Family Fun with Ice!

It may be sizzling outside

with temperatures still way over 100

but our Party of Five

found a way to keep cool.

Out of our Family Fun Box we pulled, “Ice Blocking” tonight and I was the only one who had ever done it. So as the Veteran, I showed them the ropes which didn’t take much time at all for them to catch on.
Slipping,

 sliding,

and zooming down the grass hills

 provided us with much heart-pounding laughter

and for spectators, a hunger for the same adventure.

I think this activity will definitely reappear!

Arizona Idol

Enthusiast, supporter, fanatic, and groupie are all words that can easily be used to describe the Kempiak Party of Five when it comes to the show American Idol. We aren’t television people, yet when the season is upon us, we’re glued to the tube’s performances. We know we’re not the only ones though. Our lovely neighbors, Bob and Nancy are the same way! As a special treat they gave us tickets, due to their “connections”, to the final night of Arizona Idol’s competition at Fox 10 station. What a wonderful Family Fun Night's activity! It’s so much fun to see the preseason’s steps it takes to pull off our most prized show. (Thank you Bob and Nancy, you’re so sweet. Next year, can you join us?)

How High Will They Stack?

As we read Jon’s handwriting from the entry pulled for tonight’s Family Fun adventure, everyone was excited and eager to get started. One by one, each of us stacked those deliciously dangerous Oreo cookies for a stacking contest which then transpired into a messy teeth competition.
Stacking results:
1st place, Jon with 24 cookies stacked
2nd place tie was Nathan and Mommy, both with 21 cookies
3rd place was Baylee with 20
4th place Owen with 19 (boy did he hold his own!)






And for the messy teeth competition…no certificate was rewarded, just lots of laughs! Take a look and see how horribly cute we turned out to be!

Chapter Five…Channel Islands Vacation…Boating

We were off at sea daily in Eric and Cherie’s electric boat that they adorningly named “Our Sausalito”. Whether it be breakfast, lunch, dinner, or for hot tea with dessert, each and every day the Kempiak Party of Five had at least one meal on board as we tooted around the Channel canals. Between seeing all the other boats in many sizes and their fun names, the homes and restaurants lined up from end to end, the wildlife, and Pacific, we were fully entertained.

We had a brainstorm the last day and decided to grab a bag of frozen anchovies to feed the seals that same up close to ‘Sausalito’ which was a big hoot for the kids. Mostly the birds benefited from our donations however a seal or two did as well.

{Note to self…grab the frozen treats at the beginning of our adventure!}

Jon wasn’t the only sailor in the family; each kid had their chance at the wheel and often times it was our sweet Cousin Eric showing them the proper technique. No drivers license necessary to sail this ocean blue!

Chapter Three...Channel Islands Vacation...Sea-doo and Family Reunion

Can someone pinch me?! Today was simply fantastic in every way! It was better than I could have ever hoped or prayed for! It began with Cherie and Eric coming out to the beach house and Eric graciously taking Jon and I out of the Sea-doos for an adventure on the Pacific while Cherie watched the kids (and gave Baylee some artistic drawing and painting pointers)! Jon, Eric, and I ended up on a ride of a lifetime, about fifty miles round trip at speeds around 45 miles an hour. In the three or so hours we were out, we rode out to Anacapa Island (one of the eight Channel Islands of California and a National Park). ). Eric, our fearless, careful, attentive tour guide showed us all angles of the island as we rode around the entire thing. On the backside, the waters were like a river, so peaceful and calm. The island was breathtaking with its rock formations and birds flying in all directions. One day, I’d love to get out and walk the island to see the vegetation, lighthouse, wildlife, and more. During our round trip, while riding on the cool water, we saw plenty of seals and a few dolphins which truly was amazing (Jon’s thankful for no shark sightings!) Seeing the seals and dolphins in their natural habitat was breathtaking.

Oh and if you could have seen the three of us upon arriving back home! What a crackup it was to look in the mirror, salt crystals were all over our faces and hair and we definitely had a sun and wind glow appearance to us. There’s no guess work to it, we wouldn’t have won any modeling contests for an advertisement for a Sea-doo company.

(Here we are, off for an adventure of a lifetime, wrapped up to make sure we'd be warm enough!)

(Eric our leader)

Arriving back to the beach house later than expected, the house was full of family ready to celebrate my Aunt Evey and Cousin David’s birthdays. We made it as much of a reunion as possible but surely missed all those that were not able to come. Growing up I had my cousins around me all the time, they were my closest friends yet as an adult, I can’t remember the last time we were altogether for “good” reasons (verses funerals). Oh how I loved every single minute of my time with the family today. Mostly we just hung out and caught up as much as we could, but also the kayaks, electric boat, and hot tub were powered up! Oh Cherie and Eric, you were such generous, bighearted hosts! (My dad and Pat were even able to come for a short visit today which was really neat!)(Our birthday girl.)(...and birthday boy, Cousin David)

(Baylee and Cousin Phil)

(Baylee and Cousin Cherie)

(Owen and our playful, silly Cousin David)
(Our loving and super hosts...Eric and Cherie...bless your hearts for your graciousness!)