Mamma's little helper

Today has been such a cute day. Lydia has been so intent on "helping" with all kinds of things. I love to see her do things — and especially when she wants to do them exactly the way I am doing them.

First up: Cleaning the patio
A wind/rain storm last night left the patio less-than-pretty. However, in this heat and humidity I had no intention of tackling the project today but Lydia would not be deterred. She requested the same bucket and rag that I typically use and went to town.





Next stop: Bill paying
She insisted on writing several "checks" and then mailing the bills she paid this morning. When I tried to interrupt her for a picture she said, "I'm busy Mom. I'm paying bills."
Hmmm... have I said that to her before?


 

I didn't get pictures of the rest of our day, but it included grocery shopping with her "driving" the car at Harmons and unloading all the yogurt into the fridge by herself.

She's such a sweetheart!

July 4th and not a sparkler in sight

So, if I didn't put my Fourth of July decorations up in my house until July 5th, does that make me somehow less of an American?

In truth, it is simply indicative of how my schedule has been going this summer.

I love the Fourth of July, in fact it is usually one of my favorite holidays. But this year, thanks to a hectic work schedule, some weather complications and a 3-year-old's sleep schedule, it was one of the most low-key celebrations we've had.

Low key, but still a fun family day.

When I got off work our plans for a late afternoon swim were foiled by unexpected winds, so we packed Lydia up and headed to the park where the city had a variety of kid-booths to enjoy.

When we finished at the park we went home for dinner and I tried to accept the fact that Lydia was not going to stay awake until 10 p.m. for the city fireworks display.
Instead, we put Lydia to bed and spent the evening playing cards with Derek's parents.
Like I said, low-key, but still nice.
Happy Birthday America!

The next day my house looked so bare without the red, white and blue decor I usually put up I thought, what the heck —I'll put it up now. It made me feel better about everything.

Girl's Camp 2012

After months of preparation, this summer I had the monumental task of heading up the Girl's Camp for our ward.
Thanks to fantastic co-leaders I survived the heat, the dirt, the exhaustive schedule and being the only pregnant woman (to my knowledge) on the mountain — and managed to have a really great time.

The overall camp theme was Eternal Rewards or "ER" so each ward was assigned a medical specialty. Ours was radiology — so our theme became "Inner Image."
 

Me and my right arm girl — Kamille. Couldn't have done it without her.

Our ward leaders with fireside speaker Lyndsi Houskeeper.

Kamille, Lisa and Natalie — ready for our canoe ride.

Kolob Reservoir

One of the activities was a take on some sort of Paint the World event or something. Perhaps you've heard of it. This was "wear your values." Each person got a bag filled with powder paint mixed with cornstarch and, after reciting the Young Women Theme, everyone threw their paint into the air. It was quite a sight — and the aftermath was messy, to say the least. 

Little big girl

A friend of mine gave this fantastic costume jewelry to Lydia. Doesn't she look like some kind of want-to-be beauty queen? Hilarious.

 

Tragically her favorite part of the set — the giant pink ring — was recently instrumental in a lesson that what goes down the toilet does not come back up.