181: les miserables

The girls got together for a long awaited evening! Lisa bought  tickets several months ago for Les Miserables..one of my all time favorite musicals.  It did not disappoint!! Last time I saw it was 15 years ago in Hawaii. The performances just gave me chills..it was incredible. We needed a picture afterwards and we handed my camera to some very small japanese girl..she barely got the tops of our heads, so out came the xshot! It's always a crowd pleaser.

Thanks Lisa for organizing all this and driving!!

180: goodbye kauai!

An early and not very welcomed morning! Hate to say good-bye, but we know we will return! Next time we promised we'd bring the boys!

{I'm doing all I can do to smile as my shoulder is in pain!}

179: last night

A beautiful ending to a wonderful, but way too fast trip!

Jim & Thomas playing around!

Things were going too smoothly so I thought I throw a wrench into our glorious vacation. While participating in our morning fitness class, I somehow busted my shoulder. I was doing the bear crawl and was about to fall on my face, but not wanting to look like I fell, I turned it into a karate forward roll..like the ninja I am. All was well until I heard a pop and felt excruciating pain. I tried to just shake it off and smile through the pain, but it was killing. In comes our Kauai connection. Jim's best friend Thomas {the one we had just visited} is an E.R. doctor on the island. He was more than happy to make a CABANA CALL. So after his shift, he came to our cabana {where I was resting and trying my best not to move} and surveyed the damage. He used big words {acromioclavicular joint seperation} of which I knew not, but it came down to the fact that I had screwed up my shoulder and the only remedy is pain meds, rest, and time. Unfortunately, it was my right shoulder and I'm right handed so it posed a bit of a problem. What a way to end the trip. The reality that I'm no spring chicken anymore is looming in more and more clearly everyday!!

We treated the Dr. to lunch and he and Jim took residency at the waterslide, of which I did not partake!

178: kilauea lighthouse

While in Kauai, we had the opportunity to meet up with some dear friends: Thomas & Brooke & their 3 sons. Just a couple miles down from their house is the Kilauea lighthouse. It's amazing that this is the viewpoint they see every single day! Thanks guys for a wonderful dinner..you're family is darling!

{i found these love leis around one of the lagoons at the resort..a perfect sentiment for the day!}

177: ziplining in princeville

We got to choose an excursion while in Kauai. Jim and I naturally gravitated to ziplining! It was gorgeous out in the country. Literally, we were on one of the largest cattle ranches in the U.S. as was evident by our frequent visitors. We had 9 ziplines ranging in length from 170 feet to King Kong @ 1200 ft. We got to cross rickety bridges and cliff jump into a lagoon. It was an amazing adventure..but now I'm ready for relaxation and sun!

176: kauai

After a long day of traveling {believe it or not we had nearly a 4 hour layover in Honolulu, it was ridiculous!} we finally made it! I love everything about the Hyatt Regency {except their mice}!

175: ready to go!

Packed and ready to get out of here! Kauai..here we come!

{did I mention how much I love my compression bags when traveling?}

174: magic bullet

Oh yes I did!!  You had me at the first pulse!!

173: finally tall enough!

It was a monumental day for Ryder at Disneyland!! We had spiked his hair and put on his tallest shoes, but it wasn't necessary because he was 48"..the height requirement to ride California Screamin'..their fastest roller coaster. He missed it by 1/8" last time and threw the biggest tantrum for all to hear. They gave us a special card that said when he was tall enough, he could cut to the front of the line..so we did just that! His hands were up in the air the whole ride and his grin from ear to ear. Ryder is definitely our adrenaline junkie!

172: how does your garden grow?

How does your garden grow? Mine..not so well! I have a deep garden envy of several members of our ward. We took a garden tour tonight for our relief society activity and I was blown away by the hidden talents of some of these members! It was amazing what they have created..some with not a whole lot of space. There are no excuses that my yard isn't big enough for a garden. You can plant anywhere apparently!
{I personally loved all the flowers..the rose above had heart shaped pedals}

171: lazy summer day

The not very quiet, lazy days of summer..{from my reclined view}

169: dad's day

Happy Father's Day!! 

{jim napping on his new hammock while hugging his new Ipad 2}

168: random

Date night tonight consisted of Thai food and casual browsing through Home Goods. Every time Jim comes with me in Home Goods he needs to entertain himself. He does so by finding the most random thing in the store and putting it in our cart, as to make people think we're really interested in buying such a piece. It is pretty funny to see people look at the cart and do a double take. I'm sure they're thinking we have absolutely no taste or style, which could be true, but why would they have such things in a great store if someone wasn't going to buy them?  I mean, who doesn't need a head where the eyes tell both the time and the humidity/temperature?

167: one crash after another

Seriously..I don't know what it is, but I have had the worst luck this week. I got home from girls camp this afternoon and found that the microwave door handle was super loose. I have fixed it before, no problem. I went to tighten a screw and all of a sudden, the panel just crashed to the floor, shattering into hundreds of small pieces of glass! Arrgh...I'm not touching another thing!

166: natures best

Another busy day at camp! Today was hike day. Of course the June gloom has decided to burn off early the day we have our hike! It was warm, but the trail was beautiful. On each side of us laid bushes and bushes of poison oak and stinging needle. Another obstacle in this game of life! Fortunately, there were no casualties. Along our hike we stumbled upon a lollipop tree..a very welcomed treat. At the end of the hike, our camp directors had a foot spa ready for us weary hikers. The water was cold, but the salt scrubs were divine. Later that afternoon I tried my hand at archery.

