4th of july weekend

i hope you all had a great independence day...weekend! we had a great time with the woodruffs at the idaho cabin. we got to brigham city when b turned to me and asked if i grabbed the cabin keys from the kitchen drawer. i said, no. he hadn't either apparently. oh boy! so i told him to call his brother, who just moved to idaho and was staying with his in laws in caldwell, if we could borrow his keys. thanks dallin.

we all had so much fun. here are so highlights: swimming in the lake, swinging on the swings, watching b and bishop woodruff racing down the hill in a little red wagon, eating homemade ice cream (thanks jen), hiking to the head of the ditch (a traditional hike), playing the longest game of spades ever, eating tons of yummy food, watching fireworks, lounging in a tub on the lake, boys catching tadpoles, m making best friends with jen and bishop, watching superman, playing games with the kids.

f and b in the lake

bishop woodruff in the wagon

f picking his nose

k and b chillin' before the fireworks

f and a wrestling with dad

the whole gang at the head of the ditch

hiking

homemade ice cream can be very exhausting!

we had such a great time. thanks woodruffs for going with us. i told b that we should always bring friends with us to the cabin. the kids were all entertained and occupied and us grown ups could just relax.

i love to see the temple

as i was viewing all our friend's blogs...i clicked on veronica's and this picture of the SLC temple appeared. f started singing, with his hands forming the temple, 'i love to see the temple...' so cute. he loves singing time in nursery. that makes me so happy. what a cutie.

on the home front...we have another open house today. i am praying hard that the perfect couple/family finds it. the baron's put their house up for sale and maybe that will bring more people by. b and i have put our house hunting in nevada on hold since we really can't do anything until our sells. we are trying to be patient and not stress. it will all work out.


we are excited to go to raging waters later today and see our little friend, m, dance in her recital. then it's swimming for a while. b comes home tomorrow. he's been gone for 2 weeks with only 2 days of seeing us in between. i worry that since he's under a lot of stress and pressure at work that when he comes home he won't be able to really relax. of course he won't because for the 2 days after he comes home it's back to park city for more work. i don't know how my sweet husband does it. it's a good thing he doesn't have hair or it would be falling out. i love him.

new nephew

i have a new nephew and i am not quite sure how to pronouce his name. it's kiel. i haven't talked to my brother, adam, and his wife, becky but they sent this picture of him to me. i love it. i love that my extended family is still growing...at a rather slow pace but none the less growing. i can't wait to meet him.

paper flowers

i guess this post could go on my craft blog but oh well. so if you walk into heartland paper and look on the wall above their registers...there's a beautiful shelf with cute paper flowers all along it. i love them and am not alone... however trying to make them was kind of difficult. they should put a crafting level on them cause they were not easy. k was so sweet and traced 3 flowers for me and i cut them out and good luck to me in putting them together. thank goodness for crafting in numbers because if i did this alone...i wouldn't have finished any flowers. i was lucky i got 2 done in 4 hours? holy cow. i love the finished product but don't think i can pop 10 or 20 out easily. the 2 i made i put in my kitchen. and i love them. i have to find some cool vases for the ones to come....and they will come quite slowly. thanks for crafting with me girls. check out my craft center for more flowers. :)

changes in the wind

well our ward has split once again. the 2 wards in foxboro are now 4. and it's really exciting to see this kind of growth. i thought of amy c. and debbie i. who are such great friends...and backyard neighbors. it's only in utah that neighbors so close would end up in different wards. sad but so true. i have mixed feelings about b being released. i am excited for our family to walk to church together...we have NEVER done that before now. and we get to sit with him! you won't see f on the stand anymore! but i will miss one thing...well 2 things. first, i will miss the spirit that b had...the spirit he brought home with him every sunday and after meetings. and second, i will miss the extra prayers sustaining us through this time. i am grateful to all who kept b in their prayers. what a blessing it has been to see my husband change during this service into a better man. i hope and pray that we will continue to be blessed.

indoor soccer

i love it! last night we had a game and it was painful. i blocked the ball twice from hitting my face and chest. normally i don't care about my chest, mainly because the sport bras do a good job...but my face...holy cow that one hurt. and the ref called 'hands' on me. ooh i was mad. half my face went numb. and i think next week they may have me play a new position cause i failed to back up the goalie 3 times. it was lame. i did have fun...we tied 8-8... but should have won....the other team only had 2 original players and recruited from other teams including a girl from the upper league who scored 5 of their 8 goals. she shouldn't be allowed to score especially since our goalie is her goalie. trader. anyways...love indoor soccer. what a workout!

