Baptism and Young Women’s

2014 is a big year for our cute kids: Arianna entered the Young Women’s program at church, and Carlos will be baptized in July. These great kids are making great choices that will help them to live happily ever after!

Arianna's 12th Birthday!

My little Arianna is a tween! I just can’t believe how grown up she is! Lots of love and lots of pride!

Lancelot's 2nd Birthday!

What was life before this fabulously handsome and noble beast joined our family? Sir Lancelot truly is the best of the best, and we look forward to many years of him squeaking and chasing tennis balls.

Maren's Homecoming!!!

Baby Enoch

The best part of this summer will undoubtedly be Maren’s return from her mission in Honduras. I’m so glad to have my sista friend back!

Pictured: Asher, Arianna, Carlos, Noah, Elise, David

The cousins had lots of fun playing waffletown and putting each other in cages (true story).

Promotion Ceremony

We were so proud to celebrate Arianna’s “promotion” from elementary school to junior high. She won the award for Academic Excellence in Language Arts and the President’s Education Award.

Sunshine BBQ

Hotdog cookin' hotdogs

Carlos won the egg toss!

Our favorite people are the folks who adore our kids, so it’s no wonder that we love the Sunshine afterschool staff! “Hotdog” not only headed up this wild establishment but also served up tasty ribs at Lucille’s.

Back Row: Ariel, Tigger, BMO, Orchid, Magic, Hotdog, Sugar, Meerkat, Bubbles, Tigerlilly

Front Row: Mermaid, Pocahontas

2nd Grade Party

Carlos will always remember Ms. Lundy’s 2^nd grade class for its ticket-based reward system, which allowed him to buy all kinds of little treasures. (Yes, my son is very materialistic.) He also made great friends, such as Elias--the blond boy in Carlos’s row of desks. When Carlos first told me about his new friend, he explained why he liked him so much: “He used to be a bad boy but now he’s good.” Had Elias always been good, he wouldn’t have been so interesting to Señor Loafy.

Graduation

It was exciting and meaningful to celebrate this momentous rite of passage with my beloved students, but it also marked the end of my time at Saugus High School. Bittersweet!

Pictured: Ryan and Calliope // April (valedictorian) and Sierra (6^th in her class)

Daddy’s Blanky

When Kirk travels a lot, it's not just his human family that misses him. In this picture, Lancelot is cuddling with his daddy's blanky, a quilt that my mom made for TV watching.

Girls' Camp!

That’s right, our little Arie Safari is going to Girls’ Camp this summer! The girls began practicing their skit early so it would be FABULOUS. This year’s theme features super-heroes versus our God-given divine nature!

Soccer

It’s not enough to be a World Cup addict. Kirk also plays on an adult league where the injuries outnumber the goals scored (and these are *real* injuries, not *soccer* injuries)! This toenail is due to fall off anytime now…

On a happier note, Kirk did a great job of coaching a not-so-great team of little boys. They were so bad that Carlos actually prayed for help on behalf of his squirrely teammates, LOL.

Our Pets Are The Best!

We started with three goldfish in October (Rockstar, Jazz, & Star) but are down to just one now. Star may be beautiful, but she spends all her time pooping prodigiously. Unfortunately, Lancelot is so well behaved that he won’t eat her.

Here’s our most handsome family member bobbing for his tennis ball in his (yes, his) swimming pool.

We no longer live near our favorite dog park but sometimes Lancelot convinces us to make the drive back to Encino. When we first started going here, Lancelot didn’t even know he was a dog.

Ward Auction and Lip Sync

The kids and I had a blast at our ward’s annual auction and lip sync. The youth performed the planned acts but then led the younger kids in their own song and dance.

Carlos and Arianna patrolled the Disney gift basket throughout the night to ensure that we’d win it. They were so proud of their loot!

Oak Hills Elementary

Our kids loved this school year at Oak Hills Elementary, and they treated us to a tour of their work at Open House. Carlos's class topped off their money unit by creating their own town of store fronts (no surprise--Carlos chose Apple)!

Yeehaw! The sixth graders continued the school's tradition of performing various square dances for the parents.

Memorial Day

Throughout these five years in California, Memorial Day has meant Beach Day! There’s no better way to anticipate the end of the school year and the beginning of summer!

H2$

The kids and I attended my school’s MARVELOUS production of “How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying,” which was really truly worlds better than the movie. The songs became an instant hit with us all--especially Carlos. When Kirk came home to his son singing “A Secretary Is Not A Toy,” I had some explaining to do.

Songs Pictured: Coffee Break, The Brotherhood of Man

Greg & Yvonne’s Visit

No “May Gray” here! This dog beach in Santa Barbara proffered lots of adorable muts, including our very own Sir Lancelot.

We may be biased, but we found this sparkling grape juice, courtesy of Plou & Fils Winery in France, much tastier than Martinelli’s. It was lip smackingly good!

13th Anniversary

Quelqu’un m’a dit that I would love this concert and Tout le monde was right! Kirk and I sang along with Carla Bruni’s enchanting music for an early anniversary date. And her famous husband, Nicolas Sarkoszy, was in the audience with us.

Pétanque

Extra credit is rare in my class, so these French 3 and 4AP students readily took advantage of my offer: spend lunch playing pétanque (bocci ball) for extra points! We also played pétanque for the *practical skills* part of our final exam.

Pictured: Quennebelle, Raenah, Mary Gracy, Hannah, & Glen

International Club

One of my great pleasures these two years at Saugus HS included serving as the adviser to the International Club. I loved how globally minded these students were. They will make great adult citizens!

Model United Nations meeting in April... Pressing topics included Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the ongoing Syrian civil war, and the U.S. (again) failing to meet international environmental guidelines. 

Most of the club's leadership graduated this June--leaving lots of opportunities for underclassmen! (P.S. Each of these students speaks multiple languages! Being only bilingual puts me in the minority.)

The last day of school picnic at Central Park included sword fighting, ultimate Frisbee, and lots of yummy treats.