Gas Pains

So Wednesday I had to be home for the Internet Installer guy--that's why I neglected my SPF at the pool.....

He was rather talkative. Said he lived in Mexico but stayed in CA for part of the week. I asked if the commute was bad, and he said that if you were at the boarder around 4:30 AM, the wait was ONLY 60-90 minutes--NOT bad?! At 4:30 AM they'd better be giving out cars if I'm waiting in a line! ....but I digress......

He said that he stayed in CA part of the week, so he didn't have to make the long commute. I asked about gas prices, and he said that in Mexico, gas is around $2.88/gallon.

$2.88/gallon?! Remember when we thought THAT was highway robbery?

So, how come 40 minutes from here gas is so CHEAP and gas here is/was $4.55? And then in parts of Europe it ranges from $7/gallon to $15/gallon? Is there NO regulation? Who's getting rich off of all that? Is Mexico gas the same as gas from CA?

Remember the "Back to the Future" movie where the Delorean ran on GARBAGE? I want one of those!

Roku ROCKS!

Yes, again my techno-wiz husband has struck the Mother Lode!

Robert has been after me to switch from Blockbuster Online to Netflix. Somewhat reluctantly, I have gone with this change. Robert was all fired up because some folks at work have Netflix and LOVE it and can recommend movies to their friends and and and and and and and...........

To go along with our Netflix account, we HAD to purchase some new technology. You see, the plan we have allows for unlimited streamed movies--movies downloaded and played on the computer. If you have a Roku box (about the size of 8 CD cases stacked on top of each other), you can download a LOT (specific number unknown, but more than 100) of movies to watch at will. This means no futzing about with movies in the mail. Now they ONLY have about 10,000 movies available for streaming, but they add to the list daily. Sooner or later, we won't have to get any DVD's in the mail.

Anyway, Robert set it up on Thursday night. It took less than 10 minutes. He loaded 73 movies into the "Instant Queue" and a good lot of them were appropriate for the kids. Toph manned the remote for the Roku today and he and Hannah made a dent in the kids' movies--all of this without ANY form of instruction, by the way. Tonight we watched 3 movies. This is a nice thing, since our DVD player is still broken (no pitty, we have other ways to play a DVD).

I know I don't fully understand or speak the geek related to the Roku box. It doesn't actually HAVE the videos in the box, but it makes it faster or easier to stream them to the TV--or something like that. All I know is that if I push "select" on The Secret of Nimh, it waits about a minute, and then the movie starts!

Popcorn anyone?

Pool Play Days

In our ward at Church, there's a summer calendar. I've never encountered anything like it! It's a FANTASTIC tool for parents who are looking for activities for the kids. For EVERY week day of summer vacation, there's something we could choose to do--pool play days, Mc Donald's meetings, Chuck E. Cheese, park mornings, library activities, etc.

Our favorite are the pool play days, of course. On Wednesday we went to the Prows pool, and I forgot my camera along with the sunscreen--so I don't have any photos of the momentous occasions. The pictures we do have are from last year. Hannah was SO brave! She went down the slide MANY times--and didn't tell me when she did it the first time, so I missed it. Then she summoned her courage and jumped off the rock cliff a few times too! This girl LOVES the water! Toph was bribed into going down the slide--I bribed him with a quarter (he LOVES money) and a trip to Maggie Moo's (ice cream). With MUCH trepidation Toph did finally go down the slide! Way to go!

The Cloes kids with cousin Roni preparing for a group jump.

Toph THINKING about sliding, but he didn't. (Last year)

Thursday we went to the Lang's to swim. Hannah was BRAVE again, and went down the slide multiple times. Both kids jumped into the pool several times, including some times without the floaties! We spent about 20 minutes practicing things they'd been learning in swim lessons. Toph had fun jumping on the trampoline too--Hannah was most upset when it was time to leave and she didn't get to jump. Hannah had a classic melt down as we were leaving (or FORCING HER to leave) and told me, "I wish you weren't my mother!" Both kids napped later in the afternoon, and she got over it.

Hannah going down the slide one of man times.

Toph playing in the water with Adam.

A swim wouldn't be complete without a jump on the trampoline!

We LOVE the pool parties and are looking forward to practicing our newly learned swimming skills at other pool parties in the future! Thanks everyone who lets us come swimming!

