Homemade Dresses

I decided to try making a pillowcase dress and for those of you who know my sewing style, you know I don't sew with a pattern. I look up tutorials online or just figure something out. For some reason, it's just easier that way. :)

It was super simple and I love that there is no closure involved other than a casing and big grosgrain ribbon through the top of the neckline. Easy peasy.

Can I bottle up that smile and save it for a rainy day? Please?

Miss Kendra loves the swing at Magaw and Papa's house.

Since I was given the fabric, I had enough to make skirts for the other girls. I cut off their jeans right below the bottom of the zipper and added a few layers of ruffles. I happened to find the coral shirts on clearance at Target that matched my flowered material exactly. I think they look adorable. Mikayla thinks she looks horrible. She's not a fan of the jean skirt/ruffle hem look. "I look like an 80's girl Mom!" Yeah, I know. Isn't that look back now?

I love the flowers at my parents house too.

Hydrangeas are some of my favorite flowers.

Trent took Megan and Mikayla swimming one afternoon while I packed boxes and Kendra napped. When they came home, Trent told me how awesome Megan was and how she swam half a lap all by herself. I was quite amazed and asked Megan how she was able to do that.


She looked at me and without hesitating said, "Jesus helped me do it. I wanted to swim a half lap and so Jesus helped me."

Girl's Camp!

We had a great week at Girl's Camp! We started off clean, well-rested, and happy and ended the week the same, okay, at least we were happy! Kelsey was the Camp Director and I was her assistant and we realized during the week that we were the 2 youngest adult leaders at camp and the ones in charge. Kinda funny! We tye-dyed shirts for camp this year. Each level had their own color and we did them a few weeks before camp. They looked so awesome! I loved all the different colors and patterns the girls chose.

All the crazy staff! We really had a great time getting to know each other better and working together all week. I loved not having to cook a single meal and getting to be silly and sing crazy songs and showing the girls that we have spiritual sides and silly sides to our personalities.

I got props from the girls for my dance and rap to a Ke$ha song. I changed it a bit though, "Wake up in the morning it's about 6:30, wake the girls up for the flag, but they're already here. Before you leave, brush your teeth, put your lunch in a sack, 'cuz when you leave for the hike you ain't comin' back! I'm talkin' bout wearing our campin' clothes (clothes), puttin' on our hikin' boots (boots), 'cuz that's what we do (do) at Girl's Camp!" There was more, but that's all I can remember now!

Kelsey and I at flag one night.

It was tons of fun having my 2 cousins at camp too. Eliza kept me laughing all week!

At campfire one night, the adults got to perform an awkwardly funny song for the girls.

Samantha, my other cousin, was on the ropes course all week and it was great spending time with her out there.

The obstacle I was most proud of myself for doing. This is Samantha climbing the telephone pole, all 30 feet of it.

I went last. It may have appeared I was being gracious in letting all the others go before me. In actuality, I was that scared that I couldn't get up the nerve until then! I got all harnessed up and checked and double checked my harness and made sure they knew I had 3 girls I needed to go home to!

I climbed up with my heard pounding in my chest and my insides twisting into knots. I stood up on top of that pole and it was shaking and causing my legs to turn to limp spaghetti, rendering my legs useless to jump off the pole. I kid you not, I nearly cried. I was that scared. But...

finally, I jumped through the air and grabbed onto the ring 10 ft in front of me.

Victory was mine! Now I know why they call it the Confidence Pole. I totally had the confidence after doing it, to know I could do it again and I went back out the next day to redeem myself. I climbed the pole even faster, stood on top, counted to 3, and jumped for that ring again. I was still nervous, but somehow having done it once before made it much easier the second time around.

I thought that obstacle cured my fear of heights. I was wrong. The next day, I had to climb another 30 ft ladder and leap across a 4 ft gap on the platform. A 4 ft jump is nothing, but when you're so high in the air and you realize that if you miss the platform on the other side, it will really hurt and be a long way down... well, it may as well be like jumping the Grand Canyon.

Then, we had to walk across a beam from one platform to another. Also scary.

And the last part was to climb across the swinging beams. Being able to use my arms made me feel much more secure. I think I have enough upper body strength that I felt better relying on my arms to pull my body across, whereas walking on the balance beam scared the crud out of me!

At the end of the Skywalk, you just let go and by that time, swinging down to the ground, I felt much better! It was a great confidence booster and really helped me get over or more comfortable with some of my fears.

I'm so glad I got the opportunity to go to camp this year. I learned A LOT from the other leaders about being a leader and working with the youth and I loved being involved in all the planning and organization of camp in the months prior to our fun-filled week. I loved planning experiences to help draw the girls closer to their Heavenly Father and to each other. It really was a great week and I wish I was going to be here next year to be involved with camp again.

