Nathan's baptism

 Monica, Ava, Tyler and Nathan

(I borrowed this picture from them)

This morning, the fam drove up to Diamond Valley to see my nephew Nathan Murset get baptized! It was really nice and Monica put on a super delicious lunch for everyone afterward.

First order of business (before I even got over to the pavilion) was for Luke and Jack--his partner in grime--to get soaking wet at the drinking fountain. 

He and Jack later found some puddles and mud to roll around in, and also some sticky popsicle juice.

They had a GREAT time, needless to say.

Monica made that gorgeous cake and sculpted the toppers by herself! Isn't she amazing?!

Even the cupcakes and water bottles looked cute. Madelyn is already telling me that I should have done all of this for hers.

Madelyn and Jack (Murset)

 View from where we were sitting...there are a lot of cinder cones and volcanic rocks up there.

Annnd....here's Luke after he smeared himself with mud. Fabulous.

Emery (Nielson) saying hi to her baby sister Nora

Madelyn, Hattie, Jack, Luke and Ara (Spendlove)

Madelyn and Hattie (Murset)

Jack....

Luke....

Those two are something else.

Jack's brother Gary

Eating some good grub!

Mark and Kevin (my bro) talking computers, like the nerds they are. Kevin just got a job at the school district as a computer expert!

My parents, Grandma Carolyn and Grandpa Rich Murset

The view on our ride home.

It was a great day--thanks to everyone who came out to support Nathan on his special day!

The Mr. and The Miss

Mr. Luke.....what is up with sucking on your toes? (He's doing it again right now.) Mmmmm, I bet they taste sour!

 This is always a delightful sight in the morning.

 

 We don't have any exposed dirt in the yard, but some had washed down from our rock wall with the recent rains. So naturally, he had to go digging around in it.

 sigh

 Have I ever mentioned how snuggly he is?! (with me, anyway) He gives me so many loves and cuddles every day. I love it. Mark is jealous.

 This is a frequent sight--he makes a pillow nest and plays games on my iPhone.

 ...or on the Nintendo DS. Mark is not the least bit concerned that he already plays video games. In fact, he's excited about it. Great...

Luke has a favorite show on Netflix called Pingu--a claymation series about a family of penguins who talk gibberish. This is his penguin impression.

The kids (and Mark and I ) also love Mythbusters. Seriously the best science nerd show out there. How do you like Luke's outfit? Lately he wants to wear his "snow hat". Never mind that it's August.

  

Luke came to me and dragged me outside. "Mama! Come see a rainbow!!"

 

 

 "Yewwow cwouds" (someone can't pronounce their Ls...)

Madelyn with her friends Emma and...I forgot the other's name. Emma comes to play almost every day, and EVERY SINGLE TIME she insists on getting out allllll of Madelyn's toys to play dress up/jewelry store/put on a play/musical concert/build blanket forts across the entire house. 

Every single time.

The kids went to get their flu mist vaccines and decided to wear their superhero capes to the clinic. 

Luke kept making me come outside to push him on the swing yesterday. Then he insisted on getting his "gums" (guns) and kept bringing out bigger and bigger ones so that he could brandish them in the air and say "Kckkhh!!!" while he was swinging. His play rifle was a tad too big and next thing I knew, he had plopped onto the gravel.

Madelyn also took a spill off the other swing when the ropes broke on her the other day. I guess we'll be putting chains up next time. "I cracked my taaailllboonnnee!!!!" (No she didn't. She's just extremely dramatic.)

Then last night, we took Luke to meet his teachers at his new preschool!

 He is going to have such a great time. He starts next Tuesday. I can't believe it!
 My kids are so big!

The Shakespeare Festival, and the nerds who flock there

We finally got around to our summer tradition of going to the Utah Shakespeare Festival. We went to the Greenshow last Thursday night.

 

 I just love the SUU campus. I really miss walking around there every day.

We brought our blankets and Red Vines and were ready for the show.

One of the performers handed Madelyn a flower and had her hold it up while everyone yelled "Flowers for sale!!" and she was thrilled.

Luke going crazy dancing during a Russian fiddle solo

He also kept himself busy making letters out of his Red Vines.

 I always get excited when I see Scott Phillips (Executive Director) and Fred Adams (the Festival founder). They are so friendly and go out to meet and greet every night.

We took family pictures in that spot a couple of years ago...

Monday morning, Luke came to the ticket office with me so I could get a seat for the show that night. Locals discount = 50% off if you buy the day of the show! Booyah!

That night, I came back by myself to watch Love's Labour's Lost in the outdoor Adam's Theatre, which is built to be like Shakepeare's Globe Theatre. It had been raining, so a huge tarp was over everything.

I was excited to see Melinda Pfundstein as Rosaline in the play. She and her husband Brian Vaughn are my two favorite Festival actors. I always try to see something they're in.

15 minutes into the play, it was raining so hard that we had to stop and move into the auditorium in the next building over (it has the same set). Last year, when I went to The Merry Wives of Windsor, it rained lightly during half the play but they never moved us.

As I was getting settled in to my seat in the auditorium, I set my bag down:

I made this last year. It is supposed to be the 10th Doctor from the Doomsday episode. (Shakespeare Festival --> David Tennant is a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company--> David Tennant = Doctor Who.....this is how my mind works.)

Anyhoo, so I set my bag down and was minding my own business, when I heard this "skeerereeereeeeerrrreee"  noise. I looked over and there's this girl with red curly hair who was looking at me with a sort of crazed look on her face--because like any self respecting fan, she recognized David Tennant's glorious hair and sideburns--and she was holding aloft a sonic screwdriver (River Song's sonic screwdriver, to be exact) and said "Whovians unite!!" Um, wow.

So it turns out that she created a Doctor Who club at SUU last year and it has 150 members ("hoping to get 50 more during rush week...") I asked what sort of things they did, and she said, "Oh you know, get together and geek out." She didn't invite me to join the club--I think she was a little shocked when I told her I graduated from SUU over 8 years ago, which is probably 1/3 of her lifetime ago--but she was very admiring and jealous of my bag. I mean, rightly so.....

But I digress....back to Shakespeare....

During the intermission, they told us that the storm had passed, so we'd be going BACK to the outdoor theater, but first I stopped by the gift shop (which has so much fun stuff, I love it). I might have to pick up one of these helmets for Mark once he finishes making his chain mail shirt.

 Because of all the shuffling around, the play didn't end till 11:00 pm, but it was great! It was very similar to Shakespeare's other comedies (of which I've seen several) and I didn't enjoy it quite as much as some of his others, but the production was top notch. A couple of girls sitting near me giggled at everything--they looked like theater nerds to me. They probably just understood the lines better than I did, haha.

 

 Can't wait to come back next year!