Ward Camp-out and First Day of School

We had our ward camp-out a couple of weeks ago and we were glad that we were able to go this year. We hadn't been able to go for 3 years because we always had a wedding on the weekend that the ward was camping out. So we decided last minute that we were going to try and go up early. We ran to the store got all our supplies, packed up and were ready to go on Thurs, then we remembered we had all kinds of things going on so it was put off for Friday morning. We managed to leave by 7 am and off we went... It was a little over three hours for us to get to the camp site that was up above Payson. It was so beautiful up there and the weather was great. It even got cold at night. Since the kids were anxious to go I asked them to pack all the sleeping bags and blankets and pillows, well when it was time to go to bed we discovered that they had only packed 3 sleeping bags, 1 blanket and 4 pillows... somehow that just doesn't add up. Despite the cold, hard night we managed to have a lot of fun.

Kenyon and Ammon were very helpful getting our Old School tent up with the help of the guys from the ward that were already there. Everyone was so helpful helping each other as everyone arrived, I love my ward.

Everyone had a ton of fun. There were games planned for the kids, volleyball, tug-of-war, a scavenger hunt and there was a zip line there that the kids all loved.

The Tug-of-war was hilarious, it began as boys against girls and only the kids were pulling... After the boys got beat two or three times...



Brother Jones decided he needed to help the boys not get their butts kicked...

Then it was on! All the men and women got involved as well... and the winner is


The girls!!!! Now we know where all the strength comes from in our ward.

The kids had a blast playing volleyball...


...and doing the scavenger hunt.

And the adults even got to play a little volleyball... It was a blast! The night before we was a fireside and got to visit with friends.

The next morning the Elder's quorum made a delicious breakfast and cleaned everything up too! I'd like to sign up for that plan every year.

We all had a great time and we're glad we got to enjoy one of the Castlegate ward's family traditions.

FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL.....


First day of kindergarten for Angela this year. She is going in the morning, which I thought was going to be impossible because she's such an night owl like her mother and definitely not a morning person, but she would get to be in school with her friends and I would be able to trade off carpool, so we're doing it. She has been doing such a great job. She was grumpy for the first week or so, but she's used to it now. We're proud of her and her great attitude about the whole thing. she is stylin' for school everyday and has a matching necklace for each outfit, what have I done.... I created a monster! Well at least I get to have fun in the process.

Ammon started his first day of middle school and as you can tell he is a cool cat! He is loving school and all the social stuff that go with it, he was made for school.

Eric John was also excited to get back to school. He is doing really good in school right now and is growing and enjoying life.

I had to go snap a few pictures at school and make sure they found where they needed to be at. Why do mom's get so worked up over stuff like this?


Angela is having so much fun at school and is so happy she got to be in school with some of her friends. I hope they can stay friends long enough to have some pictures of them when they graduate High School... Now I'm crying! I love watching my kids grow up and have great experiences in their lives, it's what makes getting up every morning worth it.