A day without problems

Well today was a nice day. The kids got up early and cleaned their rooms and did their chores without me even asking, so when I got up at 7:30 there wasnt much for me to do. Then we spend the day playing games and listening to the radio. It was a ton of fun. I enjoy days when there is no bickering or fighting between the kids. I didnt have to yell at them at all today. I loved the whole day. Dale even got up at about 2:00 and played with us. Another great family day without having to be much of a parent. It was more like a bunch of friends hanging out.

Playing catch-up

OK so I know that I have not posted in a couple of day's and to tell you the truth I don't really have a good reason why. I just have not been on the computer. Mostly spending time with the family and trying to get things together for D.J. He is going down to spend some time with my parents on the 2nd and wont be back until the 11th. Anyway so here is what has been going on in my life the past couple of days.

Thursday--Nothing out of the normal happened today. I got up with Elyssa early and cleaned the house then we headed over to Michelle's to see if she wanted to go to Memory Preservation Day at the church. She said no that her and Robert were going away for the weekend as a late Anniversary thing and that she needed to finish the house and do the packing. So I picked up a few things I would need for the day and headed out with Elyssa. We got there at about 11:30 and started working on some pages that needed to be finished. Elyssa got to make a jewelry box which she really enjoyed making and then I had a meeting with Carmen Bradshaw about what we are planning for the rest of this year. After that Elyssa and I headed home. I made dinner and we spent the rest of the night talking and watching t.v. until about 1:00 in the morning. I love when I get to spend that kind of time with her alone.

Friday--I almost forgot about picking up Catrina Grabbe and watching her dog for her. I got a call from Sister Richards asking me if I had spoken to Catrina today and I said no why. She told me that she was worried about me because I was suppose to call her this morning and get directions from her about how to get to her house. So I called her and got the directions then headed over there at about 6:15. Dale and Elyssa came with me and after we picked her and her dog Kenai (who I am watching for her until she returns on the 5th of July) we took her to the bus station and then went on to pick up D.J. from Ryan's house. He has been over there since Wednesday and really had a blast. It's nice to know he does know how to behave with others. Anyway after we got home we all settled in to watch the new Disney movie Princess Protection Program. It was really cute. After that we all went to bed except Dale of course went to work.

Saturday--Today I finally got some down time. We didn't go anywhere or do anything all day. We just spent time together as a family and played with Kenai ( the dog I am watching). I love days like this.

Sunday--Again we really didn't do much today. I sort of forgot that it was Sunday and so we all slept in and missed church. When we finally woke up we just played and watched t.v. together. Another nice quiet Sunday as a family.

And that brings us to today. So far nothing interesting has happened but the day is still young so there is no telling what will happen. I will post later if anything intersting occurs. Well that is all for now. Blog at you later.

Freezer Jam

OK so I got to learn a new skill today that is totally cool. Just a little back log. I was talking to my mom a couple of weeks ago and told her that we were going to go and pick fresh strawberry's and she asked me if I was going to make freezer jam. I said no because I had no idea what that was. She proceeded to tell me what it was and I said it sounded like something I wanted to learn. Anyway I got a call from Rosemary last week and she said that she was going to have Sister Hinton over at her house on the 24Th (which is today) and wanted to know if I would like to come over and learn how to make Freezer Jam and I said yes. Well I sort of forgot about it with everything that has been going on and she called me today to remind me. I told her that I had forgotten about it and that I didn't have the stuff to make it but could I still come and watch how its made and she said yes. Well when I got there Sister Hinton had bought stuff to bring so that everyone could try it. Well it was just Annalise and I there so I got to make some Strawberry freezer jam for myself. It was so easy to make. I cant wait to try out other fruits and make tons more of this great tasting stuff. Don't be surprised if you get it from me for Christmas this year. LOL.

Nothing Interesting

Today was a pretty normal day. Not much happened out of the ordinary. I got up and cleaned the house and spent some time with dale and the kids. Then at about 11:00 I went over to Michelle's house to meet Ryan so that we all could go through the camp stuff, sort it and reload it so that we can put it away at the church tomorrow and it not be a big mess for next year. We finished at about 3:00 and I came home. I spent some more time with dale and the kids and watched t.v. with them. We watched that program Life after people. It was really interesting to see what life would be like after there is no human influence on the planet. I guess it is a good thing we will not be here to really see what happens. Anyway I need to go make dinner and then put the kids to bed because its getting pretty late.

