What Happens in McCall Stays in McCall...

Gayla, Stefanie, Kris, and Tracy enjoying one of the many laughs of the weekend. This is the only picture my camera took since all others had to be deleted...

Well, not really. It's just that I'm not very good at keeping my camera battery alive. Blast.

A girls' weekend away.

Away from the internet, facebook, kids, errands, time schedules, getting up early, making dinner, cleaning up dinner, doing laundry, and all that fun stuff that goes along with being a mom. Don't get me wrong, I love being a mom and doing all those tasks, but I was psyched to get away for a couple of days to rejuvenate, recharge, and remember the reasons why I love my little family so much!

Thanks to my sweet friend Gayla, we got to stay in the lap of luxury at her "cabin" in McCall, Idaho. (I mean, really, who calls a cabin a cabin when it has a hot tub, 5 flat screen TVs, soaring ceilings, a state of the art kitchen, and a painted garage floor?)

We enjoyed lounging around in our comfies, watching great chick flicks, soaking in the hot tub, enjoying fresh faces with no make up, shopping at good old McCall Drug Store (and finding some cute stuff!), eating lots of chocolate, drinking our fair share of diet Coke, and laughing until I cried - SERIOUSLY - I cried real tears thanks to Stefanie, and it was good to have a nice hard belly laugh, indeed it was!

I will admit that I was extraordinarily happy to see my sweet family and catch up on the events of the couple of days I missed. I'll spare the details, because I'm sure the girls would want me to do that, and after all, what happens in McCall on a girls' weekend stays in McCall!

Our Little Princess...Homecoming Princess that is...

It happened.

Little Kourtni, who was just barely born, and just barely learned how to walk, and just barely graduated from preschool, got asked to Timberline's Homecoming Dance.

Of course the way a girl gets asked is as important as who asks the girl. In Kourtni's case, it was a trail of string and daisies leading to a 7 month old baby boy sporting a t-shirt that said, "Will you go to Homecoming with my big bro?"

And of course the way a girl answers is as important as who the girl goes with as well.

Kourtni and her friend cut out a bajillion hearts, confiscated the garage code to enter the home, and spent about 2 1/2 hours taping hearts to the bedroom wall.
"I would love with all my heart to go to Homecoming with you" was her reply.

Yeah, she's pretty giddy about taping all those hearts to all those walls...

A few days before the big game, important news from THS:

Your daughter has been selected to be a finalist in the Homecoming Court. Please fill out the enclosed form indicating who will be your daughter's escort(s) and indicate how to say said escort(s) name(s). Oh, and don't wear your grubbies on the blue turf.

OK, maybe I made the grubbies part up...

Three girls from each grade. Three guys from each grade. Parading into Bronco Stadium at halftime praying that no tripping over blue grass would ensue.

And the sophomore winner is:

Yep. Kourtni Ball.

Totally cool.
Totally darling.
Totally memorable.

I'm just glad the background is so un-grubby.

Kourtni and her good friend, Alyssa after halftime.

Nope. We didn't get a picture of Kourtni with the sophomore guy prince. (And his lovely crown.) He was the quarterback and was a bit anxious to run in to the locker room to get a little tongue lashing from the coach.

A manicure was a must for this girl.

So was a pretty pedicure.

Waiting patiently for those nails to dry.

Aly and Kourt making the boys wait just a few minutes more - you know, don't want to seem tooooo eager, or tooooo nervous!

Oh, and the curls were courtesy of big sister Alyssa who came to Boise for the weekend. I don't know who would have done those girls' hair if it hadn't been for good old Lyss! Whew!

Obligatory mom and dad pose!

Yeah, I was a bit of a freak following them out to the car and snapping pictures...

I was so afraid they would fall into the little creek right behind them, but they had really good footing!

I just really like to look at this picture! To me it's just soooo cute!

The group.

The sisters.
(Lindsay was there somewhere...)

The mamas.
Do we look too young to have kids this age???
Don't answer that about me, but you can say yes about Carly looking young.
Because she is!!!
Still love her though!

A final shot of the family before Kourtni was whisked off for Hawaiian food, great dancing, frozen yogurt, and a "change your clothes so we don't make your dress smell like smoke" bonfire.


Oh, thought I'd mention that being the Homecoming Princess didn't go to her head - the only thing she said to us was,
"Since I'm now a princess, can I get a bigger bed?"

Um, yeah, no.

The Napping House

One of my favorite children's stories is The Napping House by Don and Audrey Wood. If you haven't read it to yourself or to your children, well, I won't alert the authorities just yet... It is a beautifully illustrated and well written story about a house where everyone is sleeping. That just about sums up the Sunday afternoons here at our house.

Yay for 9:00 church!

Yay for some peace and relaxation!

Yay for cat butt hair when you wake up from your slumber!

Yay for the grogginess that ensues after you awaken!

Yay for blissful slumber for 2 hours of the afternoon!

Yay.For.Sunday.

