Cousin Camp

Just wanted to thank Todd and Denise for planning such a fun Family Reunion. We went to Island Park and rented a cabin for 3 nights, not nearly long enough. It was fun getting together and having the cousins renew friendships. We had 3 rooms upstairs that had lofts in them. Kaylea and Kenadee are showing us this cool loft.

I had to put this next picture in because several of us spent countless hours working on this puzzle. It's a memory I don't want to forget. I think after 4 days, Sandi was the one to finally put the final piece in the puzzle. (Actually, she said there were about 5 pieces missing, but close enough.)

We spent much of the first evening and second... okay and the third playing rock band. My kids absolutely loved hanging out with their uncles and aunts and jammin to some music. I think everyone who wanted a turn to play got one. I enjoyed watching more than anything. Man can those Collings boys sing!!!

Here's Chloe, Steve, Douglas, Grandma, and Grandpa watching everyone play Rock Band.

Caitlyn, Victoria, and Bailee hanging out on the couch. This cabin had 8 bedrooms, 3 lofts, 2 family rooms, 4 large bathrooms, a large kitchen and dining area. It was amazing.

Molly, Denise, and Grace. Denise cooked all of the dinners while we were up there, we were definitely fed well. The meals were absolutely delicious. I am afraid to cook when my year comes around. Hopefully I can work around that.

Marc, Sandi, John, Brinlee, and the most AMAZING drummer of all time, STEVE!

Kaylea holding our newest cousin, Bailee, she is such a sweet baby. Zoe is in the front of this picture, another new cousin, and just a darling. She had the cutest smiles.

We decided float down the river on tubes, so a group of us went to rent them, the only problem was it was late in the day, and they were sold out. We decided to just go play in the river instead. The water was FREEZING cold, and it took some getting used to. Uncle Steve decided to help get us used to the water by splashing anyone close to him... thanks?

We found a small dock, with a couple of old row boats attached, and decided to adopt it as our area. It was a warm dry place to sit and watch other rafts, canoes, and tubes go by.

We had a couple of kids decide they needed to chase the fish. Brinlee was the bravest, she'd follow a fish to the ends of the earth if you let her. Conner, Kelton, Cameron, Chloe, Jake, and Kenadee joined in. They all waded to the middle of the river, right through the sea weed. I thought the sea weed felt gross, so I didn't get too far into the water. The middle was a lot warmer than the shoreline so I did go out a ways.

I also found out that if I stayed close enough to Steve, I wouldn't get splashed. He aimed for those a little further away from him.

What's a day at the river without some hot bodies and muscle flexing? Kaylea and Steve.

After the river, the kids decided to warm up in the hot tub... they were chilled to the bones! We kept saying the adults would go out later, but never had a chance. So much to do, so little time.

We spent a day at Yellowstone Park, our first stop was Old Faithful. We showed up a little bit early, or late... whatever. We had a 40 minute wait to see it, but it was a nice break from the car, and it was worth the wait. My kids really loved hanging out with their younger cousins. Conner loves the babies, he spent a lot of time holding them and loved pushing Douglas in the stroller.

Here's my family, Jessica had to stay home and work, it's not the same without her here. Conner and Kaylea are showing off the amazing tie dyed shirts they made. We had everyone that made a tie dyed shirt wear it to Yellowstone Park. Not only did it look cool, but you didn't have to guess which family they were from. Here is a picture of all the cousins with their cool shirts at Old Faithful.

Our main goal for the day was to search for bears. We found elk, and buffalo, and a coyote. I was one of the lucky ones to catch a glimpse of a rare chipmunk! But no bear. I was able to take one final picture of Conner before my camera died. So I missed pictures of Grandma's closet, or the cool hat craft that the kids made. And one more memory I'd hate to forget. Chloe got sick on the way back from Yellowstone. I was so impressed with how organized Molly was. She has a bin in the back of her van that holds everything you could want for just such an emergency. Chloe threw up in Kenney's car. We all pulled over, and while the dad's were dry heaving, we were all trying to clean it up. Meanwhile other cars passing by were pulling over to see the wild animals that we surely must be seeing, why else would we be pulled over. Thanks to Sandi for directing traffic, "there are no bears here" "there's nothing to see" "just sick kids" "move along people".

All in all, it was a great family reunion, we had a great time. I didn't want to go home. My kids start school tomorrow, I can't believe how this summer has flown by.

