Our First

I know it looks a little ragged in this picture, (I don't have the post renovation pics yet.) but this is our first Investment property! Open for renters immediately. We just closed on it yesterday and couldn't be more excited with this first step in our new Business venture! Celebrate with me!

Here is my quick story, for memory's sake.

About 6 weeks ago, Mark and I were introduced to a Real Estate Investment group. Going to our first meeting, I remember that I was Mad at Mark (capital M intended) for making me go listen to another pitch about the perfect solution for all our financial goals.  It was a waste of my time for sure.  Well, I walked out of that meeting eating my words. We sat with the president of the company, Kris, and everything he said just resonated perfectly with me. Everything was exactly what I was wanting. This company, Strongbrook, is exactly what Mark and I have been looking for to meet our financial goals.  We have always known we wanted to invest in real estate property, just didn't know that way to go about doing that exactly.  Well, Strongbrook is unique in that they have created a system that does the work for us. They research the markets, they find the homes, they get us in touch with a realtor in that area to complete the sale paperwork, they then set us up with your property managers who will rent the home and manage it's needs, and then, they continue to watch the market for us and will let us know when it is time to sell, refinance, or whatever. It is so awesome.

We are loving what they have for done for our financial goals, and are already looking forward to purchasing our second (and other) properties.

Dear world: if you have EVER had any interest in real estate investments, but aren't quite sure how to go about doing it for yourself, I would strongly recommend looking into Strongbrook's system and see if it resonates with what your looking for like it did for us.  Let me know if you'd like more information. Click below for the website where you can check it out for yourself.  If you want to speak with someone from the company directly, you can sign up for a "gameplan" on their website or just contact me and I'll get you started. I highly recommend their company!

Click here if you're wanting more information

AZ Cousins

I am a fairly spontaneous person by nature. I can't say that I play on this characteristic a lot, but I do have a history of making sudden plans.  So, it was no surprise to my brother when I sent him the text saying, "I'm coming down in 2 weeks. K?" He took a few days off work and we got to just hang out and enjoy the AZ lifestyle. And it lived up to it's HOT HOT HOT stereotype. OOo-Whee.

We escaped the heat by heading over to their community swimming pool most days. Cameron was really timid around the splash pad at first, this being his first time. But, before long he was walking right through the shooting water like a toddler. Oh be still my mother's heart; it was darling! I still can't get him to love the swimming pool, but he sure loved that splash pad. He learned the word swimming while we were visiting - and that was beyond darling when he would repeat it back to us when we told him that is what we were doing.

 Lesley did great and planned several things for us to do during our visit.  I suggested that we go to the newest Arizona construction site. To my surprise, they are almost done, so there wasn't much to see other than the missing landscaping. But, we took a short gander, giving a little personal thanks for the blessing of having temples on the earth today. (to learn more about LDS temples, click here)

 I was really lovin' that Cameron got to hang out with his cousins. He and his cousin Spencer are only a few days apart, so the closeness in their relationship is really important to me. It took Cameron a couple days to get comfortable playing with the boys, but by the end of our trip, he loved chasing around the house with them and playing without my immediate supervision. Glorious.

 Lesley did a great job satisfying my History loving heart. She planned a whole day in Phoenix to visit a few museums and just enjoy the city. Sadly, the first museum/old house was closed for the annual refurbishment. (boo) so we headed over to the second stop - the Arizona State History Museum; free of charge-bonus! Sadly, we got there just as it was closing so only got to run through a few of the exhibits. Some highlights included a piece of the USS Arizona from  Pearl Harbor, items from the French Peace Train, and a replicated Senate house where the Arizona constitution was drafted. The boys ran around like children would in a museum, which was a damper on the read-every-plaque part of me. That and my son is a whopping 30 lbs, so carrying him around is a bit of a work out. Whew!

 I loved that I got to go and see my brother. He and I have always had a great relationship, and I'm lucky to have him in my family. The boys are darling, and I must capitalize on their newfound friendship while it is still fresh - I guess that means another trip very soon.

