To the beach!

 It was a good thing I can home when I did that Thursday, because I worked till a late bedtime and then was up early to pack the car and pickup the girls (from 2 hours away) by 9. I did laundry and gathered the last few things and we packed the non refrigerated stuff Thursday night and then loaded the coolers Friday morning. 

Camp and Fsy buddies!

Last girls camp for these 2!

Even though they had already taken group pictures, I made them take a few more. I’ve never been shy about making people take more pictures  🤣

I do love a silly shot. I don’t care if that’s my biggest white person quality. 🤣

At least they went with it a little! 🤣

😍

We left camp and were 4 hours from the beach. We shared alllll our camp stories and then before they fell asleep we stopped for brekkie for Adi and lunch for us at Chick-fil-A. Adi wanted  brekkie biscuit and ordered it al like 10:58, then D and I waited for the lunch menu at 11. 

Our next stop was BJ’s, which the closest one was 2 hours from the beach. It was *so* hot that we busted the move with all our cold stuff and were ready to hustle as soon as we opened the cooler to try to help everything stay cool. An hour and a half later we hit Aldi. We’d divided the shopping list in 3 to be as quick as possible and did the same coordinated attack on the cooler. Then we needed to hit Walmart for just the last few things, and it was so hot that I let Delaney stay in the car with the ac running just to be extra careful with all our food. Thankfully everything stayed nice and cold. Our milk even stayed frozen till the next day when we had to leave it out on the counter. 

So we got checked in and the houses are so cute and we got everything unpacked and the crew was at the beach and the girls were ready to go, so I sent them off and I organized the house. I love the beach so much, but I just needed to put everything in its place and have some order since it had been a crazy week. I got everything perfect and hit the beach for awhile and then Laura and David made dinner and we ate at the Armours. 

There was a beach house out of service and unfortunately it affected Laura and David’s house. So they couldn’t check in until Monday and they were about a 3 minute drive from us and Armour’s. So it wasn’t a late night because they had to drive home to Katie’s that night. After that, they stayed with Armours till Monday, but that first night on Friday Heather had a friend come down and stay. 

Anyway, it was a fabulous start to a fabulous week!

Cheer camp

 Frankie wasn’t able to go to girls camp because cheer camp happened the same week. 😢 That was different from last year and such a bummer. It was a weird week for our family too. Adi and I left for girls camp Monday, Delaney left Tuesday, Frankie left for cheer camp Wednesday, I came home Thursday, picked up Adi and Delaney and headed to the beach Friday, then Matt picked up Frankie saturday and headed to the beach to meet us  so many different directions. 

I followed along with their cheer camp fun. 

Frankie said it was a lot of work, but very fun. 

They had the girls “try out,” to form a camp varsity and camp JV team and Frankie was disappointed to be on the JV team, but disappointments are ok. They make us stronger. 

She’s still hopeful she’ll make the varsity team for the fall, but also will do her best even if she stays JV. 

They had 8 girls qualify for all American and Frankie was one of them! I’m not gonna lie, I don’t understand what that is exactly, but go Frankie!

On Saturday Matt (and the parents) got to go watch their final dance and I was bummed to miss it. And hopefully next year cheer camp doesn’t get in the way of our summer fun. 

Camp kitchen

The kitchen at Pocahontas was small, much smaller than 2 years ago at stake camp. Tony and Sarah arrived Tuesday morning and everyone jumped right in unloading and setting up. Cooking for the week is a huge job and I’m always so impressed with all the planning, packing, and prepping Tony puts into it. I’m happy to be an Indian to his chief.

I really mostly spent all my time in the kitchen, but I did wander out during skits. Delaney loves improv and loves to act. 

All the groups that I saw did really cute skits. All a little different and they were having so much fun. 

Just a girl that hates camp. 🙄🙄🙄 She wouldn’t admit it, but I know she had a good time. 

This was the lady camp kitchen cabin. Sarah Berry from Calvert ward and Karen from LP ward and I shared this. Karen is older and Sarah said she couldn’t climb onto the top bunk, so I slept up top. I had my fan and my phone up there and I was worried they’d fall on Sarah, and my phone did both nights. Not on her, but close enough. Hey, I didn’t want to be up too, I took one for the team. 🤷‍♀️ I slept ok. The noise of the fans mostly drowned out the snoring and the fan made the weather bearable. Actually, our first morning there was chilly, but that was the only chilly morning. The bathroom was a 5 minute walk from our cabin and Sarah went a couple times every night so she would drive and that kind of woke me up a little, but it wasn’t terrible. 

The kitchen crew! The girls loved all the food. It’s cute how excited they were for Tony’s teriyaki chicken and fried rice in particular, but they really enjoyed everything. One thing I love is that the adults truly just love the girls. I love that Tony’s philosophy is just feed them and make them happy. When girls were hungry or needed a little extra care there was always something we could give them. That’s my fav, just loving on the girls. 

