I Love to See the Temples

The weather is cooling off, and we've had days of trying new things and days of plugging along with routines.

'Tis haunting season once again! This year we did two trunk or treat parties days before the actual trick or treating. And our costumes were relatively simple. We had a policeman, a hobo, a dementor, little miss muffet and a fair maiden. Ella's costume as the most involved and she came up with most of it herself with items from savers. Love to see the creativity!

Owen finally lost a front tooth! He's 8 and this is his third missing tooth. His big teeth are just taking their time coming in. Unusually late. Linus has been missing his front tooth since he was 4. It had to be taken out because of injury and infection. Unusually early. So for now they are tooth twins.

Aw! She's just so cute. She's our little sweetheart. Even when she's giving a "black look".

We made a sun viewer from a box to see the eclipse at home. We kept the boys home so they could experience it with us. (They were too young to see it at school.) So we learned about eclipses inside first and then when it was time we went out every 15 minutes to see how it was changing. They drew what they saw. We also took some pictures of them casting a lumos spell. The sun flares on the pics have the crescent of the eclipse. It was a super solar day.  Melinda

To celebrate Ephraim's graduation we went back to the same theater a few weeks later to see Ephraim's jazz hero Herbie Hancock in concert. It was an amazing evening. The musicians were outstanding and the audience loved every minute of it. It was really fun to be with Ephraim because he was so excited about experiencing some of his favorite tunes live. And now he can say he's been on the same stage as Herbie Hancock. Just not at the same time.

School started, picture day, haircuts, cute baby, new crib, and stuff like that.

He's done! It's surreal! But he's a PA. It's been quite a journey, a four year walk of faith. Two years of prep and two years of demanding studies. We're so proud! We made some flower and candy leis this morning to remind us of our island roots. We had a nice day today celebrating with the other graduates at the commencement ceremony. We took pics in 104 degree heat and then we went out for pho 🍲 .

We took a girls trip to the Grand Canyon. We stopped for yummy fry bread in Cameron before entering in the east entrance. The Canyon is just plain amazing. It's incredible. You have to see it! It was so fun to witness the history and culture of northern Arizona. We enjoyed the motel in Flagstaff, eating out, and watching TV. Fun little road trip!