I'm trying to get caught up on my blogging...here's TREK 2010

I feel very blessed to have been able to go on the TREK with our youth this year. I truly find it to be a blessing to be able to serve in such a great Stake. (I'm sure every person who serves with the youth feels this way!) I was fortunate enough to go on a Trek four years ago...I was the photographer and did a lot of walking, but enjoyed every minute. This year I was on the activities committee and I got to serve with my cute husband. It was a very different experience, I didn't hike as much with the youth, but I got to meet them as they came into camp each night. I was amazed at how happy each company came into camp. They literally came in running and singing, eagerly ready to do activities. This time around my oldest daughter Brittany was on the Trek. It made the experience this time around to see her enjoying and growing through her own experience. Britt was selected to be part of the TREK SINGERS and on the first day Wayne and I walked to meet up with the Trekkers to hear Britt singing during the final vignette. Of course tears filled my eyes as we heard her sing "Come, Come Ye Saints" I know I sound like a broken record, but Britt is AWESOME!!! Above is Britt's family. What a great group of kids she got to be with. I can't help but think the Lord has something very special planned for her, because she always ends up with amazing leaders and kids to hang out with. Below is Britt and Hannah having a stick pull fight. The stick pull was one of the many activities on the first night and I happened to be in charge! Sadly, Hannah out pulled Britt, but it was one of the best matches of the whole bunch!

Below is a picture of Taylor Fife, he was Britt's oldest "brother". He is one amazing kid, and he gets the award for my favorite quote of the whole TREK. Here's the story...on the first day the kids in their family were learning how to work together and how to steer the hand cart. The boys were usually in the back and the girls were in the front. The families Ma and Pa were encouraging the kids to keep the handcart straight...apparently it was rather difficult and they weren't doing a very good job of it and Taylor asked "what's so great about being straight anyway?" When this story was related to us back into camp we laughed and laughed...pretty much the whole night! Taylor, I'm so glad you were in Britt's family! I adore you♥

Below is the activities committee heading out before all the Trekkers. As you can see we were FULL. Wayne had a great time sitting on our "steer". I was a little worried he might fall off and get hurt, but of course he was fine and only had to duck a few times to avoid getting decapitated by trees.

Above is on the second night. During the few months leading up to trek, the activities committee taught the youth how to square dance. During this night we had the kids compete family against family in a dance off!!! A lot of people thought we were crazy and that we would NO WAY get the kids to square dance...they loved it!!! It was such a fun night. They danced FOREVER and at the end of the dancing HOXIE, our cook had hot scones ready for everyone. I really can't say enough about the attitudes of our youth...they were all truly AMAZING!

These are some shots of Britt and her family trekking. I was kind of blown away at how difficult the terrain of the trek was, but the kids NEVER complained. They really were trekkers and I love that they built such great bonds with each other and truly learned to work together.

Above is Britt's family during the Women's Pull...I thought this part was going to be difficult for the girls, but they did it so easily and expressed several times that they thought it was going to be longer. I got to help them during this part...I thought it was PLENTY long enough!!! Below is of course my cute Britt...I loved that she had so much fun making her outfits. I think she was the cutest little pioneer girl ever!!! (I'm a little prejudice!)

These are just some random shots of Britt's family trekking...I have to say I lucked out that the photographers son was in Britt's family so I ended up with a lot of pictures of her!!! Thank you Brother Fisher ;)

I LOVE THAT THEY ARE RUNNING...who does that?

Enjoying a sit after dinner right before square dancing begins. LOVE THESE LADIES!!!

I love the above picture of Britt. I don't know what it is, but every time I look at it I get teary eyed...not hard for me to do I know!!! Britt has been blessed with some great opportunities in her youth. Wayne and I really enjoyed being in camp to greet her upon her coming in from trekking all day. She was always eager to share her day of events and hug and kiss us. I feel really blessed that she includes us and is never embarrassed to have us around. (we are pretty amazing too;)) Her group of friends always came to hang out with us, and ate dinner with us and encouraged us to do the activities with them. It was fun to have them include us ol' folk!!!

The above picture is the last leg of the Women's Pull...you can tell they are exhausted, but they do have smiles on their faces!!!

Thanks Brother Fisher...I love the above picture. Britt came home and told me that Bro. Fish was IN HER FACE CONSTANTLY...I am so glad he was!!!

