Air Show

We were very excited to hear that they were bringing back the air show again. The last time we went to the Air Show, it was raining cats and dogs. We didn't last long, we were soaked within minutes of getting there. This year however, it was sunny skies.

When we finally got there (after waiting and hour to get into the parking lot) we finally entered the event. We got there in time to watch the last demonstration of the day, The Thunderbirds.   

The kids had a blast watching the planes. They loved especially when they could hear them but couldn't see where they were coming from.

The heart was dedicated to all those who have served and continue to serve our Country.

A firework formation to commemorate the 4th of July coming up in the next few days.

After the Thuderbirds were done we walked around to look at all the exhibits and the many different types of planes they had on display.

The kids even got to pretend to shot a gun. Ben tried to tell them what it was like to actually shoot a gun like this. They didn't understand much, but I was okay with that.

Taking a quick shot with the pilot of this jet.

My favorite plane: the old one. I guess love the classics

After walking around for a little bit, we decided that they kids deserved a special treat. In this case it was a plane. I think it was more so Ben and I wanted them to have a really cool die cast plane. They were both really excited and took forever to pick one out. Gabbi choose a Thunderbird Jet and Owen picked an older model, like the ones I like.

On our way to walk back to the gate to leave, we passed these guys. They were representing the Military form the early 1900's. The kids were excited to show them their planes and to take a picture with them. They even commented on the plane that Owen had because it was a plane like the ones they were representing from the past.

Once we were done snapping a few last minute photo's of all the planes we passed exiting we got in line to board the shuttle bus to take us back to our car. I would almost wager that they kids thought this was the coolest part. Gabbi said it was because she didn't have to wear a seat belt. That girl worries me sometimes.

William had a blast on the bus as well. He had huge grins on his face the whole ride.

Bucket

William was helping Daddy empty the diaper pail from his bedroom. He was a happy participate, if you couldn't tell.

Face Vs. Wall

When I got back from girls camp, Ben and the kids swung by to bring me some lunch while we were cleaning things up. When I walked over to the car I was taken back. Gabbi's eyes and nose were swollen ans long with scabs up and down her nose. It also was slightly bruised. I was almost in tears not even knowing what had happened. 

Ben then relayed to me the story. They were at the park after school lunch one day and she and some other kids were playing tag. She was tag and because she is as clumsy as she is, hit a cement wall. Nice I know. Really I kids have an uncanny likelihood for hurting their faces in one way or another.

Girls Camp Day 4 and 5

Our last official day was another lake day. We had planned to do our beach Olympic along with just having a lot of fun. Sadly that didn't last.

When we got to the beach, the girl headed straight to the water even though they were told to wait. We wanted to start our Olympic right away so we could actually do them. We noticed the weather may not stay very nice. But a lot of them headed for the water, so again things didn't go as planned. While some played in the water, which was colder then Tuesday, the rest of us played volleyball.

Our game didn't last long when the clouds started to roll in. We put away what we could and then huddled under the shade up hoping that it would pass. We weren't that lucky. It started to rain and I mean rain hard.

After a half an hour of the rain not stopping we decided to head back to our camp site. When we got there the girls booked it to their tents to wait out the rain. It eventually slowed enough for us to be able to eat lunch. We set up the shade up so we would a little protection if it rained again, and it did.

After cleaning up lunch in the rain, we gathered the girls again for our next craft. The Youth Leaders had planned on doing dream catcher necklaces. They turned out really cute. Sadly not all the girls wanted to make one. So all the supplies and efforts of putting it all together were waited. I felt really bad.

After the craft the girls just had down time. We didn't have anything planned because we didn't account for bad weather. Lots of down time =  fights between girls. I don't miss being a Young Women and all its drama. I forgot out petty and ridiculous some of their arguments can be, but luckily they were all resolved before our testimony meeting that night.

When it was time to prepare dinner, everyone pitched in to get the tables cleaned off and ready for our guests. When everything was ready we all gathered around the camp fire and sang a few hymns while waiting for our special guests. I brought the spirit for the evening, it was quite nice.

Sadly the spirit didn't last long because we headed into dinner. The girls had to release some of that energy that wasn't released on the beach. At one point they stole my phone and started taking random pictures. At least they were fun pictures.

When we were done with dinner, we cleaned up and had our dessert.

After dessert it was time for out evening devotional and testimony meeting. Bishop was in charge or our devotion that night and did a great job of setting the mood for our testimony meeting.

I was proud of the girls, most of them shared their testimony and if they didn't share their testimony, they at least shared something that they really enjoyed while at camp. Thing were going really well and then it started to rain again. We had to crowd around the tables to get out of the rain to finish our testimony meeting.

When testimonies were done, each of the girls were given a special gift, a letter from their parents. I don't think there was one girl that wasn't in tears after reading what their parent wrote. It was sweet to witness. They're are a few girls that I have never seen cry. It really was a great ending to our night.

Our last morning was to pack up and go. It rained the entire time. It sucked so bad. Luckily it slowed at least so we could get the tents down, but it never stopped. It finally stopped when we got out of the canyon and on the main road to head home. Dang rain.

When we got back to North Ogden it was beautiful skies so we set the tent back up so they could dry out and told the girls to come back in 2 hours to take them back down. Luckily that went fast, I was ready to be done and go home.

