Girls Camp

I survived! And I had a great time! It brought back a lot of great memories and I am so glad I was able to go with the girls. The Stake sent everyone home a day early because there was some kind of virus that spread through camp and half the girls got sick. One of my girls got sick at camp and by the time we got home, all three of them were sick. They are feeling much better now so it didn't last too long. They think it might have been something in the water because some other campers down the road got sick as well. It managed to bypass me so I was able to drive the girls home with no problems.
I had to snag these photos from another website so I can't get them to go any bigger. Just get out your magnifying glass and enjoy the proof that I can rough it in the mountains for a few days! It didn't hurt to go as a leader though because we had access to a flushing toilet. I took one step in the latrine the first day and saw a huge spider crawling in the "toilet". I turned around and slammed the door (and may have let out a squeal and a dry heave) and never stepped foot in that nasty thing again. I have to give props to the girls that used it everyday because I would rather dig a hole and squat in the woods than pull my pants down in a latrine. *shudder* Bleck!
(And in case you were wondering, Avery's hand is doing much better. It's amazing how fast those little bodies heal. I was able to track down a calling card at camp and call home to check on her and by the time I got back, the blisters had popped and two of her fingers had completely healed over.)

Bad Mother Moment

I am leaving to take our Young Women to girls camp tomorrow and of course, I can't leave for 5 days without some sort of mishap right before I pack off to the middle of the woods. But, I have to admit, this one was 100% my fault. I was preparing the last little bit of packing today and decided to make some popcorn and put on a cartoon for the kids so they would be entertained while I finished up my to-do list. We were out of microwave popcorn so I decided to use our stovetop popper. Avery wanted to help so I told her to go ahead and help turn the stirrer. I was right next to her the whole time and I reminded her no less than 5 times that the stove is hot and not to touch it. When the popcorn stopped, I turned off the burner and pulled the popcorn popper off. The second I turned around to grab the bowl, she reached over and put her hand on the still hot burner. She instantly started to cry and it took about a nanosecond for me to realize what had happened. I dropped all the bowls and grabbed her because I knew she had just burned her hand. It immediately started to bubble up and I immediately felt horrible! I rushed her to the sink and put it under cold water and told her to sit there while I rounded up Drew and everything I might need for a little visit to the ER. Luckily Drew was able to stay with Brent at work while we went to the hospital. The good thing about a small town ER is we are probably the only action they had seen all day. We were in and out in less than an hour. Avery has second degree burns on all 5 of her fingertips and her palm was burned also. I Feel Awful! It happened so fast and she is hurting pretty bad. She is doing so good to keep her little ice pack on it but every once in a while, the pain sets back in and she just starts crying. It's so sad. They wouldn't cover the fingertips so they could breathe and heal and I think they are itchy too because I keep catching her trying to rub them on her clothes or something trying to relieve the pain. :(

I feel bad leaving her but I know Grammy will take good care of her and give her all the TLC she needs while I am gone. This was a lesson learned for both of us.Look at that sad face! I told her to hold up her hand but she wouldn't take it off of the ice pack so she is holding up her good hand. Little bandages are so pitiful. :(

A Good Day

Today was a good day for Drew. He was able to overcome a fear and I am so proud of him. He had swim lessons this week and each day, they end the swim lesson by letting the kids go down the big twisty slide. Drew was very apprehensive to go down alone so he insisted on riding down with his teacher. (I can't say I blame him. It's 3 flights of stairs to the top and it is pretty intimidating to a little kid.) I told him that he needed to make a goal that by the end of the week, he would try to go down the slide all by himself. He agreed but each day still insisted on going down with his teacher. We threw in a little extra incentive in the form of a new Indiana Jones video game (I am not above bribery!) and he has worked himself up all week to go down the slide by himself. I would catch him talking to himself as he tried to psych himself up. He would say "OK, Drew. It's going to be ok. Just be brave and your teacher will catch you at the end. I know you can do it. And just like dad said, it won't be so bad. Just don't be afraid Drew- you can do it." It was really sweet to watch him prepare his mind. So on the last day of class, it was time for the slide. He held his teacher's hand all the way up the stairs and on the first run down, he just couldn't bring himself to go down alone so she rode with him. I went over to the side of the pool and gave him a little pep talk to encourage him to try again all by himself and up he went for the last time. Avery yelled up to him, "Good job Drew-friend! You can do it!" (She had been encouraging him all week while he stood at the top waiting his turn. Very sweet.) I have to admit, my heart was pounding. I knew how scared he was but I knew how badly he wanted to be brave. The next thing I knew, he was coming around the last corner of the slide All By Himself!!! I was so happy for him. As soon as he landed in the water he screamed "I DID IT!! MY DAD IS GOING TO BE SO PROUD OF ME! I AM DEFINITELY GOING TO CALL HIM AND TELL HIM HOW BRAVE I WAS!!" As cheesy as it sounds, my heart leapt and I almost cried! Avery jumped up and down and said, "He did it!!" I am so proud of him for overcoming his fear and for giving it a try even though he was scared.
When they asked him if he wanted to go down again, he said "Nope!" and took that life jacket off as fast as he could. Enough bravery for one day!

Memorial Day

We had a fun Memorial Day this year. We started at my parents house with a barbecue and some water fun for the kids. It was so hot! Then we all drove out to my dad's hunting land and rode 4 wheelers. It was so much fun!A little windblown and dirty but we had a blast!

P.S. (I just love those dirty, smiley, happy kids!)