As soon as we made it home on Sunday (the 15th) I started laundry. Not something I would normally do on a Sunday, but I was leaving for girls camp in the morning. Getting out of town when pretty good. We had one girl that decided at the last minute that she wanted to go. We were only a little bit late getting to the camp site in Mammoth, CA. We had some good help getting our camp area set up, with only a little problem with the girls willingness to help. That problem happened off and on all week. I guess that's meant to be with teenage girls. I was the camp leader for the 2nd years. The nights were super-cold. Once I put my sleeping bag over my head I was fine. So, I slept like that all week. We had some good times. I really enjoyed visiting with the other leaders. I was even brave enough to go on the hike with the girls. Four miles up the mountain, a break at the lake, and another four miles down the mountain. I had a hard time. I had to go so slow uphill. It was, of course, much easier going down, but we were so anxious to get back we went kind of fast. I was so exhausted at the end of the day, and I had to do some extra walking around camp that evening. I had been asked to sing a song for the final evening after a special program about the Book of Mormon. I didn't do very well with our practice and I kept crying, I was pretty emotional. I just kept praying during the whole program, that I'd be able to do well and keep the spirit there. My song went perfect, and I felt confident throughout. My body hurt so bad by then that I was so glad we were going home in the morning. When I got home I started laundry, again. We were on our way to Elko that evening for the wedding reception there. Like I said the last month has been crazy busy!

The Grand Canyon was great! We set up camp when we finally got there and built our fire and cooked dinner. Then we settled down for S'mores and scary stories. I tried one (a scary story that is). Benjamin said it wasn't very good. Dad's the expert there. The next day (Thursday) we spent hiking around the Grand Canyon. They have a great system there - free bus rides to anywhere around there. You get on one and hop off when you are at a place you want to see. We started off with a 1 1/2 mile hike along the rim. That first view was incredible. We were awestruck. Then we rode a bus to another area, and had ice cream. Sarah was attacked by a squirrel there, too. She was eating a cracker and I was trying to get a picture of said squirrel. It kept coming closer and closer. A man said, "watch the squirrel, watch the squirrel!" I thought he was just getting excited but apparently he knew what "the squirrel" was capable of. It attacked her cracker, even scratched her hand a bit.

We rode the bus back to our camp area and had lunch. The kids (and dad) watched a movie and napped. Then we took the shuttle around to see more of the Canyon. By the time we were ready to go back to camp, we decided to stick it out and watch the sun set. It was nice, but honestly we still love Nevada sunsets better! Friday morning we packed up and planned on making more stops to see the Canyon, but we were all kind of burned out. We did stop at the watch tower and ate our pb&j sandwiches before heading on to St. George. That was a hot drive too, but for some reason it was pretty enjoyable. Very pretty drive, too. We went past the Vermillion Cliffs - decided to save Zions for another trip. We stayed at a hotel in St. George with Kannon's family. We enjoyed a dip in the pool and dinner, then went to bed.
Saturday was the wedding day - Kannon's brother JJ was getting married. Kannon and I got up early to attend a session at the temple. Then we went back for the sealing. Both experiences were great. We MET Kamie at the temple that day. She's a great girl. She ended up getting a blood clot in her leg, just a few days before the wedding. So, she was in a wheelchair (and in pain) for the sealing. They had to cancel their honeymoon. They did a few pictures and then we all went to a chapel for their reception. It was nice, but by the end we were all ready to leave - on the road again for another 4 hours to Ely, NV for the night. We stayed with family there and headed home in the morning. We left Benjamin there to stay with Grandma for the week.

Grandma at the temple door with Sarah, Ben and Stetson (cousin).

JJ and Kamie Polish

Riding the horses at a gas station in Wikieup, AZ.

I've been a little awol lately. We had a very busy June and I've wanted to put all of what we've been doing here - but finally decided to just do as much as I could at a time.

