Girls Camp!

I LOVE Girls Camp!  This year we went to Bear Lake and rented a cabin... Our girls camp theme was "Oh the Places We Shall Go" From Dr. Seuss. 

 We started our girls camp in the morning and drove to the Logan Temple.  We had a sack lunch outside the gates on the grass.  Took a group shot  and then drove to BEAR LAKE! 

 Every day we had a different theme.  The first day we went to Paris, France.  We hung a pic of the New France Temple and talked about our life before we came to earth.   The next day on our journey, we went to HAWAII!!  We had a pic of the Laie Temple and we talked about our earthly journey.  (Madi made me and Savanna Tie die shirts.)  Love her.  Everyone got leis.

We rocked that day!

Then the next day we went to Guadalajara, Mexico and hung that temple pic.  We focused on our
"Happily Ever After".   All the girls got red roses for their hair. 
Most of us spoke in our best Spanish accents!  ha ha 

We rented tandem bikes that seated 3 or 6 people.  It was a blast, but a great leg work out.  ha ha  Fun times.

After that, we had lunch on the beach of Bear Lake.

We did a POLAR PLUNGE in the cold water!  We went out to the water neck high and said the Young Women's Theme as fast as we could.  Then the wusses, ok me....  came back to shore, and the die hards stayed in the water and played!  It was a blast.  Bishop and his wife came and we hung a pinata and then had our evening devotional by our Bishop and we had testimony meeting around the camp fire.  Every young woman bore her testimony and it was wonderful!  The Spirit was so strong!

The final day, we hung a pic of our temple... the Mt. Timanogas Temple and I gave a devotional of the importance of the temple in our lives!  

It was a wonderful camp!  I love my Young Women and all of the awesome leaders I get to serve with!

Bear Lake

 We were invited to a gorgeous cabin at Bear Lake.  It was breathtaking and so fun!  The adults, (some of us) stayed up until 3:30am! 

 Konnor loved the creek nearby.

Look at that beauty!

Our earth really is gorgeous!

Camping, Camping, Camping....

Since we purchased a toy hauler (trailer), we have been camping quite a bit.  We have been all over in the past few months.  We went to a cool place south of Manti, called Mayfield.  There is a canyon called the 12 Mile Canyon.  That is where we ended up.  Kyle has become quite the camp site scouter!  

 These blonde boys stick together like glue!

 Grandma Kathie was here for her HS reunion, and joined us for a little while.  Fun times.

 Kyle and I got to go on a 4-wheeler ride together, while grandma watched the kiddos.  It was a fun trail and we took the camera and tri-pod to catch this rare pic!

 Gotta get a few JUMPING PICS!

 Kase's first real jumping pic.

Kaylee jumped so high, we chopped her head off out of the pic.  ha ha sorry sweetie!

 Grandpa Keith joined us after Kathie left, and brought the little 4-wheeler!  This is Kaylee's first solo ride.  You can tell by her happy face that she loved it!

 Here is Konnors first solo ride.  They took turns riding the 4-wheeler and following with their peddle bikes.

 We went for a family hike and found a ton of elk tracks. 

 

Here is our happy little camper!

Kon-man was happy to have grandpas dog here too.  Snuggles was  showered with love and dirt. 

All in all, camping is a LOT of fun and always an adventure with our kids!

Feeling so accomplished

Ok, so hopefully I have some supporting readers on my blog!  I just wanted to tell what a productive morning I have had!  I did the dishes, cleaned my messy cubby in the kitchen, cleaned all the counters, 2 loads of laundry, cleaned 4 bathrooms, changed the sheets on the guest bed, and vacuumed the whole main level ALL BEFORE LUNCHTIME!  Some of you may do this everyday, but for me... that is a MAJOR accomplishment!  Now we eat!

Spring Dance Recital

I just finished the Spring Dance Recital!  And it was a big hit!  There were 5 dance pieces and nearly 50 dancers!  I had a great semester with these super cute and talented dancers!

I like to run my dance recitals a little differently than your average recital.  First, I make sure all of our costumes are modest and age appropriate!  No excuses, and no compromises.  These little sweeties, don't need to be showing off too much skin!  They need to be young, innocent and perfectly covered up! 
Its my show, I do what I want!  ha ha

Second, I make sure all of my music is clean and upbeat.  All of our songs have a good message!  Kids grow up way to fast, and I figure this helps slow things down the way that they were intended to be.  Third, I introduce each and every dancer out on the stage one by one and tell a few things about her.  I want them all to feel special, not just a part of a big group!  I want the audience to know a little bit more and I want the dancers to feel like they have individual worth.  After the recital is done, the dancers go greet their parents, and then I call them back out on the stage one by one and present them with a personalized award.  I really give thought and consideration to each of my dancers strengths and improvements throughout the semester.

Here is my Kaylee-girl receiving her award!  LOVE HER!

 

There are refreshments following the recital (that parents help me out with)!  

This is Kaylee's favorite part.  ha ha

She is a sucker for treats with a dance theme!

Our jazz hand pose!  I will miss these dancers all summer, but look forward to seeing them in the fall!

I want to thank all of the parents that helped with finding costumes, making streamers, bringing treats or supplies to the recital, and mostly thank you for allowing me the opportunity to teach your sweethearts dance!

I have the greatest job EVER!

