M.I.A.

The blog has been neglected, but it's because we've been having too much fun to stop and blog about it. It's also because I find I'm taking fewer pictures these days: having three kids during the day means I rarely have one or two free hands to hold a camera and take a picture. And when I have no pictures, I'm less likely to update the blog. It's a vicious cycle.The summer is almost over; school starts next week. We've visited nearly every park, splash park, and museum within 10 miles. Often we go to parks not intending to get in the water, but it happens anyway......and then Phoebe ends up in her diaper and her outfit hangs out to dry in the sun on the fence. Two weekends ago, we went camping with friends. There was some miscommunication (or more like non-communication) about bug spray, so Bruce didn't get any. He came out with 52 mosquito bites, Phoebe with 3, Scott with 0, and me with 2. Phoebe loved hanging out in the tent. Her favorite blankie came along on the trip (of course) and was dragged along the ground and all over the forest. It went straight into the washer when we got home.Bruce found a toad on our hike. It immediately peed on his hand and he was grossed out, so he wiped it on his shirt. That went straight to the washer too.Scott carried Phoebe on the hike......and she got a good nap from it. Many of our hikes end this way.

During last weekend's hurricane (which wasn't much to blog about, I am told), I took the kids to Ohio for a weekend of grandparent spoilage. We visited Marissa and Tevita's new baby, Asena, and I hung out with all three of my sisters for the first time in a long time. I tried to pack light, so I took my little camcorder instead of my big fat DSLR. Expect some awesome videos to appear on the blog in the next few days.

Summer of the Video Game

Bruce has a new best friend - who just so happens to live underneath us. This convenient arrangement means Bruce often goes downstairs to play while the girls nap, or T comes up here to escape from his two sisters. They've had two sleepovers this summer and wish they could share a room all the time. Apparently being separated by 10 feet is too much.

I asked Bruce why he liked his friend so much. He said, "He has way more video games than me." Hopefully that means Bruce likes that T is good at sharing.

Indeed, their favorite activity is to play video games. T has a Wii with Lego Star Wars. We have a Star Wars "plug and play" game (the Darth Vader-shaped controller is in T's hands) that isn't that fancy, but still captivates the boys for a few minutes at a time.

Summer is nearing an end: school starts in a little over two weeks. Time to put the video games down...

Watching for Whales

Whale watching has been on my to-do list for a long time and I finally got to check it off today. The weather was perfect and we had a free morning. We took the train to Long Wharf and got our tickets, then wandered to the aquarium and checked out their harbor seal exhibit. One seal liked Bruce very much.We boarded our boat and found a seat. We were too slow to get window seats and the kids didn't want to stand outside because it was so windy when the boat was actually moving. It took more than an hour for the boat to get to the marine preserve where the whales are.By the time we got there, Phoebe was sacked. She missed all of this:We followed a pair of humpback whales for almost a half-hour. It's hard to appreciate just how big they are in pictures. This one was about 70 feet long. His light-colored fin just under the water there is about as long as my car.Bruce loved it. He came home with all kinds of "science facts" like "Whales can hold their breaths for up to 40 minutes." Thankfully, the whales we watched didn't hold their breaths for that long. They would surface, skim the water for a few minutes, clear their blowholes,and then dive down for big gulps of krill.
There were no Sea World tricks, but it was really cool to get close to the whales and see them in their natural habitat.
We finished off our day's adventure with a walk and some games on the downtown Greenway, some shopping for veggies and cheese at Haymarket, and a playdate with friends. As much fun as all that was, I'm looking forward to a day of rest tomorrow!

Why Scott will be a Radiologist

Because he's sane, doesn't work hard, and is afraid of the light?

Thank you bmj.com for the enlightening flow chart.

Hiking Timp

On the last day of our Utah trip, Scott and I hiked up Mt. Timpanogos. We had been told that there would be snow from the previous bad winter and that rangers would encourage us to wear crampons and carry ice axes, but how bad could it be, right? The first hour of our hike was great - wildflowers by a nice dirt/rock switchback trail. It was beautiful!

We passed lots of waterfalls.
Up higher on the mountain, we found the snow. It looks so small here...
...but as we got closer, we realized it covered quite a bit of the trail.

We crossed a few snowfields, bushwhacked on the other side looking for the trail, turned around after a few hours, and headed back down.By then, the snow had been in the sun for a few hours and was really soft. Scott and I resorted to the tripod technique pictured above, where we kicked toeholds and used a hand to hang on for dear life. My hand saved me at least a few times; once I slid a few feet and quickly grabbed a rock (which thankfully wasn't as loose as the others!). I was so glad to get to solid ground again that we ran down the rest of the trail, which made me very sore for a few days - but it was so fun.
We didn't summit, but it was a beautiful hike.

Family Photos

Before our Raymond Reunion trip ended, I wanted to get a few photos of Scott and his siblings. We took a few serious-ish shots in the backyard. And then when I told everyone to make a silly face, just the girls listened.

Utah Vacation Photo Dump

We got to visit with lots of friends while in Utah. My BYU cross country teammates and roommates of many years, Tia and Mooner, caught up with me. They look the same as when we graduated - when exactly do runners start aging?
We saw the Rodgers family, our good friends that lived in Boston for a few years. They're out at BYU for a business degree. Bruce had a great time with Isaac, his old buddy.
Scott visited with the Romneys, his mission president when he served in Moscow. Scott's sister rented this monstrous inflatable waterslide and put it up in the backyard for a few days. The kids loved it, of course. The adults also got a lot of mileage out of it. Phoebe preferred to relax in the shade. She frequently hid in this spot under the patio table.
Peek-a-boo!
Bruce was in heaven in the backyard. Lots of grass to run around barefoot, a trampoline, a swing set, a few raspberry bushes. I loved it too: it was all fenced in.
Phoebe had a lot of fun with her cousin, Brooke, who is two weeks older.
Other random highlights in our trip: eating lots of fried food at The Purple Turtle,
hiking up to a stream on the mountain for the kids to play in,
going to Deer Creek Lake to jet-ski and play on the beach,
and go to Seven Peaks water park, which Bruce claims is the funnest thing he has ever done in his whole life. He said he wants to move to Utah so he can go there all the time. I told him there must be one somewhere around Boston.

p.s. I love that last picture because Phoebe and Grandpa Bruce are making the same satisfied-with-life face. Ahhhhh, vacation.

Back to reality.

We're back. We had so much fun last week and we're having the post-vacation let-down. Scott started his sub-internship in medicine this morning. He called midday to tell me that he'd be home around 11 tonight. Ugh.

As I write, Phoebe is screaming blood-curdling screams of "Daddy! Daddy!" in between dry heaving and the occasional "Blankie!" She was always a daddy's girl, but she became even more attached over vacation and seems to have times where I can't console her at all (like now, for instance).

I have a zillion pictures to put up and stories to tell, but they will have to wait until later in the week when I have a few other issues under control (like the laundry on the couch and last month's condo association meeting minutes sent out....).

For now, check out this awesome picture of the Raymond Cousins.