McAlister Matters

  It's hard to believe that our Kahlan is in the double digits! Kahlan had two parties this year starting with a friends party the Saturday before. She had 5 friends over and they played on the splash pad. Kahlan wanted a unicorn piñata and a strawberry cake. The same day the kids got to march in the Handcart Days parade in Bountiful. They each represented a pioneer ancestor. It was hot and long but the kids did good. Penny and I watched at the end. She had a 2nd party last week with all her Utah cousins. This time she wanted homemade cinnamon rolls for her treat. I was okay with that! Kahlan is awesome as you probably know. She's energetic and full of life. Recently she's been learning to crochet with Sarah. She's also been interested in catching butterflies and insects. She still loves to read and did great in the book battles this year at her school. Her teachers love her at school and she attends an advanced learning class and is a member of the school Hope Squad. K

  At the end of June we packed up the car and made our favorite drive across Nevada to California. We stayed two weeks in Turlock where it reached temperatures of 108 degrees. The kids enjoyed swimming at Grandma Mimi's and the splash pad at Grandpa Bob's house. We ate lots of snacks and I worked a few days remotely.  We took two days and went to the Monterey coast and visited a beach. It was cool and breezy but nice enough for the kids to play in the sand and water. Penny wasn't feeling well that day and slept on the beach. We stayed in Watsonville for a night where avocados cost 11 cents. The next day we went to the Monterey Bay Aquarium. It was super expensive and super crowded but cool to see all the fabulous fish! We also went to the Dennis the Menace park in Monterey and the kids loved that. Then we went to a tide pool area and the kids got to climb around the rocks and see lots of live crabs. Sarah said that was the coolest part of the day. We spent another fun day a