Konnor is a "Whole Hand"

Happy GOLDEN Birthday to the cutest 5 year old this side of the Mississippi!

Look at that smile!

 We started the day with a NEW BIKE!  He was sooo excited, and has been riding it non-stop since he got it! The training wheels came off a few weeks ago, and he feels so big! He is a pro now!

 This year Konnor decided on "The Adventures of Chuck" (dump truck party)

I found these cute suckers that I couldn't resist!

 Chuck was holding the napkins down!  It was a little windy.

 Konnor got to pick EVERY detail of his party this year!  From guests, to food, to decorations!  I think he did a great job!  We filled a dump truck up with some licorice.  Had APPLES (his favorite), ranch Doritos, pizza and cupcakes.  Super nutritious, I know!

 We got all of the kids a yellow hard hat and I put their names on each of them!  I found this cool sign to go perfectly!  I even impressed myself on this one!

 There were construction signs all over.  In fact on the front door, we put a sign up that said, "Detour Ahead", because the party was around back!  ha ha

 Konnor wanted to do dump truck races around cones as a game.  The kids LOVED it!

 Then we tossed balls into a dump truck like a bean bag toss.  

I am making a funny face there, but I was rooting him on! 

 Here is a group shot, minus a couple.  Too cute huh!

 Konnor wanted a pinata!  Which we have never done before!  So Grandpa got on the deck so he didn't get "decked" while the kids swung their hearts out!

One of Konnors fave gifts came from his favorite boy cousin, Dreydan!  

A Chuck Truck that holds all of his Chuck character trucks!

 Family Pic!  I love them!

 SURPRISE!  Grandma Basha and Aunt Tracy drove ALL DAY to surprise Konnor for his birthday!  And I wish I had a camera going when he spotted grandma!  He took off running and then just about 3 feet away from her he held his arms out to the side and leaped into the air and landed in her arms!  It was the perfect Grandma moment!

They were so sweet to come all this way for my little man!  Just goes to show ya, how special our little Konnor is! 

Here is the only pic of the cupcakes. :(  They had Chuck rings on them, but I dyed the batter construction yellow and did frosting to match.  Konnor LOVES cupcakes and that is all he wanted!  In fact, I am pretty sure he had at least 6 cupcakes in a 48 hour period!  ha ha  Don't judge... its hard to say, "no" to his dimples!

Happy 5th and Golden Birthday to my sweet son!  Love you buddy!

Cool Pic

My hubby is starting to develop a real talent for photography!  

Here are a couple of his latest, and my favorites!

 

It looks like she is a jumping machine!  I also love the water and the lighting! 

 Love the blurry contrast with Kase in the coupe car!

You may be wondering who took this pic, well... Kyle did!  

He set up the shot and then set the timer!  Fun huh!  

This horse just showed up when we were standing there taking pics in front of the green pasture! 

I think Kyle has a real gift for photography!

Gotta Be Good Luck... Right?

The following story is in fact 100% true!
Yesterday, I just took Konnor to preschool, Kaylee was already at school, Kyle was at work, so it was just Kase and I.  We were out in the yard, he was playing and I was pulling weeds.  It was getting close to nap time (my holy hour!) so we came inside.  The door was open, but the weather was nice, I didn't mind too much.  I noticed he had a stinky diaper so I layed him down in the usual spot, and then I heard it--...  I heard someone or something was INSIDE the house!  It was a loud bang, and a weird shooshy, fluttery sound.  I told Kase to stay where he was, so the brave mom (that's me), went to see who was in the house with us.  I turned the corner and I saw him!
A beautiful hummingbird fluttering at my arch window!!!!!  He was gorgeous!  He had a purple neck and bright green on his back and he had a really long beak!  I told Kase to come see and then sit on the couch while I tried to shoe him out.  The bird didn't budge.  So I went and got the broom, because the window was quite high.  I tried to nudge him, but he didn't go anywhere.  I said out loud, "come on sweetie, I won't hurt you."  He looked at me and stopped fluttering.  I layed the brisltes to the broom flat to the ledge where he was perched, and said, "come on little guy... hop on the broom and I will take you outside." He LOOKED at me!  Then he hopped on the broom!!!!!!  Astonished, I said, "hold on, I will take you outside."  He stayed on my broom through the house, and out the door, and through the yard all the way to my lilac bush!!!!  I put the broom down gently to the bush, but he stayed there on my broom.  I said to him, "Its ok, you can hop off onto this bush now."  He LOOKED AT ME again, and then hopped off!!! Just like he knew EXACTLY what I was saying!  ha ha ha  Luckily, I looked over and saw my next door neighbors outside watching me talk to my new pet hummingbird! lol I am so thankful they saw... nobody in their right mind would have believed this crazy story if I didn't have some witnesses!    THEN, they walked over to see the pretty little guy, and we were standing just about 2 feet away from him, they took pics of him, and then we named him "PePe!"  ha ha.
I told Pepe, that he could fly away if he was ready to leave, worried he may be hurt... But nope, he LOOKED at me again and flew off as fast as the wind just as though he knew exactly what I said!
My neighbor Karl, called me the "Hummingbird Whisperer"!!!  ha ha
Having a Hummingbird INSIDE your house has GOT to be some kind of good luck right?!!  Not to mention, a perfectly obedient hummingbird named PEPE!  ha ha  Good times, good times!