Total Survival

I feel quite accomplished as yet another week has flown by and I still living to tell about it!

Caitlin and I ventured and survived the girl's camp experience. Our stake camped at the Lehi Utah stake property in Heber, Utah. The area is beautiful and the whole girl's camp thing is always such a spiritual high, however, it rained everyday, which added a bit of gloom and doom! This year, I was a stake leader and I have to admit, it was a little hard camping with all women and no girls! I was a bit envious of our ward leaders who were camping with the young women. I enjoy the company of the young women, that is what makes it fun. The other stake leaders I camped with however, are so great. I enjoyed getting to know each of them, they are very talented and valiant women who love the Lord and the young women of our stake. They are also a bit "crazy," so I fit in well! Caitlin was a trooper, she was not so thrilled about going, however, she had a good experience once she got there. She shared a beautiful testimony and was grateful that she was able to develop relationships with her leaders and with some of the girls that are her age. I had a great time with her, she visited my camp site frequently and we giggled alot. I even shared (this was a great sacrifice)some peach cobbler from the dutch oven with her. She is so sweet and cute! Eric is the high councilman assigned to the young women, so he spent time at camp as well. He was the fireside speaker on the first night and did an outstanding job. I think that the girls and the leaders were all touched by his love and testimony of self-worth. He worked hard at setting up tents, taking down tents, digging trenches, and obeying orders from women!

Hannah and Bowen were well cared for by Grandma Thomas and the Zunkowski family. Bowen wanted to know when I could go back, he had fun and wanted to have some more, apparently! Courtney was missed by me, her sister and our ward. She did not get the opportunity to camp this year as she had soccer tryouts at the high school. I was a bit nervous for her, but all prevailed.....she is a VARSITY player!

Tuesday morning was worrisome, she had a collision with another player and a ball, they both came directly at her, she turned her face to protect the nose (oh, the priorities) and ended up on the ground and out of it! The ball knocked her on the back of her head and neck and sent her to the ground. She quickly jumped up and finished the scrimmage, however, a bit loopy and confused. We had to take her to the doctor, who verified she had suffered a mild concussion and would have to take the rest of tryouts a bit more carefully. She was tearful and fearful of her team placement, however, she still made the varsity team and hopefully this will prove to be a great soccer year for her. Now, she is going to have to work hard for her play time. Oh, the rigors of high school athletics. She is so great and makes a valuable addition to any team she plays with. I am so proud of her!

This is the last week of summer break! School begins next Monday, the 18th! But, the girls are already busy, Caitlin resumed early morning drill team practice, daily at 6 AM and Court has soccer practice this week and a pre-season game on Thursday with Bingham High School. All is well....the craziness begins!

Yellowstone Adventure in Photo

Jenn & kids...aren't we all sweet?
What do they all have in common?
Hannah loves the animals!
I hesitated, little stressed, and got the better end of the buffalo...ooops!
Courtney & Hannah are not afraid of goats!
Dad & Caitlin having fun!
"The Dragon's Mouth" at Yellowstone!
Bowen & Hannah, see they really do get along!
The Four Scary Bears!
The Cutest Bear!
The Three Little Bears!
The Gang at Yellowstone...so cute!
Old Faithful proved faithful!

"Bowen & the Big One!"

Yellowstone Vacation 2008

Riding the rapids of the Gallatin River!

McKenna in the rear holding on for dear life!

Karen Zunkowski, Bowen and Eric middle to add strength and force! Hannah & Lauren Zunkowski in the front, leading the way! Louie the guide wearing the pink helmet to add a bit of style!

Caitlin & Courtney rowing in the rear, well making an honest attempt! Katlyn Zunkowski & Lexi (Court's friend) middle wearing a smile!Jennifer & Ed Zunkowski up front because we are awesome at leading (well if one of us could learn to count, we would be awesome)! Also Jim, the raft guide showing his serious rafting guide skills! What a bunch of big "CHEESERS!"

The trip to Island Park, ID, Yellowstone and Montana last week proved to be an adventure filled with fun, thrills, beautiful scenery, and a bit of relaxation (well, not much).

We rented a cabin with our family friends, the Zunkowski family. The cabin was in Island Park, ID. It was a nice cabin that slept all 12 of us and included a hot tub (the kids liked that amenity). It was a bit of a drive to get there but worth it. The area was beautiful and had lots of lakes for fishing. With all the "expert" fishermen casting, only Bowen was able to get a bite. He caught a nice sized Rainbow Trout, of which he did not want to touch or eat afterwards. I guess all the other so-called "experts" should take a fishing lesson from him!

