Whats up!

I know I haven't blogged in awhile, but it just seems pointless when there isn't anything new to talk about. During summer, there always seems to be so many memories to capture. Now it's just the same routine day after day. School, activities, dinner, and TV! Aubrie's dance has been keeping us busy lately, with all her extra practices, and tyring to track down a specific type of shoe all weekend. I'll be glad when her performance at the Mercury game is over with. Don't get me wrong, I'm glad she gets to do it. She is very excited. I hope she doesn't freeze when she sees herself up on that big screen. Hopefully she just zones in and does her dance. Better a Mercury game than a Suns game, right?

This past week I spent shopping for fall clothes. (Which here, in Arizona, means clothes you really won't be using until November) Sophia is impossible to shop for. She has the tiniest waiste but is right on target for her height. So there are hardly any pants out there that fit her. So I had to go all over the area finding her enough pants for the winter. Luckily our winters are short! Ethan enjoyed shopping with me. That boy knows what he wants. He LOVES picking out shirts and shoes. Every time I turned around, he was picking out a shirt that almost always had the color orange on it, or he was trying on shoes. Not something you would expect from him, huh? Sounds more like something Boston would be doing! I finally finished up most of the shopping on Friday. Only a few last things, that can wait till later.

This week was the kids curriculum night (basically a meet the teacher without the kids night and go over what they do in class). Ben and I split up and I took Bostons class. I LOVE Boston's teacher. She is so organized, loving and friendly. I'm excited to volunteer in her class and get to know her better and see Boston in the classroom environment. She said Boston is extremely smart but gets easily distracted. Welcome to my world! I know the stuff he is going over is so elementary (no pun intended) for him and that's why he gets so distracted, but I told told him that he needed to pay attention so he didn't' miss the stuff he doesn't know. Once I tell him to work on something, he usually makes a good effort to change. Every day since, he tells me that he "pays more attention". Aubrie's teacher seems nice. She didn't' go over as much stuff (at least thats what Ben said) but she seems to be on top of things! We did find out that the girl that pinched Aubrie is our neighbor, two doors down! AWKWARD!! I told Ben we should have Aubrie make some cookies and bring them by! LOL

This weekend started off with a dramatic change. After much thought of what to do with my unruly mane, I finally decided to chop it off. It now falls against my chin line. At first I liked it, and then when I got home I had a short lived identity crisis that included me looking in the mirror and saying over and over, "why did I do this?"! I am now getting used to it, and am feeling much better after receiving many much needed compliments this weekend!

This weekend, after so many exciting dates that included dinner and a trip to Walmart, we decided to mix it up and go out with friends. We had dinner at El Torito, which was very good, and then went goofy golfing. When we planned on it, the nights were starting to cool off a little, but just our luck it was a HOT and HUMID night. Though I didn't' enjoy the dripping sweat, we still had a good time catching up with the Headricks and Trimbles! We need to be better at making plans with friends more often! It's fun to hang out with adults, without the kiddos around! (Still love you kiddos!)

Saturday was a Mother/Daughter Activities Day Brunch, for church. It started with a little breakfast and then we played water volleyball (which is where you catch and serve water balloons with towels). Aubrie had so much fun doing that, she didn't want to leave early (she had dance practice)! The whole time we were there I was thinking about how I was over Activity days when Aubrie was Sophia's age and how old I thought the girls were, back then. Oh how my perspective has changed!

The rest of the weekend we just hung out around the house. Church was impossible with Sophia. She was on "ONE" the minute we walked in the Chapel. I spent the first two hours with her in the hall. Ben rescued me third hour, while I went to Young Women. One of our YW taught the lesson. The lesson was on forgiving yourself and others. The girls started sharing some of their high school drama stories and how they got over them. It wasn't the direction I was expecting it would go, but I could tell it made the girls feel better to get it all off their chests! Gotta love that age! Just glad I'm not there anymore!!!!!!

