Back to School 2016-2017

August 2016

Another year of high school begins........

Jace is a sophomore this year and decided to try his hand at playing tennis. 

Lauren is a SENIOR!!

Last year of high school..... then real life begins!! 

Lauren and Sydney had their senior photos taken for the yearbook about a week before school started. Can't believe how quickly time has flown by- seems like it was just last month we were prying her little fingers from the chain link fence of the kindergarten playground to go class on her first day. 

Moms & Daughters= Beaches

 AUGUST 2016

A quick girls get away to Balboa Beach with Liz, Sydney, Lauren, and me. Relaxing on the beach, shopping, and no accountability. Sydney got attacked by a pigeon at the frozen banana stand- the pigeon won! Guess it really wanted that frozen banana!! We flipped a U-turn when I spied a pop up John Galt store (Brandy Melville) and the girls were in shopping heaven. Of course Lauren suffered a minor sunburn, that lily white skin can't handle too much sun! It was a fun trip and happy we got to spend some time together!

Now we know where the sidewalk ends

Big surprise! Lauren got burnt!!

John Galt representing with The Smiths

Retail therapy

The trip in collages....

Karma Chameleon

JULY 2016

It seems that even I can be slowly broken down, my authority eroded away like a rock formation near a riverbed. It's always a no when it comes to pets, sure I like to fancy the idea of a cuddly lap dog that adores me but we all know the dark truth. Pets will make you love them, in turn you will care for them and end up spending endless amounts of money on their behalf. They will poo on the carpet and run away for an adventure. You will have to do favors for other pet owners because you need someone to take care of yours while you are out of town. But I am weak and after endless begging, being forced to watch tutorials, and random fact sharing from Jace I gave in and he got a pet chameleon. His name is Finn and he's pretty chill so I guess we will let him hang out for awhile.

Twenty One Pilots

JULY 15, 2016

Thanks to our favorite radio station X107.5 we won tickets with meet and greets for Twenty One Pilots. I technically won the tickets so I was just there to verify that it was me and I was going to let Lauren and Sydney do the meet and greet. Well I just hung out with them and when we went in the venue I just followed along and I was able to meet Tyler and Josh and get a photo with them too! After the meet and greet I left and the girls stayed and enjoyed the concert (there were only 2 tickets=bummer!). 

The Joint empty before the concert

The Trek

JUNE 2016

Our stake thought it would be a great idea for the youth to participate in a mock pioneer trek in a valley near Provo, Utah. There would be no amenities, muscles would be used, and memories would be made. It was sounding like a good experience for the youth, something that would build character. The only problem was that these kids needed "Ma's and Pa's" to guide them on their journey and Jason and I were asked to participate. Not exactly my idea of a fun weekend but we decided to go for it. It was a smidge hot, the walking could get tedious, and there were no fountain drinks with caffeine- but we survived! We had a great group of kids and the lessons learned along the way were invaluable. I can't say that I would do it again, maybe I would consider, but I am happy that I got to experience the trek at least once. I think Jace enjoyed for the most part as well. I think my favorite part would have to be the river crossing. I loved seeing the young men step up and carry the young women across the water. Most frustrating part- the womens pull. We totally could have pulled the wagon on our own, except they had us do it on a hill with about five extra inches of sand. The handcart wheel sank into it and spit it out, constantly kicking up dirt into the air. I know they wanted to make it harder to prove a point and I suppose it made surviving the half mile a greater accomplishment for us, but it was torture for a few minutes!Overall, it was a great experience for all that participated and I'm happy that we could be a part of it.

Jason, me, and our "kids" for the trek

Jace and his french braid

Jace and Erick

Brooke braided my hair

Jace pulling the cart with his pioneer family