The Storm Before the (Relative) Calm

Homemade Lemonade, and tomato/basil/mozzarella salad. 

We (I) spent this week running around like a mad person trying to get everything on my (very long) list done before we leave on vacation this week. It didn’t help that 1) Russell took off for a conference in Utah on Thursday morning and 2) we’re back the day before school starts. Which means I need to get EVERYTHING done that needs to be done before school starts now.

We ran errands, got tennis shoes (so exciting) for those who needed them, I got my hair did (it’s no longer red; I came home and the girls said, “I liked it red.” There’s no pleasing them), went to doctor’s appointments (I think Caitlyn is the only person on the face of the earth who looks forward to checkups), canned salsa and tomatoes and relish (yeah, I know. But I needed *something* to do with the zucchini and cucumbers), went to the pool (three times), volunteered at the library (last day for Caitlyn, at least), and watched Big Bang Theory (working through season 3, now) and the Olympics.

Tomato/cheese sandwich.

It was a packed week, on in which I had no time to sit down and read (except for my breaks at work), or do much of anything (well, not true. I did lots. But nothing fun.)

Tomato/cucumber/onion salad

And on that note, we’re heading towards the southwest on Tuesday. It’s been hot enough here that we looked at the weather in Santa Fe, Moab and Salt Lake City and said, “Wow, that’ll be a relief!” I don’t know if I’ll write next week; it depends on whether or not we bail on camping in Moab and actually get a hotel. Or if I feel up to it after four days of camping...

And on that note...

(Hope you enjoyed my three favorite ways to have fresh tomatoes.)

101 Things to Do With Zucchini

This becomes an issue when you wantonly plant 3 mounds of zucchini plants in May, saying, "I hope this will be enough," and it turns into enormous piles of zucchini. (You'll have to imagine it, because I didn't take pictures of it.) Then, you start to wonder: what the heck do I DO WITH ALL THIS ZUCCHINI???

Well, for starts, you do what you intended to do with it in the first place:

Grate it up to freeze, so we can have manicotti and zucchini quesadillas all winter.

But after you have more than enough shredded frozen zucchini, then you start to wonder again: WHAT DO I DO WITH IT ALL. Then you grill some... 

Brushed with olive oil and sprinkled with salt and pepper before grilling. Quite yummy.

Then you find a recipe to make pancakes:

With Parmesan cheese in the mix. Also quite yummy.

And you try breading and frying straight:

Meh, not so much.

Then you find another recipe to make Jade Sauce:

Jade Sauce = pureed zucchini with garlic and salt and pepper.

And put that on pasta:

Not bad. Not great, but not bad.

Then you really start getting desperate, and turn to adding zucchini to junk food:

Actually, they're muffins, not cupcakes, but they were quite decadent. And very yummy.

And canning them:

Zucchini pickles. Interesting.

Before you finally turn to a childhood memory:

Zubeefy! Not a big hit around here...

Then you finally call uncle and start giving them away. *whew* Maybe no zucchini plants next year....

It's *Only* 95 in the Shade

There are a TON of pictures of Alison on the computer.

And we managed to have a great week.

 

Granted, a lot of that was because the Berthelsons came to visit Wednesday afternoon through Friday morning, but that’s beside the point. It was a good week. In spite of the heat. In spite of the late-summer blues. In spite of the corn dying and the abundance of zucchini (wait until I get around to putting up the zucchini post!). And that, my friends, is something.

 

Good things this week:

 

As I mentioned, Janice and the kids (Marie, Andrew, Camille, Emma and Rachel) came to visit. That really was the highlight of the week, especially since while we knew they were coming, we didn’t know when, so it was a wee bit of a surprise. Anyway, we had a grand time. Talked, played lots of games, ate, talked, played – it was a lot like having cousins here, since I really didn’t see Alison and Kristen for two days, and even Caitlyn and Andrew got along (I was a bit worried, since they’re 12 now and I thought it might be a bit awkward, but it wasn’t, really) – and Janice was a dear and played babysitter on Thursday while both Russell and I went to work. (I’m a terrible host. She’s a lovely guest.) It was wonderful to catch up (since it’d been three years since their last visit), and I don’t know if we’ll see them any more now that they’re moving to Mississippi (even though Mississippi is on the way to Florida, hmmm....), but I’m always glad when we do. Go here for pictures, if you’re interested.

