July Misc

 Over spring break, we saw this artwork of Gandalf at a shop.  Our friend Jack really liked it, but it was horribly expensive.  I snapped a photo of it because Savannah said she could paint it.  She did that this summer and gave it to Jack, sort of as a graduation gift, since he just graduated high school.  I think she did a really good job on it. 

Owen and I have still been playing volleyball at the church once a week.  It's pretty fun, but I do get bruised up sometimes.  This one was pretty bad, but not enough to keep from getting back out there the next week.  

I saw a butterfly on my bedroom window one night, and I was surprised to see it still there in the morning.  I always think of my grandma when I see butterflies now, so maybe it was a sign she was near.  We did a lot of fruit harvesting this summer.  The random lemon picked for lemonade was just funny.  We actually got several plums this year, along with peaches, apricots, and grapes.  

The kids were pretty bored this summer.  They didn't really do many fun things.  They had to just hang out for 2 weeks at home while Alex and I were on our trip.  They did a couple of camps and sports.  Other than that, they were mostly at home.  Savannah hung out with friends one day and got free slurpees.  We did a beach day with friends.  The kids mostly played the board games, but we did a family Ticket to Ride one evening that was pretty fun.  Savannah continued with twice a week swimming, which was summer conditioning.  Weston ran with the school cross country team this summer, as he decided to join the cross country team in the fall.  

Along with summer league basketball, Owen did a couple weeks of volunteer work, helping kindergarteners learn safety skills.  They actually had a film crew there during the 1st week, filming for a documentary, so maybe Owen will show up in that.  Owen enjoyed singing songs and helping the kids.  He met a little kid named Billy who just liked to laugh a lot.  One of the girls the second week really liked Owen.  Apparently the girl went home talking to her mom about "the boy".  The mom was curious what boy she had met, but she realized who that was the next morning as her daughter ran up and hugged Owen's leg.  "Oh, you're the BOY she was talking about." This little girl clung to Owen all week. Owen discovered that he really enjoys working with kids.  Owen also started a part-time job towards the end of the summer.  He plans to continue doing that throughout the school year, working Saturdays when he can. 

We went to a pioneer day celebration.  We had great food, hanging out, and activities for the kids.  They had a little obstacle course race, which was hilarious to see Weston and Owen doing with their friends.  I guess I cut the video off too early, but Owen did pull out the win in the end. He was really flying with his friend Aubree in the cart!

Alex spent a week in Oklahoma with his parents, helping out as his dad went in for knee surgery.  Alex did some yardwork and chores around the house.  He sent one picture of him all sweaty from working outside.  It's a little bit hotter there in the summer than here in CA...  His parents got to briefly chat with Jared on his weekly mission call, and I snapped a screenshot. 

Here are a few of the youth activities for the summer - the girls sewed their own purses.  There was a combined activity night with minute-to-win-it games.  Owen and Jack were determined to finish this puzzle they started in one of the challenges.  The youth did a sunset hike one night. 

It was nice to have Nathan home for the summer.  He got a full-time job (8am-4pm) so we didn't see a lot of him.  He didn't necessarily like the manual labor that he was doing, but he did learn some maintenance skills and enjoyed doing things with his hands.  He now wants to find a job that isn't just behind a computer all day.  Nathan was also involved this summer in all the singles ward activities and scripture study nights, so he kept pretty busy.  He bought a car this summer too, a 2013 Honda Civic.  He's pretty excited to have his own car to drive around.  He went on a hike before he left and snapped a few pictures.  I think he liked being home for a few months.

Alex and I did our monthly temple visit.  Savannah and I sang a duet in church, which was a little nerve-wracking, but we did it.  We sang "My Shepherd Will Supply My Need".  Savannah sang the alto part and did a good job. We had a special day one Sunday when Weston received his patriarchal blessing.  Savannah wasn't able to attend with us, so we dropped her off at our friend's house.  Our good friends just moved to the same town as the Stake Patriarch so it worked out pretty well to have dinner with them and then go to Weston's blessing.  Alex, Nathan, Owen, and I had a very spiritual experience being there with Weston.  Some amazing promises and gifts were mentioned depending on his faithfulness.  Some things were similar to his brothers, with a mission, family, and leadership in his future.  Gifts of kindness and love were mentioned, with the ability to develop many gifts through service.  It was just really spirit-filled experience and we felt close to family that had already passed on to the other side.  

The last picture was actually after the blessing.  On the way back to pick up Savannah, we saw someone having car trouble.  Our boys jumped out, along with some other guys, to help push the car into the gas station.  I liked how it didn't matter that they were in the church clothes.  They were quick to lend a hand regardless, and I like to think that it's those small acts of service that help these kids develop the attributes they need to succeed in life. 

