Costume Party, Watermelon Pizza, and Massive Dinner Fail

Today's not-so-favorite moments included . . .

. . . serving what turned out to be an utterly vile concoction for dinner tonight.  When I was young my mom sometimes served us Chinese food from a can, and I recall it being pretty good.  I saw that same can in the store this week and decided to serve it for dinner some evening when I was short on time.  Either the brand's recipe has changed drastically in the last twenty years, or my childhood memories of food are not to be trusted.  In any case, the kids decided they'd rather eat plain quinoa-rice or wheat bread than the ill-tasting mess in the pan.  I supplemented (and kind of apologized for the dinner fiasco) by serving extra dessert tonight.

Today's favorite moments included . . .

. . . Joy hosting a costume party for Daniel, Anna, and their favorite stuffed toys.  Coincidentally, a package from Red Grandma arrived right in the middle of the party.  It contained some patriotic shirts for the kids, red and blue glow sticks (which are also whistles, but it might be better if the kids didn't notice that), and a big bag of red, white, and blue Skittles.  We're saving the glow sticks and most of the candy until July 4th, but we decided that a few of the Skittles would make a nice addition to the party.

. . . discovering that our new town has the coolest public library ever.  They offer free weekly classes in yoga and tai chi, and they have a community garden out back that donates produce to a local food bank.  They also have a little garden-related class for kids each Thursday (we happened to arrive right before it started), and my kids got to go out and pick blackberries and blueberries to use as toppings on a slice of watermelon "pizza."  Then they went out and helped the teachers water the crops (except for Todd, who decided to stay inside where there was air conditioning).

Kittens and Nuts

Today's not-so-favorite moments included . . .

. . . getting bitten by a cute little kitten at the local animal shelter.  In the kitten's defense, it was a little keyed up from being held by three separate children who have no clue how to cradle a cat.

. . . learning that a seven-foot alligator was recently spotted in a nearby lake.  Note to self: don't let family members swim in the lake.

Today's favorite moments included . . .

. . . receiving a sweet note from a friend in the town we just moved from.

. . . spotting a variety of almonds at the store which my mom is fond of.  I texted her a picture of it, along with the caption, "Wish you were here."

And another thing . . .

. . . while playing Balderdash this afternoon, Joy and I came across a reference to Francesco Lentini, the "three-legged soccer player."  You can bet we Googled that guy when we were done playing.  Apparently the "soccer player" part was just a stage name, but the "three-legged" part wasn't.

Simple Treasure and Helpful Joy

Today's favorite moments included . . .

. . . finally finding my can opener after days of unpacking in our new home.

. . . my oldest daughter offering to help me haul a bunch of boxes in from the garage.  Thank you, Joy.

Hamming It Up Over Cereal

Today's favorite moments included . . .

. . . watching my three oldest kids and some of their friends be filmed for a spoof cereal commercial by a friend of ours.  Joy and Anna felt a little awkward in front of the camera, but Daniel followed directions like a natural and said some pretty hilarious things.

Joy Notes and Easter Eve

Today's favorite moments included . . .

. . . taking Joy to dinner, and then watching the semi-annual LDS Women's Broadcast together at our chapel.  I'm always kind of amazed that my boisterous nine-year-old daughter looks forward to sitting on a pew for over an hour listening to grown-ups talk about faith, love, and service.  She even takes notes.  I'm so proud of her.

. . . watching a touching little Easter video.  It was a sweet way to spend Easter Eve.

A Homemade Leprechaun Trap

Today's favorite moments included . . .

. . . watching Joy demonstrate a leprechaun trap she constructed with yarn and a shoebox, using a small bucket of pennies as bait.

. . . hearing Anna say, "My face is doing a thing!"

Humility and French Toast

Today's favorite moments included . . .

. . . walking to a restaurant for breakfast with my daughter Joy.  We had a nice chat as we walked, and passed time in the restaurant drawing pictures of things in the room to see if the other could guess what we had sketched.

And another thing . . .

. . . "Being humble means recognizing we are not on earth to see how important we can become, but to see how much difference we can make in the lives of others." --Gordon B. Hinckley