Camp Roosevelt and Reid's Ranch

The Ditto family reunion and girls camp fell on the same weekend. We divided and conquered. Andrew, James, and Isabelle went to the reunion. Penelope stayed home with me. My parent's watched her while I went to girls camp.

Camp Roosevelt-Reunion

Andrew, James, and Isabelle set out early the morning of Tuesday, July 28. The drive to Camp Roosevelt was 13.5 hours (because of the time change). Bleh. The kids were troopers. Andrew's nephew Addison from BYU-Idaho hitched a ride too. Andrew was in charge of dessert one night, so I made a double batch of sugar cookie bars and froze them. He brought a cooler. Andrew and his mom also had lunch duty one day. For that, I made a double batch of oatmeal chocolate chip cookies, sent a giant watermelon (picking out watermelons is not my forte, but Andrew said it was good.), chips, and paper products.

Peaks

• The kids spent every second they could with their cousins.
• Izzy's hair got braided by multiple people. 
• James tried boat surfing. 
• James and Isabelle went tubing. 
• James went ziplining. 
• Climbing the waterfall proved to be out of their comfort zone which surprised me. 
• Izzy practiced and performed a dance with the girl cousins and got to be thrown up in the air like a cheerleader.
• Relay races, cross-net (volleyball), card games (hand and foot), cornhole

Pits

• Bug bites! It turns out not only do humans like Izzy, but bugs like her too- shocker.
• Throw-up. The night they returned to South Jordan, James threw up at 1am. I think it was due to consuming a lot of junk on the car ride home. 
• There was a big fire in the Spokane area which made camp smoky. 
• Gas prices meant this wasn't a cheap journey.
• I'm bummed I missed it!

The kids were in heaven and have already been asking about going back! My family was reunited the evening of Saturday, August 1.

Reid's Ranch-Girls Camp

Reid's Ranch is about 2.5 hours away from here past Strawberry Reservoir. Girls camp was 2 nights and 22 girls attended. I'm glad I got to go.

For my workshop

Memorable things:

• Christina got the "racecar driver" paper plate award. This made me laugh out loud. The last 40 minutes before you arrive at camp, you drive on a dirt road. Christina zoomed around cars and it was like a roller coaster ride. We were all giggling as she said things like "they're only going 15mph. I can't do this for 30 more minutes." She even told us to raise our hands as if we were on a ride.
• I got the "warrior" paper plate award. Several people were shocked I went to girls camp so pregnant. (at 33 weeks)
• The food was included at the camp and was nasty.
• Line dancing! I participated in the sitting down dance.  Didn't want to push labor.
• The accommodations were nice. I chose a bunkbed right next to the on suite bathroom.
• Horseback riding seemed to be the favorite activity. I had to skip. There was also mountain biking, archery, a lake with canoeing,  a swimming pool, etc.
• I was asked to teach a workshop on divine worth. The workshop was 25 minutes long and I taught it 3x to different groups of young women. This was a tricky topic to prepare for, but I think it came together. A YW talked about something I said in her testimony which made me feel like something stuck.
• While I was teaching my workshop, a boy came and sat right next to me and tried to take one of my treats... It was so weird and I completely lost my train of thought. Thanks to Alexa for shooing him away empty-handed.
• It was weird to be surrounded by several boys camps and the leaders didn't seem to be watching the boys very closely...
• Testimony meeting was quieter than I expected but the girls who shared their testimonies were mighty. Man, they came up with profound analogies and the spirit was strong. One girl compared horseback riding to the Savior carrying and being with us. Another talked about a picture of Jesus with flowers. She said that in the picture, the flowers look perfect but that in her mind, Jesus chooses the wilted and dying flowers. We're imperfect and he chooses us anyway. I think by the time testimony meeting rolled around, the girls were tired.
• We had 3 adult speakers kickoff testimony meeting. Brad and Jen Martin from the bishopric shared impactful messages. Another person was told to give a 15 minute talk and after 40 minutes was still talking. In fact, she had to be cut off. I couldn't contain my laughter when the camp director said, "the horses are due back at the corral" to try to encourage an ending...
  
• After testimonies, we ate dessert. It was 10pm and the Martins graciously brought BYU brownies, ice cream, and strawberries. It legitimately felt like eating after fasting all day. It was superb and was worth the heartburn.
• I got my hair braided and now I'm determined to learn how to dutch braid. 
• Faith walk. Various leaders taught different stations and talked about the new young women group names. I loved hearing from so many people. It was dark and the lights and music "Walk with Me" added an ambiance hard to describe.
• I brought games and snacks. "Wackee 6" was a hit and so was "Just One." The girls were obsessed with crafting and could have crafted all day.

heaven

Meanwhile Back in Sojo...

