Goodbye, Ethan! See ya in 2 years

Cam's youngest brother, Ethan, goes into the MTC today. He's is headed to Edmonton, Canada mission. He will be dearly missed. Cam spends a lot of time with him playing games and hanging out. Ethan has also helped us out several times by babysitting Abby. Abby absolutely loves Ethan, but is quite shy around him. It sometimes takes a while before she warms up to him. It's crazy to think of all the changes that will be taking place while he is gone. Unfortunately, he will miss the birth of two nieces, and I'm sure there are to be many more major events, yet unknown.

This last month, we have spent a lot of our time doing family activities in preparation for his departure. We attended the temple while he went through for the first time, went to his farewell, and have tried to squeeze in as much fun family time as possible. Unfortunately, Cam had to work today, and so we didn't go to the MTC, but we went over Monday night to say our final good-byes.

I know Ethan will be a great missionary, and we are so proud of him for making this choice to serve the Lord for two years.

Brush, Brush, Brush!

Here is Abby, proudly showing off her clean teeth!



This week, Abby had her first dentist appointment. I decided to take her to a pediatric dentist with hopes that they are prepared to handle difficult a 2 year old. I was nervous at how she would do because she is quite shy, and isn't the greatest at allowing even Cam and I brush her teeth. I talked to her about where we were going, and tried to make it sound very exciting. The dentist was great, and super nice, and Abby cried only a little. He did a quick brush of her teeth, and looked around her mouth briefly. Luckily, he gave her the "all clear", and we will be back in 6 months for another check.

Feeling So Very Greatful!

The last couple of weeks I've been feeling very greatful for the wonderful blessings in my life. It seems that most of the time I'm just thinking of all the things that I don't have, instead of reflecting on how really blessed I am. Lately, I think that I have a permanant smile on my face, because I am SO happy with the life that we have created. I have an amazing, loving husband, who works hard to support our family, is an awesome father to Abby, and the list goes on and on. We have a beautiful house, that although it's located in the middle of nowhere, keeps us warm and cozy all year long. I have a beautiful, smart little girl, that I love spending my time with. Abby makes me laugh and smile all day long as I get the oppurtunity to watch her grow and develop into an amazing child. We have another little baby on the way, and so far both me and the baby are healthy, and going strong. Both Cameron's and my family are super supportive and loving to all of us, and we always look forward to the time we get spend together. We always have enough to get the things that we need (and sometimes the things that we want). We truly are blessed!

Happy Birthday to Abby!

While we were in Colorado, Abby had her second birthday. I always love when these type of special occasions happen while visiting my family because I feel that they miss out on so much. So, I made Abby a cake




(Elmo of course, Abby's favorite right now), and we opened presents. Cam and I went in together with my parents and bought Abby a little kitchen set.



I'm hoping that once the baby comes, Abby will be content to play in her room with the kitchen while I am feeding and rocking the baby. We'll see! But for now, she loves it and wants me to "eat" food with her all the time. She also got a few more toys, and my Mom got her some books for Sacrament meeting. I think she is old enough to graduate to "churchy" activities only during Sacrament meeting, so hopefully these new books keep her entertained. Abby had so much fun opening presents, eating cake and ice cream and playing with the balloons.

Then, yesterday, we had a little party, so that Cam's family could also celebrate her birthday. So, once again, I made an Elmo cake, we opened presents and played. While in Colorado, I got the materials to make a quilt for Abby and for the new baby. I worked a lot on it and finished Abby's just a few days ago. So I gave that to her for her "second" birthday party.



Since it was a special occasion, we let Abby stay up late, and she had tons of energy (probably from the cake and ice cream) and jumped and danced with her cousin Hyrum.




It's so nice to spend time with his family because it's only a few more weeks until Ethan goes to the MTC. I think we all are treasuring the chances to all be together.

Oh, so busy in August!

This last month I had a lot going on. My parents and brother Jeff came for a visit for a few days. My mom wanted to see my grandparents and help them out and my dad and brother tagged along. The majority of the time that they were here, they spent in SLC with my grandparents and I stayed behind to get all the daily chores and stuff done. When it was time for the family to return to Colorado, Abby and I went too. I always enjoy returning home to Colorado, but I was worried about this particular trip because we would be there for so long (over two weeks). Thankfully we were able to work it out so that I could drive my car over and I wouldn't be with out a car for so long.

My mom and I decided that while I was there we would babysit Kenna for my sister, that way Abby and Kenna could get in some serious bonding time. I'm glad that they got along so well, it made watching them so much easier.




