After being sick and going overboard on Tuesday, I was down for the count yesterday. After much sleeping, I have recovered nicely. We watched the Days of ‘47 Parade on TV. Camping out to watch a parade in really hot weather in a huge crowd is just not my cup of tea. We had to watch though, because our family helped assemble the Wells Stake float (#90-something) - celebrating the first Boy Scout troop in America (it was our stake!). Rees and I spelled out the names of some people at the First Encampment on some “rocks” on the float. Bryan helped install some coolers under the float to hold drinks for the float operators. Rees was strangely mesmerized by the parade on TV.
We went to my parents’ house tonight for a little fireworks show. We brought KFC for dinner. Michael and Sarah came as well. There is something funny about my dad and fireworks. He seems like about the last guy who would buy his own fireworks to light, but for some reason he does. Maybe because he’s a dude? Anyway, he picked up the classic I remember from childhood - Killer Bees - plus some fireworks that shot out little parachutes (Rees LOVED those) and a giant $20 thing called a Nuclear Bomb (or as Sarah called it, “Stadium of Fire in a Can”). We also brought some sparklers and some of those spinning colored ball fireworks we found in our pantry (probably five years old). Michael commented that “…the Pioneers would be proud!”
Rees and James liked the fireworks but were a little scared. They kept their distance. Allie, on the other hand, probably would have walked over there and picked them up while they were going off. She had no fear. We also had some neighborhood kids come and join - the fireworks do seem to attract them. 
The boys slept over and Bryan and I went home. I’ll pick them up tomorrow.
July 24th, 2008
I woke up this morning with a sore throat. I was in denial, and soldiered on to the zoo with the kids. It was fun, as usual (we have a membership). James is so cute, and gets so excited about every animal. “LOOK MOM! A (insert whatever animal we’re viewing)! RIGHT THERE!!!!!!”
We rented a wagon for the first time, which was great because the kids could climb in and out easily. It was also a huge workout for me, due to the hilliness of the zoo. I had to make Rees get out and climb the last hill to the exit. I was exhausted by the time we got home.
In the evening the boys went to Mutual with Bryan, where they shot rockets with the YM.
July 22nd, 2008
Today was Rees’ last soccer game. He did great. He really wanted to play and was disappointed when Coach Dad gave him his turns on the bench. Very cute. He got a little MVP trophy that he loves and is carrying around with him everywhere. Bryan was a great coach and all the kids loved him.
We came home to find the Gregory family helping themselves to our apricots. This is perfectly acceptable, since we have way too many to manage by ourselves. Thayne, Jakson, and Kassidy were daredevils, climbing the tree and onto the roof of the garage to get the ripest ones. Camillia was content to watch.
The boys had a sleepover tonight with the Gregorys. We took them over at about 7 and then went up to Market Street Broiler for dinner. We ordered artichoke dip with spinach and crab to start, then shared a dinner of filet mignon and a lobster tail. Yummy. We lucked out - a table on the patio opened up right when we arrived. Very nice dinner.
Then we went to Sandy to see The Dark Knight on IMAX. Unfortunately, I read the theatre map upside down when ordering tickets, so we were on the front row rather than the back! My horror was offset by all the people around us who also did the same thing. We were all able to laugh about it. The couple next to us purchased the very first tickets of the show - on the front row. Honestly, the first three of four rows of that theatre should not even exist. I was having serious flashbacks about my major hotel reservation error on our recent trip to San Diego (always save your original Expedia itinerary if you’re coming back later to buy, friends!).
I was able to mostly forget about that, which is a testament to the movie. It’s been said a million times, but Heath Ledger is off the charts - which is good, since he’s probably in it more than Batman/Bruce Wayne is. I have always liked him. He was excellent in Brokeback Mountain (I practically dragged Bryan to see it, and I think he may have ended up liking it even more than I did). My favorite quote, however, was from Lucius Fox (Morgan Freeman):
Let me get this straight: You think that your employer, one of the richest men in the world, is spending his nights running around the city beating criminals to a pulp with his bare hands? And your plan is to blackmail him?
Good luck.
July 19th, 2008
Today we went to see Kit Kittredge with my mom in Provo. She had seen it with a friend and thought that Rees would like it. He did, but much of it was over his head. He was good at the theatre though. He seemed to understand the ending pretty well - that was the part that interested him the most. He didn’t understand the more subtle storyline of the families having trouble making ends meet during The Depression. Or Kit wishing to be a real newspaper reporter. James was happy, but talking too loudly, so I spent the last half of the movie in the corridor with him (still inside the theatre). The story was cute and would be perfect for a kid a few years older than Rees.
In the afternoon I got a massage here. Inexpensive and not bad. We stayed over at my mom’s so Bryan could have a night to himself. He went shopping at Cabela’s for some fishing gear and then went to see Hancock. He says he thought it was okay.
July 16th, 2008
Today I made myself a new skirt, based on a pattern for a tiered one in this book my mom gave me. I changed it a little - I did three tiers (the example had five), used one fabric (the example used five), and I stitched the ruffles on inside-out, leaving raw edges on the outside. I also added a muslin lining - I like more fabric between me and the world (it must come from being such a jeans girl). It turned out really well, I am happy about it.