PS: I used sunblock AND a T-shirt on Thursday! :-)

Balance Boy

Anyone who knows Toph KNOWS that he LOVES his video games. Lately he's been sitting on this exercise ball as he plays. Although this photo doesn't show it, Toph can sit on this ball that's big and balance while he plays--he's going to have some ripped abs! We're having fun times this summer vacation.

Baking Beauty

We HAD to make brownies for dessert. Brownie sundaes are one of my FAVORITES! It seemed appropriate to make brownies for sundaes while we had Grandparents visiting.

Hannah HAD to lick the bowl--mmmmmmm.....

Lobster, anyone?

So yesterday was a CRAZY day for the Nickel clan. I had a lot on the calendar.

We went to swim lessons, came home for a quick breakfast, went to a pool play date, came home for the internet guy to come fix things, and had a cub scout meeting here in the evening.

Since we were only going to be at the pool play date for an hour, I wasn't worried about sunburn. The kids had their swim shirts on, so we were "covered." WHY do I always forget about myself?! In less than an hour, I burned to a crisp! When we got home and changed, I thought, "wow, I'm a little bit pink." As my arm and shoulder were itching through my meeting, I thought, "wow, it hurts to scratch." As I looked in the mirror, I thought, "WHAT KIND OF A FOOL GOES IN THE POOL WITHOUT SUNSCREEN?!" The answer is, ME!



So, friends who stalk my blog, if you happen to see me out and about, I would be happy if you'd remind me that MY skin is important too! Ask me if I remembered my SPF! By the way, this picture does NOT do the sunburn justice.

The very air we breathe

I am a life-long asthmatic. We moved HERE partially because of asthma. Call me crazy, I like breathing. My parents commented on the "dirty" sky. I told them it was probably just a little bit of morning fog (after all, it WAS the morning). I think the air was dirty, not fog.

It isn't often hard to breathe here because of the air quality. After the fires in October, it was bad. But on the whole, it's pretty easy to breathe here. Good ocean breezes keep us clean.

When my parents got home, I called to make sure they got there safely, and they said that the air got dirty around Escondido, and got worse as they drove. Apparently, the entire state is on fire, and the geography DOES keep pollution and air dirty in Fresno.

It's safe to say that, once again, I'm happy to live HERE. I looked at our AQI (Air Quality Index) for today--60 for particles (moderate zone) and 36 for ozone. Fresno's AQI was 152 for particles and 142 for ozone. Basically, an asthmatic (at least this one) can feel the "dirty" air around 80-90. At 152, this asthmatic would be basically moving around as little as possible. Because dirty air is much harder to breathe, physical restrictions are a MUST. When the air quality is bad, folks with breathing problems must stay inside. When it's hot in Fresno, the air quality is usually bad--so summer was GREAT (not!). I also checked the AQI for Sacramento (my sister lives there): 184 for particles and 175 for ozone--YIKES! Stay inside, Laura!

Again, I'm very grateful to be living HERE right now. I hope the fires stop, so that the rest of the state can breathe again!

For those of you who want to see the website, it's HERE.

Grandparents' Visit

A week ago, my parents came from Fresno for a visit. "We wanted to escape the heat," they said. WRONG week to visit! Saturday it was 107 here--still cooler than 110 in Fresno, but NOT cool.

We managed to enjoy ourselves any way. Thursday we celebrated their arrival with dinner at Yanni's Bistro (YUM!).

Friday we met my Mom's friend, Jeanine, and her granddaughter at the beach in Oceanside. The kids played in the water and it was nice and cool. Hannah entertained us with her shark sightings. She would NOT get close to the water, and when I finally dragged it out of her, she told me that she was afraid of all of the sharks. I laughed and said that we didn't have any sharks here, and Hannah argued with me because SHE SAW THEIR FINS. That turned out to be sailboats in the distance. Too cute! One time when I was holding Hannah's hand and jumping in the waves, I wasn't paying attention and Hannah got knocked down. That pulled me down too, since I was holding her hand. I landed ON A ROCK ON MY KNEE--ouch!

I couldn't get Hannah to go in the water because of the SHARKS--er, sailboats.

Hannah Playing in the sand.

Toph posing for me.

Toph, Hannah, and Ashley playing in the waves.

More waves.

More playing in the sand.

Hannah striking a pose while Topher and Ashley go to the waves.

