July 27th Meet me at the Fair

We went to the California State Fair on Tuesday, which also happened to be free kid day and dollar ride day. This made it very cheap for us (thanks, Natalie) but also very crowded. We did have a good time, though, and the kids loved it, even though we were hot and tired by the end.

My highlight was watching the dogs race through the obstacle course. They were such happy, enthusiastic dogs. You could tell they really wanted to do it right. I especially liked the ones that barked the whole time. Our kids loved that, too.

We also saw the animals,

ate some greasy lunch,

looked at the beautiful gardens, rode the carousel, which was hands down Sylvie's favorite thing.

She threw a huge tantrum at the end of her first ride, not realizing that she couldn't ride it forever, so I took her again. It was fun to watch her really enjoy it. And last, the big kids went on the Ferris Wheel. They had to wait about 45 minutes (thanks to $1 rides, I'm sure) but they were patient and really loved it. Abbie wasn't too sure at first--we noticed she was sitting really close to Grammy--but she warmed up to it.

We finished the day with dinner at Panera Bread, which was much better than the fried cheesecake at the fair, I am sure.

July 26th Blackberries

We went blackberry picking Monday morning. The kids rode bikes--no training wheels for Jens! It started out a little rough, I won't lie, but he got better and better on his wheels. At the end he was really confident and barely needed my help to get going.

As for the blackberries, we filled all of the containers we took and made blackberry-rhubarb crumble for dessert, and blackberry ice cream a few days later.

July 26th Slip and Slide

I tell you, I have gotten my money's worth out of this cheap, $6 Slip N' Slide I got last summer. The only downer is that is turns the grass into a big mud puddle.

July 25th Team Work

Riding bikes is a snap when you have an older cousin to help you out.

It is nice when cousins can work together. They had the best time doing this, and the yard looked great when they were done.

July 24 Painting the Front Door

July 24th Bikes Everywhere

We are bike central around here. Bikes everywhere!

We took Jens's training wheels off his bike and he went nuts. He did such a great job--it was really fun to see him zoom around the yard with no training wheels! We haven't been brave enough to take him on the sidewalk yet, though.

Sylvie is not so speedy yet--but she keeps on trying.

July 21 Sitting Together

and both smiling. A rare sight indeed.

July 22 New bed

I have been trying to clean out our garage--get rid of stuff we aren't using, use stuff we want. I found the rest of Jens's bed and decided he was ready for the bunk part of bunk beds.

We had to paint the rest of the bed blue, first. It was very hard for Jens to wait for the paint to dry and cure.

We finally got sheets on it and he is so excited to sleep in it tonight!

July 20 Haircut

I thought maybe we were going to escape this with Jens, but no. He has been a responsible scissor user for a couple of years now, so when he asked for a pair I didn't hesitate to hand one over. Ten minutes later he emerged sporting a new look.

He cut in three places, one in the back, a bad one on the front and a less bad one on the other front side. It has been a few days now, but the bald spots seems to get more bald looking. I am going to wait another week and then buzz him.

July 19

Sylvie is already learning to:

1. Put shoes on her baby

(Baby was trying on that big green flip flop)
2. accessorize

(Mom's purse, Jens's shoes)
3. What to do with a can of soda.

July 18th Yard Flood

It was a peaceful Sunday morning and I was determined to be on time for church. Then I looked out the window. We had 3 inches of standing water in our weird dirt square next to our planer box. I got the shovel and poked at it and decided one of our sprinkler heads must have come off, but there was so much water I couldn't really see. I thought I would wait for the water to absorb and check it out later. I got ready for church and helped Jens and Sylvie. I looked out Jens's window and realized that there was water streaming down our back retaining wall. I ran around the corner to track down our backyard neighbor. The first guy who answered the door seemed unconcerned and said he would call the pool guy. I went home and realized that if we were waiting for a pool guy we might end up really flooded. There was standing water covering our grass and large parts of our dirt, and it was starting to pool right where I'd planted my evening primroses, which like dry! I ran back around the corner to see if they had managed to stop the water, and they had--it was just draining out into our yard, but at least the source was turned off. I went back out with the shovel and dug up my primroses and dug some trenches. The picture doesn't actually show any of the serious flooding, by the way--I think Mike just liked it that I was out there in my skirt and sandals. Mike came out and took a turn, too--also in his church clothes.

We were both very hot on our drive to church. Happily, we came home to a yard with no standing water.

July 17th Blackberries

Saturday Jens and I took advantage of Folsom's nature trails and picked wild blackberries. We managed to get quite a few. They are pretty seedy and some of them were pretty tart, so I cooked them down into a thick blackberry syrup to mix into drinks and make ice cream.

July 18th Jens-isms

A conversation with Grandma while Grandma is hugging Mike:

G: "Do you know why I love your dad?"
J: "Because he was born here and he is awesome."

* * * * *
Today Jens was asking where his primary teacher lived. I told him we could stop by and take his teacher a treat.

J: "Yeah! Brother Storer loves fruit snacks!"

Jens was really stuck on this fruit snack idea, so he drew a picture for Brother Storer and I got a bag of fruit snacks and we delivered them. Brother Storer was very cute about it, and immediately opened the fruit snacks to share with Jens. In the car on the way home, Jens remarked "We should have the Storers over to play sometime."

July 9th Friends and Cabin

We also love to see our friends while we are in Utah, as they are some of our favorite people. The Johnsons hosted a fun friends' cookout where we caught up and the kids played. The night went by too quickly.

One of Jens's favorite things was going up to the cabin. We hiked to Stewart Falls (Jens was great)

and slept a night. I love this picture of all the girls. They are watching the ever horrendous "Barbie Nutcracker".

We ended our trip with birthday celebrations--Grandma's birthday, Mike's brother Jens, which was special because we all went to the cemetery and sang--it would have been his 40th this year--and Hailey's birthday, which she chose to spend with the Helquist family. We were glad she included us for her 12th birthday! We sang Happy Birthday so many days in a row that even Sylvie now sings it: "Happy to you!"

We drove home on Wednesday the 14th. The drive went smoothly--we were amazed by how little traffic there was, even at rush hour in Reno. We also managed to get our evening primrose home, in spite of an embarrassing incident at the California inspection point:
"Do you have any potted plants?"
"No"
"Could you pop the trunk so I can check?"

OH, you mean like THOSE potted plants?

And even though it spent the whole day in our trunk, it bloomed.

July 6th Fun with Grandma and Grandpa

Of course, the best part about trips to Utah is spending time with our Utah family. The kids can't get enough of Grandma and Grandpa. I think by the time we leave, we have worn them out!


The swing set is always a favorite, and Jens was very pleased to show off his new-found pumping skills. He can sing himself VERY high, and it is great that it requires no effort on the part of anyone else. Sylvie liked the tire swing and figured out how to launch herself into it. She tried diving out of it a few times, too, but that was too scary for me so I discouraged it!

It was really special to be there when Grandma and Grandpa got set apart as missionaries. This will be an exciting 18 months for them, and I know they will be wonderful.

We also enjoyed a campfire cookout at Nun's Park. Unfortunately, Sylvie and I had to leave before most of the real singing got started because she was so tired from staying up late. She was very grateful to be in her bed!

July 5th Cul de Sac of Fire!

It wouldn't be the 4th without home made ice cream and kids playing with fire. What a way to celebrate!


Jens wasn't too sure about the sparklers in the beginning, but he quickly warmed up to the idea.

Sylvie took to poppers like a fish to water. She would throw as many as I would give her, and kept going back for more.

Then we sat and watched the fountains. We had a lot this year and we somehow waited until it was pretty dark, so they were really pretty.