Pickles

I went into my garden 2 days ago and found about 20 ripe cucumbers. I have never had even one cucumber plant actually grow in my garden so this is something new. I decided I shouldn't waste any of the food that I've grown, so I set out to make pickles, and bottled green beans, and tomatoes. I've felt so domestic these past couple of days.

Jessica came home yesterday and I was so proud of all the bottles of fruits and vegetables that I've put up, I wanted to show off. I opened the cupboard and smiled really big. Jessica twisted her face and said, "You grew pickles in your garden??" Her brother started laughing and kindly reminded her that you can't grow PICKLES in a garden, that would be weird.

Bottled Apricots

When I was growing up, every year we spent the last month of summer picking apricots from the two apricot trees in our back yard. I remember climbing the trees as high as I could without breaking branches, and filling buckets full of apricots. Then lowering the buckets down with a rope to somebody waiting below. One year we had a 3 foot swimming pool in the back yard, and when we'd get too hot picking apricots, we'd go dip our head in the pool and come back with our hair dripping wet to pick some more.

I really learned to love bottling apricots. My fingers would be puckered like prunes, and I'd have slime up to my elbows (actually I think the slime came from bottling peaches). But when we were done, it seemed like we had HUNDREDS of bottles of apricots lined up on the counter top, waiting to be put away in the fruit room.

Last week I was commenting to my husband how much I missed having an apricot tree in my yard. It just doesn't seem like a real summer without doing any canning. About 2 days later Tera called to offer me a couple of boxes of apricots she had picked. I was ecstatic! Only problem was, I really didn't have enough time to bottle them before I had to leave out of town. I placed the boxes in my laundry room right next to my air conditioning vent and actually forgot about them while I was at Education Week.

Today I decided I would go asses the damage, and throw out all the rotten apricots... it had been way too long. I was actually afraid to open the boxes, but decided I'd better be brave. What I saw were perfectly ripe, sweet, juicy apricots! I was shocked! I spent about an hour cleaning them and putting them in bottles. Tera gave me enough apricots for 7 bottles. That may not compare to the HUNDREDS and THOUSANDS we used to bottle as kids, but it brought back some fun memories. I really had a nice, nostalgic day.

Thanks TERA!!

Education Week

Steve and I just got back from Education Week at BYU Idaho. We had a really nice time. We actually went up a couple of days early so Steve could get some work done in Idaho Falls. I was able to get some reading in. By the end of the week, I had read the second book in the twilight series, New Moon. It is addictive.

When we finally got to Rexburg, we decided we'd better take advantage of the new temple that's there. It's so beautiful inside. We met our friends Troy and Shanna, and went through a session with them. The fun part about hanging out with them is that Troy was raised in Rexburg, and knows just about everyone. Sadly, they have decided to move back and have put their house on the market. I'll be sad to see them go.

Erin and Brayden let Kaylea, Conner, and Steve (on a part-time basis) stay with them while we were gone. I really appreciate them for helping us out. It's nice having family so close.

When we got home, the mountains to the west of us were on fire. I saw the strangest helecoptors I have ever seen. The one pictured here had this fire hose hanging out of it's belly and looked like the front cab was separated from the back, I assume water tank? They would fly over our house when they needed more fuel. The second helecoptor was shaped like a U and had propellors on each side. It had a long rope with a huge bucket on the end. It was about the biggest helecoptor I've ever seen. Then there were 2 normal ones, both with buckets.

Conner and I spent Sunday evening with our binoculars watching the 4 helecoptors go back and forth from the mountain to the reservoir and back to the mountain. I must be terrible, but when the mountain is on fire at night, it looks so neat. You see a long line of fire snaking its way accross the mountain.

And now for the moment you've all been waiting for, I finally took a picture of the new hair do. Sorry it's taken me so long. I really hate taking pictures of myself, but here you go.

TA DA!!!!!!

For Sale

I guess a few of you didn't know my house was on the market. I must confess, that was my intent. I actually am having a hard time with wanting to sell the house. We have had some homes built out here by us that are amazing, and the market is so bad that they are ready to go into foreclosure, we could buy them for less than they are worth. Steve and I thought it would be a great time to get into something nicer, and build some great equity at the same time. We have just been testing the market to see, if it doesn't sell, it's not meant to be. It has been for sell for about 1 1/2 months and we have only had one person look at it. (and two Realtor tours) Don't worry, if we were moving, I would definitely post it!

