Summer Fun

Nothing like a good nap in the jogging stroller :-)

The nap didn't last long when he heard the Peterson girls were out to play! Yippee for friends.

What a peach :-)  Jessamine is a cutie.

Time for a swim party.  Hurray!

Dude.  The water's fine.  Hop in.

Rub a dub dub.  Three kids in a tub.

Jessamine, the little escape artist.

Hey, come back!!  Dang, that chick has got the moves.  

This is Chad's creative baby sitting.  He was studying for national boards and rigged up a way to keep James entertained.  I had to laugh when I got home.

Whala.  My favorite Asian restaurant out here has this Mango-coconut fried rice dish that is to die for.  I tried my hand at creating something like it.  Pretty good for a novice with no recipe.

James gets a crack at the wheel.  He was in heaven with all of those buttons!!

Wanna ride?

Jessamine turns one!  The kiddos had a great time playing with her toys.

James has discovered the dishwasher.  The kitchen is now a whole new world of fun!

This is the first time he dared to stand without holding on to my hand.  He was so excited, he forgot to be nervous.

Let's see.   Which of these will make the best drumming utensil . . .

Don't worry mom.  I licked them all clean :-)

Now onto something new.   Gotta love his little legs.  Definitely not a Luster trait.  He is a Frandsen for sure!

James and his books.  When we are otherwise occupied and can't read with him, James loves to look at books on his own.  That trait he got from his mother I think :-)  Miss. Reading teacher.

He loves books with flaps.

Okay, okay.  I took about a million pics of this pose.  But the teacher in me just loves to see kids enjoying their books . . . that and I am a bit camera happy, I admit ;-)

James also loves to listen in on violin lessons.  Only sometimes does he get into a bit of mischief and knock over the stand.  Mostly he just scoots around and listens.  We had a three hour orchestra rehearsal the other day.  We took James and he just played at our feet.  Whoever said classical music was boring ;-)  When you are sitting two feet in front of a base drum, it can be pretty exciting!

This was Chad's summer fun . . . evaluating a research article for one of his classes.

He is so excited to be finishing up his last trimester at Palmer!

We took a camping trip Memorial Day weekend.  It rained most of the day on Saturday, but there were a few moments we were able to enjoy the woods :-)

Mark and Clint grilling up some dinner.  Clint, as always, has lots of enthusiasm for cooking . . . and just about anything else in life!  He is sure fun to have around :-)

Alissa and Chad wondering when dinner will be done.

Ashlyn on her first camping excursion.

We took the jogging stroller on one of the trails.  Turns out it is a pretty good all-terrain vehicle :-)

Chad probably had the most fun strategically configuring a rain cover out of a tarp he bought at Farm and Fleet for $2.50.  It worked like a charm.  The next morning we had a bit of a windstorm that took down a tree four tents away from ours.  It blocked the road and smashed someone's tent.  Luckily woman had just woken up and was not in her tent.  We got stuck trying to drive around the tree, so it got a bit ugly for a while, but it finally stopped raining and we got someone to pull us out.  After the way was cleared on the road, we all decided to get the heck out of there an packed up for home. 

We spent Monday at the Scott County pool instead.  It was a good time.

James is a little fish!  He loved the water, even if it was a bit cold.

California here I come!

After all of the fun in the sun, James came home, crawled around, and passed out on the floor :-)

Love it when that happens!

Last Friday, one of the hottest days of the summer, I decided to go make bread with a lady who is in the Stake primary presidency with me.  She is a master bread maker, and had everything down to a science.  She knew all the chemistry of how yeast and wheat interact and it was quite the educational experience!

It turned out pretty much perfect!  Yum.  Can't wait to try it out on my own.  I have made bread before, but it never turned out this moist and yummy.

A Day at the Zoo . . . We decided to brave the 100 degree weather and go with some friends to the zoo.

Justine and her friend the goat.

James loved being so close!

Not real exotic, but friendly :-)

Another favorite were the parrots.

You probably can't tell, but there is a giraffe in the background.  Exotic, but not very friendly.

This was how impressed James was with the rest of the zoo trip.  100 degree weather is tough to take, even in the comfort of a shaded recliner.  I sweated out the rest of the zoo while he slept.  He didn't miss much.  The animals were too smart to be hanging out in the sun.  They were all hiding out in their cages.

Ahh. The pool.  A much better choice for the hot weather.

James sporting his new groovy swimwear.  Owen is looking pretty cool dude as well:-)