Whirlwind of Life

Life has been flying by at tremendous speed. We have been caught up in the daily whirlwind of activities that May has had to offer and because of that I haven't updated my blog as much as I would like. It would also be a pretty boring narrative of our daily routine that keeps us on our toes!

Mitch is incredible busy with track, work, and his new calling (Stake sports director). Track is in its last two weeks of the season and he has been away from home and at track meets a lot. I'm ready for the season to be over! With his new calling he is in charge of putting on the stake fun run "Trek around the Trail" in a few weeks. In his spare time, he is working out like crazy with P90X and has lost 25 pounds so far! He is also the coach of the cutest t-ball player around. More pictures to follow....



As for me and the kids. Things have been just as crazy. I am getting a new calling, back to the primary. Not sure whether to be relived to be done teaching Relief Society or not....
I am ready for the school year to wrap up and be done. No more bus, helping in classes, homework and all that jazz sounds so appealing.

Cam has been in baseball with games Tuesday, Thursday, and some Saturdays. These games are long, cold and right in the middle of dinner, homework, and bath nights. He is so cute in his uniform and seems to enjoy it but it has been a struggle for me to keep up with the busy schedule and the politics that come along with older kid sports. He is getting so big, I can hardly believe that he is mine. He makes me laugh every day. The other day he told Mitch, "Oh, dad stop being so prehistoric!" What does that even mean? I don't think Cam has a clue either!

Julia has been in t-ball and is so cute! She is becoming a great reader and I can't believe she is almost finished with kindergarten. In school, the kindergartners are learning about the "chicken cycle." They have had chicken eggs that hatched in the classroom and she has been so excited to watch the process. Every day she comes home with an update of what is happening with her chicks. Her first wiggly tooth is just about to fall out any minute and she hopes it falls out before school gets out so she can show everyone in her class. Our family some how managed to catch the flu again...Julia has had the worst of it and is still struggling to get over it.

Natalie. What a funny girl. Busy as ever and as cute as can be, but what a little pistol! Today we went grocery shopping and witnessed the last of the free bakery cookies being taken by someone right in front of us. Natalie then proceeded to cry throughout the whole shopping trip. Yesterday I went to Target where she bawled through the entire store almost the entire time. Some say that you need to enjoy these "special" years with your kids because they will be gone before you know it. Yes, it is true but these same people go shopping in peace.

A special HAPPY BIRTHDAY shout out to my baby brother today! Happy 21!

Black and White

Cameron see things very black and white, right and wrong. I love this about him. The right thing to do is easy for him to see. Honest to a fault, the world around him would be a better place if everyone was a little more like him. Lately he has been our family's moral compass keeping us in line:

• When I keep the water running too long he reminds me that I am wasting water.
• When Mitch or I get impatient in the car with another driver he has to pointed out that we need to relax.
• The other day Mitch and I were discussing something that was frustrating that someone had done. Cameron was listening to us and then said, "The things you are saying about the other person aren't very nice, that would hurt his feelings if he heard that."
• Last week Cam asked me what he should do if the person bringing the snacks for baseball brought everyone a Coke. Should he take it? Because he doesn't drink Coke, it is bad for his body. But would that be rude?
• He came home from school last week and asked Mitch to start washing the cars on the grass because he learned that when you wash your car the soap goes into the sewer and then into the Puget Sound polluting it.
  

I could go on and on... but he definitely keeps me on my toes. Being a good example to him has high standards! I hope I can succeed. On Sunday I had the opportunity to teach his primary class. It was so cute to see him answering questions, volunteering to pray, and reading in the scriptures. It is fun to see what a good boy he is turning out to be.

Happy Mother's Day

What a nice day to hug my kids and be thankful to be a mother.

April 27th...

and snowing....

Spring? Please come soon!

Easter

The Easter Bunny found his way to our house. As you can see the egg finding was a little intense at times. The Bunny also hid the movie Pinocchio. Natalie was so excited when she found it she almost passed out with joy. No kidding. The eggs didn't compare after that.



