Girls Camp

Whew!!! Wow, that was a looonnnggg week. It was amazing, spiritual, and dirty.

Tuesday- Ugotawana Rock ( Stand steadfast and immovable)

We went up to Wellington Lake at 5:30 AM on Tuesday. Too early, Tamzen and I had to make a break to the nearest 7 11 for some big gulps before the two hour trip. When we got to camp, we were greeted by the Camp Directors, and the YCL's all acting like crazed teenagers, but the girls loved it. We were inducted into our tribe, and the leaders tribe name was "Wanahaucaloogie". Other tribe names were "Eatsomuch", "Dancealikeameanit", "OrangeStarseeker", and "Shestandssopretty". Jen Carlson came up for the day and led us in some team building exercises that were so great for the girls, and I got some really great pics. She read us the Sneeches, and I loved it. I've never heard that Dr. Suess story. We, well not we, but some of the girls played in the lake, and I watched and began choreographing the leaders water ballet. It was fab. More on that later... Tuesday night was dinner, followed by a chastity talk from the bishop. It was really hard for me to sit there and not laugh at some of the responses from the beehive age group. I love how naive and innocent these girls are... The Bishop was great to these girls, and stayed the whole week. How many Bishops do you know that will do that!?

Wednesday- Ugotawana Star ( Stand for truth and righteousness)

Wednesday was hike day. I have hiked around Lake Wellington before, so I knew what was coming. Some of those poor girls felt like dying. But I was so impressed with the amount help and assistance that the girls gave each other. We hiked about 3 miles to the top of this rock thing and Liz gave her talk, which was awesome, and then we ate lunch, certified in more camping things, and then hiked back down. When we got to the bottom, Joyana had a handicap hike, where the girls were paired up and one was given a handicap that the other had to help them. It was really quite funny. The girls with faux concussions were my favorite. Liz and I pretended to be preggo and going into labor, complete with Lamaze breathing. At one point my water broke (my camelbak leaked). It was all very dramatic. After the hike was more playing in the lake, and the leaders were wiped out. That night, Joyana and Betsy put this totally amazing program together about Emma Smith, and how she was a star (Standing for truth and righteousness). I had no idea how much hardship she had endured. It was wonderful with musical numbers by Joyana Betsy, and Jen, and Liz's dance. I played violin, but couldn't really see the music through the tears, so I didn't really sound all that great.... After the program, it was a lot of visiting with Liz. I think she is my new favorite person. She is so great. The snipe hunt was the best in history. I think the most successful snipe hunt I have ever seen. The YCLs (youth camp leaders) did an amazing job at thoroughly freaking out the first year girls. There were even tears shed. When it was time for lights out, Jen had to yell at them to walk the 20 feet with out a flashlight. I believe the phrasing was, "Seriously!? Snipes aren't real, go to bed!!" That night during tribal prayers, one even prayed to know if snipes were real or not, and if they were real, that they would be protected, and not get eaten. Gotta love first years.



Thursday- Ugotawana shine (Shine your testimony, share it ect)

Thursday was our high adventure day. We started out the day rappelling. The Bishop said it was a easy hike up to the cliff. YEAH RIGHT! The fact that I was out of breath by the time I got there says something. It was only 15 minutes, but imagine 15 minutes on a stair master at level 20. My buns were burning. Anyways, I was so proud of all the girls. They all at least got up there and attempted to rappel of a 80 foot cliff. For some of the 12 year olds, it was a huge feat. I am so proud of them. As well stumbled down that awful mountain hike, we went to Camp Firewalker, and entertained ourselves at the playground. The playground is made up of the leap of faith, (a pine tree that has been stripped of all its branches, except for little nubs that you climb up and then stand on the top holding on to nothing, and then jump. Much easier said then done.) The catwalk, (two trees about 15 feet apart, and a log about 6 inches wide 20 feet above the ground that you walk across, touch the other tree, walk to the middle, and then jump.) Jacobs ladder, which is impossible, I don't care what the staff member said. We did witness some seriously classic wipe outs. The Zip Line of death, (No way is that thing safe), the bouldering wall, and archery. The girls were so brave, and 2 even stood on the top of the leap of faith for a few seconds. I did the leap of faith 2 years ago, and that was enough for me, and then I did the catwalk this year. Its a lot harder than it looks.

