Friday, August 7, 2009

Our summer...so far




Well, it HAS been a long break between blogs...so here is an update.

We have had a very fun summer. The girls and I were thinking we only went to the beach twice last summer. So first thing on the list of activities was the beach! We abandoned our (safe) favorite, Silverstrand, for Zuma. I'm thinking we won't go back. Silverstrand beach was cozy because of the jetty on our right and shallow shoreline. The kids had plenty to keep them busy with catching those weird little sand crabs (I call them Sand Bugs because they look like Roly Polys on steroids). Also, it was a usual day if it was very cool with a blanket of fog. We didn't mind 'cuz we don't like the cold water much.

Now we are fans of Zuma Beach. The same Sand Bugs can be found, and even though Zuma is about 25 miles southeast of Silverstrand, the temperature is about 10 degrees warmer, and much less fog.


Monica and Amanda enjoyed a week with their cousins, Michelle and Kirsten, at Santa Barbara College (about 1 hour North). It was a week of Especially For Youth, put on by the church. The four of them had a blast and didn't want it to end.


My mom and my sister came down with the cousins and another cousin, Jocelyn. I didn't want them to go back to their homes in Utah.

I just returned from a couple of days in the Santa Barbara mountains. I was helping out with the church's Girl's Camp, held each year for the girls 12 and older. It is VERY different than the camp I attended as a youth. This camp is owned by the Boy Scouts and is staffed by them. It has a lodge for the staff-prepared meals, a large swimming pool, and cabins with bunkbeds (mattresses also!). Since fire is such a danger there, we never have campfires and so no one goes home with that "camp smell".


Amanda and I went to Disneyland for her 15th birthday. She is such a funny girl! I loved every moment with her.

James and I went to our first concert in about 15 years. Our friend, Kevin, decided to surprise his wife, Audrey with tickets to The Fray. They were playing in Santa Barbara. James and I were happy to help out with the surprise...plus, we had a very nice dinner just before the concert at Enterprise Fish Company.

I think the summer is winding down, and we need to concentrate on the Back-to-School sales. Nobody wants this summer to end.....

4 comments:

Kari said...

Susan--so glad to see you again online!! :) Fantastic summertime things you have had going on! And thanks for posting the photos. Your girls are so beautiful (well, of course you are too... :) ) Happy August.

Audrey said...

Oh you have been keeping busy! and kudos to you for posting the concert pics before me! You are so on the ball. Zuma is one of our fave places as well. And now that I am not in YW, I will miss hearing the EFY stories from your girls. Somehow we will have to stay in touch. :)

mama jo said...

sounds like fun...and you're hitting disneyland quite often!

Marilee said...

Zuma is where we always went when the kids were little. It was lifeguard station number? Can't remember, but the parking was free and so much fun! Less fog for sure!

I don't want to hear that summer is almost over, I'm still waiting for it:)