The Ellis Family

It's a good thing he's cute!

2012-01-26T17:08:00.000-08:00

I've heard so many horror stories of kids getting into things and making huge messes. I always thought, "I am so lucky. Camden has never done anything like that! He is a perfect angel!" And I was right.....until now! It seems like the closer we get to 2, the sneakier and messier he gets! Twice this week he has reached into his diaper and pulled out handfuls of poop. It is horrifying, especially for a potential germaphobe like myself. Well after I got out of the shower the other day, I realized things were too quiet. I quickly got dressed and yelled for Cam. No response. I walk down the hallway to the office and I see him covered in shaving cream. He is weird about having stuff on his hands and so he was wiping it off everywhere and shaking his hands like a mad man so it would go all over the walls. Instead of getting mad, I decided I better take a few pictures. The first thing he did was hold his hands out and say "Sorry, Mom." He sure is cute, even covered in my shave gel!

He looked a little scared until I started laughing!

It doesn't seem too bad from what this picture shows, but the whole room had globs of cream all over! I love the two hand prints he made on the carpet. ha ha!

At least he had a little fun, right?

"Noman!"

2012-01-25T11:17:00.000-08:00

Camden loves snow this year! He wasn't a fan last winter but he thinks it is pretty neat now! He loves to look out the window whenever it snows or watch Dad when he shovels. He calls any snow he sees, "no-man." We haven't made a snowman yet, but we've read about them so he knows what they are. If we ever go outside he yells it over and over. We need to build this boy a snowman!

Camden went out to help Dad shovel the snow.

He was pretty excited to wear his sock monkey hat from Grandma Cyd!

He loves walking in the snow and seeing his footprints.

He was pretty shook up after his biff in the snow. Ha ha! He said "I fall!" What a cutie!

The Treehouse Museum

2012-01-25T11:05:00.000-08:00

Camden loves the Treehouse Museum, so we went last week when Jared had a day off work. He was so excited as soon as we walked in!

He loves trains! He has a train set at home that we get out and set up almost everyday!

This is his favorite thing to do at the Treehouse. He runs back and forth over this bridge over and over!

Cam has been really into farms lately. He was a little scared of the cow.

He was hysterical when we tried to get him to ride one!

Camden LOVES drums! He likes to pretend that just about anything around our house is a drum, including my belly.

Jared thinks we need to buy him a set of these.

Judging by his face, we thought it was time to go home and take a nap but he wasn't happy about that! He was a crazy person when we tried to leave so Jared had to pick him up and carry him all the way to the car. I'm sure we'll be back to the Treehouse before we know it!

Winter, Winter Go Away!

2012-01-25T10:54:00.000-08:00

We're starting to get some spring fever around here. Poor little Camden is trapped inside with lazy, ol' pregnant me. I have just been so tired lately, that I'm sure I'm not very fun! He is getting so big and loves to talk and tell me all about everything! He has become quite the little singer. I can't believe how many songs he can remember and sing along to!

Jared has been busy at work and in Young Men. He got a promotion at work (yahoo!) and now works until 7 almost every night, which means it's just Cam and I. It makes for some long days for everyone!

He was just too tired to finish his lunch!

Camden has started sneaking into things a lot more. Including floss, my beauty products, chapstick, anything electronic and especially lotion. I was getting everything ready for his bath the other night and found him lathering himself in lotion. It happens almost every night now. I guess he'll have really soft skin?

Let's hope this is a short winter! Until then, I'll just be dreaming about living in California (I tell Jared everyday that I want to move back. I love it there!). At least we can drink plenty of hot cocoa here in Utah!

One Busy Year!

2012-01-09T08:53:00.000-08:00

We are only about a week into 2012 and already see that it is going to be one crazy year!

We went and had an ultrasound the other day. I was having such a hard time picking a doctor in the Ogden area because we loved our doctor up in Logan. We finally decided on one and it was a nightmare! He was not nice. He was creepy. And he even took a phone call while he was doing the ultrasound and was going through it so fast that we hardly got to see anything and he kept changing my due date. As soon as we were out of there I burst into tears because I just can't go back! Poor Jared has to put up with my crazy emotions!

Here is our little bun in the oven waving hello! They are going to have us wait three more weeks before finding out the gender. I was so bummed! It was so wiggly!

We got new callings this week. Jared is now the Young Men's President and I'm serving in the nursery! From the sounds of it Jared is going to be quite busy with this calling. He also had an interview for a promotion at work on Friday so we'll find out this week if he'll have a new job at work. He's also starting to study for the GMAT so he can start his MBA program.

I definitely won't be as busy as Jared this year, well until June! I keep pretty busy with our Six Sister's blog. I have gotten sucked into the show "Extreme Couponing" and want to try it! Other than that I spend a lot of time cooking, cleaning and entertaining Camden!

Camden will be 2 in March and is such a smarty! He can count to 11 (he needs help now and then). He can say so many things. He can name any character from Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Dora, Diego, Super Why and Sesame Street (we watch more TV now that it is winter). He loves to read books, play toys, do karate (he loves Kung Fu Panda and likes to kick and say "hi-ya!), play with his cousins and help mom around the house, especially with sweeping. He is the only one in his nursery that sings during singing time and says "hurray!" after every song. He copies everything we say now and it is so funny!

New Year's 2011!

2012-01-03T08:35:00.000-08:00

I was sick this year {I have had so many bad colds this pregnancy!} so we just decided to stay home. We ordered some pizza and played games. Cam went to bed at his usual 8 o'clock bedtime so Jared and I watched the new Pirates of the Caribbean movie. We both fell asleep and called it a night at 11! We are party animals! :) I was sad we weren't more fun and festive, but maybe next year we can go out for a night on the town!

The following Monday for Family Home Evening, we set our goals for the year. I think number 2 is a great goal for him as his "terrible 2's" stage is in full swing! :)

Jared's goals consisted of starting his MBA program, saving money and quitting smoking (He thought it was pretty funny).

Elyse's goals consisted of eating better, running a 1/2 marathon in the fall to lose baby weight and being better about scripture study and FHE.

We're so excited to start a new year! Bring on 2012!

Christmas 2011

2011-12-31T10:00:00.000-08:00

We had such a fun Christmas this year! After going down to Layton for so many family things, we decided we would just stay home for Christmas.

Cam LOVED opening presents!

He was so sad when the presents were all opened. He kept asking, "open? open?"

He loved all his new toys!

I can't believe this is our last Christmas just having one kid! It seems like we just brought Cam home from the hospital yesterday. He is growing up so fast! He is going to be the best big brother. I'm sure he'll tell his new sibling all about Santa next year.

Jared's favorite gifts were new shoes and a flowrider pass. My favorite gift was a new kitchen aid mixer! We're so grateful for being so blessed this year.

We had church at 11. Cam was a little crazy but it was nice to hear all the beautiful Christmas songs! Jared's mom came up later and had dinner with us. Other than that, we just lounged around and played with our new toys!

The day after Christmas was the Adamson Christmas party. We went down to Bountiful to celebrate with our extended family.

Mason and Camden were a little antsy by the end of the night. They decided to roll around on the rug while the rest of us played games. These boys are so funny!

Christmas Eve 2011

2011-12-31T09:50:00.000-08:00

We had a Christmas Eve party at my mom's house this year. I love getting together with all my sisters! I can't wait until Kristen and her family move back to Utah next year so they can join us! Grandma made a delicious dinner and we had fun being all together.

Cam, like usual, was more interested in dessert than his dinner.

Camden was so excited all week when I told him he would get to play with Mason and Brynlee.

Camden wasn't a fan of the fish pond! He has been really scared of random things lately.

Lauren, Steph and Kendra performed the funniest rap for the annual talent show!

Our last minute talent definitely bombed. We thought it would be funny to have some pants attached to a sheet and make it look like they were Cam's legs. We were wrong. We'll do better next year!

After he got over being scared of the pinata, he took a few swings!

After my mom's party we headed home and opened our new pajamas and got ready for bed. After Cam went down, Jared and I watched the last Lord of the Rings movie. I got all of them for him last year and we'd never opened them so we had been having a marathon all week. I liked them better than I thought I would!

A Christmas Outing

2011-12-31T09:41:00.000-08:00

Jared has every Thursday off work, so we always get to spend the day relaxing with our family. Jared and I were feeling so bad that we hadn't taken Camden to do anything festive this Christmas. I have just been one tired pregnant lady! We decided to go out and find a little Christmas cheer!

The boys took a nap! :)

We went to eat at the Idle Isle Cafe here in Brigham City. It has been running since 1921! It was really good. It was really similar to the Bluebird in Logan, which we love!

We went to the mall to see Santa. The line had to have been a few hours long so we snuck over to the other side to get a peek at Santa. Cam was yelling his name and waiving. He loves Santa and saying "Ho! Ho!"...he can never remember to say the last "Ho."

Cam loved riding in the cars, especially the truck!

