Lisa n Tom (n James n Joseph)

Lisa writes: NOBODY WAS ACTUALLY INJURED IN THIS VIDEO. James's swing hit Joseph's swing and scared him. They were swinging like this when I got to Sandy's house. She said they'd been out there for an hour, no problems. As I got out my phone, I casually commented, "As soon as I start recording, somebody's going to get hurt." I might be psychic.

Lisa writes: This is James's favorite song. He calls it "the funny song with the guur-uhls" (he pronounces "girls" like "squirrels" with two syllables. This song has magical powers. When administered to a screaming four year old in the backseat of a car on a long drive, it creates instant and long-lasting calm. 

Lisa writes: A farewell luncheon at Macaroni Grill with Grandma, Grandpa, Deb, and the gang. James chatting it up in the backseat on the way to airport. Our flight was about 20 minutes delayed ... which was a godsend because so were we! Joseph took this one We got home around 10 p.m. and the boys were WIRED. They ran around the house in circles for 30 minutes. Joseph finally collapsed with exhaustion. James had to be coaxed to bed. This was what they looked like the next morning:

Lisa writes: Confession. My family kinda sorta feels like we own this hotel. We've lived right down the street from it since 1992, we take every visitor there to walk around the lake, we've followed the upgrades and expansions with personal interest. As far as we're concerned, we're members of the Board of the Directors.

Lisa writes: While we were in Colorado, former Stake President, Mark McConkie, passed away. We've known his family for a long time, so we went to the viewing on Sunday night, leaving the kids with Debbie and Kellen. This is what we came home to: He fought to stay awake until we got home, but lost the battle about ten minutes before we got there.

Lisa writes: I don't have a good enough camera to do justice to this, but here are pictures of a mother and twin baby deer hiding next to somebody's house next to their A/C unit.

Lisa writes: This was the big event -- the reason all of us children gathered from the four corners of the globe. The birthday party! As an added bonus, Ava, Austin, and Quetzi also had/have birthdays within the same 10 day period. Cupcakes for everybody! That's supposed to be a "17"

Lisa writes: Deb's family spent the morning at a park and it turned out to be some sort of kids-fish-free day. The girls tried their hands and actually caught two fish! Kellen got some ice and a cooler and they brought them home, gutted them, and last I checked, they were chilling in the refrigerator waiting to be the next meal.

Lisa writes: While I was running around doing pre-party errands, Debbie took James to her girls' dental checkup. She reported that James was a big help (he and Quetzi make each other braver) and displayed a remarkable knowledge of the importance of flossing and the biomechanics of cavities.

Lisa writes: Christi was making me ride a tandem bike around the neighborhood (... no, I don't understand either ...) and we saw a young bear making the rounds from house to house. The best part, and the part that sadly neither of us caught on camera, was when it suddenly SHOT up into a tree without any apparent reason ... until a moment later a very confident-looking house cat came trotting through the lawn right behind it.

Lisa writes: On his very first Sunday as a Sunbeam, James was asked to give the opening prayer in Primary. We practiced at home and at the podium in the empty Primary room. On the big day ... he balked. No go. Some other kid volunteered. Today, six months later, James was asked to give a talk in Primary. We memorized it, printed out pictures, colored them, practiced at home. On the big day ... ... I gave an excellent talk in Primary. Here it is: "Our Father, who art in heaven" "Hallowed be thy name" "Thy kingdom come" "Thy will be done" "On earth as it is in heaven" "Give us this day our daily bread" "And forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us" "And lead us not into temptation" [or erupting volcanos] "But deliver us from evil" It was also Fathers Day. Here's the card he made for Tom in his class. Cli...