Catalina

This past weekend we had the awesome opportunity to go to Catalina on our friend's yacht. Tom & Kelly Olds were kind enough to wait until Maelen returned home from camp so she could come along. Jared was off on a Scout campout, so he missed out. Eliot and Heidi Mason also came along with two of their kids, Ty & Aubrey. The yacht is 82 feet and beautiful from top to bottom. Here we are leaving Newport Beach.

The kids enjoyed the view from the top deck. They also were entertained by Captain Josh.

Here is the back of the boat. Stacy our housekeeper/cook/friend is waving at us.
This is Eliot showing Kelly, Tom, and Maelen his form on the mini golf course. Apparently this used to be very run down, but it has been redone and was really beautiful We had so much fun.
I took a picture of the kids in the theater at the casino before we were told that was not allowed. Apparently casino is an Italian word for entertainment. This particular one was built in 1929 and has a theater and a ballroom.
We took a golf cart tour of Avalon. Their were many beautiful homes and tons of nature to take in.
Here is the view from our bed. We had it shut at night to keep this riff raff out.
Here is the bedroom we stayed in.
Here is our bathroom.

Check out my mad photography skills taking a picture of Maelen jumping off the top of the boat. Wow. Way to capture the moment. Kendall made Matt go in with her and then we couldn't get him out. The water wasn't terribly warm, but it was sure clear and beautiful.


On the way home we cruised for quite a while so we could find dolphins. We lucked out and found two separate schools of dolphins. They were so fun and playful. They love to swim along side the boat and jump up over the waves to get to the boat.

What an incredible weekend! Even though we felt like we were still rocking all Saturday night, we would love to have the opportunity to do it again.

Jared - Part 2

I couldn't resist taking a picture of this. This is Jared's version of making his bed. To the untrained eye it may seem he is still in the bed! It never ceases to amaze me that my kid who is so responsible about getting assignments done not just on time, but early and also takes pride in the work he does, makes his bed in this haphazard manner. I guess some things are just not as important!!

The Month of Jared

This post makes it look like all our energies are focused on Jared! He just happens to have a lot going on this month. This Court of Honor was actually in May. Jared received his Tenderfoot and Second Class along with four merit badges. He is moving right along! He is enjoying scouts and wants to earn his Eagle by 14. I am all for that!


Jared also had a piano recital. It's all we can do to get him to practice, but I get the feeling he enjoys performing for an audience. He is a ham like his daddy. He managed to do quite well even though he wasn't able to get to his master class since he was in the middle of playoffs for baseball. Never a dull moment!


Jared also talked us into signing him up for Junior Lifeguards this summer. I always thought he would end up hating it because it is 3 1/2 hours EVERY DAY during the summer. We will see how that goes. The selling point is that he can earn 7 merit badges during the summer. He also has something to do for at least part of the day. The afternoons he still is running like wild with his friends. I don't know where he gets his engergy.


In Jared's GATE class this year, they did what the teacher calls a "Great Brain Project". They had certain topics to pick from and did a HUGE report including pictures and a project. She had it spread out over a few months so it was painless. Jared has always been good about getting his work done ahead of time. His project was the Roman Coliseum. He wanted to make a sculpture, but I talked him into painting since drawing and artwork are his thing. He had never painted before, but I think he did an amazing job! His teacher asked to keep the painting to show future classes. He thought that was pretty cool and quite an honor, however, we didn't have any pictures of it, so we went to his class room to take pictures.

Random.....

I was rushing around the house trying to get ready to take Jared to his game and this is what I found. I have to take pictures when my kids actually get along to prove that it really does happen. Maelen had a rare afternoon with nothing going on and Jared was just "patiently" waiting for me and decided to go have a chat with his big sis. I am probably glad I don't know what they are discussing.

Babysitting

My visiting teacher came last week and brought me some beautiful orchid stems. It was such a wonderful treat. I guess Maelen and I "ooh"ed and "ahh"ed enough that she let us babysit her orchid plants while she goes back east for her son's graduation. We should be getting about 8 or 9 stems before she gets back!! She also left us her cilantro plants to babysit - yum!

Flat Stanley

Flat Stanley is on his way to visit Uncle Mike and Aunt Michelle's family. Luckily for us, they are good sports. For those of you who don't know, Flat Stanley is a book about a kid named Stanley who is flattened one night when a bulletin board falls on him. A little gruesome, I know. However, since he is flat, he can be rolled up and mailed all over the place. The book tells some of his adventures like being flown like a kite and finally being pumped back up by his brother with a bicycle pump. One kid had Flat Stanley visit a relative who plays hockey and he came home with a black eye! You never know what will happen. Kendall is looking forward to seeing and hearing all about his adventures in San Marcos!! Thank you Mike & Michelle!!

I'm a Ham....

HAM Radio Technician, Class 2, that is. During April I took a HAM Radio class. It was pretty interesting and a great skill to know in case of emergency. I knew the info pretty well, but for some reason I studied harder because I reaaaallllly wanted to get 100%. Well the test is not really very hard and I did get a 100%. I will have my call sign as soon as the paperwork makes it through the FCC and then all I need to do is buy a radio. Yippee! By the way, not even my teacher knew what HAM stands for.