The Olympics were still going after we got back from Hawai'i, so we continued our support of Simone Biles from home.
Ever celebrated Ella Rondo's thirteenth birthday.
The Homers stayed on the Big Island a week after we left, and then they took Tutu back to Virginia with them. They laid over in California for two nights, and we planned Tiny's baptism for when they were here. The girls got fried at the beach right before the baptism, so they are very tomato-reminiscent in the photos. But hooray for getting group shots this time! (And notice Tiny's super bling.)
Sweet Tines with her beloved Daddy.
The Cikaneks came, which made it really super extra special. We had invited them to baptisms (I think both Ever's and Wren's) before, and they hadn't made it. But they seemed excited to be there. Rebecca said she'd been wanting to baptize Nathan, so she was excited for him to see someone else's. (They have a new-age version idea of Christianity.)
Tiny asked Coco to give the (only) talk, and it was absolutely perfect. She talked about names and the importance of names, and she even worked in a mention of "the tribe" - the fort thing behind our house headed up by the Cikanek boys. It was very thoughtful and I'm sure made the Cikaneks feel so much a part of it all. I wish I could remember more about the talk and Jim's blessing, but alas - my memory (and lack of contemporaneous record keeping).
We set up a treat table outside near the church's kitchen and had a bunch of treats of Tiny's choosing afterward. Tiny had been SO looking forward to her baptism for a long time, but I think it was mostly the treats she was excited about. We had lots of chocolate chip cookies and snickerdoodles. (I won - Snickerdoodles were the last thing finished off, despite Jim's telling me that everyone loves them.) The girls also made cream puffs, but the recipe makes very few, and they were taken immediately. Tiny only got half of one. Cikaneks hung out a long time outside with everybody, and all the ward members were so nice to them. Cikaneks know a lot of ward friends at this point from the neighborhood, from sports, from prior ward parties they've attended, from Henie Hills pickleball headed up by Kristi, etc. It's lovely. They are honorary members of the congregation.
The day Tutu and the Homers flew out (Thursday, August 15) was the day Ever started seventh grade at MLK. This was the year she switched from JCS to our regular district middle school, MLK (aka "King" according to the cool people, but I never call it that). I don't know if I ever wrote about our decision to switch. The middle school at JCS struggles a bit; a lot of kids leave for or during middle school. Ever had kind of been wanting to go to a big school for a while, where they have after-school sports and more options. Jim and I called Mel Karner once from the car when we were stuck in Saturday morning traffic coming back from the Newport Beach temple. Mel told us about her kids' experiences at MLK and mentioned the accelerated math class that is available to seventh and eighth graders, and by the end of that car ride, we had decided Ever should move. It took some getting used to, but within probably a month or so, Ever didn't regret the switch. I'm writing this in May 2026, so with that perspective - I think it's been good for her overall.
Musical beds. Tiny on the window seat and Berry in Tiny's bed. (And the room a mess, as always). These girls move around every night.
Berry got out the old foam blocks, which I loved.
She and Tiny worked on some magic tricks and performed them for me. The white gloves really take it over the top.
Monday, August 19, was the first day of school at JCS. Tiny started third grade with Mrs. Shimizu, and Wrenzy started fourth grade with Miss Scher.
Happy reunion with besties Maya Phillips and Kaia Johnson.
Sweet snuggles at home. Tiny is the best snuggler in all the land. And look at those bleached-out little hairs around her cute face.
Tiny had a homeschool project where she wrote about events from her summer on these three flowers - the event in the center and then the details on the petals.
Berry is super into acai bowls as afternoon snacks. Judy Blume hasn't been read that much around here, I don't think, so I was happy to see her reading a Judy book while eating.
It's hard to see in this picture, but Tiny came home from soccer practice soooo dirty.
I took this picture of Tiny on the way into school one morning just because I thought she looked so cool. Like a skater chick.
Wrenzy (far right) had a beach practice with her soccer team. (A lot of this soccer stuff probably happened before August, but this is when I saved the photos.)
Another photo from a different day.
Tiny's team took this cute photo at a tournament. She's the cutest little goalkeeper in town.
Tiny's team had a pool party.
Lastly, Tiny finally learned to ride a bike! She was old, and no one had ever taught her. She got fed up and initiated bike riding practice. Jim helped her a bit. This first video was her maiden voyage.