As for the hair, I haven't taken any pictures yet, but give me a day or two and I'll post a picture. When the lady was cutting my hair she had me turned away from the mirror. When she turned me around, I just about lost it. It was so short, I looked like a boy, and I had this long hanging thing in the front. She immediately said, "now I'll show you how to do it." And by the time I left there, I really liked it. It's definitely different than I ever do my hair, it's a little bit spikier, but I really have had fun with it.

I have been working since Friday on a computer glitch at work, it was just about the most frustrating thing I've had to deal with on a computer (and I lost my hard drive last month). I don't even know how to describe what was wrong, but today I drove to Logan to get a disk to reinstall a program, and after 5 days of STRESS, it's FIXED!!!! Hooray! I feel like the weight of the world has been lifted!

We had our carpets cleaned today so while they dry, I'm spending the evening at Erin's. Erin and Brayden went out to the movie and I get to watch the kids and BLOG.

Another week in July

Well, another week has gone by, I don't have much to write about. I did go in for a haircut on Monday. Erin talked me into going to a new place, I had a new girl do my hair and I love it! Thank you Erin for the advice. It is quite a bit shorter than I usually have it, but it's really easy to do. I'm thinking I'll keep going to this girl.

I went out to ride my bike on Monday and the tire was flat. I got it repaired on Thursday, after spending time with Erin taking her son to the doctor. He had a really bad infection on his foot. Poor kid, it looked really painful. I didn't get to ride as much as I would have liked, but I have been walking every day with Erin.

I got to go to Logan on Wednesday, Steve and I took Jessica to Maddox for dinner, it was nice to see her. She got a job that she is in training for, actually two. I think Aeropostale and Dairy Queen. But she's also interviewed with a dentist, and hopes she can do that instead of fast food. There is also one with Verizon that she's considering. I'm really glad she's working so hard to find a good job.

Kaylea went to a 3 day training for student government. She camped out on the grass by the football field at the High School. On Thursday she was supposed to come home at 1:00pm.We had a group of realtors taking a tour of our house on Thursday morning at around 9:30. I left at 9:20 and I guess they brought Kaylea home from her campout at about 9:25. Kaylea didn't see anyone home so she went down to her room to catch up on some much needed sleep. At about 9:45 all the realtors came in and were looking through the whole house. Kaylea woke up as they were looking in her room. I think she was really embarrassed, and they apologized to her. She called me when they left on my cell phone and asked why 20 people were wandering through the house. It was pretty funny. I called Melissa (our realtor) to apologize, she just laughed. She said I wouldn't imagine the things she's seen as a realtor. My daughter sleeping in her room was NOTHING!

It's always fun trying to sell your house. I know Molly can relate!

Yesterday I started to read Twilight! I finished it today, it was SO GOOD! I'm anxious to start the next book. I have put off reading for too long.

Hope you all have a happy next week!

Youth Conference

Last week we had Youth Conference. We just stayed in town, but talk about a fun time. We had it mostly at the Stake Center. There must have been 400 to 500 kids there. This was just the kids ages 14 to 18 years old. I tried to add up all of the hours of service they put in and it was mind boggling. We spent several hours tying fleece blankets, putting together humanitarian kits, and staining 100 cars for "The Happy Factory". Everyone wrote their testimony in a Book of Mormon. We went on a service scavenger hunt, and couldn't come back to the church until we had accomplished 15 acts of service on a list. These included things like washing car windows, sweeping driveways, weeding, singing a primary song to children, reading a book to a child. Needless to say, Grantsville was flooded with service last week.

The first night they taught us the waltz and the cha cha, it was an experience. We also rented out the Deseret Peak Swimming pool for about 4 hours and had a huge pizza, swimming party. On Saturday they rented a rock wall, and a huge blow up slide, (like they have for carnivals) and spent the day doing outdoor activities, which also included human foosball, and water kick-ball. I am happy to say I climbed the rock wall twice! And participated in all of the activities that were available. Imagine a 38 year old woman trying to climb a rock wall for the first time in her life! But it was really a lot of fun!

We ended on Saturday evening with a testimony meeting. The spirit was so strong, it reminded me of testimonies at girls camp. The kids kept getting up, and after 2 hours straight, they decided to end the meeting. Some of the kids that hadn't stood up yet, were disappointed. It was such a neat weekend! I'm amazed with the rising generation. What great kids!

