The Mitchell Messenger: June 2014

Is there such a thing as too much fun? If there is, we must be approaching it. On weeks like this last one, during which the kids got to bed before 11 pm exactly once, I sometimes find myself craving the consistency of a regular schedule, even if practically every minute is filled with fun. At times, the indulgence can feel almost gluttonous. That said, we did have a great deal of fun this month, and I can't say I regret any of it. I doubt whether I have time or space to do anything besides catalogue it all.

At the end of May, my dad flew in from his annual sailing trip. The kids embraced him as they always do, and we spent his first afternoon here crossing the bridge to Coronado Island, where he was a wellspring of rather a lot of interesting information about the island itself and the famous hotel that stands on it. We only whetted our appetites for the place, however, and look forward to going back again--maybe next time we'll get to see some of the Wizard of Oz memorabilia, as the island was Frank Baum's home during much of the time he was writing the books. On Sunday we all attended Aaron's San Diego Children's Choir concert, in which Asher performed (with the peculiarly straight face he has adopted every time he is "forced" to sing), and in which the highlight was "He's Got the Whole World in His Hands," an arrangement by our friend Brett Stewart for his OCMCO choirs, but adapted by Aaron for his groups--the verse when the littlest kids came in singing "he's got the little tiny baby in his hands" was just adorable. The following Monday, we took the kids out of school and headed for Sea World, where we stayed until closing. We made sure to take my dad to our favorite Blue Horizons and Shamu shows, but were also excited to see that an octopus exhibit is set to open this summer, along with a show called Cirque de la Mer, which takes place in the actual ocean. We visited the beluga whales and rode on some favorite rides, including trying Shipwrecked! for the first time. The next day, we got to spend some time at the beach and then hit a taco shop for Taco Tuesday. We were sad to say goodbye on Wednesday, but really appreciate having the chance to have Papa come visit.

The following day was a big one for Asher--his 13th birthday! Although there is ample evidence to support it, nobody really tells you when you're holding your brand new baby in your arms that one day he will become a teenager. We're very encouraged, however, that he has really begun to show some of the responsibility and accountability of a young man now. It is wonderful to see the same determination and leadership abilities that have caused trouble here and there in the past mature into traits that will be of great benefit to him and to others in the future. Anyway, since some of the kids hadn't had a chance to pick out gifts for their brother yet, we told them the night before that we would take them to Walgreens in the morning before school. We left a little after 7 am and headed up toward the Walgreens a little to the north. It was a while before the kids started asking why it was taking us so long to get there, but since they were chatting and reading as we drove, they didn't notice so much. Of course, about the time we turned onto Disneyland Drive, they started to suspect something was up (all except Asher, who had figured it out when Aaron told him not to wear his proper school uniform, but who had managed to cooperate and keep mum about it--see what I mean about the benefits of maturity?). Rather than heading to Disneyland again, Aaron whipped out the tickets for California Adventure that he had gotten at a discount when purchasing our Disneyland tickets the week before. None of us had ever been to California Adventure, so it was truly exciting to get to try out some different yet still magical rides and shows. A big favorite for everyone was the Aladdin show, but other favorites were as follows: Asher--Radiator Springs Racers, Addy--Hollywood Tower of Terror, Emerson--California Screamin', and Sera--Toy Story Midway Mania. I loved the ambience of the park the most--walking through Cars land was especially fun, although if I had to pick a ride, it would probably be the Little Mermaid Under the Sea ride, and Aaron really liked the Radiator Springs Racers as well. Although it was less of a surprise than Disneyland had been, and though everyone was sincerely wiped out by the end of the day, it was a pretty great way to help Asher cross the bridge from childhood to young-adulthood. We waited until the next day for cake (German chocolate) and presents (Addy--basketball shoes, Emerson--sandals, or "sliders" as Asher calls them, Sera--a popsicle-making kit, and from his amazing and beloved parents--the full-size basketball hoop he has been dreaming of since we got here). Although Asher has always been the hardest of our kids to parent (boundaries are not really his thing), we've always know that his remarkable qualities of sensitivity and persistence would come to fruition one day, and it is wonderful to watch that begin to happen.

The next week was full of extra school activities as the kids wrapped up their school year. There was a promotion ceremony for Addy, pool parties and field days for everyone, and Sera got to present her Australian animal diorama to her class (her animal was a kangaroo). Somehow I managed to put together some end-of-year teacher gifts which paled dramatically in comparison to some of the things kids brought in--apparently end of year teacher gifts are kind of a big deal here. Ah well, I know we appreciated our kids' teachers, and I hope they know it too.

Following the last day of school, we embarked on a mad rush to fit all the fun local adventures we could into the limited time before Asher was set to leave for Utah--after hearing that we were waffling over whether to send him to the expensive Catalina Island scout camp our ward is planning for the summer, Papa insisted that he could help Asher earn the money himself over a few weeks this summer. Thus, we spent the first two weeks of summer break trying to squeeze everything in--something Asher clearly appreciated, judging by the strained expression he wore on his face the whole time.

