365 grateful day 5

Today I'm grateful for how much Jonathan thinks about me first. Tonight he asked me which kid I wanted to help with bedtime. There is usually someone who is much easier to help... give him a bottle, change his bum, and put his jammies on.
Jonathan doesn't just say he wants to take Corbin, but he always asks me first. He does that with everything, and I appreciate it!

What a guy! He's great!

365 grateful day 4

I'm grateful for friends! I had a friend come over. She is the first friend I've had over in a very long time... I actually can't remember the last time I had just one friend over just because we all needed some socialization... maybe in September? It's been a long long time.
Today was a perfect day to have someone over, it was a very overwhelming day (aside from the hour she was over).

Gratitude 365 day 3

Here is a cool story for you! Goes to show the power of compliments :)

https://goo.gl/photos/asTmzToCg9gbTvYVA

365 gratitude day 2

I wanted to do a vlog today, to see if that would be more sustainable. Check it out if you want.

https://goo.gl/photos/rpsfmBYgzvGPTRUf6

Gratitude 365

I saw a YouTube video about a lady who was feeling depressed and went to a psychologist and they said that gratitude will change the way you see life. So she started a project, gratitude 365, where she finds something to be grateful for every day for a year.

I felt inspired, I kind of did that last year, but it didn't last all year. I have been feeling like I need a pick-me-up, so I'm going to try it. I was planning on starting at the new year, but after saying that my gift to the Savior was to be more grateful, it only makes sense to start it now.

December 26: I'm grateful for days that Jonathan and I work together. Today we cracked down and organized our toys, and it feels so much better! I also feel so much more connected to him when we do stuff like that.

Our First Christmas - Part 2

Christmas day was perfect! Cambria slept in until quarter to 8! It was awesome!

Here is a video of her waking up. I don't know if I mentioned that Cambria saw a little broom that I was wrapping, but that was the first thing she asked for (you can see it in the video).

We opened up our stockings and the kids were so excited about the snacks that Santa brought, that they didn't care about the mountain of gifts under the tree.

 

(I love the pic of Corbin... two hands in his fishy crackers!)

I felt a little bit like I was 10... I just wanted to start opening presents! Finally, I convinced Jonathan to open a gift. Then I did, and then the kids were interested in opening theirs.

We just took our time opening presents. They loved all of them! Even a temple plaque that I made them. I was worried that after all the toys, that Cambria would be a little underwhelmed, but she was just as excited about it as anything else. We finished opening all of our presents around 2:00. It was about 55 degrees, so we took a walk! It was so pleasant!

The rest of the day was full of snacking, playing and lots of "It's Christmas!" from dad, whenever Cambria asked for more candy or other things. We figured one day of absolutely no structure a year wouldn't kill them. It probably would do them some good :)

We talked to so many of our family members, I really love my family (both sides) and I was so glad to hear from a lot of them!

I have been surprised with how Cambria has taken to the cars and Corbin has taken to the music toys. Jonathan was right when he said "it doesn't matter what we get Corbin, Cambria will just take it and play with it", but I was pleasantly surprised that Corbin was excited about her gifts too.

Jonathan was super thoughtful and made me a gift that wasn't even close on my radar. He made me a height board. I told him ONCE that I thought it would be fun to have one. I think my exact words were "when we make one, I want one exactly like that" (when I saw the one that Sadie made). It's perfect, and very professional. I love it!

Overwhelmed

As I said in my last post, I'm sitting here admiring our tree and ALL THE PRESENTS under it. With us being in grad school, I knew we wouldn't provide many presents. For some reason I was gearing up for about two presents per person under the tree. I had forgotten about our families help with presents.

Let me tell you what! I'm so grateful for how generous our families are! We are literally overflowing with gifts! I'm so grateful! I can't wait to see Cambria's face when she sees this!

