This and That

It seems like not a lot has happened to blog about since school started, but upon further consideration, there has actually been quite a bunch.

Christian and his girlfriend Kate kickin' it at the beach on Labor Day.

Having fun burying Ashlyn in the sand, until they were ordered to cease and desist by the lifeguards!

It's illegal to now dig a hole deeper than 18" at the beach. 

Come ON!!!!!

Be sure to bring your ruler next time you're at the beach. 

Oh, and if you're loading up the car to go home, be sure and not lock all the doors with the car running before everyone gets in.  

Otherwise, you might have to wait 45+ minutes for AAA, unless of course the fire dept happens by first.  Lifeguards can't do it, Highway Patrol can't do it, City Maintenance can't do it (and yes, they all happened by), but the FD can unlock the car door!  And they are especially happy to do it when you are blocking the parking lot and they want to get by!  No wonder they are always called heroes.

(By the way, it was our friend that it happened to, NOT ME).

 I think the only good things about this awful humid weather is are the beautiful clouds and sunsets.

Uncle Adam installed a gnarly swing from a super tall tree in their front yard and the kids had a blast with it.  

Other happenings:

*I started a BYU religion class (like institute) - every Wednesday morning

*I work (volunteer) in the Middle School office every Thursday answering phones and whatnot.  It's fun.

*I'm the DAC (District Advisory Committee) Rep for the elementary school so I get to go to big meetings at the school district headquarters once a month.

*I'm the SSC (School Site Council) Rep as well, which means another monthly meeting. 

*I'm the Laurel Advisor.  Love it. 

*Back-to-School night was tonight for the elementary school and we only had 2 classes to visit. It's so fun, and I will be adding many more things to my list as soon as the teachers narrow it all down (library helper, computer helper, math helper, classroom helper, etc......)

*I lost a little diamond in my ring. :-(  
Need to make a trip downtown to the Jeweler soon.  

*My gym of 11 years closed.  So sad!!  We joined the YMCA for the whole family.  The gym is small, but adequate and nice, and they have great classes for the kids and an indoor pool.  Madison and Brooke started a youth fit class (2x/week) and the instructor said they were so athletic that she's going to come up with something different for them.  Total confidence booster.

*Also, they made the school's Volleyball teams.  WooHoo!! 

*Cub Scouts started this week.  Christian is thrilled! He's ready to move on to Bear, but can't until January.

*I've been searching for a piano teacher and found an excellent one.  However, she's expensive, inconveniently far away, and booked!  The only time she had was during mutual.  Luckily when meeting with her, she liked the girls and recommended her top student to me who lives near us, and doesn't charge very much since she's a senior in HS.  Score!  We now have another teacher, at least until she goes away to college next year. 

Madison with Arnela Ervin

*Brooke started up voice lessons again today.  She's working on a piece from My Fair Lady.  It's fun to hear her develop a Cockney accent.

*Her coach has a business called Cocoa Metro.  Try it - it's totally awesome.

*I went to the Republican office today and picked up a Romney bumper sticker.  I just might use it, too.

*I'm taking Brooke to NYC in two weeks!  It's her turn to go and she's excited.

*Today is my mom's birthday.  We met at Wood Ranch in Northdridge for lunch.  It was a lot of fun: me, Dre, Adam & kids, mom, dad, Matt & Cyndi.