Lucky Boys

"Big news, everyone!"

"Grandma came!"

Pizza Order Phone Call

Well, we've received entries from both grandmas and various other concerned translators. We were surprised when Grandma Austin guessed it right. Ma thought it would be too hard. As seen in a previous post the boys love their POPCORN. It's something they'll actually share.

And they hardly ever spill any.
They also love their pizza, as Grant demonstrates in this compelling video.

Mystery Word Contest

Grant has learned a new word. We took some video of him practicing the word. What do you think the word is? Leave a comment with your best guess. Here's a hint: it's a food item.

Grant Amadeus Mozart

Retrospective

5 minutes (Cole) 3 minutes (Grant)
3 days
1 month
2 months
3 months
4 months

Chillin' by the Pool

For father's day Sue and the boys gave me a lounger-type chair for the deck. The boys have really taken a shine to it. Most amazing is that they seem to be able to share it without fighting. When I want to use it, I usually have to share it without fighting too.
We took the boys on a walk today and found a great tree with a perfect crook for sitting. Both boys had a turn in it but Grant got tired of it before we got the camera out, so here's Cole in a tree.

Flower Children

Whisk in hand...

Aim down the hill...

On your mark...

Get set...



Goooo!



Hey, these weeds taste about as good as they look.
Which is to say, not so great.

Hey! Where's my allergy medication?


Ok mom, I'm ready to drive it by myself.

Ahhh, the sounds of silence.

Missing Michelle

The "Coolest Name in the World Club" ('Grants' only) had an official meeting to mourn Michelle's leaving. Big Grant only has to mourn for a week, then he's off to BYU. Little Grant, however, just has to dry up those tears and move on.
Her family came and loaded her up, then took her to Idaho (the blessed land of) and then off to the 'Y'. Look how somber the boys are. They're in denial. We made sure she had the stuff to make scones, so she wouldn't forget us. We'll certainly never forget her, and the contagious happiness, optimism and spirit that beams from her. We'll miss you, Michelle!

Photo of the Week

Stage Hands

The Crunchers made it through the show! All six weeks of it, without too much complaint. The premier of "With Mine Own Hand" http://www.nephi-story.com/ ended its 5 performance run on Sat. night, and all were relieved. Here they are with the stars of the show - Nephi (Grant Zabriskie) and the lovely wife of Nephi (Michelle) and, of course, Evan (with his Stage Choir Tunic on.) The boys made it to the matinee, and "watched" from a TV feed in the nursery with our babysitter. Cole was having a little digestive trouble that day, and ended up with a very sore diaper rash (which we were not prepared for) so I spent the last couple of numbers calming his scream down to a whimper, then took them home to sleep during the closing performance.
In the beginning, there was some talk of the boys playing Jacob and Joseph. But since they really needed to be a little older, and able to stay up past 8pm, they were promoted to stage crew. Here they are going over the the stage with a blankie, sweeping up debris. Very helpful. So their official debut will be delayed until the the Zabriskies come up with a new production better suited for their unique talents.

Puzzling

Here to demonstrate the Rubik's Cube: Cole!

Moisten for easier turning.

Focused face makes it believable.
He's still trying to memorize all the steps. So far, he recognizes the color green. Hey, you have to start somewhere.

What's up with the cube 20 years after the whole Rubik's craze ended? Evan remembered it was one of his unfulfilled dreams to be able to pick one up wherever he was and be able to solve it real quick. So now that he's an accomplished cuber, we leave it out for the boys to mess up again so Pop can stay in "cubing shape." 'Cause if you want something messed up, the boys are professionals. (Résumé of all their messes is available upon request.) And with a name like 'Crumb Crunchers,' it has to be good.

Growing Like Weeds (all straggly, with fuzzy heads)

Grant found something new, today.
So it had to go through the Crunchers' scientific identification test:

(steps in random order)
1 - Dissect 2 - Taste (this step not recommended for mushrooms or foxglove, or nightshade.... actually, Sue must approve all tasting.)

Green tomatoes must go through a separate, but equal test:

Yuck! Why didn't anybody warn me?

After all the testing, Cole and Grant tried to fix the mower (assuming it must be broken since all the weeds were taller than they were.) We just haven't completely recovered from being gone, yet. And if they were really growing like Washington weeds, they'd be giants by now.

Ride 'Em Cowboy!

The boys were really excited to ride on Great-Grandpa Simper's horse, Doc. Here's Cole meeting him. Grant got to ride first with help from Grandpa Simper. Cole got on next. Then they looked down and realized that they were sitting on a large, hairy animal high up off the ground... and it wasn't daddy. Ma got on to help the boys see that there wasn't anything to be afraid of. It didn't help much. Later we all met back at the barn for a group picture, just like real cowboys.

United Follow Up

We just wanted to let you know that we made it home finally. It was nearly midnight but we made it. Upon realizing that we were going to miss our connecting flight I went to see about arrangements to get another connection. They had already booked us on a flight leaving San Francisco at 10:15 PM. Fortunately they got us changed to another flight leaving Phoenix earlier and connecting through Denver. This left us with a comfortable 2 hours in Denver and arriving home shortly after 10 PM. The boys ran themselves ragged on the moving sidewalks in the Denver airport and fell asleep on the plane. The flight out of Denver was only 20 minutes late and we swapped a few seats and got a row to ourselves which allowed an extra seat for the boys to stretch out a bit. We're all glad to be home again.

Here are a couple of photographic mementos of our ordeal. The first is a makeshift go-cart we constructed out of a luggage cart and a broken seat in the terminal. Grant sat up there as we were waiting to board the flight to Denver until he slumped over and nearly fell out. Cole found a friend. Well, technically she found him and chased him around trying to give him a hug. He managed to escape without making any long term commitments.