Winding down...

No camp sleepover would be quite the same without a little bit of sleepiness at 1 am in the morning, Tux fighting for his spot in the tent, and a great ziploc bag omelette in the morning! Happy Birthday Jessica! We hope you have a fantastic year!

Who needs American Idol????

What sleepover would be complete without a Talent Show, some camp crafts, and a few more pieces of chocolate?

Big open tents, talent shows and campfires...

After Arnold and Kenny moved all of the furniture in the front living room we set up a humongous tent for the girls to party in! Talent shows, craft hour, tin foil dinners, and lots and lots of chocolate! The fireplace added the perfect touch for this awesome indoor camping trip~!

Celebrating at Camp Jessica...

Jessica celebrated her 10th birthday this week with a fun Indoor Camping theme sleepover... Eight beautiful girls, one humongous tent set up in the front room, lots and lots of giggles, and memories to last a lifetime!

Posing for some pics with Granny Opal...

While visiting granny we couldn't pass up the chance of taking some photos with her and the kids. The last one was my very favorite! Arnold as a young boy would visit granny during the summer. She took great pride in her hair and would pouf it up with all sorts of hairspray until it got just right! Then out of the blue she said Arnold would come flying through the house, pat her on the top of the head, then run right fast away before she could "swat" him! I loved hearing her tell this story every time we visited with her! The look on her face when Arnold caught her off guard again right before I snapped the picture was priceless! We sure love our granny...

The famous blue glass bottle tree...

Arnold would tell the children stories about this blue glass bottle tree that stood in the back yard of granny house in Texas. It was fun to take the children there and have them see it for themselves!

Memories of our visit with granny...

In the summer of 2007 our family took a road trip to Utah from Alabama. Along the way we stopped in a small town called Pecos, TX. Arnold spent his summers there as a young boy visiting his granny and pappy when school was out. We loved being able to take the children there and visit with our "granny"!

Roll tide roll...

Today Jessica got to put aside her normal school uniform to wear Alabama colors in honor of the Rose bowl game being played in Pasedena, CA tonight between Alabama and Texas. To her it doesn't really matter who wins or loses...she was just glad she didn't have to wear her uniform today! Roll tide!

Hot breakfast cereal heaven...

Well it finally happened! We found a resource for Malt O Meal hot cereal here in the South and we are quite literally in hot cereal heaven!

Christmas casualty...

During our New Year's Celebration we had a little mishap! One of the elders burst into the home to take refuge during the "glowstick war" and one of our tree ornaments fell to the ground. We picked up the pieces and had the Elder sign the inside of the ornament for a fun momento of the evening's activities. While we were putting Christmas away the ornament broke so thus ended the life of the fateful ball. The kids really weren't that torn up over it...we just thought this would make a fun blog entry!

Oma and Appa's last day with us...

What a great two weeks it has been having my parents here from Hawaii! We loved all the things we were able to do with them while they were visiting! Trips to Biloxi, shopping adventures, church meetings, road trips to wherever the freeway took us, and lots and lots of memories! We love having family visit! It always makes us feel closer to "home"!

Hard Rock Casino memorabilia...

The Hard Rock Cafe was scheduled to open in 2005 the week Hurricane Katrina hit. It was completely devastated by the storm's waters so they remodeled, renovated, and restocked all the fancy furnishings. Oma and Appa took the kids there for a tour of the memorabilia while they were visiting! I love how Kenny and Jessica got into the whole "rock nation" thing! And the Bon Jovi jacket...I think I might've owned one of those myself in high school! Oh boy do I feel old!

Visiting the Beau Rivage Casino for Christmas...

My mom loved the Christmas decorations at the Beau Rivage Casino in Biloxi. She took the kids there for a tour and they had a fun time enjoying all the festivities. I get a kick out of seeing Kenny ham things up a bit. He's our quiet child but once in a while he let's his "hair down". Especially when he's around the camera!