He is getting so big! I promise I'll be more fun and festive next Christmas, Cam!

3rd Wedding Anniversary!

2011-12-14T08:53:00.000-08:00

We celebrated our 3rd anniversary yesterday. I can't believe we've been married for 3 years! It has gone by so fast.

Over the weekend, my Mom babysat so we could go on a date. We went down to Salt Lake. We ate dinner at Crown Burger. Not very fancy for an anniversary, but I LOVE it when I'm pregnant. Okay, I love it all the time. But I crave it so bad when I'm pregnant. Onion rings, burgers and root beer make this pregnant lady real happy.

After dinner we headed to the temple. I had never been to the Salt Lake Temple, so it was fun to go with Jared!

We went to the Melting Pot for dessert. Mmmm! We had the Flaming Turtle Fondue. I could eat that stuff all day long!

Ugh. Had a random woman cut my bangs. Worst decision of all time.

On the day of our actual anniversary, Jared had to work until 7. I decided to plan a fun night in, since Camden would be going to bed and we couldn't go anywhere. We had a fake Olive Garden dinner at home.

I made us a fake menu (Jared was quite impressed with the descriptions).

We didn't eat dinner in front of the TV! I know, I'm so lazy when I'm pregnant.

It was so nice to stay home! It was snowy here, just like on our wedding day! We watched our wedding video, laughed, cried and loved being together!

I'm so thankful to be married to such an amazing man. He is the hardest worker I know. He always is cracking me up and doing things to make me laugh. He is so spiritual, smart and kind. I can't imagine not having him in my life. He is such an amazing Dad. Camden LOVES when he comes home so they can play! I don't know how I convinced him to marry me, but I'm so glad he did!

I love you , Jared! Here is to 3 (+ eternity) more!

Thanksgiving, Moving & Decorating the Tree

2011-12-06T10:40:00.000-08:00

We have had a busy month! After finding out we were having a baby, we decided to move to our own place. We found a brand new house for Brigham City we could rent for a great price and will stay here until Jared can get his MBA.

It is so nice living somewhere people haven't lived before you! We still don't have grass, but had sprinklers put in as of yesterday. It is a cute little place! We have 4 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms so there is plenty of room for our little family. Cam loves running from room to room, or playing puppies and crawling and barking from room to room. :)

We got settled a few days before Thanksgiving. It was so nice to not be living out of boxes, bins and suitcases! We decorated the tree the night before Thanksgiving so we could come home to some Christmas cheer!

Cam knew just what to do! He started grabbing ornaments and shoving them into one section of the tree.

He had to check out each one before he put it on.

We also got some new couches! Jared spoiled me and got them for me as an early Christmas gift. We had to wait for RC Willey to deliver them so we had to sit on the ground for about a week. :) My bum will never be the same.

The night before Thanksgiving we went down to Layton because my parents were having a Surf n' Swim party for all the grandkids. I had been telling Cam about it for 2 weeks and he would squeal with excitement anytime we talked about swimming with the cousins. We had pizza and swam our hearts out. Camden would scream every time the waves would come on. He was so sad to get out of the pool when it was time to leave.

For Thanksgiving we went to Jared's Aunt's house in Kaysville and ate with his extended family. It was fun to have such a big Thanksgiving!

We came home that night and I battled the crowds at the Brigham City Walmart. Boy, was that horrible. I think it was worse this year because I was pregnant and could smell everything. Jared calls it my super sniffer. There were some stinky people there! It was all I could do not to gag, but I got what I went for. I think the whole city was there, seeing as there aren't many other places to shop. Gotta love Brigham!

Camden at 18 Months

2011-12-06T10:27:00.000-08:00

Camden turned 18 months on September 22nd! I can't believe how fast time has flown! I look back at pictures from a few months before and he looks like a baby. He is so much fun and I love staying home with my best buddy every day!

At his 18 month check up he weighed 29 pounds (90th percentile), was 34.5 inches tall (99th percentile) and his head was 19.5 inches around. The doctor told us he is going to be quite a tall boy by the way things are looking. Just looking at his chubby little mits, we're sure he'll have a lot of the same traits as his Grandpa Brent.

The doctor said if he could say 10 words that he was doing great, but Cam could rattle off about 30! He is so smart and is learning new things every day!

Camden is seriously the funniest kid I have ever met. He loves to pull faces and make people laugh. He even says "I funny!" :) He LOVES being around kids, especially his cousins. He can say all of their names (Brynlee is still Bubba).

Camden loves going to nursery! His teachers all told us what a cutie he was! I love to peek in the windows between classes and see him playing.

Cam's hair is finally coming in suddenly. He didn't have the thickest hair when he was a baby (we are just now realizing this), and coming from my family of a lot of thick heads of hair, we couldn't believe it! He hates for us to brush his teeth and wants to do it himself.

Camden's favorite food is rolls. Yes, rolls. I had made some rolls one morning and was taking him downstairs for a nap and he kept yelling "WOLLS! WOLLS!" I finally figured out he was crying to eat a roll, and he has been hooked ever since. I have to avoid the bakery section of the grocery store until we are almost done shopping or he'll see the rolls. He also loves easy mac and pizza.

Camden still loves Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. He can say all of the characters names, but especially likes Mickey and Donald Duck. His favorite movie is Kung Fu Panda. It is in the DVD player in the car so he has seen it a lot and literally has some parts memorized. He loves Po!

He loves to read books and point out everything he knows.

He is such a sweetheart and I am so blessed to be his mom. He is going to be the best big brother. I am so proud seeing him grow to be such a nice boy. I love you, Cam!

There's A Bun in the Oven!

2011-11-14T09:44:00.000-08:00

We are so excited! We are having a baby in June of 2012! We have been wanting to have a baby so bad. Well, I've wanted one since Camden was about 6 months old, but I was patient. :)

Camden isn't quite sure about there being a baby in my stomach. He'll point to it and say "baby!" but I'm not sure he totally gets it just yet. I have been feeling pretty sick for the last month or two, so that is good! I guess that means everything is working, right?

I wrapped up a (cleaned) pregnancy test for Jared in a lovely gold package. He is so cute. I am so lucky to have such a sweet man as my husband! Camden couldn't figure out why we were crying over a plastic stick.

We were originally going to wait and tell our families at Christmas, but I have felt like a turkey getting fat for Thanksgiving and I didn't want everyone to think I was just letting myself go! Ha ha! I'm also really bad at keeping secrets, so we had to let the cat out of the bag!

Jared helped me make some lovely cupcakes to bring to my parents house for a family dinner.

Little did they know they each had a creepy, plastic baby in the middle. We're just glad no one choked! ha ha!

Grandma and Grandpa were so excited!

We had told Jared's mom about a week before because we wanted to let her know we are moving out. We found a cute house in Brigham City that we'll be renting for awhile until we figure out where Jared wants to get his MBA. We are so excited to live in our own place again!

We have a crazy week ahead with moving and getting settled. Our house doesn't even have a yard or mailbox yet, so hopefully they get everything finished up for us!

Halloween 2011

2011-11-04T12:58:00.000-07:00

We were so excited to take Camden trick-or-treating this year. As soon as August rolled around we started practicing saying "trick-or-treat!" so he would be ready (I'm a big Halloween fan)!

Jared had to work until 6, so Camden and I met up with Camille and her kids over at my parents house. Brynlee is always taking care of "Baby Cam."

Cute cousins Camden, Brynlee and Mason.

Cam sure has a lot to say these days! He is such a smarty!

The headless horseman who rides around the neighborhood every year!

Camden trick-or-treated his heart out! He had quite the haul. He even said "trick-or-treat!" to a few people! Can't wait until next year!

Visit to Great Grandma Ellis

2011-11-04T12:51:00.000-07:00

About a week before Halloween, we drove up with Grandma Robin, Bre and Daxton to visit Grandma Ellis up in Logan. She thought Daxton and Camden looked so cute in their Halloween costumes!

Daxton, Grandma Robin, & Camden

Cam loves Daxton and was showing us his toes.

Jared used to play with this toy when he was little and it is still entertaining the next generation!

Kayscreek Ward Halloween Party

2011-11-04T12:46:00.000-07:00

Jared is in the Young Men Presidency in our ward and was in charge of the Halloween party for all of the primary kids. Camden was in awe of all the kids running around in their costumes!

We spent most of our time at the "cupcake" walk. Camden was so excited because the cards you walked on all had Mickey on them. He would say "Mickey, Mickey, Mickey," etc. with each step.

He was saying "scary!" and I think I found out what he was talking about!

He loved his balloon puppy.

We went and visited Dad at the fish pond.

...And he was still unhappy about wearing his hood.

Halloween Party at Grandma Adamson's!

2011-11-04T12:37:00.000-07:00

My parents throw a Halloween party for all the grandkids every year. They always come up with cute games and spooky treats for the kids. Cam definitely appreciated it more this year than last!