Thursday afternoon, the water ballet commenced. I was in charge of this momentous challenge. The leaders ballet was totally awesome. We had floaty duckies, swim caps with HUGE flowers on them, nose plugs, and a red balloons. Our music was 99 Red Balloons, and we rocked it out. I would post the video, but I have been threatened by 4 of the leaders who participated that if it ever hit the Internet, I would die. My favorite had to be tribe EASTSOMUCH. They did their ballet to "His Cheeseburger" from veggie tales. I almost peed my pants laughing so hard. They had these inflatable animals, and bubbles.

Testimony meeting was surprisingly quiet, but none the less spiritual. The YCL's once again did such a great job with their devotionals. I was so proud of them. The YCL's are in my age group. I have been with these girls since they were maimaids (14-16 years old). Now they are seniors in high school, or graduated, and I am so proud of them for the decisions they make. You could not find a better group of girls anywhere. Tori, Amanda, Dani, and Beth, I love you and am so proud of you. You are some of my closest friends, and I am so grateful that I am your leader, even though I think of you more like sisters.

Friday

Jen and I cursed a stupid bird pack that woke us up at 6 AM. It was like the most annoying alarm in Dolby 5.0 digital surround sound. We ate, packed, and went home. I took a shower until the water ran cold.

I just have to say thank you to Robin. Our beloved chief RobRob. The alpha and omega of camp directors. You are awesome. And to Joyana, who puts so much into everything that she can barely contain her emotions. The girls respond so well to you. Kim, who came up there with her 4 month old baby. The YW pres who will sacrifice so much to make sure she is there for her young women. All the other leaders up there are amazing, and Tamzen, who took on the food for 30 people for 5 days. What a woman. I also have to say a HUGE thanks to my fabulous Mother in law, Fancy Nancy. She came up to watch my kids for me while Damon was working so he wouldn't have to use vacation. You are amazing and I can't thank you enough.

All in all, camp was a major success, and I just feel lucky I got to go and photograph the whole thing.

Graceful Liz

I was at girls camp all week, ( I will post more on that later) and Liz came up to talk to the girls about how being in the arts and dancing allowed her to stand for truth and righteousness, and also did a dance as part of our program that evening. It was amazing. I was obsessed with how graceful her hands are, and how beautiful she is. She danced on this teeny tiny stage, and the girls were in awe. So was I. If you don't know Liz, let me let you in on how awesome she is. She is an amazing woman, talented, beautiful, mother of 4 handsome boys and a cute little girl. She is taking care of them all alone while her husband is in Iraq. He is a doctor for the army, and has been gone too long (a year, and still has 5 months to go, I think). She wame all the way from Utah to talk to us at camp, and then drove back. She does all of this while looking like she just stepped out of a Banana Republic add, and can dance so well it makes you cry. What a woman!

Zoey is 4 years old.

(I had high hopes for this shot. She would not stop waving her hand, thus, I have to reshoot.

Still pretty cool...)

I can't believe that my little baby girl is 4 years old. Where did the time go? I am so blessed to be her mother. She makes me a better person, usually by exploiting all of my weaknesses, but that's how it goes as a parent. Zoey is a great big sister, always sharing with Liam, and taking care of him. She is very polite, the only 4 year old that will respond,"No thank you." When she doesn't want something. Her favorite foods are Hershey's Cookies and Cream candy bar, and Cheetos, blueberries, and scrambled eggs. She loves to be a princess, and owns every princess dress up besides sleeping beauty. I though I would document some of the things she is saying that make me laugh. (Her grand entrance)

Zoey calls her swim goggles her "swimmin' gobbles".

(Zoey 8 days old. This is the photo I used for her birth announcement)

She loves 'Toy Story', and calls it,"Inynity and Eyond!" (Infinity and Beyond!)

(Zoey at 4 months)

She loves her little brother, except when he takes her toys.

(Zoey on her 1st birthday)

She thinks Liam is a girl. She will say, "Ahh! Mom! She is getting me!!"

(Zoey at 2 1/2)

When she says her prayers, she wants to do it all by herself. When we remind her of things, like Uncle Max on a mission, She will but her little hand up to shush and say, "Here, lemme try it." And then repeat everything we said. She is independent when she wants to be.

