Lately

In chalk art...

I've started letting my kids use my chalk supplies. I am equal parts proud of myself and full of regret. I am proud of myself because allowing my kids to use my chalk supplies has resulted in some wonderful artistic moments for them - they've created things that they are proud of, and they truly enjoy the process. I have some pretty darn creative kids! Regret because, as kids are prone to do, they leave the stuff out, and they whine when things don't turn out perfect (and they expect me to solve all their problems. Ariel has a weird nose? Well... that's part of life. We don't all get to have perfect noses). 

Grumble, grumble.

Here are some of our creations from this week (it's been a big chalk art week. Our driveway is an absolute mess! Over the weekend, I need to borrow my in-law's pressure washer to freshen our canvas).

Peppa Pig - drawn by me, colored by Daisy

Mike Wazowski by me

Pumbaa by me

Gus Gus by Daisy

Last Friday, Nicky, Daisy, and I drove to South Jordan early in the morning to check out a small chalk art festival at a park. 

SoJo Chalk Art

In outings...

I'm trying to take my kids hiking at least once a week... for now (once the summer heat hits, I'm sure I'll opt for laying naked under the swamp cooler all day instead). This week we did a short one because we were limited on time. We hit Rocky Mouth Falls. It was a really fun hike; great for the kids - I can't believe we've never done it before! 

Stairs from the parking lot to the upper road

The water fall is flowing really well right now due to the run-off. I've heard it can turn to a light trickle later in the summer, so if you want to go... go now!

This is the stream coming down from the waterfall

Daisy at the waterfall

This week we also made a quick stop by the UP house. 

The kids were fighting like crazy, and I needed to get them away from home so Scotty could do work meetings in peace, so we hit the UP house and played at the park across the street for a little while. It gave Scotty a brief period of quiet.

This week also featured three dentist appointments and one orthodontist appointment. We haven't been to any medical appointments since COVID hit. It was interesting to see the difference between the dentist office and the orthodontist office - which are right across the hall from each other. At the dentist we had to wait in the parking lot, do all of our payments and insurance verification over the phone, wear masks, get our temperatures taken, etc. At the orthodontist they had every chair full and a waiting room crowded with people. No one was wearing masks unless they were working directly in a patient's mouth. Nothing was actually different at the orthodontist. 

After the dentist appointments, we went to the dollar store so the kids could pick out Father's Day presents for Scotty. 

Not a Father's Day present... but almost

Then I ran into Harbor Freight quickly so I could buy a new grabber tool, followed by a stop at Panda Express to use two free kids meal coupons that expire at the end of the month. That was the first time I've been inside a food place since march (it was just take-out. I have no desire to "dine-in" anywhere right now). 

This makes it sound like I take my kids out in public regularly, but I really don't. I only started taking them to public places a couple of weeks ago, and for the most part, it's just been one at a time. We do wear masks. My logic is... if the store employees and and restaurant workers have to wear them, I should be wearing one too, regardless of what I believe about masks and communicable diseases. If a store employee has to spend 8 hours talking and breathing through a mask, I can do it for 20 minutes. At first I really struggled with masks because I'm a bit claustrophobic, but I've worked through it. I still do most of my grocery shopping online, so it's really not that often that I'm in a place to wear a mask anyway. 

My biggest issue with mask wearing is not the discomfort or the inconvenience but the fact that when I smile at people, they don't smile back. I get that you can't see my mouth, but aren't my eyes smiling too? Can't you see the twinkle? It takes a lot of effort for this grumpy looking face to smile at strangers. I need some validation.

(On the other side, I kind appreciate having my chin zits covered. I could be bearded and toothless under that bad boy, and no one's the wiser!)

In baking...

You may recall that one of my COVID goals was to become a better baker. I think I've had some successes, but my baking has tapered off a bit as it has gotten warmer. On Monday it was quite cold and rainy, so it was a good day to bake. I intended only to make a double batch of sandwich rolls, but I ended up also baking two loaves of bread and three dozen cookies. And not just any cookies... cookies with a layer of peanut butter frosting and chocolate ganache. 

Things got a little messy, to say the least.

I am not a tidy baker. Actually, I'm not a tidy anything.

But look! They're all the same size!

Huzzah!

By the time I finished, I never wanted to eat bread or chocolate again. Luckily I got over it and was able to enjoy the spoils by Tuesday. Then I went ahead and made 24 cinnamon rolls that night... because why not?

