Now that Wes is into being outdoors and likes climbing and playing, I’ve been trying to find a second-hand plastic playset for our backyard, one that includes a little slide and some stairs for him to practice climbing. I’ve been checking the KSL classifieds online (they get more traffic than Craigslist).

It’s exhausting trying to find what you want. Once those playsets are listed online they’re gone in a snap. Yesterday I logged on and saw a Little Tikes one for just $25. The ad had been posted for 24 minutes, so I thought I might have a chance. I grabbed the phone, made the call, and was told they already had five offers and someone was on their way to look at the item.

Seriously? Five offers in 24 minutes? Make that six offers, counting my own.

So now I’m starting to feel twitchy and compulsive, keeping the classifieds open all day long and refreshing the page every five minutes. It’s like every other parent Out There is the enemy, bent upon swooping in and buying all the playsets whether they need them or not. They probably don’t even have kids and just want to horde them in their basements for the sheer thrill of knowing I can’t have them.

I’d better find something soon, otherwise I’ll need medical treatment for high blood pressure and possibly acute paranoia.

I was at Walmart near the book aisle today when an older woman in a wheelchair stopped me and Wes and started talking with Wes. She wanted to know if he has Down syndrome. Then she told me about her niece who has DS. I noticed the lady was wearing a Buddy Walk t-shirt. Wes has the same t-shirt that he got from participating in the Buddy Walk when he was just five weeks old.

She told me how much they love their niece, how integral she is to the family. She reminded me how special Wes is and how lucky we are to have him with us.

Well, I wouldn’t be a mom if I didn’t think my son was the strongest, bestest baby around. The fact that it’s true is beside the point.

We’ve been giving Wes “tummy time,” where we place him on his stomach so he can strengthen his neck muscles by practicing holding his head up. He’s surprisingly strong for such a little guy. He’s flipped himself over from his tummy onto his back a few times, probably because he’s still kind of lightweight. You can tell that his head weighs a bit more than the rest of his body, because sometimes when he tries to lift his head his back legs come up too, and he looks like a skydiver.

So we’ve been a little out of touch with our blog lately. That should change.

Whether “that should change” means “that shall change” or “it would be nice if that changed, but I can’t control the fates” remains to be seen.

Also, some have wondered why we don’t have links to all our wonderful friends’ blogs. The answer is: It’s John’s fault.

Okay, no, it’s actually my fault for not being as brilliant with working computer code as he is. And since altering code is the only way to add links to the side of this page (versus pushing a button so the links magically appear) we’ve gotten up just a couple and we’ll work to get the rest on ASAP.

Rest assured, we love you anyway. And sometimes we even check out your blog.

Last Friday we went up into Provo Canyon to Sundance to see Peter Breinholt in concert. I keep thinking about it, even though it was over a week ago, because I’m so glad we went when we did. Peter had concerts last Friday night, Saturday night, and then they added a bonus concert last night because there was so much demand for tickets.

We were thinking of going to the Saturday night concert but we didn’t want the concert to interfere with the BYU game that afternoon. Good thing we went last Friday instead. It turns out it was the only night with decent weather. We dressed in long sleeves and took up our goat-hair blanket from Guatemala (that thing could keep an ice cube from melting). We bought bench seats, which are first-come-first-serve, so we went up early and got good spots in the middle of the fourth row. It was fun to snuggle under the blanket, under the stars, listening to happy folksy music.

Although every time I see Peter Breinholt I think of the Peter Breinholt concert I saw my freshman year in the De Jong concert hall at BYU. I was sitting up in the balcony, and during one of Peter’s famous “dancing songs” (where traditionally people run up to the base of the stage and dance) Peter started laughing in the middle of the song and pointed out into the audience. The spotlight followed and landed on this tall, gangly blonde guy dancing with limbs of Jell-O in the middle of the audience. I peaked over the edge of the balcony to watch. It was awesome.

Fast-forward a year or two. My roommate Angela introduced me to her good friend who was basically in love with Angela’s sister. His name was Pat. He was the nicest guy ever. One time I was on my way home from work, walking down 900 East, when suddenly an old Buick did a U-turn and pulled up along-side of me. I looked over and saw with surprise Pat beckoning me to get in. It was so nice of him. One day Angela and I were talking about Peter Breinholt and she started laughing and said that Pat loves Peter Breinholt. She said he goes to dance and that he has limbs of Jell-O.

Limbs of Jell-O? That was Pat?

Yep, that was Pat in the De Jong Concert Hall. I mentioned it to Pat once and he said, all nonchalantly, “Yeah, me and Peter are tight.” I don’t really know where the years have taken Pat. He didn’t marry my roommate’s sister, even though he desperately wanted to. But maybe he still goes to Peter Breinholt concerts and dances?

This picture is from the concert we went to:

Am I allowed to have this much fun on a business trip?

