Ten Starter Points and Three Extra Lives

I thought about chocolate chip cookies on my walk this morning.

Since I was still thinking about them when I got home, I did something about that.

Filled with oatmeal, eggs and nuts, these things are almost a health food.  Almost.

Which is why Ben had cookies for breakfast.

Papa is a go-with-the-flow kind of guy.

The truth is that I knew the oven was going to be baking bagels, so why not?

Ben has a lot of energy, and sometimes he runs laps in my house.  I have been encouraging him to run laps around the house, but that was a no.  Until today when I heard a knock at my mudroom door.  Ben had decided on his own to take me up on my suggestion.  He liked it!

Lunch came from Spicy Thai today.  On the right is yellow curry with rice dumped in it--my new favorite menu item.  Pad Thai is on the left with Pad Se Iwe next to it.  This was new to me, a definite keeper.  Will, Annika and Mel joined us.  Matt had a class we couldn't work around.

Will brought a favorite sword to show Ben.  He was suitably impressed and even knew what it was.

Mel practiced her origami.  Next time we have Thai food, I might get a lesson.

The big kids left and Corinne and I took Ben to the pool.  This was Ben's first cannonball.  Look at his perfect form!

And the resulting splash!

Ben fed the koi and then our tetras.

Ben and I have been playing a lot of catch.  This is way fun for me, I think for him, too.  But first we took a cookie break.

Along with fancy skills, Ben adds rules and extra points which certainly keep the game interesting.

Bye-Bye Bazookas

Kate joined me on my morning walk.  I love my walks and I was so happy to share this experience with her.

At the end of our walk, she took a few pictures to share with her dad.

When we started out, I told her about my 3 mile route to make sure this wouldn't be a problem.  I learned she normally runs for 25 minutes, walks for 2 and then runs for 22 minutes.  I kept up with her just fine.

We had some time after breakfast before I needed to take her to BYU for her course this week.  I suggested she might play some of my music.

I picked a lovely Tchaikovsky piece I thought she'd enjoy.  She was doing so great -- no one would have known she was sight-reading. I walked around to get a better photo.

I know this face very well.

When she was ready, we left for Kneaders so she could get a sandwich to eat later.  Checking her in was easy, and I'll see her this weekend!

Fun things do happen when I'm not home.  After the excitement we had with the stegosaurus, I was sorry I missed this.

I have several emergency meals on hand before company comes.  This is food that is very quick and easy to pull together for a meal.  Today's meal involved using the basil which I regularly grow now.  Lunch was so delicious that there was nothing left to take a picture of when I finally thought about that.

Corinne was responsible for our dessert.  I was disappointed to learn that this was not a single serving container.

Three of us went to the pool.  We saw a family of Killdeer on the way.  They live in a vacant lot and blend in so well that this one was the only bird my camera could see.

Ben made a new friend.  Asher is the grandson of one of my friends.

Ben also played with some girls who live across the street.  He had brought five of my water blasters and all the kids were having fun with them.  When it was time for the girls to leave, their mother gathered up all the guns, both hers and mine.  I quietly watched her, wondering if I should say something.  I chose not to.  I am thinking this was a good choice.

This kid.  He can have fun anywhere, anytime.  Today was a great day.

Saving Ben

A completed stegosaurus greeted me this morning.  We admired him all day long.

Whipped cream on just about anything is a favorite ritual around here.

This never ever gets old, either.

Ben found a perfect place for a clubhouse.

Corinne prepared one of my favorite foods for lunch.

Plus, we enjoyed a delicious lentil salad.  Anything I don't cook is delicious, but this was truly wonderful.

Lunch was followed by an un-birthday party.

There were presents.

There was even a birthday card.  This is a special card.  I drew it with watercolor pencils.

This meant that Corinne could paint it.

I didn't expect such a positive reaction.  I might do this again for other people I love.

I was aware that one of our visitors is a scooter master.  I did not know he gave lessons.

We fed the koi.

This picture is for Papa, who was on his way to the airport.

We spied a family having fun on the river.

Ben had fun on the rocks.

I had a great time taking pictures.

Everything was good until Ben got stuck.

I honestly don't think I could have saved him myself.  I was actually quite impressed with Corinne's rescuing skills.

And then, guess who joined us? Kate!

We shared our birthday dessert with her.  There is a chocolate cupcake buried underneath that BYU ice cream.

Could a perfect day be any better?  Yes.  Kate asked if she could watch Star Trek.

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