Ballet Camp

I have so much catching up to do I should really limit my posts to one or two photos and some minimal journaling. But I can't resist the photos.

Ainsley and Ellie were so excited to go to ballet camp with Duffy and Amelia this year. It was everyday for one week, with a performance on Friday. I'm not going to try to come up with a comment for each picture, they speak for themselves.

The girls loved having Great-grandma Clayton there. We are so lucky to be so close, both in proximity and in our lives.

Birthday Fest

We try to get together with my family once a month to celebrate any birthdays in that month. This time we met at our house, and had a couple of months catch-up, so we had Zoe, Cara, Grandma, Mom, Parker, Robbie, Sydney and Rob.

And of course the two newest members of the family, which made it especially fun. The kids were all excited to meet their new cousins. Here's Ellie holding Logan:

Ainsley holding him:

And Grandma with Harper. Cute, cute, cute.

Silver Moccasin Scout Camp

Robbie missed the 4th of July picnic because he left early that morning to go to Silver Moccasin Leadership Camp. I love this photo, it totally reminds me Russell in Up. I asked him if he wanted to write a guest post about camp, but he didn't, so now he's stuck with that comparison.

Jonas went to the camp too, and Shawn drove the boys up to East Fork of the Bear, in the Uintahs, around six a.m. on Monday morning (July 4th). Here's a photo of them just before they left.

I sent the point and shoot with Robbie, and was pleasantly surprised to find a few pictures on the memory card when Robbie got back. Here he is with his patrol for the week. From left to right: Connor, Tristian, Robbie, Ethan, Bryant and Houston. Halani was taking the picture. Robbie really liked these guys, and says they had one of the best groups at the camp. They try to separate kids who know each other, so Jonas was in another patrol.

Here's a photo of the lean-to they built and slept in one night. The other nights they slept in tents, but had to change tents multiple times, because it rained every day, and flooded several times.

Rob and the kids and I went to pick them up on Saturday. Here they are hiking out of camp.

Here he is being awarded his Silver Moccasin bead by the head scoutmaster.

It was beautiful up there. I really love the colors in these photos.

Silver Moccasin is not a merit badge camp, it's a leadership camp. I asked Robbie to tell me five things he learned at camp. Here's what he came up with, after some coercion:

1) Neutral position for standing to put people at ease.

2) "Forming, storming, norming, performing" stages of group dynamics.

3) The importance of vision, goals and planning.

4) It's really hard to put up a tent blind-folded.

5) Sleeping in a garbage bag sucks. (Yeah, don't ask. He had a nice sleeping bag with him.)

Best Summer Party, Part 2

Now that I've said the Stringham's party is one of the kids' favorite events of the year, this will sound a little redundant, but they also love the annual 4th of July picnic at the Smolka's house up Emigration Canyon.

They love the sandbox, the swing-set, and the huge yard.

But most of all, they love the zip-line. This year Rob and Jake had a pretty good system going. Rob would help the kids onto the seat and give them a big push-off...

And Jake stood at the bottom of the hill to catch them.

He'd pull them back up to the top to reload.

They all rode again...

and again...

and again.

No wonder these girls mob Jake whenever they see him. What a great uncle.

The girls tried to pull off mad faces when we told them it was time to stop and then, to add insult to injury, made them pose for a photo.

But they didn't last long...

And soon turned silly.

Enjoying the blessings of the good life, grateful for those who paid the price.

Now that summer is pretty much over...

Hopefully I'll have time to get back to blogging. Although I'm back-dating this for my own OCD needs, I'm actually writing it on August 28th. The kids have been in school for a full week. It's Sunday, and it was a great morning. All three meetings at church inspired me. In sacrament meeting we heard a great talk about the Sabbath day, and how we can set it apart from the other days. Afterward, I jokingly told Rob that maybe I could blog on Sunday, that'd definitely be a departure from the norm. I'm ready to catch up, and once again enjoy this way of remembering moments and connecting with friends. So much has happened, I'll try to hit the highlights.

So, back to July 2nd, the Stringham's annual Summer Solstice Party. This year postponed a bit, so without the solstice part.

It's one of the kids favorite events of the year. I wonder why...

We adults love the chance to get together with friends we don't see nearly enough.

My favorite line of the night was from Samantha. I was looking for the girls, and found them in the field behind the yard, so naturally I pulled out my camera. Samantha yelled "Oh no! The paparazzi!" Ha ha. I get that a lot.

The bounce house was even more fun this year, with a water slide. Good thing, because it was HOT.

Joey and Samantha, who didn't run away from the camera this time. These two make me smile. They're both so smart and creative, and the best of friends (except when they're mad at each other :).

Peter was not at all afraid of the paparazzi.

Good food, good company, a bounce house, a pinata, as many leis as you can wear...the Stringhams know how to party.

New Cousins

Tuesday, June 14, 2011

Colin was born almost three months ago, on March 25th, but had to wait for Matt and Anne to come to Utah to meet our Chicago cousin. He is so cute!

We picked up slurpees and let the kids play at the park while Melissa, Anne and I caught up.

Wednesday, June 15, 2011

The next day I got to go up to the hospital and meet Logan in the NICU. He was six weeks premature, and only 5.5 lbs. He is tiny, and it was so sad to see him hooked up to IVs, oxygen and a feeding tube. Luckily Cara is a nurse in the newborn unit, and it didn't faze her.

He pretty much slept the whole visit, but sometimes it would seem like he was trying so hard to open his eyes. He looked like I feel every morning around six.

He's home now, but one person or another in our family has been sick over the past couple of weeks, so the kids still haven't met him, and I can't wait to hold him without all the tubes and wires connected. He too is super cute.

Saturday, June 18, 2011

Matt and Anne got permission to bless Colin while they were in town, so we got to have an intimate family setting. Unfortunately I forgot my nice camera and had to use my phone.

The kids were excited to have a chance to hold Colin.

Especially Ainsley, who hasn't had the joy of a younger sibling (and won't!).

It was a nice event, we're glad we could be there. As a bonus, Matt and Anne bought our double stroller, one of the last remnants of baby gear around here. :) As soon as we sell our Kelty backpack, we are pretty much free from all baby stuff.

Friday, July 1, 2011

Last, but not least, Harper Sophia was born on June 30th. She was full-term, but still only 5.5 pounds! She is darling.


And Christine looks fabulous the day after her c-section. If she weren't so nice we'd all have to hate her.

I love this picture—eyes open, and a peek at her tiny feet.

We are so grateful for all our cousins, old and new. Hoping for lots of happy memories with them in our future.