Yellowstone was lots of fun, we traveled the whole interior of the park. We saw Old Faithful, lots of geysers and mud volcanoes. There were plenty of buffalo and lots to see. It was also a good time.

We also traveled to Montana, near Bozeman to take a river rafting trip down the Gallatin River. How exciting and great! All of us but the under age 10 kids, i.e., Bowen and McKenna Zunkowski were able to experience what they call the "Mad Mile." It was a little mad and it did not feel like a mile, I wanted it to last longer. Bowen was a bit grumpy and quiet, he was nervous, I think, until he got on the raft in the water. Then he was loving it, he did not want to get off of the raft for the Mad Mile, he wanted to continue, however, he had a great time and thought it was awesome! Hannah was so excited until the raft guide instilled trauma and fear with his "people have drowned and died" speech. But her raft guide made her a lead rower in the front of the raft and once she concentrated and began working at manuvering the raft, she had a great time and now wants to do it again. She giggled and squealed and was a great "rower." She was not even afraid when the raft hit a rapid and she flew into the air towards the water. She thought it was great! I thought it was great that her father was behind her and able to grab ahold of her life jacket to keep her on the raft and avoid the water. The teenaged girls screamed and screamed and laughed and laughed. Courtney now has ambitions to be a "Raft Guide." What a great career! Play on the water the entire summer!

We stopped at BearWorld in Idaho on the way home and saw lots of bears. This thrilled Bowen and Eric. Then after a bit of car trouble, we made it home and the journey ended. Now we are all back to work and back to laundry and dishes, soccer practice and drill team and cheer and back to life. But, it was a nice escape, even if it was for only a short period of time.

We Love You!!

NEW SET of WHEELS

Hannah showing off the new set of wheels!

The Ford Focus needed new tires and a new windshield to be registered, however, it also decided that it needed transaxle work, a new CV joint and perhaps transmission work as well. So, it was either spend more than it was worth for repairs or get rid of it. Guess what Eric opted to do.....go car shopping. It was a great deal (I guess), I can't drive it, however, it screams, "Mid-life Crisis" but the teenagers are more than thrilled. They are already salivating for school to start so they can arrive in a convertible with style! They have big plans! Oh boy!

We missed the 4th!

Happy 4th of July! It was a great day!

Bowen showing he can race with the best of them!
Hannah demonstrating her "Andretti" driving skills!

Bowen & Hannah competing for first place!

It is almost the 24th of July holiday and I still have no entry for the 4th of July! Aargh, the summer is just flying by and I can't keep up! The fourth of July was a great day. The kids all had a great time. We decided to try a new adventure so we went to the newly opened "Liberty Land" facility in Lehi. There was miniature golf, speed boats, go-karts, a mini roller coaster, a carousel and lots of other things to do. We also enjoyed a barbecue with family friends and we went to the fireworks display in Pleasant Grove. It was a nice and very warm day. The girls are growing up and Bowen is my little challenge. He is so smart and such a smart alec, that I am not sure what to do most of the time. He is a sweetheart and I love him, however, he needs lots of entertaining and lots of things to keep him busy, then he is great! Hope everyone is enjoying the summer!

We are headed to Yellowstone for the 24th of July weekend. We are staying in a nice cabin and plan to visit Yellowstone and take a raft trip down the Gallatin River!

The Champion

Bowen the Baseball Champion!

Bowen loves playing coach pitch. He can really hit the ball. He likes to play catcher, although we aren't sure why as he is a bit afraid of the ball when it is flying right at him. He is so funny and enjoys running around the bases as fast as his feet can take him. His favorite thing is wearing his baseball gloves (he wears them to bed) and sliding into home. The object is to make bigger and better grass stains on the white baseball pants. He is our little star player!

Lehi Round Up Days Parade

Daddy's Angels?!

Bowen getting in on the action!
Baby was it ever Hot! Caitlin was so adorable dancing on the streets of Lehi in the parade with the LHS drill team.

Courtney and dad had to arise early for the 6:00 AM shift of the chuckwagon breakfast. This is the annual fundrasier for the LHS Booster Club and girl's soccer team. The parade was hot but fun and the breakfast was tasty. Somehow, it always tastes better when cooked over a camping stove in the outdoors. Why is that?