Girls State Forever, Baby!

Some of you might ask, "What's Girl State?".  I had the same question back when I was in high school.  All I knew was that my sister, Heidi, went and she told me to go.  It supposedly looks good on college applications and resumes.  So, I signed up for the gig.  Actually, I had to "try-out".  I think I wrote a short essay and then had to meet at an American Legion meeting and talk to some senior citizens about government stuff.  I really don't remember the details. 

 

In fact, I don't really remember much of anything that happened during the week I spent at Girls State.  I remember it was in Cedar City at SUU.  Everyone was split up into groups.  I think my group was Matheson City?  There were elections for governor, mayors, and all sorts of stuff.  That's about all I can recall about the actual events of the week.  The most important thing to come from my time there is my friendship with these two ladies. 

 

This is me, Aimee Giles, and Brooke Robbins back in 1997...I think that's the right year.  I don't know what it was that drew us together, but we've been friends ever since that crazy week.  (Side note:  "Crazy" is not a very good word to describe what took place at Girls State.  The meetings and elections and such were actually quite, quite boring, but becoming as fast of friends with these girls was "crazy".)

 

                       

We stayed in touch.  I'm not sure when it was (I think it was the next summer), but Brooke and I drove to Castle Dale to watch Aimee star in a pageant of some kind.  Brooke played soccer for Cottonwood High School, so we saw each other when Layton played against them.  We had a few lunch dates during high school, I think.  Aimee and Brooke were roommates at Ricks College.  Through the years, we always checked in on each other with phone calls, emails, lunches, etc. 
 

 Fast forward to now.  This is Brooke Krim, Aimee Wright, and me at our latest get together.  One of my favorite things to do when my little family makes our bi-annual trips to Utah is to have lunch with Aimee and Brooke.  Nearly every summer and every Christmas we get together for a few hours and just talk.  I absolutely LOVE IT.  By the end of our lunch, the waiter or waitress always hates us because we stay so long in the restaurant catching up.  These girls know everything about me.  There have been many social situations where I leave and think, "Oh man.....I WAY over shared."  Do you know what I mean?  Not with these girls.  Even though we see so little of each other, I can tell them anything and not feel judged or looked down upon.  Aimee called it "safe" and I love that! 
 

This year we tried something different.  We got together at Brooke's mom's house in Salt Lake City and let the kiddos play.  It was so fun!  I stole most of these pictures (including the ones from Girls State) from Aimee's blog....thanks, Aimee!!  Now if only I could figure out how to make more than just the first two pics bigger.

Noel, Graham, Gavin, Morgan, and Brooklynn

 



 

Here's Gavin and Graham getting ready to give the slip 'n slide a try. 

 



 

The yard is absolutely beautiful.  Joy Robbins, Brooke's mom, had this tree house put in for her grandkids.  It was a hit! 

 



 

There's a little stream running through the yard that the kids loved playing in.  
 

Cute Brooklynn and Lucy.  I was so happy watching all of our kiddos run around together.  It took them a little while to warm up, but soon they were having a great time and playing like old friends. 

 

Gavin and Benny

 



 

 

Both Brooke and Aimee have become women that I admire so very much.  They both have such strong testimonies of the gospel and it shows in how they react to the trials they face.  So much strength and so much joy despite what life throws at them.  I am so grateful for their examples and their friendships. 

 

Our next lunch will be at a little pizzeria in Sicily......right girls?

So Long, Farewell

Jason and I decided we wanted to have one more get together before leaving the Tolleson Ward.  So, after our furniture and all of our household goods were gone, we invited everyone over for a swim party.  It was so fun! 

I always loved seeing the pool filled with kids having a great time.  The best part was the noise.  So much laughter and fun!

 



Alexis Tuggle, Morgan Mather, Cara Clift, Carmella Brown, Chloe Clift

 



These are just a few of the sweet girls I got to work with in Young Women's.  I'm so glad they came.  I miss them so much!  

 

A couple of our besties.  Jake and Nora Black with Benny.

 

Graham and John Draper.  These two were in the same kindergarten class. 

 



 

I love how happy Graham is in this picture.  I love the craziness that is happening in the background, too.  We asked everyone to just bring a dessert to share (along with serving utensils 'cause ours were all packed up).  Complete chaos, but so much fun!  

 

Lucy wit her two buds, Brooklyn Mather and Noe Quiblan. 

 



 

Lucy loved her Achievement Days leader, Sister Dunn.  She has missed her group so much and asks about them a lot.  Such a sweet woman who always made Lucy feel so special and talented.  

 

Goodbye, Tolleson Ward!  We love and miss you!

 

The Cowleys Came!

We were lucky enough to get a visit from our dear friends, the Cowleys.  They were are buddies back when we lived in Oxnard.  In May they came to visit their grandparents that live in Mesa and we were able to steal the kiddos for a sleepover. 

 

The kids got a long great!  They swam most of the time and only stopped for snack breaks. 

 



 

Lucy and Lana were the best of friends in Oxnard.  They picked up right where they left off and chatted the days away. 

 



Benny and Autumn are only 7-8 weeks apart and both were born in Oxnard.  It was fun to see them together again. 

 



 

I think Grahama and Kaitlyn had the most fun, though.  They played hard and were always laughing and goofing off. 

 



 It was so fun having them!  Lucy and Lana are texting buddies now and occasionally they write letters and mail them the old fashioned way, too.  I really enjoyed visiting with Bethany, too.  There's always so much to chat about when you have the "military life" in common.  I loved reconnecting with these sweet, funny ladies!

 

 

 

 

 

Swim Lessons at Starlight Pool

Super hot days called for super fun swim lessons!  We fit in two sessions at once this year.  All three kids swam from 11:00-12:30 everyday for two weeks.  They did great! 

