HELP!

Earlier this week I was asked to go to girls camp as a cabin mom. I know, pick your chin up off the floor and stop laughing--I said I would go. Now, I do not have fond memories of camp as a youth and I don't think I have camped even once since. Luckily, my sweet husband prefers a nice, soft bed and a hot shower too! They obviously were quite desperate if they felt the need to ask me to be a part of nature for a few days. Thank goodness these girls don't "camp" like we did. They have cabins and there are showers, we will be fed without having to cook for ourselves and there are flushing toilets--I think I can do this. My wonderful, fabulous, awesome sister-in-law is coming up to take care of the kids while Mark is at work.
Here is where I need the help. Does anyone have any great ideas for me. Our theme is "Yagottawanna...Shine!" and our cabin name is the "Nite Lites". I need some fun ideas for the girls and I know you are all more creative than I am! But hurry, camp is July 8th!

I know this is hard to see, but I saw this in Sunday's paper and thought it defined the "love/hate" relationship that I have with summer.
#1 reason I love summer--Kid Time! I love spending the extra time with my kids and the slower pace in the summer. During the school year we are usually so busy that it's hard to spend as much family time as I'd like.
#1 reason I dislike summer--Kid time! I LOVE my kids, but they are so used to being so busy with school and sports that they have a hard time doing nothing during the summer. We have a lot of fun together swimming, going to the drive-in, the library, etc., but it's hard to keep them entertained all of the time.
#2 reason I love summer--the decrease in laundry! We spend most of our mornings in swim suits and then come home to shorts and t-shirts. There are no sweatshirts or jeans. And my family knows the worst part about laundry for me is matching socks! I love flip flop season!
#3 reason I love summer--less kitchen time! I love using the grill and taking it all outside. I use "not wanting to heat up the house" as an excuse...really I just enjoy letting Mark do the cooking! It's nothing fancy, but I didn't have to cook it!
#2 reason I dislike summer--cleaning time. I cannot survive in a messy house! The clutter makes me crazy, and so all summer long all I do is pick up after the kids. I don't really get the deep down cleaning done unless there is the threat of company. It's so hard for me to just let it go a little bit in the summer, but I'm learning. That would probably be my kids' one complaint about summer--that I'm more strict about the chores and keeping their rooms picked up. This summer I have instigated the "20-minute tidy" and the girls have to spend 20 minutes cleaning anything they want almost every day. They even set the timer!!
And as for the "Me time", who are we kidding! My "me time" is spent with my kids enjoying the lazy days of summer. I have read some books this summer, including Twilight, New Moon, and Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer. Fabulous!

Family Week

Once a year our stake sets aside a week as "Family Week". During this week we are supposed to turn off our tv, our computers, video games, etc. and spend time together as a family. We try to make sure that we have dinner together every night and schedule some fun family activities. A tradition for our family is to have a soccer game with several other families and it is really a lot of fun. The parents play against the kids and the winner gets bragging rights for an entire year. Keep in mind that most of the adults (especially me!) are out of shape and don't touch a soccer ball or play any kind of sport on a regular basis. The kids love to win, but last night was a different story. The parents earned their bragging rights (I even scored a goal!) and we had a great time with our kids. We ended the night with cookies and snow cones and were chased off the field by rain and lightening. We may have won, but I'll bet the kids aren't suffering from the aches and pains of playing hard like their parents are!

Father's Day

For Father's Day I took the girls to Portrait Innovations to try to get a picture of the 4 of them together. I figured a new desk deserves a new picture, so off we went. Now let me just tell you that since Sierra has been mobile we have not been able to get a good group picture unless she was being "creatively restrained" or asleep. I haven't even been able to get a 2 or 3 year old picture taken! I warned our photographer of this little tidbit and she accepted the challenge. And what a great job she did! I will admit that Sierra was more cooperative than she has been in the past, but this lady had some tricks up her sleeve that worked with my little wiggle-worm.
This one worked because well, there really wasn't anywhere for her to go!


