Happy 4th of July! We are lying low before we head to our friend's house for a bbq, so I thought I would still try to catch up with June.Anyway, our cute friend, Rachel Orison was the camp director. She was born to do this. Our theme was BOOT camp, which stands for Building Our Own Testimonies. The first day, we got there and divided the girls into Platoons. We were at Camp Piuta-past Kamas...no cell phone service....but, there were rustic cabins and flushing toliets. Also, a lodge that had a generator so we were able to have projects at night and cook up there.
So, after the Platoons were assembled, they came up with cadences....you know, like "I don't know but I've been told...."
The girls were really creative and had the cutest cadences. 
Then, we did 3 challenges which included, getting over a 12 ft wall, 
shooting with bb guns at 'bad' things' like immodest swimsuits, and beer (rootbeer can), etc. and then the mine field where I helped out. The Platoon had to lead a blindfolded member past the mines (hula-hoops) while Rachel, Holly & I tried to deceive them.
Holly in background, Rachel 'distracting'We had former Miss Utah, Jill Stevens, come do a fireside for us that night. She was fantastic! She told the girls all about her experiences in the military and Miss America pagent and how standing up for her morals actually made people respect her instead of make fun of her in those situations.
The next day, we took the girls on a silent hike. Every 10 minutes, we would stop and one leader would talk about one of 5 things that helps you build your own testimony. Mine was the last stop and I talked about how I know Pres. Monson is a living prophet. It was a fantastically spiritual time. The leaders all wondered if the girls felt the Spirit like we were, and by the time we had our testimony meeting that night, all the girls bore their testimonies and said how much they loved the hike! Success!
Rachel put together an amazing video with members of our ward telling the girls one of the 5 things we talked about. It was very powerful and good for everyone to see people they know stating their simple testimonies. I was a mess by the end of this.....anyone that knows me knows that I cry at the drop of a hat!
The next morning, after the Bishopric prepared breakfast we had a USO talent show (USO meaning Unusual, Silly and Odd talents). The older girls did a Hannah Montana dance with creative costuming. The best part was that our Bishop was there with us! His daughter (in the plaid purple pants) was in the dance and said he would think it was funny. I'm not sure he thought it was funny, but he's a cool guy and didn't make a big deal of it. We all laughed so hard!The whole experience was wonderful. The girls were so cute and there wasn't any drama. It was fun to get to know the other leaders better. We all had matching 'wiglets' one day. Wiglets are extra fake hair you clip on your head to look like you have more. The fun part was that we had hair that didn't match our own color and just walked out one morning. Some of the Bees didn't know if we were serious......I thought camp was the right balance of fun and spiritual!
Jim & Renae stayed with the kids since Mike needed to work (thank you again!). On the last day, we were going to go boating for R&R, but it was too cold. Mike was going to bring the boat up, but when it got cancelled, stayed home with the kids. It was fun to come home to my little family! I missed them, but I know they were in great hands and that it was important for me to be at camp.
For the second time in one week, G&G Arv and Grandma Gib came up for Sydney's performance. We are grateful our grandparents know that it was a big deal for them to make it to both recitals. Grandma Gib had to run right after the dance to get back to Grandpa (who was under another babysitter's care. The babysitters were his buddies from church). 
Hanalee & Amanda after a beautiful performance
G&G Arv and G Gib came up for her performance. Grandpa Gib was still recovering from knee replacement surgery (he even needed a babysitter so Grandma could come up). Afterward, we hit Olive Garden with G&G Arv. 
A really fun night to be with our Amanda! We love you!
We were excited to attend another Temple open house this year. The Oquirrh Mountain Temple in South Jordan/Daybreak! It sits high upon a hill and you can see the Jordan River Temple and Draper Temple from the front. Gorgeous setting and another amazingly beautiful temple. We met our friends, Darin & Elise Jensen and kids and took Kat (sis-in-law) with us. Afterward, we hit the Red Robin...what a zoo! Jensens have 5 kiddos and with our 3, we were quite the party of 12! The kids had a fantastic time! We are very blessed to live with so many temples in close proximity. 
One of the planes doing a trick...can you see the loop and the plane at the bottom right hand side? Pretty cool....
and afterward a fireworks show! There were a few other people from Bailey's that came, too. Brandon had a good time with Janell's son and nephew. (Below they are hiding in the closet)
Thank goodness we had the suite, because the game went to the 11th inning and the boys were able to run around and play inside! The fireworks show was amazing!
A little favorite American pasttime and fireworks! Bring on Summer!