I’m in Madison, WI, this week for a distance-learning conference. I came by myself, but sometimes traveling is better when you’re alone and can set your own schedule. Aside from the set times of the conference, I can basically do what I want, when I want.

Yesterday I flew to Madison from SLC (and can I just say that the Madison regional airport is the most beautiful airport I’ve even been in. Gorgeous neoclassical architecture, soul-soothing tones of beige and off-white paint, lots of light, and classical music playing in the main terminal. Normally in airports I’m counting down the seconds until I can get out of there because airports are Stress Central. But here, in Madison, I was like, “Hmmm, how long can I draw out this experience? . . .”).

Anyway, after I got to Madison a very friendly shuttle driver took me and a married couple to our hotel, giving us a little side-tour of the UW-Madison campus on the way. Saw their sororities and everything, so I guess I practically saw it all.

I’m staying at the Doubletree Hotel on West Johnson Street. Because my company is kindly paying for my hotel and $54 a day for food expenses, I’m living very comfortably this week. My room has a free wireless Internet connection (which at some hotels you have to pay $10 a day for!), a fridge and microwave, and “deluxe toiletries” in the bathroom, which I’ve interpreted as Neutrogena shampoo (and conditioner–always a sign of an upscale hotel), foaming face wash, bubble bath, sewing kit, and vanity kit. (I haven’t opened the vanity kit yet; no idea what’s in there.) Plus they give me two free bottles of water every day and Chex Mix for my munchies. Just as I started typing this housekeeping knocked on my door and offered to refresh my water and munchies (which I took them up on, obviously; you can’t have too much bottled water or Chex Mix).

Last night I checked in at the conference and picked up my name badge. I hadn’t eaten much that day (had basically survived on a half-cup of apple juice from my first flight and a package of crackers from second flight, plus half a bagel I picked up at a Starbucks in the Denver airport). So by the time I checked in I was ready for a good meal. I walked over to Delmonico’s on South Pickney Street. Mmmm, it was good. The tables were covered in linen cloths with linen napkins. I ordered a spinach salad and the 6 oz. beef tenderloin with their hot bread on the side. It was de-lish. As I ate I worked on my freelance editing job, since I’m a little behind on that. My waiter was very nice so I left him a decent tip. I spent about $32 on that meal just for myself . . . and I didn’t even get close to meeting my $54/day food allowance.

My conference started this morning, but today was just a half-day session. So at 11:45 I wandered outside the Monona Terrace Conference Center and saw a small farmer’s market between the Terrace and the State Capitol Building. There were lots of fresh farm produce, fresh-cut flowers and bouquets, baked goods, and, of course, Wisconsin cheese. The flowers were lovely, and I considered buying myself a bouquet (only $4!!!) since it’s my birthday today, but I decided I didn’t want to carry them around town all afternoon. I did buy a small bag of squeaky cheese curds, though, for $3.

For lunch I walked to Cafe Soleil, a place I had read about on the Web. It was a lovely coffee/cafe/bakery with small tables and pillowed benches. I ordered exactly what I wanted: a Wisconsin cheese plate (small baguette, selection of Wisconsin cheese, pear jelly, and apple slices), a pain au chocolate, and a hot chocolate. The hot chocolate was Ghirardelli (I recognized the flavor) and served in a nifty mug. The best part was that it was served all frothy. Yum. (John knows I like everything frothier, the frothier the better–orange juice, hot chocolate, anything.) The bread and cheese was quite de-lish, as also was the pain au chocolate. I worked more on editing while I ate and enjoyed my view of the streets north of the State Capitol Building.

I was really, really full after eating so I walked around the downtown a couple of hours. I visited the museum of Wisconsin history. Found it interesting. Did you know that during WWII Wisconsin was considered a treacherous state because it voted not to support the war and the political leaders made controversial statements during the war about the German descendants living in the state? Yeah, me neither.

I made my way back to my hotel along State Street, which is the boutique shopping district (a lot of tiny local merchants). I went into two shoe stores, found a pair of shoes I about died for, and then learned that they didn’t have any shoes in my size. And I don’t just mean that single pair I adored–they didn’t have any shoes in my size for the entire brand. Period. I guess I missed out on their mega sale three weeks ago where they sold out of a lot of the shoes that I fell in love with today. I’m still crying inwardly about it.

But the afternoon was not all lost. State Street has a Ben and Jerry’s. And I never go to Ben and Jerry’s at home because, let’s face it, we all know how artery-clogging their ice cream is. But today I went and had a sugar cone with a scoop of peanut butter cup ice cream. And, oh, it was so worth it. I ate it as I walked the three blocks or so back to my hotel. It was so hot and humid outside today that the ice cream started to melt instantly once I walked out the door. It was so fun to eat an ice cream cone (especially a Ben and Jerry’s peanut butter cup cone) walking outdoors on the way home to my hotel.

So again I ask, am I allowed to have this much fun on a business trip?