Having visitors in town really inspires one to plan, get out, go do; so we have been just about everywhere San Diego has to offer in this one month alone- ha! It was such a joy to have Mike and Jessica and kids here. Wade, Molly and little Maverick are the absolute cutest and we adore them. Wade learned to swim during his week here- so proud of him! My kids adore spending time with their Uncle Mike because he's pretty funny and he makes us all laugh. Mike and Jess ordered us the card game Canasta- and we played it every night together. Every day we adventured somewhere or other- but mostly, the kids all wanted to swim in the pool and just hang out at home. We loved visiting the San Diego Zoo, Belmont at Mission Beach (Evelyn finally had a few partners (Mike and Jess) for the scariest ride there!) The kids ran in the waves at Mission Beach and Moonlight Beach, we ate Handels Ice cream and painted rocks to place in the rock garden there. So much cousin time building blanket forts and playing soccer, football, tree house shenanigans! It was truly such a blast.
During the Stevens visit, we celebrated Father's Day with a Mexican themed dinner. Evelyn created about the sweetest video on earth for Blake and we loved watching it together. For dessert we had, wait for it.... strawberry shortcake, Blake's favorite. We decorated just a little- much to Blake's chagrin. We made cards and opened a few little gifts. The kids adore their Dad and I'm so grateful for him and the wonderful husband and father that he is.
And speaking of the wonderful husband and father that he is.... on top of all the poor guy does for our family and for his business, Blake is also in charge of the young men's program at church! Its' not easy to be in charge of the youth during the summer because that means you are in charge of the High Adventure trip! Blake worked tirelessly for weeks to plan this trip for the boys up to Capital Reef in Utah. And it was a huge success. Everyone enjoyed the trip and everyone came back a little bit better friends and a little bit more inspired to be a better person, read scriptures, say their prayers. How do I know this? Because my own son came back with three new best buddies whom he adores and has invited over twice since the trip! And because my own son came back and has opened up his scriptures each day without a word from his parents . He even packed the scriptures for Hawaii. Now, that's what I call a successful adventure!
Now, enough gushing. Let's move on and discuss the Rustands visit. The Rustands visit every summer- every fall- because Ella and Quinn have a lot of soccer tournaments in the area so we are used to having them here for a day or two on a pretty consistent basis. That being said, this last visit was much different because the entire family came out and STAYED for a full week! It was such a fun filled, busy, crazy week with all sorts of adventuring! SeaWorld, Annie's Canyon, Carlsbad Strawberry picking, The Taco Stand, beaching, swimming, movies and s'mores every night, Oceanside soccer games, we were everywhere and it was so much fun. Loved playing family games and eating poolside, playing big soccer games in the backyard, and making strawberry shake. Fun times!
Though the Bruces and Cathy came up for a much shorter visit- (one evening each)- I certainly had an amazing time catching up with each of them. Hadn't seen Kristen in 3 years! I always love when I get to see friends who mean the world to me. I think that's one of the biggest blessings of living in San Diego- so many people come to visit for soccer or family trips and I get to see them! Love that!!
But on that note, one of the most difficult things about living in San Diego is the fact that it's rather expensive and transient so I have to say goodbye to dear friends. This month has been a doozy with the Hansens moving out of state and also the Miles. I can barely write this without feeling a pit in my stomach. Will miss my dear friends Amber and Laura with all of my heart. Thankfully I was able to spend a little more time than usual with each of them. Had a fun night out with couples, and a fun girls night for Laura. Laura decided to move rather quickly, so when she made the announcement at our girls night-- all my friends made fun of me and said I was the girl in the math meme, trying to do the mental math of how quickly could I possibly throw together a going away party for her! Sad times!
But on a happier note, we've been getting organized around these here parts! The kids and I created a summer bucket list, we cleaned up the backyard real nicely-- adding rocks to the borders of our flower beds. We lived through a mulch disaster that I don't know if I have the energy to report on! Basically, we hired tree trimmers to come clean up our backyard trees; they made mulch from the trees they cut and we tried to spread it around our playground area, only to find the mulch looked not so much like mulch and more like yard waste! So we had to rake it all up and tow it all out and then the area was dangerous for kids to walk around without socks so we had to order new mulch! It's looking good now- thank heavens! We also took down part of our pool gate and hired someone to take out and replant a few things that were right in the middle of our patio and then lay flagstone in its place. That with the inherited lounge chairs my friend Amber gave me has made a big difference. The effect is awesome! And speaking of inherited lounge chairs-- she also gave me her Traeger grill because it wouldn't fit in the moving truck!!!!!!! Just had to add that in because i'm beyond thrilled to try it out!
This month has been a big one for Evelyn. She promoted from The Classical Academy Middle School and is on to high school! She is having a hard time because she is so disappointed about leaving behind her buddies and going to a new high school. And I don't blame her. That's rough and I feel terrible, but yet I know she will be able to make new friends and be happy and successful in her new school as well. I've been proud of her this summer. She ran a little acting camp a couple of weeks ago for a group of girls to earn money-- it was so cute to watch them put on the play "Aladdin". She is an awesome babysitter and leader when she wants to be! Proud of her putting together a musical number for her promotion ceremony with her friends-- "You will be Found" from Dear Evan Hansen. It was so sweet and well done. She had an amazing time at her promotion and the last few days of school with her friends. Though she is a moody teen by all accounts, she has moments where she shines in every way and I'm so extremely proud of her. It's hard to watch your children grow up and pull away a little. But who am I kidding? She's always been pretty independent and has never been the type to want to be around me much- ha!
Speaking of growing up. Grant! He is such a sweet kid and has been doing SO well lately. I'm so grateful. So grateful. He has matured beyond measure the past few months and is just a delight to be around. So proud of him for trying out to be the Tin Man in Wizard of Oz at school. He got the part, worked on it relentlessly and performed it so well in front of all the parents and the entire school. He got a kick out of it for sure and it was so fun to watch him excel at something other than sports!
Anna too has been trying new things and growing up like a weed. She is talkative beyond anything I could ever describe! The girls LOVES to tell a story, just like her mom. Proud of Anna for trying new dance classes, singing lessons, gymnastics camp. She has really tried to go out of her comfort zone and it's been fun to watch. She has such a cute little personality and is my side kick in life. Don't know what I'd do without her!
Last but not least, we had a pretty fun day in June with Grandma in town. The girls were able to get their nails done and go to lunch while I spent the day at Grant's lacrosse tournament. I was so proud f Grant. He is an actually amazing lacrosse player. He's so good and he loves it as much as he loves soccer. So fun to watch him play. He won new socks for being the fastest hustler out there! Anna joined me for one game and made a bunch of cute little friends. Then we all went to see the new Toy Story 4 movie which was basically awesome and the day was pretty special overall. Love when Grandma comes down for the day.
Well-- I think that's it! Watch for fun pictures of Marston Orthodontics sponsored Movie at the Park. Blake's office paid for everyone there to enjoy a shaved ice! Watch for funny memes my sister and I have shared throughout the month and the RS ice cream social I decorated for! Notice I used the exact same decorations as I had for my end of year party... I smart like that. Watch for the weekend in Venice that Evelyn spent with Emma and Caylie to celebrate Emma's birthday. They had a serious blast watching Aladdin in Hollywood and walking around Santa Monica and Venice. Watch for our day at the San Diego Fair! Loved seeing Jim Gaffigan perform! The kids first concert of sorts! He was so funny and we had a really awesome night. Could you imagine a more full or more fun month? It's been everything! We are so grateful for all of these experiences we've shared.
