Coping...Sort Of

My mom told me I can only whine on Wednesday.

Well, it's Wednesday.

We are in the midst of a record breaking heat wave.

It turns out I'm not a big fan of record breaking heat waves. (I am, however, a big fan of fans.)

It reminds me of summer in Connecticut and we left Connecticut for a reason.

Yesterday we fled the confines of our hot house and headed to IKEA. For no reason really, besides the air conditioning and the longish drive there--in the air conditioned van. We wandered around and decided which couch was the ugliest couch in America (there were some really garish patterns) and Mark had to try every keyboard on every prop computer to see if the IKEA people had accidentally put a real computer with real internet access. We bought three different types of cookies because really, we have to do our part when it comes to taste testing. (raspberry was the winner)

We spent some quality time in the cafeteria with meatballs and lignonberry sauce. Then Mark and Emma filled their cups at the soda fountain with different combinations and I guessed the ingredients.

In case you are wondering, they were none too delicious.

We headed back to Grandma and Grandpa's relatively cool backyard for dinner and a turn in the sprinklers.

It didn't cool down so much last night and today doesn't look great. Seattle may break it's highest temperature in recorded history.

It's enough to make us cranky.

And it has.

Today we're going to hit a matinee. Braeden wasn't too excited about the movie Mark wanted and I had to remind him. It's not about the movie. It's about the air conditioning.

It's The Fam!!!

Just when you thought I couldn't possibly have more pictures from our trip...

I want to post these too though. And I can. Because it's my blog, that's why.

My parents generously paid (or traded...our favorite bit and spur maker is going to make a snaffle bit or some conchos) for a photographer to immortalize all of us. Her name is Sarah Spratling and she is as talented at photography as she is patient with restless subjects.

my parents

Robert, Marianne, Clarissa, Deseret, Liberty, Hyrum, Morgan and Carolina

us!

Edgar, Olivia, Marcos, Liliana and Ruben

Enoch, Luke, Jennifer, Savannah and Isaiah

Baby Olivia, Tabor and Katie

Ammon and Melanee

And Home Again

Mark has been in his room building Lego ships, Emma has been sitting at her school desk, drawing pictures. Braeden is pestering me. "What should I do now? What exactly needs to be done?"

(It's less about being a noble son and more about being done with his work so he can leave and play with his friends.)

We're all settling into being home in different ways.

As for me, I'm carefully avoiding the packed bags, the laundry, the empty refrigerator, the huge pile of mail and the blinking answering machine.

At least until I've posted some pictures on my blog.

If you have the time, patience and interest to endure these pictures, well then you really are a friend and I love you.

Starting out:

In case you're wondering, Adam fit everything in.


A few days into the trip, enthusiasm for the van fading.



The Dahl Reunion:

As we were dutifully capturing this picture, my cousin Gretchen said, "I have so many pictures exactly like this."

I said, "No you don't, this year my dad has a beard." (I am enthusiastic about my dad, less enthusiastic about his beard.)

my dad, and my uncles, Demar, Drew and Joe
Aunts Jennifer and Claudia, Grandma and Aunt Olivia

my nephew Ruben shooting a marshmallow gun, incidentally, a big hit with the little boy set (you can shoot them, you can pick them up, brush the grass off and eat them...what's not to love?)

my brother Ammon, The Perfect One

Marianne and Enoch in the background (blue shirt, hat, beard...what is it with beards and my family?)

The salty Salt Flats:

a dust/salt storm

BYU:

I have disappointingly few pictures of our BYU trip but sometimes you're too busy soaking up sights to remember to take pictures.

my second favorite mountains in the world

Mark in the Hinckley Building: hot, tired, bored with his reminiscent mother

Oquirrh Mountain Temple Open House:



Temple Square in Salt Lake City:(great temple shots courtesy of Adam the great photographer)




Hiking to the top of the world:

this is the view along the trail we took to Smith Lake with Marianne and Robert and a whole bunch of kids

Robert, leader of our pack and carrier of Carolina...

Mark, enjoying a water backpack

beautiful Nevada wildflowers

if you squint, you can see the mountain goat-like children on the trail

sweet Lili

the reward at the top of the trail

although look how close the snow was...I didn't swim (shocking, I know)

We ate dinner at Angel Lake. In the distance you can see Robert fishing with the kids. Hyrum and Mark enjoyed poking and prodding and carrying around a hapless fish that found its way onto Carolina's hook. I didn't get a picture of the fish. I was too busy telling Mark to stop poking its eyes and to put it down.

Target practice with Grandpa:

Mark putting in ear plugs because his "ears were popping"

A buggy ride with my parents:

and Goldie...

The Tina Trampolina Concert:

Deseret (Tina), Liberty (Trampa) and Emma (Lina)

Clarissa, the accompanist. Liberty and Desi sewed the costumes, in the background are their friends who dubbed themselves the Wanna-benas.

The Thespians--Missoula Children's Theater:

the entire cast

Braeden, the leprachaun on the left (Clarissa's the one on the far right)

Emma, a winter wind worker

Mark, a dust bunny

And that, my dears, is all!