This first pic is one Riley had Kennedy take of her. I didn't know they had gotten hold of the camera until I loaded all the pics onto the computer. It was then I found a whole slew of pics that made no sense and were of odd things around the house. They obviously had a good time and were quite proud of their photography skills. You can see she is wearing her brother's tie. That is the latest in a long line of obsessions. She won't be caught dead without it. She even sleeps in it. Right out of the tub she puts it back on and I have to make her take it off when we go out in public. Last week it was the Nerf tag goggles and a winter hat at all times. Before that it was a pair of Harry Potter type glasses. What a sense of fashion!

Next we have Cameron. He fell asleep in his high chair last night waiting on dinner. I gave him some cocoa puffs to munch while I was finishing up and he just couldn't keep his eyes open. Do you love the chocolate face? He slept all through dinner just like that.(amazing with how noisy our dinners are)When he awoke, I wish we had gotten it on film. He just popped his eyes right open as if in complete shock and yelled out at us completely disoriented. Too cute! Of course, having had a nice snooze, he didn't actually go back to bed until around eleven. James sat and rocked him forever while he played with Daddy's face and pointed out their noses over and over. He says nose, but the "s" sounds more like a "c". I can't get him to say it on film, of course. He also says "hi", "bye-bye", "say cheese", "let go", "no-no", "poo-poo", "walker", and "cracker". All non-documented as yet. I'll keep trying.

Cameron's new chore

I decided to give Cameron his first official chore. He is our window cleaner! JK. Obviously I did not assign this to him. He just decided the window looked tasty I suppose. Who can know what goes through the mind of a child. Their thoughts are just a mystery to all. I love it when they do things like this. You just can't make this stuff up. It is also nice when you can get them on film, because it is never as good to just tell someone about it. We moms must have proof and a device for remembering later when we are mad at them through the teenage years. We need to remember how cute they actually once were. No matter what they get up to later, they all started out just as cute as can be. Perfection.

Quick little stinker!

I was doing the laundry today and as I carried a load to the couch to fold, Cameron went whizzing by me toward the laundry room. As I came back to check on him I saw him falling head first right into the dryer. I couldn't resist getting a few pictures of him as he was so proud of himself! He chatted on and on with me all about the fun he was having, too.

Spring is finally here!

We have gone to the kid's school playground a couple of days this week to play and enjoy this exceptional weather. Here are a few of the pictures I have taken of the kiddies. James had a fun time playing basketball with the boys. I love having a huge park so near to home. It is great to have a place for the kids to play and run off some of their endless energy and I get a chance to walk laps around the blacktop. Good family fun! It feels so good to get out into the sun again! Nicholas is doing a fitness challenge for six weeks at school that requires him to be active for an hour a day. I decided to help him out with it full force as we could all use a little more activity in our lives. This is especially true for me this year. His challenge couldn't have come at a better time!

chivalry, schmivalry

Today Cameron had a funny but very non-gentlemanly moment. He really wanted one of the Dora chairs that Kennedy and Hope were playing with. He just could not be persuaded to move on to anything else. Once I thought he was over it, I walked away to do something only to hear an immediate ruckus in the family room. He had decided to climb into the chair from the back and shove Hope out of the front. Clever, but rude! She was a good sport and gave me a big smile so I could document his bully behavior. He was then promptly removed to his play pen for a time out.

Drew and Brie's Anniversary!

I can't believe my baby brother has been married for a whole year! I am so happy they found each other and have made it through their first year unscathed. We got together at Mom and Dad's last night(3/15) for homemade burgers and cake to celebrate with them, and we had a really great time. We took some pics on our phones, so they are not great, but will have to do seeing as how I never remember my camera!

When we first arrived and were hugging everyone, Makenna and Andrew had a funny moment. Andrew put his arm around her and said, "What's new?" Makenna thought for a second and then very seriously responded, "My pants!" It cracks me up when we are reminded of the straight forward thinking of a child. They see things in black and white. There are so many reasons we should be more like a child. We tend to over-complicate everything as adults. I wish the world was as simple as a child views it.

Saturday,(3/14) I went up to Roy to visit my cousin Tyler. I took Walker and Cameron with me this time. Walker was a bit unsure of how comfortable he would feel around Tyler not knowing what to expect. His fears were soon erased when he instantly felt great about it all and started talking to him and helping him on the computer. We had a nice long chat with the family that was up there including my cousin Holly's oldest, Emilio. He is just about a year older than Walker and they hadn't met until a few weeks back at another family party. They instantly hit it off and have had a good time with each other when they see each other. I love seeing Walker getting to know the family. I know I keep saying this, but I am so grateful for the opportunity Tyler's situation has given us all to get closer and serve him. Everything, even the really awful stuff is good. We learn and we grow with every experience we have. How can we help but to appreciate them all? One of these times I go up there, I really am going to take a few pictures. I need to strap the camera to my purse so I always have it.

