Cue the choir

It's a well known "Part of Being Overseas" fact that you are never done dealing with plugs and voltage issues. So you get some transformers from the Embassy, and pony up for some of your own. And you may even get some 220V appliances.

Another well known fact is our love/(mostly) hate relationship with the good ol' Drexel Heritage. That curio cabinet with the built in lighting, conjuring visions of properly displaying your precious breakables? Yeah, it's a 110V plug.

Don't even get me started on the whole lighting issues. There is never enough light; whether it's in that weird, how-do-they-expect-me-to-use-this closet or under the cabinets in the kitchen.

Cue the choir. *ahhhh*

I found an amazing DIY tutorial and the simplest, why-didn't-I-think-of-that lighting solution. They made a corded lamp cordless using LED ribbon lighting and a 9V battery! It makes me mad when I think of all the floor lamps I left in storage or dumped when I got frustrated with plugging them into a transformer.

But it gets better.

On the Amazon product page for the reel of lighting, there are pictures of people using this for under cabinet lighting!! Definitely squeal-worthy! The pictures have notes and everything! (ok, time to tone down the exclamation points) The ribbon base has adhesive on it and the end goes right onto a battery (9 or 12V) so you really can plug and play. I'm still investigating the details of this project, but it looks pretty straightforward and dummy-proof. I'm ordering this ribbon lighting and putting it under my cabinets. I think I'll also put it in my cabinets, and in my closet, and in the entryway . . . oh, you're still reading. Quit reading and go get some ribbon lighting! I'll show y'all the results; whether they be good or disastrous.

Not my kitchen, just the amazon example

Little Monsters

No, I'm not calling all Lady Gaga fans. I'm talking about what I made for the kids. I've been on a Silhouette kick lately. I know, I got it for Christmas and I'm now just playing with it. In my defense, though, I was working up until the minute we were evacuated in March, then we were gone, and then we were back with a long, hot summer & 4 kids in the house. I've been learning the machine since they've been in school.

I love my Silhouette. I was surfing through the Silhouette Studio shop and stumbled upon an unfamiliar price. $1.29?? What? Images usually range from .50 cents to .99 cents. I looked closer and saw that it was a "kit". Ah, mine eyes hath been opened! No, I didn't buy the kit, but it gave me the idea. I drew monster bodies, hair, horns, eyes, noses, mouths, teeth, arms, tentacles and feet and had my magic machine cut them out for me. Can you imagine cutting out all those shapes? Blerg.

Oooh, pretty shells!

Or at least we thought they were shells. I booted the kids out the door this morning before 9am. The heat index was 106F and it was only going to get hotter. (p.s. they all stayed outside for a grand total of 12 minutes.) What drew them back to the door (besides their rosy, sweaty faces) was Mairyn prancing back to the house with a handful of these adorable, petite shells. She had washed them off at the hose and wanted to save them. I got out a tiny bottle & let her drop them in.

"Why don't you go find more so you can fill the bottle?" I was hoping this would encourage them back out after the H2O refuel. It worked and they went back for Round 2. For all of 26 seconds. The three-headed monster (Mairyn, Grant & Jacqui) came galloping back inside screaming, "They're alive!! There are snails in the shells!!" Sure enough, they showed me the little bottle with the itty bitty shells climbing up the sides. Eliza poked her towel-swaddled head out of her bedroom long enough to ask if she heard us right; that something was alive. (she had just finished a shower & was "getting ready". For what, I don't know)

That's when Grant suggested I run get my camera because I should take a picture. Ooo-kay, I guess I take a lot of pictures of everything. We thought we'd tip the bottle on it's side and let them crawl out on their own. I got too impatient and just turned it upside down. They all came tumbling out. The kids were afraid the snails might get squooshed, but I reminded them that they had first found these little guys as shells, they know when to pull it all in and retreat.

YouTube Tuesday: Ok, we did it.

After a little more research, the girls and I decided that we could give this stop-motion video business a try. And oh boy, are we happy with the results. Enjoy!

