Family Pictures

I've been wanting to have new family pictures taken for awhile (since it has only been oh...... 5-6 years since the last ones!) but have been waiting until Brighton had her baby so we wouldn't have to re-do them when he came. Finally it was time. We did it sooooooo last minute. No one wore matching clothes because I was going to do them in black and white so I figured it didn't matter. Darci's friend Ashley came and took them. (thanks Ashley!) And we did it on a Sunday morning at the fire station. Yes, I did ask Darci & Devin to miss church for it. I think these pictures are pretty self explanatory! Are you envious you weren't here to share the experience? I especially loved Hadley in the family picture- She was upside down more than right side up! She is the cutest girl ever! I never get tired of watching her!!! And yes- that picture of Jamen and Juston--- P.R.O.U.D. moment for any mother!

And yes that is actually pretty normal for our family!

We did actually end up with some cute ones.....

Did you notice there weren't any crazy ones of Dakota? She was beautiful in all of them.

Good times! Good times!

We have the best family EVER!

Updates

1- Brighton turned 23! 23! Can you believe it? I cant! She was just getting her pop bottle glasses for the first time just the other day! For her birthday she wanted a girls night out. So we (Me, Brighton, Darci & Dakota) went to the temple and did baptisms. I haven't done that in I don't even know how long! It was really nice being there in the temple with my 3 beautiful daughters. They are all so beautiful not just on the outside but on the inside where it is even more important. Then we went to Red Robin for dinner. I think we were all starving because we ordered their tower of onion rings and when it came it was devoured in 30 seconds flat! Pretty delicious if I do say so! It was a really great night and we need to do it more often.
2- Thanksgiving. It was kind of a weird day. It didn't feel like Thanksgiving. No one went and played in the Turkey Bowl. No Slurpees. I didn't really even have a food assignment- I was making Katies yummy dip and a spinach salad. That's all. There weren't even any good movies out that I wanted to see so we didn't go see a movie either. It was just a weird day. Yummy and delicious (Julia made some yummy sweet potatoes, 2 different kinds in fact. And I don't even like sweet potatoes) but weird.
3- Jacksons baby blessing. It was really amazing! There was so much family and friends there. Our house was packed. (And I was excited that our yard was clean and beautiful so that we could have the food outside! Thanks Brittany for having your wedding over here!) It was pretty awesome! Juston did a really good job on the blessing! One of my favorite things was that Gaylynn, Jodi, my Dad and their families came. I have the best family in the world! I hope they know I love them so much! It really meant a lot to me that they came! And we were able to start Gaylynn on a new addiction- Pinterest! She was on from the moment she woke up until dragged away kicking and screaming as they were leaving! I don't know how she managed the drive home for 6 hours with out it!
4- We got the Christmas decorations out last night! Yay!!!! I am really excited this year! Last year I was in a total funk and didn't want to do anything. This year---- I AM SO EXCITED!!!! I love Christmas!!!!
5-I have been working in Tevins school class. I test the kids on their reading. I have been trying to get to know the kids better so I will ask them questions. It has been fun and yet eye opening for me. One girl was wearing a Susan B. Komen sweatshirt and I asked her if she ran in the race. She told me no but her family was involved in it because her mom had died from breast cancer. I realized yet once again that even when you think life is hard, there is someone out there worse off than you. I wont forget her name any time soon! One kid was also from Riverton! I bet I went to school with his aunts or uncles. That was fun to make that connection! I really enjoy going and seeing these kids. And it is fun to see Tevin at school. It is fun to do the testing with him and see how well he is progressing!
6- Dakota got her braces OFF!!!! Yay for her! She looks beautiful! She looks so different! I am so excited for her! The ortho (Carey Noorda) gave her a big bag of all the junk food she wasn't supposed to eat while she had her braces. (we all know that she may or may not have broken those food rules a few times!) I thought that was a really fun surprise! She had braces for 2 1/2 years! Finally over!!!! She's gorgeous!

Time Out For Women speaker highlights

These are some of the highlights of the speakers for Time Out For Women---
Jason Wright-
Author of The 17 Second Miracle.
 He was really super funny. His talk was to open your eyes to see the opportunities that are all around us for service. You don't need those big life changing things, those are good. But take time to hold the door for someone or just smile at them. He challenged us to- Do something for someone you wouldn't normally serve. Hmmm- who should it be today?

Heidi Swinton-
Author of President Monsons biography- To the Rescue.
Hers was just a really great "feel good" talk. She gave lots of insights about Pres. Monson. Mostly about how he NEVER loses an opportunity to serve someone. I loved this quote she gave by Pres. Monson, "When you share the love in your heart. You can become the conduit of love and the Spirit for others" and "The sweetest experience you could have is when you become the answer to someone elses prayer".
And lastly- We are the angels for those around us. For those we know and those we don't.

Mariama Kallon-
Lost her family in a terrible civil war in her country.
She spoke on asking for help from Heavenly Father and then getting up and DOING!!! Her example was of her asking Heavenly Father to send her a black person from Africa for her to teach on her mission at Temple Square. Then she got up and RAN to the So. Gate of the grounds where she had told Heavenly Father she would be waiting. She didn't have to wait very long for someone to come. She asked and then did. I especially loved that she got up and RAN. She didn't sit around and wait. She RAN! That is how I want to be..... RUNNING.

Hillary Weeks-
Musician and song writer.
She did a positive thinking experiment. She bought a # clicker and started counting her negative thoughts. By the end of 1 week she was very depressed and frustrated and realized the only thing that had changed in her life was the counting of negative things. She then decided to count all of her positive thoughts. In 1 week it had more than tripled her negative thoughts. She was happier and excited about the things she was doing in her life. She wrote the song- I danced in the rain because of that experience.

DeAnne Flynn-
She spoke on helping those around us.
*Become more aware of the people around us.
*Look them in the eye and really take notice of them.
She talked about a mom whose son was going down a very dangerous path and that she didn't know what to do. She was inspired to just tell him she loved him. So she would sneak down into his room at night after he was asleep and say I love you. She did it every night for a long time. Eventually he started to turn his life around. But it wasn't until years later that it was because of her doing that every night. He was awake, she just didn't know it.

Brad Wilcox-
Author.
The thing I loved the most about him was that he spoke about that the Savior absolutely, positively does love you. He spoke with such conviction. It just made you feel even if for just a brief moment that you are not alone. Jesus really is there for you. He loves you no matter what. It felt really good. He also talked about that God doesn't just give you what you want, when you want it. Sometimes he gives you trials to help you grow and learn. You wouldn't progress if everything was just handed to you. You wouldn't gain a testimony or anything.

It was an awesome conference. I was lifted and my cup was filled again. I am so thankful for my friend Cara Clay that she invited me to come and join their group. It was a really great weekend!

Time Out For Women part 2

So here is the lovely account of Cara and I dressing in such lovely outfits! I woke up the next morning and was having 2nd thoughts about this plan. Really? Why would I do this? Why would I attract attention to myself like this? But then I thought- I spent $13.00 on her outfit! She IS going to wear it! She wont were it if I don't wear hers! RRRR! And, she will never let me hear the end of it if I back out now. RRRR! So I got all ready. I looked H.O.T!!! Seriously? Why would I do that to myself? Why?

So we go. We get out of the car and I am thinking- if we walk in together, everyone will know this is a joke, right? I had to get something out of the back of the car. They totally left me. I had to walk in by myself. Do you know how long of a walk that was. ALL BY MYSELF? I could see people looking at me like- whats up with the crazy lunatic girl? Nice outfit! L.O.N.G walk! After what seemed like hours I finally made it into the building. I stopped at the bathroom before entering the hall. I did find Cara so we were able to walk in together. Yes, stares, pointing and snickering all the way to our seats.

