Kamp Kipper

We had another great experience this summer. We were invited to attend the first Kamp Kipper. It is a camp for autistic kids and their families. First stop was the Heber Valley railroad for a train ride.

during the train ride "bandits" held up the train looking for money. I was a little worried about this considering we had a car full of autistic kids...

...But Owen was the one who seemed the most upset!! Poor kid!

The parachute is always a blast!

I love this picture! Millie and Matthais are learning to dance together! It was great to watch but they really struggled because Matthais is so dang tall!

dirt is always so much fun!

In our cabin, Owen and his new friend Nate.

Ian and his helper Dave. These two spent a lot of time together

The rocket blaster was a lot of fun. Owen did this for hours!

It was fun to watch Ian do this with such concentration. He'd string the beads, take them off and then he'd do it again!

We we at the church owned camp in Heber and so the had a ropes course and zip line. I missed out on it cause I stayed with Ian but Adam took Millie and Matthais and they had a blast!

It was great experience although I was hoping for a little more networking. Either way I hope we are invited back next year!

Owen turns 5

I couldn't do a big party for Millie and not do one for Owen! However, after the sleepover I was a little partied out so we made Owen's short and sweet! I made a pinata (fail) and made some cupcakes and invited his little friends over. It was perfect for him!

It was over in an hour and just perfect! Thanks to Suzanne for helping me, I thought 7 little boys would be easy to handle but I was wrong! I should know better right?

Summer Birthdays

Everytime I go through my pictures I realize I'm more behind than I though! We had two birthdays this summer. Millie turned 9 and wanted a camping sleep over party. It was a lot of fun!

We roasted hot dogs for dinner

All the girls that ended up coming were from dance. Love this group of girls!

It's suppose to be a s'more

Adam pulled them on the 4-wheeler. I was sure someone was going to break something

Adam also made it possible to watch this movie outside. It was pretty cool

Silly girls would NOT go to sleep.

Millie is such a great girl! I was happy that she had a fun birthday!

Soccer

I can't believe I thought I was mostly caught up but I didn't mention a thing about summer soccer!! It was Owen's first year and he totally rocked it!

He scored lots of goals and had a lot of fun with his friends Coleman, Spencer and Brigham. Matthais played soccer too but I didn't get any pictures. What a great mom huh? Luckily he will play in the spring too and I'll take lots of pictures then! He switched to playing goalie this year and had a really good time!

Shakespeare Competition team

I have always enjoyed watching my kids find the things they are passionate about. For Millie, it's dance. For Matthais it's drama. Last year he won the award in drama for 7th grade. This year he earned a spot on the Shakespeare completion team. It's been fun to watch him learn and grown and it's fun to watch him perform. Before they headed down to compete they did a "night of goodwill" and performed their entries. Matthais was in King Lear and played the part of the Duke of Burgandy.

It was a great group of kids and the ensemble Matthais was in place third. They had a lot of fun and it was a great experience for him. Today he is auditioning for Joseph and the Technicolor dream coat. It's been fun listening to him practice his song. Wish him good luck!

The Autism Walk

Way back in like July, I mentioned on facebook about doing the autism walk. I had a HUGE response of people who commented that they would LOVE to do it with me. I got really excited, signed up to make a team and the watched as the whole plan started to fizzle. In the end I had one team member who came to the walk (my sister) and together we raised $320 (she raised $300 of it).  When I finally created the team and people were no longer interested, I no longer became interested either and became a bad team leader. The walk was on my birthday and the day was freezing cold but my sister and I bundled up and headed to the Rio Tinto stadium. They had some great informational booths and lots of activities. It's really a family event and I'm happy to know that. When If I do it again, I will bring the whole family. After, my sister took me out to breakfast. It was my 36th birthday after all! And it really was the beginning of a great day!

Another month gone by

And I still haven't posted. I wish I could say I've been too busy re-inventing myself, losing weight and organizing my life. If I did, it would only be partially true. I have been busy organizing my home and it's slowly, but surely coming together. We decided to get rid of our barely used toy room and move Millie down to that room. Then we moved Owen into Millie's room. Now we are back to the kids each having their own room. This was a huge undertaking as I had to find a new home for the toys (a lot went to DI) and I had to paint the pink walls blue. I felt like we were living in chaos for several weeks. It didn't help that Adam was out of town when I started and we had a family vacation schedule the next week. It was certainly a time of great stress for me. Now, the rooms are done (well, for now. 3 bedrooms still need paint but that will wait), the toys have found there places and I am on to other projects. It is a slow process but oh so rewarding!

I turned 36 a few weeks ago and I am the same weight today that I was then. I am ok with that though. I am anxious to get this weight off but considering I went out for at least one meal for the entire week of my birthday (thanks to my wonderful friends and family) and we had a family vacation (eating out EVERY meal!) I am just happy I didn't gain 10lbs. Today I am refocused and ready to go. Anytime I get discouraged I remind myself of Elder Uchtdorf's talk....

God wants to help us to eventually turn all of our weaknesses into strengths, but He knows that this is a long-term goal. He wants us to become perfect, and if we stay on the path of discipleship, one day we will. It’s OK that you’re not quite there yet. Keep working on it, but stop punishing yourself.

Dear sisters, many of you are endlessly compassionate and patient with the weaknesses of others. Please remember also to be compassionate and patient with yourself.
In the meantime, be thankful for all the small successes in your home, your family relationships, your education and livelihood, your Church participation and personal improvement. Like the forget-me-nots, these successes may seem tiny to you and they may go unnoticed by others, but God notices them and they are not small to Him. If you consider success to be only the most perfect rose or dazzling orchid, you may miss some of life’s sweetest experiences.

I don't have to become perfect overnight as long as I am continually trying. And I am so it's time to stop punishing myself all the time.

Anyway, that's an update on THAT since I'm sure everyone was wondering! Now it's on to bigger, better, FUNNER things!! I have a 14 year old now! And we surprised the kids with a Disneyland trip! It was amazing! So stay tuned, I will be posting lots of pictures soon!