Can you tell which one doesn't want to be here?

Are we done yet?!




And she is finally happy with JUMPING?!

These 2, with a little cropping, turned out the best and I considered our trip a success! Happy Father's Day, Mark! We love you and appreciate everything that you do for us! You're the BEST!

And since our trip was so successful, I spent a small fortune and have lots of copies. Pictures anyone?!

Disney Trip

Okay, I have procrastinated long enough and I am going to make time to write about our Disney World trip. Not so much for your benefit as for mine. I want to make sure that our family remembers this trip for a very long time! We had a great time and kept very busy making sure that everybody did everything that they wanted to do.


The night we got into Orlando, we were in a rush to make a dinner reservation at the Grand Floridian Resort with Cinderella, Prince Charming, Drusella, Anastasia, and Lady Tremaine. Sierra had a new Cinderella dress that she was more than happy to wear. Ashtyn wore her Princess Aurora dress for just a little while because it was too hot and itchy. We were all excited as we drove through the gates of Disney World. The little girls were thrilled to see Mickey and Minnie Mouse pictures all over. The dinner was so fun! The characters were great and each one came over and signed the girls' autograph books, posed for pictures, and talked to the girls in true character. We watched Cinderella and Prince Charming dance, Drusella and Anastasia sing "Sing Sweet Nightingale" terribly, and Lady Tremaine never cracked a smile! What a great way to start our vacation! After dinner we rode the monorail around all of the parks hoping to give Sierra and Ashtyn their first glimpse of the castle. Unfortunately, it was already dark and they didn't see much. We returned to the house we had rented and put some tired girls to bed, got unpacked, went grocery shopping and prepared for a very busy week.

The next day was our first day at Magic Kingdom. The girls didn't have any trouble getting up early and we were out the door by about 8:00 so we could be there when they opened. We took the ferry across the lake to Magic Kingdom so that the girls could see where we were going. We took Lauren and Mackenzie about 6 1/2 years ago and they remember a little bit, but the little girls have never been. The squeals as the castle came into view were so great. I think they finally understood what we were doing and they were so very excited! The little girls and I made our way to the Dumbo ride while Mark and the big girls hurried off to Space Mountain. We rode several times before we met up again. The little girls loved the parade around the castle and were able to see so many characters. We spent the day playing and seeing all there was to see, but the girls were anxious to get back to the house and swim for a little bit. My girls love summer and swimming and hadn't been to the pool yet, so I think this was almost as exciting as being at Disney World. And the house was just down the road from "Outback", so after the girls were in bed for the night I got my bloomin' onion!

Day 2 was spent at Hollywood Studios. This park wasn't as fun for the little girls, but the big girls had a blast. We loved the Little Mermaid and High School Musical shows. Lauren and Mackenzie rode the Rockin' Roller Coaster and Tower of Terror several times throughout the day. Sierra loved Playhouse Disney Live and seeing all of those TV characters come to life. We took a break in the middle of the day and went back to the house for a rest time. There was a new Toy Story ride that was just opening and we loved that. But the highlight of the day was the Fantasmic show with all of it's fireworks and lights. The girls were all mesmerized! What a great show!

The third day we were back at Magic Kingdom. The park was a little bit busier and it was a little bit warmer, but we still had a great time. We saw more characters and got more autographs. The big girls stayed cool on Splash Mountain and the little girls enjoyed the splash area and Minnie Mouse's house in Toon Town. As we were getting off one of the rides, we were all given Dream Fastpasses as part of the "Year of a Million Dreams". That was a fun surprise! We again took an afternoon break at the house and let the little girls nap. We returned to Magic Kingdom to ride some more and stayed late to watch the parade and then the fireworks over the castle. It was fun to see Tinkerbell fly down from the castle, but it sure took a long time to get out of the park and people are not kind the later it gets! We had to wait a while to catch the ferry out to the parking lot and the kids were completely worn out.

