Shut the Door!

Lots of friends, good weather--not too hot, lots of time outdoors. Nicholas has taken to announcing every rule he has learned: Rule 1 -- Tell me where you're going.
Nick: Can I go to Necie's?
Me: Yes.
Nick: I'm going to Necie's now.
Me: Okay.
Nick: Okay. I'm going to Necie's. You said I could, right?
Me: Right, you can go.
Nick: I can go?
Me: Yes! Yes! Go! Go!

Rule 2 -- Shut the door when you come in or go out.
Nick: I'm going to Necie's.
Me: Thanks for telling me.
Nick: I'm shutting the door when I go out.
Me: Thanks for following the rules.
Nick: Bye, Mom. I'm going to shut the door.
Me: Thank you.
Nick: Okay. Did you say I could go to Necie's?
Me: Yes! Yes! Go! Go!

I can yell at them to shut the door on the way in, but on the way out they're long gone... And so I get up one more time and shut the door! A few weeks ago, trying to be positive, I said to my mother-in-law... "I guess I shouldn't complain, I'll miss the messy bathrooms and sticky floor when they're gone." She just looked at me and said, "No you won't." What a relief. There will be so much else to miss--little voices, little hands, big imaginations--I'm glad I get to at least enjoy a clean house.

I just shouted, "Shut the Door!" again.

But with all the coming and going, you know there is lots of fun to be had. For the last two weeks we've had the water slide up and running!







My third Echo Triathlon. I went to the lake to practice a week before and instead of feeling confident, felt absolute dread. But after my pool swim the day before I actually got excited. I had fun -- made it to the second buoy in the lake before I lost my composure (darn idling boat fumes!) and enjoyed the bike and endured the run. I didn't beat my time, but I did finish and that's always a good feeling.


That night 3 of my best friends from high school (we went on to be college roommates) came over with their families. Kids are getting older -- they're now the ages we were when we first became best friends. Two are Juniors in high school. 5 more are in Jr. High. We have 18 kids between us. All of us have had a taste of the sweetness of life and the sorrow. I was sad I didn't think of getting a photo of the four of us all together.

Marty headed out Monday morning for his Scout 50 miler. I'll post a picture when we download them from the camera he took. They hiked over 6 miles the first day and 5 miles the second both with his 25 pound pack. The third day was 17 miles (without packs) to the highest point in Utah -- King's Peak. The following day they hiked 11 more miles to get home. He said the best part was summiting King's Peak and his wool socks. The best part of being home is showering, sleeping on a pillow and real food.

Monday afternoon we took the Chris, Nick and friends to play in the fountains at The Gateway.



We went to Thanksgiving Point with Gram and friends on Wednesday -- the most beautiful gardens in Utah.





There's a frog in the middle of this lake. From close up you see only the algae growing. But it's covered with lily pads and beautiful pink, purple and white flowers growing on them.

Last night we went up the canyon and roasted hot dogs and salmon kebobs and had a picnic with Gram and Jo Ellen. Only a 15 minute drive up the canyon to picnic tables, fire pits, a stream and cool weather.

Pawit's Royale Thai

How I love Thai food! And amidst all the construction and demolition of most stores, restaurants, and malls in our neighborhood, at least we've got Pawit's -- consistently rated a top Thai restaurant in Salt Lake -- great food, ambiance and service -- and all right down the street. Only problem is I never remember what we order so I don't know what our favorite dishes are and if we're trying something new or something we've already had. We ate there last night with friends and had THE BEST coconut soup! I had to stop myself twice from picking up my bowl and lapping up what my spoon couldn't get. Seriously.

Thought I'd list what we ordered so next time I'll remember...
Tom Kha -- A complex coconut soup with mushrooms, cabbage, kaffir lime leaves, lemon grass, galangal garnished with cilantro.
Pad Thai (of course)
Kaow Pad-- Stir-fried steamed jasmine rice with egg, meat, onions, green peas, scallions, and soy sauce. Topped with cucumbers, tomatoes, and cilantro.
Gang Kra Lee -- Mild yellow curry with coconut milk, kaffir lime leaves, potatoes, carrots, and onions.
Pad Gra Prow -- One of Pawit’s favorites. Stir-fried meat, garlic, Thai green bans, onions, red andgreen bell peppers, spicy Thai chilies, and Thai basil.
Pad Kee Mao -- Drunken stir-fried meat with garlic, broccoli, red and green bell peppers, mushrooms,carrots, spicy Thai chilies, and Thai basil

Otherwise known as S2, N1, N7, C1, D2, D4

Drive-In Movies

We headed to the drive-in last night to see the 9:30 show of Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs. I always get a little nervous trying something new (yes, even just a drive-in -- a trait I handed down to at least one of my children!)... How early do we need to arrive? Should we buy tickets ahead of time? Will it sell out? Will it be crowded with no good spots to park our cars? Will it be cold? Should we bring blankets? Food? Chairs? These are the things that I dream up that I worry if not given appropriate consideration could ruin a fun evening.

But, of course, going to the drive-in isn't hard; people do it all the time... or maybe I should say, a few people I know have done it within recent memory. With their advice and assurance that we don't need to get there too early and it doesn't get crowded, bring food and blankets and chairs, we headed off and had a great time! And I can check that off the list of "fun things we should do as a family in the summer!" (Yes, it's good I have a list because the boys all wanted to go to the Bees Baseball game for the second time this season. We will be going again, but not until we do a few different things first!)

This Week...

This really feels like the first week of summer since the first two weeks off of school rained! 4 days of swimming lessons, 3 days of lemonade stands, 2 days of 2 minutes of slip-n-slide, 2 sleepovers at Grandpa's and 1 full day of reading my 900 pg. book.





Oh, and I remembered to check the garden -- we'll be having lots and lots of zucchini again this summer!