Long Time No Post

Wow, the last time that either one of us posted on this blog was June 20th. Whoo! Talk about slacking off, eh? Well, there's just been too much going on. Too much fun, too much work, too much planning, too many errands... too much re-familiarizing my husband with modern society. (It was a thorough affair. Apparently, Tim had become some sort of leader among a local tribe of raccoons. I spent days instructing him on the proper use and application of clothing, advanced communication skills, and the proper use of a toilet. At first he was vicious and highly territorial, but eventually he warmed up to me, accepted me, and ultimately returned to normal. However, I'm leaving for WA on Sunday, and I fear an almost inevitable relapse. Please... pray for Mojo.) Anywho, now here we are -- July 6th already. A lot has happened since we last posted:

(1) Apparently Ed McMahon, Michael Jackson, Farrah Fawcett, and Billy Mays all died. Have you heard?

(2) Russian Dance Party MOVED OUT. Yeah. I KNOW. After a few days of quiet, though, we realized how much we missed them, so we bought some cigarettes and sprinkled them around our front steps, and then went inside and blasted euro-techno music out the window. Sigh.

(3) It's been confirmed... Cafe Rio is COMING TO CALIFORNIA. (Cue angelic choir!) This means a lot to me. Even though I've known for a little while now, I still clutch my Cafe Rio card and weep and exuberantly praise God whenever I think about it. Rumor has it that the establishment won't open until 2010, but I will take a one-hour ten-minute drive to Lake Forest ANY DAY over the four-hour drive to Vegas. (And at least for the first few weeks, I probably WILL be driving there every day.)

(4) I was lucky to be able to attend our stake's annual Youth Conference up near Santa Barbara from June 25-27. IT. WAS. AWESOME. Thanks to Tim and his willing acceptance of three days of sole caretaking, I was able to vicariously enjoy Youth Conference (albeit as a non-youth) and also witness the amazing spirit and dedication of our youth to be kind and serve others. (I helped coordinate the service project this year.) I fell in love with my calling all over again, and I fell in love with all the remarkable young people that we are so lucky to have in this Church.

(5) Finally, the longest day of the year has come and gone, as has our nation's Independence Day. (I can't mention Independence Day without starting the USA chant. USA! USA! USA! C'mon, join in!) We celebrated by attending our neighborhood's annual parade/picnic (and talking to absolutely no one, which is a new low for anti-social us), and by spending the evening at Kate and Jacob's rip-roaring Fourth of July BBQ and swim party (where we actually conversed with people, you'll be happy to know). How did you celebrate?

So, onto the PA debrief... I'll have you know that I took a whopping 331 photographs when I was in PA for two weeks. I was originally going to choose just 10 to post, so as not to become too overwhelmed, but that didn't work, so I've gone ahead and included 30 of my favorite pictures. Enjoy!

Shortly after arriving, Weston and I visited Gangy at the Asher's chocolate factory where she works. (Dream job, right??) Weston surveyed the goodies:

At one point he snagged a candy stick and started sucking on it, which meant that I had to buy it (tricksy little hobbit!). This is probably my favorite picture from the trip (definitely worth an enlargement, grandparents):
Weston and his cousin Killian had SUCH a great time together:

I heart that little face:

More playtime for the cousins, this time at Gigi's (great-grandma's):

Here's that very affectionate little forehead-touch that they kept doing (so precious!!):

Weston loved hanging out with Uncle Brett (in his perma-summer-outfit):

...and with Uncle Jeremy (pre-mohawk):

He did NOT like having his picture taken first thing in the morning, though:

Gangy planted strawberries at the side of the house this summer, and... oh my. I was in heaven. I am certain that I ate more than my fair share of those heavenly delights:

Here's Mark partaking of a Slim Jim. He bought a huge box of them for super-cheap, so he was always giving away Slim Jims while I was there. After I took this picture, I told him that he looked like he was partially enjoying it and partially wanting to vomit. He said, "Yep, that's a Slim Jim." Haha. (Just 16 days until this one ships out!! Rock on, Elder Marcus Aurelius!!)

One evening after Weston was in bed, Killian came over and also partook of a Slim Jim. Hahahaha! He takes his Slim Jims stogie-style:

Isn't he so freaking adorable??

(Tim liked that photo so much that he made it into a Slim Jim ad):

One Saturday, Dana, Anne Marie (Gangy), and I headed to Lancaster for some outlet shopping and some Amish/Mennonite-watching. Among other places, we visited the Bird-in-Hand Farmer's Market, where there was a bounty of tasty goodness. (Note the Mennonite lady in the background, with the hair covering):

There were several stands of baked goods, always featuring the ubiquitous and yum-yum-yummy shoofly pie:

And of course, there was plenty of Amish paraphernalia for the tourists:

Plus, at another place, I found a whole display of whoopie pies, which I love (and still more shoofly pies, too):

The Lancaster trip was such a fun time. Weston got a little fussy during the never-ending shopping spree, but he perked right up once his belly was full and his blankie was back in his arms:

This is one of the things I love most about Pennsylvania -- the idyllic countryside:

I heart farms:

There were still many more playtime opportunities for the cousins:

These are the pictures that we're going to show them when they're like 25 years old, and it'll be so sweet (except for the fact that it looks like Weston is harassing Killian a little bit in this one):

Another strawberry-related delight of my trip -- Asher's annual Strawberry Days!!! For three days, Anne Marie and her coworkers sold hundreds and hundreds of hand-dipped chocolate strawberries. Fortunately, there were always leftovers by closing time, so we got to enjoy them at home! OH HEAVEN!!!!!!!

After Jerebrett's last day of school, we all celebrated by going out to Friendly's. I snapped the most adorable picture of Killian, peeking over the booth at Gangy:

Here's my dad with Weston on one of our four (yes, FOUR) visits to Merrymead during my trip. (I would've gone every day if I weren't slightly concerned about early onset heart disease.) Weston loves his Grandpa and Grandma!!

Of course we needed a picture with the wooden-cow-height-thingie:
Weston loved loved loved the child-sized automatic sinks at the exit from the farm animal area. Each time we went, my dad and I would end the visit by sitting at a picnic table and chatting, while Weston would go in and out and in and out of the wash house, where he was absolutely obsessed with these sinks:
Weston enjoyed lots of time with Uncle Chris, too. Check out the action shot!!
And here are Weston and Grandalf. My heart just melted:
It was such a great trip. We can't wait for August!!!