We were able to go to a couple of summer movies, visit several museums at Balboa Park, hit the beach, take in a day at the Del Mar Fair, and attend a Pentatonix concert, a Padres game, and the long-awaited Piano Guys concert. Of the bunch, my personal favorite was the Piano Guys concert, and my least favorite was probably the Del Mar Fair. Though I did my best to keep my belly-aching to a minimum, state fairs sort of bewilder me. The Del Mar Fair is probably the biggest and noisiest I've ever been to. Although I enjoyed the art and photography and woodworking exhibits, I could have done without the pig-racing and monster trucks. I declined to join everyone else for the motocross exhibition, although even Sera said I missed out on that (watching people perform death-defying stunts on motorcycles--alas, I don't quite believe death can be defied every time, and I don't want to be watching when it isn't), but relented and came in for the monster truck bit--it only took one smashed bumper and the near miss of a crash before I determined that I'm not really cut out for that type of thing. The Balboa Park visits were quite lovely though, and even though Aaron got a bit resentful of my continuous narration at the Air and Space museum (doesn't everybody automatically think of the opening chapters of Narnia books when they see World War II aircraft carriers?), I think it's safe to say that I'm really more of a museum girl than a fair girl.

The concerts were the most fun. For the Piano Guys concert, a note to Steve Nelson, a good friend of mine from high school, landed us with VIP tickets and backstage passes! Before the show, we got together with some friends from the BYU music program who also live in town. We met up at Café Coyote, with Asher and Emerson and the two boys from one family at one end of the table, Addy and Sera and the two girls from the other family at the other end of the table, and all the parents in the middle. It really is wonderful to get together with friends from different periods of our lives and compare notes. One of the drawbacks of having moved so much is a lack of consistent friendships that carry through the years, though hopefully the multiplicity of friendships will outweigh it in the end. After a lovely evening in Old Town, one family split for a different performance, and we headed over to Humphreys on the Bay with the other.

The concert venue was lovely! Sailboats were drifting alongside to listen to the concert as well (the performers joked at first that they had the cheap seats, but then conceded that perhaps the purchase price for a yacht made them the expensive seats). It was so exciting to see a peer and friend enjoying such success! Steve Nelson and I were really quite good friends growing up--I probably had as many classes with him growing up as anyone else, given our common musical interests coupled with years of German classes, besides his house being only a few doors down from my best friend's. I remember Steve's videos always being the best in show for the annual Deutsch Video Fest that Herr Hardy held, and the fantastic videos he put together our senior year as a class officer were outtnding. It's interesting to see how he has married that skill with his exceptional musical skills to really delight and inspire people around the world. My hat is off in homage to such remarkable determination, stamina, and musical inventiveness.

We finished the month with a Padres baseball game, which was pretty fun to watch, and which featured players at an exceptional skill level. But quite honestly, when it comes to sports, I'm more of a small-town girl--I'd take a Fort Wayne Tin Caps game any day (better between-inning entertainment and better cheap seats). Luckily, the game ended with a spectacular fireworks blow-out to blast us into July, where maybe we'll manage to fit a couple of entirely empty days into the schedule!

A real satellite at the Air and Space Museum

Piloting a helicopter (you'd better believe that Emerson wants behind the controls of a real one)

Loved seeing The Spirit of St. Louis and other fantastic old planes--I've been reading about Anne Morrow Lindbergh recently, and loved seeing some of the machines that factored into her relationship with Charles


Even though I'm not exactly a motorcycle girl, I'm completely nuts about the old Indians--they're gorgeous and so evocative of the period they ruled

If I'd been born at the right time, maybe I could have been a biker after all!

Maybe our kids will become international surfing stars while we live here (ha!). Seriously though, the international museum and the Museum of Man were more fascinating than I expected--too bad they banned me from taking more pictures!

The Natural History museum was surprisingly dull, though the kids liked getting cozy with a fake walrus (because the real one at Sea World is really gross)

We didn't dish out the extra $17 per person for the pirate exhibit, even though it looked pretty awesome, but we did snatch some shots with some of the rogues lurking in the corners--too fun!

Sneaky Addy! Poor Sera!

Addy found a boyfriend; Sera did not approve

She found a better match for herself later though

Probably I should take better photos at the beach . . . though I am seldom inclined to leave my reading spot. Emerson and Addy are really getting into boogie-boarding, and I rather like it myself. I do long for a surfboard, though.

Sera is pretty hilarious--she brought a doll and put it in a plastic container and thew it out into the waves over and over so that her doll could boogie-board too

Rays at Sea World


A date for fro-yo with my Sera

Just before the pie-eating contest at the Del-Mar fair. The reason there are no after pictures is that I got suckered into joining in. I turned out to be a terrible pie-eating contestant--who wants to snort pie through their nose? Aaron and Asher held their own, though, tying for 3rd place