That's all for today. Blog at you later.

A day out with the family

Today was a wonderful day. We woke up this morning at about 8:00 and got ready for the day. We first had to head over to the Water place to pay our water because I forgot to send out the check before camp. We then headed to the store so that we could pick up a late Father's Day card for Dale's dad. While we were there Dale saw these flashlights and asked the kids if they wanted to go to the Dunbar caves. They said yes of course because we all love it there, but when Dale called they said they didn't have anything open until Wednesday so we decided to go to Land Between the Lakes. So we came home and got our things ready to go and headed out. We got there at about 1:00 and did a few things. We really wanted to go swimming but we couldn't find any place to go so we gave up on that idea and found a few other things to do. At about 4:00 we headed back home so that Dale and the kids could get ready for Hapkido. Their class went great and the kids really love it. After class their instructor asked all the adults if they could please come with him so that he could talk to them about something. I wasn't sure what he wanted to talk about but I thought it must be important because he wanted not only the students but their spouses also. Anyway to make a long story short they wanted to talk to us about this new stuff called Mona-vie I think its called. I had seen it around and honestly thought that it was some kind of wine but from what I understand it is a juice that does other things. Well anyway they wanted us to get in on the company and sell this stuff but I told dale that I would have to do a lot of research and praying about this before I even considered doing it. After that we all headed home and Dale got ready to go back to work. He has been on vacation since last Monday, now its time to go back. Anyway it has been a great day out with the family. The kids got along great without fighting with each other and we had a ton of fun together. I love when we have days like this. Lets hope for many many more.

That's all for today. Blog at you later.

Peaceful Sunday #3, Happy Father's Day

OK here are the things I am thankful for this week.

First of all I am thankful for friends who really understand what it means to be a friend. I am thankful for friends who are not afraid to tell you there is a problem between the two of you and that they are willing to make every effort to fix a problem between you and them and know that you are truly sorry for what happen. I am thankful for friends who care enough to be there for you when you truly need them. Who also know that you would do anything for them and not think twice about it.

I am also thankful for this wonderful church that we are apart of. I truly believe that without the church and the gospel and the presents of our dear heavenly father that I would not have the friends in my life that I have. I am really blessed in my life in so many ways but one of the best things I have in my life that is a constant is my family and my friends. I don't know where I would be without either one.

Another thing that I am thankful for is Fathers. Yes it is Father's Day but I really feel that without a father in my life I would not have turned out as well as I have. Yes its true that I did not get to spend all of my childhood with my father but I did get to spend the most important years of my life with him. I love my dad with all my heart and wouldn't and couldn't ask for a better father. Also the wonderful husband that I have who is an even better father to my kids. He really does love them unconditionally and would do anything for them to make sure they grow up in the right way. Also I am thankful for our Heavenly Father who gave us the oppertunity to choose him and come down here to be tested so that we may return to him in full glory. That he really does love us and want us to succeed in all that we do and that he knows us all by name. Without him we would not be here now.

Well that's it for today. Blog at you later.

We Survived

I know that I have not blogged all week but I have been so busy. Wow what a week I have had. Most of you know that I(and Michelle, Ryan, and Jen) had Girls Camp this week. Man I have to tell you we were really challenged this week. The good Lord really gave us the trials that he really seemed we needed to learn this week. So now I am going to give you a brake down of my week.

Monday: I really didn't do a whole lot except spend time with my family and finish up the packing that needed to be done for not only myself but also Dale and the kids. Then at about7:00 they took me over to Michelle's to spend the night because we had to leave so early in the morning. Dale and the kids were not leaving until later in the day so I saw no reason to wake them up so early if they were going to be in the car for so long. There I just helped get some things loaded and then relaxed until it was time to go to bed. We crashed out at about 11:30 I think. So that was my Monday.

