The Christensens

Evan started 1st Grade this year! His teacher is Ms. Whitely and he loves it! We had to change schools again- but Evan is loving his new school and he loves first grade. He come home and told me that Kindergarten was for little kids, but first grade is awesome. He's right- kindergarten is for little kids- I guess he's growing up!

We were heart broken about the loss of Ole. Words cannot explain the feelings of sudden loss and grief. Ole died on July 17, 2013 from a cancer that no one knew he had. About 10 days before his death he finally agreed to go to the hospital after not feeling well for months. Paul spent the first weekend there. We then waited on pins and needles while he progressively got worse. We were able to see him the weekend before his passing and Paul and I were both able to say "I love you" while he was fully coherent. It is something that I will treasure. This is was Paul wrote on his Facebook page: "Words cannot express the loss I feel. My dad, Ole, was the most amazing man. He was a true example of charity. He was always concerned about others and would do anything for anyone. He will be missed by all who knew him. He was the greatest father and I looked up to him more than he ever realized. I am so grateful for his life and the times I had with him. There is no doubt in my mind where he has gone and that our family will always be together. I am grateful for that knowledge. I know there's a plan and for some reason, he was called home. I love you dad and will miss you." I feel like I too was blessed to call him a father in law. He was a great man. He was a great example of love and kindness. He was a great mediator in our marriage, and a great guy to joke around with. He really was a force of good. I am saddened for my kids who will not get to know him as well as they could have. I know they have memories of their Grandpa and I hope they will hold on to those. We will miss you Grandpa Ole.

This summer we sign ed Evan and Scout up for water sports camp in Mission Bay. Anna and the kids stayed the week with us and we had a great time! Let's just say we were worn out by the time it was all over. We had some lazy mornings, art projects, park days, fun food, lots of time at the beach and not much sleep. It was a fun week. Funny how I have no pictures of the actual camp participants, but they had a great time!

Since we moved to San Marcos, Evan has seen the Sprinter everyday. He is still obsessed with trains and we finally took him for a ride! We took the train to Oceanside and stopped along the way and had a treat. We found an old set of tracks and Evan could have stayed there all day. He loves exploring in general, but exploring on the tracks= heaven! I love that he still loves trains. Riding the rails makes for a fun family day!

Guess who is getting to be a better swimmer? Kate has taken off in the pool this summer and these shots reflect the fun that can now be had!

Since the 4th is my favorite holiday (next to Christmas), I like to take lots of pictures. Mostly because I actually had my camera and I have been pretty bad at snapping shots over the past year. We headed up to Huntington Beach for the usual festivities. Parade, barbecue and swimming with the Ebmeyers, Blads, and this year we ran into Olson's as well. The kids had a blast, the food was good and as always it was great to catch up with old friends. We then headed to Newport to joing the Streiff's for their festivities. It's awesome to be able to actually light and watch fireworks! The kids were tuckered out and so were we by the end of the day. I love the 4th!