Sonic Happy Hour...

We went shopping for new school shoes today and finished right at 3:00 p.m. We climbed into the Jeep and it was mega hot! Jack said he was going to die so I looked at the clock and we were right next to Sonic. They have 1/2 price slushes and drinks from 2-4 p.m., their version of Happy Hour. So we headed over and got 3 small slushes and a small cherry limeade for me. All told, I spent $2.35 for everyone to get their own slush and a drink with a slice of lime and a maraschino cherry in it. Happiness followed us all the way home.

Had ourselves a little family vacation...

So last Wednesday at 2:00 p.m., Merril called and said, "Want to go to Lake Powell for the weekend?" My response, "Uhhhh, sure!" It didn't end up working out so we went this weekend.

By Lake Powell, there's a magnificent slot canyon called Antelope Canyon. Merril's been there a bazillion times with Japanese tourists and arranged for Maxine and I to go for free! It was really a sight and not somewhere I'd want to be during a flash flood. It was crowded but we scored some super awesome amazing pictures. It was really neat!

Our little family decided to camp on a secluded beach. We loaded everything into the boat and took off. We drove around for a while and had a hard time finding a beach because the lake was so high. But we ended up finding a nice place to camp.

The next day we loaded in the boat to head up to Rainbow Bridge. It's took us a while to get there, maybe 2 hours. On the way, we took the boat up Cathedral Canyon. It was a deep canyon, but skinny. Merril was able to reach out and touch the sides as we floated along.

Cathedral Canyon is fairly close to Rainbow Bridge, which is the largest known natural bridge.

We stopped at a marina near Rainbow Bridge for some ice and paid $5.25 a bag. Incidentally, they were selling like hot cakes.

We drove back and fished. Which ended in Maxine catching 2 catfish and general frustration among the crowds. So we had tacos for dinner instead of bass or trout.

We even did the early morning skiing on the way to the floating toilet. (Merril wanted me to point out that only he did the skiing. I drove the boat.)

We lazed around camp.

We played in the water.

We took in too much sun and were ready to come home.

Jack's new/old bike...

Jack learned to ride his bike this summer without training wheels. Quickly, he was ready to move up to the next size and we decided to take one of Maxine's old bikes and give it a makeover. I'm so bummed I don't have a decent before picture. If you look at this old picture of Juliet, you can see the bike in the background.


Basically all you need to know is that it was very pink. Since it was a D.I. special, the tires were done after Maxine so Merril invested in some new tires and black grips. Jack picked the colors for his new bike, decided which part got painted which color and he and Merril took it all apart and painted it. He is supremely proud of his new bike!

Maxine's Musical...

Maxine was in a junior musical this summer. It was Seussical Jr. and she was a who and an offstage voice.


The whole cast was made up of kids, not a single adult, and they did a pretty great job. She had a great time but worked really hard on it. For the entire month of July, she was at rehearsals for 3 hours a day, 5 days a week. Frankly, I was exhausted by the end of it but she loved it. (Sorry about the weird blur faces.)

Juliet attended every performance and all the kids still sing the songs a lot, annoyingly. But it was a great thing for her this summer and we'll probably do it again next year. :)

What a rager!!

So Merril came in the house this morning and said, "It looks like we had a rager in the front yard." Eyebrows raised, I ask, "Why?" He says, "Well, the kiddie pool's still out there from yesterday, lawn chairs are tipped over, trash from otter pops, and a bunch empty cups." I reply, "It must have been a good one, I don't remember a thing." :) (Kids make my life messier.)

Sunshine and happiness...

Our fair city opened its first splash pad and my kids have been begging to go! I thought it was going to be super crowded around lunch time but it wasn't too bad. We took lunch and ate and played. Good times were had by everyone, as you can see.

I love this picture of Maxine. The buckets were a big hit.

Jack kept playing in the water but stopping to pose for me.

Fun.
Fun.


And more fun.

Happy Summer!

4th of July Fireworks...

Okay so we saw some fireworks but that's not what this post is about. I got a call Monday afternoon from Merril, who had taken the 2 little kids shooting.

Merril: "Hey babe, um I just rolled the Scout."

Me: "You rolled the Scout? Are you guys okay?"

Merril: "Yeah! The kids had seat belts on but we need the air compressor."

Me: "Is the Scout okay?"

Merril: "It caught on fire after that!"

Me: "Yikes!"

Merril: "I put out the fire with sand."

Me: "All right, I'm on my way!

So Maxine and I loaded up some snacks, cold waters, the air compressor and a whip flag and headed out to the sand dunes. I arrived at the trees at the sand dunes and found my children laughing and playing in the sand but looking like this:

Merril looked like this:

The Scout looked a little worse for the wear. The windshield cracked.

This dent became more dented.

And the hood got squished and smashed the air cleaner.

Here's the 3 of them in front of the rolled Scout. Jack wouldn't smile.

The Rescuers:

More details: So Merril was on the ridge of a dune and turned to go straight down but the front tire sunk in and the whole Scout slid sideways. Juliet said that Merril said, "Here we go!" The Scout rolled twice. Merril, who wasn't wearing a seat belt, held on for one slow revolution and then stepped out of the Scout. Juliet told me she closed her eyes tightly. I asked if it was because it was really scary. She informed me in a matter-of-fact tone that she closed her eyes because there was sand everywhere. Injuries were very minor. Something fell out of the Scout and bonked him on the back of the neck/shoulders. Juliet has one teensy bruise on her hip where the seat belt held her in. Merril's forearm got scratched somehow. Otherwise, everyone escaped just a little shaken.

The Scout landed on its tires so Merril jumped in and drove down the rest of the hill. The Scout started on fire because battery tie down broke loose and the batter cable was contacting the body and sparking. Merril threw sand on it and duct taped the cable and it was all fixed. I arrived with my little air compressor and snacks, we aired up the tires and drove home.

All the kids rode with me, incidentally.

Later Merril asked me, "Are you mad?"

I replied, "No I'm grateful, the kids had seat belts and no one was hurt."

(If he'd rolled the Jeep, instead of the Scout, I would've been mad.)

Kids, be safe.

Wahoo corn!

The first year I did a garden I planted corn. The wind constantly blew it flat and it struggled. My soil ph was too alkaline at the time as well, not helping the situation. Let's just say that I failed at growing any corn but grew nice fall corn husk decorations for the front porch. I gave up for a few years. I renewed my determination to grow an ear of corn. I have a long, skinny grow box and decided to grow 5 small rows instead of 2 long rows side by side, hoping for the best fertilization.

(My phone camera has a scratched lens, resulting in blurriness on the left side.)

It seems to have worked out well! We picked our first dinner's worth of corn on the cob. The ears are small, maybe one ear equals half of a regular ear, but they're tasty and the kernels are fully developed. I was so worried about the corn not fertilizing and growing decorations again.

There's enough out there for another dinner as well! So I finally grew some edible corn and am so excited to boil the little cobs tonight!