Some Excitement at Casa Riley

Just when I think I'm going to be able to keep up with my blog, my modem DIES and I'm without internet for a whole week! So, here's what happened during the WEEK WITHOUT INTERNET ACCESS:
Emily lost her very first tooth! Yay, Emmy! We noticed last Monday at dinner that her new tooth was coming in behind it - OH, NO! So, with the help of her biggest sis and Aunt Amy, Emily managed to wiggle that little wobbler right out. The Tooth Fairy is very generous for first teeth, so Emily was excited to find a $5 bill under her pillow AND she left the tooth for Emmy to show her class.
Lauren had her own bit of excitement the Saturday before last. She spilled a steaming bowl of Top Ramen all over her foot. That doesn't sound so bad, right? Yeah, it probably wouldn't have been, but dear Lauren wasn't supposed to be eating on the couch. So she panicked. Instead of cleaning the boiling hot soup off her foot, she chose to try cleaning up the mess first to possibly avoid being in trouble for eating in the Forbidden Zone. The resulting severe 2nd degree burn turned out to be sufficient punishment. She hasn't worn anything but flip flops for the last 10 days, and actually had to get a doctor's note for it because of the school's dress code. How many kids do you know actually need a prescription for flip flops?
On Friday, the girls and I visited the September 11th Memorial Flag Field in Sandy. I didn't think that, 8 years later, hearing the speech President Bush gave that day, or seeing all those flags could still make me cry. But they still do. Lauren and I talked about what happened that day, and what it meant to our country. Even the little girls walked reverently through the flags, holding hands. I really pray that they all grow up with the same freedom's and opportunities that we've enjoyed thus far.....

Our last post was in July? Really?!

Wow. I am reeallly behind. So, maybe this will be just a highlights post......
July - lots of fun, relaxing.....
August - Cheer stuff, school starts, soccer games....

Maybe that's a little TOO short. :)
All 3 girls are back in school at the charter school. Yep, even Lauren by her choice. She occasionally waffles back and forth about schools, but seems happy at the charter school overall. Apparently, they have the coolest parties, and she gets to take a photography class that the jr. high doesn't offer. Lindsey is still adjusting, but we're confident that in a few weeks she'll have more friends than ever. She really likes her teacher, and getting out at noon every Friday. :) Emily is a happy kindergartner this year. Her best friend from dance and preschool is in her class, so she's super excited. All three are learning Spanish, and Em also gets to explore Chinese and Arabic this year.
Lindsey and Emily are playing soccer, Lauren is cheering. Every single game for all 3 (plus all soccer practices) falls on the same 2 days of the week. It's crazy trying to get everyone where they need to be those days! We've decided to preserve what's left of my sanity by not starting dance or tumbling classes until October when things die down a little. Lauren is also trying out for a school play this week (also on the same 2 weekdays - of course!). She's so excited and nervous!
Maybe I'll be better about posting after this. :)
Check out the slideshow below for a picture update of the last 2 months:

Wow. I'm really behind on my posting, huh?

Has it really been that long? Time flies when you're busy! So, here's a quick update:
June 12th: Lindsey and Emily had their dance recital - can we say super-darling little dancers? They both did a fantastic job! I'm still waiting for their pictures and DVD to come in, but here a couple pictures of them afterwards. As soon as the recital was over, we booked it to Provo for Chantelle and Chris' reception. Lauren was a bridesmaid, and the little girls got to be flower girls.
June 15-19th: Lauren was off to Young Women's Camp with the stake. She had a great time, but didn't take any pictures for me to post.
June 26th: All 3 girls were in the Lehi Round-up Parade (so both Kent and I had to walk, too). Lauren and I walked with the cheerleaders, and Emily, Lindsey and Kent were part of our ward's miniature float. Luckily, it was overcast and relatively cool, and the rain held off until the very end. We have walked in a parade where it poured the entire time. This was much better.
July 4th: Fireworks and a BBQ with the Walter's - relaxing and fun! No pictures, though. I was too busy relaxing and cooking to be bothered with a camera. :)
Which catches us up to this past weekend and our Abbott Family Campout @ Palisades State Park. We're not really the outdoorsy-types, but the girls have been begging to go again since our trip last summer. Daily. Apparently, our girls are the outdoorsy-types. Go figure. Anyway, we got down there mid-morning Saturday so the girls would have plenty of quality-camping time. All four of them were in their swimsuits and in the lake within minutes (Lauren's friend Kylie came along to keep Lauren company). We rented a canoe for the afternoon, so Lauren and Kylie spent most of the afternoon taking the younger kids for rides or lounging in their tubes. The little girls LOVED the lake! We had a hard time getting them to come back to the camp. Fortunately, Aunt Shawni had a cute chihuahua named Zoe that let them lead it around the entire time. Poor dog. Emily dragged that poor little thing all around camp for 2 days straight!
Kent and I took off for a little while in the canoe, and then for a quick hike to a promising diving rock. Unfortunately, it was plastered with "no diving, no jumping" signs. Kent weighed the consequences of jumping anyway, but decided to be good and just go out to the diving platform instead.
One of the trip highlights was watching the big girls try to wash their hair in the sprinklers. The showers were only available from 5-10 morning and night, so they decided to be creative after an afternoon swim. We didn't bother to point out that the sprinklers were probably using untreated lake water.
That's pretty much the full run-down on our camping experience. We had lots of fun and family-bonding time, got a few sunburns, and survived sleeping on air mattresses. So, I guess that means it was a successful camping trip!

Happy 13th Birthday, Lauren! (a few days late)

WOW! What happened?! One minute my Lauren is a little girl, and the next - a TEENAGER!!! It's truly amazing to watch her turning into a young woman right in front of me. She's so sweet, kind, and fun to be with, with a touch of sassiness just to remind us that she's growing up now. For her birthday, she asked to be upgraded to a queen-size bed because her feet hang off the end. :) Of course, I find it appalling that she's now taller than I am by at least an inch, and she loves that she can reach things way higher than I can. The fact that I can wear all her shoes, but mine are too small for her now is a small consolation....
We know she's getting older, but it's frightening to have a 13 yr old who looks so mature. A few weeks ago, she had a substitute teacher refuse to let her out of class for 7th grade testing because she was convinced that Lauren was a 9th grader just trying to get out of class. Of the 2000 text messages she's used so far this month (no, that's not a typo), most of them are from - gasp! - BOYS! And not just the one she has officially claimed as her boyfriend recently (another GASP!). Kent is about having a nervous breakdown, and Matt seems to be in denial. All of us are wondering how we're going to keep those darn boys away from such a beautiful creature. Kent is suggesting buying guns and ammo.... I don't worry too much, though. She's stubborn and a touch rebellious about cleaning her room and doing homework, but she's also the embodiment of the Young Women's values. She knows who she is, what she wants, and what is deeply important to her.
For her birthday, she invited all her friends to come hang out, paint shirts, and eat! Kent even dug a temporary fire pit in the backyard so they could make s'mores. (Our girls are lobbying to keep it). Nothing is more entertaining than a large group of teenage girls hopped up on marshmallows and chocolate.