Harriet at the Newport Beach Temple 

On Friday Harriet and Jack had the chance to participate in their first youth temple baptisms activity.

Jack went with the boys who left an hour later than the girls, and Pete took him so I don't have any pictures of him.  Harriet left earlier with the girls and I dropped her off at the church to meet up 

with the other young women and their leaders and take advantage of the photo op. 

While waiting for everyone to gather, the girls noticed this praying mantis in the parking lot.
A car had pulled up dangerously close to it, so it was very much on the defensive,
waving its pinchers at the giant tire and at anyone getting too close.  

Our brand new and brave Young Women's President decided to pick it up (with her bare hands!)

and move it to the safety of the nearby bushes.  The instant she scooped it up it bit her

leaving two small dots of blood on her finger, vampire style.   She said it really hurt.

Then the equally brave Brother Sealy ( the one who grabbed the large rattlesnake out from

under a rock moments after it bit our bishop's son on a camp out last year) gently tried to 

scoop it with his foot to move it.  It grabbed on to his shoe and immediately began climbing

up his pant leg.  He quickly got over to the bushes and shook it safely off. 

With the brief drama over the girls and their leaders

 left for their fun evening at our beautiful temple.   

Livin' La Vida So Cal

With the weather as rainy and gloomy as its been around here for nearly the past week its hard to remember back just a few weekends ago when we had record-breaking (literally!) heat here in Orange County.

I love this cozy, soccer practice canceling, sweater and scarf wearing, soup for dinner prepping weather. It really helps to slow us down and gives us a break from the normal routine. Usually we are crazy busy after school with getting someone to somewhere for something. But thanks to the rain yesterday (and the days before), with the kids all caught up on their homework, I took them to a late afternoon showing of Toy Story 3 at the dollar movies.  I LOVED this movie, it was so well written and had so many great characters and many excellent themes about life - the kids and I were still talking about it on the way to school this morning. (Mostly about how Big Baby, who creeped Harriet out, was like most bullies, made to be the way it was, had some serious abandonment issues, was really just a big baby who wanted to go home to its mommy) And Ken alone was worth the price of admission - including the $1 extra we had to pay for the 3D glasses.

But even though there is a brisk rain falling outside of my window even as I type this, the forecast is for clearing this afternoon, with the warm up starting as soon as tomorrow, reaching the the high 70s by the weekend, just in time for our soccer games and our school carnival.  And I've no doubt that by Halloween next weekend we will be sweating in the warm weather as we run around in our costumes at the ward trunk or treat activity.

But a few weeks ago, in the midst of the warmest weather we have easily seen all year, we had the chance to attend the birthday party of some twin friends of my twins, and have a quintessential So Cal living experience.

We were invited down to the twins' birthday party held at their grandparent's home in San Clemente.  They have a beautiful home in a gated community that was right on the coast, up on a hill overlooking the beach and the ocean, as well as the coastal Amtrak train tracks, the San Clemente pier and coastline.
We enjoyed some playtime at the beach and then a nice party on the back patio of the home watching the kids have a great time while watching the sun go down over the Pacific.  It was so relaxing that by the time we left that evening after dark, I felt like I'd been on a mini-vacation.

 I love where we live and the access we have to so many great southern California enhancements - and this was fun to spend an afternoon seeing the view that some of the really lucky so cal residents get to experience every day.

party house view from the beach 

kids playing in the sand and water 

My boys didn't pose for this photo - I just happened to catch them 

sitting together at the water's edge. Jed was totally cracking me up with his Buddha pose.

 I honestly don't know where he comes up with some of this stuff.

up the wooden stairs from the beach to shower off before pizza, cake and presents

Harriet with the birthday twins - (directly left with thumb up and right in sunglasses)

Harriet - San Clemente pier in the faint background

the kids used this giant slingshot to catapult water balloons at their friends down on the beach-

they kept waiting for the train to pass by below for a better target 

helping out at cake time 

view of party from the upper balcony

Jed on the upper balcony as the sun starts to set 

Jack looking north towards Dana Point

paddle boarder and surf boarder heading for home

beautiful sunset over Catalina and the Pacific ocean

Scouts and Soccer

Back near the beginning of summer vacation Jack went with his Boy Scout troop on a camp out. It was a four day camp and they went up into the mountains near Big Bear.  They set up camp and worked on merit badge requirements such as cooking, tracking, and first aid.  They also pulled a trailer full of bikes up and took a ski lift to the top of Snow Summit, and then rode the bikes all the way down the mountain.

Pete was still on the mend from his knee surgery so he went up for only a couple of days and took it easy, but it was nice for Jack to have his dad there for a bit for his first Boy Scout overnight camping experience.   

The pictures which follow were ones I pulled off the ward website and the resolution is low so they aren't great, but they are all I've got.  They show Jack and his troop in just a couple of the many things they did this trip. 