Yesterday Sophia had her 16 month appt. (ya, I know what your thinking, "There is no 16 month appt." That's what happens when you forget about the 15 month one!) She weighed in at 20 lb and is 31 inches ( yes, a string bean)! As we were in the room, waiting for them to bring in the shots, Sophia was getting a little bored. I gave her my keys thinking there would be no harm considering we were so far from the car. A few minutes later one of the receptionists come in our room asking if I had a black Navigator. I instantly knew why. The lift gate was open and and the alarm was going on and off. When I got back to the room the lady was ready to administer her shots. As I was laying Sophia on the table, she reminded me of some paperwork I needed to sign. I walked over there and grabbed a "pen" and then realized I left Sophia on the table. I turned to get her and the nurse was desperately trying to get my attention for something. I hadn't realized that I had grabbed the vaccine syringe instead of the pen. I could have stuck myself or Sophia. The nurse and I had a good laugh! Sophia didn't think anything was funny a minute later as she was getting stuck in the leg. She cried for about 30 seconds and happily took her bottle. She pulled her band aids off before we got home. Vaccinating my kids is such a love/hate relationship!
Last night at dance, a girl was really mean to Aubrie and told her she hated her to her face. Aubrie cried and ran to another Mom.(Obviously, and unfortunately, I wasn't there!) Luckily the Mom told her the girl was just jealous of her, and Aubrie quickly bounced back. Why are girls so mean?? My boys never have to deal with the drama! I so badly want to show up at dance tomorrow and give that girl a talking to, but of course I won't . That's just my protective instincts kicking in! Luckily, Aubrie is pretty good at holding her own! Her burst of tears only came after sticking up for heself for several minutes. She told me she won't cry like that anymore because that gives that girl power. She is a smart cookie!
Today is one of my favorite days of the month. It's the day I get my house cleaned!!! There is something calming about having your house perfectly clean, all at once! It also motivates me to pick up clutter and get laundry done! It definately takes my stress level down a notch. Ben always plans on that! Today also included a trip to Target. Sophia had a break down, and Ethan's Icee exploded everywhere. Fun times! LOL Tonight we swam a little before bedtime. It was fun having family time. I love nights that we don't' have activities! Less stress!!! Aubrie has had the service star for a couple of days (refer to last weeks family home evening). She finally served Ben and I. She pulled down our bed and put our scriptures out and a the remote. She knows us so well! She also wrote notes to each of us and laid it on our scriptures. Mine said something like she loves me so much. Ben's said. "Holy Bible First, and then the Remote". I was laughing so hard. Especially when Ben thought I had a part in it.

Non-stop!

This weekend was not relaxing! Not to say I didn't have a fun time, but there was no relaxing involved! Aubrie now has dance on Friday's from 4-6, which pushes our date night a little later. This week they had a parent meeting for her performance group going over costs, performances, blah, blah, blah! Ben came along and zoned out quickly. I actually sent him to the car because I could tell he was DONE! The meeting went long, and left us eating dinner about 7:30. By the time dinner was over, I was ready for bed. I came home just when the kids started watching Cheaper by the Dozen. So much for that sleep. I had fun watching it with them, but lately there has been a problem with our movie watching. Each kid wants to sit by me, and being there is 3 of them (Sophia isn't movie watching age, or I'd really be in trouble) and two sides of me (that's debatable) there is always a fight! What do you do with that? Make them draw straws?? Anyway, the movie put us till 10:30, and of course there was some Olympics to catch up.....bed at midnight.
Here is our Saturday in short hand, if you can call it that? There is no way to make an abbreviated version of such a busy day!
Up at 8:00 to get ready; 9:00 a visit from a cousin I have never met; leave the house at 10:15 to take Aubrie to her dance practice; run to the Church Book Store (Sophia fell asleep without even making a sound! Why won't she do that on long trips?); run to Walmart for food and a much requested browse through the toy department (found the cutest shoes for Sophia); pick Aubrie up (stayed a few minutes to watch the dance they learned for the Mercury game. Aubrie has been dancing all weekend!); Come home to unload groceries and leave Ben to prepare food for a BBQ with the Sheats, while I run out with Aubrie to find a specific type of Basketball shoe and BB shorts for her Mercury performance without any luck. UGH! (Don't you hate that when you come back from an errand with nothing accomplished?!)? Come home for the BBQ and clean up; Run back out to successfully find shorts (ordered the shoes online) and buy tons of dance gear (I think Aubrie should start a paper route! LOL); Come home to quickly wrap a birthday gift(for Ben's MoM) and head to Ben's parents; While there, Ben runs to Home Depot for a work thing while I entertain kids and catch up with family; Then back home, while Ben runs back out with the boys to see the new Star Wars; in the meantime I get Sophia down, spend some time with Aubrie, and work on my lesson. Just when I think my night is over, my Mom comes home with my Cousin and we stay up another hour and 1/2 talking. Whew! Makes me appreciate those Saturday's when there is NOTHING going on!
Today Sophia made it through most of Sacrament, with much entertaining involved! I think I took her out for one youth talk. She wasn't having much of sitting around the last two hours. Our Stake did a special lesson on pornography which was really good. There was some stats that were quite shocking. One of them was that 100% of the youth will be exposed to some type of pornography! It made me feel almost helpless. I can't imagine my little kids being exposed to such a vile thing!!! Their next point was that the goal is, then, to teach them the skills make the right choice when it comes their way. Ben said that a kid in a nearby school just got their ipod confiscated that had porn on it, that he was showing to other kids!!!! Hearing that made me realized that I needed to be much more proactive in explaining things to them at this early age. Who would have ever thought that we would need to be teaching our little children about this?! OK....that is all sounding a little depressing, but it was a great meeting...the whole 10 minutes I got of it! Sophia was in the halls most of the time, but in the process I was able to see an old friend and catch up! During our conversations we realized that her husbands brother lived in the same ward we went to in North Carolina. I totally knew them! It's such a small world, especially when your LDS!!
OK...ready for the parents of the week award (or I like to call it....it's obviously our 4th child!)After second hour, Sophia ran in the Chapel running towards Ben. Some one grabs my attention and tells me someone needs to talk to me. So I'm talking and talking and then realize I need to go to YW because I have to teach. So I go all the way to the YW room and after a minute or so realize I left one of my folders. I go back to the Chapel and there is Brother Brazelton holding Sophia. At first its seems like no big deal, because he always likes to hold her. Then he comes up to me and says something like, "Forget Something?" Come to find out, Ben never picked her up and she was running all around the chapel and foyer. Two of my friends found her running for the doors and picked her up. How she got from them to Brother Brazelton, I still don't' know. Guess Ben and I need to work on the COMMUNICATION a little more! Thank heavens for helping hands! Also, I guess she wont' have a problem going into the nursery, if she didn't care we weren't' around!
OK...this entry getting long, so to wrap things up. The lesson went well, and a few inactive girls showed up and shared some great experiences. After church I spent time making Lasagna (I realized I have deprived my poor husband of his favorite dish for over two years), reading with the kids, and taking an hour nap, before our home teachers came and then more company for dinner. I felt like the kids were performing a circus act at the dinner table....gotta love that!! It's probaby because they only have one small child and we are used to having friends who have a circus show of their own! Anyway, they left at 8:00 and I spent a few minutes on Webkinz with the kids (some of those games are addicting) before they went to bed. Aubrie and I talked for over an hour, before I left her room. I LOVE when I have time for those bedtime talks! They are ALWAYS the best! Then it was more Olympics(gymnastics) and this! Whew......I hope I sleep good tonight! Sorry to bore you, but my kids will love reading the details, whenever I make this blog into a book! Someday......

