Fall Break!

We had Fall Break last week. It was so much fun having Walter and Jem home for the week. With my ankle still hurting we didn't venture too far, but we still did get out. Tuesday we went to the Custom's House Museum. They have a great kids play area downstairs. Then ate a picnic lunch. Thursday we went to the park with a friend and her kids and had a picnic lunch. Friday was Rilla's Birthday and we went back to the Custom's House Museum. They were very fun outings.

Gil's Birthday!

Gil's Birthday fell on General Conference weekend. Friday night we had a ward temple trip. I arranged a babysitter and Gil and I left and before we even got out of town, we got a flat tire. Three hours later we had a new tire on it but of course missed the temple. I was disappointed since I am about to have a baby and it isn't easy to go to the temple when nursing.

General Conference was great. I really enjoyed all the sessions. The 2nd dession on Saturday was my favorite. I love being able to watch it at home. My older boys did a great job listening to at least half of each session (Walter even listened to the whole first session).

We made cup cakes for Gil's Birthday. Rilla loved helping make them.

Ward Campout!

We had a ward camp out a few weeks ago and it was a lot of fun. The weather was perfect. The kids got to run around and play and we had a lot of fun with our friends from church. We had a nice campfire and I slept very comfortably on a mattress in the back of Gil's truck. My ankle still hurt quite a bit, but not much more than it would have at home anyway. In the morning we ate breakfast around the campfire and visited.

Baseball!

Jem did baseball this summer and Rilla and Shirley did Blastball. Blastball is a simpler version of baseball. I was their coach. I had 8 kids on my team (one never came. 2 were my kids and 2 were my friend Annalisa's kids. Jem was on a team with Annalisa's other daughter and my other friend, Teressa's, son. It was fun, although very hot at the end. I am not sure what happened to the picturesfrom one of Rilla and Shirley's games. Here are a few pictures from one of Jem's games.

Jem did really well for his first time playing baseball. It was coach pitch and he actually can hit really well. He almost always hit the ball and made it to base. He didn't do so great in the outfield. He wasn't very good at paying attention. Luckily, the ball didn't go to him very often. At least he had fun. The games were exciting to watch. Blastball wasn't nearly as fun. The kids (age 3 and 4) enjoyed playing in the dirt more than paying attention to the game.

Nashville Zoo!

We went to the Nashville Zoo at the beginning of the summer. Gil hadn't been there before with us. The Nashville Zoo is really nice and has a great play area. It was very hot the day we went so we didn't see everything, but we had a lot of fun. I can't remember why Shirley was pouting in the one picture, but he sure can pout.

Memorial Day Weekend!

We were able to go camping during Memorial Day weekend. We left Thursday afternoon and came home Saturday afternoon. Thursday and Friday were actually kind of chilly, but it was very hot on Saturday so we were able to go swimming. It was a really nice campground. The kids really enjoyed fishing. Rilla caught 2 fish and Shirley caught one. Walter and Jem tried and tried, but didn't have any success. We all really enjoy camping (as long as I have an air mattress). We love being out doors.

Cub Scout Day Camp!

Back in June Walter had Cub Scout Day Camp and I volenteered to help at it. It was Monday through Friday from 8am -2pm. Jem was able to do camp, too since he is old enough (although in our church they don't start until age 8). They had child care for younger kids of volenteers so Rilla and Shirley got to come each day. I ended up being a Wolf Den leader, with Jem in my Den. Camp was awesome except for the heat. It was so hot and humid (mid 90's with humidity). I enjoyed coming home to air conditioning each day. They were long days, too. We had to be there at 6:45 and didn't get home till after 3pm each day. The kids had a lot of fun. Even Rilla and Shirley. I worried about them and the heat, but they loved being outside each day. They got so dirty, too. Shirley even took a nap on Thursday because he was so tired out. I didn't get a lot of pictures, but here are a few I did take.



BB shooting seemed to be everyone's favorite activity. Walter is a pretty good shot. Friday was Family Day. parents were able to join their scouts for the BBQ and be there all day if they wanted. Gil was in Texas for training all week until Thursday night so he was able to join us on Friday.

Vacation Day 4 part 2

I am trying to catch up on old blogs.

After eating at the Three Broomsticks I took Walter and Jem to Hogwarts castle and Gil took Rilla and Shirley on the Hippogrith ride. The line for the castle took forever. A couple of hours later we went again and there was almost no line. The late afternoon was a much better time for all of the rides.

Next we went to a couple other areas of the park and went on some more rides. One was a water ride. Rilla loved the water rides. Jem liked them but Walter was a little scared like me. I only went on one. Rilla was barely tall enough for them. Rilla also loved collecting flowers that were all over the ground.




We all enjoyed the Hippogrith roller coaster. Shirley was tall enough so we all got to ride. It was later in the day so we got to go many times without waiting in line.