Rest of the Trip

OK--
So here is the scoop about the rest of our trip. Pictures are still forthcoming. Really. I promise. I am too tired at night to put them up--I know--go figure! It's the jet lag.

August 2, 2007

Today we woke up at 9:30!! We had to be down to breakfast by 10 or we would have missed it! The curtains in our room make the room so dark, I had no idea what time it was. It felt good to sleep in. But we got up and threw some clothes on and had breakfast. Then we came back to our room and got showered and ready. Then we headed out to Edinburgh. We walked around and went to several cathedrals and museums. We saw St. John’s and St. Giles Cathedral and St. Cuthbert’s, too. We went into a couple others, too. They are just totally amazing—the architecture it magnificent and it’s a wonder how anyone ever built them! In Scotland, there are a lot of museums and most of them are free. So we went to a few—an art museum, an art gallery and a place that depicted the people of Scotland from a long time ago. We also walked down to the other end of the Royal Mile and bought some souvenirs. We had a light Mexican food mid day meal at Pancho Villas. It was different Mexican food than we are used to, but it was very good. Then we got some ice cream. It was delicious. I am not sure what made it different, but it was so good. I had 2 scoops—chocolate and nutella. Brian just got chocolate. At 5 o’clock we had reservations at Mary King’s Close for a tour. A close is a very small alleyway in between 2 houses or town houses. But a couple hundred years ago the gov’t wanted to build a city chambers building, so they razed several town homes and built the chambers over the top. But remnants of the homes and the closes were all left behind. So we toured those under the street. It was a fun tour. All along the Royal Mile again were lots of interesting people showing their talents and selling their wares. After our tour, we went back to the hotel, then went with the EJ group to dinner at Mansfield Traquair. It’s an old church that is now used for functions. It was a very beautiful, amazing building with amazing murals. We sat with a couple of great families, so that was fun. And the food was good. There was potatoes, chicken, lasagna, salads, etc. The lasagna was my favorite—just very creamy! Dessert was cream puffs and some delicious ice cream. After dinner we took the bus back and are just hanging out in our room.

August 3, 2007

This morning we got up and ate breakfast by about 9 AM. We both opted for a light breakfast. I had cold cereal. After breakfast we ventured down to the royal mile where we set out to see a play as part of the Fringe Edinburgh Festival. We bought tickets to the 1:05 showing of Roald Dahl’s The Giraffe, the Pelly & Me. Before it started, we ate lunch at Rocco—an Italian food place. Brian got another pizza and I had a roast chicken sandwich. It was good but quite heavy on the mayo. Yikes! I wiped A LOT off! Then we went to a venue called C Too. It was a little theater kind of under a building. The play was cute. It was just a short 45 minute play—aimed at children, but it was fun. After the play we headed back to our room where we took about a 3 hour nap! It felt great to sleep! Then we went down to a little restaurant called Shakespeare’s where we got free access to the Internet so we could check our e-mail. After we did that, we went back down to the Royal Mile because tonight was the Military Tattoo. They didn’t let in until 8:15, so we walked the street—searching for some ice cream. The place we got it last time was closed and so was the fudge shop where I wanted to get some “tablet.” It’s like a cross between fudge and Boston cream that my grandma used to make. So good! We settled on a milkshake at a place called “Wannaburger.” It was probably the best shake we have ever had. It was so chocolate-y and had little bits of chocolate in it. We loved it! After our shake, we made our way up the royal mile to the castle for the Military Tattoo. We were about 7 rows up on the North side right by the castle. Basically it’s a celebration with all sorts of military bands and drill teams. It was fantastic!!! The bands were amazing. There was a drill team from a Taiwan all girls’ school. They twirled rifles and had a band. There was also a team of kids aged 6-16 who rode motorcycles anywhere from 60 CC to 240cc. They did some crazy tricks! (pyramids, riding backwards, crossing between each other really fast, riding on a ladder on the bike, etc.) They projected some images on the castle as they talked about music through the ages. We are glad we went to see it!

Now we are trying to get warm in our room. It was a bit chilly outside and very windy!

August 4, 2007

This morning we got up at 7 AM and got ready and down to breakfast. We had to meet the coach at 8:30 for our tour. We went to the Stirling Castle over in Stirling. We got a little tour by our tour guide, then we got to explore on our own. It was very cool and interesting. The ride there was beautiful. Very green, lots of trees, rolling hills. The castle has some very old and some “new” parts. It’s crazy how they lived back then and how much power the royalty had. They could do whatever they wanted and no one questioned them because they were the king or queen! After we looked around a bit, we ate lunch at the castle at the Unicorn café. We both had sandwiches, chips that were soooo good and dessert. I had “millionaire shortbread” which is a caramel shortbread with chocolate on top. Brian had chocolate cake. After the castle, we got back on the “coach” (what they call big busses) and were taken to Loch Lomand (like the kids’ song). It’s the biggest fresh water lake in the UK. It was beautiful, too. We got to take a boat ride around part of the loch (lake). Beautiful scenery—so green—hills, lots of trees. It was a great time. After our “cruise” we headed back through Glasgow to Edinburgh. For dinner we went to an Indian restaurant called Gandhi’s on recommendation from the concierge. It was so delicious! We have never been to an Indian restaurant before, so we weren’t sure what to expect or what to order. We settled on a chicken Tandoori dish with lots of fresh herbs and spices. Brian was going to order butter chicken, but we decided (with a lot of help from our waiter) that we would get some rice and bread, too, so we split one dish which turned out to be plenty. But we loved it! So many different flavors and tastes going on! The sweet bread was very good, too….almost like a sopapilla with honey. We want to try more Indian places when we get home. After dinner we went to Tesco Express (a small grocery store) and picked up some more chocolates to bring home and share. We came back to our room and headed up to the pool. It was too cold for me, but Brian got in and swam for a little bit. We also called the girls and they are doing well. I am excited to get home to see them on Monday.