Bryan hooked up the TV antenna today to his new TV. He is excited to have everything finally hooked up (he also bought this and he got this for Christmas last year). Now we need to install a mantle shelf and try to clean up the cables and stuff a bit.
We went out with Jeff & Cashell to see The Incredible Hulk tonight. It was okay. I thought that they skipped over all of the interesting stuff (in a flashback at the beginning) and then dwelled on a simple chase story for two hours. I liked the actors, but couldn’t really get emotionally involved in two CGI hulks fighting each other. I liked Iron Man better. And of course, nothing touches Batman Begins. Can’t wait for The Dark Knight (we’ll be there on opening night).
After the movie we went to one of our favorite restaurants, Sampan, in Sugarhouse. Mmmmm. Bob babysat for us while we were out, and the kids had fun playing with him. What a guy. We got him a vanilla frosty, Coke, and chicken nuggets as payment.
July 5th, 2008
Bryan got up early with Rees and made sourdough pancakes for everyone for breakfast. They were excellent as usual. The kids and I watched a movie in the car while Bryan visited with Grandma. Today she has more energy and is more alert. She is still very much herself. She told Bryan she would kill him if he damaged her sourdough starter (it’s been alive for many decades). We were talking about the possibility of her being able to swallow, when she said, “I could swallow if they would just give me something to swallow!”
We had lunch at Fiesta Vallarta in “downtown” Delta. I have to admit that I love this kind of Americanized Mexican food (much like Los Hermanos in Utah Valley). The food was yummy but the portions were enormous.
We picked up our stuff from the ranch and went back to the hospital for our last visit this trip. Grandma was still sleepy, but talking well. Still no movement on her right side. The doctors were hoping for more improvement by now. Tomorrow a speech therapist will visit to determine what she is able to swallow. Maryanne has effectively moved to Cedaredge to care for Grandma for as long as it takes, so we said our goodbyes to her for now as well.
The drive back to SLC was uneventful and nice.
June 29th, 2008
We got started later than we planned (shocking!) and thus did not arrive in Colorado until late afternoon. The kids were great during the drive.
The hospital in Delta is small, but very nice - it looks pretty new. We were the first family members to arrive, but Grandma had plenty of company. Her many friends had been keeping a constant watch over her since her arrival at the hospital. She was groggy and unable to move her right side. It was very sad to see her like that. When Bryan’s parents and aunt arrived, the kids were getting a little rambunctious for the ICU, so I took them out for dinner and to a park in Delta to play.
Afterward we picked up Bryan and went to the ranch. Bob stayed at the hospital with Grandma K and sent Maryanne and Anadeane to the ranch with us to get some sleep. Bryan’s cousin Ben also arrived with his little boy William. The mood is definitely somber. Being at the ranch without Grandma just doesn’t make sense.
June 28th, 2008
Today was a pretty busy day for us. In the morning we went to the park to feed the ducks (there are ducklings now too), which is Jamie’s favorite activity. He frequently asks if we can go feed ducks. Then we picked up Berkeley from Kairos. He got to drive the robot while there, and told me, “I only crashed it twice!!!” I don’t think there was any real crashing involved.
We then swam at the Murray Pool for a couple of hours. This is our favorite pool for a couple of reasons. It has a zero-depth entry, which is nice for little kids and babies. It also has nice lawn areas to lay out your stuff. And it has one pretty big slide, which Rees loves. Jamie barely tolerates going down the slide with me. Rees is brave and goes down the slide all by himself (I often just wait at the bottom to help catch him). Berkeley was temporarily banned from the slide for some reason - we never figured it out. He also enjoyed jumping off the diving board a lot. Keeping track of three kids at the pool was more difficult than I expected!
After the pool we had lunch while the kids played at McDonalds, and then we took Berkeley back to Grandma & Grandpa B’s. We went home, got cleaned up, picked up Bryan and went to Orem for dinner with my family. Michael (and Maddie) had birthdays in June, my Grandma Hansen is in town, and my dad just returned from a month in Uganda. So we had plenty to celebrate. Rees presented my dad with his Father’s Day gift - tie-dye socks he made himself. They’re groovy!
While having dinner in Orem, we learned that Grandma K (Bryan’s maternal grandmother) suffered a serious stroke in Colorado tonight. The circumstances around the stroke were actually very fortunate - she was not driving and got fast medical attention. We will be driving to Colorado tomorrow morning, along with Bryan’s parents and Aunt Anadeane.
June 27th, 2008
It’s been a cousin extravaganza around here lately. Today the boys went to Grandma & Grandpa B’s to play on the slip & slide (again) with Amanda, Tyler, and Brielle, and Berkeley. They enjoyed watermelon and played with some neighbor kids before having lunch and playing more inside.
June 26th, 2008
Today James was sitting at the kitchen table having some juice for a snack. I left the room for a minute, and when I came back in, he was standing on the chair. He looked at me and said clearly, “I killed a fly.”
I replied, ‘What?”
Again, clearly, he said, “I killed a fly.” Then he pointed to the floor. There was a dead housefly on the floor below the chair. “Put it in da trash? Peas?”
“You killed a fly?” I said.
“Yep.”
I picked up the fly, put it in the trash, and washed my hands.
“Thank you put it da fly in da trash.”
June 26th, 2008
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