Blog on Pause!

Karen's computer is broken, so she will not be blogging until their new one is purchased! So, don't email her because she can't get her email either!

posted by Stephanie

E's Baptism

E make the best decision in her life. She decided to be baptized a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

J was able to baptize and confirm her.

E with her very proud parents



To add to how special the day already was, E was able to get baptized with three other kids from the ward.

E and her friend, Faith

E and her friend, Brooklyn

Ethan didn't want a picture with the yucky girls.

E brought her special friend, Bunny, to make sure "it" didn't miss out on the special occasion.

First Day of School 2008

It's that time of year again.
- Time to buy new notebooks with clean, crisp pages waiting to be filled with all the notes of learning.

-Time to sharpen all the new pencils.

-Time to shop for that special outfit to wear when you meet your teacher.

It's Time for School!

E's first day of 3rd Grade (Let me translate for my family to the North. Grade 3)

This year she has team teachers again. She has Mrs. O' Neil and Mrs. Ensley.

The sisters giving her a supportive hug.

R is going to Kindergarten this year. This is her first day in Mrs. Brockley's class. I think she is too cool to be in Kindergarten.

R is going to two Kindergartens, this is the first day at Miss Cindy's. She seems a little more excited.

Nan is a preschooler this year. She is in the Teddy Bear class at school. She likes to make sure everyone around her knows, even if they have no idea what that means.

My girls all excited to be off to school again. Learning and growing and...

leaving Mommy home by herself missing summer.

Clowning Around

When we were planning E's party, the two of us headed to a party store. We wandered the aisles. I gave her suggestion after suggestion. Nothing caught her fancy. Then she saw it. The item that would direct the theme of her party. There was a blue hat with a rainbow band and daisy coming out of the top. E's wanted a Clown Party!


I wasn't so sure of what a clown party would consist of, but E knew exactly what she wanted. She planned the whole thing. If I do say so myself, it was one of the best parties I have ever been to.

First, we had to have clown faces.

R-looking so happy.

Two real clowns

Hamming it up!

The whole clown crew


Then, we had everyone share a joke. Here's my favorite. "What is the busiest birthday of the whole year?"
"Bizzy's birthday"
(Yes, we call our daughter Biz and Bizzy)

Next, you need to throw cream pies. This is an outside activity.

Nan, loving every minute of it.

"You can throw them or eat them. This is yummy!"

You can see they even turned on me!


The birthday cake must be a big, yellow smiley face. Clowns are always smiling and make people happy.


Finally, even though we have been clowning around we still have presents.

Cute doll

A movie package: homemade pillow, DVD, popcorn, pop, candy.

Does this make up for no toys at the family birthday?
I think it should.

Happy Birthday Bizzy!

E's B-day

So, I feel like it was just yesterday the doctor handed me my Elizabeth. She our first; she made us parents. Now here she is 8 years old!

It's Great to be 8!


Make a wish.


Look, money :)


I love my soft, kitty card


These shoes are cool!


She got quiet the haul , but she told me she was sad about no toys this year.

There may be no toys , honey. But you will look fantastic!

Girl's Camp

This summer I had the privilege of being "Assistant Camp Craft Lady". It has been years since I have been to camp. Plus, it was the perfect assignment for me (No, not because I have any craft talent). For crafts you only have to be at camp from about 1pm-5pm. I was able to go home every night and sleep in my own bed. Then I was able to wake up and shower. Another bonus that week was it was over 100 degrees the whole time; my house has AC!

We offered 5 crafts and were there three afternoons. The girls could color in hibiscus bandannas, make a picture holder out of those large black paper clips, decorate a clip board, make these super cute pouches, or make a star card.

Here are girls coloring their bandannas. A Big Hit!


Crazy Hair Day! I think the girls had too much free time.



Princess Day (my Girls Camps didn't have dress up theme days. This is all new to me)


In the background are my Craft partners, Jan and Kat.


Look at how interested in the activities the girls are :)


The remains of the lovely cake Alli D. made.


Lovely Harmony Ward's campsite...

Chillin'


Hangin out


Still just relaxing


Okay, this is a "Snipe Dropping". Harmony made a big deal about going snipe hunting. Someone left the dropping. Another girl sat around sharpening sticks into spears and talking about good snipes and bad snipes. I felt really bad when those young, innocent girls asked me if I had ever seen a snipe. The older girls shot me death glares. What to do? I don't want the girls to find out that Sister Z lied to them, but I did want to ruin this game. Heck, I am only the Assistant Craft Lady! So, hmm...have I ever seen a snipe. "No" Why not? "Well, usually snipe hunts are at night and it's dark. That makes it hard to see anything." Do you know the difference between good and bad snipe? "I had never heard that here were good and bad ones." Are you coming on the hunt? "No, remember I am just the assistant craft lady and must go home." With that I quickly left the campsite. I heard the next morning that many girls were let down from the late night activities. Hopefully, they realized the others meant it in good fun.


This is Mary D. This was her original pose,

Then she found out the picture was for Hannah.

So, from gangster to giving hugs when it's for a 3 year old!

J. Crew

Being with the J. Crew is like a quiet walk in the woods...

Time to reflect and just enjoy family togetherness...

To smile and soak in the moment...

When the craziness let's loss, because we are all together!!!

The whole crew

The "Senior" Crew

The "Junior" members in age order.

The Mama and The Papa

Team Z's pic with the J.Crew

posing for their own pics

Ashlee declaring herself Queen of the Mountain.

"You think this is crazy, huh? huh? Do you?!"




OMSI

Grandma Maggie exploring the best way to cut the cup for maximum air lift

Uncle Trent dares the girls to sit on the toilet.

"Am I really suppose to be up here?"

"So, I am sitting here. What's the big deal? Now, I am Queen of the Castle!"



"We are the dinosaures, Marching, Marching!"


We are being paleontologist. We get to dig, brush, and discover our own dinosaur bones.

Now, we are discovering the animal inside of each of us. Grandma was suppose to be named Farmer McGregor, but she ended up being a girl.

Live action shot: animals in motion.

Hannah starring as the Little Red Hen



Silver Falls

The family leaving on a hike, lead by the famous explorer... Uncle David.

Thanks to my ankle, I couldn't hike to the falls. So, Reva and Sabrina stayed to keep me company.



The Best Backyard Ever!

David and Reva took us over to some of their friends to play in their backyard. It turns out the yard has a huge play structure, a trout pond, a bass pond, a paddle boat, a row boat, a stream with sand toys, benches, and a hammock in the shade. It was fun to explore their yard.

Grandpa Tom fishing, as always!


Uncle Trent teaching Hannah how to fish. Hannah loving her first time fishing.

"Cheese!!!"

The loading dock


Hannah loving every minute

The girls enjoying the paddle boat rides around the pond. The famous explorer, Uncle David, leads this outing as well.

Swinging, is there any great pleasure in the whole world!






Watch out Tarzan!


You're never too old to dig in the dirt.


"When you come to the end of a perfect day!"

Elizabeth is smitten with Punkin. She keeps trying to convince us that we need a dog. I was so blunt I told her it was Dad or a dog. She chose having a dog!!! I had to veto that vote.