Gretel's Cute Phases

A while ago, Gretel went through a phase where she had to constantly check her toes to make sure they were clean. She'd stretch them really far apart several times a day; I thought it was so funny!

She also had a thing for "Honey Bear" as I like to call him. She'd kiss him and take him for walks outside, and when he'd fall on his side (quite often) in her stroller, she'd have to fix him so he was sitting up straight.

Move over Honey Bear!! Now she is OBSESSED with a new bear: "Winnie." She used to call him "Pooh," but now she calls him Winnie. She talks nonstop about Winnie and constantly asks to watch the movie. My M-I-L got Gretel into Winnie when Johnny was staying with his parents in Newport. She's been in love with him ever since. (Thanks, Cheryl for letting us take both the stuffed animal and movie from the house. We will replace both)
It's very cute to watch her rolling around with him everywhere-on our bed, her bed, or on the couch. She's always rolling around with him and talking to him, or talking about him.

She snuggled with Winnie on our drive home from Newport. She also likes to have him with her when we run errands; in the shopping cart beside her, etc.

She is WAY into sweets- especially chocolate, popsicles, and cupcakes which she calls "cake." So she'll really love her birthday this year!
When she sees a bag of peanut M & M's, she screams "Candy! Candy! Candy!" This is my favorite thing, since I heard a little boy from primary scream this while running through the halls of church about 5 years ago. I've never laughed so hard, so that's why I LOVE when Gretel does it!

Anyway, she's a good eater, so I like to reward her!! I took these pictures of her little fudgey face today. She stood at the freezer door and begged (squealed) for chocolate ice cream. So I gave her a "Fudgsicle."

Another thing she does all day is stand on the back of the couch and jump on all the pillows. She never seems to get tired of this. She loves to climb on our bed and jump on that all the time too. She's a thrill-seeker!! I'll have to get some video of the couch jumping!

Girls Camp

In July I went to girl's camp for a week. While I was there, Johnny took Gretel to his parent's house in Newport and watched her there. He left 5 whole days before I even left for camp, so that was super weird to be all alone. So I went 10 long days without seeing Gretel. It was rough! He took my pup with him too, so I didn't even have Gwennie to sleep on my bed at night! Anyway, I'll try and post some pics of their daddy/daughter trip, but first here are a bunch of pictures of my week at camp!


I really couldn't believe how picture-perfect the camp ground was...it looked like it was out of a movie-so many gorgeous trees! Sacramento is the "City of Trees" so I guess that makes sense!
Anyway, I went with my 2 BFFs Abby and Shauna and the three of us were leaders of the YCLs (Youth Camp Leaders). These girls are about 16 and 17 yrs old and learning how to plan camp stuff for the younger girls.
I can't believe how much I loved those girls at the end of the week! They were so hilarious, and I found myself wanting to hang out with them after camp was over!



Our huge tent

We were supposed to bring a hat that showed what we wanted to experience at camp. I decided to be obnoxious and type out the sentence "I'd SURE like to experience B.O. at camp! My stink won't be my little SECRET!" I found those deodorant brand's logos online and printed them out.

I was in charge of one of the nights, so we had a blind-folded ice cream eating contest!

Then they played blind-folded musical chairs while the audience sang camp songs to provide their music.

Soko and Lata-some of my two fave girls!! Lata was the MC for the night, because she does a perfect British accent!

Our last game was a Sumo wrestling one that we played to help the girls learn the camp rules or traditions. We played the song Kung Fu Fighting in the background, because I love that song, and it was perfect!!

Our huge kitchen with one of the cooks on the right. The food was the absolute BEST part of camp! I wrote what we ate every day in my journal (I wrote about other things in my journal too; it wasn't all about food). It was seriously the best food at every meal-I was so impressed with the awesome cooks. They worked so hard for us and they provided a huge variety of food and everything was FABULOUS!!

My friend Abby was in charge of a huge event one night. It was the iron rod experience-the girls were blind-folded and they had no idea what was going on. They had to hold on to the rod as they were being tempted along the way, and at the end, this was the "Tree of Life." It looked so gorgeous in person, and there jewels on it that each girl got to take off the tree to keep.

