Girl's Camp, etc.

Our first vacation this summer was in pine valley. We went with the greens and our Grandma and Papa. In pine valley we took our ATV in the moutains and we just hung out and played games and had a great time. After that about 2 weeks later the greens moved here from texas. We helped them move in and they live only a minute away. I introduced sophie to my friends and know we all hang out together usally Me, Grecia, Sophie, Rylee, Clara Burnham and Lydia Burnham. All of us love to go to Smiths we go like everyday and we go to the starbucks that is inside of it and we sit down at the table in there and talk and somtimes we make tick tocks in the aisles of the stores! Friends was a big part of my summer we hung out so much and everyone is kind and it was really fun. One time Me and Grecia, Andelyn, Elena and Aubrey had a camp out in Andelyns back yard!! It was fun! Then like 4 weeks passed of that and then Girls Camp came up. This was my first year at Girls Camp and it was so fun and it got Me closer to Christ I miss it everyday. At girls camp we got ther and I found out that my tent was Me, Grecia Sophie, Rylee, Preston, Rebekah and Abbi. It was so fun and we stayed at a place called Mutal Dell we did a confidence course! We had seceret sisters and mine was Andelyn. Each tent had turns to make two meals there were 3 tents and one time the Relif Society made dinner. We made campfires and we sung Girls Camp songs and I got to lead them once. We did this thing called Solo time where we would go off into the wilderness alone everyone scatterd around and we brought our camp chairs, scriptures and our journals. We would pray and then read then ponder about it. Our motto at Girls camp was "I Can Do Hard Things." or "CLIMB" "Christ Love Is My Beacon." The last day of girls camp we stayed at a Cabin and It had 3 stories and Me and grecia shared a queen bed upstaires together. we swung in the hammock that was there we talked to frineds had Solo time and we learnd self defense how to stop kidnappers and painted cool paintings. At night time we had burrito's and then when it was dark we taped glow stick to our self and turned off the light so all you can see was glowstick bodies and Me and Sophie taught everyone dances like Footloose and Cotton Eye Joe and The Cupid Shuffle and then we went to bed. Sophie and Clara Burnham ended up sleeping on the floor of me and grecia's room and we talked and made bead necklaces. We woke up and we deliverd our secert sister in persona and the person that got me was Emma Cox and The person that got grecia ws Ashlynn Cox and we both gor minni backpacks. We packed and did a service progect and then had luch and left. After that me and my friends went to Smiths and Starbuck and hung out. After a while of that my cousins from Cali came to visit and Me, Brooklyn and Rylee had tons of sleepovers and we made dances and it was really fun. When they left, School started getting closer to starting. Me, Alex, Sam, Sophie and Grecia are all going to Merit. Me and Grecia are going to 7th, Sophie and Alex are going to 9th, and Sam is going to 11th. I have a lot of classes with Grecia and even a couple with Sophie and Alex! I got my schedule and it really cool. It's me and grecia first year in Junior High. (Now) school is a week away and we are playing night games and hanging out with friends and enjoying freedom for the last week of Summer Break, And a new old navy opened and we are gonna go vistit it today!

Young Men's Camp and Summer 2021, by Sam

Young men's camp was fun. It rained a lot so that was kinda annoying but it was still fun. We had a giant mud fight at a lake near our camp for like an hour that was super fun. At the camp my friends Allan, Ayden, Axel, and I all shared a tent. All of the younger kids brought giant knifes, machetes and BB guns, it was funny because they acted like it made them men. We threw pinecones at Branson for about 30 minutes, that was fun. We kept hitting him in the head and the noise it made was hilarious. Everyone at the camp took turns randomly pantsing each other and it was really funny. Every morning we would go into the woods and read scriptures by ourselves for like an hour, it was a really cool experience This summer, our cousins from Texas, the Greens, moved to Utah. My cousin Aiden and I have been hanging out a lot and it has been really fun. We also got a side by side/ATV that we have been taking into the mountains. I recently started running cross country to get into shape for Basketball season. Our new coach, Coach May is really into making us run, so hopefully this will help prepare me for that. I can grab the rim on the basketball hoop, so hopefully I will be able to dunk by basketball season. Every morning after cross country I have been going to work out at the rec center. I have enjoyed that a lot.

