Drama Mama

This is too good not to share.

O is full of spit and vinegar and she is in fine form this morning. She'd been watching TV for awhile and LT told her it was time to turn it off and help him work outside. This is what I heard from the kitchen.

LT - "Okay O, it's time to turn off the TV and work outside with me."
O - "I don't want to work outside, I'm not a worker."
LT - "Well, it's my job to teach you to be a worker."
O - Very dramatically "You're trying to make me be a maid." Then she runs to her bedroom. LT had to come into the kitchen to gain is composure. We were both laughing about it. Once he was straight faced, he went to talk to her. She wouldn't talk to him. He came back into the kitchen with me. A few minutes later O was dragging her blue elephant stuffed with toys out of the sun room. LT went to talk to her as she was heading up the driveway to the street. She's mad because "My Little Pony" was about to start on TV and she really wanted to watch it.

She just came in the house and I asked what was going on and she said, "Nothing, I'm just relaxing on the porch."

Oh dear, she's only 6. I'm not looking forward to the drama that is to be had when she is a teenager.

B.O.O.T. Camp 2012

Well, the theme for girls camp this year was, Building Our Own Testimonies. Joanna, the stake camp director, made sure there was pink on our shirts. She's a fun girly girl.

Anyway, the pictures I'm about to share are all borrowed. I left my camera in the glove box of my car all week. Oops. The stories are not borrowed, they really happened, and I'll try my best to write them down in a way you can understand them.

This year I was in charge of our ward and the 4th level campers. Camp started on Tuesday so we went up on Monday as a family. I wanted to have our gear set up so I could help the girls when they arrived. Also, I wanted O to see what girls camp was like and help her understand why I'd been so busy and why I'd be gone for the week. It was pretty cool.

O was funny about sleeping in the tent and in her bag. "I don't want to sleep in my pajamas, they're ugly. I don't want to sleep with a blanket, it's ugly". (That's her curse word). We warned her that it would get cold at night and we didn't want to have to get her dressed in the middle of the night. Anyway, in the middle of the night we hear a lot of tossing and turning and then, finally, "I'm cold". In my mind I thought, "well of course you are, you little stinker".  We warmed her up and all was well. The first thing she said, when the birds woke us up at 5:30 in the morning was, "let's do it again." Alright!

On the first day of camp LT and I were busy getting others settled and O "helped" out too. She spent a lot of time tagging along with one of her favoritest people in the whole entire world. K. (We are huge fans of K at our house.) Here is O with K in her tent.

This is simply one of the coolest pictures I've seen. Not only is the ariel chest bump amazing, but the shadow of a butterfly it makes is even more so.

The lady in the middle is the Stake YW Pres. She's got all of her troops in order.

Actually, for my Oakcrest buddies out there, she reminds be of Barb, in a lot of ways. 

That is likely why I chose to prank her the ways that I did.

Here is a more accurate depiction of what the presidency is like. It really captures their personalities. 

Here I am with M. We were asked to work together with the 4th year campers. She is a lot of fun and I got a real kick out of her sense of humor. I had her make the chore chart for our group and she didn't put me on it. Isn't that AWESOME?!?!!? 

Here is the group of girls and leaders I worked with for the week. We got up at 4:something obscene in the morning to go on a hike. This stake likes to make their 4 years get up for a sunrise hike. However, there wasn't anywhere to hike to with a summit, so we just noticed it gradually getting lighter.  We had a lot of fun on our hike. Well, at least I did. In fact, it was the best girls camp hike I have been on. No one complained and no one lagged behind. It was AWESOME!!

I photobombed the YCL picture. I hid by some of my girls ankles and when J, the photo dude, said "3", I jumped up and this is what we got. The leaders had NO IDEA what was going on.

I call this picture, "the scene" and I have E to thank for these. I don't know what overcame me on the tail end of our hike, but I was feeling mischievous and called camp and told them we needed help. Once I got off the phone, I realized we didn't have a good prank. CRAP!!! So, a few minutes later, I called back to let them know we were okay. WELL, I was told someone was already on their way.

 Side note: Christy is a nurse and once they got off the phone with me she went into action. She was in her search and rescue mode. Everything was removed from the bed of her truck her massive first aid kits were loaded and she had someone else drive so she could get out quickly once they found us. Of course, I didn't think about her being all nursey like that when I called. 

