Mormon Helping Hands

Conner, Calissa and I were able to participate in Mormon Helping Hands this year.  We went to Heather Farm in Walnut Creek and found huge mounds of bark with a bunch of shovels and wheelbarrows waiting for us.  We were one of the first ones there so we started the process of shoveling bark into wheelbarrows, then taking it down the path and dumping it on different parts of the ground.  After a while, we stopped to help do a little planting of small trees and plants but it was a TON of bark.  I'm not exaggerating when I say I personally dumped about 100 loads of it and there were quite a few of us helping out.

We only got one picture on our way out but you can see some of the fruit (er, bark) of our labors.  It was a beautiful day and it was nice to get out and do some service for the community.

Walk a thon

Calissa's school had their first walk-a-thon (which ended up being a run-a-thon) last Friday.  It was a fun day with music, running/walking, school spirit, and family and friends cheering them on.  Each grade level was supposed to wear a specific color and then walk for an hour to see how many laps they could do.  Calissa's grade level was supposed to wear purple, so she wore her purple pj shirt since it was the only purple that she had.

 She's to the right of the orange cone. Go Calissa! 

 Here she is on the left getting "high 5's" from the 3rd graders. (She's behind the kid in the hat).

 Stopping for a water break on the way.

Off for another lap!  Great job Calissa!

MOAD Museum in San Francisco

Parker has had a very hard AP World History class this year and even though he has an "A" at the moment, you never know what 1 test will do to your grade in that class.  His teacher offered 25 points extra credit for visiting a history museum.  So, on a beautiful (and sports free) Saturday, we headed into San Francisco to visit a museum.

It was a gorgeous day in the city!  We thought about taking BART, but it was going to cost us $50 so we decided to drive.  The traffic was horrendous!! It took us about 1 1/2 hours to get there and we still can't figure out why it was so bad!

We finally made it, found a place to park and walked over to the museum.

We visited the Museum of African Diaspora.

They had cultural displays,

 interactive music displays, 

 and food displays.

They also had a room where you sat in the dark and listened to stories from slaves.  The one that we listened to was from a 102 year old man who told about his life.  It was really sad to think that we treated other human beings that way! 

 There was also a wall that talked about things of importance and traditions to our family.  We drew a picture of the temple and put that up ...

 as well as one about milkshakes.

 Then, we went upstairs to an exhibit about slavery and black history.  There were slave manacles, slave owner books, Emancipation Proclamation, letters from Malcolm X and Martin Luther King, Jr.  There were pictures and art.  It was a small museum, but one that gave us a glimpse into the history of the African people.  We're glad that we had the opportunity to expand our knowledge of history.

GATE Science Field Trip to Saint Mary's

Conner and I got to go on a GATE Science Field Trip to St. Mary's College on Wednesday.  I got to drive about 5 kids and after getting stuck in traffic and getting there late, it was a great field trip!

We started off talking to one of the college counselors about colleges and graduate school programs, jobs, grades, etc. It was interesting to think about, but most of these 7th graders hadn't really thought about those things yet.  It put it on their radar though!

Then, we went into a Chemistry class and the kids got to do a science experiment.

 My group worked hard, but some of them had a hard time following directions. 

 They were able to get most of the things to work.  It was fun to see them involved and working together!

 After that rotation we went on a campus tour with a Sophomore science student from the college.  He showed us around campus, answered questions and told us about the great things about St. Mary's.

 Our last rotations was a Microbiology lab.  The professor had 10 different stations set up around the room for the kids to look through the microscope and try to identify what family it came from and draw a picture.

 There were some interesting things!

 After that we went to lunch in the quad.  They had an all you can eat BBQ lunch for the College Kids that the Middle School kids got to join in. We had a yummy lunch then met back up with the other groups for a final picture and then we headed back to school.  

 It was a great field trip and I was glad that I could go with Conner!

BYU Volleyball

BYU Men's Volleyball team is ranked #1 in the Nation and they came to Stanford for their final game of the season.  We decided to take the opportunity to go and watch them.  Calissa stayed with Uncle Drew and the rest of us braved the traffic and headed out to Stanford.

 It was free to get in and there were more BYU fans there than Stanford fans.

 BYU won in three straight sets, but the first set was a lot of fun and went to 30-28!

Go BYU!!!

Activity Days Recognition

Calissa and I got to go to a Mother/Daughter "Daughter of a King" Recognition Night for Activity Days.  We played a couple of fun games, had some yummy food, and the girls got some pretty framed quotes from their leaders.

They also did some dancing and made up some funny skits.  They had a great night and have some great Activity Day Leaders!

Pismo How We Love You!

After a break of almost 2 years, we finally found the time to make a trip to Pismo again!  We arrived on Wednesday as the fog was rolling in.  That didn't stop Calissa from digging in the sand and playing in the waves.  The boys, Trav, and Uncle Drew met up at the Sand Dunes and rode the ATV's for a couple of hours.  It was the first time on the ATV's for Conner and Parker and they had a great time!

After checking in to the hotel and going out to dinner we played with Christopher and Lindsay while Drew and Tine went to the Melodrama.

The next morning Calissa and I went for a walk on the  beach with Christopher and Tina.  We found quite a few sand dollars!

It was a little chilly, but the fog burned off pretty quick.

 After breakfast, we said goodbye to Drew and Tina and we enjoyed some fun time at the hotel.  The boys played badminton and then we got ready to head down to the beach. 

 Here is the view from our balcony in our room. We really love this place!

As we were sitting on our balcony, a seagull decided to stop by for a snack.

 We headed down to the beach and enjoyed the warm sun! 

 We all played a little frisbee,

 boogie boarding

 and digging in the sand.

 Then we walked down the beach a bit to explore.

 We found these beautiful star fish in the shallow water.

 Calissa and Parker did some climbing ....

 and Calissa wasn't happy when we asked her to come down!

 Then, the two brave ones tried some more boogie boarding again.

 The water is sooooo cold!

 

 After that, we hiked back up to the hotel, rinsed off,

and got warm in the pool and hot tub!

After an hour or so of swimming, we got dressed and walked down the beach to downtown Pismo for some shopping, lunch and ice cream. There may have been a stop at the bar too by Travis to get some cash, but we're not supposed to talk about that!

 That night we went to the Melodrama and saw "Les Miserable, or a Whole Lot Less Miserable."

It was hysterical! Yes, I know Les Miz isn't funny, but this one was!  Even though Parker and I are the only ones who have seen it before, we all enjoyed it.  We were laughing so hard we were crying!  

 Here is Calissa with a couple of the actors at the end of the show.

The next day, we spent some more time at the beach, pool, hot tub, and playing a little more badminton and then it was time to head home! We were so glad to get a chance to go back and hope it's not another 2 years before we make it back again!