Best of Brenda (between 4 and 5:30 pm Friday)

When I heard there would be horses at the ward camp-out I knew Brenda needed to be there.

Brenda triumphed the 'biggest mountain'.

Watching the horses

Would you believe I edited myself out of this shot? True! I was walking behind Suzanne.

While patting 'Topsy' she muttered, "It's WONDERmrufm". (wonderful?)

(And because Brenda is SO loved by our fellow church members, she got an extra long ride.)

Do you have plans Thanksgiving weekend?

Well I just had a fabulous run tonight! (I should say last night since I'm in the wee hours of the morning now...) My good friend, Sara, and I have started a schedule/routine to prepare us for a MARATHON in 4 months.

That's right! (I hesitate to announce this as I'm not yet 100% sure about the date, but nevertheless I am preparing...)

I've enjoyed running for a long time but used to think that people who run marathons are extremists.

'That's silly. I just like to run. I'm not going to KILL myself...'

But my attitude shifted after reading 'Born to Run'.

'OK, people who (risking death) run 150 mile races in 130 degrees... THEY are the extremists.'

....I just like to run. So why not a marathon???

Take a few minutes if you're bored...

Yesterday I had three hours alone in a car. (wedding shoot) On the radio I listened to a food critic talk about how a new dessert (consisting of mustard, pretzels, and chocolate) is going to be a BIG sensation. I sang with ZZ Top at a dangerous volume. And I rejoiced when a station went from MJ's 'Man in the Mirror' to JM's 'Who Says'.
...What else? Well, I ate a tuna sandwich. I thought about stopping to buy gum. Pulled over once to chat with my honey. And I stared straight ahead as I sailed passed the DQ.
What's the point of this story? I dunno.
Today I've been sleepy. I botched up oodles while accompanying the church choir. I NAPPED. I thought about making cookies. And I wrestled the kids on the trampoline. (and totally won.)
...That's not all! I watched Monk. Read a few chapters of 'Anna Karenina'. (Almost done!) And I wrote this blog post.
If you're still reading you'll be interested to know that now it's scriptures, prayers, and a few hours of beauty sleep. (HA! Like I need that...)
Oh wait, were you hoping to hear about the kids?

What Brenda does with leftover chocolates

hmmmm, they do look familiar....

Can you name these two babies?


OK, it's Mike'n Me. He's looking mighty tan while I'm just scandalous. I had these pics for the "name-the-relative" picture wall at the reunion. (My mother-in-law organized it. Told ya she's creative!)

critique of the caramel s'more

It's GOOD. Whoever thought to put a caramel swirl in the marshmallow... I'm sending them happy vibes ~*~*~*~ And speaking of our weekend trip...
We spent Friday to Monday at the beach with Mike's extended family. Everyone congratulate Mike for winning the Finnish Wife Carrying Contest. He was quite proud of himself. Did anyone get a picture of that? If yes, hopefully it's from Mike's left side so it doesn't look like a Lindsay-butt atop a Mike-body. I'd love a copy!
Something I don't want to see a picture of is my sis-in-laws and I doing synchronized swimming in the hot tub. I'd like to think we were spectacular but a picture might say otherwise.
Garret loved the beach. Every time we left our little apartment he immediately bolted with a maniacal laugh. He spent the beach time laying in the warm sun but every so often he would hop up and SPRINT towards the water. He always stopped just to tap his toes in the water but I still had to sprint with him just in case he was extra brave.
Brenda worked on burying her feet and castles. I think when she realized her castles didn't look like castles on TV she "pshaw"-ed it and stuck with the burying.
Suzie was nervous. As long as she was right next to Mike or me, she would sit and poke the sand with a stick, singing loudly. When a couple walked by with a dog she laughed and barked!! She did! HAHA!!
All I wanted to do on the beach was nap. But worrying that your kids might perish, without adult supervision, causes insomnia.
We played card games, ate lots, made bracelets, even formed a Finnish choir. Needless to say we came home Monday all tuckered out.