Tuesday: Michelle, Robert, Me, Ashley, and Kelsey all got up at about 5:30 and headed out for the church. Michelle and I had to stop by and pick up Beth on our way to the church. Once we and all the girls got there we had the girls help load up their stuff and all the other things we needed for camp into the cars and the trailer then headed up to the camp. When we got up there we had the girls set up their tents and get the pic-nic tables. Once we had everything set up the way we really wanted it we went up to flag ceremony. When we were finished doing that the stake camp director made an announcement that we had a bad storm coming and that everyone needed to go back to their camp sites and secure everything they could in 15 minutes because it was going to be a bad one. We went back and had the girls put all their stuff away and go to the barn. Michelle, Ryan, myself and Ashley stayed behind to try and put the doors up on the kitchen so that the stuff in there wouldn't get wet. A lot of good it did. We were in the process of getting the back door on when all of the sudden it was a down poor and the wind was like a hurricane. We all took off running to the barn, everyone was ahead of me and as I was running I was loosing my pants. Then I tripped on a hole and fell. By the time I got to the barn it was crazy outside then they couldn't get the doors open so I had to crawl under them in the process I lost a shoe. We stayed in there for about an hour and a half then it finally cleared up. We all headed back to our campsite to find that we had lost our kitchen tent and two of the girls tents. One of the other tents we used for the first and second year girls got flooded. Most of the girls stuff including their bedding got all wet. But it was OK. We had one of our Priesthood leaders come up to the camp and pick up everything that was wet and took it to be dried and brought it back to us. The girls were real troopers also. They took down the torn up tents and put up another tent for them to sleep in. Plus they helped clean up the campsite of all the trash and put things back into place. All the while none of them were complaining about having to basically reset up the campsite from almost scratch. They were great. Michelle, Ryan, and Ashley went to the store to pick up a new kitchen tent and some small things like food. Meanwhile Jen finally got there and helped get everything back into place. All of us leaders were great also. We all jumped in and did what needed to be done. At about two we all headed to bed. Some of the girls did some pranking but not to many of them. So that was our first day at camp. What a way to start the week huh. Also in the process of the storm our castle that Michelle built for our banner fell over and broke. We had a Moroni on the castle because really the castle was suppose to be a temple, anyway in the storm when it fell over he lost his head. It was really sad.

Wednesday: We all woke up at 6:30 and got to our day. It was beautiful and hot but there were no clouds in the sky. We all got to our day and the things we needed to go. The girls went and did their certifications and we ( the leaders) did some more cleaning. Then we all got together so the girls could practice their skit for Family Night. Just as we were about to start it got all clouded and started to down poor with lightning. We all went up to the top of the barn and the wards did their skits. After it was over it was still raining outside so when it let up a little we headed back to our site to get all the girls stuff and our stuff and took it to the barn. Everyone from camp ended up sleeping in the barn that night. Let me tell you it was not a very comfortable place to sleep when there are anywere from 100 to 150 girls and women up there. A couple of our girls went home that night because they either were scared or their parents were. Either way they went home. Everyone was asleep by about 12:00. So two days in a row were had to deal with crazy rain. By that point I think everyone was just thinking what in the world was going on. But again the girls didn't complain.

Thursday: Today I woke up at 4:30 and no one was awake. It was a beautiful morning, No clouds and it wasn't hot yet. I sat in the middle of the Commons area and just enjoyed the peace and beauty of where we were. I also prayed to our heavenly father that I understood that he needed to help out the plants and make them grow but that we had had enough and to please stop raining on us. I think it worked because it didn't rain today. Although it was very hot. Everyone got up and got to what they were suppose to be doing. The girls had a great day and not to much happened. They were having movie night for us tonight and showing the movie The Ultimate Gift. The girls and Michelle went down to watch it. Meanwhile Ryan and I stayed behind and had a real heart to heart talk. It has been a long time since we did that. We cleared the air of everything that has been bothering us. She also informed me that Michelle and Jen had been feeling like I hadn't been pulling my weight at camp this year. That is partly my fault because they really had no clue about what was going on with me. Everyone knew that I had been diagnosed with Inflammation in my legs and feet but no one except Ryan really knew had bad it really was because I didn't want the sympathy. I wanted to do all the things that I had done in the past two years but my body was not letting me. The only thing that really bothered me about the whole situation was that they didn't come to me and express to me what they were feeling, instead they went to Ryan about it. They told Ryan that the reason they didn't come to me was because they didn't want to hurt my feeling. Even when they found out that Ryan told me they still didn't come to me and express to me how they were feeling. I just don't understand how I can fix a problem if they are not telling me about it. I think that what bothered me the most was that Michelle is suppose to be my best friend and be able to say anything to me and know that no matter what I will try my best to correct the problem. With her it seemed that me not pulling my weight was not the only problem that she was having with me but still didn't say anything to me. Again I say I CANT FIX THE PROBLEM IF YOUR NOT TELLING ME WHATS GOING ON. As much as I would love it I cant read her mind. Meanwhile I have been feeling like something was wrong because they all where pushing away from me all week. I just hope that they come and talk to me. We shall see. Everyone went to bed. Michelle and Ashley slept by the fire and Ryan and I slept under the tree. It was a beautiful night.