Camden was so excited to eat dinner with all his cousins!

He was hating his hood.

The kids got to go trick-or-treating upstairs at Grandma & Grandpa's house!

Finally got the hang of the trick-or-treating!

Addy and Brynlee after the mummy game.

Camden & Mom with his pumpkin!

He was quite the finger painter!

Camden was the winner of the donut on a string game. He ate his whole donut without hands, finished Mason's and later found the box of extras and ate 2 more (possibly more that we don't know about!). Let's just say his stomach didn't handle his donut binge very well that night.

Pumpkin Patch & Haystack Maze

2011-10-13T11:47:00.000-07:00

It has been so fun having Kristen in town! Cam is loving having lots of cousins to play with. My mom took a day off work so we all headed out to a pumpkin patch in Farmington. It was so cute! Grandma let all the kids pick a pumpkin and then they had ice cream on the way home. Camden loved it!

Cam loved walking around the maze

Camden and Ensley

Camden and his cousins Addy, Mason, and Brynlee

Mason, Camden, Addy, Brynlee and Ensley

He didn't like sitting on the hay

He can now say "pumpkins!"

The kids loved this creepy, old guy that would talk. Really it was the girl cashier behind a curtain. haha!

Night at the Park!

2011-10-10T10:49:00.000-07:00

Poor Cam had been cooped up all day because of chilly weather, so once it stopped raining we headed out to the park. Camden couldn't get enough of the slide! As soon as he got to the bottom he would start climbing up the stairs to do it again. He is getting so big! I can't believe he is already 1 and a half!

He wasn't quite sure about the really big slide at first...

....then he wanted to do it himself!

I love that cute little head up there! ha ha! So cute!

They had this weird swing thing that would spin really fast. Cam LOVED it! He said "YA! YA! YA!" the whole time he was on it!

Park City Half Marathon

2011-10-10T10:40:00.000-07:00

Kristen and Steph ran the PINK Half Marathon in Park City this year! Camille and I went up in the morning to cheer them on and do some shopping. It was SO COLD! Camille and I got there around 9 and the temperature was only 23*F! It was even snowing that morning! They both did so well and it was nice to have an outing without bringing kids. :)

Kristen and her sister-in-law, Monica almost to the finish line! Kristen finished in 1:58!

Steph came right behind her! She finished at 2:16! They both did awesome for not having time to train!

Go Steph!

Steph, Kris and Monica after the race! They looked so good for just running 13.1 miles!

Flowriding!

2011-10-10T10:30:00.000-07:00

After living in Minnesota by the Water Park of America, Jared discovered his new found love of Flowriding. He is getting really good! On Friday, Cam and I packed up Jared's swimming stuff and went and picked him up from work. He was so surprised (he doesn't get to go very much because it is kind of an expensive hobby)! We grabbed some pizza and went and watched dad catch a wave!

Cam loved cheering on Dad!

He kept trying to go feel the water and play with Dad.

Go Jare!

Camden at 6 months!

2011-10-05T15:11:00.000-07:00

I can't believe our little guy is 6 months old already! We love him more everyday! He just gets more and more fun!

Camden LOVES Mickey Mouse! He watches Mickey Mouse Clubhouse everyday. We can always hear him squealing whenever it is on TV.

His head is a little on the larger side, but it is just to contain his big brain!

He is sitting up and loves to play with his toys! Sock Monkey and his Mickey Mouse doll (thanks Grandma Robin!) are his favorite toys.

He says "Da-Da" and "Ma-Ma" but usually when he is alone and talking up a storm. Someday he'll know what it means!

He sleeps for about 12 hours but gets up once to eat.... I know I'm not supposed to but I just give him a bottle and he is good to go!

He has his two front bottom teeth and loves to chew EVERYTHING! He also likes having his teeth brushed! He loves eating all kinds of food, especially whatever we are eating!

He can't crawl yet so he scoots and rolls all over.

He always keeps us laughing! We love him so much!

Ghetto Water Party

2011-10-03T13:58:00.000-07:00

I looked at every store in this city over the summer and couldn't find a kiddie swimming pool! We decided to have a water party so Brynlee and Mason could come over while Camille and I did crafts. I couldn't even find a sprinkler, so we had to work with a few plastic bins, water balloons and toys. It might have looked really ghetto, but they were entertained for hours!

The dry patch of grass makes this look even more like a "Ghetto Water Party." We'll pretend we planned that!

Utah State Homecoming 2011

2011-09-28T18:15:00.000-07:00

Logan in the Fall is one of my favorite places ever! I love the smells, streets, people, and pretty much everything! We went up again this year for the Homecoming festivities. Camille's in-laws live in Providence so they let us set up camp for the day between all the activities. Cam was a trooper without much of a nap. We love Logan! It kind of made me sad that we don't live there anymore but I'm excited for the next chapter in our lives!

Cam and Dad watching the parade. Cam wasn't sure what to think at first!

Brynlee, Mason and their Grandma Jenniece.

Dad, Mom & Cam at the parade. We caught shirts, "squeaky" cheese, chips & salsa, frisbees and TONS of candy! Logan is the best! :)

Later in the afternoon, we went to the Aggie Leadership Reunion for Jared's Ambassador Scholarship. It was a catered BBQ so we pigged out! And there was free Aggie Ice Cream, of course!

Cam is getting so big!

Cam, Mason and Brynlee found some balloons......

.....Cam wasn't happy about it being tied to his wrist.

Cam and Dad by the Aggie!

What cute boys!

The Beckstrands got us some awesome seats! Go Aggies!

Paragliding!

2011-09-19T12:21:00.000-07:00

I got Jared paragliding lessons for Father's Day and it finally came time to redeem them! We left home at 6 a.m. and drove to the point of the mountain in Draper. It was so rainy and cold! I decided to go cheer Jared on and left Camden with Grandma Robin.

They hiked up a 300 foot hill and got ready to go!

Jared is in the top right hand corner getting his parachute ready.

1st flight! He did the best out of everyone! So proud! :)

2nd Flight... It may not look like he is off the ground but he was flying!

3rd Flight!

After a few hours in the car, I got a little anxious and hiked up for a closer look. After the chute was all spread out, you would have to let it fill with wind then start running as fast as you could until you started flying!

The girl who went right before Jared lost control and almost flew into another person! Yikes!


There he goes!

He had a blast! I think we will both have to try it next time!

Soccer Season!

2011-09-19T11:58:00.000-07:00

Kendra made Northridge's Girls Soccer Team so we try to go to as many games as we can (Lauren also made the tennis team, so we go to those too!). Last week they played Davis, so we grabbed some burgers and had a picnic while we cheered on Kendra!

Cam was so proud of his new "big boy" shoes! He was jumping all over in em'!

Cam and Grandma!

After the game, Jared helped Cam on the skateboard. He loves it!

He likes to go fast and ride with Dad. I am usually freaking out that they will crash!

Our little man is getting so big!

Mary Poppins!

2011-09-19T11:50:00.000-07:00

Jared's work does a lot with Disney, so the other day they sent over tickets to go see the Broadway play "Mary Poppins" in Salt Lake. I was so excited! I love anything Disney!


We ate dinner at Flemming's Steak House in the Gateway! It was delish!

My handsome hubby in front of Capitol Theater!

Capitol Theater was so awesome!

It was the cutest play! We had to leave early because Jared has a sinus infection and was feeling terrible. :(

Fun with Cam!

2011-09-19T11:42:00.000-07:00

Camden LOVES kids, especially babies. We babysat his cousin Daxton this week and Camden was in heaven! He always made sure to put his binky back in when it fell out, bring him lots of toys and give him lots of kisses. Poor Dax was quite smothered!

Daxton is 5 months old, Camden is 17 months.

Jared and I have gotten into croquet lately. We literally played every night for a week! ha ha! Cam has taken to the sport nicely!

Our neighbors dog, Cooper, is Cam's favorite! Since Daisy was put down, he loves to go outside and see "Pooper!" He LOVES dogs. He was awake in his crib for an hour the other day yelling "Puppy! Puppy!" rather than napping. What a goof!

Hometown Values Date

2011-09-19T11:31:00.000-07:00

It is so nice being close to family again so we can go on dates and have someone to babysit. :) My mom is an avid coupon clipper, so I love to get a good deal! We decided to go on a date but only do things that we had a coupon for!

Proudly displaying my "Hometown Values." I love when this comes in the mail! :)

We went and hit a bucket of balls, with a coupon of course!

Then we chowed down on turkey burgers at Maddox! Free never tasted so good! ha ha

Labor Day Weekend 2011

2011-09-07T19:42:00.000-07:00

I can't believe summer is over! It flew by! This was my favorite summer we've had together as a little family. I loved living in California and going to the beach every weekend, but we have loved being so close to family in Utah! We've taken the boat out every possible weekend so Jared could get a few rides in and so that I could sharpen up on my skills. :) I don't want to be the embarrassing Mom that can't do anything when our kids bring their friends.