Sunday August 5, 2007

This morning we slept in until about 9:20. Then we quickly got ready and headed to breakfast. It was toast and jam for me. Brian likes the chocolate muffins and hash browns, so he had those, too. After breakfast we came back to the room and got showered and ready. We intended to go to church, so we got ready for church and headed down to catch the bus. We waited in the bus stop and the one bus we needed—15—drove right past. It didn’t even stop! I guess what you have to do it flag it down. OK—so we were ready when the next one would come at 11:44 AM. Church started at 12:20. 11:44 came and went and no bus. We waited until about 12 and no bus. In fact, hardly any buses came. Princes street—a main artery—was blocked off for a parade at 2 PM to kick off the Festival and the buses were running. We were bummed because we wanted to go to church and see the building and see what church was like here. We tried though. So we came back to the room and changed clothes. It was very cold and drizzly today. I enjoyed the rain. We went down and grabbed some lunch at Baguette Express across the street from the hotel. I wish we would have found that place earlier! It was so inexpensive and good! You could get a baguette with any fixings you wanted for 1 pound 90. Or you could get a baked potato with anything on it for 2 pounds. That is what I had. I had a potato with butter, cheese and onion. Brian had soup—ham and lentil—and plain baguettes. So good and cheap! Next time we’ll know where to go!

The rest of the afternoon we were lazy and relaxed. I took a nap and Brian started packing things up. He took a little nap, too. Then we got ready for our last dinner. It was a dressy one—I wore my brown polka-dotted dress and Brian wore a suit. The food was okay—we enjoyed the kids’ buffet the most—chicken fingers, fries, noodles and veggies! During dinner they had a couple of Scottish dancers, then a Scottish band came and performed. It was great. We sat by a couple and another couple with their 2 girls. One just graduated from high school and one from college. This was their “gift.” It was fun to think that that might be like two of our girls later! Now we are finishing packing and getting ready for bed. We have to be down in the lobby tomorrow at 6:45 AM!

August 6, 2007

Today we head home from Scotland. We got up this morning at 5 AM. We wanted to get breakfast before we left, but the restaurant didn’t open until 6:30 and we thought that would cut it too close. In the lobby they had muffins, croissants and some drinks for those who had to leave early. We left the hotel at 6:45 and were bussed to the airport. We got there and got all checked in. We only had to wait a little bit before our plane boarded. While we waited I got a muffin and hot chocolate. We wanted to use the last of our pounds so we didn’t come home with any. We ended up with only 20 pence left. Not too bad! Our plane was delayed about 20 minutes, so by about 10 AM Scotland time, we were on our way. It was a 7 hour flight! And boy did it feel like it! I listened to my iPod, read, slept and watched most of 2 movies!!! That is good for me. We watched Are We Done Yet and RV. They were both entertaining but nothing I would watch again. I got pretty bored. We had two good meals though. One was chicken and rice and the other was a warm lunch meat sandwich with cheese. I had a middle seat and Brian was by the window. I had to go to the bathroom and kept trying to hold it because the lady next to me slept a lot! And none of the little noises would wake her up. Finally when our second meal came, she woke up, so I waited until we finished eating, then I got up and went. Boy did that feel good! We got to Newark on time and we have a 4.5 hour layover here. We’ve tried to fill the time by getting ice cream, checking our e-mails, looking at the shops, etc. One of the airport workers here filled us in that if we went in the center of the food court, you could use the internet connection that is upstairs in the president’s club. It worked! Score! I looked for a book in the bookstore to occupy my time on the way home, but everything I wanted was about $15 and more than I wanted to spend. So I decided I would do some editing and writing that I need to get done. I hope that fills my time.

OK--that is our report from our trip. My kids are waking up, so the pictures will come later!

Our Trip So Far...

This will have to be without pictures until we can find someway to upload them. But here is how our trip has gone so far...

Tuesday, July 31, 2007

We got to the airport yesterday at about 8:30 AM and got all checked in. We grabbed a quick bite to eat, then just waited for our plane to board. There was free wireless internet in the airport, so that was nice. We got on the plane and flew almost 5 hours to Liberty Airport in Newark, NJ. It was a pretty uneventful plane ride. I read a couple of magazines and started and nearly finished No Doubt About It by Sheri Dew. I love that book. I don’t remember if I have read it before, but it is great! So many wonderful insights and things that will help me be a better person. I highly recommend that book. Brian read the newest Harry Potter book (number 7) the whole way. We got a cheeseburger on the plane with some suspicious light-colored meat. I passed on eating that and just opted for my salad and kit kat they provided. Brian ate the burger and said it was good. I’ll take his word for it. When we arrived in Newark we had 4 hour lay over, but it gave us plenty of time to walk around, eat and read some more. We ate at a little Portuguese restaurant in the airport. The service was soooooooo slow but the food was pretty good. At about 10:45 PM local time we boarded our plane, taxied for what seemed like forever, then started on our 5 hour and 54 minute flight to Edinburgh. It wasn’t as long as I thought it would be. I did a little sleeping and mostly reading. I finished my book. Brian read a lot, too, and I think he is almost done with it. We got a really yummy beef and potato dinner with some of the good Pepperidge Farm cookies. They also served a light breakfast snack, but we both passed on that. We touched down around 10:45 AM, Edinburgh time, went through customs where I got asked a lot of questions. The lady was like, “What are you doing here? Do you know anyone here? Are you here for the festival? (I said, ‘No.’) Then she said, “Then what brings you here? Who are you here with? Where is your husband? etc…” Yikes! Do I look suspicious?!?!? After that we got our luggage and were met by some travel reps from Edward Jones. She took us outside where the weather was gorgeous and we were picked up by our “chauffeur.” He drove a VW Transporter. It was a nice little mini-van type vehicle. I told Brian that would be a perfect car for us! It seats 6 nicely in the back and it still has a ton of cargo room. It’s weird to see them driving on the opposite side of the car and on the other side of the road. I look at other cars and see the passenger (who in the US would be the driver) and think, “Ahh! Watch where you are going! Look ahead!” It was about a 25 minute ride to our hotel. I really had to focus and concentrate really hard to understand what our driver was saying! I didn’t catch some of it…just nodded and said, “Oh yeah.” or “Cool.”

