June 2019

The first week of June was our last week at school, and it was packed with events. 

Hazel, who moaned and groaned about every school performance this year, volunteered to be in the class talent show and put on a silly stuffed animal skit with a couple of her friends. 

Croce had its annual hoedown, with each grade level performing a square dance.

Gemma had kindergarten graduation. Her class sang songs and received their memory books and diplomas from Mrs. Coon.

Hazel's teacher had a daughter in Gemma's class, so she and Hazel both popped over to watch the graduation ceremony. Hazel thought it was silly that Gemma was dressed up and she was in pajamas, but whatev!

I can't believe this kid is done with kindergarten. Once she loses those two front teeth, our baby days will be over! She's learning to read and writes all the time, and I still haven't figured out how to freeze time or send her to Neverland...

Hazel received an award for running over 100 miles in the school's running club over the course of the year. That silly guy photo bombing in the back is Mike, who ran the club and was so much fun.

Hazel and Jack both received awards for being among the top three readers (according to Accelerated Reader points) in their grade levels.

Jack's competition was fiercely neck and neck all year; he and the other two in the top for second grade each earned over 400 points and were just points away from each other in the final count.

Hazel left the rest of the school in the dust, with 1,450 points, just about 600 points more than the second place overall reader. She more than doubled her points from last year, and met her goal of beating a girl from our church congregation who scored over 1000 points at the neighboring elementary school last year.

She accomplished all of this without ever reading more than she would have without the AR goal incentive. She reads every moment she can. It's very typical for her to have three books with her at all times: the one she is currently reading, the one she brings in case she finishes the one she's on, and the backup in case she doesn't like the new books she brought along. This kid brings a book along even for two minute car rides. The picture below is very true-to-life: goggles on, ready for her swim practice to begin (in, like, 60 seconds) but can't put her book down to take off her shirt and just wait a second. It is very common for us to tell her to put.her.book.down and fill-in-the-blank (eat dinner, brush her teeth, listen while I'm talking to her, etc.) 

I spent the last day of school popping in from class to class, helping with all the parties. Gemma's grade level spent the day at the park. She was tossing frisbees and swinging on the swings and kicking balls with buddies all morning.

Hazel's had field games going on in the MPR and courtyard. She was running all over the place and had a huge smile on her face the whole time.

Jack's group was a lot more chill, as his teacher offered puzzles and watercolor painting in her classroom and Jack mostly stayed in there. There were kids outside playing games and drawing with sidewalk chalk, but Jack enjoyed the calm creativity.

Hazel's teacher this year was Mrs. Lockhart, who is chock full of energy ALL the time. She was positive and enthusiastic, and while Hazel was uncomfortable with how extroverted her teacher seemed to push her to be, Mrs. Lockhart also provided Hazel with plenty of differentiated materials to keep her engaged in reading, writing, and math when Hazel was ready to go further or deeper than the rest of the class. Hazel also had a large group of good friends in the class, which really helped her develop her social skills in new and good ways.

Jack absolutely adored Ms. Bakalar. She was a rockstar at creating a calm and loving environment in the classroom, and Jack totally flourished under her care. Although he wished for more of an academic challenge, he loved going to school each day and calls this his best year yet.

Mrs. Coon was the perfect fit for Gemma. She was always positive and loving, and had cute catchphrases and projects. Gemma felt safe and was always happy to go to school. She learned at a steady pace and made friends with every single kid in her class.

We had a Summer Kick-Off party at our house on the last day of school.  All the kids invited a handful of buddies, so we had a big, fun group for pizza, potluck, and ziplining. Hazel was disappointed that her best friend Aarna couldn't come (she traveled to India to visit family for the summer and left two weeks before school ended) but had a few other close friends there. She could have invited lots more buddies, but she likes small groups and was already annoyed by how many additional people would be there by Jack and Gemma's invitation. She had a good time with the friends she had with her. They even made cookies during the party and passed them out to everyone.

Jack had his best friends, Adam and Jonah, with him, as well as a good friend from class named Courtney, and Alyse, Stacie and Rex, who are all in our ward.

