Bryan is an excellent daddy. The boys love him so much, sometimes they just follow him around the house wherever he goes. They can’t get enough of him when he’s here (I’m always here so I’m no big deal). They were very excited to get him some presents for Father’s Day. First, we took the pictures below & put them in a three-photo frame with nice mats. We also got him the camera he’s been ogling (it’s the panoramic one that Taylor Swift is hawking on TV). At least I think he’s ogling the camera. Maybe he’s ogling Taylor.
Bryan taught me how to make an omelette today, while I made him one for breakfast. It was pretty good! Ham, beef smoked sausage, green onions (homegrown), olives, cheddar, & feta. Mmmm…
Today we took a tour of our nearest fire station with some friends. The boys loved climbing in & around the fire engine & fire truck. They got to try on headsets & work the radios. They got to hear a special message on the radios (from dispatch). They even got free hats!
While taking a tour of their living area, I was surprised to see a large “DV8″ sign hanging on the wall in their TV room. I asked one of the firefighters if it came from the club. He explained that they were the station that worked that fire, & the building owner let them have the sign (they have had it re-lit). He happily turned it on for me to take some pictures. Bryan & I attended a whole bunch of concerts there before it burned down.
Click on any photo to enlarge, or click here to see all the pictures.
I like handmade gifts. This week I made two. For my brother Michael I made this cross stitch (from this book). It ended up being a little too small for the frame, but whatever. You can see her website here, but keep in mind that the majority of her designs are full of swears. Don’t say I didn’t warn you. Bryan is already busy coming up with phrases he wants me to cross stitch for him to put on his desk (of course with no swears!).
I also made this funny little pocketed creature for my niece Maddie. I have made a few, & I think I may sell them this year @ Gallery Stroll. They are really fun to make.
I learned this neat trick a long time ago from Mark & Jen. I know that you can store baked cookies in the freezer, but I like fresh-baked better. So when I make a batch of dough, I scoop it out & freeze the unbaked cookies on a cookie sheet (with parchment). When they’re solid, take them off the cookie sheet & toss them in a freezer bag. When we want cookies, we put the frozen dough balls on a cookie sheet (with parchment) & let them sit for 15 minutes or so while the oven heats up. Then bake!
Today was Mrs Z’s last day of kindergarten (tomorrow is the official last day if the kids still want to come). At the end of class, the kids & parents presented her with a gift. We gave her a basket of useful items when bedridden (she’s having knee surgery) – books, DVDs, treats, puzzle books. We also presented her with a quilt made by yours truly. The design looks like bookshelves, which was chosen because of her love of books. The back includes art & signatures from all the kids.
Mrs Z has been an interesting person to know. I had my doubts about her at first – her personality was much different than I expected. But it just so happens that she’s pretty much brilliant. Rees’ elementary school education is off to a great start. We will sure miss her.
After class ended, a bunch of parents & kids grabbed lunch & ate @ a local park. Fun times. My friend took these classroom pictures for me because I forgot my camera.
My friend Nicole moved back to Salt Lake recently after living in Idaho for a while. Nicole is one of those friends that you can go for years without talking to, but as soon as you get together, it’s like you were never apart. She is my buddy. I am excited that she is getting married in July, & has just bought a house super-close to mine!
Nicole was my first & only college roommate @ USU (that I shared a room with anyway). Luckily, we got along well from the start & have been close friends ever since. We have similar tastes in just about everything – books, music, movies, clothes, you name it. A few months ago we saw Spoon @ In the Venue, in May we saw “Babies”, & tonight we saw MGMT @ In the Venue.
I have been to In the Venue many times. I always like to stay in the downstairs (all ages) area because there is usually a good spot to sit in the back (I’m old now so sitting is important), I don’t drink, & the bar is usually pretty crowded & smells of cigarettes (duh). You can also get out pretty fast when the show is over. However, when we were waiting in line for this show, it was obvious that the average age of the crowd was pretty young – like, under 18. When we got inside, Nicole suggested that the bar would probably be less crowded tonight. So we went upstairs & scored a padded bench. Eventually the bar did fill up, but the floor was definitely much more crowded than usual. It was the most active that I have ever seen there – tons of kids were wearing glow sticks & flashing glasses, dancing their hearts out. I found the video below of “Electric Feel”, but I really hope that someone will post a video of “Kids” (which they saved for their very very last song of their encore) because that place got crazy. I thought the building was going to crumble.
We spent the morning packing & hanging out with Grandma. She took us out to a nice lunch & then we started home.
Bryan really wanted to try a slot canyon hike in Kanarraville that he had read about. We were able to locate the trailhead & headed up. We knew we’d be hiking in water, & I felt pretty unprepared hiking in skinny jeans & Chucks. However, it turned out to be perfect – the jeans protected my legs & the shoes were actually super comfortable! Jamie was tired & fussy, so Bryan ended up carrying him the whole way up & back. At least he was in a good mood being carried. Rees was awesome, he had a blast & only needed help when we forded the creek – which was very often, because the trail criss-crossed the creek the whole way up. The whole hike took us a little under four hours.
I brought the Flip but we totally forgot to use it! Dang! At least I have nice pictures. There are more pics here.
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