When we got to the hotel we went to our room. It’s nothing spectacular, but a clean place to sleep and get ready. We were both so hungry, so we went out in search of something to eat. We found a great Italian food place (Bar Italiano). We had a magherita pizza, which was delicious! It is hard trying to convert things to pounds. Our lunch was like 6.75 pounds and they take credit cards, but you have to tip in pounds, too. We tipped 2 pounds, which equals out to a little over 4 dollars.

I was afraid to go to sleep because my friend Rachel said when they went to Rome they went to bed in the afternoon and didn’t wake up until the next day at 1 in the afternoon. But we were both so tired, so we got a wake up call for 5:30 PM. It was a great nap and we both slept like a dream. We got up at 5:30 and we got ready for our dinner. It was our “Welcome to Edinburgh” dinner. When it was time to go in, there was a bagpipe player in all the Scottish dress playing. It sounded really cool. Dinner was scrumptious. I really liked the Mediterranean pasta salad. There were also “tatties” (mashed potatoes), pork, ravioli, and beef. The beef was interesting. It was good, but just different than the “beef” I am used to. It was very light and just totally was so tender. The desserts were tasty, too. There was a rich, delectable Mississippi mud pie, shortbread and a lemon soufflé that was so light and creamy. Yum!

After dinner we just walked around the town for a little bit. We were trying to get to the Royal Mile, but we didn’t find it. One street we went down was a little seedy….bars—of all kinds—lined the streets. We quickly walked past. We did see a lot of cool architecture and buildings. There was an interesting and very pretty cemetery we walked by. We also saw the Edinburgh castle—it’s beautiful and so amazing. We hope to tour that this week. The weather is beautiful! It’s probably in the 60s. Lovely.

It sure is an interesting feeling/experience to be in a different country. I feel like I am going to do something wrong or against custom or something. I told Brian I feel a bit out of place here, but imagine going to like China—where you would really feel out of place.

Wednesday, August 01, 2007

We both had a great night sleep last night. This morning we got up at about 7:15 and went down to breakfast. Brian had meetings that started at 8 and mine started at 9:15. In my meeting—the spouses meeting—basically we did introductions, heard about a 30 second firm update, then listened to a tour lady talk about all we could do on our trip.

Both of our meetings got out before 11, so we scheduled some activities, then walked down Princes St. looking at all the cool stuff. We ate a cool looking place called Kenilworth. We both ordered cheeseburgers, but the meat was a weird-looking, light colored meet and it had a strange taste to it. It definitely wasn’t McDonalds or any other American hamburger for that matter. I ate about 1/3 of it. Brian didn’t mind it too much. At least the Ciabatta bread it was on was good. After lunch we came back to the hotel where we met up to take the city tour. We got on a charter bus and got a tour of part of the city. We saw the Queen’s Palace, went down the Royal Mile and stopped at the Edinburgh Castle. We got a little tour there, then we got to explore on our own. It sure is an amazing castle and very pretty. After the castle, we strolled down the Royal Mile and picked up a few souvenirs. For dinner we went to Bella Italia. Yum yum. It was the best meal I’ve had in a while. Brian had a pizza and I order linguine rustica. It was just linguine with a butter and olive oil sauce and some chicken and sun-dried tomatoes. After dinner we headed back to the hotel, stopping at Somerfield’s for some chocolate and at McDonalds. Brian got a Rolo shake (something new they have) and I got a McFlurry with Cadbury Dairy Chocolate in it. It was great. Before we got to our room we called our girls. They are having fun. Eliza is homesick. But they are surviving and hanging in there.

Oh yeah…Right now in Edinburgh is the Edinburgh Festival and the Military Tattoo. Actually it starts on Friday and miraculously we were able to get tickets. They have been sold out since Christmas, but one of the tour people here had some connections. But on the Royal Mile, there are a lot of “artists” and “actors.” Lots of very interesting people, too. At one point, Brian got my attention and kind of motioned toward someone and did like a “Whoa…she is very interesting/weird” look. I looked and immediately said, “Oh my gosh. Take a picture of her right now. Do you know who that is?” It was Elaine Davidson—the lady in the Guinness book of world records for the most body piercings. Freaky and ouch! I couldn’t believe we saw here. So we quickly snapped some picture. We did it nonchalantly although from the pictures it probably looks like we were stalking her!

Airport

We are at the airport right now waiting to board our flight. I can think of only one thing we forgot! The cord to download our pictures to the computer. Ugh! We'll see if we can find anything there that we can buy. At least our camera will hold a lot of pictures and I also brought my other camera with two flash cards with it. I think we remembered everything else.

Brian's sister is watching our girls this week and I think she was excited and ready for the week! Thanks to some great friends and family my girls have some play dates scheduled that should keep them busy and entertained!

Last night I called to confirm our flights and the man I talked to gave us better seats on the flight to Edinburgh. I am not for sure, but I am thinking he put us from coach to business class. That was nice and will be more comfy for sure.

So here's to a great first day of our trip!

Camp and Dance Recital

It's been a week! Girls camp--The University of Eternity--was this week and I had a great time. I didn't see any mice, so that was a nice treat. There were skunks but they didn't bug me or our cabin. Of course, we saw some less than desirable bugs, but nothing that was too bothersome. We went up on Monday and did certification--the best one probably being the dance we learned. My fellow "dorm" mom and I were grooving right along with the girls. It was fun.