Since we were on vacation, I decided it was okay to splurge a little. One night we went to Baskin Robins for ice cream and I got Abby her own little scoop of ice cream. She was in seventh heaven and loved every bite of ice cream. She is quite handy with the utensils, even though you wouldn't know from these pictures. She managed to get the majority of it in her mouth, but a few spoonfuls slid off the spoon.



The first Saturday that I was there, Michelle and I took Abby and Kenna to a place called "Jumpin'". It's one of those play places filled with inflatable play houses. Abby LOVES to jump, so I figured it would be a hit with her. However, I failed to remember that she is extremely timid when it comes to new things. Michelle and I tried everything to get her to jump around. Michelle took her in and jumped with her, and took her down the slide, all of which forced Abby to tears. So eventually, me and my pregnant belly went in and spent a good 20 minutes slowly getting Abby to warm up to the jumping. Once she discovered how fun it was, she didn't want to stop! Kenna, who is fearless, was all over the place and having a ball the whole time.







Later that night, my Dad was washing his car, and Abby helped him, it was SO cute. She really only washed the front bumper, but I'm sure it is spotless!




Finally, about a week and half after our arrival in Colorado, Cam flew over. I'm so glad that he is willing to stay behind to work, but we sure missed him!

Cam grew up in California and is a huge Dodgers fan. And he totally lucked out because the week that he was over, the Rockies were playing the Dodgers. So Cam, my Dad, and my brother Jeff went to a game. Luckily for Cam, the Dodgers even won (unlucky for my family who totally support the Rockies).

In Loveland, there is a new park there that is SO awesome! It has a little splash park. So one afternoon when the sun was shining, we took Abby to "splash". However, her timidness returned, and only a little splashing took place. This time I wasn't willing to get wet and help her get comfortable. But she had fun anyways.




There is another park in Loveland, that has a little train for little kids to ride. So we took Abby for a short ride.



The day before we came home, Cam and Abby and I went up to Estes Park, it's a small mountain town comparable to Park City. One place that it's famous for is the Stanley Hotel. It's the hotel that inspired Steven King to write the Shining. It's also where they filmed the "new" version of the Shining which was a tv mini-series in the '90s. So we went there and saw it. It's is such a huge place, but most of it's open to guests only. Then we toured the shops and had lunch.



It was so nice, because while I was there, I was able to visit with some old friends. One night, Michelle and I went to our friends Toni's house for dinner. It was nice to visit, but with three 2 year olds and an infant to try to keep happy, it was quite a task for us. Then another day, we went and had lunch with a childhood friend Tammy. It was so nice to see her because she has been living in Alaska for several years and so it's been a long time since we've seen each other. I also got a chance to visit with Crystal, a friend that lived next door to us. I'm so glad that I got the chance to visit with old friends, because I rarely take the opportunity when I return home, but it was nice to catch up!



We finally returned home on the 31st. I am so grateful for all the time that we got to spend with my family. It was nice to never be alone, and for Abby to spend some quality time getting to know my family.

It's a...

It's a GIRL! We had the 20 week ultrasound, and saw the baby, and it is definitely a girl. Cam and I are both excited, and I'm sure if Abby understood, she would be too.

I can' believe that I am already half way through the pregnancy, it has gone so fast (thank goodness). I started feeling the baby move around 17 weeks, and now she has become quite the powerful little kicker. My tummy is also rapidly growing bigger. I'm quickly being reminded of why the second half can be so uncomfortable.

Abby has recently developed quite a bit of jealousy. If my attention is given to another child, she is NOT happy. It's kind of a new phase, and I was hoping for it to not get too bad before the baby was born. So I think we will ALL be in for a bit of an adjustment when this little princess is born.

Rocco, the New Arrival

Yesterday Cam called me from work saying that a stray dog had wandered into the fire station, and was wondering if we should bring him home. At first I said no, especially when Cameron described him as looking liking a coyote (eeww!). But he was persistent and had Abby and I go to the station to take a look. Once we saw the dog, it was REALLY hard to resist. He was just skin and bones, and was so lethargic from not having eaten in a while. He was very friendly and much cuter than a coyote. So needless to say, the little guy is here, and has become fast friends with Rory. Cam has already named him Rocco. We have no idea what breed (or mix of breeds) he is, but I'm kind of curious to find out. On Monday we have an appointment at the vet to get him checked out, so if everything looks good, we will be the owners of not just one, but two dogs. I must be crazy!!!



(See how skinny he is, his little ribs stick out SO much. So sad.)