Girl Time

There was a time when the Father and Sons outing would come along that I would bide my time alone. I never really thought it would be different, but fantasized having a couple girls to enjoy the night with. I just couldn't see the future. I wouldn't have been able to wait had I known that these two darlings would be a part of my life, making my girls' night alone so much more special.

We started out the night with a trip to the store and picked up this fun and princess girly tea set.

Then we went to the dollar store and picked up the girls' favorite treats:

And had a fun night including a tea party, nail painting and Barbie movie watching {not pictured, we were having to much fun to remember to take pix ;)}. 

It was the BEST "girl time" I've EVER HAD.

I look forward to more in the future!

July 4th- with 7 camping guidelines

There are certain traditions we just can't (or don't want to) get away from. We have a few of those on the 4th of July. Every year we decorate the children's bikes and head out to the flag raising and ward breakfast. 

In the past, Bryon has been the one to decorate the bikes with the children. I was worried this year and new we would miss his help and enthusiasm. As it turns out, though, Alyssa pulled through. I didn't have to worry about a thing! She decorated she and Amy's bikes and paraded that parking lot in 

 STYLE!

 I thought she had Amy looking like Ms. Liberty.

 Michael enthusiastically helped Amy around that parade. 

 Justin took off so quickly, I never could get a still shot of him. It was a lot of fun to watch the children enjoy their traditional ritual. 

We left a little after the breakfast to Newport, which we had done a couple years ago. We decided this time to camp at South Beach and watch the fireworks from the pier again. I told Steve that if we are to camp, we are to do it my way. Anyone that knows me well, knows that I'm no happy camper. The majority of my experiences have been poor, to say the least. Steve was willing to do just about anything to help me have a positive experience. I really appreciate that, because this time I truly walked away wanting to do it again! 

Here are the steps to a good camping experience:

1. Have somebody willing to go ahead, set up camp before you arrive-The boys came up ahead of us, so by the time we got to the campsite they had the tent almost up. Steve helped them finish the job. 

2. Only take food that is easy to prepare- Steve and the children roasted hot dogs and had them in buns with ketchup and mustard. My feeling is, if you can't cook it over the fire with ease, why are you taking it camping? 

I couldn't eat hot dogs without a penalty on my feel great in 8 challenge, so I prepared chicken shish-kabobs before hand. They were all wrapped in foil and ready to go on site. They were OH, SO GOOD!

3. Have fun-We enjoyed some time together and roasted s'mores after we ate dinner. 

Amy is Tyler's little shadow when we go places. She loves her big brother!

4. Enjoy the scenery-While we were sitting on the dock, Tyler told me to look at the boat. We were amazed to see a boat named the same EXACT name as our cute daughter Alyssa. Isn't that cool?! We wouldn't have noticed this had we not been enjoying our surroundings. 

5. Have fun- While waiting for the fireworks, the children made goofy faces and goofed around with each other.

Notice the guy in the background, he even got involved!

 6. Have activities prepared- When the children got wrestless, we always had an activity to capture their interest, first it pictures, then pop-its, then it was mini snickers (after clean up), glow sticks came after dark, potty trips

                                                      after which the fireworks began.

 7. Do things you all enjoy- Nothing like a good smooch with your honey...

eating candy...

 and taking your own fun photos. 

 Follow these guidelines and you are sure to have a wonderful camping experience!

Que valle bien!;)