A change of pace

The Peterson's invited us to go out to see the Oliver Cowdery memorial in Richmond, Missouri. We held our own quick sacrament meeting at the house and then changed into cooler clothes and headed out.  There is no shirts and ties in this kind of humidity...that is not smart. We know Heavenly Father loves us and doesn't want us to die of heat exhaustion.

The girls are so excited to get out of the house!

Rob Peterson prepared some history and led the discussion. It was so interesting. We were in the shade and the breeze was so lovely. It was neat to be there and it really made me think about what it might have been like to be a part of the church in the early days. I have so much sympathy for those early saints and the monumental faith they must have had in order to leave their lives and come out here. I can imagine that it wasn't a perfect path for any of them.

Kylie is freshly home from her mission and has loads of experience doing church history tours on temple square...so she did some reading from the memorial. I had no idea that he was buried here.

We took the time to look around at some of the other graves and headstones.

This one broke my heart.

A group photo...

Just like these happy folks from 1911.

We popped down the street to a park and ate our packed lunches. It all felt so...2019. You know, when this was a normal thing to do instead of slightly on the illlegal/reckless side. How dare we sit next to one another!

Life is so weird these days.

And, yes, I have mixed feelings about it. I'm sure I've made that abundantly clear.

After lunch we stopped at the city cemetery to find David Whitmer's grave.

I loved the quote.

It was a great day!

Entertaining ourselves

Cooped up a bit, Megan?

There are few things are satisfying as a A/C vent and a triangle dress.

Veggie Obsession

Here's the thing...I am totally into hanging out in the garden this year. I'm not sure if it's the fact that we had so much time at home and nothing else to do, or if I am hiding from my kids behind the fluffy asparagus fronds, or if I just completely rediscovered the magic of growing things.

Here's what's happening this week in the back yard....

We harvested our first tomatillos for the dressing recipe we used on our Father's Day pork barbacoa!

Our first lovely tomato! I gave it to Ethan...I'll wait for the next one (that's a mother's love).

It's hard to see in this photo, but the sprinklers left the most dazzling water droplets in this dill blossom. I was enraptured, I tell you!!

Some of the daisies are so adorably stubby. I don't know why, but I love them for it.

I made this bouquet for a friend from the daisies and blanket flowers. It's so COUNTRY! It couldn't be denied a burlap ribbon.

And check it out. there is an ear of corn growing.... look at is lovely, luscious silk!

In case there is any doubt left in your mind about the level of excitement and dedication I am feeling....I WEEDED THE GRASS OUT OF THE ASPARAGUS. That's unheard of. It gave me so much extra garden space, I decided to pop in a new bunch of lavender, transplant the parsley and add a new Early Girl tomato.  Yahtzee, baby!

SBL: Holukia Shave Ice

Mark and I have very fond memories of stopping for the fluffy soft shave ice at Ululani's on Maui. This place seemed like they had the same kind of options on the menu...snow caps, lychee, li hing mui powder...it held promise.

 And I will not say that it wasn't delicious. But we've been ruined forever by Ululanis. 

Mark did his best to recreate or Maui fave....passionfruit and coconut flavorings with coconut ice cream center. If only the ice cream didn't have little bits of chewy coconut....it was weird. 

Everly took my advice and went for a vanilla ice cream center with rootbeer shave ice. Classic!

Megan and I shared and we went for pomegranate (a sure winner), lychee, and haupia. The haupia was pretty good, kind of a creamy coconut. The lychee was indiscernible from cotton candy...gag.
 

Laney and Anna both got rootbeer shave ice, but branched out with different ice cream centers. Laney went for cookie dough and Anna choose Moose Tracks. Anna's combination magical morphed into the exact two flavors they must use to manufacture Tootsie Rolls....because, dude, she had a huge cup full of Tootsie Roll flavored frozen weirdness.

We live.

And we learn.

Mathew hits the open road

I felt twisted up in knots as I watched this boy drive off on his adventure. He refused to take my phone and went armed only with a handful of printed maps and the knowledge that he could call me or stop and ask for directions....you know, like we all did all the time growing up. 

He felt up for the challenge!

