CHRISTMAS in JULY

Today while watering the garden Cami and Alex decided to play in the mud... which turned out to be quite fun. They made a mud snowman, pud pies with giant blueberries, and mud castles. This picture makes me laugh because it looks like a 'designer poo'. The kids had a blast and I just had to capture their creativity. :)

Say Cheese!

I wanted to have Cami and Alex's pictures taken this year, because I was quite the slacker last year. My friend Ashleigh was sweet enough to do it for me, and she does an amazing job! So here's how some of them turned out. I have still yet to get some good one's of Carson... maybe when he turns 1. :) (What do you think Ash? ;O])

FOREWARNING ---- THIS IS A PLETHORA OF PICTURES

(I couldn't decide which ones, so I said to myself, "Why hold back?")

Something to Ponder

This quote was given to me yesterday, and I loved it so much I had to share.

"The Lord isn't asking us to load up a handcart;

He's asking us to fortify our faith.

He isn't asking us to walk across a continent;

He's asking us to walk across the street to visit our neighbor.

He isn't asking us to give all of our worldly possessions to build a temple;

He's asking us to give of our means and our time despite the pressures of modern living to continue to build temples and then to attend regularly the temples already built.

He isn't asking us to die a martyr's death;

He's asking us to live a disciple's life."

---M. Russell Ballard

It'S a ZoO aRouNd HerE!!

Momma bear speaking... sometimes I seriously feel like one. But I guess that's just the beginning of the tour of our zoo.

First off we have our genuine, one and only Cami-leon Spider Monkey. She climbs on, up, and around everything. I am constantly trying to keep her safe and sound on the ground. At the same time she has this calm and gentile nature that makes you just fall in love with her and calms the home. She's sincerely beautiful inside and out.





Second is our unforgetable and adorable Snuggly Bunny Alex-ator. This strong willed, cuddly, gentleman of mine knows how to bring out all sorts of emotions when caring for him. :) He knows how to put up a fight, make you laugh until you cry, and touch your heart by his sincere affection. Life wouldn't be the same without this little man of mine.

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Lastly but not least, here is my Baby Bear Carson cub. He is constantly smiling, he'll let you know when he's hungry, and is very playful. And now that he's getting teeth, he has quite the bite! This crazy, cute cub makes the little things in life exciting.

Life has been a zoo, and I've been trying to keep up with it. I thank God for these perfect little, 'animals' of mine. :) (P.S. We got to go on a quick trip to the Portland zoo last weekend... so we really did get to enjoy seeing quite a few real, wild animals recently.)

(A poem from Momma Bear... this was given to me through email... I'd like to share it with you.)

I Want To Be A Bear

In my next life I want to be a bear.

If you're a bear, you get to hibernate. You do nothing but sleep for six months.

I could deal with that.

Before you hibernate, you're supposed to eat yourself stupid.

I could deal with that, too.

If you're a bear, you give birth to your children (who only weigh half a pound) while you're sleeping and wake to partially grown, cute cuddly cubs.

I could definitely deal with that.

If you're a mama bear, everyone knows you mean business. You swat anyone who bothers your cubs. If your cubs get out of line, you swat them too.

I could deal with that.

If you're a bear, your mate EXPECTS you to wake up growling. He EXPECTS that you will have hairy legs and excess body fat. He KNOWS not to get between you and the food.

Yup... Gonna be a bear.

HFD!

Cami: "I love it when my daddy will wrestle and play with me!"
Alex: "I love it when daddy wrestles and plays with me too!"
Cami: "You know what's another thing I like about daddy? When he gives me hugs."
Alex: "I like it when daddy comes home."
Carson: "Woosheee Gaga! Dadadadada!" Translation: "I like it when daddy changes my diaper... it makes momma soooooo happy!"

Happy Father's Day Babes.... they just think the world of you.

Birthday Bash!

