All I really need to know in life I learned from Curious George...

I seriously feel like we need a poster with that saying on it for Jaxon.  It has been his favorite cartoon--he has loved it since he was 2.  We have seen every episode, multiple times.   Jaxon is starting to grow out of it, but I have to say as a Mom I think it's been the best.  I feel like it needs some sort of recognition for the amount of education it has left Jaxon with.

Here's a list of things he's learned from George...(it is by far not a comprehensive list)
--what compost is and how to make it
--what righty tighty lefty loosey means
--what zero means
--what recycling is
--all about space and orbits
--what buoyancy is
--all about gardening and different seeds
--the life cycle of a frog
--how to use a map
--solar energy
--organizing and scheduling

There was also a time last year when he wouldn't talk on the phone to anyone.   I was trying to get him to talk to my mom, but he said, "I'm too old and smart to talk on the phone."  My mom and I got a good laugh....I couldn't figure out where he had gotten it, but a few weeks later I heard it in Georgie...I should've known.   I feel like I owe George a big thank you so here goes....Thank you George, for spending so much time in our house the last few years and being a great friend and entertainer and teaching Jaxon so many great things and for letting me have some needed breaks--it did not go unnoticed!!

Even though Jaxon is moving on, it has become Claire's favorite show so we won't be missing Georgie any time too soon!

Family Camp

Jeff's family has a great tradition of doing a trip every year...one year with everyone and the other year with just the adults.  This year was the trip with everyone and we went to Aspen Grove, which is a BYU run family camp above Sundance.  The setting is beautiful, the staff was excellent, there was plenty to do, it was a perfect family vacation--I would highly recommend it!  We checked in on Saturday and stayed through Friday. 

Here we are in front of our cabin....

The kids had groups they went to every day depending on their age. They were gone for 3 hours before lunch and 3 hours after lunch.  Jaxon was a kitten and was with two of his cousins.  He loved going to his group everyday.  They learned a song and performed them on the last day.

        

They went swimming with their groups everyday...

        

                                        

They went on a hike and went rock climbing...

          

                                        

They had their faces painted...

They did arts and crafts and played games....they were so exhausted each night from all the fun and activities... 

Claire was a romper and had her own group.  She loved her group leaders and the other kids in her group.  One of the days that we went to pick her up, we were able to watch her for a bit before she saw us.  She and her friend Sammie were playing in the cars.  They would lean over and whisper something to each other or act like they were handing each other stuff.  It was so fun watching them play...they were too cute together.

They made hats for the different themed days...Claire wanted to wear them all at once...

What did the adults do while our kids were at group all day?
We played lots of board games...

         

We went paintballing...

         

         

         

                                            

We took a pottery class....

         

        

                                          

We spent a lot of time in the arts and crafts room making way cute leather bracelets and belts....

We played walleyball, volleyball, and badminton....

        

They had a ropes course, but I chickened out on doing it...it's one of those things that you regret not doing.  We also went to a parenting class.  One of the coolest things was having a special fireside with Elder Holland.  He was there with his family and the fireside he gave was amazing...we were listening to an apostle speak, in the most beautiful setting...the Spirit was so strong and I know it's something I will never forget.

They also had a lot of fun activities for the whole family to do together.  My favorite day was Aspen Follies..you competed with the other families in a variety of games...I couldn't stop laughing...I didn't take any pictures because there was a lot of water involved...

They had a Frontier Days activity...
We tried our hand at knife throwing...

Rode the train multiple times...

  

Slid down the mountain slide...

Played games with the kids....

There was also a movie night and a family dance....there were so many fun things to do for everyone...the whole camp was very family friendly...

One of the kids favorite things was doing secret cousins every day.  They drew names before and they brought a small gift for their secret cousin each day.  They loved giving and getting their gift every day and finding out who it was at the end...

Jaxon and Claire got along so well while we were there.  They were holding hands and being so sweet to each other.  There were lots of moments that made my heart happy as a mom...

It was a great week and we had so much fun with Jeff's family.  I feel lucky to be part of such a great family.  

The Help...

When I went out and bought the Help, it was purely on recommendations.  I had no idea what it was about, nor did I want to know.  It's fun to read a book without knowing what it's about and having the book come alive.  I LOVED this book.  Help refers to the black maids who worked for white families in the 1960's. The characters and the story were fantastic.  I think it's interesting how much of a necessity it was back then to have a maid whereas now it's more of a luxury.  I didn't realize how much the maids were also nannies.  Not only did they clean their houses, they raised the white children.  It made me sad to hear the stories of white parents who would do next to nothing for their children--the maids were basically their moms.   It was nice to learn that while there were white families who treated their maids very poorly, there were also many who had great relationships with them and treated them very well.   It is a work of fiction, but the author grew up in Jackson, Mississippi in the heat of it all and was "raised" by her maid.  She tells her story at the end of the book.  It's amazing to me how far we have come in 50 years. I'm sure if we would've told them who would be our president today, they would've said that's impossible.

My favorite quote from the book was directed to women..."We are just two people.  Not that much separates us.  Not nearly as much as I thought."  How true even today for all of us....

Family Pictures

A few months ago, we got our pictures taken with Jeff's family.  We had them taken at his Grandpa's farm--I love the farm because there are so many great spots to choose from.  We could have them taken there many times and have completely new backgrounds.  Jeff's cousin took the pictures and I was excited with how they turned out...

This is one of my favorite pictures of Jaxon...

I love this picture of the boys....

Girl's Camp 2010

It seems like not that long ago, I was going to Girl's Camp with my ward as a youth.  Doesn't seem possible that it was actually 13 years ago.  Not a lot has changed--there is still a lot of singing, skits, certification, and a hike.   There are a lot of new songs, but some of the older ones are still around i.e. the princess pat.  Every ward was a country and our ward chose New Zealand.  The camp directors did a great job.

Here are the leaders sporting all of our NZ gear....

We have a great group of girls-everyone is open to each other and they really try to include everyone.  I love how excited the new beehives are for camp.  It was a great week to grow closer to the girls.  I loved playing games around the fire every night--definitely my favorite part of camp.

Two of our girls had birthdays while at camp, so one of our leaders made them an amazing cake as a surprise.  Each of the girls was represented on the cake and was sticking their head out of the tent.

The girls are such great examples to me and as I told them in my testimony, they give me hope for my kids as teenagers.  The youth are as strong as they have ever been despite the things that are happening in the world.  I feel blessed to be a part of their lives and to experience so many testimony building experiences with them.