New Ride

 Because Ashlin's previous car caught fire (earlier post)... we were needing to get another car. We've been sharing cars for the last multiple months. That got old, since she has 2 jobs she works at most days.

But she didn't realize we were shopping for one while she was at girls camp! I was so excited for her to get home and surprise her. This is me picking them up from the church after 4 days of camp...

 YAY! No more car sharing!

Sophie ruined the surprise though. ha ha.

Bruce took the little kids to Wendy's for lunch in Ashlin's car... while I got the girls from the church. We were going to have him drive out front after they were home, so she could come out front and we could surprise her with it. But when she got home, she immediately wanted to shower (understandably). So the kids got home, parked the car out front, and we sat around waiting for Ashlin to get out of the shower. They were all so excited, planning on how we were going to get her to look out front. It was all kinds of exciting suspense! She had showered upstairs because the basement shower was taken by Emma. Then as soon as the bathroom door opened, a dripping wet, wrapped in a towel Ashlin stepped out to Sophie walking by... who said nonchalantly, "We got you a new car. Did you see it?"

ha ha. So much for the big surprise. 

Then we had to wait for her to go get dressed. 

She was obviously still SO excited. She was jumping up and down yelling, "Are you serious... no, are you serious??" She loved it. It's a cute little car. But really we bought it because it was the best deal we found for the lowest miles.

HAPPY DAY FOR ASHLIN!

Baking

The big girls were at camp, 

so we had to come up with some fun things to do!

We invited friends over for a little baking party.

*Homemade Cinnamon Rolls*

↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓

1. Knead the dough

2. Roll it out in to a rectangle

3. Spread with butter, brown sugar, 

cinnamon, nutmeg

4. Roll in to a log, 

and cut with string

5. Bake 

6. Cream Cheese frosting!

It makes such a mess of the kitchen with 8  kiddos each making their own pan of rolls. ha ha. This is like a once a summer thang, but YUM.  

I remember doing this with Ashlin and her little 4th grade friends... nine... years... ago. I am so thankful I have another batch of little ones around!

Summer

I walk down the hallway and find this:

ha ha ha!

I love the long summer days when I can hear the kids working together on some crazy idea. They made 2 zip lines, one down the middle of the slide, and one just above it... 

You can barely see the blur of 'ZIP LINE MAN' whoooshing down the string at lightning speed:

 Meet: ZIP LINE MAN

 And yesterday I woke up to the sound of Lily and Sophie in their room playing, pretending they were zombies. They were moaning together in deep monotone voices chanting:
"I'm a Zaaaw-mbie  

    I'm a Zaaaw-mbie 
        I'm a Zaaaw-mbie"

{ha ha ha}

Happy

... Flag Day

Bruce got up at 5:20am this morning with Logan to help put flags up around the neighborhood. Logan is not even a Boy Scout yet, so technically he doesn't have to go. But he loves to get up and help with the big Scouts. (And get McDonalds afterwards).

Dallin couldn't go, because he's been at EFY all week at NAU. 

Family Home Evening

The week after getting back from the cabin was girls camp. Since Ashlin has graduated, she wouldn't normally go to camp still... except that she was called to be a Senior YCL (over the Youth Camp Leaders). They were part of the stake staff and were given responsibilities like an adult would be. Ashlin spent hoooooours and hours getting ready for camp. So monday night there we were... the day before she left... her working like crazy all day... Bruce finding rope for 50 girls to practice tying knots... and I was helping cut and glue hand outs.

For Family Home Evening... Ashlin positioned herself in the room (above), so she could work on camp hand outs. And Lily begged to do the lesson. She chose Noah's Ark. As she read the scripture version of the story to us... Sophie was stealing the show behind her holding up her own pictures and telling her "own stories". Everyone was laughing.

... so I got a basket of animals, a clip board, and leaned the Noah picture on it. Then Sophie got to help the animals enter the "ark"... so we could actually listen to Lily.

It was so cute. She loved it.

And then her siblings joined her.

And I loved seeing Noah preach so earnestly in front of their ark. ha ha.

And all the while... Ashlin worked...

Then you can see in the background above that Dallin is showing us a short video from Lds.Org on his phone that he found, because he thought it went with the lesson. It is so sweet to see how he has matured recently and been trying to contribute to our lessons
in a more grown up way.

Emma played us a special musical number... 

Then we made S'mores over our gas stove.

(all ingredients brought to us by our 

wonderful home teacher the night before)

And Ashlin kept working... moving on to different hand outs. She had to make enough for 50 girls. So it was a lot.

Ashlin had to do 15 minute devotionals every day of camp to either all the 1st year girls, or all of the girls. She spent HOURS preparing her messages. She taught knot tying, star gazing, a patriotic flag ceremony devotional, and the hike reflection. She told me it was like preparing 4 talks for sacrament meeting, and that she was crying while preparing because she could feel the spirit so strong. Then she read all of her lessons to me to get my opinion, and she got choked up reading them. To hear my daughter sharing with me her knowledge and feelings that she was going to share with those young girls about being daughters of God... was everything I ever dreamed my daughter would grow up to know. I am so thankful for her testimony. She signed up for 2 institute (religion) classes this summer... and just got up at 6am to go to the temple this morning... and well... people might joke that she is a little bit of a "holy roller". ha ha.

Last Cabin Post

Top 10 List

Things we love about Pinetop

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

#10 Staying in the White Mountain Country Club

(we found the cutest little cabin to rent this year... 

picture by Dallin I think, missing part of the cabin, ha ha)

#9 Eating outside in the pines

 #8 Going out to eat

(tried a new place with these girlies, YUM!)

 #7 Swinging in the hammock

(I paid Logan and Lily a dollar each to push me for 30 

minutes in the hammock. And they did. We timed it.)

 #6 Just lazying around

#5 Card Games as a family 

(UNO Flash, 4 corners, and I relearned how to

play solitaire up there, now addicted.)

#4 Going on long walks 

 Sooo beautiful!

#3 ZIP Line at the Rec Center

#2 Grandpa

(The kids thought my dad was the best because he let them ride in the trunk from his cabin to ours. So unsafe, I died when I saw this picture.)

#1 TRADITION

 We've gone there every year of my life. We use to stay at this darling cabin... but my grandparents stay there all summer now. So we rented a cabin nearby and walked back and forth each day. Bruce and I went out to dinner with my grandparents, they visited us, and we watched a movie together. I took this picture before we went out to eat with them. And I cried when I told them how much I loved them when we left.

♥FAMILY VACATIONS♥