Tuesday was hike day. I went with the 2nd years on a 5 mile hike. It wasn't too bad and the scenery was beautiful. It was also overcast, making it great hiking weather. There was more certification in the afternoon, but my other cabin mom didn't do the hike with them, so we switched off and I got to take a shower while they were at that. Nice. It felt great! That night was the wacky talent show. There for sure were some wacky talents. The best one though was a lip sync two girls did to "Start of Something New" from High School Musical. It was so entertaining and funny. After the talent show, the stake YW presidency did a faith walk where they talked about modern day pioneers and challenged the girls to possess certain virtues in their lives.

On Wed. I went with the 2nd years to the Tonto Bridge. It was beautiful. We thought we were going to hike down a little bit to some water where the girls would play, then we'd hike out. WRONG! Instead, we hiked through the bridge and continued on about a mile or so on a rocky, rocky hike. It was a lot of fun though.

That afternoon we had some ward time, so we had little kiddie pools of water, some salt scrubs and all the stuff for them to do their own pedicure. It was relaxing and fun to be with our ward girls, since we were all mixed up for camp. Then we assembled hygiene kits for humanitarian service. That night was Bishop's night where the bishops of each ward came up. The did a little "game show" where they showed pictures of each one when they were younger and they had to guess which one it was. After that we separated into wards and had testimony meeting and dessert that our Bishop brought up. Yum!

Thursday morning we got up, cleaned and left. I got home by 10:45 so that was nice. It was great to be home and see my girls and Brian. They did great while I was gone and Brian had fun with them. I came home to a clean house, too.

Friday night was Eliza and Libby's big performance of their mini musical "Magic." For the past 2 weeks, they've been practicing an hour a day. It was such a darling show. So, so cute! When the curtain opened, I thought Libby was going to run off the stage and cry--she looked so scared and had a quivering chin. But the music started and she got into it. Eliza was such a star and knew every move and was such an animated dancer. She did her line perfectly, too. The funniest part for me was when they did a move we call the "Perry," based on something Brad Perry from channel 3 does. Eliza did it perfectly; it was hilarious. You'd think I had taught her or something (wink, wink!). Actually my dad does it, too, and I'm sure she took some pointers from him! :) I was so proud of them, though. Libby did so well. She was excited and it looked like she had a lot of fun dancing on stage. I was so proud that she got up there and did that. For her, that is a big accomplishment. Brian had a Rush concert that night, so I had gotten a babysitter for Ellie and Hattie. So after the recital, Eliza, Libby and I went to dinner at On the Border. It was fun to spend time with them.







Today we did a few errands and our girls helped us pack for our trip. We also got to go to our new church building to put my stuff in the young women's closet. It is a beautiful building. And it's so nice being only less than 3 minutes from our house.

That's all for now!

Girls Camp

Signs of girls camp are all around!!

I am almost done getting ready.


Last night Brian and I went on date night. We grabbed dinner with some friends at Texas Road House. We had a great time chatting and chatting some more! Then I picked up some shampoo and conditioner at Beauty Brand's liter sale...liters are only $10.98. Then we went to Wal-Mart for the final stuff for camp.

Today Brian had a training for Kiwanis club. He is the secretary next year, so he had to go to training for that. So the girls and I went over to my parents' to drop some stuff off and to visit. My girls always have such a fun time over there. In the afternoon after we and Brian got home, we worked on moving the playroom over into the new room. The room is almost done. He put the door on on Friday, but it needs to be painted. Then it's just a little more tile work, texture, carpet stretched, tacked back down and touch ups. We also cleaned out what will now be Ellie's room and moved some furniture in there. We are excited how it is shaping up.

Late this afternoon we got dinner over at the resort. Every saturday they have a hot dog BBQ, so we did that, then Brian took the older three swimming. Hattie and I did a couple of errands. When we got home, we all worked a little bit, then the girls went to bed. Brian and I worked a while longer, and now I am sitting down to rest!

Fireside and Pasta Dinner

I forgot to mention the youth fireside we had on Sunday night. Actually Becky tells all about it on her blog. She talked a little bit about the importance of keeping journals, then had each person fill out a little written time capsule. It was a fun and easy way to document who we are at this moment. I think the kids enjoyed it and it was something different.

Today was full of paint fumes at our house. He got most everything painted and most of the tile down. It sure is taking shape!


Tonight I made one of my favorite dinners--Garlic Chicken Pasta. I love it because it can be eaten warm (which we did for dinner), then I usually have the leftovers cold. Yum! My friend Karolyn gave me the recipe and I love to make it! Libby even loves it--she had 2 servings tonight. Here is the recipe:


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SUPER YUMMY GARLIC CHICKEN PASTA

1 (16-oz.) pkg. Farfalle pasta (bowties)
1 c. heavy whipping cream
4-6 chicken breasts, boneless, skinless
2-3 cloves garlic or dash of garlic salt
1 T. pepper
1/2 c. butter
1 lb. bacon (baked in oven at 400, then crumbled)
1/2 c. Parmesan cheese
1 (12-oz.) Lawry's mesquite marinade with lime juice


Crock pot chicken and bottle of marinade on low for 6 hours. Boil pasta. Cut chicken ( I do with kitchen scissors). Melt butter, add garlic, whipping cream, pepper and Parmesan cheese. Whisk together on low heat for 3-4 minutes. Add pasta, chicken and bacon and toss together. Serve immediately and ENJOY!

Today Eliza and Libby started a mini-musical workshop. A girl who just graduated from college puts it on every year and teaches a small group of girls some songs with dance and they put on a show at the end of the 2 weeks. I can't wait to see it!