Hammer

Another lovely incident while I was at girls camp; Owen vs. William.

William was in the room with the other two kids and they were playing just fine. The next thing Ben hears was a blood curdling cry from William. He ran into the room to see what was going on. Owen was hitting William on the tummy with his toy hammer. As you can tell from the picture he hit him hard enough to leave some lovely marks.

Poor baby : (

Girls Camp Day 3

Our third day brought our Value hike. 

Our morning was a very busy one. We had to prepare breakfast, lunch, and dinner all before we left. But with many hand, it went rather smoothly.  Once we were done and cleaned everything we were ready to go. All we had to wait for now was the rest of our group. One car went to the end of the hike, so the driver had a way back to get the cars. It was a really long hike and the girls wouldn't have wanted to hike all the way back if we could drive back.

While we were waiting we sang a few songs and even played some games. When they finally got back we headed for the trail head.

The hike was an estimated 5 plus miles give or take. We took frequent stops to accommodate all the different strengths of the girls. Along with those small stops, we also stopped to share our thoughts on the Young Women values. 

After a while we stopped in an open field to eat our sack lunches that we had made that morning. When it came time to get going again, we debated whether or not to continue. We figured that we had gone maybe half way. Some of the girls were complaining and we did want to have any one get hurt physically or emotionally. After all of us leader discussed it, we decided that we would continue till the end, no matter how much longer it would take us. 

Our hike felt like it was going on forever and would never end. At one point we thought we were close, so some of us rested while a few went on to see if we were any where close. At this point one of the girls was started to fill sick. So much that it was decided that she could be experiencing elevation sickness and that she should head back down. So she and two other leaders headed back down while the rest of us headed up and were met by the few that went on a head of us. They told us that we had one more hill and then it was all down hill from there.

They didn't mention that that hill was a dozy, but at least it had a great view.

Once we hit the crest of the mountain we walked along the ridge. It gave me tunnel vision. The path was very skinny and the fall was a long way down. I couldn't stand the view once we were moving again.

After the ridge it was all downhill from there. That downhill was actually kind of scary. There was still some snow up there and some of it was starting to melt. The trail was muddy and was even covered by snow in some parts. A few parts were very difficult. I fell at one point and was freaked the rest of the way down. I was very excited when the ground finally evened out and it was flat for the rest of the way.

When we finally got to the end of trail we were a little confused when all we saw was the bathroom. We then looked at the sign and discovered that we need to go another .06 miles to reach Bloomington Lake. So the girls continued on while those leaders with the cars headed back to get the cars.

When we got back we were hoping to be able to go up and see the lake, but when we pulled into the parking lot the girls were running for the cars and were ready to head back. I was really bummed when our president told us that we would just head back. I really wanted to see the "gold at the end of the rainbow." I will probably never do that hike again, so not to be able to see the finish line, I was really disappointed, but we were already almost 2 hours past our schedule, that I just got back in my Van and zoomed out of the parking lot.

When we got back to the camp site, we ate dinner, cleaned up, had our devotional, S'mores a quick mug craft and then went to bed. This time, they were all exhausted from the hike that they fell asleep quickly.

Girls Camp Day 2

The next day brought on our first beach day. The girls got up, had breakfast, studied their scriptures and then got ready for the beach. 

While we were waiting for our lunch to be put together and packed up, the girls that weren't helping gathered around the camp fire and same come camp songs. They had a few that I have never heard off, but they had a blast singing them.

Once the truck was all packed up with our food and what not, we loaded the rest of the cars and headed to the beach.

When we got to the beach the girls hurried to jump in. Some freaked at how cold it was, but others didn't care. They had a lot of fun seeing how far they could make it in the water before they wanted to pansy out of it. Some even attempted the canoe. A few of them had a hard time getting it to go where they were trying to steer it, but they did eventually make it back to shore.

Those that did eventually get sick of the cold water came back to play on the beach. They built sand castle and what ever else they could think of. 

We also brought a volleyball net with us. We had a few games played that day. Some with few number and some with big numbers. It was a lot of fun. It has been a long time since I've played volleyball. I had a blast. I hope the girls did too. Some of them even got a few tips from our volleyball coach. They loves it and I think they are actually planning on trying out once school is back in session.

 After a few hours of playing, it was finally time to eat lunch.

After lunch the adults played ladder ball and volleyball

while the girls played mini golf, swam a little bit more, and played volleyball.

For the last little bit the majority of us just sat a relaxed in what shade we had from our shade up. Shortly after we sat down we heard one of the girls scream. They had come across a fish. Well two younger boys did. They must have grabbed him pretty hard because he wasn't swimming the best.

Because he was so easy to catch our girls had a lot of fun with it. I was impressed that they even picked it up. One of our Youth Leaders even played a trick on a group of girls in the canoe, by throwing it in the their boat saying that it had jumped in. They freaked out. 

The poor thing got passed around to a lot of the girls and then was left there to either swim off or die. I'm not sure what happened to it.

After lot of fun playing and baking on the beach we headed into Garden city for a few shakes. 

When we got back to the camp site the girls took turns washing each other's hair while we were waiting for dinner.

After dinner we had our evening devotional and said goodnight. Some stayed up to hang around the camp fire while other headed for their tents. They surely didn't go to sleep though. We heard them all night long.