Swim for your life. . .

What would summer in 118 degree weather be without swimming? It would be pretty hot and sweaty that is for sure.

Our kids really love it in the water (well, Tyler being the exception!). So, we signed up TJ, Natalie, and Elaina for the city summer swim team. The head coach, Denise, is incredible! She can work wonders with these kids because she really knows swim and she relates to the kids. She has a way of making them each feel so special when they visit with her. It has been a really great experience. It is a lot of hard work though!Even though it was "summer break" the kids had to continue getting up pretty early to get to practice. Then they swam laps and laps, re-learning 4 strokes (butterfly, breast stroke, back stroke and freestyle) for an hour a day. Then Mom still made them do their work at home (plus a little extra math practice for good measure). But, it all paid off at the meets. They had a good time competing, improving their times, and getting a ribbon for each race. It was fun for them to spend time with friends. I enjoyed getting in some great visits with my friends too!

Here are some fun pictures from the swim meets:

Travis took the kids to their first meet while I was at camp. He does it all! What a guy!

T.J. diving in for another race. And our buddy, Lucas, getting ready for his dive.

Elaina with her friends watching a race. And Natalie ready to go. I love how intense she is when it comes to any competition!

Go Chandler Dolphins!

Oh What Do You Do in the Summer Time

One more week of summer for my kids! It has felt really crazy, but has been a wonderful time. I will be posting some of the fun things we have been doing this summer in the next few posts.


The first week after school got out, I headed off to Girls Camp.



Our campsite at Long Valley.



I love Girls Camp and had a wonderful time with the 5 girls that were in our group this year. We also were happy to get to spend some time with the 4 YCL's from our ward as well as with the 3 YCL's over our ward. Some of the highlights were: making kick the can ice cream, playing the cup game, singing trees, the skit, a fierce game of Minute to Win It with Bishop, Carne Asada, doughnuts (right Shums??), hiking, showers (always a highlight at camp), the owl hoodies (lucky or wise?), wind and more wind, the Friday night program and of course testimony meeting. These girls were so much fun and so great. There was not one argument or disagreement. I don't think anyone felt left out or lonely as sometimes happens when you get girls together over a long period of time!







One of the best parts of YW Camp is that it gives the Young Women and their leaders a special chance to grow spiritually. We can certainly feel close to our Heavenly Father when we are surrounded by His creation. Combine that with hours of preparation of loving leaders and teachable moments and the learning opportunity is a powerful one.





My moment of learning came when I wasn't expecting it. I was really touched by the older girls and the program they put on Friday night. I didn't realize that I would need a whole box of tissues! It was interesting to ponder my calling as a leader of these young women and to feel like they were the ones teaching and inspiring me. I was impressed as they told personal stories of how they have stood up for their beliefs and values, sometimes standing alone. Some spoke of how they have been strengthened as they have kept the commandments even when it was difficult. I was touched as they sang of living our lives as examples of what we believe. I felt that these young women are a choice group of people and I know they will be a force for good as they continue down the path they have started on.


Girls Camp is always a memorable and great time. I am so lucky to have shared this experience with these girls and with our other great ward leader, Alisha!

Kindergarten Grad

From the time she was very little, I have always told Elaina that she needs to stop growing. And now here we are at her kindergarten graduation. It is hard to believe that she is already moving on to first grade. But, she is still so little to me.

Elaina at her graduation program with Great Grandma Carolyn and with Tyler

I was so proud of her because her teacher asked her to sing a "solo" in the graduation program. I have always thought that she was a good singer. She seems to have been able to stay on pitch her whole life. However, she is one of my shyest kids. I encouraged her and tried to help her practice, but she insisted that the song was a surprise. When the time came for her to sing, I was so nervous. I had butterflies in my stomach. I really wanted her to have a good experience. Well, she did a wonderful job (it helped that the music she sang to had vocals as well as the accompaniment.

This is a great accomplishment and stepping stone for you Elaina! You have really loved school and have flourished and grown tremendously. You can read very well now! You can listen and obey your teacher. You can help others when they are in need. You can work hard at math and writing and never complain about homework! You have had a wonderful year.

Elaina with her incredible teacher Mrs. Maes

And we can't forget that Natalie and TJ are moving on up next year too! Natalie had a great 2nd grade year and is always a favorite of her teachers because of her hard work and desire to always do her best. Way to go Sis!

Natalie with sweet teacher Mrs. Morgan

TJ had a great year as well. He loves to read and received an award for the most AR (accelerated reader) points in his class. I remember one quarter, the kids in his class had to earn at least 10 AR points to go on a big field trip. TJ had over 140! The boy can read! Way to go Skinny Kid!

T.J. with his fun teacher Mrs. Marlar

yes, all started with M's this year!

All of the kids had really wonderful teachers this year. I am very grateful for dedicated educators who strive to inspire their students and who have helped my children as they learn who they are and who they can become.

Pretty Little Lydi Turns One

On May 29th Lydia turned ONE! Already! I can hardly believe it.
It has been quite a year. I have loved watching my baby grow and learn. I have really enjoyed the older kids and their love for their littlest sister. I am shocked at how fast this year has gone by.