Saturday, June 7th, we left home very early to get to Las Vegas before it got too hot. We spent 3 days with Kannon's Aunt Karen and family. We really enjoyed just relaxing and playing in the pool. We also had a chance to visit Grandpa Wadlow and great-Grandma Sotira. We try to make this trip every year. This was the first time we stayed with the Murphy's and we really felt comfortable there. The kids got to know Kannon's cousins a little more, too. On Tuesday, June 10th, we took our second drive of the trip to Gilbert, Arizona to see my brother John and wife Heather. It was a hot drive. Our a/c has never really worked like it should, and we were obviously in a hot part of the country. We enjoyed seeing John and Heather's home. We spent a little time at the neighborhood park and had dinner with them. They also put us up for the night and the next day we went with John to an indoor amusement park and spent a few hours playing there. That was a great place - I still wish I had the money to get one going here. The kids got to ride the merry-g0-round, play bumper cars, ride a train and airplanes, air hockey, and skee-ball. There was a large indoor playground and even a sandbox. They didn't want to leave but we needed to get on our way to the Grand Canyon.

May Update

This is a close-up of the quilt I bought (you can read about it here!)

We spent a lot of time this weekend pulling weeds and reseeding the lawn in the patches that didn't grow the first go-around. That was harder than the first seeding. We've had a lot of good rain this past week, we're really enjoying it, but not the mud that comes in.
The kids beds - Sarah's new quilt (close-up above). You'll read about Kannon's quick decision to remodel - we took out the crib that night and moved the love seat in it's place. So, Sarah was put in her "big girl" bed that night. She has done so well! There have only been a few times where she gets up and gets in trouble. Usually she will lay down and go to sleep, nap times too!

So, I guess just some random things to blog about right now. I haven't blogged in awhile because I didn't think there was anything going on, but now I've got a collection of anythings.

First, big news for our family, 2 NEW COUSINS! Sasha had her baby girl, Lillie, on May 10. We're really glad things didn't get too bad. There were some complications, but mom and baby are doing fine. The other kids have had a few weeks at Grandma's house so Sasha can recuperate better.

Nancy had her baby boy, Colby, on May 12. Her labor was really quick and they are doing really well, too. We can't wait to get to see them both soon! It's kind of funny that they both missed having their babies on Mother's Day by just a few hours each way.

Ben's had a fun friend month. I have been babysitting another boy his age and he's had a good time playing with him. There was definitely more noise, dirt, and mischief those days. I'm not sure if Quinlan will be coming over anymore. Not sure what those plans are. We also had a little picnic day last week with some friends.

We got our stimulus check just over a week ago and Kannon wanted to use it to start remodeling our living room - the next day! I convinced him to hold off for awhile. Let us get really ready for the mess that will come with that. We've been able to buy almost all of what we'll need for that job - still need to order new windows and rent the floor sander. I'm not sure when we'll actually get started as we have a trip and I have girls camp coming up. I'll get before and after pictures to post. Kannon has also been doing some sewer work. He hates that kind of plumbing. He was trying to dig a hole on the outside of the house, to make a bigger entrance to get under the house. Right now we have a little hole in our little cellar. The guy who did our home inspection was small and barely fit in it. Kannon hasn't tried, but it does look to small. He wanted to cut a door, but the wall there is 7 inches thick! So, he started digging is way under the house. In the process he found our sewer pipes, and dug a hole IN it! So, he's had to dig out a bunch around the pipe and then cut out the pipe and replace a section of it. I'm so glad he's a plumber! That could have been a very costly repair. He really hated the job, though. Doesn't like mud and, obviously, doesn't like sewer!

I had a couple of fun evenings last week. A sweet lady from Utah was in town teaching about better women's health. Mostly she talked about estrogen and progesterone and how our health will be better if/when they are in balance. I've used progesterone cream before, when I was trying to get pregnant with Ben. I also used the fertility pills at the same time and so I wasn't sure what actually helped me get pregnant. I tried the cream again when I was trying to get pregnant with Sarah, but it didn't seem to be making a difference. I can tell my hormones are not balanced right now. Tons of symptoms of that, and so I am trying the cream again. This brand I bought www.arbonne.com/products/balance/prolief.asp is supposed to be the best. Progesterone cream is sometimes called "happy cream" and helps men, too. A huge help for anyone going through menopause. Some good books with a lot of info are "What Your Doctor May NOT Tell You About Menopause" or "What Your Doctor . . . . About Premenopause" by Dr. John Lee. The second night she talked about diet and I felt impressed to follow a book called "Original Fast Foods" by James and Colleen Simmons. Basically takes you back to the basics, eating fruits and vegetables. Adding grains and legumes when needed for more energy. Cutting out animal-based foods. I'm really excited about this, I'm trying to make some changes now and will add more when I'm back from our 2 weeks of "stuff". You can check out their website for more information www.originalfastfoods.com

(Jaime, I even found a huge list there of gluten-free foods under Support Center and Health Articles.) Once I make these changes I expect to see the pounds come rolling off. I will keep you updated and share more as I learn more. I'm really excited about this.