He bugs me

Ok, here it is, it's March! How did this happen? In my resolve to blog more & not strive for perfection, only accomplishment, I give you *drumroll* a bug we found on our sidewalk.

I kind of like how he's "looking" at us.
I imagine he's saying, "Yeah, I dare you to mess with me!"

Here's a good picture for scale.

There's something cool about a big bug. As long as it's not found in my house, on my pillow, in the tub, in the toilet, in the sink, on the couch, in my shoe, in my closet, on my brush or in my food. I don't ask much, I'm a simple girl.

Ship tripping

I have found blogging a bit harder lately. With a laptop balanced on my knees, my office (and all the clutter that goes with it) is located wherever I park my bum. That just doesn't work very well for me. I'm like a moon that orbits a planet, my desk & computer are supposed to be the stationary objects and I come to them when I need to. Maybe because my laptop is a beast, too, at 8lbs. Just when I crack it open & plunk down on the couch, someone needs a jam sandwich or a nose wiped. I don't mind the sandwiching or nose wiping, it's the feeling of being pinned under an anvil & hefting it to a safe place multiple times in the space of 10 minutes that bothers me. I like laptops, I just like having a desktop better. I allows you to come & go without the physical workout! Though maybe I need more of that . . .

Ok, the promised trip to the USS Harry S Truman. You do know that his 'S' initial doesn't stand for anything. His middle name is S. This ship is also a Nimitz-class supercarrier. Need translation? Yeah, we did too. Nimitz class aircraft carriers are a class of nuclear powered carriers, of which, there are only 10 in the world. A supercarrier is the unofficial term for the largest type of aircraft carrier, usually displacing over 70,000 tons. {all this technical stuff is courtesy of wikipedia, since my memory isn't the sharpest. btw, think abt donating a little to wikipedia. they rock.}

The whole tour took almost 3 hours. It was not for the weak of leg or lung. Trotting up those narrow stairs and throughout all 10 levels of that ship we got quite the workout.

Top row, L to R: the chains for the anchor, Mairyn by the ropes, going up the stairs, on the flight deck, view of the tower.
Bottom row: Planes parked, solo plane, the tower close-up, the middle of the runway where they land, the cable that they 'hook' to land.



Top row: Eliza in the captain's chair, Mairyn's turn, the bell in the control room, Mairyn taking her time in the chair 'o' power.
Bottom row: *The* carbon copy of the note that ordered the A-bomb, Eliza steering, Mairyn too, the girls with Truman's bust.

Funny thing: The captain's chair. Our tour guides were Navy officers that worked on this carrier. They told us that we could sit in the captain's chair & that we should take advantage of it. They weren't even allowed to sit in it. Mairyn asked, "Not even if your legs are tired?" The guy said, "No ma'am, that's above my pay grade." They were serious! So where the girls are sitting is the view the captain, and only the captain, gets when he's commandeering the ship. Though after seeing the inner workings of this carrier, it's a team effort. I wouldn't want to park a 70,000 ton beast all by myself! Oh, funny thing #2: I told the girls to stand by the bust (for a picture) and they looked at me like I'd grown a third head. "What's a bust?" I then explained what a bust was and then they proceeded to ask, "Why would someone want a statue of their bust?" Both Mairyn & Eliza then dissolved into giggles. Probably because 'bust' sounds so close to 'butts' without actually saying it. They said it the whole way home. "Hey Eliza, wanna take a picture of my -bust-?" And I don't even have to imagine what it would be like if I had had boys instead of girls . . . . .


P.S.
I just looked it up. Top Gun was shot on the USS Enterprise and is the 11th heaviest supercarrier. USS Harry is the eighth heaviest. Just think if Maverick had had that kind of space to strut his stuff . . .

Come out, come out!

That phrase always makes me think of Glenda the Good Witch in the Wizard of Oz. "Come out, come out, wherever you are/To see the young lady/who fell from a star" But we're not calling on the good citizens of Munchkinland, we're calling for fairies! This weekend, we made fairy houses. And Grant made a sprite house. He said fairies were only girls, so I told him sprites were boys. Whaddaya gonna do?

