August 2023 - End of Summer, Beginning of School

The girls and I went to Charlotte Bishop's birthday pool party. The Littles had a lot of fun jumping/diving from the rocks. 

Tiny's non-plate-holding hand was occupied with her towel, so she went to town on the birthday cake hands-free.

Al Long was there with his kids; Maggie was out of town for a girls' weekend/Taylor Swift concert. Right before the girls and I left, Al told me that he thought Leo (their baby) may have aspirated a piece of popcorn, and he was trying to decide if he needed to take him in. I called Jim, who talked to Al and confirmed that Leo needed to be seen. I told Al to let me know if he needed any help with the kids or anything. He waited until the next morning and then, when he still heard the wheezing, called and asked if we could take the other kids while he took Leo into the doctor's office. Jim and I were on a run when he called but said he could drop them off with Ever and we'd be home soon. He ended up having to take Leo to Rady's in San Diego, so we got Afton, Rowen, and Ames for most of the day. Maggie had gotten wind of what was happening because of an appointment confirmation that went to her, so she came back early and picked the kids up in the late afternoon. 

Everybody had a grand time together. First, we ate pancakes. 

Then the kids played outside. Scott offered up their pool (and swimsuits the boys could borrow), and that was amazing. I like Berry's white face. 

The whole gang, including Nathan and Noah, did some drawing tutorials. 

It was great for my kids, and Maggie said her kids talked about how fun it was a long time afterward. Leo had to get a procedure done to remove a piece of popcorn, but he was A-OK. Maggie came back from her trip early, after getting wind of the whole thing when an appointment confirmation went to her instead of Al. She picked up the kids from our house in the late afternoon/evening while Al was still down in San Diego with Leo. 

Found another writing by Bear.

Berry hit a milestone, getting comfortable on a bike. 

Berry and Tiny made more Lego creations.

School started at JCS Mountain Oaks on August 21. Tiny was in second grade with Mrs. Haseyama.

Goosey was in sixth grade with Ms. Nichols (homeroom and art), Mrs. Jun (ELA/humanities), and Mr. Blough (math). 

Berry was in third grade with Mrs. Shimizu.

Ever closed her eyes in her first-day pic with friends in the school parking lot.

Lucy, Ever, Hana and Ryo (not sure which is which), and Leela

The carpool crew (Rafi and Leela and my people):

Tiny got a first-day pic in class with Kaia Johnson (her bestie from first grade). 

Seated at Tiny's table was a new girl, Maya Phillips. I met her parents (Melissa and Greg) and introduced Maya to Tiny. They were both shy and didn't have much to say to each other. Within a few days, though, Tiny's reports about school made it clear that Maya, Kaia, and Tiny had become the three musketeers. They LOVE one another and are adorable together. 

Mrs. Haseyama took first-day class photos. Tiny and Kaia are second and third from the left, in front. Maya is in the black and white shirt in the back.

I don't know where Ever learned this artsy way of writing, but she does it a lot and it's fancy.

She prepared a timeline of her life for school. I loved seeing her sisters' births and her baptism included. 

I don't know why I have this picture of Tiny. Maybe I took it to upload for her fall soccer profile.

She practiced her Let's Play Music songs. 

Berry had to pick a word - something that is important to her - and make display piece and write a paragraph about it. She picked "nature" and made a cool thing that she later hung up in her room. 

End of July 2023 at Home

 The day following our return from Utah, we went on a Sunday afternoon stroll in Carlsbad after church.

Ever worked on her acro skills using the pull-up bar.

Tiny had her own fun on the apparatus, swinging upside-down.

Ever went to a horse camp at Ivey Ranch the next week.

Jim went wild at the new French bakery down by the Vons on El Camino. He got lots of things, including this giant cupcake. 

A homemade fruit pizza added to the sugar fest. 

Wrenzy and Tiny worked hard on a giant Lego creation. 

Ever had girls' camp with the ward Young Women at John and Chantalle Bishop's Lake Arrowhead house (so it was more luxury and less camp). The theme was Rosie the Riveter-inspired.

Shanna Warr, one of the YW counselors, told me afterward that she had no idea how competitive Ever is. Cutthroat. She did quite well in the games and got lots of medals. 

While Ever was gone, I left the Littles home alone for a while. I had this Facebook Messenger exchange with Bear. I just loved the "I love you so much" at the end. When she is affectionate, it is the absolute best. 

Ever went to a birthday party for Ailana Halper from school - dinner, SkyZone, and frozen yogurt.

Ella Herrell, Lucy Bowen, Leela Subrebost, Ever, and Ailana Halper

Utah Hastings Family Reunion - July 2023

July 10 we were on the trail to The Narrows before 9:00 A.M. It was supposed to get really hot that day, but four of the five of us were very cold as we walked to the river. 

There were some deep areas - at least one where the girls had to be shuttled across. 

