Family Photos

Family photos are quite a struggle for a family of 8. There's not a lot of photographers where we live, and for the few that are around, the prices are quite high!

So to get that "pinterest" style photo that I wanted, I decided to take on the task myself. We tried several different locations, and these were my favorites. This is before I did any playing around with colors or retouching. I was pretty happy with how the kids photos turned out. Any mom will know that just getting all the kids in one square area is quite a task!

 

Pumpkin Muffins

3 Eggs
1 c. Sugar
2/3 c. Pumpkin
3/4 c. Flour
1/2 tsp. Baking Powder
1/2 tsp. Baking Soda
1/2 tsp. Cinnamon
1/2 tsp. Cloves
1/4 tsp. Salt
Preheat oven to 375'. Grease a muffin pan well. Cream together the Eggs, Sugar, and Pumpkin. Then add all the dry ingredients to the creamed mixture. Once mixed fill each muffin hole 3/4 of the way full with the batter. Bake for 13-15 min. Once they are done baking, carefully pull each muffin out of the pan and let cool to allow for cream cheese frosting.

Emily's Critters

Emily obviously has no fear of small critters and insects. The thing that's funny is this is just a fraction of what she catches and plays with throughout the summer. She's fearless! When she catches things, their name reflects what they are. So a moth would be named Mothy, caterpillar would be named Catty, frog would be named Froggy, lizards are named Lizzy, and the horny toads are named Horny! We only had to instances where a creature was lost in the house, they were recovered within a few days!

Girls Camp

Girls Camp is done a little differently up here. There is no stake camp, no Lo Mia. It's every ward for themselves, and the term "camp" can be loosely interpreted. This is something I'm very passionate about, and an area in which I feel I can leave an impact. This is one of the things I'm thrilled to be in charge of! I love the outdoors, and feel like for the area we live in, the girls should have more experience in the natural beauty around us. I've learned alot from my sister Cindy, who's been a stake camp big wig, and a lot from trial and error. I feel like this was my most successful camp yet! We sleep in real tents, and do real camping things! Jason came for his second year as a priesthood leader, and was great at taking care of the baby. He's the man!!!!!!!!! It's impossible to say how much time it takes in preparation for this sort of thing, but it's all worth it in the end. A scout troop came and set up camp right next to our group, that created some excitement, and was one thing I did not prepare for!

Last year, I was big and pregnant for camp, again. Not this time! But it opened the door for a lot of "Sis. Johnson's pregnant!" jokes. The girls got along really well, which makes a HUGE difference.

It made me feel so good when the stake announced that they would not be doing a stake camp for 2012, and the response of the YW was "SWEET! We love ward camp!"

Pinedale Run to the Bridge

The 4th Saturday in June is the annual "Pinedale Run to the Bridge". My two sisters come up, this year my mom too, and we run! Well, we don't all run. I walk with the little ones, and keep an eye on the older kids that can sprint for an entire mile. My sisters do the bigger races.

The wheel of my stroller flew off when I was at the halfway mark, so I carried Porter to the finish line. I got a medal for the stroller walk! Brooklyn got a medal too, which she was thrilled for! It wasn't until later that I realized I signed my kids up for a mile walk, not run. So of course she got a medal, she ran the walk. I guess I figured out how to beat the system. Sorry, fellow competitors. They serve all the participants a pancake breakfast afterwards and the kids always manage to find the cooler full of sodas! It's a fun tradition that we will definitely continue!!

The Haircut

Well, the pictures tell the story. Brooklyn's hair is insanely thick, and completely curly under that top layer of silky smoothness. Doing hair at our house is a complete and total nightmare. I'm not going to sugarcoat it. It's the pits. She had been begging to cut her hair for months, but I insisted she kept it long until her dance recital. 2 days after her final performance, she went for her appointment. She was so happy and felt like one cool cat when she had her new style!

Fishing

Emily loves her fishing friends, the worms. She has no problem ripping them into. You know, so she can have more friends!

Do you know what happens on April 1st? It's no longer catch and release fishing in the White Mountains! Caleb caught the first fish of the year and was pretty excited about it! We decided to freeze all the fish that the family caught through the summer, and have one big fish fry in the fall. Believe it or not, the kids think this is super awesome!