Mt Langley Backpacking Trip

The second week of July, Alex and Weston went on a backpacking trip for 4 days to the Sierras.  There were 4 boys and 4 leaders that went on the trip.  They made it to the top of Mt. Langley, which is 14,042 ft.  This makes Weston's second 14-er to summit. Weston is pointing to Mt. Whitney in one of the photos, the one he did last summer.  He apparently was one of the boys motivating the others to keep going on this one.  I guess his prior experience is kicking in.

Weston got lots of mosquito bites on this trip and came back with chapped lips.  It was a good trip though. He enjoyed his Carls Jr. after they were done, as is tradition to get upon completion of the backpacking trips. 

15 years

We had a nice little celebration at home for Weston's birthday.  He got his requested French toast, eggs, and turkey bacon breakfast for lunch on Sunday.  (We all had an early start on Sunday morning, so breakfast didn't work out.)  I made spaghetti and rolls for dinner.  We went out to Chili's for dinner on Saturday night.  He had to get his steak and molten lava cake.  Weston's main present was his own laptop, which he wanted for his stop motion videos.  

4th of July

We started the 4th of July with a pancake breakfast at the church.  They did a bike parade for the little kids with the bigger kids blowing bubbles. Later, we hosted a BBQ at our house for 22 people. Savannah and I made several apple pies again. We made 8 pies to deliver to people on Thursday.  I made 3 more pies on the 4th (using apples from our tree).  I never took pictures of any of the people at our BBQ... but we had a good time and the food was yummy.  We made it just in time to catch the city fireworks after our BBQ.  

 

Summer League BB

 Owen made the school summer league team.  I think he played about 14 games, of which I saw 10 of them.  We missed a couple of nights due to our anniversary trip.  Owen actually had to drive himself to those games we missed which were about an hour away.  He hadn't really done long distance driving since he got his license in April.  I was a little nervous about that, but he did okay on the driving.  However, after the first game when he went out to eat, he locked the keys in the car.  Nathan had to drive over and help him out.  Anyway, he didn't get a lot of playing time, but maybe more than expected.  He averaged about 8-9 minutes out of a 40 minute game.  He made a couple of buckets, a free throw, and two 3-pointers for the season.  He contributed more on defense.  I like the energy he brings to the game, how he always works hard, and has a great attitude.

Italy-Georgia Trip, Day 14-15

 Our last day was spent in Milan, Italy.  We had a 6:15am flight from Kutaisi to Milan, so it was an early start.  We got to the airport around 4:00am and met a guy there to return the rental car.  Our flight was fine, but we wasted most of the morning trying to get through the airport and waiting for trains that were cancelled. We made it to our hotel around noon and they let us check in early, so we were able to drop all our luggage.  We headed out in the heat of the afternoon, in our long pants (since we knew there was a dress code at the Cathedral).  It was SO hot though.  We tried to see the Last Supper Painting, but the tours were sold out.  That's what we get for not planning ahead. We went to the Cathedral and walked several steps to get to a rooftop view of the Piazza del Duomo.  After more gelato, we went over to a small aquarium, which was a nice air-conditioned break for the day.  We had Italian dinner in the Navigli District, along the canal.  

Early Saturday morning, we headed out.  We walked about a 1/2 mile to the train station.  We took a 6:45am train from Milan to Venice, where we arrived around 9:00am.  From there, we took a 20-minute bus ride to the airport.  Our flight was supposed to leave at 12:40pm from Venice to London, but we didn't actually leave on time.  With a short delay and being on the very back of the plane, we only had about 30-40 minutes to make our connecting flight in London.  It seemed impossible as we waited for a bus to take us to a different terminal and then had to go through security again.  Thankfully we didn't wait in the security line more than a couple minutes. We took off running for the gate.  Luckily it wasn't boarding on time and we made the long flight.  We flew from London to Phoenix and then home.  We also had to go through security, customs, and get a bag re-checked in Phoenix.  Luckily that flight was delayed a little bit and we didn't have to run to make that connection.  We made it home around 10:30pm.  

It was a great trip, but also very tiring.  I calculated that we did at least 72 miles walking throughout our trip (according to the health app).  We sort of had a system.  We'd wake up early, drive to our destination and see the sites, get cleaned up for the day, and then head back out to walk around the city and have dinner.  Long days, but it was fun to spend it together.  

Italy-Georgia Trip, Day 12-13

 On Wednesday the 25th, we set out to see some canyons and waterfalls.  We went to Martvili Canyon, which had some amazing green water.  We did the 15-minute boat tour, which was cool, but obviously short.  We found one small waterfall nearby.  We tried to find a couple of waterfalls but didn't have any luck.  