One of our favorite groups, the San Antonio Crossmen.

 

It was also a good week because Tuesday, Megan and I snuck out and went to Drums Across Kansas, which is our annual summer drum and bugle corps competition. I used it as part of “make up work” for Megan since she’s missing marching band camp, but honestly: I just wanted to go see marching bands without the football interruption. I wasn’t disappointed, although I don’t quite know what Megan thought about it all. There were six bands and at least half were fabulous, and two we (well, me) really, really liked. It was hot sitting there (95 in the shade!), but there was a nice breeze, and it cooled off a wee bit as the sun went down. It was all quite fun, and I’d love to go back next year.

 

In between the two big events, we went swimming, to the library (a really fun magic program this week), to see Dark Knight Rises (I really like Batman. Really. Like. Avengers is better fluff overall, but this was a good ending to a good trilogy.), to get haircuts (well, Megan and Caitlyn got theirs evened out; and I remembered the downside of going to a cosmetology school to get cuts: cheap prices, but sometimes the cuts. take. forever. THREE HOURS TO TRIM AND STRAIGHTEN HAIR?????), to get temple recommends, and to the stake jubilee celebration (it’s been 50 years since the first stake was organized here in Wichita; the celebration consisted of dinner and a talent show; somehow we missed the memo that there were water games outside, which made Alison and Kristen sad). 

 

And Caitlyn gave her first talk in church today about pioneers. She did a great job (did we doubt that the child with the bent for theater would do a great job giving a talk?), and told some stories my dad had sent her (thanks, Dad!). And the rest of the day, we’ve been hiding out in the basement, enjoying the relative cool. Here’s hoping the heat breaks in time for us to go camping out west...

And the Berthelsons Came to Visit

We knew, kind of, that our old friends from Arkansas, the Berthelsons, were coming to visit. We just didn't quite know when. So, when we got the email on Monday saying they'd be here Wednesday afternoon, we didn't have a whole lot of time to prepare.

Thankfully Janice and the kids (five of the seven this time) don't really need that much to entertain them.

We played LOTS of games (Their favorites were The Great Dalmuti -- of course -- and Domininon.):

Cooed over the adorable 1-year-old (the best babies are other people's):

Chatted a lot (there was a lot of catching up to do, and I love just talking to Janice; she's wonderful.):

Read and played with our age-mates (and stayed up way too late!):

Played dress-up (this is why we adore Andrew; he was the only male, aside from Russell, and he didn't blink an eye):

Played in the fountains at the park (no pictures of that), and bought donuts from the Donut Whole to eat:

And basically had a grand old time!

They're off to live in northern Mississippi (just outside of Memphis), and we're thinking that if (when?) we head to Florida for a vacation, we'll have to swing by and say hi for more fun times. It's always wonderful to see old, good friends.

It's About Time!

In the midst of everything else that went on this week, this happened:

She was VERY excited!

For the record

Here's where "Then everything changed when the fire nation attacked!" came from:

Then Everything Changed When the Fire Nation Attacked!

One of the many uses for tomatoes.

A couple of weeks ago Megan found, on some site or other that she goes to, a little saying that basically went “Everything is more exciting when you add ‘then everything changed when the fire nation attacked’ to the end of it.” It’s true, actually. In the same way that any book title is funnier if you add ‘in your pants’ to the end.

Perhaps, by adding ‘then everything changed...’ our week will sound more exciting. Because, heaven knows, we’ve hit the mid-summer doldrums, when the kids start watching too much computer/TV, and it’s too hot to play outside, unless we’re at the pool, and one can only go to the pool so many days a week before we start getting sick of that. (Then everything changed when the fire nation attacked!)

Even so. We did manage to do a couple things this week. (In between my working, of course.) (Then everything changed when the fire nation attacked!)

Megan spent the week recuperating from her surgery. She’s finally starting to come out of the drug-induced fog; it helps that we went for the follow up appointment on Thursday and they told her to get off the narcotic and start taking plain ibuprofen. Suddenly, she has more energy. Though she was complaining about being nocturnal. And, she needs to get off her rear end and sell peaches as a fund-raiser for India and practicing her clarinet; she got the marching band music in the mail and the new director wants them to memorize it this year.... Eep! (Then everything changed when the fire nation attacked!)

