the happenings...pickle, trip to Vegas, surf

Here is what has been going on lately.

We got to go to a surf event in LA and meet lots of pro surfers. We already met Kelly Slater in Hawaii, but Kennedee thought it was pretty cool to get his autograph.

 And when she met Sunny Garcia, he just picked her right up. I am so glad that Kennedee isn't as shy as she used to be. She has really come out of her shell in the last 6 months. She was especially timid around men, but she wasn't scared at all when Sunny picked her up.

Kennedee also started soccer with Simi Youth. I like it, but wonder if AYSO would have been a better choice.  I think it will be more fun for her next year when she is on an all-girls team. She'll have more ball-time.  GO sliver ninjas!!!

We took a short trip to Henderson, NV to visit my sister. My mother came down for the weekend as well. She has been taking care of her mother-in-law over the last 6 months. Gramma Willy is almost 90.  My mother is soooo patient with her and I am so impressed with how she cares for Gramma.  Although we joked around the whole time, how we each had a toddler to attend to. "Did you change your toddler's diaper yet, mom?"  "Let's go get your toddler a stroller (wheel chair)".

Here we are at the aquarium.

And later that day we went to the Spring's Preserve for a 3 hour Halloween Event. It was done so well. They got to trick-or-treat, do halloween crafts, a haunted house, and lots of games.

 Here Katie is with all "5" kids.

 Oh, and they even had a petting zoo with LOTS of animals.

We made halloween cookies........................

 and celebrated Braden's 6th Birthday.

 He wanted a frankenstein.......and look how amazing my sister is. Even 5 months pregnant she can do it all.

We finished out trip by going to St. George to watch Grandpa Johnsen in the Annual Huntsman Games. He plays pickle ball.  This particular court has his name engraved right into the court sideline.

 GO GRANDPA!!!!!!!!!!!

 He has won so many medals (gold, silver, bronze) that he has over 50. And this year he turns 56, I think he will have 56 medals by the end of the year.

Ryan and I started playing pickle ball about 3 months ago. Simi has brand new courts at Lemon Park and we have tried to play once a week. It is such a fun, addictive game. We usually play with Ron and Cathy (my in-laws). Ron who plays a lot of tennis really enjoys it and has even got some of his tennis buddies to come play.  Ryan likes it so much that he has played pickle ball rather than surfing and for Christmas he is asking for a new pickle -ball paddle.      

Book Review

The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency is a series of novels by Scottish author Alexander McCall Smith. The agency is located in Gaborone, capital of Botswana. Its founder is a Motswana woman, Mma Precious Ramotswe, who features as the stories' protagonist and main detective. I just finished reading the first book in the series. It is as much about the adventures and foibles of different characters as it is about solving mysteries. Each book in the series follows on from the previous book. And I just found out it that HBO has made it into a movie and assisted with the BBC in a TV series.  I think I would enjoy watching these, but not sure if I want to commit to reading more in the series.  I enjoyed the book, especially since I have been reading a lot of HEAVY material lately. It was nice to have a fun read.