Welcome, Jonathan!

The one event that absolutely guaranteed our return trip home this summer was Jonathan's baptism. For the past year Jonathan has been counting down to the moment he turns eight and is able to be baptized. And lucky for us, his birthday is in the summer so we can share this special event with our family and friends. 

We all gathered at the Valley View Stake Center for the big event. Our previous bishop was gracious enough to preside over the baptism, which made it possible to enjoy this event with our close family and friends.  Steve preformed the baptism. All of Jonathan's cousins and some of his closest friends gathered around the font. Although Jonathan wondered aloud before we arrived at the church what would happen if his toes floated to the surface, everything was perfect, with no emerging digits! 

          

Both grandfathers spoke, with Grandpa Ebert sharing the significance of Jonathan's name and Grandpa David comparing the Gift of the Holy Spirit to a tomato plant. What great examples Jonathan has to follow. 

Steve confirmed Jonathan a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints with grandfathers, uncles and good friends. 

Emilie played the piano, accompanying our guests in the Baptism song and in I Know My Father Lives. She also played the prelude and interlude music which included a repertoire of Primary songs, Suzuki numbers and music she has worked on this year with her piano teacher. Sophia said the opening prayer, which was quite thorough and Annelise gave a sweet closing prayer.

Throughout the day Jonathan was showered with love. For lunch he had a special date with me at Windows on the Square, over looking Temple Square. Afterward we walked across the street to pick up new scriptures for him, with his name embossed in gold on the front. I loved our time together. We then stopped at Grandma Ebert's house. She gave him a handsome new blazer to wear to his baptism. He received a book about baptism (which made me cry) from his aunts and uncles, a candy gram from uncle Craig's family and a pillow case from aunt Marilee's family that each friend and family member signed. What sweet dreams it will bring! Most importantly, Jonathan was surrounded by all of the people who love him most. The evening was full of excitement and support for Jonathan and his big step in life. This love flowed from the chapel to Evergreen Park where we met for pulled pork sandwiches (thanks to Grandma Gretta -- we can always count on her for a party!), salads, fruit and an abundance of cookies of every kind. The adults sat around the picnic tables catching up on recent friend and family news and the children played until the sun set and we were left searching for lost shoes in the moonlight. The event couldn't have been better.   

Summering Ebert Style

Our family car sports two stickers on the back window. On the right side is a round Red Sox logo and on the left side is a Newport Beach decal.  We are huge fans of both and, although we abandoned Red Sox Nation for the summer, we couldn't be happier than building sand castles on Newport Beach with our cousins.  Last week Grandpa and Grandma treated all 21 Eberts to a vacation at our favorite beach house right off of Newport Pier. 

THANK YOU, THANK YOU!

 

Beach time is always the basis for our great family vacation. Most mornings began almost with the sunrise, a bucket in hand and little sets of child eyes scouring the sand for new treasures washed ashore. After Grandma's breakfast the little ones would run to slip on their bathing suits and head to the waves with whichever aunt, uncle or father agreed to take the crew out first. The day delightfully meandered from sunrise to sunset with sandcastle building, body surfing, sand burials, more seashell collecting, dolphin watching and even seal spotting. The children savored each hour they spent with their cousins as the adults relaxed in a row of beach chairs with magazines, books and good conversation. 

 

On Wednesday we all entered the "magical world of Disney." Despite our initial hesitations of Disneyland in July, our day of fairy tales, animated  roller coasters, character greetings, churrios and frozen lemonade, and fireworks couldn't have been better. If racing from one lineless closing ride to another, wheeling sleeping Ezra down Main Street under the twinkling lights of the charming shops, or being almost the last car in the parking lot at 12:30 am is any measurement of success, we accomplished it. For me, the best part of the day was simply watching our children relish with their cousins and grandma and grandpa in the excitement of the day. This came in the form of tallying the high scores on the Roger Rabbit ride, delightfully using the twenty-two fast passes that Grandma negotiated for Space Mountain, and plotting out which seat on Splash Mountain would get them the wettest (or keep them the driest), among many other highlights. 

My 35th birthday celebration began at exactly 12:05 am in the Peter Pan line. Carolyn instigated a spontaneous Happy Birthday serenade with Emilie, Jonathan, Tanner, Annelise, Chris and Julie, to usher in my big day. Others in the line joined in and clapped. What a memory. Steve took me out to lunch to El Torrito at Fashion Island and then we went shopping at Lululemon for running clothes. Grandma graciously offered to babysit while we were out -- thank you! The girls gave me a fabulous new hair do, complete with two pig tails jutting out from each side of my head. Just as we were leaving to see the American Girl movie, Kit Kittredge, Marilee and Grandma pulled out cupcakes from Sprinkles, lit with taper candles. After another serenade, I unwrapped a beautiful pearl and sterling silver necklace which I absolutely love and a gift card from Lucy, which I spent on an outfit to go with my necklace. When planning the vacation, Marilyn apologized that it would be over my birthday. I can't think of a better way to turn 35!

