There's an anniversary hidden somewhere in this weekend

Save the earth while blowing up a small part of it: http://news.yahoo.com/s/livescience/20080527/sc_livescience/environmentallyfriendlybombsplanned

And now, the weekend.

Friday: Carla and I went to Bravo for our anniversary dinner. We had a nice time pretending like we didn't have any kids for a while. They all, yes, all 3, spent the night at my parents'. Everyone survived. Why, you ask, did we go to dinner on May 23 when our anniversary is on May 25? Well, we couldn't go Saturday because . . .

Saturday: I went to Brad's house and "helped" him concrete his driveway. Helped is in quotations because it involved a little wheelbarrow pushing, a little concrete raking, and a lot of trying to stay out of the way. I was done there shortly after noon, then went home and mowed and burnt some brush and trees that I had cut down a few weeks before. Right after that, we went to Mom and Dad's for a Memorial day weekend cookout. Note that I was outside all day on Saturday, and that it was sunny. And we couldn't go Sunday because . . .

Sunday (the actual anniversary): We got up in the morning and made the mad dash to church, actually getting there on time for once. We skipped Sunday School because we had to go home and change really quick before going to the Radalia reunion (the one with the chicken and lamb and pork cooked on the spit). They were going to be eating right at noon so we had to hurry to get there while the meat was still warm. Also, we had to get there early because we had to leave no later than 1:00 to get to Missy's surprise birthday party - how dare she have the audacity to be born on our anniversary! Well, we ate at 12:55. Actually, Walker, Ellie, and I ate at 12:55. Anderson was eating, too, which involved Carla and did not involve her sitting at a picnic bench with 50 of her relatives (not all at the same picnic bench, of course). So Carla ate at 12:59 and we left at 12:59 1/2. Oh, by the way, the reunion was outside and it was sunny. We made it to the birthday party in time to be there for the surprise so that was good. The party, though, was outside. And it was sunny. There were lots of kids there, too, so I pitched batting practice to them for like an hour. In the sun. After the party, we decided we'd better go back to the reunion since we had only gotten to spend an hour there. The kids were still awake, including Anderson, who to this point had only slept for about 20 minutes all day, so back we went. Walker actually fell asleep on the way back but woke up and played once we got there. To our surprise there was still some meat left so we ate again, this time actually chewing our food. And I played basketball with Walker, in the sun. Thanks, Carla's immediate family, for keeping the kids occupied while we caught up with some of the other adults.

Monday: Finally, a day with rain in the forecast! I can sit in the basement all day and let my sunburn fade. Well, it didn't rain so I worked on my sunburn some more. We spent the morning pulling weeds, trimming hedges, and ripping out bushes from around the house. We also played outside with the kids and, after they went in, I secretly changed my oil and rotated the tires. I had to do it secretly because Walker would have been crushed had he known I did it without him. Carla and I teamed up and made some awesome shish-kabobs for supper, then it was off to Aunt Ann and Uncle Tony's house to catch up with Frank, on leave from the Army. It was good to see him again - looks like he's doing pretty well. Walker even jumped on his back while he did pushups but Ellie was scared to. Anyway, busiest long weekend ever.

Walker: What state does Santa live in?
Kurt: He doesn't live in a state. He lives at the north pole.
Walker: Oh, that means he lives in French.

Ellie, asking where her little play rolling pin is: Mommy, where's my rolly thing with the stick?