P.S. Dear Lesley - I suppose you'll be wanting some of these photos. I'll need to be getting them to you right quick so you can scrapbook them away with your renewed scrapping skills! Done and done.

Little Dude.

Nicknames: Cam-a Ram-a, Cam, Poops (uncle Tom).

Most Common (unprompted) words: Daddy, Dog, Kitty, Treat, Drink, Outside, Bath, Shoe, Lamby, Nap, Mickey, Woody, Dinner, Eyes, Up

Other words (with prompting): Book, Adventures, Please, Lunch, Breakfast, Church, Dressed, Car, Banana, Swimming.

Size: 18-24M clothes.

Most common food loves: Ice Cream & Watermelon. Fish crackers over Pretzels. Paper, grrr-are we not out of the mouth phase yet?

Typical: Will hear the dishwasher open and come running. Closes himself into rooms all the time. Standing too close to the TV. LOVES the Pad or Phone; always wants to "play" on it when he sees it sitting out. Wakes up about 6:30 or 7 which is a nice relief from his prior 5:30 routine. Dances to music, sings in church during the hymns, reads books, love errands, stranger danger is pretty intense. Likes to put pencil/crayon/pen to paper. Loves to sing or listen to singing. If he hears us say "outside" he will run to the door and cry when we don't go out right away. Will ask for a bath in the evening when we start going upstairs. Waves incessantly to perfect strangers, but will not say "hi" to people we are talking to. Loves to pull out all the tupperware and towels from the drawers. Gives kisses and "loves" to mom and dad.

It's been so fun to watch him learn and grow.  I take him to preschool already (since I am teaching it...I'm not that crazy) and he learns nothing but I like to think that he is. I am thankful everyday that God gave this boy to our family. Every. Single. Day.

Grilled Pizza Pie

Another fun first happened this summer in our adventures in Grilling Pizza Pies. I had never had grilled pizza before this; and I must say it was really great! Bryan manned the grill while Mark tossed the dough. It was pretty low key, but really fun to just be with the family and have a few laughs.

We were lucky this summer to spend quite a bit of time with the Morrell's. Cameron has grown quite a liking to his cousins, even though he just follows them around endlessly; and Mamma Morrell made her delicious fruit Ice Cream a delightful handful of times. It's been great bonding time, and I've loved it all!

Grandparents

Conveniently, this post comes on Grandparents Day. I didn't plan this, I swear! A few weeks back, my mom and step-dad came to town for a visit. Cameron just loved playing with them. They took him to the park, spoiled him with treats, and played ball outside at least a dozen times. It was so charming to watch them laugh and play. I can't express how grateful I am for stalwart examples for Cameron.

I too love when my mom comes to visit. Since the wedding, our relationship has been more distant than it was in years past. Albeit, I did move 2 states away, and that can put a damper on the closeness of any relationship. So, suffice it to say, it is different now. So I was really glad when she was passing through town and stopped to stay with us. She encourages me to be a better housewife and mom. She supports my hobbies and ambitions. And she just keeps me on the path of being anxiously engaged in a good cause, rather than falling into some "idle-woman" habits. Some of our other activities included a splash pad visit which turned sour due to rain. An ice cream trip to Macey's where we pushed Cameron around in the cart with the car attachment. He was in heaven! A date night for the Hubs and I; to the temple of course which was great. And dinner out to P.F. Chang's.

It's so great to see both Joe and my mom feeling like they have purpose to their lives again. I sure do appreciate all that Joe does for my mom. We feel so blessed that they found each other, despite that their marriage has made them harder to keep track of!

Love that they are the grandparents to my son. Love them both.

Summer Days

My horrifically neglected blog. I must admit, I took an intentional break from blogging last month, mostly because things just got crazy, and I got overwhelmed with my ever growing "need-to-do" list and my much more exciting "want-to-do" list. So I put my wants aside and tried to just focus on getting the dinner on the table regularly.  A feat that requires goal planning and mental dedication for me. I'd like to say that I was successful, but alas, I still feel too busy to blog but my desire to journal overtakes the realist in me. Thus, I am going to blog a ton this month! Some new, some from last month's adventures. Just a myriad of life to remind myself that there is more than what I seem to remember.

