Flash

The girls and I got to be part of a flash mob this last Saturday. Earlier in the week, I watched Pharrell Williams' music video Happy for the first time. That same night, I watched a few of the videos people have made as part of his 24 Hours of Happy. The very next morning, I saw an invite on facebook for a Happy flash mob in Idaho Falls. Since being in a flash mob is on my bucket list, I decided the girls and I would be part of it. When we got there, my usually outgoing girls became painfully shy and we slipped to the back of the group. Towards the end, I convinced Rachael to come with me to smile for the camera. As we walked over, the lady in charge ended it. We were bummed, so after she finished talking to the group, I approached her and asked if we could do one more thing for the camera. To get Rachael to open up, I told her to do our face thing. Thus was born our 2 seconds of fame. Enjoy!

Girls Only Trip- Part V

Tuesday afternoon, we drove down to Old Town San Diego and took the tour of the Mormon Battalion site. It was really fun and at the end the girls got to pan for gold and use a washboard and tub to wash.

 We looked for souvenirs and stopped for ice cream in Old Town.

On our way back to camp, we took a detour to look at the San Diego temple. Anna loved it, she called it a princess castle.

Here's a fun little story for an added bonus: Emersyn thought it would be fun to teach Rachael a different version of the ABC song, one involving homicidal gummy bears. Rachael then proceeded to sing the 20 second song over and over and over for the next half hour of our trip back to camp. Marti and Emy complained vociferously about the misery this caused. I did not feel too sympathetic. Lesson learned I hope.

Girls Only Trip- Part IV

 Tuesday morning it rained like crazy right up until we finished breakfast. The weather cleared enough so that the girls got to do another big item on their to-do list: the zip line.

On a side note, every morning this bird came and tried to make friends with the bird in my car mirror.

The Marti and Emersyn loved the zip line, they tried it first with the swing and then with just their harnesses. Rachael sat with Linda and went down twice.

Near the landing zone for the zip line we found this toad waiting in his hole for us to leave.

Anna wasn't interested in the zip line. She, of course, had a date with the mud.

Girls Only Trip- Part III

Monday afternoon, we drove down to Oceanside and went to the beach. The girls were in heaven. Rachael, Marti, and Emersyn waited for the waves to hit them over and over again, running away as they got sprayed in the face. Later that night at dinner, Rachael told me that she felt like she was still in the waves. It reminded me of going to the beach when I was little and feeling the push-pull of the ocean long after I'd gone home. Mom couldn't stand it and had to change into her suit after watching the girls have all the fun. 

Here is Anna in her favored position on the beach. She loved digging in the sand making sand castle mounds. She did go in the water a couple times, but only to wash her hands off.

Rachael in a rare moment of stillness.

Proof I was there.

More of this cuteness.

Anna was trying to build up sand under my feet to help them be warm.

Love this dirty little girl.