When I go grocery shopping, I come home with two types of drink: milk and apple juice.

That’s all.

When I let Jay come along, however, it’s a whole different story.  Yesterday, while unloading our groceries, I came across:

• 8 little chocolate milk bottles
• 2 boxes of chocolate milk mix (I may have had a little to do with this one)
• 6-pack of IBC root beer
• 6-pack of IBC cream soda
• 6-pack of orange Crush
• 6-pack of grape Crush
• 2 different types of Sunny D
• 24 tiny bottles of water
• 12 medium-sized bottles of water.

No joke.  It wasn’t even a Sam’s Club run.

Sigh. The famous drink fridge is back in action.

Just sayin’.

(If any of you girls need hi-res versions of these monstrous outfits, let me know.)

If it is possible, Spencer and Brandon may have had more fun staying with Kristen, Grandma, and Grandpa than we had on our trip.  It would feel inappropriate to caption scenes and events I wasn’t present for, so just enjoy the wordless montage of children so adorable that I was actually EXCITED to leave our beach front condo just to see them again.

Thank you to Kristen, Aiti, and Papa!!  I still can’t get the boys in the car without Spencer asking if we are coming back down.

There are far too many to list or give justice to, so I chose just a few (and a video).  Happy Father’s Day!

Papa with Nora on their trip to Milwaukee in May.

1. When Jenni and I were little, Papa took us on a shopping trip to Price Savers (now Sam’s Club), and he was in a particularly playful mood.  Jenni and I were both sitting in the shopping cart, and he steered us out to the car in an erratic fashion, jerking back and forth to make us bump into each other and laugh.  It wasn’t a big thing, but I always enjoy that memory.
2. I was coming from an overnight high school debate trip.  It was right before Christmas, and a snowstorm made the trip a lot longer than expected.  The bus finally pulled into the school parking lot around two in the morning, and I had no trouble spotting my dad.  While all the other parents quietly snoozed in their family sedans, he was behind them in our old suburban—doing doughnuts in the snow.
3. My dad was at nearly every race I’ve run in my cross-country and track & field career.  I remember always looking forward to running the audience-side straightaway during my 800 M and mile races, because I’d always be able to pick his voice out of the crowd, cheering me on.
4. Another running memory with Papa was when we did a summer biathlon together at Camp Williams–5K run with five shots prone and five shots standing.  I was fast, but I could not shoot AT ALL while breathing so hard.  Papa was a good enough shot that we ended up with almost identical scores at the end of the race.
5. Speaking of shooting, I have to add Hunter’s Safety.  Papa was insistent that Melina, Jenni, Emily and I get our blue cards, so he enrolled us in a six-week evening course taught at Olympus High School.  We became a regular three-ring circus spectacle in the class, and Papa didn’t seem to mind at all.  Aside from the fact that four teenage girls were in the class in the first place, we always seemed to come in late, carrying loads of treats from the Albertsons across the street we munched on to stay awake.  We also passed notes, snickered at the hunting lifestyle, hypothesized about the eventuality of actually killing a deer (still has never happened), and defaced our instruction manuals with irreverent doodles.  I have never had so much fun being involved in something so completely boring.  (Dad, I’m not knocking hunting in and of itself, just the snoozer of a class.)
6. Shortly after we were married, Jay went to Lowe’s and bought a drill and miter saw without consulting me first.  He came back to my parents’ house with his new tools, and I blew my top off, enough to compel Jay to “take a walk around the block.”  While we both cooled off, my dad sat me down and talked me into letting go of my anger and trusting the male instinct to spend money at home improvement stores.  Though I’m not a complete convert, I have to admit both tools have been invaluable over the years.
7. During family camp a few years ago, I was terribly pregnant with Brandon, and I was having such a hard time getting an over-tired Spencer to settle down to go to sleep.  Though I know it must have been very hard on his back, Papa picked Spencer up and carried him on a nice long walk, telling him “Three Bears” the whole way.  Out of all the grandkids, I don’t think there’s anyone who responds to Papa’s parenting style better.  He does so well with the slow, calm, measured speech and movements.  It is a joy to watch them together.

