Summer Fun

I'd first like to start you off with a little taste of something we've enjoyed in our garden this year.  YUM!  Too bad their season is over.  Now we are enjoying lots of raspberries, beans, and lettuce (and herbs).  Our spinach is done, and so are the peas, which Emma thoroughly enjoyed.

For Memorial Day (I know, I'm a bit behind) we went to an arts festival.  The highlight of going was that we rode our bikes there.  Despite the heat, I LOVED this family activity.

Here are some pictures of that weekend.  I just love these little faces, and had to share our sweet little girls with you.

We made ice cream in a bag for a family home evening treat one Monday.  We all loved it.  Of course, it has been so hot, and the ice cream was mostly soup by the time we finished eating it.  It was still delicious.

We've been taking advantage of the heat and swimming a lot.  The girls have some pretty impressive tan lines, even with all of the sunscreen I put on them.  I, on the other hand, don't look any different.  I wasn't blessed with nice tanning skin. 

Happy Birthday Handy!

I mean Randy. He IS Handy. Anyways, he's a big 2-9 now, and lucky him, he doesn't worry about aging like I do. I love this guy. He is the best husband. So good to me and the girls. He's gentle and kind, and so manly all in one. =) I could go on and on, but you all know how I love and appreciate him. So, I am going to do a little questionnaire and let him answer them so you can get to know him a bit better.

1. What is your best feature? My ability to not take things too seriously
2. If you could go anywhere in the world, where would it be? Copenhagen (I hear people ride cool bikes there)
3. What is your worst feature? Same as #1
4. What do you want to be when you grow up? Good question, I'm still a student so I don't have to answer this, but I'm thinking patent attorney for biotech stuff.
5. What is your favorite household chore? I don't have one, this is an oxymoron, chores aren't something I enjoy.
6. Who is your hero? Probably both my Mom and Dad. My mom because she's kept a positive attitude through huge challenges (being diagnosed with both multiple sclerosis and breast cancer, which she conquered). My dad because he has always stuck by me and been supportive of all I've done. I'm realizing that I am the way I am because of the way my dad taught me. I just wished I paid more attention to him when I was a punk teenager (sorry Dad). I could go on and on, but hopefully you get the idea. I love you Mom and Dad!
7. What is your biggest pet peeve? Leaving something for tomorrow that I could have done today.
8. What was the best day of your life? Umm, i think some of these are loaded. But I would definitely say the day I married my beautiful eternal companion and soul mate :)
9. Are you excited about life? Yip.
10. Do you snore or talk in your sleep and keep your wife awake at night? Of course not!
11. Have you ever dyed your hair? Once, it was suppose to be blonde but came out orange.
12. Would you ever have plastic surgery? If so, on what? No. Weird question.
13. Who has the cutest feet in the world? I hate feet, they're nasty. But I would have to say Tara's for obvious reasons.
14. What is your favorite food? Probably lasagna.
15. Favorite color? Either blue or green.
16. Favorite hobby? Cycling.
17. How are you so talented at fixing things? I get it from my Dad. I love to know how things work and so I like to tinker. But I don't think I'm really talented, just curious and a bit obsessive compulsive.

Ok, there it is, folks. Hope you enjoy your Randy fix for the day.

Love you honey! Oh, and Happy Mothers Day to all of our Moms and any Moms who read this. I'll do a tribute another day.

Happy Birthday Mr. President

Before I get started, you must notice the picture of that nice sewing machine. It's much better than the bike Randy had up, isn't it? I think I need a sewing machine like that one.
Randy has been voted in as the College of Medicine Graduate Student Association President. The funny thing is that he didn't run for this position, nor was he there at the gathering when he was chosen. I feel a little bad because I tried to convince Randy that it was a joke and he really wasn't the president, but I guess it's been confirmed and he is. So, you can all call him Pres. now.

So, "Pres" turned the big 2-8 on Thursday, May 7th. He's now closer to 30 than he is to 25. Scary. He's aging before my eyes. For his birthday we went to a nice cabin of some friends of ours. It is by a lake, and we went swimming there. The water felt so good, just a little cool, but you didn't really have to get used to it, which was unusual for swimming in a lake in the beginning of May. It was so much fun. We had all the family time that we love, and I wish we could have stayed longer.

We went on nice walks, and we even drove down to Dallas to see Ikea. I've never been there, but it's been one of my dreams, so Randy took me. It was as cool as I'd imagined.

We had a nice birthday party which included cake, ice cream (chocolate chip cookie dough is his favorite), and presents.

Kenadi always has fun helping us blow out our candles.
Here are some quick facts about The President.

• He's patient. Well, he's patient with me and the girls. He can be impatient sometimes, but that is rare.
• He is handy. He can build things, fix things, and he doesn't mind getting dirty. If he doesn't know how to fix something, he's not afraid of figuring it out.
• He has a testimony of the gospel of Jesus Christ. He is very faithful to our church.
• He rides his bike almost everyday to school and back. (about 12 miles)
• He is stubborn. I'm stubborn too, but not as stubborn as him.
• He says he can't cook, but if you give him a grill, he's a master chef.
• He is practical. He won't just go on a trip or go camping on the spur of the moment. He likes to have things planned out.
• He can be violent if woken up in the middle of the night.
  
• He is smart. Out of all his graduate school classes, I think he got 1 B+, and the rest are A's. He learns and doesn't just memorize, which amazes me. He can talk to you and tell you all about subjects he studied 5 years ago.
• He likes scary movies
  
• He used to have a go tee, but refuses to grow one for me to see.
• He's hairy
• he grew up riding dirt bikes and LOVES them
  
• I think he's mostly Italian and German, and claims that he still has Italian mafia in Chicago related to him. (Im not sure about that one)
  
• He snores a lot lately
• His favorite sport is baseball. He loves to watch football too.
  
• He had skin cancer when he was 3 or something.
• He was 10 lbs 2 oz when he was born. AHHHHHHH! I don't even want to think about it.
• His clothes are well organized in our closet.
• He doesn't complain
• He helps me get the kids in bed every night
• Served his mission in Chicago and speaks Spanish fluently
• He has the kindest, most beautiful, blue eyes
• He is kind
• He's a very hard worker
  
• He carries bugs outside instead of squishing them
• He gets up early to study his scriptures every day.
• He loves his family and talks to his parents about once a week.
• He likes to laugh, and makes me laugh.
• I love you Honey!
  

I could go on and on, but this post must end sometime soon. So, I thought I'd finish with some more picutres of our trip. We forgot our swimming suits, so this is how Kenadi swam. Randy and I swam naked. Just kidding.

Me and the girls. Aren't they getting so big?

Our little family.

Kenadi likes to ham it up. This pose made me laugh. This was on one of our walks in the woods.

Emma had it the best. Just riding in luxury. Oh, it's a good life.