My neice Alizabeth Tate, (she goes by Tate), just had her 6th B-Day! I was asked to help take pictures of the event as the parents helped party. :) Of course!

Cami, Tate, and Kate making a pyramid on top of Jeremy and my brother Ezra. Smiling on the way up and.....

.......on the way down. :)


Now here's a cute couple... McKenzie May (the birthday girl's little sister) is always at Grandpa's side. He'll do just about anything for his grandkids...

........even chug down pool water. Dad you're such a fun Grandpa!

Now how could I NOT take a picture of this cute little girl, just chilln' by the side of the pool with her adorable messy pigtails. You're a cute one little Brookie!

We should have tried to add another little one on top!

Once Alex saw the spiderman stuff.... he never parted from them.

Cute smile EZ. :)

You can count on mom jumping in the pool with all the grandkids! I should have gotten a pic with everyone at the slide, because she was there catching every single one of them for a good hour!

ATTACK!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The SurFer BabEs!!

Tate, we love you and sure hope you had a fun birthday!! Thanks for inviting us all!

Each Day Is a New Adventure!

Life is full of unexpected moments, sometimes fun and sometimes trialsome. But as for these last few days I can gratefully say, IT's Been a Blast! Over the weekend we all drove to Seattle to do, well... alot of things actually. First we met up with Grandma Ellie and Aunt Launa to spend the weekend together. We went to Pike's Market Saturday morning and enjoyed all the excitement that goes on there. There's too much to describe, but it is definitely a recommended stop for anyone that is a Saturday's Market lover. :) But the kids sure enjoyed the 'Kid's Zone' that was featured there.

1. First, Grandma Ellie helping the kids plant their own seeds in a cup. ;)

2. Then we let the kids make their own pig snouts. Carson (pic at top of blog) is demonstrating how cute it looks. I was impressed he didn't try ripping it off. He just sat there and smiled! :)

3. After that Launa and Jeremy took the kids to make their very first ZUCHINNI CARS! I had to go feed Carson, and Gail came with me as my buddy (Thanks for coming with me Gail). Apparently there was a race and Alex's car won! Way to go Bud!

At the end of the street we all got a pic of everyone by the waterfront.

4. Then we loaded the van with everyone and drove to Tacoma to watch my sister compete in the pole vault at State. (Thanks to everyone that came to support her!) She won! She won at 11' 9''. Her personal record is 12'5'', and we are just so proud of her! It's the second year in a row that she's won state. Way to go Jess!! (This is a pic of us just a week before. Yes... she is much taller than I... she likes to call me 'Shorty'. ;O])

5. When that was all said and done, we got a bite to eat at Chili's and headed off to the movie theatre. There we got to enjoy our very first 3-D movie! We went to the movie 'UP'. If I could rate that movie, I would rate it 'E' for Everyone!! I just loved it. It's one of my favorite animated movies now. After the show, Gail and Launa took a family pic of us with our stylish 3-D glasses. :)

6. After that Gail and Launa took the 2 older kids for the rest of the night! (Thank you so much guys!!!) Then Jeremy and I got to spend some time celebrating our 7th year anniversary. It seems like it's gone so fast, sometimes too fast. But through it all, all I have to say is... he was the BEST decision I have ever made. I love you Jeremy!

7. After spending just alittle more time with Gail and Launa, we finally headed home on Sunday. It was a blast being with them! Love you guys!

8. Then on Monday evening we went and celebrated my sister-in-law's 29th Bday! She requested the Red Robin's famous Mud Pie for her birthday cake. Great choice Haley!

9. On Tuesday we had some cousin time! Josh and Amy, Jeremy's brother, came down for a visit. Their two little girls are adorable and with such fun characters! Thanks for hanging with us guys! Amy calls Kayli's little ponytails her 'antennas'. :) To have Kayli and Dakota around was such a treat!

All in all this weekend was full, and full of fun. Life happens so fast, which makes capturing these moments priceless.