Even though handcart is probably not the most preferred way to travel, it definitely is the most fun. We love our stake's pioneer picnic and even though they didn't have an "official" handcart race, I'm pretty sure we won the "unofficial" race. Blake was seriously bookin' it to the point where Max said, "Daddy is driving crazy!" Thank you pioneer ancestors for creating such an amazing legacy.
Yay! Happy Pioneer Day! To celebrate we went to the Wells Fargo Museum to ride a stage coach and practice our wagon driving skills. Yeehaw!
And since our usual Pioneer Day friends are deep in the heart of Texas, we persuaded Blake to join us on our outing. Blake knows his Hawaiian shirt isn't appropriate pioneer attire, but that shirt is an entirely different story. He thought riding in a stagecoach would be much more pleasant than riding in a ship around the tip of South America or pulling a handcart, like we experienced last year.
So Happy Pioneer Day! You Utahns enjoy your parades and bbqs. Maybe we'll be having a luau to be celebrating Hawaiian shirt day at Blake's PROFESSIONAL school. Yes, it's Hawaiian shirt day, and it's not even spirit week! Can you believe that? :)
I can't believe with all the times we've been to Tilden Park, that Blake has never been on the trains. So, when he got off work today, as the fog was rolling in on the city, and the east bay still looked nice and warm, we headed off for a nice ride. The boys love that train ride and I always forget how long a 12-minute train ride can actually be. 
And maybe, just maybe I actually suggested the outing so we could continue a little further east for an Old Spaghetti Factory dinner. I can't help it. I love that mizithra. And the boys weren't complaining about their spaghetti either. Mmmmm! Tastey! 
The absolute best thing Jack says right now is "I do!" And it's not just "I do," it's "I DOOOOOOO!" This is his answer in response to most "Who wants to..." questions. It's hilarious. "Who wants to go to the park?" "Who wants some fruit snacks?" "Who loves Mommy?" All these questions are answered with a raised hand, a smiley face, and a loud, emphatic, "I DOOOOOOO!" But don't think he just hands out these "I dos." When questions like "Who wants to go to bed?" or "Who wants to eat some broccoli?" are asked, there is nothing but dead silence. He's no dummy. So, here's an "I do" in action. To get him to do it so I could take a picture I had to ask him, "Who wants to watch Dumbo?" Worked like a charm.
DOOOOO!
Oh, did I forget to mention that Blake, Max, and Jack came to Arizona too? Well, they did. But I barely knew it since Blake did such an excellent job handling the boys all by himself. Even from the beginning of the vacation. Blake and both boys sat on one row of the airplane and I sat, by myself, on the opposite side, several rows behind them. And somehow, Blake worked a mysterious magic and got both boys asleep...at the same time. Something, in all my travels alone with the boys, I've never been able to do.
Blake and Ashley (thank you, Ashley!) took the boys swimming and Max loved it. He was jumping off the diving board, rocks, rope swing like it was nothing. He was fearless. Some (his mother) would even say he was a little too fearless.
Jack was a different story. He didn't even get in the first swimming day, and the second day, it took a lot of coaxing and crying before he was happy sitting on the step with just his toes in the water. Blake did catch him off guard and pull him into the pool just long enough for a picture. But other than that, Jack was content on the step filling up and dumping out baby bottles of water.
Jack was more at home in the irrigation water. Still only gets your toes wet, but a little less intimidating. 
The rest of the time was cousin time! Cousin time all the time! They watched movies, read books, played with toys, and built forts. Lots of forts. So of course the boys weren't missing their mom then. Who needs a mom when you have Caden to hang on? (Please note Max is literally hanging on to Caden in the picture of the two.)
But the real reason the boys decided to tag along to the girls' weekend was for the blessing of sweet Baby Henry. And what a fun day to have {almost} the entire family together. Definitely worth the trip.
Blake did such a good job keeping the boys entertained, it wore all three of them out. I found all of them dead asleep like this one night on the floor near Jack's crib. Of course Mickey and Minnie were there too. Thank you, thank you Blake for giving me a weekend off. 
And although I know Blake COULD have done it by himself, he's lucky he didn't have to. Thank you also to Grandpa...
And a big thank you to Nanny for all of your help making it the perfect weekend. We can't wait to come back soon!
(I guess I should also thank the picture of Beth that always seems to keep an eye on whatever is going on in the living room. Look how nicely she is smiling at the camera for our picture! :))
I just got back from the best girls' weekend ever! I slept/played sudokuo the entire length of both flights, I watched a lot of movies, I slept in (for me), I went shopping, I ate yummy food (my favorite being the homemade fresh banana ice cream), and I crafted. And all with some of my very favorite girls.
