July

 I took the kids to the splash pad for the first time this summer. I feel like the summer has really gotten away from me. June was all summer school, and July has so many camps and things, it feels like time is slipping away. 

    I did my FoE Craft exchange this month's theme was sci-fi, and I was so excited. My partner loved The Martian series and many old-school sci-fi books, and I was immediately caught with the idea of doing the iconic Project Hail Mary book cover with elements from other books she liked. I floated her the idea and she was on board. I knew I had to finish it quickly so I could mail it out before my trip. It was fun researching the different book series and deciding what to include. Here's my painting:

    I really liked the way it came out. She responded with the most amazing crocheted Firefly and a bookmark that was themed from the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. I love them! She also included a Ray Bradbury book, which was so nice, as I have read most of his work, but never owned a copy myself.

We celebrated the Fourth of July with Tina's family. They had come up to visit, and it was fun to see them. Our ward had lunch at Pink Hill park and Daniel had smoked over 20 lbs of pork for it. 

    The event started nearly an hour late as they decided to grill hot dogs there at the park, and only started the coals when we were supposed to start. It made for some grumbly hungry people. And of course, they ran out of said hot dogs halfway through the line. Another brother had smoked pork too, but I think he must have finished it in the oven because it was very grey and was mostly avoided until Daniel's meat was all gone. There was plenty of it left over. The kids played GaGa ball and baseball. It was unbearably hot. But I was introduced to a fellow Jane Austen enthusiast, so all was not lost.

    Afterward, we relaxed at home before preparing to go see fireworks with some of the ward and neighbors. The Johnsons live on a street that ends with a rather large parking lot. So each year they have kind of a block party and set off fireworks. This year, I offered up Daniel as a DJ. They were happy to accept. I made sugar cookies and had the kids decorate them. Devon understood the assignment, but the younger boys, not so much.

    Daniel and I do not buy fireworks, really, but enjoy watching them. I told the kids to be respectful and not touch the fireworks. They were given some to play with, though from others. Devon was pretty resourceful and picked up all the discarded, but unpopped poppers. He amassed quite a bit of them through the night as the other kids would throw the whole box at once, and only a few would pop. At one point, Emily noticed that Devon had some, so she asked me if she could as well. I said if she found some like he did, then she was welcome to them. She just heard "yes" and took a new pack from off the ground. When I realized what she had done, I confronted her and she put them back. I also witnessed this impressive multi-person backflip.

    It was a fun night. The music was great and the kids had a great time. Then we celebrated Emily's and Ron's birthdays with the Blacks and the Markhams.

We also went to Home Depot for the bird project. The kids had been looking forward to this one. They turned out so good.

Adam-ondi-Ahman

 Our ward had a fireside up at Adam-ondi-Ahman. It was the rescheduled event, so we packed our lunch and I had made lemon brownies for the occasion. Some of the kids declared them too lemony, but I liked them. I used this recipe: https://lifestyleofafoodie.com/lemon-blondies-lemon-brownies/ 

    The former stake president gave the presentation, which was based entirely on his personal recollections and beliefs. It was interesting. I am always shocked when a presenter refuses to use the actual revelations or scriptural text to present something. It often leads to misinterpretation and a cycle of misinformation. But perhaps I am too strict on the subject. In any event, we had a fine picnic, and though it was warm, there was a nice breeze. 

    Afterwards, we explored the other areas: there are three lookouts, and Daniel had only ever been to the Spring Hill one. One has a significant drop off, and Henry was determined to run off it!

Lizzy took this shot, and I really liked the composition.

Not Quite Jurassic Park

    The zoo is having dinosaurs for the month, and since our membership expires this month, I took advantage of the holiday and took the kids back in time for Juneteenth. It's nice having kids old enough to take care of getting ready by themselves. I was having FoE friends over for dinner, so I was putting together things for that while the kids made their lunches. It made for a quicker getaway, and I knew they would eat whatever they made. Win-win. 

    When we got there, we were told to return to our vehicles, and there was some sort of emergency. We never found out what that was and only had to wait a few minutes before they allowed us in. As I predicted, Lizzy only wanted to find the dinosaurs as quickly as possible and then see some animals, whereas the other kids wanted to experience the zoo as well as find dinos. 

    We were practically the only ones in the sting ray area. I petted on and it reared up and went for a high five, I was startled and exclaimed a bit, Lizzy then told me that there are 2 who like to spook people. Thanks for the heads up!

Emily was pretending to be a diver while Henry was an octopus, and Teddy was a king salmon.

    They had fun. Then we went home to scurryfunge before our guests arrived. The Langdons came from Minesoda on a church history tour. While planning their trip, Tawnia asked on our Messenger chat where to eat in KC. I quickly replied, "My house!" She messaged me later to see if I was for real, and I assured her I was. I love having friends over. They wanted to try KC foods, so I tried to make ribs and pulled pork as authentically as possible. I even made barbecue sauce. The ribs I had made the day before, so I just had to warm them up. The pork was cooking in the pot I got from another FoE, Amy. The mashed potatoes were the real favorite of the night, though. 

    After dinner, we had St. Louis Gooey Butter Cake. Then the kids had a light saber fight. The night was nice after a 92* day. It was a pleasant visit. 

There were many wounded, but luckily, Teddy had healing grapes! Once ingested, one was free to fight another day! Hurrah for Healing Grapes!

Father's Day

     I texted my Father-in-law to see if he had any plans for Father's Day. He didn't, so we invited him, Heather, and Floyd over. He came to hear the kids sing to the Fathers at church, and then went home to change. We had our celebration for Daniel, and the kids signed a card for Ron. When Lizzy and I were searching the thrift stores for her birthday, I found some vintage overalls. Daniel loves overalls, but had retired the ones he had and never replaced them, since I don't like to snuggle with him if he's wearing them. I always seem to get hurt! But I knew it was high time he had a pair again, so I was excited to give them to him for Father's Day.

 

    The younger kids had done portraits of him, and Henry made him some pictures. Henry had dressed like a billionaire and didn't want to change out of his suit. He kept saying, "I'm a Billionaire!"

    Then we got ready for our guests to arrive. I made chicken shawarma and yellow rice along with all the leftovers from Lizzy's party. It was pretty tasty, and even the kids liked it! Floyd brought a delicious banana cream pie to share. It was nice to catch up. I hope to have more get-togethers in the future. Next time I'll remember to take a picture!

Lizzy Turns 17

     Lizzy decided she wanted to have a tea party for her birthday. She only wanted to invite five friends, and she had a long list of food she wanted. She also wanted everyone to decorate their own cake. In preparation, we scoured several secondhand and thrift stores for tea cups for her guests. It took more time than I thought it would, but in the end, we succeeded in finding just enough!  They started playing games. Daniel made a list of mocktails as well, and they were yummy. I had Teddy try mine, and he kept saying it was "Spicy Good!"

 

Lizzy made these cute napkin bows that the kids were afraid to take out and use.

I made way too much food, but that's ok since we were having family over for Father's Day the next day.

They took decorating seriously.

    Josh got her a bag of her favorite Dino Nuggets as her present. If you have ever spent time with my daughter, you will eventually hear her views on chicken nuggets. She waxes on, extoling their virtues and declaring their standing as the undisputed best of the nuggets, the pterydactyls are the best, of course. Josh has heard her monologue on nuggets many, many times, so this was a hilariously perfect gift. She also got this amazing butter dish from her grandparents. The box doesn't do it justice; it's actually beautiful. She loves it. The plug-in mushrooms are so fun, too.

Happy birthday, Lizzy! Here's to another good year!