Day 4 we got a bit of a slower start because of the two late nights, but we were at Animal Kingdom for the day. I was looking forward to the safari ride and the big girls were anxious to ride Expedition Everest. Niether was a disappointment, and in fact I think that ride was my favorite. I love roller coasters! The girls got soaked on the water ride and the little girls finally got to meet Donald Duck in his safari clothes. We watched a parade and cut our day short. The girls were ready for dinner and a swim...and an earlier bedtime!

Friday we were at Epcot. We were looking forward to riding Soarin' and Test Track. We were a little disappointed that Sierra wasn't tall enough to ride either of them and wished we had put her church sandals on her! She was a good sport and was happy with the Kidcot stops to keep her busy. I think our favorite for the day would have to be the Finding Nemo ride and talking to Crush. Largely because we could all do this, but it was fun for the big girls too. We loved Soarin' and as we were waiting for our turn the girls were all given "Year of a Million Dreams" Mickey Mouse ears. Ashtyn and Sierra were very excited about these! We met more characters, got more autographs and pictures, did a little souvenier shopping, and walked through all of the countries before calling it a day.

Our last day found us back at Magic Kingdom. We were torn between several of the parks, but Magic Kingdom was the best place to entertain everyone. We were there when they opened and made our way to a shop called Tinkerbell's Treasures. Mark had read somewhere that if you were the first to ask, you would have the opportunity to "wake up" Tinkerbell for the day. This involves waving a wand at her treasure chest and yelling "Wake up, Tinkerbell!". Then there are some chimes and a little flash of light and The Fairy Godmother takes you over to the chest at the front of the store. If you look in the keyhole long enough you will hear the chimes and see the lights again. That was fun, although Ashtyn was a little nervous of the process. Sierra was great! We then headed to Toon Town hoping to get autographs from some of the princesses. Getting autographs and meeting characters was probably the greatest part for Ashtyn and Sierra. Sierra especially would get so excited and would jump up and down and then run to and almost tackle the characters! We rode some more (especially the Buzz Lightyear ride and Space Mountain!) and called it a day in the early afternoon. Nap time and some swimming and then we headed to Downtown Disney for some shopping. There were some great shops! The older girls really got into the pin trading and Mackenzie loved approaching the cast members and seeing what they had to trade. They ended up with some really fun pins that are great souveniers.

The next day was the worst day of our vacation...time to go home! The day was long, but the girls were worn out and pretty agreeable for most of the 12 hour trip. We had a fabulous time and pretty good weather. I hope we won't wait another 7 years before we do it again!

Disney Pictures

I just can't seem to find the time to blog about our trip to Disney World, so I'll just post a couple of pictures for now. Maybe I will get the chance to blog once my dear, sweet husband goes back to work or my kids go back to school. We really need another computer!!!





After the long drive, we had a character dinner with Cinerella, Prince Charming, Drusella, Anastasia, and Lady Tremaine. It was so fun and Sierra was so excited to meet her first Princess. After dinner, we rode the monorail around the parks.


The next morning was our first day at Magic Kingdom. We took the ferry across the lake and Sierra got her first look at Cinderella's Castle. Can't you just hear her saying "Look, it's Cinderelly's Castle!!!"

Lauren at Epcot. The big girls enjoyed this park more than the little ones. Sierra wasn't tall enough to ride, but "Soarin' " was so fun!

Meeting Ariel, our favorite Princess. I thought Sierra was going to explode, she was so excited!

Ashtyn and Sierra on their favorite ride. We always had to go to this one first because the lines got LONG and there weren't fastpasses.

The girls admiring the castle. We loved the fireworks show!

The house we rented was great! But between the pool, PS2, and TV in every room we had a hard time convincing the girls that the Disney parks were where we wanted to be.

"Look, it's a Princess!"

On our way down to Disney World, we stopped in Atlanta to attend the wedding reception of Mark's niece. Of course, Disney was on the brain and Brooke was beautiful. All night long Sierra kept calling her a Princess and her new husband became Prince Charming for the night! So cute!