timing is everything

our house is for sale...and the ward is spliting in 2 weeks. i was feeling pretty sad to leave...and i still am but now that our ward will go through some significant changes i'm not the only one who is leaving. boundaries will be changed and families that are in our ward now will soon not be in our ward. it's kind of neat to see this much growth but sad to split. it's a good time to leave. i asked b if he was sad to leave and not be bishop anymore... he said 'no. if this was happening 3 months ago i would be sad but timing is everything. i am okay with it and it's actually a blessing.'

i know i will miss the spirit that resides in our home because of his service as bishop. it worries me that we are going to have to try really hard now to have that same spirit in our home. we have taken so many small things for granted like fhe at his parents house every sunday. we're responsible for that now. and sunday dinners. oh crap. so many wonderful blessings that we have grown accustom to...

let the adventure begin then. wednesday we set out for tahoe in search for a home. wish us luck...or pray that we find something. i know i will be.

girls camp

i love girls camp. i love the smell of campfires burning...roasting marshmellows...telling stories...hanging out. i love it all. thursday i was able to help out our young women leaders by staying at camp with 2 of the girls from our ward. as soon as i got there heather called out from the lodge, where they were eating breakfast. i took one look around and thought...i am at camp. it's been a VERY long time since i was there. anyway...i got really excited as heather and carrie showed me what was happening for the rest of the day...where i would be sleeping...and where our fire pit was. they gave me the rundown on the girls and any special needs and they were out of there. a friend i play basketball with, michelle christianson, was the camp director. i love her. i also saw natalie gordon from the 4th ward. our first foxboro ward split from theirs and she was the bishop's wife. now camp director for their ward. i love her too. anyway...i was a little lonely after we cleaned the toilets and did our service project...the girls were off practising their skits so i decided to sit and read the book heather left for me. thank you! i was a little bored. then jen baron came to keep me company. thank you! we had fun just hanging out. i really had no responsibilities other than to make sure our girls were safe.

jen and i watched their skits...some of which were quite funny. the theme for girls camp was 'you are a princess, daughter of a king'. so all the skits dealt with cinderella, sleeping beauty, and even fiona from shrek. loved them. jen and i didn't realize how hot it would be and sat in the middle of the ampitheatre and i got burned on my neck. we were sweating like crazy and when i stood up after the festivities were over...i saw my butt print on the concrete where i had been sitting. nice.

then it was time for snack...and ward time. b couldn't come because he was watching our kids and he was really swamped at work. so his first counselor, tenari tauvao and his wife came up to give a lesson...it was kind of hard to give a lesson to 2 girls who weren't there...they had wondered off somewhere...but nice to sit and enjoy their company.

we helped deanne from the eagleridge ward cook a delicious dutch oven meal and dessert. i love her so much. she is the best. and then i gave the spiritual thought that heather had prepared. i read 'daughter of a king'. it was such a wonderful book and any of you who have daughters really need to buy this book. i think heather got it a seagull book or deseret book. i cried both times i read it to f before camp. she also prepared a mirror with a quote that said 'you are precious in the sight of god'. it doesn't matter what we look like on the outside...that makes us a princess...it's how we live and treat others that's important. if we seek for the 'crystal palace' and act like the princesses we know we are then we will see and live with the 'king' again. i just loved this thought, thank you, heather. you are truly inspired.

dinner was yummy and after we finished it was time for a slide show of camp and the week before...way cute... and jen baron went home and jen thatcher arrived. she is so good. we watched the slide show as i got jen all caught up and then it was time for testimony meeting. i love testimony meeting. we were a little disappointed with the lack of 'testimonies' born though. pretty much all the girls got up and said how thankful they were to be here and how much they love their friends...but there was a lot of laughing, giggling, pointing people out in the audience...the spirit was there and then gone. luckily some of the older girls got up at the end and brought the spirit back. jen and i discussed how as mothers we need to teach our children what a testimony is and how to bear it. i don't think young women get those lessons. it was a little disappointing.

