Iron Chef

I have always maintained that if I could afford to hire any kind of help around the house it would be a chef. Not a maid, chauffeur, gardener or nanny. Yes, I would rather clean toilets than cook. Sometimes I don't really mind it. If I have all the ingredients, time and ideas in the world. But I never have those things. I would much rather be accomplishing something that would have a lasting effect. Not something that will fill our bellies for a few hours and then be gone. But for the most part, I try to cook decent meals for my family. I rarely buy anything ready-made from the freezer aisle or those "just add water" meals.

LAST NIGHT MY DREAM BEGAN TO COME TRUE.

I had started making dinner when I realized that it was time to go pick Carson up from Cub Scouts. I gave Keaton the option of going to pick his brother up or staying home and cooking dinner. He chose to go get Carson. Then he remembered that he's only 12 and can't drive yet. So then he chose to cook. Here's what happened. We were having fettuccine alfredo (not from a jar...see paragraph above), caesar salad and french bread. I had started boiling the water for the noodles, melted the butter for the alfredo sauce and turned the oven on to heat the bread. That's it. I gave him some quick oral instructions and took off. By the time I got home, everything was done and put on the table, which he had also set. We walked in, sat down and ate. It was glorious! And he enjoys cooking, too. His wife is gonna be one lucky girl. I realize that this isn't the most complicated meal ever, but I think that's pretty darn good for a 12 year old boy! I know some adults who don't cook like that.

Cliche Summer

Today the kids were playing outside enjoying summer, and it made me have a flashback to my childhood. Jantzen and her friend were in their swimming suits, eating otter pops in preparation for running through the sprinkler.

To me that is just the perfect thing to do on a summer day. I remember wearing my swimming suit all day long, not even caring who saw me in it. I would be happy to go to the store in it, and so is Jantzen. Aah, the good ole' days.

The boys were down the street selling juice to passers by.

(Notice Carson in THE SHIRT again?)

They started out in front of our house in the shade of our big maple tree. But soon they realized that the stop sign provided them with a captive audience. So they moved in front of our neighbor's house. Before too long, she had provided them with an umbrella for shade, and even bought some juice from them. What great neighbors we have! I didn't think that this pursuit would last too long, but they had a steady stream of customers and made $20 in just a few hours. They can't wait to do it again tomorrow. My boys have been known to be quite the entrepreneurs around here. Last year they sold our surplus of tomatoes from the garden. They have been door to door selling rocks and old matchbox cars. They have held bike washes in our driveway. And once, when Keaton was about 5 or 6 he went door to door selling stickers that came in some junk mail. They have no problems using their cute little sister to gain customers. They just bring her along whenever they're selling stuff. It works like magic.

This is the stuff that summer is made of. Yeah, vacations are fun. Who wouldn't want to take a trip to some amusement park or go camping in the mountains? But I really like this day to day stuff too. The times when you don't know what day it is. You have no thoughts of homework, teachers or grades. You look at your calendar and the day is totally blank. Yeah, summer totally rocks.

The Getaway

Chris had another class in Portland last Friday so we did what we did the last time. We took the whole family and called it a vacation! I love when we can get these (almost) all expense paid trips, courtesy of you, the taxpayer. Gotta love the federal government. Don't worry, I paid my taxes this year too. First we went to the zoo with my mom and sisters. I can't believe how much the zoo has changed since the last time I was there. It took us all day to go through it. The weather was perfect and we had a great time. Here's a picture of Carson trying to feed his cousin, Jace. He loves to hold him and take care of him. He'll be a great dad someday.

Here's a picture of the elusive Messy Hair Jantzen. We saw her just after feeding time, when her mouth was still blue. The zoo keepers say that she is very cute, but she knows it and that creates a problem for the other zoo animals. She uses her blond hair and blue eyes to get away with all sorts of things. The zoo keepers are contemplating keeping her separate from the other animals until she is 18. Then they will turn her loose, hold their breath and hope for the best.Here is a picture of Messy Hair Jantzen's family. Some of them made their mouths blue, too. They are a little weird, but they always have fun together.