Before we went in we gave each other a pep talk-
We are strong.
We are confident.
This is fun!
Also the rule was that we couldn't say one word about it to anyone. We just had to act normal like we dressed like that all the time.

Ya, not so much.

I decided to do an experiment with it. I decided to really watch and see how people responded to us. This is what I found-
When you are "different" people don't make eye contact with you. They look away or they simply wont look at you. They cover their mouths so you wont know they are talking about you. Some even outright laugh at you. People are not friendly to you. They give you a wide berth. Sometimes they even are rude. We went to Jimmy Johns sandwich shop for lunch which by the way is super delicious! I was the last of the 4 in our group to order. The cashier was really nice to everyone but when I got up there she was suddenly very cool to me. Not rude but there was a definite difference in the way she treated me than the way she had treated the others in the group. Maybe I was just being over sensitive, maybe not.
At the conference I saw people that I knew. Their reactions were interesting. They came and talked to us but not one asked about our clothes. Not one. They definitely noticed but no comments. So politeness was a response also. Looking back, I loved the response of one friend, Linda Covey. I truly don't think she even noticed what Cara and I were wearing. Her focus was on our faces. I tried drawing attention to my clothes, I kept adjusting my sweater, I pointed out Cara's earrings, I pulled up my pants a few times, I took steps back so she would have a better view of my outfit and she never looked. If she noticed I couldn't tell. It was a good feeling to realize she was interested in me, not what I was wearing. She looked in our faces and listened to what we were saying.

I learned a lot from this experience. I wondered at how I treat people who are different than myself. I realized that I have been one of those people that makes comments with my mouth hidden behind my hand. (on Friday we had gone to Costco and there was a group of polygamists there. We did the same thing people were doing to us) I learned that some people just aren't very nice. I learned that I have more confidence in myself that I thought because you know what? Even though it was hard to be in that room or out in public dressed like that with all those people staring, by the end, I didn't really care about that. If people thought I was crazy, who cares? I learned that I will be better at making people who are different than me feel comfortable when I am around them. I will be making eye contact and conversation with them. I will be interested in them.

It was an interesting experience. One that I would not like to repeat anytime soon but interesting none the less.
Highlights of this experience-
 I am pretty sure I haven't laughed that hard about anything for a really long time. Cara and I were rolling most of the day! Everytime we looked at each other. She totally rocks!
Lolly wanted to go meet Hillary Weeks so I went with her. She just looked me up and down and shook my hand. Lolly couldn't stand it so she told Hillary why I was dressed like that. She laughed and said it was the best thing she had seen at this conference. She totally wanted a picture but didn't have her camera. She also said the sweater was cute and that I should wear it again.

And baby- I couldn't get those pants off fast enough!

Time Out For Women

Over the weekend I was able to attend Time Out For Women in St. George, Utah with some friends, Cara Clay, Darci Larson and Lolly Scott. I was so excited to go. Go get a giant spiritual up lift? I think yes. No responsibility other than myself? Yes! Yes! Laugh my head off with friends? YES! YES! And YES! We left Friday morning at 7:00 am. I went and picked everyone up and after a prayer, we hit the road. We laughed and chatted all the way there. Our first stop? Deseret Industries of course! We were all hoping to score something incredible. No luck on that however. But...... Cara had this super fabulous idea (she thought) of everyone picking out an outfit for someone else to wear. We all said no. She started looking for stuff anyway. And somehow, I said yes to her plan. But only if I got to pick out her outfit. (I think I must've secretly wanted to do something crazy like that. You know, break out of my secure comfort zone) Oh baby! The outfit she came up with was horrendous! Red, pink and tan floral capri pants (which the waist was to small so they wouldn't zip up! Isn't that a great visual!). A blue, yellow and pink floral print shirt and a yellow sweater (the sweater was actually kind of cute) and keep in mind I was wearing orange converse type shoes. I looked AWESOME!!!! Her outfit was turquoise blue polyester pants with an elastic waistband (my grandma wore those kind of pants her whole life) a bright orange Sponge Bob t-shirt that said "that makes me feel all wiggly" an old grandma cardigan sweater that had beaded turtles embroidered all over it, front and back, complete with turtle buttons! Her always lovely brown tennis shoes. And don't forget- the hugest silver and turquoise jewel earrings on the planet! She looked like she shouldve been in a special assistance home. More on this adventure later!

Our next stop was Tai Pan Trading. It is the most wonderful store. It is a home decorating store and it is HUGE! It is so fun to go there and just get ideas. I am pretty sure I want all of their gazebos in my yard! I love that store! I collect white dishes and they have so many to choose from. I could stay in that area for hours! Love it! After that we just went to different places. We even ended up at Wal-mart! (someone forgot their toothbrush!) We also went and dropped our stuff off at Darci's uncles house where we were staying. You should see the view from their house! It was pretty spectacular! They live up on the hill that overlooks both side of St. George. Their view was over the northish side of the valley.

We got to the conference about 6:00ish and found our seats. I love to people watch so it was really fun to see all of the different people. Lots of babies. Friends chatting and laughing. Cute clothes and hair styles. Very busy people, people just relaxing. But I think my favorite thing was just sitting there and feeling that spirit that was there. We were all in a huge room filled to the brim with women. Good women. Women who were all there to be uplifted. It was just a really good feeling.

The highlights of the evening were-
Presenter- Jason Wright. He is the author of the book Christmas Jars and another favorite of mine- The 17 Second Miracle. He was a very funny and energetic speaker. The point of his talk was that we need to keep our eyes WIDE open for opportunities to serve others. Not just big "billboard" moments but tiny everyday ways. His talk was fun.
Then Jenny Oaks Baker played her violin. Oh baby! That girl is seriously incredible! I think we all could have sat and listened to her the entire evening. The spirit and feeling she brought to that room was amazing. I loved listening to her.
Then Heidi Swinton spoke. She is the author of President Monsons biography. To the rescue. I loved hearing about her personal experiences with the prophet. She helped you come to know him just a little bit better and also to feel the love that he has for each of us. She talked about how he (Pres. Monson) is always serving others. And that one of the sweetest feelings we can ever experience is to be the answer to someone elses prayer. She said this- (I think she was quoting the prophet) When we share the love in our hearts, we can become the conduit of the Saviors love and the Spirit for others. I loved that. It makes me want to go out and be better. To help others more.

It was a great evening. I left there feeling uplifted and good. We ended the evening by going back to the house and making bracelets (I had taken my beads so we could make a bracelet that each time we wore it we would think of our fun weekend) We laughed and told stories til about 2 am. I LOVED IT! How often do you just get to laugh and laugh with girlfriends?

I have this phobia of sharing a bed with someone other than Lorin (Don't ask) anyway- I slept on the love seat in their family room. Now, I'm short but I"m not as short as that piece of furniture. I think I may have woken up with a permanent kink in my entire body. Although that might not be a bad thing- Maybe I will turn into a Slinky or something!

Next adventure coming soon!

Yard work

So my niece Brittany is getting married on Friday in the LV Temple. She asked if she could have her reception in our backyard. I told her yes of course, are you sure???? Then I took her out to the yard and showed her how spectacularly hideous it was.

We have a giant yard. Seriously, GIANT!!! It is really hard to keep up on all that needs to be done out there. So for the most part, it just doesn't happen. There were motorcycle parts and pieces everywhere, there were dead plants, bushes etc. There is an old dead truck out there. Weeds. Trash, overgrown shrubbery. It seriously was hideous! She still wanted to. OK! Let the yard work begin!

The kids loved me! They begged to go out and work in the yard! They wanted to stay out there working for hours on end! They never took 75 potty/ water breaks per hour. It was great fun! They were sad when it finally came to a close!

