Random Stuff

Just a few little things that have been poking around with no particular place to assign them. First off, Finn has been thriving this year in school, and has had so much fun with his teachers. A few weeks ago, he got to bring home Corduroy for the weekend, and let him be a part of our family for a few days.

Finn took him almost everywhere, and loved him to death. He was a good visitor. Finn also got to participate in his classes talent show, by reading The Little Mouse, The Red Ripe Strawberry, and The Big Hungry Bear.

The talent show was a little chaotic, to say the least, and Finn was one of the few kids who actually had a prepared talent, and wasn't too shy to perform it. He did a great job.

We've had a lot of rain lately, which makes for a lot of cloudy days. I snapped this pic during one of them, as it made our street look particularly majestic.

My friend Beth had her baby, and I got to go and visit with her, and see him. Little Wyatt is pretty adorable.

And lastly, I took the girls for haircuts, and even though their styles aren't drastically different, the end result looks a lot more polished.

 

I forgot to get Danyn's before shot because she went first, so the sink is all I have. Not to be outdone, Finn rocked a sweet mohawk to school the other day.

The only reason his hair can even do that is because of a rather disastrous haircut he got from a place called Cookie Cutters. They're supposed to specialize in kid haircuts, but they tried to give my four year old a hipster do. No, just no. So we had Sonia fix it as best she could, but mostly it just needs a lot of time to grow out.

And there you go, all caught up on the Baylys crazy.

Maisie is a Teenager!

Maisie's 13th birthday happened to fall the day we planned to fly home from California. We didn't want her to feel neglected though, so we packed a few of her presents to open that morning. She got a new sweater to wear, a new phone case, and some jewelry.

Once we got home, we made her a birthday dinner, and cake, and she got to open a few more presents. A fuzzy blanket (purple of course).

And a new comforter set. Teag thought it was super weird that anyone would want a comforter set for their birthday, but Maisie loves it, and it has inspired her to make her bed most days, which is pretty freaking awesome.

Then it was time for cake!

She's getting a whole lot more candles on her cake these days! We're really proud of our Miss Maisie. She's handled her first year of Junior High well, though it's been a bit of an adjustment to what she was used to. She had a part in her school's production of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, and took on all the extra time needed to be a part of that.

It wasn't an easy experience, and there was a lot of learning that took place, but I think she's stronger because of it. She also ran to be on next years Senate team. She's branching out and trying new things, and it's fun to see her grow and find her niche. We love our Maisie!

First Day of School!

This past Monday was the first day of school for our little family. A momentous occasion for a couple of reasons. The first being that Maisie is now starting Junior High, and is attending a different school than her siblings!

She's attending 7th Grade at Clayton, a school that is out of our boundaries, thus necessitating she ride the bus. It's been a bit of an adjustment, but I think it's suiting her well, and she seems very happy to be there.

Danyn is now one of the oldest kids in our carpool, starting 4th grade this year at Newman.

She has a new teacher, Mr. Sagers, who we all like, and she has the love of her life in her class. So all is well.

Rory is in 2nd Grade at Newman and has Mrs. Pierce, who has a delightful Southern accent. Rory loves her already, and is enjoying school so far.

The other big change involves Finn, who will start Pre-K at Newman in about a week. That means that for four days a week, all the kids will be in school, and I'll have three hours at home by myself. I never thought this day would come, but I'm turning cartwheels just thinking about it. Yay for school!

Girls Camp

Another thing I got to share with Maisie this year was Girls Camp! It's a bit of a different feeling having one of your own girls there with you, but it was a lot of fun to see Maisie continue her young women growth.

We had a fairy tale theme this year, and we had chosen to use Sleeping Beauty as our particular fairy tale. However, we decided it needed to be rewritten in order to make Sleeping Beauty not be so passive as to her rescue. In our version, she helps the prince get through the forest of thorns and fight the dragon.

One other change we made is to have eight fairies total, each representing one of the values. The girls picked their favorite color, and prior to camp, we did a little photoshoot, with the color of their fairy featuring prominently. We only have four girls, so the four of us leaders got to be a color as well.

We framed these pictures and placed them on dowels at the entrance to our campsite. We got a lot of positive feedback from these pictures from people all over the stake; girls would show up randomly so that they could get a look at them. They turned out better than we could have imagined.

We spent time together as a ward, and also as a stake, hiking, crafting, attending workshops, you name it.

But one of my most favorite things are the skits. I love the chance to see the girls blossom up there when they make people laugh.

