Great America

 (Josh and Steven with Charlie Brown and Peppermint Patty)

The kids and their friends split up, leaving Dave-o and I to ourselves.

Dave-o loved the kiddie rides, but you wouldn't know it from his stoic expression.

The water park was a lot of fun. There is a pool area no deeper than 3 feet and a separate wave pool. Dave-o and I spent half of the time in the water. It turns out that Dave-o is afraid of Snoopy.

Kirsten was excited to have another girl to hang out with. She and Jessica are inseparable.

No.1 Babysitter

Steven had his first "real" babysitting job. In the past he has watched his siblings, nieces and nephews, and on occasion a little boy named Noah. However these all occurred in our home. Friday was Steven's first time going to somebody else's home to watch the kids. The family that "hired" him are new to our Ward. They have three little boys under the age of four (ages 1,2, and 4). Steven did what he does best-he played with them. They played cops and robbers until bedtime. One of the boys begged Steven to never leave. He wanted him to stay forever. Luke, the one year old cried for about ten minutes after laying him down, but Steven sang "I am a Child of God" to him until he fell asleep. I was proud to learn that he even remembered to leave a clean house for the parents to come home to.

You are amazing Steven.

Bedtime Story

Me: "What book do you want me to read to you?"

Dave-o walked over to his bookshelf and pulled out his Book of Mormon.

Dave-o: "This one"

He proceeded to flip through the pages pretending to read the Word of God.

It fills my heart with joy to see any of my children enjoy reading the scriptures.

It makes the perfect bedtime story.

You Melt My Heart

While at EFY, James called me a couple of times in the evening to talk about his experiences. He began one such conversation asking me to guess what he was eating. It was an Ice-cream Snicker's Bar purchased from a nearby vending machine, which James had never had before. Knowing that Snickers are my favorite candy bar, he used lots of mouth watering adjectives to describe his food-eating-experience. His motive was clear. Make Mom drool. It worked.

Now, fast forward a couple of days after this conversation. It was "pick-up" day for EFY. James' friends' grandparents took him back to their house in Provo where he stayed until I could get him. (My three hour drive would have made it hard for me to make it to BYU for the early 7am pick-up time.) After picking James up from the Call's house, we headed back to Preston, ID. James told me that he got me a Snickers Bar and asked if I wanted it now. I told him that I would eat it after we ate some lunch. Halway into our trip, James remembered the candy bar and asked again if I wanted it, adding that it was probably melted by now. It was then that I realized he had bought me the Ice-cream kind. Ohhhh!

James pulled it out of his back pack and said, "It's probably not good anymore is it."

(To myself I thought) Let's see...It's been sitting in your backpack for roughly 5 hours...

"No, James. But it was the thought that counts."

I was so touched that James would think to buy me the ice cream bar. That he would put it in his backpack to surprise me. And that the excitement of the gift would make him overlook the fact that it would melt.

 I love this kid!

James, you melt my heart!

Coming soon...

 Here's a sneak peak at the movie the boys are working on. It takes place at night in our pool.

Steven filmed most of it with Noah's underwater camera (that he borrowed from another friend).

A Lesson on Artichokes

I planted an artichoke plant last year and reaped nothing from it. Believing it had died, I was shocked to find it again in my garden this spring. (David had almost pulled it, thinking it was a weed.) Before leaving on our vacation, a single artichoke was maturing on the plant. I was ecstatic!

As I went to water the plant yesterday, a purple head of thistle-like blooms sent me to the Internet to find out why it was flowering. (Yes, I should have researched "growing artichokes" before planting it.)

Here is what I learned about the plant.

• Is a member of the thistle family.
• It's technically a flower bud that has not yet bloomed.
• Originated in the Mediterranean.
• It wasn't until the 20th century that artichokes were grown in the United States.
• California produces 100% of the United States crop.
• It could survive as perennials.

AND

• If the edible flower buds are not harvested, they unfurl to reveal purple thistle-like blooms.

Oops! I waited to long to harvest it.

Lesson learned.

