Mysterious Footprints

Luckily, these photos of footprints on the beach are somewhat mysterious, which gives me an excuse to write about our family beach trip. But really, take a look here. The footprints in the first two photos look strangely inverted. They did not look this way when we took the pictures and they don't look that way when you view them on the camera. But on the computer, they do. It's very weird. The last one, I think, looks normal. Usually. But sometimes, it goes inverted too. What is going on? Is there a technological explanation for this mystery? (The purpose of the photos was to show the vast difference in size between Stephanie's feet and Eric's, which would have been shown in the second one. But instead you can see the difference between hers and mine in the third. I wear a 7 1/2. So you can see how tiny and adorable her little feet are. In case you're interested, Eric's are size 13. No, that's not a typo. 13!)

Inspect this one closely as well, and you will see that the boy on the left is playing the game on the DS and the boy on the right is listening through the headphones to the obnoxious repetitive sounds of the game. They were both perfectly content with this arrangement. ??? Another mystery.

Stephanie wasn't too sure about going out to the water, but she loved having it come to her. Eric dug little wells in the sand so that when the waves came close enough, she would have a pool of her own to play in.

Daniel asked Eric to do the ever-popular "bury me in the sand" trick. You can see on his face that he loved it. However, when I helped him get out, I could not believe how deep Eric had buried him. Wasn't there something in the news a few years back about a small child dying this way? Something about the weight of the sand and the effect on the lungs? Anyway, I gave Eric one of my usual wifely lectures about it after the fact.

Last one. One of our favorite things to do at the beach in the evening is rent a family bike. This year, we graduated to the two-bench bike since Daniel is clearly too big to ride in the front basket. Stephanie loved the ride up front. Nathan took a turn in the driver's seat again this year, which was much less frightening than the last two years. I wish I believed this was good preparation for actual driving. It would put my mind more at ease about the near future.

P.S. I would love to get some feedback on how those footprint photos look to other people--are they inverted or normal on your screen? Mysteries were made to be solved. Most of them, anyway.

3 Mini-Mysteries

Doesn't he look like the foreign spy in a made-for-TV espionage movie?

Mystery #1:

Given all the evidence, one would have to conclude that Daniel's favorite moment of our weekend was the moment he received his plastic disguise glasses from Wendy's. But how can this possibly be? It's a mystery, because Friday afternoon we left the house at 2pm and drove to the beautiful Shenandoah mountains, where we then set up our amazing family tent and cooked burgers and hot dogs on our camp stove. I even brought purple Gatorade especially for Daniel (it's not a party atmosphere for Daniel if all we have to drink is water). We walked on the Appalachian Trail, came back and made S'mores, talked and told stories, stayed up late and slept in our tent. We saw deer and heard owls. In the morning we had pancakes and sausage, broke camp and went on two gorgeous hikes. See? So many incredible moments to choose from.

Okay, I left out a few parts. There were all these irritating gnats buzzing around our faces for much of the time. SO irritating in fact, that I was perfectly willing to pay $9 for a can of bugspray and another $6 in additional bug-be-gone paraphernalia. Our fire was almost impossible to start because the wood was wet. After 45 minutes of failure, we turned to lighter fluid to save the day. The wood lit and burned brightly for about three-and-a-half minutes and then rapidly declined, so we had time for just a few marshmallows before our evening turned from family fireside to family lantern-side. Stephanie cried off and on through the night, and Nathan dragged Eric along on a 3am bathroom break. Our first Saturday hike was great--short, sweet, nice view. Our second hike was probably a mistake. "Downhill to an 83-foot waterfall" sounds terrific, but the waterfall was waaaay over there (can you hear that soft sound, guys? that's the waterfall) and then, of course, we had to hike back UP the trail. If it seemed like a long walk even to us, which it did, it must have really seemed long to the kids. Daniel's most-used phrase was, "I HATE this place!"

So I guess that mystery is pretty much solved after all: I'm trying to look at our campout through rose-colored glasses, but Daniel seems to prefer viewing it through his plastic disguise glasses. You can hardly blame him.

Mystery #2:

I bought a new kind of fruit snacks for the campout, called "Clever Kids." The front of the box says "Number bites! The fun counting snack" and there's a cartoon octopus holding a bunch of numbers and a little calculator. "Feed kids' love of learning." "10 pouches." Okay, there were 13 pouches in there! Now I'm not complaining about the free extras, but you have to admit to some irony here. Teach your kids to count...starting with the 13 pouches in this box of 10. It's a mystery - how did this box end up with so many? Do they all have 13? Did they mean to do that, so that kids would catch the mistake? Now I'm interested to try the alphabet ones.

