Emmy's BYU Gymnastics Camp 2019

Emmy has been super busy these past few weeks! Every since going to Young Women's Camp 2 1/2 weeks ago, Emmy has slept three times in her own bed! She did YW camp, then our backpacking trip, then up to Littleton, then up to Provo for BYU Camp!

Emmy saved money all year for this camp. We were hoping to get in to the overnight housing, but it was full in the first two days of registration! Bummer! But Emmy did save up her half and so we thought she should go anyways. She's been to camp the previous two years, but this one was a step-up - 5 days and all-day long (as opposed to 3 half-days)! Cool!

Ben and Emmy headed over on Sunday to my parents' home. I'm really glad Ben got the opportunity to go - he had a ton of fun on campus with Emmy:

 All campers (from the many camps happening that week) checked in at the Marriott Center on Monday.

 Cosmo the Cougar was hanging around and meeting the campers!

 Cardboard Studio C cast members were there, too. :)

 They got lunch and treats at the BYU store.

 Truffles - yum!

 Ben took Emmy to orientation and then it was "goodbye"!

My parents picked Emmy up the  next few days . . . until Lucy and I arrived in Provo on Wednesday afternoon. We got there a bit early and watched all the campers. There were quite a lot of girls there, and there was quite the range of abilities - from girls just beginning their competition-level gymnastics, all the way to level 10 gymnasts. It was super fun to watch.

Emmy was trying to do her fly-away from the bar on her own, but she just wouldn't do it! Coach Guard Young (the BYU head coach) saw Emmy and told her she had a great swing and should just do it! He took her to the low bar and spotted her on one. But she still just wouldn't do it on her own. She was really frustrated at the end of that day . . . but on Friday (her last day), she got another chance on bars. She tried again, but, again, wouldn't let go. She came over (Lucy and I were there a bit early to watch the final dance performances) and told me she just wanted to do it on the regular high bar with Coach Guard spotting her. So I told her to ask him - and she did and he did! And Emmy did a wonderful fly-away - yay! It was a great way to end her week. Plus, she also started working on back handsprings on the low-beam (with mats up on the side . . . :) ). She was super excited about that, too.

All in all, it was a great experience for her. They ate lunch on campus, had nutrition classes, physical therapy classes, etc. The coaches included the BYU head coach Guard Young and his BYU gymnasts. Awesome.

 Emmy just waiting her turn . . . This was on Wednesday when Lucy and I just arrived in Provo.

 Guard Young took time to individually help out Emmy. He was just awesome.

 Coach Young telling Emmy to go and do it on the other bar now! :)

 My mom is in charge of her ward's help with the Swiss Day baking. So on Wednesday night (after we had gotten home, the girls had gone for a little swim, and we had eaten some yummy Grandpa-made grilled ham and cheese sandwiches . . .) we went over to help out. The girls had fun scooping up cookie-dough balls!

 On our way down to Provo on Thursday morning to drop off Emmy at camp, I dropped off Lucy at the baking shop again. My mom was already there - that day they were actually going to be baking those little balls of dough. The cookies are bratzelis and you bake them one at a time on a little waffle-like thing. I took Emmy, dropped her off, spent some time at a running store trying to find the perfect running shoe, and then came back. Three-hours later and Lucy was still having a great time - even doing the dishes. :) She got lots of compliments from the ladies there that morning. What an awesome helper Lucy was!

 I took Lucy to 7-11 for her free slurpee (it was 7-11 day!). There are no 7-11s in Montrose, so that was a fun treat for Lucy!

 That night my mom took us girls to Midway's outdoor theater production of Cinderalla. It was fun and the girls really loved it! (My mom - not so much!).

 My running view on Friday morning - so beautiful!!!

And it's a wrap - Emmy finished up on Friday afternoon and then we headed back to Montrose. We had thought about staying until Saturday, but the girls wanted to make it back for their Saturday gym practice. :)

A video compilation: Emmy not doing her fly-away, Emmy finally doing a great fly-away, Emmy doing a back handspring on the beam, and Emmy's dance routine.

I love it all!

Lucy

Here are just a few things that Lucy and I did last week while Emmy was gone. (Lucy was really bummed that Emmy was going to be away at BYU camp all week long . . . but, luckily, we were able to head over on Wednesday to Utah, so it wasn't that bad!)