Gemma's invitation list could have been a mile long, but it worked out for us that she had plenty of friends who are younger siblings of other kids there, and she was fine with them being the ones she played with that day: Clara, Lily, Grace, James, and Nettie.

That Saturday was Hazel and Todd's last volleyball game of the season. We had the team over for a pizza and zipline party that afternoon. Hazel is having a hard time waiting for fall season to start. She really found something she enjoys!

Jack and Hazel were given a duet to work on by their piano teacher, and practiced hard for several weeks before playing Armies of Helaman in Sacrament Meeting (and then the piano recital). They sounded absolutely fantastic! 

I picked up a box of puzzles for the kids to work on over the summer, and Hazel set right to work on this one, working on it over the course of a few days.

Gemma wrote her testimony during Sacrament Meeting and I was lucky enough to see it and save it. It says, "Jesus is kind to me. He is nice to me. I love Him. He made this world and I love to go to the church because I love Him."

During our first week of summer break, Missy, Shaylee, and Carli drove out to spend a few days with us. We loved it! It was short but sweet. We went to Target and picked out the most crazy clothes we could find for each other and held a dressing room fashion show.

We also took them to Crown Beach, on the bay. We hadn't been there before, and it was an exciting discovery! The water was comfortable enough to get in and stay in, and it only took an hour to drive to from the house. We are looking forward to coming back lots and lots! It doesn't feel the same as the coast (there's no crashing waves or anything) but it beats spending 3-4 hours in the car for a quick day trip.

Summer means swim meets! We've got team practice every morning, Monday through Friday, and meets every Saturday morning (and they start early...) The kids are all shaving time off on their strokes from last year's best times, and overall, we're having a good time.

Todd and I went on a hot date to a concert to hear the Goo Goo Dolls and Train. It was awesome to feel the energy and sing along to so many familiar and well-loved songs. The venue was larger than either Todd and I had experienced before, and we both agreed that we prefer more intimate concerts, but that didn't stop us from having an awesome time.

Todd got spoiled for Father's Day, with homemade gifts and chicken pot pie. I tried to shoo him away when he started washing dishes, but he stopped me and said doing the dishes was no big deal. That's a huge deal for me! Definitely gave me some perspective on how we all find different acts of service meaningful. 

Father's Day was also the day the Oakland Temple was rededicated, after a 14-month closure. We were able to bring Jack and Hazel with us. Hazel is looking forward to being able to serve in the temple next year. It feels wonderful to know there's a temple nearby again. I've felt its loss. I'm looking forward to attending frequently when the kids are back in school.

I had seven inches of hair chopped off. It feels amazing!

My brother Scott and his family came to visit for a few days. They'd been up to Portland to see Emily and then come down the coast to our place, so they'd been in the car a ton! They voted to stay close to home instead of hitting the big sites, which was music to my ears. We hung out at home a bunch, letting the cousins all play together and enjoy our backyard.

We went swimming at my friend Elaine's HOA pool, which we love to use each summer.

Hazel led the kids in a project beforehand, filling and decorating water balloons, which they took to the pool and threw at each other till they popped. This picture shows Hazel with her favorite, designed to look like her favorite Harry Potter character, Luna Lovegood.

We went back to Crown Beach and brought our boogie boards and sand toys with us this time. Everyone had a blast! 

We stopped at the Oakland Temple on the drive back to let Scott and Caprice see it and take pictures. Everyone felt really awkward because we hadn't planned on this stop and we were all dressed very casually. Although of course Heavenly Father wants us to be reverent and respectful when we're at the temple, I shared my testimony that I think He is always happy when we come to the temple.

On Scott's way out of town, we went with them to the Jelly Belly Factory and took the tour. It had been a few years since my crew had been, and it was fun.

While I was hosting Scott and Caprice, Todd was in Sitka on a guy's fishing trip. Although the idea of spending all day every day in a fishing boat sounds kind of like torture to me, he definitely made me jealous with pictures of the pod of whales they found out on the water.

