4th of July and Park fun

Dum-dum-da-dum-da-duhhhhhhh: DRUGS!

The post-vacation illnesses that started last Thursday are hanging on, but there is light at the end of the tunnel! Humidifier power! But first a little background...

Growing up, Nannie had the humidifier of power. If there was not a towel in front of the thing, the foundation of the house would be soaked by morning. It was awesome, like the swamp cooler in Great Grandma Call/Becker's place. That thing rocked.

So a couple years ago we bought one of the regular humidifiers from Wallyworld. The thing barely put any water into the air because of the super filters. I finally grew tired of being dehydrated like beef jerky every morning and our skin is dry also (insert Utah comment here). So I went to a local pharmacy and asked the pharmacist for his recommendations. He cautiously looked from one side to the other, shut the store blinds and locked the door. From under the counter he pulled out the "Humidablaster 9000" (it has more options than the 6000); a humidifier powerful enough to single-handedly change the climate of this desert. Illegal in 52 states!

Well, it almost went like that. He just showed me the difference between a vapor humidifier and a filter humidifier. And oh what great joy did we experience when we slept through the night because of the higher quality moisture in the air. Yea, never did nostrils recover so quickly as when our inward-growing hairs did behold such steam...

Yes, I am still medicated, why do you ask?

Yellowstone

We spent the last week hiking around Yellowstone during the day, and spending our evenings in a Country Coach motorhome. What a relaxing treat. Some of the highlights were: the hikes and the food (Mom), Yellowstone Lake (David), the animals (Kids), being around for a nephew's blessing, watching movies in 7.1 surround sound in the Motorcoach and playing board games, . The lowlight was: Someone hitting and denting our van in the Church parking lot in Rexburg (that will be $500 dollars or your temple recommend - whoever you are...)

Of course, like every good vacation, there must be opposition in all things. #1 has puked about 10 times today and #2 has a cold. But the memories are worth it.

Oh, and FYI, the morning glory pool hike is about as exciting as splunking in a latrine.

Expensive food.

It was awesome to see the Real SL soccer team beat up the top team in the league. #1 and #2 went for the nacho's and snow cones. Which are always more expensive than the tickets. What a racket. Fun anyway.

Heebie-jeebies

The children and I brought in some of the blooming roses from the rose garden David got me for mothers day a couple years ago this morning - (It's true, they are still growing like crazy!) - and placed a flower on the kitchen pass-through. A little while later, while chopping fruit to dehydrate, I grabbed the butcher knife and out came a huge spider!!! I can barely type it is still giving me the creeps. I screamed like a girl. Which caused the three children to follow suit. #3 was scared out of her wits. No joke, this thing was big. The Utah State Government thinks it is a giant wolf spider. (Keep in mind, the roses are not the tiny little ones you get at the store, these things are bigger than David's hand). It took me about 15 minutes to get enough composure to successfully capture it.

That's not the end of our story though. When David got home, he and I searched around the internet to find a picture that is close to what this beast looks like. Suddenly - his phone rang. He has it set to vibrate with the sound. We both jumped out of our chairs and he started slapping the front pocket where his phone was as I did the little-girl-jump-up-and-down-while-running-in-place dance. He finally threw the phone out of his pocket and we stared at it ringing on the table next to the jar where the spider was trapped.

Unfortunately for the home invader - it was time for an end to the beast's life. David figured it was cruel to let it suffocate, so he started shaking the jar hoping to knock it into the spirit world. The cap came off. Everyone screamed and we had to trap him again. So now he gets a slow death.

Above is his picture in a big ol'jar. I haven't been able to do anything in peace all day with the Heebie-jeebies he gave me.

Father's Day

David got a massage for father's day, and a tie. In the ward it was kinda funny to compare what I got for mother's day, and what he got today. We got all-you-could eat gourmet cheesecake (the type you pay $7 for at a restaurant) along with Piroulene cookies. The men took our callings and we enjoyed an activity in relief society. The brethren got a twenty-five cent snickers bar and a Sacrament meeting of a couple of talks praising mothers and motherhood. Then they did their callings. I don't think he's that bitter... Better make him some cookies.

Claw + Crab =

We had crab yesterday for an early father's day celebration, and #1 watched intently as David broke apart the legs. She was not interested in having any herself. David offered, and she replied, "I don't want any of the pinch-sters". Claw + lobster (that's really crab) = pinch-ster. While on the other side of the table #3 ate about a quarter pound of the crab-alfredo-linguini. Yum!