I took the kids camping at Joshua Tree National Park this weekend. This time we had reservations and actually got to stay in the park. The campsites are very nice: ours backed right up to a 40 ft wall, had a nice view and was very private. There was a perfect horn at the top of the wall to anchor a top rope. It was pretty much straight up with just a few hand holds, but Grace made it to the top!! She had the weight to strength ratio and climbing shoes in her favor. The boys have grown out of their climbing shoes, so it’s time to find new ones. It was still hot out there. We left around noon to get back to town for soccer and hockey.

Grace played goalie for the 3rd quarter of her soccer game Saturday. The boys found out which hockey team they will play for this season. Both are happy with their teams and coaches.

I wasn’t even going to watch this one, figuring it would be a blowout. Got home from Dylan’s hockey practice to find out the Beavs were up 21-7 in the 3rd!! The Trojan’s O line was AWOL. OSU’s running back, Jacquizz Rodgers, is amazing: 5′ 6″ in cleats, 180 pounds, freshman, he ran UNDER the Trojans for 186 yards and 2 TDs. WOW!! 25 point underdogs, #91 ranked team beats the #1 ranked team.

Check out this article from a Seattle newspaper about Shannon’s brother’s son. He is a star athlete, great student, student body president, prom king contender AND nice kid. He is pretty good at American Idol on Playstation, too. His team is undefeated against some stiff competition. They are on their way to a state championship. As it says in the article, he has multiple football scholarship offers to choose from. Christian: repeat after me “University of Utah” or “University of Oregon” (or USC/ UCLA so we could see every home game).

Grace’s team had their first win yesterday. It’s been a BIG step up from the league she played in last fall. She’s the littlest on the field and slowly playing bolder. She had a perfect pass to her that she was in the perfect spot for a little redirect goal, but she hesitated and it flew by her. She did have a nice assist playing defense during the second half. Big plus: her team uniform meets all color criteria for “The White Stripes”.

5th to 6th grade has been a big step up for Dylan, this year. The teacher has been heaping on the home work. Luckily he has a great mom who spends HOURS and HOURS helping him and his siblings every day. THANKS. MOM!!

After the game we grabbed a friend of Dylan’s and went to Zuma Beach at Malibu. It was a gorgeous day: warm, great visibility, big waves and not crowded. I had my best boogie board ride EVER. I caught a 6 footer, rode the tube, got out in front as it broke, flying along and then a wave right behind it broke and accelerated me even faster. It felt like a 5 minute ride, but I’m sure it was more like 20 seconds (OK, maybe 8 seconds). Also got clobbered by several waves as well. Rode down the face of one and kept going straight into the sand, Maytagged a few times, etc. The waves were a bit big for the kids, so they played in the sand…even got in trouble. Apparently tunneling in the sand is illegal. They have gone 17 years on that beach without a drowning, but every year someone suffocates on sand while tunneling. Who knew?

For all those times when you think “I just don’t measure up…I’m doing
it all wrong” just think of me!

My solution to eliminate my own person guilt and the sadness
of 2 of my children over Charlotte… the chocolate lab puppy we had for one week, was to
get 2 bearded dragons. It was to be a wonderful learning experience of
life. Well, I killed the male yesterday. Yes I fried him in the hot
sun. I was at piano with G and G while Dylan, under my direction, the
person he trusts most, (we’ll see if he still does) warmed up
the lizards in the sun so we could feed them when we got home. We were
welcomed with tears and then of course wails of tears and uncontrollable
sadness from Grace. What an IDIOT I am.

So 2 hours later when we’re finally sitting down to dinner we continue
our discussion of the lizards and it turns out the kids are done with the
remaining lizard. Gavin is actually done with all pets. Grace chose
her Christmas present: a life-sized, stuffed dog over keeping the lizards. Did I mention
I spent $300 yesterday on supplies. I’d much rather have that in the
bank than kill another lizard.

I have had a good laugh over this one. This is not my “mother of the year”
year but it is the year of the pets…Did I mention we’ve come full
circle and whoever wants a Beta fish may have one to name and watch it
move in a bowl.

To the democrats on Palin: “You can never kill her now. Forget it. She can hurt herself, but in terms of Democrat attacks she is bulletproof. You made her that-she wasn’t that way when she walked in.” “Here was the central liberal mistake: They used the atom bomb just a few days in. They used it so brutally, and yet so ineptly, in a way so oblivious to the true contours of the field, that the radiation blew back over their own lines…it boomeranged” “Most crucially, the snobbery of it, the meanness of it, reminded the entire country, for the first time in a decade,what it is they don’t like about the left. Really, America had forgotten. Mr Obama’s friends reminded them. Unforgettably.”

Peggy Noonan, wsj, 9/13/08

Saw this Google Image Search Project

It works like this: answer the question, Google Image Search the answer, post the top result.

1. Age on next birthday:

2. All time favorite song:

3. Greatest fear:

4. Town in which you live:

5. Thing you want to do before you die:

6. Screen name/ nickname

7. Favorite TV show:

8. Dream job:

9. Place you want to travel to:

10. Favorite pet:

11. Favorite food:

12. Favorite color combination:

13. Favorite place:

14. First name of significant other:

15. First thing you’ll buy if you get $1,000,000:

16. Something you want for your next birthday:

17. Your first job:

18. One bad habit:

The kids headed back to school this week where they will all be at the same school for the last time until high school. This year they all have male teachers. Gavin has the teacher that was Dylan’s favorite ever, we wondered how Grace would do since she LOVED her teacher last year, but she really enjoys the guy and Dylan is happy with his teacher.

Gavin and Grace had their first soccer games of the season on Saturday. Grace was disappointed that she was put on defense most of the game and Gavin wants to play hockey instead.

I took a rock climbing anchoring class on Saturday thru REI. It was very informative and I’m anxious to get out to Joshua Tree or up the canyon near our house to set up some top rope climbs.

We checked out a Dodgers game for Labor Day…had to watch Manny Ramirez, one of the most powerful mashers in the game (since the end of July when he was traded from Boston he has hit 10 HR, had 29 RBIs and is batting 414!!), play before he likely moves on. It was a beautiful evening, great seats, good game. In the photo, if you look close, you can see the Goodyear blimp circling the Rose Bowl ~8 miles away while UCLA was playing Tennesse. I got a closeup look at the blimp beside the freeway somewhere around Long Beach last week. The girl who played Elpheba in Wicked (minus the green) sang the national anthem. Whitney Houston sang it best, but this was a close second.

Before the game we had dim sum in Chinatown, then Shannon’s brother Dave took us on an urban hike tour all around downtown: Chinatown, business district, Bradbury Building, Pershing Square, subway, Union Station, Olivera St…very cool city!!

Utah Utes broke into the top 25 after beating Michigan Saturday, in Michigan, in “the big house”, in front of 106,000 screaming M fans. They looked great in the first half, not so great in the second half, but clung to victory.

Went to the taping of the Craig Ferguson show yesterday. Lots of fun…he is a very funny man, very entertaining. The guests were Julie Chen, host of Big Brother, Maria Bello, actress and Shelby Lynne, singer. Last spring he passed Conan in ratings.

On the drive home I listened to the RNC. Gullianni had some good jabs, but Palin was AMAZING!! I watched the second half when I got back home. With all that pressure she was composed, funny, down-to-earth and inspiring. WOW!!