Sarcasm! Did you catch that? Hmmmm! I am pretty sure it wasn't the most fun experience for anyone. Me included. I think they all think that I love doing yard work. I HATE it. I hate the clean up and crappy stuff you have to do. I do love fun stuff like planting flowers or building fun things out there. The other stuff---- not so much.

But HOLY MOLY! They all worked hard! V.E.R.Y. hard! I was so proud of them. And it turned out so wonderful! I love going out there. It is so beautiful. Even though there is nothing blooming or sprouting. It is a beautiful yard. I hope we can keep it looking so nice. It will be fun to start having parties out there again. There are so many fun projects that I would like to do. A secret garden, a roofed cover on the sandbox, a tree house, and a fence by the leach field to name just a few.

Thanks everyone who helped with it. I know it wasn't your first choice of weekend activities, but thank you! I would never have been able to do it all myself!

Oreo

(I stole this picture from Darci's blog)

Oreo-
Oreo was our dalmatian. We had her it seems like forever. We got her as a puppy from my sister in law Katrina who was living in Logan, Ut at the time. She called me one day and asked if I would like to get a dalmatian for Lorin- you know all firemen have to have a dalmatian, its standard. I thought it would be a really great idea. I told Katrina I wanted a female with the very most spots possible. Dalmatians are beautiful. Oreo was no exception. And so Oreo came into our lives.

She chewed on everything in sight. Sprinklers, shoes, rocks, did I mention sprinklers, she pooped all over and oh ya- SPRINKLERS!!! She barked at everything. She was very territorial, she would fight any other dog that even approached our yard. She pooped on the neighbors yard 24/7.

And yet- I would secretly pet her. Even when I whined about what a stupid dog she was. I do have to say that she did let the kids crawl all over her and didn't mind it.

The night she died (Oct. 20, 2011). Jamen came in the house acting all weird. He was asking for some old towels. He wouldn't tell me why he needed them, all he would say was that I wouldn't get them back. I told him to go get some old, crappy, yucky ones. He came and asked me if the 2 he brought out were OK. I made him go back and get some even nastier ones. I wish I would've known. She could've had the best ones we had.

It was horrible, looking out the window and seeing her dead. We think she ate a poisoned rat. (How gross is that!) I feel bad I wasn't as nice to her as I should have been. I feel bad that I may or may not have kicked her a few times. I will miss her. She was actually a good dog. (I am excited we wont have to replace our sprinklers every 5 minutes though!) She has left a hole in our family. Its weird to look outside and her not be there.

I really did love you Oreo.

Brighton & Juston

Brighton and Juston have been living here since they graduated from school. I was a little worried about it. You know- they didn't have their own space, they were cramped into 1 tiny bedroom. They would be bringing a baby home here and not their own place. I was just worried. And you know- it was worry for nothing. It has been really nice to have them here. It has been fun getting to know Juston better. (and he has big muscles and carries heavy things out to the garage for me) It has been fun watching them be first time parents. It was super exciting when Brighton came running in and saying her water had broken. I was so glad I got to share that moment!  It has been so great to be able to hold Jackson and smooch on him. I feel bad that Justons mom isn't here to see him and hold him. It is just nice to be able to talk to them and see my beautiful daughter become a good mom. I am really glad they are here. And they will be going their own way one of these days. I am just going to enjoy the moment while I can because it will be gone far to fast.

Can you say accident prone- AGAIN!

So on Aug. 9, Slate went riding with Devin out in Boulder City (1 hr away). I didn't think anything about it other than--- that was really nice of Devin to take Slate riding. I had an interview with the Bishop that night at 6:30pm. (I was getting released as YW President) I got a phone call at 6:15 from Devin saying- I think Slate broke his collarbone. Will you call Jameson and see if he can xray it. Crap! Now what do I do? I called Jameson, he said No- he couldn't x-ray it. So I called Lorin- He said to stop by the station and he would check him out. (working as usual when these things happen) But then he said to just take him to the emergency room. Even though we knew they wouldn't be able to do anything for him other than pain meds.  What to do? What to do? I went to my interview with the Bishop. Bawled my eyes out. Then went to the hospital. Devin and Slate had just pulled into the parking lot as I got there. (Weirdo's! They had stopped and gotten In-n-Out on the way to the hospital!) I have to say looking back on it- I think it was a tender mercy from Heavenly Father. I was having a really hard time with being released. I knew it was coming but it was still really hard for me when it actually happened. So, Slate being injured made me focus on something else other than my situation. Sorry Slate! But thanks for taking one for the team! I got him all checked in and settled. Centennial Hills Hospital is so good. Every time we have gone there they have been totally professional, courteous and friendly. (Yes, My family has been there a few times!) PS- Lorin did meet us at the hospital! Thanks honey! They took X-rays

Nice huh!!!!

They sent him to an Orthopedic Dr. Dr. Craig Tingey. He started off the visit looking at the Xray and said to just to let it heal but that they would do another Xray just to make sure.

Notice the bone had moved. After looking at it. The Dr. said if it was his kid, he would opt for the surgery. Seriously Slate? That kid has broken more parts of his body (not including Lorin) than the rest of our family put together! He was scheduled for surgery on Aug. 16 @ 11 am. It is not really a great feeling knowing your kid has to do something very painful and that there is nothing you can do about it. I wished I could do it for him! He was a trooper though! He had to fast for 8 hrs. (he did get up at 2:45 am to eat his last food for awhile- he chose tortilla chips. Weird, I know!)  He did really good while they were prepping him. He was a little freaked out about getting the IV but other than squeezing my hand, (with his hurt arm-- ha ha ha, didn't hurt!) he didn't show any other signs of nervousness. The anesthesiologist also did a shoulder block on him. It was supposed to block all feeling in his arm for 24 hrs. (It lasted about 5ish) but they put a needle into his chest with some wires hooked on it, then they sent electrical pulses into his nerves. It made his arm jump around and he had no control over it. It was kinda creepy. It also made him a bit loopy (the shot they gave him to numb it, not the electrical pulses). He couldn't focus or concentrate. They didn't get him into surgery until 12:30pm. I am sure he was starving! Lorin and I did go have a tasty lunch down in the cafeteria after he had been taken into surgery though. No need for all of us to starve. Right! He got done and this is what happened in surgery----

He now has a 4" plate with 6 screws in it holding his collar bone together. He is really hoping that he will set off the alarms when he tries to get on an airplane! Crazy kid! He has truly been a trooper through this whole thing that's for sure! He has such a high pain tolerance that if he says it is hurting, I know it must be killing him. They only time i saw him really have a hard time or cry was when we were coming back from a fund raiser for this guys family who had died, and Jamen threw a Moon Pie at him in the car and it hit him square on the incision. Jamen felt really bad about it. But that was the only time.

I am only hoping that Slate has had enough broken bones or injuries that he wont be doing any more damage to his body!