Our First Christmas - part 1

**please note that I know this isn't our first Christmas together...**

This is the first year we have stayed home for Christmas, and in many ways it feels like our first. Just because when we have gone elsewhere there is often so many mini "Christmas mornings" (times to open presents) that there never is the excitement and the awe that comes with Christmas morning.

Yesterday, we had an awesome Christmas eve. It was as perfect as it could be with two toddlers. Jonathan went to work early (he had some stuff he needed to do in the lab etc). I slept through my alarm and woke up when the kids woke up! They even slept in til 7:30! That was nice to get some good, solid sleep. We did our normal thing, until noon when daddy came home. We ate lunch, and Jonathan played with both kids while I got ready for the day (don't judge). We all played for a bit and then Corbin went down for a nap and we made dinner!

We had chicken cordon bleu, steamed broccoli, and Parmesan rice. I also made breakfast for today (breakfast casserole), Cambria helped, so I'm hoping that she will try it since she helped me. While Jonathan was finishing up with making dinner, I decided last minute that I wanted to add a center piece in hopes to make the meal feel a little fancier.

Not bad for a last minute, thrown together, used what we have, center piece, eh? I'm really happy with how it turned out, and it really did make the meal feel fancier. Cambria kept admiring it during dinner, that made me feel good.

Oh, and we had slushy punch, it was delicious. When I grew up, a nice meal wasn't a nice meal without some fancy drink. When Jonathan grew up, a nice meal was served with water (every other meal was served with milk). I think it was done that way intentionally, "fill up on the good food that we made". My family's thought process was "the meal needs to be complete, everything needs to taste good, including the drink". I may be putting words in people's mouths, but that's what we thought was the reason behind it.

Anyway...

After dinner, we talked about Jesus, and got ready to act out the nativity. We grabbed blankets, scarves, and my one bath robe...

again... not bad eh? Corbin wouldn't hold still long enough to do anything besides throw a sheet over his shoulder. But it still made me giggle with how cute he was when he tried to walk or crawl with his big poof. We talked about the Christmas story, and tried to act it out with not enough actors, and certainly not enough actors that knew what they were doing.

We talked about how Heavenly Father gave us Jesus Christ, and what can we give back. I said that I was going to give the gift of being more grateful (more on that later). I felt the Spirit, and I'm grateful that through the craziness, the Spirit was still there.

Then we watched some Christmas videos and got ready for bed.

oh man, what a power struggle bedtime was! Cambria knows what comes after Christmas eve... and she was so excited for presents! We got her down easily enough, but then she closed her eyes for a few seconds, opened them up and said "I see the 7!" (We told her that she needed to wait till she saw the 7 before she came out). She then came out of her bed and was convinced that she was done with the night. I tried talking to her for a minute, but it was no use. Corbin was having a hard time too, so I went into the room and picked him up and tried to calm him down. I don't know what all was said, but it probably took about 10 minutes for Jonathan to convince Cambria that she needed to sleep. She climbed into our bed (the only way he could get her to lay down) and quickly fell asleep.

We thought that was the end of it, nope. She got up at midnight, and at 4:00, both times needing some serious convincing to climb back into bed. Thankfully we didn't put the presents out until 6:00 this morning. Now, here we sit with our tree on, and the overflowing presents under it, just waiting for her to wake up. I'm not complaining though, she needs the rest!

My big sister

Amy's birthday was yesterday and all day I have been thinking about her, and her good qualities.

Let me tell you about my big sister, from my little sister perspective.

Growing up, we were roommates, I remember late night giggling (for various reasons), her example to stay up all night on Christmas eve so we could be the first one to get to the coveted "wake-up bell" right at 6:00 (although I was never able to make it all night). As we got older, I remember notes passed on each others pillows with much needed advice about how to solve/survive junior high woes. I remember so many times going out to eat, her treat, and having girl talks. And oh, let's not forget all the shopping trips! She is still one of my favorite shopping buddies (her and my other sister, Holly are my favorite).

