Happy Birthday Cameron!

Here are just a few things about Cam for those who don't know him very well.

He is the hardest working person I know. He is completely driven . . .

. . . but he knows how to have fun too!

He loves sports! And still finds time to play them . . .
. . . brother ball (short shorts optional).


He has done this a couple of times playing them (sports, not the brothers). . .

He loves his family ...

. . . and he is a loyal friend.

He once got a ticket, fought it in court, and won because of this . . .

He loves God and the Gospel of Jesus Christ so much that he spent

2 whole years of his life as a missionary here . . .

When he got back he met and taught this girl . . .

He is completely adored by these kids . . .

. . . and absolutely loved by this woman.

Never fails . . .

10 new ones every other day or so. . . We planted way too many this year. Most of our neighbors and friends we always rely on for taking some are getting tired of our weekly phone calls. "Don't answer honey, it's just that crazy family trying to get rid of their vegetables again."

Anyone out there we are missing???? If we know you and you haven't had your fill of zucchini please leave us a comment and we would be more than happy to get some to you. We may have to buy a shed or something just for zucchini storage.

The ginormous one wasn't photoshopped in any way. It is almost as big as Cal. I don't think it will be very tasty. Not sure any of them are after two solid months. We have even had nights of main dish of z with a side of z that is how desperate I am to get rid of them.

Here are some other pictures of an equally abundant item from our garden. We spent several days harvesting, peeling, chopping, and freezing these. Cal helped by eating so many that I thought he would turn orange. I didn't ever realize how much he liked them. Cammie mostly played in the mud but she did go to sleep that night, and many nights since, with her rendition of "Good Night Carrots".

Just Today

Today Cammie did one of her favorite things -- she helped me cook. Okay 2 of her favorite things because cooking to her also involves making a mess!

Here is what we made.

These are awesome. The recipe is from http://mykitchencafe.blogspot.com/2008/09/vanilla-pudding-cinnamon-rolls-with.html . I have been trying for years, okay more like once or twice a year for about 4 years now, to make good cinnamon rolls. They are always okay but they have never tasted like these!

My favorite moment of the day was watching my two bathed, pajama-ed kids and my sweet husband eating cinnamon rolls outside on our deck in the dark. I would have taken a picture but it was really too dark. Followed closely by Cal telling me at bedtime that he was going to wake up and have one for breakfast tomorrow.

Politics at Age 4

I added these to the sidebar but I thought they were too funny to not right an entire post about.

Cal (at bedtime one night): I am on a mission to change blah, blah, blah. I'm Barack Obama and I approved this message.

Another night:

Dad: Cal, who do you think will win, Barack Obama or John McCain?
Cal: Umm, I think Michael Phelps.

Summer 08

Where did it go? We did so many fun things that I have yet to document so here goes.

Cal "graduated" from Joy School. He has the BEST teacher. Ms. Jen has been so patient and loving to him. He has learned so much. We are excited for the new year. One more year with Ms. Jen and then off to kindergarten. Cal and I sang one of the Joy school songs, "Snuggle Me Warm" at the graduation. He rocked it out like always but I struggled to hold back the tears.

Cal and Cammie got a new little cousin.

Cammie had an Elmo party for her second birthday. Granny made the a sweet Elmo cake. Grandfather and Mere showed up at the airport in these shirts.

We made tie-dyed shirts for the first time.

We had a great time at the Renaissance Festival. Cal threw stars and even got a spiderweb painted on his face. It really was a blast.

Grandfather and Mere make the best ribs. One of the few meats that Cal will actually eat.

We went to Chuck E. Cheese's for the first time. Cal had been wanting to go here for "his whole little kid life". Cammie was not so sure about the giant mouse but loved everything else.

We went to the splash park a lot.

We hung out with our cousins at the zoo and even helped show them how we pose for pictures.

We wore our Crocs a lot and will totally miss them when snow comes.

Cal had swim lessons for two seesions with Ms. Jordan. She is awesome. He isn't afraid of the water anymore!

We hung out with Mom's friend from college, Ms. Natalie.

Note to self (and anyone else still reading): Two kids ages 2 & 4 + sweltering heat + restored antique house downtown = leaving tour + "Can we PLEASE go home now!"

Cal's back to school shot under our peach tree.

Bye Bye Summer

Spider-Bike

Cal has been saving his allowance for months in order to save $20 to get a real bike. Of course the bike wasn't $20 but we told him that if he could save $20 we would pay the rest. It was really tough for him because he loves to grab his wallet and get any cheap, little toy at every Target visit. Here he is with his new Spiderman bike.

A real big-boy bike . . . he is growing up too fast.

New Shades

Thanks Grandfather and Mere for the sweet new shades. We wore them to the park on a pretty cloudy day. We just wouldn't take them off. Love, C & C

p.s. We got awesome static hair from the slide!