Graduation Part 2

The biggest reason we went to Rexburg was to celebrate Brighton and Juston graduating! I am so proud of them! Brighton graduated with a degree in Elementary Education and Juston in Physical Science. And I thought it was really neat that they were able to graduate together! The speaker at the graduation said that there were 51 couples graduating together! Coolness! It was fun seeing them getting their diplomas together. We got up that morning and went to the temple. I was really glad Brighton had wanted to go one last time. It just feels so good there. Especially when you go with family. It was a really good experience. We went and got the kids to go get breakfast at this little hole in the wall pancake place called The Flap Jack Shack. They had really delicious huckleberry pancakes. I got them with hash browns that were toasted just perfectly! MMMM!!! After breakfast Lorin went and ran errands, he lined out the U-haul truck and picked up Tevins medicine. I went back to the hotel and let Tevin swim. He is a funny kid. He wanted to play Truth or Dare. I would only pick Truth because I didn't want to have to do some crazy Dare. He kept picking Dare so I dared him to Sing a song at the top of his lungs, do a dance on the chair next to the fence so passerbys could see him and yell I love you at the top of his lungs to people. He finally begged and begged me to do a dare so I did. He dared me to yell "I LOVE YOU!" at the top of my lungs. I did and this lady was getting out of her car in the parking lot right next to the pool and she yells back--- I love you tooo!!! Embarrassing! It was fun hanging out with him though! Then we got ready to go see the big event. We walked over to the University. Got some seats on the side we thought B&J would be on. Nope- I don't think they could've been any farther away. One of the speakers did some interesting statistics. How many were graduating, how many were returned missionaries etc. That was fun to listen to. I think Lorin may or may not have dozed off a bit during this part. (See above picture). After it was over, they divided up the graduates into their degree's, and sent them to various places to walk and get their diploma's. We went to the chapel. It was really hot in there. Tevin and I snuck into the kitchen to share a melted candy bar. Yes, we did check each other to make sure we didn't have chocolate on our faces when we went out. This part of the program seemed to take forever. I think it was just because it was so hot. The sun was pouring through these huge windows and the A/C just couldn't keep up. But it was so cool to see B&J walk across the stage together. I got a picture of them but it was kind of blurry! We took a few more pictures after it was over. It is really beautiful and green there. By this time we were STARVING!!! I think emotions were starting to run a bit high because of it. We had already decided to go to Big Judd's the ginourmous hamburger joint. We ordered 2 Big Judd specials which included 1 burger, 4 drinks, fries and 4 cups of ice cream. We had 9 people so we also let Dakota order her own regular sized burger. BIG MISTAKE!!! As you can see from the pictures, they were beyond huge! We cut them into 4 pieces and we still had at least 1/4 left over. The waitress told us after we were done that just the burger was probably 6,000 calories. That is just sick! And yes, we did all get ice cream after! We decided that each of us ate about 2,000 calories. Just in that one meal! VOMIT!!! But it sure was tasty while we were doing it! Why do we do that to ourselves? OK, just me- why do I do it? After dinner we went back to their apartment and decided to start loading the U-haul.. I am pretty impressed with how well it was packed in. I am pretty sure that if you tried to squeeze a paper clip in- it would've exploded out! We looked like Lorins favorite thing- gypsies as we were traveling back! We had a

mirror

a mattress,

and 2 snowboards

strapped to the top of the suburban. I am sure Lorin was having flashback nightmares of traveling that way from Utah to Vegas. (He loves me I know!). We also cleaned it as much as we could. The next day (Sunday) we came back to their apartment to pick them up and get on the road. It also happened to be my birthday that day. What a way to spend the day! We did stop in Orem and pick up Jamens girlfriend Rose. She is a really cute girl. She traveled with us until the Panguitch exit. (Her mom also makes super delicious gingersnap cookies. She brought a GIANT tub of them and I think they were almost gone by the time we dropped her off)> I think her mom was a little surprised by how many we ate. And yes- I am pretty sure that I ate most of them. Someone told me once that cookies don't have calories on your birthday. So it was OK. Rose also wrote me a birthday poem. Here it is in all of its glory!

Jackie, Jackie, Jackie.

Your boobs are not saggy.

Nor are you tacky.

Girl, you wacky!

I am so sorry I caused you birthday drama.

You are still one sexy momma.

I'm also glad you are(n't) Obama.

So Jackie on your big day,

I hope you celebrated it a special way.

I'll get back to you on your birthday wishes.

They'll be so great,

you'll break the dishes!

HAPPY BIRDEE!!! Ri rov ru!

I think we are going to be friends!!! She and I have poetry in common!

We also stopped at Wingers on the way home for dinner. It was really good but I think everyone's eyes were bigger than their stomachs! We had so many leftovers! Plus we got a Mint Mud  Pie for $1.00 extra! I L. O. V. E. mint ice cream! That totally made my whole day! That and I don't think Lorin said one sarcastic thing about me sleeping in the car, the entire trip!  (Maybe I was just asleep and didn't hear him) Hmmmm......

It was a long, went by way to fast trip. I wish we were able to do more things like this. Family is everything! And CONGRATS!!! Brighton and Juston! I am so proud of you! I love you!

911 Help!!!

Madeline and Hadley love to play with the phone at my house. If they see one they are always trying to call Devin or Grandpa or someone. So last night they were over and it was kinda late. Darci and Bridger had already gone home and left the girls and Devin here. Devin was ready to go home and realized that his truck keys were in the diaper bag that Darci had taken home. So Lorin ran him home to get them.

In the meantime....... the phone rings.....

I hear Slate on the phone giving out our address, and phone #. I look at the clock to see what time it is (by the way it was 9:11) because it is just annoying if people call after 9:00 pm. And I am getting mad at him for giving out personal information.

Me- SLATE, WHO ARE YOU TALKING TO?
Slate- holds up 1 finger (not the middle one) and gives his name
Slate- MOM- it's the 911 people!
Me- WHAT??!!!???!!! Give me the phone!
Me- Hello???
911- Hello this is emergency services. Who is this?
Me- Jackie Noorda
911- Please verify your address-
Me- 80.......
911- Thank you. Is there an emergency?
Me- No, it must have been one of my grandkids, I am so sorry!
911- It's OK but we will be sending an officer out to check the situation.
Me- OK. I am SOOOOO SORRY!

Me- HURRY UP AND HELP ME GET THIS
             HOUSE CLEANED UP!!!!!!

I called Lorins phone to tell Devin his kids were going to be under arrest.
Me- Tell Devin his kids are in SO much trouble.
Lorin- Why? What happened?
Me- They called 911 and they are sending a police officer out.
Lorin- BAHAHAHAHA!
I hung up.

We straightened up so fast! The officer did come and he was very nice about the whole thing. Interesting note though- He said that the reason that they always have to send an officer out to check is that a few years ago a woman called and hung up. 911 called back to verify and the husband answered and said everything was ok when in actuallity he had just killed her. They always check now!

Madeline was so scared. He asked her what she needed. That she had called him and he came so what did she need. She was almost crying! She was shaking her head-- no, no I dont need anything.

It was seriously CRAZY!

Lorins Birthday

Today is Lorins birthday. The following is a conversation I had with Tevin. He is always trying to figure out how old I am because I have told him I am 26 his entire life. You would think he would catch on one of these days! Just because I was 1 when I had Darci- what's the big deal?

Tevin- How much older is dad than you?
Me- I am 26 and dad is turning 46 this year so he is 20 years older than me.
Tevin- Long pause......... Then I think Dad needs to go see the Bishop!

Bahahahahaha! I have been laughing about that ALL day!

Brighton & Juston Graduate!!!

So these summer posts are a bit out of order. Graduation was before girls camp!

We went to Idaho for Brighton and Justons graduation. It was a CRAZY busy weekend!e left on Wed. July 20. It was an "interesting" morning. I had to take Tevin to the Dr. before we left and the only time was early that morning, also- Slate was not able to come with us because he was going to be leaving for scout camp before we got home so Jamen had to take him over to Darci's. Needless to say- Lorin was not thrilled about our late start. We finally got on the road about 10ish. Do you know how long it takes to drive from LV to Rexburg, Id? F.O.R.E.V.E.R!!!! It was a pretty good drive though. I think that is because no one had to talk to each other because they were all into their electronic devices. Hmmmm- whats wrong with that picture? And actually I have to say- when I am a passenger in the car- I fall right to sleep. (Sure makes the trip go a lot faster I must  say!).It took us about  12 hours to get there. And we were starving. Brighton and Juston met us at this little sandwich shop, College Avenue Deli. It was owned by a really young kid, I was impressed that he was the owner. He looked like he was about 18-19 yrs. old. It was really yummy. I think everyone licked their plates by the time we were done. And we got 2 free funnel cakes to top it off! MMMM! We got to stay at Brighton and Justons apartment that night because I had only booked our hotel for thurs- sat. It was really fun to see where they had been living. I wish I could've seen it before it was all packed up. I bet it was really cute!