Global Warming- My Thoughts

You know how sometimes you just gotta get it off your chest. Well I'm gonna use my blog to do that. I've written this up real quick and probably could add a lot more. Maybe I will later.

Isn't it funny how heated and defensive many people get about something that, truthfully, we hardly know anything about. I mean, c'mon. What science "proves" one day is "disproved" the next. The planet went in and out of an ICE AGE with out the help of humans. I just don't understand why people think that on a planet that is basically a burning globe of lava, covered with land and water and situated so pefectly in the solar system, that if we were any closer or futher from the sun, there would be no life, and which has an orbit that is just right to produce seasons that allow a perfect process of renewal, that Al Gore's "scientists" have figured out the universe and what they've found is that we sould stop driving cars, building factories, turning on lights- maybe one day they'll tell us to stop breathing because it emits CO2.
I believe that is is natural in the human concienece to know that it is greedy and wrong to take more than we should, to be wasteful, and to not take care of the beautiful planet we live on and, more importantly, the people who inhabit it. However, this good, wholesome, and natural desire has be exploited for the purpose of money, power, and controll. Instead of being recognized in it's proper place, is has grown to a religous craze that is distracting people from the most important things in life and from true religion. It is a worship of the creation, rather than the Creator.

Favorite Talks and Speeches

I just wanted to point out the new list of favorite talks and speeches I've started- off to the right. You can click on them and read any of them anytime. Of course, there are many, many talks that I love, but this will be a list of some that have really stuck out to me for one reason or another. I've only got a few up right now, but I'll be adding.

Cousins

Now isn't that a cute bunch of kids? All of the cousins on this side of the fam. Those boys have a lot of little girls to look after!

Clara's Blessing

Yes, we did bless her! She recieved her blessing from her father the first Sunday of June and she looked beautiful.

Old Cabin Pictures

As I mentioned a few posts back, we went and stayed in a cabin in Tahoe for my mom's 50th. I'm finally posting the pics. If you wonder why some people are wearing some very out-of-date clothing, it's because we had a 70's party. Also, sorry about the sideways pictures, to busy to flip them right now.

The Chicks Are Here!

We got the baby chicks on the 20th and they are a hit with the kids. I don't know how the chicks feel about Alex though. You know "Darla," on finding Nemo? Yeah, well, Alex is like the boy version. Poor little chicks- none injured or dead though, so that's good. We thought a few were bound to die so we got extras and as of right now, we have 13 very healthy, fiesty little chickens. I think all the interaction with the kids is just making them stronger. In about a year they'll be producing about an egg a day each. That's gonna be a lot of eggs! Anyone for omlettes?

Just Minutes Old

This is my favorite picture. Kyle caught it immediately after she was born.

Here are more from the hospital.

Millions of Clara Pictures

The Good Life

So I'm doing some serious back-tracking since I have been horrible at keeping up the blog since we've moved to California. Things are great here and we feel so blessed to have a job and lots of family around. The boys love playing in the huge backyard and with the dogs, Sam's in preschool two mornings a week, and we've already enjoyed going to and A's game, camping, spending a week in a Tahoe cabin for my mom's 50th , going to the Oakland zoo for the boys' birthday, and building a chicken coop. I admit, I was a little nervous coming back to California, but I have really loved it here, especially Livermore. It has grown up very nicely. Enjoy the random pictures.

