Girls camp...just a few of the good ones

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I thought this was funny...

I'm finally home!

I've had a crazy life lately. It started with girls camp last week which was a blast...( pictures to come) and I got home on Saturday. My family and I headed up to my parents' cabin in Pinetop the following Monday and we just got home this evening...(even more pictures to come). We had a really great week up there filled with thunderstorms every afternoon and plenty of rain. The kids couldn't believe that they got Dad all week to hang out with and he didn't have to go to work! I had a wonderfully relaxing trip even though I did a TON of organizing and cleaning, it was very therapeutic for me. Jake doesn't understand how I can clean my entire vacation and still call it a vacation. His idea of relaxing is reading the entire Harry Potter book, (what # is it anyway?), which he did and he filled me in on the whole thing. Sounds good, but not tempting enough to read. Am I the only one with this opinion? Anyway, the only major bummer of the trip was that my back tooth broke on Friday morning. I would like to say I was doing a "cool mom thing" by opening a can or something, but anyone who has Cox teeth knows all it takes is eating a bowl of Cheerios for your entire mouthful of teeth to come crumbling out. Well, it wasn't that bad, but it was Cheerios and not the milk-less kind. Definitely the kind that have been swimming in milk for 10 minutes....Luckily, for some reason, it doesn't hurt and I bought some wax so it doesn't shred my tongue until I can get in to see good ol' Dr. Jones - the only dentist this side of the Mississippi who understands Cox teeth and doesn't hold it against us. I love you, Mom.

Hannah!...

SUNFLOWERS! I told you so!

Okay, okay, here's what we did on the 4th!

This is us at MCC with all of my family. We thought it would be way too hot, but when we arrived, the sun was already behind the bleachers and there was PLENTY of room on the field to lay blankets and run around. I can't believe that my family is this big! 5 looks like a lot when we're all lined up. The kids loved the fireworks once they figured out what all the loud noise was. i guess we maybe should have prepped them for it...oops! Sarah was more than a little freaked out and just wanted to hide her face in my arm pit and only occasionally peeked out for a glance. This is the awesome YMCA hat that was given to me by the radio station that was entertaining the crowd. I was like a teenager standing by the stage yelling so they would throw something in my direction. It didn't matter what, just anything...it worked and my kids thought I was the coolest mom ever!

Girls Camp, here I come!

The time has finally arrived (well, almost) and all of our hard work and preparation will pay off (well, hopefully). I leave for LoMia on Wednesday morning along with bus loads of girls anticipating this thing we call "camp." Excited? A little. Some of my fondest memories are from girls camp. Especially as a YCL 1 and 2...Girls, you all remember those days, who couldn't? It's a lot of pressure to be on the leader end and try to make it everything that I remember it was for me. Nervous? Maybe. I haven't done this in at least 10 years and the hours they allotted for us to sleep, I'm sure it's got to be a typo. I have been getting a solid 8 hours of sleep since Sarah was 2 months old and she just turned 2! I have been doing my fair share of training (much the same way you would for a half marathon, I imagine:). Staying up late, giggling to Jake with just the glow of a flashlight about silly girl things, practicing pranks on my children by sticking their hand in warm water (coincidence? maybe), not showering for days on end...okay TMI! I hope I survive. I'm very excited. We had a great combined lesson on Sunday from our ward camp director just to get the week started right and it was awesome. I'll post pictures when I get back...

p.s. i don't know who the girls are in this picture but it was very much like some that we took back in the day...

TOOT! TOOT!

Yep that's me, tootin' my horn! My cousin Sarah got married yesterday and she looked SO beautiful! Her new husband Dave Farnsworth is a very lucky man because she is such a wonderful person. The night before the wedding, my other cute cousin Julie, and I got put in charge of decorating their serving tables. It's amazing what we came up with between 10:30 pm and 9 am the next morning and that's what I'm tootin' about! We got a lot of compliments and many people were surprised at our creativity. Luckily, Sarah had super cute colors that were easy to work with...Hot pink and Lime Green! Imagine all the possibilities...Gerber daisies, limes, fake grass, LOTS of fabric, etc. Thankfully Julie and I had the same vision and our creative juices weren't fighting...just flowing! We had a great time and it was a lot of fun...love you Sare...

My hubby...

I came across this picture of Jake and I today. It was taken last November at a black tie dinner we went to with my parents for the Mesa Arts Center. It's one my very favorite pictures of the two of us and I just wanted everyone to know how great we look together. I love this man and I wanted him to know that!

I am of worth, of INFINITE worth...

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I would hope nobody needs this information from me or uses it as a get rich quick scam. Love you all...

It's sad, but true...

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- Erica, is it just coincidence?

The beauty of nature...

I've decided that the beauty of nature is that it is washable. I know there are other more marvelous wonders but at this point having returned from three LONG nights in the woods, that is where my focus is. I will probably post more about my family reunion I am further detached from it, however, at this point there are things I need to forget instead of vent about. Let's just say that Jen Layton, you are a beautiful camper and you were my saving grace. I would never have guessed that you detested camping so. You made it look like a walk in the park. Here are just a few cute pics of my babes...

I know, Blake's a little too big for the pot, but you better believe that my kids got a bath every night! This one of Raegan is my favorite because of her hair and she's making the silliest face! I thought this one of Sarah was too cute with the sun. Both Blake and Sarah got to have their birthdays at the reunion. Blake turned 5 on Friday and Sarah turned 2 on Saturday. I will post those pics later. Enjoy the clean because you never know when you will have to endure a reunion where you can't shower for 4 days and you have to use a port-a-john...or not use it...