It's Midnight...

and I don't even have my PJs on yet! I've been going non-stop since we got our girls to bed.

Girls camp is next week, so I've been busy trying to get everything ready. Today my mom came over to help me make headbands for the girls in my cabin. Hattie was our model for the picture! I think they turned out so cute.



I think I need to make some and sell on e-bay...along with my burp cloths. Think there'd be a market for that? I've also made a couple of other things to give the girls...I'll have to take a picture tomorrow. I am nearly done getting everything ready.

Other than getting camp stuff done, I am pretty well done with the next Autumn Leaves book that I've been working on. It's called Enjoy the Process--a book being led by Rhonna Farrer. I am also caught up on Heidi's class I am editing. It feels good to be caught up. I know as soon as I say it, things will get busy, but it feels good right now!

Saturday was our 7th anniversary! We enjoyed the day watching the dry wall guys texture our walls. We also got to go out. We got some dinner at Chevy's (we love their salsa), then we tried to see Harry Potter, but it wasn't playing at the AMC we went to. Weird. So we looked at some books about Scotland at Barnes and Noble. Then we got some ice cream at 31 flavors.

The home remodel is coming along. Today he painted the floor boards and primed the walls. Tomorrow is paint and tile.


Eliza went with Brian to work today. He said they didn't get much done but they had a fun time. She helped Aleeda do some things, but mostly they played, went to lunch, etc. Eliza really enjoyed herself though!

I'd better go get my PJs on and go to bed!

Layer of Dust

(I didn't have time to turn a couple of the pictures, so you'll have to tilt your head!)
I feel like we are living under a thin layer of dust as we get our den enclosed. Day one of construction started yesterday. He framed it in and started demoing part of it to make the new entrance. Today he made the door entrance a little bigger to make room for the new door that will be a couple inches wider than the one that was there. I was a little nervous about how it all was going to play out and look, but I am happy with how it looks so far. It seems pretty natural looking to me and flows nicely. Tomorrow the drywall will be done, then it's tile, trim, paint, etc.

Today I took Eliza and Libby to Water World. I got a babysitter for Ellie and Hattie this time and just took the older two. We had a great time. They spent a lot of time in the kid area, and we also went on a couple of big slides. They both loved it! We also splashed in the wave pool and went in the lazy river. I think I spent too much time in the sun and didn't drink enough water, because when I got home I got a migraine. Ugh! So Brian came home a couple hours early and let me try to get rid of that. It's mostly gone now--my head is just a little tender.

OK--gotta go finish a book so I can focus all next week on getting ready for girls camp and getting ready for our trip to Scotland. When we get back from that, we'll be getting Eliza all ready for kindergarten.

Oh yeah...on Wednesday for mutual we went to the lake for a boating activity. I hadn't been to the lake since I was in mutual. It was a lot of fun. I did some tubing and I am still SO sore. This morning when my alarm went off, it was the song "Everybody Hurts." It couldn't have been any more perfect for me!

4.5

Can you believe I am already almost 4 and 1/2 months old? The time has gone fast--or at least that is what I hear my mom saying. She also says that I am a pretty good baby. She only started saying that once I got some good sleeping patterns down. I usually wake up around 6:30 or 7:30 and eat, then I get to sit in my bouncy chair and watch Baby Einsteins while whoever feeds me goes back to sleep for a little bit. Once every couple of weeks, I like to wake up at 3:30 and see who gets up to feed me. I usually hear a little muttering and then talking back and forth, then I see my dad ready to feed me. I get to see my mom sometimes, too, when I wake up that early. I can tell she isn't thrilled that I am up, so I don't try that trick too often.

I really love my sisters. I am glad my mom watches Ellie closely when she is around me. She is nice and likes to try to put my pacifier in or clean my face with me burp cloth. Sometimes she can be a little rough, but I don't think she means to. Libby loves to spend time with me. She holds my hand all the time. She also loves to sing with me or just sit by me. Eliza feeds me sometimes, but usually she is too busy coloring or setting the table all cute. She is good at that.





OK--this is long enough for me. I am getting tired. Good bye.

Friday-Sunday

Friday:
We spent part of the day cleaning--I like going into the weekend with a clean house. That night Brian and I went on our date. We checked Old Navy and got some school clothes for Eliza, then we had to get a couple items at Costco. Dinner was at Elephant Bar, then we walked around at Cibola Vista just to relax a little and so I could get some good spots to do some photo shoots there.

Saturday:
We did some things around the house. Eliza and I went to Kohls. They had a ton of clearance...I picked up some shirts for my girls for like $2.50. I got some capris for $6.50. Fun! Then we went to Wal-Mart for some groceries and for stuff for girls camp.

That afternoon we all went over to the resort to swim. They were having hotdogs, chips and lemonade, so we picked up an early dinner. We had a lot of fun there.

Sunday:
Today started early for me at my meeting before church. Brian is so good about getting all our girls ready and bringing them to church. He is amazing. Church went well. We didn't have to go out with anyone, so that is always a good day! I taught in young womens. The lesson was about sustaining missionaries through letters. I thought that was perfect for me to give since I did that for two years (or so I hope!) while Brian was in Venezuela.

This afternoon we went to my parents' house for dinner. Actually though, we had breakfast for dinner. That is always a fun change. The kids had a great time playing and got along great. Ellie has just been so cute lately. ...Saying thank you after everything or "yah" when she wants to do something. She is just a joy--as are the other three. Hattie was laughing this afternoon when my sister-in-law was holding her. ...that cute baby belly laugh. I love it. Of course, when I brought out the camera, she stopped! Libby is such a sweetcake. She can be stubborn, but if you just give her some time, she'll conform and share a toy or whatever it might be. She has a funny sense of humor, too, that we get a kick out of. Eliza is so caring and sensitive. She definitely has her difficult times and does things that make me want to pull my hair out, but Brian and I spent all of dinner talking about her and ideas of what we can do. The past two days have been a big improvement. She is also so creative and loves to do art. She is also surprising me with her desire to read and how well she is doing sounding out words.

