Small but sweet success!

I love those Family Home Evenings when everything seems to fall into place. During dinner John had suggested a library trip as our activity tonight. My response: the kids are crabby and tired. John's wise response: We won't look at any books to check out! So this is how our discussion seemed to go. Our discussion ended with me once again agreeing to what seemed a harebrained idea with the kids in such awful spirits today!

Dinner was over. The girls knew we were going on a little trip! They weren't exactly sure where, but they guessed because they listened closely during dinner for once. :)

This was Family Home Evening. I didn't want to make this all about what we were going to get at the the library. So Amber chose a song to sing, we had a prayer, and then a short lesson. We read Doctrine & Covenants 90:15 and then discussed why it is important to learn from good books. Then we discussed how we can find good books. So naturally, this led us into the activity of going to the library for what else, but books!

The real purpose for going to the library: We really did not intend to check out books. The library has a summer reading program for both kids and adults. They have been doing this for quite a few years now. It is one of the highlights of the summer for us! Especially since it is completely free. Each month we get a small little prize, with the final prize in August being a free book for completing the program! It is actually quite simple. The kids set their own time limit to read each day. I set it for them at 20 minutes per day! Not hard for my kids. They are always reading. Adults had to read I think 6, or maybe 10, books this summer. Reading books to a child counted. Hmmmm . . . not hard for me as my kids love to have books read to them!
So, our purpose for going to the library was to turn in our completed forms and get our free books! How much better can it be for a kid who likes to read? My kids were so excited that they get to keep the book and don't have to return it! They were angels at the library. No fighting. No whining. Oh, Timothy did escape and run down the aisle once. But he's not even 2 yet. He was amazingly good!
But wait, Family Home Evening isn't complete without a treat! On our way home we stopped at Winder Dairy for icecream cones. Jaime had told me they had orange soft serve icecream! Get it in a twist and it tastes just like an orange dreamsicle! Yum yum. My kids were so excited. I hadn't told anybody we were going to stop. I just did it! When Amber saw somebody come out of the Country Store with a big icecream cone, her eyes lit up and she asked "You can get icecream here?" So much for the surprise. A happy dance ensued as soon as she was free of the confines of the car!
The sweet smell of success! It is so refreshing. The secret: I still don't know. But when I have it all figured out, I'll be sure to let you know!

Another Girl's Camp come and gone!

Another year, another camp. I was so grateful I didn't have to plan camp. Diane was my camp director so I just did what she told me to do! Woohoo! I was a little apprehensive before hand, but I always get that way. I worry too much.
The theme this year was the Wizard of Oz, with the ultimate theme being "There's no place like home!" It was an awesome theme. We were able to do so many things with the girls!
I really enjoyed the vast amount of ward time we had. In past years it has been difficult for the girls to really bond with each other when they are always running back and forth to stake activities. It was so good to have that ward time. Our girls were so wonderful. I have the best Young Women in the world! :) Okay, so I am a little biased. I admit it. But I really do have amazing young women.
We had the opportunity to memorize three scriptures and then complete a task associated with the theme. The scriptures dealt with courage, knowledge, and heart. I thought it would be a good idea to memorize the scriptures while we were hiking. Saundra and I worked and worked on memorizing two scriptures on the hike. We passed the scriptures off and were given a task to complete.
Here are the tasks I had to complete:
Courage: I had to meet one leader and one young woman, not in my ward and find out something about them. If anybody knows me this is hard! I am generally not one to make the first move getting to know somebody. I can know somebody's name long before I ever get to know them! It was actually fun. I got to know a girl named Rochelle, and a leader named Simoni (sp?). I am grateful for this task. It helped me get out of my comfort zone. I feel it is easier to be an example to the young women when I am out there actually doing something. I know the young women watch everything the leaders do!
Knowledge: This was the easiest task. I just had to answer a question. But I got the first one wrong. Ack! I can't believe I missed that one! I should have known better. Yikes. Second try. I got the question right! Woohoo! Second chances are great!
Heart: I had to hug one person in camp and tell that person I love them, then I had to hug someone in another camp and tell them that I love them! So my camp was not a problem! That was my ward young women. But the other wards, hmmm . . . who did I really know well enough to tell them that I love them? Then I realized I didn't have to know that person real well to know that I love them. We are all sisters in the gospel. We all have a special bond with each other. Once I realized that, my task was easier.

I was a little sad that my Young Women didn't complete all three of these. Most of them completed courage, but they didn't get farther than that. I think they were a tad overwhelmed with certification and scripture memorization. Certification was more important! But I was glad to see them do at least one scripture.

I was amazed at how much each of my young women did for each other. They were so good to each other. If anybody needed help, another would jump in and do it! There was one time Luisa jumped in and helped another group with food prep when it wasn't her turn. She wanted to help.

The other thing that amazed me is the thanks the young women showed to the cooks! We had a mailbox so the girls could write notes to each other and leave them in the mailbox! It turned out well. I had made mention to the girls that they needed to make sure to thank the cooks for coming to camp and helping us out. The girls took that to heart. By Saturday the cook's each had a slot that was overflowing! It is so nice to see the gratitude flowing from the girls.