(Zoey at 3 1/2)

Zoey still calls Daddy Damon. Still.

The princess movies are her favorite. Since she was 18 months and would sit through a movie.

She does like the transformers movie though...

(Zoey on her 4th Birthday. She humored me and let me photograph her.)

If she is hungry, she says, "Mom, I'm hungry. My tummy is grumbly."

(Zoey on her 4th Birthday, with new birthday sunglasses. DIVA!)

She uses snuggling as a way to not go to bed right away. She will yell from her bed,"Mom! Come and snuggle me!" When I am done, she yells,"Dad! Come and snuggle me!" As a parent, how do you pass that up?! I am so in love with my daughter. She is an amazing, beautiful, brown eyed, spunky, caring, sensitive, dramatic, little princess. HAPPY BIRTHDAY ZOEY!!

Father's Day

I want to start out by saying how grateful I am for my Dad. I think he is with out a doubt the best Dad a girl could have. Kind but firm, generous, loving, and still can give you a hard time. Protective. Very, very protective. My dates in high school would not walk me to my door. One even said, "Your Dad scares the hell out of me." I am so grateful for my Dad, and I love him so much. He is always there for me and my kids. And he is one amazing Grandpa.(My Dad, Breaelle, Cody (my lil' Bro), and my Mom)

I also want to thank my Father in Law Mark. I will always be in his debt. He has done, and continues to do, such a great job in raising my husband. Everything I love about Damon, he says he learned from his Dad. He treats his wife so well, and his kids mean the world to him. He is an incredible grandpa, and lives and breathes by his 'grandbabes'.

(Liam, Damon and his Dad, Mark (or Grandpa McQueen))

Last but certainly not least, I want to say a little somethin' about my Hubby. Talk about the best Dad ever. All he wants to do is play with the kids, take them off my hands, do anything to make my life easier. How many men do you find that really enjoy that!? He is always excited about the new things Liam is learning to do, and is sooo patient with Zoey, especially when mine is all out. There is never a day that I don't hear him telling them both how much he loves them. We all know how important the relationship a daughter has with her Dad. Damon is always telling Zoey how beautiful she is, how smart she is, and because of that, I believe, is why Zoey is so content to be herself no matter who she is with. How blessed am I to have 2 caring fathers, and an amazing husband who is, in my opinion, the perfect Dad for my children.

I've been tagged...

I've been tagged...
* Each player starts with 8 random facts/habits about themselves.
* People who are tagged, write a blog post about their own 8 random things, and post these rules.
* At the end of your post you need to tag 8 people and include their names.
* Don’t forget to leave them a comment on their blog and tell them they’ve been tagged, and to come back and read your blog for the whole story


1. One of my biggest ambitions is to have a pair of flats and pumps in every color. Shoes make the outfit, in my opinion.

2. I would leave Damon if Bono ever came to my door and had to have me...I LOVE U2. They are the best live band I have ever heard. If you have the chance to go, I highly recommend you do.

3. I hate Tomatoes. Ever since I was little. I got older and wiser and forced myself to eat them because they were 'good for me', and I got salmonella poisoning. !!!!!!!!?????

4. I have no idea what my natural hair color is.

5. I was born in Arizona, grew up in Arizona, went to elementary, junior high, and graduated high school in Arizona. Got married in Arizona. Thus, Colorado is very odd to me...

6. How hard I work out one day is based on how many calories of crap I ate the day before. (Tomorrow is going to be a long workout...)

7. Sometimes I day dream that I am a character in a movie or book, most of the time stealing the hot guy away from the damsel in distress. Wonder what that means about me...

8. I love high quality sheets. Nothing better than crawling into bed with some high quality cotton sateen sheets...and Damon...

Sorry! I got kinda sick of these, but then Lisa tagged me and her answers are strangely insightful. It made me wonder what some people would post. So I tag Jenn, Michelle, Rachel, Debbie, Paula, Brooke, Kim, and Robin. I am expecting strange and insightful things ladies!

My totally awesome friends.

