Ivins Ward YW Camp

Last week, me and three of our Young Woman (youth ages 12-18) headed into the Spanish Fork canyon for Girls Camp. And let me tell you..we were camping. None of this "cabins", "cafeteria food", "swimming in the lake with the blob" kind of camping for us. We were roughing it and I have the poison ivy to prove it!

A few highlights for me included:

• Pitching our tents on 60 degree slant to comply with the latest fire code (all tents must be 30 feet from the fire pit);

• Winning the Dutch oven cooking contest with our delicious Chocolate Marshmallow Cake;

• Waking up at 4:30 a.m. for the amazing sunrise hike;

• Nightly scripture study/journaling sessions with the girls;

• A constant scramble for a unique and funny cheer during ward role calls;

• Throwing away all the foil dinners after the coals got too cold to actually cook the food... and then feeding the best of those to one of the visiting stake leaders;
  

• My girl's constant obsession with keeping "secret sisters" a secret, even though there were only three of them;

• Spiritual hike hosted by the stake leaders;
  

• Sneaking home on Friday for a quick shower and the Tim McGraw concert (Updates to follow);

• Driving behind my counselor, Heather, as she tried to make it out of the camp area in her Hyundai.
  

Thanks to my great counselors, I really only had to worry about getting everyone home alive and happy. Thanks so much, you guys. What a blast!

Sunrise Hike

Family Pictures

So it has come to my attention that I am very behind in updating my blog. After spending the latter half of last week camping in the treacherous wilderness of Spanish Fork Canyon, I think I deserve a little slack.

On to the family picture updates. While the Lansfords were in town, Stacy was heck bent on getting the family together for some professional pictures. Their last formal family picture was taken just a few weeks before Cole left on his mission. To this day, the 28 by 20 foot family picture hangs above their beautiful formal fireplace. I too agreed it was time to update this work of art.

Cole and I knew immediately we wanted to snag our friend Jarad Reddekopp to take the pics. He does engagement, family and wedding pics, not to mention stringing for the Trib.

Hope you enjoy them as much as we do!

Don't mess with TX...

Or any of the Lansfords! :) Cole and I have been so excited for this week because his crazy and super fun family is in town.

Cole and two of his sisters already live in Utah, but Wes and Stacy drove up from Dallas with the rest of the gang on Sunday. So far, we got to celebrate Father's Day with Wes, eat a yummy dinner at Johnny Carinos and help his sister Baylee assemble a dresser from ikea (Watching the boys struggle was entertainment enough).

Still to come on the Agenda:
Shopping in Park City
Golf for the boys
Family Pictures (hmmm)
Moving Taylor into BYU dorms
Camping in the motor home
Wii Bowling/Tennis Marathons in Ogden
Bukey/Lansford Par-tay
and More!

Pictures to follow!

Little Did You Know

Little Known Facts About My Dad

• My dad has a great sense of humor. (Really he does!) He is quick, sarcastic and is always really fun to talk to. Plus, check out that eyebrow lift below...awesome, right?
  

• My dad is a builder. I know that other dad's may be handy around the house, but how many of your dad's could build a house? When my parents moved to Utah they literally built almost every stage of the house. (My mom discovered she is a very good electrician) Besides big things, my dad is always sketching his next project. Sometimes it is a kitchen island, custom shelves for my mom or the ever-important, back yard shed. I love his attention to detail and how every project is a shining example of his taste and imagination.

• My dad is a historian. Ok. Maybe not really but he is a history buff and it is something he really loves. When I was in 7th grade and my family was home schooled, my dad taught me American History. What a fun time. My siblings and I got to go to my dad's office and sit in the conference room and learn about America! I think his dream is to go back to school and get a masters in History. I think it is a result of this interest that I love historical fiction and biographies.

• My dad has a special spot. When we were little, my dad would sit in a chair almost diagonally with one leg swung over the arm of the chair (PS I think that position was a necessity because of the size of the chair, he doesn't sit like like that any more.). I remember perching myself on that leg and hanging with my dad while he would watch the nightly news. I don't think we ever talked and I certainly wasn't interested in the news but somehow it was a special spot just because I got to sit with him. Not surprisingly, we quickly grew out of that spot (and happily, my parents eventually bought larger chairs) but even today I know I have a special spot with my dad.

Love you, Dad!

Retraction (Boo!)

As many of you may know (if you read this regularly) we were under contract to buy a house (352 E Westminster). We thought it was such an answer to our prayers. It was in our current ward (which we love), still close to work and school, in our price range and appeared to need just a few coats of paint.

After our inspection last week, we discovered a few small things that needed to be repaired but those fell under the additional $$$ the seller was willing to give us. The inspector also handed us a baggy of the insulation and told us it may contain asbestos materials and although it is very common in older homes, we may want to have it tested because once air born, the product is known to cause cancer.

Feeling cautious, we had it tested; it tested positive for asbestos. A few removal bids later and a firm "no" from the seller on helping to pay to have it removed-We decided to walk away. At almost $6,000 dollars to remove and having to be out of the house for a week, we knew it was something we couldn't afford and didn't want to risk being a safety issue.

So we are definitely in mourning right now. With Cole's internship at Goldman this summer, we may not qualify for the same amount of funding (or at all) because he is technically "unemployed".

However, I am confident we did everything we could, so now we just wait. We are supposed to be out of our current apartment by August 1, so let us know if you know of any great places to rent!