That time we went camping over Labor Day weekend

All day Friday it poured down rain. We had plans and reservations to camp with our friends and neighbors, the Carlsons and the Reillys. However, we are camp tenters and the way it was pouring and the continuous flash flood alerts on my phone just weren't looking too good. The weather was supposed to get better over the duration of the weekend so we packed extra shoes and clothes for every one and made it out of the house by about 7:30 Friday night. The further up the mountain we got (about 45 minutes from the house) the less it was raining. The kids were sleeping when we got there and one by one woke up as Jake and I set up camp. We had our head lamps on and had bought an extra tarp just before leaving to shield ourselves from rain. We made it through the night, had the boys and dog sleep in the car right next to our tent and woke up dry! The rest of the weekend was a blast. We had great camping food, the boys rode bikes and scooter. All the kids played together really well. They learned to chop wood and start fires. We went on a beautiful hike all together and spent quality time around the campfire. We are blessed with some really great friends and had a wonderful time together as a family. 

Little girlfriends, Chelsey and Adele

Adele, Chelsey, Trevor, Jack, Derek and Cooper. All kids are same age, within months.

choppin' wood

hiking through the valley

It was a really scenic and beautiful area

caught a lizard

wore a lizard! (Stephen)

I'm glad it didn't rain while we were there but double glad we were able to set this up just in case.

Poor Griffin dog locked up cause he's cray-cray.

hauling wood

Who eats like this when camping?! The Carlsons do! Super yummy!

That time we had Chinese exchange students

For two weeks in July we had the opportunity to host two girls from China in an exchange program. I was a little nervous knowing how different our cultures are and wondered if they'd think our family was absolutely nuts. When I picked them up from the coordinator's house on their first night here I tried to be myself, but not too loud and crazy :) They were very kind but very quiet. We got home and I showed them the sleeping children and our house, where everything was, and they went to bed. For the following two weeks each day got a little better. They were more honest about what they did and did not like. Their names are Shang Cheng Cen (She picked Claire as her American name) and Jin Xiao Zi Ruo (Michelle). 

They thought we were fun and they loved the kids. Just about every day they had an itinerary that had them gone most of the day and visiting lots of places including Hollywood, UCLA, Disneyland, Las Vegas, and more. When we had them it was usually for dinner and a little time at night but they were always tired from a long day out. We spent time just talking about each other's lives in China and the US. I asked most of the questions. We had random dance parties, we introduced them to a lot of foods, they met with the missionaries, we went to a movie in the park and we got each other signed up on facebook and weibao (like a Chinese fb). They also signed me up on WeChat so we can keep in touch easier. Claire had a birthday while she was here (she turned 19 and Michelle is 18). 

 They both attend the Beijing School of Film and both want to be actresses.  They're from different places in China but met at the school.  Claire is an only child. Her dad is a police officer and her mom is a secretary...I think.  Michelle has one brother. Her mom stays at home and it sounded like her dad was a the equivalent of a city manager. They're both really wealthy and spent a TON of money while here. Literally a ton, atleast, on just souvenirs and clothes. 

Their last night here the whole group prepared a presentation and performance for all the host families. They made food from China (it was mostly all good :) ) There was lots of singing and dancing.

The day they left we were all teary, it was very sweet. We really enjoyed having them and have told them they can come back whenever they want. We keep in touch on WeChat.

Claire's birthday

Jack, Michelle, Cooper, ? and Adele

Claire and Adele

So many good dishes, my two favorites had eggplant in them

Elder Schneider from Utah and Elder ? from Hong Kong. Nice boys!

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Most of the group

That time we hiked Forest Falls

Sometime in late June we drove 20 minutes up the mountain to a little town called Forest Falls and hiked this waterfall. It was beautiful and the kids had a lot of fun climbing up and down giant boulders. They got to get their shoes wet and stomp through the stream and play with rocks.

The summer break that was too short.

Jake started his internship today at Harvey & Company LLC in Newport Beach, an investments and acquisitions company that deals mostly with private equity. I don't really know much about any of that but Jake is really excited about it! He's there T/W/TH of every week and it's a long commute and on top of the internship he's taking summer classes for his MBA in accounting and/or finance Tues and Thurs nights in Irvine. He switched to the Irvine campus for the summer because it's close to Newport Beach and he can go straight from Harvey & Co to class on those two nights.  Needless to say the weekends will be a treasured time for our family once again.

His internship is not paid this summer but could lead to a paid one next year. So for now I'll keep up with my slingin' ways and bring in some money any way I can! We always find ways though and feel very blessed by the Lord for that. We've been able to always do fun things as a family and enjoy little treats here and there. One thing's for sure is that I've gotten really good at finding deals! We have some traveling plans for this summer that include a jaunt up to Utah over 4th of July and my 10 year HS reunion in WA during August.

I'm so excited for summertime and can't wait for Cooper to get out of school!!! I like having my kids all day and have plans for lots of things for us to do together. Last week we took a spur of the moment outing to a splash park in Moreno Valley, about 20 or 30 minutes away. I'd been there once before but plan on going a few more times over the summer. Here are a few pictures from that day.

I just love her pretty face.

Mya (cooper's classmate that we babysit)

Cooper had a rough start and didn't get to play till the last 20 minutes or so. That boy can be so feisty sometimes.

waiting for the water buckets to dump

Jack climbing

This park has a sign that CLEARLY states that it's made for ages 2-12. Any kid's foot age 2-8 could easily fall through the bridge, design flaw!

She finally realized it was fun to run through the sprayers and get wet.

Cooper and Cameron (Mya's brother, who we also babysit)