And so we start where we left off. 

The family farm has been a fun hit this summer. We've gone up a few times and took a gander at the sites of Brigham City; which are minimal. We went to see the new Brigham City temple grounds, which were lovely, and across the street to the historic tabernacle which turned out to be much less than I expected. Luckily we didn't have to drive far to see it. We love the little cafe there where we ordered enough food to feed an army (can you say crunchy french toast? yum!), and shopped at the Amish store which I don't think is owned or operated by Amish people. Alas, that's the name of the store so we're sticking to it. We purchased a bit of Traffic Jam there, a delightful mix of citrus and berries to spread on your toast; yummy, and some Ice Cream for the drive home. 

Uncle Tome acquired a few kittens to help manage the mice and other rodents that have become pests. They are so tiny and cute, they make me forget that I don't care for cats! Cameron, on the other hand, is enamored by animals.  "Kitty" he says over and over again.  He pets them and follows them around all over the farm. It's too cute to handle! When he hears their baby meow's, he will burst into smiles, jump up from what he is doing, and start looking for them, "kitty?, Kitty?" he is so fun!

The cousins and Uncle Mike have joined in on the visits once or twice. Activities always include several games of horseshoes, climbing on the tractor, playing tag in the vineyard and orchard, and relaxing under the mister that Uncle Tom installed on the Bunk House. It's beyond nice to relax there and watch the others play! I just love it.

 The smell of mint sails through the air from the field on the property. And the shade tree over the well creates a perfect place to sit and read a book while taking in a summer day. It's hard not to love this place. Mark has such dear memories of his childhood and grandparents here. But for me, it's just a wonderful retreat from the world. Farewell, until next summer!

Lastly, this picture has been in the works since our first trip to the farm, and every trip after. A side by side of Mark and Cameron on the farm. It makes me smile every time.  That Morrelly-Belly. It is legit!

Girls Camp

I loved it. I hate to admit that I dreaded going, mostly because I felt that my obligations at home were too much and too heavy to leave behind for a whole week. But, with enough luck and just-do-it attitude, I made the trek up to camp and couldn't have been more in love with the experience there. Something about being in the wilderness with teenagers brings out the crazy in me. I could almost see myself back at Rucker Lake with Tabitha and Susie, singing too loud in the kitchen and playing with the snake bite kit. The week was awesome.

 One thing that really made me hesitate going was I knew it was going to be very different from the Girls Camp that I grew up with. Just in the few planning meetings, I worried that my camp experience was going to trump anything that they tried to do here. And now that I've done it, I can't say that it was better than Camp Liahona days, but it wasn't really worse. Just different. For example: I remember the priesthood being a real presence at camp - not so here. And Camp Liahona; the overnight hikes as you progressed through your years at camp was the best. They don't take more than a sunrise hike here. That was weird.

But - we did spend a day down at the "lake" (it was really a pond) and working the challenge course which was awesome. One of my favorite memories for sure. One of the challenges was the trust fall, where you stand on a platform and then fall backwards into the arms of those below you. (Think Mean Girls...) I did it and to my surprise, it was a lot higher and scarier than I thought it was going to be. Cheers to me. The canoe time on the "lake" was partially fun, if your into getting wet. I wasn't. Tradition is this obscene splashing war where you just canoe over to another group and splash them as much as possible. I didn't have any spare clothes to dry off so I wasn't really enjoying that bit. I tried to be a decent sport about it, but I whined more than I should. the other girls in my canoe were not thrilled.

It must be mentioned that we drove down to the "lake" when every other ward there walked. That was cool! And after putting the seats down in the car, I fit 15 people in it. Party Bus!

 My other 2 favorite parts of camp were (1) learning Calligraphy. I'm not great at it but I did love learning. And (2) Roll Call cheers at flag. I came up with some cute ideas for roll call that the girls happened to think were fun too. So that was a fun memory for me.

