Last night, with it being a celebratory evening of the official start to summer for our family, we decided to go out to dinner. Now, going out to dinner used to be a chore because Brian would list the places he wanted to go and I would shoot him down until we usually ended up at Applebee's. We don't really eat at Applebee's anymore because their prices have gone up so much that we don't think it is really worth the money. And now combine that with Brian's new culinary abilities, we have a list of maybe 5 places we are able to dine at without saying, "well, it's pretty good, but you could make it better at home." Now factor in 3 kids with us. Okay, we're down to 2 places we could go to. All that said, we decided to walk to South Street Smoke House. We ran in to the Boutselis family there and had a great time chatting. Brian and Father Deacon Alex decided to go to the shooting range next week, so I guess that was worth the trip right there.

On the way home we decided to walk past Dallas and Bethany's new house. They were home and his parents were over. Elijah didn't want to go in and said, "It looks like they're having a party. Too bad we weren't invited." I said, "We don't need an invitation for Dallas and Bethany's house." (noted that Brian said this is a HUGE step for me, who does not like to drop in on people unannounced.) So we had a nice little visit and headed home, talking about what a fun night this had turned out to be. When we got home I listened to the messages on our machine and there was one from Dallas inviting us over to watch them open their wedding gifts. I laughed. I guess we were invited to the party after all.

I think our yard and garden are coming along nicely. This year it just keeps getting more and more involved, but I really enjoy it so I guess it's okay. We have these pot holder things that I keep buying pretty pots for, and they keep not fitting quite right. However, I don't want to take the pots back because, well, I like them. So, we keep buying more pots and then need things to plant in them, and the cycle continues. I also found some hugely sprouting potatoes in our pantry this morning and I planted them in the garden today to see what will happen.