Spirit Week

This week was the first of many Spirit Weeks at GOHS…this one to kick off the football season.  Taylor loves these days and goes all out with her outfits.  I LOVE the school spirit at this school!!

 Hawaiian Day

 Jersey Day

 80's/Neon Day

Red Wave Day

HB Player's Cup

 Allison's team was in Huntington Beach this weekend for the Player's Cup.  They played some very good soccer, but struggled to score and faced some tough competition.  They lost an early morning game to the South Slammers 3-0.

 We set up camp at Huntington Beach Soccer Complex for the hours between games and the girls loved hanging out together.  In the afternoon, they faced a very team from San Clemente and lost 5-1.  

We took advantage of the nice location and decided to spend the night in HB.  Leslie and I took the girls down to the pier for shopping, dinner and gelato after the full day on the field.  

We didn't have any luck finding homecoming dresses, but had a nice dinner and delicious treat.  The weather was perfect and the people watching was fun too!  We checked into the hotel and hung out by the pool with some of the parents and players until bedtime.  We didn't have a game on Sunday until 2:15 so we had a relaxing morning with breakfast and a run in the fitness center, before heading to a different mall until game time.  

Our 2:15 game was the consolation game against Palm Desert and the girls ended the weekend on a high note with a 3-2 win! 

#IceBucketChallenge

The ALS Ice Bucket Challenge has been a social media phenomenon for the past few weeks and has raised over $55 million for ALS research.  The girls and I were nominated this week, but didn't take any picture footage (just video).  Although there has been quite the controversy regarding wasting water during a drought, the craze is doing a wonderful job raising awareness and funds.  Throughout social media, we have seen videos of elementary school-aged students, families, celebrities, public service agencies, sports teams and even former presidents participating in the challenge.  

West Coast FC Finalists

Taylor's team was in Irvine all weekend for the West Coast FC tournament.  It was nearly 100 degrees and they were playing with a small roster, but they managed to win all 3 of their bracket games...2-0 against Arizona Arsenal, 3-0 against FC Heat and 4-0 against Crescenta Valley.  

Legends faced North Huntington Beach in the championship and lost 1-0 in a tough game.  It was a frustrating loss, but hopefully motivates them to work harder at practice and come together more as a team.

First Day

 That alarm went off a little too early for Taylor's liking this morning, but she was bright-eyed and ready (with several "Ugh"s mixed in) for her first day as a Sophomore.

Katy drove carpool and we got our 2nd annual group carpool photo with Trent and Madison.

Their whole day consisted of all things SCHOOL SPIRIT…a pep rally, learning a new dance, Wolfpack cheers and trying to break a Selfie Record.  It was a sea of red shirts across campus and Taylor came home much more excited for the year!  Tomorrow they will get their class schedule and I hope the excitement continues!

Our baby is growing up!  She is officially a 7th grader and looking much more like a young lady than a little girl.  She met all of her teachers today and seems very happy with all of them…even sees a glimmer of home in getting a new PE teacher (fingers crossed)!  She was a little sad to be split from many of her friends who have 1st lunch, but I'm sure she will make some new friends and have a great year ahead!!

Family Day on the Bay

We had one last free day to enjoy summer and celebrate our anniversary.  We spent the afternoon at Mission Bay.  Matt and I shared a tandem kayak and the girls each had SUPs.  Kaia even came along!

We weren't sure how she would do, but it went better than I thought.  She wasn't too thrilled about the doggie life vest, but didn't fuss too much.  

We paddled out of Quivira Basin marina and into the bay.  

We took a short break along the beach to get Kaia more comfortable with the water and let the girls swim around for a while.

 Kaia wouldn't even look at me for a picture…probably irritated by the vest, but we had a fun outing anyway!

10th Grade

Taylor is all registered for her Sophomore year!  She is a little nervous for her tough course load, but is excited to be back in ASB, attend football games, go to Homecoming, play on the soccer team and see all of her friends.  She worked freshman registration, attended the ASB event last night and will work the freshman BBQ on Tuesday.  As of now, there will be over 3,800 students attending Great Oak this year.  Wow!

7th Grade

Allison is all registered for 7th Grade!  This morning, we picked up her schedule, got her ASB membership card, took her school picture and picked up her books.  After talking with Taylor and a few friends, it looks like she got a pretty good schedule with some of the better teachers!  She is just sad to have PE last period and isn't so thrilled about her PE teacher.  Now the fun begins as the kids post their schedules on Instagram and wait to see who will be in her classes...

San Diego Tour

 I think we officially cleared off the rest of our Summer Bucket List today with our San Diego Tour. Our first stop was Corvette Diner in Point Loma.  I used to visit this place in Hillcrest when I was in college and wanted the girls to experience it.  They moved to this new location 6 years ago and we loved it!

Our server started by throwing straws at us so the girls made good use of them!

The music is so loud in here and the DJ gets the servers to dance around the restaurant, he takes customer song requests and holds contests throughout the meal.

The food was all pretty good and the milkshakes were delicious!

 I got this lovely straw hair bow since Hank told our server it was my birthday!

 Although stuffed and trying to get ready for our ice cream stop later, the girls couldn't resist this giant plate of cotton candy.  Taylor begged and said we could order it and then take it to go.

So much for a doggy bag…that thing was devoured in 5 minutes flat!

Our next stop was Sunset Cliffs.  Kevin was hoping to get a chance to jump off, but the lifeguards and SDPD were doing a detail and ticketing anyone who attempted to jump.  Maybe next time!

 Just south of Sunset Cliffs was this cool spot.  The hike down was a little to sketchy for me, but Leslie, Kevin and the girls used the rope to get down and walk along the beach for a little while.

Right above the beach is Point Loma Nazarene University.  We drove around the campus for a quick tour and Allison and Reanna ran a lap on the track.  Such a beautiful campus with one of the best views, although most of them thought Pepperdine was better after their tour last week.

We then went to Pacific Beach to do a little shopping at Brandy Melville and then finished the day with a little detour to this gem in North Park…Hammond's Ice Creamery.  This is probably the best ice cream I have ever had!  It is made it Hawaii and the flavors are so unique.  Most of us ordered Flights with 4 sample scoops so we could try several.  Allison sampled Mango Sorbet, Raspberry Fudge, Chocolate Peanut Butter Oreo and Cinnamon Swirl.  

I seemed to follow a Hawaii theme and got Macadamia Nut, Kona Coffee Oreo, Kohala Road and Vanilla Chocolate Chip.  We will be visiting this place again!

17

17 years ago today, Matt and I shared this very special day with family and friends.  He has been my rock for nearly 24 years now and I am so lucky to be married to this loving, hard-working, funny, sarcastic, supportive and brave man.  We continue to grow as a couple, experience new adventures together and cherish our journey raising two wonderful daughters.

Happy Anniversary Matthew!