Blue and Orange and Windy Game

So every year the BSU football team (have you heard of them? My alma mater? Number 3 in the nation?... yeah, them!) has a scrimmage open to the public. It's called, for the lack of a more creative name, the "Blue and Orange" game. It's free to the public, fans, and anyone who wants to go see what all the hype is about BSU. We aren't season ticket holders, although Bill and Payton attend a lot of their home games and even traveled to Phoenix to watch them play. We do love to watch them and so off we went to Bronco Stadium on a overcast Saturday evening.

The guys look good in their shirts, I look like I'm in my pajamas. Oh, that's because I usually wear this shirt to bed!

On our way to the game - yeah that was a HUGE piece of gum in my mouth that makes me look all distorted and such.

We sat waaaaaaaaay up high in the bleachers. Waaaaaay up high. And, in case you were wondering, No, I am not a smoker, even though I have the lines that may say otherwise...

It was extremely windy that evening. So windy that we decided to leave early because we didn't want to have to run to our car through the crazy weather we could see coming since we sat waaaaaaaay up high in the bleachers. Did I mention our seats were almost to heaven?

Go BSU!

Girls' Camp - with my OWN girls!!!

So I got the call about 6 months ago. The call from the bishop. The call that I had never gotten before even though I had served in the young women organization during the past decade for 7 years in a row in some capacity or another. The call that would let my inner teenager emerge.

Would you please serve as ward camp director?

Color me giddy...

a little nervous, but mostly waaaaay giddy.

Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes!!! Yee haw - no 11 or 12 year old boys would be in sight during the entire week. No boys trying to be funnier than the other 11 in the group. No boys diverting attention from the lesson with a silly joke or comment. No boys playing around in their seats. No boys involved in this! Oh, wait, I still had my calling of teaching those boys... Well, no matter, I could handle them plus camp no problem. In fact, camp would be my distraction for the summer. Yesssss.

Another plus to being the camp director was the fact that Kourtni and Lindsay were going to be there! Yay! A chance to be with my two girls in the mountains for about 5 days. Let the planning and fun commence.

I had great help with this years' camp. From my two teenaged daughters to my college aged daughter who told me what to do and definitely what not to do. Thanks, girls!

I had great ladies to work with! Wow, we were literally the "dream team" of camp if I do say so myself! We all got along great, laughed into the wee hours of the morning, ate lots of good food, crafted, cleaned up very little since our awesome young women pitched in tremendously, laughed some more, bonded with the girls, got dirty, got wet, and laughed some more!

Thanks to everyone who made Girls' Camp 2010 such a positive, memorable experience!

Redfish Lake with the fourth year girls - Kourtni was a fourth year this year!

The fab four! These girls were basically inseparable! And so modest!

Just look at those one-piece suits! haha

Gettin' ready to jump off the point at Redfish. Fire powah!

You gotta love the burst feature on your camera!

Refreshing water at 9:30 in the morning! Brrr...

I was happy to stay in the paddle boat and be the photographer! Nice and dry was I! haha

Some of the cutest young women Ever!

Day 3 of no make up, filthy feet, and greasy hair. Wish I looked as good as Lindsay!

Yes. We did the horsey face game. And yes, I am posting pictures of it 'cuz I have no shame after spending 5 days with these ladies! Love 'em!

Beau-dilocks and Leslie

When I first met Bill, his nephew Beau was just a little guy, about 4 years old. He was so cute and had such darling curls. He said funny things, too.

Beau and Bill in Bill's red Toyota Celica. Bill stopped on the side of the highway. Pulled over for speeding. Again.

Beau: "Uncle Bill, that policeman he has a gun and he'll shoot you."

Bill: Speechless.

Fast forward about 20 years to July 19, 2010, in the Draper Temple:

One of the most good looking couples I've seen emerge from a wedding. What you can't see is Beau's fist pumping and Leslie's strutting! Priceless.

Lyss and me (with my fresh color and cut - aahhhh, thanks, Teressa) waiting in the wind and rain for the bride and groom to emerge.

Lexi and Lyss in front of the golf course that I thought was a cliff. This was where the reception was held - complete with a ring ceremony, photo booth,

dancing,

more dancing,


a beautiful view of the Salt Lake Valley at sunset time (my favorite time of day! and with my favorite person in the whole wide world. ahhh.),

and all my kids together again - it felt so good to see them all together - dressed up and happy to be there. I sleep better when my kids are all under the same roof.
Oh, yeah, right beside Payton is Beau's hand. heehee

And what wedding wouldn't be complete without beautiful flowers and a beautiful 19 year old who definitely IS NOT ready to get married ANY TIME SOON!
(I did that just for you, Alyssa, even though Kourtni wants to marry you off soon so she can drive the Corolla...)

Congratulations, Mr. and Mrs. Beau-dilocks Murphy!

Fun at the wedding reception

Forget the dancing, the food, the photo booth, the mints, and the family reunioning...

Payton just wanted to leap over the fence.

Clothed in his church pants, shoes, shirt, and tie.

And what a fine leap it was!

(The reception was delightful for the rest of us non-leapers...)

