Where do I begin?

Wow, it's been 2 months since my last post. How time flies! It's been a busy couple of months so I will do a quick recap!

Recently on stage: Our beautiful ballet dancer Shelby starred in a dance recital in May.

Swimming success! Owen went from holding me in the death grip in the pool to running and jumping in while yelling "Cowabunga!". All within one week! Thanks to his wonderful swim teacher Marni who learned that flattery really works - Marni to Owen: "Owen, you are so strong!" Owen: "Yeah I work out." Pause, "Well, not every day." Pause, "Actually, just once." Great job Owen!




So You Think You Can Dance Part Two: I finally got called up for tickets to the taping of one of our favorite shows! Jen, Amberly, Stacy and I all went to celebrate Stacy's birthday. We had such a fun day! We were inches from the stage and where all the dancers came in and out. You can see Amberly's blonde hair through half of the show! The rest of us faded into the background *blurg* Jen gave Cat Deeley one of her bracelets from her new business venture CoDo Jewelry Designs. She was very sweet and said she would wear it on the show. We ran into Kherington at Cheesecake factory and she agreed to take a picture with us even though she still had bed head from the bed dance. We are very angry that she got voted off! It was a great day.


Girls Camp times Four! It was my fourth year as the Redhawk Ward camp director! I don't know how that ever happened in the first place- as I have not ever been involved in or enjoyed camping before this. But this is not real camping - so I guess I am qualified. In fact, Chris looked at the big pile of camping "gear" that I had assembled and thought I was insane. It included a blue mailbox, a fake fire, blue paper lanterns made to look like blueberries, nail polish, pajama pants, notecards and pens, streamers, things tied with ribbons, and maybe a flashlight thrown in just in case. Like I said, not real camping! But, it was a fun year. Our ward YW are outstanding. Finally, Lindsay was old enough to go this year! I loved having her there!


From Camping to more camping: We came home from Girls camp on Friday - ourselves and our belongings covered in a layer of dirt. Had enough time to clean it all and pack it right back up. On Sunday morning we headed for a family camping trip at Minaret Falls in Mammoth. We met up with the Greenes, Gilberts and Carpenters at the most beautiful camping spot right on the stream. It was so much fun and so much work. Cooking for 24 in the outdoors takes a bit of effort. But those were some delicious meals thanks to our combined efforts and a little secret ingredient. We fished and floated on the river and hiked to Rainbow Falls, sat by the fire, survived a rainstorm, were attacked by swarms of mosquitos, showered in the natural hot springs and then decided to pack it up a day early and head for Lake Tahoe.



The Big Blue: Swimming in Lake Tahoe is like swimming in a giant pool of Aquafina. It is so clean and clear and blue. And the sky ... it is all so beautiful. We spent the rest of our trip at the Greene's family cabin - sleeping in beds and showering in real showers. We spent two days on the beach at Sand Harbor where we kayaked and boated and played on the rocks. It was heaven. One day we rented rafts and floated down the Truckee River, where we were attacked by a band of super soaker toting hooligans. They attacked us, soaked us all and then followed us the rest of the way down the river until Scott got out of the boat and assaulted them with their own weapons. The kids had so much fun, they begged us not to leave. But we had to come home! And now on to the endless pile of laundry!