Friday: Today everyone had to be up at 5:45 because the first and second year girls needed to be ready to go at 6:30 to go on a hike. The first year girls had a three mile hike and the second year girls had a five mile hike. From what I understand it was a really nice hike. After that everyone went about their day and did what they needed to get done for certifications. Oh ya Michelle has been working on her third year certification all week. I think its great that she is doing it. She really seems to be putting her whole self into it and I think she really likes it. We broke down the kitchen tent and put it away along with a couple of tents and other things that needed to be loaded into the trailer. Then we all headed up to Flag ceremony and found out that the whole camp had finished their Value colors certifications and were getting all their flags. It was a great moment. The girls did a great job at getting everything they needed done and turned in on time. I am so proud of them. A little later the bishop showed up for stake testimony night and we make lasagna and salad. It was really good. At about 8:00 we all headed down to the Commons area and the bishops all had to do improv comedy and they were all funny. Then we had testimonies. That went on until about 11:00 or so then we went back to our camp site and had individual devotionals with our bishops. After that all the girls except the first year girls went pranking. The first year girls went to sleep. Not because they couldn't go pranking but because they didn't want to. They were to tired. Ryan and I went to go take a shower and Michelle came down to take one also. We only have two showers so Michelle had to wait for one of us to finish before she could take her shower. Ryan finished first so she left and Michelle and I were the only ones in the bathroom. All of the sudden it started to get really smoky in there so I looked out the curtain and someone had set off a smoke bomb. I knew right away that it was Jen. She was our pranking diva this year. I wasn't mad and didn't even yell or anything. When I got out Jen was standing there like she didn't know what was going on but I just laughed and gave her a high five and told her that it was a great prank. She just laughed back. After we all got back to camp Ryan and I tried to go to sleep but the girls had other plans. As we were laying there talking a few girls from our ward and C1's ward came walking up to us and bombed us with silly string. Then they got Ryan with shaving cream, mini bells and close pins. It was great. Ryan just played along and laughed. She had to go wash her hair again and when she got back most of the girls had left to go do more pranks. Michelle Jen Ryan Ashley and I all stayed up and talked to the few girls that were left in camp because they didn't want to prank anymore. We all finally headed to bed and crashed at about 4:00. It was a great day other than the fact that Michelle and Jen still didn't come and talk to me about how they were feeling. I really hope they say something before we go home tomorrow.

Saturday: Everyone was up at 7:00 this morning. We all ,well those of us that stayed in our campsite, woke up to string everywhere. At some point in the night a group of about twenty girls, some of them ours and girls from other wards, came and tied all of the chairs and tables together with string. They also tired AnnaLee and Morgan in their cots. It was a great prank. We all headed down to the pavilion for breakfast because all the bishops made it for us. After that everyone headed back to their own camp sites to break down everything and get it loaded and ready to leave. We finally finished and got passed off by the stake and were out of there by noon. Jen left first and headed out with three or four girls and their stuff. Then Ryan and I left with two girls and a bunch of stuff, followed by Michelle and Ashely with a couple of more girls. We met at the Flying J to get drinks and then headed out to Wendy's to get something to eat for the girls because they were hungry. While we were their I got a call from Jen saying that she was at exit 11 and some crazy lady had just slammed into her rear end. Everyone was fine but Jen was really mad. She was waiting on the cops to get there and wanted to let us know to be careful when we got off at the exit. We passed her on our way off the exit and headed on to the Church to drop off the girls and their stuff. Dale and the kids were their to meet me when we showed up. It was so nice to see them again. I really missed them this week. When I got home they had gotten me a couple of presents from Cherokee because they know how much I love it there. So I opened them up and they had gotten me a Giraffe purse that had a Giraffe on each side of it and a real hand make Indian blanket. I loved them both so much. After talking and sharing all about our week with each other I went to the room to get some things so I could take a shower. I sat down on the bed for just a few minutes and I was out. I slept for about 6 1/2 hours. I would have probably slept until tomorrow but DJ came in and told me that dinner was ready so I got up. Now I am finishing up this blogging and then I am headed back to bed. Man it really feels great to be home and in my own bed again. I love Girls Camp and camping but I'm glad it is only a week long and once a year. I am looking forward to next year and seeing what challenges we are faced with.

