Fall Break in San Diego!

Our family didn't really have a big summer vacation since Merril and I went to the Florida Keys for our anniversary.  We did some smaller trips but nothing big.  Fall Break meant a 4-day weekend and we decided to spend it in San Diego, CA.  SeaWorld and the San Diego Zoo were running huge specials on entrance fees and we decided to take advantage.  Merril liked strapping his surf board to the top of the Tahoe.

We looked at getting a suite at a hotel but what ended up working out was a nice beach house rental.  It wasn't anything fancy but it was a perfect situation for us.  There were beds for everyone, and a pack and play for Mark.  There was a garage for us to use, sand toys, boogie boards, beach cruiser bikes, a tv with a Netflix subscription, a full kitchen, and a fridge full of condiments, all 1/2 block from the beach.  It was a located a little further south of San Diego, in Imperial Beach, CA.  We got there late on Wednesday night and crashed.

 We woke up and went to SeaWorld.

Some of the smaller, I mean, bigger kids, insisted on riding some of the rides.

  
There were pools full of manta rays or some sort of rays and allowed the kids to touch them.  They were a huge hit!

Mark was a trooper but couldn't stay awake for the Shamu Show.  We hung out in the shade while the rest of the family watched the show.

This was the dolphin show and we ended up sitting in the soak zone.  Big mistake.  Mark did not appreciate being splashed.  :/  We moved up a few rows.  

We stayed until closing time, which only 5:00, and then ordered some pizza.  Merril saw an ad on the fridge for a pizza place right by the condo called "The Giant Pizza King."  I thought it would be ridiculous to get such a giant pizza but the kids were astounded at it's size.   

Mikayla kept remarking that, "it didn't even fit on the table!"

Mikayla's curly hair became even curlier in the humidity, if you can imagine.  Oh and that chair that Jack is sitting is was Juliet's favorite.

We tried to talk the kids into the San Diego Zoo on Friday but they weren't having it.  They decided it was beach day.

Mark is a stud muffin.

He was attracting all the ladies.  Or maybe just his Mom.

I was cold, of course.  I didn't even get in.  I was cold just sitting there.

The cold didn't stop the other kids.  Maxine played and played in it.  

Merril surfed.

There was a dead dolphin washed up on the beach but I didn't take pictures of that because it was yucky.  There were cones put out by the lifeguards but I guess they don't clean up dead dolphins.  We went back to the condo for naps and pizza leftovers and just vegged out watching Netflix the rest of the day.  

Maxine specifically requested to go to the San Diego Temple and do baptisms so we went Saturday morning.  We got there too early and waited.  Then we got put with a deaf branch.  We were confirmed in sign language, which was pretty neat.

Driving to San Diego to do baptisms took us longer than we had planned and Merril and the smaller kids were back at the condo and got bored.  They went back to the beach.  Merril liked this statue of the surf dude.

We got back to the condo and changed and everyone went to the Zoo!

The Zoo was pretty packed because it was Saturday and everyone was kind of tired.  Mikayla was barely moving.  She kept stopping to look at flowers and random rocks.  

We didn't end up staying at the zoo for very long.  We left after lunch and seeing the Pandas and drove home Saturday night.  It was a great little getaway.  

Last days of the Lake Season...

Ohhhh, the last days of Summer.  We had a beautiful last day at the lake.  We stopped by the Subway and picked up subs and chips and headed out.  Merril was out of town so it was me and the 5 kids.  For some reason I wanted to get a picture of us all jumping.  This shot took quit a few trys to get it right.

Then the kids wanted me to take pictures of them jumping off everything.

I thought the water was pretty cold but that didn't stop the kids from getting in.  

And because it was Monday and Family Home Evening, we recited the Articles of Faith and then skipped rocks as the game.  It was a positively lovely evening.

Bewitching Weekend...

We had a busy weekend!  I was hosting a Halloween "Bewitched" party for my ward and Merril was doing things with Mark and Janet's side of the family.  On Friday night, he took Maxine, Jack and J.D. to backpack Red Mountain Trail.  The next morning, he took all the kids out to the Laub Ranch by Enterprise Reservoir, mostly to get them out of my hair so I could clean for the party.  

Some of the Hummels went with the kids backpacking.

Juliet went to the cabin with Grandma, Aunt Jody, and Janalynn.  

Then Merril and the kids had fun at the Laub Ranch.  

He had all 5 kids all day long...

So that I could host a witch party.  Thanks babe! 

General Women's Meeting with my girls!

A little more than a year ago, the first Presidency of the Church announced that girls 8 and up would be allowed to join with the Young Women and Relief Society in a new meeting called the General Women's Meeting.  It occurs a week before General Conference.  As soon as I heard that, I knew I wanted to take my girls as soon as Juliet was old enough.  She turned 8 in June and so it was time to go!

I rented a car because I figured it would save on gas.  We ended up renting a 2015 Jeep Wrangler.  So I don't think we really saved any money but hey, it was fun!  We left Friday after school.

We stayed at Jo Anna's house in Payson that night.  The next morning, JoLyn and Mitchell, were performing in a band competition so we thought we'd go watch.  We had some time to kill so we drove up a nice canyon with some Fall foliage.

Afterwards we went shopping at IKEA and Justice and made our way up to temple square.

Inside the conference center.

My neighbor up the street, Paige and her two girls, Nicole and Millie, had been planning the exact same trip.  Our seats were in the same section and we bumped into them just as we were finding our seats.  So we sat together.

