Shirley Family Reunion, part 1

Over 4th of July weekend, we had a family reunion with Peter's immediate family in Oceanside, California. We had a great time seeing family that we rarely get to see. And although we were freezing our watoobies off (as my mom would say), we had a lot of fun! We have definitely acclimated to Arizona. The whole weekend in California, it only got up to around 65 degrees, plus it was a little windy at the beach, so we were freezing. I couldn't believe that I was actually happy to get back to 100 degree weather! We only have to get through it for about one more month, and I can do that.

We got to California Thursday night. The kids did good in the car, and even fell asleep before we got there. Peter says I take too many pictures of the kids sleeping, but what can I say? A sleeping kid can bring a mother so much joy! Ha ha!

We got to stay at my grandparents' house in Carlsbad. The only bad part was that they weren't there, and I haven't seen them for a really long time. We will get to see them in September at least. The reunion didn't start until Friday afternoon, so we went to IHOP for breakfast. This is how Levi "smiles":Eden kept us pretty entertained until our food came.

We also went down to Oceanside Pier for a few minutes before we headed over to the reunion.

We started off our reunion at Poinsettia Park in Carlsbad. We talked...

we barbecued...

we snacked...
we watched the kids play...

then we watched the men play.

This was pretty funny. I am only putting two videos on to save these guys from too much embarrassment. Just kidding, they weren't THAT bad!

Here's Carter's awesome shot:

And Peter scored a few...

The kids played for what seemed like hours at the playground. Levi and Nick were little buddies at the park. It was really cute how they kept chasing each other around and going on the slide together. Levi needs a little buddy!
Henry, your smiles are too perfect! Your mom must be a photographer!
Jonah was content to dig in the dirt. Sounds like our camping trip!

After the park, we went over to Cheryl's parent's pool. It was pretty cold, but the bravest of the group got in.

Maddy's awesome action shot!

We figured out really quickly that the hot tub was a great place to be.

This is one of my favorite kids ever! I don't know if I could handle all of his energy (good job, Kristie!) but he is such a little joy to be around! I just can't resist that smile.
to be continued...

Shirley Family Reunion, part 2

On Saturday morning, we went down to Old Town San Diego to visit the Mormon Battalion Museum. To be honest, this was one of my favorite parts of the reunion. I highly recommend visiting if you are going to be in San Diego. It was really interesting and fun for the kids as well. The church has done a great job on this center.

Inside a covered wagon...

We went through a bunch of rooms and watched a movie about the Battalion.

At the end, we got our pictures taken.

Then the kids got to pan for gold...pump water...and make bricks in the oven.

The rest of the day we spent at the beach. The kids had fun digging in the sand.

None of our kids wanted to get in the water, and I don't blame them one bit! I didn't even put a toe in to check, but I'm sure it was freezing!
Good thing there's lots of sand to play with!
Luke, having a grand time...
Uncle Tom showed off his beach bod...
The kids caught some waves...


And most of the uncles eventually went in the water. Peter stayed out for quite a while. He probably was wishing we had brought his surfboard.
As for me, I chilled out and got a little sun on my legs before snuggling up with Levi as he fell asleep.

The next day was Sunday and we were able to go to Jack and Kathy's ward. The members of their ward bore some amazing testimonies, especially considering that a family in their ward had suffered a tragedy over the weekend. I felt a lot of love in the ward for that family, and a renewed trust in our Heavenly Father's plan.

It was great being in that ward because I also got to meet the Oddous, who are my sister's best friend, Marc's, parents. Wow, that sentence sounds really crappy. Anyways, they were so fun to talk to, really fabulous people.

After church, we ate at Jack and Kathy's, had a testimony meeting, and sang songs around the piano.

The kids had fun outside...

and Eden found a buddy in Aunt Cheryl.

It was a great reunion, and I so glad that everyone was there (well, except Abby). We had a lot of fun being around everyone. It's so much fun when everyone gets together at once.

Some of us were still around on Monday, so we went down to Oceanside to walk on the pier. My camera was on a weird setting, so these pictures didn't turn out too good, but I'm going to post them anyway!

Family picture, Take 1:

Take 2:

And one of Peter and I:

Random Stuff

I can't believe how soon school starts. Eden starts in 3 weeks and Jonah starts two weeks after that. I'm pretty sure it'll go by quickly.

I have five cousins who are getting married this year (well, one in January)! Two of the five are sisters and the other three are all brothers! I really want to attend all of the weddings, but unfortunately I am going to have to miss some. I am so excited for all of them though. So congratulations to Josh, Randon, Jaden, Stephanie, and Heather!

Amare is no longer a Sun. I'm pretty sad about that. I'm sure he'll do good with the Knicks, but I will miss seeing him with Steve Nash.

I am finding lots of white hairs lately! I am really trying to hold off dyeing my hair, but if I pluck many more white hairs out, I will not have much hair left. Getting older sucks!

We just got back from our family reunion in Oceanside,CA and it was a lot of fun. Another post to follow. California is cursed whenever I come. Even when I was a kid, it would be freezing cold every time I went down there to visit, and this last weekend was no exception! It was pretty interesting weather for summer- around 65 degrees with some light wind. I was freezing!

My little sister, Tibi, is coming to visit me soon! She has been coming down for a few weeks in the summer for few years now, and I really look forward to it.

Today while I was recovering from my vacation, I wasted a lot of time on You Tube and found some great stuff.

Kira and Lexie might remember this movie. I loved this movie as a kid- It's called Rose Petal Place and Marie Osmond sings for the main character. Remember the bad lady was a big ugly black widow? I couldn't find any other clips of this movie, but I did find a few copies on Ebay and I will be buying one!


I totally had one of these HuggaBunch dolls.


And this is just a mix of a bunch of '80s commercials. There are some good ones in there, especially My Buddy! Ha ha, the '80s were awesome and CHEESY!