Lego Shop

My kids have been playing something they call Lego Shop. When they first started, Beth wasn't playing with them. She has since joined, but I haven't taken any more pictures. The basic idea is they sell Legos to each other (for other Legos). I like the way Nathan set up his shop.

Ammon's somewhat messy shop:

Nathan's organized shop:

And Sarah's:

Always Winter and Never Not Winter

This has been a crazy winter for those in the eastern United States. Storm after storm. Thunder-snow! I didn't even know that was a thing. Freezing rain. Ice pellets. And so much snow. Did I mention the snow? I really wanted to show a couple more winter pictures, but I think I've been guilty of over-sharing on Facebook lately. So, I'll just put them here.

It snowed enough to knock our mailboxes off their base. Then the snowplows knocked the base off its...um, whatever. Chris made this handy shelf out of the snow as a temporary solution. We still need to get all the cards and letters people send to us, after all.

You know how they say "Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds"? Well, our postal carrier brought us our mail, along with this helpful diagram showing us how to clear our mailboxes..

Did you see how much snow we got? It's so heavy--very wet snow. And we live on a very busy road where people zoom by at 50 mph. We laughed at this diagram. It didn't seem realistic. Anyway, Chris did the best he could to make the postal carrier's job easier. It's not exactly like this diagram, however.


Nathan got a sweet icicle and wanted a photo. In the second one, he was saying, "I'm cold! Stop taking pictures!" or something like that.

This is just a picture out the front window. We were in Manhattan. It's crazy enough to drive in New York City, but with the snow, wow. That's about all I can say. Wow. This road was pretty clear. Elsewhere, delivery trucks stop in the middle of the lane (because the curbside parking is full) while they make their deliveries. Anyway...

I'm still fairly cheerful. This winter is going much better than last winter. We have more wintery weather, but less wintery emotions. It has been around 50 degrees the last three days. We have so much snow and thick ice that it hasn't melted that much. Some water will melt, but it doesn't evaporate it just sits there. At night, the freezing temperatures come again and every morning we find ourselves in a slick, icy death trap. This last picture is one I took today, after three very warm days. There's a lot of snow! I'm showing you this because I thought I knew winter. This kind of winter is new and crazy to me.

The last week or so, birds have woken me up in the mornings. I love the sound of birds in the mornings. Yesterday I watched about eight robins playing in our backyard. Spring is coming any day now...

So much to do

Nathan is supposed to read a book called Wilbur and Orville Wright for his language arts. He has been resisting it and resisting it. I asked him to read it again yesterday and he refused (again). Then he sighed and said, "Mom, the real reason I don't want to read that book right now is because I'm already reading *six books. I'm reading Harry Potter, Zits, the new Diary of a Wimpy Kid, The Book of Mormon, Percy Jackson, and, oh, that's only five. Wait! I started The Lord of the Rings the other day!"

Well, that makes good sense. That's a lot going on. So I added, "And, as a family, we're reading Narnia and the Bible." He said they don't count because he's not reading them on his own.

This is one of the great things about homeschooling my kids. I can see the reason he's not fulfilling his assignment isn't because he's lazy or forgetful, neglectful or unprepared. He's pretty busy with worthwhile things.

That being said, he still has to read the assigned book! Maybe I'll read it to him while he builds with Legos. (Also important in this house.)



*In case you are curious, Nathan reads Harry Potter in the evenings before he goes to sleep. He reads The Book of Mormon right after lunch. Nathan and I are reading Percy Jackson during our read-aloud time in school. Zits and Diary of a Wimpy Kid are light reading for when he's bored in the day. And he's only read about two pages of The Lord of the Rings, so I'm not really sure that counts on the list. :)

Thanksgiving

The past couple years, I have written daily Thanksgiving posts during the month of November. At other times in my life, I have kept gratitude journals--sometimes in November, sometimes (shockingly!) at various times of the year. I love doing these things. I wanted to do daily Thanksgiving posts again this year. It's incredibly beneficial to me and my state of mind going into the holiday season. However, it didn't get done. Lots isn't getting done in my life. Today, I sat with the kids and made Grateful Lists. My idea was that Beth would come up with six things, since she is 6-years-old; Nathan would have a list of eight things, since he is 8; etc. I think you get the idea. That worked for Nathan and Beth. Sarah and Ammon saw what I was doing--an ABC list--and chose to do it that way. Here are our lists:

Beth:
1. Mommy
2. Daddy
3. Family
4. Sky
5. God
6. Jesus

Nathan:
1. Mom
2. Dad
3. Me
4. T.V.
5. Beth
6. Sarah
7. Ammon
8. My home

Sarah:
Ammon
Beth
Christ
Dad
Eden
Family
God
Hopping
Ice Cream
Jam
Kelani
Love
Mom
Nathan
Orange
Phones
Quimbys (She's enjoying Beverly Cleary right now.)
Rain
Sarah
Time
Umbrellas
Vacations
Woods
X-rays
Yo-yos
Zoos

Ammon:
America
Beauty
Cats
Dad
Elisabeth
Forest
Good food
Health
Ice cream
Jell-o
Kit Kats
Love
Mom
Nathan
October
Priesthood
Quillows
Rocky Road
Sarah
Trees
Umbrellas
Vacations
Water
X-ray
Yummy food
Zoology

Me, Megan:
Ammon (who has a quiet desire to be the best he can possibly be.)

Bible (and other revealed scripture, a peaceful guide to living.)

Chris (I'm grateful for him more and more every day.)

Democracy (Even after a bitter and emotionally painful year when I became exhausted with the election cycle, I am deeply grateful for democracy.)

Elisabeth (who has a gentle nature.)

Family (both immediate and extended. I love every single one.)

God (Who is aware of me and loves me.)

Home (We were without a home for a while this year and the Lord blessed us with a home that is better than we could have imagined. I walk around in it filled with gratitude to be here.)

Illustrations (I love art in general, but I have a special love for children's picture books filled with beautiful illustrations.)

Jesus Christ (my Lord and Savior. I depend on His mercy daily.)

Knowledge (I'm very grateful for my own education and the process of educating my children.)

Love (I am in awe at the love we have been shown the last several months.)

Mountains (I love the beauty of the earth!)

Nathan (who makes me laugh and always looks out for others.)

Oceans (Again--I love the beauty of the earth!)

Parents (I have the very best ones. I'm also grateful for my in-laws.)

Quiet time (Awww . . . . )

Reading (a favorite past time both alone and with the children.)

Sarah (who is creative, giving, and always has a party up her sleeve.)

Trees (Our new home--New York--is breathtaking.)

United States (I believe in America. I believe in the goodness of America.)

Volcanoes (I love the various exciting things found on the earth!)

Water (Oh, I love clean drinking water. I'm so grateful to live where we have easy access to it.)

Xylophone (a bit lame, but you think of something that starts with X! I am grateful for music, in its many forms.)

Yesterday (My yesterdays have shaped who I am. I treasure my memories.)

Zoos (I love animals. I love to see animals. But I don't like to touch animals. Therefore, I love zoos.)

School curriculum

I asked the kids to make lists of the subjects they'd like to study in school. I want to make sure we're meeting their interests. I enjoyed their lists. I've decided that #1 subject to study is spelling. I will correct their spelling when I duplicate their lists below.

Ammon
1. science
2. technology
3. physics
4. astronomy
5. mythology
6. psychology
7. art
8. poetry
9. human anatomy
10. biology
11. legends

Sarah
1. science
2. math and stuff
3. physics
4. art
5. poetry
6. astronomy
7. technology

Nathan
1. science
2. math
3. history

Beth listed hers through pictures.
1. this person is watching tv
2. this person is doing yoga
3. this person is doing yoga, too
4. this person is looking at the blue, blue sky
5. She drew a group of people. One was speaking via a word bubble. Ammon had written the words for her. "I just wanna sit around doin' nothing."

I think we'll do a little of all of that.

Halloween

I admit freely that enjoying Halloween has been a learned, acquired skill during the last few years. I think I have had fun near Halloween once or twice. This year, however, I felt like all celebrations were obligatory. I'm sorry. I tried to enjoy it. But, there you have it. Complete honesty. Anyway, the kids, as always, had a blast. I didn't help with their costumes. They had to come up with stuff from around the house. They're cute.

This is before the church trunk-or-treat... (word to the wise: Elvis costumes get pretty chilly during an autumn evening in Utah.)

But, before we went trick-or-treating, Sarah decided that she and Beth should dress as hula twins:

I hope your holiday was fun. :)

Hair today...

