Best Burger In the World (And Possibly the Universe)

I'll start by apologizing to all ya'll non-Texans before I say that it is improbable, if not impossible, to get a better burger anywhere in the country (and, therefore, the rest of the world) than you can in Texas. Arrogant as that may sound- it's true. Don't argue. Don't be jealous.

I will go one step further by saying that I may have never had a better burger (sorry Dad) than I did yester night at the one and only Central Market- Burgers and Bock Night. Even without the bock, it is a summer ritual that I intend to perpetuate as long as we live here, and will heartily miss if we move away.Mmm spicy fries. Pay no mind to the tell tale Wendy's paraphernalia. (Central Market burgers are a little big for the kids to wrap their mouths around.)
As you can see Michael and Jen also enjoyed their burgers.
Bobby Boo threw back a cold one while taking in some soothing Van Morrison and Tom Petty tunes.

Dave and Morgan totally dug their first rock concert. Even if it was just 2 guys with acoustic guitars...

A few picnees.

Just thought I'd throw a few pictures up while we're still unpacking. We need to get internet because I feel like I live in the Twilight Zone right now. I also don't think we have a working clock up yet, except on our cell phones. Anyway- here are a few before and afters.

My Great Grandma's old china hutch. I love it, Mike hates it. What do you think?
The guys made the stair noses and stained them to match the flooring. They really did a great job!
We had our first breakfast at the new house today. Mike made waffles~

Dave's big boy bed. His room's not too exciting yet. I'm not really sure what theme we're going for. He loves his Wiggle's sheets, though. He wakes up saying "Hey Mama!! Where's Greg? Where's Anfony? Where's Jeff??"

Wow.

Moving really stinks. But we have almost everything at the new house and it looks awesome! The guys did a great jooorb. I will post some new pictures and I hope you'll all come visit.

It's true.

80%How Addicted to Blogging Are You?

^{And just to prove it- I had to alert you all that I mopped my kitchen floor for the first real time last night, and we're sleeping there tonight! Woo Hoo~}

Misinterpretation

Dave ran up to me yesterday and excitedly requested, "Wanna runna honnies!". In an attempt to quell my puzzled looks and interpret this cryptic message he shouted, "Asssses, asssses, all fall down!". I got it after that.

Where A Kid Can Be A Kid (or at least get pushed around a little).

Dave's Birthday was a hit. Not because of pizza or presents or Chuck-E-Cheese, but because, I think, of the fabulous balloons supplied by one Drandmother- who never fails us. She has officially dubbed herself "the balloon Grandma"- which is probably an attempt to avoid being called "old grandma" or "crazy, smelly grandma" (not that she is any of those things, mind you).


There was some delicious pizza, which may or may not have contributed to a slight bathroom emergency for one family member at the next activity....

CHUCK-E-CHEESE!!

Because Dave's birthday landed on a Saturday, I didn't think about the possible adverse situations that might have been taking place at Chuck-E-Cheese on a Saturday night. I just wanted to go on his birthday. Here's a hint- if it's your kid's birthday, and it's Saturday, and you want to take them to Chuck-E-Cheese, and they are two... you may want to go mid-week. So they don't get trampled. Just a thought.
We managed to find some fun activities and stay out of harm's way, although we had to avoid Dave's favorite activity, the tube slide, due to copious amounts of screaming- monkey-like children swarming the slide structure. I was afraid for his life. Or at least mine if I had to go in after him. It was like a scene from Lord of the Flies... anyway...

Dave's favorite part was feeding the tickets to the ticket muncher thingy. I was shocked that he had the dexterity to feed the tickets. He is surprising me more everyday with his little 2 year old self.
Morgan and Dave both won some luxurious plastic bugs and a tootsie roll with the ten dollars worth of tokens we used. As a special treat, Morgan got to ride in the birthday boy's car and torture him all the way home. He loved it.
My creativity was gone after all the cake making in the last month. Mr. Carrot Head and Mr. Corn Head made great cake accoutrements, though.



