What I learned at Bear Lake

Every year we go camping at Bear Lake with Russ' fam.  It's pretty much the same each year, camping, beach, wind, shakes, go out for pizza, but WE LOVE IT!  And this year was no exception.

Here's what we learned THIS year at Bear Lake:

ONE: When he's tired enough, Colton really can sleep anywhere. (And so can Russ, but I already knew that.)

TWO: While playing hard at the beach, kids get hungry...

and since they're often too distracted to eat during meals, they may just find other things.

THREE:  Though you think your kids are not the "extreme sports" type, they may just surprise you.

FOUR: Although it took LOTS of unplanned time and money to get it there, the catamaran was TOTALLY worth it!

 

FIVE: Playing in the sand never gets old.  (yes, it has taken me all these years to realize we really don't need anything else to do.)

There's a mouse in the house!

But at least it's a cute one . . .

This summer Corbin got to participate in Spanish Fork Youth Theater's mini-production of Cinderella.  He went to the two-week theater camp (just 2 hrs/day) and at the end, they did two 30-min performances of the show.  It was so fun to watch him on stage and he loved it!

Right before his speaking part:

The mice were on stage the whole time and got to participate in every number, Corbin did such a great job during the whole thing.

I had to tape it since Russ was working, so hopefully I can post some video when my computer gets up and running.  It makes me smile every time I watch it!  We were sure proud of our little mouse!

The ACTUAL day

Remember in my last post of the "4th of July", it was really the 3rd of July?  Well, I was a kind of partied out by the actual 4th, but we did have a little fun. 

Playing with snakes . . .

Ziplining (yes, I was a little nervous) . . .

Croquet and cards . . .

Playing on the swingset . . .

And the highlight of the evening . . . Corbin got to light his first firecracker . . .

We are so lucky to have family close by.  What a great day!  Thanks Grandma and Grandpa!

Why don't we go here more often?

After one of our service projects downtown, we decided since we drove all the way up there, we might as well spend the day.  So we ended up at Temple Square and the boys LOVED it!  Corbin said we should we go there once a month . . . we'll have to see, but we sure did have a good day!

It's Independence Day!

Holy cow did we have a crazy day!  And it wasn't even the 4th of July (it was the 3rd)!

We left the house at 6:45am to meet the firetruck in time for the Murray parade.  We love riding in the parade!  I think seeing all the parade-goers may be more fun than actually watching the parade itself.  Plus we get to throw cool red, white, and blue plastic bead necklaces (not quite like Mardi Gras, but close), so that makes it extra fun.  And this year our cousins came with us - extra bonus!

After the parade we went for our traditional breakfast at Village Inn.  Nothing exceptional except that Corbin actually won something from one of those claw grabber things!  And of course this was just after I told him not to waste his money on it because no one ever gets anything from those things.

And THEN, his cousin got one too!  So much for all my great motherly advice.

After that, Russ had to work the First Aid booth at the park, so we went over, too, to check out all the fun...

Obstacle course

Playing on the playground

And then Corbin got to do the coolest game ever

And then Russ got involved (yes, he gets paid to do this sort of thing)

Too bad they lost.  Back to training for him!

Then they all got to try the hoses.  That's always fun.  I love how their shirts say "Property of MCFD" (Murray City Fire Dept).  We just got them the morning of the parade and I love them!  We are so proud of our Daddy!

Russ had a little fun of his own that was captured by a local reporter . . .

(click here for photo credits and more) 

And since we hadn't had quite enough water . . .

It only took Russ two tries...

On the way to a BBQ/Pool Party with our firefighter friends, Colton did a little of this:

But that didn't last long.  Then we spent the afternoon doing this

and eating yummy food and chatting, of course.  Thanks Jeff and Martha for being awesome hosts!

And then we made our way to yet another BBQ at Russ' brother's.  Unfortunately, by this point I was quite tuckered out and was a complete party pooper - no pictures and we left before it even got dark enough for fireworks.  It was long, but FUN!

(And since I am now tired from doing this extra long blog post, I will have to post about the actual 4th of July later...)

Be grateful you speak English

There are so many advantages to being able to speak English, especially in another country.  Some people criticize it as "westernization", but the truth is that the people of El Salvador want to learn English and it really will give them an advantage in the job market and in the future.  HELP taught English on four different levels this year.  We partner with the LDS Employment Center, whom we have worked with for many years.  They help us get the word out and graciously provide many other resources for us to use. 

Part of the advanced class this year is preparing them to continue teaching the English classes after HELP volunteers are gone.  Many of them know alot about English grammar, etc (maybe even more than me), and it will be dually beneficial for them to get up in front of others and speak and share their knowledge.  They are great kids and I have alot of confidence in them.  Hopefully we can make it a sustainable program before we leave for the summer.

The other English project we are doing is with another University that focuses on adult education.  There are many students there who are getting their major in English or are studying it as part of their program, but never get the chance to speak to native speakers.  Hence, we started "English Club" at the request of one of their directors.  We spend time talking, asking each other questions, playing games, anything to get them speaking English.  I think it is very beneficial and will boost their skills greatly.  The day I was there, we talked about The World Cup which had just started.  And although El Salvador was not in it, soccer is as huge there as it is in most Latin American countries and everyone had something to say about it.

This is my group playing a round of "Hot Potato" - whoever was stuck with the ball had to answer a question in English.  When one of us ended up with it, they thought it was fun to make us answer a question in Spanish.  It was really a great time and I think everyone was learning something.  I felt really good about this activity.  [The downside of the morning was that I totally got eaten by mosquitos because I mistakenly thought "Oh, I'll be indoors, I won't need repellant."  Apparently I forgot I was in El Salvador and that I need it ALL the time.]

If you want to know more about HELP's work in teaching English, click here.