We have this slight Birkenstock obsession in our house, and I have to say that Sasha wears her Birks like a pro! They're still a little big, but that just means that she'll get to wear them for that much longer :)
I will say that we made the most of our last week with the Utah Thomases! We hit our favorite tea spot up in Salt Lake and enjoyed fantastic hummus sandwiches, scones, and key lime pie (I believe I could very happily live for a long time on these three foods, especially if served with a pot of violet black tea).
We even stopped for a spur-of-the-moment pedicure and drove home feeling well-fed, pampered, and grateful for the amazing relationship we share as sisters. [Note: At the gentle urging of my sisters I have learned to enjoy some of the girly indulgences, but apparently they still need to work on my toenail polish choices because I'm still the one in Birkenstocks and pale pink polish amongst my glamorous friends in ravishing reds]
But was one short afternoon in Salt Lake enough to celebrate and honor these wonderful friends? No way! On Tuesday night we hosted a BBQ and had a great time reliving favorite Thomas memories, eating great food, and enjoying our newly tidied lawn (thank you Steve, Spike, and Sharon!).
You know that we Morningstars have a passion, nay - an obsession, with organized sports. Any given Sunday or other day of the week when sporting events are televised we're glued to the sportsy station, cheering on our team(s) and eating appropriately themed snack foods... ok... I can carry the charade no further. So we're not really sports people, but for the last few years we've roused ourselves from our sports-phobia and enjoyed six magical weeks of t-ball. This year we took it up a notch.
As you can see from the clipboard and pensive pose, Steve is no longer merely Dad - he is now Coach Steve. Heh heh heh, I giggle a little on the inside just writing that. He's actually really great at it and the kids love him, and t-ball is right up his alley since there are really no rules or points involved and you've achieved stellar coaching success if your first baseman can throw the ball halfway to home. Unsurprisingly, he's the only coach I saw today wearing Birkenstocks.
Despite having a raging case of strep throat, Ben had a pretty good time at his first t-ball game of 2009 (we Morningstars won't let a little infectious disease keep us from the sport we love! Ok, that's not true, we didn't know he had strep till we finally went to instacare this evening and Ben and I got antibiotics. Groan. I'm so sick of being sick!). He whacked the ball with gusto and kept the grass firmly attached to the field by sitting on it during all of his time in the outfield. We are also proud to note that unlike his teammates who were chasing after the ball in large clumps of be-sneakered feet and tiny baseball mitts, Ben never once fought his teammates for control of the ball or even rose to attempt to retrieve it when it rolled near him. Way to share the spotlight, buddy.
Sam's first coach-pitch game came right after Ben's t-ball game. It's kind of a pain that they're not on the same team, but Sam is really enjoying the heated competition of coach-pitch. My heart swelled with pride today when, after warm-up time, Sam's coach called, "Ok, kids, over to the dugout!" and I heard my son's voice above the crowd asking, "What's a dugout?" 
We should probably get Sam some sort of "Kid's Guide to Baseball" book so he can brush up on his vocabulary... I'm not sure that Calvin and Hobbes is providing enough educational value on the baseball front. That's ok, I had an equally embarrassing moment when I asked another parent if it mattered which side of the bleachers we sat on. Apparently one's simply supposed to know these things.
I got some money for my birthday and after a few moments of consideration decided that it was time for a new pair of Birkenstocks. You probably know (and even if you didn't know, you could probably guess) that Steve and I are pretty big Birk fans. I just went up to the closet and snapped this photo - our current total is 15 pairs of Birk shoes and 13 pairs of sandals. And, yes, my "half" of the shoe organizer does take up more space than Steve's "half". And, no, they do not always occupy their little cubbies in the shoe organizer and are usually strewn about the floor in front of the closet.
Anyway, I was the luckiest Birk buyer on earth two weeks ago when I started shopping. I managed to score 4 pair for $108 with shipping! No small miracle, I know. There's an art to Birkenstock shopping - you can find some good deals on eBay or Sierra Trading Post, but I generally buy from Birkenstock Express or Birkenstock Central and I get repairs done by Birkenstock Central or the shoe store in Provo. The real trick is to go a size up and get narrows. I certainly do not have a narrow foot, but the cork and leather stretch out quickly and you can save a ton if you shop for narrows.
Today is a very important day - it is the last day of our first decade of marriage! 