we headed back to camp and lit a fire and roasted...chocolate bars. yummy! we sat around enjoying eachother's company and the warmth of the fire. after the girls were in bed we packed the car with everything we wouldn't need for the next morning. as we went to our cabin, or concentration camps as carrie called them, i was so thankful jen was there. we all got into our pajamas and were settling down when she pulled out her scriptures and asked us to share our favorite one with the group. she is so good. i could really feel of her sweet spirit as we discussed and listened to these young girls share their favorite scriptures. then the girls went to sleep while jen and i chatted a bit longer and listened and laughed at the snoring in our cabin. it truly sounded like mr. snuffalufagus. so funny. and then after awhile it stopped. that was weird. it was complete silence. we took the opportunity to try and get some sleep.


i actually slept pretty good. we got up, packed the car of our stuff, and went to flag ceremony. they handed out awards and then it was time to eat and clean up and get out of their. i am so appreciative of all the work the stake does to hold these camps for the young women of the church. i told michelle that she really had done a wonderful job...while we cleaned toilets. i just love her strong testimony of the gospel which inspires me to be better. i really needed to go to camp and love the feeling i get everytime i go.

girls camp rocks.

water

we spent most of wednesday at rw. we packed TONS of snacks and drinks and k's friend, jess, came too. we ate, swam in the wave pool, went round and round in the lazy river, and played in the fountains. rw had their fountains going on wednesday and the kids loved them. f could have spent the entire time in them. i think danielle is the new best friend of all the kids because she bought a rw pass with a tube. the kids love using it in the wave pool. poor danielle, she thought she'd have a nice relaxing time in her tube! sorry! i love rw.

raging waters

let the summer begin. we have waited 3 weeks to go to rw and today after a morning with the carpet cleaner...we went. so happy.

the water was cold but that didn't stop the kids. they wanted to go to the wave pool first. so after finding a place to 'camp' we headed to the waves. they were so excited. i love rw. m was so brave to go out till the water was just under her chin. k and a had lots of fun body surfing and swimming through the waves. then it was off to the kiddie pool. that didn't last long and we were on our way to the lazy river.

it was extra lazy today...we were barely moving. m and f only wanted to go around once and k and a wanted to go again. so i asked k to help me get out first, m and f were in the raft with me, and she could go. i thought she had m so i hopped off and the tub tipped and m went under. i had f with one hand and couldn't grab any part of m's body so i had to grab her by the hair. i finally got her and it was only after that the TWO...count them, 2 lifeguards asked if i needed help. hello? ya' think. i got m and f out of the water and m was fine. she had this stuffy nose so she couldn't even breathe in the water if she wanted to. she was so excited that she went under without holding her nose. i was so happy that she wasn't crying and upset. oh that would have been horrible. i felt terrible as it was. i apologized for having to pull her hair and she just said, 'it's okay, mom.' i love her. that was our rw adventure and hopefully for the entire summer. i told k next time i need her to take m off the raft before she does anything and especially before getting off myself. the kids can't wait to go back tomorrow. i love summer.

a new creative center post

check out my craft center for ARUBA scrapbook and new card for card swap. if blogger ever lets me add pics.

TAG...you're it!

so my sister, abby, 'tagged' me and i have to answer the following questions. but i will tag two others. just copy the questions and paste them to your blog. just for fun. I TAG KIM and MISSY!

What were you doing ten years ago? working, married one year, kidless...just found out i was pregnant with k!

What were you doing one year ago? going to raging waters with friends all summer long. trip to newport with the creswell clan. that was a blast...we went to the san diego temple, laguna beach aquarium, disneyland, movies, and whatever else we did! great times.

Five Snacks You Enjoy: chocolate covered raisins, plain lays potato chips, diet coke with lime,

Five Songs You Know All The Words To: most of tim mcgraw's songs, highschool musical songs, one of saltnpepper's songs 'waterfall' (so 90's), itsy bitsy spider, wheels on the bus

Five Things You Would Do If You Were A Millionaire: buy a boat and cabin for b (with my decor of course), buy a vinly lettering machine, buy some gasoline stock, and save the rest for my kids schooling, weddings, and missions

Five Things You Like Doing: traveling with b, taking pictures, decorating, hanging out with friends, playing the piano...reading ian flemmings james bond books! and harry potter!

Five Things You Would Never Wear Again: leg warmers, bell bottoms, tye dyed t-shirts, pants that come to just below my ankles, and...hmmm earmuffs.

