Carlsbad 2010

We enjoyed our trip to California. It was a well deserved rest. The first 2 days we had my sister, Diana, and her kids Adam & Bryce, along with Bryce's family. That was wonderful!! We always love to have the little ones on the beach once again. Byrce & Laura had never come with us - so it was truly a treat to have them there. But when they left on Sunday - they took the sun with them. Chad's friend, Brian, came on Sunday -- and he brought clouds and cool weather. He stayed until Wednesday, but there was very little sun. We kept telling ourselves -- "Just enjoy the cool .... pretty soon you will be wining about the 110 degree weather." But - we really did miss the warm beach. It's so much harder to get into the cold water when it's also cool when you get out. We took a couple days off of the beach this year, but decided on Thursday that we were going to go out, clouds or not. We had a great day. Then Friday, our last day, the sun tried to come out a bit and it was a bit warmer.

There was some excitement on the beach this year -- for the first time in all these years of going. I was boarding in the ocean with the kids & Diana, and got caught in a huge wave that literally took my swimsuit bottoms right off. WOW! Thank goodness I was holding a boogie board. I held on to that thing as if my life depended on it. I kept thinking, "Please, don't let there be another wave come and crash me now." .... yuck! Ken saw me and brought me a towel and then a wave brought my suit back. Chad, Adam, and Kenna thought it was a horribly embarassing thing for them .... what ???? what about me???? What can I say??

I'm grateful that we have had the chance to go for the last 16 years. Our kids think of it as "home away from home" and it's all they want to do each summer. We are really fortunate and I am thankful ...


Here is McKenna & Kenneth. What a beautiful picture !!

Enjoy this slideshow of some other pictures.

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Only 3 more months to go .....

Ugh!! One and half months down, 3 more to go. Things have calmed down for Chad. (Thank Goodness !!! Didn't think I could survive much more of that kind of excitement.) It has been the longest month of his life I think. I guess it is normal for his mission to have a 4 1/2 month wait. Everyone going there or there already that I hear from has had the same wait. Some things that I'm hearing about the mission ...

Cancun is actually in his mission and he could be sent there. HAH! His mom and dad are FOR SURE going to schedule a trip to pick him up in 2 years time. A little R&R at a resort ahead of time. : o) It is so hot and humid. And, they sleep in hammocks. FUN! Very primitive from what I understand. Some places don't even have running water. UGH! But, they say there is always a super Wallmart nearby. Isn't that amazing !? Aren't they everywhere??? His mission President is brand new (this month)and is Mexican. They say that most of the elders that are there never have an English companion. So - I guess he's going to be thrown into the language right away. (Hope he learns it....)

We are getting ready to go to California at the end of the week. The Lord has blessed us with one more year together. We thought last year would be our last, but we've gotten a "bonus year" and we are truly grateful. Once we get back I have about a week before I have to start thinking about school again. And, Kenna will start her major volleyball training (she's had workouts all summer, but not like what's ahead...) Things will start to get hectic and I know that the time will pass so quickly. Like everything I'm sure we will be in a time crunch at the end. Before I can blink it will be September -- (August always seems to rush by) and then October.

Chad's Accident .....

Well, Chad was in an accident on Saturday night. It was on our Carefree Hwy and he was going 65. (If I can believe that ???) It was a really bad one, totalled his car. But - he walked away literally without a scratch. He went through the raised median and into oncoming traffic. Carefree Hwy is always very busy -- but there was only one car coming that direction. It just happened to be a sheriff. (Isn't that Chad's luck ....) We are extremely grateful that he wasn't hurt - and that he didn't hurt anyone else. We are recognizing this for what it is -- there will be a lot of opposition the next few months to keep Chad from Mexico. I went to the impound lot today and tried to take a picture of the car (which was literally smashed in half), but it is a police lot and pictures were not allowed. Chad has one on his phone (not very good because it was dark at night), but I will post it when I get it.

MEXICO MERIDA MISSION !!!

Chad received his mission call today to the Mexico Merida Mission. He reports October 13, 2010. We are SO happy !! He will be speaking Spanish -- (Those two years of Spanish in High School will definately NOT be enough ....) Just by our first glance it looks like a beautiful place to be. It is on the Eastern coast of the Gulf of Mexico, down by Guatemala and Honduras. It is near Cuba. It looks very Caribbean like -- not sure if it is. And, yes, there's a beach. OH NO !!! We are truly overwhelmed. A friend of ours (Sam) got his mission call last week and he is giong to Madagascar and leaving in ONE MONTH!! I was not hoping for it to be that close -- but 4 MONTHS !!!! I'm sure the time will go quickly and I will be whining that he is leaving way tooooo soon. It looks like he may get to Mexico just in time for Christmas. Oh my -- can't much think about that. No -- he didn't shave ........... (What can I expect????)

PAPERS ARE IN !!!

Well -- the Stake President pushed the button and today could be the day that the First Presidency is considering Chad. We should hear in the next week or two. WOW! I'm so excited. What a wonderful time for Chad, and us.

VOLLEYBALL

Kenna is playing with the FLUID VOLLEYBALL club this year. I can't believe it, but we only have 3 tournaments left this season. She has done so well. She's starting to get some vertical. Her hitting and serving always score points for her team, and we are SO proud of her!! Enjoy a couple pictures of her Anaheim California trip in March.

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Missionary Picture

Last Thursday I came home and Chad was at the computer. He told me that he was getting ready to "push the button", finishing his part of his mission paperwork. I was surprised. I asked him if he took his picture (I've been trying to get him to shave and get the picture taken for weeks). He said, "Ya, Mom. Here come look." This is what he showed me.

Here is the "real" picture. A bit better.