Another week down...

Another one bites the dust...anything memorable happen this week? Here are a few random things we've kept busy with:

I had to (I mean I was blessed to) sing a solo in Relief Society yesterday. For once I actually did it without getting nervous! I think it went well...I really liked the song (from EFY 1999) called "I Will Not Be Still." I really love Kenneth Cope's music in general - I'm putting a sampling of his music on here for a while to brighten your day...

We do a monthly dinner with Mark's family on the second Sundays and I really enjoy getting together with everyone...not to mention who doesn't love a potluck meal? I made a fruit salad that tastes like a creamsicle...so yummy! Here is the recipe:

ORANGE CREAM FRUIT SALAD

1 (3.5 ounce) package instant vanilla pudding mix
1 1/2 cups milk
1/3 cup frozen orange juice concentrate, thawed
3/4 cup sour cream
1 (20 ounce) can pineapple tidbits, drained
1 (11 ounce) can mandarin orange segments
1 apple - cored and sliced
1 pear - cored and diced
1 peach - peeled and diced

In a medium mixing bowl, combine pudding mix, milk, and orange juice concentrate. Beat with an electric mixer on medium speed for 2 minutes. Mix in sour cream. Gently mix in fruits. Cover, and refrigerate for 2 hours.

I've spent a few days at the dentist in the last week...once with all my kids for cleanings, and once just Holly and me for some follow-up. Can I just say that mothers deserve medals for taking their kids places like that? My dentist is great (he's my uncle, so of course we love him) but it's just hard to sit in the chair and hope your kids behave while your teeth are being cleaned and you can't say anything! I hoped my seven-year-old would step up to the plate and be a good helper. No such luck. I don't want to go into detail about this one, I'm just glad it's over!!!

We've been going to the library each week for the kids' summer reading clubs. They each have a 45 minute class where they read stories, sing songs, and do a craft. It's a nice mid-week distraction and helps us meet our reading goals for the summer. Josh's latest favorites for reading are the Magic School Bus chapter books and I'm excited he's learning something worthwhile and enjoying it!

Oh! We also sold our tent trailer last week. We are sad to see it go - we had some awesome trips in it - but it needed a little work and we needed a little more space so hopefully not too far down the road we can upgrade. Poor Holly started crying when we told her we were selling it. At least we have lots of fun memories!

We finished off the summer baseball season - Whew! Josh had coach-pitch games on Mondays and Wednesdays and Holly had T-ball games on Tuesdays and Thursdays so we were kept hoppin' for the past month trying to get to all of them. Why do we do this to ourselves? The kids enjoyed their teams and did a great job!

Friday we had cousin Becca come play for the day and we ended up heading to the pool...finally a few hours of rest and relaxation! Well, not exactly, but we had fun and enjoyed the sun!

As far as the house goes...they finally backfilled the yard, Mark and Lance got a good start on the deck, they are preparing for concrete, tile is partway done, light fixtures start today, and cabinets should be installed in a day or two. It's moving right along...wahoo! Now if we can just get the interest rates to cooperate when we have to close; they've been all over the place lately.

Tonight for family night we are going swimming at Grandma Stum's pool and to pick raspberries at my dad's. Yum!