Saturday we went to tour the Midway. We've been before, but my parents hadn't. I think we all learned something new and saw places we hadn't seen before. Me and my ouchy knee decided to sit on a bench in the shade for some of the tour. I was also very grateful for the big misting fans on the outside deck.

Sunday was resting and Church. We showed Grandma and Grampa a Blu-Ray movie and wowed them with our technology that evening.

The view from the Midway is WONDERFUL!

Sometimes I wish we had a brig at home......

Introducing Pilot Topher.

Introducing Pilot Hannah.

I just can't look at this statue enough--it's my favorite!

Monday we went on a harbor tour. The cool thing about that was that we got to see a warship going out to sea and we also saw a hovercraft for the first time. True to her entertaining nature, Hannah gave us giggles as she spotted RED SHARKS in the water--just the buoys.

Even though it wasn't very cool (until the grandparents were LEAVING), we still had a nice visit. Then the weather turned back to paradise--hmmmm, did the grandparents bring the heat?

Doesn't Papa Bob look like a tourist?

This is the warship we passed as it went out to sea.

This is the hovercraft as we passed--really neat.

Have a snack

On the last day of school, Hannah and I had been running errands, and I decided we'd just have a LATE lunch, after we picked up Toph. So I told Hannah to have a snack--I suggested a stick of cheese--THIS wasn't the stick of cheese I'd intended!

One HOT Mama!

Ok, anyone who knows me would KNOW that I'd never refer to myself as a "HOT" Mama, except in terms of temperature. Our building for Church has some thermostat quirks. The Chapel is mostly warm in the warm weather--perhaps a function of the massive rock wall? The Relief Society room (where we meet for Sunday School and where the women meet the last hour) has warm and cold spots. During Sunday School, Robert and I sat in fairly cool spots. I could see the women in front of us getting blown on by the a/c. So for Relief Society, I moved over to where Robert had been sitting--aaaahhhhhh, heaven!

You see, I RARELY get cold--a function of menopause or what, I don't know. But in the warmer weather, I just bake. And I get a migraine headache almost EVERY time I go to Church (I'm thinking a function of the lights, but I'm not really sure), and being warm just exacerbates the problem. I was VERY grateful to find a cool spot to spend the last hour of Church! And after an hour in the "cool zone," I was FINALLY feeling almost chilled! I know where I'm sitting EVERY week!

And, by the way, we all really enjoyed Church today. I'd been sick, out of town, with company, and sick again, so it had been awhile since I'd been. Last week, "the fam" went without me, as I was finishing up with the stomach flu. Since it was Father's Day today, we got to watch the kids sing to Daddy during Sacrament meeting--so precious! Great weekend!

School's OUT!

We LOVED Toph's teacher, Ms. Chambrone. She started off subbing for his class, after his teacher went on medical leave, and we were fortunate to be able to have her for the rest of the school year. Toph really blossomed under her care. Ms. Chambrone was able to find the balance between pushing the kids to do better and learn more AND loving them. Everyone could tell that she loved our kids, and they loved her back. Many kids had to come back several times each afternoon to give her hugs--Hannah included. We're hoping that she gets to stay at Creekside next year too--I think she is too.




But, SCHOOL IS OUT!!! We're looking forward to summer vacation. We're taking swim lessons, my parents are coming for a visit, the kids and I are going to Fresno to visit friends and cousins, and we have MANY fun activities planned when we're here. It will be so nice to be NOT on the "normal" routine and to have a break from homework. Of course, the kids may not feel the same way, because we're starting our own home routine--"school" and chores are a part of that routine every day. But for now, we're going to just be grateful that summer vacation has started!

First Grade Ditch Day

Our little water ballerina.

Hannah riding one of the new kid-friendly, non-wet rides with Thomas and Kiersten.

Toph and friends were "torturing" Hannah in the bounce house. She left in tears. Fun times!

One of the strong, flexible performers for Cirq de la Mer.

A bit of water play for the kids in the afternoon.

"C" is for Cookie Monster.

Kiersten and Hannah with Ernie and Bert.

Our friend, Elmo!

Yes, there is such a thing--we made it up this year. The first grade was going on a swim party field trip, and Toph would have been relegated to the 18-inch toddler pool, since he doesn't swim yet. Sound fun? Not really. That, coupled with the fact that there was the entire first grade going and the water was reportedly COLD, and we decided to do an alternate field trip. Can you blame us? A couple of Toph's friends were going to Sea World for the day, and since we hadn't been yet, we decided to join them. I'm so glad we did! The kids had a blast!

