L.A. Baby

On Friday, August 27th we headed to Los Angeles for an overnight stay.  Joe has been an Angels fan since he was a kid and really wanted to take the boys to a baseball game.  Not wanting to be left behind, the girls convinced him to take them along and hit the American Girl store too.  So Friday night was the guys' night and Saturday was the girls' day.

We left late Friday morning and made it to L.A. by 4:00.  Our hotel was just a couple of blocks away from Angels Stadium so it was in a perfect location for walking and not having to fight crazy game traffic.  We relaxed in our room for a little while and then headed over to the game.  The sun was just starting to go down and I realized that I hadn't packed any sweatshirts for the kids in case it got cooler throughout the night.  Being so used to very hot weather most of the year actually makes us want to have cooler temps for a change.  But the downside is that even at about 70 degrees, we are all freezing!

When we settled into our seats, the players were at batting practice so Clark and Jake stood right up front to try to catch any flys coming their way.  They didn't have any luck but Jake had that glove on his hand all night long, just in case.

We enjoyed an extremely healthy dinner of hot dogs, sodas, nachos, popcorn, peanuts, and churros.   Everything was completely overpriced and the churros were terrible!  We should have just bought them at Costco for $1 each.  But it's all about the experience and just being there was pretty fun.  Into the 3rd inning, Katelyn and Jake were complaining about being cold so Joe was all too happy to purchase Angels sweatshirts for the whole family.   When he came back, he had bought All-Stars sweatshirts instead because they were on sale for 40% off.

The game moved fairly quickly.  The Angels played the Baltimore Orioles and although they didn't win, we had a great time cheering them on, doing the wave, singing "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" during the 7th inning stretch, and trying to catch prizes from the lady Angels.  When the game was over, we watched the fireworks show over the stadium.  It was a great ending to a great guys' night. 

On Saturday, we got up, checked out of our hotel and headed to breakfast at Coco's.  We drove right past Disneyland and the kids waved to Mickey and begged us to take them there.  On our drive into Los Angeles, the kids sang their own words to "L.A. Baby" from the Jonas Brothers at the top of their lungs.  Clark wanted to stop and visit "Thigh" Town (Thai Town) but we just giggled and kept driving.

The kids found the HOLLYWOOD sign in the distance but we parked near the Chinese Theater and Hollywood Walk of Fame.  The kids loved looking at all the foot and hand prints of the celebrities.  We walked down the streets looking at the stars in the pavement and searching for famous people.  We stopped at the Disney Cafe near the Kodak Theater to look around, find some "American Idols" and kill some time. 

Our next stop was the American Girl store at The Grove.  The girls and I headed into the store to get some shopping done before our lunch appointment at 2:30.  The boys window-shopped at different stores in the district.  Carlee and Katelyn each picked out an outfit to take home and enjoyed looking at all the clothes, accessories, and doll displays.  The boys came back and met us for lunch.  The kids loved the little appetizers of pretzel rolls, fruit kabobs, and veggie sticks.  One of their favorite things was the conversation boxes in the middle of the table.  We all took turns asking each other the questions and waiting for the answers.  It was a lot of fun to get to know some more about each other.  The food was great and they all ordered Shirley Temples to drink.  My favorite part is the cute little dessert.  It is a mini star-shaped sugar cookie, a mini heart-shaped cupcake, and chocolate mousse in a mini flower pot.  The boys even thought it was cool and ate it up!  After lunch, we did some more shopping and then headed home.  A perfect girls' day!

Just taking a break from shopping

My cutie patooties!

He sure doesn't seem bothered by all this girl stuff!

Joe was one of three dads in the Cafe.  Thanks, hon!

Cute little appetizer (I forgot pics of the main dishes, again!)

The perfect ending to a yummy meal

Webelos and Arrow of Light

Clark attended his last Cub Scout Pack Meeting this month.  He earned his Webelos badge along with several other awards and his Arrow of Light.  It was especially fun for him because he earned those special awards with his good buddy, Mitchell.  They did a nice ceremony and painted the boys' faces with Indian war paint and the boys loved it.  Congratulations, Clark!  You are going to love being a Boy Scout!