We had a fun filled Labor Day Weekend! On Friday, we went to the new "Kneaders" that opened in Layton. It was so good, but Cam was a little upset so we had to come home and eat it.

Saturday morning we took the boat out. Jared, Aaron and I went early in the morning to get the "good" water. That is a little early and chilly for me!

I wasn't the best action shot photographer, but the ol' man still has it! :)

On Sunday, we all went over to my parent's house for s'mores and a campfire. Cam had a blast playing with Brynlee and Mason!

Brynlee got the cutest haircut! It is "so ziggle-zaggle" as she would say. :)


Cam has started trying to walk and close his eyes at the same time. Really safe, right?!

On Monday morning, Jared and I ate a delicious breakfast and then hiked Adam's Canyon.

On Monday afternoon, Jared was feeling sick so I took Camden and my sister's Lauren and Kendra to the Roy Aquatic Center.

Cam LOVED the slide! As soon as he was done, he would grab our hands and walk us back to the line. He is getting so big!

Puppy Sitting

2011-09-07T19:28:00.000-07:00

Jared's brother, Aaron, got two new malamute/wolf puppies. They sure are cute! We tended them while Aaron moved for a few days. I don't know how we ever did a puppy! They are harder than a newborn! We didn't get much sleep for a few days, but Cam sure loved them. He would try and go outside any chance he could and would stand at the door saying "puppies!"

He was pretty concerned about making sure his shoes were on because the grass was wet.

He loves puppy kisses!

Cam would get pretty jealous when the puppies were on Dad's lap.

Loved when the puppy licked his hands!

Sealing & a Date!

2011-09-07T19:18:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago we were able to go watch our friends Mike and Becky be sealed to their little boy, Logan. He is the sweetest baby! It was so awesome to watch them be sealed together as a family.

After the temple, Jared and I went to Crown Burger to grab some lunch. I think we could eat there every day of our lives! It is our favorite. Those onion rings are to die for!

This is literally heaven for us! :) I could easily be morbidly obese if I gave into eating out more often than we already do!

We decided to burn off some calories and walk around the Gateway!

Yes, I am sure our children are going to laugh at this picture, but I thought the cloud machine was pretty cool!

Afterwards, we went and saw "The Help." We both loved it!

We came home and shared a pint of Chunky Monkey! Life doesn't get much better than that! :)

Daisy

2011-08-19T10:04:00.000-07:00

I am not a huge dog person. I'm more of a cute, puppy kind of girl. Once they turn into full fledged dogs, their hair, breath, drool, everything grosses me out. Since moving into my mother-in-laws basement, Camden has fallen in love with her dog, Daisy. He follows her around EVERYWHERE! Some mornings he wakes up saying her name! She is 14 years old and just keeps living. Which is good! I don't want her to die, but I just don't do well with dog hair and hers happens to get all over even when I sweep and vacuum everyday. My brother-in-law Aaron, just got two new malamute puppies. They are the cutest thing you will ever see. Cam hardly wanted anything to do with them! He only wanted Daisy!

Shake!

Hugs!

Kisses!

Even TV can't keep him distracted from Daisy!

Cam has started making this "scary" face. He thinks it is so funny. I'm sure it scares the kids in nursery.

Back to Utah!

2011-08-19T09:35:00.000-07:00

We've made some major decisions lately! Jared was offered a scholarship for the Master's Program he was accepted to at BYU. We were planning on moving to Provo in August and to finish that program in two years and then go on to get a PhD. One morning Jared woke up and realized he didn't want to have to study and research constantly for the rest of his life as a professor. We prayed about it and decided to look for a good job now that he had is Bachelors Degree and to pursuit his MBA at Weber State.

A few weeks later, Jared was offered a job at a company called World Strides, Heritage Performance. We are so excited! It pays him a salary, commission, benefits and travel! Woohoo! He gets to talk to high schools around the country about music festivals and then he helps organize and plan them. He will travel to the festivals all spring. I was sad about the few weeks out of the year he'll be traveling until I found out that I can go for free as a "staff hire." Sounds good to me! The festivals go from New York to Hawaii, so hopefully we get to go to some fun places!

We were so sad to leave California. I was home visiting for our nephew's baby blessing and Jared found out he got the job, so he flew back to California, packed up our stuff and drove home all within 3 days! We have moved into my mother-in-laws basement and are saving as much money as possible to get into our first home. We've done some house hunting and it is so fun to dream about our future home. How fun is that?!

Since we've been back we have spent a lot of time with family! It has been nice to have people to hang out with! Kristen and her girls were here for about a week. Her girls have gotten so big! We are praying they get to come back to Utah for the next leg of medical school. I "broke" our camera, so I haven't been able to keep track of all we've done.

Cam is LOVING hanging out with his cousins!

They are so nice to play with him so much. Cam usually just follows them around and laughs at everything they do. Our whole family went to my cousin, Maren's, farewell a few weeks ago. Camden was so behaved and quiet until he saw his cousins. He was laughing and squealing so loud that we had to take him out into the hall for the rest of the meeting. He gets so excited every time he sees them. He really loves Brynlee and Addy. He walks around all the time saying "Addy!" and "Bubba!" I put him down for a nap the other day and he kept saying "Addy! Addy! Addy!" for about 30 minutes before he fell asleep.

Cam is loving living at Grandma's house. I wish I had more pictures from the last few weeks because he is getting so big and smart! He loves to fold his arm for prayers. He has also been going to nursery (a few weeks early....) and LOVES it! Apparently he is quite the ham during singing time. He doesn't even miss me! I almost cried the first time I dropped him off but it is so nice to be able to hear the lessons in church.

We are so happy to be back in Utah and be so close to family. We've tried to have as much "summer fun" as possible before Fall hits. We've gone to the park, on picnics, swimming, batting cages, parades, fireworks, and just about anything else that screams summer!

Oxnard Beach Day

2011-07-17T20:19:00.000-07:00

After Jared got done working on Saturday we headed over to a beach in Oxnard. We borrowed a surf board and boogie board from a family in the ward. Cam was actually liking the sand a lot more! After we were all beached out, we came home and had pizza. Later, Brady and Emily came over and watched Cam so Jared and I could go see the last Harry Potter movie. Jared had gone to the midnight showing and I had been dying to go see it! It was awesome! We're so glad to have such good friends out here! I think that was the first date we had been on in months!

Cam is my little shadow! I love my buddy!

Jared going out to surf. The water was FREEZING!

He was doing awesome! The only problem was that the waves didn't break until they were at the beach. We'll have to try another beach!

Cam didn't seem too thrilled about this!

I have never seen one of these in real life! Just a little reminder to drink alcohol at the beach. :)

Muscle Beach

2011-07-14T21:24:00.000-07:00

We have been busy watching all of the Harry Potter movies this week before the last one comes out. We decided to take a break from all the movie watching and head down to Santa Monica. I think Jared and Brady wanted to go just to play on all the giant equipment at Muscle Beach!

There were acrobat lessons on the pier!

Cam thought it was so cool.

The boys were excited to play same games!

We decided we all better try it...

.....

....we didn't do very well!

We ate at Bubba Gump's again! Mmm! Their shrimp is to die for!

We walked over to Muscle Beach and played on all the toys!

Jared was quite the performer on the rings! I couldn't even get to the second one and he was doing all kinds of tricks!

We'll be sad to leave! We love California!

Cam's First Campout!

2011-07-12T09:15:00.000-07:00

Everyone from the office decided to go camping last weekend. We went out to dinner for Clark Feast and then we headed up to Ojai to camp. We were unprepared and didn't reserve a spot and a scary, bearded man on a golf cart made us pay him ten dollars, but other than that it was so fun! Cam and I decided not to sleep over because we didn't pack our tent for the summer and I don't think he would have loved sleeping on the ground. Jared and the single guys stayed and shared our air mattress. They had quite the adventure!

Cam was holding his sandwich and fell in the dirt. He would use his dirty hand for anything! He wasn't a big fan of the dirt!

It took forever to get Cam to walk around in the dirt. I thought kids loved dirt!

Dad & Cam

A Royal Outing!

2011-07-12T09:09:00.000-07:00

I was so excited when I heard Prince William & Kate were heading to California. Yes, I am lame. Jared makes fun of me all the time because I look for movie stars, but it just interests me! We found out they would be going to a polo match about a half hour north of us in Santa Barbara. I decided to pack up Cam and go check it out and then go to the beach!

Cam wasn't as excited as I was. And I am wearing a swimming suit! I really don't dress so scantily!

These were the horses for the polo match.

This was the field. Yes, I was with a crazy lady & security guards getting pictures.

Fancy entrance!

These guys looked like secret service men! They were guarding all the entrances. Some were really nice!

Tiffany's was sponsoring the match so there was Tiffany's stuff all over!

