Falling Off the Edge of the Earth

Our day began with peach pie for breakfast.

And ice cream.

Can it get better?  Yes.  Papa Ben got out the can of whipped cream.

This never gets old.

The kids love it.

To be honest, it takes some trust.  Once Lewis saw Ben, he was game, too.

One of my favorite things about our family gatherings over the last two weeks has been watching all the cousins play together.

However, today we had to say good-bye.  Some rode Frontrunner to the airport.  When the train showed up, Lewis lost his spirit of adventure.

Everyone else enjoyed the ride.

Looking for some new friends, Ben escaped out the back.  Corinne was right after him.  Some neighbor children included him, where he had a wonderful time.

All of a sudden, Richard arrived!

His dad and big brother took Papa to a BYU football game.

Despite BYU's win, I'm pretty sure those of us at home had the best time.

Ben was delighted when Bradley returned.  He will be the best big brother ever.

After a while, I checked on the two boys.  Bradley mentioned that Ben doesn't know how to play the Wii, a fact I was aware of.  I asked Bradley if this was a problem.  He said no.

Just so you know, I was well aware we had a seven-year-old tending a three-year old.

Bradley brushed up on his big brother skills.

Sammie grilled us dinner.  If that looks like a lot of steak, it's because Melissa's sister and her husband joined us.

This was a great meal, but my steak was not rare enough. I guess I'm a steak snob.

Richard did not get steak, but he was the star of the evening.

Grand Finale

I got up early to make blueberry bagels.

Kyle was right behind me.  He knew today was the last chance he'd have to finish the puzzle.

Camille joined us and completed a puzzle she started last night.

My dining room has been transformed into a game room, apparently.

Even Lewis came in to play.

Camille wanted to help me shape the bagels.  Kyle asked if he could help, too.  These kids need to be taught once, and then it's done right.

Camille wanted to drop the bagels in the boiling water, but the first time she tried, she plunked them in flat and the water splashed out, startling everyone in the kitchen.

She was content putting the egg white wash on the bagels.

Her dad encouraged her to try again, giving her a few pointers.  She boiled all the rest.

These bagels are so good that Steve asked questions about how I make them.  This discussion began Wednesday when we made cheese bagels.  Just because the camera didn't come out doesn't mean that bagel making didn't happen that day.

Steve is the master scrambled-egg-maker in our family.

Lewis and Ben began horsing around while they waited for breakfast.  It's been pretty cute watching these two play together over the last week.

Ben offered Lewis half of his bagel, and Lewis accepted.  That was pretty cute, too.

In the meantime, Kyle finished the 550 piece puzzle.

Then he beat me in a game of I Spy memory.

I accidentally came upon something very cute this morning.

Lewis has learned how to fetch a peanut M&M from the M&M guy in the basement.

Somehow he knows he's not supposed to eat these, so he walked around until he found another person to give it to.

Kyle showed Lewis my Darth Vader.  The arm with the laser sword moves, and Mr. Vader talks.  The batteries also never wear out on this guy, either.

After a relaxed morning, we went to the new Orem splash pad.

How many cool water pictures can I get away with posting?

We all liked this park.

The game seemed to be to see how dry they could stay.

Ben didn't care one bit about that game.

He ignored all the No Running signs.

Lewis had a pretty good time.

Adele managed to stay completely dry the entire morning.  Her goggles helped.

Camille asked if she could bake one more thing with me today.

I chose a peach pie.

Camille's artistic skills came out when I asked her to paint butter on the top.

Ben wanted to help, so he and I made tarts with the leftover dough.  I don't mean to brag about my pie crust, but the tarts were gone the second they were cool.

The kids really wanted to go tramping.

I never say no to that.

Not many kids were jumping this afternoon, so they let us have the run of all the trampolines.

Ben liked the ropes, but he didn't quite know what to do.

Camille demonstrated.

Then Kyle took a turn.

After the demonstration, Ben knew exactly what to do:  Hang on!

Kyle is a serious jumper.

Adele loves to have fun.

Camille practiced her flips.  I would have taken more pictures, but I fell asleep.

Madly trying to cross off everything on the kids' lists, we made one more trip to the pool tonight.

Ben loves the water.

Kyle is a great swimmer.

The night was beautiful.

Camille has practiced all the swimming tips she's received this week.

Tonight was a perfect ending to a perfect vacation.