New Beginnings!

OK...anyone else having a hard time keeping up with things with the Olympics on? Every night I'm trying to cram in my favorite events, which are swimming, gymnastics and diving. Phelps is just amazing. He is my favorite athlete so far. It might have to do with the fact that he reminds me of my brother Joe (appearance and mannerisms). China's men's gymnasts are unreal. I guess when all you do from the time your 3, is gymnastics, your bound to be good. The only problem with watching the Olympics is realizing how jiggly and out of shape I am. I wish I could look like those swimmers!! Guess I should get off the computer! LOL Anyway, I realized that I needed to stop neglecting more important things, like journaling my kids first day of school.

Monday was the beginning of something new. A new school, that is. Everything went so well. We woke up, showered and got ready, the kids did their chores and practiced the piano, I made eggs and toast, and we still had time left over. I knew I was liking the new school schedule already. An 8:45 start, rather than an 8:00, makes such a difference. Ben and I took the kids, along with the neighbors (Bailey and Andrew), to school. We parked by the community center and walked them to the black top. Waiting on the black top was miserably hot, but the kids hardly noticed because they were so excited.

I walked Aubrie up to her classroom (she is on the 2nd story of the 3 story building) so she could drop off her stuff. Her classroom was done up so cute, and the class seemed so much smaller. It just had such a different feel than Happy Valley, for some reason. After we dropped off her stuff, we headed back to the playground. On the way back her teacher was coming up the stairs with her class. She quickly gave me a kiss and ran to catch up.

Boston's teacher took a few minutes to show up, and I was trying to get me and Sophia in some shade while we waited. Sophia is very finicky about everything, and the heat was making her cranky. Finally his teacher opened the door and we all flooded into the nice air conditioning! We found Bostons desk, and then found Davis Farley, the only boy he knew in his class. He soon seemed comfortable and situated, so we kissed Boston goodbye. Jody Pawlak, a neighbor and friend, is a teacher's aid in Boston's class, so that made me feel even better. Neither of the kids were nervous to start a new school, in fact they were so excited. The just went with the flow and seemed like they knew what they were doing. I left there knowing they were going to have a great day.

