Summer wrap-up; Pancakes and parties!

Harriet and Jack's middle school rudely interrupts our last few days of vacation to remind us through

registration that our days are numbered....

 The giant stacks at the school library book pick up reminds us that 

even in Southern California the summer isn't really endless.

BUT, before school can officially start there are a couple of things we still have to do...

First and foremost is our (now) long standing tradition of getting together in the day or two before school begins for the Back-to-School Breakfast at the Original House of Pancakes!  For at least the fifth or sixth year in a row Grandpa invited all of his within-range grandkids and their folks to join he and Grandma for a delicious breakfast and all around fun morning together to mark the end of summer/beginning of school year.  For the past several years we have held the breakfast on Labor Day morning so that Pete could join us as well, as we did that again this year.  We even managed to catch Kenzie on her last full day in town before she heads back up to school at BYU-I! 

Hot chocolate and competitive creamer structure constructing are part of the tradition...

Group photo with Grandpa and Grandma

(yes we all woke up early after having a sleepover of all the

 cousins minus Kenzie at our house the night before, and it shows)

Group photo on the railing in front of the OPH - another part of the tradition

(Pete was behind the camera)

Thank you again Grandpa for continuing this delicious tradition! 

For the rest of the (Labor) day we are invited to a block party with friends in our neighborhood. We take Porter along with us to enjoy the fun including a barbecue, a bouncy waterslide, and  someone's giant pet parrot (macaw?).

Porter and parrot 

The view from my chair under the easy-up next to my friends.

Didn't move from here much. 

Porter getting ready to slide down - Jed in the pool at the bottom 

Henry takes a run 

The blue cooler at Pete's feet was filled with homemade Tamales-

better than the barbecue even... 

Labor Day was overcast and cooler, actually the perfect 

weather for being outside for hours eating and chatting.

The day after Labor day and the day before school starts is a special one - it is the day that my twins become TEENAGERS! 

I was enjoying my last morning in my room of not having to get up and get everyone moving when I heard something next door - I go into Harriet's room and find that Jed and Henry, all on their own, have made her a birthday breakfast in bed!  (Jack slept over at a friend's house and wasn't around)  She is very touched by their effort, and I am impressed at the work they did all by themselves, including getting the serving tray down from its storage place on top of the fridge!

They fixed her a bowl of her favorite cereal, toasted and buttered two pieces of bread, poured her a glass of OJ complete with a straw, and served it with a muffin and a personalized birthday note! 

It was so cute...

For their 13th birthday we have planned separate parties for Harriet and Jack to spend with their friends. Harriet's is today! 

the adorable invitation we commissioned from Sugarhouse Ink 

As is mentioned, Harriet wanted to have a colorful Tie Dye party!  We had planned from the start to have the party outdoors due to its potentially messy nature.  We were a bit worried when the Labor day before had been cooler and overcast, but we need not have worried.  Today, the party day, was just the opposite; sunny, cloudless, and HOT!

There are 13 girls at the 13th birthday party - upon arrival they are invited to write a message to Harriet on the driveway in colorful chalk...

The colorful theme continues when Harriet opens her gifts...

The girls are given a goodie bag of colorful goodies, including a white t-shirt that they can tie-dye on the lawn.

Luckily, water is an integral part of the tie-dye process, and soon the buckets and hose are used in an impromptu water fight to cool off the girls - did I mention it was HOT outside today?!

Drying off post tie-dye/water fight activity 

Harriet and her ice cream cake with party guests

(Harriet's clothes were soaked in the water fight so she changed) 

Happy 13th Birthday sweet, smart Harriet! 

(party tie-dye t-shirts drying in the sun)

All in all it was a fun party and a great chance for Harriet and her friends to hang out one last time

before school starts the next day, and celebrate the fact that she's a TEENAGER!!

Jack had a party with his friends as well.  We ended up taking five of his friends to Sky High,

a trampoline arena in Costa Mesa that is literally wall to wall to ceiling trampolines!

There are several arenas for different activities - this one is dedicated solely to games of dodgeball, which Jack and his friends play over and over again 

flipping into the foam pit 

Giant jumping arena - our stake had a youth dance here last year that Harriet and Jack

hope they will recreate when they are old enough to attend... 

Jack and his guests dine on pizza and soda 

taking a sweaty break to open some gifts 

instead of cake and ice cream they get packs of dippin' dots 

Happy 13th Birthday handsome Jack! 

Sky High is located right next to the runway for the John Wayne airport - we can see and hear anytime an airplane takes off, lands, or taxis by. 

Summer 2011

School is back in session, fall is about to start, and the time has come for me to complete the assignment "What we did over our Summer Vacation".  After our visit to Utah we settle in to the second half of summer, where the big trip has come and gone, and we are just looking for ways to entertain ourselves all day long, while trying to be somewhat scheduled and productive, and trying to get in the relaxation while can, before school and sports kick in high gear. 

As mentioned in a previous post Pete didn't really get much of a summer vacation. He taught summer school for the summer program Think Together, and then his schedule started up immediately after that to begin preparing for his new position as Principal at his old school, Martin Elementary.  There is a month's worth of work to do before the teachers and students return, and for a couple of days this summer Pete hires the twins to come and work at his school. One afternoon the younger boys and I join them to pitch in, or, as is more likely the case, to goof off. 

For several hours we open boxes of books, organize the books into grade and classroom piles, load the books onto carts, and then transport them to their intended destination.  A brand new two story building was recently built on the Martin campus, and luckily there is an elevator for us to use to move everything to the second level.  The whole campus looks very nice with beautiful landscapes and bright colorful murals painted on the walls.  