 We did a very last-minute Activity Day, but ended up with eight girls! (During the summer we just meet up once - for a "bigger" activity. But we had to cancel June and I was just wanting to get these girls together, so we added an "extra" little activity to this month. Later in the month we'll be going on a hike.) We rode our bikes from the church, on a little path, down to the middle school's playground.

How many girls can you fit on a swing?!

 Biker babes biking back.

 What an awesome group of girls! We have Bentley, Miryam, Elizabeth, Genevieve (Lucy's friend and our neighbor who we invited), Esther (brand new to the ward!), Lucy, Tahlia, and Gracie.

 We ended with frozen go-gurts and hummus. :)

Our good friends are moving away - sniff, sniff. Lucy and I took out Cassidy (the mom) and Ellie to lunch on Tuesday. Lucy was just laughing at silly and funny Ellie the whole time. They are such cute and fun friends.

 Ellie is dealing with some alopecia issues - but that doesn't do anything to her adorableness, except maybe accentuate it!

I took Lucy to buy some craft supplies on Monday and she loved it. She made a bunch of clay beads and made a necklace for herself and Ellie. Cute, cute.

 Miles' battery had died (a door was left slightly ajar, we think) and so he jumped it one day. So we hopped in the car and took it for a spin. Lucy looks good sitting in all that blue. :)

What I Found on Miles' Camera

 A tower.

 His toy car he got for Christmas.

 On a YM's trip to Moab.

 Huh.

 His birthday gifts all bundled up in his suitcase (which was a gift, too).

 ?

 I like the reflection of the tree in this one.

 He does love his car.

 Flower.

 His Nazi Easter egg.

 Bella and Brigham.

I thought I had more weird and random pictures, but I can't find them. He does have some goofy videos, but I'm too lazy to work on those right now. So maybe later. Or maybe never.

The next pictures are ones from a camping trip he went on with his friend Michael. The night before I am leaving for the week for YW camp and had my family's itinerary and plans all mapped out, Miles gets invited to go camping. I didn't want to make him miss the opportunity, so I rearranged it all and Miles was able to go. He had a great time.

July 4th

We got to Littleon mid-afternoon and got all-showered up - man that felt good! We had dinner at Jim and Diana's house and then headed over to Joe and Britt's home to visit with them. Which is always a delightful time. We headed over to their church (it wasn't at the church, but it was a good place to view the fireworks) to watch fireworks (yes, some group does them early every year). The fireworks were great and it was a fun evening.

On Thursday we went with Jim and Diana to their ward's July 4th breakfast. We had fun there - especially with the rocket-activity they had going on there (the boys did play some kick-soccer for a while, too).

After that, we grabbed some lunch and then drove to Denver to catch the parade. The drive was cool as we saw many awesome houses in some Denver neighborhoods. The parade was fun - I mean, not like a great Utah parade (Utah sure does know how to do a parade), but fun to be a part of and to see something different.

That evening we had a BBQ at Joe and Britt's and that was perfect - good food and good visiting. The kids did some fireworks at their home - although it did rain on them a bit. :) Then Ben and I took our crew and headed to another park to watch another fireworks show. It did not disappoint and was a a great way to end the 4th of July.

On Friday we (Ben and I) ran/walked the canal in the morning. It was a lovely start to the day. We met up with Britt and Grace and Nicholas and let the kids ride scooters, skateboard, and roller-blade. Then we basically drove home.

 Lucy built a pretty great rocket! She would have won in her age-group if there was such a contest. :)

 Jonas' was the best overall - beating everybody. His rocket went high and far!

 Emmy used Ben's rocket as it "made her look good." Ha!

 Here we are walking down a Denver street to go to the parade.

 The cars were lined up and so we got a pre-parade and up-close look at them. I don't know what these ones are, but the rest were just old, cool cars.

 Watching the parade: cousin Nicholas, Jonas, Miles, Lucy, Emmy, me, and Jim.

 The sunset on the 4th was beautiful!

 Sparklers!

 So fun!

 The skatepark on Friday morning.

Grace, Britt, and I visiting.

We sure do love being with family!