Amy is fiercely loyal. And doesn't mind pulling out momma-bear to defend those she loves. I wouldn't want to be one of her kids futures ex's... ;)

Amy is one of the most generous people I know! She will give you the shirt off her back, or open her home until there's no more places to put people. Literally... every single sibling has lived with her (except Matt and Ash) at some point. Some of us have lived there multiple times.

Amy cares deeply. Her love runs deep, although she sometimes doesn't like to show it. She is the first to respond when one of us is in need, and we can count on her to know what's going on in moments of crisis because she is right there, beside them doing what she can to help.

I could go on, but it suffices to say, I love my big sister, and I'm so glad she's mine!

Baby steps

Sometimes I have strikes if inspiration, when I do, I feel so grateful for them! After two really bad mommy days, I had a good one! I needed to get my Christmas presents wrapped and shipped. Usually, I would wait till quiet time, so I could do this without help, but I had the brilliant idea to let Cambria help. So when I put Corbin down for a nap, she and I helped each other and spent a good long time just hanging out. It was good for both of us. She was excited to help, and I felt good spending some quality, positive, time with her.

She also helped me make chex mix last night.

She is starting to be old enough to help, and we both like it!

My little helper

Today we were on our way out. Cambria was being super toddler and was ready to go before anyone else. She was playing around, going in and out of the door, then I asked her if she could help put Corbin's coat on. She excitedly said "yes!" And then matter-of-factly walked over to the coat track, grabbed his coat, opened it up, put it over his head and said "boo!" And then proceeded to help him put it on.

She couldn't quite figure out how to do it, but I think she felt good that I needed her help. I felt good watching her help (and it was adorable setting her do things daddy does with her), and Corbin felt good getting some positive attention from her.

Triple win!

Oh media

I have a love-hate relationship with media. Mostly I love it too much which makes me hate it.

My Facebook addiction got out of hand, so I took some drastic measures, and created a whole separate account for anyone who is not a sibling or my bff. It has been surprising how much less I look at it when I only have like 10 friends.

I'm still trying to curb my screen addiction. I have realized that it's not uncommon for me to get off my phone, remember that I want to send an email (or whatever) and immediately grab my tablet, and then go straight back to my phone. It's bad.

Some days are better than others. I love it when I don't pick up my phone till quiet time, but the last few days have not been like that.

I'm starting to realize that this is a problem, which is the first step to change. And I'm putting it out in blog land, which makes it feel more real (how pathetic, I have to post it to media to make it feel real... no this is my journal. So that's what makes it feel real)

Primary Program

We had our Primary program today. I woke up with a pit in my stomach. I was kind of nervous, but then I quickly remembered that all the work had been done, and there was nothing I could do at this point to help the kids do any better. I also remembered that they don't watch me anyway... so there's no reason for me to stress ;)

The program went really well, and so many people said so many nice things to me today. The comment that made me feel the best was "I heard all the songs! I heard every word!" I got so excited when I heard that. That's all that matters!

During primary today, they did something different, and it turned out that they didn't need me. I actually got to go to Relief Society for the first time in a long time! I was so excited! It was kind of funny because I walked in and felt out of place. That kind of felt good, because missing Relief Society (and the social interaction involved) was my biggest worry about accepting the calling. So feeling like I belonged in the calling/area I am serving makes me feel really good, and kind of helps take that thing-I-don't-love-about-my-calling away.

That being said, I quickly got into the lesson and felt right at home. I like being taught on Sundays. I love learning from the wise sisters around me.

A Special Sealing

This weekend was super awesome for the Kershaws! Jonathan's dad got sealed to his parents yesterday!

So, let me give the back-story. Jonathan's dad (Bill) is a convert. He joined the church when he was 19. His mom (Joan) died when he was in 5th grade, and his dad remarried (to Pat). Much later in life (I think when Jonathan was 12 or so) Bill's dad joined the church and got sealed to Pat. Right before Bill's dad died, he asked Bill to seal him to Joan, but out of respect for Pat, he asked him to wait till she passed away.

