our trip to psr

On Sabbath, our family packed up the car and drove up the mountain to Pine Springs Ranch. This will be the first summer in years where both my husband and I are not working at camp. PSR will always have a special place in my heart. For those of you who don't know, I met my husband at PSR. I was sixteen years old, working as a horseback riding instructor and wrangler. My husband worked full time in the kitchen and part time in the horse department. We briefly met during the first week of staff training when he walked down with some other girl to the horse department.

Did I know at sixteen that this was the man I was going to marry??? Nope. In fact, my first impression of him wasn't a good one. I remember that I was sitting outside under the porch cleaning saddles. I was with my best friend and sisters. I introduced myself to my husband and his friend. We exchanged small talk, I learned that we attending the same church and had sat in the same Sabbath school program. After that I honestly don't remember him very well. 

 About half way through the summer, I was assigned to gate duty (a boring assignment where a staff member will check in and out guests at the front gate). That morning, my husband was late to work (he overslept), which annoyed his coworkers. After breakfast, he needed to get away for a while and agreed to join me for gate duty. We spent the entire morning talking and getting to know each other. After my shift was over, we went our separate ways....or so I thought. About a week before camp was over, my husband and I started talking again and spending our free time together...and well..

Nine years later we were married. 

After that Lucas joined our family. 

And now we get to enjoy PSR as a family with our friends. 

A little about our day...

On the way up the mountain, I got a text reminding me that we needed to have an L-team 2010 photo shoot. That summer was a good summer. I made some great friends, amazing memories and learned a lot. I'm so thankful for this group of people and I'm looking forward to creating many new memories with them. 

Leadership Team 2010

Leadership Team 2010

Top - 2010
Bottom - 2013
We still got it!!! 

Lucas is helping out by cleaning the tepee. 

Our Fourth of July

We had a wonderful 4th of July! Kicked off the day with a little shopping and ended it with a family BBQ and fireworks.

refashioned tee shirt

With the arrival of summer I've been looking for creative ways to dress up my comfy tee shirts. Our Southern California summer's can get really hot really fast! This week has been especially hot with highs in the triple digits...on Saturday it got up to 110 degrees. Before starting my tee shirt project, I searched pinterest for inspiration. I found this cute tee shirt refashion and decided to try it for myself.

I apologize for the poor quality of the photos. I was juggling the camera, on a tripod, with Denny and Lucas underfoot. I followed the instructions provided by Merrick's Art. For the base shirt I used a target tee shirt that was already sized for me. The fabric was from JoAnn's fabrics.  

Stenciling Project Phase #1

 Before: 

After:

Lately, I've been oohing and aahing over designer stencils projects on pinterest. I love the look of all over wall stencil, especially in small spaces. Designer stencils are beautiful, but pricey ($50 +). I decided to do some research. I found several inspiring bloggers who designed and created their own stencils. However, in the end I found an inexpensive stencil at home depot that fit my needs. It took several days to complete the project. I had to work around Lucas's nap schedule and I had to wait in between each stencil to allow the paint to properly dry. I'm really happy with the results.

Father's Day

Happy Father's Day. 

Pillars of the Earth and World Without an End

One year ago, my husband introduced me to books on tape by audible. My life was changed forever! Back in the olden days, pre-baby and pre-housework, I had time to read and finish books. Now, I'm lucky if I am able to read a chapter or two per night. However, on a positive note Lucas's ever growing love for books does ensure that I read "Go, Go, Cars" and "Dig, Dig, Digging."  

I recently finished listening to "Pillars of the Earth" and "World Without an End" by Ken Follett. Each novel is approximately forty hours long and took several weeks to complete. "World Without an End" was written as a sequel to "Pillars of the Earth." However, the novels (in my humble opinion) could be read in any order, or stand alone as individuals.

The novels take place in the fictional town of Kingsbridge, England.  In "Pillars of the Earth," Follett weaves together a 12th century narrative surrounding the events of the building of the Kingsbridge Cathedral during a time when England was in a civil war. One hundred and fifty-seven years later, "World Without End" takes place. The novel incorporates the start of the Hundred Years' War between England and France and the Black Plague.

I read "Pillars of the Earth" first, and I'm glad that I did. It had a better story, the characters were interesting, and I liked how the author used the building of the Kingsbridge Cathedral as a framing device. The first half of "World Without an End" was too similar to "Pillars of the Earth." However, towards the second half of the novel things start to pick up when the black plague hits Kingsbridge. Compared to "Pillars," the character development isn't as good in "World Without an End." 

Overall, I'd give "Pillars of the Earth" 9 out of 10. And "World Without an End" an 7 out of 10. 

Memorial Day

Memorial Day weekend flew by too quickly. The weather was beautiful. To kick things off, my husband decided to repair the sprinklers in our backyard. I snapped this picture of Lucas helping his Daddy. I'm surprised Denny didn't jump in for a photo bomb. He usually does.  While father and son worked, I was able to do some gardening myself. I'm excited to watch my baby plants to grow...in a few months the back yard is going to look beautiful.

 Sabbath was spent at the beach. The plan was to stay and build a fire, but by the time we arrived the pits were all taken. We made due with a picnic instead. It was also our friend Tyler's birthday. Sara, made some delicious cupcakes and cake balls.

 On Monday, Lucas went swimming for the first time. I wasn't sure how he would handle being in a swimming pool. He loves the bathtub, and the hose, but a swimming pool was uncharted territory. I worried for nothing...He loved the pool. He splashed and kicked around having a blast. I'm so thankful that Lucas isn't afraid of the water.  However, his lack of fear scares me...and I'm going to need to be extra careful whenever we are around the water. Swimming lessons are a must!