I made 2 new friends who I just adore. Bonus. I bonded with the girls in my YW class which I desperately needed. Two points for that. I missed my whistle and beads from my girls camp days. Next year for sure! Loved me some girls camp. I hope to be able to do it again next year!

This is The Place Park

I am happy to report that in the last few weeks, I have done a little more than surviving at home! Mark is always so good to take us out on little "adventures". Sometimes, I need a little extra push. We drove the short distance to Salt Lake City to visit the This Is The Place historic park. Both he and I had been to the large monument that is right off the parking lot, but neither of us had seen the pioneer village. So, visit it we did! And of course, my history heart loved every plaque, story, and original stone they had.

 I tried to go on a day when the park would have actors posing as pioneer's living in the village. I can't say that it was what I expected, but it was neat to get a few stories here and there by the few who were there that day. We didn't get a chance to go down the little house lane, which I think would have been the most interesting; so I suppose that guarantees us another visit

I was fascinated at a few of the chores that they had us try out. Today, they would be known as hobbies! We cleaned the wool and watched it go on the spindle. Then saw the ladies work the loom into glorious quilts. Such a craft. I also learned another quilt technique with a hook and yarn. I was fascinated at how young this boy was whipping that ax down on that wood. He seemed to know exactly what he was doing! It was awesome.  And of course, my little teacher heart leaped with joy at the site of my boy in the school house desks. 

 I think my favorite parts would be the school house and the Brigham Young farmhouse. The schools then were from 8-5 and the teachers were usually 15-18 years old. They would teach writing, some science, agriculture, manners, and light math. The Brigham Young farmhouse was being refurbished when I was there last time so it was neat to go inside and see what they had done. It was built in Sugar City as a experimental farm. Being the first settlers to the valley, the Saints didn't know what kind of crops the land would support. This farm's purpose was to see what would grow from the seeds they had brought with them.

 Cameron LOVED the train. It is so fun to watch his excitement at everything. We went through the splash pad for some relief from the heat, another cute moment with the lad. And finished off the day with some Ice Cream and candy from the first ZCMI building ever! Loved our little trip out. Happy that my hubs got us going for a fun family outing.

Life Today

I'm terribly behind in my blogging. And the most I can do right now is a pictureless list. Just a quick journal entry of right now. 

Mark

-- Spent his wife-less week due to girls camp watching Lord of the Rings, extended edition. Rewarding. 

-- Loved being the "Disneyland dad" to his boy while mom was at camp. Daily trips, learning words, playing, playing, playing. 

-- Starting a First Time Home Buyer seminar series. Very exciting. 

-- Hired to mow his parents lawn until dad is healed from his shoulder ordeal. 

-- BYU football starts in 22 days. Enough said. 

Kaylinn

-- I Loved girls camp. Spent most of the week coming up with roll-call cheers and rocking it. 

-- I feel the school prep season in full force. Must avoid the "seasonal" aisles in the stores for fear of loading up on unnecessary folders, pens, and notebooks. Missing the idea of going back to school. 

-- I need a revamp of my schedule and motivation again. 'Sigh' as always. Summer has become long and hot and blah. I need to catch up on my journal, my blog, my scrapbook, my grocery shopping and diet, my life! Luckily, September and fall are just around the corner. 

-- enjoying a bit too much TV. Bachelorette, SYTYCD, food network star, design star, project runway, face off.  19 kids and counting, are you coming back?

Cameron

-- Walking. Still a little wobbly which makes it the cute walking phase. Also climbing stairs like an expert. We're working on climbing down. Not quite there yet. 

-- Very talkative. Words he knows: drink (ree), treat (tee), lamby (yamee, his favorite stuffed toy) Woody (doddy), daddy, mommy (when prompted), and a few randoms when we say it first. (Book, shoe, milk)

-- when asked "where's _____ ", he can identify lamby, woody, Mickey, Minnie, goofy, & Donald. 

-- not a picky eater. I know his favorite foods but I don't think he has foods he doesn't like. A really good eater! 

-- Dances when there is music on. Just a little bounce. When in the car, it's a full on head bang. Darling. 

