Mother/Daughter Camp Out

This weekend, our ward had a mother/daughter camp out. I have to admit, I was reluctant to go. For one thing, it was far away--in Ophir, UT. If you don't know where Ophir is, you're not alone. Suffice it to say it was a 1 1/2 to 2 hour drive from our house, and we had to go through Lehi which, as you may know, is one of the classic blunders. (The first, as everyone knows, is never get involved in a land war in Asia, but only slightly less well known is this: never try to drive through Lehi on a Friday night!) Also (and I hate to admit this) I felt reluctant to give up my weekend writing time in order to go. But Camary was so excited about it, and the Relief Society Pres had asked me to bring my guitar, so I determined to clean up my bad attitude and go have a good time. I bought strings and fixed my guitar. I decided not to worry about how much I had written. I would go and have fun with my girl. I think the Lord blessed me for my willingness, and I found that I had already reached my 10 page goal for the week before we even left for the camp out. I survived the traffic in Lehi, and we made it to the cabin in Ophir. It was quite pretty up there. I played my guitar, but I had lost my voice due to a cold, so I didn't sing. I think everyone liked the background strumming, though. We had s'mores and slept in our little two-man (or woman in this case) tent. On Saturday, we made up skits and learned to hula. It was pretty fun. Here are a few pics of Camary having fun.

Camary on the slide

And the rings

Walking with a friend

On the rope swing

Today has been a good one. First thing in the morning, we went to the Oquirrh Mountain Temple dedication. How lucky are we to go to two temple dedications in six months? We heard a story about Heber J. Grant (I think), who made a long and difficult journey to St. George so that he could be married in the temple. He said he never regretted doing that, though he could have just gotten married and waited for the Salt Lake Temple to be finished and then be sealed. It made me think of Tiff and her decision. After the dedication, we had my best friend and her girls over for yummy breakfast burritos. It made for a great Sunday.

Back to School

It's the first day of school. Ryan left at some insanely early hour to get to Marching Band on time. It starts at 6:30am. Hence, no picture. :( Good news, though--he drove himself there! I think I'll make him earn his keep with the car by picking up the others from school every day, and running other errands for me. Ah, another driver. How sweet it is. Ryan started his Junior year today. Wow. Time flies, eh?

Rusty left next, at seven, for eighth grade. He got us up at 6:50 for family prayer. (I went back to bed afterward.) I sent him to school with an ear infection. Ironic. He had an ear infection on the last day of school too. Problem? Maybe. He's feeling better today, though.


Sam and Finlay got to leave at the much more reasonable hour of 8:30. Sam is in sixth grade, his last year of elementary, and Finlay is in the third grade. Usually, the school has an open house the day before the first day so the kids can meet their teachers. They didn't do it this year. So, they're going in cold. Well, not Sam. He knows his teacher since Rusty had Mr. Applegate in fifth grade, and he is also the director of the school choir which Sam is a part of. Finlay's teacher, Ms. Orton, is brand new this year, though, so he gets to be surprised. I'm sure they're having a great time.


It's pretty quiet around here with just Camary, Xander and I. Xander seemes to be devoting his full energies to tormenting Camary. Fun, fun. Camary will start preschool again on the 31st. It occured to me recently that in just two years I will have a child in every level of education from preschool to college. Wild, eh?

A Thing or Two

Camary took a little dance class during July, taught by the daughter of her preschool teacher and a friend of hers. I think she enjoyed it. They had a little recital after their last class. Here are a few pictures.

There is a benefit to having a boatload of older brothers. Xander found a Tonka dump truck down in the basement. His eyes got all big and excited when he showed it to me.


He said, "wow," over and over, and, "Yay!" and, "Oh, yeah." I cleaned it up and took it outside for him. He pushed it around making truck noises. Are truck sound effects inborn in boys? I think they are.
Ryan had marching band camp all last week. They learned their competition show for this year. He had a great time. Last night, the band performed the show for their families and we had a barbecue. The band sounded great. They are playing songs by Queen. Ryan has several trombone solos. He totally rocked, of course.


A couple of weeks ago, Tracy went to tour the new pipeline his company is building in western Colorado. He had a good time, but I sure missed him.

He is quite an awesome guy. He gardens, he grinds wheat, bakes homemade bread, cooks better than I do, leads the choir, plays the piano, accompanies me when I sing and takes care of all my computer woes. Not to mention his unfailing support of all my writing endeavors, no matter how much time I spend at it.


It's a shame how I get so hung up on his faults sometimes, because he really is quite amazing. I love you, Tracy!

I just posted another of my short stories, "Among the Silent Stars," on my blog, if you'd like to read it. I'd love to read your thoughts about it.