New Flash - Reincarnation is Real!!

I have an announcement to make, or need to come out of the closet in a sense. I hope it isn't too shocking to you all, but I have come to understand the truth about reincarnation. This new knowledge has really liberated me. Hopefully you can all study out the issue and come to a similar understanding of the truth of how the universe works and human life progresses.

With this understanding, you have so many new opportunities, or options you never would have considered before. You know how they say "you can't take it with you"? What's the point of amassing wealth and material possessions when you lose it all when you die? Well, that's no longer a concern. You can take it with you!!! Some truly enlightened people have established a bank where reincarnation believers can deposit all their money and other assets, and reclaim it when they reincarnate into their new lives. It's appropriately called "Reincarnation Bank". According to the website, "Reincarnation bank offer a safe and secure management system for its clients - a place they can leave behind their assets and commodities for their return into the next life." I can't tell you how relieved I am to learn that I can preserve my widescreen TV, cash and other valuables for my next life. My only concern is, how do I access my account if I come back as a squirrel or something, which would seem appropriate since I've squirreled away goods for the future? Well, I'm sure they have that all figured out over at Reincarnation Bank. So visit www.reincarnationbank.com to set up your account today and start saving for your next life!!!

Malia figured out the wii...

Results...

Jake, screaming from upstairs, "Mom, Malia put lipstick on my mii and she made Kenzie look like an old lady."

I shouldn't be laughing (Mii's are serious business here) but it's pretty funny that a 4-year-old can figure out how to do that stuff...

When we were in Fresno I promised a broccoli soup recipe. I think it was only Tammy and Courtney that wanted it, but just in case I missed something, I'll post it for all. I liked this soup because of the rice instead of too much cream, because it was really simple, and very tasty.

No Cream Creamy Broccoli Soup (KraftFoods)

I skipped onions and I tried it with both normal white (not instant) and brown rice; both seemed to work. I also decided it's better when I didn't puree it all the way and left it chunky.

Thank you Adam and Tammy for coming all the way from TX and being the impetus for our one-day gathering in Fresno. It was a lot of fun and so nice to see so many of you after only a three hour drive!! I hope that someone who is better with their camera will post some pictures soon.

Conversation with the grocer.

At the grocery store the other day, I was looking for tofu. It's a different store than I normally go to so I couldn't find it. So, I ask the grocer and he says, "Oh, yeah, it's over there by the vegetables." "thank you," I reply. Then he continued, "you know, it's not really food, so it's not kept where the food is..."
Uh, okay. Right. Tofu is not food, so it's kept where the vegetables are (which also apparently are not food). Got it. At least I know where to find it now.

Arizona Fauna---Should I have warned Kristin??

So something I take for granted in Arizona is some of the native fauna. Apparently Kristin (even though she is used to the hordes of Blackwidows in California) is not a big fan of our wonderful Wolf Spiders. She was, I will admit, duly impressed by how well they jump when running across carpet (Wolf Spiders don't "crawl" on carpet..then jump, like little grasshoppers..only faster.) :)
Anyway, being as our house was empty for several months, and had a doggy door from previous owners that was not fully closed when we moved in, it was bound to collect a few house guest...which we are slowly moving to the backyard..(I personally never kill wolf spiders, best pest control ever, I used to collect them from my neighbors yards and keep them in mine...never sprayed for pesticide and never had roach/cricket problems, unlike my neighbors in the old neighborhood. By the way, these are 5 inch base boards...he was about 2 inches end to end...not the biggest we have seen but the best picture of one Mackenzie got).

Anyway, I think the spiders she could handle...but it was upon finding this wonderful specimen that she was not happy about. (Made worse by the fact that she found it on one of our pillows in the master bedroom...of coarse the pillow was on the floor the night before...still that didn't help her disposition).
This my friends is the Arizona Bark scorpion...nasty little buggers...I guess I forgot to mention to Kristin that Arizona is famous for its scorpions...I do not think she was the least bit excited to see it..though the kids and I had a blast playing with it. (Mackenzie in the end killed the poor thing with poison...whether the poisoned killed it or it drown in the poison because she must of filled the cup up with half an inch of spray...we will never know). Normally scorpions do not like being in houses....I have a feeling this one was a guest from before we moved in. Anyway..exciting times...I'm thinking for my poor wife's sake, I may need to rethink my position on never using pest control.

