Well how’s this for a 3-course meal of it?…

1.  Yesterday, Natalie kept tossing a hot-pad at me while I was changing her diaper. (Feel free to unsubscribe right away if you are violently opposed to kitchen items being found at random in children’s bedrooms and stuffed animals and library books being found on kitchen floors.)  Once it flew past me, and I teased her by saying, “You missed me, you missed me, now you have to kiss me,” and I scooped her up and attacked her with kisses all over her face and neck.  She let out this delightful belly laugh that I’d never heard before and it cracked both of us up.  I said, “Was that funny?” She sighed and replied, “Yeah, I laughed like a grandpa.”  The rest of the day I laughed every time I thought about it.

2.  Today, we dropped off a wedding gift at the house of Clark’s Primary teacher.  She wasn’t home, so we left it with her little brother.  As we walked back to the car, Clark asked where she was, and I explained that she was probably at work.  Grant said, “Clark, did you know that some girls go to work?”  Clark said, “really?” and Grant affirmed, “Yep, it’s true.  Sometimes girls go to work.”  (Please be advised that this is observation based on their own reality and not because of some ultra-conservative sexist indoctrination.)   Clark thought for a few minutes while he buckled himself into his car seat and then piped up, “I wish mommy went to work so daddy could stay home with us.”  I would like to announce that my greatest moment of self-control today was not responding to that comment at all.  I did tell Matt later and he laughed (alone) and said it’s probably just because he lets them watch shows all the time.  This is not a funny story.  Do not say “LOL” in the comments.

3.  (Kristina P, you’re gonna love this one.)  Remember my brother Greg who won the Cheapest of the Cheap contest in Nashville?  I’m quoting here a story his wife Mindy told about the most hilarious thing that happened to him last week on the airplane:

“First of all, the life of Greg pretty much makes me laugh. He is just one in a million…truly! One of my favorite things about him is that he knows/cares very little about famous people. Let me explain. I just got off the phone with him( he is currently heading home from Mexico.)

Meanwhile, he opened his laptop and on his screen saver was a 350Z (a Nissan sports car). She saw it and started talking about how she herself has one and is now wanting to order a 370Z with red leather interior. She also talked about 3 other cars she had purchased in the last year. Since Greg knows everything about cars (since he works with the creation of them)…they had a great conversation. Well, this lady nodded off (in her dark glasses and hair in a ponytail) and Greg felt a tap on his shoulder. The flight attendant asked him, “Would you mind handing me Beyonce’s empty cup?” Greg, still not sure what Beyonce’ even looked like but knew the name, started to laugh inside.

Hilarious! So Hilarious because that’s so Greg. We had a good laugh! I told him he should have sent me a text from her phone(could you imagine Greg/me having her phone number?)…yet he’s (respectfully) too innocent to do that…his wife on the other hand…not so much:) Life is good!”

I told him that when she made the comment about his computer screen he should have said, “If you liked it then you should have put a ring on it.”  Am I the only person that thinks that’s funny?

I have a few really important things to say.  (It’s after midnight, and my sense of what’s worth saying and what’s not might be slightly warped.)

First of all, I just want to say that all your comments on my I-just-got-home-from-EFY post were just like narcotics Lindt milk chocolate truffles the nicest thing ever.  I promise I did not write the summary of my angst and puke and such to solicit all of those “you are amazing” type comments, but I’m thinking I should undergo some major stress more often just to hear it.  What is truly amazing is that both friends and “strangers” will be so generous with their encouragement and praise.  Thank you.  You made me feel great.

It only took me about 48 hours to return my home from the lovely place of order that my mom created in my absense to the oh-look-Stephanie-the-queen-of-entropy-is-home current state of things.  I keep thinking maybe I’ll grow up and be more like my mom, but I’m not so sure.

If you have little boys and they’ve never watched Swiss Family Robinson, they should.  Mine love it.  Shipwrecks, wild animals, dream treehouse, pirates, booby traps, what’s not to love?

Summer is great because winter sucks, but I do sense a blog slump coming on.  With children running around here all day and those long lists of things to do now that it’s finally warm, a person can stay pretty busy.

I did make a summer weekly schedule where we have a routine for each day of the week.  We try to balance out some fun things and some important things like service, chores, and gospel study.  Let me just say that after 3 whole days it’s a raving success.  I hope it doesn’t lose its thunder.

I’m excited to start camping again.  We have a pop-up camper/trailer and it makes for some fun family times.  Matt’s birthday is this weekend, and we’re going to go camping in celebration of that and Father’s Day.  For the next month, I will then only be ONE year older than Matt and he can’t make all his dumb jokes about me being a cradle robber when we all know that he was the one who was hot on my trail and he’s lucky I decided to let myself date someone the same age as my younger brother.

I went to the gym and exercised at SIX o’clock this morning.  I think this is a sign of the Second Coming.

My toe really does itch, by the way.  I need to use more lotion.

I love you guys.  Thanks for letting me write a bunch of slop like this occasionally and then still coming back.