(This is probably why I often claim I don't like baking - I burn myself out. I can't just bake here and there. I always go crazy and overdo it to the point of hatred! But I think... if I'm gonna bake... I'm gonna BAKE!!! Why make a quick batch of cookies when I can have 36 cookies plus two loaves of break plus 24 rolls?)

(I'm a crazy person, aren't I?)

In orinthology...

Here are our latest birdhouse tenants:

We also have lots and lots of mice on our property right now... which does not fit with orinthology, but if we're speaking of tenants, there are many. We have lots of traps out, including one that Zoe and Eva made. I'll probably post some pictures of it tomorrow. 

Currently {June 2020 Edition}

Reading: Mariana by Susanna Kearsley. Over the weekend I read White Fragility by Robin DiAngelo and Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You by Jason Reynolds and Ibram X. Kendi in an effort to expand my perspective.

Listening to: my five-year-old child laying on the kitchen floor screaming and kicking the cupboards. She has told me no less than 15 times today that she hates me, and it's only 9:09 a.m.

Eating: a bacon, egg, and cheese bagel. It's not great, sadly. I think it's because I don't have any orange juice. A breakfast sandwich just isn't right if it's not being chased down with OJ.

Drawing: Olaf.

I'm still waiting on a delivery of black chalk from Amazon. It was supposed to be here last Thursday. I'm completely out (for Olaf's buttons and eyes, I used the last of a really dark brown). I need black chalk! 

It's raining today, though, so it wouldn't be the ideal day to make chalk art. 

Enjoying: the cool weather today. We've had days in the high 90's this past week, and now it's 40 degrees. Quite the difference! But I am happy to not be sweaty! The heat is not kind to me. I have heat rashes down both sides of my body from last week.

Buying: dutch ovens.

Scotty and I have wanted to get new dutch ovens for a while, so on Saturday, we went shopping. Turns out - dutch ovens are just one more thing that's out of stock everywhere right now. We ended up having to drive an hour and a half to Sportsman's Warehouse in Logan because that's the only place we could find the size we wanted (a deep 12" and 14"). Our dutch oven journey ended up being about 9 hours from start to finish, but it's all good because I got to have Aggie ice cream while we were out. 

When we got home on Saturday night, we did some dutch oven cooking even though we weren't really hungry (we had to take advantage of the Logan fooding opportunities - Logan is a great place to go to eat... and eat... and eat...)

Eating french fries in a Logan parking lot

(because COVID)

on a quilt made with french fry fabric

In our dutch ovens, we made some chicken and veggies and the worst brownies ever!

Craving: Aggie ice cream. Now that it's on my mind, it's not going to go away any time soon. On Saturday I tried "True Aggie Night" ice cream. I never wanted it to end!

Unfortunately, it did eventually end. 

Wearing: leggings with pockets and a Utah hoodie.

Pockets are everything.

Finishing: this stupid puzzle.

Nicky and I started this puzzle a few weeks ago. I'm pretty picky about the puzzles I do. I never would have picked this one - it was a gift. I was so torn because this puzzle made me feel ornery and resentful about leaves and ducks, but I didn't want to be a quitter. Yesterday Scotty helped Nicky and me finish it after I expressed my deep frustration with it.

Feeling: lost and disoriented. I have to say, I preferred living under a stay at home order because I didn't have to make as many choices. Now I have to make decisions every day - can my children play with friends? Are we going to wear masks? Are we going to attend this or that social event? Who are we comfortable being around? What stores and errands are okay for us? What risks are we taking? Do we feel comfortable returning to church?

I hate that COVID choices have become issues of politics and morals, and I hate trying to figure out our COVID values.

Missing: the ease of "going places."

Looking forward to: our next camping trip. I hope we have decent weather.

Annoyed by: my dear, sweet son who follows me around all day and never stops talking. Oh how I love him! But oh how I want to walk into a room without him following me.

Grateful for: water temperature. If we want hot water, we can get it! If we want cold water, we can get it! How spoiled are we?

Somehow it's Already June (and ten other random facts)

Fact #1: This week we forced our kids made a goal as a family to go without TV and video games Monday through Friday (we are going to let the kids watch shows on Friday night - which will be glorious). We needed to do a little electronic detox. I intended to eliminate social media and some of my phone usage as well, but with the protests and other things going on, I didn't want to be that disconnected. 

