A bad case of grocery-store-itis

At the grocery store today, Clara grabbed a package of spaghetti noodles and came running toward me, begging me to buy them. (She would eat spaghetti for every meal if I let her.) Anyway, she dropped the bag of noodles, and when it hit the floor it burst open, scattering noodles across the aisle. Fortunately, the only other person who saw this happen was another mom with kids, who smiled sympathetically. Just as I was gathering up the last noodles, Clara started hollering for me to look at Christian. I turned around to discover that while I had been cleaning up spaghetti, Christian had twisted around in the shopping cart seat and grabbed a can of yogurt from the basket. He had punctured the foil lid with his teeth and was sucking out yogurt like a vampire! He was covered with yogurt, and it was dribbling down the shopping cart and onto the floor. I laughed and tried to say something funny as I glanced around looking for a way to clean up. No more sympathetic smiles from nearby shoppers. They now looked at me like I was hopelessly inept and they wished we would take our mess and leave before something else ended up all over the floor. I finally found some napkins and cleaned up the yogurt.
I am not hopelessly inept, I just don't have enough hands and the eyes that were supposed to grow in the back of my head when I became a mom have not appeared yet.

Beginnings and Endings

An era has come to an end. After 6 years of classes, homework, papers, early mornings, late nights, and Saturdays spent studying, David has finished graduate school. It is a huge accomplishment and a tremendous relief. Really, there are no words to describe how it feels to no longer have this constant weight on our shoulders. (David did most of the work, but it really has been a team effort.) We couldn't have done it without constant support from our families and the Lord.

Nathan started Kindergarten at Manila Elementary. He is a very handsome Kindergartner. He seems to enjoy it so far. David also began the school year as principal of Scera Park Elementary in Orem. There will be some interesting challenges and experiences this year, but he has enjoyed most of it so far.

We enjoy walking Nathan to school. After a couple days, Clara proposed we take the double stroller so she could ride too. I have loved this opportunity to chat with the kids while getting some exercise.

It has also been fun to have a few hours a day with Clara and Christian while Nathan is at school. Clara's personality is different when Nathan is not around. I'm excited to get to know her better.

One of our last summer outings. We hiked up to Grove Creek Falls. It ended up being a much longer, harder hike than we expected. The kids were troopers. Clara almost didn't make it, but was encouraged by the prospect of a treat at the end.

We inherited a tree full of peaches when we bought this house.

A freshly picked, tree-ripened peach is just about my favorite thing in the world.