The girls had a water balloon fight one day.

Rosanna (on the right) was our awesome camp director! I just love her.

I had never been in a canoe before, and it was SO much fun!!

Our theme was the movie "UP" and all the decorations and other things to do with it were really darling. I thought it was a great theme.

Some of the cute Nong Shala girls!

I loved the Nong Shala ward and the Tala Ofa ward. They both did awesome dances on bishop's night, and I love the diversity that their cultures bring! Those Tongan girls really know how to party it up!!

They did a balloon release at the end...

Before I went to camp I said that I knew how Lindsay Lohan felt, because she was about to go to jail. I was feeling anxiety about being sort of stuck somewhere for a whole week, not being able to go home if I wanted. I was seriously worried about what I'd eat, not thinking that I'd have enough snacks (I feel ill if I don't eat little meals throughout the day) and I was totally wrong about the food thing for sure.

It was a long week, and I missed my bed/comforts of home, and feeling clean. But I had so much fun getting to know these girls, and I heard so many funny stories. Oh-ya! We also had a bear come into our little camp ground the last night. I guess this happens a lot on the last night, because we eat tri-tip the last night. The two girls could hear it breathing but didn't blow their whistles (which is the rule) because they didn't actually see it. Because they were scared and hiding in their tent, and didn't SEE it! They had us laughing so hard at this. Glad we were all safe!!

Anyway, it was an eventful and exhausting week, and the girls were awesome. It's nice to be home now!

Utah trip way back from May!!

So I'm finally getting around to posting some pictures from 3 months ago. I am going home again to visit my fam for my sister's big 30th birthday party, and I didn't just want all the pictures from these visits to run together in one big blur....
Better late than never-I have a lot of catching up to do! Anyway, the first picture is of my cute little brother Teal, since he just graduated from high school! I'm sorry I couldn't be there, Poochie!! Congrats you adult, you!!!



Thanks for flying me home every time, Dad! I really appreciate it!!!
Here we are, on a very early flight.


As for the trip, I got to go to a very fun bike race to see Teal in action. He is really an impressive cyclist! It was way fun watching him make his way to the front among all these men that are older than he is. They might call it "drafting," but I forget the jargon....anyway, he's super buff! My Dad was holding Gretel, and my Mom, Hailey, and I had fun cheering him on!!

Hailey and I also like to call his riding outfit his "COSTUME," as if it's a dance leotard or something.

My very tall, handsome and hilarious cousin Andy! I think he's 6'6, so we wanted to get a good shot of the height difference! It doesn't look as weird in a picture, but it feels crazy standing next to him!

Gretel was way sick on this trip, and spent almost the entire time with a high fever, just cuddled in my arms sleeping. It was very sad, and she just wasn't herself. I had to take her to the doctor in Utah, and she had a sinus infection and both ears were infected. So, toward the end of the trip she perked up a bit, and did a puzzle with my Dad!

Also, one night while I was giving my Mom a manicure, my Dad brought us some hot chocolate. My parents loved how Gretel drank it-dipping her little tongue in the mug, and slurping it at the same time, all without spilling! So my Dad had to run and grab his camera to capture the moment!

Hailey had a good idea-she suggested we go see the penguin exhibit at The Living Aquarium. It was way cool, and I think Gretel liked it. I wish she had've felt better-this was before I knew how sick she really was. She really does love "Mimi," it's just a sad moment....

Oliver and Hudson, aka Ollie and Hudda. It was awesome being able to see the stingrays so close-up! I have such cute nephews!!

Gettin' my "HAIR DID" at the salon Hailey still works at, aka my old salon too! Boy do I miss Bella Mia. My hair is always changing, and always a task for "Haaaairrrrrr's Hailey!!!!!" (in an announcer voice)

I wanted to go in between dark and blonde, and of course she delivered!

My Dad took Gretel out a few different nights to see their neighbor's chickens-she loved it!

Hillary (aka Hilly) came over one night and we hung out until late-eating dinner, frosting cookies for something Hailey was doing, and watching Glee. It was so much fun. Can't wait to see you all again very soon. Love ya fam!!