On Friday, all the girls, sans Sophia and Chloe, headed North for LA. Our one goal in mind was to experience the American Girl world in person. We all drove together to their new store in the upscale Grove shopping mall. We did indeed accomplish our goal, leaving with bags in hand and additional boxes shipped! Annelise bought the Julie doll and Hadley and Gaby bought the Kit doll. Emilie stocked up on AG books, which as a mother, are my favorite ones around. After all, how could I complain about the Manners book which illustrates the correct place setting or the Family book which teaches girls to be helpful and loving at home! Afterward we enjoyed crapes at the Farmers Market. We experienced just a sliver of Los Angelas and I decided that we definitely need to return. 

We can never leave Southern California without visiting our favorite eateries. Ruby's Diner on the pier tops the list. Despite the limited menu, the experience of walking out over the Pacific Ocean, past the fishermen to enjoy hamburgers and shakes simply can not be missed. The kids will never forget the year we ate on the roof of the restaurant and watched dolphins leaping out of the water. This year there were no dolphins, but there were new blueberry shakes that were almost as memorable! 

Our tradition each year to sweeten our goodbyes, is to clean up and head again to Ruby's for breakfast. This time we opt for a different location with an expanded menu. We enjoyed cinnamon bun french toast and omelets. Somehow we also ended up with a vanilla bean malt -- I guess we needed to slip one more in before our vacation officially ended! Over breakfast, we thanked Grandma and Grandpa with a Tommy Bahama shirt and a stain glass garden stake. We are so grateful for the memories that were created and the love that was expanded. Although we can't miss out on the waves, rides or favorite restaurants, it is the time together that is everlasting.             

Homeward Bound

Our summer West is in full swing. We  have already hung out on Newport Beach for a week, whizzed around and around on Disneyland's Space Mountain, baptized a child amidst family and friends, marveled at the beauty of Temple Square from the top of Hotel Utah and gathered around Grandma's dinner table for her "famous chicken tortilla soup." (More blogging to come regarding these fun events.) 

The first hurdle we always encounter in our bi-annual pilgrimage west is making it from our front door in Boston to our assigned seat on our airplane. The above photo illustrates that this is no easy task. There is a part of me that would truly rather drive three days with five children in the backseat than live through the stress and anxiety of this first step in our journey. This summer, the timeline went something like this: 1:00 p.m. -- Pack nine bags to be checked and eight carry-ons into the car. 1:50 -- Steve comments, "Now that I think about it, we have a lot less time than I thought. We could be in trouble" as he accelerates on the Mass Pike. 2:20 -- gentleman at skycap informs us that, unless we take our bags inside, we will have to pay $75 for extra bags plus three dollars per bag "and that doesn't even include the tip!" (Have you seen the Southwest commercial?!) 2:40 -- woman at Delta counter flatly states that she must physically see each child in order to issue a seat assignment. Is this another new policy? I explain that they are all in the car at the pick up curb with Steve, crossing their little fingers that the policemen will not shoo Steve away from the curb before their mother returns. Seconds later, Steve and I swap places as he races to the counter with Ezra in arm and four little ones in tow to be "physically seen." Now I am the one crossing my fingers that the police will not spot me. 2:50 -- Steve hands off the children and leaves to park the car as I race to Au Bon Pain to fill five hungry bellies in preparation for the "No more in-flight meal policy". 3:15 -- fourteen shoes are pulled off and sent through the scanner with watches, belts, blankies and our eight carry-ons. 3:35 -- Big sigh of relief. Boarding begins and we are there to tell about it. 

Last Christmas we were not there to tell about it. Despite leaving our friend's house in Las Vegas for the airport at 4:00 am and commenting that we had broken a family record for the most time allotted to make it from house to airplane seat, our travel experience home from Christmas was a disaster. It began with the woman in front of us arguing with the skycap for fifteen minutes over three dollars -- Steve offered to pay the bill. Skycap tagged our bags and then informed us that due to the number of bags, we had missed the cut off to skycap them by one minute. Steve hauled them inside and to his horror realized that two days after New Year's Day is still not the time to travel in Las Vegas. The police shooed me away from the curb --twice. Six of us waited in the security line while Steve returned the rental car, we met up with him and then ran,  OJ  style, through corridors, down escalators, past slot machines, onto the tram, off of the tram, and to the end of the terminal to see our plane backing away from the gate. Out of a Tom Cruise movie, Steve ripped off his jacket, crumpled it up and threw it into the seat next to the check-in counter. The rest of us fell onto the bench, close to tears. We were still for just a moment until Emilie sat straight up. "Mom! I think that our family goal for 2008 should be that we don't miss any more airplane flights!" Great idea. Hours later we sat in front of another check in counter in another terminal but at the same airport. I mentioned to Steve that our original flight was just landing in Boston. 

Despite the trauma of relocating seven people from the East coast to the West, as soon as we touch ground in Utah and are with our family and friends, we are reminded that our effort was well worth the trip. And so far, we are on track to meet our family goal for 2008. We look forward to the remainder of our vacation with hikes in the Uintah Mountains, explorations in Southern Utah, late nights with friends and unlimited family time.