Caitlyn spent the week wrapped up in a mystery play for the library. She went to rehearsals a couple times for a couple hours each, enjoying the opportunity to inhabit a character (this time a bratty daughter of an art museum owner) and then relishing the chance to perform. She was even proud of the fact that she was one of the few people accused of committing the crime (and the most accused as well!) at the end, even if she didn’t do it. It just meant she was putting on a good show. Which she always does! She also went to see Brave with friends on Friday, but was slightly disappointed that we went out to eat without her. (Then everything changed when the fire nation attacked!)

Alison went swimming every day (swimming lessons!) and even passed Level 3 with flying colors. She complained (somewhat mightily) about Tae Kwon Do (which is NOT her thing, even if martial arts are good for her self-esteem and confidence). She had a grand time attending the mystery play with Caitlyn, even though Caitlyn refused to give Alison a heads up about anything (good for her!). She had a play date with her friend Sophia, and then slept over only to come home at 2 a.m. after throwing up. She blames the pizza. (I’m starting to wonder if all that ketchup is wreaking havoc on the poor girls’ stomach...) Anyway, she spent yesterday on the couch playing in Pottermore (hey, Chamber of Secrets is up!) but still had enough energy to go swimming with the family. Silly girl. (Then everything changed when the fire nation attacked!)

Kristen went swimming every day, too, enjoying the time to hang out with her new friend Taylor (who, of course, we will never see again. But that doesn’t really matter, does it? (But that all changed when the fire nation attacked!)) She talked me into going to Target for gum, and we came away with backpacks and lunch boxes. It must be time to start thinking about going back to school. Already?? (Yep: we start two days after returning home from the Fox Family reunion. Woot?) Anyway. She loves her new backpack! She also had gymnastics, watched WAY too much TV (she’s taking after Caitlyn with that...), and enjoyed the library program we took her to on Friday. We also went out for pizza (since it was just the four of us), and she entertained us all with her story telling, which involves a lot of physical gestures. It’s pretty impressive. (Then everything changed when the fire nation attacked!)

As for me, I’m deep in the middle of trying to figure out ways to use all the stuff that’s coming out of the garden. Batches of salsa, diced tomatoes, bread and butter pickles. And 101 ways to use zucchini. We’re actually starting to get sick of that... Our laptop is fixed (well, mostly; I can’t figure out how to get it to talk to the computer downstairs so I can listen to my music upstairs; Russell says, “Go down and get a CD and put it in the CD player!” Well, where’s the fun in that??), which makes us very happy. (Me, especially, since Comic Con was this weekend, and I wanted to watch YouTube videos of the Firefly reunion panel.) (Then everything changed when the fire nation attacked!)

And church today was nice; we had all our father’s day talks today because the bishop forgot it was father’s day back in June. Well, at least we had them, right?? (Then everything changed when the fire nation attacked!)

Stay cool! (Then everything changed when the fire nation attacked!) (Did it work?)

Swimming!

We just wrapped up our annual two-week swimming bonanza. This time, only Alison and Kristen felt the urge to get in the pool first thing in the morning every day for two weeks, but I'm here to attest that they are certifiable FISH.

The most important thing is that they had a grand time. Kristen was all about making friends (which she did), and Alison was about getting better at her strokes. I did ask if she wouldn't mind swimming being her "thing" (since Tae Kwon Do -- which was the other thing she was attempting this summer -- is not) and she said, "Yes!" She loves the water, she loves swimming and she's good at it.

As for Kristen, last year, she was in the tot pre-class, so I only expected her to get through level one. For whatever reason, her teachers decided to challenge her, and she almost -- just two measly little things, swimming the front crawl and the back stroke for 15 feet -- passed level TWO. She was upset, only seeing the failure; it took a long time for me to convince her that this was an INCREDIBLY AWESOME thing for a 6-year-old to do.  I'm still not sure she believes me.

As it is, we're done until next year. With lessons, anyway. We're still game for swimming at the Y.

Independence Day 2012

First, we went to Lake Afton. (Well, first FIRST, we were LAZY. And bought fireworks.)

We were a bit crazy out in the "deep" end.

How Kristen preferred to play in the lake. She was a bit bothered that she couldn't see the bottom.

Then we ate ice cream at Braums. And we came home and watched Tintin. And ate brats and dogs (which are All-American, right?). And then we lit off our own fireworks!

Yes, she really was that anxious about holding a sparkler.

It was a lot of fun!

