In an effort to be more fair

I just realized that I never blogged about Jack's birthday.

Then I felt like a horrible mother.

But I do have a few excuses.

1. Jack didn't have an exciting cake.
2. I don't like to advertise my children's birthdays (as far as the date goes) out here on the internet.

So I think that's why I skipped it.

But I am going to blog about it now, because I looked over on the sidebar under the JACK category and he has the least posts of all my children. The poor, forgotten, oldest child.

Again - it was a low key birthday, just hanging out with the fam.

Jack's picks:

Breakfast: German Pancakes
Lunch: Fajitas
Dinner: Pizza from our favorite pizza place
Cake: Chocolate with Chocolate frosting (a first for Jack, who used to hate chocolate cakes).
Present from Mom an Dad: Legos

oops

I accidentally just published my post about San Diego, but I meant to set it ahead a few days. I edited it a bit and it will be coming up on Oct 1. So come back and see it then. Sorry.

birthday boys

Since Sam's birthday is first, I'll start with him. This year we had a low key birthday, just with our little family (although Aunt Emily was visiting during Sam's).

Here are Sam's picks for his birthday:

Breakfast: Trix
Lunch: Fajitas
Dinner: Tacquitos
Cake: panda
Present from Mom and Dad: skateboard




This panda image was from one I got online. I think I found it on etsy and then just blew it up. Then I traced it onto parchment paper and tried to transfer it onto the cake. It didn't work really well and the frosting was really sticky for some reason. But I was able to freehand the lines enough that it ended up turning out perfectly.

The outline is one of those tubes of black frosting from the grocery store and the sprinkles are black sugar from Michael's, which I set in with a spoon. It was tricky. I'm sure it would have made things easier if I'd known what I was doing.

And 8 days later it was Charlie's birthday. Same low-key-just-hang-out-with-the-fam-kind-of-a-day. We may have gone to the toystore because some people had money burning a hole in their pockets.

Here are Charlie's picks:

Breakfast: Cookie Crisp cereal
Lunch: McDonald's
Dinner: Pasta with red meat sauce, but not spaghetti
Cake: Monkey
Present from Mom and Dad: skateboard

This cake was one I saw a long time ago in Martha Stewart Kids or Baby. It's actually supposed to look like this with a recipe for a banana cake. The bowl I used wasn't the right shape, and I had used a cake mix, so maybe it wasn't the right amount, but it didn't turn out the right shape or size. Dan came to the rescue with the suggestion to just put the face on top and it worked out great. Charlie had actually asked for a lion or shark cake, but when I showed him this one, he liked it just as well. He's easy like that.

Also - Charlie insisted on the 6 candle and an 8 one for Sam's. I never would have bought them if he hadn't. See what a nice mom I am.

Since the birthdays there has been lots of skateboarding and everyone is dying to try out their new stunts at the skate park.

And a few other things . . .

Jack also started playing the cello at school. I think it's my favorite instrument. He has been so excited and practicing every day!

And my garden is winding down. This year I planted a bunch of tomatoes, a zucchini, a yellow crookneck squash, and a watermelon. I've had so much squash I don't know what to do with it all. I'm happy to have gardenless friends who will take it off my hands. None of the watermelon ripened right, maybe I'll try a smaller kind next time. The tomatoes have been great. Aren't they beautiful?

lots to tell you

I've been absent because it's been busy around here!

We had family visit last weekend because little Sam got baptized. I cannot believe he is 8!

Before that we had Charlie's and Sam's birthdays.

And I just got back from San Diego with Dan. He had a conference and I got to go with him.

Plus - I only have 8 weeks left! It finally seems to be ending. And I'm pretty sure that I can not do this again. Be pregnant. I'm also pretty sure I do not have patience for more than 5 kids.

Posts to follow!

wedding flowers

Remember when I did Katie's wedding flowers? (see here). Well, here is the photo of the bouquet, finally.

Post update: This wasn't my photo, but the photographer's. That was the main reason it took so long to put up.