Ethan was a different story. He acted all excited for school. He got his favorite lunch all ready (PB&J and a Jello pudding pack), picked out his favorite shirt (his orange shark shirt) and had is favorite buddy (a monkey that was originally a key chain) ready for show and tell. The minute I tried to drop him off, he started his crying act. Sarah just took him from me and I quickly left. When I picked him up he was in good spirits, ready to show me his work (below). Sarah told me he stopped crying at soon as I left. He was totally trying to work me! Today he did fine!

As usual, I was excited for the kids to come home. They came home happy, and LOVING their teacher and the school. Boston's favorite thing of the day was that he got to go to the library. He said class was a little boring because they didn't' do any spelling words or math. Today they did spelling, and he was happy about that. He said he was the only one who knew them all, and his teacher sent home this cute note. He is also happy that they have more tether ball courts. He made a new girlfriend, and when I asked if he played with her, he said during snack time. He said he was making jokes to get her to laugh.... sounds like Boston.

Boston came home, the first day,with this cute note from his teacher. The Hershey's hug didn't make it home. He told me I could keep the peanut! LOLHe came home with this note today. When I asked him why he wasn't being a good listener for me (at that moment), he said because they can send him to the principal and that's scary. Guess I'm not scary enough!

Aubrie really like school, and her teacher, too! She came home excited, showing me her notebooks, assignments, etc. She also came home with this cute little note. I asked her if she saw a lot of people she knew. She said that she sees Zachary in the halls all of the time. In case you are unaware, Zachary is a boy from church she likes. I told her that she could try to like some one else so she wouldn't be so shy at church, and she told me she already thought about that, but Zachary is the CUTEST boy in the whole school. LOL Aubrie gets to sit by her Best Friend from Kindergarten (who also went to Happy Valley) at lunch. She is so happy about that. She has also made several other friends. A girl in her class pinched Aubrie really hard on her shoulder because Aubrie told her "SHHH". The teacher reprehended the girl and gave her a punishment. Aubrie said she was so shocked that the girl did that, and tried to ignore her during the rest of class. The girl kept yelling out, "See she wont' look at me now. She hates me". I told Aubrie to try to be nice because maybe she just needs a friend. We sent a note to the teacher thanking her for being on top of things, and letting us know if the situation gets worse. She called me today and told me how proud she was with Aubrie, because today she kept offering to help the girl in class when she didn't' know how to do something. I guess Aubrie does listen to me. LOL Her teacher said she is a great example to the other kids, and said many other kind words concerning Aubrie. It's nice that she has a teacher who recognizes her strengths and gives her praise. That is something her 2nd grade teacher didn't do. Her teacher last year had many great qualities, one of them teaching the kids respect and order in a class room, but being loving and giving lots of praise was not her strength. Aubrie feeds off of positive feedback, so her new teacher will be great for her!

OK, back to the rest of Monday. Aubrie had dance for two hours right after school, and after that was dinner and a FHE given by Boston. His primary teacher is so wonderfully prepared, and last Sunday she made these Family Home Evening kits for them to give. It was on letting your light shine. He was excited to do it. He did a great job!

Tuesday was laid back. No activities, and the kids still had no homework. At Happy Valley they would already be studying spelling words and math facts! (No JOKE) Ok, I take the no homework thing back. Aubrie had to go around the house and find 5 things to put in a paper sack that represented her. She put in dance stuff, a picture of her riding a horse, a bouncy ball, a webkinz cat....and I can't remember the other one! She had fun doing that. Boston did the same thing today. He put his T-ball trophy, a picture of him at Chick-filet ("because he likes to eat there), a Nephi action figure (because he likes church), one of his buddies (aka stuffed animals) and the guitar pick from the one we bought him in Mexico. ( BTW He did that all on his own!)

So far I'm so glad I made the switch. I checked the rating of the schools right before school started and saw that WW was rated one of the highest in the area, but I still had a hard time leaving Happy Valley. We had been going there for 3 years, and when we called to tell them they weren't coming back, the office lady was so sad. It's nice to go "where everybody knows your name, and their so glad you came"....ha!ha! But that's not what it's all about. It's about the kids being happy and not feeling over pressured. Aubrie is much happier now! Boston is a little bored, but hopefully they'll start doing more for him. I know we made a good choice.

School already?