So there you go that's was my week in a sum. Ofcouse so much other stuff happened but there was no need to give you a complete breakdown of our days. Just the high lights. So now I'm headed to bed. Blog at you later.

Peaceful Sunday #2

OK so I am trying to do this every Sunday but it doesn't seem to be happening. So I'm going to do it today. This is what i am greatful for.

I am greatful to have such a wonderful husband who works hard to keep us out of debt. Who loves us so deeply. Who no matter what is going on makes time to spend at least 30 minutes alone with me and with each of the kids everyday. Who isn't afraid to cry or tell you just how he is feeling. Yes I know most people would call that sissy like but I love that about him.

I am greatful to have a beautiful daughter who surprises me everyday with just how smart she really is. Who is so wonderful to everyone no matter what they have done to her. Who is such a peaceful person by nature. Who is sensitive and not afraid to show it. Who loves everyone unconditionally and is quick to let them know. Who gets more and more beautiful everyday. Who tells me everyday that she is proud of me for at least trying to better myself in whatever way I am doing at the time. Who encourages me to keep going even when I don't want to. Who knows that we live in hard times and knows that being a part of the church is important and is true and is quick to let her friends know it. Who wants to serve a mission and get a good education and raise a beautiful family. All this and she is only 8 1/2.

I am greatful to have a son who can overcome every obstacle with out complaining to much. Who gets smarter and smarter everyday. Who is growing up so fast but is not afraid to let me know that he is still my little boy. Who is going through the rough times of puberty and driving me crazy but still wants to spend time alone with me. Who in a pinch is quick to let me know that he can handle almost anything with grace. Who isn't afraid to show that he has a sensitive side( that is a quality that any woman would be proud to have in a husband). Who already knows that the gospel is true and has a testimony of it and want to serve a mission and go to BYU. Although hes not sure what he wants to do when he grows up.

I am greatful to have such great friends who support me. Who are there whenever I need them no matter what is going on in their lives at the time. Who I hope know that I am there for them and will always be there. Who I hope also know that I love them for being themselves. Who keep me laughing even when I don't want to laugh. Who are a great influence on not only me but also my kids. Who also know that being a part of the church is an important part of raising a great family and keeping us all grounded in not only faith but the truth about what we are living through right now. Who keep me going even when it looks like I cant go any more. Who push me along and let me know that the most important thing is to keep trying.

I am greatful for so much that it would take me several days to put it all down so I think I will stop here for today. Blog at you later.

Putting up the Kitchen

today was great. I got up early this morning and headed over to Michelle's house. I was carpooling with her over to the church so that we could pick up the Kitchen tent and a couple of other tents to take up to the farm. When we got to the church Ryan and Jen were there to help us load the tents up and then we all headed to the farm. When we got there we unloaded everything and started to set up the Kitchen tent. We got as far as the roof done and were about to bolt it all together when we realized that we had no bolts. We looked everywhere but couldn't find them. so Michelle headed back to the church to look for them. Ryan was sure that they were in the beehive house but Michelle couldn't find them so she looked in the camp closet and sure enough they were in there in a drawer. Silly Ryan. Anyway while she was gone we set up the leaders tent and then headed to the store to get some water and ice to help keep us cool. Michelle caught up with us and we all headed back to the farm to finish the kitchen tent. We were almost done when we realized that we had no idea how we were going to put the roof on the legs when we were all short. Last year Tanner helped and held it up while the girls put the legs on but this year we didn't have Tanner there. So Michelle read the directions and told us how to do it but of course girls will be girls so we had to stand there for twenty minutes and argue with each other the best way to put the legs on. We eventually just did it like the directions said and it worked out fine. We finished everything and we out of there by about 3:30.

Michelle and I headed back to her house to finish up one last gift we had for the girls but it didn't take long. Then we had to finish putting foil on the solar oven that she made. We are using it as a new method of cooking for the girls to learn on since they have to learn three different methods of cooking. Anyway we finished around 6:30 and Dale and the kids came to get me.

