Hiking

We did a gorgeous hike with our friend, Sophia.  It's called Valencia Peak in Montana de Oro State Park.  Now that it's green here, it was so beautiful. Unfortunately, it's hard to see in the foggy pictures.

I was so proud of the kiddos! It was nearly 4 miles round trip and about 1,300 feet up. The Boy made it all the way to the top and down on his own without complaint.  The Girl made it 3/4 of the way up! After that, she was a little worn out.  She got about 1/4 of the way down on her own before she hitched a ride on Sophia the rest of the way.  

Nice way to spend a morning.  We rewarded the kids by replacing all the calories we had just burned at McDonalds.

Baptism

The Boy had a wonderful baptism. Since he and his friend, Finley, have a birthday near each other, they wanted to have their baptism together!  I was happy to share the responsibilities with her mom and my friend, Melissa. She is a very talented lady.

It was too far for my family to travel, but they sent their love and congratulations. From The Man's family, Grandma, Grandpa, Aunt Jamie and Uncle Eric, and Uncle Michael all came.  Grandpa baptized  and confirmed the Boy and Grandma spoke about the Holy Ghost.

A very talented girl in my Young Women's group named Kyra sang "When I am Baptized" with her ukelele. It was so sweet!

Speaking of sweets...

There were 130 people in attendance! Many friends came and some bearing gifts. The Boy was beaming.

 It was a very special day indeed. I feel so blessed to be a part of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. I am so proud of you, Boy!

It's Great to be 8!

I finally threw the Boy his first, real birthday party.  He turned eight and that's a doozy.  So we hired a laser tag system and went with the camoflauge theme.  Now, I can count on one hand the number of times it has rained in the last year or so around here.  The last time it REALLY rained was on Halloween.  So of course, it was due. On his birthday party weekend.  That did not stop us. We carried on with canopies and ponchos and the kids enjoyed an "authentic" experience of playing soldiers in the rain.

Happy Birthday, buddy.  We love you so much!

Serial Chess

Last night the Boy tried to teach the Girl to play chess.  During the course of his instruction (which was not going that well) this exchange took place:

Boy: And now my guy is going to kill your guy.  (The Girl becomes upset and is about to start protesting).  But wait, Sis! Now your guy can kill that guy.

Girl: (quite properly) Oh! Thank you, Bubba. I've always wanted to kill someone.

Upon reflection, I do not think she got upset that her pawn was taken.  I think she was annoyed that the Boy was doing all the killing and she hadn't dont any yet.

Scouts

Turning eight means you get to be in Cub Scouts!

He is so excited!