I made little villages under trees and in the bushes when I was little. The premise is that if you build a little house for the fairies, they'll come live in it. But not if you don't keep it pretty & only use things found in nature, so that it will blend in, just like the fairies & sprites.

This is Eliza's house. She had a brilliant idea to tie the twigs together with long grass to make arches for the roof. And she's pretty proud of that little 'bed'. And that's a fairy scarecrow, to show the fairies that it's safe to sleep here.

This is Mairyn's house. She may have had a little help from me, but she did the decor. See the yard for the fairy? That date tree bark has a little hollow in it, that's the bath. She did find a discarded piece of blue cord and that's the towel rack. It is man-made, but hey, we're running a bit short on acorn caps and pine needles.


Here's some shots of the girls deep in their labor of love. It took some convincing; it's still a bit warm outside & who can blame them. Who wouldn't want to hang inside in the A/C instead of crouching under a tree in 99F weather? I made some lemonade & fairy snacks for them & we sat in the shade weaving little ladders for the playground and tying plumeria leaf stems together. I wanted this to be some 'creative independent playtime', but it turned into a whole girl affair. You won't see much of Grant. He liked the idea, but ultimately found more joy in digging holes & climbing trees. And destroying some of his sister's creations.

Jacqueline: Ga-rant! You woo-ind my house! {translation: grant, you ruined my house}
Grant: Well, something would have ruined it! That's why you make them, then they'll be ruined!

{I prefaced all this house building with the reminder to only use things found outdoors, naturally, so if the wind blew it over & it got ruined, it wouldn't pollute the fairy's habitat. My reasoning: when they are abandoned next week, I won't have trash blowing all over the yard. But the whole nature thing, too. ;) And I saw this as a big insight into the boy's reasoning. You make things so they can be ruined. The whole build a lego tower then knock it over doesn't seem so pointless anymore.

I'm a wascal

Tonight was a big dinner and silent auction at our school. There were many lovelies to bid on; photography sittings, scrapbooking supplies, books, guitars, and much more. There was also a live auction after the silent auction closed. I had decided beforehand what I would bid on. And one thing that was a definite "no" was the adorable rabbit. The kids spotted it's cage before the dinner and were sticking their fingers in, trying to stroke the dense fur.

"Please, please, please can we get the bunny?" they begged.

I said no way, no how, but that I'd keep my eyes out for something. Anyway, I was outbid on a couple of items in the silent auction, but I still only had eyes for the magnificent Fender classical guitar with hard body case. Oh baby! Well, my good friend & I got into a bidding war over the guitar and I let her win. I wasn't even considering the rabbit, until a couple at my table said that this breed make excellent pets. They don't need to be walked (like any rabbit does), are very gentle and love attention. And, they added, if we couldn't find anyone to take the rabbit, when we move in August, they said they'd be happy to take her! So, I bid on Raison d'Etre (Reason to Be) and whaddaya know, I won! She's all ours for $35. Whoopee!

We are searching for just the right name for our queen of a bunny. She is a pedigreed rabbit and apparently rare & on the ALBC's 'critically endangered' list. She is a Silver Fox rabbit, bred for their fur and meat. Blugh, don't even make me think about eating this precious bunny. (though I have eaten rabbit. and it is delicious, I might add) She will be a wonderful addition to our family!

Cousin Time

Grant and his cousin Paul

When my sister-in-law Becca & her kids came over to the 'Burg this last weekend, we had a blast! We took them to R-Jump at the Rex. I mean, where else would we take them? The Rex rocks! The rear annex of the building has been turned into a bouncy paradise. Bouncy castle, bouncy slide, bouncy obstacle course, well, you get the picture. It's also cheap and you can bounce for an unlimited amount of time. In reality, the kids can handle about an hour, maybe an hour and a half if they're super hyped. All in all, a fun time.

The best action shot of Paul I could get

A peeking Jacqui

The finesse of Mairyn

p.s.
eliza was there, I just didn't get a chance to catch her in action. she is just on the border of being too old for this.

