Girls Camp July 23rd - 27th

Boarding the buses for Camp Lomia/ Pine Arizona.
Our girls finally the day has arrived.
These are the 3 wisemen to greet us. The theme was "Christmas in July".
Our small ward.
The first night was skit night. Our girls skit was based on the "Twelve Days of Camp Lomia"
Happy to do a service project in camp, picking up wood chips. And my truck carried all 2 tons.
Kenzie sewing another service project.
This deer kind of followed me around for a few minutes.
I led the first year girls on a hike around Camp Lomia.
They climbed to the top of a steep mountain to the water towers and ate our breakfast. The girls got up at 5 a.m. to do this hike.
Our bishop getting toilet papered to look like a snowman. Stake President in the back left.
Kenzie doing the reindeer run.
All the girls in front of our cabin just chillin out.
Favorite pastime, (makeovers).

Oceanside Family Reunion 2009

We had just finished a 50 mile bike ride from Oceanside to San Diego/ Mission Bay in the background. Then we hung around the harbor for a few hours till our train came to pick us
up and rode it back to Oceanside.
We took a walk on Oceanside Pier. As you will see every picture with baby Carson, Rick
is always holding him. He's such a proud Grampa.
Ivette and I enjoying the birthday party in front of Aunt Marilyn's place.
Kenzie brought her friend Moriah to keep her company.

Baby Chase (the newest edition).
Everyone watching the sunset.
Pool Time.
Beach Time - Carson Surfing

Down Time.
Fun Time. With Ashley making her famous mud pies.
Emily and her dad Phil with Rick in tow.
Enjoying the great weather and pretty surroundings. This was the best year weather wise.
Sunny by 8 a.m. and in the 80's.

Holocaust

My friend Diane sent me an email with these pictures and more. After reading the book Sarah's
Key (which is in the next blog below) I felt like posting these pictures. It was real and we should
never forget, or let this happen to anyone else. I think Hitler was the most evil person this earth
has ever seen.

Book Review - Sarah's Key

Facinating book by Tatiana de Rosnay
Paris, July 1942: Sarah, a ten year-old girl, is brutally arrested with her family by the French police in the Vel’ d’Hiv’ roundup, but not before she locks her younger brother in a cupboard in the family's apartment, thinking that she will be back within a few hours.
Paris, May 2002: On Vel’ d’Hiv’s 60th anniversary, journalist Julia Jarmond is asked to write an article about this black day in France's past. Through her contemporary investigation, she stumbles onto a trail of long-hidden family secrets that connect her to Sarah. Julia finds herself compelled to retrace the girl's ordeal, from that terrible term in the Vel d'Hiv', to the camps, and beyond. As she probes into Sarah's past, she begins to question her own place in France, and to reevaluate her marriage and her life.
Tatiana de Rosnay offers us a brilliantly subtle, compelling portrait of France under occupation and reveals the taboos and silence that surround this painful episode.

Finally - Wicked

Kenzie's so happy she finally got to see the Broadway show "Wicked" playing at ASU's Gammage theatre to a packed enthusiastic crowd. Quite the production well worth going. It was a fun mother daughter event we'll never forget. Before the play we went shopping on Mill Ave. found
a good deal on Madden Girl sandals and Kenzie found a shirt at "Urban Outfitters" and another fun little boutique was called "So Oh". We ate pizza at Slices. Didn't get home till after 11 p.m. (I could of used a nap that afternoon). I kept falling asleep in the show. Kenzie kept nudging me to wake up. It really was a great show.

