  But I'll still be available on the weekends."

Provo River Falls

Next Time Dig Deeper

I believe we are the 3rd owners of our current house.  When you buy a house that was previously owned you find every owner did their own special things while they were there.  Our sprinkling system is a prime example of this.  It is now a hodge podge of three owners worth of repairs. 

This summer a group of men spent several hours digging up our back yard just to get the system running again.  When we discovered to fix things properly they'd have to spend at least another week digging up the front yard, we decided "running" was good enough for now.  We'll tackle "fixed" another summer.  If we ever move the 4th owners are going to be so pleased.

Like I said, this group of men dug up 80 percent of the back yard and left us with a "fixed" sprinkling system.  However, they also left us with a large pile of dirt.  Apparently they dug up 80 percent of the yard, but only put back 70 percent. 

This pile of dirt and rocks did not go unnoticed by the children.  It became the home to two black beetles the boy found at the park.  Chase used it as a construction site for his John Deere digger, Davis used it to scavenge the rocks he likes to hide in my garden boxes.   And it was in this pile of dirt that Madison and a friend found a little something one of the previous owners left behind--the remains of a family pet.  Bones, collar, and tags.

The men working on our sprinklers HAD to know they unearthed a dog while digging massive trenches in our back yard.  Right?  Maybe Not.  I don't know.  Either way, this particular dirt pile is no longer welcome in my back yard.

Mr. Happy

Please tell me I'm not the only one who finds this particular shirt on this particular boy humorous.

We're Hospitable

We don't have a lot of guests stay at our house, but we like to make sure those who do get every amenity needed. 

We offer a queen size bed, fresh sheets, clean towels, a basket with soap, shampoo, body wash, even a shower cap.  But the most valuable service we offer is our full service manicure done while you nap.  I just hope our guests like hot pink.

Another Birthday

On Tuesday the boy turned 8 and it was quite the event.

He wanted to start the festivities early so we went to his favorite sushi place for lunch the day before.  He even dragged his grandparents, who were visiting us at the time, along.  They were good sports and may have even liked it. 

He opened presents first thing on the morning of his birthday.  He had been saving up for a mini laptop and with the money he got for his birthday he had just enough to buy it.  Mike had anticipated this and bought the laptop a while ago.  When the boy realized he had exactly enough money (plus and extra 75 cents) Mike snuck outside, put the laptop on the front porch, rang the doorbell and snuck back inside.

I love kids.  He really thinks the UPS man just has impeccable timing.  We did set him straight about not having to spend the money he saved, but he was pleased he still had that extra 75 cents.

That afternoon we went to Jason's Deli, another one of his favorite restaurants.  That kid can really go to town on a salad bar.  He filled up a huge plate of salad and fruit but right as he reached our table he dropped it on the tile floor and it shattered sending glass and food everywhere.  He was devastated and with little tears in his eyes asked, "Mom, do you think they are going to make me pay for that plate?  Because I only have 75 cents and I'm not sure that's enough."

For dinner we had awesome gluten free cupcakes (it was a King Aurthur Flour mix and much better than the Betty Crocker mixes) and ice cream.

After that we went to watch the Owls (our local team) play baseball.  On the way in Kai told the guy taking his ticket it was his birthday.  When the man guessed he was turning 5 Kai said, "Nope!  Eight!"  Mike snuck off again, but this time it was to have Kai's name put on the billboard at the top of the 7th inning.  When they announced it was his 8th birthday he wasn't even surprised.  He just said, "Well I told them I was turning 8 when I came in." Poor Mike never gets any credit.

Two Funny Things

Chase while watching Frankie the Fish said, "Now, that's a beautiful sea creature!"

Kai after his doctor mentioned his fingers were slightly webbed said, "That's probably why I'm such a good swimmer."

Carol

Aunt Carol, we love and miss you.