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I am on a constant quest to teach my children manners. In a world where manners are falling by the wayside, I feel an even deeper desire to teach them how to act and what to do and say in all sorts of situations.

For example, what do you do if someone is boring you? What is the proper etiquette for signing a yearbook? How about slamming doors? Is it OK to blow on your food? What about if there is a foreign object in your food or your food is rotten? Do my kids know the proper way to eat a shish-kabob? Have I taught them not only when to applaud, but how to applaud? Is there a right way to order from a menu and do they know it? How should they act in a funeral home? And last but not least, do they know the manners for having fresh breath?

There is so much I need to teach them and with this little gem all of the above and more will be covered.

Love this book.

One manner for every day of the year.

My kids will be prepared.

Prepared to eat that shish kabob without a hitch. Prepared to properly ask someone on a date. Prepared to act appropriately at the Orthodox Jewish wedding we just might be invited to. And obviously, prepared with extremely fresh breath every step of the way!

A hot and stinky birthday

To the one I love the very most....

Happy Birthday!

This picture was not taken on July 12th.

It was taken a week later, because this old man spent his actual birthday....

... here, at good ole Mutual Dell.

With them.
Twenty energetic and dirty 12 year olds.

Supervising this.

And swimming and canoeing here everyday to cool off, from the scorching temps.

Happy

Birthday

Master of the Scouts!

We missed him, but at least he got to spend his birthday with Brandon, my accomplice and the executor of the secret decorating of the tent and campsite, signing of the cards and distributing of the gifts that we smuggled up to camp in his duffel bag.

That's my Trevor, always serving.

Always smiling.

I love you.

Cherry, orange, or how about lemon-lime?

How many people can say they have been in a giant jello fight?

My kids can!

It was slimy, and sweet, and colorful and oh, so sticky. But, no worries, because this is what happened about 10 minutes after the gelatin war.

And we took advantage of it.

Wet, but clean. And now only slightly sticky.

It was a perfect and fun way to beat the heat with good ole fashioned

J-E-L-L-O!

Firsts

The first day of school this year was filled with a lot of firsts for our family.

This cute boy started school on Monday, a day before all the rest, because it was his first day in Junior High. They do that now so that all the little "sevies" can get accustomed to everything that Junior High entails without all of the older kids bugging them.( Why didn't they have that back in my day?) He is kind of freaking out about P.E. and I really don't blame him after the stories, or should I say 'tales' that his older brother has told him about changing in the locker room. But, Brandon will be fine, locker room and all, I am sure of it.

The next day this beauty left for her last first day of school. I told her she would still have first days of school in college, but she said that didn't count, since she wouldn't be living at home, and she wouldn't get to come home to warm cookies and milk. Fair enough. I have to admit, she was the one I was most emotional about this year. For 15 straight years I have hugged her tight and waved goodbye as she left on her first day of school. And today was the last time I would do it from our porch. It hurt my heart a little... OK, a lot.
(and yes she did, in fact, wear shoes to school, she just hadn't put them on yet)

This handsome guy headed off this morning for his first day at the High School. He finished his Honors English 50 page summer packet and book just before midnight last night. Procrastinator? Umm, ya think? He came home happy and stated, "High School is WAY better than junior high!" It's going to be a great year for this mighty caveman!

These three sweets got up extra early out of excitement for their big first days. Bryson, who is starting 5th grade, has his first male teacher. Alyssa, starting 3rd grade, claims this is the first year she knew hardly anyone in her class, but then came home and said she knew practically everyone. And my little Eto bravely marched off to his first day in first grade. He survived his first full day away from mom, his first lunch in the cafeteria with the crowds, and his favorite, his first day with TWO recesses.

And when everyone was finally gone, Brandon, who had the day off, decided to try a few firsts of his own.

He got up for the first time on a wake board.

He double tubed it for the first time.

And he watched his dad do a little of this. Trevor's first time this summer to be out on the water. He has missed it, a lot.


And this little pipsqueak played by herself all day. It was the first time she had been alone all summer and she was in heaven. Immediately after the kids left she put on her fancy dress, cranked the song "the final countdown" and sang her guts out to every song on the CD. She then played barbies, did puzzles, read books and basically took care of herself all day long till the troops returned. (Her first day is next week.)



And for the first time in 3 months my house was quiet.



For the first time my house was calm.



For the first time my house was clean.



And for the first time in a long time I can take a deep breath and catch up.






The first day of school.......at last!

He doesn't make me sick!

When you have a summer birthday, often times you spend your special day while on vacation. This has happened to Bryson several times. This year we were in Park City. And this is how the glorious 11th anniversary of this amazing kid's birth unfolded.

His special day started at, oh, about 12:30 a.m. with a little bit of vomit.

We had all just settled down when I was awakened with a little voice telling me "I think Bryson just threw up."

Yep, he did. He threw up a lot!

It was a heck of a way to start your 11th birthday. Luckily it ended up just being pure excitement.

Pure excitement that only an 11 year old boy could have for the fun day that lie ahead.

In the morning, feeling much better, he jumped onto the ski lift with dad and soared over the beautiful Park City mountains.