Celebrating Pioneer Day

(Steven-taken in SLC, Utah)

In keeping with tradition, we made Grandma Mozell's rolls and homemade butter to celebrate Pioneer Day. A winning combination! The LaCroix family helped us in the fun.

Steven, Kirsten, and Ben

Justin and James

Jessica, Dave-o, and David

Susanna

Butter

2 cups heavy whipping cream

1 tsp sour cream

salt

large mason jar

Pour whipping cream and sour cream into jar. Close the lid tight. Have fun shaking the jar until the butter separates from the buttermilk. Pour buttermilk into a container to drink later (or cook with). Place butter on a plate or bowl. Rinse the buttermilk out of the butter with cold running water, pushing the liquid out with a spatula. Salt should be added after the rinsing. Keep refrigerated.

Heart Earings

Kirsten made me these beautiful heart earrings from a bead/jewelry kit she had received as a birthday present. I was impressed that she figured it out on her own. This girl's crafting skills will soon supersede my own!

Justin's Talent

Squeezing as Much Fun in One Day

This afternoon I got to watch my niece and nephew (Emily and Owen) while David took Michael to see the Spiderman movie to celebrate Mike's birthday.

I bet we had more fun than David and Michael.

Then we drove to Atherton to visit our favorite patient. It was nice to see Mom Zinn home and resting comfortably. The boys waxed Grandpa's cars, David worked on a sprinkler problem with his dad, and Kirsten, Dave-o, and I visited with DeLona.

We got home with enough time to eat a quick dinner before heading out again to drive James and his friend Ben to a dance in Santa Cruz at Sea Brighton beach. Justin rode over with his friends.

While the youngins were dancing, David and I went for a walk along the beach. We slipped through a hole in a cave and found ourselves at the Boardwalk. It was super crowded. We walked around eating funnel cake and cotton candy while enjoying the atmosphere.

Before heading back to pick the boys up, David played "Speed Ball". You throw a baseball three times. If you guess the speed on the last throw, you win a prize. David won! Now the kids are fighting over the prize, which is a dog hat. I told him that he'll need to come back and win each of the kids a hat.

David R. Zinn-Inventor

On Wednesday, Micrel Semiconductor, held a luncheon to hand out a "Patent Award" to its deserving employees. David was one of the award recipients. His most recent invention is called the "Field Effect Transistor with Trench-Isolated Drain". Here is a description of what it does:

" A MOS transistor includes a body region of a first conductivity type, a conductive gate and a first dielectric layer, a source region of a second conductivity type formed in the body region, a heavily doped source contact diffusion region formed in the source region, a lightly doped drain region of the second conductivity type formed in the body region where the lightly doped drain region is a drift region of the MOS transistor, a heavily doped drain contact diffusion region of the second conductivity type formed in the lightly doped drain region; and an insulation trench formed in the lightly doped drain region adjacent the drain contact diffusion region. The insulating trench blocks a surface current path in the drift region thereby forming vertical current paths in the drift region around the bottom surface of the trench."

You're not alone if you didn't understand anything that I just wrote. But you have to admit that it's so "dope"!

Congratulations David! I admire your creativity and love of learning.

Thistle Man

Who wants to go on a thistle hunt?

This is a dreaded task that Grandpa Zinn asks to get done annually while at the Zinn Ranch. This summer (and I think every summer) David was the thistle hunter. He of course brought helpers-Kirsten and Dave-o. While searching for this prickly weed, David would sing,

"Thistle man, he played one,
He played knick-knack on my thumb.
With a knick-knack, paddy whack,
Give a dog a bone,
Thistle man came rolling home ".

I was told that Kirsten took this job very seriously. She didn't let many thistles pass the attention of her grandpa or dad.

For the duration of our trip, Dave-o would start singing this spoof nursery rhyme "This Old Man" each and every time he spotted a thistle.

And for the record, I find this weed rather pretty.

A Temporary Routine

We've had a VIP join us for dinner each night this week (except for Monday). Mom Zinn had her knee replacement surgery on Tuesday and is recovering in the hospital until Friday. Routines have been changed and rearranged as David brings his dad to our house after work, then to the hospital, and eventually back to his dad's house to spend the night and drive to work together the next day. It's not everyday that the kids get to see their grandfather in the evenings on a weekday. Amazing things can happen when a family comes together to do things together-like eating dinner. I believe that there is a powerful bond that is felt and seen when a family eats together. This week, we have been blessed to form a tighter bond with Dad Zinn through food, conversation and love.