We got up Thurs. morning and went to Yellowstone National Park. It was so cool! I haven't been there in years! On the way there we stopped at a gas station and they had Huckleberry soda. Lorin loves huckleberry so we got him one. It was pretty good. He liked it anyway! I had forgotten how beautiful and big Yellowstone is. It seems that the expanse of it goes on forever. Just after we had entered the park we saw a bunch of people pulled over so we stopped to investigate, it was a couple of female elk lying in the grass across the river. They were beautiful. Lorin started making some weird "elk call" to attract their attention. He must be part elk because the kept looking at him. It was pretty exciting! We kept driving and found these Hot Pot things with a wooden trail around it so we got out and walked. They were pretty amazing. Some of them were pools of boiling hot mud that bubbled up from somewhere deep in the earth. Others were the pools of gorgeous Sapphire blue water that made you want to go jump in and swim. (Too bad you would have been deep fried or caught some sort of heebie jeebie bacteria) They were beautiful though. On the way bac Brighton (pregnant girl) had to pee. There was a bathroom but the line was so stinking long. All the boys went into the trees and were done in 2 minutes or less. (I am pretty sure they said they saw a sign saying it was ok to get off the trail and pee on protected land) That is so not fair! I am going to have to chat with the guy upstairs about this whole man/ woman body issue when I get up there! Peeing, having babies, losing weight quickly..... Whole nother topic- sorry! Anyway we are standing there- dying of the horrible stench wafting our way on the breeze. Holy crap! And I mean seriously! We are getting to the front of the line and we realize that (there are only 2 bathrooms) one of the bathrooms have been occupied for quite sometime. No one has come out of it for a long, long time. Hmmmm- what are they doing in there? Are they dead? Did they fall in? All valid questions I might add! Finally it is just Dakota and I. The door to the long time occupied bathroom open..... it is an old, old did I mention old oriental guy. (I bet it smells good in there!) Being the thoughtful, considerate mom that I am, I didn't want Dakota to have to wait any longer- I pushed her forward into the door. She couldn't thank me enough! Those bathrooms turned out to not be flush toilets. Just holes in the ground with a toilet on top. Delightful! I think we all needed some sort of tetanus shot after that experience!

We continued our journey and ended up at Old Faithful. We just missed it. We saw it going off in the distance. But the good thing about that is that we got the VERY front row seats. We did have to wait about 1 1/2 hrs though. Lorin went back to the car and got the cooler so we made some really yum sandwhiches. (Yes, it was me that made them!) In fact they were so delish that everyone had 2! Jamen and his friend Emily Delbosque, went and got ice cream. It looked soooo good. We decided to get some after we had walked around. We got to see Old Faithful go off. It was just as spectacular as I had remembered! It seemed to go on for a really long time. Then as it was finishing up- there was another one behind it that went off that was even more amazing! We went walking around. There are miles and miles of trail. You could walk for hours and not see all of it. Impressive! It was really pretty toasty out. We were all getting hot and sweaty. Lorin and Tevin had gone off on this other hike so we didn't know where they were. We walked back to Old Faithful. We were just in time to see it go off again. Lorin had a spot of cell service and called us. They were up on this really high observation place and could see all of the geysers that were going off. They said it was pretty amazing. Juston found them with his camera and took a distant picture of them. Then he zoomed in on it. We could totally see them waving at us! His camera was the bomb! After we watched it again we went inside of the lodge to get some ice cream. I don't know why but I guess I looked at the sign wrong and thought it was $1.00. I was going to get a HUGE one! Bummer when I found out that it was really $3.75 for a small! But it was so good! Nice and cool after a hot day in the sun. I think it would be fun to go up there and stay a few days and just check it all out. One day maybe, one day. We had to get back because we were supposed to be meeting Justons parents at 7pm for dinner. We started driving and then we saw some more cars pulled over---- what is it? what is it? We were like sheep- following the crowd! It turned out to be a very impressive male elk. He also was across the river which was probably a good thing because Elk boy Lorin was trying to get as close as possible and was making the elk mating call again. (He is actually pretty good at that weird noise!) We got some good pictures because of it anyway! We got back in the car and lo and behold, 5 minutes later we see--- something- I don't know what it was. Wait- Juston to the rescue- he took a picture of it. Turned out to be....... an Egret! Yay! An Egret! That was a fun side trip! Driving, driving- more cars- pull over. What is it this time? HOLY CRAP! It was a giant buffalo lying in the grass on the side of the road chewing its cud. Pictures? Yes please. I was a bit nervous (not as much as Brighton though, she was a chicken pants!) Lorin on the other  hand was dying to go pet it. I think he would've tried if I wasn't freaking out on him. We got some really cool pictures with the buffalo so close in the background. Even Brighton got out of the car and came and took one. It was cool! We drove again and the next time we stopped it was because there was a whole herd of buffalo out in a meadow. They are pretty scary all in a group like that. We walked out towards where they were to take some pictures. Lorin is now called "Buffalo man" He should probably get a second job as an animal caller! He made all those buffalo that were lying down, get up and face us. Hmmmm, wrong call I think! I ran away! And yes, I made Tevin run too. He didn't want to but I made him. I am not ashamed! Needless to say- we did not get back in time to go to dinner with his parents. I really felt bad about that. They are such nice people. I am glad Brighton has such good in-laws! We were going to go to a place called Big Judds for dinner- they have G.I.A.N.T. burgers. But we got there at 9:05 and they closed at 9:00. Totally Rude! Lorin did convince them to sell him some huckleberry ice cream however so he was happy! We ended up going to a yummy pizza place called Craigo's. It was an all you can eat pizza buffet. That had every known to man type of pizza and if they didn't, you could ask for whatever. They also had a pasta bar and a salad bar. And then to top it off, they had dessert pizza. Have you ever had oreo's or cookie dough on a pizza? I am pretty sure I was in heaven! It was so good! When we were done we went and dropped B&J off at their apartment so they could spend some time with his parents. (It was pretty late) Then we went and checked in at our hotel. Days Inn. Lets just say it definitely wasn't a 5 star hotel. MMMaybeee a 1 1/2 star. Maybe. It was an adventure, imagine a place with painted over wallpaper. 3 towels (for all of us) and kinda creepy- oh ya, that is where we stayed. My fault. I booked it. There wasn't a whole lot of choices. They did have a pool and a working TV though! Tevin was happy!

To be continued.........

