Girls Camp

 While we were at Disneyland, the girls were having an awesome time at Girls Camp. Apparently it rained quite a bit, but there were still lots of laughs and good times. They especially loved the skits. They all agreed the location was stunning.

The fearless leaders, who went way above and beyond. Every once in awhile Ben and I think of moving, but then we remember that our ward and stake absolutely knock it out of the park with the youth, and it's because the leaders are dedicated and love these youth like nothing else.

Start of School!

 There has been excitement, anxiety, and resignation regarding the start of school this year. 

Camille was definitely the excited one.

Audra was resigned. She's the only one who knows what she is getting into.

I had to beg Camille to let me walk her to school. She really wanted to ride her bike to school, so I begged. Audra and Claire came with us. They met their classes out on the black top, and she was like, "please leave" and was not appreciative of my wanting to take pictures.

Her first day went well, though she said it was a little boring at times. And, of course, she was upset when kids didn't follow directions.

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Claire started on Tuesday. Her anxiety was sky high. And it did NOT go well. The list is long, but it includes her backpack breaking. But that's just the start. There were lots of tears.

We said a ton of prayers, and thankfully day #2 went much, much better. She is going to school and then has volleyball and so she doesn't get home until 4:30. Thankfully, she has some teachers who are really funny. Her math teacher said to the entire class, "I put you with your partner of purpose because your partner is smarter than you," and her art teacher said, after asking if she was related to THE Marriotts,  "Do you have a ton of money hidden secretly?" Claire said no, and she said, "Oh, so you have tons of money not hidden. Nice." That made her smile.

It's been a little emotional. It's really hard watching your kid go through something really, really hard even though you know it's best for her and she needs to do it. I'm super proud of her for being brave, and she has been extremely brave. 

I took the girls to get ice-cream sandwiches to celebrate. I finally got a smile out of Claire!

And, today I had my first day of PAID of training- my new job has started! I start at the school next week, but I have lots of training to do. This job is a steep learning curve, and I'm drinking out of a fire hose, but I think it will be OK. I'm excited. It's nice to use my brain and be rewarded for it. Here's hoping I don't get yelled at for buying the wrong color backpack or making disgusting dinner like my current job.

4H Results

 We went down to fair to see the girls 4H projects.

They all did awesome- I'm so proud of all of them! They all chose complicated projects. Camille was bummed because she got 3rd place (a result of choosing a hard pattern/project rather than keeping it simple with something like a pillowcase). Both Audra and Claire won 1st place and will go to state, and Claire won Reserve Grand Champion, which I think means she got 2nd for all sewing projects, which is a great accomplishment.

And just for fun:

Rocky Mountain National Park

 We went with our favorite friends. the Leubners, for one last "HURRAH" of summer. I took the girls camping up at Rocky Mountain National Park. We did the Emerald Lake hike, which I would love to do again. It was stunning, but we had to rush it because of some lightning heading our way.

We didn't get much sleep, and came home exhausted, but it was a lot of fun. 

These girls are the best troopers. I tell them all the time that the reason I can take them places and do fun things with them is because they are so well behaved and they do such a great job of helping and having positive attitudes.

But I have to admit...one night a year is enough for me! Especially when we also had girls camp this year.

Mount Rushmore and Storybook Island

 Ben shot down my 10 day long road trip of church history sites. We will do it, but we are going to hold off. So, I decided to take the girls on a very quick 4 day trip to South and North Dakota.

We started off by driving to Mount Rushmore and Storybook Island. We took the girls there 7 years ago, so Camille of course doesn't remember it at all, and the only thing that Claire and Audra remember is Storybook Island, a fantastic fairy tale themed park. Initially we weren't going to stop in Rapid City, but when I realized it was only about an hour out of the way and would break up the really long drive, I decided to add it in.

This was my third time at Mount Rushmore. I hate to admit it, but it wasn't as impressive the third time around. Isn't that terrible? It just didn't seem as majestic the third time. But I'm still glad we went because now the girls will remember it, and really- it's a must-see for all Americans.

Here we are- ready to go!

Audra helped me drive! She did great!

At the Colorado flag:

Eventually Claire said, "Mom, stop taking pictures- I look the same in all of them!"

Rushmore only takes about an hour or two, so then we headed to Storybook Island. The girls pretty much just ran for two hours straight.

Of course, Claire had Piggy. She brings him everywhere, and he always gets tucked in nicely.

I was going for cheap on this trip, so we stayed at, well, less than stellar hotels. It was a little shady, but cheap.