 

The boys especially loved the five minutes of free time at the end of every lesson. 

 



 

A couple of the days, we stayed after for a couple hours during "free swim".  Lucy's fabulous friend from Oxnard, Morgan Glinski, stayed with us for a couple days and joined us on one of the afternoons. 

 



 

Benny was amazing!  He could swim, swim, swim across the pool.  The only problem was that he hated doing it.  He cried and cried before we talked him into it or bribed him.  He loves the water and swimming, but did not like "swimming the distance". 

 



 



 

Here's Benny with his teacher and his end of session popsicle.  She was really sweet with him.  She pulled me aside a couple times and told me how impressed she was with his mad swimming skills. 

 



 

Graham was lucky enough to have class with the Black girls.  Here he is with Madilyn and Nora Black waiting his turn. 

 

 

I enjoyed coming each morning and visiting with my friends.  Chelsey Black, Amanda Andrus, Amy O'Neil, and Ginger Wallgren were always there to keep me company.  

Randomness....

Here's some random cuteness that I thought was picture worthy.  All of these were taken during the last month we lived in Phoenix. 

 

 Benny loves his ImagiNext toys.  Graham has some, too.  Benny was always so surprised and happy when he got to play with all of them when Graham was away.  Shhhhhhh.....don't tell Graham. 

 Ben did this all the time in our last house.  This is a sight I got used to seeing as I made his lunch or got dinner ready.  He was always very casual about it.  No big deal.  Just liked the view. 

 

This is a poster Graham made during his last week in kindergarten. He was pretty mad when he realized I threw it away.  In my defense, it hung on his door for over a month before I took it to the trash days before we moved.  I showed him the picture I took of it and he was less angry.  I love his self-portrait the most.

 Sunday afternoons were a little tough at our house.  We had church at 8 am and then we had from 11:00-bedtime to fill with just family time.  Not to mention the heat which made walks no fun.  The silver lining was when moments like this happened.  It was during these Sundays that the kids would usually find a way to play together with very little fighting and lots of make-believe. 

 

The boys went through a "no-shirt" phase for a while.  They'd put their jammies on and then just a few minutes later, Graham would strip his shirt off and Benny would copy him.  

Buckeye Pool

School was out May 23rd this year in Phoenix.  That meant we had a lot of super hot summer days to fill with fun.  We spent many of our afternoons in our own pool, but for a change of scene, we made our way out to the Buckeye Pool more than a few times.  It was a twenty minute drive, but only cost $2 and has a slide. 

 

 

The pool is always WAY more fun if the kiddos bring a friend, so we always tried to bring the kids best buds, Junior and Brooke with us. 

 



 

Love the poses from these funny kids. 

 



 

Turns out my parents bought a house just few miles from the Buckeye Pool.  Looks like we may be taking a dip in these waters and sliding down that slide again! 



Tooth Trouble

This little man lost one of his front teeth back in May. 

 

 He let it get super dooper loose and wouldn't let me pull it out.  It was hanging by a thread when he was eating some Honeycomb for breakfast and.........he swallowed it.  He was not a happy camper. 



 

So, we wrote the tooth fairy a very informative letter and he was still able to get his cash. 

(I love the face he's pulling in this picture.  It's his "too shy to smile" face.  We see it a lot when he's nervous about something.  Meeting new people, performing, etc.)

"Dear tooth fairy, I swallowed my tooth.  can I still get money

Lave Graham"

Totally Radical Farewell Party!

Jason and I have been so blessed to make great friends wherever we end up living.  When you live away from your own family, your friends become your lifeline and I depend on them so much. 

 

Our friends from the Tolleson Ward were no different.  Even though we only lived there for one short year, I love these people and I'm so grateful for their friendships. 

 

A few weeks before our departure, they got together and planned an amazing farewell party for us....80's style!  It was so incredibly fun and unexpected. 

 

 

 We started the night with fabulous food.  They decorated five little tables to look like we were dining in a little Italian restaurant.  We had yummy pasta and delicious salad. 

 

Then the fun began!  My sweet friend, Chelsey, is a photographer.  She and my other friends, Emily, Angela, and Bree set up a funny backdrop.  They gathered tons and tons of 80's clothes, make-up and accessories for us to dress up in.  Each couple took turns dressing up and getting their pictures taken.  It was absolutely hilarious!



Here's Emily and Dan Mather.  She was so funny, posing it up and loving the camera.  Emily lives in the neighborhood that we did.  She and I carpooled our kids to school everyday.  Her daughter, Brooklyn, is Lucy's best buddy.  She was also my visiting teacher.  I love her and her family so much!



This is Chelsey and Randy Black.  They moved into the ward just a couple weeks after us and Chelsey and I became fast friends.  She is the photographer and is so talented in so many things.  I missed her just hours after we had left Phoenix. 

 

And here are the timeless photos of Jason and I.....

 



 

I was the only woman to brave the girl-mullet wig.  We thought the pregnant belly added to the photo opportunity. 

 



Back row: Bree Nelson, Charlene Olivas, Angela Price, Kim Clift, Alison Dull, Chelsey Black

Front Row:  ME, Emily Mather, Jamie Robinson, Amy O'Neil

 

There were ten couples at the party.  Here's us girls.  Loved the props! 

 



 

I love this picture!!  We are all laughing so hard!  Angela had just said something hilarious....I can't remember what it was, though, darnit.  

 

Love these girls.  I'm so grateful for our time together! 

 



 

 They gave Jason and I a little photo album a week later with all of the pictures and everyone took the time to sign it like a yearbook.  So cute and fun!  I was so touched by the time and effort that went into every detail. We had such a bodacious time!