Fish and Chips

A few nights of the week we left the kids at home with Ashlyn and we went to dinner at this great little Fish and Chips restaurant. It's so delicious and we loved it! It was fun to get a quick little get away without the children. We could actually enjoy our dinner peacefully.

This thick wave of fog rolled in right as we were getting ready to eat dinner and it cast an eerie mist along the beach. The feeling was reminiscent of a scene from "I know what you did last summer", but it was still kind of cool.

Bryce loved this sign from the burger joint across the street! HA!

Good times...

Meeting Jay Leno

We were driving on the freeway and Mike noticed this really nice Audi driving along side next to us. He glances over and there is Jay Leno! So Mike rolls down the window and motions to Jay to roll down his. He was so nice and rolled down the window and we got to chat with him for a quick second. Mike asked him if I could snap a quick picture and he was so cool and let us, even though we were all driving 60 down the freeway. It was so fun to see him. He was so nice and seemed like a really down to earth guy (for the 30 seconds we interacted with him.) Fun stuff!!!

Magic Mountain

We spent a day at Magic Mountain. It was great because Ashlyn was able to ride all of the rides there, and Kate and Lauryn were able to ride all but maybe 5 of them. And since it was over a holiday, there weren't too many people there. There very few lines and not too long of waits for the majority of the rides. It was a fun place and we had a great time.

Brynlyn was not sure about meeting these characters at all. She promptly held out her hand to stop them from coming closer to her and you can see Porky Pig mimicking her hand movements. And the people sitting at the tables behind were thoroughly entertained by this. They were all cracking up at how cute Brynlyn was acting.

Meeting the elusive Batman!

Bryce and Mike taking a rest

Mike, Ashlyn and I were on this upside down roller coaster ride. It was intense and really alot of fun. Bryce captured this awesome picture of us. If you zoom in, you can see us sitting right there in the front. It was a great ride!

Going home after a long, fun day of riding rides galore.

Zip Line

We love the zip line park that's so close to the beach house. It's a great place to take the kids to play. It's right along the ocean so the views are great. They have a huge area for playing and swinging and then the zip line, of course. We even saw some sea lions swimming in the bay area near the park. So cool!

Solvang, CA

We really enjoy going to this town called Solvang. It's a Danish town and the feel of the town is just like you're in Denmark. We introduced the Bentleys to yummy ableskivers. Yummmm...and we had a ball checking out the town.

The obligatory picture in the shoe. We get one every year.

Ashlyn and her Peeps

Kendyl, Ashlyn and Atlyn are the best of buddies. They have such a fun time whenever they are together. They can be very sweet but mostly rather crazy and fun!!! It's always a lively party when they're all together. They are great friends to Ashlyn and we're happy she has wonderful Peeps to hang out with!

Katelyn: Oct Student of the Month

Katelyn was chosen by her 2nd grade teacher as the October's Student of the Month in her classroom. Way to go Katelyn! The school has a neat flag ceremony every morning and the entire school sings a patriotic song. Then the principal, Mr. Lee, will talk a little about the virtue or positive characteristic that the school is focusing on that particular month. This month is self control: thinking before acting. Then, they highlight the school's students of the month with a special ceremony. It is a blessing to be at such an academically challenging and wonderful school.

She's worked really, really hard this year and she's doing so well. Many of you probably don't know this, but Katelyn has almost no hearing in her left ear due to a genetic disorder that has affected her kidneys and her hearing. Her right ear is functioning perfectly and so she compensates very well that most people would never even know. Yet, many things are very difficult for her especially in the classroom. She has to pay extra attention to what her teacher is saying because she might miss part of the directions, etc. She never complains about her hearing loss and just deals with it and she never even brings it up unless I ask her about it. She's such a trooper and she's a hard worker. Keep up the great work Katelyn. You Rock, girlfriend!

Susie and Katelyn

Wahoo Katelyn!
Mr. Lee (in the red shirt) standing behind Katelyn.
October's Students of the Month
Katelyn and Becca

Mesquite Aquatic Park

We went to the Mesquite Aquatic Park today and we had so much fun! The kids loved running from one waterslide to the next or from one pool to the next. We met Janelle and Jackson, Barbie and Holly, and Tanya, Emilee, Alli, and Karter. The kids had such a great time that we've already made plans to go back there. We're just enjoying these last warm days as we start heading into some cooler weather.

Lauryn
Barbie and Holly
Alli, Emilee, and Lauryn
Jackson and Brynlyn
Susie and Brynlyn chillin' out on the Lazy River

Home Teachers

Okay so how many of you have actually blogged your home teachers??? The fact that I'm blogging ours tells you how wonderful they are. We have been so lucky to have Howard Owens and Dan Engel as our home teachers. They have blessed our family so much and we have been lucky to be able to get to know them so well and to call them dear friends. They were recently changed to different families so we'll get new home teachers and they'll get to visit new families, but we will miss them. Thank you for all of the love and attention you devoted to our family!

Lauryn's 6th Birthday party

We celebrated Lauryn's birthday today with a fun friends party. She invited a bunch of her favorite friends and they all had a great time together. Even though Lauryn's birthday is in early November, there was no other weekend to be able to celebrate. So we combined the birthday party with Katelyn's, which made it extra fun and extra crazy. We had 20 girls running around for a few hours and it looked like Princess Pepto Bismol exploded in our house, but it was so much fun and the girls just loved it! Happy (early) 6th Birthday Lauryn!

Katelyn's 8th birthday party

We celebrated Katelyn's 8th birthday with a friends party. Even though her birthday was in August, it was too crazy to have a party with her baptism celebration going on and everything. So about 6 weeks late, we finally celebrated. She has some really nice friends and they all had a great time together. It was a princess party and so we decorated Princess Hats, decorated Princess Wands and even decorated our own cupcakes. And everything was pink. Happy Birthday Katelyn!
'

Shelley Conway

Our dear friend in our ward Shelley Conway has just been diagnosed with stage four cancer. She is an amazing lady and she's so strong in mind, body, and spirit. She has 8 beautiful and incredibly talented children (ages ranging from 22 to 7) and a sweet husband named Mike that loves and adores her. She is always willing to serve, help out and lend a hand, and she was just recently called to be one of my Relief Society Instructors. We are heart broken over this sad news and we are praying like crazy for her. We are asking Heavenly Father for a miracle for her body. If you want to know more about her or keep updated on her status, you can click on the link below. Her family has set up a blog for her health status so that they can keep everyone informed of how she is doing:

www.shelleyshelleyconway.blogspot.com

She needs all of the prayers and faith in the world. Please join us in praying for Shelley and for her sweet family, and send good, uplifting, and healthy thoughts her way!

Life is so short and Time is precious. Enjoy each day and do not take anything for granted because we really don't know what the next day holds for us. Give your family an extra hug today and do not miss an opportunity to tell them that you love them.

Shelley, keep going strong and remember, "never, never, never give up!"

We love you and we are praying for you always,

Mike, Susie and Family

Ashlyn's mini band concert

Ashlyn's first "mini" band concert. The elementary band performed in front of the entire school at flag ceremony this morning before school started. They played the CLASSIC song "Hot Cross Buns." Ashlyn plays the flute in the elementary band. She is just learning and it is a process for her. It is alot of time and dedication. The band practices every morning from 7:30 - 8:15 a.m. so she has to be up early and ready to go to band. She's a trooper and doesn't complain alot, although we do have those mornings when band is not on her list of things to do. She's enjoying it so far and we're proud of her for sticking with it. (You can't miss Ashlyn in this picture. She's wearing the bright yellow ASU shirt in the front.) Way to go Ashlyn!