Some summertime happenings

Emma and Rose and Fiona finished their masterpiece.  (I told them to do something on our driveway next but it hasn't happened yet.  Emma said if I bought Diet Dr. Pepper it might entice Rose and Fiona.)

This guy got his braces off.

The boys and I went to Salt Lake City (Emma was working).  The boys went to the movie with Hyrum--a.k.a. the birthday boy--and Marianne and I went looking at flooring samples.

Doing anything with Marianne is pretty much fun.

Adam joined us after work and we went to World Market for tikka masala sauce and Walker shortbread cookies and ginger mints and a free shirt.  (It's a long story.)

We briefly visited our grandma and then the movie was over so we went to dinner.  Marianne told Hyrum, "You should enjoy this because it may never happen again, but you can order whatever you want."

The boy got a big steak and shrimp.

Sitting with Marianne and Adam across from our handsome and witty sons, I had to think, you know, we didn't do half bad here.

(I wish I had a picture.)

Sam is staying with us for a few days...a week?  I don't know.  Both Braeden and Mark were unreasonably excited for him to come.  To help with staying up despite jet lag, Ben and Alexa came from Provo for the evening (and Taco Tuesday, which is a thing for us this summer).

I like my kids' friends. And I'm not just saying that because Sam brought me an enormous bag of chocolate from Switzerland.  Swiss chocolate!  Why can't America do better?

It's not all fun and games though.  Last night the kids were eating their ice cream and playing a Swiss card game on the deck and there must have been an altercation with a skunk and the neighbor's dog.  They came in quick but our house smelled skunky (sad but true, it's a sort of porous house).  We had to sleep with the windows closed which was sad.  I went out this morning to turn off the deck lights.  No one was brave enough to do it last night.

Sometimes I think there's too much wildlife and not enough suburbia around here....