Girls Camp part II

Part 2.....
So I have to tell you about some miracles that happened. When we got word that camp was cancelled everybody was really disappointed. 2 years in a row! Last year early evacuation due to fire, this year mud and rain. Hmmmm! Anyway- I had a bunch of messages on my phone so I started listening to them. One was from Tom Prince saying he had heard that camp had been cancelled and was there anything he could do to help organize another one for just our ward. Miracle 1- He is the one who put the idea into my head of doing our own thing. (Maybe I would've thought it myself.... eventually. He just got it there a lot faster!) So I called Bishop John Piet and asked if we could. He was a bit resistant to the idea cause he had some major, valid concerns. Location???? Food??? (Seriously no budget!!!) Priesthood???? If any one of those things couldnt be worked out, we wouldnt be able to do this. So I called Wendy Wallace. She started working on the location. Then I learned that the Stake was willing to pass out the food they had been planning on using for camp- show up at 6:00pm @ the church. Also Robert Butler said he would be able to come and be our priesthood. Holy Crap!!! It was working out! Called Wendy again and suggested the Worthens cabin. Found out Brother Jon Raymond was on "staycation" (on vacation but staying home) and would be willing to go and be our other priesthood. Wendy called back and said the Worthens cabin was available. I want you to know this all happened in a matter of minutes. I started to cry. I called the Bishop back and told him it was all set. I got ahold of my other YW leaders who had taken the girls to Noelle Tippetts cabin in Duck Creek for the night. I asked them to meet at my house at 6:00 to plan this baby out. They all agreed. (Miracle #2). They all came- THEY ALL CAME!!! They were tired, hadnt seen their families, and I am sure would much rather have been sitting on their couches at home. But they came!!! We got it mostly worked out. Noelle and Sarah Prince went to the church and picked up as much food as they possibly could. Jackie Decker was texting me at 2 am. Then they were calling me at 6:30 am. WHEN DID THEY SLEEP??? I am so indebted to them for getting it all done. We had called the girls to let them know we would be meeting at the church at 10 am the next morning (thurs). I thought we would lose a bunch of girls but WE DIDNT! Only 1! (Miracle #3) Miracle #4-- ROBERT BUTLER! That man is seriously AMAZING! He got in his truck and went all the way back to Kolob and picked up all of our girls stuff. Who does that? Someone who truly loves the Lord and wants to be of service to him in anyway possible, that's who! (And he went to the dentist the next morning too!) We ended up with only 2 girls stuff missing. And it all worked out just fine! Another cool story about their stuff was this- Mizlon Manuel had invited her friend Karly Kemp to come. She was worried about her stuff not being there to go to Mt. Charleston, so she and Mizlon didnt come to the church the next morning. Mizlons sister Deayjee was there so I asked her why Mizlon and Karly werent there. She told me the reason. I asked Robert if he recalled any bins for a girl named Karly. He said "hold on a second" and opened the drivers door of his truck. There sitting on the front seat was Karlys bin. (Miracle #5) I called them and told them to be ready to go. I was coming to pick them up. They came!
We finally made it to the cabin after a few lost drivers and overheated cars. We got the girls helping to unload. (Miracle #6!) They all helped with no complaining! We got somewhat organized and started having fun!
I want to tell you that I am truly thankful for a loving Heavenly Father that so knows what he is doing! I was a little worried about Jackie Decker, she was the camp director and she had been gone really a lot leading up to camp, and when I say gone a lot, I mean..... GONE A LOT!!! So I was worried. She is so the one who was supposed to be the camp director! She is the reason that Tallie & Sara Meyer were at our camp. She did so many extra's- like secret sisters- the girls were a little worried at first because they hadnt brought anything to exchange. She explained that no- that wasnt how this SS was going to work- you were supposed to write cute notes and make cards for each other. She had a tent set up with all the paper and supplies. I am pretty sure that that tent was NEVER empty! The girls were so excited about it! She had even brought this cute mailbox thing. She did a cute dance thing for our silly song. She divided the girls up into groups- 70's, 80's, 90's and present day. They had to make up a dance to go with their music. She played a game with the Bishopric- Who's Bishopric is  it anyway? Where she had done a survey with the Bishopric and they had to answer with silly props. She had stuck the big huge canopy in her trailer, just in case... So when it started to rain the 2nd night we had some place to go to be out of the rain. She was just so fun and cute with the YW! They totally loved her! She was definately Miracle #7!
We did lots of stuff-
Minute to Win it games! Seriously FUN! Dakota totally won the Oreo from forehead to mouth game due to her monster tongue!
The YCL's gave the cute baby beehives their new camp necklaces with their binky charm on it. We had also made a new charm for this year. So Jackie passed them out, they were really nice! They were made out of 2 glass squares, soddered together with a sun sticker in them- signifying "Seekers of Light". I loved having the YCL's pass out the necklaces. I think that should be a tradition every year.
Then Solo time- where everyone gets their scriptures and journals and goes off by themselves to read, journal or meditate. It was pretty awesome! Everyone really did do it and it was so quiet that you really could think. I really enjoyed it!
Dinner- MMM! Delish! Noelle and Sarah became the designated cooks and boy did they feed us well! Hawaiin haystacks, rolls, Beef stroganoff, noodles and gravy. It all was yummy!
We had divided the girls into their levels- 1st yrs, 2nd yrs ect. and given them the topic of "Seekers of Light" and told them to come up with a skit. THEY TOTALLY ROCKED IT!!! They all were so stinking good! All of them! We had even told the priesthood they had to do one. And they did! Theirs was the best I must admit! They did one about Bro. Raymond being a spanish dude in a dark bathroom with no toilet paper--- ask them for the details! AWESOME!!!!
Snipe hunt! Whitney Prince totally cried her eyes out she was so scared! (and her mother just laughed!) The YCL's did such a great job taking the cute baby beehives! Then Sarah fried up some Snipe legs (Spam she had cut into chicken leg shapes and fried) It was the coolest thing EVER!
During the Snipe hunt- Tallie Meyer had asked for a blessing. So our wonderful priesthood gave her one. Bro. Raymond annointed and Bro. Butler blessed her. It was an incredible blessing and she was given some pretty amazing counsel in it. The other thing that I thought was so cool was that Bro. Raymond after the blessing sat her down and taught her some doctorine on blessings. It was pretty neat. I think all of us in that room learned something.
Also during this time- Sarah Silveira was having a hard time. She was lying in her sleeping bag crying. I asked Tami Taylor to go over and see if she could help her in some way. When I checked on her later they were still talking together. Tami was the right one to send into that situation- More on that later.
Then we got the girls all settled on the giant platform outside for bed. It was really cool to be able to sleep under the stars!
The leaders did an impromptu devotional- Sarah talked about the 4 returned missionaries that came to help them get up the mountain & out of the mud. Then we sang them a hymn. I loved at the end of it, the girls wanted us to keep singing. I think the Spirit was felt by all! Then we had a family prayer led by Brother Butler.
Then.... well you know---- it took about 3 hrs+ for them to all fall asleep. Lots of farting and laughing. Music to a YW leaders ears! (Maybe not the farts but the laughing sure was!)
It was seriously the most perfect day!

Friday-
Woke up- cloudy and overcast- hmmmm, what about doing out night hike? I guess we'll see!
Brother Raymond did a compass course for us. We divided the girls into their levels and he taught us how to do it. I think I am a really S.L.O.W. learner- I still dont get it! It was fun though! I was really glad Tami came along to help our group out!
Then the YCL's did certification for the levels.
Lunch- then Solo time. We passed out the letters from the parents, it's kinda tradition. I had had the spouses of the leaders write them one also. I was really happy with the one Lorin wrote to me. This one was a keeper. (some of his are well- not super heartfelt) but this one was. It made me feel really good. (Thanks Lor!) This Solo time didnt go quite as smoothly as yesterdays. We lost one of the girls and was looking for her for about 30 min. Rrrrr! And the girls didnt all go out by themselves. It was an interesting moment in time!
Then the Bishopric came and it was chaos again. (good, fun, happy chaos)
Jackie had a game- Who's Bishopric is it anyway? That we all played. It was fun getting to know them a little better in such a fun atmosphere. They are total hams! It started raining during this so we all squished under the canopy.
Then the girls did their silly song for the Bishopric. It was crazy!
Dinner time!- Yummy again!
Then it was time for testimony meeting. We had planned on going on a night hike and doing it outside. But the rain made us come up with plan "B". As it turned out- plan "B" was exactly what we needed!
Sister Decker did this Rainmaker thing where you snap your fingers and rub your hands together and it all sounds like rain. It was really amazing! Then Sister Tippetts led off with the Seekers of Light theme. Then the Bishop spoke on obedience. i love to listen to him speak. He totally got the kids to participate while driving home his point. Mizlons friend Karly is deaf so Mizlon was signing to her. It was beautiful to watch. What a wonderful talent! Then Natalie Winterton started the testimonies. She is such a  wonderful YW! What a great leader! She did such a good job!
I think I started crying at the very beginnining of the meeting and I am sure I didnt stop until the very end. It was the MOST amazing testimony meeting. The testimonies that were shared and the Spirit that was felt was so incredible! I wish I could share the things that the girls said and felt. It makes me emotional just to think of it. We closed singing the song Seek the Light.