Grandpa’s Tops from Anna McEntire on Vimeo.

A few last pics from our trip:

Woke up to a 180-degree view one last time.

Something’s just not quite right here…

Evaluating the plastic lobster at the USS Midway museum.

Jay and John survive the flight simulator.

And one last cheesy photo at the airport.  I’m already counting down the days till our 11th anniversary joint cruise (or whatever).

Low: 65 degrees.  High: 68 degrees.  Increasing clouds and some wind.

We let the boys golf at Balboa for their Father’s Day gifts.

While we relaxed and read from our own cart.

And heckled their game just a little bit.

FINALLY got into the Botanical Building.  Jenni made us a month’s worth of desktop wallpaper from the foliage.

Being contemplative at Spreckles.

Tiptoeing through Alcazar Garden.

Then back to the condo and downstairs to the beach.

It was just a little chilly.

Okay, it was a lot cold.

Dried off and made a fabulous steak dinner.

And got donuts to watch the SeaWorld fireworks.

It’s been a fun and needed trip.  But I’ll also be happy to go home and see my boys.

Still here.  Still happy.  (Just a few snippets for Aiti and Kristen, who are watching the boys.)

Reading on the balcony while the guys play with their iPhones.

Playing musical laptops.  I lost.

Forgot to pack some of Jay’s unmentionables, so we took an unscheduled trip to the temple.

And Jenni matched the flowers today.

John looking artsy at Balboa Park.

And the Botanical Building was closed.  Again.

More sunglasses.

Taking a breather outside Timkin Museum.

The benches were sun-baked warm.

Walking along the ocean.

Eating at the Green Flash.

Another pretty day.

Left town (aka. the Pacific Northwest, rain-wise) for a few days to get a little R&R in San Diego.  We met up with Jenni and John and are enjoying our little condo overlooking Sail Bay.

Ahhhhhh.  View from our balcony.

The Dr. and Mrs.  (Congrats, John!)

Mariachi serenade at Cafe Coyote in Old Town.

Spencer and Brandon, look forward to your souvenirs!  Miss you!

More to come tomorrow.

No one could say Spencer is behind in learning his letters, numbers, shapes, and words.  He has those down–to excess.  But, perhaps because he has done so much of his learning on the computer and with flashcards, I think he might have some practicing to do on his fine motor skills.  Sure, he can navigate a track pad as well as most adults, but, until laptops become a standard installation of preschool classrooms (crossing my fingers on that one), we’ll probably need to add coloring, writing, and cutting to his skill repertoire.

This has led to my June goal: Summer School.

Each day, the three of us spend about 30 minutes in a formal “classroom” environment at the kitchen table.  I read the boys a story (while they munch on graham crackers), and then they each have a little “lesson” while the other one colors.  Now, I know I can’t hide the fact that all this learning stuff is important to me, but I wouldn’t even try to do anything like this if this wasn’t what they respond to and enjoy.  The worst thing a parent can do to a toddler/preschooler is make it a chore to learn.

For Spencer, we are working on tracing letters and numbers, and we’re doing simple counting and number worksheets.  It’s not so much the content that’s valuable to him as the understanding and practice of written work.  Brandon’s working on shapes and letters, so I’ll draw all of them for him and have him point to the ones I ask him, or I’ll cut out shapes and have him tell me what they are.  If, after all that, they still haven’t had enough, I’m trying to add painting or little science experiments.

Really, I’m not lying.  They love summer school.  Just not the camera so much.

So far, this is working marvelously.  And, it’s such an easy goal for me because it is no longer something I have to remind myself to do.  Once the kids are dressed, that’s the first thing they ask for–a pretty good sign of success, I think.

(Post script: Spencer would like to add a few details.  His favorite book is “The Cat in the Hat Comes Back.”  He always uses a red marker. He loves his Thomas the Train numbers workbook.)

Went with Kristen to Salt Lake Running Co. last week and got this new pair of running shoes. (Adidas! Who knew?) I always love new shoes. They smell like nothing else in this world, they bounce, and they exude a sense of hope and potential. Do they have a marathon in them?

Only time will tell.