California Adventures Part III: Grandma & Grandpa's House

What else could we possibly do in California?

How about shopping with Grandma for some sweet shades and new shoes? (It may have been a little overwhelming for Paul.)

Or how about hanging out with our cousins--swimming at the pool, playing at the beach, paddleboarding, taking advantage of their projects... :)

Whether we were relaxing, helping serve the homeless, making do' boy sticks & bags, shopping, making cookies, or replacing glasses and other items that were swallowed by the ocean, the days filled themselves up, and we loved every minute of it!

California Adventures Part II: Thornton Reunion

We loved hosting this year's Thornton Reunion in California! We knew not everyone would be able to make the trip, (it's usually us who can't come!) but those that braved the distance were rewarded with paddleboarding, sandcastles, a diner dinner, jumping waves (with and without the accompanying somersaults), a bonfire at the beach, a new campfire treat, a nearly-sunrise hike, family history, playing with cousins, crazy games with fun prizes, a trolley ride, a mexican fiesta, and a stroll at sunset. It was a wonderful time spent together! Here are some photo highlights:

California Adventures Part I: Mormon Battalion

The rest of July and first part of August were spent in California with both side of our families. We had so much fun playing with cousins and enjoying the beach. From paddleboarding to games like "I Spy," we did it all! A special highlight was a family reunion on Sara's side. Most everyone was able to come down from Utah to enjoy a long weekend with us. Here's a few photos from the first part of our adventure with them:

The kids & I enjoyed a fun day at the Mormon Battalion center and the sites of Old San Diego. We took my mom and met up with my brother and his family for lunch. I was really impressed with the things to do and see at the Mormon Battalion site. The kids had a lot of fun watching the moving pictures, digging for gold, & wielding swords. And it's always fun to find the names of our family members who were a part of it all.

 

Scout Camp

The marathon scout camping experience is finally over! Even James was gone most of the week participating in a trial 11-year-old day camp at Camp Friedlander. This was a great opportunity for the Redcat patrol; and since James was able to finish his First Class Rank before day camp, he was able to totally rock 8 merit badges! Way to go, James! :)

Scot, as the current Senior Patrol Leader, was busy putting his new NYLT leadership skills into action. He worked hard, helping his Unit & Troop earn two special awards, plus he received that Friedlander Award--the first scout this summer to earn all three!. He brought home some fun projects, and of course lots of dirty laundry. :) This usually doesn't bother me, but about 3 loads in I found a worm (if you added the two halves together that I found). At that point I needed to step back and take a few deep breaths. It wouldn't have been so bad if I hadn't found it by stepping on it. Ha!

We are all grateful to have Brian and the boys back. It was really fun to head up to camp for Friday's family night. Here are a few more pictures from that evening.

 Scot with the cool camp gadget they made.

 Order of the Arrow dancers.  We girls were fascinated. :)

Maggie took our picture at the start of the scout camp tour led by Scot. We got to see "the blob" at the lake, all the different merit badge places, the campsite and tents, and the secret paths. We loved watching the final campfire program and seeing all the great scouts in our ward.

Red, (White), and Blue

The stash of red and blue shirts in this house just quadrupled thanks the NYLT (National Youth Leadership Training), that Scot attended and Brian staffed last week. You might ask, how did they survive??...but the real questions is, how did no one give Brian a hard time on his birthday?? He must be saving up for some real torture next year.

Oh yeah, this week we're adding another 5 or so red shirts from Scout Camp. :)

Here's how we celebrated our Fourth of July: the girls made their own confetti fireworks and set up shop in the house. Every 4 feet or so, you'd see signs like this:

Be forewarned: anything that doesn't sell becomes your birthday present this next year! (Please send donations...pleeease)

Hope you had a wonderful Independence Day!

Short Time

What could you do in four years?


You could earn a college degree, travel the entire world, remodel your house, serve 2 church missions, or finally harvest asparagus.

Or you could learn how to roll, sit, crawl, walk, talk, run. You could try hundreds of new foods, play dozens of new games. You could learn how to hold a bat, throw a ball, swing a racquet (and light saber), bounce a basketball. You could learn how use a computer, spell and write your name, say the alphabet, count to 20. You could watch hundreds of movies & cartoons (some of them educational, some of them the same one, over and over). You could learn to sing dozens of songs and rhymes, listen to and look at hundreds of books. You could learn how to pray, say "sorry", ask "please." You could give and receive thousands of hugs, thousands of smiles, hundreds of hand-holdings, hundreds of high-fives.

What an amazing time we have on this earth to learn, grow, succeed, fail. And this little guy is just getting started!

Pushing Daisies

 I mentioned earlier this week that our daisies were beginning to explode. They are amazing, and quite their own little ecosystem.  Strong, resilient, beautiful, simple, sometimes overpowering :), there are lots of lessons to be learned from them. If I had to complete the Environmental Science merit badge, I'd sit and watch all the bugs & bees that explore our daisy forest.  And when they get too proud and haughty, they are properly humbled by a good cutting. I especially love that they came from grandpa's garden in California. They remind me of family, heritage, and a pioneer spirit. I love 'em!

 I asked Scot if he would help me get a picture of the daisies. He's usually running or working, so the littler kids get in the pictures. Notice what happens below when he finally gets that spotlight:

Very telling, don't ya think? Mmm...I've sure there's a subconscious message I should be getting from this.

We are going to miss him the next couple weeks--he'll be at a couple different scout camps. He thinks we're just going to miss him doing his chores, but that's only partly true. :)