Ah...hair.

Let's go ahead with my life story--as it pertains to hair. My mom likes short hair. She always has. She had five (5) daughters and kept our hair short. We had cute little bobs--and by "bob," I mean sometimes it would get as long as the bottom of our ears, but not often. During the 80s, we had short, permed hair. Always short. When I got old enough to make my own hair choices, my hair got longer and longer (except when Mom would trim it). I have become emotionally attached to hair. It's pretty bad. I resist getting a trim because I'm afraid my hair will never grow back. During some sort of identity/mid-life crisis (pregnant with my 3rd and turning 30), I chopped my hair to just above my shoulders. It was among the worst mistakes of my life. Man, I hated that.

So, I have my own children now. I guess I've assumed I was giving them a great gift to let them (the girls) have long hair. As it turns out, they don't care as much as I do. I don't think they care at all. Sarah has repeatedly cut her own hair (though not for at least a year). Lately, it's been looking very pretty--almost to her waist. I love it. Beth's hair was just past her shoulders. It's still pretty thin, but it was pretty because she is pretty.

Well, last week my life changed. It all started when I noticed Beth had received a trim. On Facebook, I referred to it as a "mullet," but that may have been a slight exaggeration. Nathan cut her hair. His only response when I asked if he had done it: "She wanted me to!" Beth was delighted. The front of her hair was short. I didn't take pictures because I'm not sure you could tell there was a problem from a photo. The problem is that Beth's hair is so fine (like mine) and thin that those short hairs in the front were constantly filled with static and clinging to her head. It looked pretty bad. So, I decided it was time for haircuts. The boys needed them anyway and Sarah could stand a trim.

Back to my life story. My mom loves to cut hair. She started cutting hair when she was 11. She cut our hair while we were growing up. She enjoys it. Can you imagine how much money she saved by home haircuts? Eight kids--and never paying for a haircut. When I had kids, I was sure I could follow suit. I would be provident, self-sufficient, and frugal! I learned to cut hair. I think I know how to do the basics. And I have cut their hair for years. It takes me approximately three hours to cut two boys' heads of hair. It is the most miserable thing I have to do (and that includes cleaning toilets). I'm not sure I can express how much I hate it. But I hate spending money even more. Last Saturday, I was gearing up for the horrible task of cutting hair. But Chris (my knight in white armor--or as he would say, "Make that brown armor") came to my rescue and said we had enough money to go to the professionals.

All four kids got their hair cut. Ammon's and Nathan's looked terrific. Sarah got a nice trim and marched out to the car in tears. She was so angry. She had felt pressured and overwhelmed when she was forced to make a decision about how she wanted her hair. She wanted it shorter. So, we went back in. I was shocked. My daughter--my own flesh and blood--chopped off her beautiful hair. It's still long enough that most people don't even notice a difference. But I'm pretty sure she cut off about eight inches. She was beaming with confidence and joy when it was finished.

The stylist told me we wouldn't have to cut Beth's hair that much, so she just trimmed it, assuming the layers would blend. But Beth has very fine hair and an enormous static problem. There was no blending. There never is. (Trust me, I've tried on my own head.) The whole head had to be shorter. It just wasn't short enough. This is coming from me! I thought it needed to be shorter! Beth wanted it to her ears. So, she also got another haircut--this time by my mom. Super-short.

Another part of my life story. About a year and a half ago, on Thanksgiving day 2009, to be exact, my sister thought she'd give me a helping hand by cutting Nathan's hair for me. I was relieved. I hate to cut hair. And then I walked into the room and saw her giving my son a buzz cut! Now I know, a lot of people like buzz cuts on little boys. A lot of people like them on bigger boys. I am not one of those people. I was beside myself to see what my sister did to my boy. He had such beautiful hair. But eventually, it grew back and he looked normal again. Apparently, last week, Nathan decided he liked the way it felt when he rubbed his hand across his head after his buzz cut. So, just days after spending oodles of money at the salon, Nathan cut his own hair. The result? I had to buzz him.

Wow, that was a long explanation. Now for pictures.

Sarah before.

Sarah now. 

Bethie before.

Bethie now. 

Nathan's self-cut.

Nathan now. 

Ammon. 

The end.