It seems so weird to be sending kids off to school while the Olympics are going. The last summer Olympics, Aubrie was 4 and we would stay up late and watch the gymnastics and eat ice cream. Ben used to travel back then, and so that was great Mommy/ daughter memories. Aubrie still remembers the last Olympics, and even asked when we were going to have ice cream. Boy times have changed. Today, instead of enjoying the games, I was busying myself with school paperwork, and getting things ready for tomorrow! I have mixed emotions about school. First of all, this summer went way too fast!!! I can't believe they are already starting tomorrow! I'm excited for them to start a new school. They have been going to a charter school and I finally made the plunge and enrolled them at the public school down the street. The kids are very excited, too, about going to their new school. They haven't showed any trepidations about having to make new friends. I'm so impressed with that! With all that said, I'm going to miss the laid back days of summer. I love having no schedules and being able to stay up late with the kids, enjoying movies, swimming etc. Now it's back to early mornings, school routines, extra curricular activities, etc!
Something cool to note....We have recently been praying that a new family would move in our ward who lived close and who would have a girl Aubrie's age. She was the only girl in her Sunday School class that went to her Elementary School. Well....this Sunday a new family moved in the ward who not only has a girl Aubrie's age but also got the same school teacher. So the thought for today....it never hurts to ask!:)

Rocky Point; Finally!

View from our hotel room the first night!

Well, we finally made a trip to Rocky Point, Mexico! We know a lot of people who go down there, but we have always been a little apprehensive about venturing down to Mexico, not knowing the area. Finally we just got online, picked a place, and went for it!

At first I wasn't sure about our Condo, as we passed all these new fancy sky rise hotels. But after staying there, I couldn't be happier about our choice! It was so family friendly. The pool had two slides, and there were plenty of kids there. There was a few Mormon families there for a family reunion. I spotted them right away when I saw their modest bathing suits and little babies! LOL They even had an Aubree and an Ethan in their group!

The main area of the condo. It didn't take long for us to settle in! The view of the pool! The Beach View! The beach was beautiful! We had enough time, when we got there, to get a few hours at the beach before it was dark. Ben stayed back while Sophia took a nap. He wasn't putting up a fight, since he had Breaking Dawn to read. When she was done for her nap, we went downtown and had dinner at a restaurant by the water. It was very nice, except for the humidity! Aubrie was happy that they had steak. They called it Fillet Mignon, but it sure didn't look like one. While we were eating a guy came by and made balloon animals for the kids. We gave him a few dollars, of course. Then a little band came by and sang us a couple of songs. I handed them a few dollars, and then he counted the money right in front of us and said, "It's five dollars a song!" Can you believe that?! We gave it to them because we know they could use the money, but come on. It's not like they posted their prices, or even asked us. Oh well. Their songs added to the atmosphere. After dinner, we had ice cream at Thrifty! Thrifty ice cream is all over down there. It's like our Starbucks! Ha! I grew up with Thrifty ice cream, and it is one of my FAVORITES! Of course their not 15 cents a scoop anymore; not even in Mexico. Things were surprisingly not as cheap as I expected them to be. I guess all my experience of Mexico includes Tijuana and Cozumel. After our ice cream trip, we went back to the Condo, played some games and went to bed.

The first morning we started off at the beach. The tide was so low we could walk out really far and still sit down in the water. It was great! I felt like I was in the Bahamas, again. Sophia was not liking the sand after awhile. It's too hard to suck your thumb with sand all over it! LOL While we were at the beach Aubrie got her hair braided, and we also rented a wave runner. I was a little scared to drive it on my own, the waves were much bigger than the ones I was used to in California. Aubrie LOVED it and wanted to go more; no surprise there. Ethan was crying, after a few minutes, that he wanted off, and Boston had fun, but not enough to ask for more.

After some beach time, Ben took Sophia back to the Hotel for a nap, while he read some more of Breaking Dawn. I went with the kids for a few hours down by the pool. Later in the afternoon, we all headed into town to go through the shops. That wasn't the most brilliant idea we ever had. It was so hot and muggy, we were all dripping with sweat. Now we know that you don't hit the market until nighttime, unless it's overcast or not Summer!

Friday was more swimming and beach time. It was an overcast day, which was perfect. It brought the temperature down, and there was a great breeze. The undertow was a little strong on Friday, so we didn't venture too far into the waters. Most of our time was spent at the pool. The kids had fun making more friends. Here is the friend Boston made. They played tag for a couple of hours. Ben wasn't feeling too well, and so he spent a lot of time indoors. Later in the evening, we hit the Market, again. It was much better at night! It was much cooler, and we got to enjoy a nice sunset! The boys picked out some little guitars, and Aubrie a little dress. Ethan had so much fun with his guitar. It didn't leave his side. He even had it on his lap the whole way home today.