This camp was so what our ward needed. The time together, the fun we had. The friendships that were strengthened or renewed. The Spirit that was felt. We so needed this time together!
I've lost track of the miracles that happened but one final one was in me- I was overwhelmed, sad and tired before camp. I came away with a softer heart, a lightened load and the energy to be able to continue. I am so thankful to my Heavenly Father for this time I was able to spend with these INCREDIBLE, beautiful, wonderful and amazing YW and leaders!

Girls Camp 2011

Girls Camp---
Where to start? Where to start?
Dakota and I were able to go to camp on Monday with the 4th year girls for their hike. I was pretty excited about it since I have always wanted to go on a 4th year hike and for whatever reason it has never worked out. (I hope Dakota didn't mind me going). We met at the church at 8am. I of course had lost my good tennis shoes that morning (I really don't know where they were, I had them on the counter and then they were gone). We drove to Hurricane, Ut, had lunch at subway and then continued on to Kolob. We were hiking right by Kolob Reservoir- even though we never saw it. We all got our packs out. There were about 20 girls and 8 leaders. Those packs were so huge! Some of them were bigger than the girls carrying them. I had my Garmin watch on so I would be able to see how far we had hiked. It was really hot. We got moving and after about 1/2 of a mile I thought I was going to die! I was really glad I had taken a lot of the stuff out of my pack. I was almost at the very back of the pack. Dakota seemed to be doing good though. She was up towards the front. I think we were all sweating profusely! There were alot of cows wandering around mooing. The girls thought they were cute. We finally got to where we were going to be setting up camp. It was 3.7 miles in and took 2 hrs. to get there. Most of the way was on a trail but some of it was on this scary tiny game trail- DOWNHILL!!! We got the tents set up and ready for the night, then we were able to hike over to this waterfall and go cliff jumping. (The jump was probably 25-30'). It was pretty amazing! That cool water felt so good as you jumped in. It washed all of the nasty, dirty sweat away. It was fun watching the girls jump in. Some were daredevils and others were scardey cats. I think almost everyone jumped in. After we had swam as much as we liked, we went back to camp and made dinner. It was Mt. House meals- Lasagna or Beef Stroganoff. I had lasagna. It was pretty delish! We then had a fireside given by Brother Thorley. It was on if there really is a God. It was pretty good. I think it was a little above the girls heads but OK. At the very end of it, it started sprinkling rain. We all went to bed. I learned very quickly that I DON'T like sleeping by myself in a tent in the wilderness. Its super CREEPY!!! It rained off and on until about 2:30 am then it started pouring. My tent was by no means waterproof! It dripped like crazy! I finally got my 2 garbage bags out. I put one on my pack so it wouldn't get wet and be 10x's heavier in the morning and I put the other over my sleeping bag then I got in it. It was crazy but at least I wasn't getting wet any longer. I also got my pan out of my pack and put it by my head to catch the drips. I lost count after 700+. It did stop raining in the morning long enough for us to pack up and hit the trail. We didn't even take time for breakfast. (turns out that was a blessing!) Going back on that trail was seriously one of the hardest things I have ever done! It was so muddy and slippery. Our shoes quickly became so heavy with mud that it was hard to walk. Parts of the trail were so skinny and slippery I thought for sure someone was going to get hurt. It was a blessing and a curse to have the Garmin on. The first .10 mile took us an hour to traverse. The next 1/2 mile about the same. Then we finally made it to the big meadow and took a long rest. Dakota shared her beef jerky with me and I was so thankful! I felt bad eating it but I sure was grateful! Brother Thorley is one amazing man. There was this girl Sabrina who was having a really difficult time. He took her hand and practically pulled her out. I took her hand for about 5 min and thought I was going to die. I don't know how he did it. There was one point when we stopped to rest that I asked Sabrina if she wanted to say a prayer. She did but she couldn't talk. Brother Thorley offered it. It was the most heartfelt, sincere prayer I have ever heard asking for help (pleading), asking for the promise of living the word of wisdom- obey and ye shall run and not be weary. It was a beautiful prayer and I know it strengthened many on that hike. By the last mile I was counting steps, 1,2,3, up to 100 then I would stop and rest. It was that hard. I really didn't think I was going to make it out. But at the same time I didn't want to be "that" person that has to have help. When we finally did see the cars it was J.O.Y. I started to cry. It gave you that last bit of strength to make it. About 10-15 minutes after me came Brother Thorley and Sabrina. We made a tunnel of love for them to walk through as they finished. i am glad we did it because I saw a tiny smile on Sabrina's face as she went through. It took us 4 hours to hike out. We loaded our packs and got ready to go. I told the girls in my car that once they were in my car, they couldn't get out because the mud was so caked onto the shoes. I didn't want that in my car. Ewwww! Not to mention that Lorin would not have appreciated that! So they sat on the seat, took their shoes off and climbed in. I put all the shoes in a garbage bag. It was super heavy! Then, it was time to go!!! Yay!!! We were excited to get to camp! Sister Shimada was the first to go.......... She got stuck. We weren't going anywhere. You seriously don't have any idea how upsetting that was! She had a small car and we couldn't get around her. There was no plan. Brother Thorley wanted to sit tight and wait for it to dry out. DO YOU KNOW HOW LONG IT WOULD TAKE TO DRY OUT? It had been raining all night and day!!! Sit there and wait? That could take days! We had no food & not much water! But sit there and wait we did. And remember when i said it was a blessing that we didn't eat breakfast? It was because we were each given 2 packets of oatmeal for breakfast which we were able to eat for dinner. And just let me tell you- I HATE OATMEAL! It is a big glob of slime going down your throat. But this oatmeal...... It was divine! We all had something warm in our stomachs. It felt good. Now came the trick of sleeping arrangements. I had 7 girls + me in my car. Dakota Noorda, Kimmee Raymond, Emma Bridenthal, McKenzie Green, Breanna Butler, Alicia Lucero & Rachel Silveira. We folded down the middle seat, but we couldn't the very back seat because of all the stuff in the back. Kimmee and I slept in the front seats, Emma somehow squeezed herself into the very back and the other 5 figured out the middle. There were arms and legs everywhere. You couldn't tell which body part went to what person. We did say a family prayer and that was comforting to me. I didn't sleep much that night because 1st- there was a lot of farting going on. Who knew teenage girls were so stinky! Then there was the fear that a bear or crazy man would try and kill us in the night and lastly the weight of the situation- what if we couldn't get out tomorrow? Was weighing on me. And having a steering wheel in your bed kinda cramps your style also. Not so comfy! But finally it was daylight! And we were getting out of there, one way or another!!!! We got ready again. Seat belts on- check. Prayer said so I wouldn't freak out- check. And then I gunned it! I was fishtailing all over the road. The girls were screaming. (I was silently saying a few nice words) And then we were at the top of the big hill. I think I started crying I was so relieved. But then there was a downhill. Oh CRAP! It was just as slippery and scary as the uphill. Up and Down, up and down. Finally we made it to the paved road. I think we all got out and kissed the ground. OK we didn't really but I know that I for one, wanted too! We tried to go down into base camp but Brother Thorley said it was too slippery. We decided to go into town and eat breakfast and get gas. We went to McDonalds. MMMM!!! I love their breakfasts! While we were there we got word that camp had been cancelled and we needed to go home. Disappointment. Doesn't even begin to describe it.

