Ocean of Balls

While Emma and Adam attend a  camp in DC this week, Ellie and I are exploring the town every day while they're there!  Our first stop today was to the National Building Museum, where they have a special exhibit called, "The Beach."   Except it has nothing to do with water.   

It's a ginormous ball pit designed to resemble a beach.   It starts shallow and gets gradually deeper and they even have floaties, lifeguards, and beach chairs.  

We  "swam"....

and jumped around in the balls.   

Luckily we had arrived to the exhibit right as it opened, so we had some to enjoy the balls before it got busy.   After a while though, it got really crowded to the point of it starting to feel somewhat overwhelming.  And I freaked out anytime Ellie dipped her head under the balls in fear that either someone would jump on her  or that she'd have a seizure and sink even deeper (especially since she was having a ton of them that day).   I think she was starting to get annoyed that I'd grab her arms every time her head dipped below the surface.  

Crowded as it was, I have to admit that  I was  quite surprised (and somewhat delighted) when I looked over and saw a dog enjoying a little dip in the ocean of balls as well...

He was a service dog belonging to a blind man, and it was actually really cool to observe their interactions together.... 

but it was shortly thereafter that we decided it was time to go.   

It's hard work playing in a ball pit and we came out with sore muscles and scrapes and bruises on our legs.   But it was a fun memory and I loved the mommy-daughter time that we got to enjoy!    

Stay tuned for more DC adventures to come....

********************************

ADDENDUM:   

Cami didn't come along for our ball pit adventure, but went the very next day with her friends (Katy and Matt).  

Here are her pictures:  

After they were finished at the ball pit, they headed to a portrait gallery where they found pictures of Joseph Smith and Brigham Young.   

YW Camp 2015

Our stake held YW camp at a new location this year.  The location was a bit more urban than in previous years, a fact which had its pros and cons, but in general it was a great year.   We had about 150 girls attend, along with another 40+ leaders or so.    The first levels are wearing the light blue t-shirts, orange is second level, pink is third level, green is fourth level, and purple was for the YCLs.  

We had 27 girls from our ward attend. 

(7 YCLs, 3 fourth levels, 4 third levels, 3 second levels, and 10 first levels).   

With the 10 first level girls from our ward, we made up over 1/4 of the 39 total girls that age!   

Emma had a great group of girls her age...

and was lucky enough to get two of her best friends in her cabin! 

The girls in our cabin  (shown below) were energetic and didn't seem to need much sleep, but they were also amazingly in-tune with the spirit and it wasn't that infrequent that I heard in amongst the discussions about which boy was cutest, discussions about certain passages of scripture.   

It was a joy to watch them develop their talents...

strengthen their friendships with one another....

and push each other to do hard things.   

I was in charge of the hikes this year; a task I had thought would be fairly easy.    With the distance between the campsite and the hikes, though, even getting to the hikes turned out to be more of a logistical feat than I had originally expected.   That and the trails weren't super well-marked, so I felt like I needed well-written trail notes for people to follow.   In the end, I planned a five-miler and a three-miler.    There was no shortage of complaining before the hikes began, but I was surprised by the girls' stamina and positive attitude while they were actually on the hikes.   I enjoyed both hikes immensely--not only the beauty of the trail, but also my trail-mates!  

One of the afternoons, most of the campers were participating in archery activities.    The first-levels, however, were too young and as such they got to participate in a "Cupcake War" instead.  And who better to lead a cupcake activity than Cami?   

She hauled all of our baking supplies to camp for the day and led them in an engaging afternoon of creative baking and decorating.   

Cami and the girls seemed to really enjoy it and it was fun to see the beautiful culinary creations they came up with!  

It was my third year of attending camp and I'd probably have to say my most favorite yet.   

I was happy to be there with these girls...

and especially to be there with Emma.  

I looked tired, grungy, and old in this picture, but it was 100% all me.   

No make-up.   No shower.  Grungy clothes.  

Pretty much the face Glen wakes up to every morning.    Lucky him.   