I am not sure what the Easter Bunny was thinking when buying the candy this year. Normally the Bunny is usual pretty conservative but this year, candy overload! There was enough candy for 15 kids not just 3. I guess you should NEVER go shopping while hungry. Cameron had a terrible stomach ache by the end of the night. After looking in his basket I couldn't believe how much he had eaten! YIKES. We will be riding a sugar high for the next week.



Here are our Easter dresses. I didn't get a great picture of them, mainly because we were running out the door and I couldn't get them to put down their toys. Oh well....



I bought Cameron a new Easter tie because I knew he would never wear a vest and a long sleeved shirt so I skipped those. But could I get him to wear his new tie to church on Sunday? Nope. We did however have a nice Easter and enjoyed spending the weekend with our Grandpas and Grandmas.

2nd Grade Music Concert

Cameron's music concert might have been the cutest thing I have seen in quite some time. I loved it. They sang some really fun songs. I loved the Caissons and Anchors Away songs the very best. Cam sang with GUSTO!



Cameron's turn on the xylophone.

Easter Eggs

The annual coloring of the eggs. Whose idea was it anyway to have a holiday using color dye and children...not the sharpest tool in the shed?!

Positive Affirmations

Cameron has been helping me with my daily affirmations. Each day he brings me a paper that he made at school with a cute statement on it. Thanks Cam for the daily boost.

You know... I AM good enough, smart enough, and dog-gone it people like me!

Track Meet

After Cameron's baseball game was rained out on Thursday, we decided to go watch daddy's track meet in Issaquah. Nothing says track meet like 40 degrees, raining, and windy! It was cold and wet but we seemed to have a good time. Natalie told everyone she saw that her dad was firing the gun. We even got to hang out with Papa for a little bit. The pictures below are from the "papa-razzi" himself! Cameron got to ring the last lap bell for the 3200 meters and loved it! Despite the cold it was fun and memorable. And by memorable, I mean in the end when one of my children who shall remain nameless had a bathroom emergency that will be seared into my brain forever as one of the worst I have ever experienced. I kid you not. The absolute WORST. Nothing like making memories!!

Junior Mints

We call Julia's eyes Junior Mints because they look exactly like them...so big, round, and brown.



Natalie lovingly started calling hers blueberry eyes. It is amazing how two sisters can look so different and so much the same all at the same time!

Wacky Hair Day

Today is wacky hair day at school. Julia was EXCITED! Cam told me for the 3rd straight year, "maybe next year..." he just can't make himself do it. Have a mentioned that he is such a sweetheart?

Easter Bunny

Field Trips

I have had the opportunity to go on field trips with both Cameron and Julia in the last two weeks. There are so many chaperons that volunteer that I was only assigned my child and one other. It was nice to spend some time with them. Cameron and I went to the Woodland Park Zoo and were able to see the exhibits that showed the rain forest and South American animals. We had such a great time that I didn't even take any pictures, but got this cute note from Cameron the next day.



Julia and I went to the Children's Museum in Seattle. It is so fun to see Julia with her classmates. She is so social and loves to be around the others. Julia and her friend Ava walked around the whole time holding hands, it was so sweet.

Good-Bye Old Friend...

After 11 years of friendship we said goodbye to our old couch. Mitch and I got the couch right before we got married and we each paid half for it. Unfortunately for Mitch this time around my half is from the same bank account as his. We decided that it was time for a new couch before someone turned us into the Department of Health for how dirty the thing was...white is not the best color with kids! Before getting rid of the old couch we took it apart and found lots of treasures that have been missing for a long time. Cameron found his missing puzzle piece (of Connecticut) to his states puzzle that he had been missing for over a year. Hooray for a new, clean couch!!

Julia and Dylan

We don't see our cousin Dylan very much but the last week we got to play with him twice! Although Cameron and Dylan are only a few days apart in age, guess who loved hanging out together?