We had a 5-hour drive up to Mestia, which was slow and painful.  The road was horrible, with lots of rough, bumpy, and narrow places.  We went 25 mph many places along that road.  We got into Mestia and explored the city.  I was dreading driving back on the same road the next day, but our host let us in on a huge tip that saved us a lot of time.  Instead of driving back the same road, we were able to drive to Ushguli (our planned destination for Thursday) and then drive back to Kutaisi on a newly paved road.  Google Maps doesn't even have the road on the map.  It was funny to see the navigation map with just a dot in the middle of nowhere.  After Ushguli, we were able to drive on the new road (known to the locals) and make it to Kutaisi in about 3.5 hours on smooth road.  The scenery on the drive was so impressive!

Alex's favorite of the trip was Ushguli, with the mountainous scenery and the old towers throughout the city.  We were there by 9:00am and wandered around for 2-2.5 hours.  A dog followed us up the hill and I snapped a selfie with the dog.  There were lots of wildflowers there too.  We had lunch at a little cafe - we had meat pies and homemade yogurt with raspberry jam (as recommended on a blog).  We were headed out just before noon.  We tried to find a couple more waterfalls on the way back to Kutaisi, but some mean dogs were an obstacle for one. The other could only be seen by swimming to it, which we didn't really have time for.  We stayed in a hotel close to the airport in Kutaisi.

Why Georgia?  Even the locals there asked why we chose to come there... it was just a country on Alex's bucket list.  I didn't even know where it was before this trip.  But I'm glad we went because it was a very beautiful country.  I wouldn't recommend driving there... but it was amazing to see another country on the other side of the world from us. 

Here is some video highlights from Georgia:

Italy-Georgia Trip, Day 11

 Tuesday the 24th we headed back south.  We had to drive nearly to Tbilisi again before heading west to Kutaisi.  As mentioned, it wasn't my favorite driving day.  We stopped at the Russia-Georgia Friendship Monument on the Georgian Military Highway.  We also visited Uplistsikhe, a cave city, which was pretty impressive.  It was also pretty windy there, but it was cool to tuck inside the caves.  I liked singing in one of the cave rooms.  

We got into Kutaisi around 3:30pm, so we had time to wander all over Kutaisi (lots more walking - we walked at least 7 miles).  We had a nice dinner at the Argo Cafe, with Belgian waffles and ice cream for dessert.  It was outdoor seating, so we had a few dogs wander in, hoping to get some dinner scraps.  We walked up to Bagrati's Cathedral after dinner and then enjoyed the fountain lights.  

Italy-Georgia Trip, Day 10

On Monday the 23rd, we headed to Kazbegi.  We left early to get out of the city before traffic picked up.  It was a little crazy trying to follow navigation and get on the right road.  Driving on the "freeway" was pretty scary.  The 2-lane stretches sometimes had trucks parked and lining one entire lane.  The 2-way traffic was expected to share the other lane.  And people there are really aggressive drivers, passing all the time, even on blind turns.  We saw several near head-on collisions.  Cows were also all over the road that we had to dodge.  We saw pigs, dogs, chickens, ducks, goats, and even a camel alongside the road.  I think it was the next day when I had had enough of the drive.  Alex was starting to drive more reckless and I yelled at him a couple of times.  At one point, I told him to let me out if he was going to keep driving like that.  He might have slowed down just a bit, but not much.  I wasn't happy with the driving over there and wouldn't want to drive there again.  

We did make it into the village in Kazbegi, hoping to find someone to drive us to our hike in Juta.  The road is too rough for a rental car (and not permissible to drive there), so we needed a driver.  We saw a travel agency building and headed over.  A guy was standing outside of it, saw us, and asked "Juta?"  We said, "Yes."  He said, "I take you."  He knew very little English, so we had to get a translator to help with the details.  He drove us to Juta, waited for 5-6 hours, and then brought us back when we were done (for about $160 in Georgian dollars).  It worked well, but it was a little strange to get in a car with a stranger, who looked like he could be named "Boris", and trust him to take us where we wanted to go.  It probably wasn't the smartest idea, but that's what these guys do.  They stand around and wait to drive tourists around.  We were only about 5 miles from the Russian border for our hike. I absolutely loved the hike - it was probably my favorite thing of our whole trip.  It was quiet and peaceful, very little people there, pretty mountain scenery, horses, and tons of wildflowers.  

We went to the Gergeti Trinity Church that evening - pretty amazing view as it's perched atop a hill. A local stray dog seemed to be taking in the view as well.  Alex got his Georgia peach for the day and we had a yummy kebab wrap at a small local restaurant.