It begins

My sweet Max has been bugging us about eating school lunch. We tell him that it's cheaper for us to send him with a packed lunch instead. We also talked with him while packing his lunch about what he wanted to bring, with a nice side of healthy.

I thought he was getting the message, until I picked him up at school last Thursday. He excitedly told me "I had chicken nuggets and milk today for lunch!" Then he handed me a piece of paper that said essentially, "Dear Max's mom, you owe $1.35 for a school lunch purchase."

We have decided to look ahead at the school lunch menu with Max and decide if there's a meal he wants to eat at school once a week or so. This week it's a corn dog. He has been telling EVERYONE he meets about it (maybe he needs to visit Aunt Suzanne. She has been experimenting!).

It's also time to have a better discussion about money.

Friends and hot dogs

Once a year we go up the canyon with Darren, Melanie, and their young Mr. Awesomeness (JB's nickname for their son) and roast hot dogs and marshmallows.

Max was a good helper with the wood (but stayed a good distance from the fire). Me, I like to chat. This picture below makes me think of Genie from Aladdin. "Look at me from the side, do I look different to you?

The boys loved the creek. Which meant I hovered over and stuck to them like a glue helicopter.

I was musing about this the other day. Why is American food so good? Hot dogs, marshmallows, fried chicken, ice cream, meat, potatoes. I love it. Sure I like "foreen" fare but lately I'm all about comfort food.

Dads and Kids

I am a month late in posting these pictures from our church's Dads and Kids campout. It rained and rained but Max and Ben didn't mind. JB did -- he said he barely slept listening to the thunder and worrying about being outside in a tent near lightening.

During this yearly campout I watch chick flicks, clean the house, and sleep spread out diagonally on the bed with all the pillows. But I love to have my guys back again with me the next day.

Scott and Emily

Congratulations to JB's little brother Scott and his wife Emily, who were sealed 10 days ago in the Salt Lake Temple.

JB's sister Sarah took the pictures. I think besides being a nurse, she should be a wedding photographer.

Emily's fun. She lets me experiment with fabric and crochet flowers for her hair. And she doesn't mind us calling her "Big Emily" to distinguish from our neice "Little Emily," who is 4.

The eats

What would a vacation be without good food? We (including Benny above) loved Nikos Gyros in Magnolia Village.

Last time JB and I were in Seattle we ate at the Crab Pot. My siblings went one night, and another night we made our own seafood feast at my brother's house.

On the menu: shrimp cocktails, shrimp/scallops scampi, bacon-wrapped scallops, crab legs, citrus salmon and I can't remember what else. So. Good.

JB and I ate at The Totem House near the Ballard Locks. Very good fish and chips.

On our way to Seattle we stopped at Donnie Mac's Trailer Park Cuisine in Boise (we saw it on the Food Network's Diners Drive-ins and Dives).

The best part was the decor. Benny and Max and I ate in an old car on blocks in the middle of the restaurant!

(Look at Benny exploring under the table)

We ate at Pizzalchik in Boise on the return trip, and at Slim's Last Chance Chili Shack in Seattle as well. Both have also been featured on the Food Network. We are food tourists, what can I say.

The fun

We heart the beach in Seattle. That's where the photographer took pictures of us as well, and here's her blog post about that.

My mom and sisters:

Can you believe how cute my little nephew Jacob is? I blogged about him before, when he was born 2 months early last year. Now he's a chunky smiley guy who likes to eat sand!

Here are my siblings playing frisbee with my dad for a while:

Benny and Max never wanted to leave.

We also spent a lot of time at the park near Michael and Bethany's house.

We went to the Ballard Locks one day, where we watched the ships go through and saw the fish ladder of salmon swimming upstream. Very cool. But no camera battery so alas no pictures of that. In the evenings, my siblings and I played tons of games. And they introduced me to the shows "Dr Who," and "Dr Horrible's Sing Along Blog." I will never be the same.

My only regrets were not being able to visit dear friends from college that live in Washington, and a cousin that lives there as well. I barely had time to see my own mother!

Visit to my grandparents

While in Seattle last week, JB and I drove to Oak Harbor to where my dad grew up, to visit my grandparents. This was the first time they met Max and Ben. It was so nice to see them, as they don't travel any more. Plus the island is so beautiful. It was Labor Day, so the ferries were packed. We drove over Deception Pass instead. I think my dad is tempted to move back there because he kept talking about how green everything was.

Family reunion!

Labor Day weekend we were in Seattle for a family reunion! Almost my whole family (minus 3 of the 12 siblings) were able to spend up to a week together at my brother Michael's house. Big thanks to Michael and Bethany and their 2 darling boys for giving up their bedrooms, floor space, and probably a little sanity to host us all.


Max and Benny loved their cousins Nathanael and Jacob.


They would watch movies on the computer together.

Here are my boys with my parents.

We had a photographer take our family pictures.
Back row: my sisters Emily and Sarah, my parents, my sister Rachel, my brother Stephen. Middle row: Brothers James and Joe, my sister Rebekah. Bottom row: me & JB and our boys, then Bethany and Michael and their boys.

We were missing Seth (on a mission in Indiana) Peter (couldn't get off work) and Enoch (passed away).

Rachel drove up and back with us. She was such a saint to help the boys during the 13 hour drive. I think they watched Madagascar 4 times.

I miss everybody already! I hope to post soon about more of the fun things we did, and of course the eats.

Kindergarten

My firstborn started kindergarten last week.

Sitting on the spot on the mat with his name:

Walking with Benny:

Max goes to all-day kindergarten, so he isn't done until 3 PM. We miss him during the day but love to hear about what he is learning everyday. And who knew Benny talked so much when he's by himself?!