Man, that water is cold. For most of the time, Jim claimed not to be very uncomfortable, but I do have this picture of Bear trying to warm him up. 

My feet were going numb. It was so very cold. When the sun finally got high enough to reach into the canyon and we reached a patch of sunlight, we were overcome. I've never been so excited about that life-giving light. 

We snacked in this wide, sunny area near a fork in the canyon. 

Ever didn't want to go on, so we left her there alone (with no provisions) and kept going. We ended up being gone a couple of hours, and I was so worried that she'd be out of her mind with rage when we returned. It seemed like rather neglectful parenting. I was so relieved when we got back to her, and she was perfectly fine. A super nice lady said she'd kept an eye on her and I think shared a little food. 

Berry was so sweet trying to carry Tiny. Tiny was very appreciative, but that turned to shock when Berry dropped her. 

It was always cold, but most of us did some floating/swimming on the way down. Even Ever tried it once or twice. 

The morning of Tuesday, July 11, Jim and I left the girls at the motel and went for a nice run. I love the mountains. 

On the way to Brian Head, we went to an inflatables park in a reservoir outside Hurricane. It ended up being super fun. I don't have any good pictures, but there were things to climb and jump on and jump off of. There was a trapeze that you could swing on out over the water and drop from. The other kids who were there thought I was a pro because I blackflipped off it. Ever really wanted to do it, too, but was freaked out. She finally did a couple flips before we left, though, which was exciting. 

We gathered at the cabin in Brian Head that afternoon and had tortellini for dinner, and then some of us sat around a fire. 

Wednesday we went to Cedar Breaks and hiked to Spectra Point. Except Jim drove down to Cedar City to get a flat tire fixed on the van.

Everyone besides Dustin (the photographer):

Most people turned around after that lookout, but the girls and I continued with the Rob and Annas to the Ramparts. (Pics are not in order, so I don't really know what pictures are of what.) 

Jim got back from Cedar City in time to join us for this next hike. 

Back at the house, Jim and Anders dozed.

Dustin went with Jim and me on a little walk up the hill from the house that evening, and it was absolutely beautiful (until we started getting attacked by mosquitoes).

Thursday morning we discovered that the tire was flat again. Everyone else went to Bryce Canyon; Jim and I went into Panguitch and found a repair shop. It turned out that the place in Cedar City hadn't looked at the right tire or something because the nail was still there. There'd been some miscommunication between them and Jim. Anyway, we had to buy a new tire in Panguitch. Jim and I took a walk through town while the car got worked on. 

After we retrieved the van, we met everyone at Bryce Canyon. They'd done a walk around the top before we joined them. Then some went back to the house while most of us hiked down into the canyon. Pictures are mine then Jim's, so not in order.

It was insanely hot, and Lucy was feeling sick before we got to the bottom. It's an amazing place, but it was not the right time of year to hike it. 

Back at the ranch, we had pizza and s'mores.

It's a lovely spot, and the cool evenings were glorious.

Friday we stayed in Brian Head, starting with a ski lift ride and a hike down the mountain. 

Off the lift, this big formation greeted us, and Tiny and Jim headed straight for the top. Ever and Wren followed. And then Pod had to get in on the action, and Anson, too, which Coco did not appreciate at all.

There was a debate about hiking down versus riding the lift. The Homers rode down, and we took Toots and Pops on foot. It was a way longer hiker down than I anticipated, and Mamo had a really hard time on the terrain. I held her hand a lot of the way. 

We lost the trail toward the bottom and had to just traverse over toward the bottom of the lift. 

We decided to shell out for day passes for the kids to do all the fun things at the resort - zip line, trampoline with bungee thing, slide, and climbing wall. The zip line was a favorite.

Ever threw slow-mo double and triple back flips on the tramp.

Anson and Tiny enjoyed the tube slide.

Tiny, if I recall, was surprisingly scared about the climbing wall, but she did make it to the top. 

That evening, we drove to a lookout at the top of Brian Head. The girls got yelled at by someone for crossing the grassy/rocky area and not staying on this path.  

The ruins, or whatever they were, enticed the climbers. It seemed wrong, but it was enjoyed. 

Pod took in the scene from his own spot.

Ladybug sighting.

Then everyone had to defy death and go out on a scary sticky-outty thing.

We had dinner catered in honor of Mamo and Pod's 50th wedding anniversary. The poor chef forgot the ingredients for the planned pesto dish, and that was a bummer for my people. I felt really bad for the chef, though, and she tried to make it up to us by offering nice grilled cheese sandwiches for the kids to go along with the rest of the meal. Many people thoroughly enjoyed it, but it was unfortunately not the honored couple's favorite style of food. Also for some reason the chef put cherries in the brownies, and the Kringels were unanimously opposed to that. 

Tucker had to leave a little early to get back to work. The rest of us left Saturday morning. It was a quick reunion but nice to see everyone.