Here are some pictures from our trip to the Ape Caves on Mt. St. Helens with Jen and Brian and company. It was nice and cool in there, about 40 degrees. We hiked in about 3/4 mile to the end, then proceeded to take pictures in the total darkness. And I do mean TOTAL DARKNESS! This is black like you've never experienced before. You keep thinking that your eyes will adjust and be able to see something, but it's just too dark! We were a little nervous because the batteries on our head lamps started to die but we made it out.

This is where you have to crawl on your hands and knees to get to the very end. I stayed out of there, thank you very much. From left is Brenley, Cole, Keaton, Carson, Chris, Brian, Brenley and Blake. I'd like to tell you where Jennifer and Jantzen were, but like I said earlier it was pretty dark in there. I couldn't even tell who was in my viewfinder until after I took the picture.

This is right outside the caves.

On the way home we saw a U-Pick Blueberries sign. This is one of my favorite things about summer. I love all the fresh fruits, vegetables and especially berries. We normally buy about 6 flats of blueberries in the summer, then freeze them for use throughout the year. This year we ran out in March. It's been a long four months without blueberries! This is our work crew with their buckets ready for some serious picking. We probably ate almost as much as we picked.

This is me, one seriously happy berry lovin' mama! The only thing that made me happier was when we made blueberry cobbler that night in the dutch oven. Mmmm.

The kids organized a guitar hero tournament that night while we waited for the dessert. I think it was rigged. I played against Keaton and lost in a matter of about 5 seconds. They should have paired me up with someone more equal to my ability, like maybe a turkey.

Chris and Brian have way better skills than their wives. I think they secretly practice while they're at work or something.

We also spent a day at Seaside. On the way there, Chris and I were talking about how long it had been since we went to the beach. The statistics are pretty sad. I was pregnant with Jantzen the last time we were there, and she is now almost five! The first time she saw the ocean was when she was three and we went on a cruise to the Bahamas. So she saw the Atlantic before the Pacific. And my mom (hi mom!) had the honors of showing her the Pacific for the first time a few weeks ago when they were with her for "Mom's sanity week." Yes, we are terrible at going to the beach. But keep in mind that it is at least four hours away. So that redeems us a little bit, doesn't it?

Here's Carson flying a kite. He LOVED this, and did it for most of the time that we were there.

Keaton and Blake digging a hole. What is it with boys and digging? They could do this for hours. Maybe even days. I think they would dig to China if they could.

This is the elusive Jantzen, trying to run away again. We learned that she thrives in a coastal habitat, dining on saltwater taffy and ice cream.

We rented the car of the future. Not only does it take care of the problem with high gas prices, but also helps with the obesity epidemic. This was a bicycle for 11, and it was so much fun! We powered up a little hill, then cruised down screaming the whole way. We got a lot of stares, mostly because Chris was zig zagging the whole way down. They required that the driver have an actual driver's license, but I think maybe they should have done a psychological evaluation too! We went on more than one sidewalk, and I haven't laughed that hard in awhile. I'm in the market for a five seater. Let me know if you see any.

The Tile Girl Has Struck Again!

It's a bird. It's a plane. It's tile girl! And she has grout stuck permanently beneath her fingernails.

A few weeks back I wrote about how I was going to replace these tiles while the kids were at Grandma's. I didn't finish it before they came home, but I got a good start. And a few days ago I actually finished the job. It took a lot of blood, sweat and tears. Well, maybe not the blood. Or the tears. But I did sweat. But that probably has more to do with the 105 degree weather we've been having. Anyways, I'm VERY PROUD to say that I did this ALL. BY. MYSELF. Just in case you're wondering why Chris didn't do this, well, I wouldn't let him. I like to do projects around the house and I just wanted to know if I could do it. And now I have the pride of knowing that I did! And I learned how to use a new tool, the wet saw. And if you've never used one, here's a hint. Wear grubby clothes because it sprays yucky water at you. But enough with my meaningless chatter. On with the pictures!

You may remember my "before" picture.

And here's the finished product. TA DA!

