Harry Potter!!! Huzzah!

Well I can have my life back now. I finished Deathly Hallows! What a series! What a book! What a fabulous finish! Huzzah!

Bear Lake and Lighthouses

We had a fun weekend with Rob's siblings up at Bear Lake. We stayed in a house just a quick walk away from the beach. The house was filled to the brim with Lighthouses...everywhere you looked was a lighthouse painting, model, pictureframe, you name it. Lighthouses were the theme. The beach was great, the water was clear and nice, and of course the food was yummy and plentiful. It was kind of weird being the only ones with kids...hint hint.

Clara hanging out in the shade



Getting ready to swim out to the buoy



Todd and Rob paddling the kids in the raft



Our shade tent blowing away



Digging pits and being buried





Me and Todd and Court



I love being on vacation!

Our Weekend Getaway

We had a terrif time! It was fun to be with the big Boynton clan and fun to see some of the sights of Southern Utah. Lucy summed it up best when she burst into tears as we drove away. She was very sad to see the fun come to an end, as we all were. Real life just can't compare to cousins 24/7!

Bryce Canyon




Finding snails, tadpoles, fish, and climbing rocks in Zion






Cedar Breaks with the Taylors




The Girl Cousins at Lefty's



Madi making crowns



Grandmother Boynton, Clara, and Rob at the BBQ


Cute Clara and Handsome Harry

And We're Off

Off we go to a Boynton family reunion in Cedar City. Rob and I are going a day early hoping to hit Bryce Canyon. I hope we don't die of smoke inhalation and I hope I-15 doesn't get closed again! There is a ginormous fire raging down in those parts. Utah's biggest wildfire in history! It's even smokey up here from the fire (at least that is what I am assuming).

Tagged

I got tagged on Ell's blog so here it goes....

4 jobs I've had
1. Taco girl at the old Cougareat
2. Sears Catalog call center...my Dad made me get a job the day I turned 16..this was the one I got...ick.
3. Nanny
4. Personal Assistant to insane Chinese MLM ladies...argh

4 favorite movies
1. A Room With A View
2. Waiting For Guffman
3. Traffic
4. Pride and Prejudice (Way too hard to narrow the movies down to four!!!)

4 places I've Lived
1. Rye, New York
2. Omaha, Nebraska
3. London
4. D.C. for a summer

4 favorite T.V. Shows
1. Lost
2. Frontline
3. The Office (hands down my very favorite)
4. Masterpiece Theatre/Mystery

4 places I've been on vacation
1. Assisi, Italy
2. Moab, Utah
3. The Beach (Hawaii, California, and Nice)
4. Edinburgh, Scotland

4 favorite foods
1. Good ol' Sunday dinner; mashed potatoes, gravy, and roast
2. Homemade spinach pasta with Aunt Vic's marinara sauce
3. A Cornish Pastie from any pastry shop anywhere in England.....yummmm
4. Pizza from Cafe Pesto in Kawaihai on the Big Island

4 websites I visit daily
1. www.pemberley.com
2. google news
3. www.dooce.com
4. www.amazon.com

4 favorite things to do
1. Travel
2. Read
3. Eat delicious food
4. See my kids having a good time and making good memories

4 places I want to visit
1. Everywhere in Europe again..especially England with Rob
2. North Carolina
3. Rob's mission and the rest of Japan
4. Brasil

4 things I want at this moment
1. Clara to sleep through the night
2. To be in as good of shape and as skinny as I was after Anders was born
3. Good hair and clear skin
4. To not have thyroid issues

I tag Sarah Will, and Millie, if they want to.

Kid's Books

My friend asked me to make a list of books that I would recommend for the little peeps. We have been reading to our kids a lot lately (I should qualify that by saying Rob has been reading to them a lot more than I have). Anyway they have really enjoyed it and Lucy has been reading like a madwoman on her own. I couldn't be prouder as reading may very well be the one talent I have really mastered. Here are some recommendations. I know I haven't discovered all the wonderful books out there so feel free to give your suggestions as well.

For the 4/5 year old crowd:

The Frog and Toad books by Arnold Loebel (any books by him my kids love)
The Little Bear Books by Maurice Sendak
The Magic Treehouse series

For 5/6+ years old (my test of age is that Tucker loved these books and Anders wouldn't sit for a page):

