Adventures in Camping

A couple weeks ago, Jerry took Darren, Claire and Miles camping for 2 1/2 days (and I died and went to heaven!) Anyway, when they got back, they were full of stories! On the first night, they ran into a biker couple that was trying to camp for free out in the woods. The kids were shining a flashlight around the woods in the dark, when they heard someone say, "Hey! Stop shining the flashlight over here!" Well, Jerry wasn't happy at them for yelling at the kids when they shouldn't have been there in the first place! He threatened to call the park ranger, and I guess that scared them off. I personally wouldn't have said anything - I would have been too scared.
It's funny that what did scare everyone was a bunch of racoons who weren't afraid of people. Jerry said that they kept circling the campfire and growling because they weren't getting any food!

The kids had fun riding their bikes and hiking the first day. They even saw an armadillo! On the second day, they went to Dinosaur Valley State park and swam in the lake and saw some real dinosaur tracks. Out of all the scary/exciting things that happened on the trip, we have to give the bravery award to Miles. On the second day as they were getting ready to go fishing, Darren and Miles were fighting and Miles fell out of the van and cut his head. So, the trip was cut a little short as they had to take Miles to a clinic to get stitches. We were so proud of Miles - he didn't cry at all!!! In the end, everyone had a great time, and we are all looking forward to many more camp outs!

Spring Break Continued

We had a fun time in Temple. One day we hiked around Miller Springs and had a picnic at a beautiful overlook of the valley. Darren got to go trail-riding with Grandpa and Uncle Paul, and we made our usual trips to the clown park and the rocket park. We also added a new tradition - picture bingo! We laminated the cards my mom made for my sixth birthday party. They are really cute and we had fun using them and getting lots of prizes. My mom and I enjoyed watching lots of HGTV and lifetime movies with my dad, and visiting a couple furniture shops. We missed Jerry, though, and wished he could be there with us!

Goal: No new clothes for one year (kids!)

Sooo . . . we are lucky to live in an area where it is easy to find nice clothes at garage sales, Goodwill, and second-hand stores. My goal for this year was to not buy any new clothes for the kids - except underwear, swimsuits, and shoes - I do have my standards! I have also found a lot of cute things for myself at the Goodwill Boutique! I am proud to say that we have stuck to that goal, and are 3/4 of the way through the year already! I will It feels good to save so much money, and to be more "green" by reusing things.

A Night at the Symphony

The Sheppard's invited us to the symphony. We had about 5 minutes to get ready and look all dressed up, because of tire problems on the way home from Temple after spring break. We ate in a hotel next to the Meyerson Symphony. The "Rite of Spring" was the feature for the evening, and it was really cool, and it was fun to spend some time with Sam and Tiffany!

Sick Sammi

It turns out that Sammi had Rotavirus! This is not something that the doctors give antibiotics for, but the danger is dehydration. We were so worried about her! She was not eating or drinking and had lots of diarrhea and was throwing up. I was trying to come up with an activity to pacify the kids since we were cooped up for spring break, so I told them we could get some treats and watch a movie. While we were at Kroger, Sammi threw up! As I was bending down trying to wipe it up, she threw up again - this time in my hair! Unfortunately, we hadn't gotten the treats yet - so to avoid the wrath of Claire and everyone else, we hurried around the store and got the rest of our stuff, trying to avoid anyone who had seen Sammi throw up! I can only imagine what people were thinking! Sammi just wanted to sleep and cuddle the whole time, so we decided to straighten her hair and see how long it is. I started getting really worried after a couple days, and ended up waking up every hour throughout the night to make her sip some water. She wouldn't eat or drink anything else. One time, my youngest brother, Paul, was hospitalized for dehydration, so I was that much more paranoid. I almost took her to the emergency room in the middle of the night, but Jerry thought she would be okay until the morning. When I took her to the doctor the next morning, and he said she was going to be okay! Our prayers were answered! We were able to go to Grandma and Grandpa's house for the rest of spring break, much to everyone's relief.

Spring Break - help!!!

We've been counting down the days to go to Temple for spring break, but now Sammi and Miles are sick. We really can't go anywhere, because Sammi has thrown up a couple times - including at Kroger, on the floor and in my hair while I was trying to clean it up - and I think there might be mutiny sometime soon if this doesn't all clear up! Help!!!

Backyard: In Progress

When Jerry's dad was here for Darren's baptism, he helped put in a new sprinkler system around the basketball court so that we can do some landscaping. It was a huge job! We are always so grateful for his help! We had a driveway full of dirt delivered, and the kids had fun playing in it while Jerry was at work. We also dug out one of our trees that was damaged. We can't wait to see the final product once Jerry figures out what he wants to plant!