Eliza did say a funny tonight. Her lesson in church was about missionary work and she had put her scriptures in her little purse and her teacher had given her a little sticker that looked like a missionary tag. She put that on the outside of her purse. Well, tonight she said, "Can we go to Jesus.com?" I was thinking--is that even a website, how did she hear about it, etc.... I said, "What's that? What is on that?" She said, "I just want to learn more about Jesus." Ha! I guess she thinks/knows you can get information off the Internet so I guess Jesus.com would have info about Him. It was a good laugh. I guess you had to be there.

Happy week!

Happy 4th!

Yesterday morning started with us going to our Bishop's house for the annual 4th of July breakfast. The girls looked cute in their little 4th of July Disney shirts I picked up last year. The highlight of the morning (for Eliza at least) was riding on a fire truck. Someone in our ward had one there to entertain the kids. I took Ellie on it, too, and she wasn't so sure about it. She didn't cry, but she was glad to get off. Brian and I decided that we'd take advantage of him being home so I could get some work done on the book I'm doing. (They decided to have it printed in China, so they moved all the deadlines up.) So to allow me to get something done, Brian took Eliza, Libby and Ellie on a little outing. They went the back way up to Prescott and had a little picnic lunch under a big oak tree and had some ice cream from one of the little stores right there on main street.

While they were gone I actually got a lot done! I had to take a little break to take a birthday gift to one of my young women and to go to Target. I got the ingredients to make these to take to Brian's parents' tonight.

For our 4th festivities, we went to Brian's parents' house and had pizza. Then we swam. We even got Hattie in. She seemed to really like it. Ellie love it too. She is just so crazy in the water. It's so funny to watch her. After swimming, we had some sweets and watched the fireworks in their backyard. They have a good view of the ones at Peoria Sports Complex. Ellie watched for a little bit and wasn't to sure about them. I even got Libby out there for a little bit, too. Miraculous! It was a great show with a great finale. When everyone was in bed, we watched "A Capitol Fourth" on channel eight.

Rewind to this past week...let's see...on Tuesday I went on a photo shoot with Natalie again. I love watching her in action and learning more and more. Gosh. I am really bad or just really tired because I can't remember anything excited we've been up to. ...a little swimming here and there. Pedicures. Eliza gave me a "pedicure" on Monday. She even drew painted a flower on my toe. After that, Eliza and Libby had fun painting on some paper plates with acrylic paint. Eliza came up with some fun designs. She is so creative and imaginative.

This morning was art class--we got a late start but we made it to their class--only a few minutes late. Hattie had her 4 month well-check this morning, too. It was a bit crazy taking them all. Ellie was a handful! She kept trying to escape from the room and was just a little rambunctious. But Hattie is doing great. She is 25" and 14.5 lbs. She is filling out and growing so fast!

Now here are some fun pictures from the past week or so:


Poor Ellie...she is our rough and tumble girl. Here is her lip wound from Water World. She is all healed now.


Vacuum #35. Ha! We will try yet another one. After this we are going to an Oreck! I like this one so far though. (That's what I said about the last one!)


Poor Hattie. Libby was playing with her.


Ellie sleeping on their adventure to Prescott.

Salt Scrubs

Here is the recipe for the salt scrubs.

1/2 cup sea salt
1/4 cup canola oil
4-5 drops essential oil (Bath and Body has some great ones!)

Place all ingredients in a glass jar and stir. Tie ribbon on lid! You could even make a cute label and put it on with the ribbon.

Here We Go...

Lots to write:
Wednesday at mutual we had a fun "spa" night. We made the best salt scrub and they were so easy! It's simply canola oil, sea salt and a few drops of essential oils. It makes your skin so soft! We put them in THE cutest canning jars (just from Wal-Mart) and with a ribbon tied on the lid, it's the perfect gift!

Yesterday Brian took Eliza and Libby and went with my brother Brian and his daughter up to his parents' cabin in Munds Park. They are having a little daddy-daughter outing. They will come home tomorrow and I hear they are having a great time!

So Ellie, Hattie and I have been hanging out. I think Ellie is liking all the attention. I am surely enjoying it, too. Today she and I went to Water World. Ellie had a fun time splashing in the water, going on the kiddie slides, going in the lazy river and jumping over the waves in the wave pool. She did have a little fall and now looks like she just has a lip enhancement. Poor girl! I put her towel around her and put her down while I got my towel on. Well, she started to run and didn't have any arms for balance and kerplunk...right on the ground. It was a good one...ouch! But we had a great time. This evening we attempted the mall. I put Hattie's car seat in the stroller and just held Ellie. We ate dinner at Paradise Bakery and Ellie did great sitting in a chair and eating. Then we went to the one store I set out to go to and just like last time we went to Bath and Body, Hattie started crying. So we were in and out and came home. Maybe one day I'll be able to look around there!!

OK--now that both are in bed, I must get writing and get to work!! I have lots to do.

Lots Going On

Saturday:
--Primary activity day at the pool. I took Eliza and Libby and had a fun time.
--Went to the adult meeting of Stake Conference. Loved being able to actually sit and listen to it all.

Sunday:
--Went to Stake Conference at 1. It's always a bit crazy trying to keep the girls happy and entertained for 2 hours. Ellie didn't make it but maybe 20 minutes.
--Ate dinner at Brian's parents' house.

Monday:
--Libby got a haircut--just a trim. She didn't want to and at one point, she was sitting in the chair just quietly crying. Poor girl! But she was brave and did well. I got my eyebrows waxed and Eliza got her hair washed in her fancy bowl/sink.
--Brian and I went to the D-Backs game with Eliza and Libby. They had a fun time even though they lost.

