Isla's Baby Blessing

This weekend we had the chance the make a quick trip home to see beautiful baby Isla be blessed by her dad and family. It was such a beautiful blessing and day. It has been hard to be so busy and not see her and Sarah as much as we want but we are looking forward to seeing her more this summer. Isla looked adorable in her dress and didn't even make a peep during church. I got a ton of cuddles in but I can't wait to get more in a few weeks!

 So happy to be getting her blessing 

 And then she was asleep

 Some of Isla's pretty awesome family 

 Those little hands! 

 Isla loved her Uncle Derek

 We love this little girl!

 Get ready for lots of girls trips Isla! 

 Look at the way her hands are holding on to my arm.. It melted my heart!

The Fort Lauderdale Temple

In October 2009, President Monson announced there would be a Fort Lauderdale temple. At the time, I was newly married and living in Utah. I remember hearing about the temple, but at the time I never would have imagined I would be living in South Florida when the temple was completed. Last fall I was asked to be a part of the Cultural Celebration, the youth performance that occurs the night before the dedication of the temple. For the last 6 months, I worked with the creative committee to help develop the script for the celebration and plan the important performance. It was a lot of work, but absolutely worth it! I had many experience that proved to me that the Lord's temple is a sacred place and miracles will happen in order to bring the temple to an area. I also had the chance to work as a tour guide at the Open House for the temple. Walking through the temple and learning about the importance of each room solidified my testimony of the work that happens in these buildings. I am so excited to have the temple here in South Florida! It really has been a blessing to be a part of 

bringing another temple to Florida! 

 The youth worked so hard and it paid off! 

President Uchtdorf came for the temple dedication and cultural celebration. He was so kind to stop and talk with everyone. The members were all beyond excited to meet him and shake his hand (me included!!)

To watch the Cultural Celebration (it's worth the watch I promise!) just click HERE

Young Women Activities

The summer has been so busy that I felt like I really didn't get to spend that much time with the girls. Luckily we got to celebrate the end of summer by doing two fun activities in one week! For mutual we went over to Key Biscayne and walked on the beach. We got to watch the sunset and get a little exercise in at the same time. It was really fun to get out with everyone!

That weekend we had our end of summer sleepover. The girls all came over to my house as well as the leaders Kim and Andrea. We missed you Marisabel! The girls decided that they wanted to go swimming that night so we got to hang out outside and enjoy a perfect summer night. When we came back in, some of the girls wanted to learn the "Cups" song. I learned it at camp when I was a teenager and so we got lots of practice in. I think some of the girls actually learned it! After, the girls watched "It", the 1980's Steven King movie. Apparently it wasnt as scary to them as it was to me when I was younger because the girls found it pretty funny. 

The next morning we all woke up a little late and made breakfast. We had pancakes and eggs and chowed down. After we went swimming and laid out. I think the girls had a really good time... I know I did! Sadly, we didn't get a group shot but I am so happy so many girls could come. We will miss Melanie and Alejandra as they move on to Relief Society. Love you girls! 

Kim's Baby Shower: Little Man

Since we moved to Miami, I have been so fortunate to make some great friends. One of these great friends is Kim Wait. She is an amazing mom and friend and she has been such a great help with church stuff. When we heard that she was pregnant with her third kid, all of the girls were so excited to throw her a shower. We set to work creating a theme and organizing games. The girls really seemed to enjoy the shower and I think Kim was surprised. We had a great time and we all can't wait to meet baby Foster!

Being silly

The matching presidency :)

Love these ladies!

Someone stole my phone

The crew

Sissies

So serious

Goofballs

Karen

Trying to be serious

Melanie

The bottle game was a hit

The decorations

Cupcakes

Girls Camp 2013

One of the most exciting parts of being called as young women's president was the opportunity to go to Girls Camp! I LOVED camp as a girl and have such amazing memories from those times. Turns out camp is a piece of cake a lot of work but totally worth it. We had an incredibly successful fundraiser which allowed us to have some fun with the food and gifts. 

I couldn't come up until Tuesday night, but I dropped the girls off on Monday morning at the stake center. Unfortunately my car broke down on my way to work. Luckily it was just the battery and alternator which were a fast fix and didn't keep me from going up to Orlando the next day. 

The girls all had such a blast! We really got to bond and hang out. I learned a lot of Spanish over the week and I was surprised how much I could understand when I had to. Both the ward camp director and the other parent who came with us only spoke Spanish so we all learned pretty fast how to communicate. 

Some of the highlights of the week: Being mistaken for a teenager most of the time, laughing a lot, being in nature, reading the scriptures, watching testimonies grow, being cold, lots of selfies, crafts and yummy, yummy food! 

The girls made "exploding boxes" as their craft

The city girls really enjoyed nature and took lots of pictures of all of the beautiful sites!

The ward camp director was great and cooked for us the whole time. She made amazing Latin food that everyone envied! Hermana Solis cooked the big meal for the whole camp and everyone was so impressed. I think I gained 10 pounds that week :) 

 I even got to try balliadas which were AMAZING! I have a renewed desire to learn how to cook better and learn some of the recipes from the people in our ward. 

The girls really enjoyed the obstacle course at the camp site. A few of the girls even tried to rope walk, which resulted in one of the girls falling in the water! Chelsea handled it like a champ though and proudly swam to the other side. 

One of the fun parts of the camp was the performances. The girls did a great job performing and got the reputation of being just a little ghetto for their perfectly rapped rendition of "Glamorous" by Fergie and Melanie's beat boxing during the performance.

The theme was "Stand in Holy Places". I think all of the girls learned how to have peace and make good choices, no matter where they are. Camp was a great spiritual stimulus for the girls. 

On the last day they had a ceremony recognizing all of the girls and the hard work the girls put into camp. They did great! 

Most importantly, the girls had fun! The girls are so fun-loving and crazy! I couldn't have asked for a better break from work and life then spending the week with these awesome girls! 

So for my own selfish reasons, one of the best nights of camp was the night my Mom came out and visited me and the girls. All growing up, my Mom worked with the youth at church. When I plan activities and prepare for anything with the girls, I think about what my Mom would do. She is such an inspiration to me of how to be a great mother and friend. The week was emotionally and spiritually uplifting, but it all made perfect by having my Mom there! The girls LOVED her and all called her Grandma (which she loved). 

It was a great week at Girls Camp. I have SOOO many ideas for next year and I already have a huge list! But in the end, what matters is that the girls had a great time. I am so glad we have this program that allows us to learn as grow as Children of God. Love you girls and cant wait for next year!