For the very first week of summer, our cousins invited us to stay in their condo with them for a few days in Palm Springs, CA.  There was a kitchen, three bedrooms, two bathrooms, a main room, and a porch overlooking the pools.  We were lucky enough to be on the fourth floor- the top one. Also to be seen from the porch were the beautiful mountains.  Although they were desert mountains, not the green forest type, they were so majestic.  We spent a ton of time in the pool, especially in the lazy river.  One day the gentlemen and the ladies split up.  The boys (and Sophie) went to the air museum while we went to the outlets.  Sorry, we have lots of pictures of the whole trip, but I could only find theses ones.  Paige especially went crazy over all the big brand stores like Ugg and Juicy Couture.  It was so expensive almost everywhere, so nobody was able to get anything... except Sophie, who hit the jackpot with cute new clothes.  By the end of the trip we were all amazingly more tan and blonde.  It was a great trip.  Thanks for inviting us, cuzins!

Earlier my dad bought two bags with ten apples each even though we had a ton of apples already.  I told my mom we should make applesauce, and she said she had a recipe from Adam and Olivia's kindergarten teacher (they got to make it as a class).

Peel, core, and slice 10 apples.  Put apples, 1 c. sugar, 1/2 c. water and 1 t. cinnamon into crock pot.  Set crock pot on high and let cook 3-4 hours.  Blend together and enjoy!

I made this to go with our spare ribs and corn on the cobs for dinner.  Everybody agreed that it tasted like candy!

Today I got to have the chance to spend the time with my very favorite youngest brother and my very favorite youngest sister.  Adam and Livie were at birthday parties for kids in the ward, Mom and Dad were going on an adult lake trip, and Rachel was babysitting for one of the couples who went on the lake trip as well.  (I say "were" like in the past, but technically it's "are" because they're all still gone.  I just put the Eric and Sophie to bed.)  They were all gone by four.  Really it shouldn't be considered that exciting, but it's really fun to be alone with people sometimes.  They watched G-Force on Netflix while I got to read more of The Pillar of Light and write a bit of Destiny on Sugar and Spice.  I heated up some leftover Macoroni and Cheese (Soph's all-time favorite) then put a potato in the microwave for myself since I had a big lunch at Baja Fresh with my cousins today when we went to Last Chance (Did you know that there is a whole potato button on the microwave?!)  See, life does not have to be about the big things.  Laughter comes from the little things.  For example, I was still hungry (because I didn't add all that extra stuff on it) and decided to get myself another potato.  This time it was literally screaming in the microwave!  It was so cute to hear Sophie's giggles.  It some how took me a while to figure out that I had forgotten to poke holes in it.  Luckily I remembered in time so that it didn't explode...  Later Eric was asking to play another video game.  I told him no, since he had been using electronics all day.  Instead, I asked him what other kind of game he or Sophie liked.  "Dora game!" Sophie of course suggested.  Instead we went along with Eric's singing game idea.  So we all took turns singing random songs like Eric's watermelon song,  Jesus Wants Me For a Sunbeam, Phantom of the Opera, etc.  It's funny, because Eric loves the Gilbert Highland Stake Girl's Camp 2010 theme song, Courage to Stand, by the amazing Sister Cavenee. These are the moments that I don't want to forget.  

Yesterday we went to the Ray's house to eat fajitas, swim, and watch movies.  Tyler, Adam, and Eric were going to go down the (awesome) slide, and asked me to go down at the same time with them.  Sure.  I went down with Tyler behind me, Eric in front of me, and Adam in front of Eric.  Splash!   Naturally I held  Eric above my head for a moment before pushing him towards the nearest step, him being six and probably not the world's greatest swimmer.  I must have turned in the other direction to swim to the other step after watching Eric swim to the safety of the one I pushed him towards when I felt the right side of my face get hit hard by something.  The first thing I noticed was a little piece that was now in my mouth... a part of my tooth, the one in the very front, on the bottom row, on the right.  Oh no, oh no, oh no!!!!  I immediately climbed out, spitting the tiny piece into my hand and holding it with horror.  I will admit that tears immediately sprung to my eyes.  Not from the pain (though it felt like it was swelling and the right side of my nose is still sore when I touch it) , but from the shock of being hit and the worry that my smile was ruined.  It's almost as if I jinxed myself, because the night before I had been watching part of this one episode of I Survived with my cousin Kendall, and this one girl had chipped all of her front teeth when in a terrible fire (it is a horribly sad story, but I won't go into detail) and then an hour before I had noticed how our dog Bracken's teeth are completely warn down from chewing things and chattering them together (She was the mother of our  amazing Maverick, who sadly got hip displasia from his dad.  Her owner was going to retire her, but Mom said she would take her to try another litter with her.  We didn't know that she had strange behavior, which was because of living in a run her whole life. Anyway... we were at the vet to see if she was pregnant.  She would be due in a week, and we could just not tell.  She is not. ) The other people said they could not tell, but, knowing my own mouth, could see it.  It was not too bad, but I could see that it had been chipped worse on the back, and it was sensitive and kind of had to eat with and touch.  Luckily my dad and Brian Ray co-own a dentil practice, and I was able to get it fixed the next day.  They used the stuff that they use for fillings, so it looks like nothing happened.  They also smoothed out my other teeth, since the bumpy part of my tooth got knocked off, and it would only be like that eventually.  I can feel it when I put my tongue against it, which is weird.  "At least you don't live 30 years ago.  Then you'd have to have a gold or silver tooth!" my dad pointed out.  "At least I don't live even before then, when they couldn't do anything!"  I mostly felt bad for Rosie.  She is the Ray's newest foster daughter, the one who jumped off the diving board and accidentally hit me.  She seemed to feel really bad about it, so I explained to her in a positive, shrug-it-off type tone that it was not her fault and that and that I had not started crying from pain.  Anyway... I am just glad that it wasn't any worse!

Today my mom and I went out on a bike ride. Since we were at our cousins' house till pretty late, we left at 7:30 a.m. Normally we will do it at 6:30, because it was dying hot after a while.  Don't get me wrong- after biking for five miles (that is there and back put together), my face was bright pink.  Mom was capable of going much faster.  Luckily, my beach cruiser is no excercise bike, and she's been biking longer, so it's not my fault that I was a little bit slower. We actually want to do it every day, either running or biking. I DO NOT want the excercise as a weight loss thing (I have literally no fat on me anyway) but as a way to have a great heart and lots of strength (back in the wonderful but exhausting days of gymnastics I had even a six pack... now just a four pack). I would love to do yoga or pilates as well to get back some more of my flexibility and balance. From what I have seen of WiiFit, that is something I want to get, and a pull of bar. It would be awesome to get in the habit of doing a certain amout of sit ups, frog jumps, and push ups everyday, too.  Along with continuing good eating habits (I love all sorts of fruits and vegetables, try hard to eat things without high fructose corn syrup, try to eat food with lots of protein, etc.), I am sure that I can become a really healthy teen.

Today, for some reason, I decided it was time to organize.  I am a very organized person, but there are still always those little things called "desks," "closets," and "dressers."  Ever heard of them?  Yes, those little stinkers.  So I opened them up and pulled out all those books, papers, pictures.  There is old stuff strewn all over my whole bed and floor... if I were to have walked in when somebody else did this to my room, I would have had a heart attack.  I am not exactly sure what I am going to do with everything, but I will figure it out, and it will feel really good in the end.  Besides, isn't it fun to find memories from when you were a little Primary girl?  Or give away useless things like 20Q's and old jewelry boxes to your younger siblings who end up gasping with excitement?
Wish me luck.... 

These are all my origal work done with pencil and pastels.