Homemade Ice Cream

Don't be mistaken by the look on Lily's face. She loved the ice cream. She was just shocked at how cold it was, but she wanted more.
The look on her face cracks me up!

Sunday Miracle

It was a miracle, I came home from church on Sunday with a rare burst of energy. It could be because I left all the kids at home with my poor lobster of a husband (everyone was so wiped out from the river trip the day before) and I actually got to enjoy "listening" to the youth talk about their Pioneer Trek adventures. Or it could be because I didn't have to get the kids all dressed and ready for church and then drag them in and out of the car in the +100 degree weather. I usually get home in a bad mood and feeling exhausted.

So with my extra energy I decided to make homemade pasta with the kids. First we had to mix the pasta, then chill it, then roll it out on this pasta machine, then roll it again to cut it into strips, then hang it up to dry for an hour. During the hanging and drying, Paul made his yummy sauce. Then we had to cook the pasta, but only for 2 minutes. Finally, around 8:30pm we were able to eat the fruits of our labor. Oh, while the pasta dough was chilling, we made homemade vanilla ice cream with strawberries.
It was all so good and it was loads of fun, but by the time it was finally time to eat I was almost too tired to really enjoy it. It reminded me of Thanksgiving. Still, we had so much fun I am thankful for the small miracle of a burst of energy. That is a rare thing for me during the heat of the AZ summer.

Salt River Tubing

On Saturday we went tubing down the Salt River with our friends, the Nelsons. It was a five hour trip that seemed more like two hours. It was so much fun we want to go again in August. Next time I will have to buy a disposable camera so you can experience the beauty of this desert oasis. Since the river water is so cold, you don't realize the sunburn you are getting until it is too late. We should have put sunscreen on more often, but like I said, the time seemed to slip by unnoticed. We all got sunburned, but Paul seemed to get the worst of it. He couldn't even walk without crying. The big baby. Just kidding. My legs were hurting, but his were definitely worse. Siena said his legs looked like strawberries. What do you think?

Sunsplash!

On Tuesday Siena and I went to a waterpark with our friends, the Nelsons. It was so hot and the water felt so good. Some of the rides were pretty scary, but I went on them all at least once and I have survived to tell the tale. I forgot my camera in the car, but luckily, Trea was not as forgetful.

What beautiful girls. They had a lot of fun together.
This ride was so scary. The other side of it looks identical, so you just freefall and then head up the other side and back again until you slow down. I only got on it once, but the girls were very brave and rode it several times.

A Surprise Visitor

Friday morning we received a phone call from Paul's Uncle Andy. He had an eight hour lay-over at the airport. We immediately went to pick him up and were able to spend the day with him. It was a fun surprise. We love 'Cle-Andy.

Mamma Mia!

Mamma Mia, did we see a good movie on Saturday night!!

We went out to celebrate my friend Paulette's birthday and thought it would be fun to see a chick flick. "Mamma Mia" is the show to see! We laughed, we cried, we clapped, and we danced in our seats. It was so fabulous we wanted to watch it again as soon as it was over.

After the movie, we went out for Greek food at "My Big Fat Greek Restaurant'.

We got an appetizer flaming of feta cheese.

The food was fantastic- as you can see. There was even enough for left overs so I could enjoy it again on Sunday.

By the way, these are not both my meal. One belongs to a friend of mine.

I'm just a boy!l,ilillllllllllll;;;;;ultlup;u;;;;;;;;u;yul,;ipp

Spencer is at the age where he has lots of cute sayings. Here are a few.
When you tell him he is good, or naughty, or a monkey he says, "I'm just a boy."

"What the heck are you doing, Mom?" Always "what the heck". I don't even say that. I think he gets it from Siena.

The other day, Siena was being a bit too sassy and I told her she was being a pain in my butt and then I started walking around like I had Sciatica and Spencer said, "Pain in mama's butt, Ena!" Siena and I tried not to laugh, but we couldn't help it.

Whatever he doesn't want to do or when he thinks he can't do something, he says, "Too hard for me."

Whenever it is time for a nap, he says "Sun in sky, no nap."

"Hold you me"

"Blast off!"

"Superman!"

"I'm a bad boy!" Then I have to convince him he really is good, he just makes wrong choices.

"Pppeeekkkqqqu" That's the sound he makes when he is shooting at something. He is always shooting at something.

"NO, ENA!"

"Mine, mine, mine, mine." Just like the seagulls on Finding Nemo.

I got home from taking Lily to get new AFOs today (You can see what she thought of that!)


and found him with scissors.

Luckily it was an old shirt of little importance.


Then I got home from the dentist and I found he had posted my draft of this post. He must have known it was about him. He said he was typing letters for his name.

sdpejjmkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkm

I think I was gone too much today. jjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjtjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjtojtlh

Can you do too many fun things in one day?

After my previous rant about being so bored, I overloaded our Tuesday with lots of fun. First we took Lily to an Ortho appt., then we headed over to an outdoor mall near Paul's work. We had fun going into Crate & Barrel, Restoration Hardware, and Barnes & Noble. The kids enjoyed the escalators and elevators, and when we went into Barnes & Noble Siena said it was like "walking into Heaven." Outside in the plaza was a dancing waters area where we took an hour to "cool off."

There we met up with Paul and went out for Indian food. Delicious! After dinner we went to a family fun park for miniature golf and bumper boats. We had a great time despite the heat. I can only imagine how much more fun it would have been in 85 degree weather instead of 110 degrees.

The bumper boats were a lot of fun, especially when I figured out how to make it work.

On Wed we were so wiped out by our big day that the kids slept in until 9:00am which is unprecedented. We didn't step foot outside and Siena even stayed in her pajamas all day.

Take a look at Siena's blog to get her view of the day.

Oh, What do you do in the summertime when it's as hot as hell?

Swimming is the only thing that keeps me somewhat sane in the summer. Our summer break is 75% finished and I am feeling the effects of being housebound. We've got to get out of the house more or I don't know if we will make it through the next couple of weeks.

Swimming is the cheapest and easiest entertainment, but sometimes I don't even feel like doing that because I have to go outside. My dreariness usually doesn't go away till Halloween when I know it will start to cool down. Don't worry, I get this way every summer. It too shall pass.
Lily loves swimming in a warm pool.

Who's that handsome man?

Siena loves to play around and make contests for herself when she swims. Best hair, longest breath, fastest swim, best dive. Both she and Spencer love to fill up their bathing suits with air and see all the fun things that air can do.
This cheesy face is when I tell Spencer to smile and below is when he smiles naturally. Ahhh!
Just floating

Bowling Fun!

Last night I asked the kids if they would be interested in going bowling today. They thought it would be a fun activity. This morning at 6am Spencer came into my room and said, "Drive, uh uh car, uh uh bowling." I told him we had to get everyone up and dressed and fed. He didn't even want to pause to eat breakfast, and he cried when I made him. Four hours later, we were out the door. That time schedule is very common in our family, unfortunately.

Spencer was so excited going into the bowling alley that he covered his open mouth with his hands as he walked in. He was excited about everything: the ball, the shoes, the BALL! Siena was excited that she got to bring her friend Erika with us. And Lily was excited to get out of our boring house. I was excited that they were all excited. I played the best game I have ever played with a strike and spares almost every time (and that is without the bumpers).

Needless to say, we had a great time and no one wanted to leave. When Paul got home Spencer told him all about it and then put his shoes back on so that Paul would take him again. Tears were shed once again when we explained we wouldn't be going back so soon. He asked over and over until Paul played bowling with him on the playstation. That seemed to pacify him enough for tonight.