Identity Crisis

It has been pretty hot down here and the dogs have tried to find many different ways to stay cool. Ice water is good for a little while, but when that's not enough we head up to Grandma's for a dip in the pool. While at the pool the dogs seem to think that they are fish and they live in the water.

When Bailey sees a ball she goes for it, no matter where it is. She loves the water and kept coming back for more.

Me and my kids after a long swim- they were so tired they slept pretty much the whole way home.

This is the best way Guinness has figured out how to dry off after a dip- It consists of rolling back and forth and squirming on the grass until he is covered in grass clippings instead of water.

Once Bailey would get the ball she would take a few laps with it in her mouth before she would head for the steps- she got quite the workout.

Me and my girl pretending we are fish (I don't know if fish play fetch with tennis balls, but you get the idea)

Locals Only (and Guests) Beach

So when we were up visiting Maren and Ryan they took us to the "locals only" beach at Half Moon Bay. Not a person in sight! It was a very relaxing trip and we were able to have some fun drawing in the sand.

This was the view from Pacific Coast Highway and what we had to hike down to get to the secluded spot.

Heather and I on the beach- Would have been a great spot for engagement pictures or something but Laguna Beach worked out well for us.

I didn't realize this when I took the picture but it came out looking like the cover to a cheesy Christian rock band album- Faith + 1 if you will (anyone who gets that joke is probably rolling on the floor right now- Scott, I hope you see this)

As you can tell by Heather's art skills she is learning a lot by teaching 1st grade- She is almost as good as her top students!

Me, Maren and Leah "9-2-93/9-2-07 Rise and Shout" I can't believe it's been 14 years. We miss you Dad!

"The City"

So over labor day weekend, Maren , Ryan, and Leah were gracious enough to let us come up and visit them. We took the opportunity to get to know Leah better and educate her on how to act and prepare for BYU football games. We also got to go and visit San Francisco, although people around the area refer to it simply as "The City". Personally, I think that is a little strange and it makes you sound like you come from the backwoods of Tennessee and have never seen a building taller than two stories, but hey, it works for them so we'll roll with it. We took the subway into "The City" and then proceeded to walk further than I have since I was on my mission. Leah was a trooper through it all. Here are the highlights.

Heather and I at Pier 39 enjoying the cool breeze


The seals sunbathing and fighting/ mating. It was actually pretty funny watching them play "king of the dock"

"Welcome to the Rock!"

Fisherman's Wharf, for those of you who can't read. Home of the best clam chowder I have ever had in my life! and I bet that Burger King in the background has a killer BK Big Fish sandwich!

Eat your heart out mom! Ghirardelli Square- this place would make Willy Wonka have a sweet tooth. Maren and Heather shared a sundae, while I could barely make it through 3 squares of a caramel chocolate bar because it was so rich!

So San Francisco is officially the weirdest place on earth- If you need a sign for it you have a problem!

Even the post office gets into being different- got to love R2D2

Talk about stage fright! Can you imagine going to the bathroom in the middle of the side walk?! Just think of the looks if you made some embarrassing sound and stunk the place up!

My Favorite Cougar Good Luck Charm

So my niece is quite possibly the cutest BYU cheerleader ever and she was able to cheer the boys in blue on to a convincing victory over Arizona 20-7 in the season opener- just keep it up for UCLA this week Leah!

"Yeah!!! That Cougar D just smoked those little kittens from Arizona!"

"When I grow up I'm going to sing the fight song right along side all the other Cougar faithful"