Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince

Rusty braved the lines and crowds to take Porter and Chloe to see Harry Potter at 12:31 am! Porter and Chloe begged to see it at that crazy hour! Rusty was nice and took them. :)

I've only been to two movies at 12 am on opening night. Jurassic Park back in 1993 (I think) with my sister, Rebecca and Rachelle, Brett and Ryan Noble. That was very fun! And then last year, I went with a big group of friends to the opening of Twilight. Yes, I've read the books and liked them and I even liked the movie. But not enough to go to another midnight movie. That about did me in. I was just so tired the next day, it just wasn't worth the loss of sleep! So, thanks to Rusty for taking one for the team! I do feel a little bad for him...he had to work today. But I am serious when I say, he doesn't need as much sleep as me! And he is a morning person, unlike me. :)

Porter gives the movie 4 out of 5 stars. (Only because he read the book last week, again...and wanted more in the movie!) He even said it had some funny parts. Hmmm, who knew?

Chloe gives the movie 4 out of 5 stars. (She thought the ending was too sad, she needs a happy ending. She has not read the book.)

Rusty liked it. I'll see it someday...probably on video. I loved the books though!

I am excited about the first Percy Jackson movie that is coming out next February? My kids read the book, and then I finally did recently. It's pretty good! I haven't read the others, but I hear they are good too.

I love the USA!

When all the family was leaving to go home after a fun week celebrating Joy and Jay, Chloe and her cousin, Krissy were begging for Chloe to go home with Krissy to AZ for a while. I thought no, we were in LA (an hour from home) and they were leaving from there so Chloe would have nothing with her...clothes, toothbrush, contact case etc. But Rusty reminded me, when do they get to do these things? Karen said they would get her a toothbrush. So, Chloe borrowed all her cousins clothes and things for 2 weeks. And that is how they got us to come to Mesa in the heat of the summer to celebrate the 4th and pick up Chloe. Ok, we did have a really fun time, albeit short. We drove in late Friday night and left early Sunday evening. And had a great time. Thank you for keeping Chloe safe, she had a wonderful time!!! Thanks for having us all over to crash your 4th. We had a wonderful time too!

My only complaint is the scorpions, and there is nothing you could do about that! :) I got stung by a scorpion poolside on Saturday. I thought I got stung by a bee, but then we found the little sucker. It hurt pretty good and throbbed all the day long. I didn't think I'd be able to sleep that night, but the benadrill put me to sleep I guess. The next morning my toe (left, second) was totally numb, along with half my big toe and half the 3rd as well. It was strange to walk. And...4 days later...still numb!!!!! Come on, when will I feel my toes again? It is not horrible, just not comfortable. So, moral, don't get stung. By the way, I lived there for 5 years and walked around barefoot everywhere. Never a sting. What are the odds?

Too hot...must get in pool! Chloe swims it up.

Clara and Ren, keepin' cool.

Mindy throws MJ off the diving board, yes, MJ asked her to.

These kids were in the pool for about 4 hours total on Saturday. I think they were all really tired that night.

Renny

We watched some fireworks from a local park. MJ and Will run around and play.

Mindy and Sara secure a spot on the blanket.

Ellie plays with her light sticks.

Rus gets a little bored waiting for the fireworks! Just one quick nap?

Porter, Clara, Robbie and Camille hang out until the show starts.

Congratulations, Mr. and Mrs. Shelby!

Rusty's baby sister, Joy married Jay Shelby on June 20th in the Newport Beach Temple. The luncheon and reception followed at our stake center's back patio. LuJean did a wonderful job with everything...as usual. We took a million photos, here are more than a few for your viewing pleasure. :) Although, the pictures don't do it justice. It really was a beautiful day. It started out rainy but that kept us cool for the afternoon and evening. LuJean has a wonderful friend, Betty who came to help serve. She brought her daughter, Jenny, who is a friend of Rusty's from high school to help as well. They were so great!

Joy and Jay...the happy couple. Joy looks beautiful!

At the luncheon, Cousins gather to chat...Chloe, Emma, Krissy and Morgan

Sarah, Mindy, Brad (recent R.M. from Brazil), Nathan and Jordan

Anna and Ellie

Now this looks like a fun gathering too...Robbie, Camille, Clara, Mason, Chris, Porter, Jonah and Parker


The sign in table...their were scrapbook pages with photos of Joy and Jay already done up...they were super well done. I think one of LuJean's friends did this as a gift to them, it was so nice. Don't you love those candles, with shells under in the glass? I loved that.