The kitchen is a lot of work and we had some mishaps. One morning Tony found that one of the refrigerator shelves had collapsed from the weight and we’d lost a few large yogurts. Then the oven stopped working and while repairing it, the guy made a big explosion - that was exciting. Because of the oven I got to fry many many pounds of bacon on a griddle. My poor bum thumb was prett-y sore after that. And that night was the best shower, just scrubbing bacon grease off. 🤣

Another fun thing was our adult ice cream and a few adult treats. Because we love the girls, but also we deserve some special treats. Girls camp ended Friday morning, but I had told Tony I could only stay till Thursday because we headed to the beach Friday. They had to clean out the kitchen Thursday anyway, and I had planned to stay and help but they let me go after lunch cleanup and I was all like thank, byeee! 

I loved seeing my girls and serving with amazing people and I’m grateful for the opportunity. 

Girls camp 2026

The next day I loaded up the jolly green giant with girls camp gear and 6 cute young women and headed to Pocahontas State Park for girls camp.

Adi brought games for the car and the girls played them almost the whole way. After a few small snafus we made it and I dropped the girls off and headed on my merry way with instructions and a list from Tony.

I went to 3 different stores - this pic is just after Aldi, but I found everything I needed.

That night I shared a cabin with Shannon Ziegler, Tracy Fairborn, and … someone else who I can’t remember. I had my fan and a regular bed, as opposed to the top bunk I had the rest of the week and it wasn’t too bad at all. 

Miracles

Backwards pics again, even though I uploaded them backwards thinking I’d fix the issue that way. 🤷‍♀️

The next day on Sunday (July 12th) i subbed in primary again. I wasn’t supposed to teach, but the spirit told me to have a lesson ready and I’m glad I did because I got to teach and it was really special. 

The lesson was about, among other things, Elisha’s miracles, and I knew that’s what I wanted to focus on. We talked about his miracles and then I shared President Nelson’s miracle quote and then a story about a miracle from my life. Those are my most important talk/lesson elements - scriptures, modern scriptures, personal experience.  

I spent some time pondering on the miracles in my life and settled on Delaney’s bike crash. It’s always a crowd pleaser for kids. 

I told them about her crash and upset she was and how she couldn’t talk because of her jaw injury and chin cut but how calm she was after her priesthood blessing. Then how calm she was when she got her CT scan and I sang I am a Child of God to her, how I thought she might have fallen asleep, but it was just the spirit comforting her. 

I told them about how the doctor was talking about the possibility of wiring her jaw shut because there was just no other way to ensure her jaw and bite were properly aligned. And I was like hold up! I had just taken her to the dentist a few weeks before and they told me she had a 100% overbite and I thought that was so funny so I’d gotten a closeup picture of it - the only extreme mouth/bite close up I have of any of my 5 kids and I took it a month before I needed it. I will never not believe in miracles. 

As I told them the story they asked to see the pictures so I dug them up and sent them to the moms that night. That broken jaw experience  was a powerful one. In present day (August) I am preparing for Inklings and we are studying President Freeman’s talk Best Days and Worst Days and I’ve been pondering how so often they are the same day. Our hard times can become sacred times when we walk with Jesus. 

One of my very favorite President Nelson quotes ever. I miss him. 

 

KD

Looks like my pictures are exactly backwards and we’re gonna go with it.

On July 11th we went to Kings Dominion with the Darrow. We stayed from open to close and caught some of the fireworks and drone show from the parking lot.

We hung out together for a bit and then people would split off and ride rides together. Curtis, Josh, and Frankie pretty much rode everything. The rest of us loved the water rides in particular. Most of the rapids ride got us just a little wet, but our last few times we got soaked. Especially Delaney. 🤣

Also, we rode the log ride and someone paid money to spray the girls log. 🤣🤣🤣 And it wasn’t me, I swear. 

They had a $25 eat all day meal deal and we got our 9 meals and maximizing deals makes me so happy. 

It wasn’t too busy and it was fun to spend all day with some of our favorites. Everyone was happy, which doesn’t always happen so I’m always extra grateful when it does. 

Brandon drove Matt, Adi drove me, and Emma drove Alecia. 

I always try to get car driving pictures and they’re never great. I just can’t lay off them. 

It’s not as much fun to drive the little cars after you get your license, but you know. 

This was only our second trip, so we need to seriously start making tracks there to get our moneys worth. Looking forward to next time. ❤️

The interview

It’s been a busy and lovely few weeks that I’ve been an absent blogger. 

On Friday, July 10th I got up super early and packed up every thing I thought I could possibly need and headed to the Visitors’ Center for my first media interview for my Communications calling. 

