Stuff We Did This Summer

Some quilting for sweet grandbabies:

Some precious time with this sweet grandbaby:

And his sweet Mama:

Some dog wrestling:

And dog snuggling...

Some changes are coming for the Gale Family:

Some changes that involve packing.

Lots of packing.

Again.

The hardest part of packing without a known move date?

Packing up the books.

I want to have them all at my disposal.

Ready and waiting should the need arise

to answer a question or satisfy a curiosity.

So I have done it slowly and reluctantly.

Keeping most of our favorite go-to books out

til the last minute.

Our destination?

Connecticut--you know--the other side of the country.

Then we watched this...

and it inspired this purchase:

Which inspired more of this

around the house (and in us):

Which led to busting out the wheat grinder:

And a real change for the better in healthy eating.

At least for me--the youngsters are reluctant converts.

But I'm getting better at sneaking the good stuff in. Shhhh.

As summer was winding down,

we set up the classroom for a new school year:

And then I decided it was time for Fall.

82 degrees? 

Whatever.

A change in seasons will be something to look forward to.

Life Lately

We celebrated Shayla's Seventeenth

Sam enjoyed the Super Activity on Catalina Island

Always some silly cat/dog entertainment

Lots of Beach Time--

This is Torrey Pines

Our Favorite:

If you leave at 6:30 am you pretty much get the beach to yourself!

Sam's Buddy Since Babyhood: Ollie, came for a visit:

They had fun at the beach. I have video of them surfing 

but I haven't been able to get it to post here. 

(Note to Shayla: HELP!)

We went to Sea World--and saw a

KANGAROO.

What do kangaroos have to do with the Sea?

I really don't know.

Shane and I went to the dolphin show at Sea World.

This is what I saw:

The lovely, LARGE hat of the woman

in front of me:

Later, I talked all three boys into going to the 

Rock 'n Roll Shamu Show:

No hats blocked my view this time:

We said good-bye to Ollie:

Had some pretty intense chess battles:

Shane earned FIVE yes FIVE merit badges

Plus his Star Scout advancement:

We went to the beach again:

Shayla went with us as well as Sam's other friend, Dakota.

Actually Dakota was with us the last time we went but

he's not in the pictures because he got jabbed in the

heel by a stingray and was getting first aid for it at the

ranger station. 

Shane, Sam, Dakota, Shayla

For my guy.

That Funny Thing I Said That One Time

My name is JoAnna and I am an Otter Popaholic. I have to confess that it has been years since I had a popsicle. Not a fan. In fact, I used to make homemade popsicles for my kids and I made them out of plain old water. In reality, they were just icicles on a stick. You moms with young children, feel free to use this great idea.  Kids love them, they cool them off without the sugar buzz and the bonus: NOT MESSY.  It only works until they are old enough to realize that their friends are getting something more colorful. And flavorful. 

So, the last time I had an Otter Pop craving phase was when I was pregnant (no, this is not an announcement) with Spencer. He was due in mid August. We had no air conditioning and every day the weatherman informed us that it would be another record breaking high. The temperature just kept climbing and my poor pregnant self was miserable. By then my kids were on to my ice "popsicles" and I had started buying Otter Pops for them. They were cheap but you pay the price in sticky scissors and little plastic Otter Pop sleeves scattered around the house and yard. I also let them beat the heat with a little kiddy pool out on the patio. One day, as I was handing out Otter Pops and watching them frolic in the wading pool, I had an epiphany: if these things helped the youngsters stay cool--why not the pregnant mama? So I had myself an Otter Pop. And then another. And another. Then I decided to join the children in the wading pool. They didn't really appreciate the beached whale in the middle of their fun but it was a matter of survival. 

Here in southern California it's warm year-round but it gets especially warm where we are and it has been a pretty hot summer. The youngsters noticed that I was eating Otter Pops and expressed surprise. It had been 21 years since I had had one, so not in their lifetime.  They were especially surprised to see me piling three Costco-sized boxes of them into the pantry. The label on the box says that they are frozen "juice" so I have convinced myself that they are a healthy snack. I don't want to know what's really in them. I think the craving is my body's way of keeping me hydrated in this dry desert climate so I'm thinking it is a matter of survival. 

Well, this whole Otter Pop craze reminded Shayla of a little incident a few years back. I was serving in the stake Young Women's presidency up in Washington. It was our turn to supervise the stake youth dance and it was my ward's turn to supply the refreshments. My good friend Robyn was the ward YW president and she had brought a truckload of Otter Pops to cool off the youth and provide a sweet treat. The only glitch was getting them all to freeze. The first couple of rounds were consumed and we were piling them into the freezer as fast as they ate them. Soon we had a mob waiting outside of the church kitchen hoping for an Otter Pop. I was helping Robyn and so I checked on the ones we had laid out in single layers hoping they would freeze faster. 

 "How are they doing?" Robyn asked me.

"Many are COLD but few are FROZEN,"

 I replied, getting a giggle and then a hearty laugh out of my friend.

(You have to be familiar with the scripture  Matthew 20:16: "Many are called, but few are chosen." to really appreciate my attempt at humor.)

 Mmmm the Otter Pops are calling me. Sir Isaac Lime or Louie-Bloo Raspberry?
Shayla claims there is no such fruit as a "Bloo Raspberry" but I choose to believe otherwise.

Not a Gardening Post

July is flying by...

We celebrated the 4th (on the 3rd) and then

had a patriotic dessert on the 4th.

Then shipped the boys off to Scout Camp

Sam and Shane had a fun, busy, interesting, hot, dusty, productive week.

Merit Badge Count:

Sam: 9

Shane: 5

Bug Bite Count:

147 each

Mom Blessing Count:

2 Good Scouts + 3 Older Brother Eagle Scouts+ Many Patient Leaders=

Innumerable

I joined them the last evening and they showed me around  Camp Madaguay.

I loved getting the grand tour!

When we all got home, it was time to harvest the corn...

This is a "provident living, self-reliance" highlight.

It just so happens that the corn came from my garden, OK?

I was feeling very grateful to see the fruits of my labor,

especially after I had  to give that up not too long ago.

These were a cheery bonus.

Then, Shayla turned Sweet Sixteen!

She requested doughnuts (from the Amazing KD Donuts!)

Instead of cake...

We are only half-way through the month...

More summer fun to come!