3 watermelons in 3 days

Ultimate baby wrestling

This week Mike worked half a day on Monday and Tuesday, and he worked all day Wednesday, but he had the rest of the week off. This was part of his paternity leave package that he agreed upon with his employer.

Alison and the kids did a good job of holding down the fort while Mike was gone, although the house did get pretty messy since Alison spent a lot of time taking care of the baby, which took away some time from her taking care of the rest of things.

One thing that happened early in the week was the conclusion of the light install in the front yard. Mike was able to finish putting everything together, and the lights were easy to install. They look good, however they are not bright enough to be the sole source of light in the room.

On Tuesday we picked the "last" of the strawberries on strawberry hill.

On Wednesday during the day, Amy offered to watch the kids, so Alison dropped them off, and napped. When mike came home we had pizza at Amy's house and then picked apricots. It was really nice of Amy to watch the kids for us, and the apricots were amazing.

On the 4th of July we started the day by picking tons of currants (of many different varieties) which were at a park near Amy's house. We then went back home and made them into a mixed berry pie.

The Browns and the Plastows

the kids prevailed upon the parents to go to the bounce houses and firework stand that is always at 90th and state street. We bought "Bestest Crackering Ballz" again, and the kids bouced and bounced.


Next we went over to Amy's barbecue and had a great time. We all had hotdogs or sausages, watermelon, and chips, and the plastow grandparents were there as well. Mike, Dave, and Grandpa Plastow lit off the fireworks, and  the kids had a great time. Baby Elizabeth was surprisingly unimpressed by the fireworks, and slept through most of the show.

After we were done, the Plastows came with us to see the fireworks from atop the flat iron mesa hill park. The kids loved cuddling together on the blankets, and watching the various shows.

Gideon is still cute

Friday the tree guys chopped down the huge dead cottonwood in our backyard. They used a crane and chainsaws because it was so big. They were really fast (After they arrived, Mike and Gideon went to do a pokemon battle, but they were just finishing up when the pokemon battle was concluded.)

For lunch we had a hamburger barbecue, and ate our watermelon.

For the parent's date we read Witches Abroad (by Terry Pratchett), ate gyros, and baklava, and the kids watched a movie.

On Saturday the Poulson grandparents came over to help take care of the kids so that Alison can recover more.

We spent the morning cleaning up the house in preparation for them getting here. After they arrived, we had a dinner picnic at flat iron mesa park, and then we ended the day by picking more strawberries - because you can never pick enough.

Sunday the Poulson's went to church with Mike and the kids, and then Craig had to leave to go back to Reno. Julie will remain at our house until Thursday to help during Gideon's surgery, and Mike's first week of  "full" work after the baby's birth.

One final note - Alison is super cute.

That is all.

Oh - one more thing. During baby Elizabeth's 2 week checkup she had gained a pound above her birth weight (so she is growing well). If Mike were to grow at the same weight he would have put on about 20 lbs over the last two weeks.

That is all for real this time.