Girls Camp

We had great girls camp this last week at Heber Valley. We had cabins, toilets, showers, eletricity.. totally my kind of camping! Our camp director, Brenda, came up with our ward theme "Be still, dream big, and go forth." I think that this theme was very inspired for our girls at this time and also for myself. I love it and feel like it applies to every aspect of my life, in anything that I do.

We had a lot of fun playing games, hiking, eating, having spiritual devotionals, and being together.-- Also just as important, I went a whole week with out any Diet Coke! I considered it my "detox" period and surprisingly it wasn't that bad. (I just ate a lot of candy and chocolate to compensate and probably gained 5 pounds doing so.)

I love my calling in the young womens, the girls I serve, and the leaders I serve with. I know that the Lord put has put me in young womens more for myself- to learn and grow- and hopefully along the way I can help someone else. We have such a unique group of girls coming from a variety of different backgrounds and hardships. I am amazed at their perseverance and steadfastness in the trials that they deal with. AMAZED!

Our fearless hikers with President Hilton!

Missie going down the zip line. They had these fun challenge courses for the girls to do. One of them was a rope climb/zip line. It was very fun!

So beautiful.

The crew

The crew as we were waiting for the bus to come and get us!

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Budgets

With Danny now working in the financial industry he has become a lot more "observant" with our bank accounts. He has finally decided to give me a budget. The dreaded word! Not that budgets are bad, I think that they are good and necessary regardless of your income. Danny has set me up with a separate debit account in which I get xxx amount of money on it every week for groceries, food, gas, and whatever else I need. If I run out of money, too bad! And if I dip into one of our other debit accounts--- I'm in trouble! In order to really maximize my budget (and also prove to Danny that I can stay on a budget) I have jumped on the bandwagon and have started coupon clipping. I have subscribed to the weekend newspaper and have found a new passion--- Saving money at the grocery store. I'm not like the "crazy coupon addicts" who save $100's at the store but I am saving a little bit and having fun doing it! I went to Smiths the other day, I only spent $27 but saved about $15. I know that isn't MONUMENTAL savings but it's 15 more dollars in MY budget to spend on anything I'd like! Although I initially wasn't super thrilled about the idea of budgeting, it has actually turned out to be kinda fun. I am learning to get creative in my purchases and to be more disclipined. Who could have thought having a budget could be so fun?? Ok, maybe not "so fun" but interesting (in a good way).

Newport Beach

We just finished the annual Hart Newport trip and had a great time! It was our 15th year going and I think it was the best year yet. We played a lot in the sand, water, and with all of our fun cousins. We love the beach and always have a great time!

We ate lots of breakfast at Ruby's. Tradition! :)

We played in the water.

We went down to Balboa and had a lot of fun in the arcades! I think our crew took up the whole arcade room.-- No joke.

Our family.

Whitney trying to escape.

The handsomes.

We had a lot of sandy treats and drinks!

Whit loved the carousel but wasn't super excited about getting off. Danny in true "daddy" fashion pulled out his walet and paid for another ride for his little princess.

Much better, thanks daddy!

Whit ready for the beach at probably 9 AM.

Our little cute bum!

Whitney and her many mothers.

We rented a fun little party boat and cruised around Newport Harbor.

Whit's first attempt in the water. She loved it, I didn't so much. Too cold! (I'm standing behind her)

We visited our fabulous friends in LA and had a great time with them!

We feel so blessed to have such a great family! Can't WAIT for next year...

I can't wait...

I get chills just thinking about this!! I'm such a Harry Potter nerd, it's sick!

The Do's and Don'ts- Traveling with an Energetic Husband and Toddler

I am a complete novice at this toddler traveling thing and I have learned a lot from our experience on driving to Newport! For all of you 2-3 kid mom's who have it "all together" please shed some advice on what works and doesn't, I need it! We have another road trip in a couple of weeks and this time I am going to be prepared! For all of you "new" momma's out there, here is what I learned on our drive to California (MIND YOU: most of what I learned is common sense-- which apparently I am really lacking!!)

DON'T give your energetic independent toddler her own soft drink. She will probably spill it, get everything sticky, and throw a major tantrum when you try and take it away!

DON'T try and change a poopy diaper while you are still trying to drive. Not only is it probably illegal and dangerous, but your energetic independent toddler just might climb on the cooler, bang on the window with no diaper on and then throw a major tantrum trying to put her back in the car seat.

DON'T feed your energetic independent toddler lots of candy and fruit. Major diarrhea.

DON'T decide to drive on the day after a holiday. We left St. George on July 5th and it took us 9 1/2 hours to get from St. George to Newport. (It should only take about 6).

DON'T or DO-- it's "sixes" and totally depends on your mood-- let your energetic independent HUSBAND listen to Madonna's, Hung up, 5 times in a row and then proceed to tell you all about the music video he is going to create... UTube... Saturday Night Live Performance... Late Night Show with David Letterman... Apparently the Westenskows are about to get pretty famous so watch out, yall!

DO put on soothing music for the energetic independent toddler. We listened to Enya's cd 2 times all the way through and didn't get a peep from the toddler (and no she wasn't sleeping, she was just enjoying the peaceful music!)

DO take the wheel and drive. I never thought that California traffic would be better than entertaining an energetic independent toddler, but it is!

DO drive all night. I know that it might be more dangerous but a lot easier! We did it on the way home and the energetic independent toddler slept the whole way. It was great! Just load up on a lot of diet Rock Stars and candy!

BEST ADVICE--- DO spend a little bit more $$ and buy plane tickets! Saves a lot of time, stress, and tantrums!

Was it worth though??? HELL YA!!! I love the beach and would travel with my "two crazy's" any day!

Worth every second of it!

Happy 4th!

We had an awesome 4th of July weekend spending time with our friends and getting ready for our annual Newport trip. I love July and all of the fun trips that we get to go on and the time that we spend with our family and friends. Hope that everybody had a great one!

Whitney is just like her dad. She hates taking pictures! She will RARELY smile for the camera!