Mystery #3:

Shortly after returning from our campout Saturday afternoon, Nathan desperately wanted a shower. No wait, that's not the mystery. It probably should be because, come to think of it, he's never wanted a shower before. But back to what I was saying. I forgot to tell him that one of the glass doors on our shower was not actually hooked into the track... CRASH! A million little pieces of glass all over the bathroom. Mysteriously, the little glass pebbles looked blue, even though the shower door was clear. That's not the mystery either, though. Nathan received only a few small cuts on his hands and one larger gash maybe from a metal part of the door. Curious (and a relief!), but also not the real mystery. Here it is: Why did Eric see the need to smash the other shower door in order to dispose of it? Is this the way most men would have handled it? He assured me it had to be done, but I still wonder if he just felt left out of Nathan's experience and invented a reason to recreate it. It must have been like a cool scene from a movie. I wish I had thought to take pictures!

Going Undercover

Perhaps in an attempt to hide from the law for her previous crimes, Stephanie decided to paint herself in toothpaste. Discovery was made in the typical manner:

1. I heard the distinct sound of nothing. Always a bad sign.
2. I called to her. No answer. Almost always a bad sign.
3. I looked for clues as to her whereabouts, things like "open bathroom door", "missing items", "scattered toothbrushes and other bathroom supplies".
4. I followed the trail to her room and found more criminal activity in progress.

Exhibit A: Luckily, I caught her (blue-handed) in time to prevent any permanent damage, aside from the Winnie-the-Pooh book that now smells forever minty-fresh. This occurrence followed closely on the tail of a fluoride-drinking incident that same day. Maybe I should have seen it coming, but children never cease to surprise and amaze me with their curiosity and ingenuity. Oh well, I can think of worse fingerpaint...

Murder Mystery

The victim was found in the seat compartment of a pink mini truck. He is believed to have been minding his own business at the time; witnesses say a small, adorable, curly-haired girl was seen in the vicinity near the time of death. She is known to be dangerous to tiny creatures. One witness even saw her in close contact with the victim a short time before the body was discovered. Reportedly, she was holding the victim by one leg and saying, "See?" to those nearby. She has since been taken into custody and bail has been set as a 3-hour nap, awaiting further investigation. Although she has been charged with many incidents of animal mistreatment, she has never been punished, due to the judge's inability to see past her sweet face and charming voice.

Recipe Revealed

For those of you who are brave enough to try cooking with quinoa, here is the recipe I raved about last month: (for the photo, follow this clue)

Black Beans and Quinoa
1 t. oil
1 chopped onion
3 garlic cloves, crushed
3/4 c. rinsed quinoa
1 1/2 c. broth
1 t. cumin
1/4 t. cayenne
salt and pepper
1 can corn, drained
2 cans black beans, drained
cilantro
Saute onion and garlic in oil. Add quinoa, broth, and spices. Bring to a boil, cover, reduce heat, and simmer 20 minutes. Add corn, black beans, and cilantro.

Vegetable Salsa
1 zucchini
1-2 bell peppers (red, orange, or yellow)
1 c. cilantro
1/2 sweet onion
1/2 jalapeno
1 can pink beans, rinsed and drained
1 t. cumin
1/4 t. chili powder
1 t. salt
juice from 1/2 lime
Finely dice all vegetables and mix in remaining ingredients. You may want to add a tomato or avocado or increase the amount of the spices.

Thank you again, Serena. It was delicious!

Creating a Dead Drop

by Stephanie

For those who are less familiar with the espionage genre, a dead drop is a designated location where two spies can pass information to each other, without ever having to meet in person. One spy can simply leave information at the dead drop for the other spy to pick up at a later time. Using a dead drop can minimize the appearance of suspicious activity and protect the identity of the spies.

Here are some helpful hints for choosing a dead drop location:

1. Choose a hiding place that is a tight and secure fit for your secret object. For example, a yogurt-covered pretzel is a perfect fit in that little detergent compartment in the dishwasher. Anyone who happened to find it would have to pry it out, thereby destroying the evidence in the process.


2. Find a place that no one would ever think of looking. (See photo above.) Place the blueberries (or secret information) in one of those little outlets that have been set below floor level to accomodate plugging in a lamp that is not near a wall. It is unlikely anyone will look in there until the blueberries have had time to become mushy and possibly moldy.


3. Think of a location that is somewhat gross, where no one will want to go investigating, say...the cat box. Place the Star Wars figures in the yellow mud pond and then use the little shovel to mix it all up a bit so they have some camouflage. Believe me, no one will go looking for them in there.