It's been hilarious and horrifying to see our kids' response to this. Nicky is dying because he wasn't able to watch World of Dance or the new episodes of Fuller House. Daisy keeps saying, "I can't believe I can't watch TV. I just can't believe it!" Zoe and Eva, who I thought would be the worst, haven't really mentioned it much, though I have caught Zoe trying to sneak screens a few times, and she has tried to sweet talk me into letting her play Minecraft. 

Edit: In between the time I wrote this and the time it posted, Scotty and I caved and let the kids watch TV at their grandma’s house because we needed a break from them. Then we let them come home and watch more TV because we still needed a break from them. 

Fact #2: I'm trying to keep the kids active through the summer, which usually leaves me with two options - 1) trick them into physical play or 2) drag them out of the house kicking and screaming and force them to move. This was our short walk the other day. 

Walking: the ultimate plight

Fact #3: On Tuesday morning, I took the kids on a hike to Bell Canyon Reservoir. It's not too long - about 1.5 miles round trip + however much you walk around once you get to the lake. We saw a lot of birds, including baby ducks, and other than arguing profusely about the names of said baby ducks <eyeroll>, the kids were pretty great! I was hoping to get out hiking a few more times this week, but we've been busy with other things, and I will only go early in the morning (this mama hates crowds and heat). 

Piggy backs on the trail

Fact #4: My Instant Pot suffered a tragedy earlier this week. I had it sitting on the stove - a place I commonly leave it without incident - and all of a sudden I smelled burning plastic and saw smoke coming out from under the Instant Pot. I had no idea what was happening, as the Instant Pot wasn't even plugged in. Somehow the burner had heated up. I wasn't using the stove, and the dial was in "OFF" position. I'm not really sure how it happened other than I had been doing dishes, and I was laying some dishes on a towel on the stove, so I must've bumped the dial just so, making it heat up the burner.

Entrails of my Instant Pot

Oops!

There was melted plastic on the stove and on my painted counter tops. I got it cleaned off the stove, but I haven't yet addressed the counter top because I'm not ready to face the fact that my counter top is ruined. Some of it also dripped onto my electric griddle that was sitting nearby, so now when I cook on it, the plastic burns off and stinks up the house.

Fact #5: The other day I was away from home for an hour, and during that time, I wrestled with some disappointments regarding my children. A lot of it had to do with that old thief of joy - I see other parents with children who share their passions and interests. Their children are achieving things mine aren't, and occasionally I compare. On this particular day, I was watching my friend's daughter in her element - doing things I wish my daughter would do. I know that's such a dangerous way to think, but I can't help it sometimes.

I caught myself in that bad mental place and quickly said a prayer to help me be more understanding of my children and to see their good qualities. When I came home, Nicky, Daisy, and Zoe had cleaned the house and left this note for me:

They can't take it back! 

I have photographic evidence that they love me!

Fact #6: The other night, Zoe and Eva cracked us up as they made a trap and tried to catch a chicken. Additional fact: we have a lot of golf balls at our house. 

Golf balls and chicken traps

Fact #7: Last weekend we went "real" (as opposed to "backyard") camping for the first time this year. It was so nice to get away! We didn't have cell phone service, and it was nice to be off-grid for a few days (which is what prompted me to come home and have a screen free week). 

We stayed over two nights, and our kids experienced their first thunderstorms in a tent. We played games, did some service, saw lots of animals and birds, and played in the river. It was really fun and peaceful. 

The river was freezing!

Fact #8: Yesterday our kids had a blast slip-n-sliding on tarps with their friends. The activities my kids enjoy the most always involve some sort of creative use of random supplies from the shed (see photo above wherein Zoe is hiding inside an old pond form - our, as we call it, our swimming pool). 

Graceful Nicky

Elegant Daisy

Fact #9: We have more starling eggs in our birdhouse. Scotty took the perch off the front, which is supposed to help deter aggressive birds, but the starlings moved right in anyway! Our other birdhouse hosts baby sparrows that are almost on their way out. 

Fact #10: If I ever go missing, make sure you check to see if I'm napping behind the laundry. 

Hi! I'm here!

Chalkin' the Walk

I have a new morning ritual. I don't do it every day, but I do it a few times a week.

I color on the sidewalk.

I've always loved chalk art (also known as street painting) and wanted to give it a go. A few weeks ago, I figured it was time to try it out. I've doodled with sidewalk chalk aplenty in my life, but I wanted to up my game. So I started researching. I was surprised to find that there is very little information on street painting on the internet. I scoured pinterest, google, and YouTube and found hardly anything in the way of tutorials.