Hair

Because July is boring. Or because they needed a change. Or just... because...

It's Broked

Obviously in more ways than one, too!

See, our laptop, where I usually do ALL my writing/photos/emails/etc. is on the fritz.  We took it in, and it came back with the diagnosis that the hard drive is failing. *sigh* So, I'm in the process of transferring anything and everything important off it to the downstairs computer (Megan: "It's going to slow that computer down...") so we can get a new hard drive. Sometimes, technology is SO inconvenient.

Thankfully, Russell was able to check out a laptop from the university, so all is not lost (or even than inconvenient). And hopefully, we'll have our laptop back before we miss it (too much). I do think, however, that the music/photo files will be better off on the newer, bigger, faster, computer downstairs, though. Or maybe we should look into getting a separate hard drive for music?? *sigh* These are the times I wish I knew more.

So, the week.

Alison and Kristen started swimming lessons. I don't really know about them, but I really like it when swimming lesson time comes around. Something about having a destination every day -- this year at 9:15 a.m. -- and it's always fun to watch the girls be enthusiastic in the water. And the fact that they learn so much. 

We spent the Fourth being lazy. It's been hot again this week (funny, but after last year, the heat doesn't seem to be bothering me too much), and we decided to be cheap: we were lazy in the morning, then after lunch packed up and went to a nearby big puddle, Lake Afton, and went swimming for two hours. Then we got ice cream, watched The Adventures of Tintin (not bad, a bit over the top), and set off fireworks in our driveway. Actually, we realized that Alison and Kristen had never had the opportunity to set off fireworks themselves before; we've always opted to do the  big fireworks instead. But, this year, they didn't have any big fireworks, so little ones in our driveway it was. And we had a grand time. Partially because our neighbors down the street (the ones with the 10 cars in the driveway!) spent a good amount of money on fireworks, and we watched theirs after ours were done until we were tired.

And on Friday, Megan got her wisdom teeth pulled. She did well both during surgery (yes, all four came out) and afterward. She's been basically moping (or maybe it's more a dazed stumbling) around the house for the past three days, and aside from the chipmunk cheeks and a residual pain on the right side, she's doing great. We have a follow-up appointment this week, so we'll see if it really is all good. At any rate, it's done and we don't have to worry about it. (On the other hand, all three of her sisters are a bit freaked out about getting theirs pulled now.)

And today's been nice. I think it's finally "cooling" down; only a balmy 91 instead of 105. (Something for you Eastern people to look forward to.) Russell might even insist upon leaving the windows open tonight.

What This Blog Needs:

You're welcome.

25 Positive Things About the Week

Caitlyn's on the far left in the green swimsuit. Megan's in the purple striped top in the middle.

1. Our garden is growing quite well this year.

2. We have lots and lots of zucchini.

3. We're (well I'm) not sick of it. Yet.

4. That's because I'm being creative in how to serve it. Though I haven't made Zubeefy. Yet.

5. We picked blackberries and made jam.

6. We also picked peaches, and canned those.

7. Alison and Kristen were lots of help picking fruit.

8. We saw Mirror, Mirror, which Alison and Kristen really liked. (It was worth the $3 we paid for it on Flashback Tuesday)

9. We have membership at the Y, which comes in handy when you have a week of 100+ temps.

10. We're not sick of the heat. Yet.

11. Russell, Megan and Caitlyn survived the heat at girls' camp.

12. They also had a grand time. Even Caitlyn, who was a bit anxious about it.

13. Everyone gets "names" during their fourth year. Megan's is "Velma" (from Scooby Doo), which she doesn't like, but I think is great. 

14. On the upside, the naming ceremony was really cool.

15. Caitlyn met a lot of fun new people.

16. She also managed to snag the best bunk in their tent. Which made her happy.

17. Russell got to sleep in the air-conditioned lodge.

18. And he didn't lose the cell phone.

19. The first thing they did when they got home was eat and shower. They were very grateful for air conditioning, too.

20. I got offered an interesting opportunity with a start-up company as a "book expert".

21. We don't know much about that; we'll find out more when I talk to the guy on Tuesday.

22. I also got an email from a publisher gushing about a review I wrote for work.

23. Church today was nice; a lot of the girls and leaders who went to camp bore their testimony. 

24. We're refinancing our house (I'm grasping at straws here!), which will help.

25. I didn't kill the children who were squabbling and complaining all week. (See?)