To be continued...................

Motorcycle Race

Awesome tan lines!!!!

This last weekend our family went to a motorcycle race in Eagle Valley, Nv. Lorin, Jamen and Slate all raced. We left super late on friday night (9:30pm) and it is a 4 hr. drive. It was a crazy long drive! We did do a couple of potty breaks on the side of the road but other than that we didn't stop. I was a bit (REALLY) nervous about Lorin driving that far, that late because he had been working a lot and hadn't really gotten a good nights sleep in awhile. I sat in the middle seat and Dakota sat in the front because I thought I would be asleep in a bout 5 seconds after we left but as it turns out- I was to freaked out about Lorin not being able to drive a straight line that I didn't sleep at all until the very end on the dirt road. We brought a tent and sleeping bags (Thank you Slate for saving the day! He packed a couple of extras which was good because I didn't bring one for Lorin or Jamen) It was S.O C.O.L.D!!!! When we got there it was in the high 30's. YES- that is correct- 30's!!! We were so cold! I didn't plan on it being like that so none of us really had any warm clothes. We hurried so fast and set up the tent and climbed into bed. (Slate even blew up all of the air mattresses!) Lorin, Slate and I slept in the tent. Jamen, Dakota & Tevin all slept in the suburban. The guys had to get up early and go practice. I slept until about 7ish. It was really great! Dakota slept until about 11:30! Can you believe she could do that?


Lorin raced first and it was really fun watching him. It was on a 4 mile track so you could see him pretty often. I like watching him. He is a really good rider. Jamen was next and he was kicking some bootie. There was a giant jump and he was getting some really good air on it. Slate raced the last race of the day and he did so GOOD!!! He was really rockin' it! He was one of the leaders- 2nd place! But then he broke his clutch and couldn't get up this hill. BUMMER! But I think he had a lot of fun riding. It was fun watching him because he was so intent on it. Really focused.

When the race was over we loaded everything up and the boys went and watched a couple more races. I sat in the car and read magazines. It was really great! I got through 4 of my 5,000 magazine pile! After the races were over we were driving away, the road was a barely 2 lane dirt, curvy, huge drop off cliff and we had gone about 1/2 mile when an ambulance came flying towards us. We pulled to the left as far as we could to let them get by. Then Lorin decided to go back and see if they needed any help. But there was no room to turn around. He backed us up that whole 1/2 mile and let me just tell you----- it seemed like about 10 miles! It was so scary! I could totally see the drop off from my seat. Jamen was outside the car giving directions , he kept laughing at me cause he said it looked like I was about to throw up. It turned out that a guy had hurt his back and was OK- it was just precautionary to have the medics come and check him out. I'm glad!

Finally we were on our way. Lorin had told Slate if he brought his fishing gear we would go fishing at a little reservoir up there. The reservoir was really nasty- It was totally full of this long mossy stuff, everywhere. But we unloaded the chairs (Lorin got the hammock out) and just sat and relaxed. Slate, Tevin and I (I made a homemade pole out of a stick) went fishing. Jamen and Dakota started having a doughnut fight. Then they found a water spigot and pretended like they were peeing! AWESOME video of that I must say! It was so great!

We drove onto Caliente to eat. We stopped at this yummy pizza place called Pioneer Pizza. We only ordered 1 large pizza and a calzone. We should've ordered 2 because it was so small. But it was really good and I think Lorin enjoyed the calzone cause it was loaded with garlic! I am sure he was in heaven! We were still a little hungry (the place closed so we couldn't order anything else) so we went to JJ's (a hole in the wall hamburger joint) and ordered ice cream cones. They also had one of my favorite things in this entire world- Piccadilly chips and fry sauce!!! MMMM! It was so delish!

After that it was a really long drive home! My legs start bugging me after we had been driving for awhile and by the time we got home I was so ready to jump out of that car! Everyone was so good about helping to unload! I was really impressed that for the most part there was no whining or hiding. I really appreciated that and I know Lorin did too!

I had forgotten that the next day, the 17th (Sunday) was Devins birthday and I was supposed to bring Frito Salad so I had to go to the store and get the stuff for it. Lorin was such a sweetheart and came with me. I was so not expecting that! He was dead tired and had to work the next day. I felt bad that he came but it was nice to know he was willing to come with me.

I have to say-- all in all it was a really great time. It was fun spending time with each other and having fun and building those ties that bind. I know we need to do this kind of stuff more often. I loved watching the kids interacting and laughing their heads off together (PS- you should see Jamen when he is on a sugar high and so tired he cant even see straight! Lets just say, we all saw his butt!) Good times! Good times!

Moapa Roos-n-more Zoo

My friend Gina Piet told me about this little privately owned zoo in Moapa Valley called Roos-n-more. She told me it was $10.00 apeice and that it was only open a few days a week so to check their website to find out the dates. She also told me it is a very hands on place and that if you bring cut up fruit and veggies that you would be able to feed the animals. It was open yesterday (9:00am- 1:00pm) so I took the kids on a summer field trip. I was a little worried because we had to get up early to go (it takes an hour to get there, so if you arent there on time- you miss out on the animals) I also made the kids leave all electronic devices home. No phones, ipods, or DS's! There was a tiny bit of disgruntledness but not too much. When we started out, I smelled a weird smell like the engine was overheating and it really freaked me out- what if we got stuck on the side of the road? Who would I call? So I stopped at a truck stop by the Speedway- can you believe you had to have your own hose to use the water spigot? RRRRR! So I got back on the freeway and stopped at the next one- SAME THING!!!! Who knew? But this time I got a bit smarter- I sent Slate in to buy a gallon of water and we used that and then filled it back up and used it again. Then finally, we were on our way! We got out there and I wasnt really expecting too much. It looked like it was just in someones back yard. But it was seriously so much fun! They had kangaroo's, giant snakes, monkeys, a baby llama, porcupines, more monkeys, camels, a baby zebra, a beaver and tons of other stuff. And you could hold or touch almost everything out there. Dakota tried to make out with the camel. It was totally gross. She held a baby carrot in her mouth and the camel ate it out of her lips. Slate held the snake around his neck and balanced a monkey named Keiko on his head. Tevin was a little shy at first to touch or hold anything but by the end he was all over it. It was so much fun. I am so glad that we went out there. It was definately worth it. It was a bit hot so the kids were ready to go after 2hrs. but it was fun. And as it turned out- I am really glad I made the electronics stay home because on the way home, I have these question card things in my car and we started reading them and answering them. It was great hearing the conversations and answers. I think that I am going to ban electronics on future car rides! (I know they will be SOOOO excited about that!) We were all hungry too so I let them choose where they wanted to eat and they all chose A-China-Go-Go (super delish chinese food) It was really MMMM!!!!

When we got home we were all so tired that everyone (except Tevin) took a nap for a couple of hours. And then when we all woke up, Tevin wanted to play a game of cards. Forw whatever reason I chose to play Phase 10. Did you know that it takes about 4 hrs to play a complete game? Jamen came home from work after we had just started and he wanted to play so he showered and came and joined us. He totally kicked butt! It was really fun and for the most part everyone was nice to each other.

Then we had Family Home Evening. I put Dakota in charge of the lesson. She chose to do it on grattitude. She did a really good job and challenged us to write in our journals everyday about something we are grateful for. Then at the end she bore her testimony of grattitude. She was really great.

After that we watched the movie Return to Me. That is truly one of my favorite movies. And I loved hearing the kids laugh out loud at the funny parts!

Yesterday was a really great day! I loved it all! The only thing that couldve made it better was if Lorin could have been with us. It was a bummer that he had to work!