Yippe! Kaber built me a new computer before he left on his mission. Just practicing serving others before he got out there. Susan and Steve got it all set up for me. They are very patient with a non tech savvy housewife. It really is quite shocking how little I know, even more shocking is the lack of effort I put into learning. All my effort is going toward four little monsters running around. So, I figure I will be able to catch up during the millenium.

Susan and Steve thought it was so funny that we had spliced our internet phone cable. Hippity hoppity chewed our cords and we were just glad to have something working. Susan mentioned something about losing data packets... I don't know. You will have to call one of them to laugh about it.

Church was eventful, as always. The main catastrophe was during the sacrament. I was holding the water tray towards B and I think he stood up or something... because all of the sudden the entire tray was on the floor. Little sacrament water cups everywhere. E just looked at me and said, "I have never seen that happen, ever, not in my whole life."

I just picked up the empty tray and passed it toward the aisle. Keeping my head down and refusing to make eye contact with anyone. L was chanting and pointing to the little cups, "Maker, maker, maker." (When they make a mess I call them "mess maker" and she was just leaving off the "mess.") Thank goodness for B and S because they helped me pick up all of the cups and I just put them in my bag. B's little Primary teacher was rather flustered, I do believe. She had saved us a bench and we were sitting by her and her husband. I think they might think twice before sitting by us again. Although, that's was you get for hovering over people you don't even know, right?

We celebrated our little summer solstice birthday girls. I did the "2 by 2" theme. We had Noah's ark on the cake. It was really fun. I'm afraid we are trapped into having a pinata for every birthday. We just enjoy it so much and it is only three times a year. They only cost $14 for the big star ones... and if Silvina keeps buying one for S's birthday, we aren't out much at all. (hey, hey, hey... the evil laughter hey... and not the "Hey, over here!" kind of hey...) Maybe heh, heh, heh would work better, eh?

Jan and family were up for a day and a night and a day a while back... and then Sue came and slept over. I can't even tell you how much I love that! I wish we could have family here every week... or every month. It is so fun for me and triple the fun for the kids!! Remember how much we loved going to Dorothy's. Even though Shauna had better toys than me... a doll house! Barbies! a canopy bed! the little castle toy!... she always let me play with all of her toys for a while, but then she would want to play horses and we would have to gallop around on our knees. Bet that was fun for all of the adults to listen to and see. That and Cord and Corey with their drums and guitar. I loved it. I want my kids to have those kind of memories too.

DiAnn, Janett, Susan, Jodi and Ticee: So, I am so excited about the circle journals. I bought my 8 x 8 scrapbook at Walmart and I am ready to go. Ticee and I will get it all planned (she is excited about that, wink, wink) and lets get started! We will all end up with a priceless scrapbook that our prosterity will also treasure for generations. If I die, do not let E throw it away!

For some great summer (or anytime reading) check our Ana's blog. She has been reading up a storm, and I really trust her judgement.

Love to all!

To blog or not to blog, that is the question. It is after 10 p.m.... I should be watching Zorro and getting to bed. So, I will do just a quick little blog and not the monster blogs I generally get in.

Church in English... as B puts it... Why? It was just time. The ward was nice.... but... my neighbor keeps telling everyone that I was the RS president, that makes me a little uncomfortable. Our kids are so cute that everyone must stare and stare to take it all in. Either that or they just can't believe someone would have four kids in three years. I can never quite tell which it is.

We had a lady hovering around us... she was B's Primary teacher and she did not ever let us get too far away. She walked with us to sacrament meeting, sat by us and walked us out... not really talking to us, just being near. A little unsettling.

And Science in Sunday School. That is something I had forgotten. The dirty scientists trying to destroy all that is right in the world. You know how they are. I've even heard tell of some Biologists that believe in evolution! Watch out for them...

I already went Scrapbooking tonight, held every Tuesday. (Sweet) RS is also having a dutch oven dinner on Thursday. I can't even remember the last time I had dutch oven! Oh, we were also invited to a BBQ Sunday... potluck.... E mentioned how great it was to have a variety of foods to choose from and not one of them happened to be rice or beans.

We drove to church together, went to SS together, came home together.... dreamy.

A weird thing happened at WW a couple of weeks ago. This already thin lady who needs to lose like 10 pounds to reach her ideal weight bugs just a little. Always sharing her food woes. So hard to not eat a roll now and then.... which is annoying to folks that are addicted to cake, cookies, candy, chips... rolls are practically a health food to me. Any who, she came up to me at the end of the meeting to have a little one on one chat about what she ate at the Mexican restaurant. I said, "I guess you don't eat many Doritos."

"Oh, no!" she cried, horrified. Then the talk turned to protein... blah, blah... and I heard her say, "you can only eat so many beans," and I smiled. Then it turned weird when she said, "You have a beautiful smile, I guess you hear that all of the time."
Awkwardly I burst out laughing and replied, "I just really like beans." Then I ran away quick like a bunny. That was an extremely uncomfortable interchange.