Tea Parties and Curves

Look Familiar Matthew or Brett? Here is Kol, all dressed up, having a tea party with Mackenzie much to his delight. The story behind the pic: Mackenzie was playing with her cousin Sariah last Sunday and they were having a tea party in her room. Tired of interruptions from Kol, they locked him out of the room. He kept knocking on the door begging to be let in the room. He was very upset he didn't get to join the tea party and proceeded to tell Stephen he wanted a tea set for his birthday which is coming up next month. When we asked if he wanted a princess tea set, he threw himself on the ground crying saying he wanted a boy one. Do they make those? You know what we're getting him for his birthday, right?

Story 2
The conversation between Mackenzie and me on our way to a barbeque last night. As we are driving we past a large shopping center.

Mackenzie: Look mom, there's a Curves.

Kristin: There's a what? (I couldn't understand her)

Mackenzie: There's a Curves

Kristin: A what?

Mackenzie: A Curves, you know, for after you have your baby.

Kristin: Thanks Mackenzie (sarcastically, of course)

Mackenzie: Oh you know you're going to get fat!

Kristin: Thanks Mackenzie (again, sarcastically)

Mackenzie: You're welcome!

Sigh.... I hate kids...

Happy Birthday Mom by Special Request

Happy Birthday, Mom. We all just adore and love you and wish we could all be there on your big day. Hopefully you get a bazillion phone calls from all the throngs of people that love you.

So, Mom has made a request for her roast this year. She would like for each of us to tell what foods we loved best when she made and what foods we still have nightmares about. (No, I'm serious. She requested this. Scout's honor.) I'd like to add on an additional category for the most entertaining of Mom's secret indulgences. I'll start us off. Here goes:

Best foods:
homemade bread, hands down, the winner.
daddy's special treat/ graveyard stew
cinnamon rolls
homemade macaroni and cheese
chocolate chocolate cake
frozen fruit salad
cashew chicken
fried rice (I still make mine the way you made yours)
donuts!!!
7 layer cookies
chicken noodle soup

Worst foods: (Sorry mom)
cabbage rolls
liver
lima beans

Most entertaining of Mom's indulgences:
eating peanut butter out of the jar (sometimes with chocolate chips, sometimes without)
vinegar on her beef stew
half and half on her cereal

I'm sure seeing your posts will jog my memory but that's what I've got for now. Ready, set, GO!

Shaver Lake

Though some are referring to our camping trip as something other than fantastic, the Edwardsons (and Lisonbees) had a fantastic time. Sure, people were getting sick and dropping like flies around us, but we remained strong and had a great time! So, we camped at Shaver Lake for a week with 17 adults and roughly 31 children...I may have forgotten somebody or somebodies...but I think that's about right. Here are some looks at my favorite moments...

Fishing, fishing, and more fishing. The boys were obsessed. Papa humored them and took them fishing just about every morning and every night. And, for the first time, they had success.

I think most of the boys caught fish, but here's Jake, Carter, and Sammy with their loot. We actually fried up one of Carter's fish and ate it after we got home. By "we" I mean "they," of course...I don't do fish.

One day, the kids all ate cereal for lunch. Emerson decided to forego the the spoon (or fork, in his case) and dive in for the kill. when he came up for air, he had fruit loops all over his face.

Preston and malia have had a love hate relationship as of late...but on this camping trip, it was all about love. The older kids were teasing them that they were going to get married. Malia was all for it but Preston was running the other direction. Malia even asked me to buy her a "married dress" so she could have a wedding while we were camping. They both seemed satisfied when we explained they couldn't get married there because there was no temple in Shaver.

And family camp would not be the same without karaoke night. The kids loved it! Even our shy boys were up there singing their hearts out. Caleb has some serious moves. That kid is going to be the center of stake dances when he's a teenager because he likes to get down and boogie...

The girls were more subdued but every bit as into the karaoke.

Bella would have been happy to sit and hole Elise the whole time. It didn't matter whether there was something going on or not, Bella preferred to be sitting down holding Elise...I wish she had been my first born.

