Luke's 2nd set of stitches

Okay, not really, but according to Doctor Grandpa who happened to be with us when the unfortunate accident happened, it was definitely stitch worthy. Instead of 2 or 3 stitches Luke sports 2 studly butterfly band aids!


It all happened on a pleasant day at the US Independence Hall building in downtown Philly. We met up with G & G Rollins before they were off to the airport for a couple last stops around historic Philadelphia. We were on the way out and Luke tripped on one of the bricks that made up the old roads. His hands weren't fast enough to catch his head so his head rammed into another old road brick. Of course we were asked to sign waivers before leaving the historic, federal property. He came up with a hole the width of a pencil right in the middle of his forehead.

Grandpa didn't have time before his flight to take Luke to a clinic where he would have been able to borrow some DermaBond (aka super glue for humans) and fix it up himself. Instead he instructed me on how to apply the butterfly.

So now we're counting on Luke to split open the other eyebrow next month so that he'll have a nice even, triangular look!

Grandma What?? - (Edited due to issues)

I never hated my maiden name (Dutson), but I definitely think I upgraded with Rollins. I did not "upgrade" family heritage, simply the phonetic sound of a name. I would wager that most married women prefer the sound of their name with either their maiden or married name. Does that mean they favor that part of their family over the other? I think not! Okay, maybe some do, but I DON'T!

Nicole Rollins seems to have a much more sophisticated sound and much less, sort of dumpy sound than Niki Dutson. It sounds, people, sounds, not is-having nothing to do with the Dutson people being or not being dumpy. I mean, come on, they almost rhyme - Dutson/dumpy.

Recently Luke has given the Dutson name a whole new look by affectionately referring to my mom as "Grandma Nutson." Gotta love that! (The entire reason for this post.)

PS This post is not meant to be disrespectful to all the wonderful Dutson family who embrace and love their name. I love my Dutson heritage! I have never felt any embarrassment about my name and would gladly take it back, not that I gave it up, but you know what I mean...or do you??? (that is said with humor, sarcasm and love, I promise!)

The Jersey Shore

Ben had Thursday off so we drove over to Ocean City, NJ (about an hour and half from us) to play at the beach and on the boardwalk. It was super fun and I think we'll do it again before we leave again.

Caleb wasn't feeling to good and like the responsible parents we are, we packed him up and took him to play in the hot sun and gritty sand! He actually did really well - considering...he took a nap in a make shift tent Ben built with towels and lawn chairs and played in the sand. We joked that Caleb being sick may have made the trip easier (and therefore more enjoyable) for us because he stayed close rather than running off and stressing us out with strangers, waves and all.

Clearly, Luke loved it!

We don't have any pictures from our 4th of July celebration in Philadelphia because we decided not to take our big camera, instead we took our smaller one which had dead batteries. When we got there I resolved to find a 7-Eleven and buy some because I thought it would be so picturesque. Fireworks at the Philadelphia Art Museum above the George Washington statue...

After getting some dinner we ran out of time before the parade started. Yea, out here they do their parades in the evening which I thought was great. Parade at 6, concert in the park at 8 and then fireworks at 9. Sounds great, doesn't it?? Not so great...I think Philly's parade was the slowest parade I've ever watched...THE SLOWEST!! Each group actually stopped for like 4 minutes, sometimes longer, and just stood there until someone cued them to move along again. Very weird. Not only was it slow, it started to rain. Unfortunately I was in the worst of spirits after the parade and could really care less about finding batteries.

Round 2 (the concert and fireworks) didn't do much to lift my dipping spirits. John Legend performed a bunch of songs I didn't know, it continued to rain, and the fireworks didn't even start until 10:30. After whining throughout most of the concert for fireworks Luke feel asleep in the middle of the firework show. We stayed only so we could say we spent a 4th of July in Philly - that's it! I was really surprised Philadelphia couldn't pull it together.

We did enjoy a few things. When we got there we totally lucked out and as we were driving right next to the museum a van pulled out giving us a perfect (and free) parking spot. The dinner we got on the street, BBQ pulled pork sandwich, BBQ ribs & chicken, corn on the cob & carmel kettle popcorn, was all excellent! It's actually making my mouth water to remember it! Also, the fireworks were good too. They didn't skimp on that, but anything at 10:30 with tired kids in the rain isn't as good as it could be.