Pat passed away this last summer. Right after we found out we were talking to mom and dad K, I asked out of curiosity if he had sealed his parents yet. He said he hadn't yet. Then just throwing things out there, I said that it would be awesome if they could wait to do that till they came to visit us (because that was already in the plans for them to come make a trip to visit James and Sadie (who just had a baby, thus the reason they are coming up,) and us.) Then the conversation/plans evolved. They decided that it would be super special to have the family that could make it, to be a part of this special event.

That happened Saturday, October 24. James, Jonathan and I, along with mom and dad Kershaw (of course) were there in the sealing room (Sadie wanted to be there, but someone had to watch their kids). It was such a unique experience to seal two deceased parents together, then seal a living child to his parents.

It was probably one of the most spiritual experiences I have had with doing sealings.

Corbin's First Birthday

Since Corbin is almost 14 months, I figure I'm way overdue to talk about his birthday!

The day started off with a family cuddle!

My studly one-year-old in his new birthday suit!

He has loved being held from day one. He still loves it.

For our celebration, we had a family come over who is our family-away-from-family. They are fantastic, and love our kids as if they were their own grandchildren/nieces and nephews.

we didn't get a great pic of Corbin with his cake, because he wanted to eat it... imagine that

Here is the picture reel of him discovering a cupcake for the first time

I love this pic!

 And here are the presents he got to open on his birthday (a few more came a few days later, but I didn't get pics of it)

Look at that toothless smile! 

Corbin, you are a joy! By your first birthday you were crawling like a champ, with no hint of any desire to walk. You had the most adorable toothless grin, even though your teeth thought about popping through several times, much to your chagrin. 

When you are happy, you are happy! Which is most of the time! 

We love our Corbin-boy!

My favorites

When I sing Cambria to sleep each night, I let her choose a song, then I choose a song and so it goes.
When I tell her it's her turn to choose, she mumbles to herself "my turn, ok..." It's adorable!

Sometimes Cambria wants to dance with me. A little while ago, she insisted that she play the piano while I dance. I didn't mind that. I got some good pirouette practice.

Her little imagination is really taking off. She loves to carry her imaginary friends around. They are often the names of her real friends. She likes to take trips in her imaginary van, opening the door, putting on her seat belt and then rolling her hands (like the actions to "the wheels on the bus") when she drives.

She also likes to pretend to go shopping. When she goes, she always brings home chocolate. I don't mind eating imaginary chocolate! The other day she pretended to be the cashier. She pushed some buttons and then said "do you want cash back?" (something they always ask at Aldi). I couldn't resist laughing out loud at that one!

I love catching Cambria and Corbin holding hands. It's probably the cutest thing ever.

We share more than we think

Last night I was listening to Christian radio. For a good portion of the time a local pastor was giving some sort of sermon. As I was listening, I realized that we shared the same beliefs more often than not.

He talked about the power of prayer. He also talked about how if we don't get our prayers answered right away, that doesn't mean that God isn't listening. He then said something to the effect of "God's answer to prayers are yes, no, or wait. More often for me, His answer is wait". That reminded me of a quote from a general conference talk by Richard G. Scott about prayer. He basically said the same thing.

A lot of people in a lot of different faiths know my Heavenly Father, some may know Him better than me, but He is the same being, and He loves us all the same. Truth is truth, and it's coming from the same Source.

So many different churches have so much truth! That was a nice reminder to me. Sometimes I get caught up in my own Mormon-ness that I forget that many different church members have the same beliefs and values as I do.

Just another day

I try to keep my blog posts pretty positive most of the time. But I just want to show a little real life.