Thoughts on chicks leaving the nest

I'm missing my twelve year old boy. I miss munching on his cheeks to wake him up in the morning. I miss his little crooked teeth smile. I miss seeing him in the bathroom each morning "doing" his hair with that gu stuff he likes so much. I miss hearing the Disney Channel for about 5 hours of the day. (Did I really just say that???) I miss sneaking up behind him and smooching a kiss or two or ten from him. I miss that dang Wii being used each day and the sounds of Mario Kart coming from the living room.

*Sigh*

I have felt like an almost empty nester this summer. Each of the kids has been busy with activities, friends, camps, etc. that there have been many days when I've had several hours of alone time. That's weird. I'm not used to it. I don't know if I like it. I'm too young (I think) to be an almost empty nester. I'm not ready for Family Home Evening for empty nesters! I'm not ready to shop at certain retailers to get the senior citizen discount! I'm not, I'm not, I'm not!!!

Am I getting ahead of myself? Probably. Most certainly. All because of missing my 12 year old boy.

I think I'd be ok if it hadn't been for a call I received from the scout master's wife earlier this week. I was in the shower. She called Bill to relay the news. Payton had barfed. He had had one (or maybe four) too many smores before bed on Tuesday night. He found his way out of his tent and managed to find the scout master's tent to inform him of the disgusting news. Bless that man's heart. He was an angel to help clean up a barf fest in the dark. At 1:00 in the morning. Not even his own flesh and blood's puke. Using his own towel. Yeah, that man deserves a medal!

Oh, Pate got another fresh sleeping bag and pillow from home - delivered via another leader. I hope he learned his lesson. I hope he's at least trying the camp's food. I hope he's cleaned all the crud off of his face (or at least I hope it's cleaned off before I get to smooch on him Saturday...). I hope he misses me as much as I miss him...Nah, I really don't - that would be way WEIRD.

Anyway. I'm not ready for my children to be gone all the time. The oldest has already flown the coop and taken part of my heart with her. Nope, I'm not ready for all the stuff -or lack of it - that comes with an empty house. I'm definitely not ready for the end of an era of raising 4 children. Nope. So if you're reading this and you have a house full of young children in diapers, scattering toys about, throwing tantrums, or refusing to take a nap and you wish for them to grow up.

Don't worry - They Do.

And I don't think you'll be ready for it either.

The Ball's Went Over the Mountain

Remember the song about the bear going over the mountain? I loved it when I was a kid! Maybe it was because my family lived at the base of Maple Mountain and my dad owned a great pair of binoculars. There would be many days where I would use his binoculars to look up at that mountain to determine if I could see anything up close! Never really did see much but a bunch of bushes and trees, but I sort of felt like that bear...

Fast forward about 25 years and here I am with more great mountains around me. (Technically they're called foothills but I still consider them mountains.) The Boise foothills are gorgeous - for about 4 weeks of the year when they've been washed with spring rain and have had ample amounts of May sunshine they are a beautiful sight to behold. I'm sure my kids are sick to death of me saying,
"Just look at those foothills! They're so green!"
And,
"Someday we're going to climb up to the top of that mountain and see what's up there!"
Or,
"Just look at how the sun is hitting those hills. Wow."

Yeah, I'm sort of weird like that.

Bill has been telling me for awhile that he would accompany me up to the top. We just never had a good 4 hours to do it - you know, scout camping trips, fishing trips, and more scout camping trips taking place on a Friday night and Saturday morning. Grrr. This "bear" wasn't going over any mountains!

However, last Monday we found some time to actually accomplish this highly anticipated hike. Bill was off for the fourth of July vacation so we gently coerced the kids to join us. Wow. What a great morning of hiking, talking, amazing views, and good old family time. Now we know what's on the other side of that mountain - excellent views of the other side! Hah! That bear was right.

There's my "mountain" - to the right of Kourtni's head is where we were headed.

Bright and early on July 5, 2010

Notice how Kourtni is no where in sight - that's because she BOOKED it up that trail! Yeah, I thought for sure she was cougar bait! Yikes.

Once we caught up to Kourt (really the cows scared her and slowed her down) we tried to pick out the landmarks of Boise.

Had to go through a bit of forest to get to the top - saw lots of cattle. Weird but good for us since cougars might like beef more than human...

We made it to the top in about 2 1/2 hours. It was FREEZING up there and extremely windy. We took several pictures and kept moving to keep warm.

Pretty wildflowers on the way.

He's such a good sport to hike all that way! Say it with me, "Awwww..."

"This" is what's on the other side of my mountain! Isn't it gorgeous? Totally worth the hike.
And, yes, Griffy made it. He kept up the entire way - pretty good for a 13 year old dog!

Girls in the back singing Dragon Tales songs... they got sort of loopy on the way down.

Bill and Pate tried the rope swing at the end...

Good thing he didn't land in a cactus...

Griffy's not as young as he used to be - he gets by with a little help from his friends. Hah.

Sweet relief - now let's go get some pizza!

And that's what happened when the Ball's went over the mountain.