Books by Robert Kimmel Smith :
Chocolate Fever
Jelly Belly
War With Grandpa
How To Eat Fried Worms
Books by Roald Dahl (These have been a HUGE hit at our house)
James and the Giant Peach
The BFG
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
Matilda
The Witches
Danny Champion of the World
Books by Frances Hodgesen Burnett:
The Secret Garden
The Little Princess (These are both painful for me to read, but I loved them when I was little and the kids really like them)
The Magic Treehouse Series
(There are 30 something of these but just read them in order. Quick, fun, and entertaining for the kids. These Anders likes as well. Lucy can read one in about 20 minutes and Tucker LOVES them. Easy fun.)
Books by Beverley Cleary
The Mouse and the Motorcycle
Runaway Ralph
Ralph S. Mouse
The Boxcar Children Series
(Anders liked these too).
Half Magic by Edward Eager
Summer of the Monkeys by Wilson Rawles
Books by Judy Blume
The Fudge books (Fudge, Superfudge, Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing)
A Cricket in Times Square by George Seldon
The Great Brain Books by John D. Fitzgerald
The Little House on the Prairie Series by Laura Ingalls Wilder (I adored these and read them every year when I was little. Lucy and I read them in Omaha and she loved them.)
The Lion The Witch and The Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis (Anders loved this as well)
Lucy loves the Bill Wallace books about puppies and kittens
Junie B. Jones series by Jane O'Halloran

age 7/8+:

Peppermints in the Parlor by Barbara Brooks Wallace
The Indian In the Cupboard by Lynn Reid Banks
The American Girl Collections (Meet Kit, Meet Felicity, Meet Kirsten....etc. Lucy can't get enough of these books. She adores them and is learning a ton. She even joined and American Girl book club at Barnes and Nobles where they discuss the books and learn more about the time periods.)


age (8+)

Anne of Green Gables series all seven or so of them plus any other books by Lucy Maud Montgomery (I read these books over and over and over and over and over. I loved them!)
Caddie Woodlawn by Carol Ririe Brink (she also wrote some books that my family read and loved while we were growing up...Family Sabbatical, Winter Cottage, and lots more)
Nancy Drew series (I never read these but Lucy loves them)
Wolves of Willoughby Chase/Midnight Is a Place/Blackhearts at Battersea etc by Joan Aiken
The Harry Potter Series by J.K. Rowling (These are absolute must, must reads. So fun! In fact I am reading them again right now).
Princess Academy by Shannon Hale
From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankwieler by E.L. Konigsburg

Okay I know this list is missing MANY wonderful books so if you have any suggestions or can think of some major missing jems please add them to the comments. I know my sister Emily's kids read a ton so she may know some not-to-be-missed reads that we haven't yet discovered.

Mullet

I haven't laughed so hard in ages. Check it out.
http://hookermedia.com/blog/?p=382

A Happy Fourth

I have always loved the Fourth of July better than Christmas. It's a big holiday in Provo. My fourth of July in NY when I was a nanny was disappointing at best. I was always so sad when we were in Omaha missing out on all the festivities. This years festivities were great and I was glad we were able to be here for them.
The kids and I spent Tuesday night at Grammy and Pop-Pops so we could be to the parade on time. The kids were over the moon to be having a sleepover. Tuck and Anders got on their pajamas and wanted to go to bed right after dinner. Lucy got to make fourth of July jewelry for her cousins with Grammy and loved that. Anyway, after a delicious breakfast we were off to Em's and the parade.

At Grammy and Pop-pop's

At the parade with the Ensigns

As mentioned by others we had the great opportunity to sit next to these batty old Provoite women that were announcing the parade. I haven't laughed at someone so hard in ages. It was great. They were about as ditzy and annoyingly patriotic (using words like family values, heroes, and greatest country all too frequently) and therefore entertaining as you could possibly imagine. One of my favorite parts was when a wagon being pulled by little horses went by.
"Oh Sandy, just look at those little horses...they are just gorgeous (another word they used with great frequency)"
"They're Shetland Ponies and they are just so cute. When I was a girl I grew up next to a Shetland Pony farm. They are just such gorgeous creatures."
A grizzled old farmer guy who happened to be with the horses approaches their booth, which was right next to us and says gruffly and with great annoyance,
"They aren't Shetland Ponies."
"Yes they are." Either Donna or Sandy bubbled in her sparkly happy voice.
"No they aren't. They are miniature horses."
"Oh, well I guess they aren't Shetland Ponies but they look just like them."
The farmer utterly disgusted says, "No they don't"
"Yes they do."
"Nuh uh." and walks back to join the parade shaking his head in disbelief and disgust.
"Well, look at those cute miniature horses. Thanks for coming to our parade (another thing they said a lot)"
Oh it was just so funny. I wish you all could have sat next to Donna and Sandy. I hope they are there next year, because if they are I will be too!
Anyway after the parade the kids swam at Em's for about seven hours. Wow. They loved it. We bbq'd by the pool and the kids swam some more.

