LA Birthday Surprise

Per Madison:  I was soooooo happy and excited to spend my Saturday with my best friend, Havana. We had a blast decorating cupcakes in LA, walking through the mall, and eating at Din Tai Fung (one of my favourite restaurants that I highly recommend)! It tastes just the same as it did in Singapore. 😁 Gosh, it has been five years!!! It was great to see her again.

Per Sarah:  Havana and her mom came into LA for a weekend trip to celebrate Havana's 16th birthday.  Kayt reached out to see if we could make it into town one of the days.  It was a TOTAL surprise to Havana until she walked in the door of Duff's Cake Mix.  Pictures say it all.

  

First Day of School

Tuesday, August 14--Madison started 10th grade, Parker started 6th grade (which is in the middle school), and McKenna started 4th grade.  McKenna has the same 4th grade teacher as Parker had.  Madison started early-morning seminary the next day.  I dropped Parker off first, then Madison, and finally McKenna.

College Shopping

Saturday, August 11--both Parker (plus Jeremy) and Madison were on separate camping and float trips.  Allison, McKenna and I headed down to Palmdale to shop at Bed, Bath and Beyond for college apartment items.  These items included:  bedding, silverware, specialty knives (steak, paring, chef, etc.), spices racks, bake ware (cookie sheets, glass pans, mixing bowls, dry and wet measuring cups and spoons, oven mitts, etc.), shower caddies, bath towels, pots and pans, dishes, iron, etc.  We are only half-way done.  It required a trip to Jamba Juice afterwards.

Madison's Summer Activities

In addition to the fun places Madison got to go this summer and all the books she read, she did some fun things locally.  She took both a cupcake decorating class and a babysitting class (with CPR and First-Aid training) on the base, a basic sewing class at Jo-Ann Fabrics, and tried out cooking and baking recipes that I handed to her.

Missoula Children's Theatre

Friday, August 3--We had the good fortune of being able to participate in another Missoula Children's Theatre.  This year, Madison played the lead dwarf Bob in "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs".  Tour directors conducted auditions Monday morning, they practiced all week, and their were two performances Friday afternoon.

Mammoth Lakes

Friday, July 27-Sunday, July 29--We traveled 3-1/2 hours north to Mammoth Lakes, a very popular winter skiing destination to enjoy the cooler outdoor temperatures.

Friday--Took a photo of the Five Fingers in Inyokern, had lunch in Bishop, stopped at the Mammoth Visitor's Center (historic log cabin), rented a pontoon boat on Lake Mary ($90/hour) and dinner at Burger's Restaurant ($150).  Smoke from the nearby fires started to really seep in.

Saturday--Parked at Mammoth Mountain Adventure Center (on the road for free $) where we purchased Shuttle tickets for a total of $36.  We started at Stop 6--Devil's Postpile National Monument where we had lunch and then hiked in the Ansel Adams Wilderness of the Inyo National Forest, crossing parts of the John Muir Trail and Pacific Crest Trail.  We hiked to the Rainbow Falls and then on to shuttle Stop 10--Red Meadows Resort where we caught the shuttle back to Mammoth.  It is a 3.9 mile hike that is moderate in exertion and took approximately 4 hours.  On the drive out, we stopped to look at an earthquake fault/fissure.  We had pizza and ice cream for dinner ($70).  We enjoyed our condo's pool and hot tub.

Sunday--our rented VRBO condo ($390 including fees and cleaning) at Mountain Shadows Condominiums became a little messy by the time we were done with it, but it had three full beds, two full bathrooms and a kitchen.  An added fun bonus was that it backed up to the church building where we attended a little branch.  They have a lot of members on their rolls, but not a lot who attend regularly (7?).  Being summer, there were enough visitors (150?) that the building was packed.  We had lunch at Erik Shatt's Bakery ($90).  We would have liked to have gone to Hole in the Wall, Pulkey's Pool (natural hot spring), or walked around Convict Lake, but due to the increased smoke, we headed home.