Lucy tells me how it is, I’m old, and Gwenyth throws tantrums

Lucy has a paper cut on her middle finger. While we had some people over on Sunday, she went up to the fan in the room and . . . uh . . . was drying it off or something. Then she turned to me and showed me her ills:

Showing me her papercut

I had a fun birthday yesterday. I’m old. Somehow my girls tolerate my grumpiness.

Gwenyth has started throwing these unbelievable tantrums. Julie got this one on video today. Not the best quality, but I think you get the idea. Click on “read the rest of” for the videos.

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Fall on me . . .

Growing up in Phoenix, the time around my birthday is usually just the time when you can start thinking about opening your windows at night as the heat begins to relent. This year, obviously, it’s a little different. Julie decided that we should celebrate my birthday up at Sundance, and it turned out great. Even here in the mountains, the heat has been reluctant to move on. But we finally got a storm in here on Saturday that cooled things off nicely. The temperature probably dropped 25 – 30 degrees in about 48 hours.

We got our babysitter and left the girls at around 3 in the afternoon. We headed over to American Fork Canyon and drove up the Alpine Loop to Sundance. It was absolutely beautiful. Julie was disappointed that it was rainy and cloudy, but I thought that it made it look even more beautiful. Here are some pictures:

beautiful aspens

alpine loop

aspens

wow

the drizzle was constant

We were hoping to ride the lift up to the top of the mountain, but it was raining too hard, so they closed the lift. So we spent some time walking around and looking at everything. They had setup for a wedding on the lawn by the pond, but as the guests started arriving, the rain really started coming down. Poor snobs.

Our reservation was at the Tree Room at the resort. I got a pepper steak with this mango chutney on it. It was one of the best meals I’ve ever eaten.

sundance

i love the trees to the right

there was a reception and lots of rain

us

setting

lift

the birthday boy!

dinner company

We had a great time. It was fun to get away and see the changing scenery. Fall has always been Julie’s favorite time of year. It’s always my favorite as long as she’s around. 🙂

http://www.flickr.com/photos/midder/

Hogle Zoo & softball too!

We got to go to the zoo with the first graders on Friday. We were surprised to see all the parent volunteers there. There were so many we had one other student (Ashton, Grace’s friend) and Grace. We didn’t get to the zoo until 10:30 and were wondering if there would be enough time. It turned out to be a great trip and just right. The zoo is not very big–so two hours was plenty of time. The elephants were a real hit and so was the leucistic (without pigmentation) gator. Brian and I juggled the babies a-ok and all in all it was just right for everyone.

good try grace

where are we going?

Hogle Zoo

So we got home in time to regroup for our softball game that evening. One problem we were short a babysitter. We decided to take the kids (the peanut gallery) and it turned out ok. I found that if I sat Gwen on the bleacher and walked off she just sat there because she didn’t want to attempt to get down–that worked pretty well. We have had so much fun playing with the neighbors and they are a lot of fun too. Brian has proved to be a real asset to the team and I am well…part of the team (they’re good sports)!

your up!

dugout/nursery

After the game we again regrouped for another block movie projected on the wall of the Richins house. The girls go crazy about this and get so excited. We watched Hook & The Three Amigos and the kids have loved it! We are lucky to have found such a great neighborhood and such great friends. More photos here http://www.flickr.com/photos/midder/

watching movies outdoors in the neighborhood

John, Mary, Telina & Joe

Grace, Adelaide, Abigail & Olivia