Where Have the Last 4 Months Gone!

In the last 4 months we have been crazy busy!  I wasn't quite sure how to update, do I make myself crazy and try to go through each event that has happened with pictures?  Well, put those posts off because it was too overwhelming!  So we are left with the easy way out... a list of fun events, a few random thoughts and if you're lucky maybe a few pictures in the next post!

May 2013
-Mama's birthday... a most fantastic birthday!  She was spoiled rotten and claims it to be the best birthday ever!
-Baby Girl's 4th birthday - a day she's been waiting for, for at least 11 months! She had a Minnie Mouse birthday celebration, went to a grand re-opening of McDonald's play land (her dream come true) for her birthday party with all her friends from primary, and ate a dinner of chicken nuggets! 

June 2013
-School finally let out for the summer, Kermit and Miss Piggy graduated from 2nd Grade!
-Mama went to Girl's Camp and it rained poured and then it snowed (be careful what you pray for)!!!  It was a wonderful experience, and I can't wait to go back next year.
-While Mama was at Girl's Camp, Master Chief took all 3 kids camping (brave daddy!).  They enjoyed sledding down sand dunes, visiting a museum and having some down time.

July 2013
-The kids did swimming lessons and all passed with flying colors!  Baby Girl was asked why she was in the preschool class and not in the level 1 class, she is such a fish!  Miss Piggy had races in her class and beat everyone in all the strokes!  Kermit is a master at the deep water, passing the swim test and earning the privilege of going off the diving board and rope swing now! 
-We took a trip to visit Gram-Gram, Papa and Uncle Nino.  We stayed in a motel along the way with a  swimming pool, which is our kids dream come true of course!  We ate at Benihana to celebrate Papa's birthday!  The kids learned gun safety and how to shoot guns.  We went water skiing and could hardly keep Kermit and Baby Girl out of the water!  Kermit even tried water skiing, but the skis were too big and heavy for him.  We sure had fun! 
-After playing with the family, Master Chief and I left the kids with the family and we drove to Wyoming to attend Trek.  We dressed as pioneers and pulled handcarts for 26 miles, re-enacting the pioneers coming across the mountains/plains.  Our first day was very hard, we trekked over Rocky Ridge, hiking 16 miles.  Master Chief and I re-enacted Jens and Elsie Nielson's story.  Jens got frost bite on his feet so badly that he couldn't go on any further so he told his wife to leave him on the trail and let him die, but his wife would let that happen, so she loaded him in her cart and pulled him in their cart.  They also had a son Niels who was 5 and they brought a little girl named Bodil Mortinsen along the way, both of these children died at Rock Creek Hollow and were buried in the mass grave there.  We were able to visit this grave, it was a very special place for Master Chief and I to visit.  For me, it was a mother to mother type place for me to visit for Elsie, I have to have others visit my daughters grave, and to be able to visit Neils grave for Elsie was something special to me.  For Master Chief it was very hallowed and reverent, he felt close to those 13 buried there, had he took his hat off in reverence, as President Hinckley would have done.  The second day we hiked 6 miles at Martins Cove, we had a very reverent river crossing where the priesthood carried the women across the river, re-enacting the river crossings done in the winters.  The third day we hiked 4 miles at the Willie Center and we did the Women's pull, up a very sand hill with extremely hard rocks at a steady incline at the end.  There were mud bogs, water fights, windy rains, thunder storms, square dances, and lots of fun memories made.  We are so thankful for our trek experiences. 
-We stopped to see Grandma Great on our way home and stayed the night with her!  What fun we had.  We went school shopping and had a tour of her new home she is building with my aunt and uncle. 

August 2013
-Miss Piggy attended her first volleyball camp!!!  This made Mama SO HAPPY!!!  Of course Miss Piggy loved it!!! 
-Kermit started his second year of football, his last year of flag football!  He is playing center this year, or as he calls it, "hiker".  He is the biggest kid on the team, by a whole head!  He can block anyone, even two kids at a time!  His first game was at the college stadium and he sacked the quarterback 5 times! 
-Kermit and Miss Piggy started 3rd Grade this month!  They are both so excited to get back to school and see all their friends.  They have a ton of homework though!
-Baby Girl has her open house for preschool tonight and has been counting down the days to start preschool, she can't wait to go to school just like her big brother and sister. 

Hopefully I will get some pictures of all these events up!  And then again, maybe not!