Walking History

As a part of the Provo City Freedom Festival, the city advertised a "self-guided historic walking tour" with free brochures available to anyone who wanted them. Although I missed doing it during the month of June when they were sponsoring the tour, I did manage to find a friend who was as excited about it as I was. To our great fortune, the library still had copies of the tour so I didn't have to use my personal printer! So off we went. 

The tour was beyond delightful. I am such a fan of history and couldn't help but imagine who lived in these houses and what their lives were like then. It was fascinating to me. The blurbs in the tour book didn't seem to provide nearly enough information for my curiosity of their lives, but it did give a good bit about the time period in which the buildings were built. 

This one was one of my favorites. It is in the process of being refurbished so it looks really old and lived in. Sadly, as with most of the homes we saw, this one has been turned into 3 different apartment units. What was once a grand estate in the early 1900's is now 3 very small apartments. boo. Despite it's dilapidated state, Elizabeth and I peeked through the windows and walked around the weeds to peer in for better understanding of the possible past. Oh my historical heart.

 The evening caught up to us far too quickly, so we had to cut our tour shorter than it probably could have turned out to be (which was probably for the better). It filled my head with stories and thoughts of what this town use to look like.

 It's really fun to take a few days out of the month to try and find things to do that I wouldn't usually think of. I realized, when we moved away from California, that there was so much that I wished I had taken Mark to. So, now that we are here, I want to make sure that I take advantage of what is right here in my backyard before we surprise ourselves and move away again.

Self - great day!

YW all afternoon

I have been doing YW stuff all afternoon, and I am loving it. There is so much good stuff created by so many creative people out there, I can't even begin to compare myself to that kind of creativity and ability! I've been taking and using so many ideas from other generous leaders out there, I thought I'd share a little of what I did put together. You know, give back to the universe mentality. Maybe some stranger somewhere might find it useful or interesting or time saving on their part. Thus, I share with y'all.

First off, we have just called a brand new class presidency and this give me the new found determination to be more organized than I was the last presidency. I tend to get lazy and "don't fix what isn't broken" mentality when in actuality, there are improvements that can be made everywhere. First stop was my class presidency meetings. It's been far too long since we've had a productive meeting. I have been trying to get the girls more involved in the leadership part of the meetings, and have been failing miserably at directing them how this is done. I looked everywhere I knew on the internet for cute agendas already made by the crafty ladies out there - but couldn't find what I liked. So - I made one myself. It fits my needs and will give the girls direction for our short, productive future meetings. :)

YW Agenda here

Secondly, the girls in my Mia Maid class are struggling with activity ideas. We have a very small group, and seem to be repeating the same activities every week! So - I did some research and compiled a list of 100+ things to do for Mutual night. I realize this list is all in my jargon, but most of them are easy to understand and adaptable for any geographic location or class size.  By putting it onto one sheet of paper, I can now give the girls a copy and we can go down the list; filling in the weeks that need Class Activities planned. This should help us meet the "3 month's ahead" request from the Bishop.

YW Activity Idea list PDF here

It isn't much, and it isn't as creative and cute as some of those other things, but I am excited for what help it could bring for me. If you find it helpful, let me know in a comment and I'll be more apt to post other things that I am doing for my class.

One Year

I've had my sweet little boy in my family for one year now and I couldn't be more pleased with how the days have passed. Many will say, "it is so weird, how fast it goes and that my baby is 1". However, I don't really feel that way. I feel like he should be 1. Perhaps because our family has had such a busy year; or perhaps because his scrapbook is already going to be over 100 pages. Whatever it is, I feel like this little boy is definitely 1 year old.

Before we get into the birthday events, here are a few of his One year shots that I took. I am really so very proud of them. I am by no means a photographer, but my camera is amazing and does all the work for me. Throw in his favorite stuffed animal "lamby" and we have some pretty rock star shots.

 So - the Birthday. We all got together at Mark's parents house, and invited those sibilings who lived close (and Cameron's cousins) to join us in some food, gifts, and cake. Fairly standard and low key; but still memorable. I wanted to make an effort to not combine his birthday with the 4th of July get togethers mostly because I knew that if I did it this year, then every year for the rest of his life, he'll have a 4th of July birthday. At least I tried to make it more of a birthday party for him.

