Camping, the last weekend of summer

So, we ended the Summer Break with a fun family outing to the hills. We went to Silver Creek Plunge. We didn't actually make it to the swimming pool, it was way too spendy, but the creek was enough fun, the girls didn't mind too much.

Sitting in a calm part of the creek.... they quickly got up from this photo....COLD !!

Katie loved eating all the mountain foods..... rocks, dirt, sticks. YUM!

Lilli put river silt all over her legs, she thought it was so cool, until she dicovered worms in the mud, and ALL OVER HER!! Schreiking "Worms, Worms, Worms!" I love that she is such a spaz about insects! It really makes me laugh! I know, I'm sick....laughing at my kids pain! But it is truelly funny how freaked out she gets.

Cute Bug, sitting in a big girl chair!

Too much watching the olympic gynastics....the girls kept jumping off the Suburban...Luckily they stopped before any injury! Phew!

Happy girl, eating dirt.....What a cute, dirty face!

What did you eat, Katie? "Ummm?"

Pretty fire! Funny thing, when it finally died, the moon was soooo bright that we didn't even need our flashlights to make it to our tents. CRAZY!!

As for sleeping, Katie woke up a lot during the night. I had to hold her, because we had neighbors, and I didn't want them to have to listen to a baby cry all night. We estimate that Joe and I got about 3 hours of sleep, plus.... it was sooooo cold, we are definetly buying new bags before next year.

Breakfast was fast, it was still freezing. the kids warmed up by playing with sticks, sword fighting eachother, Joe even joined in. It was great fun....We packed up shortly after the fun. Our neighbor asked "Leaving all ready?" YES!!! I need some sleep! Maybe next year we will finally be 2 nighters! Come on and learn to sleep, Katie! Geez!As we were packing Big Red up, a cute little bird was following us around. I don't know if it was looking for a scrap of food left, or just friendly, either way, it was a fun way to end the trip.....Bye, Bye, Birdy!

Summer Fun and the Trampoline

Well, 1st off, back in early July, the girls had friends over to play one afternoon, and somehow they got it into their pretty little heads that it would be totally awesome to play Tarzan! The scarey part is, they decided to REALLY play Tarzan, swinging from tree branches off the trampoline! Yikes! I don't know who was braver, the girls, or ME for stading by watching!

Crazy girls! The 2nd is more calm.
The girls wanted to build a fort, so they took a ton of blankets outside, and with a little help from Mom, whammo! Instant fort!

Aren't they cute!!! It was really nice in the fort. It was cool and breezy. I almost fell asleep while I was out with them. No one wanted to go in for dinner! Also, the girls all begged for days to sleep outside in their fort. It was really cute. I didn't let them though. I didn't want to make Katie sleep out, so I had to stay inside to hear her, and Joe has to work, so the fort was played in for nearly a week, untill it rained, and I had to wash ALL those blankets, but, alas, no one actually slept in it! Maybe next summer! I love being a mother!

Summer Fun and the Trampoline

Well, 1st off, back in early July, the girls had friends over to play one afternoon, and somehow they got it into their pretty little heads that it would be totally awesome to play Tarzan! The scarey part is, they decided to REALLY play Tarzan, swinging from tree branches off the trampoline! Yikes! I don't know who was braver, the girls, or ME for stading by watching!

Crazy girls! The 2nd is more calm.
The girls wanted to build a fort, so they took a ton of blankets outside, and with a little help from Mom, whammo! Instant fort!

Aren't they cute!!! It was really nice in the fort. It was cool and breezy. I almost fell asleep while I was out with them. No one wanted to go in for dinner! Also, the girls all begged for days to sleep outside in their fort. It was really cute. I didn't let them though. I didn't want to make Katie sleep out, so I had to stay inside to hear her, and Joe has to work, so the fort was played in for nearly a week, untill it rained, and I had to wash ALL those blankets, but, alas, no one actually slept in it! Maybe next summer! I love being a mother!

I Love to See the Temple

We went to Twin Falls on Saturday. We decided to make a day of it. We left at 3, and got there at around 5. We went straight to the temple open house. It was so beautiful!

As we pulled up to the temple, Joe said, "What, no Anti's out?" Well.... There was, 2 of them, holding a sign that said "Mormonism is not Christian". We all laughed, and of course, I HAD to get a picture of them. All I got was of their backs. But it was still fun!

I felt the spirit so strong while we were in the Temple, which, honestly took me by complete surprise. I thought, since it was not yet dedicated, the spirit wouldn't be there, WRONG!! The Celestial Room and again in the Sealing Room, the spirit testified to me that I belong to the only true church on this earth, and that I have a Family FOREVER! In the Sealing Room, it was the 1st time I had my whole family in that room together. Joe and I took our children in our arms and showed them the mirrors. They saw for themselves that their reflection went on and on and on, just like our family. It was a very touching moment. I suggest to all to go to the open house if you can, bring your families. It is such a reward.

After the Temple we went to Dierkes Lake for swimming. It was too cold to really go swimming, but we still had fun, we stayed until dark, and Lilli and Maggie got to do some rock climbing, there are some great boulders there.

After the lake, we went to Shoshone Falls.....WOW!!! The beauty of the falls almost hurt my eyes. Even Maggie noticed that it looked like a painting. It didn't seem real it was soooo beautiful. It just goes to show, the human eye can take in so much more than any camera. The full extent of the Lord's Majestic art can only be seen with the heart. I don't know if that makes sense, but that is how it feels to me. You have to experience the beauty 1st hand to truelly apreciate it. I consequently did not take pictures, they just wouldn't be as pretty as what I remembered. My sister-in-law did though, so I will probably use her's on my computer as my screen. She takes beautiful scenic shots.

