The Crowley Kids at the Beach

Friday we decided to head to the beach and the plan was for mom to join up with us after work. Because we wanted to have mom with us we didn’t leave for the beach until the afternoon so we’d still be there when she got off work. The weather was amazing and the surf was up and I had several long and amazing runs on the boogie board.

There were two things that kind of put a damper on the day. The first one was a rather big one. I left my grand daughter to drown. Ya, I know, let me explain.

I didn’t put my contacts in and my hearing aids are not water proof so when Ella and I went out into the waves I was both deaf and blind. There was a rip current but I wasn’t worried about it because we never went over Ella’s head so we always had our feet on the ground.

After getting exhausted from boarding I told Ella that I was heading in. When she wasn’t right behind me I just assumed that she was loving splashing in the waves but in fact she was doing her best trying to keep up with me. She was also yelling at me to help her. Of course I couldn’t see or hear any of it so I blissfully left my precious grand daughter to drown.

When I got back to Alycia she was carefully watching Ella trying to figure out if she was playing or struggling. She was actually making progress towards the shore but the huge surf would knock her down and the whole time she was fighting the current. While the current was only up to my waist it was up to her waist for much of the time.

Alycia finally decided that Ella was struggling and we both headed out to rescue her. So, while Ella was never in real danger, she thought she was drowning and while she never actually panicked, she was terrified. About the time we headed towards Ella, a life guard drove by in this truck and he knew right away that Ella was struggling. He stopped and headed out towards her, but when he saw Alycia starting to run he let her go first. I guess when Ella saw the life guard she was yelling for help.

The brave little girl never complained, she never cried and (thankfully) she never accused me of leaving her to drown, even though I was very guilty of that. She was however very subdued after that and just sat in the beach chair next to Alycia the rest of the time.

The other downer was that the kids all tired out before mom could join us so poor grandma missed out on another fun day with the grandkids.

Mom was good about it and reminded us that she had icecream for every one so we all headed home and cleaned up.

For dinner we decided to have a weiner roast but as soon as we all headed into the back yard to light up the fire the kids decided that they wanted to head down into the canyon. The only problem with that was that I have dumped a lot of dirt into that canyon and the slope has become steep and the loose dirt is quite slippery. I didn’t think it was safe to send them down alone and I was anxious to head down there myself so I tied them all to a rope and had them rapel down. They were pretty scared doing it and it tool a lot of encouragement to get them down.The one exception was Ella, She threw the rope over her shoulders and headed down the hill like an old pro.

The brush was pretty thick so they couldn’t go far from the yard but they played around until it got dark and then they all came back up. Most of them had scratches all over them but no one complained. They acted as if they were badges of honor and just had us put a bandaid on their wounds and wore them proudly. I guess they figured that is what comes with the job of being an explorer.

I had more help than I could handle building the fire so it didn’take long before we were eating some delicious hot dogs followed by some delicous smores. It was a very fun evening.

At some point in the evening the kids were checking out the stars. There weren’t many visible. When they pointed at one star that seems to be a bit reddish to me and at the right elevation I told them I figured it must be Mars. I then remembered that I had the star charts on my phone so I whipped out Martha and she told me that it was actually Sirius. Who knew?

Mars had set long ago but Jupiter was right above us. They were quite fascinated and of course I’m always fascinated by the stars.

We then washed sticky marshmallows off everyones hands and Alycia sent them off to bed. Of course it is never that simple. Somewhere along the road all the grandkids have figured out that they can’t go to sleep until Grandma sings them a song (usually skimery dink) and I sing them One Tin Soldier.

I’m not sure if I have told that story yet. I will share the history of “One Tin Soldier” in a later post.

The Crowley Kids

 Monday, March 16, 2026

Last week was spring break for Alycia’s kids so last Wednesday she packed up the van and headed south to visit us. She arrived in time for dinner and we had a wonderful visit before everyone headed for bed.

Trevor is in the middle of a big project right now so he was planning on flying down Friday and joining the family for Sea World on Saturday. Sadly he wasn’t able to make that happen. It was also sad that Lisa has missed so much work that she can’t really miss any more so Alycia and I were able to visit a lot and I think we solved most of the worlds problems. If only people would listen to us.