My other favorite part of girl's camp is Testimony meeting. That is when I really hear how the girls feel. Even though I have been able to guess what they think and how they feel, I love to hear them express it in their own words. I love hearing them tell of how their testimony has grown or how they struggle or just how much they have loved being at camp. It is a wonderful time for me as a leader.

I really do get to know the girls better at camp. I love being there. I love having the opportunity to rub shoulders with the other leaders. It is so nice to be able to let our hair down and have some fun away from everything else!

Despite the fun and enjoyment we had, we were all so glad to be home. It is nice to be away, but my own bed really felt good Saturday night! We're done with camps until next year! But I look forward to it again!

Journey of the Promise book giveaway!

If anybody needs a book to read to end the summer, check out this book. It is called Journey of the Promise. I haven't read it yet, but it sounds very intriguing. The woman finds the journal of her husband's great great grandfather. She finds new meaning in life. Plus, it just so happens that one copy of this book is being given away here. So, check it out. It sounds interesting so I really want to win. But I encourage you all to see what this book is all about. I'm always up for finding new books.

Pioneer Day Festivities!

This year we joined the madness called the Days of '47 parade! This parade is such a huge deal around here. To get a good spot you have to stake out your spot early, as in the evening before. Jaime had invited us to join her family in their annual tradition of camping out on the side of the road the night before the parade! I agreed, it sounded like fun. And I knew my kids would have fun with Jaime's kids. So we stocked up on snacks, water, and blankets! We met Jaime downtown about 9 p.m. My kids were so excited for this new adventure. I did worry a bit about crazies, but we had enough people in our group that we all watched out for each other! Of course, my kids, the early bed timers, were the last to go to sleep! Timothy didn't give up until about 1:30 a.m. after a very long stroller ride! Ugh. But it was still fine, I was prepared for a bedtime struggle. Leslie joined us at about midnight with her two oldest kids. We had such a blast. The kids played games, the adults played games, and we had good old fashioned conversation. Of course I didn't go to bed. I laid down for about an hour with Timothy when he was too cranky for anything else! Jaime and I walked a few blocks down to visit with some friends that we knew would be there also! What a riot! I love to people watch, so it was fun to walk and see the setup some people had.
In the morning, we moved our chairs and other stuff out to the street. The parade route boundary is painted with a green line. So we moved our stuff to the green line and spread out. After all, we couldn't be crowded! :) The hardest part was keeping Timothy off the parade route as the 10K runners ran past! I didn't want him to get trampled, but hey, at least we didn't have to worry about many cars. The street was closed at that point.
When we got home we all slept. I slept for about 3 hours. Then we headed off to my dad's house for dinner. We had a simple barbeque of hotdogs and hamburgers and some good old fashioned conversation there too! Yay. It is always so wonderful to get together with my family. My siblings are such a riot. I only wish all of us could have been there. But, we take what we can get! Another late night for the kids. Not quite as late as the night before, but they were so ready for bed. They slept easily that night.

Enjoy these few pictures from our adventure at the parade!

Contemplations

As I was sorting through pictures, I made a discovery. My children are very contemplative people. Or maybe just when I take their pictures. They all get this look in their eyes as if the weight of the world is on their shoulders! They do laugh sometimes, promise!

Here is a sampling of my contemplative children!



I wonder sometimes-- what is it that keeps them so somber? What are they daydreaming about? It is probably a simple thought-- mom, stop taking my picture! Or, I am so tired, is it bedtime yet?

Splash Park Adventures

I just learned about a Splash Park not too far from my home that is free! I'm all about free activities with the kids. All they needed was a swimsuit and a towel! Oops, I forgot the towels. Oh well.
So, Jaime and I headed off to the Splash park a couple of days ago. We packed lunches and piled into Jaime's van. We weren't really sure what to expect, but we were up for the adventure anyway. Most of the kids had a lot of fun. Timothy wasn't sure how to react to the water, so he screamed. He wasn't too happy about being out in the sprinklers. I couldn't help but laugh. It was so funny to see him scream so loud over a simple trickle of water.

Enjoy these pictures!



I was shocked we had pulled this off. Especially after Amber's serious wardrobe malfunction. She had come out of the restroom upset. The right strap on her swimsuit had ripped off. Uh oh, problem. Her swimsuit would not stay up on the right side. Ummm . . . not ok in my book to let my daughter romp around covered only halfway! What to do. Oh no! We can't go home right now. All the others will be disappointed! So, I tied it together in a knot! In an attempt to make both sides look semi uniform, I tied a knot in the left side too! She didn't care if it looked silly. All she cared about was being able to play in the water. What a resourceful mom I am! Okay, so I seem to recall the idea to tie it together wasn't mine! But it worked and our outing was a success!