So, when I called to tell them "never mind" it was too late. CRAP!!! We needed to come up with a good joke and fast. E had a great idea of us all laying down and pretending we were dead. Sure, why not. So, we did. I'm the one in the red shorts in the picture below. Yes, we have a picture, because when you die in the woods, it needs to be documented, otherwise it didn't happen.

Christy arrived and to make a long story short, once she realized we were joking, she sought me out and took me down. I told her I was impressed with her quick response time. I did my best to defend myself, as you can see.

There is much, much more to the prank story, but it's the kind of story where you would have to know the people and had to have been there to really appreciate it. D teased me "When it was you on the phone, we knew it must have been real because you wouldn't do something like that. You've lost all credibility." When I told K our ward YW leader she laughed and said, "They don't know you at all."

I'm so glad it was well received over all. I did feel bad about crying wolf, but seriously, why would they believe ME??? Also, since we moved wards just before camp, I knew it would be my last year up there because my new ward already has a rockstar camp director so I didn't mind dishing out the pranks. Wrapped cars and bouncy balls in sleeping bags were my favorites. 

BUT, you need to hear the rest of the story. You need to hear about the SUMO fight. That evening at flag ceremony I called Christy out for her unnecessary roughness earlier in the day. I challenged her to a contest. (I had a bruise on my ankle but I'll get to that later.)

Susan, a neutral party, said a sumo match would settle it for once and for all. So, we saddled up in our bandanas and went for it.

Front view

Back view

The stare down.

The move

Susan called it a tie, I think. I couldn't really hear with the crowd cheering my name. ha ha ha.

Then again, I think Christy should have been disqualified for that horrible wedgy she's giving me here.

I mentioned I had a bruise on my ankle. When Christy attacked poor, innocent me I got hit by something. I don't know if my leg hit a sprinkler head or if Christy is made out of cement but I came away from our first encounter with a mother of a bruise on my ankle. I'd had something like it before. I was hit in the shin by a baseball and it was the same sensation so I knew it would bruise and then go away months later. So, I didn't ice it, thinking it was the same type of injury. Plus I couldn't be bothered with sitting still at camp. Sheesh. Well, later that night my ankle swelled and I mean, really swelled. I've been blessed with wonderful ankles. In all of my soccer, basketball and tennis playing, I think I've sprained my ankle once, they are really durable. So, when it swelled, I knew something was wrong. So, I had to swallow my pride and have the camp nurse, who also happens to be Christy, to take a look at it. I was teased and teased and teased, wrapped up and then told not to walk at all. So I was given a ride to my tent. Well, I hadn't brushed my teeth and I needed to go to the bathroom. Fortunately, KC was staying in my tent that night and she needed to go to the bathroom too. So, we drove there. Stake people were there and once again I was chided for walking and I promised I wouldn't walk anymore. I did point out I'd been driven. Well, that night, there was a really loud rainstorm. I mean, really loud. I was wearing earplugs and the thunder sounded like it was right over my tent. I tossed and turned but couldn't go back to sleep. I had to go to the bathroom, drat!! The thunder woke up KC and she wasn't able to get back to sleep either. Well, it was the thunder or her bladder, because she was like, a gazillion months pregnant. Anyway, her car was parked over by the bathroom and neither of us wanted to walk. So, jokingly, I said I should call Christy for a ride. We laughed and I thought, I SHOULD call Christy for a ride. So, I did. It was 5 something or just before 6 in the morning and I called her. She answered quickly. She was really cheery and was happy to pick me up. I'm not kidding, she really was. I still laugh when I think about it.

I can honestly say, this year was one of my better camp experiences. I feel so blessed to have been involved with girls camp everywhere I've lived. It is something I LOVE. And, I will end now, because this post is long enough, and I need to go to sleep.

More to come

Here are some of the highlights from our summer. The stories will follow.

Girls Camp 2012

The epic Sumo Match

Cousins

Uncle Matt and Aunt M.

Canoeing on Red Fish Lake, ID

Temple session at the Twin Falls temple.

