Challenge courses! And NY

I've now had 2 days of training as a volunteer at the Heber Valley Girls camp and man, it is scary fun! I get to belay the girls as they climb up some of the courses and we also attach them onto a zipline and onto a repel thingy. I haven't learned the nest at the repel course but I've done most of the other positions. Girls camp starts this week so Thursday will be my first day. I volunteer most Thursdays during the summer until we move. So I've been able to go up on two of the high ropes challenge courses and they are fun but intimidating in areas. On one section I jokingly called down to the other volunteers, "So, this is supposed to be fun?!!" I think they knew what I meant! Going down the zipline was probably the best part.

So yeah, its official. We are moving to Hempstead, NY. Richard will be starting law school at Hofstra University Law School and he starts orientation August 12. We are still looking for a place to live. Talk about expensive!!! We've got it narrowed down to the best 2 so far but I'm working with a sister in the local branch to see if she or someone can help us find anything cheaper. Would you believe 1,800-2,000 is pretty typical for a 2 bedroom apt.? But, I'm excited to be near the beach again and to live in such a diverse city again. It will be quite a bit more like Orlando then Orem and Midway. Hempstead is on Long Island and it is south of the ritzy old, Gold Coast area of Long Island.

Llama day was fun

A week ago Saturday I took the kids to see the Llamas here in Midway and Cliffie didn't care about them. He really liked the space heater in the barn though. A lady there asked if we'd like to rub their necks and he immediately said no. I learned a thing or two about Llamas and Alpacas. Alpacas are much smaller. Gestation period for llamas is about a year. They don't get sheared often - maybe once a year. Pack Llamas can carry some 25 % or so of their weight but they don't store water like camels. Their wool is really soft. They make this funny noise that is kind of a cross between humming and grunting. It made me laugh. They sound really funny! They have much larger teeth than I thought (it made me think twice about actually letting the kids touch them). Violet didn't care about them much either. It was really cold that day and she was tired so I ended up carrying her in my arms the whole time with a blanket.

Then I let Cliffie play at a park for a half hour and then we went to McDonalds for a short time. That was the first time that Violet crawled up into the playplace all by herself. I then climbed up and went down the slide with the two of them a couple times. Even for someone short like me, it was still a bit claustrophobic up there for me. I'll get some pictures posted from that weekend when I find my cable cord for the camera. That was definitely a do-things-with-kids-day and not a get-things-done-around-the-house day. Give and take. Striking a balance. Sigh. I'll find that happy balance one day between getting things done and having fun family time.

B-day party pix

We had a lot of fun watching Violet devour her cupcake! She loved it! Before eating it, she held it up high as if saying, "Behold the cupcake of which I'm about to make disappear."