Recessionista Rocks

My sister and I went to a party last night. Funny story. So my sister follows this blog called Make it and Love it. The lady that writes the blog was hosting a Recessionista party. They sell shoes, jewelry, purses, some clothing; all for way low prices. Recessionista is to shoes & purses like Pampered Chef is to kitchen gadgets.

Back to the story, she's very excited about the party and decides to come to the 'Burg a day early just so we can go. I looked up the address; 5 minutes (if that) from my house. Also, Spencer's cousin is the gal that runs this Recessionista chapter. Way too small of a world. Katelyn is in awe. (you know them?) It's hard NOT to know any of Spencer's 437 cousins. Well, probably not that many, but he's got a ton. At least 50. I am not joking; on any level whatsoever.



So here's a pic of the loot I got. I wasn't so sure about any of it; I like some of the chunky stuff, but I'm not sure if I can pull it off. But I have a black dress and I just know that those pearls would look great at a Christmas party. (like I have a christmas party to go to) And the feathers & junk in my hair is a headband. Yeah, I look like a peacock. But a peacock that wears pearls and got it all for super super cheap.

The view from my gym

Even after four years in Egypt, I still found some things "cool". Let me explain. In the summer, we take our 6 week R&R to the States. It's bound to come up where we live.

Random Person: "OH WOW! Egypt! That is so exciting and exotic! How do you like living there?"

Now, here's my dilemma. How truthful do you want me to be? I'm an honest, to-the-point person. I'm a person that doesn't put on a front. I can also be kind of snarky. How honest should I be? You know all they want to hear is how wonderful & amazing it is to live abroad. Should I unload the un-romantic side, or just smile and nod? I do a little of both. Here was my standard answer.

"It's really the opportunity of a lifetime. I get to explore amazing sights whenever I want. But you know, I also never thought it would feel so normal. Get up, get kids ready, go grocery shopping, etc."

They think of my life as being on vacation and why in the world would I want to waste any time back in the States. That's usually where our conversations would end. Any further and I'd be forced to shove ice picks in my ears.

A normal life. Where grocery shopping for dinner can take all afternoon. Why would Seodi's carry that particular pasta today when I've seen it there every other time? Or trying to find a needle in the city that might as well be one huge haystack. Or the power and water is out for the umpteenth time this week and "Insha'allah bukra" it will be fixed tomorrow.

I still got up, took kids to school, paid the bills and even went to the gym. (that was a habit begun in the last year there) They have a Gold's Gym in Egypt. I found that cool. I don't like the gym, I hate the gym, honestly. Why would I go to the gym? Because I had a great gym buddy (thanks Sar) and a goal. To meet that goal, I had to meet the gym. So one day, after a grueling work out, Sara & I went out on the balcony of the gym. It was on the 9th and 10th floor of an office building that included a bank, children's clothing stores, the X-Ray office, a pharmacy and a vacant Dunkin Donuts shop. I think a sandstorm or something had just blown through because the view was extra clear. We scanned the horizon and there we could see both the North and South Saqqara pyramid complex. Fortunately, I always carried my camera with me. (you never know) And so was born a paradoxical picture. A snapshot of my every day life; a view from the gym. Looking straight at the oldest structure on earth. Yeah. For a little while, I was cool like that.

South Saqqara

North Saqqara; the step pyramid

Same view, only zoomed out. They're really there, I swear. Look along the horizon, ignore the smog. (this was a clear day, people.) You know how things look differently in a picture. I have awesome zoom on my camera. Just like Typ0

And the view looking North. If those buildings weren't in the way, the Great Pyramids of Giza would be visible. Darn civilization.

Pay it Forward

I've never seen the movie; but I know the concept. Well, friends, we were on the receiving end of a random act of kindness last night. Let's start at the very beginning. (a very good place to start)

Wednesday is a "busy day". Not that other days aren't busy, this is one of the busier ones. Shuttling to and from school, gymnastics for Grant and then in the evening Eliza has a Rock Climbing class. Not too bad seeing as how Jacqui's gymnastics class used to be at 1pm and has now been moved to Friday. But things were compounded a bit today by the mountains of unfolded laundry and hideous dirty dishes in the kitchen. It's called "House Hang-over" or "Weekend House". What with Grant's accident and Spencer leaving, I just haven't caught up yet.

