All Sorts

Okay, let's see, let's see...I feel like it's so hard to find a chunk of time to blog, but the problem with waiting a long time is things get all stacked up...I write posts in my head all the time, but I'm not going to be able to do all of them justice. Because they were brilliant. And hilarious. For sure.

Visitation
Evan, Holly, Kyle, and Aiden came to visit us at the end of May, and we stayed up WAY too late talking every night. I'm sure they were exhausted by the end of the trip, but we had a great time, especially because Chris and Teresa were in town at the same time. Also, I have zero pictures from their visit. None! Holly, you will have to send me some. Oh wait, I think there's some on facebook:

That's the best I could do, and it doesn't even have Holly or the boys. And I look like I'm sniffing Dane. I was actually trying to make a mustache for myself out of his hair.

Then, a couple of weeks later, George and Melanee came to visit, bringing Sam, Kevin, and baby Mack!

Dane and June at the OKC Bombing Memorial

We ate the best fried chicken in the world in Okarche, OK. It's been feature on Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives, and it did not disappoint. We ate a lot, and George and Melanee got to try fried okra for the first time.

That, and tons of other delicious, Oklahoma-specific food. There's a reason we're the 2nd fattest state in the country. A delicious, deep-fried reason.

The kids had a blast, and they were sad to have to part and be separated by several states. We were sad, too. 

June, roughly 10 months
I can't figure out how to group pictures on this new blogger, so sorry to make you scroll. But June is getting all grown up, and I can't stand it. It also makes me laugh. She can't walk or talk, but she just doesn't seem like a little baby anymore. She screeches pretty frequently, she has quite an arm, and is a great little model for the random sewing projects I manage to try:

 

Independence Day

We went to the Edmond Kite Festival, where our kite was the highest in the sky.

Blackberry Festival

 Okay, so maybe you remember the Blackberry Festival from last year.  Dane sure did. He'd randomly talk about it all the time, wishing and hoping he could ride the little roller coaster. We were amazed at his memory of it. So I was looking forward to making all his dreams come true at the roller coaster again. Check out his utter glee:

His face never changed during the entire ride. He explained that he was a little scared to be on it all by himself, plus he'd wanted to ride in the back and the carny made him ride in the front. It was kind of hilarious how irritated he looked. So the complete lack of roller coaster excitement was disappointing. But the real reason we went was for the amazing blackberry soda and fresh berries. 

They were sold out of berries by the time we got there. And no one had ever heard of the homemade blackberry soda we bought last year. I was starting to get a little creeped out that the best part of the blackberry festival, the event which--let's face it--is probably the most exciting weekend in McLoud, OK, was absent from the collective memory of McLoud. How could something so delicious be forgotten, unacknowledged? I decided the blackberry festival was a total bust and resolved never to return. But then we found blackberry funnel cake:

I figured it would be your typical funnel cake with blackberry jam on it or something, but they actually put the berries in the batter. And then drizzle it with a blackberry glaze. 

It was so good. It might just be enough to take us back next year.

Moderate Makeover: Chair Edition

We bought chairs for our dining table back when we got married, and I liked them specifically because I could reupholster them. But I never did it. And over the course of the last eight years, they have become progressively more stained and yucky. After the fourth of July, we had a major raspberry juice disaster on the chair, and I decided it was finally time for a change.

Before: 

After:

Mika helped me pick out this fun, Asiany Poppy print, and I really like it. And it was on clearance! Seven bucks! She even provided me with the staple gun. So our dining room got a bright little upgrade. Heehee!

There's some more random stuff I need to post on here, but that's good for now.
Oh, and my random tidbit that I've been forgetting to do:

Sometimes, after we've watched a movie or something and I'm feeling really tired, I make Joel carry me to the bedroom so I don't actually have to walk. I thought this was a perfectly reasonable, normal thing to do, but when I mentioned it to my friends at church, they were incredulous and couldn't stop laughing at my laziness and being amazed that Joel would actually do it. I learned to be extra grateful for my husband who is willing to carry his lazy wife around occasionally. I'm not as lightweight as I used to be, and Joel's not as fit, and I sometimes get a pretty good bonked head in the doorway, but I don't think we're stopping anytime soon.

Phone Photos

I started this post forever ago, and I'm way behind on blogging. But I wanted to get this done.
Behold the gallery of pictures from my phone.

There was some construction going on right by our house. Even though they were building a fence that would prevent us from throwing rocks in the "river" ever again, Dane enjoyed watching the heavy machinery work.

You might think that seeing snow on the ground would mean this picture was taken several months ago. But you'd be wrong. We had snow in May.

Here are a few pictures from when my parents were here in April:


Dane loves riding the "big train" at the mall. It's funny to me that it's called the Mini Express, but to Dane it is the big train because he can ride in it.

Uncle Kenji taking Dane for a little bike ride.