There ya have it...our 2010 Trek with the Pleasanton Stake. Saturday morning we had a testimony meeting, which was so good. Britt and the Trek Singers sang some great songs...yes, I cried A LOT!!! So glad to be apart of the true gosple of Jesus Christ and to be able to share in these adventures that provide opportunites for the youth to gain or strengthen their testimonies. I always feel that my testimony grows leaps and bounds serving with the youth. What a privilege!!!

Some much needed catching up...

Mother's Day weekend my sister flew me up to Seattle to attend a fundraiser. It was all about PURSES and we scored a lot of new bags!!! Doesn't matter what we're doing or where we are it's always a party with ANNE!!! For whatever reason these pics got out of order and blogger isn't letting me rearrange them...GRRR!!! Below are a couple of pics of the kids in their Easter clothes. As you can tell I was playing with my camera a lot back then! However, my kids are quite adorable!!!

I lived in Oregon for a few years and never made it to Seattle, I'm glad that Anne appeased me and let me do some sight seeing!

The Seattle Temple was beautiful...it was a perfect day. This is where my husband first went through the temple, and did youth trips back in the day!

The week after the kids returned to school from spring break we decided to pick them up early and take them into the city to do the ZIP LINE on the Embarcadero. We thought we were being so clever in doing it on a weekday...we arrived too late and weren't able to get tickets. We were all bummed but decided to go over to Golden Gate Park and have some fun anyway! The kids love the cement slide! It's always fun visiting this HUGE park! We then went to the Ferry Building and got some food for a picnic. The day started out as a bust but turned out great anyway!

Ally thrilled to have made it to the tippy top!!!

More catching up to come...I have lots!

"Mom I need to feel loved, can you do a blog about me?"...JAY

I love my Jay man! He is in my opinion the best son in the world (for me!!!) He is very astute in knowing when I need help and when to steer clear! He's such a little gentleman, and is very respectful to me and his sisters. This year Jay has grown a lot and is almost as tall as me. I'm not ready to face the fact that soon he will be the tallest in our family! Jay has had a fun year in middle school. It's been a pleasure to see him make some tough choices about what friends to hang out with. I'm lucky that he made GREAT decisions. Everybody loves Jay...the line from Ferris Bueller comes to mind when describing him-- "Oh, he's very popular! The sportos, the motorheads. geeks, *&^%$, bloods, waistoids, dweebies, @#%!&*@#$, they all adore him. They think he's a righteous dude!" This describes Jay to a tee!!! One day I was helping a few of the 12 year old girls from our ward with a project and I asked them "so, how is Jay at school?" they replied "EVERYBODY LOVES JAY!"

Jay is very inquisitive. He asks some deep questions sometimes and is NEVER satisfied with some of the passive answers I give him. He has a real desire to know answers!!! I love him for that, he keeps me on my toes!

Have tree will climb...this will be engraved on his tombstone!!! When we went to the park to take pictures of the kids, I thought it would be cute if all the kids were hanging upside down. Jay COULD NOT do it! We laughed so hard at his desperate attempts.

A couple of weeks ago, one of the 6 year olds in our ward called and asked if Jay could come over and help show him how to dress for church. It was soo cute! The following Sunday, Jay was asked by the parents to come and help get the kid ready for church...Jay very willing went and helped! I know a lot of the little guys look up to Jay. Jay has quickly become the favorite babysitter in the ward and it's starting to irritate his older sister!!!

Jay gives the greatest hugs! I'm lucky to be his mom!!!

Jay is such a jokester...he and Britt work well as a team!!!

I hope Jay feels more loved now! He is one amazing kid. I have learned a lot from him, and I'm sure he's got lots more to share!

Brittany

My sweet Britt turned 15 on Friday...I still can't believe it!!! Britt was born on Mother's Day. It was a perfect first Mother's Day. I feel so blessed to be her mother. I have learned so much from her. Britt is so confident in who she is and truly stands strong for all that she believes in. People are drawn to her and she welcomes everyone with open arms. Britt was recently asked by the Stake Presidency to speak at the upcoming Seminary Graduation, she will be speaking in honor of the Freshman. She's amazing! Britt is definitely the peacemaker in our family. She's always the first to make a joke and the first to speak up when she has an opposing opinion...always with tact of course! She's an amazing negotiator and is very good at getting what she wants. I truly am so thankful the Lord sent her to me, she's been a joy from day one!!!