Jack's long hair project continues. He gets compliments on his hair all the time. My favorite so far has been that he looks like a surfer dude. I love that I can braid it and wish he would let me leave it in for a while!  Maybe for crazy hair day...

The healthy eating continues over here. The family is slowly but surely being converted to whole wheat everything. Quinoa is another story. They hate the stuff! Lucky for us, produce is plentiful and delicious in the summer, so it's been pretty easy to feed everyone without feeling the need to fall back on much of anything processed so far.

We've had some playdates and we've been babysitting Jonah's chickens. The weather has been lovely - not too hot for the most part - so we've played outdoors a ton without feeling like we had to be in a pool to survive.

We even made time to see a flick in the theater - Toy Story 4. It was better than expected!

May 2019

May is always busy. Our days were filled up with volleyball, basketball, and swimming, state testing for Hazel, dentist appointments for the kids, several birthday parties to attend, and making lots of treats and cards and gifts for Teacher Appreciation Week.

Gemma's kindergarten class had a darling Mother's Day Tea, with treats and songs and cute cards they'd made for the moms.

My family totally spoiled me on Mother's Day. Todd and the kids had been working in secret for days beforehand, making lots of love notes for me that they hid all over the house. I found messages in my makeup bag, my underwear drawer, the flour bin, my purse, the shower, my closet, and several other locations - so many that I was still discovering them for several days afterward! Hazel and Todd woke up early and made cinnamon rolls from scratch, so yummy! All day long, everyone was extra sweet to me and did all the work in the kitchen. It was wonderful.

The Oakland Temple Open House ran through most of the month. We spent our family scripture study time for a week before prepping the kids on why we have temples and how sacred and meaningful it is for us. It was a great experience to be able to walk through with them and share our testimonies of temple work and eternal families with them in a way we hadn't done before.

Later in the month, I was able to go back with my good friend, April, and share with her some of the greatest doctrine in the gospel of Jesus Christ. She was happy to learn about something that I hold so dear to my heart.

Usually we bike or scooter to school, but when we slow down and walk, I get to see cute bonding moments between my kids like this one:

On May 19, we met Todd up in Sacramento during his drill weekend to attend the Change of Command ceremony. He passed the leadership baton on to his old friend from flight school, Joey Burke.

Here they are, learning to fly Blackhawk helicopters, back in 2008:

It's been an emotional change for Todd, winding down and preparing for his retirement from the Army, which will happen next year. He prefers to work hard and be useful, and the fewer people he has to answer to, and the more responsibility he has, the happier he is. It's difficult for him to step down and take a backseat for this last year of his Army career, but it was either that or add another year and another deployment to his time. I am grateful for the sacrifice he is making in favor of his family and his mental health.

I was surprised to realize I probably don't have a picture of Gemma in a Blackhawk yet. I feel like I've got a bunch, but they're most likely of Hazel and Jack. Lucky for us all, I figured that out in time to snag one or two!

Hazel's class put on a play about the California Gold Rush. I helped out with the sound system, so every day for two weeks, I was at the school for an hour while they practiced. It was a big commitment, but fun to be a part of. It took me back to my drama days as a teenager. I loved it so much! Hazel claims she hated every minute of it. Her least favorite part was having to do the Macarena in front of an audience. Ha!

That same day, Todd came and spoke in Gemma's class about flying Medevac helicopters as part of their unit on community helpers. Most of those little guys weren't around to see Todd's big show at the school last year, but a couple of them were there and remembered how cool it was.

Also that same day, Jack had a field trip to Del Valle, an huge regional park in the area with a lake, hiking, and camping spots. It was rainy and cold, so he wore his winter puffy coat! We've had some crazy ups and downs with our weather the last little while.

Jack has also been studying Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream with some visiting teachers from the Shakespeare society out here. The class performed an act from the play and everyone had one line. He claims he had no idea what it all meant, but he's looking forward to the opportunity to see a Shakespeare performance over the summer. When Hazel did this in second grade, the theatre troupe was also performing A Midsummer Night's Dream, so she was able to follow the plot and whisper to me what was happening. Jack and I will be going to Othello, which I know nothing about. I guess I'd better study up before we go...