The last day, there was a serious water balloon fight. The rules were...two teams (the Green choanies and the Blue something). They had to launch balloons from this slingshot thing. The kids were having a great time and so were the adults until Matt got nailed in the family jewels. Twice. After that, it was all out war. No sling shots, just advance with as many water balloons as you could hold and fire at will. It was fun to watch.

One night, we drove over to the scout camp and watched fireworks from the dock. It was beautiful to see the fireworks reflect on the water. What a fabulous way to celebrate the 4th of July.

So, family camp is a memory. Sure, most people went home with the flu or bronchitis, but we're all recovering...slowly. Some of the clothes went straight to the trash and the blankets and sleeping bags mostly had to be done at the laundromat...but we're all excited to do it again next year. Well, maybe excited isn't the right word. The Edwardsons are excited. The rest are tucking away those memories until they fade enough to laugh at.

New Mexico, Part I

The day school let out, we pulled the kids out of school early to head for Albuquerque, New Mexico. A mere fourteen hour drive to meet Justin and Katie and their kids for a fabulous vacation. We had lots of adventures and enjoyed both the outings and the down time...Here's a glimpse of what we did.

We went to a nature center that is right along the Rio Grande River. There were trails to walk on and native plantlife to discover. The kids loved the little froggies and this room overlooking the river with all windows. They could look out over the river and see turtles and ducks in the water.

In the evenings, we let the kids do sparklers. Some kids were more into it than others. Ashley took a lot of convincing but enjoyed it once we finally got her to hold one...

This is Nate...a chubalicious almost 2-year-old. He was pure entertainment. He likes to pull things...almost anything. They call him the hobo. Here he is outside pulling around one of the kids' suitcases. He is also quite a ladies' man. He likes to strike a pose and check out his suroundings. I wouldn't be surprised if his first complete sentence is, "How you doing?" (said in the voice of Joey from Friends).

Poor Nana...I think we wore her out. She was a great sport, driving all the way home with us. She sat next to a puking Bella for 14 hours and handed her ziplocs and wipes to catch the next round of vomit...but I digress. Back to the trip...

New Mexico, Part II

More New Mexico...

This is the gondola we rode on. It took us to the top of a mountain. It's the longest gondola in the world (or something like that). It was seriously awesome! Beautiful views and beautiful changes in landscape...from cactus to pine trees.

There was a great children's museum that we took the kids to. One of the favorite places was the bubble room...a big shallow bowl of soapy bubbles. The kids had a great time playing in the bubbles. I've never seen such huge bubbles...

Jake and Emma were buddies the whole trip. They went golfing together. Rick and Justin told them they had to earn the money to go golfing so they spent the first few days before golfing doing chores to earn the money to go golfing. My favorite was putting the kids to bed for us. We only gave them money if the kids didn't get out of bed. They were awesome! I wish they would do that all the time!

These are the kiddies at the Aquarium. It was a pretty weak aquarium by our standards, but the kids like it.

This is Carter's favorite memory of the trip...little tiny frogs that we found at the nature center. They were everywhere as we walked in. Carter is a lot like Lenny...loves the frogs to death (literally). Good times.

Latest Project

I finally finished my latest project - the entertainment center. Here is the before shot of the TV in the very large 8 foot by 10 foot recess in our family room wall:

And here's the entertainment center, made of six separate units held together by bolts, four doors in the lower units, a wide slide-out drawer on the bottom, and alltogether 25 shelves to fill:

With such a large wall unit, it really makes the 52" TV look small. Look at all that space on the sides and the top. I think I may need to upgrade to a significantly larger TV. What do you think?

I made the units of three different depths to add variation and interest to what is otherwise a fairly simple design:

I added puck lighting along the top. Michelle hasn't decorated yet, so I figured I would get started. I think the shadows cast by the light really adds depth to this piece:

MIA

I thought summer was supposed to be the time where I'm pulling my hair out trying to figure out what to do with all the time. I'm still waiting for that to happen. We have been busy busy busy! One of these days I'll get around to posting pictures of our adventures so far. I believe we have a free week ahead of us...but I'm probably forgetting something...Pictures to come...