BOY: A noise with dirt on it

It was early in the morning.

I sent Connor off to his very first Scout Day Camp.

The excitement was palpable.

He was clean.

Wearing a neatly pressed scout shirt.

His neckerchief was folded just right and clean as a whistle.

His backpack was packed with sunscreen, bug spray and a bountiful lunch.

He was returned to me like this.He thought he looked great still.

Asked me, "why?", when I told him to get into the shower.
So I had to show him in the camera what he looked like.
He didn't necessarily agree that he needed to do anything about his current state.

But then I showed him this....

and this...

It appears he didn't need the sunscreen or bug spray.

No amount of sun rays or desperate bugs were coming anywhere close to contact with his skin. He had provided a protective layer and was safe from such nuisances.

I cringe to think that he ate his lunch with those hands.

But he had the best time of his life.

Thank you blessed people who take care of the Cubs.

There is a special place in heaven for each of you!

Wash, rinse, repeat for day two!

Watch out for the couch!

Tate had an unfortunate incident while on vacation in Canada.
While his cousin came in close contact with a bear - only a few feet away and he had a dead fish in his hands at the time. His uncle nearly killed himself on the tractor. His 2nd cousin nearly drowned. But Tate took the time to show us the dangers around the home - he didn't need a bear, a tractor or a lake. All he needed was a couch.
He was playing in the basement and throwing a football in the air and catching it - that's right everyone, our mother's were right - don't throw a ball in the house! Well, he didn't take his eye off the ball and he tripped and fell right into the corner of a very tough couch.
I didn't take much pity on him at first - okay, no pity, I admit it, I am a horrid mother. He was supposed to be picking up the toys and instead was playing with them. So I told him to stop his whining, I mean how bad can it hurt to "bump" your mouth on a soft couch? He toughed up as much as possible, but still complained about it, all the while I was thinking what a softy he was.
Turns out when I saw his face about an hour later I felt horrible! He had a big bruise on his upper lip. His cheek was all swollen and cut up inside and he could hardly talk. Turns out that couch was brute! For the rest of the trip I felt a little guilty each time I looked at him. He has since recovered nicely and I don't think he will be playing football in the house for quite some time.

Leftovers ...

There was a leftover tiara from Jana and I's Girls Camp presentation. McCall thought it was great and she enjoyed wearing it, only she wants to wear it all the time now. How did a "tom girl" like me get such a girly girl? You'd think her three brothers would make sure she wasn't such a princess - but in fact I blame it on them. She squeals and has three boys immediately at her beck and call, doting on her every wish.
This is going to get worse before it gets better.
But I am going to enjoy the ride.

2 YEARS = a LOOOOOOOOONG time!

I missed this face!

He was out doing good, saving souls and growing up - all in Chile.

He conquered the swine flu.

He survived the huge earthquake.

He left a boy and came back a young man - kind of :)

I'm proud of him, he's my little brother and I think he is pretty darn awesome.

Welcome home Kasey!

I think he might have missed Barq's root beer and Wendy's more than anything - but within an hour of landing on home soil he said hello to both of them again.

Happy Canada Day, EH!

We did things bass ackwards this year. Celebrating Canada Day in the US and the 4th of July in Canada. Just turned out that way.
Gage is especially adamant that we celebrate Canada Day, complete with fireworks, although he can't remember spending any time in Canada and we never did fireworks there he thinks they are a necessity.
So we had a BBQ with Garyn and Jill and did fireworks and had Popsicles with a few of the neighbors. Turned out to be a fun day.

Hiking Doughnut Falls

Well, with the primary race over we actually had a few evenings of "down time". We made the most of it, knowing that the general election will be ahead of us in no time! We enjoyed BBQ's with friends, time with Ryan home, going to see Toy Story 3 and hiking.

For Father's Day we got Ryan a hiking book - 60 Hikes within 60 Miles of Salt Lake City (thanks for the idea Lindsay!). So we took our first hike and it was a lot of fun. The kids loved it, all that running in the outdoors, splashing in the water, great food to eat along the way, every kids dream.

I love all the beauty of nature, what a blessing it is to be able to enjoy it with family and friends. Thanks for coming with us Ainsworths!

Republican Primary Victory Party!

What a night!

All sorts of emotions!

But mostly I was proud of my husband and the entire campaign staff - and of course of Mike and Sharon and family.

Congrats Senator Lee!

Glad to have played a small role.