Vintage New Mexico

So I kind of lied when I said that I didn't take many photos in New Mexico. I should have said I didn't take many photos of people while in NM.

We actually stopped in this town, Vaughn, twice, that had the coolest signs ever. We took photos of all of them, and then we found a few more outside of Vaughn.




Yes - they have color TV at the Ranch View Motel

(not in Vaughn)

(not in Vaughn)

Wow. That's all I'll say.

New Mexico

This is a long post, but the only one I'm doing on this trip.

I had this really great idea about a super cool blog post where I showed you a map of where we went each day. It was a pretty cool road trip and we visited as many places as we could handle. But I couldn't figure it out.

Besides the map thing not working out so well, I realized I didn't take too many photos. Not sure how that happened. I'll blame it on being pregnant and grumpy.

Day 1: Salt Lake City, UT to Cortez, CO

It was kind of a stopping point, but also, Mesa Verde is close by and we thought we might have time for it. Turns out we didn't have the time or the energy to make it there. It's close enough that we'll do a trip out there another time. That whole area is gorgeous.

Day 2: Cortez, CO to Roswell, NM

This was a really long drive. So it was a good thing we didn't go to Mesa Verde in the morning. We did stop in Santa Fe on the way, but we didn't stay long and didn't see too much.

Day 3: Visit Carlsbad Caverns

This is the reason we stayed in Roswell. It's only about an hour from the caverns and we figured that as long as we were in New Mexico, we ought to go see them. After we got through the 2 hour trip of going through the main caves, Charlie told me, "that was the worst day of my life."

The kids thought this cactus was super cool.

That evening we ate at the McDonald's shaped like a space ship (in Roswell) and the boys were in heaven. If the kids thought we were horrible parents for taking them through the caves, they certainly changed their minds after McDonald's. They were thanking us right and left for taking them there. After that we went swimming at our hotel pool and they loved us even more.

Day 4: Roswell, NM to Albuquerque, NM

Dan thought it necessary to go to the International UFO Museum and Research Center while we were in Roswell. I am a wonderful wife, so I agreed to go. I'm sure you can guess how awesome it was. We bought the kids some little alien toys from the gift shop and they were asking when we could go back to Roswell.

Yes! It was real! No - it was from a movie set.

Dan is standing in front of a feature about an alien abduction. This painting was an artist's rendering of the abductee's description. (Abductees are above Dan's head to the left). Yes - Dan had a mustache for the first part of the trip (until the family photos). The longer it got, the more horrible.

Days 5 and 6: Albuquerque

We stayed for 2 days in Albuquerque for a family reunion. I maybe took 1 photo (okay a few more than 1). It was a great reunion with lots of cousins, food, swimming, and laughing.

That's right - we don't take photos of family members, but of weird signs.

Actually - here is the fam - all doing crossfit together. I think they did it every day we were there.

It's a good fit when the mask fits over your mouth.

Day 7: Albuquerque, NM to Moab, UT

We thought that on the way home we'd stay a night in Moab. We took the kids there last spring and they loved it. So we pulled into our hotel around 10 pm and they had sold our room to someone else! It turned out that every hotel in Moab was sold out and so we had to drive 4 more hours home. Not fun. And the kids were really bummed.

Guess what we're up to . . .

Some days it works out great. Others - not so much.

Hiking to a waterfall

Katie (my little sister) and her new husband Dan came to town for a wedding. While they were here they asked if we wanted to hike to a local waterfall. Of course we did! This photo was taken after the hike. (Missing from the photo are my sister Jamie, Luke, and me. Four of the other kids are Jamie's and 2 are her other neices. )

Luckily Dan carried Luke on his shoulders the whole way down. Luke whined about it pretty much the entire way.

Samo playing in the waterfall.

Charlie about to go under the waterfall.

Luke played in the water. It was a really hot day and it was SO nice to stick your feet in that cool water.

Jack is coming out from running under the waterfall. His favorite cousin Jordan waits for him. They thought this was the coolest thing ever.

It was a fun hike. I'd do it again, but not pregnant, and not without other adults.