The Joy?? of Cooking

We have stake conference this afternoon (our ward is a permanent 9:00 am), so the boys and I did a little Sunday morning baking. Bennett and Eli both love being in the kitchen with me, but typically it just doesn't work. They fight over who gets to scoop and dump which leads to pushing and shoving which inevitably leads to one of them falling off a chair. If by some miracle they're not fighting, then Eli is climbing up on the counter to grab knives or spoon out the already-mixed ingredients, or Bennett is refusing to help with vegetables he doesn't like. You get the idea.

Full of Sabbath morning hope, I generously forgave all past cooking sins and let them make coffee cake with me today. They started out pretty well, taking turns and listening to instructions, and then of course they turned to their old ways--flinging flour, dumping water, ignoring me, and fighting over the kitchen sink. So much for redemption. . . Oh well, at least no one fell off a chair. And at least they look pretty darn cute doing it.

"I'm going there someday"

Isn't it funny how seeing something you've seen many times from someone else's fresh perspective can completely change the way you see it? Let me explain. Friday night was our ward's youth temple trip, and I had the chance to drive up with two other young women leaders and one of our laurels who also happens to be a rather recent convert. She is an amazing kid who has been through more heartache in her eighteen years of life than most people deserve or experience in a lifetime. Anyway, she was telling us how tough her summer has been and how happy she'll be to leave for college, and then we started heading up the Oakland hills and she turned suddenly giddy. She realized she was about to see the temple for the first time. It was the cutest thing watching her catch that first glimpse of the spires through the trees, seeing her awed reaction to the grounds and the breathtaking view of the bay and of course the temple's majesty itself. It made me feel like I was seeing it all for the first time again.

And seriously, what is about seeing a bunch of normally-rowdy teenagers dressed in white that melts my adult leader/former high school teacher heart? The fact that their behavior is about ten times more reverent at the temple certainly helps. Seeing their willingness to spend seven hours on a Friday night serving those spirits who've passed on was pretty touching, too. Even the girls who couldn't come in to do baptisms still felt the spirit of the temple. Two girls spent the evening in the visitors' center and couldn't stop gushing about the scriptural sculpture exhibit ("Sister Geddes, you have to see it! The sculptures are so pretty") or the 1830 edition of the Book of Mormon. Just being there seems to soften everyone's heart.

I love [to see] the temple.

Twlight bliss

Four days until the fourth book!

One week until the reading/signing with Stephenie Meyer and the concert with Blue October in L.A.!

It's a good time to be a Twilighter...

Women's Pro Tennis

Man, do I miss playing tennis... Going to watch the Bank of West Tennis Classic up at Stanford certainly didn't help matters either. Stephen works right across from the tennis courts and made the most of his free tickets (and lunch hours) by watching a lot of matches. We went to one night match together and watched Aussie Samantha Stosur, who qualified for the tournament only thanks to Lindsey Davenport's knee injury, upset the #3 seed, Russian Vera Zvonareva. Such a fun match. And while we didn't get to see Serena Williams in action--she played the night before and then withdrew for a knee injury--we DID get to sit behind her dad. Good ole Richard Williams sat only a few rows in front of us with what I thought was another one of his daughters; she couldn't have been over 25 or 30. As the match progressed, however, I noticed that the way he had his arm around her was a little too much like canoodling... Stephen just laughed and called her his hoochie mama.

Quick sidenote on how much I like Samantha Stosur after seeing her play. Not only is she Aussie fiesty, which I always love in tennis, but she has an incredible serve that earned her at least ten to fifteen aces. Her forehand rocks--she kept hitting right-on-the-line winners with it--and she has a beautiful backhand slice that wore down that little Russian teenager's topspin like I couldn't believe. I'm not sure if the photos do her justice, but can you see the guns on her? Holy shoulder and arm muscles, Batman! And her outfit was so dang cute. Love the cut and color of the top, especially with the small and subtle flares on the bottom of her skirt, and my favorite part--the little black belt that you only see when she serves or hits a high shot.

Bedtime Prayer of a 3 year old

"Dear Heavenly Father,
Grateful for this day...
Bless us to be good... and kind...
that I can be kind to my brother...
Bless us to be careful...
that I can not fall and hurt my knee at Truman's park...
Bless me to get brownies and (voice begins to waver here) obey Mommy.
In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen."

Can you tell that Bennett lost treats tonight for not listening to me? It sounded so hard for him to utter those words, "obey Mommy," as if it's the ultimate sacrifice of will. It is seriously so hard not to laugh sometimes. I do love that he prays for kindness, however, especially with his brother. (Please, let that prayer be heard!!)

Did I mention that he broke his collarbone on our trip to Jackson Hole? Thus the whole "careful" comment, since I spend the whole day reminding him to be careful. He was wrestling with his cousins and took an awkward fall, and after some x-rays at Aunt Lizzy's hospital in SLC, he was given a sling to wear for 4 long weeks. The poor kid moped around our backyard for days, unable to do just about anything he was used to doing back there (scooters, bikes, slides, swings). But now, two weeks later, the sling is just a bizarre-looking accessory that just sits on his shoulder, not really holding his arm at all, serving no real function other than my desperate hope that it will stop him from couch-jumping and tree-climbing.

Family Gathering

Camping with my sisters

After church in Jackson Hole, with the Millers (sister Jana and family)

Jackson Lake, near our campsite

The boys and the Tetons (that sounds a little funny...)

Pajama-clad Eli and Benito playing in the tent cabin

Ethan and Eli figuring out the soccer ball

Breakfast cook, Grandma Paula

Yellowstone National Park -- Elk in a pretty lil' field o' flowers

Kaelan, Kati, Jana, Nae, Ethan, Maina & Bennett

Bison, bison, bison

Upper Falls in Yellowstone

Relaxing, talking, laughing... doing what we do best (besides eating, of course)

Katie and Solana growing up WAY too fast (sniff, sniff)

Mom and big brother Jason at Lewis Lake in Yellowstone

Hooray for strollers and slings

Yeehaw! Jackson Hole Rodeo on July 4th

Kati on the Alpine Slide

Eli giving cousin Ethan a not-so-gentle nudge

Nae and I heading up the chairlift

Fourth of July in Jackson Hole

Just back from a week with my family (and I already miss them...) Our digital camera is in the shop again, so you'll have to wait for me to remember to drop off the disposable cameras and then actually remember to pick up the photos. Too much remembering for my scattered brain, but I'll try hard since I'm sure you're thrilled for our photo extravaganza! Ha ha.