Pinning on the Webelos award

Clark is going to cross the bridge because he turns 11 in a few days

He is now entering into Boy Scouts

Mitchell and Clark

Favorite Organizing Quotes

Since we only had 3 weeks off since the end of our school year and we had been vacationing or entertaining company the entire time, the week before school was spent organizing our house.   We cleaned and straightened closets and dresser drawers.  Joe was busy putting together shoe racks for closets and lockers for the back entryway.  We threw out old, broken, and unnecessary toys and art projects.  We went through all of our old clothes, trying them on to see if they still fit, packing away the ones that were too small, throwing out the faded and holey items, and making lists of replacements we needed to buy.  We hit the outlets buying last-minute school clothes, shoes, and necessities.  We bought school supplies and organized them in brand new backpacks.  We labeled our backpacks and lunch boxes.  The first day of school outfits were chosen and everything was ready to go.  We were excited to begin a new year in a brand new school.

And the best part was Jake and Carlee's funny comments during our organizing . . .

Me:  How did the neck get so stretched out in this cute sweater?
Jake:  Uh, Mom, have you seen the size of my head?

Me:  Carlee, where did these come from?  They don't belong in here.
Carlee:  I didn't do it, Mom.  I think a bad guy came in and put them there while I was asleep!

Duck Creek

We had been home from Utah for 2 days when Clark and Katelyn got to go on another mini-vacation with some friends of ours.  The rest of us were invited as well but Joe was on call and nervous about not receiving cell phone service out in the woods.  So we lost our two oldest kids to the Chugg family for about 4.5 days.  Although I did have some empathy for Geneva and Jared, who were probably feeling like the Von Trapps hiking through the mountains of southern Utah with seven children, I do have to admit that it was pretty nice to give our youngest two some well-deserved attention and we had a lot of fun with just the four of us. 

We do appreciate the Chuggs for taking along some extras and their sweet kids that are good friends to our children.  Carter and Clark get together quite a bit and are really good buddies, but Hanna and Katelyn have had a difficult time making their schedules match so it was a great opportunity for them to get to know each other better.  Geneva sent me a bunch of photos of their trip but I am stealing some photos and dialogue from her blog since I wasn't there to capture it all.  Thanks, Jared and Geneva! 

The brave souls

Highlights from the trip (as I've heard):
*Carter found a lizard named "Spike" and they chased him throughout the trip
*An amazing fort behind the cabin that the boys played in for hours
*A huge thunderstorm the first night that scared the girls and started a game of musical beds
*Telephone calls from my children giving me updates
*Texts from Geneva giving me updates
*Playing in the woods
*Hikes straight up the mountain causing rock slides with Jared yelling at them to come down
*Riding four-wheelers
*Cute hair-dos for Katelyn from Geneva's sis-in-law
*Carter taught Clark how to play one of his favorite games: RISK.   Clark loved it!
*Meeting up with the Hackmans (another family from our ward) for fishing on Panguitch Lake
*Lots of noisy children scaring away the fish but having fun
*Hanna and Katelyn looking cute all day even though they are in the woods
*Using the bathroom not in the bathroom, led by Geneva's example???
*S'mores by the campfire with chocolate swirled marshmallows and reeses peanut butter cups
*Fishing early in the morning with less children and noise and this time Clark caught a HUGE one!
*Hiking in Cedar Breaks
*Deer, squirrels, and lizards up close and personal
*Taking pictures of all the beautiful rock formations
*Playing "spider" on the swing for hours
*Picnicking in Bryce Canyon National Park
*Watching a movie about the rock formations at the Visitor's Center
*Playing the "Name that Native Bird" game and taking Geneva's money
*Building on great friendships
*Very fun times
*Late nights with movies and games
*Getting dirty and playing outside FOREVER
*Playing with friends for hours without ever having to go home or end the "playdate"

The incredible fort

Carter is holding Spike

They've got their walking sticks and are ready to hike

Risk it all, Clark!

The Hackmans, Chuggs, and 2 Stuarts

Look out!  Here they come!

Some cute little hikers!  All seven of them!