Nina's trip to VA

I don't know if Ben and Pam are happy or sad that Nina is gone. Let's just say that on more than one occasion she showed her true colors. During the countdown before we left, it was fun to see Nina talk about all the things she wanted to do in Virginia. I'm happy she remembered all the fun she had last year. She made many more memories this year:

New puzzles are so much more fun than the ones at home.


Riding on Grandpa's boat with her cousin Christian. Once she figured out that she could climb up on the front of the boat, having her sit was a thing of the past.


The kids made loads of money selling lemonade near the golf course in Grandma and Grandpa's neighborhood. The lemonade sale was their cousin Victoria's idea.


The Divas: Hailey, Nina, Victoria, Sydney and Ella


Donovan and Nina posed for some cute pictures.


Just a few meltdowns. I can't remember what sparked this one. I probably asked her if she could go to the bathroom in the toilet and not in the costume. I always ruin the fun.


A lovely pose with her Great Grandma Cheyne's fine furs.


We had a nice lunch visit with GG (Great Grandma Leys).


Nina talked Cameron into this carriage ride at Chuck E. Cheese's.


This is a dangerous girl to give a hose to.


Waiting for cake with her cousin Ella at Grandpa's 60th birthday party.

Cameron's trip to VA

Cameron had a great time during his second trip to Virginia. He didn't cause us too much grief on any of the flights. Aside from his bout with croup and a double ear infection, I'd say he had a fabulous trip. Here are some highlight photos:

He seemed to adapt to his new surroundings with ease. He felt comfortable enough to make a mess everywhere he went.


It was fun for him to see his Virginia cousins, we wish we could see them more often.


He liked Grandma's dress-up stash.


He let me hold him once or twice.


He liked going to Chuck E. Cheese's with Grandma.


Sharing a swing with his cousin Grant was cool.


So were all the rides at King's Dominion.


I didn't expect him to enjoy walking in the river with Matt, but he loved it.


All of the kids were happy to help Cameron enjoy the rides.


And Cameron loved playing in the pool at Grandma and Grandpa's river house.

Donovan's Field Day

Last week Donovan's school had their field day. He had a great time participating in all the activities.

Cameron's birthday

Cameron turned one on Mother's Day. Where did that year go? It seems like that first year goes by faster and faster with each of our babies. I'm glad that Cameron still likes to act like a baby for me. I know he could really crawl if he wanted to, but he knows that would make me sad. And he is probably walking all the time when I'm out of the room, but once again, he plays the part of the baby extremely well. He is starting to talk, pretty much using all the basic baby words:
"mom, you're the best"
"I could use a fresh diaper"
"Can I give you a hand with dinner?"

Then he is throwing in some more mature words like:
"nana" (Nina)
"bottle"
"more"
"mama"
"ball"
"daa" (dad)

We kept the celebration pretty low-key with a cake and some presents before we put him to bed. Here are some shots of the festivities:

Cameron is 1

An anniversary yet to be celebrated

Last Wednesday was our 9th anniversary and a week later - we still haven't done anything special. I only have myself to blame. I'm sure Matt had elaborate, romantic plans all in the works, but I had something else in mind. Being the supportive, loving and dutiful husband that he is, he kindly went along with my plans. So he drove me to the airport, kissed me goodbye and sent me off to Women's Conference at BYU with my mom and sister. He drove 5 kids home, took two days off from school and held down the fort for 4 days. 5 kids you ask? We were watching our friends' little boy for the week while they went to Hawaii. I returned home rejuvenated, happy and full of BYU mint brownies. Matt not only survived, but the kids were happy, clean and fed. Way to go Matt! So I haven't come up with a plan for our anniversary - any suggestions?

I thought I'd share some pictures my sister scanned for me. These were taken before we had a digital camera - ahh the good old days!

Nina has been promoted

And she has sure worked hard to get this promotion. She has exerted herself tirelessly, day in and day out, never wasting an opportunity. She has challenged herself, climbing high, crawling low, even sacrificing her own cleanliness when needed. But she did it! Yeah for Nina! Her new title is "Mom's Helper". This job requires her to stay by my side every waking minute of the day. I'm sure it will be tough for her at first - you know, giving up those quiet moments of solitude where she could express herself, experiment, and explore, but she'll adjust. I'm also sure that maintaining a constant visual on Nina will drive me crazy, but I think it will be easier than dealing with things like this on a regular basis:








Not bad, the whole right side of this shirt was blue before I washed it. I doubt the rest will come out. Sorry Jill, Nina owes you a new shirt.



What this picture is unable to portray is the lovely aroma coming from Nina's underwear because she "didn't know we had a bathroom."