Girls Camp

Well I have to write about girls camp. My Friend Tricia was in charge this year and she is AMAZING!!! I was only there the one day that I was in charge of stuff but I hear that the whole week was just wonderful. Even the most determinedly apposed to girls camp girls were raving about the week.

I was in charge of the Girls camp Spa and two crafts. I was really excited to get the spa assignment since I had just done a spa for Ava's eighth birthday party. So I had some ideas... Well most of those ideas were changed, since I thought we should do something spiritual since it was girls camp. Well I was cruising the internet and found a most delightful thing all set out for me. Have I ever told you how much I love the internet! I found it here. I of coursed changed things to make it work for what I wanted.

The theme of the camp was "We Seek after these Things" and it was a pirate theme. So since it was pirate theme I tried to make all the signs look old. I burnt the edges and got pirate fonts off the internet to print them off... Made it a little harder to read but looked good and that is what matters right. Right?

First off we had the foot soak. I loved the spa explanation for this and I made sure we read the notes for it.



I also made 60 of the eye masks so each girl could take one home, and gave them out during the foot soak.

(My beautiful model of the eye masks)

Then I had 60 towels, one for each girl and handed them out when they were finished with their foot soak. (They could also take them home as well).



Then they could go over and pick out a chap stick or a lip gloss.



Then there was the lotion section.





Then the Manicure and Pedicure and manicure section. I saw the girls actually reading the signs to each other and it made me very excited!





Notice that the nail polish is all the colours of the Values!!

After they finished their spa we had a few hours of other activities, devotional and dinner then they came and did the crafts and they did a dance as well. I didn't get to see their dance but it sounded like it was really fun.

The first craft they started on was a vinyl lettering board. I made them sand and paint the boards. I got my vinyl from this website, Just Stick 'em. She is so awesome, even if it is not on her website she can make up whatever you want! I order from her all the time!





Then when they were finished that they made some washer necklaces that again I got the idea off the internet here, and here. I asked the girls to stamp a word into the washer that represents the camp to them. I was thinking I would tell them the word but decided that they could make it personal to them. Some put their own name or the name of their pet, but some put words like AWESOME, HOPE, FUN. I thought that was great. The stamps we used were from Harbor freight. They were a little difficult for the girls to figure out so if you do them have some extras! I think it turned out really well and the girls had fun! I know I did!

Summer so far

It has been a cold and rainy summer, but there have been a few days were the sun has peeked through the clouds and we have been able to get out. We have been going to swimming lessons everyday for the last two weeks. Miracle of miracles all my kids were able to get into the same time slot! Wow that has never happened before! I like the fact that swimming lessons gets us out the door by ten am. But I have been a little lazy, I will stay in be until it is time to go... Then I come downstairs and the house is a mess because the kids have been up getting their own breakfast... one time I came downstairs and Alex is eating in the living room (which is a no, no at our house) and I asked him why he was eating in the living room... He says to me, "I didn't do it"... I said, "I saw you eating in there." and he says, "It was the robot I made... I told you I was going to make one." I laughed so hard. He has been collecting boxes to make into a robot, it is true. I am just amazed that a few boxes turned into something so real looking!!

This summer the Burnaby village museum is free and so the Price's called us up and we went together. It was actually really fun! I love old stuff though so it was really neat to see all the old time stuff... There was a few things that were hard... EVERYTHING was DO NOT TOUCH!! My kids were actually really good but there was even a time when Alex sat on a wooden chair and the woman tells him he can't touch that... Then at the trolly place they were touching the outside of the trolly, the metal part where it connects to other parts of the trolly... Oh you can't touch that... then they had a bell at the trolly place that says "Try me"... well the kids were very excited something that tells them to touch... the guy didn't like the ringing I guess because he came over and told them not to touch!! But despite all that they did have a good time. The museum actually has a children's play area that has toys from the "old days" (which I think most were just from Ikea, but there were some really neat looking ones and they were all the old style of things that kids back then would play with) and they were aloud to play with those! So they did at least think of the kids at some point! For the most part it was a great time and we all enjoyed it. And of course we went to ride the carousel!!



I am going to girls camp on Wednesday to do 2 crafts and a spa... Yes I know that a spa at girls camp doesn't sound like roughing it but I am excited to do it. I found a neat spa idea Here and I am going to tweak it to my needs... I made 60 sleep masks and bought the nail polish in all the value colours! Then I bought each girl a towel to dry her feet when she finishes in the foot soak after their hike! I am going to label everything so they know what it stands for and then go from there... I hope it turns out well... Scott thinks I am crazy but I hope that the girls appreciate it and it will be worth all the effort!