Mosiac tile mural of fruits and vegetables that the kids pass 

on their way to the (outdoor) cafeteria. 

the crew at work 

everyone helps out...for a while anyway...

Martin has a nice big MPR with a beautiful big old stage, very rare in newer buildings.
You may remember this as being the place where Pete's
surprise birthday party was held two years ago when he

was leaving Martin as A.P., the food and table were set up below,

while the Mariachi band performed up on this stage.  

Today it is Jed and Henry's turn.

(the motto of Martin Elementary is "Go Forth and Achieve" which you can see on the

purple banner to the right of the stage. It is accredited to Marilyn Powell Berns,  former

teacher at Martin Elementary, sister to former Secretary of State Colin Powell, and 

longtime resident of our neighborhood in Lake Forest.  She lived just around the

corner from us up until she passed away a few years ago. Her husband still lives there.) 

Getting things ready for a great year!

You can read more about Pete's school here including his Principal's message

The Saturday after we return home from Utah the twins and I attend the Bar Mitzvah of one of Jack's classmates and friends.  While we attended his sister's Bat Mitzvah after party a few years ago, this was the first temple synagogue Bar Mitzvah service we have had the opportunity to attend.  It was very interesting and festive in its own way, and great cultural experience for the me and the kids.  I didn't take any pictures at that service, although I would have liked to have gotten one of Jack in the yarmulke he wore during the service.  It was a souvenir as well, maybe I'll have him put it on and recreate the look!  The religious service was in the morning, in the evening we meet up again at a local hotel ballroom for the after party, emphasis on party!

A lot of swaying in group lines, ring-around-the-rosie type celebrations, and

Jacob lifted in his celebratory chair many times! 

Harriet is happy to hang with her twin friends
who moved to San Clemente several years ago 

Jack and Jacob are head of the kid's table - lots of party favors,
food, drinks, glow bands, etc. etc.

After a delicious salmon dinner the adults get a fancy tiramisu dessert, while they
fire up the chocolate fountain for the kids.  I, like many other adults, take a trip
over to the fountain to fill up our plates.  Here's Harriet dipping her Red Vine in! 

There is a fun DJ who leads the kids in different games,
 including cup relays, and this disappearing chair game.

Things start to get a little crazy...

Conga Line!

Glow Robot!

Limbo!

Everyone has a great evening and it's almost midnight by the time we get home.

Mazel Tov Jacob! 

Earlier in the summer we attended an evening with Gold Medalist Peter Vidmar, current member of our Stake Presidency. He holds a fireside open to the public at our ward building.

He is interesting and personable and gives us a gymnastics demonstration as well

as many anecdotal stories and life lessons. 

Afterwards the kids get to try out his own personal pommel horse,

check out some genuine gold and silver Olympic medals 

and get a picture and autograph from Brother Vidmar. 

After some back and forth waffling, and a poll on Facebook, Harriet decides it's time for a
hair cut!  Not a trim, but a hair cut!  She has worn her hair long for a long time now. It's now long enough to be donated to one of the Locks of Love type organizations, so she decides to cut off as
much as is needed for this.

her brothers wait very patiently...

we all LOVE the finished result! 

After years of rumors, Wild Rivers in nearby Irvine declares that this is really the last

year that they will be open. They've lost their lease to the Irvine Company, and must

close.  The nearby Great Park is supposedly planning to build a new water park, but

nothing there is moving very quickly, so we won't hold our breath.  For now we take 

the twins for a few more visits to have fun with their friends and make some memories! 

last time walking through the entrance

they aren't the only ones getting in a last few runs on the Patriot! 

Near the end of summer we attend a going away party for our friend and Pete's former superboss Lisa's

daughter Vic who is heading back east to attend one of the most prestigious boarding schools on full scholarship.  We also came here for a wild and crazy 4th of July (not many firework regulations here in

Santa Ana!) but tonight's gathering is a bit more restrained and relaxed, at least until the sun goes down..

 party favors on the table

Lisa's party's always have a theme - this one is superheroes

and sugar.....

As at the 4th of July party, the taco man is here with his delicious 

grill and cart of goodness 

Superman guarding the gates 

Giant inflatable bats are the best! 

Party goers listen to a friend sing to Vic and serenade the crowd

with Green Day's Time of Your Life

Lisa's son is famous at these gatherings for his dancing - MJ's "Billy Jean"

is one of his classics - tonight we are treated to the  MJ mask (but not the single glove)

when he dances to the tune 

Vic, wearing her superhero cape, then joins her brother for their

classic dance duet done to Beyonce's "Single Ladies"

Truly, truly awesome.   

A week or so before school starts we celebrate our last beach day of the summer

with friends in Laguna.  Our ward's youth actually have a bonfire scheduled at

a nearby beach this evening, so we bring a bunch of kids down early to play in the

waves, then head down and join everyone else, including our husbands, at the bonfire.

The waves were perfect and the boys had a great time boogie boarding while the 

girls swam and played in the sand with the younger kids.  The weather is absolutely

beautiful and my friend and I relaxed in our chairs and enjoyed our time in the sun. 

meeting up with the youth and young adult leaders as the sun starts to set 

One of the youth gets stung by a bee - he has a bee allergy and no epi pen so we flag

down the Lifeguard to take his vitals and check him out.  He's okay. 

once the bonfire is roaring the sticks and marshmallows come out 

Henry and his s'more caught in the flash 

playing a beach blanket teamwork game 

Farewell Endless Summer!!!