Hope Squad

Last year Sarah was nominated by her peers to be a member of the "Hope Squad", which is peer based suicide prevention in schools. The kids are trained and given apparel that identifies them as members so they can be sought out. I think it says quite a bit of how she's viewed by her peers. Last year they were given this T-shirt to wear to school on Friday's.

This year in Jr High is when the program is emphasized more. Her home room class is full of Hope Squad members and their advisers so they can plan media and learn how to identify and help kids that might be in crisis. I thought I got a good picture of her in her jacket, because she wears it all the time, but I guess I don't. I'll add it if I come across it. It's June, and at the final day assembly she was given an award for her involvement in Hope Squad.

Her Royal Majesty

I'm not sure if I can honestly call Mosey a "fun" cat, but she does entertain us all from time to time. Her many talents are vole catching, which she often brings inside if we let her, napping, requesting water straight from the faucet and napping some more. It's a good thing we all like her, because she can be a bit demanding. ;) (Yes, I know my door is dirty. I've cleaned it since, but it's dirty again. Funny how that happens.) :)

Zion Ragnar Family Post

It was nice to be able to ditch my team and hang out with my family. They always enjoy coming to this race, because the venue is a resort and it's close to Zion National Park. They had a bungee trampoline and each of the kids took a turn and did some flips. We also spent some time at the pool, but I wasn't on my game with picture taking.

On Friday we went into Zion National Park. Parking lots for the main hikes were all full, so we found a small pullout and went on a mini hike. Towards the end of the hike the wind came up and blew sand in all of our faces, but it was fun to explore.

We got back on Mother's Day and Mike and the kids did a good job of making me feel loved and appreciated. I have the best kids and husband in the entire world.

Zion Ragnar Team post

In May was the annual Zion Trail Ragnar I've done the past three years. Since I'm pregnant, I chose not to run, but still went to support my team and make a family vacation out of it. I must say, it was quite nice to be able to be there, but not have to run and get tired. :) My team took second despite one of our ladies losing power in her headlamp during the middle of the night and trying to find her way back. Since I couldn't run, I fulfilled the volunteer spot at the medal tent. Our normal team captain, Nicole, got hurt, so she had a sub as well. I'm planning on it next year as well.

Here we are at the Red Iguana for the celebratory dinner. :)

Steven the entrepreneur

Last summer Steven started a window well cleaning business. He mainly wanted to hunt for live frogs in people window wells, but he learned he needed to clean them to make money. He started it up this year and has been quite busy. He only charges $2/well, but most people have paid him closer to $5. He's cleaned out some really dirty ones and we're proud of his work ethic. (With only minimal complaining when it's a big job)

Hawaii Day 4&5- Diamond Head and Lulumahu Falls

On Wednesday we hiked up Diamond Head. I was disappointed we didn't get to do it when we took the kids a few years ago, so this was one of the main things I wanted to do. I'm glad we did it, but once was enough. The view was nice, but Manoa Falls was prettier. The highlight of Mike's day was probably watching a playoff game in our hotel room. I got some serious wife points for allowing it. ;)

On Thursday we planned on hiking to Lulumahu Falls. It was supposed to be a fairly short and easy hike. Unfortunately, it had rained a lot the previous night, so we didn't get too far on the trail before we had to turn back. We spent the rest of the day just hanging out and eating good food.

It was a great trip, and we were grateful we were able to do it. Thank you to my parents for leaving their pets and watching them for the week!

Hawaii Day 3- Manoa Falls and 'Aihualama Trail

On Tuesday, after Mike got home from work, we hiked the beautiful Manoa Falls trail. I found myself audibly oohing and aahing along the whole thing. It isn't far from Waikiki, yet it felt like a different world. As geeky as it may sound, it was like the Pandora movie. So amazingly green and beautiful.

After we reached the falls we continued onto the 'Aihualama Trail for a mile or so. We  think it loops around after a few miles, but it was already late in the day so we didn't want to go too far. It was a more challenging hike because it had rained and was much more slippery. We had the trail all to ourselves for most of it. The last few pictures are once we were back on the main trail headed to our car.