He called a few times along his journey to let me know where he was....Fort Scott, then the Grand Falls in Joplin, then Hometown Pediatrics of Joplin (perhaps a bit lost?), then Walmart in Joplin and Ernie Williamson Music (in Joplin!), then Vintage Stock in Joplin and Rangeline Antique Mall in Joplin, and finally Cheddar's...of Joplin....for a very lonely 3 pm lupper before he forged onward to Bentonville and into the loving arms of his Aunt Sarah and his very fun cousins... Karah, Bradley, Simon and Bryce. 

They loved on him and showed him the best time. They played airsoft, swam in the pool and grilled out for dinner. He had them all to himself.

And then they gave him the very best Mathew send off possible. They clearly knew his love language...loving and goofy and big-hearted gestures!

I'm so glad we let him drive down and have that experience. He rose to the challenge and those wonderful Allreds filled up his happiness cup! That's a pretty fantastic way to turn 17!

Gardens and Geckos

You never can tell where you will be getting your joy from....

It might be the things growing in the yard.

The daisies are blooming! They are a touch scraggly, but I love them just the same.

And look at this fiery Blanket Flower! 

Everly and I gathered and clipped the daisies and a couple blanket flowers, snipped every Forget-me-not (vile little boogers) and added the yellow dill flowers and white cilantro to make this bouquet. We love it!

I was doing a bit of weeding and came across this perfectly perfect strawberry. I don't know how, but the slugs completely missed him.  He was so dark red!

 And we have our first batch of beets! I steamed them for dinner and me, Ethan and Everly divvied them up fair and square.

The geckos are enduring their captivity with much patience. They put up with the girls endlessly making them little nests and treating them like little babies. Everly calls this one "bunk beds".

💚💚💚

Father's Day 2018...full roar.

What would Father's day be without....

A tower of homemade toast.....                               and a plentiful pile of bacon

Where would we be without that smile?

Would it even feel like Father's day without the Chocolate Lover's Favorite Cake exploding in the oven? (This one almost looks like it has a Cubbies logo baked into it!)

Could we even let the day pass without a rousing rendition of Daddy's Homecoming???

How would we do without a fabulous feast of pork barbacoa and pistachio yak??

Or without Mark's traditional "I'm so glad you made this whole cake for me and I don't even need to share it with anyone!" joke that always brings at least one little girl to the brink of tears. Which then prompts him to give her the first slice. Chocolate cures almost all kinds of weeping.

How would we survive without this wonderful man that makes everything so fun and shows his appreciation for our best efforts....even when they aren't really a surprise...

And when they really ARE a surprise!!

This Father's day had everything.

And, yes, I mean EVERYTHING.

Mark Hufford, you are the one for me. You are the guy I will always choose to walk through life with. I will face the cops with you and make you chocolate cake until the end of time!

Mathew turns 17!!

Well, no, he isn't actually 17 yet... but today we celebrate! Tomorrow we will focus on the dad.

Froot Loops....it's chalk full of all the vitamins required to be 17.

I am loving the sleeping habits of teenagers. They really truly don't wake up the the sound of tape being ripped and streamers being hung right outside their bedroom doors. And I think it's possible Mathew forgot it was even his birthday (it's not). He was legitimately surprised.

And because he is now only 1 year away from adulthood....he had to work. Don't feel bad, bud. We all have to do it. Aren't you glad we stopped giving you the day off of chores on your birthday 10 years ago? I was *this close* to giving all you kids the wrong idea about what life had in store for you.....also, it was super hard to get everything ready for birthday parties with 1/6th of my child labor force relaxing on the couch.

Thanks for being such a good sport and wearing your Birthday Boy ribbon!

Mathew chose a roast dinner with all the fixins. He regaled us with a high energy story in his wonderful Mathew way...

He chose a chocolate cake with whipped white frosting....

I found this awesome light up birthday cake topper. It just screamed **MATHEW** when I saw it at the store.

I love big kids! They provide their own entertainment!

Oh Mathew...I love you, dude. I love the way you see the world and your energy and happy soul. You are a pleasure to raise. Thanks for making brownies and dinner whenever you see me starting to lose it.

Happy 17th Birthday.

Tomorrow.