A great afternoon.

Today was a great day! It is always a good day when I have my massage. After that, My mom and Dad and I took the three little ones to lunch at the mall. Grandpa headed home to put the twinks down for naps and Mom and I went shopping for my grandma's birthday. After that, we headed up to Roy to visit my cousin at his rehabilitation facility. It was a great visit. It had been about two weeks since I last saw him and he has made such improvement! His face is so precious. I giggled and told him that he was so adorable, and he gave me the cutest, embarrassed grin. It is nice to see him smiling and improving. We watched him do some physical therapy. It was good to see him with his nurses and therapist. Everyone there is go good to him. He is really in a great place. It makes me feel so good to see him thriving. He loved to see Cameron and tried interacting with him so cute! Cameron has been shy of strangers lately and usually hides his face when someone tries to talk to him, but he was not at all afraid of Tyler. It was really sweet seeing them smiling at each other.
The picture above was taken on Sunday at Walker's birthday party. He looks like such a little man! That shirt has actually been around since my friends Becky and Rachael gave it to me for Walker thirteen years ago. It has lasted well for three boys and still has some wear left in it. Amazing how a shirt can tell a story and bring back memories.

Thirteen!

It is official. On March 6th, 2009 I became the mother of a teenager. I cannot really be that old.It just cannot be, can it? He scored big because everyone just gave him cash. That's all a kid his age wants, so that is what he got. On Friday night he had a sleepover with his best friend from the old neighborhood, BJ. They had a blast and kept me up until four in the morning! On Sunday, we had the family over for our traditional dinner and cake fest. It was fun and now it is over. I have a teenager, somebody help me!

Honest... Nick?

Nicholas came home from school the day they celebrated and learned about presidents day with a mission. He was going to make an Abe Lincoln costume. I do not know why this was so important, but it was. He went racing downstairs with paper, scissors, and tape, and came running up a few moments later with his costume donned. (suit and all)What pride! We had to break out the camera and document his tremendous accomplishment! It kills me to see the kids use their minds. Half the things they do make no sense and the other half are so creative and random!

Cut or Grow?

I haven't decided what to do about Cameron's hair. It is starting to get sort of curly. I am a sucker for that, but he is a boy, so I am faced with a dilemma. Cut or Grow? He had just had a bath when I took this picture, and I just dried and ruffled his hair a bit. It looks so cute to me. Sometimes, it flips up in the back and pokes out from behind his ears. I love it! OK, I guess I have answered my own question. I love it, I am growing it, I can always cut it later!

I will NOT go nigh-nigh!

So, my little bubby has really been giving me a hard time when it comes to sleeping. It doesn't really matter to him whether it is a nap or bedtime. He does not believe in sleep. Yesterday, after fighting the tired that was and making me crazy, I gave him a bottle at about five in the evening and plopped him into his playpen so I could make dinner. I actually did lay him down and cuddle him up in a blanket in the hopes he would succumb to the sleepies. When I came into the room to check on him a few moments later, he was sitting up and sound asleep. Soooo, cute! What a stinker he is! A fighter to the very end!

Walker"s Court of Honor

On Sunday the 1st, we went back to our old ward in Riverton to attend a Court of Honor for Walker's old troop. It was so nice to see everyone and catch up a bit. Walker received eight merit badges and was very proud of himself! I miss our old Scout Master and how proactive he is. So far our new ward hasn't done anything on account of Walker being the only scout. We are going to have to get more proactive ourselves if we want him to stay motivated. Afterward, we came back home for dessert and games with the family. It was a really fun night. Next Sunday we will all be back here again for Walker's thirteenth birthday party!

it's mc vanilla hammer ice time!

So, last I was here, I mentioned James going to the MC Hammer and Vanilla Ice concert on the 27th with his buddies. They went and had a blast! They didn't get home until 2:00 in the morning and James was wearing a concert t-shirt that looked like it popped right out of the eighties! His buddy, Kyle sent the top picture to me. It was taken at Ron's house after the concert. These guys have so much fun together. I love to see the old, carefree James.

Cameron had his first trip to the after hours clinic for what we thought was needing stitches last night. It turns out that the dermabond glue was a perfect fit for his injury, so we both lucked out of the stitches! He was so cute letting the doctor clean and mess with his toe. He hardly even made a sound. So the doctor said no baths for two days and then not to let it soak after that. No sooner do we get home and ready for bed, than I find Cameron in his playpen sucking on his hurt toe! So the "no soaking" thing went right out the window. Oh, well, what can I do?