Buy Me Some Peanuts and Cracker Jacks...

Before I get in to this post, I have a couple of things to address. First, I have been chastised again for not posting more often. Now that I don't have the excuse of school, I need to be better about posting. Second, many have asked about Omnibot, and why he has been on hiatus so long. He and Paris will be back soon...

Last week we celebrated Lauren's birthday. That's right, the last Shirley kid, the one we almost lost, who was so tiny she had to have her first photos done with a feeding tube, just turned five. Time certainly does fly. It's hard to believe that she went from this...

To this. What a sweetheart.

A few days before the party we attended a Bees game. She loves baseball, but had never been to a game. It was The University of Utah staff night at the game, and as a member of the Staff Council that sponsored the evening, I was able to secure some great seats down the third base line, right in front of the visitor's bull pen.

During the game, the U's mascot, Swoop stopped by our section to throw out freebies and play with the kids. I was wearing my feather-and-drum Utah cap, so he took it and signed it. Seeing that my cap was signed, Bean asked if he would sign her cap. The problem is, Swoop is not a Yankees fan. But he graciously took her cap, signed it, and under the bill wrote 'Go Sox!' I guess no one's perfect...

Kate went all out on the food for Bean's party. Of course the cupcakes were homemade, and she even found an improvement to her frosting.

It was decided that since Lauren wanted a baseball party that we would do 'ballpark' food. We grilled hot dogs, served Churros, giant pretzels, peanuts, Cracker Jacks and Nachos. The only thing missing was over-priced beer. But we did serve bottled sodas. It was the best party food ever. After singing 'Happy Birthday' we all joined in singing 'Take me out to the ballgame'.

Of course, it wouldn't be a Shirley party without a pinata. And the kids patiently awaited the deluge of candy.

And of course, once the pinata broke open, a donnybrook ensued. A bench-clearing brawl between the Cardinals and Reds seemed tame in comparison...

Bean loved all her presents, especially the Thurman Munson and A-Rod figures that Grandpa Stretch gave her. But the best thing about this picture is the photo-bomber. Thanks, Mom...

By the end of the party, everyone was worn out, especially the birthday girl. Happy Birthday, Beanie-Weenie-Dora-Deenie!

Parades, Peppers and Pussycats

Last Staurday I took the kids to participate in the annual Pioneer Day parade. We sat in our usual spot, at the intersection of 4th South and 2nd East. The difference this year is that the kids spent most of the time complaining about how hot it was, so we ended up leaving early. Nevetheless, we had a good time.

Drew was so excited by the tinsel and toiletpaper of the floats that he completely passed out...

Whitney was less than impressed with Grandpa Stretch's choice of attire...



For the second year in a row my garden has yielded less than stellar results. I know that we still have time, but so far we haven't seen a lot of production. In addition to losing most of my peaches and pears to some bug, the tomatoes have not started to form. The three pumpkin vines I planted have produced a grand total of three pumpkins. And I don't have a corn stalk that is taller than 3 feet. But all is not lost. The pepper plants have gone gangbusters as of late. So I may have to use store bought tomatoes, but we will have salsa this year, and some of Kate's amazing pepper jelly.

Does this make you uncomfortable?


Since Froggy died last year we have added two dogs: Blossom and Yankee. We also have Blackie (a hamster), our all-white cat Al (short for Albino, even though he's not really an albino) and Eddie (a cat who actually lives across the street because he hates the dogs.) So a few weeks ago when Pat rescued a stray cat and her litter of kittens, I didn't think that we would be taking in any more animals. However, Kate and the kids fell in love with the kittens, and we now have two new fluffy kitties living in our house.

Kate wanted to name the kittens 'Lou' and 'Joe' after Yankee legends Lou Gehrig (Bean's favorite) and Joe DiMaggio. However, the kids decided that while 'Joe' was good, they would rather name the other 'Marilyn', since it is a female, thus pairing Joe with Marilyn Monroe.

The dogs are a little bitter about not having free range of the house anymore, but they'll get over it. Or they won't. But the kittens stay.

Look at those cute little faces. Is there any doubt they're plotting to murder us all in our sleep?