While the Cat's Away

Camille and Steve ran the California Marathon in Sacramento during the weekend of December 5, 2014.  Jono was in Las Vegas with his lacrosse team and Annelise stayed with friends, but Emilie, Sophia, Ezra, and Mia came to stay with us.  We planned a full schedule.  "I believe in running kids hard," I told Camille and she agreed, "I do, too."  On Friday night, we ate at Noodles (mac-n-cheese, what else?) and then saw the movie, "Penguins of Madagascar."  Dave and I slept through most of the movie and decided that was just as well.

 

Ezra wanted waffles for breakfast on Saturday morning.  "Would pancakes do?" I asked and he shook his head.  Waffles it was, with fresh fruit and syrup.

Our big outing for the day was the Festival of Trees, at the Expo Center.  We bought the little kids lots of coupons for the Kids' Craft Center.  Sophia, Ezra, and Mia all fished for prizes.  Sophia and Mia got their fingernails painted and made Christmas ornaments.  Emilie was more interested in the displays of trees, wreaths, and gingerbread houses.

One uniquely Utahn version of a gingerbread house is a scale model of a Mormon temple.  There was both a Salt Lake Temple and a Manti Temple.

We ate supper at The Spaghetti Factory.  We told the kids stories of when their mom worked there as a hostess, and how Jonny and Michael begged, week after week, to go to The Spaghetti Factory for family night.  In the evening, Dave and I had a "date night" at the symphony and Emilie found a good TV movie for the little guys at home.

I have promised the Ebert children a repeat of the English tea I fixed for them a year ago.  After Church, we laid out a lace tablecloth and Grandma Rose's flowered china.  Mia and Sophia helped me pat out English scones.  We split them, filled them with strawberry jam, and layered fresh strawberries and whipped cream over the top.  The New Zealanders and Australians call that a "Devonshire tea."  We served it with hot chocolate, poured from a tea kettle.  

While Dave and Ezra watched a ball game on TV and Emilie did her homework, I took Sophia and Mia to the Museum of Natural History to see the horse exhibit.  "I don't like horses much anymore," Sophia confided.  "The teacher at my horse camp last summer wasn't very nice to me, so now I don't like horses."  I hope I don't poison my grandchildren's view of something by not being nice enough to them!  

 

Sophia and Mia liked the horses, but they liked basking on the top porch of the museum, looking out at the city, even more.

We hurried home to Grandpa, who cooked his famous hamburgers for dinner.  Annelise joined us, as did Mike and his friend, Heidi.  Steve and Camille were soon home, as well.