Girls Camp

Tuesday before last I left for Girls Camp. Girls camp was extremely fun! We did crafts and went swimming and even watched a movie. It was AWESOME! Unfortunately I have no pictures to show you. I had taken some pictures of the stuff I had packed and the stuff I gave my secret sister but they are all lost now. But any ways one of the big events at camp was the hikes. Mine was 3 miles. Not bad but by the end the bottoms of my feet hurt! Thankfully no blisters. After the hike we got pampered. It was a special treat for the first years. We sat down in camp chairs under a tent and listened to one of the camp leaders give a devotional on testimony. It was a really good lesson and I liked it a lot. But before the devotional they fed us pizza and root beer floats. It was waaay good. After devotional though they washed our feet and then we painted toenails. I got mine painted green and after they put it on I regretted it not immediately but not long after. Over the next 2 days I wanted to get home, find the nail polish remover, and use it! The other main event was a Luau ( I had to look up how to spell that one). They had cooked pork in a paper mache pig under ground like they would in Hawaii. It was really cool with really good food. We saw Hula Dancers preform and preformed our own dance we had learned that day. After the dancing they had people or a person (I can't remember) give a talk and they we separated for ward testimony meeting. Our bishopric and one girl's father was there. ( the bishopric all had daughters that were at camp as well) But it was really just a wonderful experience to hear others testimonies and to bare my own .Girls camp was is an amazing place and I can't wait till next year!
P.S. At testimony meeting some YW leader said that we all got along really well and that when she went to camp, girls got mad or argued with each other. I'm glad all of the girls in my ward get along so well! Also when I got home I counted my mosquito bites. 37! Give or take a little that is a lot. I hope there aren't as many mosquitoes next year!

Sugar and Spice and Everything Nice

So the Scholes summer has only been half revealed. The feminine side has been enjoying too. Kieran has been participating in a summer reading program at BYU-I. She saw the band teacher at the park and was invited to be a part of the color guard. so now she is busy three days a week with fun things. Marin has been playing princess and ponies, puppies and kitties, riding bikes and is looking forward to a new neighbor moving in who's name is Hayla and that ryhmes with Tayla who lives on the other side of us. Whoo ee! life is good for the girls. The big girlie surprise though is Kieran got earrings! Now this was not a long time planned for event but when Kieran's friend from Pennsylvania got her ears done we started talking about it and we were already out for shopping and we ended our trip with a stop at Claire's and a shiny pair of new sparkly ear rings. She was really pleased and we keep smiling at each other and admiring the glitter of them in her ears. It's fun to be a girl and see the boys squirm over what we do and be glad they are boys.

Dirt and Snails and Warriors Tales

I have been blessed with many children. I am grateful to have them. Most often I think of them as a group, my group, all together making them a whole. So as summer began I started to anticipate some of the summer activities we could enjoy. Sleeping in, reading, Swimming, going to the library, bike rides, movies, picnics at the parks, play days at the park, would all be fun. On the first day with no school the boys were up at 6:30 am. How could that be when at 7:30 am I have really push to get them moving for school? I didn't see Marin or Kieran till after 9:30 am just as it should be. Right? Later that day the boys went outside to play. After a little bit I went out to check on them and they were digging in the sand box ( I use the term here loosely as there is at least as much dirt in the box as actual sand) and could see that they were happy. I started then to think of the things they needed to do before coming inside; taking off shoes, emptying socks, pulling out pockets and dusting off bums. I just had to be sure to catch them as they were heading inside or my careful planning would be wasted. I was even tempted to call them in then so they wouldn't be too dirty. I hate cleaning but I do like clean. But it was the first day of summer so I decided to let them be. Soon it was time to check again. They were still in the sand box but had abandoned hands and sand shovels and dump trucks. Using Dad's shovels they were digging in earnest now. There were two trenches probably five feet long and as I stood and watched Torin lay down in one and Eavan began to shovel dirt ( opps "sand") on top of him. I almost shouted out right then for then to stop. I even got Torin's name out before I could help myself, but It hit me that really I was being a girl and these were not girls I was dealing with. When did dirt ever spoil a game for boys? It might be a pain for me and I might be a girl and my skin may crawl just thinking about being buried in the "sand box" but who am I to spoil their game just because I don't like dirt. So I quickly changed what I was going to tell the boys when Torin looked my way. "Send Roan when you're finished burying each other and I'll take your picture". When all was ready Roan, the grave digger for Eavan, came to get me. When I arrived with my camera I found no ordinary graves but those of two heroic soldiers with only their packs and helmets to mark their graves dug in honor of their brave deeds and great sacrifice. They made their best "dead faces" and I took a few pics before it occurred to them that the undead might be the next logical game and I captured their rise from the grave.
What a beginning! The summer was on. I have not changed my own plans for summer but I have realized that my own boys, while being part of the group, are unique from me by the simple fact that they are boys. Over the next few days my boys reinforced this renewed observation. We had quests through the wilderness complete with stick swords, water fights with cups hoses and water guns. To finish with a bang before Sunday it was mud men (and one little mud girl). After the last one, I gritted my teeth and, hosed mud from every crack imaginable. They were sent straight into the tub to wash with soap. The next day in church I was still not surprised to look over at Eavan's profile and spot a little dirt resevoir in his ear and you know I left it there. :)

Summer Days by Kieran

School ended on Thursday so it is officially summer. Here is what the boys did.They buried themselves. Dug there graves and then became.... the UNDEAD!!
We also played outside in the back yard. (Backyard above)The boys played some war game and I walked D around the backyard. Off subject for a minute there are 3 goats that live in are backyard. Eavan says they belong to our neighbors uncle but still this would be the first time we shared a backyard with goats. Okay back on topic we also got a sprinkler. One that moves back and forth. Fun to play in. (sorry no pictures of sprinkler)But then it got accidentally stepped on and broke. But later with the hose the boys made mud..... and suits of mud. Even Marin joined the mud men. ( No mud men pictures yet ether they have to be uploaded which is no easy task)
Do you have any plans this summer?

Memorial Day catch-up by Kieran

Sorry this is way late but if you like here it is. So in the morning we flew kites.








We had Buzz Lighter up there and a rainbow Kite too. D flew a kite as well. I think we all had a blast. But Marin was trying to fly a tangled kite it didn't really work.




Nice good clean fun right? Well hu we ahh lost 2 kites strings and they ummm wellll got stuck in the power line.



Yaaaaaaah lot's of fun right? We had a good talking to afterwards. But we weren't trying to get them stuck it's like I said we were flying kites lost the strings they flew away and got stuck.
On other news we started a garden. As you may already know our family doesn't really have a green thumb. But Grandpa Scholes has 20 green fingers and toes. He is one amazing gardener. We have potatoes planted and have other plants to plant such as cantaloupe, watermelon, and a beefsteak tomato. Sorry no pictures on the garden yet.
Have you ever gotten a kite stuck in the power line?