Today begins the next 18 years of school for the twins. That's what Auntie Staci tells the boys, "You have 18 more years of school!" Graduate school isn't an option around here (ha!), so you can see why today was an especially important day.

Kindergarten. Wow.

It was certainly a group effort. Grammy is not only keeping the boys in check, but me as well. She lays out clothes, makes lunches, picks up and drops off---all with a lot of love.

Auntie snapped pictures and we were off.

When we got there, the boys found their names painted on a sign outside their classroom doors. They felt welcome immediately. When their teachers opened their doors, they found their name tags and smiled a reassuring smile; they knew they were supposed to be there.

Kellen got into his classroom and sat at attention immediately, ready to learn. Grant got into his classroom, tapped his fingers on the table and looked around in cool motion, just taking it all in.

After school they were thrilled. They loved it and wanted to go back. A good day. ---SM

My Dad and sister took the boys camping for the weekend, so I had a few days all to myself---the first time in a long time. It coincided with Justin's birthday, where I spent the day at the Oakland Temple celebrating our friend and babysitter's wedding. She was married in the same sealing room that Justin and I were.

The temple is a good place to be and visit often---surrounded by good friends and a little piece of heaven. Married people often say that they are able to silently "renew their vows" whenever they attend weddings subsequent to their own, and today I was able to reflect on a really good run at being married. I am grateful for that.

Happy Birthday, Justin! ---SM

This is the reason why you don't run around the pool. But seriously, is there a kid out there who obeys that rule?

Kellen was a champ when he went splat; and so were the teenaged life guards who carried him out to the car; and so was our dentist, who met us at her office at 7:30 p.m. so that we didn't have to take a trip to the E.R. ---SM

I'm learning to like watermelon this summer for the first time in my life. I don't know why, but it has always tasted like a not-so-flavorful-water to me. Since I've been pregnant, though, my thirst can hardly be quenched, so that bright red fruit---especially when chilled, becomes more tempting to me with each wedge that I slice for my kids. Kellen can't refuse it. He will eat it as though it were a bowlful of candy. ---SM

We spent the weekend with the Sheffields at their family's beach house, just steps away from the ocean and across the street from the Santa Cruz harbor. Wow, what a view! I have been trying to figure out how I can swing buying a house in Santa Cruz and living there for the rest of my life. After all, it would mean I'd be living a permanent vacation, right?

Well, probably not. So I'll settle for a get-away every so often with friends and family!

Matt and Kate packed a lot into a little bit of time, from early-morning walks on the beach and roasting s'mores to lighthouse walkabouts and restaurant visits---all with six kids in tow. It was a beautiful thing, especially when I got to put my feet up and just enjoy the beach and the view. Couldn't have been more perfect. ---SM

At the Beach








Around Santa Cruz

See if you can find in this picture:

1. Lennox
2. Lennox holding an action figure of the Book of Mormon prophet, Moroni
3. A giant stuffed dog
4. The Australian Monkey throw (nice, Danielle!)

Lennox sleeps with so many objects in his bed, and usually in his hands, too, that every night gives me something to smile about before I go to sleep. That is one of heaven's little gifts to parents (and aunts, like Staci, who took this picture). ---SM

Some of the fabrics and decor making their way into baby girl's room are of the light pink and black variety. They're not all done yet, so I can't take pictures of the entire ensemble, but they are pretty fabulous already.

I have to say that one of my favorite things a few weeks ago was when Michelle called me and said, "Do you want to go fabric shopping?" We planned a date and when it came I was like a kid in a candy shop. I have dreamed of designing my own nursery instead of buying what was available at the store, but never had the sewing skills. I got to walk around three fabric stores and pick out whatever I wanted. Even if I wasn't sure, Michelle said, "Just put it in the basket and we'll look at it when we're all through and then decide." And that's what we did. She has the patience of Job and the sewing skills of Charlotte (from Charlotte's Web---magnificent!). Can't wait to show off the room when it's done! ---SM

In college, I danced in an epic piece called "Woman, the Pioneer." The dance highlighted women on the trek headed West toward Salt Lake City. We wore heavy-fabrics and long- sleeved and skirted dresses, and a few of the highlighted women were those who had lost everything---their babies, their husbands, their crops, in the name of making a better life for themselves without religious persecution. I always felt like that time period we represented on stage was an important one but was somehow far removed from my own life.

Today, on the 24th of July, in the LDS culture, we celebrate those women and men with the memorial called Pioneer Day, and although I didn't plan it this way, I ended up wearing a long(er)- sleeved and skirted dress (even though it was mostly vanity to cover my swollen (c)ankles!), and I find myself pregnant without my husband, as did many of the women so long ago. I think of my great-great grandmother who, after suffering extreme frost bite from walking the across hundreds of miles of plains in the winter, lost her legs as a little girl and then bore more than a dozen children. I get strength from her story and my heritage in a way now that I never did growing up and listening to my grandmother tell the story.

I also noted in Relief Society at church today that on the request to update our family information, I was listed as "head of household," which was strange to me when most of the other entries listed the father or priesthood holder. Little things like that are not necessarily painful---I mean, I am fine with that title---but they are real reminders that my husband is really gone, and I miss him.

I guess that makes me a pioneer of the modern age. I am driving an analogous family wagon and heading my team, and I get to do it with the support of lots of family and friends along the way. I am grateful for the knowledge I have, especially on this Pioneer Day, that I am doing a work on this earth that expands to greater realms than just what exists in mortality and that I will understand it all one day and it will all make sense.

I know the Pioneers felt the same way. ---SM

The boy who fell asleep on the CTA Brown Line. (Amanda was on the "right track" when she picked those up!) ---SM

We've been on the move converting the beloved blue nursery from boy to girl-style. Michelle has been busy creating the most amazing nursery bedding and curtains around. My dad got out the big ladder, and he and the boys climbed atop the closet just for fun. I think we're all getting excited!!! ---SM