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.

I Can't Believe......

My baby sis is now a married woman!!! Chantelle, my 20 yr old youngest sister, married her sweetheart, Chris, yesterday in the San Diego temple. I'm sooo happy and excited for them, but they just seem so...young. Maybe it's because I'm unwilling to admit that I'm getting older, too. Afterall, my almost-13 yr old daughter is one of her bridesmaids!
When Chantelle first told me that she was dating Chris, a 26 yr old programmer and music student, I completely flipped out. WHY was he interested in someone so much younger?! Seriously, I about had my head explode trying not to scream at her to run away - fast! After a lengthy talk with my mom, who had met him, I chilled out slightly. Everyone kept saying how much he reminded them of Kent. (Honestly, that made it worse - I know my husband. He's seemingly sweet and harmless, but has a well-hidden wild streak.)
Then I met Chris.
He really is like Kent's clone, and that's exactly what I would want for Chantelle, and my own daughters. She's a very blessed young lady, finding a man who is that loving, patient, and kind. We all really love Chris, and we're thrilled to have him in our family! He's a lucky guy, too. Chantelle is vivacious and sweet; always in the middle of some major project. Watching them together is like watching a Yorkie playing with a St. Bernard - Chantelle flitting around, giggling and talking, while Chris sits there - content and protective. They're so cute together!
I wish them all the happiness and joy that Kent and I have enjoyed the past 10 years -

Congratulations, Chantelle & Chris!

Back from the Happiest Place on Earth

Hi, Everyone! We're finally back from Disneyland! After a snowy Spring Break the week before, it was so nice to get away to sunny California for a week. The kids LOVED not having school for a whole 2 weeks, and I appreciated the long break, too. Here's the long recap:
We decided to drive straight through, so we left at 5:30 am Monday morning. Surprisingly, all 3 girls were wide-awake when we pulled out! We stopped for breakfast in Cedar City, then drove and drove and drove until we finally made it to Anaheim around 3:30 pm PST. After checking into the Paradise Pier Hotel, we visited California Adventure for a couple hours before dinner at the Rainforest Cafe. Lindsey had been running a fever since Sunday afternoon, so Kent had to carry her most of the time, but a couple of Tylenols helped. Unfortunately, being sick made her a little less enthusiastic. Our little rollercoaster-lover wanted to go on California Screamin' first, since she was too short last time. That turned out to be a REALLY bad idea. It traumatized her so fully that she wouldn't ride another rollercoaster the rest of the trip - even her favorites from last time. We spent a great deal of time in our hotel room the first 2 days, trying to let her rest. Those were the hottest days, so we visited the pool for a few hours on Tuesday, which seemed to help Lindsey relax. :)
Wednesday was better. She was feeling better, and the weather was cooler, so we spent a lot more time at the parks. Our little princesses got the royal treatment from everyone. They loved it when all the cast members and characters called them "princess". (Note: dressing up little girls in Disney costumes garners you lots of extra attention). The Fairy Godmother gave them "princess lessons", Ariel spent several minutes with them, and Emily got to dance with Mary Poppins in a street show!
One huge benefit to staying in a Disney hotel was the Magic Mornings - guests get into the parks an hour before they open. That was the only way we got to go on the Nemo Subs. Even then, it was a 45 minute wait! Well worth the wait, though. Thursday and Friday we spent the entire time in the parks, only returning to the hotel when the park closed. Everyone LOVED the Tom Sawyer Island! We spent about an hour exploring all the pirate hideouts there.
We visited a number of attractions this time that we skipped on our last trip. Turtle Talk with Crush was so cute, and the Aladdin Spectacular was amazing! Lindsey and Emily lobbied for a second trip to the Tiki Room, but were vetoed by the over-10 votes. Cute, but once is definitely enough. On our last trip, the Matterhorn was the favorite ride, but was beat out this time by It's a Small World. I probably don't need to mention that this was by the little princesses' choice. :)
My only big disappointment was having the fireworks canceled. :( That really made me sad. I also made the huge mistake of choosing "cute" over "comfort" for shoes. I think I permanently damaged my feet and hip joints. Otherwise, we had an awesome vacation!
By Saturday morning, we were happy to sleep in, have breakfast with Lilo and Stitch, shop a little, and then head out. We decided to drive straight through again, so we got home around 3 am. Thank goodness for those 5 Hour Powershots! We had a great time, but it's nice to be home.