jenna says goodbye

Saturday we invited some friends from the ward to go to the beach and of course spear-fishing. It was Jenna's last hoo-rah before heading back to the snowcovered Idaho. To celebrate she saved the life of a star fish, who was being carried away by a seagull, the kids (and adults) thought it was pretty cool to play with.

Steve spent his time (after becoming sufficiently hypothermic and killing a perch) burrying the kids in the sand.

I played volleyball with the Sorensons (and Jackson).

It was just another relaxing day at the beach. Sometimes I feel like we are wasting our time sitting around at the beach, but then this quote by President Uchtdorf from conference comes to mind, "Listen for the voice of the Father in the bounties and beauties of nature..." (The Love of God) So that's what I claim to be doing, listening for the "gentle whisperings of the Spirit". And Jackson is just having a lot of fun!

Thanks for staying with us Jenna, it was a lot of fun to have a perma-buddy! We miss you!

more spearfishing

Wednesday Steve got out of school early so we made the trek to the beach so he could do some spearfishing. I will say, this was the first time Jackson was able to just run around and enjoy the beach, he had a great time playing in the sand and chasing the seagulls.

I'm not quite sure what Steve is doing, because the spear tip is in the air, but he looks cool!

Here we are just watching the waves and enjoying the evening! It was just one of those good days.

The Huntington

Since Jenna's nanny-job fell through end of October, she's been staying at our place. She is now our slave. She gets to baby-sit Jackson on the days after I work. Here they are hanging together.

Thursday we went, for the first time, to The Huntington Library and Gardens. It was AMAZING. I was blown away. There are acres of themed gardens and beautiful buildings. The Huntington is an estate that belonged to a wealthy businessman in Pasadena who dedicated himself to collecting rare books and art work, leaving it all to a trust dedicated to education and research. They have some old books that people study from along with many other educational seminars and exhibits and school programs. Not to mention the beautiful gardens. Jen and I were able to take Jackson to free day, and I can't wait to go back! Visitors, you now have something new to look forward to, this is definitely a must-see!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN

Ok, so I am a lame parent- this is my poor excuse for a halloween costume for Jackson. This sweatshirt with a pumpkin face hood that Jenna brought Jackson from Idaho. Added to it Madison's orange and black striped pants.



Steve went spear-fishing Halloween morning. This is the perch he caught in the way of the ancients! I had to work, but Steve and Jenna tried it out, I heard it was tasty!

Family, here is a halloween teaser, us in our costumes. I will edit this post later, add more pictures. Tired, worked all night. Yes, that is a real mullet.