Today I finished a car seat cover for a friend, so I thought I would try to send it today since she is due soon. When we got to the post office, I asked Cambria to be my big helper and push Corbin's stroller for me. She did that and then when I started looking for the right thing to put my items in (is it just me or are all the boxes crazy confusing... which one is the free box? Is this flat rate? Where are the free envelopes? Why is there nobody to ask?) The Post office is already a stressful place for me, I don't want to get ripped off by putting something in the wrong box, but I really don't feel like I can interrupt and ask a worker since they are always helping someone else.

Anyway... then Cambria started opening all the mail boxes. I tried to get her to stop, but she wouldn't listen to me. I didn't have a way to enforce anything without creating a scene, so I let that slide. Then I did a horrible thing: I asked her to stand by me while I waited in line (how dare I!). I asked her to help me push Corbin over, she didn't listen, so I pushed him myself. She had a fit (screaming, rolling on the floor, the whole shebang). I decided the best way to deal with that was to ignore it. Then since she wasn't getting the attention she wanted she started pushing Corbin, and rocking the stroller side to side (the way the wheels don't move) and pulling on the sun shade (sideways... that's a great way to break it). I asked her to stop and she kept doing it. At one point she climbed up on the stroller and sat on Corbin! ARE YOU SERIOUS?!? So I picked her up and told her that she wasn't aloud down since she wasn't obeying mommy. That didn't go over well. I managed to hold her in my arms (during her best efforts to get out of my arms) and get to the counter. I placed my package on the scale and the worker looked at me and said "she's a feisty one". My only thought was, you have no idea... I had to put her down to get my card, and by the time I had my card out she had grabbed the stroller and pulled, It tipped backwards and Corbin was head down, Corbin could have slid out and hit his head. Thankfully he was strapped in, and didn't move. That was it. She was not aloud down. ever. again. I held her while she threw herself every way possible. At one point I was holding her hips as she was upside down wrapping her arms around my knee. Then the worker said "have kids, they said. It'll be fun, they said" I didn't appreciate that. I just said "they are fine as long as we never leave the house."

Then I left, with a kicking and screaming (literally screaming, not crying... like, ear piercing screaming) toddler and trying to push my baby in the stroller. I knew every eye was on me, and I also knew I was blushing like crazy. I really wanted someone to say something like "you are doing a good job," or "I've been there, it'll pass" or something. Nobody said anything, nobody even made eye contact.

It could have been worse, Corbin was an angel the entire time. I'm grateful that he didn't get hurt, and that he was happy regardless of what his sister was doing to him.

If anyone is wondering when we will have another baby... not for a long time... a LOOOOOOONNNNNGGG time.

Tooth!

Corbin FINALLY cut his first tooth! He isn't the most chill teether. I'm just glad I know why he was so needy and cranky!

He has been working on this tooth for. so. long. It would come up, and then go down, and then come up, and then go back down. I think it's finally high enough out of his gums that it isn't going down again! Now he just has tooth number two (on the bottom) and his two top teeth that are really close.

My adorable toothless almost one year old is no longer toothless!

See you belly, mommy?

Cambria was interested in bellies today. We read a book I love about a baby growing inside a mommy's belly: God Gave Us You. Then she talked about how she came out of my belly. She pulled up her shirt and looked at her belly, then pulled up daddy's shirt and looked at his belly. Then, she came over to me and asked to see my belly. There came the moment of truth...

Let's just say that my belly isn't what it used to be, it looks like a mommy belly (loose skin that creates the look of a pudge, even if there's nothing extra under the loose skin) and I have a TON of stretch marks. I think it's probably the area that I'm most self conscious.

But! I had the thought, I don't want her to think that a mommy belly is something to be ashamed of. It looks like that because I have had the miracle of growing two beautiful babies inside there. It also doesn't hurt for her to see "real life bellies" not just what you see on bilboards, or anywhere else.

So... I showed her my belly. I was expecting her to say something about how my belly looks different than hers, or daddy's... But she didn't. She just touched it, and felt it like it was like any other normal belly.

I'm proud of myself, I feel like I took a step in the right direction.

My little helper.

