bear lake camping trip

We decided that we should go camping for labor day just the four of us. This whole summer we have not had a camping trip by ourselves. At first I was worried that we would not be able to intertain the kids without family to help but what was I really scared of because it is something I do everyday. After talking we decide to drive up to Bear Lake. The weather was not suppose to be that nice but Tyler and I had not been there sense we were kids and if no one else was going with us we were going to go somewhere that we wouldn't normally. I think we found our new favorite vacation spot in Utah. The weather was surpisingly nice and we spent the entire day at the beach. It was a real beach too, not like the rocky shores of Echo. The kids love Love LOVED it.
Kendall was in the water the whole time and Ben was having fun looking for seashells. He wanted to bring some home but the only thing I had to put them in was a rasin box, it was so cute watching him pick the ones he liked best to put in his box.They were beat when we finally left. The wind was starting to blow the storm in that was suppose to be there earlier. Even Kendall did not protest too much when we put her in the car because she was getting sand in her eyes. They fell asleep on the way back to the trailer and got some much neede sleep. When they woke up we all went for a tradional Bear Lake rasberry shake. Yum Yum.

The next day was sunday and we got ready and went to church. It was a very interesting meeting because it was all visitors I think only the speakers were people who lived in the area. When we got back from church Tyler took the kids for a bike ride and I took a nap. A much needed nap. When the bike ride was over we started to make dinner and that is when the wind started to pick up and it blew the flame out on our outdoor stove. Three cheers for trailers with kitchens inside, yeah, yeah, yeah! And when dinner was done it started to rain the kids wanted to go outside so bad but we brought our DVD players from the car into the trailer and kept them intertained with movie and puzzles until it was time to go to bed. Three cheers for trailers in campsites with hookups. Yeah, yeah, yeah!
It was still raining in the morning so we just packed up and went home. But this will hopefuly not be the end of our camping adventures this year we will just have to go a little further south.

Foutz Week 08

I couldn't be more upset about this, all I was doing was transferring pictures from my memory card to my SIL computer and it went haywire and deleted 100 pictures for no reason. And it is not like it was the pictures from the week we had just spent with family who all had their own cameras and I was trying to share mine so we could decide who had to best pictures. NO! it was all the pictures before that week the ones of our whole summer ya know the ones that I should have been downloading so I could update my blog already but I have just been too lazy to do. I guess I will take that as a sign that I should stop being such a slacker. Now that is off my chest on with the trip. PORTLAND The first night we spent in Portland was girls night out, I don't really get to spend to much time with just my SIL's and I miss hanging out with them so we planned a night for just us First we went dancing at some clubs in downtown Portland. It was great to let loose and just have fun. Our group of girls got a lot of attention because we were the only group that had two very pregnant chicks. Most people thought it was funny and some even took pictures but a few people were rude (mostly girls) I guess the reason that most everyone else was there (meat market) didn't make much sense to them why the knocked up ones were there and getting a lot of attention. You cannot even see the cute prego bellies in the photo!! On the way home we stopped at a cool doughnut shop voodoo doughnuts and bought some sweets then we had to run in our heals to catch the train. We missed the last run of the night by seconds and had to take a cab, what a rip off. Oh well at least we didn't have to walk in those shoes anymore. CAMPING We camped on the coast and the kids had so much fun riding their bikes around "all over everywhere" as Ben put it. Kendall had more fun making other people take her for rides I think. We spent a whole day at Seaside a city on the coast and the kids got to play on the beach and in the waves a little bit. Kendall is such a beach baby she threw the biggest fit when we had to go it was almost heart breaking Our campsite was close to some trails so we all went for a bike ride to see a wrecked ship and an old Fort that was suppose to used in WWII. On the way to visit Tyler's mother we all stopped at the Cheese factory to get some squeaky cheese. SOUTHERN OREGON The rest of the week was spent hanging out by the pool, eating great food and more pool time because it was so hot. We did take the rafts down the river one day. I was worried that the kids would be scared but they really liked it. Enough to make it a family tradition to run the river when we get together every summer. Ben was not so sure of the tahitis at first but he saw Kendall and his cousin Natalie taking turns riding with people that when he finally got in with his YaYa he didn't want to get out until the end. In fact Ben liked it so much he spent the rest of the night in the pool paddling back and forth. Something I would have never guessed that he would like, but my kids surprise me more and more everyday.