Gathering in the church parking lot ready to head out 

First Aid Merit Badge 

Jumping across a rock crevice - this is why moms don't go on camp outs 

At the top of the mountain - Big Bear

ready to bike down 

Jack and his troop - July 2010 

So fast forward now to September 21st, to the Court of Honor at which

Jack receives his first Merit Badges - nine of them! Among them are 

First Aid, Tracking, Cooking, Swimming (hard!) and Geo caching, which

is a new offering and was a lot of fun for the boys.  He also earned the

Carpentry merit badge which is offered only this year for the 1910-2010

Boy Scout Centennial - to fulfill part of the requirement he hand-made, 

sanded, primed and painted me a footstool for my kitchen. It's red.

Jack leading the color guard at the Court of Honor 

With his Scoutmaster and his nine merit badges-

actually there are only eight here, Geo caching is too new to have a patch 

Here's Jack with all of the stuff he acquired to assemble a 72-hour kit 

for our family in case of an emergency -

 a project to fulfill part of the Family Life merit badge requirement  

Jack momentarily catches merit badge fever and is excited

to spend a Saturday with the bishop's identical twin sons 

passing off requirements at a merit badge workshop in Santa Ana. 

afterwards we stop by the bishop's house

and Jack tries out the zip line they rigged 

on their back hill - have a look




Harriet has been busy these days as well - her main focus is soccer.
After a (nice) break over the summer, she is back in full swing with
her sport. She once again tried out and was chosen for the Lake Forest girls
 U12 "Extra" team, which is an AYSO team that travels
 around to compete against teams in other Orange County cities.
With the exception of 3 new girls, the team is the same team as the one she
was on for last fall and spring.  Her coaches are the same, and its a
good group of girls from supportive families.  It's fun to travel around and
see some of the other fields and parks and communities of OC that we
otherwise probably wouldn't.  She also took part in a couple of soccer
clinics over the summer, her favorite of which is run by actual
coaches shipped over from the United Kingdom!
(they have really cool accents!)

With the U.K. coaches at a summer clinic with some of her teammates

Playing in Mission Viejo as the home team - 

wearing their Lake Forest green uniforms 

When they are the away team, as they were here in Long Beach,

they wear their white jerseys.  Harriet is #3. 

The team name and theme voted on by the girls this year was the Hippie Chicks. 

So their coaches tie dyed their official AYSO coach shirts to represent.

One girl's mom also made the whole team rainbow tie dyed headbands, 

shown here on Harriet and friend

and in these photos taken at grandma and grandpa's house,

you can see her in the tie dyed sweatshirt that another 

girl's mom ordered for the whole team.  Harriet really loves hers.

Up until yesterday Harriet's team had actually "tied" every game they played. (get it? "tied"dye)

But yesterday they played in Garden Grove against the number one team in the league.

Our girls came out strong and scored first within the first two minutes.  They actually

played strong and fought well, but ultimately ended up losing 4 - 1.  They were a little

disappointed, but knew that they had done their best in the end.  We are grateful that

Harriet is having this experience, it is so good for her.  And we are so grateful for 

the coaches who devote so much of their time and energy (all volunteer of course) 

to help Harriet and her teammates grow and learn a lot about soccer as well as other things. 

                                                         Team Cheer for the Hippie Chicks

I Love School Photos

Back to School

The next big event in our September is back to school!  This year, thanks to a later Labor Day, plus an additional 4 furlough days at the start of the school year, I was seeing Halloween decorations all over the stores long before it was the first day of school.  But, nearly mid-way through the month, that magical day finally came.  Harriet and Jack graduated from elementary school this past spring, which means they are now 7th grade middle schoolers!  Where I grew up it was called Jr. High, and where they are at is technically known as an Intermediate school, but it all means the same thing - that they are growing up so quickly.  Registration for middle school happened during the summer, when we participated in what was known as the Hawk Walk, a chance for the kids to come to the school and go past several different tables, turning in their registration, paying for their P.E. clothes, getting their pictures taken and their i.d. cards administered, as well as picking up their heavy armful of textbooks and taking a tour of the campus. 

We took a tour of the school this past spring at Open House, and 

we are really happy with this school, it seems very nice. 

Harriet & Jack with their newly minted i.d. cards at the Hawk Walk 

in the library daunted by the pallets of piled textbooks 

these soon to be seventh graders feel very welcome 

organizing their school supplies for the big day 

backpacks packed, new shoes on, we are ready to go! 

the twins walk with us to meet up with friends 

mandatory first day photo by the front sign - only 2 kids this year instead of 4!

Henry in line ready to start the day 

Jack has been walking or riding his bike to school with his friend, 

here's a picture friend's mom took of them on the second day of school 

 Middle school means dances! During the second week of school there is a spirit

day dance that the twins attend with their friends - it was "loud but fun"

blue & gold school spirit