Five Favorite Toys: camera, computer, jigsaw, bandsaw, sander.

i feel so out of touch with everyone since i have been gone. and since i have been back the only thing i have had time to do was post my aruba pics then it was errands, get out of the house to be shown, and park city with my in laws. today i tried to play catch up and i read everyone's blog. if i didn't comment i apologize but i did read. i hate playing catch up and i hate trying to keep my house clean and i hate, i hate having to leave on a moments notice for realtors to show our house. i can't wait for all this to be over with and i can relax and just go to raging waters with the kids. i may not get to relax till we move but we will be going to raging waters! so glad tomorrow is sunday. i need a nap.

Day 1

we're here! we are in aruba. our plane landed at 1:00pm and we stood in line at customs for about an hour. holy cow the lines were insane and people were fighting about others cutting in line ahead of them. and b was so calm and patient. he said complaining isn't going to make the lines move any faster. i just wanted to see the beach! well we finally got through customs and then waited in another line for a taxi. and it was hot and humid outside. we finally got our cab and drove about 20 min. to the marriott surf club.

it was beautiful. palm trees, waterfalls, pools, a lazy river, and the beach. and i immediately fell in love with there traffic signs. call me crazy but i love to see the unusual signs in different places.

we got up to our room, unpacked, showered, and went exploring. we made reservations to go scuba diving, ATVs, moonlight tour that only takes place when there's a full moon, and we just happened to be in aruba for that. we were really excited. we walked along the beach taking it all in and just enjoyed it all. i was excited to be there with just b. bring on the relaxation and sun.

our first night for dinner we ate at a small resturaunt by the hotel...on the beach. they had the best fish...wahoo. it was sooooooooooo yummmmmmmmy. i had never had it before but oh my gosh it was tasty. i ordered a virgin pina colada with a cherry on top and b ordered a strawberry daquiri. it was so magical being there together and eating with the wind blowing in our faces. i had to make a mental note of not leaving my hair down when walking, eating, or sun bathing by the beach. it was too windy. i had to eat with one had holding back my hair.

we watched the sunset on the beach and it was so wonderful. i can't wait for the rest of the week.

Day 2

i told b that sat. and sun. we would just relax by the pool since we'd have jet lag. and so this morning i didn't get up till about 8:30 utah time...10:30 aruba time. i plan on sleeping in every day of this vacation. it was so peaceful by the water. we sat by the pool for 2 hours and i burned. we ate lunch and headed back to our room to get our money to go grocery shopping for the week. so we head to the conceige desk to find out which grocery store is the closest. the lady there tells us and then informs us that all grocery stores close on sundays at 1:00pm. it was1:30. we were so bummed. so then we decided to sit on the beach and soak in the ocean. i can not explain how relaxing this was. we went to dinner at tony romas. i know it's totally american but that's okay. i ordered this ginormous salad that i didn't think i could eat and by the end of the night it was gone. we watch the indi race in monte cristo and i think i drank about 4 diet cokes. i couldn't stop. it was so yummy.

Day 3

today we went into downtown. shopping! i really didn't want to shop this early on our trip but b wanted to get it out of the way. he's a man and hates shopping. so anyway...we took a taxi into the downtown shopping area.

here the buildings are all different colors and very busy. we were dropped off at the rennissance hotel and mall which overlooks the ocean. with fishing boats, house boats, sail boat, and monster tour boats. it was fun.

we shopped in the marketplace where the locals sell things of the island, t-shirts, jewelery, instruments, and so forth. i loved it all. we stopped for lunch at Iguana Joe's. i had a monster burger with fries and a diet coke. it was so yummy. i can't remember what b had but it was probably something with red meat. he liked all the food on the island.

after lunch we went to the local movie theatre to see pirates of the caribbean. loved it. you know how when you go to the movies and they start at the said time and then you sit through about 15 min. of previews...well we just sat...there was maybe one preview. weird. but loved the movie. b said we'll have to see it again to catch all the dialogue. the ending was not what i wanted but i rarely get the ending i want in movies.

after the movie we returned to our hotel for dinner and bed.

Day 4

we were going scuba diving this afternoon and were excited but also a little nervous. in the morning we made a run to the grocery store for some much needed snack food and daily meals. after a relaxing morning we were ready for our dive. we had a short lesson in the marriott pool and then it was off to the boat. our scuba excursion started at 1:30pm and ended at about 5:30pm. the actual dive was 30 min. long. there was a LOT of waiting around for crew members and such. there is definitely an aruba standard time...1/2 hour after when they say. mormon standard time is nothing compared to these people. they have all the time in the world.

it took me awhile to adjust to breathing underwater. i had to resurface and regain my composure before repeating over and over in my head to breath in and out of your mouth. stay calm. equalize. breath in and out of your mouth. this was a huge task but once i finally got it i could enjoy the fish. b had no problem. we saw many beautiful fish...lots of schools...and NO sharks. hurray. i was a little worried. it was fun to see big fish eating little fish. i tried to touch some fish them but they were too fast for me. it was really a neat experience.