Ethan putting on a show Sophia enjoying the show Ethan having a shy moment

This morning we packed up everything, and the kids, me and and Mom went down to the beach one last time. The boys had some bracelets made, and we put our feet in the water. The ride back was the same as usual; Sophia fussing and the rest of the kids watching a movie. Aubrie and Boston actually pulled out Connect Four (their new favorite game) and played that in the back for awhile. Guess it was too boring with the movie on and all! LOL

Overall, the vacation was great! It has taken place of our Myrtle Beach vacation we used to take when we lived back East, except you have to bring your passport, and you can't drink the water! Ha! I just wish we would have started this tradition (yes, it will be one) sooner! Better late than never!

The Final Chapter!!

Ok, I know I mentioned that I read the book, but I had to dedicate a whole blog page to it! Finally, after obsessing over Edward and what would come of him and Bella, I finally finished Breaking Dawn, today! Yes, yes...I know I should have finished it by Sunday evening, but obviously was sooo tired from girls camp, that I actually fell asleep on Edward! Ok, I know, I'm a married women, and I sound like a giddy young girl, but Ben is reading them, too! They are just so good! He has been eyeing Breaking Dawn ever since he brought it home for me. I can't believe he didn't start it before I got home! He actually stayed up until 12:30 Saturday night reading it, while I was crashed out from camp! It has been in his hands most of the day, and I can't wait until he is done so we can talk about it. I LOVE that he is reading them. It's something we have in common. It also seems to be a common thread that runs between many of my friends, and my Young Women! It's definitely a good way to connect with the girls! You mention Twilight and their eyes light up! Ok....so about the book. No spoilers, I promise!

I must say that some of the things were pretty predictable, because there was a lot of foreshadowing, but it definitely was good enough to capture my attention, and make me ignore many things around my house for the past two days! I think it had a great ending, but I kind of wanting more! I guess since I knew it was the last, I was kind of sad. Like when the last Star Wars movie came out (yes, I am a HUGE Star Wars fan). At least there is the Twilight book, Midnight Sun, from Edwards perspective, coming in a few years! There is a teaser from the book online already! Hope you enjoy it, all you Twilight fans out there!!!

Whats keeping me?!

Two things have kept me from my blogging over the past week. The first one was our Young Women's "girls camp" and the other was Breaking Dawn.

Serving in Young Women's, I committed 3 1/2 days to be a "cabin Mom" at girls camp. That basically entails being in charge of 9 teenage girls. Making sure they get to all their activities, including meals, capers (another word for chores) and attending to any other need. I was assigned to 3rd year girls (which usually is the 14 year olds). I had a few girls from my old ward, and current ward and even one from Lake Pleasant ward, assigned to my cabin. I also had Erin's cousin. They were such a great group of girls! I didn't know my other cabin Mom, but met her a few weeks before camp. She was cool, too! Erin and Brooke also worked with the 3rd years, so I knew I would get to see them often !

My adventure to girls camp started at 5:15 Wed. morning. (Actually I should say before that if I considered all the time I spent preparing for everything). Anyway, we met at the church building at 6:00 and the buses left at 6:40. I drove up with Wendy Spooner and 4 other Young Women. It was a good drive up. Just a bunch of talking. We arrived at Camp Lomia ( A church owned camp site up by Payson, AZ) at 9:15. The campsite was much better than any place I ever stayed at as a Young Women. It was definitely built to serve as a Young Women's camp!

Anyway, once we arrived we got our cabins set up a little, and then went to the Ramada to pick up our girls. (They didn't' know what cabin they were going to be in until they got there.) After we brought the girls to the cabin, we spent time decorating our cabin with pictures and lights, picking our secret sisters, and making up a cabin cheer. Then we headed to craft time. For craft time the girls made socks with puff paint, and cute bookmarks. They didn't get to keep them, but instead were made as a service project. After craft time, they had some certification. Certification includes survival type skills, like CPR, building shelters, first aide, etc. They learned these skill throughout camp. During all the certification, the Young Women (and leaders) also spent time passing off memorized scriptures and quotes that went along with the YW values, to collect beads for a necklace. Since Erin and I had a lot of time on our hands, while the girls were being "certified", we had our beads by the middle of the day! A few of my girls did the same!

A little wildlife right outside our cabin!

The girls in the Ramada, getting ready for lunch!

After a few hours of certifications we went back to the cabin to make up a skit for that evening. All the skits were to be focused around the Strength of Youth Pamphlet. Our group had modesty. Every cabin also got a few props and a "secret" line that was to be incorporated into the skit, on stage.