********************************

Facts about 2015 YW Camp: 

Theme:   "Courage to Become"

Location:  Prince William Forest Park

Dates:  July 6-10

My cabin:  I stayed with a group of 3rd levels (including Emma)

My roommate:  Julie M from OM ward

My responsibilities (besides helping my ward girls):  Hikes, finding and hiring lifeguards, helping with third levels

Classes/Activities: Zumba, Yoga, Watercolor Painting, Sketching, Kayaking,  Archery, Hiking, Lake time, Cupcake Wars, Certification time, CCC {Civilian Conservation Corps} class, plus some others that I'm forgetting

Total girls:  about 150

Girls from my ward:  27

Best moment:  the satisfaction of the hikes being done with little complaining and zero mishaps (as far as I know).  I also loved hearing their happy chatter along the way!  

Most frustrating moment:  a big misunderstanding with someone about some equipment that was supposed to arrive on Thursday

Weather (in general):  It was hotter and more humid than the past two years I've attended camp, which meant I was covered with a layer of sweat from head to toe 24/7.  

Weather miracle:   Wednesday was scheduled to the hilt with outdoor activities, but since it was predicted to rain we shuffled things around to get it done early.    At home, a mere 30-miles away, it rained torrents and torrents and even closed many low-lying roads in the afternoon, but at camp it didn't rain a drop until nighttime when we were all in for the night.  

18-years of Cami!

In celebration of Cami's 18th birthday today, here's a glimpse of what she was like through the years.... 

1-year-old--Starting at about 9-months-old, she would cry so hard that she'd pass out several times a week.  The doctor was amazed and said that that was usually the behavior of a manipulative toddler and that we should just accept the notion that we had a strong-willed and stubborn child on our hands.  

2-years-old--She was a feisty little two-year-old who spoke in complete sentences from a young age.  I have  vivid memories of her telling off innocent strangers that dared called her a cute "baby".  She would put her hands on her hips and very sassily declare that she was not a baby, but a big girl instead!

3-years-old--She was still  chunky and short as a three-year-old, so she was constantly amazing people with her advanced speech, because she looked so much younger than she really was.  

4-years-old--She made a startling realization one day when she was four that L-M-N-O and P were all separate letters, not one nebulous five syllable letter.  This rocked her world and forever changed the way she sang the alphabet song.    Each time she'd come to that section of the song, she'd slow down and slowly enunciate each letter separately, taking care not to accidentally slur them together.   Sometimes she'd sing that section again and again until she had enunciated them well enough for her standards.

5-years-old--She was a short, spunky little kindergartner that wore fancy dresses most days.   She loved school from day-one and put her 110% into everything she did, even as a five year old.

6-years-old-- I remember after Adam was born and Cami was displaced from the double stroller, that she would scream and complain the entire way when we went on family walks together.   I sometimes wondered what the neighbors thought of her loud complaining and our circus of kids walking down the street, but we stubbornly still went on walks on a regular basis anyway.   It took a few years, but eventually she toned down the yelling and now really enjoys hiking with the family.

7-years-old--"Red, yellow, violet, and blue.  Here is a rainbow for you.   My favorite color is blue.  If yours is not too, I will sue you."  --an original poem  by Cami, age 7ish

8-years-old--I remember getting frustrated with Cami on a regular basis when she was in third grade, because she would knock herself out on every single school project she tackled.  One particular time that I remember best, she'd spent hours and hours making a "Table of Contents" which she still wasn't satisfied with.   I finally threw up my hands in frustration and demanded that she called it, "good enough" so we could all get some sleep!

9-years-old--She was the one of the shortest people in her classes through elementary school, but this was the year that she finally outgrew her size 6 clothes.   It was weird how long she stayed the same size and how excited she was when it finally happened!

10-years-old--this is when her love of baking really took off.  At this point she started volunteering to make everybody's birthday cake and since  I've never been all that great at making cakes,  I was happy to oblige.   She usually made "people" cakes at first, but slowly branched out from there.