So I'm home now and headed to be. Blog at you later.

Two more Days

The last minute things that needed to be done for girls camp are finally finished. All that's left now is some packing for the kids and Dale and then it should be a quiet weekend. Lets hope anyway.

Today I did a little cleaning of the house and then went over to Michelle's house to help her finish up her last minute things she needed to do. Most of it was just some running around and shopping but at least its done. Now all that's left is going to camp. I am so excited about it. We are going to have so much fun. Not that it hasn't been fun for the last couple of years but this year we have all four of us ( Me, Michelle, Ryan and Jen) up there all week. Michelle brings such fun to the group. Don't get me wrong we have fun when shes not there but we have a lot more fun when she is. She really keeps us all laughing. Shes just like a teenager only older and refuses to grow up. I have to give it to her she really knows how to bring out the kid in all of us. We love having her around. As for Jen well shes the one who also keeps us laughing but she is also like our mother. She can really get those girls to do what she wants. It doesn't take much and they are in line. That's what we love about her. She is great to have around. The girl can really prank to. I have never meet anyone who could come up with some great pranks like Jen. Well that's not true Michelle comes up with some good ones too. But so far Jen is the Pranking champ. Ryan is the best friend you could ever have. She is also very OCD and has a real hard time letting the girls do what they need to do without taking over and doing it for them. We are hoping to get her to have more fun and less OCD this year. Wish us luck. But she is a doll. She has great ideas and really knows how to put everything into prospective. She is also very funny. Truthfully I don't think there is one of us that's not funny. We all get along so well. I guess that's why we are all leaders at camp and at church. We know how and when to have fun but all of us can crack that whip when it needs to be. I tell ya the lord really knew what he was doing by putting us girls together.

As for tomorrow us girls are going up to the Boddie farm ( that's the church farm where we camp at every year) to set up our tents and put up our kitchen tent. Hopefully we will have the help of a few men but even if we don't the four of us girls can certainly do it. We may be small but we all have power. After that I am hoping to have the rest of the weekend off so that I can spend some time with Dale and the kids before we all go on our vacations. Anyway today makes 2 more days until we leave for camp. I cant wait.

Well goodnight for now. Blog at you later.

Last minute packing and Kids!

Today was one of those rainny days where you really dont want to do anything but you know you have to. So I spent most of the morning cleaning the house and getting everything ready for Monday. I also had the kids cleaning their rooms because they look like a hurricane went through them. Why is it that they have no problem cleaning up after themselves at other peoples house but plain out refuse to keep their own rooms clean. I really dont understand it. I dont remember ever giving my parents this much trouble over keeping my room clean, and I wanst even a clean freak. I just liked having things where I could find them and being able to walk in a room without steping on anything but the floor. Oh well, I guess there are more important things that I should be worring about than how clean they keep their rooms. But it still bothers me.

AnywayI know we dont really leave until Tuesday but if I have everything already ready then it will make for a smooth morning on Tuesday. At least that's my hope anyway. I cant wait to be at Girls Camp. We are going to have so much fun. Ryan, Michelle, Jen and I all have some really great things planned for the girls. I cant wait to do them. We only have 3 more days.

Meanwhile Dale and the kids will be going to North Carolina to visit with his dad. The kids are really excited about seeing their grandpa and grandma Victoria. It has been a couple of years since they saw them in person. From what I hear my father-in-law has a ton of really great things planned to do with the kids. One being the is taking them on a helicopter ride. I will be intersted to see how that goes considering the fact that neither of my children have ever been on any type of plane. I hope they like it because we are planning to fly to California at the end of July.

Anyway I need to get off here and finish up my last minute packing. Blog at you later.

Getting Ready for Camp

Yahhhh we only have 5 more days until Girls Camp.... Our theme this year is "Under Construction" and our company name is T.N.T which stands for Temples not Temptations.
I think the girls did a great job this year picking out our ward name. All of our major things for camp are done. All we have to do is a few small things. On Saturday us leaders are going up to set up our tents and with a little help from a couple of fathers set up our Kitchen tent.