What is more important than family?

Recovering From...

People keep asking me, "Are you settled back in to your routine? Have you recovered from your vacation?"

Grocery shopping was my last task to get done before I could honestly answer "yes" to the above questions. All five of my children wanted to go with me (they had money burning a hole in their pockets). Needless to say, it was not a relaxing shopping experience. I obediently stayed in the food section, quickly filling up my cart, while the older three went off and explored the "funner" areas of WalMart in search of who-knows-what.

Miraculously, we all found each other when it came time to purchase our goods. The cashier was finishing scanning my groceries, when she asked me a question in a thick accent. I asked her to repeat herself because I only understood part of it. When I realized what she was asking me, I was shocked, then angry, and currently I find it humorous.

She asked, "Will you be using Food Stamps to pay for this?"

Now, do you think the cashier asked this because she is used to seeing large families come into the store using Food Stamps? I was insulted that she assumed I couldn't take care of my family. I can't figure out her reasoning. I was even wearing my nicer clothing (meaning dressy jeans and a nice sweater). My hair was fixed and my children were clean and well dressed as well. They certainly didn't look like orphans (although on occasion they have).

So, "No, I will not be using Food Stamps. I will be paying with my own money."

Take that Miss Cashier!

According to Obama Your Efforts Count for Nothing

President Barack Obama spoke to his supporters in Roanoke, Virginia on Friday afternoon and took a shot at the business community. Here is what he said:

"There are a lot of wealthy, successful Americans who agree with me -- because they want to give something back.  They know they didn’t -- look, if you’ve been successful, you didn’t get there on your own.  You didn’t get there on your own.  I’m always struck by people who think, well, it must be because I was just so smart.  There are a lot of smart people out there.  It must be because I worked harder than everybody else.  Let me tell you something -- there are a whole bunch of hardworking people out there.  (Applause.)      

If you were successful, somebody along the line gave you some help.  There was a great teacher somewhere in your life.  Somebody helped to create this unbelievable American system that we have that allowed you to thrive.  Somebody invested in roads and bridges.  If you’ve got a business -- you didn’t build that.  Somebody else made that happen.  The Internet didn’t get invented on its own. Government research created the Internet so that all the companies could make money off the Internet.

The point is, is that when we succeed, we succeed because of our individual initiative, but also because we do things together. There are some things, just like fighting fires, we don’t do on our own. I mean, imagine if everybody had their own fire service. That would be a hard way to organize fighting fires."

Isn't this the philosophy of communism? No individual's efforts count for anything and every activity can be put in terms of dependence on the collective. However, I do have to agree that our success in life is not done soley on our own. Our gratitude should be towards our Heavenly Father. He's the one who gave us the tools in life to become who we are and will become.

A Thank You Letter

Dear Aunt Deborah,
         Thank you for sending my sister, Kirsten, her birthday present in a cool envelope.
It is my new hat. I love it!
                                                     Love,
                                                     Dave-o

P.S.
Kirsten loves her present and the lost items.

Family Birthday

Kirsten's family birthday celebration was spent in Monterey. We had lunch, where she was able to order shrimp.

Then we walked along the wharf and visited the candy shop.

Before parting ways, Grandma and Grandpa Zinn gave Kirsten her birthday present.

Then we went to a beach in Marina.

Dave-o of course stayed far away from the water.

The waves and rip tide weren't ideal for boogie boarding, but Justin and David had fun working with what they had.

James and Kirsten

Proof that I exist.

Kirsten and Dave-o had fun exploring the sand dunes.

Before driving home, we sang Happy Birthday and had cherry pie.

A couple of days ago I had asked Kirsten what kind of cake she wanted for her birthday. She responded that she wanted a watermelon cake, but wouldn't eat it beacause she doesn't like cake. After chuckling to myself, I told Kirsten that she doesn't have to have cake. So, she picked cherry pie instead.