"Tell the Teacher we're Surfin"

May 3, 2010--We played hookie and went to

Santa Cruz. It was a beautiful day with a perfect

low tide which meant great wave riding.

Disclaimer-Kids don't try to talk your parents

into doing this. Keith and Laura deny any knowledge

of this outrageous activity ever occurring.

Here's Jenna and Haley paddling for the same

wave while trying to avoid the gremmie (beginner)

in front of them.

This is a great shot of Jenna posing for the camera. You

can see her whole ride in the video section below.

I couldn't resist this shot of Haley paddling right past me.

This angle gives you a real feel of what it is like at water

level. She stood up a few seconds later.

There always has to be at least one group shot in every

trip. Hope the truant officer doesn't see this one.

Nice day but the cold water makes wetsuits still a necessity.

When you have a wetsuit on it always feels like it's summer

on the inside.

Laura and Connor overlooking the bluffs of

Santa Cruz. Note how tall Connor is getting!

Here's a great shot of Laura and the three Truants with the

Santa Cruz Pier and Boardwalk in the background.

Haley was coming straight towards me on this

wave. I thought she was going to run me over.

Note her extended arm ready to Hula.

Check out these videos of us shot from the water. The conditions were perfect for filming and riding the waves. We had the best time together cheering and rooting for each other. This is what Surfing is all about...the joy of riding waves!

Central Valley Clogging

Happy 18th Birthday Haley!

This past Sunday we got together and celebrated Haley's 18th birthday Hawaiian style. Grandma Mills went to extra effort to give the party a island feel. Each lei represents a happy birthday from one of her grandparents, family, cousins or aunts that were there.
Haley wanted to have Hawaiian Hay Stacks for dinner and she made her own lemon, rasberry jello birthday cake, it was wonderful.
Here is the special birthday picture board that Grandma Mills made for her. She has always been a beautiful girl, even more so now that she is 18.

Haley modeling her birthday dress that will go with her new Hawaiian wardrobe.

Connor's Challenger Space Mission

Connor is excited to begin his Challenger Space Mission simulation. This was taken before he boarded the space shuttle to work on the probe.
Connor got the award for the best rocket design. All the kids had 30 minutes to work on their rockets using limited supplies given to them. Connor's eggs didn't make it through the crash landing, but it got a really tremendous ride. Connor loved this electrical storm machine below.

Here is Connor working on the Navigation Team at Mission Control

His job was to find Hailey's Comet and make a navigation plan for the shuttle so that they could successfully intercept the comet. He was very professional and followed all the protocol perfectly. He really enjoyed working in mission control and helping the shuttle navigate and complete it's mission.
Here he is talking to the space shuttle and helping them make some course corrections. Connor really loved wearing the head phones and using the mic. He took his job very seriously and got a round of applause from mission control and the shuttle when he discovered the comet.
Half way through the simulation, Connor was transferred to the Space Shuttle so that he could experience that side of the mission. His assignment there was to work on the probe that would be launched into the comet to collect data. It was an exciting experience for him. All three of his brothers did the same mission years ago and interestingly enough they were all assigned to the navigation and probe teams.

Family Hike at Caswell State Park

Here we are hiking in the area of the New Hope Colony about 10 minutes from our home. In 1846, 20 Mormon pioneers from the ship Brooklyn arrived in the valley and built a settlement, later known as Stanislaus City. They planted wheat, built houses a saw mill and a Ferry. Unfortunately, the river overflowed that winter and made life miserable. Slowly the group disbanded; some returning to Utah, others seeking gold and moving elsewhere.
Here is Haley overlooking the Stanislaus River on a bike trip we took later that same day.

Connor and I are ready to start our hike along the Stanislaus River, but first we had to swing back and forth on this gate for fun.
Haley was the photographer on our trip and here is her self portrait. She was also our fearless leader and found the way back through the maze of paths, twists and turns without any problem. Both Keith and I need a GPS to get anywhere and were thankful to have her along.

The river and woods were beautiful. There was also a great deal of poison ivy we had to stay clear of. There were hidden animals rustling through the bushes and birds singing from the trees. We were the only people around which made the hike magical.

Pretzel Making at Home

Haley and I were craving pretzels so we decided to find
an online recipe and try to make some ourselves.
As you can see Haley is ready to head to Cold Stone with
hat and apron on, but she was kind enough to take a picture
of our venture before she ran out the door.

Connor and David had a lot of fun making and eating their
own pretzel. They were fun to make, delicious and eaten
before the rest of the family had a chance to sample them.

Here is Haley with a long piece of dough ready to be twisted.
It takes some practice to do it like Aunt Annie.

Haley's Pretzel Twisting Video