Too bad it was $400 just to get in, or we totally would have gone. :)

The crazy people I was with told me this was Will and Kate's helicopter. I'll take her word for it!

We didn't see any royalty but we saw tons of dolphins at the beach! (They would jump back into the water before I could get a good picture. So cool though!)

4th of July 2011

2011-07-05T16:28:00.000-07:00

I love the 4th of July almost more than I love Christmas! I was so homesick this year because I kept thinking of all the fun festivities my family was participating in, and was so sad we weren't there. We decided to be festive on our own since we are away from home.

We woke up early and had breakfast with Brady and Emily Webb!

Cam loves Brady and Emily! He'll be crying when we hold them and is so happy once he sees them!

We had funnel cakes and fruit kabobs!

After breakfast, we headed to Ventura for the parade. We had read the night before about there being an awesome parade there. We got to Ventura a little bit before the parade started and drove around for almost 30 minutes looking for a place to park! After we found somewhere we were running around like crazy people trying to find the parade. I was holding Cam when we were running around and he was screaming his head off! Worst tantrum of all time! Every one kept commenting on how upset he was as we were running past. Pretty sure they thought we were kidnapping him. After running around frantically, we found out that it was a "push n' pull" parade. In other words, we drove all the way to Ventura for a parade that had kids riding in decorated wagons. :)

We gave up on the parade and went to a beach in Ventura!

We did some skim boarding and played on the beach! We worked up an appetite and went to In N' Out for lunch.

Cam was too tired to eat!

That night our ward had a BBQ and watched the fireworks. A man in our ward owns a lot that was right across the street from where they launch them!

Cam was getting a little antsy before the fireworks started!


He didn't seem to like the fireworks as much as he did last year, but he still said "Wow!"

Happy 4th of July!

Channel Islands Weekend!

2011-07-05T16:11:00.000-07:00

We live about 10 miles from the Channel Islands. They are pretty cool! I had never heard of them until we moved here. There must be some really wealthy people around, because we couldn't believe some of the yachts we saw!

We ate at a restaurant called "Milano's" right off the beach! I have a new appreciation for fresh seafood! I NEVER liked it before, but it is so much different here than it is in Utah!

Cam was excited for his big boy cup with a straw....

... and the orange slice that came with our appetizer.

Some of the yachts in the harbor!

This is my favorite face of all time! What a goof!

Cute boys! haha!

Jared showed off his knot tying skills!

That's all for now! We'll be in Utah in 2 weeks to visit and we can't wait!!!!!

Monday at the Beach

2011-06-28T22:47:00.000-07:00

The other day we went to a beach in Ventura and played. Camden HATES the sand and wouldn't leave my side/lap. The boys did some skim boarding. I tried a few times but the sand was filled with millions of tiny sand crabs and it was freaking me out! I guess Cam and I are a good pair. :) We love playing with Dad and living so close to a beach!

He was quite concerned that sand was in his sandals.

It was a really pretty beach! Except for the sand crabs.....and the dead seal.

Hubba Hubba!

A Day at the Grove

2011-06-20T16:54:00.000-07:00

The Grove is a really popular mall in downtown L.A. Last Friday, Camden and I decided to go out for a night on the town! As soon as we got there, I realized I forgot my camera so all of the pictures are from my phone and really bad. We had so much fun and the shopping wasn't bad either! :)

It was all outdoors! We didn't see any movie stars but we did see a group of paparazzi if that counts?!

Cam loved the fountains

They have the oldest farmer's market in L.A. and it was so cool! I had only been to one other farmer's market and all it had was a few vegetables. This place had tons of little restaurants, stores, produce stands and a ton of other stuff!

Amazing candy!

In the middle of the whole mall was this perfect house and the sign out front says "The Hillfigers." It looked like it was straight out of a catalog! So random!

A trolley could take you through the mall!

We ate at pinkberry for the first time and LOVED it! Cam heard music and started dancing, and that old man in the back asked the workers to turn up the music so Camden could hear it better to dance.

We also stopped to say hello to the Kardashians on our way home, but they had closed up shop for the night! :)

Swim Day!

2011-06-20T16:29:00.000-07:00

I have been trying to find fun things to do to entertain Cam this summer. We have a pool at our apartments but it is pretty deep and he has to stay in his tube the whole time. I got a city catalog that had way cool pictures of the aquatic center and decided to take Cam. The pictures must have been taken somewhere else because this place was bad news. I felt so bad! They had a splash pad but it didn't work. They had 2 swimming lanes open, so we squeezed in with a bunch of strangers and swam some laps. Cam was in heaven! He loves seeing other kids and LOVES swimming! We walked back and forth in the pool for hours and he would scream if we ever got out. His favorite part was standing on the stairs while pointing and yelling. What a goof!

Scavenging for food

Anytime we got out of the water to warm up, he would take off towards the pool again!

Father's Day 2011

2011-06-20T16:16:00.000-07:00

I think I love Father's Day so much more than Jared! And his birthday. And pretty much any day worth celebrating. He never gets anything for himself and so I love an excuse to give him things.... even if it is with his own money. :) We had a perfect day going to church and relaxing at home! Wish everyday were Sunday!

I actually made breakfast! Jared was so impressed! We pigged out all day.

I put tags on all of his gifts that related to what was inside them. I thought it was way more clever than I think Jared did. :)

He got a funnel cake making kit! Ever since our trip to Disney World we dream about funnel cakes! Can't wait to make some!

Cam loved of all of Dad's gifts!

He also got some new shirts, slacks and tennis shoes!

Cam's favorite face! They look like twins in real life when they both do it!

We barbecued outside and went on a little walk. Cam loves all the plants.

Cam, Dad and dessert!


We were talking a few weeks ago, and Jared randomly mentioned he would love to try paragliding one day. I found an awesome deal online the next day! He is going to love it!

Quick Weekend!

2011-06-20T15:59:00.000-07:00

I swear Saturdays and Sundays are so short compared to the rest of the week! After Jared got off work on Saturday, we headed down to Thousand Oaks and ate at PF Changs (he let me pick!). After dinner we walked around a little park with a lake! It was so cute! When we got home Jared had a "boys night" playing nintendo with guys from the office and I put Cam to bed and enjoyed a nice chick flick and a lot of chocolate. It was actually very nice! :)

Cam loved to lean back in his chair and eat the noodles!

I love Camden's face in this! Ha ha! He kept pointing to the water and yelling things. I have the cutest family!

Cam still loves hair. Ever since he was little he would run his fingers through any girl's hair that held him. Kind of weird, but funny.

We love California!

One Silly Boy!

2011-06-13T11:24:00.000-07:00

Every time I take Cam out with me while running errands, we always get comments on how "enthusiastic," "lively," and "full of personality" he is. When I was giving him his bath the other night, I realized all these ladies at the store are right! He is quite the character! All of these pictures were taken within about a minute. Ha ha! We love our silly boy! He loves to make us laugh!

This is his new favorite face! He'll be in the middle of a tantrum then all of a sudden make this face and be fine!

I think he had had enough of the pictures.

One Poopy Night!

2011-06-02T11:58:00.000-07:00

I've always heard how babies like to have some freedom and not wear their diapers all the time. After bringing Cam home from the hospital and getting pee in my face a few times, I decided we wouldn't worry about that! He is only diaper free in the tub. That is it! We did let him roll around (on a towel) for a few minutes when he was still pretty little and could better control his peeing, other than that he is all diapered up.

I was giving him his bath a few nights ago and he started running away after I dried him off so I thought to myself "I'll just let his little bum be naked for 10 seconds while I run a diaper to the dumpster." Literally. 10 seconds! He was in a Sesame Street trance so I ran out the door, threw the diaper in the dumpster and ran back! I return and find this:

At first I thought it was kind of funny (disgusting, but funny!) that he left me this little "surprise."

Then I saw a few more "surprises!"

I asked him what happened....

....and he ran away after stepping in all of his "surprises."

I gave him another bath, detained him in the pack-n-play and disinfected EVERYTHING (I can be a little bit of a clean freak sometimes, sorry Jared!).

Even though it was so gross to have to clean up, I think I was laughing the whole time. I love Camden so much and he has the funniest personality! I really think he knew I was leaving so he only had a little bit of time to hurry and poop!

He is my best buddy and we have so much fun together. I know cleaning poop off the carpet isn't the most glamorous job, but I wouldn't change it for anything. I'm so blessed to be his mom and to get to stay home with him everyday.

He LOVES his matchbox cars. He has two that are his favorite. A white truck and a yellow racecar. He carries them EVERYWHERE and finds new places to drive them. His favorite racecar track right now is the handle used to open the oven.

His new favorite song is "Popcorn Popping on the Apricot Tree." He says "Pop! Pop!" and does the hand signs whenever he wants to sing it.