Here is what I learned:

• Use soft pastels (not oil pastels - I didn't know there was a difference)
• Hairspray can be used as a fixative to help the color stay
• Foam is a great tool for smudging and blending (or you can use your hand, but the foam saves your skin)
• Tempera paint can be used (I haven't invested in any yet, but I hope to)
• Use a chalk line to make a grid (I haven't gone this extreme yet)

That's basically it.

I've been to the Utah Foster Care Chalk Art Festival many times, and I've watched the artists work and taken note of their supplies. Now I have all the more reason to observe them - knowing that the internet isn't going to teach me the ways of street painting. Of course... the festival is canceled for this year. 

COVID-19: killer of dreams. 

Utah Foster Care Chalk Art Festival 2016

I've never taken an art class in my life except in junior high when it was required, but my art teacher was hospitalized at the beginning of the semester, and we had a sub who let us run wild for the rest of the school year - therefore, no art was ever done in art class. But I've been having a blast with my simple, little doodles. And sometimes it’s nice to not know the rules... because then you don’t have to follow them!

(Please don’t make that your life’s motto - I actually do believe in rules. Just not when it comes to things like sewing or drawing).

These were my very first - Pua and Hei Hei from Moana. I think they are my favorites. 

Then I tried for Woody. He turned out fine, but the coloring of his face was a little zombie-esque. For this one, I tried drawing in white chalk first and then filling in the colors. 

You know that artsy thing where you draw circles with lines through them and then add the details? I'm sure there's a proper term for it... but my art teacher was hospitalized, you know, so we never got around to that. Anyway, I can't do that thing. I've tried several times in my life. It doesn't work in my brain. I attempted it for Woody and had to start over and do it the Brittany Way. 

Foreign language

This was the first time I tried setting the chalk with hairspray. I'm still experimenting with that a little. 

Then I did Flounder. Every image takes a ton of chalk, and I find myself running out of colors quickly. I'm learning how to work around that. Everything I draw results in more learning. 

After a little practice, I decided to try Robin Hood - my cartoon crush. 

The thing about Robin Hood is... his smirk is everything. I didn't nail the smirk. I made his snout a little too short, and I was disappointed. But it's all good. I've moved on with my life, and I'm at peace with the fact that my Disney drawings will always look like the non-licensed versions of characters that pose with tourists on the streets of New York and Las Vegas. 

On Sunday night, I drew this:

I let Daisy help me. She did some of the coloring and blending, and I traced her hands. I've never been able to draw hands. In fact, when I do birthday posters for the school, I try to eliminate the hands on any characters I use. My brain can't comprehend hands. As you can see, I don't even get hands right when I trace. 

Also... art teacher... hospitalized.

Earlier this week I made an attempt at Eeyore. I didn't have quite enough room on the sidewalk, so he's a little squished.

Right after I finished him, Nicky dragged a blanket across him. I hadn’t even cleaned up yet!

Yesterday I drew Nemo. As long as you don't compare him side by side with the actual Nemo, he looks pretty good. 

I've used up a lot of my common color pastels, so now I'm just trying to finish up some of the remaining colors before I start buying more. Black and white go fast! I bought some cheap white chalk since I go through it so quickly. The quality is poorer, but the price of white soft pastels is over $1 a piece. I've had some black pastels on order from Amazon for over a week. I used the last of mine on Nemo.. 

C'mon Amazon! My driveway awaits! 

On Tuesday, I made my first attempt at cleaning the chalk off the cement. I needed a fresh canvas! I used the jet stream on my handheld sprinkler. It cleaned Eeyore off easily because Eeyore was fresh and not set with hairspray. It hardly touched Woody! So yesterday I went outside with Dawn dish soap and a scrub brush and scrubbed my driveway clean. I got everything off except for a few traces of red and black. 

I'm excited to try some more things, and if I can manage to drag myself to a store, I might even get some tempera paint (Walmart only had two colors in stock - brown and red. I need to try a craft or hobby store, but I'm not very inclined to go to stores for non-essentials right now). Then again, with as hot as it's getting, this might not be a hobby for much longer. 

If you're wondering why my art teacher was hospitalized...

It was an allergic reaction to chalk!

Pandemic Luxury

The past couple of months have brought to my attention some of the things I would like to have in place in our household for future emergencies. I feel like the pandemic and the earthquake gave us just enough of a taste for what we would need during a disaster or emergency without completely devastating us.

