July

July 3 - We joined the Cunningham and DiNatale families for some movie nights this summer. We watched the "Pirates of the Caribbean" movies and enjoyed some great food and fellowship!

July 12 - Family Fun Night at Southgate lived up to its name this year. The team gathered for an evening of games, food, and swimming at the pool.

July 17 - We spent a week fostering a dog named Abby. She was a cute little retriever mix, very similar in coloring to our dog Sugar. Abby is the one lower in the picture. Sometimes it was difficult to tell them apart! Shannon did a great job helping to take care of Abby during her stay with us.

July 18 - While announcing at the swim meet, David wore both Mardi Gras beads and his sports hat--mixed themes going on there.

After the swim meet we headed over to San Francisco Japan Center to celebrate Joshua's 16th birthday. He had invited Joshua and Zach Cunningham to join the family. Here is a picture of the two Joshuas at the entrance.

Practicing with chop sticks.

July 24 - The day before Champs was full of fun and team SPIRIT! The swimmers gathered around the pool for games, crafts, and poster-making. Shannon helped make blue & silver wreaths for the ladies.

The team gathered for a fun picture after all their fun. Can you locate our three kids in the crowd?

July 25 - The big day arrived...Championships! All season the kids worked hard to swim their best at the biggest swim meet of the year. Over 1200 swimmers race all day, each trying their best for the gold medals. Here is a picture of Joshua pulling himself out of the water after one of his races.

Shannon received her ribbons for a great job at Champs.

John posed for a picture while getting his awards.

Joshua was proud of his participation award ribbon as well.

July 26 - Shannon and her friend Helen head off for a week of summer camp at Koinonia. She was sooo excited!

After a fantastic week at camp, Shannon and Alaina wait for their rides home. "Is it over already?"

June

June was a busy month with Saturday swim meets and team events. John also celebrated his 14th birthday.

June 6 - David often served as an announcer at our home swim meets. Here is a picture of him announcing the swimmers in his "Hippie" costume to match the team's theme for the day.

John did not mind sharing his birthday with the whole team. The cool 14-year-old posed for a picture after a race.

Shannon sure looked goofy in her goggles between races.

John enjoyed a huge ice cream cone during his post-meet birthday celebration.

June 13 - Liz got a pedicure with stars and stripes in preparation for the "Patriotic" theme at the upcoming swim meet.

David as a patriotic announcer.

June 20 - John waited for his turn to swim during a relay race.

June 21 - Liz made a belated birthday cinnamon coffee cake for John. We learned a very important lesson: NEVER put the candles in the cake right out of the oven! They melt before you get to the last chorus of "Happy Birthday."

June 23 - The kids posed with many of their friends and Coaches Katie and Jen. You will find the kids at the Southgate pool during much of the summer.

June 25 - Shannon and friends show off their handiwork from a week at the local Vacation Bible School. She had a wonderful week, but it was also sad since this was the last year she qualifies as a "kid." She's growing up!

June 27 - Joshua decided it was time to give himself a trim--both on top of and under his head. Yes, he's shaving now. Here's a "before" picture.

John thought he'd get in the act as well.

June 28 - The Bay Area was suffering from another heat wave, so we headed to the coast for a day at the beach. Here's a picture of Liz's impromptu umbrella for keeping the sun out of her eyes. It was quite a trick getting that boogie board to stay still in just the right place.

Here is a picture of Joshua and Shannon drying off before getting back in the car. Joshua just fell into the car in the process.

Of course, we weren't the only ones that thought Half Moon Bay would be a cool place to spend the hot day. So did the rest of the Bay Area! It took us over 2.5 hours to get back to our side of the Bay, normally only a 45-minute drive.

June 29 - David and the kids joined the Southgate Swim Team for a day at Raging Waters. Yes, they had a blast and can't wait for another day on the slides.

April & May

It's been a loooong time since we updated the blog! Too long. In the next few posts, we'll show some picture highlights of the events that have been keeping us so busy. Enjoy!

April 14 - David took the kids up to the mountains for a Wham-O photo shoot in the snow.

April 18 - The children played the piano during a short concert for the residents at the Bethesda Retirement Center here in Hayward. The audience was thrilled that with the music and the visiting time.

May 1 - Liz made a short weekend trip up to Portland for more SWR training with Wanda Sanseri.

May 5 - The children posed at the restaurant where we enjoyed dinner in honor of Grandma Nancy's 82nd birthday.

May 8 - We attended a San Francisco Symphony concert for youth. Afterwards the children posed in front of the city capitol building.

Before leaving the city, we stopped at the Japanese Tea Gardens to enjoy the beauty of the day and for some photo time.

May 14 - Joshua was completely "out of it" after having four wisdom teeth extracted. He doesn't even remember leaving the doctor's office.

May 21 - Shannon and friends smiled while waiting for their turn to be called up on the stage to receive their AWANA certificates and awards. They did a great job this year working through their handbooks and learning verses.

May 22 - The kids finished up some clay projects that were to be fired that week in the kiln.

May 25 - Memorial Day afternoon was spent at the Southgate Swim Club where the kids got more sun and had a blast playing in the water. Here is a rare shot of Shannon and Joshua joining forces to play "chicken" in the water.