The girls getting ready for their skit!All the skits were original and gave us a good laugh. It was fun to see the girls get creative and let go of their inhibitions! Kayleen also let go of her inhibitions (Ok she doesn't ever seem to have any) and lip-synced to a High School Musical 2 song, with a friend. She played Troy and her friend, Gabriella. The girls went crazy for that!

After the skits, the girls had companion scripture study (something they did every night) and then we had Singing Trees. That is where each ward gathers around a tree, and when it was their turn, turned their flashlights on and sang a song. We sang, "If the Savior Stood Beside Me". Some wards sang very long songs, and we only planned on the first verse of ours. At first I was worried, but it was nice that it was short, because we were the last ward to go. After singing trees, we went back for a mini devotional given by a few YCL's (Older Young Women who have already completed the 4 years of camp and have come back as leaders). After the devotional, I stayed up with the girls and played Catch Phrase and Mofia! We had a great time, and it was a great time getting to know my girls. We finally went to bed at Midnight.

Thursday we had an early morning (7:00) hike! It was a whole mile and a half! LOL After lunch, we learned the camp dance, which I thought we would all perform at some other time, but I guess not. Anyway, we then had what they called P-Day activities. (The whole camp theme was centered around the MTC). Anyway, the activities included baseball, where the bases where kiddie pools (I got soaked as I slid into first), eating gummy worms out of a bowl full of pudding (with no hands of course), watermelon seed spitting contest, water balloon volley ball and soaking your leaders with sponges (trying anyway). Those were fun, and of course a lot of water fights and pudding fights resulted. President Farely was in the middle of most of them! He deserved it, delaying the girls eating time by making them answer questions in the food lines, like; what is your favorite scripture, how many kids do you want to have, etc.

Later that day the girls participated in an activity which made them think about how they were living their lives to prepare themselves as mothers.

The girls pointing to their favorite temple!

Here's mine, in case you were wondering!Then we had dinner and a devotional by Brother Eastman, which again focused on the great role we have as wives and Mothers and the influence we have on men. It was good! Then it was time for the normal nightly devotionals, and game time. Around 11:00, I headed over to the YCL cabin for some Benadryl (I didn't sleep much the night before) and I ended up sticking around for some dancing and fun times! The YCL's know how to party!LOL. Of course, they are my Laurels from both wards, so I am a little attached. I finally went to bed around 12:30.

Friday started early (6:00) as we got ready for breakfast and our canoeing trip. It was about a 45 minute drive to the place where we went. It was so beautiful! I was in a canoe with Erin, Brook and Wendy Powelson on the way to our stopping point. I didn't have to row on the way there, which I felt a little guilty about.

There was a little canoe tipping involved!!:) We stopped at a cool place with some high rocks. Some were higher than others:) The highest one looked like nothing, compared to the one I jumped off at Havasupai. I kept telling Erin to come with me, and kept saying how it wasn't very high. Then a funny thing happened. When I got up there and looked down, I panicked and turned back. The girls kept saying, "Come on Sister Pribyl, you can do it, it's not that high". I kept reminding them how I had done a jump higher than this before, and I couldn't' make out why I couldn't do it. I then decided to jump the smaller one. That was very easy, and once I was wet and in the murky water, it wasn't hard to jump the bigger one. I guess it was the murky unknown water that got to me, from such a high distance. Anyway, I did it! After lunch and hanging around that spot for about an hour, we all headed back. This time I rowed, and actually enjoyed it! I had to work off all the candy I had been eating! That rest of the day included more certification, a service project (which included hauling wood), and a great shower. I had taken a shower the day before, in the regular showers, not knowing about the "Leadership" showers. This one had hot water! Yeah! Washing my hair was pointless though, since a few of my girls decided it would be cool to rat my hair. It was a huge ratted ponytail (which took me FOREVER to wash when I got home). That evening we had a "Faith Walk", which is where the girls read quotes on poster boards and answered questions related to the quotes. Then we had a little Ward time. We handed out letters that their parents had written them, and afterward we talked about what we liked about our parents. It was very emotional. Then we took a few pictures of the girls. Notice them flashing their "WW" signs, for West Wing Ward! LOL

After ward time there was a devotional given by Lori Wagner. She spoke on "covenant" shoes. She started with blessing, baptism and temple shoes. She showed how big the gap was between baptism and the temple and then asked what shoes we should be wearing between those. The "shoes" they needed to be wearing correlated to the Strength of Youth Pamphlet. She used girls as examples. She had picked up their shoes in advance, and at the devotional pulled them out of a bag and had people guess whose they were. Then she would go on to tell about them. So, for example, one girl would be a girl who Keeps the Sabbath Day Holy. It was VERY good!

