Gone Camping

We are leaving today for the weekend. Since Oregon schools are in such trouble, we have a 4 day weekend! In fact, they are still deciding if we'll just send the kids to school 4 days a week all next year. We have moved to a strange, backwards place . . . but I digress.

Camping.

We're meeting up with our best BYU buddies about 8 hours south of here, in Pinnacles, CA. We'll be eating at In-N-Out tonight, BABY! A quick visit with Great Grandma in San Fran and then onto the campsite. There is a pool there. I am thrilled. I can't wait to see everyone and take pictures of them all.

BYE! (and have a nice Memorial Day!)

Father/Son Outing

While I was in Utah, Damian took the boys on a Father/Son Outing.

These are all the Father/Son Combos in our Ward (Congregation).

A close up of MOSTLY Idiarts, from the same photo above (4 people in the photo aren't family)

Dame's brother, Jared, with his little guy, Marcus.

All the Idiarts getting ready for a photo op (took a little struggle for my kids, apparently!)

Grandpa Al with Ben, Jared with Marcus, JusTea with SpideyHulkMr.Incredible and Damian with Josh . . . All the Idiart Men!

Damian's sister, Allison is married to Aaron. They have a son, Noah. They aren't Idiart's, but we love them equally well. They're just in a different ward, so they weren't invited :(

Camping Extravaganza!

I took over 200 photos on our 1 day camping trip, last weekend. I pared them down to these 25. I am only in one shot, so you can play, "Where's Sarah," much like, "Where's Waldo?" Josh is only in 2 of these shots, because he was always "OFF" with his friends. I hardly saw him the whole time. It was great!

A mass of Idiarts enjoying the skits and talents presented.

Damian was "Called Out" to Hula. The girl in the glasses and Union Suit PJs was much cuter!

Benny found a comfy place to lounge . . . on Uncle Jared!

Emma and CO. whipping some "Purple Soup," with Cousin Mary.

Jared was "Called Out" to make "Purple Soup."

Katrina, waking up to a lovely morning in the Redwoods.

After Breakfast, the "Under 3" set restarted the old coals from the night before and "burned sticks."

We woke up and celebrated Rachel's 8th birthday. Rachel got totally snuggled by her Aunt Allison.

Ben walked Nicky, our good friend's dog, in the shadow of the Redwoods.

We decided to go for a walk as a big group. I was the photographer and Damian was the hand holder!

All the Idiarts/Nadaulds on the river beach.

Katrina had a great time running across the bridge with her old friend, A.

All the kids LOVED that bridge, and throwing rocks in the lazy river. The water was so clear and beautiful. All the grown-ups skipped rocks and tried to outdo each other.

Rachel and J, hanging out, dipping toes and chatting away the afternoon.

Damian's brother, Jared, with his wife and kids getting ready for the big hike.

My neice, Elise, is the cutest 10 month old girl in America, I LOVE those baby blues!

My Nephew, Marcus, having a successful time with chewing gum (and showing it to all, to prove he hadn't swallowed it!!)

Emma and her buddy, with the same name . . . bonding.

What a cute little gal . . . we love our 8 year old sweetie, so much!

There were 14 families that went on the hike together, with probably about 60 children, total! It was a fun, crazy time!

Damian's sister, Allison, with her husband and kids, in the hollow of a Giant Redwood Tree!

My neice, Mary, balancing along a fallen Redwood. Her mom is very embarrased that I took so many photos on a day Mary wore ugly clothes.

Rachel and her friend, J, again, inside a hollow tree . . . holding a girl's CLUB meeting.

More fallen log scalers, with Benjamin in the lead and Rachel and Katrina following!

On the drive home from the coast, I told the kids they could stay out late at the BYU game party, if they'd take a nap. Wonders of all Wonders, IT WORKED!! They all napped the 2 hours it took to get home.

Girls Camp 2008

Going to Girls Camp is one of my favorite things in life. It is so fun to spend a week with all your girlfriends having spiritual experiences AND A BLAST, while enjoying God's beautiful creations! Our theme this year was "We are Daughters of our Heavenly Father."

Here are all 120 girls and 40 leaders that attended camp this year, in our matching shirts!! There are 9 Wards/Branches that make up our Stake. I think I mentioned before that my calling/assignment at church is as a member of the Stake Young Women's Presidency. Our Presidency is in charge of activities where all the girls from the 9 Wards are involved. We're over Girl's Camp, Youth Conference, Monthly Dances, Trek and we train all the Ward Young Women Presidencies, as well as rotate speaking assignments in each ward on a monthly basis. It's a very fun calling that I hope to have for a long time!

We love pulling pranks at camp. We don't love cleaning up pranks pulled on us, AS MUCH. This is the Stake Leaders Cabin after the Youth Camp Leaders (YCL's) GOT BACK AT US!

On the last night of camp, the Bishopric from each Ward/Congregation came to visit. This photo shows all the girls (and leaders) that came, from our Ward.

