Fourth of July Weekend

Friday, the 2nd, I worked an hour overtime in the evening which made for a cooler and more peaceful bicycle commute home.  After the usual mucking around, we headed out to West Sacramento to watch the after-the-Rivercats-game fireworks, stopping at McDonalds on  the way.  I had heard on the radio that McD is going to drop the Big'n'Tasty soon - which I think is their best hamburger. : (  Joseph and I ordered Big-n-Tasty's, Benjamin a Big Mac.  We also bought a couple of large fries most of which I think I ate on the drive there. And smoothies.  yummy.

We got a nice spot by the field from which the fireworks are shot - with the reassuring presences of fire trucks near by. Fortunately, there was nothing for them to do but watch.  David and Teresa joined us.  We all enjoyed visiting while we waited. We also enjoyed the sounds from Raleys Field and wished we knew what they signified.  Sometimes we guessed that the Cats had just scored a run or that the crowd was trying to distract a Grizzly batter.  The game went into extra innings extending our wait.  It must have been a good one! Eventually the Rivercats defeated the Grizzlies and we enjoyed some beautiful fireworks.

Saturday morning our ward had a pancake breakfast.  All my kids in the area came except Miriam, who has been feeling a bit poorly lately as she adjusts to a change in her medications and deals with fiscal year end stress at work and maybe a few too many late evenings with her siblings. It was a pretty good breakfast even if I did get only one little sausage and one pancake.   I enjoyed getting to know the new Primary president and her husband.  Where she served her mission they really did have 2nd breakfast and 2nd lunch.  They would typically have 5 meals a day - not as big was we do on our 3 - a healthier way to eat, but doesn't preparing, eating, and cleaning up begin to take up the whole day?  He is left-handed and crochets.  They are expecting their first child later this month.  The announcements had said their would be a bicycle parade, so I decorated my bike and Ruth helped Esther and Jared decorate theirs.  The parade never officially materialized, but the kids rode their bikes, Debi and Tom each rode mine, and some other kids on bikes and scooters rode around a bit.  Some parents even pushed their little ones in decorated strollers. We enjoyed it all.

After breakfast, most of the family went to see Toy Story 3.

Not David, Teresa and I.   I think we are the poor ones.  I will probably get it when it comes out in DVD at Costco.  David and Teresa started working on my house! : )  Some time ago, we had painted the main bathroom blue, but not done the door.  We dug out the old paint and the paint from doing the boy's room.  Actually, maybe only the paint from doing the boys' room.  I had thought we might paint the half bath the same blue as the main bath, but we didn't have enough of the paint we thought was it.  We had a whole can whose lid said bathroom paint, but it was white.  I should have remembered not having bought white bathroom paint.  After we (by we, I mean David and Teresa) painted, we realized that it was probably primer.  Over the course of Saturday and Monday, David and Teresa painted the main bathroom door white with the inside panel blue - almost the same blue as the bathroom.  I didn't want to have the door white because I didn't think the white towels would look good hanging on it.  They look good against the blue panel.  The half bath got the same light blue for the ceiling and a blue-green for the walls and inside of the door.  The cabinet under the sink got painted white.  Looks good.

During the painting, the doors were without doorknobs, just big holes where the knobs go.  It was like that over Sunday when we had the family over to dinner.  We managed not to have any problems.  For part of Monday, the main bath didn't have a door as David was painting it out on the driveway.  He hung a sheet.

Saturday afternoon every when to Ruth's for a hotdog BBQ.  Some people played in the pool.

I didn't want to stay late because I still needed to sweep the patio which was inches deep in dried tree blossoms and what not and the backyard weeds needed mowing down.  As I was considering that, Joseph came to me.  "Are we leaving soon?  I don't feel well. I'll be in the car."  We left!  I tried to drive not too roughly, but at least half a dozen times, Joseph groaned "stop" and I pulled over. At least twice he heaved by the side of the road, poor guy.   We THINK it was not enough sleep or water, and too much junky food - several sausages at breakfast (I was in the WRONG line), popcorn at the movie, hotdogs, chips, and cupcake in the afternoon.  Not that we can fault Debi's cupcakes!!  He was one sick puppy. He felt much better in the morning, but stayed home from church because it had come on so suddenly before.

My girls have always been fine dessert makers.  Recently, Debi discovered the joy of cupcakes and has become something of a cupcake queen.  She makes all kind of delicious and beautiful cupcakes.

Benjamin mowed down the backyard weeds and helped me sweep the patio.  We filled a quarter of our big yard waste container.  Then before BBQing on Sunday I had to sweep another half inch or so.  wow, that tree is prolific.

Sunday people bore their testimonies that the founding fathers of our country were inspired, that the Mormon pioneers were faithful and brave, that the youth Pioneer Trek was a great experience, and that the Gospel is true.  All true.  Elizabeth, the young lady whose foot was broken by a handcart running over her the last day, bore her testimony and said that until the handcart ran over her the Trek was a good experience.

Our Relief Society lesson about the US Constitution (the document not the ship) was taken largely from an excellent talk by Dallin H Oakes "The Divinely Inspired Constitution."

Everyone came to our house for BBQ - hotdogs, chicken, and tri-tip!  Watermelon, corn on the cob, and potato salad.  Teresa brought some fruit mix with fresh apricots.  Debi brought (try to guess) (yes!) cupcakes.   People played games like UNO and played on the Wii.  I stamped a card for my boss who is leaving us.  :..(  When the children started acting tired, we realized it was past their bedtime (and rapidly approaching mine!)  Tom and Ruth moved the party to their house.

Ben went along, slept on Debi's couch, helped David and Teresa with Debi's backyard weeds Monday morning, and they brough him home when they came back to finish painting the bathroom projects.    They painted all afternoon and we ate leftovers from Sunday.

And then the weekend was over.  Always too soon!