Party in Manti

This last weekend we took a trip down to Manti, Utah - that's where all the wild parties are just in case you didn't know. Our eyes feasted on the magnificent Temple and we were complete.... Eric and his brothers own their father's home down there, but normally we are the only ones that take care of it. But this weekend his brother Andy and his kids came down and helped us out - the yard was a shambles. We have been really busy and unable to go down in 6 weeks and since there is no automated sprinkler system, the lawn was fried (literally burnt in one area, fireworks I would guess -scary!), trees were droopy and flowers wilted. We left the water on for the entire 2 days we were there, never once turned it off and it was still crispy and absorbing the water the instant it touched down. Although it was just more yard work at another house, I had a good time. The kids really had a great time playing with their soon to be cousins and just being out of the house. Mister Naughty Pants Nanuk stole a loaf of bread off the counter and although he was unable to break the bag open, he did give the loaf a good chomping and managed to bite through the bag just enough to get some drool in there and render the whole thing useless for human consumption. My love was unable to let the loaf be thrown out (despite the fact that it is a level 4 contamination), so it is still sitting on our kitchen counter at home; I hope he plans to eat that on his own because I have no intentions of eating Nanuk's Slobber Special Supreme. After Andy left, Tommy decided to spice up the night by swallowing a penny. Why he had the thing in his mouth in the first place, even the leading team of scientists may never know. Ben wanted to make sure Tommy knew it was a big deal so that he'd never do it again and told him (over the phone, to clear up any confusion - I was not with Ben at the time) that he may have to go to the hospital. He spent the night alternately saying that the penny had magically disappeared from his stomach and breaking down in tears that "he was the worst boy ever." Broke my heart! I held and consoled him, but it almost made me cry with him. Fortunately, we have a nurse in the family that told me that as long as he is moving his bowels (fun subject, we'll go there later) and not having problems breathing, he's okay. I'm happy to report that all systems are a go. Let me know if you need a detailed report on my rubber glove inspections.... This ended my two fantastic weeks with the kids and here begins my two weeks without them. I was so emotional about it last night and I know I was cranky with my poor Eric, he puts up with so much from me. I am hoping to pack in lots of plans to fill up that time until I get to see them again.