Building the Chicken Coop and Growing a Garden

Introducing. . . Clara Grace Bills

Finally, our little girl has arrived! Clara was born on Easter Morning at 6:58 am. Whe weighed in at 8 lbs. even and 21 inches long- our smallest newborn so far, even though she was 10 days late. We think she is just perfectly beautiful and adorable and gets more so each day. The boys seem to like her a lot and Alex is handling the transition much better than we expected, although, for some reason he keeps calling her "Kipper," instead of "Clara." We have no idea where he got that from, but it's kinda cute. It makes a big difference that we are here with all the family help. We've been able to get some rest in and not have to worry about all the cooking and cleaning. We hope you enjoy the pictures. We will post more and write more soon.

No Baby Yet

I know that everyone is wondering whether we've forgotten to let them know that a new baby has been born. Just a reassurance, no, we haven't forgotten. We are still waiting for her to come. 6 Days late now- just hangin' in there. I'm getting pretty weary, but I am being well taken care of. The plan is to be induced on Monday if she hasn't come on her own by then.
We'll let ya'll know when we have further news!

We did It!!!

WhooHooo! After three years, 1 1/2 more kids, lots more debt, many extremely early mornings and late nights we are so happy to see the reward. Last Saturday Kyle graduated from Parker College of Chiropractic. His whole family was here, and my parents flew out to help celebrate. We had graduation in the morning where Kyle gave a fabulous speech, despite a couple of potty jokes pertaining to some of the class' most memorable moments, then we met with some of his classmates and our families at Macaroni Grill for lunch, we then lounged for a couple of hours, and then all the family got together at our house for enchiladas and cake. We got to sing, "For He's a Jolly Good Fellow," and eveything (I've secretly always wanted to have a real event to sing that for, and the family was kind enought to indulge me). We had a great time and the whole weekend was lots of fun.

I know some of the family has some more good pictures. I will post them when I get a chance.

I Know, I know

Just wanted to let everyone know that I am not trying to be a big blogging looser, it's just that I got what I deserved when I let mt 3-year old play with the camera and take pictures at will while we were camping. We now have no camera- one that's working at least.
Not sure when we'll get the new one, but I'll start posting again as soon as we do.

As far as life goes, we found out last week that we will be having a baby. . . . . .GIRL! We are very excited and I'm going crazy looking at all of the girl stuff in the stores and planning how I will decorate her bedroom.
Kyle finished his internship at the VA hospital and is currently taking board reviews to get ready for his last set of boards, yea!! Then he will have radiology rotations every other day, and I will substitute teach on his off days. Graduation is Dec. 13, and Kyle is the saludatorian and will be speaking, which I think is exciting. (Is it ok to brag about your husband?) We will stay in Texas through Christmas to spend it with Kyle's fam, and then it's off to California.

Alex is talking up a storm and Sam is learning the United States song- you know, the one where you list the states in alphabetical order. Yeah, originally I was trying to learn it from Kyle for myself, but Sam picked up on it and now he is cueing me when I get stuck. Seriously, the kid has an uncanny skill for memorization.
Life is good, the pregnancy is going great, we've got lots of exciting changes ahead of us. We are so thankful for all of the support from all of you family and friends!

BIG NEWS- Baby #3 On the Way

Yep, it's all true. We are expecting our 3rd baby on April 1st! I know, I know, you're all wondering if we try to plan for all of our babies to be born on the same day- the answer is no. So, not only will we have everyone trying to guess whether or not it will be a boy or a girl, we'll have people guessing whether or not it will be born on April 6th. What's your guess?

I Survived August!

Really, August in Texas is just something you have to survive through. Now that we are happily enjoying days in the 80's, we are pulling out our sweaters and long pants- burrr!
We celebrated the end of August at the good ol' GAYLORD TEXAN, where. . .

we played along the riverwalk,

spent some quality time with Papa- and our fabulous friends, the Hansens (sorry, no pic),

got tattooed,

and hung out with Lady Grapevie and Mikki the Monkey.

We had a great time and the boys were totally pooped for the ride home- nice.

(By the way, sorry about all of the sideways pictures. Really, I'm just to lazy to turn them and save them both ways so that they don't get permanantly changed.)