Sea World has a new play area--well, it's the old play area changed around a bit. They have 3 kid-friendly, non-wet rides; a bounce house; a sand area; a water play area, and the climbing/slide stuff they already had. In addition to that, they have Sesame Street characters that come do a short show and then take pictures with the kids. Toph couldn't care LESS about that, but Hannah still does. She was thrilled beyond belief to take a picture with Cookie Monster and Elmo, and she was very bummed that Zoe wasn't out for photos.

It was a great day to go, because it wasn't too hot or too crowded. The only disappointment was the Cirq de la Mer show--I didn't think it was as good as last year's. The kids were also disappointed that we didn't go to more shows. But we have PASSES, so we can go every week! They spent at least an hour in the morning at the new play area, and then we spent at least another hour again in the afternoon.

So, First Grade Ditch Day ROCKED!!!

Touching Award

Diane gave me a blog award today--I was shocked and touched. THANK YOU, Diane!

This was especially meaningful to me, because my cousin, Robin, received TWO bone marrow transplants the last two years. It wasn't enough to cure her, but she lived longer because of the selflessness of her donor.

The rules of this award are: SHARE THE LOVE!!! Share this award with all those blogs out there that you love. All the people who make you smile. All those that make you laugh. All those that make your day. All those that leave uplifting comments on your blog. **All I ask, is that you include a link to this post with the award and ask your recipient to do the same.** It's a GREAT story!

I'd like to SHARE THE LOVE with:

• My sisters: Heidi, Aimee, and Cody. Heidi answered the challenge to blog IMMEDIATELY and shares parenting moments and photos of my littlest nephew. Aimee answered the challenge by starting a whole website! Cody's blog is just beautiful--she was already a blogger. These fine family always leave such nice comments too. Thanks girls!
• Jen Cloes. Jen was inspirational when I finally decided to enter the blog world. She was very patient with my countless questions and gave lots of good tech support. He blog is amazing, and I have learned so much from her.
• Alicia Christensen. Alicia's blog is private, so you can't all go visit her. She's done a great job, and I love how she's chronicling her daughter's life. I wish I'd been a blogger when my kids were little. She also leaves me great comments.
• Becca Laing. I knew Becca when she was a little girl, and now she's a grown-up. I LOVE reading her blog because I LOVE how she LOVES being a Mom. When I feel frustrated with my kids, I read Becca's blog and it helps get me stoked up again. Besides that, I LOVE Becca's parents, and she has LOTS of family photos.
• I love LOTS more people's blogs, but if I shared the love with EVERYONE I loved, this post would be so long!
  

Again, receiving this award totally made my day--the last time I received an award was in high school (so it's been awhile!). I hope all of you SHARE THE LOVE! And just in case you didn't know, I LOVE comments! Share the comments too!

Fresno Factoids

It's no secret that I come from Fresno. I was one of the minority who actually LOVED it--to a degree. It's the ONLY place I'd ever lived. ALL of my family, except one sister, live there. Some of the reasons I love Fresno are:

• Affordable housing--our home (10 years ago) was less than $150,000--and we had a NICE, almost-2000 square foot home. We had some "sticker shock" when we moved here--and we'll happily rent while home prices continue to fall.
• Decent schools. Depending on what part of the city you live in, there are some really good schools. We intentionally bought where we did because it was in a good school area. We LOVED Toph's first school!
• Good location. From Fresno, you could be in the mountains in an hour, at the beach in 3 hours, in San Francisco in 3 hours, and in LA in 3-4 hours.
  
• Strong Church. The Church is strong in Fresno. There are 4 Stakes--probably enough people now for 5, and 8 years ago we got a Temple. It was nice to have so many others with similar values living nearby.