Lucy, Camille, and Madi

Tuck, Max, Camille, Madi, Lu, Andy, Lizzy, and Anika

Uncle and Alexandra

Clara's first swim

Ollie-bear

Clara feasting on Auntie Em who got a bit of sun

We moved to Em's front yard once the shade kicked in and the kids had a great time, racing, wrestling, doing a Madi led Fourth of July cheer, playing soccer, and bocce. The homemade ice cream was super good. A couple highlights for me were the mutual cousin crush happening between Camille and Max. They just couldn't keep away from each and it was really hilarious. Also, Lucy accidentally hurt Tucker which caused her to come sobbing to me (she's sensitive that way). Anyway Camille came up with great concern and gave Lucy a big hug and told her, "Lucy if you want to give Alexandra (her baby sister) a hug it will probably make you feel better. It always makes me feel better."

Madi directing a Fourth of July cheer

A blurry picture of Camille and Max clinging to eachother

Clara experiencing the texture of grass

The fireworks, as usual, were great fun.
The older pyromaniac boys (Steve, Phil, Trevor, and Jayson) were hilarious, and it was, as usual, a terrif firework display--thanks to the Ensigns.

The kids watching the show

We were exhausted by the end of the day, but it was truly a fabulous fourth!

Paul Potts

My father in law sent me this link. I'd never heard of this guy. I've not been a fan of America's Got Talent and American Idol and other shows like it...but this is great. This is a guy that you just can't help but be sooo happy for. It's from Britain's Got Talent and this guy is so humble and ....well just watch. If you like it there's much more to be seen on YouTube. Hooray for Paul Potts.

Rob's Great Weekend

I just read on my friend Sarah Babbel's blog about some of the signs that you are living with a doctor. Dan and Rob were at Creighton together and Sarah was my support system during med school. Anyway, I must say Sarah's life is much rougher because Dan is doing a residency in orthopedic surgery which is HELL. A couple of the things she listed that made me laugh were "a little black pager can totally rule your life." and "Your daughter takes her dad his pager as it is beeping and she yells into it, "leave my daddy alone."... Well, although life isn't quite so crazy for Rob as it is for Dan, this weekend Rob could relate. He was on a month rotation of ER and Interventional Radiology. He had two weeks doing night float (working two weeks of nights) which is the ER part of the rotation. The IR part means that Rob doesn't have to go into work at all unless they need him. Generally the IR weeks aren't too bad and it almost feels like vacation. Except this last week of IR. It started on Saturday morning. Rob was supposed to go into work in the morning but thought he would be home between 9 and 11. Well, he ended up having to stay, and stay, and stay. They did some crazy case where they put a shunt or something into some ladies liver. The attending was stoked and wants Rob to publish the case (I am sure I am getting all the lingo and many of the details wrong here, my apologies Rob.) Well that took forever and Rob finally got home around six. Then that darn pager went off at eight and Rob had to go back in to do another case. He didn't get home until one thirty or so. Then he had to go back in on Sunday morning and didn't get home until sixish again. He thought that was the end of it and was ready to relax and get some sleep, but his pager went off at eight and back he went, this time until four in the morning. Apparently this was the worst weekend of IR EVER! And lucky Rob got to be the resident on call for it. Good times!

Utah Wildflowers

Speaking of Utah wildflowers (see Sound Sleeper entry) Emily Spencer's mom, Janet Clark is selling her artwork, featuring Utah wildflowers on etsy. You should check them out. Here is a link to her store. ( www.janetbeckclark.etsy.com ) They are beautiful, but then again, I've always been a fan of botanical prints and the like.

Sound Sleepers

We must have really worn the kids ragged last week. On Thursday we hiked to Lake Mary above Brighton with Weston and Emily Spencer and their kids. It was beautiful. All the wild flowers were in bloom. Once upon a time I could have named them all. The ones I did recognize were the wild geraniums, lupine, Indian Paintbrush, and Emily and I were pretty sure we saw blue Penstamen. Anyway, I could use some brushing up when it comes to Utah wildflowers.

Weston and all the kids minus Clara

Rob and Clara

Addy, Lucy, Tucker, Isaac, and Anders

The next day we went down to Provo and swam all day. Emily and Jayson took the kids to see Ratatouille that evening and we didn't get home until late.

The next day, Saturday, was Taylorsville Dayzz. Not Taylorsville Days, but Dayzz. Kute n' Kool, no? Anyway the kids got up and we walked over to the parade where my kids got more candy than they did last Halloween. Emily came up that afternoon and we went over to the carnival in the park near our house. The tickets cost a fortune as did the food, but what can you expect? It was worth it to see all the crazy folks that come out of the woodwork and wander around the park.

The kids eating snow cones

Lu and Madi

We wanted to stay and watch the fireworks and listen to the concert, but as the evening wore on everyone got grumpier and grumpier so we packed it in and went home to bed. I promised Tucker I would wake him up to watch the fireworks from the backyard. At ten Lucy and I tried and tried to wake him up but we couldn't do it. He and Anders were both out cold. We pounced, prodded, lifted, poked, but to no avail. So Lucy and I watched the fireworks alone. They were great. Maybe Tucker and Anders will be awake next year.