First Day of school!!

It is the first day of school. Jake has Mrs. Guevara. Anna has Miss Cundiff. Adam has started middle school with Mrs. Bartlow. We met up with all the friends and walked together. They had a full day of school. Jake came home and said, "I had a fabulous day". You can't get any better than that.

And the winner is . . . . . .

Yes, Adam won the summer Monopoly game with a cash out of $6,671.00. His prize: a mad sister and brother and a chance to clean up the Monopoly game. Sportsmanship is still an on going lesson at our house. What about yours? Next summer I will have to think of a prize. A trophy that would remain in the person's room until the next game. I will have to think about it. Let me know if you have any good ideas.

Let the homework begin!!!

Have you ever had a day when you thought, why am I doing this? I started the new fall semester at college today. I have been doing this for about five years now. I am hoping that I am almost done at the community college level. It is so strange to enter the world of the the young adults, the language etc. I am taking World Geography and Intro to College Writing. It is overwhelming to think about the papers to be written; the tests to be taken. Plus there is just your normal life - team mom for the your son's soccer team, volunteering in your daughter's class; keeping the house clean, etc. What was I thinking!! Note to my children: stay in school until you get your degree.
My geography class should be very interesting. My teacher is from a small village in Wales and has done a ton of traveling. My teacher in my writing class is a little too slow and a little too sweet. I want to tell her to hurry up, I have laundry to do.

Have you ever felt a giraffe's tongue?

It is off to the zoo to see the animals - not counting my kids!!! We had a fun day at the Santa Barbara Zoo. I love the SB zoo. It's so easy. Easy drive, only about 2 1/2 hours at the zoo and then you are ready to go home. The kids got to feed the giraffe. It was funny watching this big long tongue coming towards you. Anna was a little worried and didn't want to do it, but I talked her in to it. I mean really, how many times do you get feed a giraffe!! The giraffe was a young girl with the longest eyelashes you have ever seen. My favorite animal of the day.

We had a good 2 1/2 hours at the zoo and then with a quick trip to Starbucks (or the drinking place as my cousin calls it) and then off to home. It was a perfectly low keyed day. Only, I had to bring back 3 animals that seemed to sneak into my car!

Daddy is home!!!!

Jens was off the first week of August. We had a lot of fun on day trips.
Monday: Chore day. Fix this and fix that.
Tuesday:

It's time for a little fun.

We had a great time at Hurricane Harbor. We got there around 10:30 and stayed until 6:00. Jens, Adam and Anna kept going down Lightning Falls—three tube slides with aggressive, "Type A" personalities. Jake and I spent most of our time in the River Cruise. We went in the wave pool and ate funnel cake. I did burn the skin off my elbow and spent the next 10 days on antibiotics for a skin infection. But all and all it was a great way to start daddy's vacation.

Wednesday: Movies

Jens and I went to see to see Mamma Mia! It was so fun to watch!! A popcorn movie:

Meryl Streep leads an all-star cast in the feature-film adaptation of the beloved musical that has been seen by more than 30 million people in 160 cities and 8 languages around the world. Bringing the timeless lyrics and melodies of iconic super group ABBA to movie audiences, Summer 2008 is the season for 'Mamma Mia!'The three women who created the worldwide smash stage hit--global producer Judy Craymer, writer Catherine Johnson and director Phyllida Lloyd--repeat their roles in bringing this joyful, musical story to the big screen. The 'Mamma Mia!' film is produced by Judy Craymer and Gary Goetzman.Pierce Brosnan, Colin Firth, Stellan Skarsgård, Christine Baranski, Julie Walters, Amanda Seyfried and Dominic Cooper join Streep in this celebration of a mother, a daughter and three possible dads. An independent, single mother who owns a small hotel on an idyllic Greek island, Donna (Streep) is about to let go of Sophie (Amanda Seyfried), the spirited daughter she's raised alone. For Sophie's wedding, Donna has invited her two lifelong best girlfriends--practical and no-nonsense Rosie (Julie Walters) and wealthy, multi-divorcee Tanya (Christine Baranski)--from her one-time backing band, Donna and the Dynamos. But Sophie has secretly invited three guests of her own. On a quest to find the identity of her father to walk her down the aisle, she brings back three men from Donna's past to the Mediterranean paradise they visited 20 years earlier. Over 24 chaotic, magical hours, new love will bloom and old romances will be rekindled on this lush island full of possibilities. Inspired by the storytelling magic of ABBA's songs from “Dancing Queen” and “S.O.S.” to “Money, Money, Money” and “Take a Chance on Me,” 'Mamma Mia!' is a celebration of mothers and daughters, old friends and new family found. -

Thursday: Huntington Library in Pasadena.

Once the home of Henry Huntington and his wife, Arabella, the Huntington Art Gallery is now open after a $20 million renovation. It was free day at Huntington Library. It is the first Thursday of every month. You have to order them on line, but the tickets were all gone before I could get any. So, I thought I could just buy them, but I was wrong. I guess it was in the very, very fine print. So, when we pulled up at the ticket booth, the ticket agent informed us that we could not come in only if we had a ticket. Then he heard Jens speak. "Where are you from?" Denmark, replied Jens. Oh, we will get you in. So, the ticket agent was the angel of the Day.

Huntington Library is a very beautiful. We saw the Thomas Gainsborough

The Blue Boy. I told Jens that it is a famous painting. He said, Is it? Those foreigners!!!

The kids enjoyed the gardens and the chance to run around. The only bad thing was the heat - 95 degrees.

Friday: The Getty Villa in Santa Monica and the Greystone Mansion

in Beverly Hills.

Jens has decided that he wants to live in the villa. Move out the art and lets move in. The Getty Villa is a beautiful museum built to remind a persons of an Roman villa. It is very open and airy.They have lots of artifacts of the Roman period. Adam loved the mummy he saw. Jake and Anna loved the free umbrellas that they got to use to provide them with shade.

I learned about the Greystone Mansion in California History. The Greystone Mansion was built in 1929 by Edward Doheny for the sum of 4 million dollars. Edward Doheny was the richest man in LA at the time. The mansion was gift to his son, Edward Doheny Jr (Ned). It was also the place where Ned was murder by his secretary. http://www.newyorksocialdiary.com/node/2550

This place has a weird feeling about it. A lot of movies have been filmed there. While it was interesting to see, it was one of those times that you think - been there, done that.

In order to change the feeling of the group, we ended the evening at Picnic in the park with our ward family. We had a great week with daddy. Thanks for working so hard!!!