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!

Ah, Nauvoo

I feel like I now belong to the elite club of Nauvoo-ers. We have never been to Nauvoo before. Heck, we have never been anywhere before. A trek to Grandma and Grandpa's is as far as our little family has ever gone. But now, we have been to Nauvoo. I understand now why everyone who mentions Nauvoo turns into a blubbering puddle and gets that homesick look in their eyes. I can see now why the Saints were so devastated to leave their beautiful city, why they loved it so much, and why the "Trail of Hope" is such a powerful experience. Thank you, Erik and Kristi, for organizing such a memorable family reunion for our family. We are so thankful to have these memories of this wonderful place of legacy. We had such a good time! We now belong to the club that gets that faraway, homesick look in their eyes when talking of Nauvoo. We plan to accept a mission call to Nauvoo, anytime. That is if a 5 year old didn't cramp our style a bit, and if mission calls actually worked that way. We may have to wait, I guess. But, at least we have our reunion.

Let me sum up:

* Overnighter with cousins in Kansas. Great way to kick off vacation

*Wagon ride through streets of Nauvoo

*Sweltering heat, humidity...and mayflies!

*Dressing up in pioneer clothes, playing pioneer games.

*Puppets shoes and plays

*Learning of family legacies at the Memorial down by the Mississippi

*Walking the "Trail of Hope"

*Hearing the stories of my ancestors that lived in Nauvoo, and learning of several of Jeff's that were there.

*Visiting the spot where Jeff's ancestors had lived with their acre

*Lovely senior missionaries that added to the spirit

*Standing where the Prophet Joseph Smith stood

*Feeling the incredible spirit that lingers there

*Celebrating Father's Day with our whole family gather around Grandpa

*Collecting souvenirs, in a ziploc baggie

*Sharing our touring with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. Yeah, I know; COOL!

*Swimming, late nights, visiting in the hallway at the hotel

*Family pictures

*Getting to watch my brother Clark's reaction at the Carthage Jail

*Getting a red brick

*Getting the best family reunion t-shirts ever. Thanks Kirk and Heather!

*Relearning Church History facts I have taken for granted

*Watching Jeff have the time of his life

*Attending the Nauvoo temple

*Cousins! Cousins! Cousins!!

*Family Conference

*Two and a half day car ride home with my brother Jeremy and our kids.

*Trying to communicate with a family as large as ours. We all missed the memo at least once.

Anyway, sorry about a lengthy post. It just had to be done. I am sure I missed a lot of things. It is late and I keep getting sidetracked with daydreaming about our time in Nauvoo. Thank you, Erik and Kristi for planning this for us. Thank you, Mom and Dad, for making it possible for us to enjoy this time with our family and for having the faith that we could pull off this Exodus.

WE HAD A GREAT TIME!

Dear UPS Driver,

I was just wondering if I could ask you a little favor. I was wondering if you would be able to find it in your heart to SLOW DOWN!!! I know that time is money, but the speeds that you reach as you sail in and out of our cul-de-sac are a little on the ridiculous side. I love to get packages from the "Brown Santa Claus" as much as the next guy. But, and I feel pretty safe in saying this, I don't think anyone would think that their Jelly of the Month, or their home shopping channel big buy, or their new set of Ginsu knives, is worth the life of a child. I love my child and value the lives of all of those living on our street, more than I need that package. So, please, please slow down. Maybe we can talk someone into slapping a "How's My Driving" sticker on your big brown bum. I'd call, for sure. Fair warning, though. The next time you come into our street, flying like a bat out of ****, there is a possiblity that we may be hiding in the bushes, waiting to pelt you with tennis balls.

Thanks!

Whoa...Ho...Ho

I went outside to help load up my niece and nephew that had been here today. This is what I saw, riding on his bike.

Chase had been playing with a balloon earlier. I wonder what the thought process was that led to this. Ah, the brain of a five year old.