Playing catch up

Wow it has been a crazy summer it seams like after girls camp I have been going nonstop packing, traveling, unpacking, laundry, packing, traveling,....any way you get the point so today the kids are sleeping and it is time to take a breath and get my thoughts together.

BEN'S SWIMMING LESSONS
Ben started swimming lessons this summer he kind of had a rough start. He wouldn't try to do the things the teacher asked and he didn't even want to get his face wet. I was horrified that my little boy was the only one in the class not listening and I didn't know what to do about it. So me being the helicopter mom that I am I hoovered over him and told him what to do or that he needed to listen and it just want not working. .
One day I was ready to pack him up and take him home because it was just getting ridiculous and one of the other moms said "why don't you try just ignoring him?" Why didn't I think of that? It worked like a charm as soon as I stopped talking to him he had no one else to talk to but the teacher and on the last day he dove to the bottom of the pool for the dive toys I was so surprised!! Now we need to keep this up because he is still afraid of the water but we are making progress If any one knows of a good swim school that goes on in the fall please let me know.
COLORADO

In the middle of swimming lessons we took off for Colorado. Tyler's dad had a birthday and was on his way out to Colorado to celebrate with his family It is not very often that we get to see Grandpa Riggs so we thought we would tag along. The kids were so excited to go to Colorado they just kept saying it over and over "I want to go to Colorado" they didn't even know what Colorado was really because they kept asking when we got there. We just hung out the first day and Tyler, his dad, his grandpa, and his uncle and a few other people went golfing when the kids were napping. The next day was the highlight of the trip Water World!!

It was so BIG, so much for the kids to do and a lot of family was there so we were able to sneak away and ride on some bigger rides. The kids had a blast Ben was less scared of the water(thanks to swimming lessons) and he even went down the water slides all by himself by the end of the day. Kendall has never been scared of much and the water slides were not any different she was running around like a wild child the whole time. We went to dinner with Most of Tyler's family out there. Dinner was long and hard for the kids to sit through but they were great considering how tired they were. I was tired too so not as patient as I should have been but I was proud to watch them and how well behaved they were. They had no problem or protests with going to bed that night. We left a day early so we could have a relaxing drive home and not have to drive all night. When we got home my parents had a pizza for us, Thanks for thinking of us. They had even picked up our mail and newspaper without us asking. I love my parents and I love being so close to them that we can do stuff like that for each other, even if it is them doing more for us.

VISIT FROM YAYA, MARIO AND ANGIE
before I had time to even unpack we had a phone call from Tyler's mom saying she was coming out earlier than expected. Always a welcome visit but my house was a mess and I was so stressed. It is a good thing the only thing she looks at when she is here is the kids and they are so occupied with her that I can get some things done. This time she brought reinforcements with her, Mario and Angie are back from China a little early and we were all SO excited to see them. They have been gone for a year now but when they walked through the door it was like they had only been gone for a few months. The best part was the kids still remembered them, well Ben did I think Kendall was too young to remember but she knew who they were. I have been trying to pull pictures out and let them look at their email updates so they would not be scared of them when they came back. That would break my heart because of how much the kids loved them before they left. No worries they are still loved plus they came bearing gifts. Ben got two kites a fish kite and the dragon kite that he has always wanted. Kendall got a cute little pink purse with a pull string she loves to put stuff in it and pull the string then take it out over and over and over again. Tyler's grandparents were able to drive down from Brigham City for the day. we had a picnic and went for a "hike" around silver lake.
The next day we went to the Zoo. We spent to whole time looking for the animals that Ben remembered from last time. It was fun for me because the kids were busy with Yaya and Mario and Angie so I got to see the animals and I got to watch the kids looking at the animals I was not just trying to keep them with me. This time the kids got to ride on the merry go round and the train.

It was another busy day. And when we got home the kids took a nap our family left for the drive back to Oregon and I got everyone packed to go camping.

