Camping 2008

I love to camp. I actually don't mind tents. And when I came here I was shocked to see that at girls camp they have cabins. Because when I was in Young Women we did the whole rough and toughin' it. My family used to go camping every year at the beach in South Carolina when we went back for our family reunions. While my dad would mysteriously disappear to a hotel somewhere.(he's not a camper)
So, when I married into Cory's family I was so excited because they are a camping family. They used to go to Montana every year and camp and fish. We went last year together. The other side of his family used to take camp outs until it became to hard on his grandparents. So we brought the camping to them. This post is about the camp outs in our different families this year!
Cory's family went to his grandparents back yard everyone put up tents and trailers. We weren't allowed inside at all! (except for bathroom breaks) Cory and I have a trailer so we brought that over. Although we have done it in the past in a tent. While I was pregnant even.(go me!) We always have family games. Relay races, Simon Says, Ships and Sailors, and dance contest that Addie was totally getting down to. Whatever the game planning team can come up with. My team this year did not win. (I think the other's cheated!) It was a blast! And I look forward to it every year now!














Then there is the Durrance Family. We had our camp out this year over the weekend of my parents mission farewell. It was the only time we could get almost all 10 of us siblings and grandkids together! This year we hit up the local sports store and camped out there. We had everything that we needed right there within reach! The tents where set up. The fishing poles and tackle stuff where ready. Food was available! We managed to bring over a fire pit! And as you can see we have our "OWN" climbing wall!














I guess you can say we all have our own style of camping!

I've Been Tagged

Oh to my wonderful sister in law Cami for tagging me on this one! It's possible under the moving situation that my answers won't be the most "cheerful" But lets give it a go!

* 3 Joys *

1. Spending time with family(kids, siblings, anything like that)
2.When you wake up having a great refreshing nights sleep! (never happens but thats a hope for one day)
3. Sitting at the beach and listening to the waves, or hearing the thunderstorms. (call me crazy but I love hurricanes for that reason)

*3 Fears*

1. losing someone I love dearly
2. right now not having a place to live or call my own.
3. SPIDERS!!

*3 Goals*

1. Find a house!
2. Get everything packed up for the move by FRIDAY!
3. Raise good healthy strong and happy kids.

* 3 current obsessions/collections*

1. Chewing Ice
2. Blogging (thanks to my sister and my sister in law for talking me into all this)
3. trying to sleep

*3 random surprising facts about me*

1. I write music
2. I watch Days of Our Lives. (I know I know)
3. I try to be crafty but I sooooo am not!

Ok.. looks like thats all.. So, I guess I will tag Jayna, Cheyney! Have fun!!

The Move

As some of you may know we have sold our house and we are moving heading up North to be closer to family. Cory's family is all in Ogden mine live all over the U.S. but some are in Bountiful and Idaho Falls. My parents are on a mission in Germany right now. But we have decided with Cory being able to work from home and us being up in that area every other weekend. That we would look to moving up there.
So, we have about a week to move out. So we are spending every second we can to pack and move things out. The only scary thing about all this is..... We don't have a place to go. Thoughts have crossed our mind. We even have a camping trailer so we thought we could do that for a few weeks if needed. But I'm not sure how I would like living in that close of quarters with everyone. But, don't fret we do have a house we are waiting to hear about so, we hope that we will hear before we have to move so that we feel a little better. So, at this time I ask all that can and will..... Please Please Pray for US!! I will especially need them! And we will let you know what happens.

The Big Wedding

So we had a wedding in our family last weekend. My niece got married. It was the first of the grandkids and of our nieces and nephews. My oldest sister lives in Nevada which is were we went. It was about a 5-6 hr drive. In the middle of nowhere Nevada. Called Lovelock. Most people to my surprise know about Lovelock. Only because it's a very convenient stop right off the interstate to California and there is no where else to go for gas or food. So, if you have heard of it that is why.