Thursday I worked while Alycia fed and dressed the kids and got them ready to head out. Let’s be clear though, when I say I worked; much of that time was with Alycia sitting on the couch in my office talking with me. It was wonderful and I think those are fond memories that will stay with me for a long time.

We finally made it out the door and headed to Childrens Pool. We were planning on going for a “hike” at Torrey Pines but it is pupping season right now and mom suggested we might want to go see the Harbor Seals at Childrens pool. It was a good suggestion. It was fun to see the little baby seals playing with their mothers and with each other. We had planned on doing more but we were all tired and decided to just come home and relax some more.

--------------------trivia--------------------

Almost a hundred years ago philanthropist Ellen Browning Scripps commission a sea wall to create a beach protectef from waves and rip currents so the commuities children would have a safe place to swim. In the 90's a family of Harbor Seals decided it was also a safe place to have their pups and moved in. After decades of legal battles the Harbor Seals won and for several months during pupping season it belongs to the seals. It used to really bug me but then Alycia mentioned once that there are many places for people to go to the beach but how many places are there where you can come and see the seals up close and personal? It is kind of cool.

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Heart Attack

Monday, February 23, 2026

On valentines day we were heading out the door and we caught Jennifer Zanini taping paper hearts on our door. We surprised ourselves and her. Jenn is the girls activity days leader and they had prepared a bunch of paper hearts to decorate our door with. She was doing her best not to get on camera and she was doing a good job of it because our doorbell didn’t tell us anyone was there. We just happened to open the door at the wrong time.

Doorbells with camera’s and microphones make it difficult for anyone to surprise a family now days. I’m glad they didn’t have those back in the day when I used to doorbell ditch the neighbors.

I guess being the subject of many kinds acts is one of the blessings of being in a bishopric. I love it. Thank you girls, I love the hearts.

--------------------trivia--------------------

While the history of the heart as a symbol of love dates back to ancient times, 

it first became a verb in 1977 with the creation of this symbol.

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The Taylor Kids

Wednesday, February 25, 2026

Sarah and Sam went on a ten day trip to Turkey and asked if we would watch their kids while they were gone. We jumped at the chance. It is so difficult to travel to Glen Rock that we don’t get to see them and their family very often, so we were thrilled. 

They arrived late on Wednesday, February 11. Sarah and Sam wanted to spend a few days together with us so that the kids could get to know us a little better. That was not necessary for Skye but Ezzy is quite shy and she really did need the time to get comfortable with us.

Lisa had the week of 2/16 to 2/20 off but she did was supposed to work on the 12th and 13th while Sam and Sarah were here.

Mom took Thursday off work and everyone headed to the beach and LaJolla Shores. I worked all day and met up them at Childrens beach. Friday Mom and I both worked and Sarah and Sam took the kids out to do stuff.

Saturday morning we all said goodbye to Sam and Sarah. I was worried the kids would have a meltdown but they were amazing. Even though Sarah warned Ezzy several times that they would be gone a long time, Ezzy assumed they would be back that evening. After a few days of her asking if her parents would be back “that day” I made her a calendar showing the day her family arrived, the day that her parents left, the day that her parents would get on an airplane to come home and the day that they would return home. Every morning we would cross off the day and she never asked again when her parents would be back.

We had a pretty busy schedule on Saturday. I worked in my yard until early afternoon and Skye was fascinated with what I was doing.

Around the midafternoon we all went to a baptism of a single mother. Ezzy made some very good friends and didn’t want to leave until she learned that her new friend, Charlotte Knaphus, would be at James Hiltons missionary farewell and then we were off. Ezzy had a blast at both the baptism and the farewell.

We all went to church on Sunday and Skye loved the nursery and Ezzy loved her class. She had made friends with one of the girls who was in an older class than her so we sent her off to that class and I sat in the back of the class just to make sure things went smoothly. I didn’t need to worry. Ezzy even shushed a couple of kids we were talking.

The rest of the day on Sunday we just relaxed and enjoyed the kids. The kids decided to turn me into an Andorian. They ended up getting a little aggressive and I ended up with some pretty serious cupping marks. 

I’m not exactly sure what Lisa and Skye were doing in this picture but they appear to be having fun.

