Cole's Amazing Memory

We have a book that we read occasionally to Cole at night called, "Over at the Castle." We just love this book (and it's companion, "Hush Little Dragon"). Anyway, there is a certain page that has a character of a girl on it, and every time Cole sees it, he gets a huge smile on his face, points at her, and says, "Mom-Mom!"

Tonight, we're driving home, and out of nowhere, Cole exclaims, "Catch da duck, Mom-Mom!" We keep trying to figure out what he is saying until we realize he is referring to the picture from this book:

Bryce and I couldn't stop laughing.

On a side note, this is what the text on that page says. I thought it was somehow fitting.

"Over at the castle, doing chore after chore,
Work the old trusty servant and her helper servants four.
"Hustle!" says the servant. "We hustle!" say the four.
So they work all day doing chore after chore."

Happy 24th!

We celebrated the 24th with the Thomsen's, complete with BBQ, fireworks, and games. (And super hot weather, whew!)

What a fetching bonnet!Mitchell and Cole braving the sun.
Peter was kind enough to do all the work on this swing.Leslie & Linds - adorable!Popsicles make my mouth cold...
Sparklers with Dad.As always, a fantastic time! Happy 24th!

Bear Lake

Time for our Annual Thomsen Bear Lake Trip! This year, we were super excited since Bryce's brother Ryan, his wife Eliza, and their son Peter were coming from New Zealand to visit. We had tons of fun on the beach:And threw lots of sand:
Bryce did some good skiing:Cole went tubing with Bryce and Lindsey. He was so brave and totally loved it. He kept saying, "Weee!" and "Behind the boat!"But mostly, it was fun to spend time with family.
Bryce & Ryan:Ryan & Eliza:
Mitchell & Cole:Cole also made a new friend of Uncle Darin, and kept following after him saying "Unka D?"

With minimal sunburns, I'd say this was a most successful trip!

Dirt is the Best

Well Played, Counselor

I just want to send out a big congratulations to my dad, who was sustained today as the 1st Counselor in the bishopric of one of the student wards at the U of U. From day one, I've had a sneaky suspicion that a calling like this was inevitable, so it seemed totally natural that this opportunity would arise.

I'm so proud of my dad, and am excited for this new opportunity for him. Those college kids are just going to love him and he will do an amazing job. My mom will be a fantastic "Bishopric Wife," despite the fact that she may have to speak in public every so often. :)

Congratulations - we love you!

The Zoo

Pa and Nana joined us at the zoo on Monday, and we had a great time!

Cole loved the animals. He had a three step process:
POINT!
Wave and say "hi."Run off to find "more."We all loved Zuri, the new baby elephant.And Cole especially loved the leopard.We rode the carousel,And the train,And splashed in the water.Of course, we had to copy Pa's every move.
The zoo has really improved since I was young, and I hope they're able to keep it up. What a great time!

The Cherry-O

This week's CSA included cherries. I didn't think I liked fresh cherries.

I was wrong.

I Will Master You Yet

Piping kinda sucks.

I think it feels the same way about me.

To quote Clueless: "It's a full-on Monet...from far away, it's OK, but up close, it's a big old mess."

Oh well. I will conquer you piping! Oh yes, I will.

Happy 4th!

Our neighbors put on their annual 4th of July party on Saturday, and it was fun as always. Cole eventually enjoyed the bounce house (it took some convincing):
And he really liked the fireworks. His basic reaction was:
What the what?I love it!Again? More fireworks.Happy 4th of July, everyone!