As for today it was a crazy day. Michelle and I had planned to finish up the last minute things that needed to be done for Camp which starts on Tuesday. Well Ryan called and needed help loading the wood for camp up in the trucks and taking it up to camp and unloading it. We both said that was fine and did so. After that was all done Michelle and I headed back to her house to finish the stuff which we didnt get to do because we ran out of time. We had to be at the church for our last meeting with the girls before camp so they could go over the skit and get a good idea about what they will be doing. Well that didnt go as well as any of us would have liked but at least they got an idea about what will be going on. Of course they can always try to practice a little when they get to camp if they can find the time. Anyway Im home now and I still have a ton of things I need to do so Im going to get off here and get them done that way I can take these last few days off before camp and really spend them with the kids and Dale since I wont see them for a whole week.

Last minute Girls Camp stuff

Today seemed to start early and end late. What I mean is Michelle came and got me this morning and we spent the whole day working on things for Girls Camp. Not big things but a bunch of little last minute things that really needed to get done. It always seems that the little things that you leave until the last minute really do take a lot of time to do. We made name tags for the girls cubbies, then printed out, cut out and laminated a bunch of things that we are going to be giving the girls each day from us the leaders just to help encourage the girls each morning, then called it a night because it was 10:00. I know that when I write it all out it really doesn't seem like we did a whole lot but the truth is we really did and it took us all day to do. On top of everything we still have a bunch more things to do plus Ryan wants us to get together tomorrow and load up wood to take up to the farm. While this is something that needs to be done I'm not really looking forward to doing it. But at least Ryan, Michelle, and I are doing it plus of course a bunch of kids so it shouldn't take that long. Anyway its late and I'm tired so I'm headed to bed. Hopefully tomorrow wont ware me out like today did. Sometimes I really hate the last minute things. Oh well such is life i guess.

Playing catch up

Sorry I have not posted in a couple of days. Its been a little bit busy around here. OK so lets just start where I left off.

Sunday: Today not much happened. Dale was suppose to get off work at 6:00 but his relief never showed up so he had to work over alittle. He didn't make it home until after 11:00. So out went the idea of us being able to go to church. That OK though because we got to spend some good quality time together as a family. Although Dale didn't stay awake long he was still with us.

Monday: Today we got to go to Rails to Trails. OK so as most of you know that in order to be a leader at Girls Camp you need to be fully certified in at least the first four years. Well I did all four years my first year. Anyway now that Michelle is a leader she needs to certify in her last two years. One of the things she needed to do was go on a hike. Not a long one, so Ryan decided that about an hour should be fine. So Michelle, her Aunt Donna, and all her kids excluding Casey, plus Me and my kids and Ryan and her kids plus one and Annelise and her kids went to Rails to Trails to go hiking. It was a great time. We all had a blast. The kids really love the trail and so we always try to go at least a couple of times in the summer.Anyway on the trail they have a little creak that the kids love to play in. Plus usually there is a water fall but this year so far there wasn't much to it. I guess there hasn't been enough rain to keep it going. I really hope at some point this summer it is going fully. It really is beautiful. We ended up walking like 3 miles total. It was great. I got a great work out and got to spend some time with my friends.

After the trails Michelle decided to take everyone in her car to McDonald's for an ice cream cone. There were 11 of us in her car. So when we got there she told the lady that she wanted 11 ice cream cones and the lady was like I'm glad i don't have to make all those. They were really good and there wasn't much fuss from the kids. Give an ice cream and its pretty much an instant shut up for them.

After we got home the kids just kinda played by themselves for a couple of hours then they had to go to Hapkido. They did really well. Ofcouse Elyssa was pooped by the end of the first hour ( I guess going on a 3 mile hike before two hours of Hapkido isn't the best idea) and she wanted to quite but I told her she needed to finish. She did it but wasn't happy about it. DJ had no problems with the class. Even when they went an extra half an hour. Ofcouse I didn't make Elyssa do the extra time. She was to tired and cranky by that point. After that we came home ate dinner and the kids went to bed. They were out cold within about 15 minutes of going to bed. I love days when there is no fuss at bed time.

Preparedness Fair

Today was great. I got up a little late this morning to a call from Michelle asking me if I was coming to the church this morning. At first I didn't know what she was talking about and said no then she said Your not coming to the Preparedness fair at the church and I said ohhh ya I totally forgot about it. Anyway long story short I got up and went. I'm glad that I did because I learned a lot of new things that I didn't know about. Like one interesting thing I learned is that if you take eggs and coat them in Crisco and put them back into the carton pointy side down and they will store on a shelf not a fridge for 6 months. That is cool. Granted you should always check them before you use them but I think I am going to try that out. Anyway I learned a ton of other stuff and that was totally worth going.

