Olympians We Know

This Olympic year has been fun for our family primarily because we personally know three of the athletes.  We are having so much fun tuning into all the games and cheering on our friends.

Jake and his cute wife, Jane, moved into our ward several years ago after moving from Utah so that Jake could pursue a professional volleyball career.  I remember how he kind of had to duck when he walked in the chapel because he was so tall!  Jake's two sisters, Christine and Marali, have also lived in our ward, and it has been so awesome to know this family. 

Jake Gibb - Deseret News

Kelly met Misty's dad, Butch, back when Misty played for Cal State Long Beach.  They've been friends for several years and often play together on our local beach.  He is a great guy.  A few years back during the Manhattan Beach Open, Butch took Kelly and Heather back to Misty's hotel room to have lunch with her.  Misty signed a volleyball for Heather and was so sweet.  Heather wants to play volleyball and has been following Misty and Kerri closely. 

Misty May Treanor and Kerri Walsh - Washington Post

Russell was in Kelly's Young Men's group when he was 14.  Kelly encouraged him to try out for the volleyball team at FVHS and spent a little time teaching him some basic skills.  We are so happy to have watched him have so much success!  His mom and I sing in OCMCO together, and they are such a really great family.

Russell Holmes - Mormon Olympians

Post Company Clean-up & Sleepovers

We've had a couple of days at home cleaning, doing laundry and putting the house back together.  Beach days can sure stir up a lot of sand!  The girls have had video game and computer time, and they've each had sleepovers.  I love the summer schedule when there isn't a single thing on the calendar, and we can go with the flow.

Anniversary Day & Politics

On August 1, 1987,  Kelly and I were married.  We were such kids at 23 and 19 years of age.  Twenty-five years later, I am still reaping the benefits of my magnificent taste in men (chuckle).  Kelly brought home roses and a cute card after work.  Since it was a week day, and Kelly had to be at Scouts that night, we have postponed our celebrating and will do something special this weekend.

Since we had no dinner plans, we decided to go and visit our local Chick-fil-A.  In case you haven't heard, the owner, who is a Christian and keeps the restaurants closed on Sundays, was asked how he felt about gay marriage.  He replied that he believed in the Biblical definition of marriage between a man and a woman.  Well, after that statement, all hell broke loose.  Since he believes in traditional marriage, then of course he is a homophobe and the king of all discriminators.  The gay community has been boycotting at Chick-fil-A's everywhere.  So, we decided to go and support Chick-fil-A along with hundreds of other folks in our community.  We believe in the Biblical definition of marriage, but we were not choosing a marriage side with our trip to the restuarant.  We are simply FED UP with what happens when someone expresses a view that is not popular in society.  We, unlike our President, believe that we can have an opinion or belief and not have to change it or be ridiculed because it isn't fashionable.  We simply wanted to support the right that we each have to believe in something and not have to be flogged in the proverbial public square.  It was a good time to talk to our girls about this as they are old enough to get it.  Fortunately, the restaurant we were at had very friendly folks doing the same thing we were doing.  We didn't hear some of the idiot comments that have been quoted in the paper by others who support the CEO, but who are also haters.  We are not haters.  And we don't like receiving the hate either.  The hate needs to stop for crying out loud.

Saying Good-bye with Mexican Food

Michelle and Gavin departed on Tuesday morning, but not before a trip to Gavin's favorite restaurant in Placentia.  I was very proud of my girls for trying this authentic Mexican food, and it was fun to visit for a few more minutes before we said good-bye.  We spent the rest of the day at home where I did some cleaning and nursed a headache.  We'd been eating out a lot, but we grabbed Del Taco for taco Tuesday dinner and watched the Olympics late into the evening.

Sunday & Monday

Grandpa departed for home on Sunday, and the rest of us went to church.  We had a relaxing day at home with yummy, homemade tacos for dinner.  

Monday was a beach day in Newport.  The kids love the gentler waves and softer sand.  They would have stayed all day if we let them.  Michelle and I chatted and read our books.  She read three whole books while she was here.   Go sister!

Michelle and I squoze in another quick shopping trip and then we all had dinner at Slater's 50/50, a build-your-own burger restaurant in Huntington Beach.  The burgers were gigantic as was Heather's pastrami sandwich.  Since this was Michelle and Gavin's last night, we made a late run to Farrell's in Mission Viejo for some yummy ice cream.  I'm so glad Farrell's is back.  I loved it when I was little.

Bridal Shower & Beach Time

Saturday was Bridal Shower hostessing day for me.  We threw a shower for my friend's daughter, Brittany, and it went off splendidly.  Aunt Michelle, Grandpa and the kids met Kelly down at the beach after his volleyball games, and they enjoyed some glorious beach time while I was at the shower.  One can never have too much beach time. 

Mission San Juan Capistrano

We've been sharing our wonderful California Mission trips with Michelle and Gavin and on this visit we wanted to get a Mission tour in.  Santa Barbara was our favorite, but I was impression on Jenna's recent school field trip to San Juan Capistrano, so we gave it a go.  Grandpa was able to make this trip with us (he had an appointment while we were in LA), and we were able to use the audio sets and tour some of the areas the school didn't tour, so parts of the mission were new to us.  It was great to hear some of the history and take our time viewing everything.  I think Gavin liked the ghost story at the end of the day.  We had a late lunch at the Mission Grill just across the street, and had pretty good luck with traffic on the way home.  Michelle and I even got a little shopping in at some stores around home while the kids relaxed.