Tuesday:
--Went visiting teaching and since I already had gotten a babysitter, I just did a few errands while I was out. I found a piece of furniture that I like for the playroom. Maybe we can go back before it is sold. It was at Razmataz.
--Went to my friend Kari's baby shower. I did some more burp cloths for her. I love making them! I should have snapped a picture before I wrapped them up. The shower was fun. We ended up staying until about 11.

Better get to bed...it's late.

Updates

--last day of swimming lessons. It was Libby's best day by far. She didn't whine or complain about how far Emily was in the water. In fact, she jumped off the diving board two times and swam the length of the pool. She didn't even think twice about it. They also got to go down the slide a couple times at the end.
--today was house cleaning day. We (Eliza and Libby helped) got to everything except some of the bathroom stuff and mopping. Ugh!
--went swimming this morning at a friend's house and had lunch. My girls had fun--so did I. And Hattie was content in her carseat inside the whole time. Good girl.
--Date night: had Cafe Rumba again for dinner. I tried the BBQ pizza and loved it. Very good and it had a bit of a kick to it. Also went to the auction again. These date nights are getting a little pricey!

No Crying at Swimming

Ellie had a great swimming lesson today. When I took her to swimming, I went in the pool area with her and put her on the first step of the pool. She just splashed and jumped and had a great time! In fact, she didn't even cry at all! She kicked a little, blew bubbles great and even jumped in when it was her turn. I think she actually enjoyed her lesson. Eliza did well today and even started learning how to dive in. Libby had another hard lesson. She isn't wanting to use her arms. And when she does, it's mostly only one arm. And she gets nervous when her teacher stands too far out in the water. Needless to say, she was worked hard today. Poor girl.

We bought a Bumbo for Hattie. We have a bouncy chair which she loves, but we thought we'd try this that sits her upright more. She likes it pretty well and it's nice to have another place for her when I can't hold her during the day.



Tonight was mutual and we had a great time. I thought it went well. I talked for a minute about using girls camp to pass off some personal progress goals. Then one of my laurels did a great job giving the other girls ideas for secret pal gifts at camp. And she also gave some suggestions for how to make the most out of camp. It was perfect! The remainder of the night, two of my laurels helped teach the rest of the girls the fun camp songs they'll be singing at camp. It was fun to learn them and I think the girls enjoyed it and will feel more prepared at camp than just hearing them there for the first time. For refreshments I had made a smores snack mix...just threw some golden graham cereal, mini marshmallows and broken up Hershey's chocolate bar in a bowl. It was a yummy treat. And we finished it up with some Capri-Sun type juices.

I can't believe it's already Thursday tomorrow! Tomorrow is art class in the morning and swim in the afternoon.

Libby had a little fun with Hattie and her swim goggles! Good thing Hattie is so patient!

Swimming Lessons Continued

Today it was back to the grind. Brian was back to work and we were back to our regularly scheduled summer. I think Ellie is glad to be back in her own bed! She slept great last night, had a long nap this morning and another nap after swimming lessons.

We have swimming lessons again this week. They had hard lessons today! Emily made them work. Eliza is working on her breathing so she breathes out in the water and only has to come up to inhale. And Libby needs to work on her "Barbie" arms. She told Libby that she would not move if Libby did big arms. But if she was dog-paddling, Emily would keep moving back. Well, once she did great, but once she didn't hardly do any arms so Emily kept moving back. But, Libby swam the entire length of the pool taking only one breath and kicking her feet ferociously! I was so impressed. Now if she can get the arms down, it'll be easy for her to do that since she obviously can do it! And Ellie did better. She still cried while Emily was working with her, but she sat on the step a couple of times when it wasn't her turn instead of getting out and sitting on a chair.

Tonight was Family Home Evening and for our game we played charades. We hadn't played in a while and we had a fun time acting out some different things than normal--Sportacus (from LazyTown), a sample giver-outer at Costco, a ladybug, mom running on the treadmill, a Weeble, etc. Speaking of me running. I took all my gear to go at the hotel, but after we got everyone sleeping at night, it was just too late! Ugh. Now I am going to have to get back into it. ...not looking forward to that.

Summer Regional

I thought I'd share some vignettes from our weekend at the Westin Kierland. So grab a refreshing drink and a snack and read on.

Let's start with Thursday. Thursday morning I took the girls to art class and they did some fun things for Father’s Day…they made foam frames, painted with balloons, made faces with construction paper and made these darling jumbo ties for Brian for Father’s Day. While I took them, Brian and Ellie went to the auction warehouse and picked up our bed. I still love it! When we all got home, we finished getting ready, then we left for the hotel. We got all settled in our room, then it was time for the fun to begin. We first had our picture taken. Then we dropped the girls off at the kids’ activities. Ellie and Hattie went to the same place and Eliza and Libby went together. Eliza and Libby were doing “fiesta” activities…piñata, water balloons, crafts, etc. They had a lot of fun. Hattie ate and slept and they loved her! And they said Ellie just ate and ate and ate. So funny. They said she was great, too. While they were entertained there, Brian and I had the welcome meeting for the summer regional. It was a “Blast to the Past” theme. Brian and I were in charge of the slide show to introduce everyone. We have been collecting high school photos of all the FAs (financial advisors) and we (I) compiled them into a slide show. It was a lot of work and took a lot of time, but it turned out good and everyone enjoyed it. Two couples did a “Spartan” cheer type thing, which was hilarious!


