Attic Fan

John spent Saturday morning with his archnemesis: the attic.

He was installing an attic fan to see if it helps keep the house cool. I peeked up there to take a picture, but it was creepy looking and hot as hades, so I just took one without looking and climbed back down into comfort.

 I was going to take one when John came down, but he had sweated through his clothes. You can get the general idea from this

John hydrated then showered quickly in time for the stake temple trip. We'll see if it makes a difference.

Also: If you use blogger, I just changed from the old to new editor settings. It's muuuch easier to load pictures now and you can alter the size and location after loading easily. I'm guessing I'm behind the times and you already know this and have been using it, but if so shame on you for not telling me. I also made the pictures extra large because I like looking at big pictures. They might take forever to scroll through, so let me know if it's annoying and I'll change back.

Padre's Day

We had our dads over for dinner tonight. John tried out a potato pesto soup from his new recipe book. And we had little pecan shortbread cups that are heavenly. I think Katie requested the recipe from Alan so stay tuned.
We gave Alan a basil plant and my dad curtains for his new condo. And Planters. I don't know what it is about dads but they love nuts.
Then John trained for future father's days with a couch nap.
Followed by a 2 1/2 hour meeting with our new Elders. Fun times.

The Beach with Britta

Since I started teaching summer school this week, I haven't been able to play with Britta as much as I would have liked.

We made up for it tonight at Natural Bridges.

We both love the beach. Especially after sunburn hours.

John's the only person I know who prefers tennis shoes on the sand.

Britta and Nathan

Rick and Jessica whipped each other with kelp.

Then we roasted marshmallows.

We drove home with smoky-smelling sweatshirts and sandy shoes. A perfect last hurrah.

John Turns 33

John's day started with the smell of orange rolls baking. He went to church, then came home to open gifts. My Aunt Wendy sent John cookie mixes for his birthday.

and new cookie sheets! Hooray!

Britta, Nathan, Ricky and Jessica were all there to celebrate.

I replaced his Nalgene bottle I left in Utah. This one has a small top, so I don't spill down myself every time I drink from it.

I also gave him a pasta cookbook and marked the recipes I think he should try. Such a sweet wife, I know.

The gift he was most stoked about, however, was a dental pick. His goal is to have the dentist say there's nothing to clean and send him home at his next check-up. Such a weird kid.

Then we had dinner at his parents' house with Mark and Brian's family. And carrot cake!

It would have been a perfect day if not for his being set apart as the new Ward Mission Leader. He's a little nervous about this new calling, but he's another year older and wiser now so I'm sure he'll take it in stride.

Ari's Wedding and House Guests

My friend Ariane married Nathan at the Oakland Temple and I was able to be at the sealing. It was a beautiful ceremony and she looked amazing. Jaime made her gown

Britta drove down from Oregon the night before to play with me for the week. I mean be a bridesmaid for Ari's wedding. It was a little windy, but rain-free!

Then at night Rick and Jess arrived after driving across country with a loaded car.

Ricky bravely faced Jessica's grooming. They should have stopped at Sarah's school on the way out.

We love having a full house!

Crepes

Inspired by Julie's gourmet breakfasts, I made John some crepes for lunch.

I used her recipe loosely and they turned out well. The topping was just ninja-ed strawberries, since we had some getting soft and, of course, whipped cream.
John's double wide version.

Utah

After a marathon week with Hemingway, I finished my class and packed for Utah with Karen.

While she and Terri played at the hospital, Lucas, Katie, Julie and I played at the pool.

Lucas did sneak in a little grandma time.

She and I went to get our hair done by Sarah at the Aveda Institute.

Sarah did a great job with my trim and style.

Our fold-out beds in Terri's room. So cool.

Julie met us for dinner while she was working next door. This was her dinner from room service. (She shared with Karen, Stephanie and me)

The next day I ordered a calzone from the cafeteria upstairs. The man baked it for me in this oven. Very delicious. Almost worth the surgery. Although Terri may think otherwise.

I also met up with my friends Emily and Brianon while in Provo. Brianon was nannying this cute little guy.

He loved wrestling the bear at the library.

Until the bear somehow bested him.

Next up was the Fergs. Their dog kept chewing his own foot by accident. It was cracking me up.

And my old friend Feebs. Love her pigtails.

As always I had a lovely visit with Kelly.

I miss my Utah friends and John's sisters and strongly suggest everyone move (back) to San Jose. Or at least come visit me.

BBQ Chicken Sandwiches

We've been asked to share some recipes, so I put John in charge of the first one:

What you see in this picture is deliciousness. The food was good too.

These BBQ chicken sandwiches are very easy to make. Just cook up some chicken, shred it, add some BBQ sauce (we use Sweet Baby Ray's, YUM), and throw it on some bread. We decided to use a french bread loaf this time around and it worked very well. Add some sides of your choosing and you have a meal. TADA!