So after I picked up Grant, I decided it was an eating out night. I drove to Winger's because their kid's menu is fabulous. Cut up food, fruit snacks and drink included with the entree. Oh, and popcorn before the meal! I herded the kids to our booth and they settled in, sorting through the crayon bucket and playing tic-tac-toe. There was a man & a woman across the aisle from us. I could tell that it was a son taking his elderly mother out to dinner. I sighed inwardly and hoped that the kids would behave and not ruin their nice evening.

Somewhere in the aftermath of ordering and then receiving our food, I noticed the man & elderly woman finish and then he helping her with a jacket. The waiter wheeled her walker over to their table and the son held it steady while she found her grips. And they left. We enjoyed our meal; Eliza especially, because I let her order off the adult menu and get an adult sized drink. Her eyes were too big for her stomach because she was left with half of her meal unfinished. And I had a huge portion of my BBQ Chicken salad as well because their portions are enormous. Our waiter brought us one big box and then said,

"Well, enjoy the rest of your meal and the bill has been taken care of."

"Oh ok. Um, excuse me, huh? I, uh, how, er who?" I kind of trailed off after the spout of stuttering.

"The couple that was over here paid for your meal." the waiter said.

"Oh my, well, thank you, uh, to them, and uh, thanks again!" I managed to blurt out.

I have never had that happen before! I felt kind of guilty, I think it would have been a $40-something meal. I just about wept right there in Winger's. There really are kind people out there! Thank you whoever you were!

Pretty cool

I know, creative title. I'm not good at titles. A friend of mine posted this on Facebook and I had to share! This LDS Public Service Announcement entitled, "Swashbucklers" was chosen by the U.S. Media Directors as the best television PSA campaign in the National Media Survey of Television Community Service Directors. Whew. Do you think they could have made some of those names acronyms? Anyway, I'm always a sucker for the LDS PSAs. TTYL. XOXO, BYOB



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Mount Rushmore

Traveling around the country has definitely been an experience. People ooh and ahhh when they hear we've lived in such exotic places, but there are some pretty amazing things right here in the US of A. Driving cross country; back and forth, within 7 weeks is a lot to absorb; like skimming a book, you get the highlights and a better "big picture" of it all. The driving has definitely been made easier with a new car and DVD system (bless you, whoever invented that). But the days still get long. Exasperation sets in when we've driven for so many miles to a certain destination and all that you get in response is whining & apparent ungratefulness. I find many "parent phrases" flying out of my mouth uncontrollably.

"I drove for 7 hours to get you here and you're complaining now?"

"You should be grateful to even be here."

I know that long hours in the car wear on everyone; no reaction can be predictable. Deep down, I know we're making memories. Niagara Falls? Check. Another little fold in the gray matter. National Monuments at our Nation's capitol? Got it covered. As well as a monumental tantrum on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. Sakkara Pyramids, oldest structures on earth? Been there too many times to count.

When we were driving today, Eliza asked how much longer it would be. I told her it would be about 4 more hours.

"Oh, like the drive to Alexandria. It took us about 4 hours." she said.

She has a frame of reference! Mairyn, on the other hand, is still learning. She asks how much longer and it doesn't matter what you say, she'll moan and wish it was now. You can say 37 minutes or 37 hours, she can't tell.

This morning, I rolled out of bed at 4 am. I dutifully loaded the car, toted each sleeping child down to the van and rolled out onto the road by 4:45 am. Functioning robotically, I followed every turn Gina directed me to take. Somehow, 8 1/2 hours later, we arrive at the Roosevelt Inn in Keystone, SD just 2.2 miles down the road from Mt. Rushmore. And since we crossed into Mountain Standard Time, I gained an hour! We were walking into the Grand View Terrace by 1:30 pm.

