Connor and his slingshot

connor built this with Kirk for the science fair, he's got he aim down really well if even I can catch it!

EFY here comes my son! (good luck!)

OK I spent the day doing laundry and helping Matt pack for his week in Provo! I am so excited for him to go have fun, meet new people, have amazing experiences, and GET OUT OF HERE! That doesn't make me a bad mom right? I hope he has the right clothes, I hope he doesn't text GA the whole time, I hope he eats enough and I hope he finds college campus amazing and it inspires him to spend the next 3 years trying to get back there!

Creepy

Creepy guy who doesn't live in our neighborhood somehow got in our pool area and asked Elle for a hug while I was in the bathroom! Luckily she said no and ran over next to her brothers! YUCK!!!

In loving tribute to...

I put these on facebook but they were so darn funny I had to post here as well. While driving home through Florida you see a lot of memorials. Mostly they look to be Civil war or other war type memorials. Guys on horses with swords, that kind of thing. I would love to stop at each one, but no one else would love to add a extra 2 hours to our drive. This one however I was lucky enough to get to see. We stopped for gas and I debated maybe 2 minutes about running across the street, and I am so glad I did! This is a nice gated memorial, with a tall American flag as you can see. So I'm expecting the usual, but no, it's not the usual. Here is the inscription incase you can't read it;
" ERECTED IN GRATEFUL RECOGNITION OF THE ROLE THE NORTH AMERICAN POSSUM. A MAGNIFICENT SURVIVOR OF THE MARSUPIAL FAMILY PRE-DATING THE AGES OF THE MASTADON AND THE DINOSAUR. HAS PLAYED IN FURNISHING BOTH FOOD AN DFUR TOO THE EARLY SETTLERS AND THEIR SUCCESSORS. THEIR PRESENCE HERE HAS PROVIDED A SOURCE OF NUTRITIOUS AND FLAVORFUL FOOD IN NORMAL TIMES AND HAS BEEN IMPORTANT AID TO HUMAN SURVIVAL IN TIMES OF DISTRESS AND CRITICAL NEED."
Is it just me or is that awesome? If I had to erect a memorial for all the food I found delicious and nutritious I would have a lot of monuments. Or do you think the monument is up so all the parents in this very small town while feeding their kids possums can say "now you eat every bite because it is delicious and nutritious! We know thats true because it's on the monument, do you need to go read it again?"

Last day of school

Well it's the last day of school for us. Aj of course has strep throat so he's missing his elementary school graduation today. I'm bummed for him, he's too sick to care. His poor empty yearbook won't get signed, someone else will eat the pizza I paid for :) Oh well. Elle got glasses, just in time for the last day of school. Of course! I won't make the mistake of not going to a 1 hour glasses shop ever again! Matt is taking his last very important final, I'm so nervous for him! Then he's off to EFY Provo on Saturday!

Although Beckys salsa will always be my favorite to make and eat, this one is now a very close 2nd. It seriously surprised me, I thought the red was tomatoes but it's red peppers and it's pretty chuncky. But the citrus is amazing! I also find eating it with lime tostitos is FREAKING AMAZING. Of course I was on the beach and hungry... I'll make it tonight and see if I love it as much :)

Miami Black Bean and Corn Salsa

1 can corn
1 can black beans drained and rinsed
1/2 c. finely chopped red bell pepper
1/2 c. finely chopped red onion
1/4 c. chopped fresh cilantro
1 ripe avocado

Dressing
1 orange
1 lime
1/4 cup oil
1/2 tsp. hot pepper sauce
1/2 tsp. salt

Grate peel from orange and lime; place peel in bowl, squeeze juice from orange and lime into bowl. Add oil, hot pepper sauce and salt, stir to combine, mix with salsa and let sit refrigerated for 30 minutes before eating. Just before serving slice avocado and add to mixture.

My new diet

I'm on a new diet plan. It's only my 2nd day so I can't tell if it's made a difference. Plus someone, we won't name names, took the battery out of my scale to put in their red dot scope on their sniper rifle... but my pants are still a little tight, so I'm guessing no dramatic change. What diet is it you ask? It's called Invisalign. Thats right I'm in braces again. With the normal braces it hurts to eat for awhile but you can eat as long as you don't mind smiling at someone with salad in your teeth. With the invisalign, it looks like i'm wearing bleaching trays all the time. the bonus is I can take them out, but it is so hard to get them off I've actually broken a nail, and there is a several teeth with this white dot of whatever that sticks out. That tends to seriously rub my cheeks when the trays aren't in. So I'm making dinner and I got to take a bite but I can't. You cn't eat or drink anything with them in, except for water. I know it doesn't seem difficult to just take them out and eat, but it's been a pain so far. Mt teeth aren't awful but the tooth I had in the middle of my upper pallet has been trying to go back there for years. It's caused the bottom tooth to move so far forward I had a oral surgeon mention I'm on my way to needing gum grafts. Uh no thanks!! Thus my super cool new teeth gear. I must mention my awesome friend Celeste just got braces on her top teeth last week. It's kinda fun to be doing this together! Although she mostly complains that mine are clear and hers aren't, I still think we're in this together!