Camping

Our little family took its first camping trip this weekend. It started out a little rocky. First of all, we were supposed to go somewhere around Payson. A friend who had stayed over Thursday night called Friday morning and said it was too cold for tenting it. They had to put their kids in the sleeping bags with them and had a terrible night. The ranger station had said the low was 37 degrees and some Internet weather page was reporting 27 degrees. Luckily a friend who was coming with came to the rescue and we ended up staying by Prescott.


We also left later than expected. Brian's meeting with the big-wigs went a little longer than expected. He also had to put out some fires that were created during this meeting for half of the drive. Luckily we made it with some daylight to spare so we could pitch our tent.




The girls had a lot of fun. Macy had 3 friends to tag along with. Kelsey had all the dirt she could ever dream of. Kelsey would just sit and run her hands through the dirt and lay in the dirt. To top it off she had a runny nose that she would smear across her face and the dirt would stick to it.





That evening we roasted marshmallows and taught our friends, the Cranes, how to make campfire eclairs. The Cranes had made it up there early enough to make tin foil dinners. The next morning we had breakfast burritos and sausage.


What we learned on this trip is that once you have kids, a large tent is a must. Sleeping was miserable we had enough room in the tent for the queen size air mattress and half of a sleeping bag. Since Macy and Kelsey are half a person we thought it would work. Macy was excited to have Kelsey sleep next to her finally. Well Kelsey wasn't going to sleep anywhere near Macy. So she had to come up on the air mattress with Brian and I. When Kelsey got to sleep with mom and dad, Macy had to too. This meant that Macy moved to the mattress and dad had to try sleeping on the hard ground in her pink sleeping bag. He couldn't do it. So all four of us crammed into 2 sleeping bags (Thank you Grandma Bonnie for the 2 sleeping bags zipped together. We are still using the double-wide you gave us.) It was miserable. There was no room and the mattress has a small leek somewhere. The girls woke up at least 2 times each. Macy didn't know where she was and would cry out loudly to have the light turned on. Kelsey would then wait until Macy was asleep and would wake up and scream. She must have been claustrophobic because she would hit me and try to push me off the bed all while screaming and crying. I felt bad for the Cranes and any campers around us. Needless to say we are buying a new tent and a new aerobed. On the bright side of things the girls slept until 9:30 AM on Sunday morning.


On Saturday we cleaned up and went to Lynx Lake where we rented a boat for an hour to zoom around on. Then we went to the mall in Prescott for lunch. I am sure they were happy to see our dirty, smelly crew in Honey Baked Ham. For dessert we grabbed some ice cream and kids managed to get dirtier.






It was a good time. I am glad Brian made me go and I am sure we will go again.

Autism Speaks

There is a website called "What Kind of World Do You Want". I believe Five for Five sponsors it. Anyways, it is a compilation of videos that all sorts of people have made for a specific charity. Every time someone watches a particular video money is donated to the charity it represents. This website has a specific section for Autism Speaks which raises money for autism research.

A friend of mine sent me the following link to a video her brother-in-law did about his boys. If you have time take a minute to view it. I have several friends where autism is part of the lives so it has become important to me.
http://www.whatkindofworlddoyouwant.com/videos/view/id/265338

There are many other videos you can watch and for different charities too. Every little bit can help.

I will come back tomorrow

Well today was Macy's last day for swim lessons, at least for a couple of weeks. I don't think she gets it because as we left she kept saying "Bye Celeste. I will come back tomorrow." I guess mom is going to have to buck up and take them out swimming. We haven't gone swimming this week because we have been in the 90s. The wind has been blowing too so that makes it feel cooler. So I am even more of a wuss with cold temperatures now. Unless it is ice cream.

