Hot Hot Heat

Well, the relatives have come and gone. It was a good week. We went to the mountains, the beach, and the Seattle Temple. And we sweated a lot--it was hot this week.

You might think that, with the record-breaking heat going on at sea level, the mountains would be a good place to cool off. We thought so, anyway. Wrong. It was still sweltering.


The snow might have been more inviting if it were less...gray.


Luckily, it wasn't too hot to pose for pictures and show off our biceps. Heh.


Maybe we should've gone for a higher mountain. Looks pretty cold up there.

Atttack of the Killer Tomato

Remember a couple months ago, when I was worried about my tomato plant? It looked so sickly:

Well. I obviously know nothing. My tomato is now a renegade...the jig is up, the news is out, they finally found me...uh, sorry. Ahem.

Anyway, check out my "sickly" tomato now:

 

Yeah. It's a monster.

Little Boy Dictionary

The latest of Little Boy's most frequently used words:

 doff = golf
diss moaning = this morning
Bamma = Grandma
Bampa = Grandpa
dittah = guitar
stawbees = strawberries
appah doos = apple juice t
uts = church
teenum buhwuh = peanut butter
bulled ozer = bulldozer
Doo Doos = Blue's Clues s
ote-see sut = short-sleeved shirt
eppane = airplane

Care for the poor

"Throughout history, the Lord has measured societies and individuals by how well they cared for the poor. . . . We might ask ourselves, living as many of us do in societies that worship possessions and pleasures, whether we are remaining aloof from covetousness and the lust to acquire more and more of this world's goods." -D. Todd Christofferson {click image for source}

U-Pick (We Pick) Strawberries

So, a few days after the Strawberry Festival, my mom, my sister, and I went back to the farm to pick strawberries. Oh, and Little Boy came, too.

 
We searched for berries...

 
picked berries...

 
looked cute while standing among the berries...

 
and hauled berries. We ended up with three bucketsful--way more than we needed. That was fine with me. I have a strawberry problem, remember?

 
Mmmmm.

Reverence Is Rooted in Love

“Reverent behavior is not a natural tendency for most children. It is a quality that is taught by parents and leaders through example and training. But remember, if reverence is rooted in love, so is the teaching of it. Harshness in our training begets resentment, not reverence.” -Margaret S. Lifferth

Strawberry Festival

Two weeks ago we headed out to a local berry farm for their annual Strawberry Festival. I don't know if I've mentioned this before, but I have a strawberry problem. If there are strawberries within reach, I will eat them all without even realizing it. All of them. And I don't know why. They're just good, I guess.

So anyway: Strawberry Festival? I'm totally there. Another draw was that everything at the festival was free. Except the berries, of course. But that's a good deal for a family outing.


Why are we here, Mom? Oh, you just wait, Little Boy.


Small strawberry sundae = free.


Our best friends just happened to be there, as well. We didn't plan it.


This is what sealed the deal for Little Boy. The farm had a big green tractor. Well, I'm sure they have more than one tractor, but this one pulled us around the farm on a guided tour. Little Boy was all excited to ride behind the tractor, but once we climbed aboard, he took it really seriously. He sat on his little seat with an all-business look on his face. I think he felt grown up.


And then, of course, there was the playground. He's probably staring out toward the tractor again.

So, in spite of his uncertainty, Little Boy had pretty much the best day ever. And Isaac and I enjoyed ourselves, too. Did I mention the strawberries?

Being Like...

When Little Boy pretends, he says he's "being like" something. For example, "Bein' like Daddy!" Or, "Bein' like Spongebob!" Or, "Bein' like a orange!" [Don't ask.]

So the other day, Little Boy decided to be like "the ditty!" [We don't have a cat. It's my mom's.]


Nope, he's not crawling around...


because my mom's cat is a little bit lazy. The "ditty" is not exactly something that I would personally want to be like. But then again, neither is an orange.

Freedom Quote of the Day

"True independence and freedom can only exist in doing what's right." -Brigham Young [image source]

Bean Counter

Take one Little Boy...

 

add some beans from the pantry that, let's face it, I'm never going to use...

 

...and a measuring cup. And then make it very clear that the beans will stay on the pan. [They didn't, but he tried pretty hard.]

He played with this for half an hour, and I'm sure he would've gone on much longer, but it was nap time. And nap time is very, very important around here.