After the fair Michelle, Ryan and I went to Aldi's in Kentucky to do the nonperishable shopping for Girls Camp. Then we went to Rural King in Clarksville to pick up some last minute camping stuff. It was great. I had never been in there before. That's my new favorite store for camping stuff. So after that we headed home which is where I am now. I am exhausted for this long day and its only 6:15.

Dale and the kids stayed home today and spend some good quality daddy-kids time. They played in the water hose and practiced some of their Hapkido moves and watched a little t.v. Now they are all hooked on the original Land of the Lost. That's great. I love that show. Its just one more thing we can watch as a family.

Well that's it for today tell you more tomorrow.

Busy week

So not a lot of things have been going on just trying to get all the last minute things ready for Girls Camp. We still have to do the food shopping but I think we have plans to do that on Saturday. I am getting all my personal stuff ready and packing it in my container. Oh by the way all you mom's out there that have daughters going to Girls Camp and read this blog please have your girls pack all their stuff into one big Tupperware container so that we have less things that we have to take up there and back, plus it really helps the girls keep their stuff nice and neat at camp. Anyway so yesterday I went over to Michelle's house to help her finish off the T.N.T signs that we are going to use for our flag ceremony everyday. Other than last minute things for camp which is a lot truthfully(mostly personal) that's about it and your all caught up with what going on.

Quiet Day

Not to much happen today. I got up and spent a little bit of time with Dale since the kids spent the night at Michelle's house. Then I went over there and just lounged around with Michelle. We watched the movie He's just not that into you. It was a really good movie. Dale called at about 2:30 and wanted us to come home so I loaded up the kids and we headed home. Dale and Elyssa headed out to run some errands and spend some daddy daughter time while DJ and I stayed home. Later we all just sat around and watched more movies together. It was just a slow boring day.

Summer Kickoff

So yesterday after church Ryan came up to me and asked if Michelle was at church today and I said no because her aunt and uncle were leaving to go back to Texas and that it was her mom's birthday. She told me that she needed for us to get together and have a small Girls Camp meeting and wanted to know if we could have it at Michelle's house and have a little swim party. I said that I didn't have any plans for Monday but I needed to call Michelle and make sure she didn't have any plans. So I did and she didn't. I called Ryan and let her know and she said that she would bring hot dogs and buns and I said I would bring some chips. So this afternoon Michelle sent Ashley over to pick the kids and I up. When we got there Ryan wasn't there yet. She called and said she was running a little late. But we all expected that from her. We love you Ryan but we all know you are never on time for anything. Anyway when she finally got there the kids and Ryan all got in the pool. Michelle and I didn't swim. We just sat out by the pool and talked to Ryan and watched the kids swim. Later we cooked the hot dogs and Michelle put out some of the leftover food from Ashley's Graduation and we all ate. Of course the kids went right back into the pool. Ryan Michelle and I all cleaned up and then hung out and talked a little more. So I guess you could say that today was sort of the unofficial kickoff to Michelle's Summer Swim Parties. It was great.

After Ryan left Michelle and I went upstairs to cool down because it was really hot outside today. Michelle blogged and I took a small nap. About an hour later we decided to do a little project that I had gotten in my scrapbooking kit but it tuned out to be a little harder than we thought it was going to be so we decided to make it a two day project instead of driving ourselves crazy trying to finish it in one day. Anyway I will post a picture of it on here when it is finally finished. I hope it turns out as good as I am picturing it in my head.

At about 6:30 Ashley took me back home but I left the kids at Michelle's house because they wanted to spend the night. Really I think they just didn't want to stop swimming. I asked her if she was sure she wanted both at the same time (she already has seven of her own for those of you that don't know already) and she said yes that was fine. Anyway it tuned out great for me because Dale and I haven't had a lot of alone time together in a few months, with all his overtime at work and me getting ready for Girls Camp, so we went to get a quick bite to eat at the local Chinese restaurant. The foods wasn't that great but the time we had together even though it was only about and hour was great. I guess what they say is right its not what you do or how long you are together but just that you get to spend time alone together is what is important. I love my husband.

Well I guess I should head to bed now. Its just me and the dogs tonight. Quiet here with just us.