At the top he grabbed a slide....



...and sailed all the way down that beautiful Park City mountain he had just traveled up.






In the afternoon he celebrated with all of his extended family around him. To have grandparents, aunts, uncles and especially cousins with him on his birthday, was pure joy to him.

Of course, I had to bring the traditional birthday picture display up to Park City so we could all look at this awesome kid through the years.

I love watching my kids open gifts. I love the looks on their faces. I love the excitement and the joy I see when they get something they really wanted.

Legos does that for my Brycie.

Here is the reason for his nauseating excitement. He couldn't wait for the gifts.

Thankfully he was able to hold down his birthday lunch. Jello, Cheetos, pigs in a blanket and a cactus cooler to wash it all down. Yum!

I absolutely adore this boy.

Every day, every night.

At home or on vacation.

He is so quiet and smart. He loves his brothers, his family, his home. Everything about this sweet 11 year old brings me pure excitement and pure joy.

Eleven years of happiness have come from this one.

No nausea, no vomit, just joy.

Happy Birthday Bryson!

My family

The annual Fuehrer Family Reunion.

In Park City.

In a nutshell.

(because I am so far behind I can barely breath!)

We walked Main Street.

We played at the park. Football, baseball, soccer, tennis, you name the sport, we played it. Then we ate slurpees.


We played giant chess and checkers.

We swam and swam and then swam some more.

(OK, I didn't, but everyone else did.)

We bonded with this little peanut.

Gemma Mae, the newest member of our family.

We, or should I say the boys, played the Wii, much to my dismay.

We enjoyed visits from the "Stay in Bed Fairy" who left a candy treat for all of the little squirts who stayed in bed each night so the adults could enjoy some time together.

We hiked.

Most importantly, we were with family.

Being together, playing together, laughing together and crying together.

(there has yet to be a reunion without some crying)

And I got to spend the week with these three.

My sisters.

My best friends.

My family.

It doesn't get any better than that!

Black Hawk

I was invited to go to girls camp this year as the "camp nurse." I haven't been to girls camp since I was 17 years old. That was a long time ago and girls camp has changed a lot since then. And I mean a lot.

This was Kara's last year at camp, so I agreed to be the nurse. I agreed so that I could watch her, so I could commune with nature, so I could hone my nursing skills and so I could sleep in a tent and not bathe for a week. (I hated that last part when I was 17 and I still hate it now.) But they needed a nurse, so I packed my bag, charged my electric toothbrush and I headed for the hills.

Kara was an amazing YCL. I thoroughly enjoyed watching her lead her girls. She read scriptures with them, she talked with them, she laughed with them. She set up a tent with them.

I, on the other hand, was busy doing important nursing things. Like introducing the girls to Tillie, our camp mascot.

Tillie and I met at DI a few weeks before camp. I was actually looking for a bone to use in my mock disaster and I stumbled upon a whole pile of bones which turned out to be Tillie. Instead of taking her apart and using just pieces of her, I decided to put a bow on her head, add some google eyes and eyelashes and bring her along. She was a great addition to camp Black hawk.










Every day Tillie could be found in a new place. Sitting in a camp chair by the fire, lying in someones sleeping bag, hanging out by the food table eating gummy bears (as in the picture above) or soaring over the secret sister depository Superman style. Tillie felt right at home at camp and everyone enjoyed having her there. I'm glad she came.

Other than bringing Tillie, I was in charge of the mock disaster with Kara. We planned out the scenarios, brought the props, gave the YCL actors their scripts and then we let the disasters begin. Here the girls are taking care of a bear and snake attack victim, who also had been hiking in the snow and had hypothermia, poor thing.

This one fell in the fire and burned her hands. The screaming and writhing was so believable. I think she scared some of the Beehives.

Honestly, Kara deserved an Oscar for her performance as a compound leg fracture victim who had just fallen out of a tree. (Do you see the little bone sticking out of her jeans?)
The girls did great and successfully treated all of the victims at all six stations. (Most likely due to the incredible pre-camp first aid lessons they received.)

It wasn't all blood and guts though. We had time for a few other activities.

Like glitter nails. (Trevor laughed out loud when he saw this picture.)

Or how about making flower clips. Yes, that is a glue gun in the lower left corner. Yes, we brought a generator for our glue guns. (Okay, now Trevor really laughed, where's the stick whittling or fish gutting, a far cry from his rugged Scout camp!)

We did do some campy things, like a big long hike. At this point in the hike I started singing "Climb Every Mountain" at the top of my lungs. (Do you think I will get invited back next year?)

We also did a little canoeing. That's outdoorsy, right?

Despite the lack of sleep, greasy hair and pasty white face with no makeup (notice I did not include any pictures of myself in this post) I had a fabulous time with these girls and the wonderful women who lead them. I ate well, talked til late in the night, laughed a lot, and felt the spirit often.

And thankfully, my prayers were answered and I only needed to perform minimal nursing care.

I especially loved spending the week with my Kara. Her girls camp days are over. Where does the time go? I was grateful to be a part of her last camp experience.

We are a good team.

We are friends.

We are campers! (at least I keep telling myself that)