First day of school

Off they went, with smiles on their faces for the first day of 2nd and 4th grade!

Cam was sad to see them go, of course.

And home they came, safe and sound, right to our driveway. Can't ask for better service than that!

Happy first day of school 2010!

Summertime fun with family

Whether we were home, or traveling, this summer was a great one for reconnecting with lots of family. We enjoyed catching up with "Uncle Charlie" while Emily and kids were in town. We had a fun visit with him and of course, the kids all got their fill of hanging on his back! He's so fun!

Austin and Jordan got a little boy date with John one day while Jordan and fam were in town. They went out for some fishing fun at a little pond near our house. From what I hear, they had a good time... looks like they enjoyed themselves.

They even caught some fish!

This is one of the few that they caught and released. They were proud.

We didn't get up to Kelsi's big sweet 16 bash, but we made our own litle version here with a cake and a few little gifts. Can't beleive how fast she has grown up into such a beautiful young lady! We were glad we got to celebrate with her.

It even worked out that we all got a rare visit from Grandpa Jack. He traveled through while Emily and kids were visiting at our house, so we all caught up for a couple of hours and enjoyed a short but sweet visit.

It was fun to have Emily, Kelsi, Jordan and Mareena here for a couple visits this summer too. It's great that everyone gets along so well and enjoys each other's company. The girls play house and dolls for hours and the boys play video games of all sorts for even longer... Kelsi goes out and makes all kinds of new friends and Cameron tags along with anyone who will welcome him. :-)

Thanks for all the fun visits everybody!

little lady

July was a fun month for Brooke... she lost 3 teeth in 3 days and she got a great new hair cut.

All of a sudden, my little girl is growing up!

She's got her big kid smile growing in and she is starting to seem like such a big kid.

Brooke is still as sweet as can be though. I am so thankful for a daughter like her. I can depend on her to help, to love, to be a good example.

She is kind, smart, she is patient, she's funny and she is beautiful, inside and out.

I don't want my little girl to grow up too fast, but I sure do enjoy the little lady she's growing into.

Cameron turned 3!

My, my how time flies!

Our funny little Cameron is 3 years old!

It's become a tradition around our house to decorate the night before one of the kids has a birthday, so they wake up to a festive morning on their special day.

Austin and Brooke had fun hanging streamers and blowing up balloons the night before Cameron's birthday.

I think they might have been just as excited as he was that it was his birthday!

We got the day started off right... what 3 year old wouldn't want a giant sprinkled donut with candles on it for his birthday breakfast?? It brought a smile to his face, which was just what we had hoped. :-)

It's hard to narrow down all the wonderful things about Cameron, but if I had to choose 3 favorites, they would be:

1. His adorable, contagious smile that lights up his face most of the time.

2. His hilarious sense of humor...he cracks us all up on a daily basis.

3. His sweet way of giving hugs and kisses, just because. He's a boy for sure and he can be a rough and tumble wild one, but he has a very sweet side as well and I love, love, love that.

We LOVE you Cameron!!

Thank you for lighting up our home and filling it with your laughter.

Happy 3rd birthday!

We're looking forward to many, many more!

3D Ultrasound

In the back of my mind, I was a little worried that we'd prepare for a baby girl and she would end up being a boy. I can now rest at ease that we are indeed having a girl. Yay for sisters!


We had a fun family date to get a 3d ultrasound this weekend and not only confirmed that we're having a little girl, but got our first glimpse of her little face. Of course there's nothing like the real thing, but the 3d images are a little more lifelike than a standard ultrasound. We saw her face, her feet, her hands. We saw them all at the same time actually, because she was all folded in half with her feet up by her face! It was a cute little teaser for us... we can't wait to meet her in person soon. Now, if we could only settle on a name. :-)

Her thumb never went in her mouth, but it sure stayed in that area!

Brooke was looking closely to see if she'd have a little thumb sucking sister...

Looks like some chubby cheeks!

Crossing her ankles like a little lady.

Here you see her feet on the left, right next to her hand and face... if she's looking squished now, just wait. We have about 8 more weeks to grow.

Technology is wonderful!