Getting in shape

I decided after watching my girls run the 4th of July race that it was time for me to get in shape again. I decided that I won't get out of bed in the morning unless I know somebody is waiting for me, so I called my sister Erin to see if she wanted to start working out together. Erin lives about 2 1/2 miles from my house, so I thought it would be a great idea to ride a bike down to her house, go walking with her, and ride my bike back home.

I'm not sure why the Lord feels like I need a piece of humble pie every once in a while, but I got one this week! So I don't have a bike of my own, Steve's is too big, so I decided to ride Conner's mountain bike, it's just my size. Monday I climbed on my bike and 20 minutes later made it to Erin's house. It was so hard, and the gears wouldn't change very easily. We walked, and then I had to go back home, I just needed a better attitude.... On my way home it took me 1/2 hour to get 2 1/2 miles! My legs felt like spaghetti, and I was having a hard time staying on the seat.

On Tuesday I couldn't even get 2 blocks! I was so sore, I rode standing up as long as I could. I decided that the person who invented the bicycle should be shot! I kept pedaling... I came dragging in to Erin's house, no faster than day 1. We did our walk/run and had a really nice time. I looked at that bike that would have to take me back home and wanted to cry. It looked like a torture device. Erin was so sweet, she gave me a pink, ruffled, throw pillow that I put on the seat and started my journey again. I just kept thinking, "nobody's awake this early...nobody will see me..."

I was riding up Willow street and passed a couple of ladies from my stake, they made a couple of funny comments, and we all had a good laugh at my expense...and I kept pedaling. I passed the elementary school, and thought I would never get home, I actually wanted to get off and walk my bike... but I kept pedaling. Pretty soon I heard some breathing to my right, I turned to look and a neighbor was jogging, she came from behind me, passed me, and left me in the dust!!

I must have been a sight, huffing and puffing up the road, on Conner's bike, with a pink, ruffled, throw pillow under my bum, pedaling at an exhausting rate of about 2 miles per hour!!! She was very sweet, and only told her husband how she wasted me on my bike!

On Wednesday, I decided that running is a lot easier for me, and I needed some healing time, so I ran to Erin's house, we did our walk/run, and then I made her drive me home. Later that day I went with Steve and bought a gel pad for the bike seat, found a sweet pair of biker shorts, and used WD 40 on the gears and everything that moves on Conner's bike.

Today was a much better day!! I made it to her house in 10 minutes. On the way I scared a couple of deer and an ugly goat. I rode back home in half the time!! I am not giving up on this biking thing, I think I'll get my own bike soon. Looking back on this week, a slice of humble pie is okay every once in a while, it's always fun to look back and laugh.

A day on horseback

I think Steve had an amazing day with his girls. Jessica, Kaylea, Steve, and Uncle Allen went on a horseback ride up in the mountains. They went to the pond right below Deseret Peak. They were gone for about 5 hours, they all came home walking funny, but really enjoyed the day.

Steve has always wanted someone in the family to ride horses with him. That kind of went out the door when I got bucked off the horse a few years ago. When Steve asked if either of them would like to go on a ride the day after Independence Day, he was pleasantly surprised when both girls said yes.

Steve rode Love, Jessica rode Dakota, and Kaylea rode one of Uncle Allen's horses. They packed a lunch, and when they got to the pond, they all soaked their feet in the cold water, and ate their lunch. The girls each rode their horse through the pond.

They tried to make snow angels in what little snow there still was. It took 2 hours to get to the pond, and about 45 minutes to get back. Dakota was being just a little bit difficult on the way back, so Jessica traded Uncle Allen horses.

I just thought these were such pretty pictures. Jessica said that each time she comes into town, she wants to go on a ride with her dad.

Fireworks

Here are just a few pictures of us at the fireworks. Erin and Tera and their families just stayed in Erin's yard, and were able to see the fireworks. We always go to the park and lay in the grass. It's right above our heads, and they do an amazing job. It's fun to see everyone in town there. Kaylea was there, but she watched them with her cross country friends, I didn't get any pictures of her. After the OFFICIAL fireworks, we went to Erin's house and Conner set off at least 30 fountains for his cousins. I think they really enjoyed it.

