Inflatable slide

The other night we got out our air mattress to put out in the living room so we could have a movie night with the kids. It turns out that they enjoyed sliding down and jumping on it more. So we let them burn up some energy before an encore of the Johnny Depp version of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. They slept well that night.

Comical Day

We had an interesting outing the other day. First we saw a panhandler, at five o'clock, get off "work" and get into his brand new red Mustang in Idaho Falls.

Second, the Girl Scouts are out in full force selling cookies. Many of the girls are wearing cookie costumes as they sell cookies (we assume their moms have something to do with this choice) because when we stopped at a stop light, granted they are on every corner with cookies and signs, a little girl dressed in her cookie costume was visibly upset, maybe embarrassed and pulled on her fluffy hood to cover her face (kids don't mask their feelings too well) but it was funny.

Third, Lilianni was goofing around in the grocery store and we told her numerous times to, "not run, she will get hurt". Well, when we got to the check out line she wasn't paying attention, because she's two, and ran right smack into our grocery cart and hard, she just fell. Unfortunately, her respectful parents (Matt and I) started to laugh very visibly and hard! The women in front of us were very unimpressed. Nonetheless, it was hysterical!!-- because of course she was alright, two year olds do stupid stuff sometimes.

Lastly, here are some pictures of big sister Lilianni snuggling her "baby sister" Bijoux. She always wants to give her snuggles so here are a few pics that we can hold on to, to remember this by.

Goofing Around with "Big Sister"

The other night we were playing around with Lilianni and her balloon and silky. She wanted her picture taken and at other times refused the camera and covered her face; she was teasing us!! :)

Home "Projects"

Here are some pics of the latest house projects we have done. Some are of the... reupholstered dinning chairs and some of the bench we sanded, stained and upholstered.

Hugs and Dinner

Tonight we had Ken, Lynsie and Luke over to have dinner with us. It was a blast! We had a great time having laid back conversation and the kids had too much fun too! they pushed each other in the play stroller (which didn't work too well) and drew pictures and chased each other, stopping to give one another hugs along the way. When it was time for bed, Lily and Luke gave each other hug after hug after hug and probably said bye back and forth a gazillion times and very "romantically" ;) blew each other kisses.

Here are a couple pics of the kids giving each other goodbye hugs; it looks like Luke is not enjoying it much, but he is. He was just a tired, cute little boy. And they loved every minute of each others company.

the Mortuary

Today I went on a visit to the mortuary. I was able to go into the embalming room and touch and see all that goes on in there... pretty cool. The trip there was part of a class experience I chose to go on for a sociology class as a way to better understand death up close and a beneficial way for me to help people cope with the passing of loved ones through this knowledge and experience.

Overall, besides being interesting, it was helpful in that the mortician talked very candidly about how his 40+ years working in the field has helped him better emphasize the beauty of life, rather than focusing on death. It seems like a simple concept, but his words were touching and powerful.

So far, the class has helped me grow and understand how to transition healthfully in regards to loss and even more, accepting change as it occurs constantly and consistently in the course of life. It has been very rewarding.

-Laurel