Cambria was a fantastic helper yesterday! We went on a few errands (that ended up being a lot of errands... grrr) but Cambria helped the whole time! I decided that carrying my wiggly almost 1 year old into a post office would be unwise, so I put him in the stroller. Cambria pushed while I steered and held the boxes that I needed to send.

Later, I was doing laundry and Corbin decided that nothing would do unless I was holding him. So I went out to the garage (because that's where the dryer is) and unloaded the dryer into a laundry basket. Cambria helped. THEN... here's the crowning moment. She grabbed one end of the basket and I grabbed the other and we carried it back into the house and to my bedroom. Something I really couldn't have managed without her help since I was holding Corbin.

Corbin 10 and 11 months

Dear Corbin,
I cannot believe that you are one month away from being 1!!! These last few months you have exploded developmentally! You went from barley being confidant in your sitting abilities to crawling, to pulling yourself up on furniture! This all happened within a few week period. You also decided that it was cool to feed yourself.

This last month you have become much more able to stand while holding on to something. You can move from one object to another, although you haven't figured out how to walk from one side of the couch to the other. You have also gotten brave and let go a few times. There have been a few times that you have stood for about a second.

You love to dance. Whenever there is any sort of music, you start rocking side to side. You have also added a head banging motion to your dance moves. You also bounce a little bit too. It seems like you are just jamming out, all the time! You are too cute! Let's not forget the huge smile on your face!

You are a very brave climber as well. When we were on vacation, you learned how to climb stairs. You aren't very stable on them, especially when you think you can push yourself to sitting on a stair... not a good idea... But you haven't figured out how to go down. Every time I tried to teach you by turning you around so you could slide down on your belly, you just wanted to go forward. You would get very frustrated if I tried to move your feet or knees. So, someday you will learn how to get down off the things you climb up. Your favorite thing right now is a little kid-sized picnic table we have in our kitchen. You have figured out how to get up on top. You love it up there. But falling off is painful for you, and scary for mom. I keep trying to convince you that there are more fun things on the ground, but I haven't succeeded in that yet.

You are a very happy boy most of the time! I think back on when you were a little tiny baby and how much you hated spitting up (but did it so often) and how much mommy's milk made your tummy hurt. I wondered if you had a happy disposition, or if this was just your personality (to cry and scream all the time). I'm so grateful that I now know you as a happy boy who is quick to smile. (It's still really hard to get you to laugh though, You will smile at anyone, or just about anything, but laughs are for special occasions.)

You are a fantastic hugger. Everyone that you met on our very long trip mentioned how wonderful your hugs were. It was nice to know that you would give a smile and a hug to anyone. Grandma Kershaw mentioned that you hug like daddy did when he was a baby. She says you hug with so much love, you can just feel it. I agree.

When you are upset, how you cry is pretty cute. You cry for a minute, and then through your tears you talk to me in baby talk, almost like you are trying to tell me what is wrong, or how much it hurts. It's so cute!

This is right before you turned 10 months. You are so proud of yourself!

Now that you have figured out how to move, you are always on the go!

This picture was taken on July 30. (11 months old to the day). Look how easy it is for you to stand while supported.

Summer Vacation

We had been planning our summer vacation for several months and then about 4 weeks before we were supposed to leave, a friend came up to me at church and asked if I wanted to drive with her and her two kids to Utah... in three days. I COULDN'T pass that up! A chance to see my family and just hang out for a few weeks before the crazy vacationing started? Yes Please!!!

So we headed out on Wednesday, June 3. I was a little worried about being in charge of four kids 3 and under. But, her 3 year old was pretty self sufficient, and my friend has really long arms, and can reach her from the drivers seat, so she was able to give her her water and such.

We were packed in there... Two women, 4 kids, and a dog! What a story!

We drove till we couldn't drive anymore, which was half way, and then crashed in a hotel room. Unfortunately, my kids woke up way earlier than anyone would have liked. But that got us up and on the road. We made it to Utah really late (I don't remember how late... but we were all zombies) and I was so glad to be there! 

