David and Demi

Before our Cruise vacation, and while Ryan was at Scout Camp, Mike and I took Megan and Cameron to the David Archuletta/Demi Lovato concert. Outside the arena, Radio Disney was set up, playing music and having contests. Cameron volunteered for a game and won a Jonas Brother's guitar pick necklace and the Pocahontas DVD. Each of us had a David Archuletta button to wear on our shirt.

This was Cameron's first concert, and she had a great time. She danced and sang all night. It was good practice for when she gets to go see Hannah Montana in September. (She got tickets for her birthday.)

David has come a long way since his start on American Idol. He still seemed pretty humble and star-struck, though. Megan is in love. Demi Lovato can Rock! She is a very talented girl for just being 16 years old.

RYAN!!!

Hello! This is Ryan again, I was not fortunate enough to make the all-star baseball team (Awww). But, however I was fortunate enough to go to scout camp again this year. We got the same campsite as last year and I earned two really cool merit badges; Horsemanship and Rifle-Shooting. I really liked riding the horses because they were easy to control. Also the merit badges had simple requirements. I had to name 15 parts of a horse, a saddle, and a bridle. Then I had to show how to control a horse which was easy. The Rifle-Shooting merit badge was great because each day we shot the rifles. We had to have 5 sets of 3 rounds in the size of a quarter, and then 5 sets of 5 rounds in the size of a quarter. It was easy for me because I am just cool like that, but other scouts were still trying to get their shot groupings on the last day.

As you might have heard, my family and I were recently on a cruise. We went to Cabo San Lucas Mexico. While there, we went zip-lining. We repelled down a 180 ft. cliff. Megan and Cameron were hesitant but I was all for it. Another thing that was included with the zip-lining was a tarzan swing thing where they strap you into a harness and spin you around while you zip-along and near the end of the line you hit a stopper on the cable and you are shaken around violently. (It is really cool!!!) If you click on the picture, you can see how high I am.

Summer!

Hey guys! It's Megan! So like I wrote in my last blog, my summer started off crazy! And I haven't stopped going!!! After I got home from my show choir trip which my Mom wrote about, (2nd out of 23!!!!), I helped Cameron with her play which my Mom also wrote about. That was so much fun being the head grip. Anyway, after the play finished I was chained to our dining room table and a laptop. I had to take Health class online. It was so wierd! Since there was no face to face interaction, they added in tons of details because it wasn't so awkward for them. It was for us, though! A girl in my ward was in the same class and we were both uncomfortable during it. Anyway I had to finish a week early so that I wouldn't have to work on it while on our cruise.

So I took the final and the next day we left for San Diego to get on a cruise ship and sail to beautiful Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. Saturday and Sunday were sailing days where we really just hung out around the boat. I met a really great group of kids and we all went on a Scavenger Hunt looking for things on the boat. One of the items we needed was something with teeth. So we thought and thought and finally came to the conclusion that children had teeth! So as we were coming back to the club to turn in the stuff we collected we saw a kid and his mom looking at pictures, so we ran up to him and asked the mom if we could borrow her son. She looked at me like I was crazy. I told her he would help us win a Scavanger Hunt and that we would just be down the hall for a second. She said "yes" but the kid looked scared out of his mind! We walk into the club and our director asks us who the kid belongs to and we explain how he is our something with teeth. She starts laughing so hard and we let the kid go back to his mom. He practically ran the whole way.

The next day we docked in Cabo and went Zip Lining! It was so fun and scary at the same time. They made us put on these ugly Doo-Rag type things and then a bulky helmet and a harness. Then we hiked up this mountain and went on about 10 different zip lines across canyons and off huge cliffs. If you looked down you saw pointy rocks and cacti. It was awesome! Then they took us to this really high cliff and told us we are about to repel down it.... 180 ft!!!!!!! It was so scary! I hate heights, and was practically in tears. When I finally reached the bottom I was shaking so bad and had to sit down. It was so crazy. The next day we went parasailing, which is where you are being pulled by a boat in the air with a parachute on your back. When I was up there I looked down on the ocean and saw a school of sting rays! It was so cool, but no one else saw them! I was so mad!

