Back to School

Before we knew it, it was time to head back to school again. This time with an 8th grader, a 7th grader, a 3rd grader, and a kindergartner! Eli was so excited to start school. He would tell everyone he was starting "on August 29th". Natalie was super excited for junior high, too. 

The day finally came. Eli has morning kindergarten so he got ready to go with the other kids:

(More realistic pic :)

 I walked him into his class:

He found his spot and sat down:

No tears or anything. I was doing fine until I happened to hear the song "Hourglass" by Mindy Gledhill on the way home. I did shed some tears. It hasn't been too different from preschool except he is gone every day now but it's only for a few hours.

Taking selfies one night:

Joe started ready Where the Red Fern Grows to the kids and they all love it. I love snuggling up in bed together:

 (Until I get claustrophobic... :)

It's been a tricky adjustment getting used to a lot heavier homework load for everyone but they are all doing well and liking school. 

Girls Weekend

 My good friend Whitney invited a whole bunch of us to come stay at her in-laws house (they aren't currently living there) in San Juan Capistrano for a weekend at the end of August. I was so excited for this trip and it lived up to the hype! It was relaxing and fun with great conversation and yummy food. There were I think 10 of us that came so it was a good-sized group. Those of us that came the morning of the first day went right to the beach:

Whitney and I swimming in the ocean:

I loved it so much.

We went to the temple that night since the Oakland temple is still closed:

More people made it that night and the next day we got pedicures:

 We also got out on a hike one morning:

I'm sad I didn't get any pictures of Mari and Elle since we were so excited to have them there. She and I had fun staying up late doing a puzzle and talking one night. I also didn't get one of Laurel who came late. I love all of these ladies so much and I'm so glad we moved to Fremont so I could meet them and get to know them. 

Summer Memories

Here are some of the little moments from the summer. 

We babysat Luke and Nora for a few days so Mary and Andrew could get away. My kids always love when they come over and they provide endless laughs. Nora was giving us some cute looks:

I love those eyelashes!

Playing with Eli:

Playing with water balloons:

We made a Summer bucket list.

We didn't get to much of that this summer. Maybe next year!

We were so sad to find out that our good friends the Ashby's took a job in Roseville and left us at the beginning of July. At least they are not too far and we've seen them a couple of times since they left. We tried to soak in the time with them before they left:

Eli and Kate were good Wii-playing buddies:

Babysitting cute Elle:

These three always played so well together:

We had a final date night with the Ashby's a really yummy Chinese dumpling place.

They took these and I thought they were funny:

Joe would steal Elle as much as he could. We all miss having her around!

Sweet Max got up and bore his testimony before they moved and cried and it broke my heart. He and Nate were such good buddies. Nate took it hard, but thank goodness for facetime. It was cute to watch the three of them together in Primary one last time:

We helped them clean and pack a little bit and I had to sneak a picture of Joe and Mike taking a break to ride ripstiks together.

We celebrated the 4th with them before they left with a BBQ. Mari made these great red, white and blue drinks that the kids loved:

We stopped by the parade again:

The Bishop does a youth lake trip every summer and I got to go this year as a leader. I took all my kids along. We drove out to Woodward reservoir near Manteca and used the bishop's boat along with another family in the ward's boat. It was super hot but a lot of fun!

Bishop Smith was really sweet making Eli feel important and giving him jobs on the boat. He even let him drive it for a while!

Natalie, Emily, and Jaime having a blast on the tube:

Eli and I even got to go:

Then he tried it briefly by himself, except he wasn't heavy enough to weigh it down!

We couldn't talk Nate into going on the boat but he had fun playing at the shore on the kayaks. Elizabeth had a blast tubing on the party boat with the older kids. They were having some crazy rides. It was a fun day.

We had a gorgeous beach day:

Silly Eli in Natalie's swim team jacket:

I don't have any pictures of Natalie, just video of her season, but she had a great one. There was a learning curve since she went up to the higher age group which meant swimming distances that were twice as long, but she really improved her times by the end of the season. I think next year will be easier for her if she does it again.

Eli loves the rope swing we have and I love that smile:

Jumping spider:

We had our Neighborhood Night Out again. I always enjoy that. Unfortunately, Elizabeth and I couldn't stay long since we had to get to YW, and I guess we missed all the action. A local news channel came to film it because our new police chief was there. They intereviewed the kids and got a lot of shots but the only ones that made the cut were these of Nate and Natalie walking behind the camera:

And Joe getting food:

At least they got to sit on a police motorcycle:

I found out Les Miserables was coming to SF in the spring and couldn't resist getting tickets for the girls. They love the play and Elizabeth has even read the book now and they are superfans. It was so much fun to share that with them!

We had a lot of fun critiquing all the performances of the different versions on the way home and singing along. It was another great summer!