The were all very excited and intrigued by these carvings in the side of a mountain. When we toured the visitors center, Grant liked the idea of guys using dynamite and blowing up rock. There was a little interactive exhibit where you select a picture, then push the plunger down and it simulates you blowing up part of the mountain during the creation part. Grant had to be reluctantly pried away. Jacqui & Grant really had the shortest fuses today. (hah!) But we did it. We saw Mt. Rushmore. Been there, done that, didn't buy a t-shirt; just a magnet for our collection.

What's his name?

We've been driving all over the country in our wonderful Honda Odyssey. It's amazing. When we were at the dealership, the saleslady said it was like "driving in business class". Really? Look, lady, you don't have to sell me on it (but I didn't tell her that) I did my homework. I know how cool it is, but I don't need the tag lines. Since the purchase, we've put over 7,000 miles on it in the last 2 months.

Ok, ok, it's like driving in business class!! I can't even begin to describe this van. One of the first things I think of is that it's like spaceship. Cubbies and doo-dads in every nook & cranny. The DVD system in and of itself is wonderful. The trunk hood flips up and down at the touch of a button. I can load groceries and kids without even touching the car once!

So, we've also had a dilemma. What to name it? We have gone through quite a few appellations, but none of them seemed *just right*. Thinking about all the toots and whistles, the only proper moniker seemed to be . . . . . Optimus Prime. No, this isn't just hype over the dumb movies. We loved the cartoon when we were kids. ** This car isn't merely a car; it can do just about anything. It deserves this name. Here's to many more good times in Optimus Prime.





**And in proper cartoon education, we have the original Transformers cartoon series on DVD for our kids. (in addition to Gummi Bears, Dungeons & Drangons, and Smurfs) So when my kids talk knowledgeably about them, they're talkin' 'bout the real thing, not the so-so movies. Let's face it, cartoons these days stink. I consider myself very lucky to have grown up in the golden age of cartoons. Long live the 80s!!

A+ Day

We definitely got our money's worth out of the Aquarium membership. We went again this week and it never gets old. There is always an 11:30am dolphin show that the kids don't ever want to miss. Since it is included in our membership, we go. And this time, we got there early enough to get sweet seats in the "Splash Zone". Once we were seated, the questions of, "When is it starting?" began and I had to tell them that since they chose to get early seats, it wouldn't begin for another half hour.

As we were waiting, a dolphin show worker person (whatever you call 'em) came up the stairs to where we were sitting. Great, I thought to myself, she's going to tell us they have to fill up the other side of the seating before sitting here, or something crazy like that. I dug in, ready to stand my ground. ** When in reality, she just wanted to know if the kids would like to participate in the Grand Finale. Really? At the end of every show, there is a musical montage, the dolphins flip & leap and on either side of the pool, they have about 4 kids hold flags and wave them. Yip-yipee-yip-ito. (geez, i've been reading too much skippyjon)


So they moved us into the "Reserved Seating" row, (I always wondered who got those seats) which were better than the ones we chose. And the kids still got wet. This show rocked even more than the other ones because they introduced a new baby dolphin, Bailey. She is 10 months old and really quite cute. They had her jumping in tandem with her mom even doing a few tricks. I didn't get pictures because the likelihood of being soaked was very great. They warn anyone sitting in the Splash Zone of the "possibility" of getting wet. Depending on your location in said zone, you WILL be splashed. It's a trick that the dolphins do; swim around the perimeter and splash the people. We had a great time!




** After we were moved, I was thinking to myself that I'm still pretty defensively programmed. Not being able to sit where we want, being moved for trite reasons and not having any control over it, yeah, that's what would happen in Egypt. I have to keep telling myself, "You're not in Egypt anymore." It's hard.