I Did Not Know

TThis was sent to me by my friend Darla, I did not know about any of these things. And now I'm glad I know. Take your bananas apart when you get home from the store. If you leave them connected at the stem, they ripen faster. Store your open ed chunks of cheese in aluminum foil. It will stay fresh much longer and not mold! Peppers with 3 bumps on the bottom are sweeter and better for eating. Peppers with 4 bumps on the bottom are firmer and better for cooking. Add a teaspoon of water when frying ground beef. It will help pull the grease away from the meat while cooking. To really make scrambled eggs or omelets rich add a couple of spoonfuls of sour cream, cream cheese, or heavy cream in and then beat them up. For a cool brownie treat, make brownies as directed. Melt Andes mints in double broiler and pour over warm brownies. Let set for a wonderful minty frosting. Add garlic immediately to a recipe if you want a light taste of garlic and at the end of the recipe if your want a stronger taste of garlic. Leftover snickers bars from Halloween make a delicious dessert. Simply chop them up with the food chopper. Peel, core and slice a few apples. Place them in a baking dish and sprinkle the chopped candy bars over the apples. Bake at 350 for 15 minutes!!! Serve alone or with vanilla ice cream. Yummm! Reheat Pizza Heat up leftover pizza in a nonstick skillet on top of the stove, set heat to med-low and heat till warm. This keeps the crust crispy. No soggy micro pizza. I saw this on the cooking channel and it really works. Easy Deviled Eggs Put cooked egg yolks in a zip lock bag. Seal, mash till they are all broken up.. Add remainder of ingredients, reseal, keep mashing it up mixing thoroughly, cut the tip of the baggy, squeeze mixture into egg. Just throw bag away when done easy clean up. Expanding Frosting When you buy a container of cake frosting from the store, whip it with your mixer for a few minutes. You can double it in size. You get to frost more cake/cupcakes with the same amount. You also eat less sugar and calories per serving. Reheating refrigerated bread To warm biscuits, pancakes, or muffins that were refrigerated, place them in a microwave with a cup of water. The increased moisture will keep the food moist and help it reheat faster. Newspaper weeds away Start putting in your plants, work the nutrients in your soil. Wet newspapers, put layers around the plants overlapping as you go cover with mulch and for- get about weeds. Weeds will get through some gardening plastic they will not get through wet newspapers. Broken Glass Use a wet cotton ball or Q-tip to pick up the small shards of glass you can't see easily. No More Mosquitoes Place a dryer sheet in your pocket. It will keep the mosquitoes away. Squirrel Away! To keep squirrels from eating your plants, sprinkle your plants with cayenne pepper. The cayenne pepper doesn't hurt the plant and the squirrels won't come near it. Flexible vacuum To get something out of a heat register or under the fridge add an empty paper towel roll or empty gift wrap roll to your vacuum. It can be bent or flattened to get in narrow open ings. Reducing Static Cling Pin a small safety pin to the seam of your slip and you will not have a clingy skirt or dress. Same thing works with slacks that cling when wearing panty hose. Place pin in seam of slacks and ... ta da! ... static is gone. Measuring Cups Before you pour sticky substances into a measuring cup, fill with hot water.. Dump out the hot water, but don't dry cup. Next, add your ingredient, such as peanut butter, and watch how easily it comes right out. Foggy Windshield? Hate foggy windshields? Buy a chalkboard eraser and keep it in the glove box of your car When the windows fog, rub with the eraser! Works better than a cloth! Re open ing envelopes If you seal an envelope and then realize you forgot to include something inside, just place your sealed envelope in the freezer for an hour or two. Viola! It unseals easily. Conditioner Use your hair conditioner to shave your legs. It's cheaper than shaving cream and leaves your legs really smooth. It's also a great way to use up the conditioner you bought but didn't like when you tried it in your hair. Goodbye Fruit Flies To get rid of pesky fruit flies, take a small glass, fill it 1/2' with Apple Cider Vinegar and 2 drops of dish washing liquid; mix well. You will find those flies drawn to the cup and gone forever! Get Rid of Ants Put small piles of cornmeal where you see ants. They eat it, take it 'home,' can't digest it so it kills them. It may take a week or so, especially if it rains, but it works and you don't have the worry about pets or small children being harmed! INFO ABOUT CLOTHES DRYERS The heating unit went out on my dryer! The gentleman that fixes things around the house for us told us that he wanted to show us something and he went over to the dryer and pulled out the lint filter. It was clean. (I always clean the lint from the filter after every load clothes.) He told us that he wanted to show us something; he took the filter over to the sink and ran hot water over it. The lint filter is made of a mesh material .. I'm sure you know what your dryer's lint filter looks like. Well ... the hot water just sat on top of the mesh! It didn't go through it at all! He told us that dryer sheets cause a film over that mesh that's what burns out the heating unit. You can't SEE the film, but it's there. It's what is in the drye r sheets to make your clothes soft and static free ... that nice fragrance too. You know how they can feel waxy when you take them out of the box ... well this stuff builds up on your clothes and on your lint screen. This is also what causes dryer units to potentially burn your house down with it! He said the best way to keep your dryer working for a very long time (and to keep your electric bill lower) is to take that filter out and wash it with hot soapy water and an old toothbrush (or other brush) at least every six months. He said that makes the life of the dryer at least twice as long! How about that!?! Learn something new everyday! I certainly didn't know dryer sheets would do that. So, I thought I'd share! Note: I went to my dryer and tested my screen by running water on it. The water ran through a little bit but mostly collected all the water in the mesh screen. I washed it with warm soapy water and a nylon brush and I had it done in 30 seconds. Then when I rinsed it .. the water ran right thru the screen! There wasn't any puddling at all! That repairman knew what he was talking about! .