She's always been picture perfect in my opinion. She has always made everything an adventure and a fun memory! I love her for that!

Can't you just feel her mocking my picture taking in this one...she's a delight!

This year Britt had a "Minute to Win it" party. It was so fun to see her and her friends do the goofy games and compete against each other. Britt has an amazing group of friends. It was fun to have a houseful of teenagers.

I love this picture above...I wish I had video taped the opening of presents. All of the guys made "ooh and aww" sounds every time Britt opened a present. It was HILARIOUS!!! The night was filled with fun and games and the energy from these guys is infectious!

Every child should be so lucky to have an aunt like Aunt Anne...she surprised Britt by showing up with Beth and Bella. Anne called from our driveway (unbeknown to us) and told Britt to go online and look at the picture she had just posted of her present. When Britt opened up the picture it was of Beth and Bella in our driveway. So fun!!! Wayne and Jay were away at Father's and Sons so we went and enjoyed a girls night out. We went to dinner and then went and saw "Letters to Juliet" it was the cutest movie!

Britt got braces a few days before her birthday. I think she's adorable! I can't wait to see the end result!!!

I mentioned that Britt has great friends...when I picked her up from school on her birthday this is what I saw. She had a handful of balloons, treats and presents! I'm glad she's loved and I'm glad she's mine forever!!!

To SLR or not...

I have been debating for a long time what kind of camera should I get to replace the one I dropped? I LOVED the camera that I had, it was a Panasonic Lumix. It was more camera than I needed. I'm a point and shoot kind of gal...I appreciate good photos, but liked the compact camera that fit nicely in my purse or pocket. I wasn't trying to win any awards with my photos, they just go in a file on my computer...maybe someday they will end up in a scrapbook. I love real life shots and occasionally like to post pics on my blog or FB. My camera broke, luckily my husband bought the warranty so I did get to replace it. It was a fairly nice camera, not a $700 DSLR camera but a nice camera...what would I replace it with? I could've gone with replacing it with the another Lumix, or I could go a different route...decisions, decisions! I took several online quizzes with a variation of titles like, what kind of camera should I get? I talked to several people who have DSLR's and I just couldn't see myself enjoying one. I did a lot of research and found that the Fuji Finepix fit all of my desires in a camera. I really wanted to still have a great point and shoot, but desired to have options to change Aperture, ISO, shutter speed, optical zoom and manual focus. I think I went to every place within 50 miles of my house that sells cameras and spent too many hours online trying to decide what kind of camera to get. I decided on the Fuji Finepix S1800. It has A LOT of features that I'm still learning to use. I plan to take a class at the community college so I can learn how to better use the features that it offers. It's a GREAT point and shoot and has 18x optical zoom. I have taken several online lessons and have learned a lot so far. I am very happy! I'm still not out to win awards and just capture those great real life pictures that probably will never change. It has been fun to look at award winning pictures and know my camera has the ability to achieve that if desired. I have had so much fun picture taking and learning something new. If you're in the market for a new camera and have the means I'm completely happy with my investment and happy my husband let me get a slight upgrade!!! (love ya babe!)

I can't wait to get out and take more pics! I have to fold laundry and vacuum first!

New Pics...I'll blog later about my new toy that I LOVE!!!

My friend LIZ...

Back in the day...gotta love the hair!!!

Over spring break my good friend LIZ LIDDLE now Liz Liddle Briscoe happened to be in town with her family. Her husband works for Ebay and the family tagged along for the trip. Through facebook she contacted me and said "let's hook up!" I was delighted that my kids would be out of school and we'd be able to visit! Jay was on a trip with my sister (more on that later) so it was the girls, myself and Wayne. For FHE we went down to San Jose and met Liz and fam for dinner! Then on Wednesday we met back up in Santa Cruz and spent the day (perfect day I might add) at the beach! All of our cute kiddos...okay Jay's not there and Gina isn't ours!

Britt brought her good friend Gina with us to Santa Cruz and we decided upon sharing all of our hayday stories that Britt was "the Liz" and Gina was "the Heidi"

Britt & Gina...so glad that my daughter has good friends!

Crazy girls on the beach! Such a fun day to people watch and share stories! Below is my favorite picture of Liz and me! Allyson assured us that she could see all of us!!! LOVE IT!

Boy banding!