There have been a lot of things that have served us well - for example, some of the earthquake proofing measures we took several years ago were very effective back in March. Fortunately, the earthquake was on the smaller scale. The only damage we had were a few things falling over and our water heater going out. There are other things that could have gone awry. If our earthquake had been bigger, and our water supply had been affected, I definitely would have been kicking myself for not having our water barrels filled (we had just relocated them and had to drain them to do so. Day after day I kept thinking, "We need to fill our water barrels." But when you've needed them NEVER, it's easy to keep procrastinating). Immediately after the first earthquake and the subsequent aftershocks settled, we went outside and filled up our water barrels. We ended up not needing them, but it reminded me that we could need them someday (I confess, I hated that we might need water after an earthquake and that all of the pandemic water bottle hoarders would then be validated!)

I've been reminded of how quickly one's financial situation can change and how scarce resources can become. I had a thought early on that I should really write it all down - because there were things that kept coming to mind in terms of, "If I'm ever in a situation like this again, I would like to have this, this, and this in place." Of course, I didn't write any of it down - because why would I forget? Yeah... I forgot. The only things I can remember of dire importance are 1) a water supply and 2) a six-month financial reserve - even if I'm only able to contribute $10 a month toward it. I don't like thinking about future emergencies because, somehow, that makes me feel like I'm willing them to happen. But I think it's wise to prepare.

Even though I can't recall all of the emergency essentials I want to implement for the future, I have been very aware of some of the more frivolous things I've had available to me during the pandemic and earthquakes that I've been very grateful for! I have to admit, in all of the anxiety-ridden imaginings I've had of disasters and turmoil throughout my life, this scenario was never one of them - the one where we are hit with a world-wide pandemic, and we have to homeschool our children. If this scenario takes place again (and it might, as we know), here are some of the more luxurious things I hope I'll have on hand again:

A Bosch Mixer

I bought a Bosch on Black Friday. I'd always wanted one but couldn't quite justify the expense since I owned a working Kitchen Aid (that I got for free), and I don't bake all that often. I finally decided to just go for it! Then I had Bosch guilt because I spent lots of money on a mixer that I rarely used. That all changed in March. Baking became one of my coping mechanisms. I also have to be thankful that I bought some flour and yeast right before COVID went wild. I remember seeing big two-packs of yeast at Sam's Club and thinking, "I'll never use all that yeast before it goes bad, but it's so cheap!" as I loaded it in my cart.

A Roll of Butcher Paper

I never would have known that a roll of butcher paper was a necessity for a pandemic, but I tell you what! Our butcher paper saved us. We used it for all sorts of signs and celebrations. One of the first things we used it for was to make a happy birthday banner for our teenage neighbor. Then we had grandma's birthday and neighborhood scavenger hunts and graduations and the list goes on... We needed a lot of butcher paper.

A Whiteboard

As soon as they announced that school was closing, I bought a whiteboard. I knew that having my kids do school from home would mean being asked a thousand questions a day, and I felt like I needed to have an information center to keep things organized. Seventy-six days later, the whiteboard is just a regular fixture in our day.

Chickens

I love having chickens, but over the past couple of years, I've gotten tired of taking care of them. Pre-pandemic, we were toying with the idea of getting rid of them and being done with animals altogether. Our rabbits are gone, the parakeet finally died, and all we have left are chickens.

For a while, it was hard to get eggs from the store, and I was so grateful that we had our chickens! It renewed my love for them. Not just because they provide food, but also because there is something comforting about sitting outside while the chickens roam the yard in the evening. It feels homey and relaxing, and we really needed that feeling of, "Everything is fine because there are chickens!"

Spring Clamps

We keep a box of clamps around the house for the kids to use to build forts (we stock up regularly at Harbor Freight - they are so handy). I can't even tell you how many forts the kids have built over the past ten weeks. They build them inside and outside. They've slept in them. They've done school in them. They've taken shelter from the rain in them.

All hail the clamps! A pandemic must-have!

The Garage Recliner

(Alternatively called the "driveway recliner" depending on its location).

You all know I love my recliner. Many a pandemic day, when I've been so mentally and physically exhausted that I don't know how I'll keep going, I end up in my driveway recliner while my kids do sidewalk chalk or ride bikes. In the thick of the stay at home order for Salt Lake County, sitting out in my chair gave me the chance see humans - even if they were just in their cars waving. I was always so happy to see other people. It became one of my favorite things to do - just sit outside and watch for people.