I have finally picked a favorite movie. I am sure I have more than one, but right now it is "How to Lose a Guy in 10 days". For some reason I love this movie. I went to the gym this afternoon and it happened to be on. I had to debate between Law & Order and the movie. The movie won. It even beat weight training. I did my run and then walked instead of hitting the weights just so I could keep watching. I laugh everytime I watch this movie. I am sure the people next to me thought I was crazy. Oh well. At least tomorrow I can skip the cardio and just do some quick weights.

A quick update on Kelsey. The kid loves broccoli, plain sour cream, cooked carrots and green beans. Brian is lucky to get any if he gets home after we have eaten. I should stop making any type of casserole type dish and just grill meat. Both kids won't eat chicken pot pit, chicken rotelle, shepherd's pie or anything of the like. However, any kind of grilled meat, potatoes and vegetables and the plate is licked clean. It makes it easier on me except that I like to cook. And the sour cream I am not sure about. Both girls eat it by the spoonful. Butter is in the same category. There have been several times that I have opened the fridge and found a couple tablespoons of margarine missing. Gross.

Traditions

I just finished preparing my YWs lesson for Sunday. It was on the topic of righteous traditions. I made a list of the many traditions I had while growing up (most are still going strong) and some that are going on now. Some of my favorites are:

• water skiing on Wednesdays
• pull-aparts on Thanksgiving and Christmas morning
• family prayer at night
• Lake Powell with the Isaacs
• Lagoon in the summer
• Pioneer Day with the Isaacs
• Cherry Hills in the summer with the Jensen clan
• Memorial Day at Wasatch State Park
• Family birthdays each month with the Jensen clan
• getting together with the Gledhills and Jensens on holidays and Sundays
• sleepovers with Grandma Lue
• trips home in the summer
• phone calls on Sundays
• Family vacations with the Kartchners
• Christmas Eve family gatherings
• dinners in Carol and Alan's backyard
• etc.

Thanks moms and dads, grandmas and grandpas for the wonderful memories! We love you!

Celebrate Good Times

Last night I took my National and State Real Estate Exam and I passed. I wish I could say that I can now become a licensed real estate professional, but they just like to tease you. I still have to take one last 6 hour class before I can apply for my license. Not that a 90 hour course, 1 school exam, and a state and national exam were not enough. I guess contract law is important and so am willing to take the class (it also counts towards renewal credits). At least no more tests and I can soon wipe my slate clean of real estate tasks. Unless of course I actually get to use my license.

It's a Small World After All

Last night we had the missionaries over to our house for dinner. One of the elders had a look of familiarity to him, but I couldn't place who he looked like. I finally had an image come to my mind of who it was that he looked like (I still didn't have a name). The image was of someone I went to high school with. He was a year older than I was, blond hair and not real tall. I looked at his name badge and the last name "Irving" didn't ring a bell. So as dinner got started we of course asked where they were from. Elder Irving said he was from Sandy. I then had to ask what high school and his answer was Brighton. Come to find out he was Dave Irving's younger brother. It gets even crazier. This Elder was in the stake that Brian and I just moved from. Talk about small world.

I am actually supposed to be studying for my real estate exam that I am taking tomorrow night, but I was falling asleep. I thought I would take a quick break. Now I know that some of you are a lot smarter than me and did much better in school. What I need to know is does any one have any good study suggestions. I need this information to stick long enough to help me pass the test. I seem to get real drowsy as soon as I start to read it. Any suggestions would be of value. I could beat myself up for not learning good study habits when I was in school. I was there long enough.

Goo Goggles

Friday night the kids found their swimming goggles. They don't wear them in the pool but love to wear them around the house. Kelsey played in them for at least a half an hour on Saturday. She looks so goofy in them and the way she moves and looks around is hysterical. We took some video of it but I can't figure out how to get it on the blog, so I will shoot them out in an email. If I miss anyone who really wants to see the clip let me know.

Last night Brian and I went to the play Pillow Talk at Hale Theater. I liked the story. However, I felt like some of the lines weren't delivered as well as in some of the other plays. The supporting actress and supporting actor did a fabulous job.