The wedding and the bride where beautiful! It was so nice. And we got to see a lot of the family. Me, Addie, my brother in law Scott, my other niece Aubree and my sister Jayna all drove from Salt Lake we left at almost 7 pm! And got there at about 11:30 (NV time) long drive. And not much to look at.

Once there my sister lives on a farm. And Addie loved it. She fed the horses (nah's) even snuck out once all by herself to try to see them. Then we took her for a ride bareback. When we got back she found my sisters boots and hat and put them on like a cow girl! It was so fun.

Again! it was a beautiful wedding the bride especially and I wish them all the happiness in the world. Congrats! Jessica and Laerd!

First Day of School

Yes another posting for today. I have been out of town. So, I am making it all up. Today is the infamous first day of school. First off Keller had all his clothes laid out last night before dinner. His "zit" was showing and he was ready for the women. He was unable to fall asleep last night. He said he couldn't because he just tossed and turned and then he thought about falling asleep and the more he did that the more he couldn't so we turned to good ol' Tylenol PM.
They rode their bikes to school because they didn't want me to follow and asked that we please go extra early so no one would see me taking pictures. Oh, boy its already starting. Addie was happy to go along. She brought her purse with all her makeup and sat right next to Keller. So, now we just wait for them to get home!

Keller's A MAN!

We picked up Keller from visiting his dad over the weekend. And he was so excited to show us something. He removed his hat. And with a big smile said look. Cory and I weren't sure what we were looking for until he showed us his first "ZIT" ( I'm not even sure thats what it was) and he was so proud smiling all big and has been bugging me and telling me he needs to get acne medicine now. He really wants to be a "man" so any sign of hair under the arms or zits or if he smells its all fine and dandy to him. He loves to wear AXE body spray for the women to. Sorry ladies he's still a little young!


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Addison's 2nd Birthday

Ok, did she know it was her birthday yesterday and thought she could do whatever she wanted! She was so bossy! We went and picked out a few presents. And she kept singing happy birthday to herself. She wanted presents right away. She loves to help me make cookies and things because she gets to lick the bowl. So when I told her we were making her birthday cake. She was right at the counter waiting. Later after dinner we had cake and she played with her purse and makeup the rest of the night. She carries her purse now where ever she goes. With her 10 different lip glosses and put one on right after the other. She is 2 and you can tell! Happy Birthday Addie!

Salem Day's Fireworks

I'm a little late on posting this one. Since it was almost a week ago. But I have no pics. I couldn't find my camera. Dang It. Well, It was't to exciting anyways. We went to see the FAMOUS fireworks. Again they have some of the best ones in the state of Utah. We waited around till dark. We watched a pageant and laughed and watched as Addie danced to the music and would get mad if Lilly (her cousin) wouldn't dance with her. But it was getting really late. Which I know that it would to be able to see the fireworks. But Addie was the problem. She was so tired and cried and wouldn't stay still. Then in the distance was a bunch of lightening and rain. So, turning to Cory I said we better leave. The last thing I wanted to do was be stuck in the pouring rain with the baby running with blankets to the car. So, we packed up and left. Cory wasn't to happy. We had waited all that time and didn't even stay to see them. But, we got home put Addie in bed. And it began to rain. Not bad and only for about 5 min. But Almost right after the rain. They started the fireworks. You could see then from out house. No, it wasn't like being right there and watching them reflect off the lake. But it was nice and peaceful. We still had a great time!

Salem Day's Carnival and Tunes in Park

Last night we had the tunes in the park. I don't have any pictures of the boys because they literally take off and you don't see them the rest of the night.
Tunes in the Park is so much fun and relaxing. You bring your blankets and chairs and hang out. We brought fried chicken and drinks and picnicked there stayed to listen to the music and then left about 9:30. It was so fun!

Carnival: Today is the carnival and craft booths and games. They started with the FREE breakfast. Pancakes,ham and eggs. YUM YUM. Then the parade. Which we have see a million of so we went home to take care of some things. Then they throw about 1,000 ping pong balls out of a helicopter and they have different prizes. Then comes the games and carnival. The kids had so much fun. Addie had one thing on her mind from the moment she saw them. The "NAH's"
She loved it! Well, we are off to the dinner and fireworks tonight. They say that Salem has the best fireworks in the state. And we can attest that they really are some good ones!