I put myself in charge of our mother's group solely to relieve someone else of the burden, and mother's group suddenly experienced a precipitous drop in attendance. There were several times in which Dane and I were the only ones there. On one of those days, Dane found a pair of sweet sunglasses in the nursery:


We had our ward campout in late June:
Joel ended up not being able to join us until 2:00 a.m., which resulted in him missing out on a few interesting things:
1. I set up the tent and hauled all our gear with only the help of Dane and a kind 5-year-old.
2. My marshmallow caught on fire, so I blew it out and was about to eat it when my bishop swooped in, chastised me, forbade me from eating it, and made me start again with a new marshmallow. He hovered over me and watched to make sure I roasted it appropriately this time. Apparently, he was concerned about my carbon intake. Now that's a bishop who cares.
3. The kind 5-year-old who helped me with my tent fell and hit his head on a rock, resulting in tears and lots of blood. His parents took him to the ER to get stitches, and he returned a couple of hours later. What a trooper. But I think the gushing blood was a little traumatic for Dane, because he kept asking me if the boy was okay. At one point, his nursery leader told him the boy is okay, and Dane said "He's NOT okay!" Even the next morning, Dane ran up to the boy and made sure he was okay.

Anyway, after things wrapped up the next morning (and I got over being freaked out when my tent unzipped and a man entered my tent in the middle of the night), Joel, Dane, and I went with our friend Doug and his daughter, Lilly, to Donut Falls.




Joel's sister came into town, and we went to Temple Square with her:




Finally, this is Dane's favorite place to hang out whenever we go to Lowe's:

Cha-Ching

LJ told me she'd pay me $10 if I'd post this picture:

I call it "Nerd Family, 1999."
Notice how everyone but Kenta has their head cocked strangely in order to prevent glasses glare. Kenta remains the only glasses-free Hood. But he has the biggest eyebrows, so it all evens out.

Also, unfortunately, there are no winners for my lookalike giveaway from the previous post. The answer was Ami and George. No one guessed it correctly. Rika technically posted the right answer, but she had already pried it out of me before commenting, so it doesn't count, and she is a cheater.

Done

Super Saturday is over.
I am so happy.
I am so tired.
I am so happy.



Also, Kenji has scared a few people by cryptically mentioning a flipped SUV. Back when we went to the apple orchard, we stopped at the bank on the way. As we're waiting in line for the ATM, we hear the sickening crunch of cars smashing. I turned around and saw a cyclist laying on the ground, and I thought he had been hit, which would have been very bad. We all jump out of the car. The cyclist is walking away (so he's not dead) but there is a smashed sedan and an SUV on its side, still rocking from the impact. Kenji actually saw it tip and fall over. Anyway, apparently the SUV (which was being driven by an eight-months-pregnant woman) ran the red light, smashing into the sedan and narrowly missing the cyclist. Everyone was fine. It was pretty scary though. The cyclist was mad that there was so much hubbub about the woman being pregnant because she's the one who caused the crash in the first place. He twisted his ankle or something when he fell. Joel helped the pregnant lady get her stuff out, and the paramedics were there almost immediately, and they got her out. Again, everyone was fine. Crazy, eh? So now the mystery has been solved.

Also, Super Saturday is over.

Haphazard Happenings

I have a bunch of random pictures from events that I have not yet blogged, so here they are in no particular order (besides chronological). If you persevere through the entire entry, you'll have a chance to enter a drawing for an amazing prize! What's the amazing prize? A 50% off one item coupon to the Etsy store that Rika, my mom, and I are going to unveil this week! So stay tuned!

Oquirrh Mountain Temple Open House
We tried to go as a family but then Dane got the simultaneous runs/vomit, and I didn't think that would work well in the temple. With the little time we had left before vacations, Dane and I went on our own.




Visit from Kristen a.k.a. Three Babies!!

Even though Dane is eight months older than both Sawyer and Ethan, they seem pretty much the same size, huh?

Dane got a hold of the markers:
I left the room to go to the bathroom, and in just a minute's time, I hear a weird scratching on the bathroom door. Dane was drawing on the door. Then I discovered he had drawn all over the place:

His punishment was time out and wiping down the mess himself, which he thoroughly enjoyed



Dane is a silly goose:


Dane's first haircut!
His bangs were totally in his eyes, and he was often getting confused for a girl, so I finally broke down and decided to cut his hair while we were in Oklahoma. I did a bad job, and I felt bad that he not only no longer looked like a baby but a little boy, but that he also looked dorky. Sorry, Dane.



Dane loves Woody and Buzz:
And he is a good daddy to them


Joel got a four-day weekend for Labor Day, so we went on a picnic at the park on Friday:


At Kenji's Frisbee Game:




If you look closely, you can see Dane's reflection in the sunglasses he so expertly placed on Joel.

BYU vs. OU
A house divided:


We kept Dane busy during the game by letting him watch Toy Story on Kenji's iPod. It was very effective.

Joel's mom came into town for the weekend, and we went canoeing down the Provo River, but I didn't get any pictures. Then she and Dane played on the tricycle she got him for his birthday. Thanks Grandma!


Sidewalk Chalk:

And here is the contest:
My drawing skills are meager. But perhaps you can guess who these two are supposed to be:

If you are correct, you'll be entered in the drawing to win the discount at our shop!

Thanks for sticking it out.