Ava's 8th Birthday Spa

 For Ava's 8th Birthday she requested a spa birthday.  So I tried to come up with some ideas for it.  Since I have never been to a spa it wasn't too easy to know what to do... well then I remembered that Ava and probably all the girls coming to the party probably haven't gone to a spa either so really what ever I did they would think was what they did in a spa.


First, decorations.  Well I decorated with candles all over the house... I put sand in vases and stuck candles in those and along the window sill by the front door.  I also got these awesome tissue balls from my friend and hung them in the living room.

 I got these from my friend a few weeks before the birthday party and then Deneile wanted them for her birthday a week later so they hung in my living room for almost a month!!  I liked them there and was kind of reluctant to take them down!

 Next the food.  I love the editable arrangements but they are way too much for me to buy so I have started making them.  I have made them a few times but I have to say that these were my best so far!

 

I decided that spa food should be small and cute and tasty so I made mini cheesecakes, cucumber and cream cheese sandwiches and  jam and cream cheese sandwiches. And of course the fruit bouquets.

 

As they walked in to the "Spa" They got a bottle of water.  I made a customized label for each one and think they turned out pretty cute!

 Then they sat down to soak their feet in warm water and Epsom salt.  We gave them books to read and magazines to enjoy but they mostly talked and had fun!

 Then they got their nails done and toe nails painted! I am so grateful for Sarah, Jena and Vicky for helping, I couldn't have done it without them!

They all got bath turban towels that my mom helped me make. The girls thought they were fun and it kept their hair out of their faces for their oatmeal masks.

 The dreaded oatmeal mask!  The girls were a little apprehensive but most of them powered through sticky feeling and actually had a good time!

 I made cupcakes for her cake again because I thought spa food needed to be small and pretty.  I did some roses on the cupcakes and I think that they turned out pretty good!

Last but not least the goody basket.  I bought some Easter baskets after Easter for really cheap and put in their towel turban, bath sponge, water bottle, silly bands and a few other little items. The girls loved them and I thought they turned out pretty good!

 I am so glad that I was able to put this on with the help of the lovely ladies!!  Happy birthday Ava!

"What are you going to do next year?"

"What are you going to do next year?"
I get this question a lot when people know that all my children will be in school full time starting September. I always try to think about it, and never know what to say. But I still want to be home. Is it selfish of me to not want to go to work even if none of my kids are at home during the school day? I want to be able to go on field trips and help in the kids school and be able to do my errands with out dragging the kids along with me. I like being at home. I know I should be out their in the work world helping to save money to buy a house or take some of the pressure off of my husband so he doesn't have to feel stressed about the finances. But I also feel that is my job to raise and nurture my children and I don't want to feel bad for doing that. That has always been the decision that Scott and I have made, why do I feel guilty and reserved when people ask, "What are you going to do next year?"

Belly Bands

OK! So I love this thing I found on the internet...

I know it is meant as a maternity thing but I thought that I would use it for a modesty thing. I find that T-shirts are always too short for me and I am always worried about my shirts coming up. So I made these Belly Bands for me and my girls.

I didn't make them as wide since my Belly (thank goodness) isn't as big as a pregnant belly! I bought half a meter of stretch T-shirt material in both white and brown. It made me two bands in each colour and Deneile and Ava each got a band in each colour.

Here is the tutorial that I tried to follow.

For some reason I can't upload any pictures... I will try again later! But I am totally excited about them!!

I just need to find an new name for them... I don't know if Modesty Bands would do... Any ideas?

Halloween

The kids had a great year this year... I loved it even more because there was no Trick or Treating!! We were able to have a Trunk or Treat at the church and so they did get to wear their costumes out and about and show them off and get a little candy, but the candy wasn't overwhelming which was nice.

Alex looked great as Jack Sparrow. It took a little convincing to get him to let me put eye liner on, but it did look great in the end.

Dallin's cousins call him Harry Potter all the time because of the scar in the middle of his forehead. Well he decided that he wanted to be Harry Potter this year. I had the costume from when Deneile was Hermione when she was in Grade 1. So it was an easy costume but it looked great!!

Ava wanted to be a mummy this year! I think it turned out great!! I had some help with the sewing since I left it to the last minute!

Deneile wanted to be a witch this year and we were able to borrow a dress and hat from a friend and I bought the tights to add to look. She won the best costume at our ward costume contest so she was very excited about that!

Dallin and Alex were able to go to the pumpkin patch this year for a field trip this year! I was able to volunteer driving them this year and it was really fun. They got to each pick a pumpkin, they had a lot of fun!

On TV

Scott called the other day saying he was doing a story at a strawberry farm in Richmond. So my friend and her two boys and me and my kids all packed up and went out to the farm. My poor friend is 9 months pregnant, and the good sport that she is, was right in there bending over picking and picking. While we were there Scott took video and we just picked. Then they asked the kids some questions. We had a good time and got a lot of strawberries... Yummy!!!