The gift opening wasn't too eventful. I do think that Cameron enjoyed ripping the paper off more than those christmas packages 6 months ago. Naturally. So that was fun to watch. The cousins were bored after the first box, but the uncles and granny and gramps were kind enough to stick it out to the end. We had accumulated several gifts over the year, and when they were all compiled together, I was shocked at how many Disney items we had gravitated toward without intention. I guess I shouldn't be surprised, but it was pretty funny.

The cake show down was a fun moment to capture as well. I had made an effort to decorate my own little cake like my mother had done for all us kids our entire growing up lives. She was an expert, I am a first time novice. And - I was pretty proud of how it all turned out. (I should really have more confidence in myself considering I am usually really proud of the outcomes)

Like most kids, Cameron was really timid at first, but seemed to start diving in once he knew that it was tasty. I'm not sure it was really worth it having to do the clean up afterwards. It was everywhere! Well, at least we have the pictures.

Happy birthday to my little dude. Love having you around.

A few tidbits about you at this moment in time:

• You're crawling everywhere. Mostly it's fun to have you mobile, until I see how dirty my floor is based on the condition of your feet. That, and you are very curious about the kitchen cuboards and drawers when I'm cooking dinner. That makes things a little hard.
• Your favorite foods are pickles, watermelon - right off the rind, crackers, yogurt, and ice cream. You'll eat melons without complaint, oatmeal if it has applesauce and cinnamon in it, and jelly sandwiches most days.
• Your favorite toys are your walker, Lamby and Monkey, and your new Woody doll.
• You are wonderful company to take on errands. All smiles and laughs when we're out and about. It helps break up the day when you've been cranky at home. Sit you in your carseat and you're pleased as punch.
• We dropped the Binky at your birthday and haven't looked back. You didn't seem to even notice it was gone. 
• You know peek-a-boo and when daddy asks "what does the lion say?" you give him a quite, mouse like "roar". You're wave is always late; usually when people stop waiting around for it. Your sign language for "all done" is mixed up with "more". So that's super confusing! Boppy is still your most frequent word.
• Since the walker came into the house, you have been a walking fool. You've even taken a few tiny wobbles on your own since it's been around. 
• You're far more aware of strangers. Won't go to anybody but a few tried and true faces. Even Granny and Gramps make you a little nervous when we leave the room.

Our own Fireworks

 This is the promised post of the second half of our Fourth of July celebrations. Boy oh boy did we have a good time. This would have to go down in the books as one of the best Fourth's in a while. I loved being with family! Cousins everywhere, Mark's brothers are two of my favorite people ever, Granny and Gramps...and Granny's homemade Ice Cream. I felt like I was in Mayberry, USA. 'sigh'. So great.

We got all got together in the early evening for food and dinner and games. Uncle Tom made homemade Root Beer, which I have never seen done before! It was so .. scientific. The boys just ate it right up; all that dry ice billowing out of the cooler. Very festive. Our family provided the chips and dip; and a big thanks to Costco, we did really well. I give high points to Wholly Salsa's party pack - on sale for 8.99. It was a smashing hit. Cameron was enthraled with all the cousins. Again, a major perk to moving here - Cameron has so many cousins that he gets to hang out with. Sadly, they are all in the same family, so they probably don't see it that way.

 As dusk approached, we all headed outside for the fireworks party. Being from California, this was entirely new territory for me. Mark started setting out the blankets and chairs on the lawn; a part of the holiday I did not expect. Then, the whole family came out and we laughed, and set off fireworks and sparklers, and watched the neighbors do the same. It was total Mayberry, USA! I tell you, it was hallmark! I loved every second of it.

Mark and I had contributed a box of fireworks that WalMart was selling. Being total ammetures, I had no idea that we just got several of the rocket kind that just shoot from the ground. I expected something more. Luckyily, the Bouche's were experienced and got a few real ones that shot up into the sky; and the neighbors had invested some serious dollars in the Wyoming kind. So we had a great show.

