Precise and Exact

We began our day with artwork.  I sketched with ink pencils.

Julia painted the sketches with water.

This was fun for both of us.

Julia asked me to draw a newt, a first for me, for sure.  We were going for colorful and fanciful, otherwise the newt would have been brown.

Julia tried her hand at drawing her own picture.  I declared this a success!

Her last request was for a flying unicorn, which I learned is called an alicorn.

Across the table, Carolyn painted scenes from a recent trip.

This was a fun morning while Nate and Jacob slept in.

Pool waits until about 11 am, when I'm done being quiet.

Before I took my camera downstairs, I checked on the puzzle people.  

Julia and I challenged Nate.  However, there was a bit of sibling rivalry.  I made them stand side by side and smile for the camera.  Trust me, both of these beautiful smiles are completely fake.

Nate gets very creative in his shots.

Dave and Mel joined us.  I asked Dave what he thought about my new cue.  He replied, "It helps that it's straight."

Most of the time, everyone in the game shares the new stick.

Well, not Julia.  She prefers a short stick.

I went up to make lunch and found Jacob violating the number one rule:  Never play Blink with Melanie!

No surprise to me, he lost.

Everyone helped with lunch and it was delicious.  Grilled red onion is underneath the cheese.  Papa bought, shucked and cooked the corn -- the first of the season.

I've been meaning to ask Mel about something I noticed at lunch.  She heated up leftover artichoke dip.  Notice the bag of chips in her lap.

There was so much going on I didn't follow up with why they moved to the bench behind her.  I actually can't explain this.

While I brushed my teeth, Jacob took my camera down the stairs.  Ha, little surprise for me tonight as I went through today's pictures.  I came close to beating him twice, and I've picked up some new techniques which I think are helpful.  I am very thoughtful about each shot.  Exact.  No hurrying.  No carelessness.  It's helping.

We went back upstairs for Fat Boys. Jacob challenged Mel again in Blink.  I was stunned -- it looked like he was going to win!

He did!

Some victories are very sweet.

We agreed to one more game.  I loved watching Dave coach Julia, who was on my team.  Frankly, what will help Julia the most is about six more inches, but even still, she's still a formidable player.

Then we walked to the pool.

Matt was about three hours late for lunch, but Carolyn can do wonders with a microwave oven.  Apparently she found the chips.

The entire time we were at the pool, Jacob, Nate and Julia challenged Mel in frisbee toss.

This was hilarious.

We all had a good time.

I loved seeing the kids all get along, especially since a counselor in our bishopric was also at the pool.

They played frisbee for an hour.

The grandkids all behaved perfectly, but my own child?  I need to have a chat with him.

The Truth Is That I'm Playing Pool All Day Long, Every Day

Julia loves my book collection.  Well, so do all the kids.  I have worked hard at making this happen.

If you have come here looking for pictures of fun and exciting things, well, unless you like pool, this is not going to be the place for you today.  Julia and I played pool all day long.  Sometimes others played with us.  Sometimes they did not play with us.

I am constantly working on my skills.  I learned this week that playing with my glasses on helps a lot.  The kids like the swirly balls.  I have never been able to play with them until today, when I realized glasses helped me see the actual colors.  Julia pointed out the J, which I thought was wonderful.

Perhaps in some rule book somewhere there is a correct way to rack the balls.  Julia prefers organizing them by color, and frankly, I like it this way, too.

We did take a break to make cookies.  As we added an extra cup of dark chocolate chips, I taught Julia an important truth:  The cookie is only the medium to get the chips into your mouth.

I have struggled lately to find the skins for inari zushi.  Carolyn brought me frozen skins.  To my surprise, I liked them, although they are different.

Many people took several outings today.  Julia and I, with important pool plans, did not join them.  We did whip up emergency meatballs to go with the inari zushi and chocolate chip cookies.  If you are laughing at Nate's smile, then he accomplished what he wanted to.  He can hold that face indefinitely.

Matt joined us for lunch.  He's been practicing for a concert tonight. For the record, this is his normal face.

Jacob and Nate joined Julia and me for doubles.  I like playing with Jacob because he gives me pointers.  There is always something new to learn.

Nate racked the balls, so they were boring.

For the record, Nate is an excellent player.  He will give me pointers, but only if I ask.

After awhile, Julia and I took a break to put together a puzzle.  I know that was our intent.  That didn't happen, but Blink did.  I told Julia the only Blink advice I had:  Never play Blink with Melanie.

Several family members are in Salt Lake City for Matt's concert tonight.  Papa and Nate are watching shark videos.  Julia and I are ready for a few more games.

Dewey, Could You Turn Off the Sun?

My favorite unicorn joined me in the kitchen this morning.

She chose to watch the hummingbirds while she wrote two poems.

I am going to share a few of her words:

Bees, and hummingbirds, and butterflies...

Each a beautiful creature...

All snack on flowers, all need air to breathe.

Beautiful they are indeed.

Eventually, we had bagels for breakfast.

It used to be that the kids would stage their food for my camera.  However, this is Dave's plate.

Jacob and Nate were late joining us for breakfast.  Sometimes, you snooze...you lose.

I ate breakfast at 5:30, long before anyone else was up.  This was my second breakfast.  Yes, I shared.

Some people wanted to go to the pool.  Most of us didn't.

This was the reason.

We played pool instead.  All day long.

Julia was very proud to win the first game.

Nate joined us for some Calvin Ball.

We had the best time.

Of all the rackers we have in this family, Julia is my favorite.  Every single time, she arranges them by color.

Late in the afternoon, Melanie took a break from the puzzle and joined us.  Julia asked Melanie if she would go swimming with her.

This took me totally and completely by surprise, but in no time we were at the pool.

We had the pool to ourselves.

There was plenty of room for the alligator.

Nate resisted the pool, but he had a great time.

Actually, we all had a great time.

I hope the frisbee had fun.

I have it on good authority that Carolyn found the experience very relaxing.

I have a feeling that the heat wave will no longer interfere with our adventures.