Extreme Randomness

Are you just LOVING summer? I am. Especially the mornings. Everyone has until 9am to do whatever they want. They can sleep, watch TV, do macrame--I don't care! As long as I don't have to get up and fix lunches and drive around town. I use that time to get myself ready for the day, and this morning that meant going for the BEST bike ride up into Alpine. (SO pretty.)

And despite what I said in my whiny Deseret News post, my kids have been really great about using the hours of 9-12 for instrument practice/workbook pages/household jobs, giving us the rest of the day to go somewhere fun, invite friends over, or whatever we feel like! (Say it like Napolean . . .) Today the three younger kids had friends over in the afternoon while Kate holed up in her bedroom with the second book in a historical fiction series (set during the Civil War) that she originally started for a school assignment. She is so crazy about it she actually spent her own money for the second book, even after we had just had a little discussion about budgeting. That's fine! She can spend her money how she likes! (Check out this website for teens.)

It was kind of a wild day between the house full of kids (I like that kind of crazy), the wind storm (I thought the Santa Ana winds in L.A. were bad--I think they are even WORSE here!) and all our lessons being smooshed into the morning. I deliberately confined all our lessons to one day so we could leave the other days of the week totally open. (Unfortunately, piano is going to be on Thursday mornings, but they are early enough we'll still have the majority of the day to do whatever we feel like! Gosh!) On top of Will's cello lesson, Kate's harp lesson, and gymnastics in the late afternoon for both little girls, Elizabeth had a 9am dental appt. So, ya, it was kind of a crazy day. Especially because we did some packing too. (Moving day is three weeks from today!!)

I've already spent about ten hours on the kitchen area and craft cupboard, and tonight everyone did two boxes before they watched a movie. (I think I'm hearing Harry Potter downstairs . . .) I like packing things slowly so I can cull, trash, and reorganize in the process. I really don't want to keep moving the same stuff around. Case in point, yesterday (this is embarrassing, but I know people like embarrassing) I threw out a package of soy flour with an expiration date of 2006 that had never even been opened! Yucka. Could have thrown that one out in our move from California, but Brandon's job here PAID for that move, so a bunch of "professionals" just showed up one day and did all the work. Not exactly helpful for the cleansing process of culling, trashing, and reorganizing like I'm trying to do this time around. (Like how I'm seeing the bright side of doing all my own packing?)

Now that I've bored you to tears with the mundane details of my every day life, here are four fun links I must share as well as a random cleansing of iphoto. (Since I'm in a cull, trash, and reorganize kind of mood.)

First, two food links. This soup that we've been eating for the last three days. Only you have to make my mom's variations because it really is way better. (The Olive Garden version is already pretty yummy, so that's saying something!) Add more potatoes (I used red), 2 or 3 cans of white cannellini beans, and baked italian meatballs instead of ground sausage.

Next food link is for THE BEST peanut butter banana smoothie ever. Secret ingredient? Oatmeal!

Then we have the latest and greatest from Steven Sharp Nelson and ThePianoGuys. (Thanks for telling me there were some new ones, Mom!)





Last but not least, this hysterical parody of The Hunger Games. (Oh, do I feel her pain . . . why do you think a made a 20 gallon vat of soup to eat all week?)



Lastly last but not least, the pics.

What Kate does with a balloon:

And a carton of eggs. Can you imagine waking up to this? Freaked. Me. Out.

Pony rides at bedtime:

Here we are on the side of the road trying to view the solar eclipse we had in the west a few weeks back with our pathetic, homemade eclipse viewer (pinhole box). How did I not hear about it soon enough to get these glasses???? The next complete solar eclipse (this last one had the "ring of fire"-- or crescent from where we were) to be seen from the western U.S. is now safely scheduled on my iphone. August 21, 2017. (Don't mess with me!) First, we drove north to try to be part of a big eclipse viewing party at an outdoor park, but then we realized the sun was going behind the clouds the more we drove north, so just as we approached the party we turned around and starting racing south again. Finally we just pulled off the side of the freeway and did our best to view it through our little homemade thingy at the right moment. (Or moments. The peak lasted about 5 minutes.) Unfortunately, like I said, our "view" was small and sad and very unsatisfying. Here we are trying. (And really, it was cool to at least try. And even to make our little viewer. And to observe how weird the light looked everywhere during the eclipse . . .) 

Am I the last person on the planet to discover the Instagram app? I used it to edit this picture of the Provo Tabernacle-turning-temple when I was in the area for a haircut:

Right after I took this picture, I noticed my old haunt, Gandolfo's, in the basement of the building where I used to work when I was prego with Kate and Brandon was still a measly undergrad. I couldn't resist ordering a "Gandy" just like I used to:

I took a whole bunch of pictures this day and sent them all to my mom via email just because I figured out how to do it. Here is yet another one. I look kind of psychotic in this picture, don't I? Part of it was my bad hair, but those lovely girls took care of that:

Taste testing Olive Garden's Zuppa Toscana soup before trying my mom's version. Like I said, hers is better:

Free ice cream cones from Arctic Circle. Did you know they walk around offering free cones to kids? Do they do that everywhere or just here in Happy Valley? 

Every Sunday after church, Will comes into the womens class while we're all just standing around talking and starts playing some tunes. I think it's a portent of things to come. I can see him in the future trying to woo women with his musical abilities: 

Sunday was one of those rare, perfect days that ended with a game of Blokus on the back porch. (After my mom's version of Olive Garden's Zuppa Toscana soup. Have you tried it yet?) 

This is actually a very loaded picture because I am just ADORING Rachael these days as I sense her itty bitty years of childhood (my last time around) slipping away. I'm trying to soak up every little moment, the sound of her voice--everything--as much as I can. I can't get enough of little girls playing dress up! This day they were playing "wedding". Rachael is obsessed with the idea of being a mommy, and every once in awhile she actually attaches the idea of marriage to the idea of being a mom. (Whew!) 

Is this the cutest thing you've ever seen in your LIFE?

I am HIGHLY motivated to do "A Love Story: Part 4" tomorrow after finding my notes about that time while dejunking my bedroom. Can I do it??? Maybe if I go to sleep right now . . .