Maker Faire 2011

I've referred to my sister's family moving out to CA a few times before so now the explanation: Jake got a job with O'Reilly Media and they are based in Sebastopol, CA. It's basically his dream job. (The rockets we made at Thanksgiving were actually from their magazine.) Anyway, the other weekend they had a huge DIY exhibition with all kinds of crazy things.

Here we are as part of the cover; yes, we are a bit large for this magazine box and there was a larger box but we saw it too late...

We went with some friends and the boys were in HEAVEN. They could touch everything, play with the items, and even climb on big bikes. It was awesome. Scott and Joel were overstimulated.

Even Julie and I got in on the action a bit. This bike swing was fun but after feeling like it would tip a few times I told them that I was done. People make all sorts of crazy things.

Do you see how happy my Dad's face is? This bike contraption would swing them in a circle. After a few minutes of that Scott had to walk next to him while a worker followed my Dad out of the ride. He was a bit tipsy...

It was a really fun faire. My Dad brought his former boss and my Mom eventually showed up with Melissa and Rushton. We made quite the scene with Melissa in a wheelchair (remember, she's going to have a baby June 1) and Rushton trying to escape his stroller. We were a site.

The faire comes highly recommended so if you're in the Bay Area next May put it on your calendars!

Week 22: sugar

20 pounds sugar

California Academy of Sciences

My sister's family moved to Santa Rosa last month so a few weeks ago Scott and I met them in San Francisco to go to the California Academy of Sciences. I'd been there once before but since it was with 'another man' Scott wanted me to replace those memories with him. It was a really fun and educational day. For instance, I learned with certainty that I will never take a young toddler/child to a museum that I pay for their entrance.

Jake, Melissa & Rushton (Melissa is scheduled to have a little girl on Wednesday so she was quite the trooper to walk around all morning.)

Rushton loved the aquarium part and wanted to see all the hands-on stations but he wasn't into the hands-on part. He liked to put his hands in the water but touching the fish was not on his agenda. They have a planetarium there but kids under 8 can't go so I volunteered to stay out with Rush since I'd seen it before. Rush wanted to run around with his shoes off and we had a good time for a while but things got a bit tense when I wouldn't let him run through the gift shop. Luckily at that moment I noticed a coloring station next door. Even better is that behind the coloring station was a play area with a huge ship. Jackpot. After that I stayed with him while everyone else rushed through the rest of the museum so we could get lunch. It was awesome.

The day was polished off by Fenton's. Seriously, delicious.

Week 21: tomato soup

8 cans tomato soup

Week 20: wheat

50 pounds wheat

Fashion Faux Pas

Today in church we were practicing a song to sing on Father's Day. The first line of the song is: 'My daddy is my favorite pal, and I help him everyday. It's plain to see I want to be like him in every way.' As we sing that the girl next to me, she's 7, starts to shake her head and say, "No way! No way! There's no way I want to be like my dad, he has NO sense of style!' I tried to tell her how wonderful her dad was and that he had other great qualities but she reiterated his lack of style and said he wears weird pants and mismatched shirts. Kids these days...

A love affair with dip.

Rushton LOVES dip. The only use he has for chips, fries, or veggies is to get dip from the container to his mouth. We went to a Mexican restaurant and he attacked the sour cream. He also loves guacamole and ketchup; both fairly adult tastes.

Have at it kiddo.

Week 19: cream of mushroom soup

5 cans cream of mushroom soup

Happy Mother's Day!

We have both been blessed with wonderful mothers and mothers-in-law. We're so thankful for our family.

(We know we got married almost a year ago but we still really only have wedding pictures of our families.)

Atlanta

My mom and I went to visit my sister Laura in Atlanta and we had an awesome time. She went out there for a dietitian internship and loved it so I went to see what she liked. Everyone there is so nice and it's beautiful with all the foliage. This may be my first visit but it certainly won't be my last! Thanks WaWa!

The Atlanta temple had been remodeled so we went through the open house and it was beautiful with it's simplicity and elegance. It's 20 minutes from Laura's place so she's lucky to be able to go often.

Laura at least looks good in this picture...

The Carrolls, a couple from my mission drove up from Florida to visit me. They're are awesome and it was so good to see them again. (Laura will probably visit them over Memorial Day weekend. Lucky.) I served by them in a remote area and loved every minute of it.

We went to the World of Coke museum and it was interesting. Who knew that a soft drink was so important! They had tons of Coke bottles decorated. Can you see me standing by my favorite one? I learned that the shape/feel of a Coke bottle is patented. Interesting.

At the end of the tour you can try different Coke products from all over the world. Word to the wise, if you're going to Africa avoid the pinenut flavor. It's way too sweet! However, the pineapple is delicious and whatever they serve in Greece isn't so bad.

Laura in her office.

And Laura pretending to work.

Thanks for such a fun weekend Laura. I can't wait to come visit again!

Week 18: powdered milk

10 pounds powdered milk

Settlers & Smoothies

This weekend we lived Scott's dream: we had delicious pizza for dinner and then came home to make fruit smoothies and play Settlers of Catan. Unlucky for him, he didn't win. All of it was fun but my favorite was the smoothies. We had a bunch of fresh fruit and it made everything so good.