Harvest Time

This late Summer/Fall has been busy and rewarding. For those of you who have not yet been to our house, we have a lot of fruit trees. One pear tree is particularly fruitful. We have been harvesting more fruit than we even know what to do with.

So after:
5 Jars of Plumb Jam
9 Fruit Crisps
1 Apple Pie
4 Jars of Salsa
8 Fruit Leathers
10 Trays of Dried Apples
19 Trays of Dried Pears
4 Trays of Raisins

We can comfortably say that we are domesticated.

Christian's New Blog

Check out Christian's new blog "The People on the Bus" under "Favorite Links" on the right side of this page!

The People On The Bus...

Now that I think about it, I could dedicate an entire blog to this subject. There are so many interesting characters that I've come across the last three years while I've been taking the bus to work, and no one gets to share in the experience except for those few people with whom I share an occasional story. Why should I have all the fun? If you take public transportation then you know exactly what I'm talking about. Look for future updates on the subject...

This time, however, I was inspired to blog about the guy from this morning with the mustache tattoo. Before you get the wrong idea in your head, let me dispel the first few images that come to mind:

1. No, the tattoo wasn't a small part of an otherwise inked-up body - he didn't have tattoos all over his head, for example - which would have detracted from (or added to - depending on your perspective) the simple amazement of the mustache. In fact, aside from just one other visible tattoo on his forearm, the mustachio was the only tattoo present.

2. It wasn't a life-like mustache either. No simulated individual hairs or coloring.

It was simply a thick, perfectly shaped mustache filled with regular tattoo-colored blue ink. It was the kind of mustache that you would draw on yourself for Halloween or a similar dress-up event. I pondered this for a moment as I took in Mr. Blue Mustache Tattoo's other defining characteristics trying to discern from his outward appearance what could have possibly driven him to tattoo a blue mustache on his face. He wasn't completely abnormal looking otherwise. He seemed of mixed Latino-Caucasian decent, probably mid-30s, short hair. He did have what I would deem as slightly odd clothes, however. A black bowler hat, red t-shirt with strange insignia, black pants, and he was carrying a hard-sided case of some sort, like a mini Samsonite suitcase...then I realized it was beyond my capabilities to rationalize this decision and gave up. Maybe you can do better.

Christian

Red High Heels

Apparently puppies are not the only ones born with a desire to seek out and destroy nice dress shoes (and especially high heels).
While I was getting ready for church last Sunday, Audrey shredded my red high heels...and I do mean shredded. She ripped of the attractive inner lining, continued on to the padding underneath revealing a big metal block thing in the actual heal (who knew that was there), and then made sure she tore whatever she could into lots of little pieces so it wouldn't be able to be reconstructed.
Now doesn't that sound like a fun Sunday morning activity.

Two New Bikes & One Black Eye

For their birthday's Derek and Audrey both got new bikes...I mean "tricycles," as they always correct me.

Derek loves his low-rider Thomas trike

And Audrey has a love/hate attachment to her Little Miss Radio Flyer trike. She insisted that she sit on in while it was in the shopping cart...not the safest place to ride a bike I know! Before we could even pay for her trike it folded in half and the handle bar socked her in the eye. A few weeks later (and many roll-overs later) we exchanged the Radio Flyer trike for a more stable Fairy Princess Big Wheel.

The Month of June

Well, our fun filled month of summer vacations is done, and we are finally getting a day of rest.
It started off with running my (Elizabeth) first half-marathon on June 14th. It was such an awesome experience. I ran it at Bear Lake in Utah/Idaho which had great scenery. I loved running in such a rural area where there was nothing but farms, greenery, and a beautiful lake. It made me feel so free...after about 6 miles I felt like I was Forest Gump running across the nation on completely rural roads. Everything went smoothly the first 10 miles, but the last three were definitely the hardest. Overall it was a great experience to have before my marathon. We left for Colorado the same day as my race. To anyone thinking about running a long distance race--never, I repeat never, sit in a car for 8 hours immediately after running your race. It is not a nice thing to do to your body.

We got to spend a week in Colorful Colorado having fun with our wonderful family. We ate great food (and put on a few pounds), swam lots, and (one of my favorites) we played quidditch. Audrey had to know where Papou was at all times, and Derek and his cousin Logan were train gurus.

Then we only had a few days at home to rest, unpack, and repack before California. The month of June was definitely a good one.

Half-Way Through Summer Camp

It is July and our summer camp has begun. It is just like old times when I was the little kid pointing to my name on the picture Mama painted to welcome us.

We are half-way through summer camp, and we are having such a great time! We have gone to the beach, to Disneyland, swam, watched fireworks, done crafts, and had lots and lots of playing.

Of course Disneyland has been the highlight so far. Derek loved riding on the flying Dumbo ride, the "okey-dokey" ride (translation: the Pinocchio ride), and the merry-go-round, while Audrey loved Winnie the Pooh, the tea cups, and watching Tinkerbell fly around the castle.

Derek especially is having the time of his life. He wants to play all day with his cousins. Before he goes to bed at night he says, "we have to go to bed so when the sun is awake I can play with Devon."

Although we miss Daddy tons, we are so excited for another fun filled week! Thank you Nana for being such an awesome Summer Camp Director!