The next and last day was a day at sea while we traveled back to California. I hung out with a girl I met on the boat all day and her siblings. We traveled all over the boat and saw a whale while we were getting ice cream! I can't believe all the wildlife I saw this past week. It was an amazing vacation and gets better, but I have to leave something for Ryan and Cameron to write about!

Cameron at Knott's Berry Farm

Hola'. This is Cameron. This summer we went on a great Cruise to Cabo San Lucas. When we got back we went to Knott's Berry Farm which was so fun. I did ALL the rides except the "Rip Tide" and the "Supreme Scream" those looked too scary to go on. I think the best ride was the "Boomerang." The "Boomerang" pulls you up then lets you go really fast and you do two front loops then you do two loops backwards. It was SO fun. The second best was called the "Silver Bullet" in this one it's like you are sitting in a chair and you go upside down and it is awesome. The third best is the "Ghost Rider" it is all made of wood so it wobbles back and forth - it's SO scary. The fourth coolest is called the "Xcelorator" it goes straight up and then straight down. It was really wild - but I rode it with my hands up in the air. I thought it would be crazier that way and I was right. You go from zero to eighty in 2.3 seconds. The fifth best ride is "Montezumas Revenge." You go really fast and then do a full loop upside down and then you do the same loop backwards and really fast.

It was a great trip. I don't think I want to go back to school. Well that's all I have to say for now so see you later bye. (by clicking on the photos we post, you can see any of them larger)

The Latest Goings On

This is Trish. I have been trying to get the kids to write on our blog this summer, because they are "so bored." However, they have pointed out that I have NEVER done a blog post, so I'm going to do my first-ever entry.

School ended, and summer started with a BANG! Megan was off to Girl's camp and then Branson, MO with her show choir. They ended up taking 2nd place out of 23 choirs from all over the USA.

Next, Cameron had her stage debut in the Kyrene Summer Academy production of "Alice in Wonderland." She was in the ensemble, and got to sing and be a flower, a starfish, a bug, and was very comfortable on the stage. The photo is with the "Queen of Hearts."One performance was on her 9th birthday, which was a fun way to celebrate. We talked her Grandma and Grandpa Woods into coming to see her show, and it was nice to have them there. They are good sports.

Megan can't stay away from the stage, so she volunteered her time each day to help with the production. She helped the kids design and create costumes, scenery, and did any odd-job that Mrs. Miller, the director asked. She had a great time doing it.

Ryan finished up his little league career with his team taking 2nd place. He was not chosen for the All-Star team this year, which freed him up to go to Scout Camp. He's there right now, working on his "Horsemanship" and "Rifle" merit badges. I'm sure he's enjoying every minute, and the cool air above Payson, and not thinking about us here in the 112 degree heat. When we get him home on Friday, we're going to drive to San Diego and get on the Carnival Cruise Ship Elation of the Seas for a little 5-day cruise down to Cabo. The kids are really looking forward to it.

The AZ Legislature has been keeping Mike busy. He pulled off some miraculous accomplishments for his clients, only to have the Governor VETO the whole shebang! Right now they are recessed, so we can go on the cruise, and he can re-work his miracles when we get back.
I took a 45 hour SEI course through EAC at the Gila Pueblo Campus in order to keep my teaching certificate up to date. It actually was very interesting. I didn't even mind the drive to Globe each day. I got an Amazon "Kindle" for Graduation, which is an electronic book reader. I can read books on it, but while I am driving, I can turn on the "text-to-speech" function and have it read to me out loud. It made the drive quick and painless. I am very happy to have a job this next school year in our school library. I can put that Master's Degree in Library Science to some use.

Megan was in a play this Spring called "Honk." It is kind of the musical version of the "Ugly Duckling." I never cease to be amazed and proud of her singing voice, so I'm attaching a scene from the play. Her character is "Dot" a Goose with a British accent (huh?). Wait until you hear her sing!!! I am a proud mom. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=39rrZytBPRM

So There! I've done my blog post. Hopefully Megan, Ryan and Cameron will do some entries after their trip to Cabo. There's no telling what adventures they might have.