11-years-old--In sixth grade, Cami decided to take over the school.  She was the student council president, a patrol, and an announcer for  the daily announcements.   It sounds great, but her teacher that year really really really didn't like her and all the extracurricular activities that took her out of the classroom on a daily basis.    It still seems ridiculous how hard he tried to get her in "trouble" by regularly calling us in for meetings with him so he could tell us how irresponsible she was.   And it wasn't just our imagination either, since  I regularly  got comments from other kids' parents  wondering why on earth Mr. K didn't like Cami.   Somehow she made it out with her confidence relatively unscathed and we were relieved when he retired shortly thereafter and none of my other kids ever had to have him.    Actually I wouldn't have allowed it.    He clearly had issues.

12-years-old-- Middle school, schmiddle school.   It definitely wasn't her favorite year, but it did at least make her excited for homeschooling for 8th grade as per our family tradition!

13-years-old--This was the year I homeschooled her and she really developed her talent of baking.   She loved to make special treats for friends and this was when she realized how much she loved making cupcakes.

14-years-old--Her freshman year of high school was the year that Spencer got sick and she had to grow up fast.   Not only was she the face of our family at seminary and school every day, but she suddenly had a lot more responsibility at home as well.   She rose to the occasion beautifully and became all the better for having experienced it.

15-years-old--Cami originally started selling her cupcakes this year as a way to raise money for childhood cancer research, but eventually it grew into a full-blown part-time job for her.   She's since catered for dozens of weddings, baby showers, and birthday parties.

16-years-old--Junior year was an INSANE time for her.   She was taking three challenging AP courses this year and somehow subsisted on mere molecules of sleep.  We kept trying to talk her into dropping some of the extraneous activities from her life (winter track or being an NHS officer), but  she wouldn't have anything to do with it.   She marched forward, succeeding on all of her AP exams, and survived to take a slightly less-demanding course load for senior year.   This was also the time when she really solidified the idea of how much she loves to help people and went to Mexico with my uncle's family to help build a home for an impoverished family.

17-years-old--This was a pivotal time in Cami's life.    This was also the year that she saw a lot of the hard work she'd put forth over the last few years come to fruition.    She was accepted into her dream school, graduated in the top tier of her class, gave the valedictory speech at graduation,  made a lot of important decisions, and even received a few scholarships for her efforts.          

18-years-old--Weirdly, she hasn't accomplished much since she's been 18 (for the last few hours),  but I do have it on good authority that she is on Capitol Hill as I type, so who knows...

The Postcard

We just received this random postcard from Ethiopia...

It has a US stamp and postmark, but no signature...

It reminded me of the flood of letters from all over the world that Spencer received for his 17th birthday while he was in the middle of treatment.   It was such a small gesture on the givers'  part, but it meant so much to us and to Spencer and we are touched that someone out there is still thinking of him.  

 Thank you to whomever sent it.    And thank you to all those who supported us through that  time of our lives.  

A Foodie Fourth

Here's a little glimpse at our Independence Day: 

We started the cool, rainy day with a delicious patriotic breakfast...   

a little  granola and fruit creation made by Emma.   

We did our Saturday chores and watched a couple of inspirational videos...

Then my girls made us a delicious patriotic dinner.   

Emma made the stuffed pizza burgers, Cami made  roasted sweet potatoes, and Ellie made cool patriotic layered drinks.

And then Cami made this lovely dessert!  

It was so good that we decided that we didn't to see any fireworks (especially since we already saw some last night at the Nats game).     

 So we stayed home, watched a stupid movie, and in general had a great {and delicious }day celebrating the birth of our country. 

**************************************

Before and After Braces

Emma recently ended a 1-1/2 year relationship.....

with her metallic smile.

Emma was our third child to need a full work-up with braces...

a fact which no doubt brought their orthodontist a step closer to retirement.  

Little does he know that there are still two more kids to come...

We're just happy that we're more than half-way done with paying out arms and legs to our orthodontist now!  

Some notes:  

• Emma took meticulous care of her teeth while they were in braces and got compliments from both the dentist and orthodontist at what good condition her teeth and gums were in.   

• Emma's teeth were the best of the kids so far, requiring a few months less treatment than both Spence and Cam. 

• My other kids had forbidden foods they were excited to eat as soon as their braces came off (caramel, corn on the cob, etc), but Emma's biggest excitement was finally being able to floss normally!