My loyal scouts

Hayden had his first pack meeting on August 29th.  He looked so handsome all dressed up in his scout uniform!

He got to help with the flag ceremony.  He earned his bobcat too.  I always enjoy getting a mother's pin from my boys.

Parker had a court of honor on August 30th.  It was two nights in a row of scout awards.  He received nine merit badges!  He earned chemistry, citizenship in the nation, emergency preparedness, space exploration, bird study, archery, basketry, environmental science, fingerprinting, leather work, and wood carving.  He also received his first class. He earned many of these merit badges at Scout camp over the Summer.  He went to the Bear Lake camp.  He even wove a basket at camp and gave it to me when he got home.  I am very thankful for the scouting program and the great qualities it brings out in my boys!

Back to school

Mckenna started HIGH SCHOOL on Tuesday August 22nd.  She is a sophmore this year.  I suddenly feel a lot older.  She looked cute on her first day.  We had fun going back to school shopping together.  She got her cute pants at the store Buckle.

Emily drove Mckenna and Tessa to school that day.  It pays to have older friends that can drive!  I love these cute girls!

Parker had his first day of Junior High on Monday.  The seventh graders went a day earlier than everyone else to find their classes.

I took these pictures on his second day which was his first full day of school.  He was really excited to choose out his classes.  He is taking beginning band and learning to play the Clarinet.

Hayden started third grade.  He has Mrs. Johnson for a teacher.  We are hoping that he has another great year and learns a lot.

Halle started 5th grade.  She was thrilled that she got Mr. Smith for a teacher.  She is our third child to have him for 5th grade.  He is also the first male teacher she has ever had.

Halle and Maddi waiting together at the bus stop.  They are the cutest best friends.

Halle is such a kind big sister.  It gives me comfort to know she is looking out for both Hayden and Addy at the school this year.

Addy had to wait a whole week before starting Kindergarten.  The big day was Tuesday September 4th.  She was more than ready to go and had big smiles for all her pictures.

She has Mrs. Beckham as a teacher this year.  She was happy to see a familiar face in her class.  I thought I would be really sad since my baby was going to Kindergarten. I surprised myself and didn't even cry.  I went off and did some errands while she was at school.  I think I am going to enjoy this free time that I have in the mornings.  The school year is off to a good start!

California here we come!

We went to San Diego August 15-20 for one last family vacation before school started.  The kids did great on the long car ride there.  I switched Mckenna seats so I could watch a movie with the kids in the back.

Our first day there we spent at Sea World!  We had a great time and it was nice that the park was not too crowded.

The first ride that we did was Manta Ray.  It was new since the last time we had come several years before.  We all enjoyed the ride and rode it several times.

Kev showing the kids the Sting Rays.  Addy did not want to put her hands in to touch one.

We all enjoyed the dolphin, whale, and sea lion shows.

Hayden was fascinated by the big sea turtles that were swimming by in the exhibit.

Parker was nice and gave Addy piggy back rides when her legs got tired.

The shipwrecked reef ride was a highlight of the day.  I held onto Parker hoping that I wouldn't get wet.

We all got soaked.  The workers even let us go for a second time in a row.  Hayden thought that was the best.

Halle had hyper-extended her knee before the trip.  We were able to get her a wheelchair for the day since we knew we would be doing a lot of walking.  It also got us onto all the rides first and we didn't have to wait.  We all enjoyed the royal treatment!  

Addy was excited to go on some of the kiddie rides.  She was happy to have Dad come with her on the swings.

Our next day we we spent at the beach.  The fist beach we went to was Del Mar.  The kids had fun trying the body boards for the first time.

I walked along the beach with Addy and collected sea shells.  I love walking along in the ocean.  It is one of my happy places.

Kev bought a big bag of sand toys for the kids.  They happily dug and built sand castles for hours.

I loved seeing the kids smiling, getting along, and having the best time.

Mckenna and I took a beach selfie.  I can't believe how grown up she is.

Halle had fun playing in the waves when she wasn't body boarding.  The kids were having such a fun time that it was hard to get them to come out of the water to eat.

I love the big smile on Hayden's face.  He wasn't intimidated by the big waves at all.

Mckenna made Addy into a mermaid.  We also had fun burying Mckenna in the sand.

The girls striking a pose.  Mckenna was showing off her lovely seaweed wrap.

In the late afternoon we relocated to La Jolla Shores.  We went to the beach by Scripps Institute.  I have so many great memories of this beach from when I visited my grandparents.

One of my favorite things is to watch the waves crash by the pier. 

At the end of the day we were all hungry and tired.  We ate dinner at La Pinata in Old Town San Diego.

Our whole family enjoys Mexican food.  Parker ordered this huge plate of nachos.

We went to the San Diego Zoo on our third day of vacation.  I thought this picture was funny of everyone checking out their maps.  We also got Halle another wheel chair to ride in for the day.

Parker was pointing out that this amphibian was called a Parker's snake-necked turtle.

Mckenna decided it would be fun to kiss the turtle statute.

The kids all enjoyed the petting zoo.  I caught this moment of Halle petting one of the goats.  She is definitely the animal lover in our family.

They had this cool exhibit with a  waterfall.  You can walk right behind it. The mist felt really good on such a hot day.

Addy had fun looking at the elephant exhibit with her Dad.

I love Hayden and Addy's true smiles in this picture.  

We did a lot of walking that day.  The Zoo is huge.  We decided to take the tram ride back across the park.

As were walking out of the park these pink flamingo ladies came to talk with Addy.  We all loved seeing the baby monkeys interact with their Moms.  Our favorite was watching the bears.  One of the bears kept rubbing his back on a tree.  He looked just like Baloo off of Jungle Book movie.  

Mckenna and I were happy to chill in bed after a long day of walking.  I was enjoying the novelty of eating my dinner in bed that night.

Our last morning there I took Mckenna and Parker to do baptisms at the San Diego temple.  I was really looking forward to them both having this experience.  The temple recorder even gave them a short devotional before they participated in the baptisms.  He told them that when they make going to the temple a priority that they will be blessed.

Mckenna was able to do baptisms for 10 family names.  The temple there is not as busy as our one in American Fork.  I also thought about my Grandpa a lot while we were there.  He worked in this same temple years ago as an ordinance worker.  I miss him a lot!

Parker also was able to do baptisms for 9 family members.  He shared with us that this was the most spiritual experience he has had at a temple so far.

Kev took the other kids to the Mormon Battalion Visitor Center while we were at the temple.  They had a great time together.

Hayden got to dress up in the uniform that the men wore when they went to war.

They also had fun pretending to drive a covered wagon.

In the afternoon we went to Coronado beach.  It was a beautiful Summer day at the beach.  The hotel Del Coronado is also in the background.

I enjoyed taking pictures with my telephoto lens from my beach chair.  Kev went out and played with the kids for awhile.

The jets and helicopter flew close overhead because we were right by the naval base there.

It was cool to see both sail boats and naval ships in the background.

There were some strong riptides that day.  The lifeguards were great about getting everyone out of the water.  They even had to swim out and bring several people back in.

Parker found this cool sand dollar.  It is rare to find one that big and that is not broken.

I wanted to watch the sunset since it was our last night there.  I love this picture of our five kids walking along.

We had a family picture taken along the boardwalk. 

My favorite place is to walk along the pier by the La Jolla Cove.  The waves were strong that night.  They came up over the pier and got most of us soaked.

We ate breakfast at the hotel the next morning.  I had to dip my feet in the hot tub one last time before we made the long drive back home.