Service Week

There's been an unusual amount of grumpiness and fighting at our house lately. We are battling this by having a service week. Each day, we draw a name out of a hat and do a small act of service for that person. Day one went very well. Chris went grocery shopping for me. I made Beth's bed. Beth gave Nathan a homemade card that said, "Beth loves Nathan." Sarah made a big BYU poster for Chris. Nathan cut pictures out of the Ensign magazine of the temple and the prophet and apostles to give to Ammon. I wasn't sure how Ammon would react to that, but he was genuinely grateful. He put them in a special place to treasure. Ammon whipped up a little poem for Sarah. This was especially sweet since Sarah was having an extremely bad day and feeling worthless. Would you like to hear the poem?

Ode to Sarah by Ammon
Flowers bloom and the stars and moon shine
But you know my sister, she's really quite fine.
She's cool and you know she really is keen.
If she lived on Naboo, I'd elect her as queen.

Honestly, isn't that the sweetest thing? Doesn't it make you wish you had a brother who would write you a little poem when you were feeling down? Even me, I have a brother just like that. I keep a poem, written many years ago when I was having a bad day, in my scriptures where I can read it whenever I want. It makes me smile.

Grandpa's birthday

We celebrated my father's birthday earlier this week. Beth took the time to decorate for the party. She wrapped her favorite winter scarf around the leg of a kitchen chair. It was lovely. And festive.

Then she went downstairs and wrapped Scotch tape around two of her fingers. She showed me the taped fingers and said, "Now I can shoot lightning out of my fingers for Grandpa's party!" That's just what everyone wants for their birthday.

I let Sarah and Nathan wrap the wonderful gift. They did a great job. When Grandpa opened it, he found that there was a second layer of wrapping paper. Sarah giggled and Nathan rolled with laughter. I'm pretty sure nothing could have been funnier. Ever. Not even clowns. Or dancing bananas.

Grandpa unwrapped the second layer. Guess what? There was another layer. I know, you can hardly read this for laughing so hard. At least, that's how it was for Nathan. Grandpa kept unwrapping...and unwrapping...and unwrapping. There were about 6 layers of paper.

Sarah said, "I wanted to wrap it 66 times (Grandpa's age), but that would waste paper." She's a true environmentalist, that one.

Preparing for the future

Nathan asked me how old you have to be to get married.

I said, "Well, I think the law says you need to be at least 18. That's still too young for people to get married. I expect you to go on a mission, which means you'll be at least 21 or 22 before you can even think about getting married."

Nathan: "Oh! I'm already thinking about marrying Alyssa!" (Alyssa is his 15-year-old cousin, that he has had a crush on for at least four years.)

In fact, I remember a time when Nathan was about 3 or 4. We were leaving Alyssa's house and I asked Nathan to get in his car seat. He refused because he wanted to stand close to the car window where he could see Alyssa. He said, "I just can't stop looking at her!"

I find him entertaining

As Chris pulled some buttermilk biscuits out of the oven, I said, "I don't think those have been in long enough. They look pretty white." Chris said, "They look brown to me."

Nathan piped up and said, "Well, your eyes are brown."

Nathan's logic. I love it. He makes me laugh every single day.

Nathan "Shakespeare" Woods

After watching a show about meerkats, Nathan announced to me that he would like his new nickname to be Shakespeare. I didn't watch the show with him and don't understand the connection. I told him that Shakespeare was the name of a famous writer. "WHAT?! It's a real name? And a real person?"

Nathan's so adorable.

Coincidentally, earlier today Nathan wrote an intriguing tale. I'm not sure it's as tragic as the tales told by his nicknamesake, but it's a start. Enjoy.

"The Guy Asked His Friend a Question" by Nathan

This is how our story starts. So, this guy went over to his friend's house to ask him something. So, this guy got to his friend's house fine. So, the thing that the guy wanted to ask his friend is if he was a prince once. He asked him if he was a prince and he was like, "No."

And then his friend looked around and then he saw a sword. And he looked back at him, then he looked back at the sword, then back at him, and he was like, "Then why do you have a sword?"

And then the guy's friend was like, "Okay. I was once a prince but I retired."

And then the guy's friend was like, "Okay. Listen to what this man has to say."

If you want to be a prince, you should know
That you have to be born by a queen, and so.

The end.

What a day!

At dinner, I asked the kids what their favorite part of the day was.