 My girls loved when the 1st Presidency walked in.  Without any announcement, everyone hushed and arose as they entered the room.  Their eyes grew huge as they saw Presidents Monson, Eyring, and Uchtdorf.  They couldn't believe they were in the same room.  Probably my favorite part was at the end.  President Uchtdorf met his wife and started to exit.  Towards the side, he waved to the crowd.  Thousands of hands waved back.  As he and his wife turned and waved at different sections of the audience, waves of hands swept back and forth.  I know I waved excitedly.  I felt love and gratitude from such a simple act.  It was a great weekend!

Reading with Mark...

Since Mark is getting older, he's showing more interest in books.  On a Saturday, Maxine was reading on the couch and Mark grabbed a book and snuggled in next to her.  His favorite book lately is about trucks.  

Oh the many silly faces of Mikayla.  

I should have edited these a little because they're too dark but I'm feeling lazy.

That crazy hair and gorgeous blue eyes are killer.  I love you Mikayla.

Merril's M.E.R.A. 1088!

Merril and Ryan R. decided to go on another adventure by competing in the M.E.R.A. (Motorcycle Endurance Riders Association) Utah 1088.  They have to ride over 1,088 miles in less than 24 hours.  Here they are, packing up to go.

If crazy had a face, it would look like these two.

Mark.the.shark.  He was outside playing on Gavin's longboard while the packing was going on.  I snagged this.

The rally wasn't just about riding a lot of miles but seeing lots of cool places along the way.  Different locations had different points associated with them.  They accumulated points, scavenger-hunt style.

That's Merril in the background!  I can't imagine how Ryan takes pictures while riding a motorcycle!  That's a little scary.

Another destination that gave them points, a Stonehenge replica.

Merril has a GPS tracker called a SPOT.  When turned on, it will transmit his GPS coordinates every 10 minutes and I can track him on my smart phone, even when he can't make a call.  The SPOT also has 3 buttons that can send a standard text like, "Everything's OK.", "In Trouble, send help.", and "Call 911."  It's given me some peace of mind, knowing I can help if he gets stuck or hurt while he's out of cell phone service.  The SPOT device was worth a lot of points and that combined with the other points nabbed Merril 1st Place!!  Ryan got 2nd because he doesn't have a SPOT.  

In then end, they rode over 1,200 miles in less than 24 hours.  WOW!

Oh yes, it's the first day of school...

We blinked and summer was over.  About time too because I was starting to go a little batty with the kids home all day.  Maxine started 7th grade, Jack-4th, Juliet-3rd, and Mikayla started preschool.  Everyone popped right out of bed and was ready way before it was time to go down to the bus.  I've been lazy since Mark was born but this year I'm putting my foot down and making sure the kids take a home lunch.  Fingers crossed that I can keep my resolve.

Maxine is excited that this is her last year at the Intermediate School because the bus comes so early: 7:05 a.m.  After this, the start time of middle and high school is later and later.

Mikayla is killing me in these pictures.  She was really excited to go to preschool.  It has taken quite the amount of coaxing for Luke.

Mikayla's preschool teacher plants wildflowers up a pretty little walk to the front door.  She wants to pick them all.  Her teacher said she could pick 1 a day.  :)

Jack is just getting bigger.  

Julie is so stylish.  Those glasses are not prescription.  She just saw them as Justice and wanted them so bad she purchased them herself.

Here's to a great year!

Dinner up at Kolob Cabins...

My side of the family doesn't tend to get together often, mostly because of lack of planning.  Everyone is busy and we let it slip.  The last couple of months, my Mom has decided that we need to have family dinner once a month.  The 2nd Sunday was deemed the day and we rotate who hosts.  This Sunday we had it up at the Kolob cabins. We showed up first and played around on the cement deer at Grandma's cabin.

Later everyone else showed up for dinner.  Yum.  Jeannie's kids took Jack out on the 4-wheelers and so did my Mom and I.  It was a perfect day and very pleasant.

Mikayla is silly, as always.  One thing that I love about her.  Another thing I love is when she's asked, "How are you doing?" she replies, "Great!" almost every single time.  Most people when asked "How's it going?" reply with, "Ok." or "Good."  It's unexpected to hear, "Great!" and I guess that's what I love about it.  Mikayla: You.Are.Great!

Little Jamaica Falls...

Little Jamaica Falls is just south of the Gorge and we were told about it the summer Mark was born.  We kept meaning to go but it just kept getting put off.  This summer, it was on our list of activities to do!  Little Jamaica is a mineral spring.  The water pouring out of the top is full of minerals and those minerals harden the ground and rocks.  People have brought sand bags down to build a little pool and it has all calcified, making a wall.

It was right next to the Virgin River.

Merril stopped by and then had to leave for work.

We stayed and played for a while.

It's a really neat place to visit and not that far away.  I don't think it's regulated by anyone and so there was a ton of trash on the hike down.

Towards the end, Mark got in too deep and ended up face down in the water, flailing like a frog.  I was right there and pulled him out and hung him upside down, hopefully getting any water to drain out of him.  Then I was worried he had water in his lungs so I watched him for signs of distressed breathing.  Merril was recently trained as a emergency medical responder for Search & Rescue and brought home his new EMR bag.  It has a pulse oximeter that tests blood oxygen saturation levels.  Mark was asleep but I totally sneaked into his room and put it on his big toe.  His sats were 96.  *sigh*  No worries now.