Now that's all fantastic but I want to tell everyone about what we did last night. The organization 'Autism Speaks' hosted a free family night at the Childrens' Museum. I've joined a team for the 'walk-now-for-autism' event in September. I need some creative ideas for fund raising. I think I'll start a facebook page... If you'd like info here's the *website*.
There was a presentation to inform us of the research happening all over the world that the funds contribute to. Some fascinating stuff. And when a few parents spoke about their kids I teared up. Not sadness but a reverence for the 'club' that we were thrown into when our kids were diagnosed. There are some precious people here.

Shame on me for forgetting my camera. Mike's phone-cam came to the rescue...And last but not least, the right side of my throat hurts ever so much. I hope I'm not dying 'cause I got a busy weekend...

RSVP to the zookeeper

I am a self-proclaimed party girl. I like parties. Any excuse for a party.
Are you having a party? Shall I bring a bunt?

Last night I hosted a baby shower. It was simply a sit, visit, and enjoy-veggies-&-strawberry-angel-food cake shower. Lovely, lovely fun.

A couple months ago, a friend and I put together a no-kids, couples' party. She handled the food. I did the games. You should hire us to throw YOUR party (as it was a raging success). Yessssir...

A favorite party activity of mine is to greet each guest at the door with a secret "role" they must discreetly "play" until someone guesses correctly. Here's a few of the couple roles we've done-

*The wife is secretly trying to kill the husband and husband is getting suspicious...
*A couple that's been stranded on an island for 30 years is now adjusting to normal life
*One partner is trying to cure the other of an extreme fear off other peoples' feet
*A couple that thinks this evening is one big audition for 'Disney on Ice’
*One suffers from restless leg syndrome and the other from surprise vertigo attacks. Both are in denial of the problem.
*Superman and Lois having marital problems


We even played this for just a girls' night. Some of those roles were:

*A realtor trying to sell the home
*A shy kleptomaniac
*A teacher on field-trip day trying to keep the kids (everyone else) all rounded up
*Someone hungry who is not sure what is food and what isn't... (You should have seen that girl eat a paper plate...) ...(AAHAHAHAAHAAAA!!!!)

It all makes me think of how blessed I am. Blessed with parties. I am party-rich. My cup spilleth over with party punch. OK, that's silly talk 'cause I am really blessed. Great friends, time, a willing husband, etc. As Julie Andrews so romantically sang it- "Somewhere in my youth, or childhood... I must have done something good."

Now I'm off to prepare for a big family reunion that will be just one. big. party. (I'm in charge of 'name-that-tune' night, and I'm not making it easy.) teeheehee...

Lego Star Wars, level 6

From the other room I can hear Brenda shouting 'Come on Daddy. Let's DO this!'

bet you can't guess how long this is taking me...

For the last week our internet has been slower than dial up. Logging in was like sitting in brutal traffic. Thank goodness for Solitaire!
So here are some recent happenings-
Garret ate cheese. Just cheese. Not on pizza, or a cheese-cracker...
He also got a swing mounted up in his bedroom. After three days of caution he has accepted it joyfully.
Brenda, while throwing a tantrum, asked for a timeout and even said 'please'.
She also has enjoyed making mud pies in the backyard. (You'll see some results below.)
Suzie was trying to climb up on my bed and when she got stuck she cried out, "DADDY!!". (Her speech has been coming on slowly.) She also took full advantage of the mud pies in the backyard. (You'll see some results below.)
Mike made TWO strawberry angel food cakes for the holiday weekend. He also did some running saying that he hopes to keep up with me someday...
I savored TWO strawberry angel food cakes over the holiday weekend. Also I decided that "My Name Is Earl" is one of the funniest shows of today.

These pics are totally worth the tedious laundering, baby-scrubbing, and slow uploading-