The Garden

Other than a few cilantro leaves, we haven't harvested anything from our garden yet this season, but I've been so glad to have it in progress. The garden has served multiple purposes for me this season. For one, it gave me a sense of accomplishment. Prepping the boxes, planting the seeds, and having them grow has been really satisfying. Eventually there will be the reward of food! At the beginning of the pandemic, when so many food items were scarce, I had legit concerns that fresh produce might not be available at some point. It wouldn't take a big thing to prevent trucks from being able to make their deliveries. I knew if we got to that point, garden seeds would be the next thing people started hoarding, so I bought the seeds we needed for our own garden just so they'd be available to plant when the time came. We planted our early crops right away and then planted the rest in late April (which is still kind of early for Utah planting season, but we took our chances because the weather was especially good at the time).

I'm very glad that we've been able to maintain our food resources and that most of the things that were scarce two months ago are available now. But I'm also glad that we have the space in our yard and the know-how to grow a few things just in case.

---------------

Some other things I've been really thankful to have are miscellaneous arts and crafts supplies, board games and puzzles, access to digital libraries (Overdrive, Audible, Deseret Bookshelf Plus, Kindle, etc), jump ropes, a fire pit, a sandbox, birdhouses, Otter Pops, grocery pick-up, and a box of chicken costumes.

The one thing I wish I had but couldn't get... a bidet. I will buy a bidet before the next emergency.

I haven't had soda in 127 days (and ten other random facts)

Fact #1: Here's a little project from last week:

I refinished this cupboard for my mother-in-law for her birthday. 

Fact #2: Putting the WILD backdrop out in my driveway last week was a success. Several people stopped by to take photos, and it was nice to have it used. On Friday afternoon, a wind storm came through and took it down. The wood sign blew into the backdrop and tore holes in it. I probably could have repaired it, but it was too windy to put it back out.

BEFORE:

AFTER:

Fact #3: My brother-in-law was on his way to our house when the backdrop blew over, so we took his photos with the rubble in our garage. 

Straight outta Pinterest!

Fact #4: Last week I put on make-up for book club (we met in-person, socially distant in my backyard). I've pretty much forgotten how to do hair and make-up. I mean, I wasn't good at it to begin with, but now it's really bad. 

Fact #5: Right before COVID, I bought a box of shatter-proof glasses from Sam's Club. I break glasses ALL THE TIME. I either drop them or drop things on them while they are in the sink. I'm always throwing out broken glass. With my new purchase, I got rid of most of our glass, but I kept six little glass cups that I love. 

The other day, I bumped one of the little glasses while I was putting dishes away, and it shattered everywhere. It was the messiest break I've ever caused (and I've caused a lot of glass breaks). It exploded into tiny shards that shot everywhere. The pieces were so itty bitty that they embedded in my counter, and I had a really hard time cleaning them up. They were also under all of my appliances, and several shards went into my flip flop, cutting up my foot. 

The next day, I grabbed a paper towel, and felt something sharp. I looked down and discovered that glass shards were embedded all over in the paper towels, and one had gone into my hand. 

Fact #6: Several weeks ago, I pulled out some old ice trays and froze a bunch of my kids tiny toys (shopkins, lego minifigures, marbles, hatchimals, etc) in water and made them experiment to find the best way to thaw them. My kids were very intrigued by the ice cube trays, as they have never seen such a thing! Instead of thinking of them as an old, out-dated way to make ice, my kids thought they were an awesome new thing! Daisy has since taken up the art of making "home-made ice" (as she calls it). It cracks me up!

Fact #7: Over the weekend, Nicky got out Scotty's and my old video cameras (we each had one while Scotty was on his mission, and we would send each other videos in the mail). There was so much to explain, like how you have to have a tape to record a video. Also the concepts of rewinding and fast-forwarding. We had VHS tapes when Nicky and Daisy were little, but they don't remember them very well, so they were blown away by how long it takes to rewind a tape. 

Fact #8: We found a tape with footage from when Nicky was a toddler. I was worried it would be sad to see Little Nicky, but the video reminded me of how hard Nicky was as a toddler. I've often wondered if I was just young and stupid and have a tainted memory of what it was like to parent a young Nicky, but no! I saw it on video, and I remembered, and it was LEGIT! At age three, he was really tough. 

Fact #9: Speaking of Nicky, he's now officially taller than me! I am 5'7". We just checked a couple of weeks ago, and he was the same height as me (and had been since Christmas). Sometime in the past month, he had the growth spurt he'd been waiting for! 

Fact #10: Now that school is over and Memorial Day weekend is complete, it really is summer break.

Whatever that means.