OUR NEW TOY

For the 4th of July we went camping with my family with our new camping trailer!! Let me just say camping in a trailer with young kids is the best. A comfortable place for them to nap, making meals, a tub to bathe them in and a freezer for Popsicles are just few of the perks. I am so happy we decided to make this purchase this summer now if I could have a few free weekends for YW would could get away. The camp ground we were at was not exactly roughing it. we had full water electric and sewer hookups but it was our first time out with the trailer so we were not as prepared as we could have been. Thank goodness my sister was close we didn't even have a lighter that worked to get the pilot lite lit so we would not have been able to make anything to eat except hot dogs. It was a nice to have a little time to spend as a family because our vacations so far seem to be more hectic. I cannot wait to take the trailer out again.

Girls Camp

June 11-14
One of the perks of being a mia maid advisor is that I had to opportunity to go to girls camp. I felt a little out of place first because I had a really hard time leaving my family, when I left in the morning I still had no idea where my kids were going to be by noon because the sitter I had lined up (my wonderful sister) ended up with jury duty and I called my neighbor (superwoman Liz) to see if she could take them until noon because the last time my sister had jury duty she was released by noon we thought it would be about the same. Second I was still feeling a little new to be going with the girls almost that I didn't belong. In spite of being away from my kids not knowing what was going on with their care and out of cell phone range I was able to relax and have a great time. The girls were all so accepting and loving I almost felt like a teenager again ALMOST. It was so COLD we all had on at least two sweatshirts a coat and three pair of socks. with all the cold there was a lot less complaining than I thought there would be they must have kept warm with all the singing, dancing and uncontrollable laughter.
The first day was all about set up and certification I had forgotten how much they really make them do at girls camp but we did luck out on our chores because we had the bathrooms to clean on the first day and they were still clean. Day two started early for me, Susan(another leader)and the one and only third year girl we had a sunrise hike that started at 4:30am I didn't really need a wake up call because I never got to sleep IT WAS WAY TOO COLD. The hike was the best thing I could have done at that point because getting up and moving helped me to get warm infact it was the only time up that my toes were not cold when we were at camp it must have been the spirit.
It was a beautiful sight and it was nice to sit alone on the hillside in nature and just think. The rest of the day was packed with activites which inculded the zip line.
Now I am not a big whimp watching everyone go looked like a lot of fun and climbing up the tower was not a problem I just wished that I could have kept climbing because I don't like jumping. It might not have been a problem for me but the platform was really small and the board on the very edge was a little wobbly so I didn't jump off forward I couldn't watch I ended up pushing off backward and that might not have been a problem but I think I pushed a little hard and I ended up riding the zipline upside down the whole way down. It was fun and I didn't die. That night was our skit we did a spin off of the bacholer and the ten virgins I was hillarious. The girls came together so well and made sure everyone was included it was great to watch and be a part of. Later that night was the stargazing hike with the fourth year girls, I took my cell phone because it was the one place to get reception on the mountain. I knew how much I missed Tyler and the kids so I thought I was going to cry but I didn't and it made me feel much better because I found out that Liz had my kids for two days (they love her little girl) because my sister managed to get her self on the jury. It is really nice to know that I have such great friends that really come through when it really counts. Thanks so much Liz, when I found that out that was the only time I cried it helped me sleep alittle better at night too. Day three was a free day
and the girl wanted to try archery and the zipline again (oh joy!) the line for the zipline was so long because everyone wanted to do that again we made icecream in plastic bags while we were wating.
Yes I did it again the second time was not as hard but I still managed to get upside down, it must take more cordination to stay upright. That night at the fire was the testiomony sharing time the spirit was so strong that before we had even started the Bishop asked me to say the closing prayer and I just started to cry. I was honered that he would think I was worthy enough to do something so special as to close that meeting but part of me was crying because I knew I would be crying so hard at the end that no one would be able to understand me. Great now on top of bearing my testimony I have to try to keep it together until the end. Well it didn't happen but everyone said amen so at least they heared that part. I was so impressed with all the girls so willing to share their thoughts and feelings. Our leaders would have to start calling on people to say something or we would of had complete silence for a long time when I was in Young Womans but these girls were so excited about this experience that some of them even went twice (it was my mia maids by the way, so proud).
It was a great experience and I am so glad that I have a wonderful family and awesome friends that made this possible.