Cameron Baker

This is Cameron Baker. He is probably Autumn's closest guy friend. She thinks of him as a big brother and he is a great guy.  He was in the Blackfoot  news the other day,  he and Josh Spencer  are opening a concert in SLC for Dia Frampton, a runner up on The Voice last year. He also received a full ride scholarship to Westminster College this fall. 

http://www.am-news.com/content/blackfoot-graduate-open-salt-lake-concert

He also did a YouTube video for a song he and Josh Spencer wrote. The girl in the video is Elizabeth Yancy she is in our ward. Cameron actually wrote the song to ask a girl to Prom with him and he and Josh performed it at Distinguished Dudes asking the girl. Josh is also good friends with Autumn but not as close as her and Cameron are. Who knows where the future will lead them but what a great opportunity.

4H camp

For several years the girls have gone to 4-H camp. They really have enjoyed it. If you are 13 before January then you can no longer be a camper and have to become a counselor. Autumn was a counselor for one year I think and liked it but decided not to after that because she had other things going on. This year Tymber had to be a counselor. I was worried because she is pretty hyper and I wasn't sure how she would do. She attended several meetings and an all day training plus I sent her to a overnight leadership training as well. She left Monday and was so excited and pretty hyper. I worried about her the whole time and really was hoping she would be okay and not drive everyone insane. I knew the adult leaders would watch her and if needed discipline her. I wasn't worried about her with the younger kids because she adores kids and they love her to. They go to Alpine Wyoming, where the 4H camp is, leaving Monday morning at 9 and returning Wed about 5. They stop on the way back at Heise and let the kids swim for several hours.

The bus hadn't dropped the kids off yet and I was getting her things together and the main leader came up to me and told me she was amazing. He told me when she first signed up all of the leaders were like oh boy this may be a problem. The teen counselors have so much more responsibility and do most of the activities with the campers. While the adult leaders are there to supervise overall, they want the kids to learn leadership skills, so most of the responsibility and activities are on the teen counselors. Plus the adult leaders are not allowed to sleep in the cabins with the campers only teen counselors are in cabins, with adults close by if needed. He told me the first little while she had a hard time getting in leadership mode and out of camper mode but it didn't take her long. He also told me they would defiantly love to have her back again in a heartbeat. I was so happy to hear this. She is maturing and doing so well I am so proud of her and her stepping up and taking a leadership role.

She did say the other counselors were kind of mean to her and generally ignored her when they were in their own little groups, except the girl she was paired with was nice to her. They put her with an experienced counselor who was 18 and it was her final year. I felt bad but she said she didn't take it personally. Most of the counselors have been there for several years and some go to school together and I am sure are friends outside of camp. She said she knew she was the youngest and it was okay. Next year there will be a few girls who will be 13 and old enough to counsel with her so she will feel more comfortable. Plus she won't be the newbie and will know what is expected. It is also hard to believe Hope will be old enough for camp next year.

Summer is here, sort of

Another school year is gone. Where does the time go? I cannot believe Autumn will be a Senior. I am really having a hard time with it. I know this next school year will be gone in a blink and she will be off to college. While I love the woman she is becoming I will really have a hard time when she leaves home. I rely on her a lot and she helps me so much with the girls and housework, especially when I have so much homework to do some weeks. She has her first real job and is so excited. She will be working 25 hours a week at the Blackfoot Community Center. What a perfect job for her, she is working as a floater with the children in day camp. So she will help whatever group needs her that day or week. It is Monday through Friday from 11-4. No weekends or nights, wow what a perfect teen job.Not to mention she adores children and will love this job. She had to be CPR certified and work 10 hours as a volunteer so they could make sure she was a good fit with the kids. I was kind of worried because she needed two weeks off this summer, one for Civitan and one for girls camp. I was really thinking the instructor would tell her no, especially because Civitan is the week the camp starts. The instructor fully encouraged her to go because it is a leadership training and also said lots of girls take off for girls camp so it wasn't a problem at all! Autumn is really looking forward to having her own money to pay for gas and a few things she wants. I am looking forward to it as well and strongly encourage her to save money for college. We have been talking a lot on how easy it is to spend a few dollars here or there and pretty soon the whole check is gone. I am really trying to get her started on budgeting so she can carry the lesson into adulthood and the importance of saving and not blowing money on things she doesn't need.

Tymber went to an overnight 4-H leadership camp and will also be a 4-H leader later this month for three days. She is looking forward to it. Plus she will go to girls camp in July. It is hard to believe she will be 14 and starting 8th grade soon. She continues to struggle with school and applying herself to her lessons. But overall we are happy with the charter school and she will continue there next year. We will see where high school leads her.

Hope loved first grade so much and will do well in second. She hasn't been bored yet but it's coming. She has been taking tennis lessons from a girl in our ward. They have a tennis court in their back yard and live just down the road. She really likes it. I promised her this fall I will allow her to take dance or gymnastics. She has a hard time seeing the older two participate in activities through the school year and she doesn't get to do any extracurricular activities.

The weather is just weird 90 one day 60 the next. Air conditioning one day heat the next. Hopefully it will warm up next week so we can begin outside fun.