As the evening progressed, we got more creative with our photography and our sparklers. I really wanted the cute photo Pinterest shows of the couple in the middle of the Cinderella sparklers. Hard to explain but looks great in my head. The boys weren't as excited to try it; so instead I got my name. But I did a pretty good job if you ask me.

No holiday beats the 4th of July. I love being an American. I love this country. I am sure that if I were from another country, I'd have patriotism for where I lived, but as it stands, I am proud to be an American. I am grateful for those Founding Fathers who made a government that allowed us the freedoms we share. God bless the USA. And the best part about moving to Utah? We get to have the same kind of celebration on the 24th for Pioneer Day! Bring it.

Wardrobe Woes

I have reached the point in every girls life in which I've realize that my wardrobe is in dire need of a makeover. I can't really say this is a sudden and new realization I've had - but it's become very apparent to me when the laundry that I do includes the same shirts over and over again; while the bulk of my collection remains untouched in the closet. Why this is? Well, those are all my pre-everything clothes that I knew I looked cute in then and want to look cute in again. In addition to this rather tragic reality, the shirts that I do wear are all the same tee shirt; just in different colors and a little variety in the neckline. But all basically the exact same shirt. Heavens, they were even purchased at the same establishment. It is a problem that needs to be addressed. So off to the mall I went.

I haven't gone clothes shopping in over a decade. Long. Time. Sure I've been onsie - twosy-ing it here and there, (hence the same shirt in different colors) but I haven't really done a good shopping project. You know, the kind your mom took you on before school started. So - I rolled up my sleeves, and my pocketbook, and ventured into the world. And what I found was not pretty.

Y'all have seen it, of this I am sure. Everything in every store was backless, sleeveless, strapless, legless, or lace. And Maxi skirts; an overwhelming part of the culture here that I can't quite get myself to buy into. I would have to add an entire collection of camisole and cap sleeve undershirts to ensure my personal dress standards are met. And the sad thing is? I would wear this very cute, very IN summer style if my standards and my body type would allow it. And so there I sit; in any given store gazing at the mannequins with wanting eyes. Wanting their thin fake waists, their perfectly draped scarfs, flatter chests, and cut off shorts that I know I have the legs for. 

But I didn't indulge. I did find several new items, being careful to NOT buy the same kind of tee-shirt move, and I think it will work for the next 12 years or so. Who knows what the world's standard will bring by then. 

Picnic Out

On my Summer Calendar, I had the plans to take my little family on a BBQ picnic up Provo Canyon. I love BBQ food, and I love picnic's, so it was a perfect combination. My mom and Joe just happened to be in town that day, so it was an extra delight that they were able to join us. 

I could not have picked a better day! The weather was perfect, the crowds were minimal, and we found the most perfect little spot with shade and grass with a view of the mountain behind us. As soon as we arrived, I threw Mark on the BBQ to get the coals warming up. Why can't I ever remember that coals take forever to warm up and then another forever to cook the meat! Alas, the chicken was juicy and delicious. The fruit was crunch and - sigh - it was wonderful.

It must be mentioned that Cameron is a huge fan of Watermelon. What kid isn't, right? If only it wasn't so juicy! But I love how I can give this kid a quarter and just let him have at it. He is occupied, quiet, and eating. Trifecta!

After the food, we took the walk up to Bridal Veil falls. An easy little paved jaunt from where we were, and I even had hired help in Grandma to push the stroller. So my Love and I got to walk hand in hand up the canyon. Romantic I must say. When we got there, we took ample pictures to suit my scrapbooking needs and showed Cameron the little fish area that they had there. We spent the quarter to feed them, and Cameron loved watching them squirm over each other to get to the food pellets first. His little squeals of delight are almost too my for my little heart to handle. Love that little boy of mine.

The event was so great, I made plans to go up again for another little BBQ out. I love every season for different reasons. Summer: I love being able to enjoy the great outdoors with BBQ's, Picnic's, family, and watermelon. Nothing says summer better than that!