More summer fun

Again, Grandma, these are for you!

It didn't take us long to adjust to the beaches in California!  The kids love the sand.  They hardly fight at the beach.  They just spend hours dumping sand in buckets of water, digging holes, and looking for treasures.  It's fantastic for all of us!

They also love an afternoon or evening at the pool.  I never thought we'd be living in an apartment at this stage in our lives, but there are certainly plus sides.  Like 7 pools and hot tubs to choose from!

We also love all the new parks around.  It has been so fun to explore new areas.  Our favorite so far is Seven Seas park in Sunnyvale

We also have enjoyed our passes to Monterey Bay Aquarium, which is about 1.5 hours away.  It's fantastic!

A couple of weeks ago, Jake was in his first ever primary presentation at church.  He participated (kind of) in lots of songs and actually said his speaking part into the microphone.  You couldn't really understand what he was saying, but he did say it! "I can be like Jesus by serving others." Yay Jake! (And McKenna can't let Jake have a picture all to himself.  And look at how much she adores her brother!)

We've had such a fun summer!

All that fun wore us out!  McKenna isn't the world's best sleeper.  She's hard to get to sleep at night sometimes, but I am trying to treasure her wanting to hold my hand as she falls asleep.  I keep reminding myself that she won't always want me to do that.  There are hard parts of being a mom, but it sure is great!

Utah

In August we were lucky enough to fly to Utah to visit Andrew's family and attend Tanner's wedding.  It was a whirlwind, fast trip, but so fun.  It was fantastic to spend time with Andrew's family, and Tanner picked a great girl to marry.  Their wedding and reception were beautiful!

Jake and McKenna had the best time spending a couple of fun-packed days with their cute cousin, Jaylee

We also got to spend some time with Andrew's Grandma Olsen- what a spectacular lady!

Tanner and Katie were married in the Salt Lake City temple, and what a beautiful day it was for the beautiful couple!

After the ceremony and before the reception, Andrew, the kids, and I got to meet up with Kory and Allie for lunch at our favorite Utah restaurant, Cafe Rio.  Yummmm!  And the company was fantastic!

And after just a few days we were flying home again.  But I'm so glad we got to go!  We packed a lot of fun memories into those few short days!

Summer Fun

These pictures are for you, Grandma!

Jake is essentially potty trained, but every once in awhile he does still have an accident.  A couple of weeks ago I drug him into the mall for a bit, and when we came out I noticed his pants were slightly wet as I put him in his carseat.  I had already buckled McKenna in and we were in a pretty remote place (for a San Jose mall parking lot, anyway), so I just pulled his pants down and grabbed some new undies and shorts for him to change into.  But the second I pulled his pants down, Jake let the rest of the pee go.  Apparently he had only let out a fraction of what was in his bladder.  So I stood in the mall parking lot, mortified, as Jake peed...and peed...and peed.  Hopefully nobody saw!

Jake's first day of preschool

Jake is going to have A LOT of first day's of school.  Hopefully the rest of them go better than the beginning of the first :) And hopefully they all end as well!  But there is always something exciting and special about the first.

Jake was nervous before heading to school and did not want to go in with the other kids.  Thankfully his teacher's are fantastic and knew how to handle him.  They pulled him right in and tried their hardest to help him have fun.  But I stood behind the building where McKenna and I heard him crying (HARD) and yelling "I want my mommy!" for more than an hour.  Finally I couldn't take it any longer and left.

When I came back to pick him up, his teacher's said that he cried for about an hour and 20 minutes, then decided he had to go to the bathroom.  When he came back from the potty, he acted like nothing was ever wrong and had fun the rest of the class.  And he hasn't looked back.  Jake LOVES going to preschool.  He loves Mrs. Stalker and Mrs. Thomas.  He comes home with the cutest crafts and a better understanding of the letters, colors, shapes, and numbers they work on mastering.  I'm so glad he gets to go to preschool!

Graduation

The main reason we visited Ohio so shortly after moving to California was Andrew's graduation.  I can't believe he officially has a Ph.D and is Doctor Olsen.  I'm so proud of him!  He has worked so hard and has dedicated so much time and energy to finishing his education.  He missed a lot of sleep and a lot of fun, but he did it!

His defense was great- it was so fun for me to go watch him present, although I understood only about 10% of what was going on :)

I was filled with intense pride and gratitude watching him cross the stage.  I can't believe after so many years of classes, tests, papers, and stress, he's actually done!  Congratulations, Andrew.  I'm so proud of you!!!