On Monday Lisa took the kids to some Play Place in Mira Mesa while I was able to get some work done. It sounds like this was an amazing place and the kids could have spent the whole day there. You can see Ezzy fixing a car in this picture.

Come Tuesday both Lisa and Skye were starting to feel a bit under the weather. Even though she was sick, Lisa still took the kids to the zoo. They both kind of crashed that night though.

Wednesday was a bit of a recovery day for both Lisa and Skye. She let me work as much as she could but it wasn’t a very productive day for me. It was good to interact with the kids a bit more though.

Pretty much every single day that they were here these kids wanted to make lemonaide. Somedays they wanted it twice. I’m sure I could make a batch of lemonaide in half the time it takes these kids to do it but where is the fun in that?

I love that every single grandchild who comes to visit us asks to make lemonaide. It is also fun that the lemon tree has been there since the day we moved in and has had lemons on it pretty much every day since. It has kind of become a symbol of our family.

On Thursday Lisa took the kids to the Scripps Ranch Library. She was only planning on being there for their story time but ended up becoming part of a big Chinese New Year celebration. It sounded pretty fascinating.

I took Friday off work and we all went to the Safari Park. It had been raining off and on all week but Saturday was a beautiful day.

Saturday morning Lisa and Ezzy made cookies and then since we already had tickets, we headed to the San Diego Zoo.

Ezzy’s favorite thing at the Zoo is not an animal but the Sky Train.

Ezzy really wanted to see a Cheetah but we were having so much fun that the day got away from us.

We did find this Jaguar sleeping right up next to the window. It looked just like a kitten and you wanted to reach out an pet it.

Not Ezzy though. She wasn’t getting anywhere near it.

Sunday was stake conference and I had a leadership meeting in the morning at 7:30 and Lisa had a choir practice at 8:45. She brought the kids and I sat with them to save seats. We were worried about them sitting for three hours so I sat next to the Evans. The Evans sign for the deaf people attending conference so I knew I would have support and a front row seat. I took the kids on several walks before conference started at 10:00 but once Charlotte Knaphus showed up to sit with her grandparents, Ezzy was glued to her. They were perfect little angels the entire time. I made cookies for Charlotte and Jacklyn as a thank you.

At one point I fell asleep on the couch and the kids decided to cover me up with pillows. I kind of miss playing with little kids. By that I mean, I lay down and the kids do things to me.

For dinner we had a wiener roast. The kids thought it was fun but they were not going near the fire.

On Monday Lisa had to go back to work so I was in charge of the kids again. By now both Ezzy and I had seasons passes to the zoo and Ezzy still hadn’t seen the Cheetah so off we went.

Between our trip to the Safari Park and our three trips to the zoo the kids had seen every thing but for some reason we had never managed to find the cheetah. I know that sounds like a lot of trips but the kids loved the animals and each trip was very relaxed and they weren’t our normal trips where we are there when the park opens and didn’t leave when they kick us out. They were fun and relaxed trips.

I was kind of dissappointed when we got to the cheetah enclosure because I couldn’t see one anywhere. Then I spotted him. Can you see him?

Here is a close up, does that help? He was just a few feet away from us.

Sarah and Sam got home around three in the afternoon and after a good evening of visiting we all went to bed and Sarah and her family headed to the airport early Tuesday morning.

I have always told Lisa that I would have more kids anytime she wanted. That is no longer true. Sarahs kids are about the best behaved kids you could ask for, and there are only two of them but I am exhausted. As they say, there is a reason you have kids when you’re young. I am tired, but what a wonderful time it was to have kids in the home.

--------------------trivia-------------------

Ancient Greece did not have a name for the color "blue".

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A Quick Trip to Arizona

Wednesday, February 11, 2026

Last Friday I had a meeting with Rob in Arizona. Since I was in AZ I was excited to spend time with my kids and grandkids. My meeting Friday morning was at 9:30, Kira had an appointment and Ben was working so it wasn’t until after noon that I got to do fun stuff. Kira and I arrived back at her house at roughly the same time and then we went and bought stuff for her chickens that she was planning on picking up that evening.