Gemma, spunky little thing, is looking forward to first grade, but has shed some tears about leaving Mrs. Coon. She's starting to read a little on her own, but still prefers to listen to someone else read to her. She will often go out to the front yard and play against herself in tetherball. She's fierce and comes back in sweaty.

We drove down to Sunnyvale to watch our "California cousin" Nova perform as Ursula in The Little Mermaid. She did not disappoint! She was evil and funny and belted out her songs and completely stole the show.

On Memorial Day, we trekked up to Golden Gate Park in San Francisco. We made a quick stop at the Japanese Tea Gardens because we could get in free before 10:00. The kids took lots of pictures, with the idea that they will recreate them in drawings or paintings over the summer. It was really pretty.

Our main purpose in coming, however, was to visit the De Young Museum of Art, which had an exhibit of Claude Monet's late work. Monet has always been one of my absolute favorite artists, and Hazel is also drawn to him and his style. It was an incredible opportunity, and I'm so grateful we were able to go.

It's one thing to see his work in print form, in books or on posters, but to see the real deal in person took my appreciation of his talent to a whole new level. The layers upon layers of paint were fascinating to me, the color choices, the size of his pieces and the scale of his work, were all amazing. I was just blown away by how we could walk through room after room, looking at nearly 100 paintings, and every single one of them was incredibly beautiful. He really was a master.

We had to wait about an hour after we got there until it was our turn to see the exhibit, so we had wandered through the other parts of the museum beforehand. When we came out afterward and discussed what we had seen, Jack said, "It's a good thing we looked at the other art in the museum first, because it doesn't look as good after seeing Monet's." It was phenomenal seeing such high-quality work. Every piece was awe-inspiring.

I put in a few hours in Gemma's kindergarten class, giving each of the kids a one-on-one reading assessment so the first grade teachers have a benchmark of what level each student can read at. It was satisfying for me. I need to find more volunteer opportunities to use my skills like that.

I spent most of May trying to eat low-carb to lose some weight. I'd gotten fed up with the extra 10+ pounds I've been carrying around, particularly the ones that hang over my waistband. I just didn't feel good, and finally felt motivated enough to put in some effort to take better care of my body. Well, the first four pounds came off in ten days, and it felt fantastic, but after that, I hit a plateau and that made the low energy and feelings of deprivation harder to deal with.

I started praying about it, asking Heavenly Father to help me know how best to take care of this wonderful body He's given me. And then I started studying. I looked up information on sugar and how it can be as addictive as heroin. I looked into the Paelo diet and their aversion to grains, the idea of eating fresh meat and lots and lots of vegetables. I watched a documentary about plant-based diets and thought about whether or not animal food products were good for me to eat. I read a book about processed foods and thought a lot about all the additives in the foods we buy. I studied the Word of Wisdom and prayed some more, and then it was like a fire was lit under me, and I felt an enlightening. I felt drawn to take the good from all the ideas out there, and see how it aligned with the Word of Wisdom. I felt compelled to make some changes in my family's diet, such as reducing the sugar we use and switching to whole grains. I've decided it's time to break up with highly processed foods and try to stick to ones with only a handful of ingredients, all of which could be found in a normal household kitchen. I'm excited about the idea of working with a lot more produce, and being thoughtful about the sources for the meats we eat.

It's a lifestyle change, and I'm taking it slow, but I'm definitely feeling passionate about it. I've been able to eat bread again, and I'm still losing weight. I'm feeling more energetic, more clear minded, and, to be honest, liberated. I feel like I was definitely given personal revelation on how I can treat my body and my health more mindfully, with more respect and more love. I'm just getting started, but I'm feeling like it was exactly the right direction Heavenly Father wanted me to take myself and my family. I'm feeling really grateful for how open communication with heaven feels to me right now.

I've been to the library and picked up every cook book that I thought might give me some delicious inspiration, and I'm working on a new collaboration of recipes to use, but honestly, it's really pretty simple. Just eat quality-sourced food as close to it's natural state as you can, as often as you can. Along the way. love where you're at and celebrate the journey.