Senior Picture Shoot

I took my niece's senior pictures the other day. I remember holding this girl in the hospital when she was a 9 1/2 lb. newborn with the thickest head of black hair I'd ever seen. Now she's graduating from high school. All grown up:

Hot Guy

Maybe you are one of the millions who have seen The Avengers. Bruce and I went and loved it! But, somewhere along the way, Bruce got confused. This was an actual conversation about the movie that we had last week at my house.

Bruce: So, I was thinking about The Avengers and about their superpowers.The Hulk is just big and Iron Man has the suit, but what it Hot Guy's power?

The rest of us all looked at each other. In unison, Lindsey and I said, "Hot Guy?"

Bruce: Yeah. The guy with the bow and arrow. Hot Guy. Is his just a good archer or what?"

We looked at each other again, trying not to completely lose it.

Me: "Do you mean Hawkeye?"

Bruce: "Oh. Is that his name? I thought it was Hot Guy."

That's when we all died, right there at the kitchen table. He thought Hawkeye's name was really Hot Guy! Since then, Hot Guy has become a fixture at our house, as in, "Better call Hot Guy!", "Will Hot Guy be there?" and on and on and on. I see no end in sight.

Memorable Memorial Day

It was a workin' Memorial Day at our house. We stopped by the cemetery:

Then went to work at Grandma's cabin. There was mowing and wood cutting and wood hauling and general cleaning to be done. I stacked a pile a wood as big as the state of Texas! Or so it felt.

After a few hours of working, we took a break to eat together and play a game of horseshoes in the newly cleaned pits. Good food, cute kids and even a puppy to join in on the fun.

I hope your Memorial Day was fun too!

Memorial Day

Thank you to all the brave men who fought and died for our freedom. I hope our country stays worthy of their sacrifice.

One man who is very special to our family died from radiation he was exposed to during atomic testing in the Nevada desert while in the army. We'll be visiting his grave today. We love you, Dad.

Sunday Saying

Rule #2: Don't Trust Anyone

We have some family rules. Family Rule #1 is: Always Stay Together. We made this rule after an incident involving hiking, park rangers and a black bear. Rule #2 is: Don't Trust Anyone, as in, our own family members. We like to prank each other.

Shannon and Ben went on a trip to California last week, leaving their car and house keys behind at my house. What were they thinking? Brian and Lindsey promptly put into action a plan they hatched over a year ago. They replaced existing framed pictures with pictures of us hanging out in S&B's apartment. Here's a sampling of the framed photos.

We have: Bruce foraging in their fridge:

Playing board games,

Dancing with golf clubs,

Dancing the Haka,

A nice portrait,

Brian and Peter's addition to the engagement picture collection,

And Peter, in the bathroom. Note: nothing unhygienic was happening in this picture.

Mission accomplished. When Shannon noticed the pictures, she immediately called Peter and blamed him for the prank. Like I said, Don't Trust Anyone.

The Hog

Things are busy at my house these days. People coming, people going, boys everywhere. Right now there are 4 adults living here, but only 3 cars. Enter: The Hog.

Maybe you remember that a few years back we added a scooter to our list of vehicles. It's come in handy, too. When Bruce was the bish, he'd putter around the ward on any given night, chatting and visiting on the scooter. The other night he wanted all of us to have a scooter riding lesson, just so we'd all be ready to share and share alike, when it came to modes of transportation. We all had skills.

For now, Brian is riding The Hog the few blocks it takes to get to Getaway. He filled it up today and it cost him $4.00. I filled up my car yesterday and it cost 17 times that. Maybe we need another scooter.

Xena

Xena 2000-2012

Science!

Did anyone see the solar eclipse last Sunday? I was at the church when it started, but by the time I got home, there were science experiments galore happening in my backyard.

We had the telescope out- but wisely, it was not being used for direct viewing. The guys made pinhole reflecting panels that worked really well.

There was also a way to look at the shadow of  your inter-connected fingers to see the eclipse. Ingenious!

 When the eclipse had reached it's apex, the leaves on the trees were filtered made an eclipse shadow. Very cool. And the light was perfect for picture taking!

Even Lindsey"s back was covered with tiny eclipses that were shining through the leaves. 

Science. It's a wonderful thing and makes you feel smart.