He also says "Uh-oh!" all the time! He thinks "no" is funny so we've started saying "uh-oh" when he does something bad. I think he understands that a little better! When he is done with his breakfast he throws some on the ground and says "Uh-oh!" We're working on breaking that habit! :)

He also folds his arms when we pray, climbs up and down on the couch by himself, runs, does fishy faces and is learning animal sounds! He is getting so big!

...and only 4 more months until nursery! :)

Memorial Day 2011!

2011-05-31T16:16:00.000-07:00

I LOVE summer holidays! The only bad thing is they are the best selling day for my cute hubby so he takes advantage of them! He had a very successful day, so I guess I can't complain. He only worked until the afternoon so Camden and I did some celebrating of our own until dad could join us!

We went on a walk and then went for a dip in the pool! Cam is more interested in the kids and drinking the pool water than swimming.


After Jared got home from work, we headed down to Santa Monica Pier! We had no idea that is where Muscle Beach is! I look a little bit like I have a cartoon body here, but it is the thought that counts!

It was pretty much a GIANT playground! They had some of the biggest rings and swings I've ever seen!

These parrots were so funny!

Camden and Jared went on the famous Santa Monica Ferris Wheel. Cam has never been on a ride and he really liked it when he first got on.....

....then it started moving and he FREAKED out! Jared said he was shaking!

We ate at Bubba Gump's Shrimp! Whenever we travel they always have them in places near the ocean, so we decided we better try it while we're here. I HATE seafood but I ended up with quite the assortment of food and had 3 different types of shrimp. It was SO GOOD! Didn't even taste fishy!

And poor Cam decided to be constipated when we were finishing eating.

Movie and Mallows!

2011-05-30T10:43:00.000-07:00

Yahoo! Another Saturday! This week flew by! I was sick for a few days so Jared took over as mom. I usually wouldn't mind just lounging and having him watch the baby, but we don't have TV and being stuck in the house is torture. Come on Netflix! I need some new shows! Jared is doing awesome! He is well on his way to meeting his goal and I am so proud of him.

The pool is finally heated so Cam and I went for a dip on Saturday! When Jared got home from work we went to "Clark Feast" where they take everyone on the team out to dinner if they hit the team goal. We went to BJ's, which is where our family went last weekend, but we can't complain! We love it!

Our day just wouldn't be complete without a tantrum!


I couldn't even get a clear picture because he was lashing about!

He cheered up in the pool though! :)

After that we went and saw Kung Fu Panda 2. I wish I could say we went just for Cam, but Jared loves Kung Fu Panda, so we had to go see it! Cam was a perfect angel....during the previews. I don't know how he couldn't be entertained with a giant screen in front of his face, but he would rather play with the fabric on the wall or look for other little kids. He did okay though!

He loves to be up high on Dad's shoulders.

The calm before the storm aka mini movie tantrum

Despite what this picture shows, I am not pregnant and I do not have a hunch back.

Church was a bust with Camden. I have tried EVERYTHING I can think of to entertain him! I was even trying to cover him with stickers so he would have to take time and peel each of them off! I am so glad I only have one child right now, because I probably wouldn't even make it in the church doors with two crazy kids.

Our friend Brady came over after church for dinner. His wife is out doing study abroad so he will be out here selling for a month before she comes. We're so excited they'll be out here! After the little man was ready for bed (I love Sundays! Jared's turn to bathe the boy!), we made some stove top s'mores and watched "The Prince of Persia!"

Counting down the days until next Saturday! :)

Runyon Canyon Hike

2011-05-27T20:13:00.000-07:00

Josh & Ferg

Jessica

The Mcconaughey's

The Tatum's

No, I didn't stumble upon any of these people on our hike today, but I was on the look-out! Baylee, Kim and I decided to go to Runyon Canyon for a little adventure! I am determined to see some stars out here this summer! We drove down to LA and drove through the Hollywood Hills to find Runyon Canyon. We ended up starting at the end, thanks to my lovely GPS. It didn't seem too bad at first because we went downhill the whole time! Too bad we had to go uphill the whole way back haha! I will do a little better with the planning next time. Until then, Fergie and friends will have to hike without me.

Relaxing Saturday with Dad!

2011-05-27T18:08:00.000-07:00

Usually on Saturdays during the summer, we go out and end up spending too much money doing things in the city. Last Saturday, we decided to just stay around here and grab a bite to eat. Camden is growing up so fast and is doing and learning new things everyday. Poor Jared is always working and never gets to see all his new tricks, so we decided we better show Dad how Cam likes to be a big boy at the park!

I love that little face! He looks more and more like his Dad everyday!

There was a scary ladder going up to the big slide (why would you put that in a playground!?) so Dad helped out.


He loves the little slides because he can sit at the top and watch all the other kids and then slide down by himself. Sometimes his chubby little thighs stick to the slide and he falls forward! He got that from his Mom's genes! :) We like them chunky!

After we got all of Cam's wiggles out in the park, we went to dinner at BJ's Restaurant & Brewery. It is one of our favorite restaurants in California! My mouth waters just thinking about it! We pray they'll move out to Utah one of these days!

He loves people watching! A man after my own heart!

I am so glad we FINALLY found some shoes that fit his chubby little feet! He loves to walk around and be a big boy.

He has taken to coloring, so we are hoping this will help during church!

We go solely for the avocado egg rolls.....


.......and the deep dish pizza.

California is going to make me one "curvy" lady!

Villa Camarillo!

2011-05-19T15:37:00.000-07:00

Here is a little virtual tour of our apartment for the summer. It is in Camarillo, California. We are an hour north of Los Angeles and close to the ocean and some very good shopping. :) It seems really ghetto because we live like we are camping every summer, but it works! I actually kind of like not having a lot of stuff. Less to clean up! Unloading the 8 dishes from the dishwasher is a breeze! haha!

So our apartment is technically a 1 bedroom apartment. We have a big master bedroom and then a "den" which is a big room off the living room with no door. We decided to give Camden the master so we could do things in the living room while he is napping, so here is his bare room. It only contains our dresser, his strollers and the pack-n-play which is his bed for the next 3 months! :)

This bathroom is connected to the master bedroom so we have to be really quiet when we need to use it and Cam is sleeping!

Whoever decided to put the bathroom in this closet was not thinking! haha! It is the smallest bathroom of all time! Literally a toilet and then a foot of space!

They rented all the furniture for us, except for a TV. We decided to just bring our computer and use it to watch Netflix so we wouldn't have to pay for cable. It is really classy! :)

The kitchen table doesn't get much action. Jared gets home around 9 every night and eats dinner on the couch so it is primarily used for crafting! (Love the view of the "lions den" in the background....yes you can see our bed from the kitchen table haha)

A random nook we throw Cam's toys in! Maybe they forgot to put a door on this like they did the den!

Our bedroom den! They gave us the firmest mattress of all time so we had to get fluffier pillows once we got here. Don't you love our fancy bedding? haha!

We have a balcony, but it is really dirty and I can't bring myself to go clean it off.

The pool won't be heated until May 28th so we are counting down the days!!!

We've grilled a few times so it is nice to have those to use! The building behind them is where we have to go do laundry.

And church is just on the other side of our parking lot!

Westward Beach

2011-05-17T12:14:00.000-07:00

I live for Saturday's and Sunday's in the summer, because I get to have Jared around! We go out every Saturday to do site seeing. This weekend, we went to a beach in Malibu with the Wheelwrights and another single guy who is out selling. We didn't get there until about 5 so it was kind of cold and windy. Malibu was crazy! I have never seen so many mansions in my life! They even have people come pump your gas for you, unless you are cheap like us, then you have to pump your own in the back. haha! It is just crazy how people live here. I can only dream!

Cam loves being outside!

He would never crawl off the towels.

Kyson and Cam! Kyson is the funniest baby. He is always smiling, and Cam has quite the attitude these days as you can see.

Cam wasn't a fan of the sand!

Sweet treats, slides and skinned knees!

2011-05-17T12:02:00.000-07:00

We are finally feeling a little more settled here in Camarillo! It took us a week to get internet, which meant no Netflix or communication to the outside world. It was the longest week ever! We filled our time with a LOT of walks....(I've already lost 4 pounds from being here! haha!) Cam has been sick so we haven't gotten out to do much, but hopefully we'll be outside a lot as soon as he feels better! The second day we got here, Camden and I went exploring and found a few things to do.

Cam learned how to lick an ice cream cone!

...for the most part.

He walks EVERYWHERE now! He has had a lot of big biffs since we've been out here. Fell of the couch, rolled off our bed, fell on the sidewalk and hits his head on just about everything.

He loves the slide! Mostly because he can see all the other kids from the top. He is getting so big!

Road Trip with my Best Buddy!

