This will be a quick review of life since the last post. When will I ever get back to a regular schedule? No one knows.

We attended the 18th birthday party for one very special Chelsea. There was a very awkward moment when it came to birthday cake. Chelsea is typically the one to make and decorate the birthday cakes for the family, but what do you do when it's a birthday for her? "Hey, Chelsea! Can you please make a birthday cake, decorate it so that you think it looks good, but leave the name blank." How weird would that be? Well, we had incredible Winco cake (I think) and everyone got over it.

The following Saturday (July 8th) I broke new ground by riding the Emigrant Trail. I've ridden this trail numerous times, but this was the first time this year that I rode on a trail other than the good ol' Whites Creek Loop. It was a good ride, but we didn't finish the whole trail. We didn't start until about 5:45p, so we were sort of racing the sun. David and I went about 7.5 miles before turning around and going back, making for a trip total of about 15 miles. I believe the whole ride is 18 miles if you go to the end and back. I pushed myself pretty hard, so we made pretty good time.

Even though I didn't finish the whole trail, I did finish reading Myths, Lies, and Downright Stupidity: Get Out the Shovel--Why Everything You Know Is Wrong by John Stossel. While I don't agree with John Stossel all of the time, he is very entertaining to read and generally provides good information. If you can get your hands on a copy of the book, I recommend reading it.

Last Saturday we broke an unwritten law by attending a ward activity for our old ward. We really like our old ward, so we pretended that we were still in it for a few hours. They had a BBQ and played some games at the Mormon Station park in Genoa. The weather was excellent and everyone had fun. We're not sure if we're going to attend our own ward's celebration because we feel like we would be double-dipping. Oh, well. Double-dipping's only bad if you get caught, right?

After returning to Reno we were treated to a very special treat. The Barnet family stopped by to visit for a couple hours! Richard made some video of me, no doubt to sell on eBay. Jared and Becky enjoyed trying out some toys that Chase hasn't quite grown into yet. The best toy involved balls, a tugboat and a hammer. Can you think of anything better?! If so, maybe you better go into the toy-making business.

After saying goodbye to the Barnets, Emilie and I dropped off Chase with Grandma and Grandpa Carpenter so that we could go on a date. We went to dinner at Applebee's (we had to make it special) and then went to see Superman Returns (starring Superman). It was a good movie, although I felt like it took too long to wind-down. We like Chase, but it was good to have some time together sans baby.

In the personal TMI section tonight, I can happily announce that I refilled my Levoxyl prescription after being out of it since Chase was born. More on that at a later date!