Summer Days

The thing about Idaho summers that bugs me the most is that probably 95% of the homes have NO AIR CONDITIONING!!!!! I know that it's like, winter and fall here two-thirds of the year, but come on --it's hot here in the summer and even HOTTER when you don't have AC. And no, opening the windows doesn't do the trick. Tyrone and I have discussed this one before. He's from Idaho, and doesn't know that there's life beyond window AC units and swamp coolers. I was fortunate enough to convince him with the car that just because you open all the windows, doesn't mean that the inside of the car (or house!) will cool down. If the air is hot outside, then you're only letting in hot air. It doesn't cool down just because it's out of direct sun. This just results in stuffy hot air, because despite all the open windows, you still have hot air trapped in an enclosed area. So, needless to say, we're really hot here right now. Even with the swamp cooler going, the house doesn't necessarily cool down.

Anyway, here are some pictures of our most recent goings on...

We try to go to the park several days each week. Elizabeth LOVES to be outside and play where other kids are. One Saturday, Tyrone got to come with us. We go in the mornings before things get too hot. There's also a splash park here in town. However, every time I have taken Elizabeth there, she's been more interested in the park play area than the water fountains and all the water play park has to offer. She'd rather run around and go down a slide, I guess.
I decided that it would be cheaper to make our bread rather than buy the amount we eat each month. Homemade bread makes the best toast anyway. Last time I attempted this "mom" thing, the bread was flat and not cool. This time, the loaves all turned out nicely. I was so proud of myself that I took a picture.....I think I need to get out more... :)
So, Elizabeth loves spaghetti. She was "starving" for dinner one night so I gave in early and let her at some leftovers. Tyrone and I were watching a movie, so Elizabeth's dinner went unsupervised. She usually does just fine. The dining and living rooms are open to each other, so we can keep an eye on her. However, this particular dinner she managed to be quiet and sneaky enough to do what you see in the picture here. Every time I looked over at her, she was eating and appeared to be fine. But, when I went clean her up the food was EVERYWHERE: floor, hair, behind/in ears, all over the high chair, on her legs, and in other places of the dining room that I have no idea how she got them there. Needless to say she went straight to the bath tub after this.

Real Quick...4th of July

For the 4th of July we all went to see Tyrone's family and their new house. They got a great deal on a fixer-upper and it turned out really nice. We helped them with the last part of their move and Grandma Dickerson gave Elizabeth a new, patriotic outfit to wear for the holiday. We had fun playing games with Tyrone's brothers and Elizabeth loved all the attention she got. Her naps were something to be desired, though. She was so tired by the end of the trip that she slept all two hours home! (Elizabeth is not a car sleeper.)

Peanut Butter!

On nice, sunny days while Tyrone is at work, Elizabeth and I enjoy walking to the park. Elizabeth likes to swing and walk around in the shade and touch the grass while I lag behind at a distance. Sometimes I wish I had a leash to tie her up to a tree with so I could just sit down and rest. Does that make me a bad mom? I don't know, but the park is usually a fun time for us. I just thought this picture was funny (even though Elizabeth is facing the wrong way)...little girl vs. BIG TREE


One night, Elizabeth woke up before Tyrone and I could go to bed. She probably had a bad dream --vacuum cleaners and alpacas or something. So, she came on out and sat next to me in the recliner. Within minutes of rocking and watching the television, however, our little princess was yet again too pooped to poop and knocked out. Her blankie was still up to her nose (that's her comfort zone).

Here, Elizabeth is looking slick and is all ready for church. Unfortunately though, she has an obsession with the bathroom. We have to watch out and make sure the toilet seat lid is always down. Otherwise, a rubber duck might find its way in there, and that would be the death of it. I don't really want to clean any toys that end up in the toilet...