These are just three small examples out of endless possibilities. Remember - be creative, be discreet and, above all, be quiet - good spies do not draw attention to themselves. I hope this was helpful.

How to Pick a Lock

Tools required: Cell phone, patience, nice husband.

Step one: Pull out your cell phone. (Whew! Good thing it was in your pocket!)

Step two: Enter the speed dial number of your husband's phone (or anyone else who happens to have a key to your house - doesn't have to be a husband).

Step three: Start by asking how his day is going and if there's anything you can do for him.

Step four: Ask if he will be available for awhile or if he has some meetings scheduled (unfortunately, it's only 9am at this point). Then, when he says he will be around, tell him you (and his cute little daughter) are locked out, but that you can borrow your friend's car and come get the key from him. The catch: you will be driving someone else's car without a license.

Step five: After he says, without any hesitation, that he will drive the 40 minutes one-way home and let you in the house, then drive the 40 minutes back to work, thank him sweetly and sincerely.

Step six: Wait patiently for him to arrive and start thinking of something yummy to make for dinner.

Voila! Lock-picking made simple. You would think that, with my great love of mysteries and crime detection, I would already know a more sophisticated way to pick a lock. I am ashamed. Maybe there's a class I could take...

Top 10 Clues for a Successful Move

Don't ask if we're all settled in yet. The answer should be obvious.
Alright, here are the top 10 clues:

10. On your last day in the old house, do not ask your kids if there's anything they want to do one last time before you move. Both the boys managed to yank out a not-so-loose tooth and we ended up having one more visit from the tooth fairy, as if we weren't busy enough that night.

9. Expect the unexpected. On the day of our move, Daniel came home from Kindergarten with The Surprise Box. "Please help your child find an item to put in the box and write three clues to encourage the other children to guess what it is. You must return it tomorrow! Have fun." Yeah. Very fun.

8. Make sure you know where the cat is before it's time for him to go to his overnight bungalow at the vet. Otherwise, as you can imagine, you will be frantically searching for him when you really should be focusing on actually moving.

7. Choose a funny person to be your realtor so he can entertain you while you sign papers and wait for your thousand copies to be made. (Thanks, Del.) You may also want to do some hand exercises in the days leading up to your closing. Oh yeah - and they'll need your signature WITH your middle initial as well as WITHOUT.

6. Wait at least 10 minutes before depositing your check from the title company. If you don't, they will probably call you right after you leave the bank and say, "Hold on to that check for a bit, will you?" Just imagine the stress you would have if that happened...

5. Be prepared for a warm welcome from all your new neighbors. No, I'm not talking about the human ones. Among the array of creature neighbors we've met so far: chipmunks living in the front yard, woodpeckers, box turtle, wolf spiders and a possible black widow (never could get her to roll over before we gave up and smashed her - just in case.).

4. If it looks like a lazy susan, it probably is a lazy susan. Push harder.

3. Remember to use deodorant on your first Sunday in the new ward.

2. Do not, I repeat, do NOT believe anything Verizon says about transferring your phone service.

And...

1. Do not promise your kids you will take them on the ward campout that takes place two days after you move. Trust me, you will be exhausted. (Or, at least, your husband will be - if it's the Father-Son campout.)

Mystery Dinner

Mmmm! Doesn't this look colorfully delicious? This is the dinner that was brought to my family last night by a very kind friend who thought I might not want to be doing a lot of cooking with just 6 days left till the move. She was right. This is a black bean quinoa dish with fresh vegetable salsa on top. It was even tastier than it looks. What's the mystery, you ask?

Well. The mystery is why my kids ate it without ANY fuss whatsoever. No sideways glance of suspicion as they approached their plates. No tentative queries into its unique components. Daniel simply asked, "What is this?" I told him what it was and that my friend had brought it for us, and he replied, "It looks yummy!" and dug right in and ate the entire portion on his plate. This is, indeed, a mystery! Did he do this because it was brought by someone else, not made by me? Was it the smell? All the beautiful colors? I guess I should ask him because if I could crack this mystery, we could have success at every meal. Nathan and Stephanie ate theirs with no trouble as well (though Nathan is typically a very adventurous eater anyway).

Eric was the only one who seemed to think twice about it. After I told him what it was called, he said, "What is quinoa anyway?" I told him it was a kind of grain. He froze mid-bite and asked, "Brain?"

(Note: I have since learned that it is not a true grain, but a kind of seed. But hey, that's better than brains.)