We got reacquainted with everyone (we meaning, my kids), played outside with Nana's awesome toys in her awesome back yard! Amy came over with her kids and we went on a walk. It was good to talk to her and catch up. Depending on the day/time both kids loved my mom's dog, Jazzie. 

On the weekdays we stayed with Amy, since my mom works. It was so fun to see my kids interact with their cousins!

Cambria and Shaylee are buds! They all are, but Cambria loved looking up to a girly-girl like Shaylee!

We went to the park. Corbin wasn't too excited about sharing his swing, but it makes for a cute picture!

I went to yoga class with Janelle, in the church building that Jonathan and I met each other! It was during Corbin's nap time, so about half way through I decided to take him on a walk. I went to all the rooms that had significance... It was so nostalgic! Picture a cheesy movie where they have flash-backs with the cheesy music. It was almost that good. 

We went to the museum of natural curiosity and this was the most fun my kids had. It was a little old for them (developmentally) and there were TONS of kids there. It was still fun though!

Cambria and I went to the Provo temple and walked around the temple grounds. That place holds a lot of special meaning for me too! It was crazy to walk around there and think of how far I have come since I left Provo.

a bit blurry but this captures the amount of change that happend to this boy within the three weeks I was gone. He learned how to crawl, pull himself up, and feed himself all within the time Jonathan and I were apart!

This is a crazy high rope bridge. It's at the aquarium. Cambria was super brave and walked across several times! 

petting the fish! Poor Shaylee was too short to touch anything, but she sure did try!

mom took us to the Barn at Thanksgiving point. Cambria was so brave! She wanted to touch all the animals! She litterally got about three inches away from a full size cow! And she rode a pony!

Shopping trip with the girls!!

This was a failed attempt at Cambria's first sleepover! Can you tell why? Yeah, Cambria was too excited to go to sleep. Shaylee came down several times saying that she wanted to sleep but Cambria wasn't letting her. Maybe next time she'll be old enough to understand how it works.

Any excuse to get her nails done, Amy will take it. So we went out and did our nails together! So fun!

This is the only pic I got of the three boys. Oh what fun they will have as they grow up (these boys are all born within 3 months of each other)

This is also the only pic I took of our sibling reunion. We had a first-time-ever siblings reunion and it was a BLAST! We went to Couer D'Alene Idaho and rented a cabin on a lake. Unfortunately, it was record high heat and the AC broke and the lake was gross. But we still had a blast and made some good memories.

On our way up to Alberta we stopped at the worlds largest dump truck. This is us at the tire, if that gives you any idea of how HUGE this thing is!

my boys!

In Alberta, for my Cousin Tacy's wedding! We spent a lot of time setting up, but with our family, it doesn't matter what we do, we always have a good time!

This is Cambria at the grave site of my cousin Danae, Cambria's name sake. I cried, but I don't think she quite knew what was going on, but she liked looking at her picture.

I told her before we left that she had the same name as my cousin, and her face lit up! I told her that she died, so we were going to go to the place where we can remember her. I don't think she understood but it was good for me to see her there.

I was secretly hoping that Cambria would recognize her... that she had some sort of relationship with her. Maybe she does, maybe I just can't know about it...

At the Bingham family reunion down in Idaho. These boys are 8 months apart! They are going to have a lot of fun when they grow up too!

Cambria's closest cousins her age. They were all playing on the same trailer, but I couldn't get them close enough to get  a pic. 

What a wonderful trip! We drove a lot, saw a lot of people, and renewed some awesome relationships! The only thing I would have changed about it was Cambria's stress levels. As the trip went on, the more cranky she got and the more she wanted her own space, her own toys and her own quiet... 

But all in all it was wonderful! I'm so sad that we won't be seeing several of the people we saw for a very long time. I'm already day dreaming of being able to go out soon... even though I know that isn't possible.