Maisie even got her own special round of applause after her particularly good delivery of her line. And then again when she showed some serious sass as the princess who saved herself.

My mom wasn't able to come to camp this year, but we requested her special salad. She even sent along a prize for me!

I love my young women. I've learned so much from this calling, and am so grateful to be in it. I can't imagine myself in another place.

These girls are truly amazing, and I count myself blessed to be able to associate with them.

Pioneer Trek 2016

At the first part of July, our stake organized a Pioneer Trek for the youth. This was slotted to be more difficult than your average trek, with a one day, 15 mile stretch over Rocky Ridge, and a second 7 mile day hiking throughout Martin's Cove. I was anxious to be included, not only as a Youth Leader, but also because Maisie would be attending, and I wanted the chance to share that with her. Therefore, I was excited when I got asked to be an official photographer for the event. We hiked quite a bit in the months leading up to the trek, working to condition ourselves physically. We also prepared clothing, backpacks, and other supplies to make the journey as painless as possible. And so the Monday morning of the 11th, we were up bright and early, and ready to go.

Maisie was excited to be placed with a family that had two girls she knew her age. I think it helped the five hour ride to Sixth Crossing pass much faster for her.

When we arrived, it was hot, and the kids were all in good spirits, if a bit lethargic from all the sitting.

That night we got to enjoy some square dancing that helped liven things up a bit.

The next morning we were up with the sun, and the temperatures were freezing! Most people were using their leather gloves to try and keep their hands warm while we packed up our equipment.

It didn't take long on the trail to get the blood flowing though.

I spent most of my time wandering up and down the trail taking pictures of people pulling and pushing, and laughing, and splashing. We crossed water/mud six different times that day.

Oftentimes one or two people would pull the carts across the water, but Maisie got to participate in one of the water crossings.

Needless to say, there was a lot of waiting around, a lot of standing that day, but the weather was in our favor. We couldn't have asked for more mild temperatures.

The wind was a real problem though. At times, it was gusting 40-50 knots, and coated everyone's face in dust. Eyes were dried out, as were lips, and noses. Needless to say, we were a tired lot when we rolled in at seven that night, more than two hours past our scheduled arrival time. I've never hiked so much in one day in my entire life. I'd wager that's the case for most people. The next day we packed up and drove to Martin's Cove. The night had been so chilly there was frost on the ground in the morning. Maisie had joined the trek youth choir, and got to perform for the group several times while we were there.

That day we hiked through Martin's Cove, heard stories of people who suffered much, and left even more behind. Being as tired as we were from the day before, we were able to get a small glimpse of what our pioneer ancestors had to go through. I was particularly excited, as a photographer, to be able to take pictures of the Sweet Water crossing.

I stood in the middle of the river and snapped picture after picture of people crossing, wondering how it must have felt for those who did this in the middle of winter.

 Maisie was unable to cross due to some blisters from the day before, and I know she was sad she missed it. I was one of the last people to emerge from the river, and felt truly humbled as I did, seeing everyone on the other side.

Our schedule that day had been thrown into disarray, and after we crossed the river, the day was starting to wane, but we were determined to participate in the Women's Pull. We dried off feet, and hauled our carts to the bottom of the hill, where the men left us and hiked to the top. I handed off my camera to my dad, as I wanted the opportunity to participate in this. Somehow, I ended up being on the first cart in the line.

We heaved that cart up with everything we could muster, and then I walked back down the trail to help all the other women on their carts. I saw Maisie on a cart full of Beehives, and I jumped in to help her group. It was a special moment for me to be able to pull that cart up with my daughter by my side.

Once everyone had pulled their carts to the top, we walked the mile and a half back to the start of Martin's Cove, turned in our carts, and were grateful to be done.

The sun was going down, we hadn't eaten in six or seven hours, and we still had an hour left to drive before we had to set up our tents again in the dark. But we were smiling. And that was something I found truly amazing. We had late nights, VERY early mornings, not enough food, difficult conditions, and an inability to stick to any kind of schedule. But you didn't hear much in the way of complaining. You saw a lot of laughter, a lot of smiles. Great acts of service, compassion, and selflessness. People were changed, and hearts were made full. It was hard, incredibly hard. But I don't regret it in the least. I'm beyond grateful for the sacrifices our pioneer ancestors made on our behalf. And I'm thankful my daughter and I got an opportunity to feel, just a bit, what it was like for them.