We had such success on our first outing to a splash park that I decided to try again the next day. Oh yeah! I am so addicted. But, we decided to try a different one this time. I was not impressed. The kids didn't have as much fun. Plus, the base was cement. What happens when cement gets wet? Oh yeah, it gets slippery. They need those signs "Slippery when wet!" Ha ha, I crack myself up. Okay, so back to the story. I called Jennifer earlier and asked if she wanted to come along. She readily agreed so we piled the six kids into the car and we were off. We took the very long route, but it was fun nonetheless! By the time we got there, the kids were not happy with having been in the car for so long. However, they were ready to play! Did I mention that it was a cement pad? Uh-oh. How many kids does it take to slip and fall before somebody realizes that a cement pad splash park is dangerous? Obviously too many! It didn't matter how slow my kids were walking, every one of them slipped. And of course, they came crying to mommy. Mommy, I slipped. It hurts. Can we go home yet? So, not as successful, but it was sure nice to have the Elgans join us. I'm thinking I'll avoid this one and drive just a bit further to enjoy the first one!

Youth Conference

A couple of months ago-- John and I were asked to be a Ma and Pa for the Youth Conference Pioneer trek this past weekend. We agreed. [I can do this. Easy, just be in charge of a few youth, yeah, easy!]

BBQ- We had a meet and greet BBQ. The idea was to have everyone in the *family* to meet each other and so we could get to know the youth a little better. Okay, so 6 out of the 10 were there! Good start, but I'm getting worried about some of the youth in my *family*. I haven't heard anything from them and haven't had contact with 2 of them yet. Yikes.

A couple of weeks before trek-- Oh, I don't know if this was a good idea. I'm not sure I'll be ready for this. I have so much to do and need so much. We still need to get permission slips from some of the youth. We still didn't have activities planned for family time! Ummm . . . what are we going to do? John wasn't concerned, but I did not want to fly by the seat of my pants and look disorganized to the youth. That would have been disastrous.

One week before-- I'm still trying to find clothes to wear! I can't find a hat for John. We found one for $1.99 but it looked like a child's hat. I couldn't get it on my head and that was the large size! I'm freaking out. So we bought an expensive hat that worked better! Ah the expense, it is going to kill me I think!

One day before trek-- We need to pack. But we also have a birthday party to go to. We are mostly packed, but also need a few last minute items and the new battery for our camera wasn't working. How are we going to take pictures? I am really freaking out at this point. All of our careful preparations, doesn't seem too promising.

The day of trek-- I wake up exhausted, nervous, and excited. Good thing Jeff and Cori spent the night. I didn't have to fret about my own kids. I knew they were taken care of! So off we went. If we need anything else, I guess it is too late! We go to the church to gather our families. And then we were off. We drove to the meadow, had lunch, and packed the handcart. Then we were off. All were excited and chipper. Couldn't contain the excitement. We went a few miles then stopped to set up camp for the night! Then it was off to dinner and square dancing. We had a lot of fun dancing although we were exhausted from the first day of pulling handcarts. We spent family time playing games and getting to know each other better. That was fun. We played a bunch of games that got us moving and had us getting to know each other better. Anybody up for a game of What If? We had Pa getting run over by a handcart, Blake falling backwards off his bucket, and other funny questions. Too much fun.

Second day of trek-- Breakfast and then off with the handcarts. I wasn't as excited about this day, I knew it as going to be challenging. We had the women's pull in the morning, and it was grueling. We had 5 women on our handcart pulling and pushing up a steep grade. The men were taken for the Mormon Battalion. They hiked to the top of the hill and had to stand by the side of the trail as the women pulled. They weren't allowed to help us. I tell you, by the time we got to where the men were, I was at the end of my limits. I was so ready to give up. But I had to help the women/girls in my family get our handcart to where it needed to be. I kept plodding on. But when I saw the men all standing or sitting on the side, my eyes teared up. They were all cheering for us, telling us, you can do it. That kept me going because I knew I was ready to give up!
During lunch we had the pony express come. Every youth had a letter from their real parents at home. I didn't talk to them much about the letters. It was a personal experience for all of them. I am so glad we pulled this one off. It was difficult obtaining these letters, but it worked.
After lunch we continued along the trail. A little ways in, we had to stop. There was a baby that was sick. [ok, so each family had a baby doll with them] Just so happened that it was my baby. The baby didn't make it. We had to bury it and have a short burial service. Yikes. I had a hard time doing this, but it really affected the youth. We were done and there was a very somber feeling in the company for quite a while. There was not a sound as we all left that baby on the hillside!
Family time that night a lot of us shared our thoughts with each other. We shared our testimonies and our experiences thus far. It was so good to hear them talk about what had happened. All in all it had been a successful day. One more day!

Last day of trek-- We began once again. Not as much energy today. Most of us had sore feet, and stiff legs. But we had to keep going. We didn't have time to nurse our sore bodies. Keep plugging along. This was probably the shortest walking day, but it was probably one of the hardest on everybody. We knew we were almost done, but it really does something to you when you turn a bend just to find another hill, another long stretch with no end in sight. My family was in the lead of our company this day. Our boys kept getting far ahead, but they always slowed down when we asked them to. It was hard to keep everybody at a steady pace.

Yay, we made it. All those who got there before we did were cheering as we came down the last hill. Oh, we made it. And I was worried a couple of weeks ago? Ha, I just need to trust more and not worry so much. It was a very good experience, but oh am I glad to be home!