Around noon Justin got off work and he and I went to this big warehouse selling left over inventory they get from varous warehouses. The Home Depot is one of the places they get stuff from. They accept trade dollars there, so I checked out the inventory to see if they had anything I’d need. I ended up buying an office chair, a hand held tile saw and a garden hose storage roller. After Justin and I got home we then headed over to one of Kira’s neighbours and picked up three newly hatched chicks.

The chicks were a hit with everyone but Justin. He is not feeling the love for all the animals that the rest of us feel. Although he is not a fan, he tolerates them well. Let me introduce you to the latest family members.

This is nugget. I love the name, but somehow I doubt she will ever become a chicken nugget.

This is Hey Hey. She has a distinctive red face.

And then there is Helen. She is completely yellow and looks just like the chicks you expect at Easter time.

It was quite surprising to see just how protective of the chicks Loki was. He wouldn’t let the cats come near the cage.

Friday night I headed over to Bens to spend an hour or two with his kids before they all headed off to bed.

Saturday morning I had a relaxed breakfast and then I went with Kira to a little farmers market near her house. It was pretty cool. There is family with a few acres and they sell all kind of produce. They’ve invited some of their neighbors to join with them so they have a decent variety of stuff you can buy. They sell rabbits, honey, one guy makes his own knives and all kinds of cool stuff. I bought some granola and goat cheese. I then hit the road. It was a fun weekend.

--------------------trivia--------------------

The oldest, most reliable evidence for domesticated chickens comes from Neolithic sites in central Thailand, specifically Ban Non Wat, dating to 1650–1250 BC. The ancestor to todays chickens is the Red Jungle Fowl.

More importantly, the chicken nugget was invented in 1963 and made popular by McDonalds in the 1980's

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The Leavitt Kids

Monday, February 9, 2026

Ben & Sharley decided they needed a break so they headed off on a cruise and left three of their kids with us. We had Z, Jack and Freddie and it is a long story but Kit and M were left at home with a Nannie. We were excited for the chance to spend time with them.

They arrived late on Wednesday night and Friday both Lisa and I had to work so they laid around the house and I kept an ear open to make sure no one was dying. That night we had a weiner roast. We all held our breath when Freddie accidently got some ash on his hot dog. He started to get wound up about the “rock” on his hot dog but I calmly said. “Oh, that’s not a problem, watch”. I then took my finger and brushed of the ash which thankfully dissappeared and Freddie was fine and enjoyed his hotdog.

Saturday we took the kids to the annual Mormon Battalion celebration in Old Town.

To put it mildly, the kids were not excited. Z was especially vocal. Once we got there the very fist exhibit was a place to make dolls. She begged to go. The line up was long so we said we’d come back. The boys were content to run around wrestling each other but Z wanted to participate in every single booth.

She ground corn into corn meal.

She stitched a little heart. That night mom gave her some more fabric and she made it into a little pillow and stuffed it.

She cooked some “woof ums”. You put some bread dough on the end of a wooden dowl and cook it. You then fill the bowl shaped bread with jam, honey or pudding. It’s delicious. The boys weren’t interested until they saw Z cooking hers.

They all three milked a cow.

The boys weren’t interested in anything until they saw a booth where kids were making rope. Jack watched for a while and then asked, “do we get to keep the rope”. When I said yes, he jumped right in and Freddie was right behind him. I didn’t get a picture of them winding the rope but they are swinging them around in this picture.

We then made it back around to the doll making booth.

That night we decided to surprise the kids with a New York Giant Pizza. They were flabbergasted when they saw just how big it was. We told them they could eat all they wanted and after six or seven pieces Jack said, “well I now know how many pieces of pizza I can eat. Seven!” He tried to take the box home but Sharley nixed that idea.

They enjoyed church on Sunday. The boys weren’t too excited to go to class after but we ended up with the perfect teacher for the boys. He had a contest to find certain words in a series of seven or eight versus and they were rewarded with chocolate covered pretzels. Freddie found the first word. No one was keeping track, but if they had been, I'm pretty sure Jack and Freddies team would have won. They loved the class.

It was a fun weekend and we were sad to see them leave on Monday.

--------------------trivia--------------------

What a girl eats determines when she enters puberty. Those with nutrient rich diets tend to start menstruating later than their peers who consume more inflamatory foods.

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