I was so nervous, but I did everything I could possibly do to be ready. I studied and practiced and prayed and counseled with my leaders and got a blessing and asked for prayers and served others and took notes and researched. By that day I was so ready to get it over with!

I got to the VC early and checked myself in the restroom and prayed and practiced some more while I waited. I wanted to make sure I was early so I left before 7. We had learned a few days before the interview that filming on temple grounds requires approval, so that was a bummer, but we made it work. We did my interview first and then they did the rest of their segment. 

I had asked to receive the questions ahead of time and was told they don’t like to do that because it’s really just a conversation. But then I was surprised by her questions. It wasn’t what we’d talked about in our pre-interview meeting and I left feeling unsettled and anxious. Like I woke up with an upset tummy because I felt so much anxiety. I just really prayed that the Lord would make more of me than I am. 

Here’s what’s going on in my head - stand up straight, don’t sway, keep your hands below your belly button, don’t nod, don’t slow blink, use your normal voice, don’t make a weird face, keep your gut sucked in, and most importantly, remember your core message. 

I stayed while they filmed the rest of their segment where Markette records the headline news from Montgomery County and then I went into the temple to bring a little peace to my heart. I chatted with the security guards and then Scott Parker at the temple and what a gift it is getting to know so many people outside of my normal orbit. 

I was nervous but then went to girls camp and then the beach and was able to keep my mind off the editing that was happening. I had to coordinate some more filming while I was at camp and questioned if in the future I should do things like go to camp because there were several things for my calling that I was missing. Ginny said it’s not always this busy, so that’s good. 

The first day at the beach Ginny texted me and said the show was so good and she was so impressed. I felt sick watching it. It was just Adi, Frankie and I, and I was holding their hands while we watched. I was *so* nervous. 

And it was ok. 

I don’t think I did great, but I didn’t make a fool of myself or make the church look bad. I didn’t really get to share my core message that I wanted to, but I did remember my facts and hopefully was warm and welcoming. 

And I did slow blink and nod, but otherwise pretty much remembered all my other training techniques. And now that’s under my belt and I’ll never have to do a first interview again. 

The humility and complete reliance on the Lord is something I’m not unfamiliar with but is pretty challenging and why do I have to keep learning this? I love to serve and i love the Lord and I’ll try my best to do what is asked of me. 

Hercules

I miss the playdates of yore when the girls were excited to go do whatever and all the kids played mostly happily. Adi, Delaney, and I went to the Wildwood pool while Frankie didn’t want to go, so she stayed home and cleaned the kitchen and vacuumed.

We met up with the Darrow’s and Kinneys and it was my first long swim of the summer. Every time I go to our pool it’s been for an hour or so, so it was fun to be out for 3 hours. And no pictures to speak of.  😩

I started marinating my chicken for Disney dinner on Monday, and it just kept getting pushed back. Since Delaney has dance from 5-7:30, we ate and started our movie at 8. 🤷‍♀️

Megs Mythical Garlic Feta Peta - so good!

Salad skewers of the Gods. Meh - fresh veg but on a skewer. The skewer is all about the presentation and then everyone pulled it off to dip in the dressing. 

Zeus’ Bolt Basmati - I added 2 tablespoons of lemon juice at the end and it was very good!

Mount Olympus Chicken Kebabs - with a tasty dipping sauce. 

Olympian Delight Baklava - I’m not the biggest fan of baklava, but this was so good! Kind of laborious to make with all those layers and butter between each layer, but really good. 

And finally - I won’t say I’m in love. With a cranberry juice base, these were not my cup of tea - but Frankie dug into her old juice obsession and loved them. A neighbor was selling these martini glasses for $5 and I was like - yes please! 🤣

The movie was cute, but the animation seemed really basic. And then we looked it up and it came out in 1997, 8 years after The Little Mermaid which had better animation in my opinion. Anyway, it was a fun one. 

Slow summer days

We got Frankie’s school physical. I went to inklings. We read together and went to the pool. Delaney went to dance and Matt to an English Connect class at church. I talked to Alexis and Christian and prepared for my Friday interview and planned for the beach. Just a slow summer day. 

Running around

Not to complain, but for a chill summer at home I feel like I’m doing a lot of running around and not in the fun kind of way. 

The girls and I have been doing daily chores and it’s just amazing how quickly things get done with 3 cute little helpers. They’ve taken over the dishes and the vacuuming and I’m loving it. 

Frankie had a cavity filled, then we bought Carter a birthday gift and got gas. 

Adi took D to dance on her way to babysit and I took Frankie to carters and met his dad. 

We had some thunderstorms, but mostly just while we were out at the dentist. Leonardtown didn’t get much. 

Also, last night coming home from the fireworks we passed several fire trucks heading to Hollywood. I always say a little prayer for them. This morning we found out that a father went back into a burning house searching for his 10-year-old son and passed away. It’s made national news now, it’s so awful. Praying for that family tonight.