Lydia has sure enjoyed getting bigger. She has never been one to just sit still. When she could sit, she was trying to crawl, when she crawled she was trying to walk and when she learned to walk (just before 10 months old) she was on to running, climbing and exploring.

She has a little obsession with purses, bags, anything that you can put in the crook of your arm. Too funny! Where does she get it?

I always think it is funny to give 1 year olds a box of tissues for their birthday. It is quite entertaining to watch their excitement as they pull out a tissue and another appears in its place. It is such a fun game for them to play. Maybe not the best thing to teach them! Keep your tissues out of Lydia's reach!

Travis helped Lydia blow out the candle. She did not like the idea of eating cake with her hands! She was much happier trying to use a fork.

We like to measure the kids on their birthday. Lydia grew the most this last year! Eight inches. Maybe we will have a star basketball player after all!

I love you Lydia! I am so happy that you are my sweet baby. We are lucky to have you in our family. You make us laugh, keep us on our toes, and give us loves. You love to be outside, you love swimming, you love Mom, Dad, Grandpa, Grandma, and all the kids (and those are the only people you like!). You are getting more friendly all the time and not so shy. You love to comb your hair, throw balls, sword fight, and mimic everything we do. I especially love when you join in on the laughter. You don't know why, but you know when you should be laughing! You don't love dogs (especially little ones), being quiet in church, sitting still, movies, or eating broccoli. You have such a great personality! Happy Birthday, Baby Cakes!

Tyler's Preschool Program

Tyler's preschool had an end of the year program and graduation. The 5 year olds graduated but Tyler and the other 4 year olds still were able to help out with the program.

This is where the program was held. It is a fun Cowboy Dinner Theater. We didn't watch a show but we definitely enjoyed the western atmosphere. Tyler had to wear his cowboy had, of course. He was sad that he couldn't find his boots!

Each of the kids introduced themselves as the entered. Tyler was feeling a little to shy to say his name. And I love how he says his name. It is something like: Ty-doe.

The preschoolers then sang some fun songs for us (Tyler didn't sing ONE word!). Tyler knows all of the songs and is a pretty good singer. He did tell me that he was afraid that someone would laugh at him. I assured him that if they laughed, it would be because they liked what he was doing.
He clicked his tongue through all of one song. I caught the cute tongue clickin' dancer on video. He can really shake it!

After the songs, each of the kids recited a nursery rhyme. It was very cute and so fun. Again, Tyler wouldn't say a word! He just tucked his chin down in his adorable little way and shook his head. I was really hoping he would sing his part (Twinkle Twinkle) because he is so cute when he says, "Fwinkle, fwinkle wittle staw."

Tyler and his wonderful teacher, Mrs. Sandy.

Me and my little buddy. Yee haw!

After the program was over, Tyler made me laugh all over again when he asked, "How did I do Mom? Was I awesome???"

Tyler, you are always awesome!

Getting Ready for Camp

I am so excited to be going to Girls Camp this year. I loved, loved girls camp when I was a Young Woman. It can be such a growing experience for the girls. Oh, and sooo much fun!

The theme for the whole camp is: I have a work for thee, my daughter. Each ward has been assigned a role to represent. Some wards represent Sister, Mother, Citizen, Friend, etc. Our ward was assigned to represent the role of Educator.

Our girls camp banner that will hang in the gathering area.

Crayons to decorate our camp with. Each one has our ward name and a name of the girl. The girls made these and came up with creative crayon color names like Kayla's Kantaloupe and Berry-licious Burnett.

We will have this chalkboard as decoration for our camp site as well. The girls put their names on it and I added the apples. We can leave fun messages each day for our visitors or maybe we will put up a quote or inspired message.

I wish I had taken a picture of the backdrop we made for the skit. It is really large though!

The girls made up their role call cheer, made tie dye T-shirts, and made matching head-bands.

It has been such a great experience for me to be the camp director. At first I felt a bit overwhelmed and under qualified. But, I am always learning that if we seek divine help, our Heavenly Father will direct us in the things he would have us do. He has certainly been a part of the preparation process. I know that this is an important time for these girls and I am very excited to see their friendships and testimonies grow.

Fly Home

We trimmed our trees and found a surprise. We had a couple of bird nests in the branches. The kids found this baby bird. He looked healthy and largish for a baby.

I told the T.J. and Natalie that I didn't think the bird's mother would come back for it because it had fallen out of the nest and they had held it. They were determined to take care of it although I just wished they would come in and get ready for bed and leave the poor baby bird alone.

I didn't want to tell them that it would probably die.

They thought it might be helpful to try and help the little bird fly. He was so close. But after a couple of tries, we decided that he wasn't quite ready.

I told them to go ahead and put him back in the tree. I hoped they would forget about him so that we wouldn't have to deal with their disappointment when he didn't survive.

To my astonishment, his mother did return the next day and sat with him all day. I couldn't believe it! Two days later the bird and it's mother were gone.