We went to a fundraiser last week to help support a friend who's 2-year-old son is in need of a kidney transplant. They had a spaghetti dinner that we all enjoyed and raffles, silent-auction and a live auction. I think I got a little carried away, but I'm glad it was for such a good cause. I ended up buying a really cute quilt for Sarah's bed for $90. I also let Ben bid on a popcorn pack since he didn't get the one he wanted in the raffle. Kannon won $15 to McDonalds and 2 passes to the local gym in the raffle. This is their blogsite http://www.daniellords.blogspot.com/ So, we all came home pretty happy and had a good time, too. Except when we kind of lost Sarah - for the 2nd time in a week! She kept wandering around and we were watching her, but somehow we didn't see her disappear. I was outside looking and Kannon inside. He finally found her, she just sort of showed up. We don't know where she was. That sounds so bad. She IS short! And there were a lot of people around and other kids. Some of the kids were playing in and out of some closets in this building and there was also a kitchen in another area where she could have been. I'm so grateful that she was safe. The other time she disappeared was when a neighbor and his 2 boys were here. She had been following the boys (and Ben) all over the front and back yards and in the house. Kannon was outside and I was inside. When I hadn't heard her or the boys for awhile I started searching and everyone was gone. The neighbors had gone home, I don't know where Kannon was, and Ben came back from riding his bike around the block (by himself, without permission). Then Kannon showed up and he didn't know where Sarah was. My only thought was that she followed Ben around the block. Kannon went one way, I went the other way and I found her about a quarter of the way around. Again, I was sooo glad that she was safe. I'm going to have to keep a better eye on her. I was thinking I might get one of those child leashes for busy places. Kannon had to chase her down at Walmart yesterday!

We were at my sister-in-law's (Jackie's) graduation party and Uncle Nathan was teaching Sarah how to eat the frosting - she really had a good time!
This is Ben and his ABC school class at their graduation. They had a lot of fun playing at the park together and eating popsicles and licorice, too. Ben was pretty proud of the fact that he graduated before Aunt Jackie!
Sarah, reading a book on the kitchen floor. I caught her this morning, too, reading a book while sitting on Ben's toy 4-wheeler and singing a song - that's what got me out of bed today! A Four Generation Picture
my grandma - Doris Mae Reed Young, 90
me, Elizabeth - 32
my daughter, Sarah Elizabeth - almost 2
my mom - Kathleen Debra Young Bake, 55

Father and Son Campout

Benjamin and his Dad went to the Stake Father and Son Campout last weekend. I wanted Kannon to blog about it - since I wasn't there - but I know he won't. So, when Ben dictated to me for his journal on Sunday I decided I would let him tell you about the campout. These are his own, approved by him, words.

Ben and his friend Reed
Blocking the wind!

"Me and Reed went hopping to rock to rock. And I went into the water and it was fun. But, I got 2 rashes on my legs - or a sunburn. And we roasted marshmallows in the morning. At night we went hunting with another friend and Reed. We had my flashlight - we found a bunch of rocks and we tipped them over and we saw how disgusting it was on the bottom of the rocks. And we saw 2 tents almost blowing away. And we saw the disgusting parts on the bottom of the rock - you know on the flat part on the bottom of the rock. And me and my Dad had so much fun. We threw our Frisbee and it went so far we couldn't even catch it. And then when it landed we could catch it. It was super-windy at night time. And we found perfect skipping rocks. Some people caught a fish there, but not me and Dad. That wasn't fun. We played cowboys before we left - me and Reed. And Dad was the Indian with the pipe that me and Reed found. And we played Bocce ball there - but me and Reed didn't - just the big Dads did."