Eight is great!

On August 14, 2009 Jaykob Hunter Short turned eight years old! Big deal you may say, but for us Mormons it is a big deal! You see, when you turn eight in our church you have the choice to be baptized and well, Jaykob decided to make that choice and we were very proud of him! Grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins and friends all joined in the event and his birthday present was a weekend with his family at Great Wolf Lodge (An indoor waterpark resort/hotel). Almost cooler than both of those things is that when Jaykob turned eight, he also got to join Cub Scouts. A boy after his grandpa's heart, he is absolutely loving the scout program. Only three weeks into it and he had his first Court of Honor and had already earned his bobcat.

As I posted earlier, he also pulled together enough birthday money to buy Rockband. Wow...Rockband, Great Wolf, Cub Scouts and Baptism...there is no doubt about it...Eight is Great!!!

Jaykob receiving his Bobcat...The kids hanging out at Great Wolf Lodge...

Rockband

So Jaykob saved his money all summer and with his birthday money from grandparents he bought Rockband for the WII. We've all been having a little too much fun on it and as my kids go about their daily business I'm constantly catching them singing "Eye of the Tiger" word for word. It's kind of cute and endearing and all that UNTIL it made me realize what a crappy parent I was. On our way home from church two Sundays ago, I urged my kids to sing "How Firm a Foundation" as they would be singing it in front of the whole congregation in just a few more weeks for the Church Primary Program. They knew maybe half of the first verse. I decided that maybe we should put the WII aside until we knew our Primary songs a little better, but as you can see I caved...just look how cute this is...

SO, here is my idea all you LDS marketing geniuses out there...a Primary song version for Rockband! I don't mean to go all Pentecostal on you or anything, but brilliant, right? I mean it certainly would make my job, and not to mention the Primary President's job, a bit easier.

Hood to Coast

Q: What do you get when you put a lot of stinky, sweaty, hungry, muscle-aching, sleep deprived people in a van for 29 hours?

A: A whole heck of a lot of crazy fun...that's what!

And I'm not kidding. This is the 2nd time that Jason and I have organized a team for the Hood to Coast and it just keeps getting more and more fun. Why you ask? I'm not quite sure except that it's just one of those unique kind of adventures when shared with a fun group of people, that puts you in this crazy endorphin induced buzz (Jen, thanks for that one) that you just can't seem to shake. For those reading this and don't know what Hood to Coast is, it is the largest relay in the world that starts at Mt. Hood and ends up in Seaside, Oregon. We have a team of 12 runners and each runner runs 3 legs of the race for a total of 197 miles. Between our legs, the runners try to eat and rest while living in "a van down by the river"...the Willamette that is.

Thanks Meg, James, Amber, Scott, Stefan, Paisley, Chi, Michelle, Dan, Jen, Derrick, Paul and Jenny for a great weekend!

Check me out starting the race...

Pretty much the best summer vacation we've ever had...

just in case you didn't catch that reference to ND in my title there...I wanted to offer a big shout out to my brother Jon and his wife Kirsten for letting my family of 6 crash at their pad all last week only 2 1/2 weeks after giving birth to their 2nd child. Not only did they offer us a place to stay, but they entertained us with guest passes to Magic Castle, tickets to "So You Think You Can Dance" and a pool that provided hours of entertainment. Thanks guys!
I also need to thank Doug for Dodger tickets, Sarah for fabric district, Meg for Legoland, Matt for his room and for gracing us with his presence, Diana for some mighty fine cooking, Jason for watching 7 kids so the girls could go out to breakfast, Staci for inventing "favorite things", Adam for being smart enough to attempt the CA Bar so that we had a good excuse to come to CA and to Dan for teaching my kids the fine art of Rockband and the finger jab? (Is that what I should call it?) and to everyone for a pretty darn memorable "worst kiss" conversation.
Seriously, anyone reading this probably thinks that I'm related to some pretty cool people...well, they're right!

Who needs pool toys when you have Jaykob?

Mary saved her money so she could have a fun shopping day at the American Girl Place...

Max is checking out the authenticity of the Lego family at Legoland.Four cuties in a row anticipating the excitment of Legoland... (L to R Clara, Josie, Tallulah, and Evan)Pretty darn cute family...Dan, Sarah, Josie and Tallulah and coming soon...baby girl#3!Adam and Madeline on the helicopter ride...pacifier will not come out...no matter what...Jon and Evan having too much fun on the airplane? ride...What a cutie!Olivia, Mary, Jaykob and Max all received their "driver's licenses" while attending Legoland "driving school"....they were pretty proud.A fun day at Legoland...no, that is not a baby in my belly. I just happen to be wearing an empire waist shirt...now I see that was a bad choice.In our excitement to get our fill of In -n- Out burgers while in sunny CA, we may have overdone it. After our third visit, we were okay if we never saw a hamburger again.Jaykob pushing Madeline at Wild Rivers in Irvine... Thank goodness for brothers with connections! Jason and I got to take Mary and Jaykob to the finale of SYTYCD at the Kodak theater...how cool is that? Well, let me tell you...it was SUPER cool! Watching Jeannine and Brandon burn up the dance floor in person in the famous theater frequented by the most famous of movie stars...we were lovin' it! The only down side is that we actually had to sit and listen to all of Mary and Nigel's comments instead of having the luxury of fast forwarding thru them (thanks to the modern convenience of DVRs).
a fabulous breakfast with my awesome sister-in laws...I'm so lucky. Staci, me , Sarah and Diana (Kirsten is missing in the picture).
Jaykob, Adam and Doug at the Dodgers game...it was Mormon night! Elder Ballard even threw in the first pitch! Staci, Doug, Conrad and Eric chatting with some friends they saw at the game.

Diana, Madeline and Adam in front of the outfield. Enjoying Zuma beach in Malibu...Welcome to the world Phillip Henry Heder!


Thanks again family for a great vacation! I wish it was still going on! We miss you all!

Summer so far...

has gone ridiculously fast. I always look forward to those lazy days of summer after a hectic school year and the lazy part never seems to kick in. Since school got out we have managed to get in berry picking, dance recital, science camp, company BBQ, two birthday parties for Max, a visit from Diana, basketball camp, a fun 4th of July, painting camp, YMCA camp, Safety Town, and a concert in the park. And it's only the middle of summer! This weekend we have our camping trip to look forward to and then we come back for dance camp, bike rodeo and off we go on our California trip and the list continues after that...sewing camp, golf camp, dance camp, Hood to Coast. Phew! I'm trying not to complain because the minute I let my kids have any idle time, they can start in on the whining, teasing and the "mom, I'm bored"s. But I will vow to take my kids to the pool and the park more than once this summer...overscheduled kids never have time to be creative, right?

A hot, fun 4th of July with 5k race, parade, friends, BBQ and fireworks ...

and festive patriotic cupcakes...

Happy 5th Birthday Max!

Two naughty cousins hiding out in grandma's pantry...

A beautiful day at the Oregon Coast during Madeline's visit...

Nothing's better than picking berries in Oregon in the summer...After Mary and Jaykob's dance recital...

Yummy blueberries at Aunt Jeannie's house...

Happy Birthday, Doug!

Happy Birthday to my thoughtful, charming and handsome brother!

From a strictly obedient bikini wearing terror of a younger sibling to a hard working father of three...the years have been good to you my dear! I love you and hope you have a wonderful day!