With that I will beg your leave. Love to all!

Fun times in Southern Utah yet again. This time we went west instead of East. The trip down was rather exhausting. It might have had something to due with the fact that we were all worn out before we even started.

We had a WIC appointment in the morning. Just a few highlights... I had to call a number to prove our file was still open or I would have to reschedule. So, I dial the number on my cell phone and have to push "1" ... then "3" ... then "2".... then "0" ... by the time a person came on the phone S was about to pee her pants. So, I took her into the bathroom, trying to balance my cell on my shoulder (it is too small...). I just left the twins and B playing and/or searching for me. S refused to get on the toilet (ever since the incident at the library when she literally fell into the toilet and after I saved her the toilet automatically flushed) she has to be gently persuaded/forced to use public toilets. I was trying to tell S that it wouldn't flush, and trying to talk on the phone. Then I had to hand the phone over to the lady behind the counter.... So, I left S crying and partially naked in the bathroom, ran to the counter, handed off the phone, and ran back to the bathroom. The twins spotted me, started crying and running after me.

All of that was in the first five-seven minutes. I won't bore you with the rest of the visit. But it only got worse. We were there for an hour and a half! At the end, a nutritionist tries to talk to you about the kids' eating habits.... everyone was crying! She just printed out the "checks" to let me escape when the thought popped into my mind to make sure R was given her goat milk. She had to tear out all of R's checks, look up a code and reprint them.... The sadness is that she still gave me the wrong thing. Instead of quarts of goat milk, she gave me cans of evaporated goat milk! I can't decide whether to make R drink that or try and make a new appointment to enter the dreaded WIC zone again. The taste of reconstituted evaporated milk is the only thing that haunts me. Gross... so can you imagine goat milk?

Then we helped Ana leave her apartment. She was at that point where you have worked so hard to move and you think you should be done.... but one thing after another keeps popping up. There is always more and more things in the apartment... the little annoying things that don't fit into boxes. Poor girl. She did it though... and she is now settled in CA, reunited with her husband. I took Ana to SL and dropped her off.

Then we met Steve... who had been waiting for me for about four hours. I'll teach him not to say he doesn't mind waiting. After this trip, I am sure he has changed his mind.

The cats were great up to that point. The next four hours were an absolute nightmare, full of asking/begging S to stay clicked, discovering that the crackers I had so liberally passed out had not been eaten... but had been crushed to decorate the floor, babies crying, stinky diapers, hungry monsters. Whew! We got to Ticee's around 10PM.

I was so excited for Susan to have such great boys. Kaber going threw the temple...so grown up, so not the little "baby" cowboy/army guy I can still remember. Chris baptizing Zachary... they both did their part perfectly. I loved watching Richard by the font... giving advice, making sure everything was alright, but not stealing the show. What a great dad.

The food was great. I feel super guilty that I didn't bring anything... my only contribution was helping Ticee with the forty desserts she brought. (exaggeration)... Also, I am still dreaming about the fluffy salads Janice made. Was that Jello, cottage cheese, cool whip and fruit? I can make that worth almost no points at all. Another thing I love about Sue and Richard, they always add a little class to their food. My delicious BBQ/au jou(sp?) (yes, I did both to the same sandwich) was on some special bread... that I didn't even get to ask what kind it was. Maybe Parmesan.. it was good. The best news of all for me was that I didn't gain any weight on the trip (other than water weight... which is now gone)

I am sad that I missed staying at the ranch. But I got to "watch" Ticee's kids while they went to a movie (everyone was asleep and I just held really still and enjoyed the quiet for a while before going to sleep myself).

Thanks to Susan and Ticee I was able to print out the application for E to apply for citizenship/naturalization as it is known in the Department of Homeland Security. We just finished filling it out last night. Now all we need is for our neighbors to pay for their part of the fence and we can send off the application and $330 to the previouslymentioned Dept. of Homeland Security. This really has been the easiest application so far.

I just realized that I had better check the instructions... because usually we have to send our last three years worth of tax information, photos, fingerprints etc. All I did was fill out the form....

Congrats to any one who was able to make it this far with me. Quite a feat... Oh, and about the "owl" necklace... at least I remember it's existence... I know Mom wore it at least once... maybe it wasn't "Bob" night... but I remember Dad worrying that it might break or something. Maybe I am blending memories. I think that is more convenient for my brain...

And, Jodi, the birthing panel is a pictograph/hieroglyph... some ancient drawing that Dad says represents the birth of Christ. I will see it someday.

I miss Ana... Tuesdays I slept in because I was wiped out from traveling, Wednesday it was raining too hard to walk, but this morning I went walking in a little drizzle of rain. It was nice... but I like talking to Ana more than walking alone. Although I did see a killdeer (bird) so that was fun.

Love to all!