Grandpa

Rock Climbing

 Shoshone Ice Cave

The Gorge by Twin Falls

more cousins

Riding with Aunt Tab

SPICE!!!

Oquirrh Hills Temple

AND

PARAGLIDING!!!

and...

I know, it's been too long since I've posted. I need to put up pictures of our house and from Girls Camp, but my computer is having a wee bit of trouble. I woke up one morning and everything in my mail file and photo folder was gone. Yep, just.... gone.  LT wants to rebuild my computer, I just want a new one. I have a feeling, he'll win.

Any who.

Here are 2 O moments that are too good to pass on.

This morning O started telling me a story, it went like this.
"This guy woke up and he was a zombie, but he was sad because he wanted to be a fairy".

Last Saturday O saw the box of Sweet Potato Pancake mix in the garbage and dramatically declared, "OH, this is the worst day ever!!!".  I pointed out we still had another box and she then, emphatically stated, "OH, this is the best day ever!!"

On a different note, we may get two more goats. I'm suppose to pick them up Friday. They are fainting goats. LT laughed out loud when I told him. Oh dear.

My phone died and I bought a new one. I have no idea how to use it, but O has already discovered the camera and video settings. No fair.

This week we went to 6 Flags and O braved the Tower of Doom. She asked to go on it again as soon as we finished the first time. She is so brave and a total daredevil. I love that she is so tall and able to be my ride buddy.

I still can't find a bunch of stuff since we moved.

I'm excited to head to ID soon. Hooray for Sun Valley and hooray for vacation.

What lies ahead

We officially bought our house today.

Wow!! I can't believe it.

I was so nervous and trembly during the first part of the closing. I almost cried. The former lady of the house, A, the original owner, her daughter and son-in-law were there too. They are incredibly nice people. A wants to visit in the fall to see her garden again. I'm looking forward to learning more about what she has planted. I can't believe she designed and built the home and then lived there for 30 years. Wow, 30 years is a long time. I hope to live there even longer.

She told us 2 dogs are buried in the garden plot. Hum, I may plant our garden elsewhere. She wanted us to know so we wouldn't think we were digging up her late husbands body. Ha ha ha, what a character. AND, she told me to get O a dog. Boy am I glad O wasn't there to hear that. The last thing I need is someone else planting that bug in her ear. She's convinced she's getting a dog anyway. (Truthfully, my heart has softened to the idea over the years. Don't pass out mum)

After the closing, we went to the house. I arrived before LT and I breathed in the scent of my new home. Then gagged and coughed because it REALLY needs some cleaning. It's pretty stale, but I don't care. It's a beautiful place and we love so very much about it. It was nice to have a solitary moment to appreciate the feeling there.

I feel an incredible amount of peace and contentment. I wonder if that is left over from the others that loved living there or if it is my own. Either way, it is mine to plant and sow. I look forward to O playing in the dirt, harassing the goats, gathering the chickens eggs, dancing in her ballroom, doing homework, learning the law of the harvest, camping outside and on and on.

I will be posting more pictures soon. I'm excited to, over time, turn the potential we see into reality.

What a way to start the day.

O came into my room this morning, stark naked. She'd had an accident in her bed. So, I pulled off the sheets and took them downstairs to the laundry. The house was going to be shown this morning so while I was downstairs, I decided to vacuum. Before long, I heard vacuuming upstairs. "Aw, what a sweet girl, she is helping out". I came upstairs to find my sweet girl going to town with the vacuum, buck naked. I laughed and laughed and told her thank you for helping and then asked her to get dressed once she was done.

Before long I heard water running in the kitchen and O was yelling for me to help her. So, I went downstairs to the kitchen to help her and there she was, standing on a stool, in front of the sink trying to do the dishes, still naked as can be. Whatever, she was helping out, so we did the dishes with her naked.

We had family pictures taken today. I can assure you, O was fully clothed.

Here I go

I'm irritable and bothered. I seriously misplaced my patience earlier on this week and have yet to find it again. I think I've used up all of my reserves too. 

I'm bothered by the news articles I've been reading about this upcoming election. This year I made a point of following the Republican candidates.  I'm not republican but I want to know who my options may be. 

