24th of July Canoe Trip

On the 24th of July we went to Muddy River Outfitters to go canoeing. These are the people who rented the canoes to the Varsity Scouts for their week long trip. They let us stay on their beautiful property which is right along the river. Right off of their dock is a nice, not too deep reservoir with very little current. We had such a good time. We are hoping to make it a yearly event. Hopefully next time we can stay for more than one night, but we had to come back for church.

Here are the girls warming up after a swim in the river.
Here we are eating our yummy dinners.
This is daddy and Miss M and Beans in the canoe. They both did very well in the canoe and were great paddlers. Sis S was kicked off the boat more than once for moving too much.

Sis S after having been kicked off the boat one time.

Lagoon

This weekend we went to Lagoon. It could not have been better. The temperature was perfect. It was overcast so no hot sun on us. There was a slight breeze every now and then. The girls were all brave and went on rides I never expected them to, even Sis S liked riding the Puff roller coaster. Tubbs also won a $50 gift certificate to Costco in the drawing for his work party. Now I can't wait until next year when I might even get to go on a few rides.

No parental rights, could this happen in the US?

I read this article and several related to it this morning and I am sick to my stomach. I have already written to my senators in opposition, and I encourage all to do this too.

http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=90111

here are a few quotes:

U.N. Convention on the Rights of the Child would mean every decision a parent makes can be reviewed by the government to determine whether it is in the child's best interest.

Fox News reported the standing U.N. Committee on the Rights of the Child, an 18-member panel in Geneva, would review the rights of children in all disputes.

The decisions would not even be made by officials we elect!!!!

The pedicure and mud puddle diet

I have found what I think is the secret to weight loss. Pedicures and mud puddles! I have been reading O Pioneers! during the last month and there is a character in the book that I love. His name is Ivar, he is an old man that every one thinks is crazy. He won't talk to anyone who has been hunting or has killed an animal. He lives in a cave because to build a house, even a sod house, would change the landscape too much. He has fits where he runs around like a crazy man hollering at night because he thinks that the Lord is going to destroy him. He is always worried about the temptations he faces. He also will not wear shoes, even in the middle of winter they would more often than not find him barefoot. Finally at the end of the book one of the maids gets the courage up to ask him why and his response is so wonderful that I thought that I would share it.

It is for the indulgence of the body. From my youth up I have had a strong, rebellious body, and have been subject to every kind of temptation. Even in age my temptations are prolonged. It was necessary to make some allowances; and the feet, as I understand it, are free members. There is no divine prohibition for them in the Ten Commandments. The hands, the tongue, the eyes, the heart, all the bodily desires we are commanded to subdue; but the feet are free members. I indulge them without any harmm to any one, even to trampling in filth when my desires are low. They are quickly cleaned again.

I guess after that I have only one thing to say why don't I get more pedicures or step in more mud puddles, they will help me curb the desire to indulge the rest of my body and I will then start to lose weight?

Here is a beautiful video about creating from Pres. Uchtdorf's talk from the General Relief Society meeting last October. It is very inspiring. Here is a link to it.

Some new toys

I think we have finally resolved ourselves to the fact that the Lord does not want us to move out of our small house. For about a year now I have been looking for an opportunity to move, but the Lord keeps telling me to stay. I am going to do as he wants and make our house work. Our stove has not been working very well, along with our washer and dryer. This weekend we finally did something about it. We bought a new stove, a washer and a dryer. The stove is already in and the washer and dryer will be here in about a week.

I have, also, been wanting a laptop for a long time. I had one for school and loved it. The only problem was that they are all so big and expensive. I finally found a solution, it is a little mini laptop called a netbook. We also bought one of those this weekend. I am so excited about all of my new toys. Now if only the washer and dryer will fold and put away the clothes too life will be close to perfect.

A birthday idea

My birthday is coming up in a few months. I was browsing on the internet for ideas for a present from my hubby and came across a few books I would like. Now Matthew refuses to buy me any more books, so I am putting a link for everyone else to look at just in case you are wondering what to buy for me to celebrate me and my glorious birth.

By the way, I think that birthdays are over rated. Shouldn't we as children be celebrating our parents, with special emphasis our mothers, and bring them presents; didn't they already give us enough by giving us life and allowing us to keep on living, especially during the teenage years? Why do we still expect people to treat us special on that day, we didn't really do anything to deserve such treatment.