The cake...Jay's mom made it. Very pretty, huh?

These boys are so silly! Tony, Jim, Rusty, John and Allen laid out on top.

Who's holding baby Addison, oh ya, Mindy...can I have a turn?!

The girls...Chloe, me, MJ and Ellie.


MJ is eating her lunch...we had chicken salad sandwiches in croissants, fruit and veggies. It was all very lovely.

Guess who caught Joy's bouquet? Yes, Chloe!!!

My kids spent most of the afternoon/evening at the chocolate fountain, of course.

Ren spent so much time at the fountain, he got chocolate dropped on his hair at one point. He didn't notice and neither did I, until he leaned on my shirt and to chocolate on my pretty yellow top! Don't worry, I got it out!

Ava! What are candles for right? Someone needs to blow these and make a wish!

This was taken at a park in LA near Tony and Natalie's house. These cousins had so much fun together!

We got to celebrate Kate's birthday over our time together! Happy Birthday, Kate!

And who could come to California and not hit the beach a few times...like everyday for a solid week, pretty much. The weather wasn't cooperating though, we were even cold at the beach. June gloom. As I was sitting on my beach chair, wrapped in my towel to keep warm, the kids still splashed, swam and boogie boarded in the chill.

Ellie gets a turn with Addison. We got to celebrate her that week too. On Father's Day, we went to LA for her baby blessing.

I had to put these two photos in. I think my kids look so cute here. I love them so much!

School's Out!

Our schools get out really late...like June 18th late. (We don't start up until Sept 8, so don't feel too bad for us.) The last week of school was a bit hard, cause we had so much family in town for Joy's wedding...more on that later. I bet they didn't get to bed before 11 pm all week long. And getting up at 6:30 was tough!! Anyway, here are a few highlights...I don't have any pics of Porter...middle school doesn't have all the things that parents come to like elementary.

MaryJane climbs and plays at the kindergarten water day. She didn't get too wet, as you can see.

MJ had a little music day for parents to come...I couldn't take any photos because I was participating the whole time. It was very fun and cute. In fact, MJ has quite a set of lungs, she only has one volume...really loud! It was very sweet really, I enjoyed hearing her belt out the lyrics to Oats, Peas, Beans and Barley Grow...all with actions I might add.

Ellie and the rest of the 3rd graders put on a play called America's Tallest Tales. Ellie was a narrator and did a great job with her part. She had a few funny lines and delivered them very well!

After the big send off to middle school... A few of Chloe's friends...Sara, Chloe, Taylor, and Kennedy

Alex and Chloe

Riley, Chloe, Warren and Summer.

A Teenager!

Here is my baby boy...I mean teenager. It's official. Porter is now 13! Crazy. I remember him clapping his hands for the first time. And when he first learned to write his name! Now he is an ipod listening, Harry Potter reading, hanging out with his friends...teenager.

Never too old for Strawberry Shortcake!

Never too old for blowing out the candles to make a wish!

Never too old to sit on Mommy's lap! He is getting pretty heavy though! Just for the record he is not taller than me...yet!

Piano Recital

The kids participated in a small recital put on by their teacher, Jane. She will be senior this year so we will only have her for one more year...sigh. She has been really great and keeps them motivated, when I just make them cry. :) I didn't take too many photos because I was busy videoing and trying to keep Ren quite! Rusty couldn't be there so I videoed it for him. MJ took most of the still photos.

Chloe, Ellie, Jane and Porter

Ren is doing his very best to be quite!

I am doing my best to keep him quiet!

May Gourmet Club

I had such a fun year in our gourmet food club this year. The food really was fabulous and I learned some good things from these great women. For our last official club meal we voted on our favorites from the year and we each brought something that had been voted a favorite.

Amy, Katie, Francis, me, Elizabeth, Jenn, Teri, Kathleen, Patti, Tiffany, Jenni and Kim

Below are 2 of my favorites! The desserts for the evening were this delicous napoleon and below that, scrumptious molten chocolate cake. Both divine.

We had a little awards ceremony...Elizabeth, Jenn, Teri and Tiffany.

Amy, Katie, Francis and me

This is Kathleen, who really headed up this group with her gourmet partner, Patti.