2011-05-17T11:51:00.000-07:00

We got everything packed up in Logan and moved down to Layton to store in my mother-in-law's house for the summer. We left out enough stuff to fit in our two cars and that is all we brought to live off for the whole summer in California (...we are talking 3 pans, 3 towels, 1 pair of sheets, 2 pillows and a few toys)! I never realize how much stuff I have until I have to move it, and then we just get into this mode of selling stuff or throwing it away so we don't have to pack it. We are getting really good at it! :) Anyway, Jared had to go to a meeting in Lodi, California which was 6 hours of way from Camarillo, to where we were moving. We wanted to bring both cars so I wouldn't be stuck at home all the time when Jared was out working. We decided that rather than making Cam drive in the car an extra 6 hours, that he and I would just drive through Las Vegas to southern California while Jared went the opposite direction to northern California. I was so nervous because I have never driven further than St. George by myself, plus I had a baby to entertain for 12 hours! We survived, and had quite the adventure!

Poor guy was squished in the back seat with all our stuff. Luckily, we bought that DVD player the day before we left. It was a lifesaver!

I would just reach my hand back and give him a treat every time he would cry. He was really good after his first piece of licorice....now we know why!

I cleaned him off as best as we could and we stopped at a Carl's Jr. for dinner in Fillmore. People probably thought I beat my child because it looks like dried blood on the back of his head!

He would only eat his food if he touched it to mine with each bite. haha what a goof!

We made it to St. George and spent the night!

He was out cold so I decided to take a shower. When I got out of the shower, I noticed a HORRIBLE smell. I looked everywhere and couldn't figure out what it was. I finally realized he had thrown up.... everywhere. I had to dispose of his elephant because it was so disgusting!

He was a happy camper though! Probably because of all the treats he had thrown up!

He was so happy to have his own big boy cup with a straw whenever we stopped somewhere.

We were about two hours away from Camarillo and decided to get some wiggles out, so I found an Arby's and grass at a strip mall so we had a little picnic....(yes, on a mermaid beach towel we ended up throwing away afterwards. I swear that smell of throw up just lingers!)

While we were eating in the ghetto strip mall parking lot, a car pulled over and a larger girl got out and said "I've got free perfume samples for you." Next thing I know, she is spraying her perfume up and down my arm. Multiple scents! I was gagging! Then she tried to sell me a bottle of one of them for $65! I just said my husband wouldn't like it and she threw the perfume into her trunk of goods and drove off. I'm pretty sure Camden was making this face after smelling the odor oozing from my arm. After scrubbing and scrubbing the smell finally went away....after 3 days!

We finally arrived at the apartments in California and unpacked. I was getting Cam ready for a bath and found a sucker lodged in his fat rolls. Not sure where that green sucker came from, or when it got there, but we made it! Quite the trip!

Mom's 23rd Birthday

2011-05-02T07:46:00.000-07:00

I figured my 23rd birthday wouldn't be anything too special because our house is in the process of being all packed up and Jared had finals to study for, but he still surprised me with a few fun things! He even went shopping and picked out some clothes and jewelry for me!


You can see how ghetto our house is right now. The couches are gone so we have an air mattress in the living room... classy!

He also gave me this little "voucher" for some new tennis shoes then took me shopping to pick any pair I wanted!

(which was a big deal because he HATES shopping!)

Then he got my sister, Steph, to come babysit so we could go on a hot date!

He took me to the Bluebird! It is probably our favorite restaurant in Logan!

I ate my whole plate of Bluebird Chicken...... I figured it was the last time I would be eating here for a few years!

We went to the temple!

And Camden decided to take his first steps by himself on my birthday! Usually we have to convince him to walk to us, but he just got up and started walking!

Thanks for a fabulous birthday!

My Handsome Graduate!

2011-05-01T17:25:00.000-07:00

Jared is graduating this week from Utah State. I'm SO EXCITED! He'll get his Bachelors in Spanish and Linguistics. He wrapped it all up in 4 years while working (sometimes multiple jobs!), keeping up with Ambassador responsibilities, being an assistant researcher and fatherly duties. He worked his cute bum off! It always seems like he never studies very much to me and then he comes home with amazing grades! I don't know how he does it! He is so smart that sometimes I have to look up random facts on the internet so I have something new to bring to the dinner table! haha! I am so proud of him and so excited for the next chapter in our lives. He won't be able to walk at graduation (mostly he convinced me it was not necessary and that he will do it for his Master's degree) because we'll be out in California. We will miss Logan. It is first place we moved to as newlyweds, where Camden was born and where we have so many memories. But we love a good adventure and can't wait to get out and see a few new places. :) Congratulations Jare Bear! I couldn't be prouder!

Easter 2011!

2011-04-25T19:02:00.000-07:00

We had a fabulous Easter weekend! We went down to Layton to visit both of our families and celebrate!

Cam loved his Easter basket....

......once he realized it was filled with chocolate and candy!

Cam loves his cousin Brynlee!

He was squealing with delight! Literally! He loved finding eggs!

He wanted to stop looking for them to shake and play with the eggs.

Cute cousin Brynlee!

Mason had to stop and eat a few! ha ha!

Cute cousins!

Student of the Year

2011-04-25T16:12:00.000-07:00

Jared was awarded the Student of the Year award for his college! He is such a hard worker and I am so proud of him. His mom came up to see him receive his award and go to dinner with us. Luckily, my sisters Lauren and Kendra were in town for their Spring Break and could watch Cam so we didn't have to bring him. Jared kept acting like it wasn't a big deal. We got to go to a reception afterward with the Deans and Professors. You go Jare!


Jared and the Dean John Allen

Jared also worked directly under a professor as an assistant researcher this last year. He and the professor studied the way that foreign languages are taught in the classroom. He presented his research at the Utah State Student Symposium.

Jared is also done with Ambassadors now. We went to the Ambassador Variety Show, where Jared's group performed a singing and dance number from a few "Glee" songs. He has loved being an ambassador and to have such an awesome scholarship!

We can't believe we'll only be in Logan for another week or so! We have lived here since we were newlyweds, which makes me kind of sad to leave. At the same time, we are SO EXCITED to get outta Logan! Woohoo!

Visit to Missouri

2011-04-25T15:35:00.000-07:00

My sister Kristen is currently living in Kirksville, Missouri while her husband, Ammon, is attending Medical School at A.T. Still University. I was so excited when she asked if she could fly me out there to help watch her kids while she had to leave town and run a marathon! Camden and I were there for a whole week. It was so nice to see the whole Hills family, especially my cute little nieces!

Addy and I went and saw the movie "HOP" and were the only ones in the whole theater! Addy was so excited that she got to pick out a treat for the movie! She is so cute!

Camden LOVED having a baby his age to play with! They didn't know how to share very well, but they followed each other around all over.

We had a lot of picnics! (It was easier to clean up after 3 kids that way ha!)

Camden and Ensley watch "Old McDonald's Farm" a few times a day and were mesmerized!

Addy and I would always celebrate with a treat while the babies would take naps!

Silly cousins! Yes, Addy is in an office chair and has multiple bows in her hair... but they were all happy!


Ensley could just sit like this and watch TV. It was so funny! And she LOVES the little doll under her and takes "baby" everywhere. haha!

Camden was so excited just to play with his cousins! He has been so lonely since being home and only having me :)

Addy loved to dress-up, play preschool and watch Disney movies! (especially Tangled!)

Kristen ran her very first marathon in 4 hours 20 minutes! She did so awesome! I know I would never look that good after running 26.2 miles! Good job sis!

He got it from his Mama!

2011-03-30T20:11:00.000-07:00

I try not to give Camden everything I eat because he would be one of those babies on Oprah that can't even move they are so big! I got him some Mini Oreos to try and keep him quiet for church and I'm glad I gave them a test drive before dealing with this mess on a church pew!

I love that squishy little face!

The love for chocolate was kicking in!

And, like his mother, he ate way too much and regretted it later!

Sick Day....more like Sick Week!

2011-03-30T20:02:00.000-07:00

It has been a yucky couple of days here! I had a lovely cold. A few days later, Camden got a bad ear infection. A few more days later, Jared thought he had a cold, but then it kept getting worse. Then it sounded like he was dying. Then he just never stopped coughing and wheezing and it was so scary! He went to the doctor and found out he had the "adult version" of croup. I had never heard of anyone but babies getting it! So random! So for the past 4 days we have stayed home, worn sweat pants, eaten two cups of ice cream a day and watched A LOT of TV!

Camden wasn't happy. He would go behind the couch and sit by his toys and yell. He just needs friends! :)

We look stunning! Jared wore this lovely get-up to not contaminate us. I think I have walked around spraying everything he has touched with Lysol. The doctor said the "incubation period" for Jared's sickness was for 3 to 7 days! Ugh. Let's hope not!


Camden found ways to entertain himself. We just turn this baby on and he is happy to play away! He thinks it is so funny when he can hear what he is playing.

Anyway, we're surviving and I haven't cooked in days! Oh yeah.... and I'm getting teenage acne because of all the take-out and ice cream I've been eating.

Camden is 1!

2011-03-30T19:49:00.000-07:00

I can't believe Camden is already 1! It has gone by so fast! He is my best buddy and we love to do everything together (I can't remember the last time I got to go to the bathroom alone even! haha!). I can't imagine my life without him!

