One More Time with Feeling

Okay during the last 3 weeks, I think Parker had no less than 3 birthday celebrations,
I had one, Jeremy had one, we had a joint one,
and then there was our friend's baby's birthday
somewhere there in the middle.

So, last weekend we were barely able to muster up
enough enthusiasm for another birthday party;
this time with 5 middle-school boys.

There are a lot of "your mama is so fat..."
and "your mama is so dumb..." jokes.
I had no idea.

After a couple hours around our house hopped up on pizza and cupcakes,
we took them to Richmond Ice Zone where they could cool off.

Parker did awesome, this was only his 3rd time,
but he was tearin' it up out there.

Ah, boys.

First day of (gulp!) Middle School

What a cool kid, eh? Especially with those rad shoelaces!
He had a great first week in 6th grade.
He made 3 new friends right away and is fitting in just fine in his new school.
All the 8th graders seem like giants in comparison,
but he'll hit his growth spurt soon enough.
I was only a LITTLE misty-eyed when I dropped him off the first day.

End of Summer Wrap Up

So, the summer's officially over- happens every year after my birthday.

I was 31 this time. Shouldn't I have gotten 31 cupcakes?!?!

Celebrating growing old with style!

Over the summer break, Parker played with Legos
for about 6 hours every day.

We went to the zoo and saw some awesome animals,
like these baby tigers taking an afternoon nap.

Or these penguins, that seemed more than willing to pose for this picture.

Parker's favorite animals at the zoo are always the ones he gets to touch.
(And the ones with the stinkiest saliva, probably.)

Like this giraffe, who licked Parker's hand for about 10 minutes.

Jeremy is getting old, too- he turned 31 in August.

I got him a new watch. Just look at the gratitude in that expression!

Isaac, Katie, Lily and Hudson to visit one Sunday afternoon.
We took them to the awesome park designed for kids in wheelchairs,
and Lily had a blast zooming around everywhere.

And SOME of us took naps.

Parker is the big ONE ONE

Parker's birthday was yesterday!

He got a LOT of Legos.

He spent ALL DAY building those things.

Well, he did take a couple breaks to enjoy his birthday dinner
(homemade chili) and his birthday dessert
(homemade lemon pound cake).
And we took a trip to Ironbridge Sports Park to race go-karts
and hit some balls on the driving range.

What's that, you ask? A sunburn?
Oh no. That's just the RASH Parker gets when he gets so excited
about something that he can't stand it.
What, YOUR kid doesn't break out in a rash?!?!

It must be all the adrenaline or something.
This was the worst we've ever seen it!
Guess that means he was having a REALLY good time!

Happy Birthday, Parker!
(FYI, the rash disappeared about 2 minutes after the go-kart races were over.)

Hangin' Out in Utah

Parker & I spent 10 days in Utah- the longest stretch of time
since we moved in 2001. It was kind of momentous.

To celebrate, Dad made homemade Butterfinger and root beer ice creams
with the old ice cream maker. I think the thing is something like 50 years old.
Maybe it was discovered when Utah was settled. I don't know.

Parker at the Utah Planetarium, exploring Mars.

A lesson in car repairs...which Parker doesn't seem too convinced of.

At long last, Parker got to ride in one of those motorized jeeps.
Every kid in America always wants one of these things,
and most parents roll their eyes when they see them going for $100 at the store.
Addie's jeep came from the thrift store, lucky girl.
I think Parker bent his legs in half and just ignored the pain so he could fit inside!

As if it wasn't cool enough to watch a movie at the Planetarium,
they also gave us these awesome and extremely flattering sunglasses.

Dynamic trio: Addie, Parker & me!

One night just us siblings went out to dinner. It was a blast!
We couldn't stop laughing the whole time.
We can't wait to do it again, when the other 2 brothers can join us.

This was the night where Candace bowled in slow motion
with a 6 pound ball the entire night and yet she beat ALL of us.

The kids chillin' at the aquarium....

Did you know Nemo's dad lives there?

Also spent some time at the man-made beach in Herriman.
This is the day my freckles came out- the ones I hadn't seen in years.
Or maybe Candace's freckles are just contagious.

Chefs Addie & Parker, at your service.

Attempts at a sibling picture....eventually we got a normal one.
But obviously it was not as interesting as this one.

Parker & Grandpa after one of their rides
into the sunset on the motorcycle.

We are FAM-I-LEE....

Parker & I finally made it to a Williams' family reunion!
Just feast your eyes on all these relatives!
2 are in utero, and I think about half a dozen
couldn't make it for one reason or another....Our four families rented cabins on Fish Lake,
high in the mountains of southern Utah.

We weren't exactly "roughing" it...The cabins were fully furnished and featured a large kitchen,
huge deck facing the lake, 4 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, and cable.
A must for the HGTV aficionados in our family.

If you squint, maybe you can imagine Scott (in CA) and Jeremy (in VA) in this picture.
(Photoshop magic is forthcoming!)

There was a whole lotta fishing and a whole lotta talk about fish,
but I only saw two of them the 3 days I was there:This crusty one my sister kept throwing rocks at, to see if it was "hard" or "squishy."

And this one. My uncle Dave caught the only note-worthy specimen.
Fortunately, we did NOT have that for dinner!
(Although one of the pregnant cousins did.
I'll have to attribute the consumption of something
that disgusting to hormonal fluctuations.)

Me, cousin Alyssa, and baby (well, she used to be!) sister Candace.

(The whitest leg is mine.)

I don't even know how many chairs that is.
It's where we sat and ate the dinner grub together
and played games during the last night.
(It was also where the highest concentration of mosquitoes could be found.)
We missed having Grandma & Grandpa there with us,
but Grandpa was still recuperating in the hospital.
I would have loved to hear Grandma's quiet voice
singing into the darkness: "I love the mountains, I love the rolling hills....."