But, alas, Robert SWORE he'd move me out of the valley. Three weeks after we were married, I suffered the WORST asthma attack of my life. I really thought I was going to die, it was SO severe. I've had asthma for my entire life, but this attack was so much worse than usual. My pulmonary specialist told Robert that asthma would kill me (GREAT doctor, HORRIBLE bedside manner). It was then that Robert promised me that we'd move out of the valley. You see, for all of the things I LOVE about Fresno, there are some definite drawbacks too:

• Air Quality SUCKS! It gets worse every year too. For us, Red Flag Warnings were days when the air quality is unhealthy. As an asthmatic, I started feeling the effects of bad air quality sooner, and roughly a third (or more) of the year we had bad air quality. When air quality diminishes, your physical activity and ability to be outside do too. Not fun.
• Weather--not the best. I'd lived there my whole life, so I was used to it, but the older I got, the harder it was. Fresno has basically 2 seasons: cold and foggy and HOTTER than Hell. For 3 months (or more) it's foggy and cold. There's often just a 5-10 degree difference between high and low temperatures. If your median temp is 70, that's fine, but when the HIGH is in the low 40's, that's COLD. It doesn't snow there often, but it's a bone chilling cold. And when it's foggy season, you don't see the sun often enough. It gets depressing. Then there's summer. That starts usually in late May and will last until October. It's the hottest in July and August. The year we moved, we spent more than a week with a high temp of 112! Yeah, that was a fun electric bill! There are like 3 weeks of spring and 3 weeks of fall, if you're lucky. As a kid, the weather really didn't bother me, but as an adult, I REALLY don't like the hot.
• Asthmatic kid. This is what finally got me to consent to moving. I was fine with suffering myself, but I watched my sweet boy suffer more and more each year, and it finally got to me. I couldn't do anything about genetically cursing him with the asthma, but I didn't have to let him suffer if moving could alleviate some of it. SO many kids who live in the central valley get asthma. Toph's was getting worse every year.
  

So, to sum things up, Fresno is where most of our family lives. I'd lived there for 36 years. It's all I'd known. I loved the location. I loved that it wasn't TOO big, but it wasn't a hick town either. We had most of the best of both worlds. Moving TERRIFIED me. I don't like to do it anyway, but to move away from ALL of my family and friends and places I knew was really HARD. But I love my family, and moving was the best thing for us. Robert had reached a place where he dreaded going to work. He worked so hard and was so stressed out--and if I was going to be a stay-at-home Mom, my husband needed to go to a job he enjoyed. After all, he spends a lot of time there every day! We needed to get to a place that allowed Toph (and myself) to breathe. I couldn't watch him suffer any more.

So with much trepidation, I FINALLY told Robert that I could live with him looking for a job out of Fresno.....and that's a story to be continued later!

Smoky used another life....

As I was leaving to pick up Toph from school today, I heard an AWFUL screeching noise. It sounded like a cat--it was. Our neighbor's cat was stuck in their garage door at the top. It was closed all the way. Only Smoky's back half was hanging out--hence the noise.

I ran to the door and rang the doorbell like a crazed lunatic. Of course, they weren't home--or they would have fixed the problem! I looked around for a way to help poor Smoky. He belongs to the whole neighborhood, and although I DON'T like cats and am allergic to them, I wouldn't want to see this cat squished.

Fortunately, a good neighbor saw me and ran to my aid. Then we called upon another neighbor who was leaving for school pick up. He brought a bat and tried to make a hole for us to get Smoky through. More neighbors rushed to help and a hole was made, but Smoky wouldn't move.

Then Smoky's Mom came home and opened the garage door. She'd intended to go return something at the mall, but then she realized she had Costco in her trunk. Thank GOODNESS for Costco! Smoky went to the Vet. and has been pronounced fine. He's got some nerve damage and can't bear weight on one leg, but he suffered no internal injuries. I'm so grateful that my neighbors were home to help!

Nobody knows how Smoky came to be in that position. He's used up another life though, so he'd better be careful!

Two Years Ago

Two years ago, we went on a family vacation to Salt Lake City, Utah. It was a first for the kids, and a second for Robert. We enjoyed the "This is the Place" park with period-dressed helpers and things to do. Hannah and Toph enjoyed the wagon ride and petting this baby goat. We visited SO many other fun places too. Utah is a great place to find family-oriented activities! We visited a children's museum, a dinosaur museum, a farm museum, and many Church history sites. The kids got to dig for dinosaur bones, ride ponies, and play in trucks and an airplane. We got to tour the buildings on Temple Square and the Conference Center. We got to hear the Mormon Tabernacle Choir sing in person. It was SO much fun!

