Robert can walk.

Some husbands fish.

Some watch football. Mine volunteers to help organize political events. (See here for an explanation.) Who cares if the event is for the President of the United States, if said event is in Cleveland, Ohio? Can 9 days in a hotel without a car really be worth the "thrill" of a 4-hour event? Now, if said event had been one of the prior week's events in Ghana or Moscow, well, then I would have gone too. If there is to be a next one, let's hope for a topic other than health care and a cool, foreign location. (By the way, Ben thought it was pretty cool to meet Pres. Obama.)

Bountiful Pioneer Day Parade

It seems Robert turned into a kid overnight. My "baby" insisted on sitting in his own chair and holding his own sippy cup during the Bountiful Pioneer Day Parade. He looks so big sitting in Kate's chair next to James. I guess it's time he gets a chair of his own.

Snow White was at the parade and Kate got a close-up photo-op.

Happy 60th Mom!

My mom turned 60 on July 14th. Four of her five children were in (or came) to Utah for a surprise birthday weekend. Friday night was the surprise invasion - six of fifteen grandchildren, three of five kids (and spouses), and a dozen balloons. Another child and more grandchildren joined in on Saturday, which was full of play, swimming, and an adult-only dinner. Sunday was a larger family party with a giant cake (with 60 burning flames, lovingly decorated by her grandchildren. Monday was a trip to an art exhibit followed by frozen yogurt. Everyone had a great time. Happy Birthday, Mom!

S'mores

My office had a summer party and a colleague's cabin. The whole evening was enjoyable, but the highlight for James and Kate were the s'mores.

New tires.

I slipped out of work this morning to get a quick oil change. 45 minutes later, they told me there was a "bulge" on one of my tires and it needed to be changed as soon as possible. "Blow-out at anytime" was a troubling phrase I remember hearing.

The oil change outfit didn't sell tires, so they suggested a nearby outfit that did. That place only had a high-end tire that would do for my van. No thanks. They sent me to one of their nearby locations with a mid-grade tire in stock. Mid-grade would do for me.

Rather watch Divorce Court in the lobby, I went to a nearby dive for lunch. I enjoyed a great cheeseburger/fries. The tire store called as I was finishing up my lunch - I assumed to tell me that my car was ready. No. They recommended replacing all four tires. Really? I eventually determined to go ahead and have them replace all the tires.

The last time I replaced tires was in 2000. Shortly after getting married, Ben was driving our car and it got a flat tire. When he took the car in to get the tire fixed, the store said we needed all new tires. I remember Ben calling to tell me the bad news. The money needed for the tires was about the same amount of cash we had just received as wedding gifts - the only money we had. I didn't think tires made for a very good wedding gift, but what choice did we have? I tried to be positive and convince myself that it was just a good thing we even had money to get the new tires.

I didn't like spending a boatload of money on tires today, but I'm glad the cost of today's new tires didn't represent all the cash to my name. I'm also glad that for seven years (while living in New York) I didn't own a car and didn't have to buy any new tires.

Four hours after "slipping out" for an oil change, I returned to work.

A weekend of firsts

Robert let us know this weekend that he's pretty much finished with baby food. The pureed stuff is vehemently rejected and he reaches for whatever everyone else is eating. I'm well aware of the recommendation to introduce one food at a time so one can easily identify allergies, if any. Robert, however, doesn't seem to want to follow this well-reasoned recommendation. So far we are doing fine.

First popsicle.

First watermelon.

First steak.
(As soon as the thief's act was caught on film, the delicious meat was removed from his fast little hands - much to his dismay.)