Our First Family Campout

We've been promising the girls we'd go camping for a while now but there always seemed to be something else going on.  So this conference weekend, we decided to just pack up and go (which is simplifying it greatly because packing up for camping is a lot of work!).  We went for one night to Del Valle in Livermore, a short drive from us.  But the girls LOVED it!  

This girl loves sticks!

She had to bring her "suitcase" :)

Taking notes for us in the tent!

More note taking!  

I do not recommend using jumbo marshmallows for s'mores.  Too much of a good thing!

Roasting marshmallows! 

A happy camper

Making breakfast on a cold morning!  

A Few More Pictures From Tough Mudder

The Team

Focused!

Lots of mud involved in this one!

They said there were hills, but holy cow!

Running through electrical wires!

Bravery

Avery has been toying with the idea of getting her ears pierced for a while now, but has never actually been brave enough to do it...until today!  I'm not sure what changed. This is the girl who freaked out when getting the flu mist!  She is the one who cries a lot whenever the least possible thing hurts on her and likes to be pretty dramatic about it.  But today she decided she was going to get it done and she did!

Don't get me wrong, there was some screaming involved. But she held on to me and even let the guy do the second ear which is pretty important to the whole process!  I was very proud of her.  It only took a few seconds after it was over for her to calm down and be very excited about her new Hello Kitty earrings as well as the endless possibilities with which to decorate her ears in 8 weeks.

 It looks pretty cute, I think!

 

Tough Mudder

Lance did this amazingly difficult event last weekend.  It's called "Tough Mudder."  They do them all over the world, but this one was at Diablo Grande, a very hilly little town just off of I-5.  It's not a race, it's a team event. It's a 13 mile muddy, crazy difficult obstacle course and the object is to get the entire team over the finish line together no matter how long it takes.  Lance's team, "Muddling Warriors" did it in 4 1/2 hours.  Lance loved it and is already signed up for next years event in Lake Tahoe!

Character Counts

Sophie just received a "Character Counts" award from her school.  She got a certificate to get a free kids cone from Baskin and Robbins.  She was nominated for her trustworthiness which is just one of the many wonderful characteristics she has!

Enjoying her reward!

NICU Revisited

Last Saturday, our family was able to go back to John Muir Hospital for a fun occasion!  Every year the hospital puts on a reunion for all the families who have had babies stay in their NICU.  It was a wonderful event!  The NICU nurses were there as well as Dr. Mikus who is the head of Neonatal services and was Riley's doctor.  Even the families of the hospital staff were there as volunteers at all the booths.

Riley was actually a little too young to really enjoy the festivities, but she entertained herself with chocolate chip cookies while Sophie and Avery had a great time doing all the activities.  Below are pictures of just a few of the booths.  And even though I have no actual proof, Lance was actually there!

The giant slide was a hit!

Coloring and decorating pumpkins in the heat! 

Face painting

It was nice to come full circle.  Not only because we got to take our healthy little baby back to the place that caused us so many tears, but we also saw other babies who had been in the NICU with her who were now healthy and happy little ones.  In a way it took some of the sting away from the time she spent there. It was wonderfully obvious how blessed she and all the other babies are to have had such amazing care that made life possible.

Girls Getaway

For some reason every time I go away for a girl's getaway it involves getting up early to an alarm. This trip was no exception.  At least it didn't involve a grueling run as well which is usually the case.  This trip was to go to Time Out For Women.  It's like Women's Conference at BYU only they come to you and it's put on by Deseret Book.  It was in Sacramento. Just far enough away to justify getting a hotel room!

My friend Leslie and went together. We left early Friday morning to go shopping in Roseville (known to Leslie as Mecca ) at the Galleria. :)  My cousin Chelsea who lives in Elk Grove met us there in the afternoon to spend a couple of hours shopping too.  I spent way too much money, got a fun makeover at the Dior Makeup Counter and had a blast!

Unfortunately we couldn't shop until we dropped because for some reason we felt like we actually should to go to Time Out For Women that night!  It started with excellent talks from Dean Hughes and Heidi Swinton, the author of President Thomas S. Monson's Biography as well as an amazing musical performer, Dallyn Vail Bayles.

The next morning we had to get up and get breakfast and be back to The Sacramento Convention Center by 8:45am for day two of the event.  There were more great speakers including one of my favorite authors Merrilee Boyack who I just happened to see walking down the hall and was nice enough to take a picture with me.

After TOFW ended, Leslie and I decided to take advantage of our kid free afternoon and stop by Arden Fair Mall and do a little more shopping. Honestly, I was a little afraid to be unarmed at that mall but they did have great stores so I dug deep and mustered all my courage in order to find a few more treasures!

It was a really fun little getaway. Next year we are thinking of going to a TOFW a little farther away than Sacramento.  Do they have them in Honolulu?