I love me some 2 year old Daze-A-Daze. Thanks for all the birthday wishes- those who typed, called and held them in your hearts- we love you!

Wiggly, Wiggly World.

Dave is getting a set of Wiggles sheets and a three pack of Wiggles DVDs for his birthday. Every morning at 9 o'clock sharp, after his Cheerios, he likes to watch The Wiggles TV Show- and he refuses to watch any of his million DVDs that aren't The Wiggles. He's a boy obsessed, which is a phenomenon that continually perplexes me.... except... that Blue Wiggle is kinda hot.

House Update 2,657.

What would you do if someone told you that it was going to take 2 weeks to install some carpet on your stairs? What if the stairs they were going to carpet were in the same house that you had already made 3 mortgage payments on, planned to move into about a month and a half ago, and were already packed and ready to move into this weekend? Just as I suspected...

You'd do it yourself.
We found this really cool eco-friendly recycled carpet. It's hip. Don't ya think? Here's a close up.
Just kidding. That's a carpet pad.

Don't be surprised, when you decide to carpet the stairs yourself, if the people who are helping you try to shoot you with the staple gun. Cause it ain't easy work. I should know. I was watching from the windows I was washing.

Rolls of carpet. We decided to carpet the stairs because after the ordeal with getting the actual wood that looked decent enough to put on our floor, we didn't end up with enough to do the stairs. Also, let's face it. It would have been way more of a pain in the butt than putting carpet down.
Heavy duty stuff. An automatic staple gun. Yowza! Doesn't this air compressor make fine home decor? I think we'll leave it right there.
So I lied. I was supervising the work from the top of the stairs.

And the completed project. Looks professional, no? 10 hours versus 2 weeks = not a bad trade.

Wordless Wednesday (On the Cob)

Simple Faith

Dave will turn two this week. This fact simultaneously hurts my heart and fills it with joy. I can't believe my little babe is growing up, but by the same token I am amazed and proud at all he can do and all he has learned in just two years.

There is a new song the kids are learning in Primary, which I think is one of the best I have heard. It might have something to do with the music, too- but here are the lyrics. It pretty much sums up all I hope for my Daze-a-Daze.

The Lord has blessed me with gospel truth.
I have learned His ways in my early youth.
I will share my light for I know it’s right
To testify of Him.
The Lord has blessed me with simple faith.
If I pray for help, He will give me strength.
I will do His work. I will gladly serve.
I’ll follow Him in faith.

The Lord has blessed me to feel His love.
I have felt His promptings and learned to trust.
So in all I do, I’ll be faithful to
The things I know are true.
The Lord has blessed me in many ways.
With a thankful heart I will sing His praise.
I will raise my voice and proclaim my choice
To follow Him in faith.
He has shown the way, and through all my days,
I’ll follow Him in faith.

Wedding Cake Weekend

It was fun, but no more cakes for a loooooong long time!

Happy Fourth of The-Ly!

This is the first Fourth of July in recent memory that I have been able to enjoy. As you'll recall I came home early from a lovely vacation at Lake Gillette last summer to work on the Fourth. The year before last I was hugely pregnant, hoping I would go into labor, watching "Rocket Girl" ride up and down the street by our apartments in Provo (if you were there I'm sure you also remember Rocket Girl with fondness). Those experiences only served to make this Fourth so much sweeter. As you can see we had a great time! I was hoping my festive swags (as pictured above) would be hanging on a house I was already living in, but alas it was not to be (sore subject... ahem...).




















I can't believe she picked up the frog, because I wouldn't even pick it up. I guess that's not really saying much though... We hung out with some families from our church and apparently with all the rain the frogs have been reproducing like... bunnies(?) at their house.

Dave's first sparkler! Don't worry- he only held it by himself for a couple of seconds.





























And my favorite part of the evening (save the fireworks) was when Michael smashed a watermelon against his thick skull:). It was almost as good as Rocket Girl. Almost, but not quite.