Our Sabbatical Story: Sunday and the last day at the resort

On an earlier blog I forgot to mention that Luke, the oldest grandchild, turned 12 on July 4. It's a special age in our church. It's the age when a young man receives the Aaronic Priesthood (includes the important duty of passing the sacrament). On Sunday we went to Kevin and Kellie's church building and Luke received the Aaronic priesthood. It was a special time for our family to be a part of that special event in his life.

After church we were able to have leftover Touchdown Casserole ("TDC") for lunch. Patrick made it for the kids' dinner yesterday, while the adults were on their date. Luke thought the TDC was amazing. Kate realized why it's called TDC; because it's the "Touchdown of yumminess." When Patrick was a baby his mom found the recipe in a newspaper in Florida. It's been a family favorite for years. Patrick made it for Emily while they were dating and it pretty much sealed the deal. However, Patrick has since learned that she doesn't like it that much. We've found it's a hit with kids and men. So if you want to wow your kids here's the recipe:

Touchdown Casserole

Brown 1 1/2 lb ground beef. Drain fat. Add 1 pkg beef hot dogs, sliced. Add 1 can corn, 1 can pork and beans, and 1 8-oz can tomato sauce. Put in 9x13 pan. Top with 10 servings instant mashed potatoes and shredded cheddar cheese. Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes. Now you're ready to enjoy your super low-calorie meal.

We relaxed at the resort after lunch. Here is Grandma playing a card game with the grandkids. After the second game the grandkids started cheating! Grandma wouldn't play with them anymore because of their unscrupulous behavior. They agreed they wouldn't cheat anymore and played one more game. Hint: If you play with Zac be careful. He'll look at your cards and tell everyone what you have.

After dinner we walked to the beach to have a little family meeting. Here are some pictures from our walk and gathering at the beach.

Emily and Andrew at the Newport Coast sign.

Mia holding Kiefer's hand as James pushes him along. The rest of the family leading the way.

The steep decline to the beach. Everyone survived and no strollers became bobsleds.

Patrick with the kids. We're not sure what Andrew is trying to accomplish in the picture.

The family at the beach. I haven't shaved since we left. Can you tell? It's pretty long and bugging me. I think the color makes it hard to pick up in the camera. My beard is a mixture of blonde, red, and brown hair. It's starting to bug me so I might buy a shaver and shave it some time this week. We'll see.

Randy, James and Angela sharing a romantic moment, Kiefer's arm, Pat, Andrew, Mia, Patrick, and Ben. The goal was to have a family meeting on the shore. If you look in the water you'll see Zac frolicking in the water while the kids watch. He said he was only going to get his feet wet. Gabe joined in the fun, but we don't have him in the picture.

The kids digging a hole to China.

On Monday we went to the beach and pool. Patrick body- and boogie- boarded. The surf at the beach was pretty rough. He had some good rides in between various facial orifice cleansings. We were surprised the kids kept playing in the waves after getting thrashed pretty good. We stayed there about four hours. When we got back we re-applied sunscreen and went to the pool. It was a great way to spend our last day at the resort. After dinner we discovered Brian and Andrew were sunburned pretty bad. The ocean thrashing caused them to rub their eyes frequently, which washed of some of the sunscreen off their faces. They looked like little raccoons. The pictures below tried to capture the look, but the lighting wasn't great.