This was the fun event last night. The gravity gran prix. You make these cars and race them down a hill. Lots of fun and very creative. This one car after he passes the finish line pushes a button for a parachute to come out. So funny. One of the cars did flip. But the boy had a helmet and was fine. This was way fun. Then later that night it was free drinks and popcorn and we sat out at the park and watched "Surf's Up". The best part about all this is its all FREE! Cory ought to love that!

Duct Tape Boat Race

This whole week our fun little town is celebrating it's birthday. They call it Salem Days. We have such fun events and more than half of them are free. I will have to do an update daily on this stuff because it is so fun and there is so much to do and going on. Last night was our famous Duct Tape and Cardboard boat race around Salem Pond. Very simple. The rules are you have 3 pieces of cardboard, 3 rolls of duct tape, and 1 stick. And then you go at your hearts desire. Whatever shape decorations and so on is up to you. We decided to do this as a family. Of course Cory did most of it. bringing along his leveler. The people in our ward all thought that was really funny. If I can figure out video I will put it on here. But Keller raced and when he got pushed off he started to tip and got water in the boat which then made it start to sink. But he did not give up. He climber right back on and tried as hard as he could to row. Finally we told him just to come back. They had to use 2 jet skis to try to get the boat in. This was their first experience with Salem Days and they loved it! They have been out of town every year since we have lived here. But it was so much fun to go and see and have them be a part of. Next on our list is the baby contest for Addison, the Gravity Grand Prix, and the Movie in the ball field tonight. Updates will be tomorrow!

Update on the Parents

** Ok.. is this really a mission or what!

Hi everyone, We finally had time to stop and e-mail to let you know we're doing well. We're in Athens, Greece waiting for tomorrow's flight to Romania. Our visit with the missionaries in Egypt and Jordan was supportive to them and educational for us. So many times Joe and I looked at each other and said, "Are we really sitting in the living room of an Egyptian or Jordanian family drinking cinnamon tea?" We visiting the leprosaurim in Egypt, took a wheelchair to a crippled Muslim woman (I'll never forget her beautiful, excited eyes), checked on a clean-water project in Jordan, a school for Street Children in Cairo and sat in the Minister of Health's office in a city in Jordan to receive approval for a container delivery. We've made memories we hope to never forget. We found the people wonderfully friendly--wanting to help in every way they could. The Jordanians are especially kind and good people. Both countries are extremely poor--especially Egypt. It would break your heart to see the children gather filthy water from the river or the Nile to drink--where animals gather and garbage and sewage is dumped. What you see on TV is a fact. We didn't need to go searching for it.

We took a few hours every couple of days to visit historical sites. Our favorite was having dinner (with the Mayor of 5 villages) overlooking the Sea of Galilee. We sat on the balcony of a Resturant at an ancient Roman ruins near the corner of the Golan Heights, Syria, and Jordan, and watched the sun set over the Sea of Galilee while watching the evening lights of Israel begin to glow. In the midst of one of the most tense spots on earth we found the greatest peace. We waded in the Dead Sea, and sang "I Know That My Redeemer Lives," on the grounds where Jesus walked and in the language He spoke. No question, we have been blessed to be a part of His great work in the lands that He loved so much.

We leave tomorrow for Romania. We'll be there for a few days before heading back to the office in Frankfurt and back to paperwork.

Half Blood Prince

Ok, now not only am I on a high because the last of my favorite books is coming out tonight at 12:01. But,... I just discovered that they released the trailer for the Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince and the release date is Nov. 21. I hope I won't be in the hospital having this baby by then. Maybe she will already have come. Yeah! I'm so excited! It actually looks kinda freaky. Here's the link for anyone wanting to watch the trailer.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PLl6PGoxyfo