On Friday at the movie theater I was being a thoughtful mother and bringing drinks and popcorn to my waiting family. as I was sitting down Allison decided that she needed to hop into my lap. Greg was at the back of the theater and said that it was like a slow motion scene. Allison's head hit the bottom of the tray. The tray bounced up, drinks tipped over. Popcorn and soda went flying everywhere. Thankfully, the only person who got messy was me and not the older guy sleeping in front of us.

Yesterday I mentioned to Greg that I thought our oven might be dying. The top heating element in the oven would not come on for broiling. It was a little smoky, but seemed to work fine for normal baked goods (chocolate chip cookies). Tonight, I was roasting some bell peppers for a new dish we were trying from the kid's favorite cookbook. I noticed more smoke and a funky smell. When I opened the oven all I saw was flames.

As a cook, I know that some things might catch fire, but this wasn't just food. The bottom heating element itself was on fire. I grabbed the flour and started smothering the flames. Then when Greg came in he took over fire smothering duties while I took the flaming sheet of bell peppers outside. After the inferno died down, we unplugged the stove and went out to eat.

The kids have been playing The Sims 2 and they said that watching flames come out of the oven was just like we were in the game. "Mom, What if someone is playing us?". That would be creepy, but sometimes I wonder if it isn't true. Things in the real world are very Sims-like (hello IKEA). Is it weird that the first thing I thought after the flames were out was that I should have grabbed my camera because that would have made a great picture of the day?

It's summer and there are no sports going on right now. You know what that means right?

The kids are back to posting on their blog. It might not be daily, but to keep their creative writing skills going while school is out we made them a deal. If they want to play on their computer (which they do almost every hour they are awake), they have to first write a blog entry.

They have some plans in mind for their little site. So be sure to head over and check it out. Everyone loves an audience and my kids are no exception.

Reading about other people's sleeping problems reminds me that I haven't given you an update on the night time habits of Allison in a while. That's because ever since spring break she has been sleeping in her own bed. Sure, she snuggles in with us every once in a while, but eventually decides that there isn't enough room to stretch out and heads to her own bed.

I've been half afraid to write about it because I was sure it wouldn't last. Now that it is lasting, I have to admit that sometimes I miss snuggling in for the night with that little stinker.

I have more to write up about our Galveston trip and more pictures to edit and post, but Greg reminded me of this story. I thought I would write about it before it slipped my mind again.

We went to the Rainforest Cafe for dinner one of the nights with a few of the other parents and their children. The food is over priced and not that great, but the kids love the atmosphere. Because it is a pretty popular place, we had a wait (about an hour and a half). To keep people entertained there was an Elvis impersonator out front. He was surrounded by children 6 and under. They loved dancing to his music.

At the end of his set, he let everyone know that he would be around for like 5 minutes for photos. Zoey's coach jumped up off the bench and took about five steps before turning and looking around. All of the mom's and kids were riding some adventure ride (which normally brave but slightly afraid of the dark, Allison was terrified the whole time we were on it). "Oh man.. my wife has the camera. I was going to see if I could take a picture with me giving Elvis a piggy back ride!".

Zoey's coach isn't a little guy, probably about 6'2", played football in high school, etc. The Elvis was small, like 5' 6".
Her coach jumped up there almost without thinking. We are left with the image of his house being filled with pictures of him giving semi-famous people piggy back rides. "This is me giving Lawrence Taylor a piggy back ride" or "Here is Bill Clinton on my back".

Have you ever had the urge to give some random person a piggy back ride?

Just a few quick questions....

Which do you prefer from the blogs you read? The writer to respond via comments, or to respond through email?

How often do you go back and look at an entry and the comments that may have arrived after yours?