Random

These are just a couple random pictures we have taken.

Alissa built this "cake." Pretty impressive.

We got a cook book with "food art" from the library, so Remi and Avery created this!

Parker created his own food art:)

 Blake took the kids camping over the weekend, so I enjoyed spending some one on one time with Kelsi. We went shopping(ick), watched movies and ate chocolate. Well, I had chocolate, she had milk:) They came home Saturday night completely exhausted, but the kids all had fun. I packed everything for them and kicked them out when Blake got home Thursday night. I forgot to send the camera though. Oh well, they have the memories.

Birthday Party

One of Remi's friends invited her to a birthday party. It was even on a Monday, so Remi could go. Most parties are on Sundays, so she doesn't get to go, so she was so excited. She talked about it all day and was so torn about what gift to get her. She tried on a few different outfits too and wanted her hair just right. Finally at 3:30 I dropped her off.

I was a little nervous. She hasn't been to very many people's houses that we don't know really well and know what their standards are. Blake and I were just talking the other day about how we need to trust that we have taught our children the correct principles and let them go to people's houses, trusting that they will choose the right.

Well, when I came to get Remi she came running out of the house with the birthday girl(Katie) and Avery. They all had their faces painted and Katie and Avery  had their hair colored hot pink. I told Remi how I liked her face paint, then asked, "Did you not want to color your hair?"

Avery said, "She didn't know if she was allowed to." I looked at Remi and she nodded. She wasn't sure if she was allowed to and didn't want to get in trouble. 

WOW, I was so proud of her. There were a lot of girls there and some of them were older girls and all of them had their hair colored pink. Remi was the only one who didn't do it. She was willing to say no to all of them because she didn't know if she was allowed to do it. I was one happy mom. I gave her a huge hug and asked her if she wanted to. She looked at me and said, "Really?" 

I said, "Yes. You can do it now. Thank you so much for not doing it when you weren't sure."

I told Blake about it when he got home and he was just as proud. It is so nice to see our kids choosing the right!!!

The Lake District part 2

The second day started out rainy and dreary. Eventually we ventured out and found a lake we could canoe on. We all took turns taking the kids out and they loved it! I went out with Melissa(the other mom) without any kids and it was kinda scary. Eric decided we needed to give him a ride out into the deep part so he could swim back. The only problem was that he had to jump out of the canoe. I know they tip easy and as soon as he stood up it started rocking. He braced himself and jumped and the boat..............didn't tip over, phew. We were screaming like little girls. I wouldn't have minded if it had been a nice warm sunny day and I had a swimming suit on. I was in pants and rain boots though. 

The kids loved going out in the lake, paddling and seeing the baby swans. The view was amazing. There were some mansions on the shore of the lake and of course everything was green and beautiful.

When we got back to the car we realized our key that turns on the car was missing. Eric had driven and was going to leave it in the car, but then decided not to. We looked everywhere, all over the ground where we were on the beach(hard sand and rocks) in the bushes where he changed, the bathroom where he changed. We couldn't find it anywhere. They Josh(the other dad with us) reached in Kelsi's carseat and it was under her in her seat. YAY!!!! Another blessing. So we loaded up and drove to a grocery store and got some yummy pasta and sauce and sausage to go in it. 

That night Blake, Eric, Remi, Broden, Parker, MaKenzee, Hunter and I hiked up the mountain next to our camp. It was a big hike and I was so proud of all the kids for making it to the top. They even wanted to keep going. When we got to the "top" there was another ridge taller, so we hiked to that one. Then when we got to the "top" of that one, there was another one. We had to go back though because it was getting dark. It was freezing on top too. I had Kelsi against me with a blanket and she started shivering because she was so cold. I felt bad, so we headed back after some pics. The view was beautiful though. We could see down in the valley with all the farms and creeks. We loved it up there.

The next morning we packed up camp and headed to the temple. We all took turns going through a session and taking care of all the kiddos. Then we ate at a little pub by the temple. It was funny because half the pub was filled with mormons. There were missionaries, people coming to see the pageant and people in the pageant. I doubt they have ever served less alcohol:) After dinner we headed back to the temple grounds to save our seats for the pageant. Outside the tent they had all kinds of games and activities for the kids. Stick pulls, music, swat the rat, quilt tying, rug weaving and you could make one of the little strings with a button on it when you wind it and pull it spins. I was impressed. Then the pageant started and it was amazing. It had stories of people in England when they joined the church. It was called, "Truth Will Prevail."

We were so glad we were able to take our family to this pageant. They may be too young to remember it, but hopefully they will remember the spirit they felt there.

The Lake District

Blake took some days off so we could go camping in the Lake District and go see the British Pageant. We left Wednesday morning and drove to Menwith Hill for gas, then on up to the Lake District. It was so pretty! Very much like Scotland. When we got there we set up our tent and camp and just hung out and let the kids play in the water. We explored around the campsite and ate dinner roasted marshmallows and went to bed. Eric joined us at about 10:30 that night. There was also another family from our ward who went too. The Hartvigsens. They have 4 kids and our oldest 4 are within a month or 2 of their 4, so they have tons of fun together.

Then next day the plan was to drive a little ways north and go to a sheep show. They were supposed to show us how they shear sheep, tell us about the sheep and do a sheep dog demonstration. We got there and it was all closed down, so we found a lake and went for a hike instead. 

We parked in a parking lot that had bathrooms and ate lunch. Then headed up the hill. We were kinda divided into 3 groups after just a few minutes. The first group had almost everyone, then there was me and Parker, and Eric used the toilet, then brought up the rear. After about 20 minutes of hiking, Remi came back to where Me, Eric and Parker were. She asked if we had Alissa. I thought she was joking. We soon realized that Alissa wasn't with either group. Eric ran back to the toilets and found her. We waited for them at a pond at the top of the mountain. Poor Alissa was so scared. There was a nice couple waiting with her when Eric got there. She clung to him for about 20 minutes and wouldn't let go. I felt so bad for her. We were so glad she was ok. What a blessing.

trying to find Eric

Alissa holding Eric's hand. Her new best friend:)

 Once Alissa and Eric caught up with us we headed down the mountain on a different trail. It was so pretty! We hiked down to a lake and there was no one there! That is not normal for England. Everyone got in their swim suits and swam. There was even some cliffs to jump off. Our kids were so brave! Eric and Blake jumped first, then Remi. She has always been a little fish. Broden jumped from the lower cliff, then Alissa "jumped" from the lower cliff. After everyone took their turns, I decided I wanted to jump too so Blake changed back into his clothes and I put on his swimming suit and a t-shirt so I could jump off the cliff too. It looked really tall when you got to the top. Kelsi pushed me in though. When I went back to change Broden jumped in too. I was sad I missed it, but he got 4 pounds out of it!

 As we were hiking back up a trail to the parking lot we came across this sign. The kids were very concerned, but the grown ups thought it was hilarious. We understood this sign as- no swimming because the water is deep and cold. Hmmm.... we don't swim well in water when we can touch and we're pretty sure all the water we have ever swam in, in Idaho, has been freezing. As for the undercurrents in the lake, we are still trying to figure that out. Oh well. We are just glad we saw the sign after we had all our fun. It really was the perfect place to jump in the water.

 On our drive back to camp we stopped for ice cream. Here's the crew eating their ice cream cones.

 And the crew walking back to the cars. We were quite the show! 5 adults and 9 kids walking down these crazy narrow roads that don't have sidewalks or shoulders. I'm glad we all survived.