Bowling Night!

Yes, Ryan and Trent wore matching shirts. On purpose. (Just kidding, just kidding, quite the coincidence though!)

Christine, Megan, and I took the boys on.

The younger boys

Daddy helped Kendra get in on the action too.

Look at that form!

The strong girls

Mikayla and her buddy Maren

Megan modeling the clown shoes she did not want to wear.

Our manly men: John, Ryan, and Trent

We had such a fun family night eating pizza and bowling. We love having fun with our friends and hope to make more memories before we move!

Fourth of July

Doesn't it look like a Happy 4th?!

OH, you wanted a better picture? Here you go... um... yeah, not so much...

Bryson and Bailey came out to visit us in California and it was fun and a little crazy having so many babies around.

Kendra and Bryson are just 2 weeks apart and had fun playing together.

Chloe and Bridget came out from Missouri and are here for a whole month. It is so fun to see them and play with mini-Josh, I mean Bridget.

Papa and Megan waiting for the parade.

At.ti.tude. I'm in for it with this one.

Me, my cousins Samantha and Eliza, and sister-in-law Chloe

Magaw and Bryson enjoying the parade

Kendra helped Papa look for any stray grays

Look at those blue eyes! Love em!

After seeing all the mini ponys can you guess what Megan's asking for?

Trent took us on a tour of the Operating Rooms where he works at the Biggs-Gridley Memorial Hospital. We had to wear appropriate headwear.

We headed home for some swimming, barbecuing (can you get more American than hot dogs, hamburgers, chips, potato salad, watermelon, and apple pie?! we went totally traditional) and then back to Biggs for a great fireworks show!

Aw, I love seeing Kendra's outfits and swimsuits on the 2 little nieces, so fun!

My Last Class...

Harder than I thought it would be. 

The very last song was Stevie Wonder's "I Just Called To Say I Love You."  One of my absolute favorite water aerobic songs.  Fun to sing along to and a good beat for cooldown.  I always have them shimmy or shake their hips on the last 3 strong beats in the song and I love the laughs that ensue after the hip shaking.  Well, I played that song last in my class and as we were stretching out our warm muscles, I thanked them for coming and for 3 years of attending my classes.  And cried.  I could not talk.  I turned and took off my mic pack and wiped the tears while they all clapped.  I turned back and clapped with them and accepted the generous praise.  We all enjoyed a spread of fruit, cookies, and cakes that they had brought for my last day and it truly warmed my heart.

I will carry some very distinct memories in my mind and in my heart:

Doug--my chocolate friend.  He's always good for a smile and a hug.  He's so active for an 82 year old and impresses me with his weight lifting.  He's one of the few I let call me "pretty lady", or say "love you." I'll always remember that chocolate brown skin, close-cropped hair and mustache, lifting weights next to me in body pump and shakin his groove thing in aqua. I've never seen him without a smile.

Doug--Then there's white Doug.  That's how Kelsey and I distinguished between them: White Doug and Black Doug.  We love those two!  He's always good for a pat on the back and a big smile.  He's kind, loving, and cares about how my girls are doing and how I'm doing with mommyhood.  He's comes to class not for the workout, but for the chatting.  He loves the ladies.

June--Another fave of mine is 91 yr old June.  She's always cracking jokes(mostly at my expense!), poking fun, makes me laugh, I just love her to death, but you don't say that to a 91 yr old!  She's amazingly active for 91 and I cut her slack when she confuses me with pregnant Kelsey.  I blame it on the age and not that I might actually look like I have a preggo belly.

I'll miss the smiles, the hugs, the 'good mornings' the singing along to "I just called to say I love you", the mic pac on my waist and mic by my mouth that made me feel I was in charge. I'll miss being confused with Kelsey, who coincidentally has kids the same age, curly hair, and is the same age as me. Kelsey is also 6 months pregnant and I find it funny that even in my last week teaching I got asked when the baby was coming. I love old people.  What a fun chapter to my life.  I wonder if we'll revisit that chapter and add more pages in the book of life or if I'll find a new outlet and hobby for me to create a whole new chapter.  Time will tell.

(the giganto card and smaller card with their personal notes inside)

they say I'll be missed. they say to come visit. they say they think i'm great. they say they love me. they made me cry. I was at the end of our cool down and noted aloud that it was my last time to give them a posture check. Stand tall, head held high, chest lifted, tummy in tight.... I welled up with tears and could not finish. I turned away to wipe my eyes and held up a finger in the air. I couldn't go on. I took off my mic and wiped away the sweat mixed with tears. I turned back around to give a smile as the clapping drowned out my music. And it was over.