After dinner they had a program that honored the Bishops. They read funny stories about them and listed their "favorite" things. After that, we had our Ward time/ Testimony meeting with our Ward. Everyone ended up bearing their testimonies. The main theme of so many testimonies was "I was sad about the Ward split, but now I LOVE it! Heavenly Father knows us and what we need." It is true. It was a good change for me. Even though I miss my friends, and old Bishop TERRIBLY, I also am LOVING the new ward. Anyway, it was a great meeting! We then headed back to our cabins for fun and games. Around 10:00 we could hear music blaring from the YCL cabin. It turned into a huge dance party, where all were invited to show off their dance skills! Including my mother-in-law, who was at camp also. :) They ended it around 11:00 and then it was back to our cabins. My cabin and the one next to us wanted to play Mofia, so we let them play for another hour. We finally went to bed around 1:00. Well, I guess I should say, I went to bed. I told the girls they could hang out at the picnic table outside, as long as they were quite. They did a good job at being quiet. I was out in 15 minutes.

Saturday we woke up early and were out of camp by 9:00. We arrived back in town by Noon. I was soooo tired and not ready to face my normal "world" of kids and responsibilities. When I walked through our front door, and saw the kids, I actually started crying realizing how much I really missed them. Sophia latched on to me, something she never does, and it felt so great to have her in my arms! Once I got done hugging the kids, I realized that my house was spotless and vacuumed. Ben was so great to make sure everything was in order, and he even finished up some projects around the house. He then instructed me to go upstairs and take a nap, while he took the kids out. To top everything off, when I got upstairs there was a new copy of Breaking Dawn sitting on my bed. Ben had gone to Target, at Midnight, the night before to get me a copy. What a great guy! I seriously felt so relieved taking a nice shower and getting some rest. I ended up sleeping for 3 hours after ,literally, falling asleep with my book. I only got to page 9! When I woke up, Ben had a nice steak dinner waiting for me. I was still sooo tired, and went back to bed around 9:00. I only got about 50 pages in before I fell asleep.

Sunday morning came early! I finally rolled out of bed, realizing that Aubrie's performance group results would be posted. (I don't' know how I remembered that?) I quickly checked and saw that she made it. I went and woke her up with the news. She is very excited. I wasn't at first, since her classes will be Monday's and Friday's. I then realized that opened up the middle of the week for piano, achievement days, and any sports Ben might want to put her in. I know...over scheduling!! I'm not sure about the sports thing, but everyone says she is very athletic, so I might let her try out something this fall. We'll see how sane I am after 4 hours of dance a week, not including competitions!

Church was good. I actually bore my testimony in Sacrament meeting. I don't remember the last time I have done that. Raleigh, I think?! I'm so emotional that I gave up doing that a long time ago. Ha! I actually kept it together better than I thought, only requiring half of my tissue. LOL Sunday School I spent in the hall with Sophia. I did get to meet a new family who has 4 kids the same ages as mine. They came from Atalanta and know some of Holly's family. Small world! Young Women's was good, as always. I just LOVE my new girls! What great Youth we have in this area! I feel so fortunate to work with them. I hope we have the same caliber of youth when my kids are that age! The rest of the day I read my book and spent time with the kids.

Monday morning was full of reading and laundry and then there was the dreaded school supply shopping. Ugh! I wish I could just give the teachers 50 bucks and say "here, get whatever specific thing you want and see how easy it is to find it!" I remember when I was a kid we just showed up with our trapper keepers and we were good to go! Anyway, the kids had a fun time picking out their folders and such. Then Aubrie had her dance soon after our shop. My Mom watched the other kids so I could go and get her all signed up. She was beaming in her class, trying her hardest to do her very best. Dinner was mini-meatloaves and FHE was on the Word of Wisdom. I had the kids try to get a foil ball out of a shoe box, that had a small slit on the top. They could only get their hand out if they let go of the ball. The ball represented things that take away our free agency, like alcohol, cigarettes, drugs, not eating healthy. They liked that game. Then we role played. One kid would try all they could do to get the kids to break the Word of Wisdom, and other standards in the Strength of Youth. They had such great comebacks! They had a blast with the role playing! After we were done, we went to Sonic for slushies, and then they went to bed. I wanted to finish my book, but was so tired that I couldn't keep my eyes open. This morning I finally finished it! After I was done reading, I started getting ready for our trip. Tonight the kids were driving me crazy with the constant fighting. I hope they shape up for our trip. I think it's time for school, because they are starting to get on each others nerves, which is getting on mine! Besides the fighting, I will miss lazy summer day's by the pool with the kids. I LOVE summers!