Back To School Shopping

I absolutely love Back-to-school shopping. I love organizing everything in the backpacks and the smell of a new box of crayons. We always dump everything out of the bags in the middle of the living room floor to sort and organize. My kids are growing up so fast. This year Dallin will be in High School, Taylor in Middle School, and Cami in Elementary School. Dallin will even begin driving and dating this year - AAACK! For now here are my sweet girls sorting through their new supplies:)

Just So Taylor

I found this creation on Taylor's dresser. Only Taylor would store left over candy this way. I'm sure she has determined a systematic way to eat it and I wouldn't dare just pick any old piece. We love our Tay Tay!

Birthday Sleepover

Because we were gone on Cami's birthday, she invited some friends over for a sleepover a few weeks later. It was her first big sleepover party and she had a blast. Hayley and Taylor helped her decorate and plan some games. We also got to use the craft room for a project and I was thrilled to keep the mess where it belonged:)

Bad Puppy

Zoey likes to bury bones. I've never actually had a dog who buried things, but she really does. She particularly likes to bury rawhide, which is really disgusting when she digs it up later. We try to stop her by making her put the bones down before going outside. This really frustrates her, so she has taken to trying to bury her bones inside. We find her moving cushions on the couch, putting them under the rug, or trying to hide them under her bed.

Unfortunately, she figured out that she could dig in the pot of my big plant. I came downstairs to find dirt flung all over the corner and my plant uprooted and hanging. I immediately blamed the puppy and told him no. Then I realized there was something sticking out of the dirt.


As soon as I said her name, she put her ears down and came walking over to me. She sat under the tree looking so sad I had to turn around to keep from laughing. I couldn't be mad at her for too long and she hasn't gone near it since.

Dan and Trish Visit

We were glad to have Dan and Trish come home with us to visit for a couple days. We always enjoy having their family around and we recently finished our basement (posts to come eventually) and were excited to see how it worked with guests. The kids did a lot of playing and set a few new basketball records. The adults did a lot of talking and laughing and boy was I glad to be home!

We did take one little trip over to the Moravian Pottery and Tile Works. It's only about 5 min. from our home and I hate to admit I had never been there. Henry Mercer was a prominent resident of Doylestown and quite influential in the arts and crafts movement in the early 1900's. This is the oldest working tile factory in the nation and still produces tiles using Buck's County clay, his designs, and old fashioned methods. He also built a large concrete castle (which I have been to several times) to house his collection of tools of the working man. It is a well known museum in the area and across the street from the Mitchner Museum of Art. His home is just as fascinating and open for tours as well.

It was a short, fun tour and the kids enjoyed watching the artisans create tiles.

The kids in front of a big fireplace.

Many of the tiles were so beautiful and vibrant. I thought this corner was so pretty.

They put together this tile puzzle and then watched an artisan removing freshly made tiles to begin drying.

Seguine Family Reunion

Taylor and I went straight from Girls Camp to a Seguine Family Reunion at Ed and Kathy's house. Ed, Dallin, and Cami went a few days earlier and met us there. Bill's family, Dan's family, Lynn's family and Julie's family were all present (missed you Tom, Heather, and Shelby:). The kids had a ball playing together and it was great for all the adult kids to catch up on each other's lives. Ed forgot to bring the non-camping clothes I laid out for him, so I had to make a quick run to the store for church clothes. We were staying in a hotel close by and I really enjoyed a long shower and comfy bed that night.

There were still a lot of people staying at Ed and Kathy's house and it put a real strain on their well pump. After a long round of showers it decided to quit. That's right - no water. When it became apparent that it wouldn't be fixed quickly, we headed home with Dan, Trish, and their kids. We're glad we got to see everyone, even if it was only for a short time!

I only got a few pictures, but here they are:

Eme

Aidan and Davin

Forester

Eme, Ronan, and Austin

Ilana, Cami, Kennan

Taylor and Ilana

Maddie

More Girls Camp

Beside being in charge of the 1st years, I also spent a lot of time at camp with the girls from our congregation. We have such a great group! I got some fun pictures from game night.

The whole group!

The balloon pop game

Our Bishop with all our girls

Taylor and some other girls playing a Minute-To-Win-It game.

I love this picture of Taylor jumping in front of the picture - she's hilarious.

Taylor and Izabel

Singing in the pavilion:)

First Year Campers

I was in charge of the first-year campers at girls' camp this year. I love the first-years. They are excited to be there, they are a little nervous, and they are still young enough to do what you tell them:) I had a wonderful group of girls from Philadelphia and the surrounding suburbs. Most of them had never been camping before, never sat around a fire, never had a s'more, or spent a week without TV. They were a little shy at first, but soon got to know each other. I'm always amazed at how easily differences melt away and the most unlikely friendships are made at camp. It really is a magical place.

I'm not going to lie and tell you I love to camp. I actually HATE to camp - but I LOVE girls' camp. I do understand why we take our girls to camp. We get them away from all the distractions of life, we challenge them and humble them. We make everyone more or less the same and provide and environment where they can study, learn, and figure out who they really are. I am an advocate of this experience and will always be willing to help because I know it can change girls' lives forever. I have seen it and I have been changed by watching it.

What I don't understand is submitting yourself willfully to uncomfortable and inconvenient circumstance for fun. Yes, I can see a night or two in order to spend time with friends or see some sights (we are actually going with friends over labor day weekend), but why would you choose to be uncomfortable for no other reason than just camping. I really don't get it - and I have done my fair share of it in the last couple of years. The thought of sleeping in a tent for a week actually almost brings me to tears. There... now you have the honest truth.

We had some really hot weather the first part of the week and a lot of us struggled. It was hard to focus and really hard to sleep. But we persevered through our hikes (Taylor's group got lost and ended up being gone for 5 hours) and managed to have a lot of fun in the process. I had some amazing ladies helping me including my friend Tina. She is just about one of the most wonderful people I have ever known and I love any chance to spend time with her. The girls sang all day and night and stayed up late having glow-stick parties. We ate treats around the fire and started and ended each day with scriptures and prayer. I know the girls felt loved and realized how special they are as daughters of Heavenly Father. Here are pictures of my group of girls. I will do another post with pictures of girls from our ward.

Here they are crowning a Ninja champion.

Playing "Little Sally Walker"

Nicki was one of the youth leaders and was amazing.

Evelyn is one of my favorite people. Camp changed her life and now she's going to be the President next year! I'm so proud of her and happy she will help other girls have the same experience.

Brooke and Natalie are from my ward. They had a blast together!

I miss these girls already! I hope I can see them at activities!

Cami's Brithday - Part 2

We left the boys in charge of making sure Cami had a fun actual birthday while we were gone. They took her out to eat and made her a cupcake cake. I talked to her on the phone and she sounded like she was having a great time. They even followed instructions and took a few pictures for me.

Dallin made the cake and Cami decorated it. She was very proud of how it turned out!