Rex

We recently said good-bye to my nephew, Rex, who will be serving a 2 year mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in Curitiba, Brazil.

He had been away at college for a year, so Clara couldn't quite remember him. When I told her we were going to see Rex, she asked, "Does he have sharp teeth?" I couldn't figure out why she asked that until the next day when she said, "Is Rex green?" Me... "Ohhhh... no, Rex is a person, not a T-Rex."

Good luck, Rex! We'll miss your stellar sand castles at the beach.

Summer Wrap-Up

Here are some of the things that kept us busy this summer...

I taught a couple of weekly music class at our house each Thursday.

First, a "baby class" for SJ and her friends...

Then a "big kid" class for Clara and her friends...

I played in a doubles tennis league with my friend, Andrea. We didn't DO great, but we DID have a great time!

Here are some photos from some other events/field trips:

Volvo Family Day at Bur-Mill park:

(Do we look hot? Because it was, and we were!)

A trip to the dairy farm:

Afterwards, Clara made up a song about it. It went a little something like this,
"Dairy Farm- Dairy Farm- Dairy Farm- PLLLAH (a rasberry)"
(Do-me-sol, Fa-re-ti, Do-me-sol)

A visit to the butterfly farm:

Here is a picture Clara drew, afterwards. I can see Clara holding a butterfly and she is surrounded by little rocks (the butterfly pavilion had a gravel floor).

Good Books and Pumpkin Pie

I recently read The Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan. I loved it... I found it fascinating and inspiring. For example, it inspired me to make a pumpkin pie using a real pumpkin... not the canned stuff. It was really fun and strangely satisfying to cut open, clean out, cook, and puree the pumpkin- plus roast the seeds for a future snack. The resulting pie was delicious, if I do say so myself. Greg, who hates pumpkin pie normally, devoured it.

Other books I have really enjoyed, lately...

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls
A Girl Named Zippy by Haven Kimmel

Hope you like them, too!