Day 5

this morning we awoke bright and early for our ATV tour. i was kind of nervous. i'd never riden or driven an ATV. i drove a motor bike right into an irrigation ditch once and memories of that were starting to come back...scary.

we waited for our tour bus in front of the resort. we were told that they would be there by 9:00 am. we the time came and went and we waited till about 9:30 when they actually arrived. we were getting use to aruba time. then we were off. off, off, and away on our 4 wheelers. our atv group consisted of myself, b and our tour guide. so nice. we went up and down one side of the islands coast, we found this out by looking at a map the day after. the aruban coast is simply breath taking. there were small coves and beaches everywhere. i didn't see much of it at first...i was too busy concentrating on driving. but after a few close calls and then finally flying off and into a huge thornbush, i was able to view the scenery and drive at the same time. and it was just so gorgeous.

our first sight was a small church on a hillside. it was so charming and quaint. at this sight you could look out and pretty much see the entire island. it was so pretty.

we stopped at the last indian castle left on the island.

our guide, angelo, told of it's history and about the rock pyramids all over the place. when the indians left a place they loved...their homes, they would build these 'hope' pyramids. the pyramids signified a place that they hoped to see again one day. these days the tourist are very intrigued with them that they too make their own 'hope' pyramids with rocks. i remembered seeing one last year on our grand canyon hike. i thought it was pretty cool.

we then rode to a small natural pool. b and angelo had fun climbing the rocks and diving off into the water.

their were little crabs all over the rocks that would scatter when anyone came near. they were kind of creepy. i didn't get in because i had made up my mind before the tour that i would not be subjecting my blood to any mosquitos in any more natural pools after hawaii. but it was totally my lose because in hawaii we were in the rain forest, mosquitos galore, but in aruba we were oceanside. no mosquitos. oh well. it was very pretty though.

we met 2 girls from amsterdam, holland who had hiked their way to this natural pool from their resort. it took them about an hour on this rocky terrain and angelo felt bad for them and didn't want them to have to hike all the way back so he told them to hop on and we would drive them to wherever the heck they walked from. it was crazy. they couldn't remember the name of where they were staying but angelo knew the island so well that he got them to where they needed to be. they asked for our emails, but no one had any paper, and said if we were ever in holland to look them up and we would always have a place to stay. NO PAPER!

anyway... our last sight was the california lighthouse. up here you can see the entire island. beautiful. i loved it.

then we were off again driving through red rock/dirt and ocean sands. by the end of our tour we were tired, hungry, and DIRTY!

we got to the marriott, took a shower, and then a long nap. it felt good to sleep.

Day 6

i woke up this morning feeling great and a little sad! this was our last full day in aruba. but i was planning on laying by the pool all afternoon...or at least till i got burned. and i did. b had some work to do for his trip to palm springs next week so while he was busy with that i hit the pools. i love laying by the pool.

b came down about an hour later and joined me. he put up his fort, protection from the sun, and read his book. we swam a bit and watched the water aerobic class do their thing. it was pretty crowded too. i should have joined them but was feeling extra lazy today and just watched. i am almost finished with my book and i really like it.

after 2 hrs of poolside tanning...i told b that i thought i got burned again so we called it a day and went for lunch. after lunch we went back to our room for a nap. at 5:00pm we started our night. we browsed over jewelery, handbags, cigars, and other odds and ends that various venders were selling right in the marriott. we didn't find anything...we were looking specifically for a. i did see the cutest hello kitty bags that i wanted for m but i couldn't justify it when a was our main focus. we finally found something for him at the airport.

so then it was off to Texas de Brazile. YUMMY! after dinner we walked along the beach till our moonlight cruise. we just happened to be there the week of a full moon and the only time they offer these moonlight cruises. it was amazing. the moon was so beautiful and i couldn't capture it with my camera. since we were on the water i couldn't hold still long enough. but it was so pretty. it was the perfect way to end our week long stay in aruba. so until next time...