Beth: When Daddy held me.
Nathan: CANDY!!!
Sarah: Bar graphs! (math assignment today)
Ammon: Learning that a rattlesnake's rattler is made of the same stuff as fingernails!

I think it's obvious that Nathan is Mini-Chris and Sarah is Mini-Me.

Thank goodness for Sarah!

Sarah reacts quickly.

I'm so glad she does. A couple of years ago, we went to Hawai'i to visit Chris' mom and stepdad. The pool at their condo didn't really have a "shallow" end, so the kids (who didn't know how to swim) wore floatation devices to paddle around the pool. One evening, Nathan was so excited to get back in the water (the beach and ocean hadn't been enough for him, apparently), he jumped in the pool before he got his floaties on. He immediately sank right to the bottom. Sarah was standing on the steps and without even thinking, reached down to grab Nathan. She pulled him to safety and resumed her playing. She was five years old. Nathan was almost three. She saved the little fellah before any adults noticed what had happened. Except me, of course. I noticed but I was across the way and Sarah is faster.

Today, I heard Sarah yell (dramatically), "MOM!! Bethie's choking!" I ran downstairs and found Bethie fine, but a little scared. She had been lying on her back with a Magnetix ball in her mouth. It's the size of a marble. She was choking, but fast-acting Sarah noticed, yelled, helped her, and solved the problem. Bethie needed a hug, some water, and to tell Grandma what had happened. Then she was fine.

I'm glad I have Sarah around.

Merry Christmas!

Here it is Christmas Eve. Let me tell you my great plans for December. First, I was going to blog about our wonderful Thanksgiving. Then, I thought I'd do a Christmas advent--a daily post about Christmas. That didn't work out, so I thought I'd do the 12 Days of Christmas instead. Well, Day 12 came and went, and I thought, "Who's keeping track anyway? I'll do the 5 Days of Christmas! It will be spectacular."

And here it is Christmas Eve.

We have had a lot going on this month: normal Christmas things, extra concerts, oral surgery for Ammon, sick kids, church, work, etc. It's been very busy, but so wonderful. I love my children, who make everything happy.

I am grateful that we took the time to go to Temple Square to see the Christmas lights early in December. It was beautiful, relatively warm, and good family time for us. Maybe I have some pictures. Let me check. Yes, yes I do. Most of these were taken by Sarah or Beth or maybe even one of the boys.

So, that was fun.

I had planned to do all sorts of crafts with the children. We did a couple things. Like snowflakes, and origami:

I love paper. Do you know that about me? I LOVE PAPER! I love to make things with paper. So, origami=fun!

We also made some gingerbread men for neighbor gifts. I made them Hawai'ian kane and wahine. (That means men and women.) And the note said Mele Kalikimaka. (That means Merry Christmas.) They make me laugh. And I bet they make you wish you were my neighbor.

All of our Christmas decorations are in storage. My mom is allergic to real trees. I like real. But I go with fake for her sake. (That rhymes. Rhyming makes me smile.) We just used one of Mom's little trees and made new ornaments for it. I don't know if you can see the paper chain, but it was surprisingly time consuming to make!

We've been hanging up all our Christmas cards on the bricks behind the fireplace. As you may nor may not be able to tell, they have almost all fallen down. It has been a steady rainstorm of Christmas cards. I think that I will have a contest to see whose card stays up the longest. That person or family will win a special prize. A special Christmas prize. A special Christmas prize that is like an imaginary box filled with love.

We also had a family party. Santa came.

Santa looks pretty animated...

Hmmm...that's a tough question. What do I want for Christmas?

I don't know what to say.

I'd like a light saber and a chainsaw! (Yes, that's what he asked for.)

So, that's our month in a nutshell.

I love Christmas! The season is filled with joy and happiness. No matter how busy I am, an overwhelming peace is in my heart. I feel to celebrate with all Christians the birth of the Savior!

President Dieter F. Uchtdorf recently said:

When Jesus was born, the joy in heaven was so great it could not be contained, and angelic hosts parted the veil, proclaiming unto shepherds “good tidings of great joy, . . . praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.”

I love the image of joy being so great, it could not be contained in heaven. We celebrate all month long this glorious season.

I believe in Jesus Christ. I know that He lives and loves each of us. It is the gift of our Heavenly Father that He sent His Son to earth for our salvation.

"Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift." (2 Corinthians 9:15)

And Halloween

When my kids were little, I loved to create and sew their costumes for Halloween. Then I had a fourth child and something had to give. I guess (through default) I gave up homemade Halloween costumes. I also gave up on laundry, but that's a different story for a different time.

Usually, the children wear hand-me-downs from cousins or whatever they can come up with on their own. But this year was so exciting! Grandma Suzie was visiting from Hawai'i. We were walking through a store looking for winter coats for the boys and we saw a beautiful Cinderella dress--just in Beth's size. Well, who can pass that up? Not Grandma! Before we knew it, she had bought the kids their dream costumes! They've played in them for the last month, so the costumes are already a bit worn. But really, what is the point of preserving a costume for one night? Dress-ups are fun.

The budding musician...

Nathan wrote a song recently. He plays it on the piano and sings it at the top of his lungs. It goes like this:

"Bethie-bae; Bethie-bae. I love you with all my heart today!"

He sang it for Beth. She loves it. Then they put their arms around each other and walked down the hall singing, "I love you, yeah, yeah, yeah," together. (You know, it's the Beatles!)

Awwww.

Fly and be free

Ammon, Sarah, and Nathan caught a butterfly today. I know, they shouldn't have touched its wings. But it made for some pretty pictures. Then we set him free. Hopefully, he'll live.

Who can argue with that logic?

At dinner tonight, Nathan announced that we've lived here for three years. We said it hadn't been that long. (We have, in fact, lived here for a little over one year.) He said, "Yeah! I've had two birthdays here and Mom has had one. That makes three."

Well, when you put it that way...

Welcome home to me.

After driving 2220 miles, we are finally home. I kind of wish we had gone two more miles so it could be an even 2222. But that's just my grandpa coming out in me. My grandpa really loved number patterns. I am too tired to write much about our AMAZINGLY FUN vacation, but I will share a couple of my favorite moments. These moments have nothing to do with the vacation, really, but for some reason, they make me smile.

First, a little background: When we go to California, we have a few friends we look forward to visiting. This time, our trip didn't include hanging out in the hometown. We were camping and going to Disneyland. We had time to be in Lodi for only one day: Father's Day. So, even then, we shouldn't be in Lodi, but visiting Chris' dad in Galt. Anyway, we finally decided to go to sacrament meeting and then skip out on the rest of our meetings (I know, it's terrible) so that we could visit the Kuehnes. The Kuehnes are the parents of Chris' high school girlfriend. I know, it seems weird, but I could write pages about why the Kuehnes are so important to Chris. And they've accepted me as one of the family. So, that was the plan. And amazingly, the Kuehnes were available.

As we started to get ready for church, Nathan (NATHAN!!) said, "I can't wait to go to my new primary class and see new people and see what I can learn." NATHAN!! Nathan's not really a church-lover. I couldn't believe what I was hearing. I told him we weren't staying for primary and he was so disappointed, he begged to go. NATHAN DID THIS!! How can a parent argue with that? Well, even if we could argue, we shouldn't. So, we left the kids at church and visited the Kuehnes without them. :-) Nathan had a great time and learned about patience.

My new favorite sign was found on a little shop in Capitola--a little beach town. The store caught my eye because they sell taffy--Taffy Town taffy! The owner of Taffy Town lives here in my neighborhood in Utah. He doesn't sell much taffy in Utah, but he sells a ton along the coast. A lot of people believe you can only get such good taffy in the Bay Area. Those people are crazy. I can get it down the street. Usually for free, because they have a lot of it. Anyway, these crazy taffy-sellers had a sign on the door announcing that their credit card machine was down. It concluded: "Thank you for your patient's." (I know that many of my more loyal readers will appreciate this example of ignorance.)

I was sitting on the beach with my brother-in-law and two sisters-in-law. My brother-in-law's friend was also there. He glanced over and said to us, "This is just like being in Hawaii, isn't it?" The four of us looked at him and then stared out at the ocean. There was complete silence for a moment. Then my brother-in-law said, "I guess so, except that the water is freezing, the beach is filthy, the ocean is muddy..." My sister-in-law said, "Yeah, this is definitely a California beach."

California is beautiful and has its place in the world, but let's not try to compare.

I know I had more favorite moments I wanted to write about, but my brain is very tired and I'm surprised I came up with this much.