I faithfully watched the debates and thought about the topics discussed. I never liked Cain, or Bachman. Huntsman didn't have a chance. I thought about Newt for a while, but the more I learned about his history and paid attention to his words, I decided he was off the list. The only thing I liked about Santorum was he believes a healthy family unit is what will help our nation stay great. I liked most of his comments about social issues. 

I REALLY liked Ron Paul. He seems like, out of all of the guys out there, the least corruptible. I really, really liked a lot of what he had to say. But, I didn't like his policy on drugs and some of his policies on National Defense. AND, I'm not sure he'd be successful negotiating with both sides of the aisle. I'm off and on about Mitt. I worry that he is going to ignore environmental concerns to appease big oil. I think there are many, many positives about him. He really does know how to runs stuff. I was living in SLC when the Olympic games were tagged as being in debt and unaffordable. He came along and managed the games without debt. 

Speaking of debt, Ron Paul and Mitt Romney are the only guys running their campaigns without debt. HELLO AMERICA!!  I'm NOT impressed with Obama, at all. He keeps trying to fix things by spending money. 

Also, why is it one candidate can "evolve" and it's okay, while another candidate is labeled a "flip flopper"? Which technically, he never did. He never "flopped" back. Seriously, words.

I'm starting to get even more bothered, so I'm stopping this and moving on.

So, O graduated from her preschool this past Friday. The program was, of course, cute. 

Here is the class of 2025!!

I really don't know what she's doing here, but she looks thoughtful.

This is how she posed for LT. 

AND, this is also why she will likely have ankle, knee and hip problems later in life. 

What a goofball. 

Here she is with her Rockstar preschool teachers. She loves them and so do I. I'm nervous for Kindergarten next year and she thrilled.

Scars on 45

These guys have a great sound. They kind of remind me of Coldplay, but better. They have a lot more going on with their instruments and vocals. I really really enjoyed their set. I've been listening to their album non stop since the concert and that was 2 weeks ago.

Ingrid. 

I heart her. She was so much fun to be with. 

I would love to see her again.

These guys were at the merch table so I grabbed them for a pic.

If all goes well, we will be closing on our house next week. I'm not quite sure it's real yet. I feel good, but pretty mellow about it too. We have a lot of cleaning to do before I will allow ANYTHING into the house. I'm kind of a control freak about bugs in the house. ha ha ha... I'm excited to get out of limbo land. I'm going to be busy cleaning, moving, updating addresses and accounts, and preparing for girls camp all at the same time. At least, I get to finish up June with a week at Girls Camp. It is stressful there, but it is also totally worth every ounce of preparation and stress. I'm really going to miss my girls when I move. They are a handful, but they've endeared themselves to me in their own little way.

On The Nightstand.
Now that my television shows are over for a season, I've spent more time reading. Funny how that happens. I was at the library and picked up two books at random, they are;


The Mostly  True Story of Jack By Kelly Barnhill
It's young adult fiction and I really enjoyed it. It was fun to step away from of the other books I'm reading and escape into a land of magic and mystery.

The Clockwork Universe, Isaac Newton, the Royal Society, and the Birth of the Modern World  By Edward Dolnick
Well, it's interesting and it provides bits of science trivia I can share with LT. So far I've learned about the Greeks understanding of gravity before Isaac Newton explained it.

Backyard Homesteading , A Back-to-Basics Guide to Self-Sufficiency  by David Toht.
I reserved this book and I RELLY like it. In fact, I'd like to buy it so I don't have to keep renewing it from the library. I first checked it out to read about raising goats but there is so much more in there I just want to own it and use it as a reference book as we progress with our land. We are starting with goats to help clear the land. I will prepare a plot of land for gardening this fall and then in the spring we will look at at the possibility of raising chickens, for eggs and meat. And I think, eventually, I'd like to try beekeeping.  Have I mentioned before how excited I am to move to our new place?

Women of Character, Profiles of 100 Prominent LDS Women" by Susan Easton Black and Mary Jane Woodger.
I bought this book because it was on sale and I thought it would be interesting to learn a little bit about LDS women past and present. One thing that is evident in this book is that UT was way ahead of the times when it came to women suffrage and women in politics. I grin a little when I think about all of the haters saying mormons see women as second class citizens. Whatever. Take that haters.