My Motivating Mirror

You know those mirrors you walk past and think, "please don't let that be the way people see me!?" The ones in all the dressing rooms you visit on the most unproductive shopping trips? I've got one of those. I now refer to it grudgingly as my motivating mirror. Since living here I have recommitted myself to more vigorous workouts.

Yep, I'm pooped and my entire lower half screams at me with every move! So far, so good!

Proof of our visit to Hershey, PA. It was lots of fun!

Proof of my 28th Birthday! Ahhhh, 28!!!

Why I love our summer in PA

I will always think fondly of Ithaca, NY. I love that it's quiet and beautiful, and I absolutely adore our ward. We've met some great people that I will miss not living so closely to when our time in school is done. BUT...there are some pretty important things I will enthusiastically enjoy here in Philly that we can't enjoy in Ithaca.

#1 Ben is making $$$$

Yea, for 10 wonderful weeks Ben will bring home a paycheck! 10 weeks that we don't have to enter deeper into the big black hole of student loan debt - and hopefully a few more weeks after that depending on how well we stretch it!

#2 We have more than 2 radio stations that play modern music

Up in the boonies known as the finger lakes region of NY we really only have 1 station that plays modern country music and another that plays top 40 stuff. That's it! The other 4 buttons in my car are programmed to who knows what! I never push them! While we're here I will enjoy 6 car radio buttons with 6 stations that play songs that I know and like.


#3 Air Conditioning!!!

We are only 4 hours south of Ithaca so the climate is not that different. I remember miserable 90 degree days in NY last August, but for some reason people in Ithaca have a strange "air conditioner's aren't necessary" viewpoint. I wonder if it has to do with the save the earth, vegan, air conditioner's aren't worth the energy they use mentality. People will say, "yea, we have some hot days, but then the rain comes and cools things off and it's really not that bad." It's true that just before you think you're gonna die from heat exhaustion, and you and your children are on your last nerve reserved for hot days that the storm will come and blow some cool air down, but I say, "Why do we have to suffer!!!!" So, why we're in Philly I will gratefully thank Sherry Lake apartments for installing central air in all their buildings.

Freakin' HOT!!!!

So we made it to Philadelphia, actually Conshohocken (yea, say that 10 times fast) a Philly suburb, right in time for their record breaking heat. It's been 98 degrees with intense humidity since we got here last Friday. Two nights ago a big storm moved in, thundered and rained on us, and now it's much more pleasant.

We went to a strawberry festival on Saturday at a 300 year old Quaker church. It was adorable, but crazy hot! Notice the wet hair and red faces.

We are liking our place despite the lack of furniture. Our search for summer housing is a novel itself so I'll spare you! We are living in a 2 bedroom apartment in a complex that offered short term leases (we're only here for 10 weeks). Luke sleeps on the floor, we sleep on a foam pad on the floor, we eat, play, read, and blog on the floor. AND, there's lots of floor space since there's no lousy furniture in the way! I should develop some tight quads with all the squatting I'll be doing this summer!

The luxurious master bedroom... Sleeping on the foam pad really isn't bad, it's the getting up that's miserable. You can't just roll off and find your way to the bathroom. You have to have muscles and use balance. Not fun at 7am, and definitely not fun in the middle of the night!


We look forward to visiting all the fun places in the Philly area over the next weeks. This Saturday we're going to head over to Hershey, PA for some chocolaty heaven. It is my birthday and all!!

The Little Sahara

Last Friday we drove down to the sand dunes just west of Nephi, UT with Ben's family. It was super fun! Both our boys loved the ATV and were constantly yelling for bigger hills and a faster speed. In 10 more years Ben's going to have some great 4-wheeling sons who are as crazy as he is! I only pray that we keep the ER visits to a minimum and that the docs are only needed to stitch minor cuts and cast repairable breaks!

While the ATV was occupied Ben and his brothers took to jumping off the incredible sandy hills. This is a pretty amazing picture John took of Ben.

Joyce made an amazing dutch oven dinner! It was super yummy...steak, potatoes, zucchini, onions, sand... I think sand in your food...

or on your binki is inevitable.


We had so much fun in UT with all our family. We're grateful for parents who take such good care of us with all sorts of food and entertainment when we visit. So, until next time, we miss you and peace out!!