And as good as all of the weekend was, nothing came close to the culminating event--a date night to Wicked. Gary was the perfect date and I was thrillified to be invited with the rest of his daughters (and super cute granddaughter). We ate a very filling dinner at Cheesecake factory, complete with Blythe having all willing sample the tiramisu cheesecake (I think I was the only one who took a second bite). And then, of course, there was Wicked. Ah, Wicked, I can never see you enough. Plus, this time Gary brought binoculars. A whole new experience. I don't know how to show my gratitution for such a wonderful, wonderful weekend. Thank you, thank you Gary (and Patty)! I loved every second. (I did my best to Galindify this paragraph. And when I say that, try to picture me doing "Toss! Toss! Hehehe!")
It's a beautiful day. Jack has finally found a movie he will sit and watch in its entirety. Even though, it's only a mere 60 minutes, compared to a more typical 90 minute show, I'm not complaining and I actually prefer it. And what is this Jack-award-winning film, you ask? None other than DUMBO! Jack loves Dumbo. He loves all the animals at the beginning, he loves the mouse, he loves when Dumbo jumps (gets pushed) into the water, he loves when Dumbo flies, and he even loves when Dumbo gets a little tipsy and blows bubbles. He takes his toy elephants and flies them around saying, "Dumbo fly!" and after he wakes up from his naps, I can hear him in his bed saying, "Dumbo fly!" over and over and over again. He always chooses to sing a "Dumbo song" either Casey Junior or When I See an Elephant Fly, the "trains song" and "Dumbo fly" in Jack lingo. When I sing "Dumbo Fly" I always stop after saying, "When I see an..." and let Jack finish with "elephant Dumbo FLY!" Music to my ears.
But there's only one problem with this whole Dumbo thing. I can't make it through the movie without crying when I hear "Baby Mine." I love that song. I'm even tearing up just thinking about it now. I'm glad Jack isn't always begging for that song or I'd be a crying train wreck all the time (as opposed to a crying train wreck only part of the time).
{Michelle just put this picture on her blog and I'd never seen it before. I love it. Thank you Michelle...are there any other pictures I need to see?!?}
After the rest of the biking brigade left early, early this morning, we had two stragglers left behind to enjoy a beautiful San Francisco day with us. We started out the morning right...Mama's! Sometime around 6:30, Grandpa woke up and moseyed around the city and just happened to end up in line at Mama's. It worked out perfect for the rest of us when we finally woke up and got there--Grandpa was first in line and we got a parking spot right in front of the restaurant. Nanny got her first taste of those mouth-watering Monte Cristo that did not disappoint. (Sorry I forgot to take a picture, Nanny--it was quite a momentous event and there's nothing to show for it.) After breakfast, Jack was already begging (crying) for a nap, so we went home to rest. Grandpa and Blake so cleverly boxed up Grandpa's bike for the airplane with just enough time for another food stop--Fenton's. We drove all the way to Oak-town for a round of black and tan's and Max's "blue" ice cream. He doesn't even know what the bubble gum in it is. He just licks the ice cream off and puts the ball down. What a fun food day. Thanks for staying a little longer Nanny and Grandpa!
Always, and especially today, I'm proud to be an American. I'm also pretty proud of this very tasty flag cake.
I'm proud of my husband who completed his Pacific Coast Tour today alive and barely even limping.
And I'm always proud to be the mother of these very silly, very handsome boys.
HAPPY 4th OF JULY!
While Blake and the crazy part of our family were busy blistering their bottoms on their bikes on their 8 day trek down the coast, the rest of us non-crazies were spending a very relaxing time in beautiful Bountiful. We spent plenty of time doing a lot of nothing. And we have hardly any pictures to prove it. Especially since the majority of our cameras were with the crazy bikers. We went to the park (both the real park and the backyard--poor city boys don't know about backyards), went shopping, ate a lot, and spent some quality family time. We lounged outside by the blow-up pool and ate fresh, warm strawberries and raspberries off Grandpa's bushes.
A big group of us went to the movie "Up!" and all loved it. It was Jack's first movie in the theater and he sat like a good boy for all but the last 15 minutes. Well, as long as he had a licorice in his hand. As for Max, in the middle of the movie between bites of popcorn and M&Ms and drinks of his lemonade, he loudly said, "I LOVE the movie UP!" A success. Plus we totally enjoyed the tribute to Fenton's, one of the best ice cream places ever.
Grandma also took us to the zoo one day. And before my camera battery died, I got a picture of the most important part--the carousel. We're lucky the carousel has two elephants or there would have been some serious tantrums.
One morning I took the boys up to the temple for something to do. Of course we ended up at the fountains. Max was in heaven and poor Jack was running around so much, trying to find a place where his little arm would reach the water that he got pretty thirsty. 
Jack and I got back to San Francisco last night and Max, Grandma, and Nanny join us tonight to cheer the bikers across the Golden Gate Bridge tomorrow. We can't wait for the sweet reunion.
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