Aquarium Antics

If I could use one word to describe the National Aquarium at Baltimore, it would be: awesomeness. And a quick piece of advice, if you do go, and are in the area for long enough, just buy a membership. Because of our family's sheer numbers, we have a membership paid for in 2 visits. And, members get to show their card and walk right in. Those that just buy tickets sometimes have a 2-4 hour wait for entrance. Your ticket is stamped with an entrance time and there is no going in until that time. Also, we get to go to the dolphin show for free whenever we go. Yeah, the dolphin show. It was quite the experience. Between the sting rays, sharks, jellies and tropical fish, we were adequately overwhelmed.

We also decided to see the 4D show. What? 4D? Aren't we 3D beings? Well, with my curiosity piqued, we snagged tickets and got in line. There was this warning at the cashier and the door saying that if you or your children are startled easily or have back problems, you should not go to the movie. Wha . . ? Are we going to be doing spontaneous yoga or something? So we sat down and I noted that the upholstery of the seats was interesting, just one black button a little off center and in the lower back area. Hmmm. A foreboding of things to come? We were handed the little red 3D glasses and then the show began. 3D is very awesome. This film (about 20 minutes long) was titled "Planet Earth". And they weren't kidding when it says, "The film encompasses all of the senses." You feel the thunder roll (and the lightning strike), the wind blowing and the scent of fresh ocean. You also get sprayed in the face when a humpback whale surfaces, get poked in the back when an eel shoots out of the coral, get the backs of your legs tickled by scuttling starfish and bubbles filling the theater from a shoal of mackerel swimming at you. Plenty of screaming, squealing, laughing and "Wow, can we do that again, Mommy?" was heard. Yes, yes we can kids.

Coincidence?

I think not. Let's backtrack a couple of weeks to when we were flying from D.C. to Idaho. We arrived at the airport, checked baggage, found our terminal and gate and settled in to wait. This was at about 6am, so I was perfectly comfortable doing that. Children, on the other hand, aren't. So Spence and I took turns taking the kids for "Adventures". Basically it's a walk around our area of the terminal, but that sounds too boring. Adventures is a better title for selling the idea. Spencer took the first shift of Adventurers. When they all came back, Spencer seemed a bit more smiley that needed at this hour of the morning.

"Ok, it's your turn for Adventure. And make sure you go past the Five Guys restaurant."

"Why?"

"Just do it. You won't be disappointed."

So we made our way through the terminal to the Five Guys, Burgers & Fries establishment and looked around. Nothing really astonishing. It's a burger and fries place. Whoop-de-doo. Definitely not it the mood for that first thing in the morning. I stood there just long enough for the employees to start milling around the cash register and counter, wondering if this lady was gonna freakin' order something already. Then I spotted this little checkered sign to the left of the window where they shoved out overflowing bags full of those golden, crispy fries.

"Today's Potatoes are from: Rexburg, Idaho"

Well I'll be darned, Rexburg. What are the odds?

A Happy Boy

Grant has discovered his Nirvana. Legos. You know what he's been doing alldayeveryday? Legos. What does he talk about nonstop? Legos. What are we getting him for his birthday? You guessed it. Legos.

Day at the Museum

Again, while we were in Utah earlier this week, we took the time to go see the Dinosaur museum at Thanksgiving Point where we were staying. This museum has the world's largest display of mounted dinosaurs. It blew my mind. To backtrack a bit, when I was between the ages of 7 and 13, I wanted to be an Archaeologist. I wanted to dig up dino bones, discover new species and be the female equivalent of Indiana Jones on the side. My parents encouraged this interest, and so while other little girls were playing with Barbies and Mapletown bunnies, I was pretending to dig up my triceratops and brachiosaurus. (my favorite dinosaur, btw. doesn't everyone have one of those?) Mind you, I did play with those other things, I just incorporated dino into every aspect.

Picture it: The Mapletown bunnies and bears are having a nice picnic when Molly discovers a weird looking lump. Wait, it's not a rock, it's the skull of a pachyceplalosaurus. And what did Bobby find? An astrodon femur?

I dig dinosaur museums, to say the least. (hee-hee) This was the coolest I've been to by far! Hands on is always great and more info than one can digest in one visit. If I lived closer, I'd have a membership.

A Sea Turtle, dude.