Two years ago we LOVED taking photos of the family on the Temple grounds, with all of the beautiful flowers. It always looks beautiful there, but it seemed especially LOVELY this time of year. I loved the pictures of the kids with Robert. You can see that we were adjusting to Hannah's FIRST self-hair cut. She cut it the day before we left on vacation--clearly the day BEFORE something is not a good time for her to be around scissors!

Two years ago, our kids got to see the Salt Lake Temple for the first time. It's really awe-inspiring. They'd never seen a large temple before. We loved looking out of our living room at night and getting to see the Temple. The kids also loved to look out the window each evening and YELL at the sister missionaries who were walking home--they'd yell nice things, of course! We always counted how many would hear us and wave back.

Hannah was just potty trained, and everywhere we went, she liked to tell people that she wore big girl panties now and she'd tell them all about how she could sit on the big potty chair without falling in. Yes, she told EVERYONE we saw--didn't matter if they were perfect strangers. We had many entertaining elevator rides, "Hi, my name is Hannah. I wear big girl panties now. I go potty in the big potty chair and I don't fall in because I spread my legs big, but then my panties fall off. But I put them back on." She was PROUD! Lots of sister missionaries had fun stories about Hannah to share with their families that week.
Two years ago, my kids were SO little! It's amazing to see how much they've grown in just TWO years! They've gotten so big and sophisticated. Life is easier in some ways, but I miss my LITTLE guys! It's going to seem like just two more years, and they'll be graduating from high school and getting married. Time passes so fast!

Two years ago, I finally agreed that Robert could look for another job, outside of Fresno--but that's another story to share some other day! A lot can change in just two years!

PHOTOS ADDED!

If you have looked at any of these old posts, they now have photos added:

Mother's Day Gifts
Howdy, Partner (Mother and Son Dance)
Mom, Today I'm a Ballet Dancer

Thank you, Robert for getting the photos onto the computer!!!

EEEEEEWWWWWW!

So, Toph and I have the stomach flu. It's not fun. It started about noon for me yesterday. I called Robert in the early afternoon to warn him that he might need to stand in the swim lesson sign-up line for me, since I wasn't traveling at the moment. No sooner had I hung up with my sweetie then Toph's school called. He'd barfed all over the teacher's desk--so they wanted him to come home early. Go figure!

On a side note, when I called Robert to inform him of the current situation and that he WOULD have to stand in line for me, he came home right away so that he could take care of us. What a guy! He stood in the eternal line too and managed my first choice for swim lessons!

Toph spent a quiet afternoon and evening. I convinced him to drink something around dinner time, and he actually felt like eating something at 8. He didn't have a fever and was acting "normal" so I was optimistic that he was getting better.

Not so much. When I went to check on him before I went to bed, there he was, my beautiful boy, surrounded by puke all over his bed! Yep, he'd barfed in his sleep! THAT was fun to clean up! All I can say is I'm SO thankful that Robert pulled out the trundle and that Toph wasn't asleep in his bunk bed!

Toph is better today. He ate oatmeal for breakfast and he ate lunch, and he's not complaining of stomach pain or suffering in any way. He's actively playing his current favorite video game, and is fine. Me? Not so much. I'm hoping to start processing food again in the near future. Oops! Gotta RUN!

Remote Nirvana

While in Fresno last week, Robert was internet shopping. It's our favorite way to shop, but it's dangerous too. By now, all readers know that Robert is a GEEK (this is a compliment in our home) and that he likes all of the geek toys. He has been researching universal remotes and has talked to people who own them and LOVE them. So we HAD to have one.....

I about choked on the $$, but it will work anything in our house that runs on remote control. And that's quite a few devices. The REALLY nice thing is that I won't have to leave written, step-by-step directions for using the TV. You tell the remote what you want to do (DVD, PS3, Wii, TV, etc.) and the remote does all the work for you. SWEET! Now even the techno-tarded will be able to navigate the nightmare of the media center.

Now we just need the DVD player fixed........

Beach Bums

I've got a few free minutes and I'm in a reflective mood. These are pictures of my babies the second time we went to the beach (back in 2004). They LOVED it! Hannah LOVED sand--and the more I'd try to tell her "no no" or "yucky" the more she'd eat. Sand diapers are extra special!

Now it's getting to be that time of year......We are SO lucky to live in a place where we can go to the beach every week for Family Home Evening. This year, I expect to see the kids boogie boarding more than last year. We're signing up for swim lessons tomorrow.

Look out summer, here we come!