Tuesday, June 30, 2015

Girls Camp and The Boys First Week in Utah!

This was my 4th year at Girl's Camp and, as always, it did not cease to entertain!!!  We had a huge storm and all the YCL's tents got blown over/broken and filled with water.  Melissa and I headed to a ghetto Laundromat and dried sleeping bags, pillows, and blankets until it closed.  It's probably one of those "had to be there" experiences but I have not laughed that hard in a LONG time!  The smell of the place was nauseating, the ghetto workers flirting with us was hysterical, and the fact that you can only do 5 minutes at a time on each machine made it EXHAUSTING!  We could either cry or laugh and we LAUGHED!!!  And took some pics to document the fun...


Here's our wonderful Stake YW Presidency...of course the one day I wasn't wearing my camp shirt!  I feel so blessed to have been able to serve with these amazing ladies the past four years.  I have learned so much from each of them and have built some great friendships!!! 
Parker and I were asked to chaperone the 4th year High Adventure where we headed to Harper's Ferry, West Virginia to do some white water rafting and go to the Adventure Park!  Friday was fun, the rafting was fun except that I fell out!  Me and the guide both fell out backwards on a rapid.  Surprisingly I have no battle wounds!  We had dinner at the campsite, had a fireside, then made smores and went to bed.  When we woke up it was pouring rain and windy so we packed up camp and hung out at this indoor rec center the campground had.  We had planned on going to a fun Adventure Park but they canceled due to weather.  It was a bummer but hopefully we can go back again!  I didn't get many pics but here's one of Austyn and I in our cool ponchos!
The sky looked so cool after the storm...



Now on to the CUTE pics!!!  My boys spent a week in Daybreak with my family and, of course, were thoroughly spoiled and had a great time.  Here are some of the pics they sent me throughout the week...










 






On Saturday Michelle came to pick them up and now they get a week at Morrills!!!  SPOILED BOYS!!!  I am starting to miss them and am looking forward to seeing them in Oregon in less than a week!!! 

Tuesday, June 23, 2015

Busy Busy June!

Here's what we've been up to...
 
After my grandpa died my grandma sold two of their three homes which resulted in lots of stuff to pass out to kids and grandkids. Of course I live too far away to have gotten anything but my mom saved this picture for Tyce. It hung in my grandparents bedroom for as long as I can remember. Tyce was SO excited and said, "thank you grandpa Bybee, I will always think about you when I look at this!"  He wanted to hang it in HIS bedroom right away.  So glad that every time I see that picture I can be reminded of my Grandpa, my Savior, and the fact that BECAUSE of my Savior I will get to see my Grandpa again someday!  I miss him so much.  On the twins birthday their card was signed Grandma and Grandpa Bybee because she had given it to me in April when I was in Salem, before he died.  When I saw it I just starting sobbing, another reminder that he is gone.  Here's Tyce and his special picture...
 
The other morning I woke up to this adorableness... 
One of their favorite pool activities...rescuing all the frogs from the pool drains!



Reading stories with daddy...
Tyce had his end of the year kindergarten concert and it was STINKIN ADORABLE!!!!  He was so animated, happy, and sang his little heart out.  It brought tears to my eyes, having a kindergartener is the best and I am so sad I will no longer have one!  Ever again!  :(   Here are some pics from the concert...





 The next day the twins had their 3rd grade awards ceremony.  Here is Josh walking in...
This is what Jackson did as soon as he saw me and knew I wanted a picture of him walking in, such a punk!!!
I was SO proud of Josh!  He received the Math Award for his class, the Social Studies Award, the Science Award, AND the Gold President's Education Award (average of A's all year)!  After it was over I walked over to congratulate him and get a picture of him and he looked SO sad, with tears in his eyes.  I asked him what on earth was wrong and he pointed to his friend Roberto, who was sitting next to him absolutely sobbing because he didn't get any awards.  Josh said, "mommy please don't talk about my four awards, Roberto didn't get any."  I could not believe the empathy and the sensitivity of my boy and was suddenly beaming with pride even more so than the academic awards he had received.  I finally convinced him to semi smile for a picture with a bribe of a treat when he got home, haha.  Here he is with his homeroom teacher Ms. Johnston...
I was also very proud of Jackson for receiving the Math Award for his class as well as the Silver President's Education Award (average of A's or B's all year).  Jackson was in a more challenging class this year and he really did awesome.  He rocked his Reading SOL, earning an advanced score!  Here he is with his homeroom teacher, Ms. Demeria...
 
Last week was my last week watching Sarah!  I've been babysitting her for almost 4 years and now she is off to Kindergarten!  In honor of our last day together I took them to 711 to pick out a treat...
Last day of school pic!!!  Next year they are on to 1st and 4th grade!!!
Poolside with our friends!  All 8 kiddos lined their towels up during break time, so cute...Anna, Jackson, Josh, Will, Tyce, Luke, Sarah, and Leah...

Anna showing Jackson all her owies...


My dad came into town!!!  Here he is reading with Tyce...
Josh had his all-star soccer tournament this weekend!  They did great the first day, winning both games.  The second day their first game was canceled due to wet fields (we had had a CRAZY thunderstorm the  night before) but since they had enough points from the first day they qualified for the championship game.  Unfortunately we did not play well and lost 3-1.   Here's pics from day 1...
 
Virginia is SO green and beautiful!!!
 







Tyce also had his last t-ball game!  He's had lots of fun this year, improved slightly, and had a double and a triple.  He was bummed to not get any home runs but I explained how hard that is to do in t-ball when you always have kids in front of you on the bases.  Here he is with grandpa and his cool new sunglasses...
Eating his after game hot dog..
Getting his trophy...

We had a little Father's Day celebration, I was SO glad I got to spend it WITH my dad!!!










Tyce looking cool in his sunglasses at the pool...
 
The boys got their invitations in the mail for Grandma's Camp and they were SO excited!  Tyce goes, "wow it's so official!  We even have to RSVP!" 

Day 2 of the All-Star Tournament...
Getting their second place trophies...


Josh was sad to have lost the championship game but didn't start crying until he saw his good friend Josue cry and then he started crying.  Again, my sweet, empathetic, sensitive boy!!!



Sunday they flew out to UTAH where they will spend one week with my parents and one week with Parker's parents.  On the way to the airport I looked back at Josh and just had to take a picture because this picture describes him SO well!  Totally adorable, quiet, lost in his mind somewhere, totally ignoring the outside world...
Grandpa and my boys at the airport...


Jackson definitely had the hardest time saying goodbye to us...


I will miss them but know that they are having so much fun with their cousins, aunts, uncles, and grandparents.  I have Girl's Camp and 4th year High Adventure this week so I'll be busy!  And HOT!!!