This was his very first picture! Just a few seconds old! What an angel!

Camden is getting very good at copying us. He will make the same facial expressions and try to copy the words we say. It is so funny!

He is cruising all over the place and loves to climb! He is still a little scared to take steps by himself but will walk while holding onto things. He got a toy for his birthday that is pretty much an old person walker, so he'll walk behind it and it is hilarious!

He is the happiest little boy! All we have to do is look at him and he will start laughing and squealing (literally, it sounds like a squealing pig! haha!) He gets so excited about things!

After "Dada" and "Mama" his first words were "ticko-ticko," which mean tickle-tickle. He does it to everything! He'll be playing with his toys and we hear "ticko-ticko!" Even his dinner gets tickled! He also says "bob" for some reason, "hi," "mom," "dad," and "go!" We're working on a few now after I realized his vocabulary was slacking!

Camden likes to point to noses, eyes, and belly buttons!

Anytime that he is eating he'll give me a bite! It is so funny! Sometimes he'll even take it from his mouth to share with me. Mmm!

He still loves to whistle! He looks so grown up like he is tightening his tie or something!

His favorite shows are Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Sesame Street and now Blue's Clues!


He still takes two long naps everyday and sleeps for at least 12 hours! If he doesn't, he'll start looking like this.

Camden weighs 23 lbs. 11 oz. (60th percentile). He is 30 1/4 inches tall (60th percentile) and his head is 18 and 1/4 inches (50th percentile). He is just perfect! We love Camden so much! It seems like he has always been a part of our family. He brings such a light to our home and we can't get enough of him! I can't wait to see what this year has in store! Love you Buggy!

Camden's First Birthday Party!

2011-03-19T15:26:00.000-07:00

I decided to throw a Mickey birthday party since he still loves Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. He had so much fun playing with his cousins Brynlee and Mason!

Grandma Cyd, Kendra, Lauren and Camille playing "Mickey's Grab Bag"

Camden loves his cousin Brynlee!

Mason is checking out the prize table.

Camille, Trever, Jared and Grandpa Larry playing "Mickey's Candy Mover!"

Steph and Mason. Mason was loving his Mickey Cookies!

"Mouse" food!

Chocolate Mickey Pops

We ate tons of cupcakes, ice cream and treats!

Trever and Grandma Robin playing "Mickey's Mouska Blow!"

Mickey's Mouse Toss. Grandpa Larry won by a landslide!

Camden's cute aunts! Kendra, Lauren and Steph!


He was getting a little tired when it came time to open presents.

Wasn't a fan of his birthday crown!

He ate his whole cupcake! What a big boy! haha!

He was so excited to see all his presents in the morning! He was spoiled rotten!

Cam was exhausted when we got home! He had so much fun at his party! We love you buggy!

Disney World Part 2/Universal Studios!

2011-03-19T14:36:00.000-07:00

Our last stop at Disney World was the Animal Kingdom! Our favorite ride was the trip to the past to rescue a dinosaur. We also loved the safari! And the Everest roller coaster! Okay, we pretty much loved all of it!

They had really cool aquariums with dolphins, sharks, rays and big turtles!

The awesome animal tree! We went to the Bug's Life "It's Tough to be a Bug" movie underneath it!

The safari was so cool! The animals were SO CLOSE! We had to stop at one point so people could come move the giraffe's away from the vehicle!

The next day we headed over to Universal Studios and the Wizarding World of Harry Potter!

Entrance to Hogsmeade!

Hogwarts!

Dumbledore in his office.... He was just a hologram so it was hard to get a picture!

Harry, Ron, Hermione

Honeydukes Candy Store

This candy is called "U-No-Poo" which we thought applied to me because I can't go to the bathroom whenever I'm away from home! TMI!

The Three Broomsticks!

We LOVE Butterbeer! We tried the frozen and original and couldn't get enough!

We ate very well! I had never been to a Hard Rock Cafe so Jared took me!

It was such a fun trip! I can't wait to go back with our kids! :)

Disney World!

2011-03-19T14:14:00.000-07:00

We went to Disney World for the first 3 days of our trip. It was so much fun! I felt like a little kid on Christmas! Jared was such a good sport to go do all the "12-year-old girl" stuff that I like.

Our first stop was the Magic Kingdom! We got there early and went on as many rides as possible! My favorite ride is Splash Mountain, so Jared let us go there first. What a gentleman!

We ate lunch with a singer/Alien DJ. Only in the Magic Kingdom would you find that! I love it!

He didn't have the touch...


One of my favorite places! Gotta love Main Street USA! I'm still dreaming of the smells!

After the Magic Kingdom, we went to MGM Hollywood Studios! We loved seeing how movies were made. They recreated scenes from the movie Pearl Harbor that were made there. We also went to American Idol! It was so fun!

Our favorite ride!

We went on the back lot tour and saw how they do scenes from movies.

There were tons of movie props. These were from the Chronicles of Narnia!

We love Pirates of the Caribbean! This is the organ from the movie!

We drank wayyyyy to much Diet Coke. Not a fan of Florida water!


The only character I waited in line to meet was Handy Manny. I knew Cam would appreciate it!

The next day we went to Epcot! They had the best firework shows every night. We also loved the World Showcase where we could walk around and see all of the different countries around the world!

France was our favorite!

This was our favorite bakery. We went there a few times just to eat their "Napoleon" pastry. Mmm!

When I first fell in love with the Napoleon. It is a love hate relationship and probably the reason I gained 6 pounds on this trip!

It was pouring all morning so we look really good! At least my hair got matted down so it didn't have the "Florida Frizz" going on!

Funnel Cake

We were there for their big garden festival. They had all of the characters made out of shrubs, plants and flowers!


Favorite!

Spring Break 2011!

2011-03-19T13:41:00.000-07:00

We decided that since Jared is graduating that we would take advantage of his Spring Break and go on a trip! We knew it would be our last chance to go for a few years because Jared will be so busy with grad school, having more kids, etc. We started off our trip at Disney World and then went to Universal Studios to see the Wizarding World of Harry Potter! We left our little man with Jared's mom. I was so nervous to leave him but we were so busy having fun that I didn't have too much time to miss him!

The first day we just relaxed and explored a little!

We had a trolley on our street that would take you up and down the huge street. We forgot our camera so we had to buy a new one and then go to Walgreens for a memory card. Oops!


This building was built totally upside down! It was crazy! The staircases inside were all upside down and on the ceiling!

I also forgot our tickets we bought to get into Disney World so we went to this random shady store and bought more tickets! It was a little scary, but luckily they worked!

Whistle While You Work!..... or watch LOST

2011-03-03T09:45:00.000-08:00

Camden is almost 1 year old! It is crazy! He is so funny and I love playing with him all day! Lately, he loves to whistle and does it while he plays and it cracks me up. I couldn't get him to do it on demand so I don't have any pictures of him whistling yet, but we're working on it. He also is loving all "big people" food, fake laughing, fake coughing, trying to walk, "talking," and tickling people/his toys!

This is the only picture I have of him whistling and it is the WORST picture of all time! It is the funniest thing to me!

For the last week, this has been our lives. Camden hangs out and eats while Jared and I watch LOST on Netflix. I never had a desire to watch it but we literally spend hours everyday watching it! We say we'll only watch one episode but then we have to see what happens next so we watch the next one! It is a vicious cycle. It will be good when Jared goes back to work so my bum doesn't flatten to a big pancake from sitting so much. :)

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Sledding Failure.

2011-03-02T06:40:00.000-08:00

We thought we better put the sled we got for Camden to use, so we went up to Old Main Hill and decided to take it for a ride! Jared and Cam were in the sled getting ready to go and it just took off! They cruised down the hill before they were ready and I barely had time to get this picture. So this was Camden's first time sledding....

And this is how I found him when I got to the bottom of the hill. HAHA! It was so funny! He was being pretty dramatic. Maybe because his Mom bought his boots online and forgot to check if they fit, so he was stuck wearing layers of footie pajamas and socks.

He only got a run and 1/2 in but at least he smiled for a second!

Valentine's Day 2011

2011-02-16T15:34:00.000-08:00

My sister, Camille, gave me a cute idea to do the "14 Days of Valentine's Day" for my husband. So I went to Dollar Tree and rounded up all kinds of "treasures!" :)

We went on a date over the weekend to Iggy's (my favorite!) and to see "Gnomeo & Juliet" while Cam stayed with Jared's mom. So we decided to stay home on Valentine's day!

I surprised Jared with this lovely lady! :) It is so cute!


I found this cute date book at http://oopsey-daisy.blogspot.com. Then for our "date" we picked a date from our date book, which was have a movie marathon in a blanket fort!

We finished off every last one of these!

And enjoyed the "Bourne" trilogy.....over the space of 2 days. We just couldn't hack it!