These are MY girls, the ladies from the Spanish Branch (a Branch is a Mini-Ward, only smaller!) They were YCL's this year and did a great job conducting all our skits, sing-alongs, and morning gatherings. They also helped all the younger girls get "certified" (learn outdoor survival skills). I love you Brenda, Maribel, Bella and Yuridia!!

The last day of camp is full of spiritual activities. The girls all go on a SOLO HIKE with their scriptures, letters from home and journals. They find a peaceful place, down by the lake, to study and ponder. I love this photo of my friend, Charise. She is a wild and crazy gal, probably the funniest skit actress, but she has a deeper side. She loves her Heavenly Father and knows what is important in life. Love you, Charise!

This is a great photo of Sister Bean, by the lake! She's reading a letter from her parents (or Bishop) about how special she is. Camp truly is a glorious place to feel Heavenly Father's love for us. It is so gorgeous there!

I got to spend some time with my friend Denise (the other counselor in the Stake YW Presidency) and her daughter, Danielle. Danielle just finished her first year at BYU and came up to speak to the camp girls about how their choices effect their future life. She was a powerful speaker and I was very proud of her.

Another friend, Heidi, and my sister-in-law, Tiffany, were in charge of all the crafts for the camp. They did a great job with the crafts and decided to participate in the skits and craziness of camp, too. They were a hit! Tiffany looks especially cute, with her 7 1/2 month pregnant belly!



Don't forget to pause my music at the bottom of the page!

My good friends, Jen and Mandy were also there. They had a big job, being in charge of the YCL's. There were 15 of them (the girls on the front row of the group photo, in black shirts)

Emma came up for one afternoon and brought 2 friends, Sam and Ali. Emma's really looking forward to next year. She can't wait to spend the whole week at camp!

Hillary, our babysitter, with Emma and Jenny, our Trek "Big Sister" with Emma's friend, Ali. Jenny is the oldest girl in my Trek Family. As I write, my thoughts are disappearing about camp, and my brain is wrapping itself around Trek Preparations. We leave in 10 days for that! Damian and I are the "Pa and Ma" for 9 kids. We're going with 150 other kids, and 40 leaders to Washington, for a 4-day Pioneer Handcart Trek. What a busy, fun summer!

Off to Girls Camp!

Today I'm leaving for 4 days at Church Girl's Camp. I'm thrilled because I really don't have any responsibilities this year, besides hanging out with all the girls. I'm a counselor in the Stake Young Womens Presidency (we oversee 9 wards/congregations). Our President won't be there so the other Counselor and our Camp Director are in charge. Hopefully they can do any disciplining and putting out "fires!" and I can just laze about. Hopefully.

The Stake YW Presidency and Camp Director are "Charlie's Angels" and we have skits to go with that. Hopefully I'll get some photos/videos for your enjoyment, later. There are about 110 girls coming this year, ages 12-18, plus about 35 women. It's a fun, loud, crazy party, up there at the lake. I'll probably work on my ditties to sing at the flag ceremonies, a lot. This is my time to shine as class clown and overall obnoxious lady. Wait, that is what my normal life is about!

This year, Emma gets to come up for one afternoon, as an 11 year old. She is THRILLED and has been packed for a week (her swimsuit, towel and lip gloss!) I can't wait to see her interact with all the Young Women. I'll post photos of her next Tuesday, OK?

Last year, I was a co-lifeguard with my friend, Christie D. This year, I didn't get ENOUGH certification and we had to hire our lifeguards! (I am only Pool Certified and the state changed the laws, at the last minute!) My cool life guarding costume will sit in the attic until next year, when I've upped my certification, to Waterfront (Lake) and Water Safety Instructor! And just so you know, those red shorts say "Guard" across the hiney and my shirt says, "Trust me, I'm a Lifeguard!" I'm very serious about my job. And my coolness factor. It's the only cool outfit I have, according to my kids. I might start wearing it to church, if they don't start being nicer to me!

I've written some extra posts that will publish when I'm at camp. That's how OCD I've become about blogging! I never thought I'd be a journal writer, but I finally am . . . in kind of an exhibitionist way. I'll be thinking of you when I pull pranks on other cabins tonight at midnight!

Grandma is HERE!

My mom arrived yesterday! It's been great having her here, she's really fun and my kids adore her.

She's sewn 3 bonnets for the trek, vacuumed my house and cleaned all the kids bedrooms.

And did I mention the laundry? Check! Did that too.

She babysat while I did errands and took Josh to Piano. Tomorrow I leave for Girl's Camp and she'll watch the kids during the day.

She's promised not to feed them soda for each meal, like my dad did. But she wouldn't commit to 'No Ice Cream'. She flat out refused. And the kids all cheered and gave her a standing ovation.

She's playing games with them now, they each get to pick one. The video shows Ben's choice, the older kids are choosing board games. So that should take at least 2 hours!

HIP HIP HOORAY For MOM!!

Please don't ever leave me again.

WHAT? You're going home on Monday?

As long as you take over 50% of my kids with you, you can go.

WHAT? You will?! GREAT! And can you keep them for 3 weeks, at least?

YOU CAN??!! You're the best mom in the whole world!!

(Don't forget to pause my music, to enjoy all the screaming and laughing!)