And the best part about it is that it was all free! Well, kind of. It was all done with leftovers from our bathroom remodel project that we did last year. So yes, it does match our bathroom. But that bathroom is a long walk from our front door. And if you're a good enough friend to travel that deep into Wrathall territory then you know me well enough to know that I love a good bargain! And the fact that I recycled this stuff makes me twice as happy.

Cabbage Patch Duty

Tonight we had the rare occasion of having a baby in the house. I was babysitting for my friend, Michelle and the baby was kinda fussy at first. Being a girl, of course Jantzen loves babies. Carson also loves babies and puppies and other cuddly things that you wouldn't expect from an eight year old boy. So this was a bit of a novelty for us. At first they would shake all sorts of toys in front of her when she cried. But then I thought that maybe that was why she was crying in the first place. So I shooed them away and put her in her walker by the patio door so that she could watch the dog pant and drool on the glass. Well, she still decided to cry after awhile. Carson realized that if he did the cabbage patch in front of her she would stop. It worked every time. As soon as he would stop she would start crying again. So he was put on official "Cabbage Patch Duty". It was so cute because when we were eating dinner Jantzen would feed him while he was dancing. It became a real team effort. Good thing we weren't eating something like spaghetti.

(Yes, I do see what he is wearing. I swore I'd never let my kids dress like that, but he LOVES this shirt. It's from two soccer seasons ago. He had it signed by cousins, aunts, uncles, grandparents, parents and even the dog. Then when all the ink started to fade from so many washings he traced over them again. When I put the laundry away I always put it in the bottom of his drawer but it somehow floats to the top at least twice a week. Oh well, choose your battles, right?)

Anywho, back to our original story...
After awhile Jantzen joined in on Cabbage Patch Duty

Then Keaton decided to throw in some running man just for good measure. And probably because he saw that I had the camera out and he never likes to miss an opportunity to ham it up. Yes, we're a bunch of fruit cakes. I hope the baby recovers from all our craziness. She may need counseling someday.

Summer is here!

The days that we all look forward to... 100 degree weather, flowers dying, high gas prices and huge electric bills from the air conditioning. Nevertheless, this is my favorite time of year. I love when I can wake up and ask myself, "What do I want to do today?" And then do it. Well, okay, I guess my life isn't THAT perfect, but sometimes I get to do that, if what I want to do includes grocery shopping, cooking and cleaning.

This morning the kids and I got up early for some good ole family exercise. They rode their bikes and I jogged to the school, then we all (except for Jantzen) took four laps around the track and headed home. It was great! I had been trying to figure out a way that we could all exercise together with our different abilities and fitness levels. My normal distance of 3-4 miles is too far for the kids to run. But if they bike along side me while I run it's too slow for them to get a good workout. So this works out good. The high school is about 1.5 miles from home, and the bike ride serves as a good warm up for them. If the kids get too tired on the run then they can just sit out a couple of laps. We can all run our own pace, which for Carson is WAY faster than the rest of us. There is also a water fountain and a bathroom there. What more could a mother want? I'm looking forward to doing this some more this summer and watching their progress as well as mine. I'm REALLY looking forward to the time when Jantzen can ride her bike all the way home without me pushing her. (It's slightly uphill).

In other news...

Carson and Jantzen started swimming lessons this week. They really like it and Jantzen especially looks forward to it each day.

Mr. Cheesy Grin, er I mean Carson almost always has a smile on his face. People are constantly commenting to me about his perma-smile. They loved to watch him in track because he would be smiling all through his events. The only time he stopped smiling was during the 1500 because in his mind that is SERIOUS business. But I think he was smiling when he sprinted to the finish. I was always asked if I had to pick lots of bugs out of his teeth.

My sister Kyla complained that there are no pictures of me on here and well, she's right. I always seem to be the one behind the camera. So Jantzen took this picture of me the other day at the pool. I know it's not the greatest, but I don't really lead a very glamorous life. And Kyla if you're reading this, I think it counts for ten pictures since I was in my swimming suit! Now don't ask again!