As a welcome gift, everyone got a cute gift box with IBC root beers in it. After that was over, we picked up the girls and went to dinner. It was Mexican food—yum. They also did an interactive Family Feud game. There was also a mini “carnival” with little games for the kids to play—parachute, relays, etc. Then it was time for the most interesting part of the day--—bed time…all of us in one room! When we got here I was like, “Let’s find out how much it is for another room.” We found out and it would be $450 for three nights. Well, we decided to just bear it. We brought a sheet and some tacks that we thought we could make a little sectioned off place for Ellie. Brian tried a couple times to put Ellie down, but she just cried and was really scared. She cried a lot which is totally unlike her. We ended up taking her to Brian’s parents’ house for a mini sleepover. She was able to stay there every night. My parents took her for a bit on Friday afternoon, then they brought her to us on Saturday and she played with us all Saturday.

Friday:
Brian had meetings in the morning, so I took the girls to breakfast, then I had a spouses' meeting to go to. While I was there, Eliza, Libby and Hattie went to kids' club and babysitting. This time, their theme was "luau". In the spouses meeting, each spouse of an FA, got a cute notebook that could be used as a travel journal. It was one of those cute journals from Target that the regional leader's wife had covered with paper and embellished, adding ribbon at the top. They were so cute. She also had Haley Volk who took the family pictures on Thursday talk a little bit about taking better photos and how to stand in a photo. Then we watched the video called "Johnny the Bagger." It is so inspirational. On the last night, those who helped out with something at the summer regional meetings were give the book The Simple Truths of Service. I love it. I am trying to think how I can apply it in my life and Brian is thinking how he can apply it to his work. I think it will make a difference. They also played a video called 212 degrees. I love that entire concept and it can be applied to anything--life, work, family, church, etc. Just that extra little bit--that extra degree can make a huge difference. We are going to have a small 212 degree sign made out of vinyl lettering and we are going to put it up at Brian's office for that constant reminder.

After the meetings that day, we went to the pool. Brian and I took turns with Hattie and with Eliza and Libby in the water. They had fun in the pool, going down the slide and in the lazy river. The lazy river was definitley my favorite part.






Friday night was our 70's themed dinner. We dressed in our 70's clothes and rocked to 70's music as we ate dinner. After dinner, the kids got to paint their own pet rocks--in honor of the 70s--and the adults played a trivia game and did karaoke.





On Saturday morning, Brian had meetings again until noon. He was lucky--everyone in the region who referred someone who was hired didn't have to dress in business casual--they got to come in casual/pool attire. They also got to sit in pool lounge chairs, sip virgin strawberry daquiaris, have some treats, got a beach towel, etc. That was great for him! During his meetings, my parents brought Ellie and met me at Kierland COmmons. The girls played in the water area for a little bit and we did a little bit of shopping.



Unfortunatley the girls didn't last long, so we headed back around 11. Brian was done at noon. After he got back to the room, we joined three other families at Carlos O' Brian's for lunch. Then Brian took Ellie, Libby and Eliza to the pools and I took Hattie with me back to Kierland to do some more shopping. We only had an hour, but I bought some really cute serving platters and things at Crate & Barrel. They had a few good sales, so I took advantage.

After we all got back to the room, Brian took Ellie back to his parents' for the night and I got ready for our final dinner and awards night. We took the girls back down to their pizza party and fun at the kids' club and Hattie got to go to babysitter where she slept most of the time. The theme of the dinner (to go along with Blast to the Past) was Casablanca: A Magical Night in Black and White.



We had a very nice, delicious dinner--salad, rolls, steak, salmon, rice, carrots, asparagus and choclate cake (which also was our table centerpiece). Throughout the night, they gave out several awards, some funny--just for fun--and the rest serious to recognize the work the FAs are doing. There are two FAs who do some funny awards each year and basically "make fun" of some people. So when they say your name, it's like, "Yikes...what are they going to say about you?" They did mention Brian and they said, "Brian Trimble...it's time to grow some wiskers, man." :) I guess they all think he still looks young. That wasn't bad compared to some other funny things they said about others! Brian also got a couple of other serious awards that I am proud of him for! One was a production award--given to FAs who reach a certain level of production and how much gross commition they generate in a year. Way to go, babe! Also, Edward Jones conducted their first customor satisfaction survey that measured customer service for each office and how well they are doing, if the clients trust their FA, and a whole series of other questions. Anyway..out of the entire Grand Canyon region, Brian ranked fourth in the Customer Service Excellence survey. That is huge and awesome! After dinner, we picked up the girls. They had made shirts--basically drew a picture and had their friends sign it. She said she made it for Brian and insisted that he try it on. The problem is that is was probably a kids size XL. Brian tried it on and it was skin tight! She was sad he didn't want (couldn't) wear it. She was so thoughtful!

This morning we ate breakfast at Nellie Cashman's at the hotel, then came home, picking up Ellie on our way. It is good to be home and I think everyone was glad to get into their own bed tonight. But it was a great weekend. I am so glad we decided to go with Edward Jones for Brian's career. It is a great company to work for and Brian really enjoys what he does. They also take great care of us and the families for the FAs. If you are intersted in working for such a great place, let Brian know--he'd love to talk to you about it and would even take you out to dinner to talk about it over the meal! Or if you just want a great person to help you meet your financial goals, give him a call, too. Nothing like a little advertising for him!

Today for dinner we went to my brother's house for Father's Day dinner. We had Mexican food and my assignment was dessert. I made a double chocolate dip and a chocolate trifle. The chocolate dip is on the new platter and bowl I got at Crate & Barrel. It was really sweet and rich and I think I would have liked it better with regular graham cracker sticks or just by itself.





Finally, Happy Father's Day!!! We got Brian a pair of Keen shoes that he's had his eyes on lately for all of his outdoor adventures. He is such a great dad. He loves to play with our girls and is willing to take them on fun outings. Many times he watches all four without any complaints while I do work, do things for my young women's calling or just have some "me time." Love you, Brian!

Man--if you're still reading this, you deserve a prize!