August 2026

We wrapped up our last week of summer with doctor checkups, school orientations, and Jabecca's Japanese. There was supposed to be a stake youth boating trip, but it got cancelled because there was a fire in the area. Although it was sad to not have the trip, it did feel nice to have an empty weekend. 

Gemma got together with her friends from the ward and Elaine caught them giving each other makeovers. What a perfect thing for a batch of 12-14 year old girls to do! It was not on Gemma's dream activity list, but she had fun. 

Hazel tried out for the school volleyball team and was put on the Varsity team as "oppo," which means she hits the third touch from the right side of the court and also blocks at the net. It's been a fun start to the season watching her play. They've won a few games and already had a couple of tournaments. 

Sometimes I find treasures like this on my phone camera. Life with teens! 

Gemma's cut foot healed well. Sadly, we had to keep her home from a couple of pool parties (and she would have missed the boating trip) to keep her cut clean as it healed. She was a really good sport about it, but that still must have been disappointing. 

Todd lent our ping pong table to the young men for an activity, and it came back broken. Imagining living without one now that we've had a taste broke my heart. I ordered a new one on Amazon that night. This one lives in the backyard. So far, so good. 

Todd took the stitches out of Gemma's foot the day before school started. It looks like it's going to heal really well. Whether or not she has a noticeable Frankenstein scar on her foot for the rest of her life will depend a lot on how dedicated she is to wearing sunscreen when barefoot and vitamin E otherwise. 

School started. Hazel and Noah went up to Brushy Peak with their graduating class for Senior Sunrise and then came home for breakfast before school. Hazel is super excited about her Chicken Joe senior backpack. 

Gemma had fun imitating Hazel's backpack pose. She nailed it. 

Gemma is an 8th grader this year, queen of the campus. She's heard a lot of good advice about enjoying this year because it is lots of fun. So far, so good. Her schedule is a good one. She is taking Yearbook as her elective and is enjoying learning about photography, graphic design, and marketing. 

Jack is in 10th grade. His biggest life highlight so far is that he has a driver's permit that he loves to use. He is, for the most part, a very safe and responsible new driver. 

Hazel has a super boring English class so that she could fit in Chamber Orchestra one more year as well as AP Psychology. Good idea to try that out and see if she likes it before committing to a Social Work degree. She has been working on college applications and looking up scholarships, too, this summer. 

Of course the kids got their giant, face-sized first day of school cookies. They each told me all about Day One as they ate them. That has been a favorite tradition. 

This is Hazel literally crying like her life is over telling us how much she hates the new uniforms her coach picked out for volleyball. The shorts are not only ugly, but also sheer, so, with the backing of almost all her teammates, she was able to veto the shorts. The also ugly but not as bad top stays. 

Jack had friends over for games at the end of week one. Hazel had a picnic at Del Valle with hers. 

More in the life with teens series: Jack with a suave, homemade, blanket wrap in the morning. Not pictured: him running back in and out of the house to grab something forgotten and the blanket turning into a cape. 

I don't know how to stop the wedgie-giving. It is out of control, but at least they are both perpetrators and not just victims. 

I have no words ...

Jack, Gemma, and Jane Harrison went to 6 Flags on a Saturday. They said they had a good time, but they also said they only got to go on three or four rides because the lines were long. 

I met up with Chrissy on her birthday for a walk and lunch. It was a really good catch-up conversation. 

Jack asked his friend Bianca to Homecoming. Hazel helped him make the poster and was so excited for him. 

Hazel and Noah went to the Train concert at Shoreline. I was pretty jealous of Noah. 

Hazel and her friends Katherine and Elsa went to In N Out in costume. Hazel got together with her already-graduated friends several times in August as they wanted to spend as much time together as they could before leaving for college. Hazel made these friends through church. It has been hard for her to have them all gradate and leave without her. 

Jack is taking an Intro to Health Careers class. He has been learning to take blood pressure and check other vital signs. 

We had an area youth fireside with Elder Neil L. Anderson down in San Jose. It was good to see so many kids from our ward attend. 

Hazel got Noah to do a spa night with her. They did facials and meditated, then watched a nature documentary to appease Noah. 

Katie and I hiked Brushy Peak and had lunch together one more time before she starts her job at the lab. 

And now we go to volleyball games on Tuesday and Thursday nights. It's fun to cheer Hazel on.