New Kittens

Last year, around Christmastime, we had a stray cat show up on our doorstep. She was actually a kitten. The kids immediately fell in love with her and thought she was an early Christmas present. This was the time our home was in the middle of a remodel and much of our stuff was being stored in the garage. I thought I could solve two problems at once. The kids had always wanted a kitten and the garage was starting to get a mouse smell. Inviting the kitten to live in the garage made everyone happy (except the mice.) We were actually under the impression that the cat was a male until he had kittens in our garage! That was our Memorial Day surprise.

After eight weeks, we soon had three kittens we needed to find homes for. James took the kids to the local grocery store with a box marked "free kittens". Within twenty minutes they were back home. I was surprised they were able to unload the kittens that quickly--until I heard mewing. The box was still full. Apparently one of the kittens had escaped into the store. James and Heather were back and forth between crates trying to lure the kitten out when store personnel asked what was going on. They quickly caught the kitten and rushed home. We then posted the kittens online but got no responses. Our last resort was to load the kittens up and drive them to Beaver where they became barn cats.

With the kittens in a new home, we decided to "fix" the stray cat that has made our house its home. I decided I couldn't make a trip to Beaver everytime she had kittens. The vet insisted we give the cat a name so they could identify her. We are now the new owners of a stray cat we call "Kitty."

Girl's Camp

As many of you know, a lot of my time this summer was spent preparing for Girl's Camp. I was called to be the Camp Director back in October. This should have been plenty of time to pull it all together, but there are a lot of things that can't be done until later and our schedules had to work along with the stake planning. It all came together in the end and I felt like it was successful and a good experience for the girls.

One of my favorite parts about our camp was the Personal Progress challenge that we put together. I had been looking through the Camp Manual and came across the section that encouraged leaders to incorporate Personal Progress. I started thinking about it and realized the boys go to scout camp and come back with a bunch of merit badges, why shouldn't the girls be able to pass of Personal Progress goals while at camp. I began praying and going through the Camp Manual and Personal Progress books. I also enlisted the help of one of the Young Women leaders. I explained to her what I was trying to do and asked her if she thought we could make charm bracelets with a charm that represented each value. As they accomplished a goal, they would receive the charm. The theme for Girl's Camp was Eternal Treasures so I thought jewelry would be a fitting keepsake for camp. This Young Women's leader volunteered to do the bracelets for me-- that was a huge help. I put together a booklet with a goal from each value that could be accomplished at camp and coincided with what we were doing. I gave the girls an outline a couple of weeks before so they could set the goals in their books beforehand. While at camp, they had opportunities to reach the goal if they chose too. Once one of the girls started earning the charms for her bracelet, they all got on board because they wanted the cute bracelets. It turned out to be a really good experience. The most rewarding part for me was when one of the girls bore her testimony and related an experience she had had while working on one of the goals. That made it all worth it.

I was also proud of the girls because they all certified. This is the first year all of the girls have certified. They usually get some of the things done that are offered by the stake but none had completed their certification. We had an awesome Priesthood leader who would step in and help me teach the girls what they needed to know. He was great to work with them. I wouldn't be surprised if we are the only ward that can claim to have all the girls certify. I discovered certification hasn't been a big priority in this stake.

It may sound like we were busy doing all of these projects, but there was plenty of free time and the favorite thing for the girls to do was float the river. We had tubes and were able to go down the river together. The leaders even got to get in on the action. The girls actually enjoyed going with the leaders because they thought it was hilarious when we would flip over or get stuck in the trees. My assistant camp director was nicknamed "Pinball" because she would go from one tree to the next and bounce off and flip over. She was a good sport and kept going down numerous times. Thank goodness we had life jackets because I think she would have drowned for sure.

Lindsey told me she had fun her first year at camp. I didn't get to spend a lot of time with her because there was so much to do. I don't think she had much desire to hang out with me though. She had friends up there and was busy running back and forth to visit and enjoying the river. I got to have some priceless "mother moments" as I watched her interact with the other Young Women, especially being sensitive to those that may be left out. One of the highlight moments was getting to hear her bear her testimony and see how much she is growing. That was the greatest blessing of all.

Summer Picnics

Heather, Savannah, and Matthew took the time this summer to spend some days at the park. They discovered how much fun it can be to pack a few snacks, grab a blanket, and head to the park. It reminded me how important it is to enjoy the small things and stay young.

Trip to Bear Lake

Over the 4th of July weekend, we had the opportunity to borrow a friend's cabin and spend some time at Bear Lake. We were very excited to take our boat out for the first time this season and spend some time on the water. We invited some friends to go with us and we were all set. We pulled into the dock, backed the boat in, and tried to go. The boat wouldn't go over five miles an hour. Our friend had to go right back and get the trailer to load the boat back up. It was a boating trip that lasted about two minutes. Needless to say, everyone was disappointed. We didn't stay disappointed for long, however, because the men soon found a place to rent ski-doos. We all had a blast taking turns on the ski-doos out on the lake. Those who weren't on the water, played on the beach. It ended up being a great day thanks to some quick thinking by the dads.

That evening we were treated to a great fireworks show over the water. This is the first year fireworks that leave the ground were legal. We found a small, private beach and asked if we could use it. After shooting off our fireworks, another family put on quite a show. It lasted about an hour. We all enjoyed sitting on the beach enjoying the fireworks.

The next day our friends had to go home and another family came up to spend some time with us. We went to the Minnetonka caves. None of us had been there before. It is a very short hike to the cave but quite a long walk through the cave. By the end Matthew and James were running back to get Matthew to the bathroom. I think you have to go up and down about 400 stairs. We decided it's better than Mt. Timpanogas but doesn't compare to Carlsbad Caverns in New Mexico and the caves we saw in Virginia. We enjoyed being up in the mountains where it was nice and cool.

Our last day there was spent relaxing, playing games, and enjoying raspberry milkshakes. Aside from the boat breaking down, it was a relaxing retreat to start our short summer off.

Lindsey Graduates Elementary School

The first part of July marked the end of Lindsey's Elementary School adventure. She has had many good years at Bluff Ridge and celebrated at the graduation ceremony with her class. The last few weeks of school actually seemed like a celebration for the 6th graders. They got to participate in many activities as a send off.

At the graduation ceremony, the students are honored for accomplishments and recognized for what they plan to accomplish. Lindsey won a reading award, the Presidential award (signed by President Obama-- that's a keeper!) and the Hope of America Award. The latter award was given to two students, who were voted on by faculty and students, to honor their academic skills and friendliness to those around them. Lindsey was surprised and happy that her fellow students thought she was so friendly. The Presidential award is given for achieving 95% or above on end of level testing for all elementary years. We were very proud of Lindsey and her accomplishments.

There was a Bravery Award given to one of the students who was recently diagnosed with cancer and has begun battling it. I don't think there was a dry eye in the room as he accepted that award. It has been a good experience for the 6th graders to associate with this young man and help him raise funds to fight his cancer. I think we have all been honored to watch these young people respond to their friend and his family at this time.

The final part of graduation is the awarding of "diplomats" and a quick sketch of where each student wants to be in 20 years. This is always humorous. If they stick to their plans, we will have many pro sports stars and other famous people coming out of Syracuse, Utah, and when they all come back to visit, there will be some pretty nice cars driving around town.

Now it's onward and upwards to Junior High and more adventures ahead.