Penelope was adored and loved by many helping hands! Sure appreciate Nana and Papa letting her stay for 2 nights! Also grateful that Jessica and Valerie took Penny one morning too. Penelope was very sad her siblings went without her and asked me continuously "Is it time to go pick up James and Izzy from their trip?" Before leaving for girls camp, I moved Penelope into Izzy's room and got the nursery organized for our newest addition. Penny is loving being in his sister's room.

This is 7

As of Thursday, July 23, Isabelle is now 7 years old!

Bio

Isabelle is bubbly, astute and gorgeous. In her pediatrician's words: "she has enchanting eyes." Isabelle is left handed like her dad. Something you might not know about her... She told her school teachers last school year that she preferred to be called Isabelle. At home she likes being called Izzy. We'll see what she does this school year. Isabelle plays the violin and has been taking lessons for over a year now. She is confident. Isabelle is starting choir now that she is old enough. She will be in the same choir I was in growing up--the Riverton children's choir.  She has a beautiful voice. Isabelle is trying basketball for the first time later this fall. Isabelle has lots of admirers and has been the only girl invited to a boy's party. She is very bright. She qualified for the gifted and talented program but opted to learn Chinese instead. We were told at conferences that she is one of the best/the best at Chinese in her grade.

We had a birthday dinner celebration for Isabelle at my parent's house on Sunday, July 19. Isabelle chose dinner: poppyseed chicken and rice, rolls, strawberries, and Pavlova with whipped cream and fruit for dessert. 

My family knows Isabelle well. These were things people shared at the dinner table that we love about Isabelle.

"She's good at everything she tries: dance, violin, singing, soccer, swim team."

"She didn't complain on a recent challenging hike to the timpanogas caves. She lead the pack." (We later learned her shoes were too small and that her toes hurt the whole way down. She didn't mention it until that evening when she was going to bed. She also had bloody ears from bad earrings and didn't say a word.) 

"She can eat a lot of ice cream."

"She is friends with everyone and makes sure they feel included, welcome, and loved."

"Isabelle is helpful."

"Isabelle is hardworking."

"She makes great silly faces."

"She is a wonderful big sister and has been antsy for Penelope to move into her room "(which happened this week).

Birthday requests:

-Waffles for breakfast

-Watch the movie, "Wicked"

-Have Tonyburgers for dinner WITH a shake. Isabelle was over the moon because Nana (and other family could join). Nana was supposed to be in Cape Cod on Izzy's birthday. Here is Isabelle's Tonyburgers order: a kids meal hamburger with pickles and cheese on it, Root Beer, onion straws, and a Cookies and Cream Shake.

-Go to Classic Skating. Roller skating is tough. The kids switched to scooters pretty quickly. Getting a picture where both children were standing/stable was taxing. Isabelle wasn't sure if she wanted to do Laser Tag but in the end enjoyed it. 

-Funfetti Cake. Let's be real. She hardly ate any after her shake and all the other stuff which shows her birthday was a win!

Birthday presents:

I like to remember what my kids are interested in at certain ages which is why I keep track of gifts. This is not to guilt trip anyone. Isabelle is adored and felt the love.

-From us: shorts to wear under dresses, a swimsuit coverup, a Lilo and Stitch outfit, fake nails. The nails lasted less than 1 hour which must a be a record. I probably should have actually glued them.

-Art supplies. Izzy wants to be an artist. A sketchpad, watercolors, a book that she illustrates the pictures, special tape.

-Snow White dress up shoes, "Unicorn Academy" books, hoop earrings, makeup, and a squishy dumpling (I learned 2 stores were sold out of these and a third store had to be visited). Isabelle has loved testing the makeup, especially the eye shadow with vibrant colors.

-A polaroid camera! This camera has been around Izzy's neck nonstop and she has taken oodles of photos.

-A water bottle, book, candy, bracelets, animal crackers.

-Sketchbooks with an art kit.

Birthday sleepover:

Izzy got to have a sleepover at Nana and Papa's house. They went to Panda Express, got chocolate covered strawberries from Zupas, painted nails, watched a movie, and had bagels for breakfast. Talk about a good time.

Friday, July 24

Birthday checkup!

Stats:

Date of appointment: Monday, August 3

Weight: 54 pounds (54 percentile)

Height: 49.1 inches (70 percentile)

I can't wait to keep watching this girl grow up. Though it's bittersweet. Everyone cherishes her.