Parade

Erin lives in the perfect place for a parade. Her house sits right on the parade route. She has nice shady trees in the front yard, and lots of grass to sit on. These are 3 of my nieces waiting for the candy to be thrown. Jessica, Kaylea, and Conner helped their cousins to get the candy, and not go too far into the road. Conner was able to catch a frisbee, a ball, and lots and lots of candy. He also lit a lot of fireworks for the cousins to see, and had a really fun day.

Steve just relaxed in his chair for the whole parade. He drank pop, soaked in the sun, and laughed at the small town marching bands and floats.

Indepencence Day 5K

Yesterday, the girls ran the 4th of July 5k. Kaylea has been running hard all summer and has really done a great job. We were really excited to see how she would do running against Jessica. Jessica , Alyssa, and Nicole at about 1 1/2 miles into the race. She was running strong and feeling pretty good. Not about to be beat by anyone!

At 1/12 miles, Kaylea was a little ways behind Jessica. But looking really good. She was pumped for the race. After she ran past, my friend Jill's daughter ran past and threw her inhaler at her mom. She said she wouldn't need it. As soon as our girls passed, we hopped in Jill's car and started to drive to the end of the race. I was surprised to get a phone call. It was Kaylea, at mile 2 she was having an asthma attack and couldn't breathe. We were still in the car, and had Jill's daughter's inhaler so we turned around and went back to mile 2 with the inhaler. Kaylea had really fallen behind and was really upset, she was crying and couldn't catch her breath. She used the inhaler and then took off running again. (I don't think she breathed in deep enough, but I couldn't stop her from taking off again.)

The race ended before I could get back, Jessica was the 2nd woman to cross the finish line. And first in her category. Kaylea gets a gold medal for finishing the race at all. I have a problem with asthma when I run, and once it starts, I can barely walk. Jessica also got first place in her age group. Afterwards they had a drawing, Jessica won a $20 gift card for gas; definately something she could use. The picture above is Kaylea with Hillary on the far right, Hillary was the girl who's inhaler she used. Also Andrew and Mindy Beckett, friends from school.

Jessica at the end of the race. A funny story, Jessica really didn't want to wake up that morning for the race. I took Kaylea without Jessica because she wouldn't get out of bed. Dad convinced her to get up and run. She won 2nd place, 1st place, and $20 in gas. She admitted, she was really glad she woke up and ran the race.

Two super runners, and sweet sisters. A great start to Independence Day.

Camp Photos

We spent the first day at the Manti Temple doing baptisms for the dead.

Here's the pool at the campground, a little bit small, but we all jumped in together. The adult leaders weren't planning on getting wet, we were talked into it, and jumped in with our clothes on.

Have you ever heard of ash cakes? You take some dough and drop it right into the hot ashes of the fire, they are kind of like scones. Once they are fully cooked, you brush off the ashes and eat the scones. Don't they look good? The group of ladies above were the brave ones who ate the ash cakes.

At the lake, I spent most of the first hour taking girls out on the canoe, the other two canoes kept being tipped over. I took the girls who were a little bit nervous to fall in.

Kaylea and friends floating at the end of the dock, and sunbathing on the dock.

Steve's last LOVE

Last Friday Steve left to go down to Monticello, UT to purchase a new horse. He spent the evening riding her and then again Saturday morning took her on a ride. They went all over in the mountains, he says she's got a lot of energy. She is a Missouri Fox Trotter, which means she doesn't bounce you around like other horses, she has a really smooth gait. She's 3 years old and her name is Love. It's actually "Last Love" but that would be weird calling her that. She was named Last Love, because her father, the stallion, won't be siring any more foals, she was his last hurrah. It's nice for Dakota to have a friend since Duke died. I always like seeing how new horses get along with each other. They were actually really mellow, I think both horses are happy to have a friend. Steve gets up early every morning and goes for a ride before work. It's a really nice hobby for him.

While Steve was gone, I was just returning from girl's camp. I felt really gross from all of the camping, fires, etc. On Saturday Erin and I went and got manicures and pedicures (I guess her husband was fishing for the day). I really struggle with understanding the ladies that do my nails, this was no different, it didn't matter what she said, I couldn't understand her. In the end, I didn't get any design or decoration on my nails because I didn't understand her when she asked about it. It's okay though, I'm not a flashy person, plain nail polish suits me just fine. After the nails, Erin and I went out to lunch and just had a nice day.