Sunday Reading

Our Sunday paper has lame comics.

But Benjamin doesn't know that.

Lately he likes Paul to read them to him.  Then he'll tell us why a certain cartoon was so funny.  Of course he usually doesn't get the point.

But that's not the point.

Celebrating the 4th (on the 3rd)

We have some serious July catch-up to do.  I guess it has been a busier-than-usual month for us.

For starters, we had a little 4th of July get-together at our house on the day before the actual holiday.  Our friends Nate and Cassie Katschke and Andrew and Jennilyn Hall came over with their kids (5.9 in all, plus our 2) for some hot dogs and other good summertime food.  I think we all had a good time in spite of the blazing sun (which we worried wouldn't show up until about an hour before the party when the clouds finally parted).

Our menu included homemade root beer, which is something of a tradition in the Duersch family for holidays like this one.  If you haven't tried it, you should so it sometime in your life (or sometime this summer) because it's super easy and a fun addition to a picnic.  You can get root beer concentrate at the grocery store (I remember the stores in Utah being loaded with the stuff during the summer), but don't worry about the instructions on the box.  Do this instead:

In a 5-gallon water jug mix about 2.5 gallons water, 5 lbs. sugar, and root beer concentrate.  Stir to dissolve the sugar.  Then start adding about 5 lbs. of dry ice to the jug.  Ultimately you want to add another 2.5 gallons of water, but we've learned (and re-learned) over the years that if you add all the water at once the dry ice action causes major spillage over the top.  So let the dry ice do its thing before you add the rest of the water.  Pretty soon, with the dry ice bubbling away, you'll end up with nice, cold, fizzy root beer!

A few tips:

If you forget to add the sugar and try to add it after the dry ice, it will make your root beer go flat.

Don't put the lid on all the way unless you're looking to make a dry ice-root beer bomb.

If you can, use a really long spoon to stir it a bit so the dry ice doesn't clog up the dispensing spout (this happens to us all the time).

Have some empty, clean soda bottles handy to fill with leftover root beer that you can send home with people.  Five gallons of root beer is a lot.

We also brought out the bocce set and had a fun time with that.  The boys especially, as evidenced here.

We had homemade strawberry and vanilla ice creams as well.

And the Halls so kindly supplied the fireworks.  Some kids were less thrilled than others with the show (ahem, Rhett), but it was definitely fun.

We're so glad to have such great friends and even more grateful for the awesome country we live in.

Rhett is 2!

Happy birthday, Rhett! Let's take a walk down memory lane...

I'm not a big fan of belly shots when I'm pregnant (actually, not a fan at all), but for my posterity's sake here is one from about two weeks before you were born. Dada, Benjamin and I were spending a sunny afternoon on the campus of BYU soaking it all up before our move to Washington.


The following picture was taken almost exactly twelve hours before you were born. Your dad had just arrived in Bellingham with Benjamin, Aunt Alene, Uncle Kelv, and Aunt Ruth.

Just a few hours prior I took my final final exam at BYU while going into labor.



The next morning, out of the blue (considering the nearly 3 weeks till your due date) you were born! I was on the phone with Dada the whole time. Grandma and Grandpa Duersch arrived just minutes later to take this picture.


Aunt Heidi and Uncle Landon so kindly got Dada and Benjamin on a plane so they could come and meet you. You were definitely worth the trip.


A year later we celebrated your first birthday in Alaska with balloons.


You were just learning to take a few wobbly steps.


No need to explain what you thought about your birthday cake.


A happy baby, as always.


And look at you now.

So grown up, such a little man.


But still just my baby.


I love you, Rhett.

Kicking off the camping season

At the beginning of June we took a little camping trip with our friends the Katschkes up at Birch Bay State Park. It was a little spur-of-the-moment, but we wanted to have a bit of a trial run before we take the boys camping for several days this summer.


Overall it went really well, and I have decided that about 2 years old is the perfect age (for me) to start taking kids camping. I say "for me" because taking Benjamin camping as a baby was misery and we never tested it out with Rhett. However, this cute little 2-month-old did amazing! I'm so jealous.

I had to show a picture of Paul's awesome job packing the car. He's got skills, for sure.


Dinner: barbecued chicken legs. Yum!


The kids found a fun game to play: roll this huge log from one end of camp to the other. All of the pictures were blurry (busy kids for you), but this is the best one.


Hanging out at camp in the morning.


Payton and Benjamin helping to pack up


It was fun times for all, I think. We definitely plan on doing it again. We hadn't gone camping as a family in three years! Definitely too long, and I think this is the summer to make it right again.

Well done, Lovey!

Happy Father's Day

Paul is coming back home today. We're leaving soon to pick him up from the airport. He has been in Alaska for over a week on a business trip. He took Buzz Lightyear with him and sent the boys daily pictures of their adventures.

It will be a happy Father's Day indeed to have him back home with us. We love you, Dada!

"See?"

I was mixing some bread dough with Rhett's help tonight and he apparently thought the baby would like to watch, too.

"See?" he kept saying in his sweet, nearly-two-year-old voice.

Rhett's birthday is in two weeks!

Help Wanted

We like to play a game with the boys where we say "Who wants to ....?" in a really happy voice, and the boys (and some times Paul and I) excitedly reply, "MEEEE!" We'll be driving down the road or sitting at the dinner table and it will go like this:

"Who loves Dada?"
Meeeee!!!

"Who loves Mama?"
Meeee!!!

"Who loves Benjamin?"
Meeee!!!

"Who loves Rhett?"
Meeee!!!

"Who likes blueberries?"
Meeee!!!

"Who wants some ice cream?"
Meeee!!!

You get the idea.

Well it simply can't be helped. Sometimes we have to have a little extra fun with it.

"Who has stinky feet?"
Meeee!!!

And my favorite, "Who wants to do the dishes?"
"Meeee!!!

Well tonight Benjamin wasn't so gullible (he's getting smart about these things).

I said, "Who wants to clean up the kitchen?"
"I don't!!!"

I guess I'll have to come up with a different tactic.