And the Not-As-Exciting...

While J was in the Pacific Northwest being Mountain Man, I took the boys to New Mexico to see my parents. Here are the Monkeys and Grandma Kim. So happy to be there...


Grandma, H, and O built this awesome ranch in the family room. H didn't want me to take his picture.


We drove to Albuquerque and visited with my friend Rita and her husband Sne.


We went to Explora Children's Museum. It is the coolest place. I highly recommend that you go there the next time you are in Albuquerque. S put together this gear system, complete with elastic and handles.


O worked on this one by himself,


and H made a friend who helped him with his.


In addition to our Albuquerque trip, we went to church in Gallup, played with the coolest toy ever invented -- namely Legos -- splashed in G Kim's kiddie pool, ate our fill of yummy homemade Korean food, read lots of books, and watched "Toy Story 2," "Night at the Museum," "The Sound of Music," "Mary Poppins," and "7 Brides for 7 Brothers." I was reminded of my mom's crushes on Captain Von Trapp, Howard Keel (Adam Pontipee), and Frank (you know, Frankincense, 'cause he smelled so sweet) and my own crush on Gideon (ah, Russ Tamblyn, you cutie!)

This is summer to me:




And the partying isn't over yet. We have G & G Kim coming into town on Thursday and my wonderful friend Emilia coming on Friday. Ahh summer!

More from the Surgery Virgin

Today was a good day pain-wise. I only had 1/2 a Lortab this morning and haven't taken a pain killer since. I've walked around a bit with one crutch and experimented with putting more weight on my left foot. I should've spent the day reading my scriptures or Hamlet so my brain wouldn't fall out of my ears and turn to mush, but I didn't. What did I do between naps today? I watched "Dirty Jobs with Mike Rowe" on Netflix. Yeah.

Rainy Saturday

Apparently April 20 - 24 is TV Turn Off Week. I saw it on posters at S's school all this week when I dropped off and picked up. We even got a paper our family had the option to sign saying we would commit to turning off our TVs and doing something else. So, what are my kids doing this rainy Saturday afternoon? They're downstairs, watching their second movie of the day. Let me explain. I am not anti-establishment. I am all on board for most of the school activities. Science Fair optional for my first grader? No, I think we'll do that.

Extra library research on the Core Knowledge weekly topic? Let's do that too. Attend the (insert activity here) Shakespearean Festival, Core Knowledge Fair, goofy Faculty Talent Show? Let's go! Turn off the TV for the whole week? Well...we usually do that. No TV during the week and usually not weekends. It's my last resort on Fridays and Saturdays when the boredom hits and the fighting sets in. We will (insert activity here) go to the grocery store, play outside, read books, hit a museum or two, even get crafty (which is odd for me) before we stick a movie in. So, why this rebellion against the school's attempt to unplug our family? Here's the profound answer: I don't know. I really don't care. It's that simple. I think the class with the most commitments gets some kind of prize. Yeah, I don't really care. The few hours on Saturday when the kids are watching a movie -- not fighting, not bugging me for food, not making a huge mess of the playroom -- are mine. I love my monkeys dearly, but I really don't get breaks from them during the week. I am trying to love all the precious moments I have with them and really treasure them, because I know, soon enough, they will all be in school, off to play with friends, on their missions, out of the house, but in order for me to love my time with them, I need the TV to babysit for just a fraction of the day on the weekends. That is all. Sorry, Reagan Academy. I think I do pretty well to not let them watch TV during the week. Cut me some slack.