Prepare to be astonished...

I took the kids camping. Notice that I said "I". Bryan did not come. Nope, just me, the kids & my niece (and a few people from the neighborhood). Yep, I packed up the van, drove 2 hours, set up a tent and camped with my kids ALL BY MYSELF. Why is this such a big deal? I DON'T camp...not really.



Before the van had even come to a stop the kids were out and headed for the awesome rope swings. Renee went off the "small" tire, Tara and Rose went off the "medium" stump and Reed went off the "high" platform.









There was also a really fun waterslide that everyone except for Renee spent a lot of time going down. You can't really tell from the pictures, but it's quite a hike up the stairs to the top.









And of course there was plenty of down time for foot dangling, playing on the teeter totter and visiting with others.







Tara, Reed and Rose loved the tall platform swing and tried talking me into taking that giant leap. You'll be pleased to know that I did not give in to peer pressure! I jumped off the stump plenty of times and went down the waterslide several times as well.



Bryan did come up and join us for a couple of hours on Saturday. He went down the waterslide and tried out the "stump" swing. But he was exhausted from a night of movie watching and so didn't stay long.







Bryan did take Renee down the waterslide once. She ended up in the water and decided that she wasn't a fan and didn't need to try again. She did love the pedal boats though and spent a great deal of time talking others in to taking her around the pond.

The War Continues...

Last Wednesday a couple of girls in my ward started a war of fun pranks with me and one other leader. I need some ideas to return fire! HELP!


Day 1: Oreos on my front door that read "heart u".


Day 2: chalk body outlines all over my driveway.





Day 3 (today): balloons taped to the front door.

I'm back...

I know it's been ages since I last blogged. You can find me over on Facebook fairly regularly though. Here's an update on things that have been happening here at our house. Reed spent his 13th birthday at Scout Camp. We gave him a new backpacking back pack which he thought was cool. Rose celebrated her 12th birthday here at home with family and received mostly clothes. We've been busy doing a whole lot of nothing. All 3 kids start school next week and I'm looking forward to some quiet time here at home. I'm taking piano lessons again and am realizing that I still have so much to learn. I've also started teaching again. The summer break was really nice, I must admit. I'm still in the Young Women's program and was recently called as one of three organists as well. I LOVE my YW calling! I currently have a hummingbird stuck in my garage. The silly bird won't fly low enough to escape through the wide open garage door. Renee is worried that he will starve to death. In other news, the hubby and I have purchased our tickets to go to Germany next month! I'm nervous about such a big trip, but really excited as well. I'll try to be better at the blogging thing. Have a great day!