165: ouch!

It started off as a great day! Busy, but great. The camp had an intense ropes course. We had such a large group that it took nearly 4 hours for everyone to get through it. Some people took much longer than others, but everyone was positive and encouraging and talked those who were having difficulties through the course. Only 4 of the leaders did it..of course I was one! I wouldn't pass up such a fun opportunity. After watching nearly 28 girls do it, it was a breeze. The zipline at the end was a great treat!

The day ended..not so great! After campfire, it was pitch black outside and the YCL's cabin was at the top of a very steep hill so I decided to drive. Pile 12 excited {loud} girls into my car and try to back out of a very narrow driveway with little view and this is what happens! Don't know how the dent happened. I was going so slow and only hit the side of a building..nothing sticking out or that would make it dent! Oh well!

Girls camp suddenly became a lot more expensive!

164: girls camp begins

The most amazingly talented YCL's {youth counselor leaders}

 Girls Camp for our ward began this week. This is my 7th year in a row of attending girls camp. I love girls camp! This year was no exception. We had exceptional girls whose attitudes were so positive and infectious. You couldn't help but have a great time.

It was a pirate theme..TREASURE SEEKERS! 

"For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also."

Our camp directors were beyond talented! The banner above was just 1 of many crafty and creative treasures this week. It truly was a very spiritual, uplifting, and fun week. I consider myself blessed to have been able to attend!

163: a mighty change of heart

Believe it or not, this was the first time I've ever made sugar cookies. It just went with my young women's lesson so perfectly. I also found a great idea online. I made little pictures of Jesus, laminated them then put them in a heart shaped ice cube tray. I had the girls hold onto the ice cubes until they melted and found Christ. The analogy is: without a change of heart, ones heart is cold and hard. Once you begin to humble yourself and submit to the  Lords will, your heart is softened as it changes and you find the Lords image in your countenance. It might be difficult, hard, or even painful {as was holding the ice for a long time} but change is not always easy and not always quick, but definitely worth it. 

162: boys weekend in catalina

 I can't be held responsible for the hygiene or appearance of my boys..they are on a boys weekend and that may or may not entail any form of personal grooming or hygiene.

Defiling nature

161: a girls gotta do what a girls gotta do

Can you not tell that I was desperate for a picture tonight! Jim took the boys to Catalina for a boys weekend so I made the most of the opportunity and finally went shopping! Picked myself a couple of these beauties!

160: jane eyre night

Our book club just finished reading Jane Eyre..loved, loved, loved it!  Lucky for us, the cheap theater was showing the new version, so we made a night of it!

159: buttket seat

Our "BUTT"ket seats for camp! A nifty little seat with built in storage. Our camp leaders are beyond creative!

158: basketball camp

Skyler at basketball camp. I'm pretty impressed with him..he's a jack of all sports. 

157: a day to explore

I'm beginning to feel like a cruise director now that schools done. Every morning I get the question, "Mom, what are we doing today?" Todays answer was..a La Jolla adventure. Skyler boycotted, so he stayed with a friend. It's getting more and more difficult to find activities everyone can enjoy!!

I had heard of this shell store with the only land access to a sea cave so I thought we'd check it out. It was actually pretty cool. We went into the shop and there was a special door. Pay the $3 and you walked down 150 stairs to the bottom of the cave. The only other way to view this cave is from a kayak. The boys loved it..even though it smelt like pigeon poop!

After playing at the beach for a little while, we made our way over to Old Town San Diego and visited the Mormon Battalion. I hadn't been since I was 14 and it has recently been completely renovated. It was pretty amazing. The boys did well and loved panning for gold. Afterwards we ate a not so wonderful Mexican dinner..Jim was nauseous all night! I'm glad I stuck to a house salad.

156: topsy turvy

Unfortunately Sundays are a lackluster day for photo opps..so enjoy the topsy turvy. {the cilantro is taking off}

155: mud run 2011

 Jim and I were asked if we wanted to do the MUD RUN! Coming off our runners high of the Ragnar, we excitedly said YES! That was a month or so ago. As the run got closer, I got more and more panicked. I hadn't run 6 miles since the Ragnar and had no idea what to expect. Jim assured me I would be fine so I took him at his word. Not only did I wake up at the crack of dawn for this, we also paid $60 a person. Ready or not, here we come!

 We arrived at Camp Pendleton around 8:00 and the crowds of people helped energize me. I think seeing the various state of runners helped assure me that I'd do just fine {especially seeing TEAM TUBBIES..they named themselves and weren't exaggerating}. Many teams had team shirts or costumes..we did not! I had my $3 walmart tank and my $2 goodwill shorts.  The course was 6 miles and consisted of running through sand, up BIG hills, crossing flowing rivers, getting sprayed by high powered fire hoses, and several obstacles..like climbing a wall and jumping in pits of mud, crawling through tunnels, and maneuvering yourself under wire in mud pits. We even had to swim across a lake. There was no way you were walking away without some form of mud on yourself. I actually had a great time! 

 I contributed to this pile!

And here is the communal showering areas with water as cold as ice and individuals with less than modest tendencies. 

154: classic t

Jim and I went to the Goodwill store tonight to acquire clothing that we could wear to the mud run and then have no guilt in throwing away immediately after. We had such a great time going through all the t-shirts and came across some goodies..this one was one of our favorites.