More from Miles

Tonight at dinner we heard these 2 things from Miles:

"Wait, wait, wait.  I've been wondering this for my whole life.  Let me ask you.... HOW does a freckle get formed??!"

and

Miles: Mom, do you love me more than I love you?
Me: Yes.
M:  Do you love me the most that you possibly could?
Me:  Yes
M:  Doesn't God love me more than you do?
Me:  Yes
M: Well, that's just rude then.  You DON'T love me the most that could possibly be!

Miscellaneous notes from our California trip

1. Sophie is like a Sherpa.  Everywhere we went she wanted to carry the heavy bags, do the heavy climbing or walking, and overall be as challenged as possible. And that girl has some serious muscle!  She is definitely her father's daughter.

2. Liquid nitrogen makes awesome desserts -- both ice cream and "dragon's breath" (which is really just cereal)

3. These two 3rd-grade cousins are adorable.

4. Even if you haven't seen a friend in 19 years, you can still easily pick up and have a great day together, with your and her kids -- if she's that kind of special, amazing friend.

 5. Bolzu-Mecadee (this is most assuredly not how you spell it) is a really fun Japanese game.  We had many rousing rounds of it.

6. Jinna loved playing with her cousins, but most of all attached herself to her uncle.  This was their posture pretty much all weekend.

7. These 4 cousins were so adorable the whole time.  I loved spending time with them all, and they all seemed to enjoy each other a lot.  When it came time for us to leave, several of us were in tears.

San Diego Zoo

According to absolutely everyone I talked to before our trip, you simply cannot go to San Diego and NOT go to the zoo!  So we went.

Copying the flamingos

This picture sums up their personalities pretty perfectly:  Miles sitting illegally on the railing, Jinna hanging in, Sophie doing gymnastics on the bars, and Sammy with his feet firmly on the ground, following the rules, and holding a map.

Miles was begging to ride this atrocious thing.  Thankfully his aunt and uncle were good sports and took the kids up there.  I stayed firmly on the ground.

Such a fun day!

Coronado

On Day 2 of our trip, we were treated to the sights and sounds of Coronado.

After worshiping at their church in the morning (and seeing John in his role taking care of the 3-year-olds!) we crossed over the bridge and went out to lunch. I just loved all the palm trees everywhere!

Then we went past the base where John works and went to the beach where the Navy SEALS do their training.  Being related to a military guy sure does have perks... We were able to go to a very non-crowded beach full of good-looking people (very toned military guys and their families).

My kids loved getting to swim in the Pacific Ocean for the first time -- even if it was quite cold!

And of course they had fun just playing with each other -- and good sport Uncle John.

Airplanes in the air, helicopters on the ground

This week Miles and Jinna were specially selected (by me) to accompany me on a trip to California to visit John, Keiko, Sammy and Sophie.  I knew they would be fantastic travelers -- and they were!

With Miles' fascination obsession with planes lately, this trip could not have come at a better time.  He spent hours ahead of time researching the type of aircraft we would be on (4 flights in total), giving me all kinds of earfuls of information about the various models.  His favorite one was the Boeing 757 from Salt Lake City to San Diego.

We arrived to see some happy faces and we jumped in their brand new car to set off to see the sights.  First up was the Miramar Museum, full of all kinds of very cool flying things.

One highlight was getting to see the Stallion, the helicopter John flies.  I still can't believe the government trusts him with something like that!

Our San Diego visit was off to a great start!

A new GateWay Year

This month marked the beginning of our second go-around with the GateWay program -- this time with Colsen and 7 of his friends and their dads.

They've met twice so far, once to do a kick-off night with dinner and a bonfire, and then the next time to begin the hard work and lessons.  ;)   The first guest speaker taught them all about auto mechanics and taking care of cars.  From what I hear it was quite interesting and the boys all had a good time.  In addition to learning all kinds of practical skills for manhood, they are also learning various spiritual character traits, beginning with Faith.

Can't wait to see what the year holds for all these young men and their fathers!