On a different note,

Maggie went to bed last night with a VERY wiggley front tooth! I warned her that I thought she might loose it in the middle of the night, and might swallow it on accident. I was trying to scare her into letting me pull it, because she has been whinning about it for days now. Well, it didn't work, and she went to bed. This morning, she woke up and......NO TOOTH! I didn't think it would REALLY fall out, but it did!! Luckily, it was just in her bad, not in her tummy, thank goodness, becasue my kids are HUGE fans of the Tooth Fairy, or T.F., as they call her. Here is a picture of a happy, sleepy Maggie. Taken 1st thing after we found her tooth in her bed.

Hooray for "Windows", especially the big ones that you can stick your tongue through!

Joe's Birthday Fun

Well, as you all know, I have been putting photo videos on here for each of the kid's birthdays. Since I didn't have enough pictures of Joe, this is what I did for him.

The Lord is Over All

What a roller coaster couple of weeks! I have been a ball of stress, sorrow and joy. Let me expound apon that!

1st, the sorrow......

On Tuesday, the 8th of July, my good friend, Christina 'Chree' Farnsworth Mourant died of a blood clot to the heart. I found out on Thursday night after a long day of work! At first I was in shock, but by bed time, when I still had not said anything to Joe, he asked me if I would like to talk about it, and out it came.....emotion more than I have felt in years. Chree was the kind of friend that always lifted me up, never pulled me down. She made me feel so beautiful and intelligent! High School was a hard time for me, as it is for a lot of people, but when ever Chree was around it was easy. I never had to try with her. She had such an amazing spirit, and her life and example saved me many times!

I had to be the strong friend, letting my good friend Sarah call me day after day sobbing. She made me cry over and over....Joe says, "Thanks, Sarah." Her funeral was on Tuesday the 15th. Joe and Katie went with me. We sat in our own little row, and after Katie woke up from her nap, she was mad!! Joe took her out, and BLAM-O, I was ALL ALONE! I could not handle my emotions, it was too hard without Joe's arm to cry on, so I left. I felt like a chump, but it was a HARD funeral.

Next the Stress..... On Thursday the 17th, I got into a heated argument with a member of the Malibu staff. I am the assistant manager there, and I caught her doing something that could potentially get the clinic in trouble with the FDA. I called her on it, and within seconds it was on. I was trying to be a proffessional and asked her politely to settle down or she would be dismissed, she got all up in my face and said I had no authority. Well, minutes later after the heated conversation, she was walking out and threatening to take our NP with her, since they are chums. I followed her outside to tell her to calm down, she called me nasty names, screamed terrible things and got in her car. I went inside and sobbed uncontrolably. My sister-in-law conforted me. We took a huge step closer because of that fight. Thanks Kris, I love you!
Last, the joy!
I found out that my little sister and her family are moving to the valley! They might actually move to my town. I am soooo excited! I love my little sis so much. She has always been my best friend. Even when we were kids, we never really fought. We were always together and loved every minute of it. Now, her daughter, Jules and Katie can grow up together like we did. It is going to be so great. I miss her so much. I feel I should say sorry to friends in advance, when she finally gets here, I might neglect you all for a while. I'm sure you all understand, because you are all so great.
To end, I just want to say, that through all my pain this last few weeks, I have felt the power of the Lord so strong. His spirit has led me and strengthened me. I have found greater joy in being a wife, mother, sister and daughter. My relationships with EVERY member of my family have grown and continue to grow. I am grateful for all the love they all give me and how they have provided me with comfort and encouragment. I love you all.
On a funnier note, Maggie cracks me up. She took this video of my lovely mother-in-law making breakfast for the girls at my house one morning. Janet is a good cook, at her house,on gas, but I don't think she new how my stove cooked, the result....black pan-cakes. But it's the thought that counts, right. Enjoy this, but know.....I am not making fun, I am simply enjoying my Maggie's tact!

Out of Stress-NO-Stress Me Out

So, if you have been reading like a good friend, you will already know that Katie broke my camera on Emily's birthday! It was sucky, but there was a waranty, so we got it fixed.....we thought! We finally recieved it back, just in time for the 4th, I was soooo happy! We took it with us to our friends house, and about 2 shots in, the camera started acting funny again, not focusing, not even taking pictures sometimes, it was definetlty NOT fixed. So, we took it back to have them fix it again. While I was there talking to the sales mangers, I just lost it. I started crying and was really emotional. I guess sometimes being emotional pays off, because they swapped me right then and there for a BRAND NEW camera! I was sooo grateful that we had purchased the waranty! Best Buy rocks! However, when we got home, I put my huge zoom lens on my new camera to go try it out, and BLAM_O! The problem was not the camera, it was the lens! They don't waranty a lens, so we had to go buy a new one! $200 later, and a $60 charge for a new service plan for the camera, and we are finally back in business. I definetly learned my lesson....never leave expencive things lying around for little fingers to get a hold of! Avery tired but happy Lacey! Here are some updated pictures of Lilli's scar. Her knee is NOT dislocated, but she does have a hair-line fracture at the top of the bone where the knee cap covers. She can't do any jumping for another 2 weeks! Poor girl! Can you see the stiches scares? Pretty cool, eh? I ove my camera. Fianlly, the last update I want to share...Katie is almost walking. She can push the baby doll stroller around without falling, she is very steady, but take the help away, and she cowers! Not ready yet, but close!