I just have to say thank you to my friends, Kim, Michelle, Jenn, and Joyana, for helping me out the past 2 days. On Sunday night and Monday morning, I had some tomatoes. I was sick Tuesday. My stomach sounded like a boiling witches cauldron. I was camped out by the entrance of the bathroom, it was not pretty. Did I mention that my husband was out of town? Salmonella is not my favorite thing. I lost 4 pounds, but it was SO not worth it. I am still dealing with it. But how cool are my friends? Kim took Zoey Tuesday night, came over at bed time, put her to bed, and then did my dishes. (I was totally asleep the whole time, except when I was getting more pepto.) Michelle took Zoey to gymnastics, and Jenn called to see if I needed anything, several times. Joyana heard I was sick, and showed up to take Zoey to play practically all day. How great are my friends or what?! Its nice to know that if you are suffering from Salmonella, and your husband is 6 hours away, your friends got your back. Love ya!

I love this picture of Nicole. I don't know why. Just do. I had to post a photo, its my thing. And this one is really cool.

LIAM IS WALKING!!

HOORAY!! He is a bit of a slow poke, like his sister, and me apparently. Zoey and I didn't walk till we were almost 15 months. Liam is 14 months and a week. He had to have his paci, and a mega block in each hand for 'stability'. Isn't it funny how babies do that? If they have something in thier little hand, they feel more stable. Hillarious! I love my little Liam. He made me feel so special that he would walk from Daddy to me, and not me to Daddy. Liam loves me most.



How cute!!!

My Little Brother's Letter

(Max is the tall one on the left.)

As most of you know, my brother Max is on a mission to the Baltic States. His mission includes Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. Right now he is in Narva, Estonia. He is speaking Russian, and is growing personally and spiritually at an incredible rate. I am not really sure why, but something in his last letter really made think. The last 40 days, our ward participated in a 40 day fast. We were fasting for missionary experiences, or, for me, the courage to actually speak to those I am friends with about the church. When I got his letter today, there was something in there that I think was the answer I was looking for.

"Something happened this week that was unexpectedly hard for me. You all know that there is a big problem with alcoholism here, and that Elder Eddington has a soft spot for the drunks. It's always hard to see them, but a few days ago it was almost unbearable. We were walking a good distance behind a drunk man that was staggering and swerving all over the sidewalk. I could tell that sooner or later he would fall if he didn't sit down, but there's no way to talk sense to them so you just have to help when you can. Well he staggered down a pathway to the left and we kept going straight. I stared over my shoulder to make sure he was okay. He got off balance and started leaning forward, taking big steps, getting faster and faster trying to keep himself up. He got moving too fast, and dove forward, smashing his face on the pavement. His hat flew off his head, and he just laid there, motionless. My companion and i hurried over to help him. we picked him up, and saw the damage. His nose was definitely broken, with blood pouring out of it onto his shirt. I also think he broke a cheekbone, and his eyebrow was split open. As I looked at him I had the heaviest, most poignant feeling in my heart. The sentence "Max, this is your brother" kept scrolling through my head. Sometime in that man's life, he meant the world to someone. He was his mother's little boy, or the crush of some girl in grade school. Being here and seeing the struggles of these people has given me such an appreciation and reverence for God. Think of how much courage it took to send his boys and girls to this wicked earth, knowing that some would be lost. Think of how hard it is for him to see our heartaches and guilt when we mess up. I feel so sorry for the mistakes I've made because I know the grief it has caused my Maker."

How great. How profound. I would do anything for my brothers and sister. If I really think of every one I meet as my brother or sister, I should be crawling out of my skin to share the gospel, do service, help in any way I can. It is wonderful how the Lord works through other people to answer your prayer. I am so grateful for Him, and my brother. This is the encouragement I needed.

Picture Post

So I have had the camera out the past couple days, capturing the kids in their element. They are some of my favorite times to photograph my kids. Messy face, crazy hair, but genuinely happy.

Liam thieving popcorn.

Zoey anticipating the pool.

I call this Sippie Cup Luv

This one is so striking of Zoey. I love her eyes.

I want to say something about portraits. Most of what I photograph is children. I love it. I think that there is something that needs to be said about trying to pose your children in a photograph. Don't do it. A portrait is supposed to "portray" a child, and how many children sit still? Let you kids be how they are. That is what you want to remember. There will be less crying, if any at all, and your photographs will come out true to their individual personality. There, I had my little rant. Thanks for reading!