Doh-Deh-Kuh-Hee-Druhn

What do you do with an only child, stuck in the house with pneumonia, hopped up on steriods, after your moral code of ethics says it can't handle one more video game or Disney channel show?

You make a dodecahedrun.

Chase was thumbing through the old 1970's and 80's kids encyclopedias and found patterns for complex shapes in the mathmatics book. He thought that this would be a good activity for ME to do. So, while Chase played at my feet, I dove in and started to make a dodecahedrun. Not only did I impress Chase with my ability to say it, I made it. It was HARD, but actually fun.

And before you completely make fun of me and my choice of time fillers, go ahead and try one. Not so easy, eh? Especially when your son gets so excited with your acheivment that he endows you with complete trust in the ability to make enough "wrecking balls" to make the pyramid shown in the picture. Right. I'm not that bored.

I must confess, the only person I am trying to impress with this post is my brother, Erik. How did I do, Bro.?

Dearly Departed

On Wednesday night, I said a fond farewell to my new eyelashes. Oh, it was a sad night. I really loved those eyelashes. They served me well.
They always seemed to fall off pretty easily. They would drop if I sneezed too hard, turned my head too quickly, or batted my eyelashes at my sweetie. Okay, so maybe I exaggerate a little, but not much. After two weeks of swimming at Mom and Dad's, they were pretty sparse. I had about ten on each eye. Mom said I looked like a mutant. So, rather than pay full price to have them completely redone, and feeling a little self-conscious about looking like a science experiment, I decided to "help" them come off.
With Jeff soundly asleep, I went into our bathroom and began gently, and I mean gently, pulling them off. They came off pretty easily, or so I thought. As I looked into the sink at all of those fabulous lashes that had just ended their luscious mortal reign on my eyes, imagine the horror when I looked closely and noticed my own, natural lashes attached to the other end. I started to whimper a little, looked up at my eyes and started to panic. I turned off the light and jumped into bed, acting as if I had accidentally been caught smoking behind the barn.

Jeff, in his groggy stupor, asked me what was wrong. I innocently told him that I had decided to remove my lashes. In his sleepy state, he thought I was sad about not wanting to spend the money to upkeep this new found love. The next morning, fully awake, he realized the awful truth. He saw the nubbins, where once long, glorious lashes used to reside.

So, when you see me, please be kind. So far, no one has said anything. Either most people never noticed my new, long, fake lashes when they were there, or I have really nice friends. I will choose to assume the later.

If I Had One Wish, Then It Would Be...

Well, for Chase, it would be a fort. You're getting your wish kid!

And for me, it would be to KNOW HOW TO TAKE PICTURES!! Crickey! I'll tell ya, if there is something to miss, I will miss it. I am not sure why I figured I had to video what HE saw as the suprise of the fort was revealed. A true photographer would know to video what WE saw. Oh, well. His reaction seems small, but it is true Chase. He doesn't scream or yell or clap or jump. He gets really quiet, with a Cheshire grin and a little giggle. At any rate, he sure was tickled with his suprise. Way to go, Daddy!

And, uh, sorry about the flip-flop accompaniment across the grass. Apparently, I can't walk quietly and with a video camera at the same time.

We ARE Alive

How sad is this?! This is my first post for the month of July! All I can say is that we have been playing hard, traveling plenty and having lots of fun. We are home now, ready to nail our feet to the floor. We are tired, suntan and feeling like we have had the best time ever!

I have to say that travel-logs are not my favorite, but I am not sure how to convince people that we really have been gone, not just screening phone calls. So, here is some proof:

It all started with our Family Reunion

trip to Nauvoo for a week and a half.

We got home just in time to spend a few days playing
with our good friends from Ohio. (Becky, I did not get

one picture of us!!) We boated and had a marvelous

bbque. Thanks Jeff!

Three days later, we hot-footed ourselves to Rexburg

to attend the wedding of our neice, Rachel.

Gorgeous bride, eh?!!

We came home that night, reshuffled and repacked

and headed to Spanish Fork to our neice Hailey's baptism.

We had so much fun that we stayed and did fireworks

with cousins and Grandma and Grandpa and

went to the parade in Provo.

Not ready for the party to end, we were given a chance to tandum ride with my parents home to

Moses Lake. We ran back home to Logan, unpacked, did laundry, repacked, picked peas and put up peas and left for Grandma and Grandpa's.

Ever since Nauvoo, we have been on a family history kick. As we were driving through Idaho, we took a two hour detour to Albion to find the grave of my great-great grandfather, Joseph Freeman Phippen who came across the plains with his family. That was AWESOME!! We did a little family history tour of homes built by great-grandparents, then continued on.

While at Gma and Gpa's we,

helped get ready for a wedding reception to be

held in my parents backyard,



had a reception in the yard,

played at a park,

(thanks, Dad, for taking one for the team and

cleaning the slide with your bum)

acted like kids again,

played with Uncle Clark

went miniature golfing,

adored Baylee (who wouldn't!),

played with two of my cousins that

I haven't seen for a while,

(all Chase was thinking was...KIDS!!)

(me, my cousin Sarah from Az & my sis Kimberly)

swam, swam, swam, swam, swam, swam,

(I am not sure what cracks me up about this picture

the most; my mom's expression, Chase's lack of, or the

tackily-falling-off decorations from the wedding that

we couldn't seem to get around taking down!)

helped Grandma search for quarters in the

washing machine,

had pajama days, ate on the deck, threw schedules

out the window, had a hotdog and s'more roast in

the back yard, taught Baylee how to say "Chase" ,

hauled Baylee around like a football, went shopping,

played with aunt Kim everyday and had an overall

GREAT time!!

Sadly, our two weeks there ended way too fast. We packed up and headed out on Saturday, taking Grandma with us. We dropped her off in Arco, to help take care of her mom. Great-Grandma wasn't doing too well, so we have no pictures of her.

We spent the night with aunt Cynthia and got up to head home the next morning. Grandma had pointed out the three volcanos there on our way and got Chase all riled up. Chase LOVES

volcanos. We had a forty minute, non-stop talk about them in the car .We had to stop and take a picture.

Chase, with the Big Butte volcano in the background

(By the way, if you don't think brainwashing really

works, look closely at Chase's hat and shirt.)

And finally, home. Jeff had a suprise waiting for Chase. He started building a fort for Chase. Chase was sooooooo excited. I have a video of that for another day, after you forgive me for this long post and decide you can handle reading my blog again.

Look at that handsome man by the fort! Whoot whoo!

So, there you have it. Our month in a nutshell! We are glad to be home and excited to catch up on all of the things we have missed. Thanks to all who helped us have four weeks of FUN!!

We love you, Grandma and Grandpa and Clark. You are great hosts!